Campus Life

Janet Mock to speak at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On Feb. 20 the Paul Robeson Cultural Center will continue the Radical Justice Speaker Series by hosting Janet Mock, author and transgender activist. The event will be held in the HUB-Robeson Center in Heritage Hall. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m.

The Radical Justice Speaker Series was created to help students develop a greater sense of the intersectionality of racism, power, privilege and social justice to encourage better understanding of personal social responsibility. Other notable speakers from this academic year included Tanzina Vega and Hasan Minhaj.

Mock started her career in the media for People magazine’s website as a staff writer, and worked her way up to staff editor before she left in 2012. She has brought to life a variety of projects throughout her career, such as the column “Beauty without Binaries,” the HBO documentary “Trans List,” and the interview podcast “Never Before.”

Mock officially stepped into the spotlight in 2014 with the release of her book “Redefining Realness,” an autobiography on her experiences as a young trans woman. The book made the New York Times’ bestseller’s list in 2014.

Since then, Mock has become a “millennial media powerhouse,” and has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, Wendy Williams and Bill Maher. She has been called “one of the most influential people on the internet” and counted among the “12 new faces of black leadership” by TIME. Variety listed her in its “Power of Women” in 2017.

Mock is heavily involved in transgender activism. She founded the viral hashtags: #GirlsLikeUs and #TransBookDrive, and is the voice behind “I am my sister’s keeper,” having been quoted during the Women’s March on Washington, where she addressed millions of people on stage and urged for an intersectional and inclusive movement.

This event is co-sponsored by the Gender Equity Center and the LGBTQA Student Resource Center.

Last Updated February 12, 2018