Spring Lecture: Jeffrey Blount, Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way and the Impact of Literary Activism

Jeffrey Blount, Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way and the Impact of Literary Activism
March 15
1:30–2:30 PM
In-Person at OLLI

Jeffrey Blount is the award-winning author of three novels. His most recent book, The Emancipation of Evan Walls, was the winner of the 2020 National Indie Excellence Award for African American fiction.

He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet the Press, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events. He is the first African American to direct The Today Show. He is also an award-winning documentary scriptwriter for films and interactives that are now on display in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, America I AM: The African American Imprint at the National Constitution Center, and others.

In 2017 and 2018, Jeffrey served as Journalist in Residence and Shapiro Fellow at the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University.

A Virginia native, he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Communications/Broadcast Journalism. Born and raised in Smithfield, Virginia, he now lives in Washington, DC.

Reservations are required to attend in-person lectures. In-person lectures will be held in the Spring Valley Building, 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW, in Room A on the First Floor. Registration for the above lecture will open here at 10:00 AM on the Friday prior to the lecture. The direct registration link will also be included in the Friday newsletter the week prior. You must have an OLLI account to register. If you do not have one, you can create an account when going to register. Each registrant may reserve one seat. Your name must be on the list of registrants to enter the lecture and you must be in your seat five minutes before the lecture starts to guarantee your seat.