ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - She climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina Statehouse
and pulled down the Confederate battle flag in protest, declaring "This flag comes
down today!"
Now, Bree Newsome is bringing her message of racial equality to Winthrop University on April 10 for
the 16th Annual Dorothy Perry Thompson Colloquium. The 7 p.m. event in Richardson Ballroom is free and open to the public. It is an approved cultural event.
Newsome will share messages about how, with courage, zeal and support, ordinary people
can make an extraordinary difference.
Newsome graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree
in film and television. While at NYU, she wrote and directed a public service announcement
for youth voter turnout that won her the Grand Prize in a competition sponsored by
both Tisch and MTV. Her short film "Wake" recently debuted on the ASPIREtv network
and has won several awards on the film festival circuit.
While most know Newsome from her protest of the flag, she also has participated in
a sit-in at the North Carolina State Capitol and currently works as a western field
organizer for IgniteNC, a grassroots collective dedicated to empowering underserved
communities in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.
The annual colloquium honors the late English Professor Dorothy Perry Thompson, the founder of Winthrop's African American Studies program, and invites speakers
to discuss different aspects of the African-American experience.
For more information on Winthrop's African American Studies program, visit the website or call 803/323-3095.