Walter Mosley
Novelist, author of Devil in a Blue Dress and Walkin’ the Dog
Wednesday, March 1, 2000, 4:00 pm

Novelist Walter Mosley, well known as one of America’s leading detective writers (the recent Walkin’ the Dog, Devil in a Blue Dress, and a dozen other books), is also making a name for himself as an insightful writer and speaker on race relations — a subject he will address in Baltimore at our kick-off, keynote address. His essay on race relations appears in a new book called Black Genius: African American Solutions to African American Problems, coedited by Mosley.

David Halberstam
Historian, author of Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made
Thursday, March 2, 2000, 1:30 pm

Prize-winning journalist and writer David Halberstam is one of America’s most gifted chroniclers of the late twentieth century. From his recent work on Michael Jordan and the culture of celebrities to the Civil Rights Movement, from the 1949 Yankees to JFK and the Vietnam War era, Halberstam’s writing has helped illuminate a number of generations of Americans.

Amber Coffman, Melissa Helmbrecht, and Joel Sanchez-Cornielle
Young activists and spokespeople for the Heart of America Foundation
Friday, March 3, 2000, 9:00 am

With a nod to the future, NAIS has invited three remarkable young Americans — Amber Coffman, Melissa Helmbrecht, and Joel Sanchez-Cornielle — to speak with conference-goers about their exceptional dedication to community. All of them have gone way out of their way to help others, and have joined up with the Heart of America Foundation, which helps these young people get their message out. Their presentations on establishing youth programs to help the homeless, the underprivileged, and the elderly, and to organize thousands of other volunteers for community service programs are proof positive that our nation’s future is in good, caring hands.