Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
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In conversation with Molefi Kete Asante
MK Asante is a writer, filmmaker, and hip-hop artist, and recipient of the Langston Hughes Award. His books include It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop, the poetry collection Like Water Running Off My Back, and the bestselling memoir Buck, the “brilliant and always engaging” (Los Angeles Times) story of his harsh but transcendent path from the streets of North Philadelphia to artistic liberation. His documentary film The Black Candle, co-written with Maya Angelou, illuminates the relevance of the principles of Kwanzaa. Asante is the host and co-executive producer of While Black, a Snap Original docuseries co-produced by NBCUniversal. His essays on art, technology, and culture have appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and USA Today. His latest book began as a series of raw and inspirational letters written in a Temple University Hospital emergency room as his nephew Nasir fought for life after being shot nine times. In those moments, Asante realized he had to tell his brother’s son the truth about his father, Uzi, who Nasir had never met.
Molefi Kete Asante is a professor in the department of Africology at Temple University, where he created the first PhD Program in African American Studies in 1988. Also the president of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies, he is Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa, was the first director of UCLA’s Center for Afro-American Studies, and is the founder of The Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies, a thinktank in Philadelphia. With more than 100 books and 500 articles published, Asante has been recognized as one of the 10 most widely cited African scholars, and he was the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies, where he served for 53 years. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his scholarship and activism, has appeared on television programs across five continents, and has consulted for several heads of state in Africa.
Recorded May 23, 2024
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The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.
Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep this series available to everyone: support.freelibrary.org/site/Donation2?df_id=1860&mfc_pref=T&1860.donation=form1
In conversation with Molefi Kete Asante
MK Asante is a writer, filmmaker, and hip-hop artist, and recipient of the Langston Hughes Award. His books include It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop, the poetry collection Like Water Running Off My Back, and the bestselling memoir Buck, the “brilliant and always engaging” (Los Angeles Times) story of his harsh but transcendent path from the streets of North Philadelphia to artistic liberation. His documentary film The Black Candle, co-written with Maya Angelou, illuminates the relevance of the principles of Kwanzaa. Asante is the host and co-executive producer of While Black, a Snap Original docuseries co-produced by NBCUniversal. His essays on art, technology, and culture have appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and USA Today. His latest book began as a series of raw and inspirational letters written in a Temple University Hospital emergency room as his nephew Nasir fought for life after being shot nine times. In those moments, Asante realized he had to tell his brother’s son the truth about his father, Uzi, who Nasir had never met.
Molefi Kete Asante is a professor in the department of Africology at Temple University, where he created the first PhD Program in African American Studies in 1988. Also the president of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies, he is Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa, was the first director of UCLA’s Center for Afro-American Studies, and is the founder of The Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies, a thinktank in Philadelphia. With more than 100 books and 500 articles published, Asante has been recognized as one of the 10 most widely cited African scholars, and he was the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies, where he served for 53 years. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his scholarship and activism, has appeared on television programs across five continents, and has consulted for several heads of state in Africa.
Recorded May 23, 2024
Facebook: facebook.com/authorevents
Instagram: instagram.com/flpauthorevents
Twitter: twitter.com/authorevents
Podcast Archive: libwww.freelibrary.org/programs/authorevents/podcast
The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.
