Convocation: Jeff Chang

Jeff Chang, born of Chinese and Native Hawaiian ancestry, is a journalist who has written extensively on culture, politics, the arts, and music.  He was a founding editor of ColorLines magazine and has written for The Nation, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Vibe, Foreign Policy, and Mother Jones, among others.  He has been a USA Ford Fellow in Literature and a winner of the North Star News Prize.  His first book, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, a thoroughly researched case for hip-hop as a complete and truly American culture, garnered many honors, including the American Book Award and the Asian American Literary Award.  He was named by The Utne Reader as one of “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.”  Chang, who has also worked as a community, labor and student organizer, and as a lobbyist for students of the California State University system, is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University.  The title of his presentation is "Who We Be: The Colorization of America."  This Asian Pacific American Heritage Convocation is sponsored by the Office of Intercultural and International Life.