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Award-Winning Author, Professor Samuel Freedman to Discuss the Influence of LSU, Louisiana on Hubert Humphrey's Views of Civil Rights

BATON ROUGE--The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at LSU's Manship School of Mass Communication will host "The Hubert Humphrey Legacy: A Conversation Between Robert Mann and Samuel Freedman." This event will take place on Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. CT. in the Holliday Forum of the LSU Journalism Building.

October 6, 2023

BATON ROUGE—The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication will host “The Hubert Humphrey Legacy: A Conversation Between Robert Mann and Samuel Freedman.” This event will take place on Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. CT. in the Holliday Forum of the LSU Journalism Building.

The event will shed light on former Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s time as an LSU graduate student in the early 1940s and how it shaped his views on civil rights. Columbia University professor Samuel Freedman and Manship School professor Robert Mann will discuss Humphrey’s experiences of Louisiana’s challenging racial climate during the Jim Crow era.

“We are honored to have Professor Freedman at the Manship School,” said Reilly Center Director Jenée Slocum. “We look forward to learning about the impact LSU had on Hubert Humphrey’s legacy.”

Mann and Freedman will examine the parallels between their research, drawing connections between Freedman’s book “Into the Bright Sunshine” and Mann’s “When Freedom Would Triumph,” where Humphrey is a pivotal figure.

“No year in Hubert Humphrey's life was more important than the one he spent in graduate school at LSU, and I'm both thrilled and honored to tell that story in the very place where it occurred,” said Freedman.

"Not everyone knows that Humphrey attended LSU, and this event is a great opportunity to talk about it and the impact the South had on him," said Mann.

The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. in the Holliday Forum of the Manship School’s Journalism Building at 144 Field House Drive on the campus of Louisiana State University. Admission is free and open to the public, but you must reserve your seat via Eventbrite. The event will also be livestreamed on the Manship School’s YouTube channel.

Parking meters are located in the West Stadium lot and the Union Square Garage, which can be accessed from East Campus Drive. Visitor parking is available on the second, third and fourth floors of the garage for $1.50 per hour. 

For more information, contact acharbonnet1@lsu.edu.

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Samuel Freedman is an award-winning author, columnist and professor. A former columnist for The New York Times and a professor at Columbia University, he is the author of the 10 acclaimed books, including the newly-released “Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights.” Jon Meacham hailed the book as “a compelling and important account of Humphrey’s critical role in the freedom struggles of the mid-20th century.”

Robert Mann, who holds the Manship Chair in Journalism at the Manship School, is a prolific author and journalist with a long career in political communication. Prior to joining the Manship School in 2006, he served as communications director to the late former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. He joined the governor’s staff in 2004 after serving 17 years as state director and press secretary to former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux. Mann was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame in 2015.

The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs is partnership-driven, action-oriented and dedicated to exploring contemporary issues at the intersection of mass communication and public life. Its interdisciplinary approach draws together experts from diverse fields to advance research and dialogue. The intent is to inspire our communities to think deeply, take action, develop solutions and broaden knowledge. Underlying the Center’s endeavors is to strengthen and advance the Manship School’s national and state leadership in media and politics. Follow us on Facebook @ReillyCenter, Twitter @ReillyCenter, Instagram @lsureillycenter and LinkedIn LSU Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs.

LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the strongest collegiate communication programs in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law, along with four graduate degree programs: Master of Mass Communication, Ph.D. in Media and Public Affairs, Certificate of Strategic Communication and a dual MMC/Law degree. Like us on Facebook @ManshipSchool, or follow us on Twitter @ManshipSchool, Instagram @ManshipSchool and LinkedIn LSU Manship School of Mass Communication.

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