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Author, political activist to speak on hip-hop Feb. 26 |
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Krista M. Hayes |
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Feb 23, 2007 |
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In celebration of Black History Month, The University of Toledo will host a program titled “History Is a People’s Memory” with a presentation from Kevin Powell, political activist and writer, on Monday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium on Main Campus.
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| Powell |
During his presentation titled “Hip-Hop Declaration,” Powell will discuss the effect of hip-hop on today’s society.
According to Brandon Tucker, UT president of the Black Student Union, Powell was chosen to speak at UT based on his contributions to society and his notable works.
“He truly has the level of awareness and education to empower and impact the UT community — students as well as faculty and staff,” Tucker said.
Aside from being a political activist and a writer, Powell is also a poet, journalist, essayist, editor, cultural curator, hip-hop historian, songwriter, music producer, public speaker, political consultant, fund-raiser and businessman.
The native of Jersey City, N.J., received his education from Rutgers University. He is a longtime resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. It is from his base in New York City that Powell has published six books, including Who’s Gonna Take the Weight? Manhood, Race and Power in America (2003). In it, Powell writes about the gap between illusion and reality for the post-civil rights generation of Americans. His book, Someday We’ll All Be Free, was released in 2006 and features essays on the 2004 presidential election, Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast tragedy.
Powell is writing his childhood memoir, Homeboy Alone, which is slated to be published in 2008. In addition, he is compiling his second volume of poetry, My Own Private Ghetto, and The Kevin Powell Reader, which will highlight the first 20 years of his literary career.
He has written numerous essays, articles and reviews over the past two decades for Newsweek, The Washington Post, Essence, Code, The Amsterdam News and Vibe, where he was a founding staff member and served as a senior writer. While writing for Vibe, Powell interviewed and profiled a number of hip-hop icons, including the late Tupac Shakur.
Powell’s lecture topics include multiculturalism, American and African-American history, the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights, American politics, sexism from a male perspective, leadership, social activism and the state of hip-hip. He produced a series of town hall meetings across the United States in 2006 called the “State of Black Men Tour,” which visited 25 cities.
Among other things, Powell has hosted and produced programming for HBO and BET, written a screenplay, hosted an award-winning MTV documentary, and was the guest curator of the Brooklyn Museum of Art’s “Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes and Rage,” which originated at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, where Powell was the exhibition consultant. The exhibit was the first in the United States dedicated to the history of hip-hop.
“Powell’s presentation is important to attend so people can be educated and empowered and hopefully enlightened to become change agents in their respective realms and communities,” Tucker said.
Following the presentation, the floor will be open for questions.
The free, public program is sponsored by the Black Student Union, the Office of the Dean of Students, Campus Activities and Programming, the Student Union, Student Activities and Leadership, and the Black History Month Committee.
For more information, contact Tucker at 419.779.6645 or the UT Office of Multicultural Student Services at 419.530.2261.
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