SJC to Welcome Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps

April 13, 2014 BK

BROOKLYN, N.Y. April 14, 2014 The Department of Journalism and New Media Studies at St. Josephs College (SJC) is pleased to welcome three authors to the Brooklyn Campus as part of its public programming series.

On Monday, April 28, Ayana Byrd and co-author Lori Tharps will present the new edition of their work Hair Story at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Lounge. The April 14 event with Greg Grandin will be rescheduled.

The Hair Story event will take place in Tuohy Hall, located on the Brooklyn Campus of St. Josephs College, and it is free and open to the public.

Byrd and Tharps will chart the new chapters of their work and cover the rapid changes that have occurred over the past decade regarding the business and culture of black hair, including the impact of the Internet, two of the biggest hair trends (weaves and natural hair), Chris Rocks documentary Good Hair, the proliferation of the Black hair industry, and more. Akiba Solomon, managing editor of Colorlines, will moderate the discussion.

"There's plenty of overlap between history and journalism," says Ted Hamm, chair of the Department of Journalism and New Media Studies at SJC. "These authors illustrate the ways in which historians can tell good stories, as well as how journalists can use the past to inform us about the present."

Grandin will explore the true events behind Herman Melvilles classic story "Benito Cereno, and in the process, revise our understanding of the ways in which slavery shaped Atlantic cultures from Africa to the Americas. Readers will understand the chain of deception that inspired an anti-slavery ships captain to commit acts of horrific violence. Greg Grandins six previous books include Fordlandia, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. A professor of history at New York University, Grandins other award-winning works include Empire's Workshop, The Last Colonial Massacre and The Blood of Guatemala. He lives in Brooklyn.

Ayana D. Byrd graduated from Barnard College and is the co-editor of Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips and Other Parts. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, as well as magazines including Glamour, Essence and Rolling Stone. She lives in Brooklyn and teaches arts reporting at SJC.

Lori L. Tharps is an assistant professor of journalism at Temple University. A graduate of Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Journalism, she is also the author of the memoir Kinky Gazpacho. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and three children.

For any questions regarding these events, or the Journalism and New Media Studies Program at St. Josephs College, contact Dr. Ted Hamm at 718.940.5307.