Journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault to Speak Nov. 10 as DePauw Celebrates New Diversity & Inclusion Center
November 2, 2017
Charlayne Hunter-Gault -- journalist, author, and contributor to NewsHour on PBS and National Public Radio -- will deliver a lecture at DePauw University on Friday, November 10, at 4 p.m. in Meharry Hall, in historic East College. The event will kick off the celebration of the grand opening of DePauw’s Justin and Darrianne Christian Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The speech is presented free of charge and is open to the public.
Hunter-Gault is the author of four books. Her latest work, an e-book called “Corrective Rape,” details the devastating way some men in South Africa attempt to “correct” gay women’s sexual identity. Her previous books include To the Mountaintop: My Journey Through the Civil Rights Movement, is a historical narrative for young readers; New News Out of Africa: Uncovering the African Renaissance; and In My Place, a memoir of the civil rights movement, detailing her experiences as the first black woman to attend the University of Georgia in 1961.
The veteran journalist began her career at Washington, D.C.’s WRC-TV, then was a metropolitan reporter for the New York Times.She joined The MacNeil/Lehrer Report on PBS in 1978 and became national correspondent five years later. Hunter-Gault joined NPR in 1997 as its chief correspondent in Africa, then went to for CNN in 1999 as Johannesburg bureau chief and correspondent. In 2005, she returned to NPR as a special correspondent. She is now a special correspondent for NewsHour and has worked, all told, 20 years for the PBS program. Her recent work has included a year-long series, “Race Matters,” focusing on solutions to America's enduring race problem.
Hunter-Gault is the recipient of two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. She also received the 1986 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, and was honored in 1988 with a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, among other awards.
Announced in September 2016 after a more than $500,000 gift from 1995 DePauw graduates Justin P. and Darrianne Howard Christian, the Christian Center for Diversity and Inclusion will have its grand opening Saturday, November 11. The Center supports student identity-affinity organizations, offers cultural programming and services for students of color and international students, advocates for social justice and assist in fosters a safe and affirming campus climate for all students.