HONOLULU ---– The Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa presents the Third Ah Quon McElrath Distinguished Forum on Social Change featuring special guest The Honorable Dudley Thompson on "Africa and the Changing World," noon to 1:15 p.m., Thursday, April 10, 2008, in the Hemenway Hall Theatre on the Manoa campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Thompson will discuss the history and transformations of Pan-Africanism, a global socio-political movement opposed to racism and committed to freedom, justice, equality and democracy.

Thompson is one of the most prominent lawyers and public intellectuals to come out of Jamaica. His numerous awards and achievements include The "Legends of Africa" Award; The Order of Jamaica; Jamaican Ambassador to Africa at Large; member of the international team defending Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya; personal lawyer to Bob Marley; helped draft the constitutions of Kenya and Tanzania; participated in the independence movements of Belize and the Bahamas; author of From Kingston to Kenya: The Making of a Pan-Africanist Lawyer and The Pan-Africanist; artist and distinguished lecturer; and regarded as an intellectual and long-standing Pan-Africanist.

A reception will follow the forum.

For more information, visit http://ethnicstudies.hawaii.edu <http://ethnicstudies.hawaii.edu/> .