Leonard N. Moore, interim vice president for diversity and community engagement and George W. Littlefield Professor of American History, will be the keynote speaker at the Austin NAACP 52^nd DeWitty/Overton Freedom Fund Banquet on Dec. 2. The theme for this year’s event is “Ground Zero—Paths to Empowerment.”

Dr. Moore’s presentation will focus on education as a critical path to empowerment and examine other factors such as the school to prison pipeline and harnessing the inherent talent of our young people of color.

Moore was named interim vice president in July. He has received numerous teaching awards including the Jean Holloway Award for Excellence in Teaching and the John Warfield Teaching Award. He teaches a first-year signature course at UT titled, Race in the Age of Trump, as well as a course on the Black Power Movement. He is currently chairman of the board at Austin Area Urban League. His new book, “The Defeat of Black Power: Civil Rights and the National Black Political Convention of 1972″ will be released in February.