The Robert L. and Louise Millender Memorial Fund - in partnership with Wayne State's Irvin D. Reid Honors College - will host Democracy in the Obama Era: Race and the Millennial Generation, which will include a lecture from NPR's Farai Chideya, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 at 3 p.m. The program, which will be held in Wayne State's Community Arts Center, will explore the ways in which Barack Obama's election as the 44th U.S. president has influenced the public discourse. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Bankole Thompson, senior editor of the Michigan Chronicle, will serve as master of ceremonies for the lecture program."

Chideya has worked in print, television, online and radio, and is a popular cultural critic and correspondent for National Public Radio. The host of NPR's News and Notes, Chideya also has anchored the prime-time program Pure Oxygen on the Oxygen women's channel and contributed commentaries to CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC and BET.

Farai Chideya also is a popular author of three books: Don't Believe the Hype: Fighting Cultural Misinformation about African Americans; The Color of Our Future; and Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters.

The Robert L. and Louise Millender Memorial Fund, Inc. was originally established in memory of Robert L. Millender, Sr., a leading black Detroit attorney and political activist who died in 1978. Mr. Millender was celebrated as a brilliant political strategist and campaign manager for most of Detroit's major black elected officials during the 1960s and 1970s including Coleman A. Young, the city's first African-American mayor and Congressman John Conyers.

After Louise Millender\'s death in 2001, the lecture was changed to the Robert L. and Louise Millender Memorial Lecture to reflect the Millenders\' political partnership and honor Louise Millender\'s role as a civic leader.

The fund invites a nationally recognized figure to deliver a major address on matters of urgent public concern. Dozens of distinguished activists from the areas of politics, civil rights and urban development have made presentations. These include journalist Ed Gordon, professors Lani Guinier and Christopher Edley, and Eddie Edwards, former director of the Joint Center for Politics.

RSVP / MORE INFO:
http://specialevents.wayne.edu/millender/
(313) 577-3030

MEDIA CONTACT:
Adam J. Herman
(313) 577-4621
aherman@wayne.edu