CNN host Don Lemon and civil rights pioneer and Xavier University President Emeritus Norman Francis will join the LSU community in exploring the events of Baton Rouge’s tumultuous summer during the LSU Presidential Symposium taking place on Oct. 3-4.
Called a “Moment of a Movement: A National Dialogue on Identity, Empowerment and Justice for All,” the symposium will explore journalism’s role in social justice, community relations, and the business community’s role in community-building.
It also will feature a discussion by Paul Taylor, senior fellow and former executive vice president at the Pew Research Center, on America’s changing demographics. Francis will deliver the keynote address.
The discussions will take place in various locations across the LSU campus. The symposium is free and open to the public. As part of the symposium, LSU also is holding a mock presidential election for its students this week until Sunday, Oct. 2. The results will be announced at the final event on Oct. 4.
The symposium comes on the heels of Baton Rouge’s tumultuous summer—the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police, the ambush killing of law enforcement officers and the protests and tensions rising from both events.
Lemon will host one of the symposium’s signature events called “A Moment” from 5-6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Dalton Woods Auditorium at the Energy, Coast & Environment Building.
Lemon will provide an examination of summer 2016 in Baton Rouge through the lens of media. He’ll also interview prominent community leaders, including the Rev. Raymond Jetson and Michael Victorian, president of 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge.
