On The Front Lines
John W. Whitehead To Be Featured Guest on Sunday, May 27, at 11:30 AM EST on WVPT’s (PBS, Virginia) Debut of ‘Politics Matters with Jan Paynter’
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead will be a featured guest on the debut of Politics Matters with Jan Paynter, which will begin airing on PBS station WVPT’s Channel 11 on Sunday, May 27, at 11:30am, EST.
Host Jan Paynter interviews Whitehead about a wide range of civil liberties issues with particular emphasis on the preservation of free speech. Paynter created Politics Matters in 2009 with the intention of fostering greater citizen awareness and participation in local, state, and national issues. In the 2012 season, Paynter will interview sitting officials, scholars, prospective political candidates, and private citizens on a wide range of topics affecting all Virginia communities. Previous guests on the program have included Bob Gibson, Executive Director of the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership; Virginia’s former 5th District Congressman Tom Perriello; Professor David A. Martin of the University of Virginia School of Law; Representative David Toscano of the Va. 57th District; Staunton City Councilman Bruce Elder and former Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris.
John W. Whitehead is an attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the area of constitutional law and human rights. Whitehead’s concern for the persecuted and oppressed led him, in 1982, to establish The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties and human rights organization whose international headquarters are located in Charlottesville, Va. Whitehead serves as the Institute’s president and spokesperson, in addition to writing a weekly commentary that is featured on Huffington Post, as well as being distributed to several hundred newspapers, and hosting a national public service radio campaign. Whitehead's aggressive, pioneering approach to civil liberties issues has earned him numerous accolades, including the Hungarian Medal of Freedom. Whitehead serves as a member of the Constitution Project, which seeks to formulate bipartisan solutions to contemporary constitutional and legal issues by combining high-level scholarship and public education. Whitehead has been the subject of numerous newspaper, magazine and television profiles. The author of numerous books on a variety of legal and social issues, as well as pamphlets and brochures providing legal information to the general public, Whitehead has also written numerous magazine and journal articles. Whitehead has filed numerous amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has also been co-counsel in several landmark Supreme Court cases. Born in 1946 in Tennessee, John W. Whitehead earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arkansas in 1969 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1974. He served as an officer in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971.
