Revisiting The MLK Assassination with G. Robert Blakey

ABOUT THE EVENT

As we reflect on the anniversary of the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr., G. Robert Blakey and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. offers us incredible insider perspectives on the assassination Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Was there a conspiracy, or did James Earl Ray act alone?. What role did American agents play in the life and death of the Reverend Dr. King? 

Thursday, April 8, 2021

5:00pm-6:00pm ET

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Professor G. Robert Blakey, the nation's foremost authority on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), has served on the Notre Dame Law School faculty for more than 30 years. He teaches in the areas of criminal law and procedure, federal criminal law and procedure, terrorism, and jurisprudence. Blakey's extensive legislative drafting experience resulted in the passage of the Crime Control Act of 1973, the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1970 and the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Title IX of which is known as RICO. He has been personally involved in drafting and implementing RICO-type legislation in 22 of the more than 30 states that have enacted racketeering laws. He frequently argues in or consults on cases involving RICO statutes at both the federal and state levels, including several cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Blakey has considerable expertise in federal and state wiretapping statutes as well. He helped draft and secure passage of Title III on wiretapping of the federal 1968 Crime Control Act, and has been personally involved in drafting and implementing wiretapping legislation in 39 of the 43 states that have enacted such laws. Blakey has extensively investigated the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He served as chief counsel and staff director to the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations from 1977 to 1979, and helped to draft the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. Blakey gave remarks at the 2012 Law School Hooding/Diploma Commencement Ceremony on May 19, 2012. Blakey received Emeritus status in December 2012.

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Michael Eric Dyson is one of the nation’s most renowned professors, gifted writers, inspiring preachers, knowledgeable lecturers and prominent media personalities. As a teacher who earned a PhD in Religion from Princeton University, Dyson has taught at some of the nation’s most distinguished universities. He is presently Distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, College of Arts & Science at Vanderbilt University. Dyson is one of America’s premier public intellectuals and author of over 23 books, including seven New York Times bestsellers. 

As a preacher and sometime pastor for more than 40 years, Dyson has mounted many of the nation’s most noted pulpits to deliver sermons, including, most recently, the Washington National Cathedral where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his last Sunday sermon. Dyson has lectured across the country, and around the world, in many of the best colleges and universities, and in public theaters and auditoriums, and for many corporations and unions. He has also served for the last 30 years as a media commentator – and occasionally host – on every major radio and television show. Dyson has even found time to make guest appearances on scripted cable and network television programs such as Soul Food, The Game and Black-ish. 

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"Coming Back from Crisis" with Governor Larry Hogan and Former Secretary Jeh Johnson

Governor Larry Hogan joined The Common Good for a conversation to discuss the pandemic. Moderated by former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, the two discussed the state and federal response; unrest, racism and police brutality. Join us for expert insights into the 2020 political landscape and the direction of our country as well as many other issues of national interest.

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Governor Larry Hogan is a lifelong Marylander who is the son of Congressman Lawrence Hogan (MD-5). As a young man, Governor Hogan worked on his father’s campaigns, at first stuffing envelopes and knocking on doors, and eventually helping to manage them. .Hogan continued to work for his father when he was County Executive of Prince George's County.

He later went to create a real estate firm which quickly became the leading land development firm in the state of Maryland, focusing on economic development and bringing hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs to the state. In 2011, Hogan founded the grassroots organization Change Maryland. What began as an idea between a few friends quickly grew into the largest grassroots organization in State history and the leading voice of support for tax relief, responsible budgeting, and economic growth.

Governor Hogan was elected in 2014 and became the first Republican Governor to be re-elected for a second term in half a century. He has received mass praise for his work towards bipartisanship, being efficient, and always putting the needs of Maryland families and businesses first. Its main focus is to get the State’s budget under control, eliminate waste and abuse in State government, provide tax relief to struggling Marylanders, and bring jobs and businesses back to the State.

Secretary Jeh Johnson was appointed by President Obama on December 23, 2013, following confirmation by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 78-16.  Between 2013 and 2017 he served as Secretary of Homeland Security. Previously, Secretary Johnson was appointed by President Obama to be General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 through 2012. In that position, Johnson was one of the legal architects for the U.S. military’s counter terrorism mission during President Obama’s first term.

In 2010, Johnson co-authored a 250-page report that paved the way for the repeal by Congress of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law that prohibited gays from serving openly in the U.S. military. From October 1998 to January 2001, Johnson served in the Clinton Administration as General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. From 1989 through 1991, Secretary Johnson was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases.