Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J. and a rising national figure in politics, will speak Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.
Booker’s talk, “How to Change the World with Your Bare Hands” is free and open to the public.
Booker, 39, has garnered national attention for his efforts to transform New Jersey’s largest city, where he has been mayor since July 2006. He has been featured in Time, Esquire, the New York Times and Black Enterprise. He also is the focus of “Brick City,” a five-part documentary series about Newark’s struggles and promise currently airing on the Sundance Channel.
Recently, Booker was thrust into the national spotlight because of a facetious feud with Conan O’Brien of the “Tonight Show.” Last month, O'Brien joked that Booker's new health care program consisted of a bus ticket out of Newark. Booker responded with a funny video on YouTube in which he banned O’Brien from Newark Liberty International Airport. Booker eventually appeared on O’Brien’s show, where the host announced a $100,000 donation to Booker’s Newark Now charity.
Booker’s political career began in 1998, after serving as a staff attorney for the Urban Justice Center and program coordinator of the Newark Youth Project. He upset a four-term incumbent to become a councilman in Newark, serving for four years. He is a member of several boards including Integrity Inc.'s Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee of Yale Law School, Columbia University Teachers' College Board of Trustees and the Black Alliance for Educational Options.
Booker received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and completed his law degree at Yale University.
Booker’s talk at Union is sponsored by the Speakers Forum.