The Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture will feature Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for fair pay. The free lecture will be held Thursday, August 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street. Ledbetter’s book, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond, will be available for purchase at the event. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

In 1998, Ledbetter filed a gender pay discrimination suit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in federal court and won a jury verdict of more than $3 million. After a series of appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the lower court’s ruling. Despite her defeat, Ledbetter continued her fight until the Supreme Court decision was nullified when President Obama, on January 29, 2009, signed into law the first new law of his administration: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. While she will never receive restitution from Goodyear, Ledbetter said, “I’ll be happy if the last thing they say about me after I die is that I made a difference.”

CALS established the Rabbi Ira E. Sanders Distinguished Lectureship to commemorate the memory of Dr. Sanders’ 40 years of service on the library’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Ira E. Sanders served as rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel for 38 years. He was a founder of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, the Arkansas Eugenics Association (later Planned Parenthood Association), and the Urban League of Greater Little Rock, where he served as an executive and advisory board member for more than 30 years. Lectures honor Dr. Sanders’ commitment to intellectual freedom.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are appreciated, but not required. RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009.