Syndicated Columnist, Social Activist to speak at CLU

California Lutheran University will host Star Parker, a best-selling author, syndicated columnist and social activist, on Monday, Sept. 18, at 10 a.m. in Samuelson Chapel. Sponsored by the Artists and Speakers Series, Parker’s lecture will focus on her progress from being on welfare to becoming empowered.

Parker is the founder and President of CURE, the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education, a 501c3 nonprofit think tank that provides a national voice on issues of race and poverty, inner city neighborhoods and public policy.

As a social policy consultant, Parker has given testimony before the U.S. Congress and is a regular commentator on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. She has debated Jesse Jackson on BET, fought for school choice on “Larry King Live” and defended welfare reform on the “Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Prior to becoming a social activist, Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles. After becoming a Christian, she returned to college, received a degree in marketing and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith and market-based alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.

The best-selling author’s latest book is White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay. She is also a syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard News Service, offering weekly Op-Eds to more than 400 newspapers worldwide.

A freewill offering will be accepted. For more information, please call (805) 493-3151 or visit www.callutheran.edu