BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Twice each week\, millions of newspaper readers seek out the rich\, uncommonly resonant voice of Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leo nard Pitts Jr. And countless others have devoured his critically acclaim ed books\, including his most recent\, the 2012 novel titled &ldquo\;Fre eman.&rdquo\;\nOn Wednesday\, Nov. 28\, members of the public are invite d to spend an evening with Pitts as part of the President&rsquo\;s Disti nguished Speakers Series at Roger Williams University.\nIn a presentatio n titled &ldquo\;After Race\,&rdquo\; Pitts will share his ideas on the history\, and the future\, of race in America. Race is a concept ephemer al in nature\, he says\, yet one that has formed the basis for this coun try&rsquo\;s history\, so much of it awful. The conversation at Roger Wi lliams will examine what that portends in an America that is now undergo ing profound demographic change.\n&ldquo\;I have followed Mr. Pitts&rsqu o\; columns for many years and have always been impressed not only with his writing\, but also with his perspectives and how he frames them\,&rd quo\; says RWU President Donald J. Farish. &ldquo\;Speaking for our stud ents and faculty in journalism and creative writing\, and for all of us on campus\, we are grateful for the opportunity to welcome a Pulitzer Pr ize winner and exceptional author to Roger Williams.&rdquo\;\nPitts is a Miami Herald columnist who has worked for more than 36 years as a write r\, college professor\, radio producer and a lecturer. Nowhere was his c onnection with readers demonstrated more forcefully than in the reaction to his column\, &ldquo\;We&rsquo\;ll Go Forward From This Moment\,&rdqu o\; on the Sept. 11\, 2001\, attacks &ndash\; an angry\, defiant respons e to the terrorists still widely quoted more than a decade later.\nIn 20 09\, he published two books that propelled him into a career as a noveli st. After the debut of his collection of newspaper columns\, &ldquo\;For ward From This Moment\,&rdquo\; Tavis Smiley of PBS called Pitts &ldquo\ ;the most insightful and inspiring columnist of his generation.&rdquo\; Later that year\, Pitts published his first novel\, &ldquo\;Before I For get\,&rdquo\; which Publisher&rsquo\;s Weekly called a &ldquo\;a rare\, memorable debut.&rdquo\;\nRace is a topic that Pitts has explored freely \, both through his newspaper commentary and in &ldquo\;Freeman\,&rdquo\ ; which tells the tale of a runaway slave in the months following the Co nfederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Like much of Pitts&rsquo\; work\, the book was widely praised &ndash\; PBS journal ist Gwen Ifill called it &ldquo\;a story of love and redemption which ch allenges everything we thought we knew about how our nation dealt with i ts most stubborn stain\,&rdquo\; \;and author and journalist Herb Bo yd described it as &ldquo\;a beguiling\, cinematic love story.&rdquo\;&n bsp\;\nPitts&rsquo\; lifelong devotion to writing has yielded critical a cclaim and stellar results\, chief among them the 2004 Pulitzer Prize fo r commentary. He is a three-time recipient of the Award of Excellence fr om the National Association of Black Journalists and a seven-time recipi ent of the Society of Professional Journalists&rsquo\; Green Eyeshade Aw ard\, among other accolades.\nThe Nov. 28 presentation will take place i n the Campus Recreation Center on the University&rsquo\;s Bristol campus at One Old Ferry Road. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the event will begin at 7:30 p.m. A book signing with the author will immediately follow the pr esentation.\nThe event is free and open to the public\; no advance ticke ts are required. For more information\, call (401) 254-3154.\nThe Presid ent&rsquo\;s Distinguished Speakers Series at Roger Williams University launched in October 2011 and to date has welcomed two guests &ndash\; am bassador\, activist and public servant Andrew Young and science writer a nd bestselling author Dava Sobel &ndash\; to campus. The series invites thought leaders from a wide range of disciplines to share perspectives\, inspire conversations and enrich the intellectual lives of students\, f aculty and staff at Roger Williams as well as members of the local commu nity.\nAs part of the series\, each guest is invited to devote much of t he daylong visit to direct engagement with students in classroom session s\, offering RWU students unique opportunities for one-on-one interactio ns with some of the world&rsquo\;s leading authors\, scholars\, artists and public servants. URL:http://bristol-warren.patch.com/events/pulitzer-prize-winning-columni st-leonard-pitts-jr-to-speak-at-roger-williams-university SUMMARY:Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. to Speak at Ro ger Williams University LOCATION:Roger Williams University: 1 Old Ferry Rd\, Bristol\, RI END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR