Maryland Humanities and the University of Maryland Present Taylor Branch and Isabel Wilkerson In Conversation at the Clarice
Moderated by Sherrilyn Ifill, Event Celebrates the Centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes
(Baltimore, MD) – As the final event in its yearlong commemoration of the Pulitzer Prizes’ Centennial, Maryland Humanities has partnered with the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities to present Worldwise Arts & Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series: The Pulitzer 100 on December 6 at 7 p.m. at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The event will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning author-historians Taylor Branch and Isabel Wilkerson. NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund’s Sherrilyn Ifill will moderate an engaging discussion between the two on the historical context behind their Pulitzer Prize-winning work and its relevancy to our lives today.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up an illuminating year of events celebrating the centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes than to bring two Pulitzer Prize-winners together to discuss the important themes that thread through their work, including race and civil rights. Both Mr. Branch’s and Mrs. Wilkerson’s work helps us better understand what is at the heart of the humanities—what makes us human,” said Phoebe Stein, executive director of Maryland Humanities.
Maryland Humanities kicked off its yearlong series of events commemorating the Pulitzer Prizes’ Centennial in March with panel discussions featuring acclaimed journalists discussing their craft at The Baltimore Sun. In September the initiative featured a three-day festival of staged readings of Pulitzer Prize-winning plays in collaboration with Olney Theatre Center. Additionally, in an effort to engage students, Maryland students taking writing or journalism courses or working for their school newspaper are being invited to examine a contemporary ethical dilemma in professional journalism and to share their take on the issue.
The Worldwise Arts & Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series: The Pulitzer 100 is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets and further information are available at mdhumanities.org.
This event is part of the Pulitzer Prizes Centennial Campfires Initiative, a nationwide celebration funded by the Pulitzer Prizes, in partnership with the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The initiative seeks to illuminate the impact of journalism and the humanities on American life today, to imagine their future and to inspire new generations to consider the values represented by the body of Pulitzer Prize-winning work. For their generous support for the Campfires Initiative, we thank the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Pulitzer Prizes Board, and Columbia University.
Maryland Humanities is a statewide, educational nonprofit organization that creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities. For more information, visit www.mdhumanities.org. Maryland Humanities is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Maryland, private foundations, corporations, small businesses, and individual donors.