LANSING – Award-winning actor, best-selling author and philanthropist Hill Harper will serve
as keynote speaker for the Lansing Branch NAACP 56th Freedom Fund Celebration airing at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22nd on WLNS-TV 6. Young civil rights activist Tybre Faw, 14, will be a special guest speaker during the televised event themed Venture out to Equity: When We Vote, We Win.
Harper currently stars as Dr. Marcus Andrews on TV’s #1 new drama The Good Doctor on ABC. Additionally, Harper headlines HLN’s How It Really Happened with Hill Harper and stars in the just released podcast Legal Wars. Harper, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., has earned seven NAACP Image Awards for his writing and acting and is a 4-time New York Times best-selling author for his books: Letters to a Young Brother (named “Best Book for Young Adults” by the American Library Association), Letters to a Young Sister, The Conversation, and The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in its Place. Harper’s most recent book is the groundbreaking Letters to an Incarcerated Brother. Harper founded The Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering, encouraging, and inspiring underserved youth to succeed through education, mentorship, and grant programs.
Hill Harper graduated magna cum laude as valedictorian of his department with a Bachelor’s
Degree from Brown University and cum laude with a Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School. He also holds a Master’s Degree with honors from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and holds Honorary Doctoral Degrees from seven universities.
At just 10 years old, Faw met and befriended his hero, the late Congressman John Lewis. The two protested and marched together. Faw has authored two books: A Year of Firsts chronicles his journey into civil rights and his second book, Chosen relates events leading up to and meeting Congressman John Lewis.
In addition to Oct. 22nd, the celebration also will air at 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 24th on WLAJ-TV 53 (ABC), noon on Tuesday, Oct. 25th on ELAJ (CW-5) and it will livestream on the WLNS Facebook page at facebook.com/WLNSTV.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation.
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