Marvin Rees CTR Event Name TBC

Martin Luther King: His Enduring Relevance

Streaming + Live stream

Please note: This event took place in Jan 2021

The new documentary MLK/FBI is a timely reminder not only of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's immense impact and legacy but of the wider relationship between the US Government and his social and political activism. The film’s particular focus is on Dr King’s targeting and harassment by the FBI who considered him to be a dangerous threat to the USA and throws a sharp spotlight on the relationship between state and citizen which resonates significantly with these current troubled times.

Please join us for a discussion with Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees and author and commentator on U.S. politics Roger Griffith chaired by Sharmaine Lovegrove (publisher of Dialogue Books) to explore King’s legacy, the inspiration he still generates and the continuing relevance of one of the great social reformers of the 20th century.

This event will have full British Sign Language (BSL) translation.

Presented in partnership with Come The Revolution.

Speaker biographies:

Marvin Rees was elected mayor in May 2016. On that day Bristol became the first major European city to have elected a mayor of black African heritage. He describes becoming mayor as another expression of a deeper commitment to building a fairer, more inclusive world. Marvin stepped into the political world having graduated from Operation Black Vote and Labour Future Candidate programmes. It was there he found open doors where previously there appeared to be none. He was also challenged that the most vulnerable needed people to move beyond merely pointing the failures of world’s political leadership, and take the risk of stepping up to try do something to fix it.

Roger Griffith MBE is a consultant and CEO of his company Creative Connex. He is a writer and social activist, lecturer for UWE Bristol, broadcaster and former CEO/Chair of Ujima Radio an award-winning community radio station. He is also a Creative Producer and sits on the Arts Council England South-West board. He has a passion for sharing cultural stories, global observations and insights on race, inclusivity and social inequality and has been delivering race equality training for over 30 years.

Sharmaine Lovegrove is the Publisher of Dialogue Books, an inclusive imprint, part of Little, Brown Book Group and Hachette UK. Dialogue Books is a home for a variety of stories from illuminating voices often missing from the mainstream. Sharmaine was the recipient of the Future Book Publishing Person of the Year 2018 and is inspired by innovative storytelling, and has worked in public relations, bookselling, events management and TV scouting. She was the literary editor of ELLE and set up her own bookshop and creative agency when living in Berlin. Sharmaine serves on the boards of The Black Cultural Archives and Watershed and is a founding organiser of The Black Writers Guild. Home is London, she lives in Berlin and her roots are Jamaican - Sharmaine is proud to be part of the African diaspora and books make her feel part of the world.


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