Social activist and political commentator Jeff Johnson will headline the annual Black Arts and Sciences Festival lecture Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Graham Chapel.
The festival, which began on Sunday, is one of the Association of Black Student’s (ABS) major programs. This year’s festival is focusing on activism and how to achieve change.
“There are different ways to be activists and that’s what we’re trying to highlight,” said ABS President Sarah Johnson.
Mr. Johnson’s lecture, entitled “Become Activists: Building Effective Campus Organizations and Maintaining Excellence,” is co-sponsored by the Assembly Series.
“[Mr. Johnson] will be speaking on how we as young people can he influential forces of change on our college campus,” said Jasmine Taylor, ABS programming co-chair.
According to Ms. Johnson, ABS made its selection partially because of Mr. Johnson’s history as a political commentator and the controversy he raised.
“Not everyone agreed with what he had to say,” said Ms. Johnson. “But he is very interested in making people become activists.”
Johnson’s lecture is part of the annual Black Arts and Sciences Festival, a weeklong event that is focusing on how students can impact today’s world.
“It’s a national, even world wide feeling that people are getting that things will not change from their parent’s generation without effort,” said Ms. Johnson. “People are realizing that nothing will change unless you get up and do something about it.”
Each event will be labeled Acts I-VI, and the last event will be the annual ABS semi-formal, which will be called the Final Act.
“We are using a bit of a theatrical theme,” said Omolade Alawode, ABS programming co-chair.
Mr. Johnson has made occasional appearances on BET talk shows and created his own successful television programs, “Cousin Jeff” and “The Jeff Johnson Chronicles.” In 2004, Mr. Johnson was the first to cover Democratic national conventions for BET.
Since his appointment with the NAACP as National Youth Director, Johnson has attempted to generate interest in social and political arenas among young activists, including the development of MyNationOnline.com, a Web site devoted to social activism and spreading awareness.
Mr. Johnson is currently writing a book, tentatively entitled “Black and Brown: The Conversation on Race America Has Never Had.” Johnson plans to express the need for honest communication between Black and Latino communities.
Mr. Johnson’s lecture is open to all University students, faculty, staff and the entire St. Louis community.
“We would love to see a diverse crowd fill [Graham Chapel] to capacity,” said Taylor.
Other events in the festival include a voter education forum on Thursday and the annual ABS semi-formal on Saturday night.
“We want to be active votes and we want to get people registered,” said Ms. Johnson. “We’re going to talk about the major issues in this election and how to vote by absentee ballot.”
For additional information regarding Johnson’s lecture, call 314-935-5285 or visit assemblyseries.wustl.edu.
-With additional reporting by Sam Guzik.