He’s a Rhodes Scholar, the recipient of the National Book award and controversial educator who was fired for reading a Langston Hughes poem to his students in the 1960s.

His name is Jonathan Kozol and he will be speaking and signing copies of his books at Sacramento State University, tonight at 7:30 in the University Union Ballroom.A Boston, Massachusetts native, Kozol attended Harvard before becoming a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

“Mr. Kozol has been a leader in the field of education for over 30 years,” said Leonard Valdez, director of the Multi-Cultural Center. “His books have been used extensively to introduce new teaching students to the difficulties encountered by a variety of students in K-12 education. We simply got lucky and we were able to get him,” Kozol turned to a career in academics upon hearing the news of three murders of young civil-rights workers perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan.

His enjoyment in teaching young children brought him to the Roxbury, Massachusetts, public school system where he taught fourth grade. While there, he read an unapproved poem by Langston Hughes and was subsequently fired.

His first non-fiction book, “Death at an Early Age: the Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools” recounts his teaching experience in Roxbury, has sold two million copies around the world and earned him the 1968 National Book Award.

Kozol later received the Robert F. Kennedy Award and Conscience in Media Award of the Society of Journalists and Authors in 1989 for his book “Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America.”

Recognized for research in topics such as school finance, racial segregation and homelessness, Kozol has been called “today’s most eloquent spokesman for America’s disenfranchised” by the Chicago Sun-Times. Kozol’s main subjects in his books are social problems like homelessness, illiteracy and segregated and unequal schools.

According to Valdez, 70-80 percent of tickets sold for these types of events are purchased on the day of the event; furthermore, Kozol’s lecture has sold 500-600 tickets with the expectation of more on the day of the lecture.

Kozol’s popularity is so high and importance of his message so great that the Sac State education department has sent letters to high school principals inviting them to the lecture, according to Valdez.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Sac State Ticket Office or online at tickets.com. Admission costs $5 for students and $10 for the public. Parking will be free in lots 7 & 8 for those who attend.

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