African American Family Magazine is bringing President Bill Clinton to Detroit's Max M. Fisher Music Hall on June 12 as the latest speaker in its "Distinguished Speaker Series."
Lisa Grace, the magazine's events director, says, "This speech is special: it's a non-political event. He's not here stumping for Hilary so much as he is going to be addressing global issues, things that his foundation focuses on such as health issues like AIDS, global warming, leadership development, economic empowerment and citizen service."
As for local relevance, Grace says issues like "community development and economic empowerment" will have resonance in Southeast Michigan. "Hopefully, we'll hear a lot about what he thinks about [global and national issues like] AIDS and health insurance, but also with a message to Detroiters."
Previous speakers in AAFM's series have been Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and BET-founder Sheila Johnson. In May, they hosted Rawandan genocide survivor Immaculee Ilibagiza, who spoke to an audience of 700 at the Detroit Film Theatre. Grace says the events are meant to "engage not just the African-American community; we try to hit a broad-based audience and address issues like history and race, literature, economics and education." The next speaker in the series will be Spike Lee in the fall.
AAFM is based in Ferndale and is published by Metro Parent Publishing Group. Grace says that the publishing company – that also prints Metro Parent Magazine – will be launching an interactive website in July that will feature local blogger moms.
Tickets for the Bill Clinton speech range from $25 up to $75 and are available by calling the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office 313.576.111 or on-line at www.detroitsymphony.com.
Source: Lisa Grace, Metro Parent Publishing Group / African American Family Magazine
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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