Media Contact: Ashley Birdsell Lewis
Manager of Marketing, Weinberg Center for the Arts
301-600-2868 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Frederick Speaker Series to Feature NBA Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
FREDERICK, Md., Monday, January 9, 2017— The Frederick Speaker Series will kick off its fifth season with all-time leading scorer and six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday, January 26. The event begins at 7:30pm at the Weinberg Center for the Arts.A cancer survivor, activist, and bestselling author, the event will feature Abdul-Jabbar in discussion about his career on and off the basketball court.
Tickets for the event begin at $50; student and group discounts are available. Tickets can be purchased at WeinbergCenter.org, by calling 301.600.2828, or in person at 20 West Patrick St.
A separately ticketed meet-and-greet reception will take place immediately following Abdul-Jabbar’s presentation. These exclusive events provide a chance for fans to meet the speaker, take pictures, and obtain autographs. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the meet-and-greet receptions benefit children’s programs at Frederick County Public Libraries.
Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a six-time NBA champion. A triumphant CML Leukemia cancer survivor, he has a national platform as a regular contributing columnist for The Washington Post and Time Magazine, where he shares his thoughts on some of the most socially-relevant and politically-controversial topics facing our nation today. After 50 years as an athlete, activist, and New York Times bestselling author, he offers his perspectives on how we can work together to solve some of these issues as a nationally recognized speaker. His new political book, “Writings on the Wall – Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White” was released in August 2016 by Time Books and offers his personal perspectives on political issues facing America today.
In 2012, Abdul-Jabbar was appointed to be the U.S. Cultural Ambassador by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He is the founder and chairman of the Skyhook Foundation, whose mission is to “give kids a shot that can’t be blocked” by bringing educational opportunities to under-served communities through innovative outdoor environmental learning. Abdul-Jabbar’s most recent projects include the HBO Sports documentary “Kareem: Minority of One,” which debuted in early November 2015 as HBO’s most-watched and highest-rated sports documentary. His debut fiction novel “Mycroft Holmes” — the first of an action/mystery series based on Sherlock Holmes’s savvy older brother — was released by Titan Publishing in September 2015. Following the success of his novel, the comic “Mycroft Holmes & the Apocalypse Handbook” was released in July 2016.
Frederick Speaker Series committee chair Lisa Ausherman said, “We are opening up the series by bringing a man to our stage who has a highly-acclaimed sports career while overcoming and shedding light on the difficulties of religious and racial freedoms in our country. He is a writer andobserver of our culture and society who is deeply principled, committed to equality, and respects all people regardless of gender or race.”
Now entering its fifth year, the celebrated Frederick Speaker Series has developed a strong reputation for bringing world-class innovators and leaders into the Frederick community. In addition to Abdul-Jabbar, the remainder of the 2017 lineup includes abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart, real-life “Concussion” doctor Bennet Omalu, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.
This presentation of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is sponsored by PNC Bank. A complete listing of artists and performers scheduled for the 2017 Frederick Speaker Series can be found at FrederickSpeakerSeries.org.
ABOUT THE FREDERICK SPEAKER SERIES
Since its inception in 2013, the Frederick Speaker Series has featured notable personalities such as Dr. MichioKaku, Cal Ripken Jr., General Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw, Bryan Stevenson, and George Takei.
This year’s series, event, and media sponsors include the Ausherman Family Foundation, The C. Burr Artz Trust, Frederick County Bank, Leidos Biomedical, the Delaplaine Foundation, Frederick Regional Health System, PNC Bank, The Kiplinger Foundation, The Helen J. Serini Foundation, Graphcom, Frederick Magazine, and the Frederick News-Post. Presenting sponsors include the Weinberg Center for the Arts and Frederick County Public Libraries.
For further information about the 2017 Frederick Speaker Series, including speaker biographies, ticket availability, pricing, and the meet-and-greet receptions, please visit FrederickSpeakerSeries.org.
Photos available upon request.
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