Whose Flag is it Anyway?

Presidio of San Francisco (June 27, 2003) — With July 4th approaching, the Presidio Officer’s Club will be the scene, July 2, at 7 pm, for a lively panel discussion on the American flag with former state Senator Tom Hayden highlighting a round-table of distinguished journalists and professors.

“Whose Flag Is It Anyway?” promises to elevate the political blood pressure a degree or two on this 227th anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. Included on the panel are:

• San Francisco Chronicle editorial page editor, John Diaz
• University of California, Berkeley Professor of Journalism, William Drummond
• Carolyn Marvin, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School of Journalism

Hayden was a leader of the student, civil rights and anti-war movements in the 1960s. He was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982 and the state Senate in 1992. Hayden’s legislative record includes legislation on behalf of women, African-Americans and Latinos, Holocaust survivors, and immigrants.

Drummond, a Berkeley professor, began his career reporting for the Louisville Courier-Journal and later reported for many years for the Los Angeles Times. He served as associate press secretary to President Jimmy Carter and worked as editor and national security correspondent for National Public Radio. He has been honored with a National Press Club Foundation Award, the Sidney Hillman Foundation Award for Journalism Excellence, and the Award for Outstanding Coverage of the Black Condition from the National Association of Black Journalists.

Marvin is the author of Blood Sacrifice and the Nation: Totem Rituals and the American Flag; and an accomplished essayist and teacher with expertise in cultural studies, freedom of expression, and the history of communication technologies.

Diaz has served as The Chronicle’s editorial page editor since 1996. He has won numerous regional and statewide awards during his tenure and served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes in 2001 and 2002. He is a frequent commentator on local and national television news programs, including “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”