Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Haynes Johnson will focus on how a little-known freshman senator driven by Cold War paranoia could quickly amass power to intimidate senior colleagues, the media and two respected presidents in McCarthyism to Terrorism on April 14 at 7 p.m. at the Lorenzo Cultural Center on Macomb Community College’s Center Campus in Clinton Township. His presentation is part of the current program series featured at the cultural center, The 1950s: Affluence and Anxiety in the Atomic Age, that runs through May 7.
Along with a distinguished career in journalism, Johnson has authored or edited 16 books, including The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism, which offers an engrossing account of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s career and his perspective on McCarthy’s legacy to modern-day America. His other publications include: In the Absence of Power: Governing America, Divided We Fall, The Working White House and Fulbright: The Dissenter.
Johnson won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished national reporting in 1966 for his coverage of the civil rights crisis in Selma, Ala., and has held academic appointments at Duke, Princeton, Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University. He has served as the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of Maryland since 1998.
Individual tickets for Johnson’s presentation are $15, or $5 for seniors, students, and military personnel; and tickets that also include a Meet & Greet reception with Johnson (5:30 – 6:30 p.m.) are $20. To purchase tickets, call 586.286.2222 or visit www.MacombCenter.com.
Johnson’s presentation is the third in a four-part Speaker Series featuring award-winning authors and historians. The Russians are Coming! Eisenhower and the Cold War on May 5 is the remaining presentation in the series, featuring author Susan Eisenhower, the granddaughter of the former Army general who served as president in the 1950s.
The 1950s program series also features more than two dozen free presentations, as well as two free exhibits in the cultural center, Atoms for Peace – a display of lithographs on loan from the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History – and Affluence and Anxiety in the Atomic Age – a multimedia exploration of life in the 1950s. Presentations require advance registration by calling 586.445.7348.
The Lorenzo Cultural Center is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Additional information on the center and on The 1950s program series is available at www.LorenzoCulturalCenter.com. Group visits are welcome during the series and may be arranged by calling 586.445.7348.
About the Lorenzo Cultural Center
The Lorenzo Cultural Center (www.LorenzoCulturalCenter.com) explores the influences and experiences that shape our community's heritage, examining topics from a variety of perspectives and creating interactive opportunities for learning, celebration and entertainment. Located on Macomb Community College's Center Campus, Hall and Garfield Roads in Clinton Township, the cultural center is adjacent to the Macomb Center for Performing Arts.
About Macomb Community College
Macomb Community College (www.macomb.edu) is one of the nation’s leading community colleges, providing learning experiences to more than 48,000 students annually. Macomb nationally ranks in the top two percent in the number of associate degrees awarded and as the largest grantor of associate degrees in Michigan. The college’s comprehensive educational programming includes pre-collegiate experiences, university transfer and career preparation programs, bachelor degree completion and graduate degree programs, workforce training, professional education and certification, and continuing education and enrichment opportunities.
Media Contact:
Tish Wirth
Communications & Community Relations
Macomb Community College
586.445.7560
wirthp@macomb.edu