Last Updated on January 13, 2020 by cassnetwork
KOKOMO, Ind. – Jan. 16 is the deadline to reserve tickets to Ivy Tech Community College’s annual “Doing the Dream” banquet featuring award-winning actor and best-selling author Hill Harper as keynote speaker.
The banquet is set to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at Bel Air Events, 3014 S. Webster St. It’s part of Ivy Tech Kokomo’s 16th annual “Doing the Dream” programs honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Harper, who currently stars in ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” will be drawing from his latest book, “Letters to an Incarcerated Brother,” which, he has said, he wrote “to offer encouragement, hope, and healing for inmates and their loved ones.” Citing disturbing statistics on African-American incarceration (one in six black men were incarcerated as of 2001, and one in three can now expect to go to prison some time in their lifetimes), Harper set out to address the specific needs of inmates in the book – a narrative he will share with his audience in Kokomo.
Harper is also known as philanthropist, having founded the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, a non-profit committed to providing underserved youth a path to empowerment and educational excellence through support and mentoring. His academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University; a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School; and a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Reservations for the banquet must be made by Jan. 16. Tickets are $50 for the dinner and presentation and can be reserved by going to ivytech.edu/doingthedream or calling 765-252-5500.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) is serving as lead sponsor to support participation by a noted speaker for the “Doing the Dream” celebration. The Community Foundation of Howard County and the Northern Indiana Community Foundation are providing transportation funds to support participation by area high school students in a student convocation scheduled for Jan. 24.
Copies of Harper’s books are available for purchase at Beyond Barcodes Bookstore at 108 N. Main St. in Kokomo. The Kokomo-Howard County Public Library has a number of Harper’s works, including books, audio books, and DVDs, available for residents with library cards.
SOURCE: News release from Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo