Westminster Town Hall Forum

Andrew Zimmern is a chef, food writer, teacher, and television host. As creator, executive producer, and host of the popular series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, he travels the globe, exploring the ways that food shapes and reflects the lives and culture of people around the world. He is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson College's Lewis Institute and serves on the board of directors for Services for the Underserved in New York City and The National Youth Recovery Foundation. He is honorary chair of Minnesota FoodShare's annual campaign to raise awareness of the food needs of people throughout the state.

Frances Moore Lappe directs the Center for Living Democracy in Brattleboro, Vermont, with her husband Paul Martin Du Bois. They are also co-authors of the book The Quickening of America: Rebuilding Our Nation, Remaking Our Lives. In 1971, Ms. Lappe awakened an entire generation to the human-made causes of hunger in her book Diet for a Small Planet, a bestseller that has sold more than three million copies. In 1975, she co-founded the Institute for Food and Development Policy, described by The New York Times as one of the nation's "most respected food think tanks." She has received numerous awards for her work, including ten honorary doctoral degrees. Her eleven books have been translated into 22 languages and used in a broad array of courses in hundreds of U.S. colleges and universities.

John O'Sullivan has served as editor of The National Review since 1988, the most important conservative journal of the post-World War II era. His previous posts have included Special Advisor to the British Prime Minister, associate editor of the London Times, assistant editor of the London Daily Telegraph, and editor of Policy Review. He has published articles in Encounter, Commentary, Policy Review, The New York Times, The American Spectator and The London Spectator. He lectures on British and American politics and serves on the executive advisory board of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Born in Great Britain, he was educated at London University and stood for Parliament as a Conservative in the 1970 general election.

Gordon Parks is a photographer, writer, poet, filmmaker, and composer. In 1949, he joined the staff of Life magazine where he worked as a photojournalist for twenty years, completing over 300 assignments and articles on a broad range of subjects. His career in film began in 1961 when he wrote and directed a documentary based on the life of a boy from a Brazilian slum. He is the director of Shaft, Shaft's Big Score, Super Cops, and Leadbelly, and he wrote the screenplay and musical score and produced and directed the film The Learning Tree, adapted from his bestselling autobiography. In 1989, he directed the film of his classic ballet, Martin, based on the libretto and music he composed to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is the author of four volumes of poetry and photographs including Gordon Parks: A Poet and His Camera.

Georgie Anne Geyer writes a syndicated columnist who writes on foreign policy and international affairs for 120 American and Latin American papers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. She is a regular commentator on PBS's Washington Week in Review and Frontline. Fluent in five languages, her career has been a whirlwind of ground-breaking journalism. She is the only American to interview Argentine president Juan Peron, one of the first journalists to interview Ayatollah Khomeini, and the only person to interview Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia when all American reporters were forbidden to enter the country. She is the author of six books, including Buying the Night Flight, an autobiography of her odyssey as one of the first women foreign correspondents.

David McCullough is an historian, lecturer, and teacher. He is the author of six books, including Truman, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. He is perhaps best known as the host of the PBS series The American Experience and as narrator of Ken Burns' documentary The Civil War. He received the Charles Frankel Prize from President Clinton and was recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities for his contributions to the humanities. He is a recipient of the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, and he received an Emmy for his work in public television. Born in Pittsburgh, he graduated from Yale University with a degree in English literature. A gifted and popular public speaker, he has been a part of the White House presidential lecture series.

Juan Williams is a political reporter for The Washington Post, commentator on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and author of the highly-acclaimed history of the civil rights movement, Eyes on the Prize, which is a companion volume to the PBS series. He is currently under commission to write the authorized biography of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His expertise on Washington politics has earned him the respect of conservatives and liberals alike, and his articles appear regularly in magazines that cover the spectrum of political thought, including Ebony Magazine, The Atlantic, Fortune, and The New Republic. As a guest commentator on National Public Radio, CNN, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and Nightline, he has proven his ability to distill complex problems and uncover the real issues behind the rhetoric.

Iris Chang is an historian and author of the book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. More than fifty years after the end of that war, the horrors of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust remain etched in our memories, but most Americans are unaware of the atrocities committed by Japanese armies in the Far East. In her book, she documents the destruction of the city of Nanking in 1937. She has written for The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Associated Press, and she is the author of another book, Thread of the Silkworm. A recipient of a MacArthur Foundation award, she has also received grants from the National Science Foundation and the Harry Truman Library.

Betty Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work in organizing marches for peace in Northern Ireland, bringing together Protestants and Catholics to hear the message that violence cannot bring social justice. With Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, she founded Community of Peace People. In 1981, she moved to the United States and has continued her work for peace. She has been honored with the Schweitzer Medallion for Courage, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Award. Her vision to create safe havens for children where they can be fed, sheltered, nurtured, and encouraged to grow to their full potential has become a reality through her nonprofit, World Centers of Compassion for Children.

Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins is committed to the practice of civil discourse as a means to strengthening democracy. She believes that it is important to acknowledge the words, traditions, and stereotypes that exist today in individuals and communities as a first step toward understanding. She is the fifteenth president of the League of Women Voters of the United States and the first African-American to head the organization. She is the author of several works, including The Road to Suffrage and One Man One Vote. She has worked in education for more than twenty years, serving as adjunct professor at Colorado Christian University and as a teacher and principal in the Cleveland school system.

Joseph Stanton, Ralph Nero & Walter Benjamin - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides - 09/21/89 by westminsterforum

E. J. Dionne is a columnist for The Washington Post, specializing in politics and public policy. From 1977 to 1990, he worked for The New York Times, reporting on local, state, and national politics. In 1990, he joined The Post as a national political reporter. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications, including The New Republic and Commonwealth. His book Why Americans Hate Politics was published in 1991. His latest book is They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate the Next Political Era. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar where he earned a doctorate in sociology.

Harold Hodgkinson is Director of the Center for Demographic Policy and a Fellow of the American Council on Education. Widely known as a lecturer and analyst of demographic and educational issues, he has profiled 28 states and numerous metropolitan areas. His recent studies include All One System: Demographics of Education, Kindergarten Through Graduate School; The Demographics of American Indians: One Percent of the Population, Fifty Percent of the Diversity; Immigration to America: The Asian Experience; and Hispanic Americans: A Look Back, a Look Ahead. He is the author of 12 books, three of which have won national awards, and over 200 articles for which he has been honored by the American Education Press Association.

Gustav Niebuhr is the senior religion writer at The New York Times, reporting on major trends in religion and news-breaking stories throughout the United States. Before joining The New York Times, he wrote for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He has covered the mass suicide of members of the Heaven's Gate cult, the growth of mega-churches in American cities, the development of Islam as a major American religious presence, and the rise of religious conservatives as a national political force. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Religion Newswriters Association prize, the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year Award, and the Supple Memorial Award.

Andrei Codrescu is a professor of English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and the editor of the literary journal Exquisite Corpse. Born in Sibiu, Romania, he immigrated to the United States in 1966 and became a citizen in 1981. His experience as a foreigner lends his writing its fresh, unorthodox perspective and voice, reflected in such titles as The Dog With the Chip in His Neck and The Muse Is Always Half-Dressed in New Orleans. His many honors include the Peabody Award and the General Electric Foundation Poetry Prize. He appears regularly on a variety of television programs, including Nightline and The David Letterman Show.

Michael Lerner is a political activist, rabbi, and editor of Tikkun, a progressive Jewish interfaith magazine. He is recognized as one of the most influential thinkers shaping the direction of the Clinton presidency. With Cornel West, he co-authored the book Blacks and Jews: A Dialogue Between Cornel West and Michael Lerner in which the two friends grapple with volatile and personal issues in an honest dialogue. In his work as a therapist in the 1970s, he developed the concept of "The Politics of Meaning." He discovered that there was a psychological and ethical crisis among American working people who want to transcend the individualism and selfishness of society and move their lives and their communities toward a higher spiritual and ethical framework.

Jeremy Rifkin has devoted nearly two decades to examining the impact of technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. He has written thirteen books, including his most recent, The End of Work, the result of a three-year study of the changing nature of work in the Information Age. The founder and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, D.C., he has shaped public policy in the United States and around the world and has consistently worked to ensure responsible government policies on environmental and technology issues. His unique perspective and social commentary have made him a frequent guest on a variety of television programs, including Face the Nation, Nightline, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, and The Today Show.

Joycelyn Elders became the first African-American and the second woman to hold the post of Surgeon General of the United States. A pediatric endocrinologist, she initiated programs to combat smoking and teen pregnancy and to encourage childhood immunizations. She worked to change America's thinking about health by putting prevention first, and she was committed to being a voice for the poor and the powerless. She believes that violence, sexually-transmitted diseases, poverty, and substance-abuse are major threats to the health and well-being of our children. She continues her career today at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine and lobbies for the welfare of children and the powerless.

Crystal Kuykendall is a human relations and education expert who has gained national recognition for her efforts to promote problem-resolution. The president of Kreative and Innovative Resources for Kids, she produces audio and video tapes, publications, workbooks, and learning tools for educators, counselors, administrators, and parents. She is a former school teacher and guidance counselor for minority undergraduates and potential high school dropouts, and she was executive director of the National Alliance of Black School Educators. She is the author of two books, Improving Black Student Achievement through Enhancing Self-Image and From Rage to Hope: Strategies for Reclaiming Black and Hispanic Students. A recipient of numerous awards and citations, she has been a consultant to city and school officials and to civic, community, and parent groups in more than 40 states.

Rita Dove is one of the most honored poets of the late twentieth century. In 1993, she was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant on Poetry at the Library of Congress. She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her collection of poems, Thomas and Beulah, and she has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. Her poem UMOJA: Each One of Us Counts was the centerpiece of the Cultural Olympiad at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she is a Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia.