Byron Hurt

The Technical College of the Lowcountry’s PILAU program will host a special lecture from documentary filmmaker and published writer Byron Hurt at 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 2 in the MacLean Hall Auditorium, Beaufort Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Hurt’s lecture will be based on his acclaimed documentary “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” which examines multiple aspects of hip-hop culture and has been shown on PBS as a part of the award-winning “Independent Lens” series. The documentary will be shown at 1 p.m., Monday, March 1 in the MacLean Hall Auditorium. The public is also invited to participate in this viewing.

Chosen for the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, the movie examines representations of manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hip-hop culture.

Conceived as a “loving critique” of disturbing developments in mainstream rap music culture from a self-proclaimed “hip hop head,” Beyond Beats and Rhymes features cultural commentary and revealing interviews with famous rappers such as Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss, and Busta Rhymes. The film also features street interviews with aspiring rappers, as well as with young women at Spelman College and at hip-hop events. The film premiered on television earlier this year, hosted by Terrence Howard.

Hurt, a former Northeastern University quarterback turned anti-sexism activist, provides cutting-edge male leadership, expert analysis, keynote addresses, and workshop facilitation in the field of sexual and gender violence prevention and education. He received the prestigious Echoing Green public service fellowship in 1999, an award given to ambitious young activists devoted to creating social change in their communities. Over the past decade, Hurt has lectured at more than 100 college campuses and trained thousands of young men and women on issues related to gender, race, sex, violence, music, and visual media.

Hurt’s visit is sponsored by TCL’s PILAU program as part of its “Inspire Lecture Series.” Other presenters have included accomplished author Clifton Taulbert , talented playwright Pearl Cleage, celebrity Judge Glenda Hatchett, and Chauncey Mayfield, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mayfield Gentry Realty Advisors LLC. Future lectures will include a presentation from the acclaimed author Michael Eric Dyson.