Calvin Trillin, Keynote Speaker

Tickets are now on sale for the Truman Library Institute’s annual fundraising dinner, Wild About Harry, taking place on Thursday, April 20, at the Marriott-Muehlebach Hotel.

This year’s event will celebrate the civil rights legacy of President Truman as well as Harry S. Truman Legacy of Leadership Award honorees Rep. James Clyburn and Rep. John Lewis. The keynote speaker is bestselling author and Kansas City native Calvin Trillin, a New Yorker writer and humorist who recently issued Jackson, 1964, a career-spanning collection of articles on race and racism from the 1960s to the present.

James Clyburn, Honoree

Rep. Clyburn has served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District for more than 20 years. Currently serving as Assistant Democratic Leader, Rep. Clyburn earned his early political stripes as a student leader at South Carolina State College during the civil rights years.

“I have always admired the life and legacy of Harry Truman,” Rep. Clyburn said. “Put simply, Harry Truman was a giant who believed all Americans deserve better than lives of fear and deprivation. I am extremely honored to receive the Harry S. Truman Legacy of Leadership Award and hope to live long enough to prove myself deserving.”

John Lewis, Honoree

Rep. Lewis has served as U.S. Representative to Georgia’s 5th Congressional District for more than 30 years. One of the “Big Six” leaders of the civil rights movement, Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties and building what he calls “the beloved community” in America.

Leo Morton, Chancellor of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is serving as the event’s honorary chair, and Mary and Alan Atterbury are serving as event chairs.

Sponsorship packages start at just $1,000, and individual event tickets cost $200. For more information about sponsorship or to purchase tickets, see trumanlibraryinstitute.org/wild or contact Kim Rausch, director of development, at 816-268-8237 or kim.rausch@nara.gov.

Wild About Harry is the Truman Library Institute’s premier signature event and annual fundraising dinner benefiting the presidential library and legacy of Harry S. Truman. Now in its 18th year, Wild About Harry has raised more than $5 million in support of nationally acclaimed education and outreach programs created to foster civic engagement and to nurture the next “greatest generation.”

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