About the Program
From the 2012 National Black Writers Conference, a panel discussion entitled, "The Impact of Popular Culture on Politics in Literature." The panelists, include William Jelani Cobb, author and associate professor, Africana Studies, Rutgers University, Keli Goff, author and political analyst, Anthony Grooms, author, Lita Hooper, playwright and poet, Michael Simanga, executive director, National Black Arts Festival, and Rev. Conrad Tillard, senior pastor, Nazarene Congregational Church, Brooklyn, New York. The event is moderated by Obery Hendricks, professor of biblical interpretation at New York Theological Seminary and is hosted by Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York.
William Jelani Cobb
William Jelani Cobb is an associate professor of Africana Studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of several books, including The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress. For more information, visit jelanicobb.com.
Keli Goff
Keli Goff has provided political and social commentary for several networks, including MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and CNN. She is a columnist and contributing editor for TheLoop21.com and the author of Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence. For more information, visit keligoff.com.
Anthony Grooms
Anthony Grooms is the author of Ice Poems and the story collection, Trouble No More. He is an English professor at Kennesaw State University. For more information, visit anthonygrooms.com.
Lita Hooper
Lita Hooper is the author of Thunder in Her Voice: The Narrative of Sojourner Truth and Art of Work: The Art and Life of Haki R. Madhubuti. For more information, visit litahooper.com.
Michael Simanga
Michael Simanga is the executive director of the National Black Arts Festival and the former director of Fulton County Arts & Culture. He is the co-editor of 44 on 44: Forty Four African American Writers on the Election of Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States.
Conrad Tillard
Conrad Tillard is the senior pastor of Nazarene Congregational Church in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of The Prodigal Son Imperative: In My Father's House.