Hettie JonesThe Legacy Project is an interdisciplinary initiative that presents engaging lectures for students, faculty, staff, and members of the public. The events present an opportunity for audience members to learn important academic lessons outside the traditional classroom setting.

In fall 2013, the Legacy Project launched with a panel discussion on civil rights, featuring Theodora Smiley-Lacey, an activist and personal friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., among other speakers. In spring 2014, the team hosted lectures by Joyce Johnson and Hettie Jones, two important figures in the Beat Generation movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The following year was devoted to the issue of genocide. The four events included speakers on the Rwanda genocide, Holocaust and World War II, the Cambodia genocide, and the ongoing conflict between China and Tibet.

In fall 2015 and spring 2016, the Legacy Project remembered the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and covered the issue of prison reform. In fall 2016 and spring 2017, the programming was centered on Latin America and the unique contributions of immigrants to the United States. A highlight included a performance by Ballet Hispánico’s second company.

In fall 2017, the Legacy Project co-sponsored a talk by Kevin Hines, a suicide awareness speaker. In spring 2018, inaugural poet Richard Blanco and award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa visited the campus.

In fall 2018 and spring 2019, the Legacy Project focused on climate change, with lectures by Dr. Jason E. Smerdon, of Columbia University, and Corina Gamma, a documentarian, among other events. Another science-centered lecture was presented by Dr. Ian Tattersall, of the American Museum of Natural History.

The fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters will focus on the theme of “War, Peace, and Healing.”

Interested in joining the Legacy Project committee? Please email legacy@ccm.edu.