Following the talk there will be a question and answer session at 6:45 p.m., followed by breakout sessions for further discussions from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. in various rooms in Northside Hall. Suarez will have a book signing from 8:15 to 9 p.m. at Northside.

The talk, breakout sessions and book signing are free and open to the public.

Conversations on Race is the annual event at IU South Bend that examines race, equality and society.

Suarez joined "The News Hour" in 1999. He has more than 30 years of experience including six years as host with "Talk of the Nation" on National Public Radio. Prior to NPR, he spent seven years covering local, national and international stories for the NBC-owned station, WMAQ-TV in Chicago.

He was also a Los Angeles correspondent for CNN, a producer for the ABC Radio Network in New York, a reporter for CBS Radio in Rome, and a reporter for various American and British news serves in London.

Last fall, his book about the relationship between religion and politics, "The Holy Vote" was published by Rayo/HarperCollins.

Suarez has a bachelor's degree in African history from New York University and a master's degree in social sciences from the University of Chicago. He is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and lives in Washington D.C.