Morgan to lecture on intersection of feminism and hip hop

	Joan Morgan

Joan Morgan, an award-winning journalist, author and a provocative cultural critic, will talk about the intersection of feminism and hip hop at 7:30 p.m. Monday, February 6, in Lehigh University's Sinclair Auditorium.
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Women's Center, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Visiting Lecturers Committee.
Morgan is a self-confessed hip-hop junkie, whose passion and commitment to the accurate documentation of hip hop, combined with adept cultural criticism, has placed her at the forefront of music journalism. In addition to her role as a staff writer for Vibe magazine for three years, she also was a contributing editor and columnist who wrote extensively about music and gender issues for Madison, Interview, MS, More and Spin magazines.
Her work is frequently reprinted in numerous college texts, as well as books on feminism, music and African-American culture. Morgan's book, “When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost,” is used in colleges across the country. Critics have described it as “fresh, witty and irreverent,” and noted that “it marks the literary debut of one of the most original, perceptive and engaging young social commentators in America today.”
The Jamaican-born Morgan began her professional writing career freelancing for The Village Voice. Her first article, “The Pro-Rape Culture,” explored the issues of race and gender in the case of the Central Park jogger. After the article and the heated response to it, Morgan quickly established a reputation as a Black-feminist writer who was did not shy away from tackling the most highly charged topics. Her article won an award from the New York Association of Black Journalists.
Two years later, The Village Voice asked Morgan to cover the rape trial of former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson. Her insightful coverage earned her an EMMA (Excellence Merit Media Award) from the National Woman’s Political Caucus.
In January 2000, she joined the Essence staff as an editor-at-large. This past September, she was promoted to executive editor and now manages a team of 46 people.
She has made numerous television and radio appearances, including ones on MTV, BET and VH-1. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Morgan has lectured at high schools and colleges across the country, including Princeton and Yale.
--Liz Danzig