UA Social Work Colloquium to Feature Southern Poverty Law Center Speaker

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Lecia J. Brooks, director of outreach for the Southern Poverty Law Center, will be the featured speaker for the School of Social Work’s annual Dr. Ethel H. Hall African-American Heritage Month Program Feb. 11 at noon in Little Hall, room 223, on The University of Alabama campus.

Brooks will speak on “Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, Seeking Justice: The Southern Poverty Law Center.”  The event, sponsored by UA’s School of Social Work Board of Friends, is free and open to the public.

This program is part of “Through the Doors,” a year-long series of activities and events commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the desegregation of UA in 1963 and honoring the courage and dedication of the two African-American students who enrolled in the University on June 11, 1963 as well as the University’s ongoing commitment to change over the past 50 years and its commitment to continued progress in the future.

Brooks leads the Center’s outreach efforts on key initiatives and social justice issues nationwide, giving presentations promoting tolerance and diversity. Additionally, she serves as director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, an interpretive center designed to provide visitors to the Civil Rights Memorial with a deeper understanding of the civil rights movement. Prior to joining the SPLC, Brooks worked for the National Conference for Community and Justice in Los Angeles.

She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.

For more information about this event, contact Vickie Whitfield in the School of Social Work at vwhitfie@sw.ua.edu or 205/348-3942.