When he was 12 years old, Freeman Hrabowski heard Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. talk about a children's march for civil rights and opportunity. Hrabowski convinced his parents to let him participate in the famed Children's Crusade. He spent five terrifying nights in jail and became a leader for the younger kids.
Dr. Hrabowski went on to fuse his passion for education and for equality. As president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, he founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which has been one of the most successful programs for educating African Americans who go on to earn doctorates in the STEM disciplines. In Holding Fast to Dreams, Hrabowski recounts his journey as an educator, a university president, and a pioneer in developing successful, holistic programs for high-achieving students of all races.
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Recorded On: Monday, September 28, 2015