On Tuesday, April 18, Civil Rights activist and member of the Little Rock Nine Terrence James Roberts spoke at the 18th annual Blavatt Lecture. The lecture was held in Gettysburg College’s College Union Building Ballroom.
The title of Roberts’s presentation was, “The Fierce Urgency of Civil Rights for All.”
Roberts is one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
As a result of the subsequent closing of Little Rock’s high schools during the 1958-1959 school year, Roberts completed his senior year in Los Angeles, California, and continued his education at California State University, Los Angeles, where he graduated with a degree in sociology. He received his master’s degree in social welfare from the UCLA School of Social Welfare in 1970, and his Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 1976.
In addition to his work as a civil rights activist, Roberts has worked in academia and health care and has served as a board member for many philanthropic organizations. Currently, he is the principal of the management-consulting firm, Terrence Roberts Consulting.
The Blavatt Lecture is an annual lecture at Gettysburg College that invites individuals to speak whose professional experiences provide first-hand perspectives of the American political system. Past speakers have included influential members of Congress, well-known writers, accomplished authors, talented educators, noted researchers and leading political scientists.
Learn more about the Blavatt Lecture at The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College’s website.
