Rice historian available to discuss 50th anniversary of March on Washington, MLK speech

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Rice historian available to discuss 50th anniversary of March on Washington, MLK speech

HOUSTON – (Aug. 22, 2013) – Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley is available to discuss the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s groundbreaking “I Have a Dream” speech.

The march, which drew 250,000 people to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 1963, will be recognized with two gatherings: a march on the National Mall this Saturday and a second march that will culminate with President Barack Obama speaking at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary date, Aug. 28.

Brinkley, who is a professor of history and fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, can talk about the impact the march and King’s speech had on race relations and the civil rights movement.

Brinkley is the history commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine. Last year, Brinkley interviewed Obama in the Oval Office for his third cover story for Rolling Stone magazine.

Brinkley’s books on presidents, among others, include “The Reagan Diaries,” “The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America” and “The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House.”

Brinkley is available through Wednesday. To schedule an interview with Brinkley, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations, at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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This news release can be found online at https://news2.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Brinkley biography: http://www.bakerinstitute.org/personnel/fellows-scholars/dbrinkley.

Photo courtesy: Rice University’s Baker Institute

MLK photo courtesy: Public domain/U.S. Department of State

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