Prof. John Dittmer to Address Local MLK Celebration

January 11, 2014

John Dittmer, professor emeritus of history at DePauw University, will speak at the Putnam County Public Library's community celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.  The event will take place next Saturday, January 18, at 1:30 p.m.  Dittmer will discuss the lives of Dr. King and Nelson Mandela.

The Banner-Graphic notes that DePauw students Iesha Brooks and J'Nai Macklin are among the other participants in the free program.

Learn more at the newspaper's website.

Read more here.

Dr. Dittmer is a noted expert on the civil rights movement. His 1995 book, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi, won the Bancroft Prize, generally considered the most prestigious award in the field of American history writing. He also authored the 2009 book The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights, Race and the Politics of Health Care in America.

Dittmer delivered the principal address to DePauw's Class of 2009 at the University's 170th commencement and received an honorary doctoral degree. A summary of his remarks and an MP3 file of the complete speech can be accessed in this report. Video of the address is posted below.

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