2008 - 2009 Frank Porter Graham Lecture

Monday, September 22, 2008
Memorial Hall--Free Admission!
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

John McWhorter, a New York Sun columnist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, will discuss race and poverty in America at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The free public talk at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall will be the 2008-2009 Frank Porter Graham Lecture in the College of Arts and Sciences. The annual lecture brings a variety of viewpoints on poverty to campus.

McWhorter will speak on “History in the Making: What We Know About Poverty and What We Should Forget.” He will contest mainstream opinion about the causes of inner-city poverty in the late 20th century and suggest best-practice solutions that are not, in his words, “founded in a revolutionary intent.”

McWhorter writes and comments extensively on race, ethnicity and cultural issues for the Manhattan Institute in New York City, which supports and publicizes research on challenging public policy issues. His newest book, “All About the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can’t Save Black America,” points beyond the “hip-hop revolution” to a brave new politics for black America, calling for a renewed sense of purpose and pride in black communities.

“John McWhorter is a straight-talker who has compelling things to say about race and class in America,” said John McGowan, Ph.D., director of UNC’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities and a member of the lecture selection committee. “He’s thoughtful, smart and opinionated. He’ll spark a great conversation on this campus about difficult topics.”

McWhorter’s book “Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America,” was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Non-Fiction. McWhorter has appeared on national TV and radio shows including “Meet the Press,” “The O’Reilly Factor” and National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air.”

McWhorter, also a linguistics scholar, wrote “The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language,” on how the world’s languages arise, change and mix. The lecture honors the late U.S. senator and president of the University of North Carolina. It is made possible by a generous gift from Taylor McMillan, who graduated from UNC in 1960.

Sponsored by the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, with co-sponsors Office of the Executive Director for the Arts, the Public Policy Majors Union, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Department of Public Policy.