MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A prominent African American journalist, academic and activist will provide MTSU’s 2021 Black History Month keynote address.

Marc Lamont Hill, the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities and Solutions at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and host of BET News and the “Coffee and Books” podcast, will deliver a virtual presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at http://tiny.cc/MarcHill-MTSU.

Dr. Keonte Coleman, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, will moderate with assistance from DeAmbrea West, a senior journalism major from Antioch, Tennessee.

The founder and director of The People’s Education Center in Philadelphia, Hill has worked on campaigns to end the death penalty, abolish prisons and release political prisoners. He also has worked with human rights movements around the globe.

Hill is author or co-author of several books, including “Beats, Rhymes and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity,” “The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America,” and the upcoming “We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest & Possibility.”

Named one of America’s 100 most influential Black leaders by Ebony Magazine, Hill has won numerous awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, the International Academy of Arts and Sciences and GLAAD, a nongovernmental organization that monitors defamatory media coverage of the LGBTQ community.

“We’re excited to bring Dr. Hill’s powerful voice and insights to the MTSU community for Black History Month, especially in light of the social and political dynamics of the past year,” said Daniel Green, chair of the MTSU Black History Month Committee and the director of the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs.

“His incisive commentary is sure to give us all food for thought as our nation continues to grapple with a litany of cultural and societal challenges.”

This event is sponsored by the Black History Month Committee, the Distinguished Lecture Committee, the College of Media and Entertainment, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and MTSU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.