Acclaimed author and activist Kevin Powell presents Carleton’s Black History Month Convocation

January 31, 2016

Carleton College will kick off Black History Month with a special convocation by acclaimed author and activist Kevin Powell on Friday, Feb. 5 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. Entitled “Redefining Manhood: Changing Us, Changing the World,” Powell’s presentation calls for a progressive, multicultural coalition that is inclusive and loving of all Americans, all people, regardless of race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, ability/disability, or political ideology. 

Powell is an outspoken critic of violence against women and girls, and of violence in general, and has been at the forefront of the movement to redefine American manhood away from sexism and violence.

Powell’s appearance is free and open to the public. Carleton convocations are also recorded and archived for online viewing at go.carleton.edu/convo/.

Kevin Powell is regarded as one of the most acclaimed political, cultural, literary and hip-hop voices in America today. A native of Jersey City and raised by a single mother in extreme poverty, Powell became the first in his family to attend a university, thanks to New Jersey’s Educational Opportunity Fund. While studying at Rutgers University, he soon became a student leader, keenly aware of widespread social injustice.

Considered to be one of the most courageous and distinctive voices of our times, Powell has gone on to author eleven books, including “Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and the Ghost of Dr. King: Blogs and Essays” (Lulu.com, 2012. His latest book is a memoir of his very difficult childhood and youth, “The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood” (Atria Books, 2015).

Additionally, Powell has written for Esquire, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Essence, Rolling Stone and Vibe, where he was a founding staff member and served as a senior writer. Most recently, he was a Writing Fellow for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, as well as a Phelps Stokes Fund Senior Fellow. He has also hosted and produced programming for HBO and BET, and was the guest curator of the Brooklyn Museum’s “Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes, and Rage” exhibit, which originated at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Powell is the president and co-founder of BK Nation, a national, progressive, multicultural organization focused on issues of education, civic engagement, leadership training, health and wellness, social media, arts and culture, and job and small business creation. Powell has also promoted local, national and international initiatives to end violence against women and girls and has done extensive philanthropic and relief work related to Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, Superstorm Sandy in New York, and an annual holiday party and clothing drive for the homeless every December since 9/11.  

More at www.kevinpowell.net.

This event is sponsored by the Office of Intercultural and International Life and the Carleton College Convocations Committee. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4308. The Skinner Memorial Chapel is located on First and College Streets in Northfield.