This is the first of three special events marking Open Society Institute–Baltimore’s 20th anniversary.
The centerpiece of the event will be a conversation on “Bold Thinking on Racial Justice in America” with two of the country’s foremost thinkers on civil rights. Vanita Gupta is president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and former director of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she oversaw the investigation of the Baltimore Police Department and the negotiation of the consent decree with the City of Baltimore. Taylor Branch is a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and author of a trilogy about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. He is a member of Open Society Institute–Baltimore’s Advisory Board.
We will also honor Baltimore City health commissioner Leana Wen and Morgan State University assistant professor and Baltimore Community Fellow alumni Lawrence Brown, two individuals who have lived the values of Open Society Institute–Baltimore’s tagline, “Bold Thinking, Strategic Action, Justice for All.” The event will also feature performances by poet and 2015 Baltimore Community Fellow Brion Gill and Baltimore Dance Crews Project, founded by 2015 Baltimore Community Fellow Brian Gerardo.
Honorees
- Leana Wen is the commissioner of health for the City of Baltimore.
- Lawrence Brown is an assistant professor at Morgan State University.
Speakers
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Vanita Gupta
Speaker
Vanita Gupta is president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
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Taylor Branch
Speaker
Taylor Branch is an American author and public speaker best known for his landmark narrative history of the civil rights era, America in the King Years.
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