Byron will present a keynote lecture at 7pm on WEDNESDAY APRIL 13th in Behavioral Sciences 131.
Byron Hurt Biography
Byron Hurt is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, a published writer, and an anti-sexist activist. His most recent documentary, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It was later broadcast nationally on the Emmy award-winning PBS series Independent Lens, drawing an audience of more than 1.3 million viewers. To date, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes has been selected to appear in more than 50 film festivals worldwide. The Chicago Tribune named Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes “one of the best documentary films in 2007.”
Hurt also directed and produced I AM A MAN: Black Masculinity in America, a 60-minute award-winning documentary that captures the thoughts and feelings of African-American men and women from over fifteen cities across America. In this award-winning film, Hurt challenges audiences to interrogate the damaging effects of patriarchy, racism and sexism in American culture.
More than a filmmaker, Hurt is a former Northeastern University football quarterback and a long-time gender violence prevention educator. He is a founding member of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, the leading college-based rape and domestic violence prevention initiative for college and professional athletics. He is also the former associate director of the first gender violence prevention program in the United States Marine Corps.
Hurt has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Boston Globe, The L.A. Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer; O, The Oprah Magazine; The Source Magazine, Vibe Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Mother Jones, Entertainment Weekly, Variety Magazine, allhiphop.com, and vibe.com. Comments and reviews of his film can be found all over the internet and blogosphere.
He has also appeared on The Montel Williams Show, CNN, Access Hollywood, MTV, BET, ABC News World Tonight, the Michael Baisden Show, and the Michael Eric Dyson Show.
Over the last 15 years, Hurt has lectured at hundreds of campuses, presented at numerous professional conferences, and trained thousands of young men and women on issues related to gender, race, sex, violence, music and visual media.
His websites are www.bhurt.com, www.myspace.com/beyondbeatsandrhymes, and www.facebook.com.
