Diversity and inclusion advocate to deliver annual Levine Lecture

Thomas Negri, a long-time advocate of diversity, inclusiveness and opportunity for immigrants and refugees, will deliver UNC Charlotte’s annual Levine Lecture at 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, at the Levine Museum of the New South.

The 2016 Levine Lecture will focus on political, cultural, economic and social dynamics related to Latinos in the Charlotte community and throughout the South. Questions the talk will address include: What are Southern cities doing in relation to this growing Latino community, and what political postures are communities taking with regard to this diverse group, some of whom may not have legal documentation?

Negri served as interim director of the Nashville Metro Human Relations Commission. He was founding chair of the Nashville for All of Us integration initiative and worked to defeat a 2009 English only initiative. Professionally, Negri was a board member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and managing director of Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, where he managed the day-to-day operations and development of the hotel and an adjacent office building complex.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., March 2, followed by the lecture at 6 p.m. and a reception at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public without charge, but RSVPs are requested. Complimentary parking will be available in the Seventh Street Station parking deck; attendees should bring their parking ticket to the museum for validation.

UNC Charlotte and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Center for the Study of the New South, in partnership with the Levine Museum, present the annual Levine Lecture.