Fred Morrsell

            Keynote speaker Fred Morrsell, will present "The Last Word on Race" during Clarion University's 2009 Equity Week, which celebrates the 10^th Anniversary of Clarion University's Frederick Douglass Program. The events also include a roundtable discussion and the Equity Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

            Morrsell lecture is Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. in Hart Chapel. His presentation and all other Equity Week events are free an open to the public, but reservations are needed for the annual dinner.

Clarion University's Frederick Douglass Program, Martin Luther King Jr. Speaker Series Committee, and the Office of Social Equity are sponsoring Morrsell's presentation.              

Morsell's professional acting career spans more than 38 years. Acclaimed across the United States for his portrayal of Frederick Douglass, Morsell performed at many of the nation's Frederick Douglass centennial celebrations. Morrsell began working on Frederick Douglass in the Fall of 1984, when a black clergyman friend asked him to help develop alternative programs for inner city youth which would help them to find a sense of self-respect and belief in themselves, as an antidote to the frustrations of drugs and hopelessness in which they were living. Since 1984, Morrsell has become a scholar on the life and times of Frederick Douglass.

He has been an actor, director and teacher with the Terry Schreiber Studio in New York City since 1970. He is a graduate of Dickinson College and holds a master's degree in theatre arts from Wayne State University.

At 11:30 a.m. in Eagle Commons, also on Nov. 10, the Frederick Douglass Committee and the Office of Social Equity will host a roundtable consisting of five panelists who will present research papers that are relevant to the topic of race and gender. The roundtable will include faculty, Frederick Douglass scholars, staff and students. Professors may bring their classes. Lunch will be served.

The Equity Dinner and Awards Ceremony hosted by Student Senate and the Office of Social Equity will be held Nov. 11, in the Gemmell Student Complex Multi-Purpose Room, at 7 p.m. Seating is limited to 300 and reservations must be made by Nov. 6. For more information and

Florence Shuster Reynolds

 reservations contact the office of social equity at rgraham@clarion.edu or (814) 393-2109.

The Equity Dinner guest speaker is Florence Shuster Reynolds, a Women's Air Force Service Pilot (WASP) in World War II, and who waited 65 years to be recognized by the United States government.

In 1943, WASP, a select group of young women pilots, became the first women in history trained to fly American military aircraft. WASP was never militarized, and those who served were considered civil service employers. In 1977, the same year the Air Force graduated its first post WASP women pilots, the U.S. Congress granted veteran status to those who had served as WASP. In 1979, congress issued official honorable discharges to the veterans.

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