The 2017 Belle and Ed Likover Lecture

Join us for the 2017 Belle and Ed Likover Lecture, “Information Is a Right: The Press’s Role in Illuminating Mass Incarceration and Race.” Our guest speaker this year is Jamil Smith, Political Journalist and Contributing Writer with The Daily Beast. Distrust of the media — fueled by the criticism of elected officials — has elevated the importance of unapologetic journalists and in-depth investigators. Engage with Jamil and hear his insider perspective on the role of journalists against these unprecedented attacks. Smith will shine a light on the harsh realities of race and mass incarceration, and the media’s role in shaping the narrative and educating the public.

Jamil Smith is committed to tough truth in these transformative times. Over and over again, Smith leverages his influence to get the undiscovered story or surface the forgotten angle on one that everyone is talking about. Whether writing as a contributor to The Daily Beast and other outlets, or voicing his perspective on television or radio, Jamil is a journalist who cares deeply about telling good and useful stories.

Most recently, he was a Senior National Correspondent at MTV News, where his writing focused on politics, race, and gender. Prior to that, he was a Senior Editor at The New Republic magazine, and produced segments and blogged for both “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “Melissa Harris-Perry.” He was also the host of “Intersection,” The New Republic’s first podcast, which examined identity at all the complex crossroads of American life.

His filmmaking work earned him three Emmy Awards, and his voice has garnered him more than 100,000 Twitter followers. Whether he’s calling out police violence in his beloved hometown of Cleveland or celebrating maligned campus activists, Jamil’s analysis is full of heart and hope. He loves speaking to audiences that are engaged in the biggest questions of our day: Where do popular culture–sports, music, Hollywood–and social justice collide? How is the Black Lives Matter movement going to create structural, long-term change? Where is the new frontier of radical activism? And will the Browns ever win a Super Bowl?