The Oregon Humanities Center inaugurates its year of programming on the theme of “Justice” with a visit by noted hip-hop scholar, social commentator and social justice activist James Braxton Peterson, director of Africana studies and associate professor of English at Lehigh University. 

Peterson will give the UO’s annual Lorwin Lecture on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the EMU ballroom. In his lecture, “A Song, A Slogan, and A Service: Dispatches from the Movement for Black Lives,” Peterson will provide several insights and updates regarding the Black Lives Matter movement and talk about the ways in which popular culture can be a powerful force in shaping the nation’s political and social discourse and direction.  

Peterson’s three-part talk will include a discussion of the hip-hop generation’s emergence as a powerful force for cultural critique and social activism and one rapper’s voice adopted by the Black Lives Matter movement.

He will also address blind spots within the black social justice movement in the 21st century. #SayHerName is a resulting movement that pursues equal justice for black women and members of the LGBTQ community.

Finally, he will show that current events have deep historical precedents and roots, and that society still has a long way to go before reaching a state of true social justice and equality in America.

While many were organizing around recent significant historical anniversaries, Peterson attended a church service at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. “The cameras are gone, the media is gone, but the pain and devastation remain,” Peterson said.

Peterson hosts “The Remix,” a regular podcast on Philadelphia NPR affiliate WHYY.  “The Remix” engages issues at the intersection of race, politics, and popular culture. Peterson has written for the Huffington Post, The Guardian, Reuters and The Daily Beast.  He is currently an MSNBC contributor and has appeared on MSNBC, Al-Jazeera, CNN, HLN, Fox News, and other networks as an expert on race, politics, and popular culture.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For information call 541-346-3934 or contact ohc@uoregon.edu.