Former members of the Weather Underground Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, and Muslim social activist Rami Nashashibi will speak at Northwestern University on Feb. 4, 2009, at an event organized by the Muslim-cultural Students Association, McSA Co-President Dana Shabeeb said.
Ayers, Dohrn and Nashashibi will present “Peaceful Progress: A Discourse on Affecting Change” at Cahn Auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m. as McSA’s postponed Fall Speaker event. The speakers will discuss “social activism within the context of peace and modern society,” according to a press release on Friday, Jan. 30.
Ayers, a Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago, came into the limelight last year amidst a controversy in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Ayers and Dohrn, Ayers’ wife and law professor at Northwestern, were involved in the radical left organization Weather Underground in the 1970s, “but since then have become prominent educators and social activists in Chicago,” the press release says.
“The McSA encourages dialogue in the Northwestern community and understands that Bill Ayers is considered by some people to be a controversial figure, but we are bringing him because we know that he has a unique narrative to present,” Shabeeb said in the press release. “We hope that this will propel students to engage in the change that is fundamental to bringing about peace in this new era of American politics.”
Nashashibi, the Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), has given lectures across the United States on topics related to American Muslim identity, community activism and social justice issues.
“McSA hopes that this open forum will further stimulate dialogue on campus regarding issues of social change, as well as create an environment where social activism is fostered and encouraged,” the press release says.
Read the press release below.
Ayers, Dohrn, and Nashashibi to discuss Peaceful Progress
Evanston, Ill. — Former members of the Weather Underground Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, and Muslim social activist Rami Nashashibi will be speaking this Wednesday, Feb. 4 as McSA’s postponed Fall Speaker event.
Ayers, Dohrn and Nashashibi will deliver “Peaceful Progress: A Discourse on Affecting Change” at 7:30 p.m. in Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Street, on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. The Muslim-cultural Students Association has invited the three speakers to speak about social activism as its annual political awareness event.
Ayers, a distinguished professor of education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was a surprising locus of controversy for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, Ayers’ wife and law professor at Northwestern University, will focus their discussion on social activism. Ayers and Dohrn were involved in the radical left organization Weather Underground in the 1970s, but since then have become prominent educators and social activists in Chicago. Ayers helped shape Chicago’s school reform program and in 1997 was awarded Citizen of the Year by the city for his work.
Nashashibi, the Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), is the author of “Ghetto Cosmopolitanism: Making theory at the Margins” in a book entitled Deciphering the Global: Its Scales, Spaces, and Subjects. Nashashibi has lectured across the country on a range of topics related to the American Muslim identity, community activism and social justice issues. He was also a recent recipient of the LISC Community Hero Award and the National Housing Service Community Leaders Award.
The three speakers, each presenting a unique perspective, will delve into various facets of social activism within the context of peace and modern society. McSA hopes that this open forum will further stimulate dialogue on campus regarding issues of social change, as well as create an environment where social activism is fostered and encouraged.
“The McSA encourages dialogue in the Northwestern community and understands that Bill Ayers is considered by some people to be a controversial figure, but we are bringing him because we know that he has a unique narrative to present,” said McSA co-President, Dana Shabeeb, a junior majoring in Political Science. “We hope that this will propel students to engage in the change that is fundamental to bringing about peace in this new era of American politics.”
The event is being co-endorsed by several groups at Northwestern: Alianza, Asian Pacific American Coalition, South Asian Student Alliance and FMO.
This event is free, although tickets are required for entrance. They are available at the Norris Box Office.
In the past, the Muslim-cultural Students Association has hosted Michael Scheuer to speak on the War on Terror, Neal Katyal on the Guantanamo Bay terror tribunals, and John Esposito to speak on the Danish cartoon controversy.