Activist, theologian Osagyefo Sekou to lecture, perform

Osagyefo Sekou
Provided
The Rev. Osagyefo Sekou performs with his band, the Holy Ghost.

Activist, theologian, musician and public intellectual Rev. Osagyefo Sekou will lecture on “The Task of the Artist the Time of Monsters,” Jan. 30 at 4:45 p.m. in 142 Goldwin Smith Hall. His musical group, Rev. Sekou and the Holy Ghost, performs Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, 306 N. Aurora St.

The events are free and open to the public. Sekou’s visit is sponsored by the American Studies Program as part of the interdisciplinary Freedom Interrupted series at Cornell.

Described by Cornel West as “one of the most courageous and prophetic voices of our time,” Sekou has been active in teaching alternatives to gang violence and organizing against police violence and social injustice. He led nonviolent civil disobedience training for hundreds of activists in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014; is a co-founder of Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq; and was a senior adviser to Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign.

Sekou is the author of “urbansouls,” a meditation on hip-hop and religion; “Gods, Gays, and Guns: Essays on Religion and the Future of Democracy,” and the forthcoming “Riot Music: British Hip Hop, Race, and the Politics of Meaning.”

Rev. Sekou and the Holy Ghost blends gospel, blues, soul, funk and freedom songs. Sekou met singer-songwriter Jay-Marie Hill during a 2015 Black Lives Matter protest in Cleveland; their debut album is “The Revolution Has Come.”

Media Contact

Rebecca Valli