A Conversation With Jemele Hill

On Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, the LBJ Foundation and The University of Texas' Heman Sweatt Center for Black Males partnered to present A Conversation With Jemele Hill, the keynote program to the university's 2020 Black Student-Athlete Summit.

The evening included a conversation with Hill, moderated by Dr. Leonard N. Moore, vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a presentation of the Sean Adams Courageous Athlete Award to Hill.

Following the program, attendees were invited to the LBJ Presidential Library for after-hours exhibit viewing and a reception.

About Hill
Hill is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, the co-founder of Lodge Freeway Media, a staff writer for The Atlantic, where she covers sports, race, politics, and culture, and the host of Unbothered, a Spotify original podcast.

Previously, she was the chief correspondent and senior columnist for The Undefeated, ESPN's content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race, and culture.

Prior to joining The Undefeated, Hill co-anchored SportsCenter for a year with her longtime friend and colleague Michael Smith. SC6 with Michael and Jemele debuted in February 2017 as a more personality driven approach to the traditional 6 p.m. SportsCenter. Focusing on sports, music, movies and more, SC6 was born from Hill and Smith's popular His & Hers podcast and weekday television show, which debuted on ESPN2 in 2014.

In August 2018, the National Association of Black Journalists awarded Hill with the Journalist of the Year Award. In July 2016, Hill participated in The President and the People: A National Conversation, a one-hour town hall with President Barack Obama on race relations, justice, policing, and equality .

Before joining ESPN, Hill was a sports columnist for the Orlando Sentinel from 2005-06, where she was at the time the lone African American female sports columnist in the country.

A native of Detroit, Hill is a Michigan State alumna.

About The Sweatt Center
The Heman Sweatt Center for Black Males is a faculty-led academic initiative to promote academic excellence among African American males. The Sweatt Center includes a research focus that informs public policy experts, practitioners, and community members on how best to create and maintain a culture of Black male excellence in K-20 settings.

This research guides a hands-on practical approach to help The Sweatt Center achieve its major goals: to increase the four-year graduation rate for African American males at The University of Texas at Austin and to increase the number of Black males attending four-year colleges and universities across the state of Texas.

Housed in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, The Sweatt Center partners with local and national organizations to provide professional development and special events for undergraduates and opportunities for the undergrads to mentor younger African American males.

About the LBJ Foundation
Established by President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson in 1969, the LBJ Foundation is a nonprofit organization comprised of a board of trustees and administrative staff that supports the LBJ Presidential Library and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.

The LBJ Presidential Library, operated under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration, maintains the archive of President Johnson's administration and political career and promotes his legacy while providing, in his words, "a springboard for the future" through public programming aimed at addressing the issues of our time. The Foundation enhances the Library by directing public programming, administering the museum's store and admissions operations, and directing grants for researchers and scholars.

The LBJ School of Public Affairs embodies President Johnson's living legacy by nurturing leaders and public servants in the hopes that they will pursue what he called "the oldest, most basic mission of our country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man." The Foundation provides financial support for the school for the outstanding education it offers its graduate students in public policy and government affairs, community outreach, and global initiatives.

All bearing our 36th President's name, these three institutions—the LBJ Foundation, the LBJ Presidential Library, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs—preserve Lyndon B. Johnson's consequential legacy while pursuing his hopeful vision for the future.