Western Reads presents Joy DeGruy Feb. 5 at the Viking Union

Researcher, educator, author and presenter Joy DeGruy will speak at Western Washington University from 4-5:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 5, in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room.

This program is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Western Reads program, DeGruy’s presentation will address this year’s book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot, which takes the reader on an extraordinary journey of Henrietta Lacks’ life, her legacy of the Hela cells, and the scientists and doctors who benefitted from her “gift” to science. The book’s narrative takes readers from the colored ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories across the country to East Baltimore, where Lacks’ children and grandchildren live today and continue to struggle with the legacy of her cells.

DeGruy’s work centers on the ongoing impact of slavery on the African American experience. Her most recent book, “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing,” explores how decades of oppression have produced lasting physical, psychological and spiritual injury in the African American community. DeGruy will explore how adaptation, social learning and continued oppression have shaped health, mental health attitudes, and behaviors of contemporary African Americans.

This program is made possible by the generous support of Western Reads; the Division of Enrollment and Student Services; Woodring College of Education; the Center for Education, Equity, and Diversity; and the Diversity Fund.

To learn more about this event, visit http://www.wwu.edu/westernreads/events/winter.shtml.

Western Reads, Western.Reads@wwu.edu or New Student Services/Family Outreach (360) 650-3846 or nssfo@wwu.edu