President Obama to Speak at UT Civil Rights Summit in April

obamahookemIt seems safe to assume that the planners of the LBJ Library’s Civil Rights Summit are having a pretty good day: President Obama just accepted their invitation to deliver the keynote speech on April 10.

The lineup for the three-day symposium, which marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, wasn’t too shabby already: Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are also slated to speak. First Lady Michelle Obama will be in attendance as well.

Joining them are former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Antonio Mayor Julien Castro, and many more notable figures from the intersecting worlds of politics, policy, and higher ed.

The event will mark the President’s first speech on campus since 2010, when he spoke about higher education reform before a crowd of 3,500 in Gregory Gym. Obama also debated Hillary Clinton on the Forty Acres in February 2008.

“We’re thrilled that he and the First Lady are coming,” says LBJ Library spokeswoman Anne Wheeler.

Tickets for the President’s speech will be free but limited—sign up online to get on an email list for updates. The speech will also be livestreamed on the LBJ Library’s website.

The President flashed the hook ’em before his Aug. 9, 2010 speech at UT’s Gregory Gym. Photo by Marsha Miller.