North Carolina Central University’s Department of Public Administration and the Public Allies of North Carolina have partnered to host a Legacy Day on Friday, November 6, 2009. George Curry, journalist, keynote speaker, moderator and media coach, will speak at the Phi Alpha Alpha Honor Society Induction and Public Service Award Ceremony at 1 p.m. in the W.G. Pearson Cafeteria Banquet Hall on Lawson Street.

According to Curry’s website <http://www.georgecurry.com/bio>:

From 2001 until 2007, Curry served as editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service in Washington, D.C. He was editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine for seven years and is a former president of the American Society of Magazine Editors, where he became the first African-American to hold the association's top office.

Under Curry's leadership, Emerge won more than 40 national journalism awards. In May 1996, Emerge published a cover story titled Kemba's Nightmare. This story culminated in the release of Kemba Smith, a 22-year-old woman who was given a mandatory sentence of more than 24 years in prison for her minor role in a drug ring. President Clinton pardoned Smith in December 2000, marking the end of the nightmare.

While working as a Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, Curry wrote and served as chief correspondent for the widely praised television documentary, "Assault on Affirmative Action," which was aired as part of the "Frontline" series on PBS. He was featured in a segment of "One Plus One," a national PBS documentary on mentoring. He was part of the weeklong Nightline special, "America in Black and White," and appeared on the CBS Evening News, ABC’s World News Tonight, The Today Show, 20/20, Good Morning America, CNN, C-SPAN, BET, Fox Network News, MSNBC and ESPN. In 2003, The National Association of Black Journalists named Curry "Journalist of the Year.”

Curry will sign books following the ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in the Whiting Criminal Justice Building on the corner of Lincoln and Nelson Streets. This event is free and open to the public.