“Race, Poverty and Politics,” A Talk by Mitch Landrieu
Former New Orleans Mayor to Give Annual Twomey Lecture at Loyola
(New Orleans, La. – Oct. 9, 2019) Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will give a public talk titled “Race, Poverty, and Politics” at the College of Law next week. A believer that cities and towns will only thrive if they find a way to unite toward a common purpose, with shared responsibility and opportunity, Landrieu will address issues of race, equity, economic opportunity, and violence.
The annual Father Louis J. Twomey, S.J., Lecture takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, at the College of Law, Room 405, 526 Pine St., New Orleans, La. 70118. The event, which is jointly hosted by the College of Law and the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola, is free and open to the public.
“The Twomey Lecture series honors the social justice legacy of Father Louis J. Twomey, Loyola's strong mid-twentieth century advocate of racial and social justice,” said the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J., executive director of the Jesuit Social Research Institute. “Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s address about the roles of poverty and race in the context of today’s politics continues Father Twomey’s legacy by addressing the ways today’s society must change to meet the high social justice ideals of our faith and our nation.”
Mitch Landrieu is a best-selling author, speaker, advisor, and the former Mayor of the City of New Orleans. When Landrieu was sworn in as the 61st Mayor of New Orleans, he inherited a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and coping with effects of the Deepwater Horizon/ BP Oil Spill. Under Landrieu’s leadership, New Orleans was widely recognized as one of the nation’s great comeback stories.
In 2015, Landrieu was named “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine. In 2016, he was voted “America’s top turnaround mayor” in a survey of mayors, compiled by Politico. He gained national prominence for his powerful decision to take down four Confederate monuments in New Orleans. The courage and leadership Landrieu showed in advocating and overseeing the removal of the statues also earned him the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
In his New York Times best-selling book, In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History, Landrieu recounts his personal journey confronting racism and tackles the broader history of slavery, race relations, and institutional inequalities that still plague America. He recently launched the E Pluribus Unum Fund, designed to bring people together across the South as they confront issues of race, equity, economic opportunity and violence.
Raised in a politically active and socially conscious family, Landrieu’s political roots run deep in Louisiana, where he served two terms as lieutenant governor and 16 years in the state legislature. He also served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Mitch and his wife Cheryl have five children.