‘The Butler’ author to speak as part of Martin Luther King Jr. celebration

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Wil Haygood, prolific author and writer for the Washington Post, will speak at Bowling Green State University Jan. 19 as part of the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Haygood is the author of “The Butler: A Witness to History,” which was made into a feature film.

Haygood’s presentation, “The Beauty of the Dream,” will start at 7 p.m. in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The event is free and open to the public. After the talk, Haygood will be signing his books.

While he’s on campus, Haygood will also be meeting with students and speaking to classes.

A Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellow, Haygood has been described as a cultural historian. His “King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.,” told the story of the enigmatic New York congressman and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. That was followed by “In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.” and “Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson.”

Haygood served as associate producer of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” the 2013 award-winning film staring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and John Cusack.=

He is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio.