Rubin "Hurricane" Carter to Speak at Colorado State University Feb. 19

Colorado State University will host a lecture Feb. 19 by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, former professional boxer, and his biographer James Hirsch.

Carter, whose story is recognized as one of the most dramatic and controversial episodes of the civil rights movement, was arrested in 1966 for the murder of three white people in a New Jersey bar. He remained in prison until 1985, when the U.S. District Court ruled that Carter’s conviction had been based on "racism rather than reason and concealment rather than disclosure and that his imprisonment had been a travesty."

Hirsch is the author of "Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter," a New York Times best seller. He is a former reporter for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is currently writing the book, "Shadows of Greenwood," which describes the 1921 race riot in Tulsa, Okla., where a Caucasian mob killed over 300 African Americans.

Carter and Hirsch’s talk will center on the theme of justice and will begin at 7 p.m. in Moby Arena. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Tickets are limited and go on sale Feb. 5 at the information desk Box Office in the Lory Student Center. Students with a Colorado State University ID can pick up free tickets prior to the show or pay $2 at the door if tickets are still available. Tickets are $5 for community members and $3 for non-CSU students with a school ID. Tickets also can be ordered with Visa or MasterCard by calling the box office at (970) 491-6444. There is a $2 service charge for phone orders.

A screening of the film "Hurricane" will take place on Feb. 16 at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre. The movie is $2 for students and $3 for non-students.

The lecture is the keynote address for Black History Month and is presented by Association for Student Activity Programming speakers, Black Student Alliance, Hillel’s Sturm Lecture Series and Associated Students of Colorado State University.

For more information, call the Lory Student Center Box Office at (970) 491-6444 or visit lamar.colostate.edu/~asap/hurricane.html.