Live from ASU presents town hall conversation with W. Kamau Bell Aug. 27

Arizona State University continues its Live from ASU virtual event series with "Black Lives Matter and the Pandemic of Racism: A Town Hall Conversation with W. Kamau Bell," streaming live at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27.

Bell will speak about the Black Lives Matter movement and systemic racism in America. Bell is known for his critically acclaimed and award-winning docuseries on CNN, "United Shades of America."

This event will be streamed live free at livefromasu.com for the entire ASU community and the public. It will feature a panel discussion moderated by ASU Vice President for Cultural Affairs Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, with a Q&A session with ASU students and members of the ASU community to follow.

“We are currently living through two pandemics in this country, and systemic racism will be the harder one to defeat,” Jennings-Roggensack said. “This special town hall will be the first in a series of events focused on this important issue that is so vital to the ASU and local community.”

W. Kamau Bell is a sociopolitical comedian and the host of the Emmy-award winning CNN docuseries "United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell." He recently made his Netflix debut with the stand-up comedy special "Private School Negro." Kamau also has a book titled, "The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6’ 4”, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian."

He is the director of the documentary "Cultureshock: Chris Rock’s 'Bring the Pain.'" Bell has hosted three critically acclaimed podcasts: "Kamau Right Now!," "Politically Re-Active" and "Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period." Bell is on the advisory board of Hollaback! and Donors Choose and is the ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. The New York Times called Bell “the most promising new talent in political comedy in many years.”

Bell has been nominated for multiple NAACP Image Awards and a GLAAD award, and he was featured on Conde Nast’s "Daring 25" list for 2016. The SF Weekly called Bell “smart, stylish and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle” — though he was mostly just excited that they called him “handsome.” The New Yorker said, “Bell’s gimmick is intersectional progressivism: He treats racial, gay and women’s issues as inseparable.” Bell is also known for his FX and FXX comedy series, "Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell."