Danny Glover to deliver 2013 A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations

Noted actor, producer and humanitarian Danny Glover will present “The role of arts in community activism” as part of the 18th annual A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations.

A commanding presence on screen, stage and television for more than 25 years, Glover’s film credits range from the blockbuster “Lethal Weapon” franchise, the critically-acclaimed “Dreamgirls,” “The Color Purple” to the futuristic “2012” and smaller independent features, some of which Glover has produced.

The memorial lecture will be held at 7 p.m. on March 18 in the Ventana Ballroom in the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus. There are no tickets for the event and no RSVP is required. Seating is limited and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. A special student session precedes the evening talk, starting at 5:30 p.m., moderated by Peter Lehman, director of the Center for Film, Media and Popular Culture in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

While widely recognized for his work in Hollywood, Glover also co-founded the New York-based film company Louverture Films, with writer/producer Joslyn Barnes. They’ve gone on to produce films of historical relevance and social purpose, including 2012 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and 2010 Canne Palm d’Or winners. Glover has also received Emmy nominations for his work in television on the acclaimed miniseries Lonesome Dove, the telefilm Freedom Song and as a director he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Showtime’s Just a Dream. Most recently, Glover was a co-star on the popular television series Touch.

In addition to his work in film and television, Glover has gained respect for his wide-reaching community activism and philanthropic efforts, with a particular emphasis on advocacy for economic justice and access to health care and education programs in the United States and Africa. For these efforts Glover received a 2006 Director’s Guild of American Honor and was honored with a 2011 Pioneer Award from the National Civil Rights Museum.

Internationally, Glover has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, supporting campaigns focusing on issues of poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. He received an Amnesty International USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Marian Anderson Award for his public service, and work in promoting human and civil rights. In 2011, he received the prestigious Medaille des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and was honored with a Tribute at the Deauville International Film Festival. Currently, Glover serves as an  UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

The A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations was created in 1995 to perpetuate the work of a man who had devoted his life to the ideal of racial parity. As professor and chair of sociology at Arizona State University, A. Wade Smith worked tirelessly to improve race relations on the ASU campus and within the greater community.
When he died from cancer at the age of 43, his wife, family members and friends made memorial gifts to establish and fund this lecture series.

If you would like to support this series, please consider making a charitable contribution through the ASU Foundation's giving page: www.asufoundation.org/smithlecture.

For more information about the lecture series, please call 480-965-7765 or e-mail clasevents@asu.edu.