About the Lecture

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson will discuss the interconnection between the American Civil Rights movement and international human rights yesterday and today. Jackson grew up in segregated Dallas, Texas. In 1965, he marched for Civil Rights on Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.

The relationship between foreign affairs and the American Civil Rights story was highlighted in an address by Secretary of State Dean Rusk in 1963 and remains true today.

“As the matters stand, however, racial discrimination here at home has important effects on our foreign relations. This is not because such discrimination is unique to the United States. Discrimination on account of race, color, religion, national or tribal origin may be found in many countries. But the United States is widely regarded as the home of democracy and the leader of the struggle for freedom, for human rights and human dignity.”

-Secretary of State Dean Rusk before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, 1963 (The Department of State Bulletin, Volume 49: “Fulfilling Our Basic Commitments as a Nation, Statement by Secretary Rusk”)

About the Speaker

Secretary Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, has decades of experience in housing and community development. His expertise includes the development of affordable and market-rate housing, handling complex urban development issues, and housing finance.

Jackson was appointed by President George W. Bush as the 13th Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in March 2004. Before being appointed Secretary, Jackson served as the Deputy Secretary of HUD, managing the daily operations of the $36 billion agency.

After his government service, Jackson served as Vice Chairman of Mortgage Services with JP Morgan Chase, followed by Senior Advisor to the CEO at First Data Corporation(now Fiserv Corporation).

Early in his professional career, he was president and COO of American Electric Power-Texas, a $13 billion utility company and subsidiary of American Electric Power. From 1988-1996, he was president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Dallas, ranked among the best-managed large-city housing agencies during his tenure.

As a college student, Jackson volunteered as a student protester in Alabama on Bloody Sunday in March 1965, a civil rights protest from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Jackson serves on the United States Institute for Peace International Advisory Board and Ford’s Theater Society Board of Trustees. He also recently served on the United States Department of State Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board(Chair). He is a member of The Alfalfa Club and Horatio Alger Association(Board of Directors).

He has been awarded numerous civic awards and eleven honorary degrees from colleges and universities, including his alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Jackson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master’s in Education Administration from Truman State University. He also has a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, MO.