With his assertive and authentic style, Junot Díaz, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” addressed a nearly packed University Theatre on Feb.1 as the guest lecturer for the 2018 Patricia Eliet Memorial Lecture.
Díaz’s stream of topics invigorated the audience. He shared some personal history to exhibit the power of student activism, defined the prevalence of leadership among student artists in the past, and imparted his thoughts about what he called his “continual engagement in dialogue” related to the African Diaspora.
The lecture coincided with “¡Adelante! Latinx Activism in California,” a spring 2018 campus-wide series of events exploring key moments in regional history and important issues affecting the Latinx community, as well as “50 Years of Activism, Mobilization and Black & Brown Collaboration,” the university’s recognition of Black History Month.
