Update: Due to the inclement weather, Missouri S&T has postponed Monday’s lecture by Jimmie Briggs, author of "Innocent Voices" and UN Goodwill Ambassador, and the reception that was to follow. Briggs’ lecture, "An African-American's Lesson Learned: The Need for Ethical Leadership in the Global Community," will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Carver-Turner Room of the Havener Center, with the reception to follow.

Jimmie Briggs, a St. Louis native and author of “Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War,” will give several public talks at Missouri University of Science and Technology in February.

Briggs will discuss the need for ethical leadership in the global community as part of the Black Man’s Think Tank Leadership series starting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 11, in the Havener Center on the Missouri S&T campus. The Black Man’s Think Tank is a student organization that encourages African-American males to graduate from Missouri S&T and serves as a resource for transfer students and those that may not be associated with residential and fraternity life. The one-hour talk will include a question-and-answer session, followed by an open reception with students.

On Tuesday, he will give a talk in Leach Theatre prior to the Free Film Festival’s 7 p.m. presentation of “Innocent Voices” and lead a follow-up question and answer session.

Briggs will wrap up his three-day appearance with an open campus lecture at noon in the Havener Center. The talk will focus on covering the legacy of war, child soldiers and today’s civil rights issues. He will also be available for a book signing from 3-5 p.m. at the Missouri S&T Bookstore.

Briggs is a New York-based writer, teacher and freelance journalist who has focused professionally on child soldiers and the lives of war-affected children. He is the first African American to be appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador and a Special Envoy for Children and Armed Conflict by the World Association of Former United Nations Interns and Fellows at the United Nations.

Briggs received the John Bartlow Martin Award from Northwestern University for a Life magazine story on the Gulf War’s impact on children and was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. In addition to Life, he has written for The Washington Post, The Village Voice, Emerge, Vibe, George, The Source, Junior Scholastic, XXL and The New York Times Magazine.