Rev. Dr. William Earl Thomas, Jr. has been invited to speak at the Martin Delany Lecture, an annual fall event that brings scholars to WVU to discuss issues relevant to the African world community. His presentation will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, in room 259 Hodges Hall. Admission is free.

�€?The WVUCenter for Black Culture and Research is pleased to continue our tradition of promoting academic excellence and critical inquiry through our series of program offerings,�€? said Todd McFadden, CBCR program coordinator. �€?The Martin Delany Lecture is open to the entire University and Morgantown communities.�€?

Thomas earned a masters degree in education from HunterCollege, a bachelors degree from JohnJayCollege and has an honorary doctorate from United Seminary. He has also studied at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New York University, O.M. Kelley Bible Institute, JoshuaBaptistChurch, Hampton Ministries Conference and taken special classes offered through the Empire Baptist Association and the National Baptist Association.

He is currently celebrating his 15th year as senior pastor of St. Johns Baptist Church of West Hempstead, N.Y. He is a retired New York City police sergeant; retired guidance counselor for Hempstead High School; and vice moderator of the Nassau County Division of Eastern Baptist Association, which is one of the largest Black Baptist Associations in the United States.

Thomas has lectured and preached in various locations throughout the world, including Germany, Alabama, South Carolina and New York.

For more information regarding the lecture, call 293-7029. To learn more about Rev. Thomas and/or Martin Delany, go tohttp://www.wvu.edu/~cbcr/mdelany.html.