TXST announces 'Common' Experience speaker for Oct. 15

An Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and Grammy-winning recording artist, actor, author and activist will deliver the LBJ Distinguished Lecture at Texas State University.

Common, will speak on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the University Events Center. Admission is free and open to the public. However, an advance ticket is required. Tickets will be available in mid-September. The lecture will be presented in cooperation with the Common Experience at Texas State.

Common has dedicated countless hours in recent years to social justice and advocacy work around mass incarceration, mental health and voting. After the success and impact of his Imagine Justice concert in 2017 and his Hope & Redemption Tour to eight prisons, Common established Imagine Justice as a new nonprofit in 2018. Centered at the intersection of art and activism, Imagine Justice is dedicated to leveraging the power of art to advocate for communities around the country, to fight for justice and equality and to stand united against injustice wherever it appears.

Following his 2011 memoir, "One Day It’ll All Make Sense," Common’s latest book is "Let Love Have the Last Word," which shares his own unique and personal stories of the people and experiences that have led to a greater understanding of love and all it has to offer.

His film work includes "The Kitchen," "The Hate You Give," "John Wick 2," "Selma," "Hunter Killer" and "Suicide Squad." Behind-the-scenes, Common recently executive-produced the Netflix drama "Burning Sands" and serves as an executive producer of the Showtime series "The Chi."

Common’s 12th studio album, "Let Love," will be released Aug. 30. His other albums include "Black America Again," "Nobody's Smiling," "The Dreamer/The Believer," "Universal Mind Control" and "Like Water for Chocolate." Common is also a founding member of the supergroup August Greene with Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins. 

The 2019-2020 Common Experience theme is "Truth," and will encompass examination of Truth through every lens. The theme will highlight discourse, from the stories shared with friends to the words seen online to the labels read when shopping — how does one know what’s true? This yearlong program is meant to bring together the Texas State student body and faculty, creating a sense of community throughout the university and beyond.