This year’s speaker for the Freed Contemporary Christian Lecture Series is Nikki Grimes. This event is free and open to the public.

A bestselling author and a prolific artist, Nikki Grimes has written many award-winning books for children and young adults including the Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade; the Coretta Scott King Author Honor books Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words with Wings; Horn Book Fanfare for Talkin' About Bessie; ALA Notable books What is Goodbye? and Words with Wings; the popular Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, and numerous picture books and novels including The New York Times bestseller Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope and, most recently, Garvey's Choice and One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance.

In addition to her work for children, Ms. Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Today's Christian Woman, Book Links, and Image, Journal of Arts & Religion.