LZ Granderson is a man on a mission and one that plays on many fields -- and almost all of them are devoted to his love of sports. In fact, when we finally did catch up to discuss his upcoming appearance in his hometown of Grand Rapids for the Diversity Lecture Series at Fountain Street Church, he was out of breath as he was racing to catch his flight out of New Orleans. (Yes, he was at the Super Bowl.)
Granderson, a weekly columnist at CNN.com, is also a senior writer and columnist for
ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. And if, by chance, you are channel surfing, you might even catch him on ESPN's "Sports Center," "Outside the Lines," and "First Take," where he has logged in some of the best sports broadcasting of all time, as he is unabashedly not afraid to tackle the tough topics.
This will be Granderson's first major speaking engagement in Grand Rapids since his 2012
TEDxGrandRapids talk, where he literally had the audience at their feet even before the last words of his presenation. He has this kind of impact on people.
His new topic, "
Dare You To Move," will springboard off some of the themes that have been a part of his professional career, but also what he has learned as a dad in a relationship with another man raising a son in West Michigan. And while some would argue that given this mix, he should keep his head down here, Granderson is advocating that more LGBT people be more open and out as to who they are because of the good it brings to society.
"This topic will be about my journey, but also about the journey of all of us," says Granderson. "If more people would just be more open about themselves, we would see a greater impact in society that reaches beyond marches and even speeches like President Obama's inaugural (speech)."
Granderson, like all the speakers who have participated in this excellent lecture series, continues to remind us of the beauty we can create when we are open to experience dialogue around those ideas and lifestyles that might be foreign to us. There will be a Q&A period immediately after the lecture, something Granderson says he is happy to be a part of as he whisks through the gate of the airport,
Next month on March 13, author Susan Cain will wrap up the Woodrick Diversity Learning Center's 2012 - 13 Diversity Lecture Series with a lecture based on her latest book,
Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.
Admission: Free