NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2006

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

EDITOR’S NOTE: For a photo, please visit www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2006/09sept/rhcarter.html.


THE ‘HURRICANE’ TO TELL HIS STORY AT THE UH JENKINS DISTINGUISHED LECTURE

He’s been the subject of song and screen and now Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, former boxer and current civil-rights activist, brings his message of social justice to the University of Houston.

Carter will speak at the UH Graduate College of Social Work’s Jenkins Distinguished Lecture at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 4 in the Cullen Performance Hall. He’ll address “Justice and the Legal System: Where Do We Go from Here?”

The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available for $3 in parking lot 1A off of Calhoun or in the new UH Garage also off of Calhoun.

Carter’s boxing career began in 1961. Five years later, while preparing for a world championship match, Carter was arrested for a triple murder. He maintained his innocence, but was convicted and sentenced to three life terms, narrowly escaping the electric chair. In 1974, the state’s two key witnesses recanted their testimony, bringing international attention to Carter’s case. He became a civil-rights advocate and was immortalized in the Bob Dylan song, “Hurricane.” Later, he was the subject of a movie starring Denzel Washington. In 1974, Carter was tried and convicted again. However, In February 1988, the 22-year-old indictment was dismissed.

“It is our great privilege to host Rubin Carter at UH,” Ira Colby, professor and dean of the GCSW, said. “He personifies the mission of the college—economic and social justice for all.”

The Jenkins Distinguished Lecture was inaugurated in 2001 with a generous gift from GCSW alumna Margie Jenkins and her husband Bob. Other speakers have included Jody Williams, Nobel Laureate, and former NAACP President Benjamin Hooks debating Linda Chavez on the issue of affirmative action.

For more information on the UH Graduate College of Social Work, please visit www.sw.uh.edu/.

WHAT: UH Graduate College of Social Work Jenkins Distinguished Lecture
Featuring Rubin “Hurricane” Carter
WHEN: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 4,
WHERE: Cullen Performance Hall
For directions and parking information, please visit www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/A.html.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.