SHUSTERMAN DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR LECTURE:
Representative Emanuel Celler
A Half Century of Progressive Jewish Leadership in Congress
Representative Emanuel Celler:
A Half Century of Progressive Jewish Leadership in Congress
Wayne Dawkins, Morgan State University
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
7:30 pm ET
Zoom
Emanuel Celler, a significant player of the 1945-1975 American century, put civil rights on the table with 1957 and 1960 bills setting up the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Celler watched LBJ sign into law his signature achievement, the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, ending 40 years of “national origins” policy.
Longtime House Judiciary Committee chairman Celler is co-author of three Constitutional Amendments, including the 25th Amendment regarding presidential succession. Celler [1888-1981] has been a frequent supporting character in the American drama, but now as subject of a new biography by Wayne Dawkins, he takes a bow as lead actor.
Free program
About Wayne Dawkins
Wayne Dawkins, is professor of professional practice at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Previously he was an assistant, then associate, and then professor at Hampton University in Virginia. Dawkins’ “Emanuel Celler: Immigration and Civil Rights Champion” was published last October … In 2012, Dawkins wrote the biography “City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn.” Both books were published by University Press of Mississippi. Dawkins is also author of two books about the National Association of Black Journalists. He was 2016 American Journalism Historians Association educator of the year … and has earned three alumni awards from Columbia University, including the Dean’s Medal for Public Service.
Dawkins had a 24-year career at Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune newspapers in New York, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. He was online editor of radio mogul Tom Joyner’s BlackAmericaWeb.com … From toddler to adulthood, Dawkins grew up in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, six blocks from Emanuel Celler’s childhood home, and eight blocks in the other direction from the iconic high school Celler attended. Dawkins is a son of immigrants from Jamaica and Panama. He is a husband, father of one daughter, and two grandchildren.