[288] Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Slated to Speak at MTSU

FOR RELEASE: Feb. 23, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Center, 615-898-2238

CONGRESSMAN JESSE JACKSON JR. SLATED TO SPEAK AT MTSU
Former Obama Campaign Co-Chair Tapped to Deliver Black History Month Address

MURFREESBORO—U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) is scheduled to deliver the keynote address for MTSU’s observance of Black History Month at 7 p.m. Friday, April 6, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building.

The event is free and open to the public. This is a change from the date published in the University’s Black History Month calendar; it was rescheduled by the congressman’s office.

Off-campus visitors should be aware that nearby construction will limit parking opportunities for the lecture. University Parking and Transportation officials are encouraging visitors to park in the South Rutherford Boulevard lot and ride the Raider Xpress shuttle into the campus core to reach the Business and Aerospace Building. A printable campus map is available at www.mtsu.edu/parking/Map_2011-2012.pdf.

The social-justice and anti-death-penalty advocate, who was Barack Obama’s national campaign co-chair in 2008, is the son of two-time presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jacqueline Jackson. Jackson Jr.’s wife, Sandi Jackson, is Chicago’s 7th Ward Alderman.

The younger Jackson was first elected to Congress in 1995. He serves the 2nd Congressional District of Illinois, which borders both Lake Michigan and the state of Indiana and encompasses almost all of south Chicago and several suburban communities.

Jackson’s official House biography cites the 2001 creation of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health as one of his major achievements in office. His committee assignments include the House Appropriations Committee. In addition, Jackson is vice chair of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.

Since 2003, Jackson has been a member of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He has served on the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics Senior Advisory Board since 2000.

Jackson graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 1987. In 1990, he earned his master’s degree in theology from Chicago Theological Seminary. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois in 1993.

This event is sponsored by the University Honors College and the Black History Month Committee. For more information, contact the MTSU Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Center at 615-898-2238 or idac@mtsu.edu.

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