Bakari Sellers, CNN political analyst and attorney, will deliver the 18th annual Mary Frances Early Lecture April 2 at 3 p.m. in Mahler Hall of the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.
He will speak on “Education, Civil Rights and Equality: Cornerstones for Our Future.” Open free to the public, the lecture will be followed with a reception.
The Mary Frances Early Lecture honors the first African-American student to earn a degree from UGA and her legacy at the university. Early graduated with a master’s degree in music education in 1962 and completed her specialist in education degree in 1967.
The lecture series recognizes Early’s dedication toward making UGA an institution of higher learning for all people. It also strives to demonstrate the progress that has been made in achieving her vision as well as to identify the work that remains to be done.
Sellers launched a podcast, “Viewpoint with Bakari Sellers” on Westwood One, featuring Hillary Clinton, Mark Cuban and Charles Barkley as guests. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of South Carolina.
Currently, he is the first vice chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party.
Sellers made history in 2006 when, at age 22, he defeated a 26-year incumbent state representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African-American elected official in the nation.
After earning his law degree from the University of South Carolina, Sellers has followed in the footsteps of his father, civil rights leader Cleveland Sellers, in his commitment to service championing progressive policies to address issues ranging from education and poverty to preventing domestic violence and childhood obesity. Sellers practices law with the Strom Law Firm, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Mary Frances Early Lecture is sponsored by the Graduate School, Graduate and Professional Scholars and the Office of Institutional Diversity. For more information on the lecture, see grad.uga.edu.