Kevin Powell, Keynote Speaker
Journalist/Author/Educator/Activist

Kevin Powell is a poet, journalist, essayist, editor, cultural curator, hip-hop historian, public speaker, political consultant and fundraiser, and community activist.

Powell has always lived his life on the edge. He grew up on the mean streets of Jersey City , NJ and refused to be trapped by the poverty that shaped his youth. With an intense yearning for knowledge and love of reading, he overcame countless obstacles to attend Rutgers University , where he studied political science and English. Emerging as a prominent student activist, he worked along side Sister Souljah on the anti-apartheid movement, conducted voter registration drives and launched a national Black youth and student alliance.

It is from his base in New York City that he has published six books, including his most recent, Who's Gonna Take The Weight? Manhood, Race, and Power in America , which is an Essence magazine bestseller. Additionally, Powell has written numerous essays, articles and reviews over the past 17 years for publications such as Newsweek , The Washington Post , Essence , Code , Rolling Stone , and Vibe , where he was a founding staff member and worked as a senior writer.

Because of his television exposure and literary and journalism work, Powell is a highly sought after public speaker. He has lectured on racism, sexism, American popular culture, Black and American history, Martin Luther King, Jr., contemporary literature, multiculturalism and the history of hip-hop at dozens of colleges and universities across America , including Yale, Princeton , and Stanford. He has also made numerous speaking appearances at prisons and community centers, as well as at churches, conferences and forums throughout the nation.

Powell, whose future plans include a run for Congress in 2006, is currently producing a series of townhall meetings across America called the State of Black Men Tour , which will visit approximately 15 cities in 2004. He is constantly pushing to ensure the voices of his generation: the concerns, cares, fears and fearlessness, are heard.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

• Living in a Multicultural America
• The State of Hip-Hop Culture
• Who's Gonna Take The Weight? Developing New Leaders for a New Century
• Dr. King, Civil Rights, and the Hip-Hop Generation
• History is a People's Memory: The Importance of Black History Month