IF YOU GO

What: Emmanuel Xavier

Where: Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse III

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

How much: Free

Activist, writer and poet Emmanuel Xavier will speak about his interactions with the media as an openly gay Latino Thursday to Syracuse University students.

Xavier will speak on his personal experiences, recite some of his original poetry and host a Q-and-A period at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse III. The event is co-hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the LGBT Resource Center.

The goal of the event is to raise awareness about the portrayal of members of the LGBT community in both Spanish and English media, said Ghislaine Leon, president of NAHJ and a senior marketing and retail management major.

“I think it will bring a higher level of consciousness when it comes to editing content and a higher level of consciousness when it comes to marketing,” she said.

Xavier was featured on an episode of the HBO show “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.” He is also the author of the novel “Christ Like” and the editor of numerous anthologies. He has released a spoken word album called “Legendary.” In 2009, he was named one of the “25 Most Influential LGBT Latinos” by My Latino Voice, a Web site devoted to Latino issues and culture.

As an author and performer of spoken word and an award recipient, Xavier often interacts with publicists and other people in the media, which he will be speaking about.

Xavier does not fit the typical mold of spoken word performers, Leon said, because he is an openly gay Latino. She said most spoken word performers are black males.

Leon said she thinks Xavier is someone with whom a range of students can identify.

“He will be someone who students can envision themselves in his shoes,” she said.

The event intends to make students more conscious of how the LGBT community is portrayed in the media, said Eliza Catalino, co-public relations chair of NAHJ and a sophomore advertising major.

Xavier will speak about how he has been portrayed in the media as an LGBT and Latino spoken word artist. He will speak about understanding people for who they are and not identifying them as only gay or lesbian, Catalino said.

NAHJ and the LGBT Resource Center are hoping the event will fill the auditorium, she said. The event is unique because it focuses on an aspect of the media that is rarely discussed, she said.  People talk about the portrayal of race and gender in the media, she said, but the portrayal of people in the LGBT community is sometimes overlooked.

“It’s just a matter of understanding people for who they are as people,” she said, “not just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.”

Published on March 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm