BLACK HERITAGE CELEBRATION KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCED By Adam Middleton, Nana Agyemang, Danielle Noel and Sarai Reed
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f there’s a fiasco during this year’s annual Black Heritage Celebration (BHC), the planning committee found just the right person to clean it up. Crisis manager extraordinaire--and the inspiration behind ABC’s Scandal--Judy Smith will deliver this year’s keynote address on Tuesday, February 2nd in the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre of the Marvin Center at 7 p.m. The keynote will mark Smith’s second visit to campus since the hit show’s debut in 2012. For more than 25 years, Judy Smith has been behind the scenes of some of Washington’s and Hollywood’s most high-profile crises. The founder and president of Smith & Co., a leading strategic and crisis communications firm in the United States, Smith is perhaps best known for her experience with the 1998 political sex scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Still advising big name clients today, in December, Smith was hired by Sony Pictures Entertainment to assist in the aftermath of The Interview’s cancellation and the surrounding backlash. Sophia Omuemu, BHC committee chair and vice president of the Black Student Union, hopes Smith’s illustrious career and the success of Scandal will draw GW students, faculty and staff to kick off the university’s annual celebration of black history. “This year’s Black Heritage Celebration committee’s goal was to create a month of programming that would attract the entire university and inspire dialogue between people of all races,” said Omuemu. “Our ultimate goal of each program is for every attendee to leave with a solution to the problem and inspired to create change.” According to the official abstract, this year, titled “Redefining Black,” strives to set forth an informed, multi-faceted representation of blacks through academic and social programming activities niched with cultural diversity, intellectual enthusiasm and university-wide involvement. Bryson Rouzan–Thomas, the marketing and public relations student coordinator for BHC, said the theme is rooted in recent race-related incidents in our country and the mass misrepresentation of black people in American popular culture. “We recognize that our society will only enhance racial cohesiveness
Thursday, January 22nd, 2015 in the future if we have genuine, progressive discussions on change as a community, as a nation and as citizens of this country,” Rouzan– Thomas said. “Furthermore, we seek to impact the GW community with an unforgettable experience and celebration of black history.” During the ceremony, Smith will speak to this year’s theme and her experiences on the Hill and abroad, take questions developed by the BHC committee and take part in an open-to-audience Q&A. And she won’t be the only influential woman in attendance: The keynote will be hosted by former editorial director of Black Enterprise and award-winning journalist Caroline Clarke. Doors for the event will open at 6:30 p.m. and seats will be first-comefirst-served. Students, faculty and staff can stay up-to-date with BHC on Twitter and Instagram, supporters may donate to the effort via GW’s Center for Student Engagement portal by selecting the Black Student Union and specifying “BHC 2015.” Questions regarding BHC should be directed to the planning committee at gwubhc2015@gmail.com. Please direct all media inquiries to Bryson Rouzan-Thomas.