Globally influential speaker and long-time civil rights leader, Dr. Gerald Durley of Atlanta, Georgia, will stir the campus of the University of Kansas at two separate events, Friday, March 6.
Durley’s message, “Climate Change Is A Civil Rights Issue,” has people turning their heads, as many have not made the connection between the two globally systemic concerns.
“When your children suffer from asthma and cannot go outside to play, as is the case for many in Atlanta, it is a civil rights issue. When unprecedented weather disasters devastate the poorest neighborhoods in places like New Orleans, New Jersey, and New York, it is a civil rights issue,” said Durley. “When farmers in faraway lands cannot feed their families because the rains will no longer come, it is a civil rights issue,” he said.
Durley has spent the greater part of his retirement promoting a problem he believes can be solved. “I do not doubt that we will succeed in addressing climate change. After all, we have only scratched the surface when it comes to solutions such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, and preparedness. But our success rests on the willingness of all of us – all races, creeds, and walks of life – coming together with a single purpose,” said Durley.
Durley will give a 2 p.m. lecture at the KU Student Union in the Centennial Room, and will end the day at an evening round-table event at ECM at KU (1204 Oread Avenue) starting at 6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. The evening roundtable event has a theme of Christian and faith-based action and requires online registration.
Dr. Durley will sign and sell copies of his book “I’m Amazed” at both events at KU. Similar programming is scheduled for Wichita State University the previous day, March 5, 2015.