Feb. 12, 2009

Journalist Jim Kershner to Present Lecture on Prominent Local Civil Rights Activist

Who: Jim Kershner, columnist and staff writer at the Spokesman-Review

What: A lecture, "Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life"

When: Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall at Whitworth University

Cost: Free admission. For more information, please call (509) 777-3275.

Jim Kershner is a journalist, author and historian. His lecture at Whitworth will draw from his new biography, Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life. The lecture is part of Whitworth's celebration of Black History Month.

Carl Maxey fought and overcame daunting obstacles throughout his life. He became an orphan at age five and was sent to the Spokane Children's Home. At age 12, the orphanage kicked him out, along with the only other "colored" child at the facility. With no place left to go, they ended up at the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center. Despite such a difficult childhood, Maxey went on to break numerous racial barriers. He became an NCAA boxing champion for Gonzaga University, an Army medic during World War II, the first African-American in Spokane to pass the bar exam, a Freedom Summer participant with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the defense attorney for several history-making civil rights cases in the Inland Northwest.

Kershner says he decided to write a book chronicling Maxey's life because "his story was so remarkable and compelling, I knew that it needed to be told." He adds, "It was a story that had a lot to say about Spokane, about race relations, and about America. I was afraid the story would be lost if I didn't tell it."

Kershner, a native of Denver, Colo., received a B.A. in history from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., in 1975. Since then, his journalism career has spanned two states and three newspapers, including the Spokesman-Review, where he has worked since 1989. In addition, he is a contributing writer for several magazines and a staff historian for HistoryLink.org, a free online encyclopedia of Washington state history.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,600 students, offers 53 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Jim Kershner, author of Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life and staff writer for the Spokesman-Review, (509) 459-5493 or jimk@spokesman.com.

Michelle Pace, program coordinator, Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3275 or mpace@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.