National panelists will discuss 'N' Word

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- The NAACP has buried it. New York City banned it. Next week, four people will discuss the “N” word during the first Professionals of Color Lecture Series at Grand Valley State University.

Sponsored by Grand Valley's Office of Multicultural Affairs, "The ‘N’ Word, the ‘B’ Word, and Beyond” is scheduled for Wednesday, September 12, from 4-6 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room, Allendale Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The panelists are Karrine Steffans, former hip-hop music video performer; Benjamin Chavis, co-founder of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network; Joan Morgan, author and journalist; and Raymond Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. The event will be moderated by Jennifer Moss, WOOD-TV Channel 8 Daybreak anchor.

Media notes: The panelists will be available for interviews prior to the event, beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Kirkhof Center, room 228. There will be a mult box in the Grand River Room.

Connie Dang, OMA interim director, said the panelists will help audience members examine their feelings about racial slurs and discuss whether public outcry over such language can cause the words to disappear.

More about the panelists:

-- Karrine Steffans, a Los Angeles resident, is the author of “Confessions of a Video Vixen,” a 2005 memoir about her life as an actor in hip-hop videos. She has appeared on numerous TV talk shows including “The O’Reilly Factor” and “Oprah.”

-- Benjamin Chavis co-founded the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network with Russell Simmons. He served as CEO and executive director of the NAACP from 1993-94.

-- Joan Morgan is a self-confessed hip-hop junkie. She has written for numerous newspapers and magazines and then served as executive editor of Essence. Her book, “When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost,” was published in 1999; she has also written for college textbooks and other works on feminism and African-American culture.

-- Raymond Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University in Maryland, has written many articles and conducted research on the politics of Afrocentricity. The IUR researchers conduct community surveys, host programs and seminars that are consistent with the university’s urban mission.

For more information about the “‘N’ Word” event, call (616) 331-2177. Headshots of the panelists are available by calling News and Information Services at (616) 331-2221.