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Writer and poet Bryonn Bain, who placed second in the International Poetry Slam, will speak on his essay “The Bill of Rights for Black America,” published by Harvard Law School and championed by Harvard professor and civil rights activist Lani Guinier, 8 p.m. Thursday at Jaqua Auditorium, Hugel Science Center room 103.
Sponsored by Lafayette Activities Forum, the event is part of Lafayette’s celebration of Black History Month.
Bain has lectured at over 50 colleges and correctional facilities nationwide and performed overseas in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He has been described by Princeton University professor Cornel West as not only a poet who “speaks his truths with a power we desperately need to hear,” but also as “one of the leading legal minds of his generation.” He is an adjunct professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, where he teaches The Spoken Word.
Bain’s story was published in The Village Voice and has been the topic of conversation for Ted Koppel, Chris Mathews, Johnnie Cochran, Oprah Winfrey, and the CBS program “60 Minutes.” UTNE Reader included him in its list of “30 visionaries under 30 who are changing your future.” He was crowned Boston’s 1999 Slam Poetry Champion and won the 2000 Grand Slam Poetry Championship at the renowned Nuyorican Poet’s Café.
According to Bain, while on break at Harvard Law School, he and his friends were at a New York nightclub. Upon exiting the club after a night of dancing, they witnessed a group of youths throwing bottles at a building. Not wanting to get involved, the four friends crossed the street and continued on toward the subway and their Brooklyn homes. They were suddenly confronted by New York City Police, quickly thrown against the car, handcuffed, and taken into custody. There was no explanation, explanation of Miranda rights, or questioning of witnesses of the bottle-throwing incident. The law student was released without explanation or apology after a night in jail.