University Provost Dr. Gene Bourgeois announced Lonnie Rashid Lynn, better known as his stage name “Common,” as an LBJ Distinguished Lecture Series speaker for the 2019-2020 academic school year.
The event is set to take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Strahan Arena. The Grammy and Academy award-winning artist and activist joins a cohort of event speakers which include former U.S. President Gerald Ford, poet Maya Angelou and film director Robert Rodriguez.
According to Twister Marquiss, director of the Common Experience, series speakers are chosen to reflect the academic school year’s Common Experience theme. This year’s theme is “Truth.”
Marquiss said Common’s centralized message in many of his songs and books of “speaking the truth” reflected the vision of the leadership team of the Common Experience.
“Common has spoken often about how speaking the truth was important to his growth as a young man in Chicago,” Marquiss said. “And his backstage interview after winning the Academy Award for best song (“Glory”) in 2015 spoke directly to our theme of Truth.”
The lecture series started as a promise made at Texas State by its most distinguished alumnus, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, in 1973. Since its start, the series brings President Johnson’s dream of inviting “the finest minds in the country to speak on campus.”
According to the university, on his last visit to San Marcos in 1973, President Johnson brought along his former economic advisor, Walter Heller, as the first lecturer of many he wanted to bring to his alma mater.
However, President Johnson’s death came less than a week later, before any plans could be implemented.
The event is free and open to the public. However, advance tickets are required. Tickets will be available via the new LBJ Distinguished Lecture Series website in mid-September.