Renowned Lincoln Scholar, Dr. Harold Holzer, to Discuss Parallels Between
Obama and Lincoln at C.W. Post Feb. 3

Brookville, N.Y. - Much has been made of the similarities between presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama -- their humble upbringings, their backgrounds in law and starts in Illinois state politics, to say nothing of their incomparable public speaking skills. But the two men also have very stark differences. One spent less than a year in formal education while the other studied at some of America's finest institutes of higher education. One was a Republican, the other a Democrat.

Noted historian and Lincoln scholar, Dr. Harold Holzer, co-chairman of the U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, will explore both the likenesses and the disparities between these two historic presidents and their presidencies and the lessons that Americans can learn from them in his presentation, Lincoln and Obama: Lessons from the Past, Inspiration for the Future on February 3, 2010 at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. The talk, held at 12:30 p.m. in the Interfaith Center, will consider these two men, their relevance and resonance for the 21st century and offer insights on who Americans are, were and are yet to be.

Dr. Holzer, the senior vice president for external affairs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was appointed to the U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission by President Bill Clinton in 2000 and elected co-chairman in 2001. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 34 books on Lincoln and the Civil War era, and has written more than 425 articles over the past 35 years for both scholarly and popular publications. In 2008 he was awarded the National Endowment Medal by President George W. Bush. In addition to his writing, Holzer lectures throughout the nation. His program “Lincoln Seen and Heard,” with actor Sam Waterston, has been staged and broadcast from such venues as the White House, the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, the Clinton Presidential Library, the Library of Congress, and Ford’s Theatre. Their program, “Lincoln in American Memory,” was televised by PBS on "Bill Moyers’ Journal" last April. He also appears frequently on C-SPAN and the History Channel, and has served as an on-air commentator for such Lincoln Bicentennial specials as "Looking for Lincoln" and "Stealing Lincoln’s Body."

In conjunction with the lecture, and commemorating the Black History Month, Dan Christoffel, artist-in-residence at C.W. Post, will be exhibiting "Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator and his Legacy” in the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library at the C.W. Post Campus from February 1 through February 12, 2010. This exhibit includes a series of portraits of President Lincoln and works inspired by the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s. For over 30 years, Christoffel, a national and international exhibiting artist who is a board member of the Art League of Long Island, has rendered the 16th president artistically in a variety of forms, from charcoal sketches to oil paintings. His work was featured in a retrospective exhibit sponsored by the Long Island Art League in Roslyn, N.Y., which was filmed by the documentary staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

These events are the first in a series between 2010 and 2013. The concatenation will culminate in February 2013 with the exhibit Lincoln: the Constitution and the Civil War, a traveling exhibition for libraries, organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office and made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Designated as a "We the People" project, the exhibit and events are sponsored by the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library (the host library and recipient of the grant), the Port Washington Public Library, Hutton House Lectures and various Campus departments and organizations.

"Lincoln has been one of the most popular presidents in American history," said Manju Prasad-Rao, head of the Instructional Media Center and project director. "He has inspired the public with his ideals, thoughts and eloquent historic speeches, but at the same time, has been viewed by historians as a controversial figure. These events held over the next four years provide C.W. Post students and community with a unique opportunity to celebrate the enduring legacy of this great president."

Posted: November 10, 2009