Talks at the Schomburg: Obery Hendricks, Michael Eric Dyson, Aisha Moodie-Mills and Sharon Lettman-Hicks

Marriage equality: Yes or No? Join the panelists as they engage in a timely discussion of same-sex marriage. Join author Obery Hendricks and historian Michael Eric Dyson as they engage in a timely discussion of same-sex marriage with Aisha Moodie-Mills, advisor for the Center for American Progress and Executive Director for the National Black Justice Coalition, Sharon Lettman-Hicks. 

Obery Hendricks is one of the nation’s most provocative and innovative commentators on the intersection of religion, politics and social policy in America. A former Wall Street investment executive and past president of Payne Theological Seminary, the oldest African American theological seminary in the United States, Dr. Hendricks is currently Professor of Biblical Interpretation at New York Theological Seminary and Visiting Scholar in both the Department of Religion and the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University. He holds the Master of Divinity with academic honors from Princeton Theological Seminary, and both the M.A. and Ph.D. in Religions of Late Antiquity from Princeton University.

Michael Eric Dyson is an American academic, author, and radio host. He is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. He bridges gaps between generations, connecting civil rights identity to hip-hop culture while forging links between older and younger Americans, especially black Americans. As a cutting edge historian, he educates the general public on the significance of hip hop, not only in understanding black culture, but American cultural as well. With his powerful voice, Dyson reaches beyond race, addressing the universal commonality of American concern. Dyson has so far authored and edited 18 books dealing with subjects such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Marvin Gaye, Nas’s debut album Illmatic, Bill Cosby, Tupac Shakur and Hurricane Katrina.

Aisha Moodie-Mills is the Advisor for LGBT Policy & Racial Justice at American Progress, where her work with the FIRE Initiative explores the intersections of race, sexual orientation, economics, and public policy. She has been recognized as one of the top “Forty Under 40” national LGBT leaders by The Advocate, and as one of The Root‘s 100 emerging and established leaders in the African-American community. She has also been a key strategist and spokesperson on behalf of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia, where she served as the president of D.C.’s marriage equality campaign. She and her wife were among the first same-sex couples to receive a marriage license in D.C.

Sharon Lettman Hicks is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), which is a national civil rights organization dedicated to empowering black LGBT people. She comes to NBJC after eight years at People For the American Way (PFAW) Foundation, where her responsibilities included leading the "Homophobia in the Black Church" program and serving as the Executive Vice President for Leadership Programs and External Affairs. She has appeared on broadcast and in print media, nationally, including CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, Black Enterprise magazine, the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" and The Root.com. Mrs. Lettman-Hicks is the proud wife of a retired Iraqi War veteran who served in the United State Air Force, and they reside in Southern Maryland.


Tickets: $10; $8 for Schomburg Society Members. To purchase tickets, call (888) 718-4253 or visit www.showclix.com.