April Ryan
White House correspondent and CNN political analyst April Ryan will be the guest speaker for the annual Women’s History Month assembly at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). The free, public event will be held Thursday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m. in the J.M. Ross theatre of the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts building.
April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House – a position she has held since the Clinton era. On behalf of the American Urban Radio Networks, and through her “Fabric of America” news blog, she delivers her readership and listeners (millions of African Americans and close to 300 radio affiliates) a “unique urban and minority perspective in news.” Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her unusual insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation’s last presidents.
Seen almost daily on CNN as a political analyst, Ryan has also been featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Elle magazines – to name a few.
Ryan has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondents Association and is one of only three African Americans in the Association’s over 100-year history to serve on its board. In 2015, Ryan was nominated for an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author) for her first book. An esteemed member of the National Press Club, she was also involved with the National Council of Negro Women and was named a Mary McCloud Bethune Trailblazer.
Ryan is a Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate, and she gives back to this community by serving as a mentor to aspiring journalists, and assisting with developing “up and coming” broadcasters. She considers her greatest life’s work raising her two daughters, Ryan and Grace – who are phenomenal young women.
Ryan is the author of the award winning book, The Presidency In Black And White, and her latest book, At Mama’s Knee: Mothers And Race In Black And White (December 2016), where she looks at race relations through the lessons and wisdom that mothers have given their children. A paperback version of The Presidency In Black And White – with updates about President Trump – will be published later this year.
For more information about the event, contact the office of Student Involvement and Leadership at (870) 575-7061.
UAPB News 