Invitation to a special Ford Hall Forum event

On April 21 the Ford Hall Forum is presenting its 31st annual First Amendment award to retired New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis.  

As you may know, Lewis (who is the husband of recently-retired SJC Chief Justice Margaret Marshall) is the author of Gideon’s Trumpet, Make No Law, and Freedom for the Thought We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment.

I am honored to have been asked by the Ford Hall Forum to serve on the First Amendment Award 2011 Event Committee, and I want to invite you to attend the award ceremony and forum (which is free and open to the public), as well as a private pre-ceremony reception.

The Ford Hall Forum’s Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award commends individuals and entities for extraordinary commitment to the thoughtful exercise of the freedom of expression. Previous First Amendment Award recipients include civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis, Tiananmen Square rebel and astrophysicist Fang Lizhi, and NPR journalists Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg, and Linda Wertheimer. Honorees like these best exemplify the spirit of the Ford Hall Forum, which for over a century has given acclaimed experts a chance to disseminate controversial opinions on the issues of our time, while providing the public opportunities to openly challenge them.

The evening's events will start at 5:00 p.m. when the Forum will hold a reception with Anthony Lewis at the offices of Prince Lobel Glovsky & Tye in Boston. Reception tickets (which will include priority seating at the forum) are available for purchase here.

If you or your firm or business are interested in sponsoring this prestigious reception, please contact me. Sponsorship levels range from $500 to $5,000, and include tickets to the reception, an ad in the program booklet, and, depending on the level of sponsorship, your name or logo in various Forum email announcements or brochures, or on the Forum's Website, and, at the highest level, recognition as an event underwriter.

The Award Ceremony and forum begins at 6:30 p.m. at Suffolk University’s C. Walsh Theatre. Floyd Abrams, America’s leading First Amendment lawyer, will guide a fascinating conversation with Lewis on his life and career (including his time as a Nieman Scholar at Harvard, Editor-in-Chief for the London office of the Times, professor of journalism, and longtime “At Home Abroad” columnist for the Times), and his demonstrated passion for the First Amendment.

The Awards Ceremony and forum is free and open to the public, but you do need to register here for a free ticket.


I hope that you will be able to join us for an exciting evening.