BUFFALO, N.Y. – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, author of “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” will be the featured speaker at the Buffalo City Forum and buffet dinner on Tuesday, April 5. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. The Forum takes place in the WNED studios, 140 Lower Terrace, Buffalo.

A national correspondent and bureau chief at The New York Times, Wilkerson is the first black woman in the history of American journalism to win a Pulitzer Prize and the first black American to win for individual reporting.

In her latest book, she chronicles the quest and legacy of black Americans who fled the South in search of freedom in the urban North and West. From World War I to the 1970s, about six million black Americans participated in the Great Migration. They include James Baldwin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Richard Wright and the forebears of Michelle Obama, Toni Morrison and most African-Americans in the North and West. This epic relocation set in motion the civil rights movement and created U.S. cities and art forms.

“The Warmth of Other Suns” is the story of three individuals who made the journey, of the forces that compelled them to leave and of the many others – famous and not so famous – who went as far as they could to realize the American Dream.

Inspired by her own parents’ migration, Wilkerson devoted 15 years to researching and writing the book. In the process, she unearthed archival works and interviewed more than 1,200 people.

The Buffalo City Forum community speaker series is open to the public. It is produced by WNED-AM 970 and Leadership Buffalo in collaboration with JacksonParker Communications and hosted by WNED director of news and public affairs Jim Ranney. This special evening Forum, which includes a question-and-answer session with the speaker, will be broadcast on Wednesday, April 6 at 1 p.m. on WNED-AM 970 and wned.org/news.

The admission fee for the Buffalo City Forum is $20 for the public and $15 for members of WNED or Leadership Buffalo.  Advanced registration is encouraged and RSVPs are required for dinner by Friday, April 1.  Tickets are available from Leadership Buffalo by calling (716) 849-2626, ext. 17 or emailing jcollier@leadershipbuffalo.org. 

Buffalo City Forum is made possible by the support of presenting sponsor Independent Health with additional support from gold sponsor People Inc. and community sponsor HSBC African Heritage Committee.

Through WNED-AM 970 The Information Station, Classical 94.5/WNED, WNED-TV and ThinkBright and Well TV, member-supported WNED Buffalo/Toronto provides high quality programming and services that enlighten, inspire, entertain and educate Western New York and Southern Ontario communities. Additional information can be found at wned.org.