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Dr. Marc Lamont Hill                

Presidential Professor at CUNY Graduate Center, BET News Correspondent, Human Rights Activist & Author

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is one of the leading intellectual voices in the country. He is the host of BET News, The Grio, Al Jazeera's "Upfront," and the "Coffee & Books" podcast. An award-winning journalist, Dr. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Hill is a professor of urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. Previously, he was the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. He has also held positions at Columbia University and Morehouse College.

Since his days as a youth in Philadelphia, Dr. Hill has been a social justice activist and organizer. He has worked on campaigns to end the death penalty, abolish prisons, and release numerous political prisoners. Dr. Hill has also worked in solidarity with human rights movements around the world. He is the founder and director of The People’s Education Center in Philadelphia, as well as the owner of Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books. Ebony Magazine has named him one of America’s 100 most influential Black leaders.

Dr. Hill is the author or co-author of six books: the award-winning "Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity;" "The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black life in America;" "Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on The Vulnerable from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond;" "Gentrifier;" "We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility;" and "Except For Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics". He has also published two edited books: "Media, Learning, and Sites of Possibility;" and "Schooling Hip-Hop: New Directions in Hip-Hop Based Education."

Dr. Hill holds a Ph.D. with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania. His research agenda focuses on the intersections between culture, politics, and education in the United States and the Middle East.

Speech Topics


The Classroom & the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America

The War on Education

Race, Politics & American Life

Movement or Moment? Obama & the Future of Minority Candidates in Politics

The Obama Formula for Survival: Corporate Diversity in Post-Obama America

Why Black Fraternities & Sororities Still Matter

As we enter the 21st century, many people question the role, purpose, and function of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). In this lecture, Marc Lamont Hill (a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.) argues that Black fraternities and sororities still play a critical role in the Black community. He takes on some of the key issues and challenges faced by BGLOs such as hazing, political engagement, and institution building. Rather than merely spotlighting problems, Dr. Hill also offers concrete solutions and shares his vision for building and sustaining strong 21st-century Black fraternities and sororities.

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Building Community in an Hour of Chaos: Progress in the Age of Obama

Professor, author, and cultural critic Marc Lamont Hill offers a critical analysis of the current social and political moment. By identifying key issues, challenges, controversies, and trends that have emerged or lingered during the "Obama era," Dr. Hill spotlights the work that must be done to sustain the progress of the Freedom Struggle. Moving beyond mere critique, he also provides concrete solutions, as well as sites of hope and possibility for healing our national, local, and university communities.

The War on Youth

In the last 50 years, America's youth have been increasingly marginalized in society. Marc Lamont Hill says we've replaced a language of love, when talking about our youth, with one of blame. America has inflicted injunctions on gangs, legislation against baggy pants, and attacks on rap music, all leading to the propaganda that today's youth are worse than young generations before them. Hill wants to combat the misconceptions plaguing today's youth with an acknowledgement that, as integral to American society's fabric, they are rich with resources rather than social burdens.

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