SY Master's Tea with MK Asante

MK Asante is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and professor who CNN calls"a master storyteller and major creative force."

The author of three celebrated books, Asante is the recipient of the LangstonHughes Award. His latest book, It's Bigger Than Hip Hop, was hailed by the LosAngeles Times as "An empowering book that moves you to action and toquestion status quo America."

His other books are Beautiful. And Ugly Too and Like Water Running Off MyBack. Asante’s fourth book, Buck, will be published by Random House in 2012.

An acclaimed filmmaker, Asante directed The Black Candle, a film he co-wrotewith renowned poet Maya Angelou who also narrates the prize-winning film. Hewrote and produced the film 500 Years Later, winner of five international filmfestival awards as well as the Breaking the Chains award from the UnitedNations. He also produced the multi award-winning film Motherland.

Asante studied at the University of London, earned a BA from Lafayette College,and an MFA from the UCLA School of Film and Television.

Asante has lectured in 25 countries as well as throughout the United States athundreds of colleges, universities, libraries, conferences, and festivals. He wasawarded the Key to the City of Dallas, Texas.

He has been featured on numerous TV and radio programs including the CBSEarly Show, CNN, NBC News, BBC News, Tom Joyner Morning Show and NPR.Asante’s essays on music, politics, and culture have been published in USAToday, Huffington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Asante is a tenured professor of creative writing and film in the Department ofEnglish and Language Arts at Morgan State University.