Tougaloo, MS- Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society at Tougaloo College will present the Wright Day to Read, with a collection of activities extending from September 8, 2008 through September 11, 2008.  The event salutes author, Richard Wright, a Natchez native whose novel, Native Son, was, among other firsts, the first novel written by an African American to be chosen as the main selection of the Book of the Month Club.

On Monday, September 8, 2008, is the opening reception and birthday party (Wright’s birthday is September 4) with speaker, Dr. Howard Rambsy, a 1999 alumnus of Tougaloo College who now teaches at Southern Illinois University. (6:30 p.m. in Holmes Hall Auditorium, Tougaloo College) Tuesday will feature a 10:00 a.m. “Read-In” in the Owen’s Health & Wellness Center with Wright’s daughter, Julia Wright, presenting the keynote address at noon (10 a.m. until 1 p.m., Owens Health & Wellness Center, Tougaloo College) At 7:00 p.m., there will be a showing of the film, “Long Black Song.” (Berkshire Cottage, Room 107, Tougaloo College)

Wednesday, September 10, convocation will be hosted by Sigma Tau Delta with Dr. Jerry Ward, Tougaloo College alumnus (Class of 1964), who now teaches at Dillard University in New Orleans, presenting the keynote address. He will speak on the theme “One Writer’s Legacy: Richard Wright and Our 21st Century.” (Woodworth Chapel, Tougaloo College, 10:00 a.m.) The events will conclude on Thursday when Julia Wright will sign copies of Richard Wright’s A Father’s Law from 11 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. (Berkshire Cottage 107, Tougaloo College) and at 7:00 p.m., there will be a showing of “Native Son” (also in Berkshire 107).

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Candice Love Jackson, Chair, English Department, Tougaloo College at 601-977-7894.

Founded in 1869, Tougaloo College is a private, historically black, coeducational four-year liberal arts institution, located on the northern edge of Jackson, Mississippi. Known nationally as "The Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi," the College is led by its first female and 13th president, Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan. Dr. Hogan is a 1973 graduate of the College and a native Mississippian. Under her visionary leadership, the College has increased its enrollment by 12% and boasts a student retention rate of 68%.

Tougaloo College ranks among the top 50 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn PHDs in science and engineering disciplines and among the top 15 historically black colleges and universities in the graduation of females with undergraduate degrees in the physical sciences. The College has produced more graduates who have completed their PhD degrees through the UNCF-Mellon Doctoral Fellowship Program than any other institution in the nation.

Listed as one of the Best Colleges in the Southeast by The Princeton Review (2007 and 2008 editions), the highest ranking Mississippi HBCU on U.S. News and World Report's list of "America's Best Black College" (2008) and the only Mississippi institution ranked among the top 20 liberal arts institutions in the nation by Washington Monthly (2007), 66% of its graduates enter professional and graduate schools immediately after graduation. Tougaloo College is the leading producer of African American health professionals, including over 40% of the physicians and dentists, practicing in the state of Mississippi. Among its graduates are more than one-third of the state's African American attorneys and educators including teachers, principals, school superintendents, college/university faculty and administrators.