Events at Parmer Hall

2023 American Democracy Lecture. Keisha Blain: "Black Women & the Struggle for Human Rights in U.S. History. Date: October 26, 2023, Location: Parmer Hall, The Calvin and Janet High Center, Time: 7:00 pm, Cost: Free tickets are required for this event. To reserve, please contact the Messiah University Box Office at 717-691-6036 option #1 or online at messiah.edu/tickets. Lecture will be followed by a Q&A session, reception and book signing

2023 American Democracy Lecture
Keisha Blain: "Black Women & the Struggle for Human Rights in U.S. History

Keisha Blain, Ph.D., is professor of Africana studies and history at Brown University. She is a nationally respected scholar, historian and human rights advocate. A regular columnist for MSNBC, she has written for the public on education, housing discrimination, Juneteenth and the importance of recent movies, “Till” and “The Woman King.”

Blain is the author of several books including, “Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom” and “Until I am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America.” She served as president of the African American Intellectual History Society from 2017 to 2021 and has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including being a Guggenheim Fellow (2022) and a Carnegie Fellow (2022).

https://www.messiah.edu/homepage/2805/2016_american_democracy_lecture

2022 Annual American Democracy Lecture with Michael Dobbs, best-selling author and Washington Post foreign correspondent will lecture on "Defending Democracy: Lessons from History."

As a presidential crisis historian, best-selling author, and foreign correspondent for the Washington Post, Michael Dobbs had a front row seat to the collapse of Communism, covering landmark events such as the breakup of the Soviet Union, the rise of Solidarity in Poland, and the Tiananmen protests in China.

Dobbs has written six books on the Cold War and World War II, including the widely acclaimed One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War, on the Cuban missile crisis. His latest book, King Richard, Nixon and Watergate: An American Tragedy, was named New York
Times critics’ “Top Book of 2021.”

Keynote lecture of the 2024-25 High Center Season | Sponsored by the Office of the President

“How to Know a Person”

David Brooks is a bestselling author, op-ed columnist at the New York Times, and recurring commentator on “PBS NewsHour.” He has a gift for bringing readers and audiences alike face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight and quiet passion. He is a keen observer of the American way of life and a savvy analyst of present-day politics and foreign affairs whose columns are among the most-read in the nation. The author of six books with many bestsellers among them, Brooks seeks to further explore and explain humanity and the way we live with every addition to his critically acclaimed body of work. With intellectual curiosity and emotional wisdom, he underscores the value of community and the importance of nourishing both the inner self and the social self in our journeys to live fulfilling lives. His latest release, “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen,” debuted on the New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists and has maintained spots on both for many weeks. It was deemed both “a hands-on guide to making meaningful human connections” and “yet another inspirational roadmap to building strong moral character and achieving authentic self-actualization” by Kirkus. Brooks makes the case that at the center of any healthy and thriving business, organization, community or nation is the crucial skill of being able to see and value other people. Written to speak to audiences of all kinds, “How to Know a Person” is his attempt to repair America’s torn social fabric by giving us the tools we need to move beyond division and polarization and connect with others on an innately human level.

How to purchase tickets

Ticket prices are $25 for adults; $10 for Messiah University students (with ID) and youth (18 and under). Tickets go on sale starting Sept. 1, 2024; to order, contact the Messiah University Box Office at 717-791-6036 option #1 or online using our website. 

Purchase Tickets

Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, will speak on “Marriage and the Common Good: How the State of Our Union Depends Upon the State of Our Unions” on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in Parmer Hall.

The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing of Dr. Wilcox’s recent book Get Married (HarperCollins, 2024). This event is sponsored by the Messiah University Honors Program, the Department of Human Development and Family Science, and the American Enterprise Institute.

Come out to see live performances and participate in games with prizes.