Growing up in segregated New Orleans, Caroline Hunter was told what she couldn’t do: Sit in the front of a bus, drink water from the same fountain as white students, sit at a lunch counter or try on clothes in a department store…

No one told her that she could start an international movement to fight against apartheid in South Africa. She did it anyway!

When Caroline landed a job as a corporate research scientist at Polaroid, it was supposed to be the start of her career as a chemist. But soon after arriving, in 1970, she and her coworker (and future husband), Ken Williams, discovered Polaroid was producing the passbooks key to the oppression of Black people in South Africa. She could not remain silent. Instead, she found her voice and changed the world.

Brookdale will present “Truth to Power: A Conversation with Caroline Hunter,” Thursday, Feb. 23 in MAN 105. The program, which will include free lunch, is a perfect complement for those participating in the global read of “The Book of Joy.”

While this is a Black History Month program in which Ms. Hunter will engage in a conversation about her life’s journey, it focuses largely on the power of every individual’s voice to bring about change in the world.

The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. in MAN 105 with lunch and images from the work of photojournalist Gordon Park, followed by a poetic monologue.

Event cosponsors include Brookdale’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Student Life and Activities, the Global Citizenship Project, the International Education Center, the Black Student Union and the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in Red Bank. Funding has been made possible in part through a Community College Opportunity Grant.

For more information, contact Prof. Debbie Mura, [email protected]