Armstrong-Branch Distinguished Lecture Series Set for March 18 on Hattiesburg Campus

Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:23am | By: Dr. David Tisdale

The University of Southern Mississippi is partnering with University Forum to host the 2025 Armstrong-Branch Distinguished Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center Grand Ballroom on the Hattiesburg campus. Admission is free and open to the public.

The event will feature criminal justice activist Kevin Richardson, who was arrested and convicted along with four other Black and Latino youths–known as the Central Park Five–for the attack and assault of jogger Trisha Meili. Richardson, who spent seven years in prison before his exoneration, now collaborates with the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing. His story and the stories of the other Central Park Five were featured in the 2019 Netflix series, When They See Us. 

The lecture series was established in 1993 in honor of Gwendolyn Armstrong-Chamberlain and Raylawni Adams Branch, the first African American students to integrate the University in 1965.

Valencia Walls, director of the Southern Miss Office of Community and Belonging, says she’s honored to lead this year’s effort to present the Armstrong-Branch Lecture, now in its 33rd year of preserving “the enduring legacy of these two civil rights pioneers.” 

“This year’s Armstrong-Branch Lecture is also especially significant as we commemorate University Forum’s 50th anniversary, reinforcing our commitment to dialogue, progress and representation,” added Walls.

University Forum is presented in the fall and spring semesters by the Honors College, with support from the Office of the President.

“The Honors College is delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Armstrong-Branch Lecture Series to bring Mr. Richardson to University Forum,” said Dr. Joyce Inman, dean of the Southern Miss Honors College. “We hope students, faculty, staff, and community members will join us as we listen to Mr. Richardson’s story and learn more about how we can foster the difficult conversations that allow us to work together toward a more equitable world.”

Click here for more information about University Forum.