Outspoken Social Activist and Scholar Rosa Clemente to Speak at UF

Rosa Clemente

Influential scholar activist and Ph.D. candidate Rosa Clemente will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 in Ritz Auditorium as a guest of the University of Findlay’s College of Education. Her presentation will be free and open to the public.
The South Bronx, New York native who is a doctoral student in the W.E.B. Dubois department of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, is one of the most raw, honest, political, social and cultural voices in the country. Throughout her scholarly career, Clemente has been a constant on-the-ground presence through the many political struggles facing Black and Latinx people in the 21^st century.
Clemente is the president and founder of Know Thy Self Productions, which has produced four major community activism tours and consults on issues such as Hip-Hop activism, media justice, voter engagement among youth of color, third party politics, intercultural relations between Black and Latinx, immigrants’ rights as an extension of human rights, and universal healthcare. She is a frequent guest on television, radio and online media.
Clemente is a leading scholar on the issues of Afro-Latinx, identity. Her groundbreaking article, “Who is Black?,” published in 2001, was the catalyst for many discussions regarding blackness in the Latinx culture.
As the co-founder and coordinator of the first National Hip-Hop Convention, she helped bring together more than 3,000 activists to create and implement a national political agenda for the Hip-Hop generation. She also co-founded the R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop Coalition, a Hip-Hop generation-based media justice organization.
Clemente’s academic work has been dedicated to researching national liberation struggles inside the United States with a specific focus on The Young Lords Party (the focus of her master’s thesis), The Black Panther Party, and the black and brown liberation movements of the 60s and 70s, as well as the effects of COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) on such movements.
Her directness has also enabled her to address celebrities for their portrayals of such groups. A 2001 article called out Russell Simmons for his lack of understanding of Hip-Hop culture, she responded to Rick Ross’ lyrics in a 2013 video and she regularly shines a light on the perpetuation of rape culture. In 2008 she ran for Green Party vice president; along with U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, the pair became the first women of color ticket in American history.
For her scholarly work and activism, she has been the subject of articles in publications such as The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Essence.
For more information on Rosa Clemente, visit http://rosaclemente.net.