CEDRIC JENNINGS TO SPEAK AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA'S MAIN CAMPUS AND NORTHWEST REGIONAL CENTER ON NOVEMBER 12

PHILADELPHIA, November 8, 2007 - Cedric Jennings, the main character of the best-selling book, A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Ron Suskind, will speak at the College’s Northwest Regional Center, 1300 Godfrey Ave., at 8:30 a.m., Monday, Nov. 12.

Jennings will also speak at the College’s Main Campus at 12:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 12, in the Bonnell Large Auditorium on 16th Street between Spring Garden and Callowhill Streets.

Living in one of Washington, D.C.’s most troubled communities, Cedric Jennings overcame violent peers, poor high school preparation and an immense cultural gap to achieve his goal of graduating from Brown University. Jennings will speak about his experiences and academic achievements despite the obstacles he faced.

A Hope in the Unseen (Doubleday/Broadway, 1998) was written by Suskind, who first wrote about Jennings in a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal, which won him the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Jennings’ story has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC’s Nightline, Good Morning America and in Esquire magazine. Both Jennings and Suskind have addressed the President’s Initiative on Race. A Hope in the Unseen has prompted national discussion on affirmative action, advancement through higher education and how bridges might be built across divides of race and income.