Award-winning journalist Michele Norris, who has written about race from both a national and personal perspective, will present a talk, “The Grace of Silence and the Power of Words,” on Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons.
Norris, a former National Public Radio host and correspondent who also has worked for ABC News, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, has interviewed world leaders, distinguished artists and influential newsmakers–as well as working parents facing the challenge of finding child care–in a style praised as relaxed and rigorous.
Following the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008, Norris set out to study Americans’ thoughts and attitudes about race. Instead, she wound up looking into her own background, examining long-hidden family secrets that raised questions about her racial legacy and underscored America’s long, complicated racial history. The result was her widely praised 2010 book Grace of Silence: A Family Memoir.
Inspired by the experience of writing Grace of Silence, Norris created The Race Card Project, a blog that aims to foster a wider conversation about race in America. The Race Card Project was selected for the 2014 George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in journalism–another prestigious honor for Norris, who also has earned Emmy, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University and National Association of Black Journalists awards.
The event is sponsored by the division of Student Affairs and the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs. For information, e-mail bcsa@bc.edu or call ext. 2–8600.
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