LU Brings in Heavyweight for Commencement!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT MISTY YOUNG

(573) 681-6032

November 15, 2011

TONYA LEWIS LEE TO SERVE AS COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

Jefferson City, MO- Tonya Lewis Lee will serve as the keynote speaker during Lincoln University’s December 2011 Commencement, scheduled for Saturday, December 10, at 10:00 a.m. in Jason Gymnasium.

Lewis Lee is founder of multimedia company, Madstone Company, Inc, which has produced children’s programming for the Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite networks. Her works have featured artists including Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah. Lewis Lee is also a children’s author, having collaborated with her husband, Hollywood director Spike Lee, on three books that were published by Madstone Company, Inc. She has made numerous radio and television appearances and been featured in or written articles for several national publications including The New York Times, O, Ebony and Redbook.

An advocate for children, Lewis Lee has produced the documentary, “Crisis in the Crib: Saving our Nation’s Babies,” and is a spokesperson for the infant mortality awareness campaign, “A Healthy Baby Begins with You.” Her work has earned her national recognition, including being named by Essence magazine as one of 2011’s most influential African American women in the United States.

Tonya Lewis Lee is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, and holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia. She serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She lives in New York City with her husband and their teenage children.

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Sign the Stand for Freedom Petition today and ask a friend to do the same.

Dear Friends, If Charles and David Koch have their way, millions of eligible  Americans won't be able to cast a vote in 2012. In recent years, the billionaire political operatives have used  their vast fortunes to finance the drafting, promoting and  introduction of model bills restricting people's ability to  vote, and so far legislatures in 38 states have introduced  Koch Brothers-supported legislation. All told, this is the most  aggressive and widespread attack on the right to vote since the  voting rights restrictions that paved the way for segregation. This week, Brave New Films debuts a new video shining the  spotlight on the Koch Brothers and their role in the voting rights  attacks. "Koch Brothers Exposed" is a call to action for all Americans  concerned about protecting this most fundamental of rights. Watch the video and then sign the Stand for Freedom pledge  today to fight back: http://action.naacp.org/voting-rights-video The voter suppression laws take many forms: prohibitive  voter registration requirements, sharply reduced early  voting periods, government-issued photo ID requirements, and  discriminatory laws that disproportionately deny voting rights  to people with felony convictions. As I note in the video, these attacks on voting rights are only  the beginning. The reason that you take away somebody's right  to vote is so that you can take away the rest of their rights. Everything we care about is at stake: the right to equal opportunity,  the right for every child to attend a quality school, for clean water  to drink and clean air to breathe, and basic protection of civil and  human rights.The NAACP is organizing aggressively to stop these  rollbacks. On December 10th, International Human Rights Day,  we will organize a series of rallies and events around the country.  In New York City, we will begin our march at a demonstration  outside the Koch brothers' offices, and continue on to a rally at the  United Nations Building. Please join the resistance against these fundamental attacks  on human rights. Click the link to watch this new video from  Brave New films, then sign the Stand for Freedom petition  today and share it with your friends, colleagues and family  members: http://action.naacp.org/voting-rights-video The NAACP has never stood on the sidelines when the extremists  of any era attacked the voting right of Americans. We will fight the  Koch brothers and their ilk, and with your help, we will prevail. Standing for Freedom, BenBenjamin Todd Jealous President and CEO NAACP