Oscar-winning songwriter, hip-hop artist and actor Common will headline Loyola Marymount University’s First Amendment Week celebration as a keynote speaker on Tues., Feb. 24, at 6 p.m.
The winner of a 2015 Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for the song “Glory”, which he co-wrote with singer/songwriter John Legend for this year’s Best Picture nominee, “Selma”, Common will discuss the role First Amendment rights have played in his personal and professional life and how college-aged students can make the most of the right to free expression.
Common is the founder of the Common Ground Foundation, a non-profit organization offering programs dedicated to developing leadership, civil engagement, and creative expression in young people. He is also a supporter HIV/AIDs awareness and animal rights.
The second keynote speaker for First Amendment Week is Eboo Patel, one of the country’s foremost experts on interfaith cooperation, who will speak on Weds., Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
Patel will explore the state of religious pluralism in the 21st century.
“We live in a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong,” says Patel. To overcome them, we must do more than simply stand next to one another in silence.”
The goal of LMU’s First Amendment Week is to raise awareness in the campus community about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the freedoms it provides and the actions it protects.
First Amendment Week is presented by Los Angeles Loyolan newspaper and co-sponsored by Associated Students of Loyola Marymount University. This event is open only to LMU students, faculty and staff and requires a valid LMU OneCard, which will be checked at the door.
