Jonathan Kozol, a bestselling author with a strong history of writing about the field of education, will deliver a talk today at 7:30 p.m. in Herrick Chapel.

Kozol will explain the challenges of providing equal opportunity within public schools to children regardless of racial identity or economic means. He will also expand on why this issue is fundamental to America’s future and must be discussed in all communities, including ones that are predominately white, such as Grinnell.

Kozol has devoted his life to studying the conditions low-income school districts suffer and how they affect the future of their students. He has won multiple awards for this work, such as the National Book Award in 1968 for his first book “Death at an Early Age” and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1996 for his bestselling novel, “Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation.”

His latest book, “Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America,” also received widespread acclaim. This book highlights deep introspection in that it discusses the broader social implications facing the nation if it continues to ignore a deficiency in education for inner-city children. Kozol has already won multiple awards for this book, such as the Kirkus Review’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2012 and the Booklist 2012 Editor’s Choice Selection.

This event is sponsored by the Education Department, the Grinnell Careers in Education Professions program, the Office of the President, the Rosenfield Program and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.