MOBILE, Ala. – Dr. Jonathan Bass, professor of history and university historian at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, will deliver a lecture titled “Because Injustice is Here: Martin Luther King and the Letter from Birmingham Jail” as this year’s installment of the University of Mobile’s Billy G. Hinson Lecture Series.
Bass will discuss his re-released book, “Blessed are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders and the ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’” that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
The talk will be held Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Dorsett Auditorium on the University of Mobile campus as part of the university’s observance of Black History Month. The program is free and open to the public.
Bass received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham as well as a Ph.D. in history from the University of Tennessee.
In addition to his nominated book, Bass is the author of the New York Times-featured “He Calls Me by Lightning: A Saga of Jim Crow, Southern Justice, and the Death Penalty.” His forthcoming book, “From Every Stormy Wind That Blows: The Idea of Howard College and the Origins of Samford University,” will be published by LSU Press in 2023.
Reared in Birmingham’s industrial suburb of Fairfield, Alabama, Bass is a frequent speaker on race, religion and culture and was recognized by the National Urban League with an Interracial Friendship Award. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, three children, and a dog named Ham.
The Billy G. Hinson Series was established by the University of Mobile College of Arts and Sciences to present academic programs dealing with major topics in American history. The series is named in honor of the late Dr. Billy Hinson who was a history professor at the university. For more information, contact Dr. Matthew Downs, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at 251.442.2588 or mdowns@umobile.edu.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in over 90 areas of study. Founded in 1961, University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For more information about University of Mobile, visit the website at www.umobile.edu or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to share the stories of people, place and purpose that make the University of Mobile unique. As associate vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, edits the TorchLight alumni magazine, and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she is a two-time recipient of the Baptist Communicators Association grand prize for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.