MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Leopold at 847-491-4890 or w-leopold@northwestern.edu

May 11, 2004

Lani Guinier to Speak on Race in America

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Civil rights attorney Lani Guinier -- the first black woman appointed to a tenured professorship at Harvard Law School -- will discuss issues of race in America at 4 p.m. Monday, May 17, at Northwestern University.

Her speech, titled “The Miner’s Canary,” will be delivered at the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive, Evanston. It is part of the popular Crain Lecture Series organized by the Medill School of Journalism. It is free and open to the public.

Guinier came to the nation’s attention in 1993 when President Clinton nominated her to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and then, without a confirmation hearing, withdrew her nomination after conservatives represented her as a “quota queen.” Today Guinier is one of the most sought after speakers on issues of race, gender and democratic decision-making.

Guinier is author of a personal memoir titled “Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback into a New Vision of Social Justice,” “The Tyranny of the Majority,” “Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School and Institutional Change” and “The Miner’s Canary: Rethinking Race and Power.”

A graduate of Radcliffe College and Yale Law School, Guinier was inspired at a young age by trailblazing civil rights attorney Constance Baker Motley. Motley escorted James Meredith through a jeering white crowd to integrate the University of Mississippi in 1962.

The Crain Lectures feature journalists and newsmakers discussing current events and the news business. Check the Medill School Web site at http://www.medill.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-5401 for the most up-to-date information.