JOURNALIST APRIL RYAN LAUDS CHARLOTTESVILLE AND BLACK WOMEN IN HISTORY

By Anne E. Bromley, [email protected]

Journalist April Ryan responded warmly to the enthusiastic crowd who not only came out on a freezing night Wednesday to hear her remarks at the Paramount Theater, but gave her a standing ovation as she took the stage as the keynote speaker for the 2019 Community Martin Luther King Celebration.

“That warms my heart on this cold night,” she said.

Ryan, who said she prefers to describe herself as a White House correspondent who is also a black woman, joked and chatted with members of the audience as she eschewed the lectern to stroll back and forth across the stage. In a conversational style, she touched on a range of topics from the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rallies in Charlottesville to the legacies of King and black women in American history.

Ryan’s visit was sponsored by the University of Virginia’s Office of the Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity & Equity, in partnership with UVA’s Frank M. Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Lifetime Learning program in UVA’s Office of Engagement.All 1,100 free tickets were reserved in advance, including a block for students who made the five-hour trip from …

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