AUSTIN, Texas – March 28, 2012 – Harry Edwards, Ph.D., will present two lectures about sports, race and media in late March through the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication's Texas Program in Sports and Media (TPSM). The lectures are open to the public, and RSVPs to christopher.hart@utexas.edu are requested.

As a sociologist at San Jose State University in 1967, Edwards organized the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), which supported an Olympic boycott by African-Americans in response to civil rights inequities. The OPHR led to the Black Power Salute protest by African-American athletes at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

The first lecture will take place from 2-3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28 in Michael Cramer's "Sports, Media and the Integration of American Society" class in Room 3.124 of the University Teaching Center, 105 E. 21st St.

The second lecture will take place from 9:30-11 a.m. on Thursday, March 29 in Professor Louis Harrison's "African-Americans in Sport" class in Room 104 of the George I. Sanchez Building, 1912 Speedway Ave.

Edwards will speak about developments at the interface of sports, race and media in the 20th century, as well as projections for the 21st century.

"In 1904, W.E.B. DuBois said the problem of the 20th century will be the problem of the color line," Edwards said. "His vision turned out to be prophetic. The problem of the 21st century will be diversity in all of its varieties and intricacies."

One example of a 21st century problem, Edwards said, is the conflict between university athletics and academics. Although the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics predicts that top university athletics programs will have budgets exceeding $250 million by 2020, educational dollars are becoming scarcer.

Edwards also will speak about the increasing pressure to compensate student-athletes who are involved in revenue-producing sports; the public’s understanding of women's sports in a historical and societal context; and the Miami Heat players’ support of Trayvon Martin.

A frequent lecturer on the relationship of African-American athletes to American culture, Edwards is a professor emeritus of sociology from the University of California at Berkeley and author of "The Revolt of the Black Athlete." He also has served as a consultant to the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors.

Founded in 2009, TPSM addresses the confluence of sports, media and society.

One of the nation's foremost institutions for the study of advertising and public relations, communication sciences and disorders, communication studies, journalism and radio-TV-film, The University of Texas at Austin College of Communication is preparing students to thrive in an era of media convergence. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is nationally recognized for its faculty members, research and student media. For more information about the College of Communication, visit http://communication.utexas.edu.

CONTACT: Laura Byerley, 512-471-2182 or Christopher Hart, 512-471-2431.