UC Worldfest Keynote Speaker Examines Human Rights and Economic Justice

Political activist and independent journalist Rosa Alicia Clemente is the University of Cincinnati’s 2009 Worldfest keynote speaker. Clemente’s lecture, “Human Rights and Economic Justice,” will take place at 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 28, in the MainStreet Cinema, located in Tangeman University Center (TUC) on UC’s campus. Presented by the UC Leadership Lecture series, the event is free and open to the public.

A commentator, political activist, community organizer and independent reporter, Clemente has been delivering workshops, presentations and lectures for more than 10 years. She was the vice presidential running mate of Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Her research examines national liberation struggles inside the United States, with a specific focus on the Young Lords Party and the Black Liberation Army. While a student at SUNY Albany, she was President of the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA) and Director of Multicultural Affairs for the Student Association. At Cornell, she was a founding member of La Voz Boriken, a social/political organization dedicated to supporting Puerto Rican political prisoners and the independence of Puerto Rico.

In 1995, she developed Know Thyself Productions, a full-service speakers’ bureau, production company and media consulting service. Seeing a need for young people of color to be heard and taken seriously, she began presenting workshops and lectures at colleges, universities, high schools and prisons.

She has presented at more than 200 colleges, conferences and community centers on topics such as African-American and Latino/Intercultural Relations, Hip-Hop Activism, the History of the Young Lords Party, women and feminism and Hip Hop.

In 2003, Clemente helped form and coordinate the first National Hip Hop Political Convention that drew more than 3,000 activists to create and implement a national political agenda for the Hip-Hop generation.

Ten days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged parts of the south, Clemente traveled to the devastated areas as an independent journalist. Her reports were picked up by independent radio stations all over the world, including Air America, NPR, Pacifica Radio, Democracy Now, Indy Media, Hard Knock Radio and many more independent and mainstream media outlets.

For more information about Clemente’s Worldfest lecture, contact UC’s Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD) at 513-556-6115.

For a full listing of Worldfest events, click on the calendar from the SALD Web site. Events highlight in red are events in the planning at Raymond Walters College.