Award-winning Colombian journalist to kickoff 2023 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
Students, faculty, staff, and members of the public are invited to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month with award-winning Colombian journalist, activist, and diversity consultant Edna Liliana Valencia Murillo.
The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Interdisciplinary Program, the College of Communication and Information (CCI), and the School of Journalism and Media (JEM) will host “Diversity and Communication in Colombia: Q&A with Edna Liliana Valencia Murillo” on Sept. 18 at 4:10 p.m. in Room M309 of the Walters Academic Building.
The event is open to the public but space is limited. Please RSVP by sending an email to gharri37@utk.edu.
“We are so excited to be able to welcome Edna to our campus and to our school. She has such a unique wealth of experience as a multi-national broadcast journalist and cultural consultant,” JEM Assistant Professor Guy Harrison said. “In our increasingly global community, our school will benefit from learning about her journey, which started in Colombia and led to her becoming such a multi-national force within the media industry.”
Valencia Murillo is from Cali, Colombia, with more than 15 years of experience in national and international media outlets. Proudly Afro-Colombian, she is an activist for African descendants and has served in the national government, press, and on social media.
She is also a poet, and recently published a memoir, Racismo y Yo. Valencia Murillo worked as a consultant for Disney during development of their animated film, Encanto, and more recently founded the Vive Tu Pelo Afro project and with Roberto Álvarez owns and runs a center for Afro-Colombian identity and aesthetics, “AfriCaBellos.”
In addition to the Q&A session, Valencia Murillo will headline other Hispanic Heritage Month events planned at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus. Those events include:
- Screening of Disney’s Encanto, with a conversation to follow with guests Edna Liliana Valencia Murillo and Latin American History Professor Beau Gaitors (Reception to follow) – Wednesday, Sept. 20, 4:30-7:30 p.m. (Lindsay Young Auditorium, Hodges Library)
- The Aesthetics of Diasporic Pride: A Celebration of Black Hair #CabelloBello: A student cultural event with local Black barbers and stylists, plus music–hosted by Edna Liliana Valencia Murillo and Roberto Alvarez (aka Robe L Ninho), founders of AfriCaBellos, Aesthetic and Identity (Cali, Colombia) – Thursday, Sept. 21, 4-6 p.m. (Friesen Black Cultural Center)
- For the community: Spanish-language screening of Disney’s Encanto – Sunday, Sept. 24, 1:30-3:30pm (McClung Museum Auditorium)
To learn more about all the events planned for Hispanic Heritage Month visit lac.utk.edu.