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Civil Rights leader to speak at Feb. 8 'Reflections of Ebony' event; purchase tickets by Feb. 5

Posted 9:39 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014

Civil Rights Leader Dr. Sonnie W. Hereford III will speak Saturday, Feb. 8, in Cartwright Center at this year's “The Fight of Our Lives & Joy of Perseverance."

[caption id="attachment_30348" align="alignleft" width="358"]Photo of Hereford. Civil Rights Leader Dr. Sonnie W. Hereford III will speak at UW-L Feb. 8.[/caption] The father of the first African American admitted to an all-white elementary public school in Huntsville, Ala., is the keynote speaker for this year's "Reflections of Ebony" celebration. Civil Rights Leader Dr. Sonnie W. Hereford III will speak Saturday, Feb. 8, in Cartwright Center at this year's “The Fight of Our Lives & Joy of Perseverance."  Hereford is the son of a sharecropper and Primitive Baptist minister in Madison County, Ala. While on the Huntsville Community Service Committee, he helped integrate the Huntsville School District. Hereford received his medical training at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., and became one of the few African American physicians in Huntsville. In 1956, despite conflicts with racism, Hereford began his medical practice there. Hereford will talk about his challenges and successes with the Huntsville School District and his experience as an African American physician and racism, as well as how he overcame obstacles during the Civil Rights Era. In addition to Hereford's keynote, the event includes a presentation by UW-L student leaders about their January Ghana experience and a Southern soul food dinner. Doors open at 5 p.m. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. A dance immediately follows and ends at 11:30 p.m.  The event is open to the public. Purchase tickets from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays at the Information Counter in Cartwright Center or call 608.785.8877. Tickets are required. Tickets for children under five years old are free. Tickets are $10 for students; $12 for faculty, staff and alumni; and $15 for others. The deadline to purchase tickets is 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. The presentation is brought to campus through a UW-L Visiting Scholar/Artist of Color Grant funded by the Office of the Provost, along with cosponsorship by UW-L's Black Student Unity, the Office of Multicultural Student Services, and Viterbo University’s Student Organization Advocating Human Rights. For more information, contact BSU President Jazzma Holland at holland.jazz@uwlax.edu or 414. 254.4581, or Thomas Harris, Multicultural Student Services, at tharris@uwlax.edu or 608.785.8834.  

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