Release

Dr. Alvin Poussaint to Speak at Luncheon as UAlbany Celebrates Black History Month

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 2, 2005) - Dr. Alvin Poussaint, professor of psychiatry and faculty associate dean for Student Affairs at Harvard Medical School, will be the keynote speaker at the 26th Annual Martin Luther King/African Heritage Month luncheon at the University at Albany. The event will be held on Thursday, Feb. 10 at noon in the Campus Center Ballroom on the UAlbany uptown campus. It is free and open to the public.

Poussaint, who is also director of the Media Center of the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston, was a script consultant to NBC's "The Cosby Show" and continues to consult to the media as an advocate of more responsible programming. An expert on race relations in America and the dynamics of prejudice, he is co-author of Lay My Burden Down, 2000. He has written dozens of articles and believes that extreme (violent) racists suffer from a delusional mental illness.

Poussaint, born in East Harlem, received his M.D. from Cornell University in 1960. He completed his postgraduate training at UCLA, where he served as chief resident in psychiatry and pursued research in psychopharmacology. From 1965 to 1967 he was Southern Field Director of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Mississippi, providing medical care to civil rights workers and aiding in the desegregation of health facilities throughout the south. He joined Harvard University in 1969.

Former distinguished keynote speakers at the Martin Luther King Luncheon include Julian Bond, James Farmer and Randall Robinson.

Other speakers will present lectures throughout the month to help the University celebrate Black History Month. They are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 1:30 p.m. in Humanities 039

Michael Hurt, sire archon for Sigma Pi Phi fraternity, will discuss "Eminent Black Leaders."

Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 1:30 p.m. in Humanities 039

Kenneth Braswell, an Albany community leader and former editor of Urban Voices newspaper, will give a lecture on "Community Service: A Moral Imperative."

Sunday, Feb. 20, at 9:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany

Roberta Hall Slade, adjunct lecturer of music at Hudson Valley Community College will lecture on "Eminent Black Musicians."

Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 1:30 p.m. in Humanities 039

Tanisha Mallett, reporter for WTEN-TV, will discuss "Diversity in the Media."