The University of Nebraska Medical Center and The Nebraska Medical Center
will sponsor the 2004 Martin Luther King Commemorative Presentation on
Jan. 19. The featured guest speaker will be Tony Brown, acclaimed
veteran African American journalist and talk show host.
The program will be free to the public and held from noon to 1 p.m.
in the Storz Pavilion, lower level of Clarkson Hospital, 42nd and Dewey
Sts. There will be free refreshments available for the first 300
people to attend. Overflow audience members will be able to see a live
video simulcast at the Wittson Hall Amphitheater.
Brown was coordinator of a historic march in Detroit, Mich., with Dr.
King on June 23, 1963. Official police sources stated that 500,000 people
marched that day making it the largest civil rights march in U.S. history.
Moreover, Dr. King made his legendary I Have a Dream speech first at
this march 66 days before its historic presentation at the March on Washington
on August 28 where the speech was recorded for posterity.
Known as Televisions Civil Rights Crusader and considered by
many to be a true renaissance man Tony Brown is a cultural diversity
consultant, TV journalist/commentator, self-help advocate, radio talk show
host, keynote speaker, syndicated columnist, media entrepreneur, movie
director, educator and author.
He is the founder and commentator of the PBS series Tony Browns Journal,
the longest running of all PBS series. His weekly television series
was selected by the New York Daily News as one of the top 10 television
shows of all time that presents positive black images. He also was selected
by Talkers, the prestigious radio trade magazine, as one of the the 100
most important radio talk show hosts in America.
Brown is the recipient of the National Directors Legacy Award for Journalism
from the U.S. Department of Commerces Minority Business Development Agency.
He is an inductee into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
prestigious Silver Circle, joining such television icons as Walter Cronkite
and others who have made enduring contributions to the vitality of the
television industry and set the highest standards of achievement for all
to emulate.
Brown has distinguished himself and a producer, writer, television commentator,
film director and innovative media entrepreneur in many areas. He
was the first and founding dean, as well as professor, of the School of
Communications at Howard University, where he established a highly distinguished
academic and professional record. Brown also founded Black College Day
in 1980 (now a U.S. Congress-designated national observance celebrated
on the last Monday in September). As the honorary chairperson of the National
Organization of Black College Alumni, Inc., Brown spearheads a movement
to preserve black colleges.
In addition to his legendary place among media peers, Brown is also
an accomplished author. His latest book is What Mama Told Me, a powerful
and highly personal book that describes the seven core values given to
him by his mother a maid and dishwasher that have sustained his life
and given it meaning. In Black Lies, White Lies: The Truth According to
Tony Brown, he offers an innovative plan for making America more competitive
and helping the country solve its race problem. This book examines his
Team America concept and discusses cultural diversity as America’s industrial
salvation. Brown is also the author of Empower the People: A 7-Step Plan
to Overthrow the Conspiracy that is Stealing Your Money and Freedom.
Brown is the only African American recipient of both the Educator of
the Year Award and Communicator of the Year Award from the Sales and Marketing
Executives International Academy of Achievement. Previous winners of these
prestigious awards have been the chief executive officers of TBS, CBS,
ABC, CNN and several of the nations newspaper chains and national publications.
Brown was born in Charleston, W. Va., where he completed high school.
He received both his bachelors degree in sociology and masters degree
in psychiatric social work at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich.