Journalist Jemele Hill to visit Vanderbilt

Emmy-winning sports journalist and author Jemele Hill will be a featured speaker at Vanderbilt University on Wednesday to discuss her book "Uphill: A Memoir."

Hill will discuss the book with Candice Lee, vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director.

The free event will take place 7 p.m. at Sarratt Cinema, 2301 Vanderbilt Place.

Hill's book explores race, gender and politics in relation to sports.

A contributing writer for The Athletic, Hill has been recognized with National Association of Black Journalist's Journalist of the Year award, an Emmy for her ABC News special "The President and the People" and the Van McKenzie Cup, an award given to innovation in sports journalism.

Her book shares her complicated relationship with God, the women in her life and her work, as well as the fearless opinions that made her a household name.

Hill will be the featured speaker of the annual Murray Lecture, which honors the legacy of Walter R. Murray, one of Vanderbilt's fist African American graduates and student leader on campus.

Murray served as vice president of the Student Government Association and was the first African American on Vanderbilt's board of trust.

Rosevelt Noble, assistant dean of residential colleges and director of the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center, said Hill is a special choice for the lecture given her perseverance and success as a Black female sportscaster.

"The sharing of her life experiences and circumstances that she had to overcome will provide an inspirational moment for the Vanderbilt community," Noble said in a statement.

Hill joined ESPN as a columnist in 2006 and served multiple roles as a writer and on-air personality before a promotion to anchor "SportsCenter" in February 2017. She would end her time at ESPN in September 2018.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on Twitter @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jemele Hill to discuss book at Vanderbilt Wednesday