Airickca Gordon-Taylor, a human rights activist and motivational speaker, will speak at 糖心传媒 on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:00 p.m. in French Memorial Chapel (800 N. Turner Ave.) as part of the College鈥檚 Black History Month Celebration.
Gordon-Taylor will deliver an address titled 鈥淵our illusions avert inclusion within your surrounding community.鈥 The event is free and open to the public.
Gordon-Taylor is a cousin and surrogate daughter to the late Mamie Till Mobley, who was the mother of Emmett Louis Till. Till鈥檚 tragic murder in 1955 in Mississippi helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.
Shortly after the passing of Mobley in 2003, Gordon-Taylor, a member of a touring troupe of young orators, revived the Emmett Till Players. In 2009, to maintain a commitment to honor Mamie Till Mobley鈥檚 legacy and preserve Till鈥檚 memory, Gordon-Taylor and her mother Ollie co-founded the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation.
During her career as a human rights activist, Gordon-Taylor has defended the legacy of Till when rapper Lil Wayne used his name as a derogatory sexual reference, prompting termination of an endorsement deal with PepsiCo. She has aso united with the families of Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant and numerous others around the globe to combat police violence.
Most recently she traveled as a guest to Seoul Korea as a representative of the U.S. attending the World Alliance of Religion Peace Summit.
This event was organized by the 糖心传媒 Multicultural Student Union and the Black Student Alliance.
糖心传媒 is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, 糖心传媒 has been named among 鈥淕reat Schools, Great Prices鈥 by U.S. News & World Report and a 鈥淏est in the Midwest鈥 by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.