Jemele Hill was the voice of the night at the final installment of Elizabethtown College’s 2023-2024 Lecture Series: Evenings of Enlightenment at 7 p.m. on April 11 in Leffler Chapel. Hill is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Webby Award winner, host of her own podcast “Jemele Hill is Unbothered,” and engages with work built around issues of race, social justice, politics and sports. Hill was encouraged to come and speak to Elizabethtown College for this Ware Lecture on Peacemaking as the adversity she faced in her childhood provided her with the unique opportunity to speak from her own experiences on the necessity for peace and living authentically. This lecture was open to the public and was attended by both Elizabethtown College students and Elizabethtown community members.
The program began with a welcome by Etown President Betty Rider, and then a presentation of the 2024 Educate for Service Award which was followed by a Service to Humanity Speaker. Jemele Hill was introduced by Ali Lanyon, anchor for abc27 Daybreak and Etown adjunct faculty. Lanyon also moderated the program.
The Educate for Service Award Presentation was a new addition to the Ware Lecture. After an award introduction by President of the Alumni Council Talisa Ramos-Watts, a video was played of the recipient, Jess Hayden ‘78. Hayden then spoke on stage to share her story and express how Etown College helped her to develop skills which would then enable her to go out in public and do something worthwhile. Hayden reminisced about her time on campus and how it impacted her ability to do something worthwhile in the community and the small class sizes and passionate teachers helped her to be successful.
After the award was announced, Hill was introduced. Hill used humorous anecdotes to draw the audience in and make her speech more engaging. The Michigan State alumni said, “College is not just about tests and learning but also about immersing oneself in full cultural experiences.” The message of Hill’s presentation centered around living in divided times. She especially emphasized the detrimental impact social media has upon the general population. She said, “misinformation is spread across social media” and “social media allows for one to send their work out to the world (including journalists), but there is downside which is that it inflames divisiveness.”
One of the more powerful quotes Hill expressed is that “[social media] amplified the worst of us, worst fears, worst perception of each other.” Hill shared a story of how she was sent a hateful message on Instagram (a social media platform) by a teenager. When Hill reached out to the teenager’s father he responded, “it is just social media, it’s not that big of a deal.” Hill shared this story to emphasize how social media blurs the line between perception and reality and often makes people forget that there is someone on the other side of the screen.
Hill also spoke to how politics have stepped away from being centered around issues of state and now impact people’s everyday lives. For example, Hill references the George Floyd movement of 2020 and how messages of ‘defund the police’ and ‘black lives matter’ took the forefront of news stories and how people’s lives have become entangled in politics. Hill finished her presentation by highlighting things that can bring people together, like sports, to indicate that there is still hope for peace and unity within our country.
The evening concluded with a Q-and-A with Hill, moderated by Lanyon. Audience members were encouraged to send in their questions for Hill via text message to engage with the Q-and-A.
This final lecture was the perfect ending to an educational and inspirational series of lectures hosted by Elizabethtown College. Hill’s message of unity and peace within a divisive society was powerful and fundamental to begin a domino effect of change.
This lecture was made possible by the generosity of Judy S. and Paul W. Ware, sponsors of the Ware Lecture on Peacemaking.
