Author Eddie Glaude Jr. to join NIU lecture series

DeKALB – The Northern Illinois University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will host a discussion by author and educator Eddie Glaude Jr. as part of its Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series.

The lecture will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the NIU Altgeld Auditorium, according to a news release.

Admission to the lecture is free and open to the public.

The lecture will feature a discussion between Glaude and Dean Robert Brinkmann. The discussion will cover topics such as the nation’s current democratic state, political polarization, how racial and socio-economic demographics experience democracy, James Baldwin’s influence and relevance to Glaude’s writings and world view, and the U.S. challenges. The lecture also includes a moderated Q&A session.

Glaude earned a master’s in African American studies from Temple University and a religion doctorate from Princeton University. He is the author of the books “Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul,” “In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America” and The New York Times best-seller “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own.”

Glaude is a James S. McDonnell Distinguished University professor and Princeton University’s department of African American studies chair. He also is a Morehouse College board of trustees member.

The Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series showcases how the liberal arts and sciences are at the center of a healthy democracy. The series addresses various aspects of building a stronger democracy and bringing together a fractured society.