IWF to Host 'About Our Children...' Featuring Bill Cosby; A Live Event
Moderated By Michelle D. Bernard, Sunday September 20, 2009
Live Town Hall Meeting to Focus on the Faces of Poverty and Education as a
Pathway to Achieving the American Dream Live from Howard University
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Independent Women's Forum
will host "About Our Children..." a live event featuring Bill Cosby, and
moderated by IWF president and CEO and MSNBC political analyst Michelle D.
Bernard, on Sunday, Sept. 20, 7-9 p.m ET. Live from Howard University's Ira
Aldridge Theater and telecast on MSNBC, Cosby and several panelists will
discuss poverty in America, focusing on the parenting, education, and health
issues facing the poor in the United States.
Panelists include:
Dr. Daniel Amen, founder of the Amen Clinics; Derrell Bradford, deputy
director of Excellence in Education for Everyone; Ben Austin, executive
director of the Los Angeles based Parents Union; Dr. Ben Chavis, former
principal of American Indian Public Charter School and author of the soon to
be released book "Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner
City;" Dr. Alvin Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School;
Paul Rodriguez, actor and civic and education activist, and Randi Weingarten,
former president of the United Federation of Teachers.
"We have said it before and we will say it again: education is key for poor
people..."
- Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint
"'About Our Children...' is about the future of all of America's children and
their shot at truly achieving the American dream. This program will challenge
us individually and collectively to talk openly and honestly about what ails
our children and then act on what we already know can be done to help our
great nation's children achieve their dreams."
- Michelle D. Bernard
Questions for Bill Cosby and the other panelists will be taken in advance and
during the event via Email, YouTube, Twitter, FaceBook and MySpace.
This event is free and open to the public. For ticket information please
contact Howard University's Box Office at 202-806-7194.
If you are a member of the media, please contact Kate Pomeroy at 202-361-6704
or kate.pomeroy@iwf.org.
Dr. Bill Cosby is one of the most influential performers in the last half
century. Coming from a poor Philadelphia neighborhood, he rose to reshape the
nation's airwaves through shows like I Spy and The Cosby Show. He became one
of the most successful storytellers on record, and authored several
blockbuster books, including Fatherhood, the fastest-selling hardcover book of
all time, which spent 54 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Bill
Cosby, in his work as an entertainer, has always communicated philosophies
that help people see their human commonalities.
[url=http://www.iwf.org/board/]Michelle D. Bernard is the president and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum,
a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and educational institution, and
Independent Women's Voice.[/url] Bernard is a MSNBC political analyst and a regular
panelist on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as a columnist with
The Washington Examiner. Bernard is the author of Women's Progress: How Women
Are Wealthier, Healthier and More Independent Than Ever Before (Spence
Publishing) and a contributing author to the National Urban League's State of
Black America (2009) and Lifetime Networks' Secrets of Powerful Women: 25
Successful American Politicians Tell How They Got Where They Are and What It's
Like (Hyperion Books/February 2010).