Social Justice Advocate to Deliver Hispanic Heritage Month Keynote

September 15, 2016

Rosa Clemente

By Brendan O'Hallarn

Author and social justice advocate Rosa Clemente will deliver the keynote address at Old Dominion University's annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration on Sept. 27 in the Big Blue Room of the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

The event is the highlight of several programs being held through September and early October to honor the thriving, growing Hispanic culture at Old Dominion University.

Clemente's 7 p.m. address, "From Minority to Majority: Students of Color and a New Era of Social Activism," is free and open to the public. Her keynote speech is co-sponsored by the College of Arts & Letters and the University's Office of Intercultural Relations.

A dinner reception and intimate conversation with Clemente is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Big Blue Room. Guests are asked to RSVP online by Sept. 22, 2016.

Clemente, a native of the South Bronx, has spent her life dedicated to scholarly activism. A recognized leader in the study of the intersection of African American and Latino identity, Clemente is president and founder of Know Thy Self Productions which has produced four major community activism tours.

Clemente has been on the boards of directors for organizations such as Black Lives Matter, the National Priorities Project, The Brecht Forum and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Clemente travels nationally as a public speaker.

She is also a frequent national media expert, speaking on issues such as hip-hop activism, media justice, voter engagement among youth of color and immigrants' rights as an extension of human rights.

Other events scheduled for Hispanic Heritage Month include:

• Global Café, Thursday, Oct. 6 at 12:30 p.m. in the Strome Entrepreneurial Center. A learning lunch sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Relations, for students, staff and faculty. She? is also a frequent national media expert, speaking on issues such as hip-hop activism, media justice, voter engagement among youth of color and immigrants' rights as an extension of human rights.

• Adelante: Hispanic/Latino Welcome Dinner, Friday Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Hampton/Newport News Room of Webb University Center. An evening of Monarch community connection over dinner with incoming students, their families, faculty and staff, as well as student leaders. The event is co-sponsored by Lambda Upsilon Lambda, the Hispanic Latino Employee Association, Sigma Lambda Upsilon, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Office of Intercultural Relations.

To attend the dinner, RSVP Online by Oct. 10.

For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month at Old Dominion, or any programming by the University's Office of Intercultural Relations, contact the office at 757-683-4406 or oir@odu.edu.