Maysoon Zayid
Maysoon Zayid — comedian, actress and activist — was the 2015 Margaret A. Johnson Speaker. Born with cerebral palsy, Ms. Zayid is a powerful advocate for the disabled. She told stories about growing up in New Jersey, where she was accepted for who she was. But as a theater major in college and a struggling actress pursuing a career, Ms. Zayid realized that disabled people were almost nonexistent in the entertainment industry. She has appeared on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” Comedy Central, PBS, CNN, HBO, MTV, ABC and Huffington Post Live. She is a recurring columnist at...
Read MoreMichael A. McKenna
Mike McKenna, network manager of Milton’s Academy Technology Services department, delivered this year’s Veterans Day assembly speech to students as a proud and accomplished veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Growing up in Manville, Rhode Island — home to the country’s first World War I monument — he knew and admired many American veterans. Enlisting at age 19, Mr. McKenna spent ten years as a U.S. Marine. “The military can provide you with invaluable experiences: an education, leadership opportunities, problem-solving and planning skills, just to name a few. In the...
Read MoreJunot Díaz
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz spoke with students not only as a creative writer, but also as a Dominican American immigrant and an activist. Hosted by Milton’s student Latino Association, Mr. Díaz answered questions from a packed room of students, on topics ranging from the writing process to the response to Ferguson, from gender equity to immigration. Mr. Díaz is the author of several books, including The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, for which he earned the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2008. He is a creative writing professor at MIT and the fiction editor of Boston...
Read MoreBlake Gilpin
This year’s Henry R. Heyburn ’39 Speaker in History, Professor Blake Gilpin, used his expertise on the 1850s abolitionist John Brown to illustrate how the narratives of history are created: by combining fact, perspective, and sometimes imagination. Dr. Gilpin, a professor of history at Tulane University, has spent a decade studying John Brown and the cultural phenomena surrounding the man and his legend. His book John Brown Still Lives!: America’s Long Reckoning with Violence, Equality, and Change was a finalist for Gilder Lehrman Center’s Frederick Douglass Book Prize. Dr. Gilpin...
Read MoreAnand Giridharadas
Journalist Anand Giridharadas had an “almost American life” growing up. Born in Ohio, the son of Indian immigrants, he shared with students the story of what led him to live in India for six years. A New York Times columnist and the author of India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking, Mr. Giridharadas was this year’s Hong Kong Distinguished Lecturer. “The country I grew up with in my mind was giving way to a different India. It was a revolution from within . . . The changes had to do with people revolting against parents who told them they would be a doctor or a...
Read MoreDonald Johnson
Dr. Donald Johnson — English professor and poet in residence at East Tennessee State University — was last fall’s Bingham Visiting Reader. In honor of Veterans Day, Dr. Johnson began his reading with two poems about soldiers and war. The first, “The Sergeant,” was inspired by his father, a World War II veteran who later commanded a squad of the Honor Guard that traveled through West Virginia. The second poem he read, titled “Point Lookout, Maryland,” recalled the American Civil War. An avid sports fan and accomplished sportswriter, Dr. Johnson served for 16 years as...
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