AWAACC presents Lit Fridays
Lit Fridays is a literary-focused, virtual salon presented by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, featuring conversations and guest performances on the last Friday of each month at 6:00p EST via Facebook Live and Zoom Webinar. All conversations are moderated by AWAACC Literary Curator, Jessica Lanay.
The June 26 episode features Steelers team captain, Cam Heyward, and writer Damon Young.
Cameron Heyward was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. One of the League’s top defensive tackles, Heyward is a five-time Steelers’ team captain and has earned two AP All-Pro nods as well as three trips to the Pro Bowl. During his nine-year NFL career, Heyward has established as himself as a leader, not just on the field, but in the Pittsburgh community. He has twice been selected as the Steelers’ Walter Peyton Man of the Year and was the 2019 honoree of the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award for his charitable work in Western Pennsylvania. In 2015, Heyward established his own foundation, The Heyward House, which supports a number of causes near and dear to his heart including but not limited to the Boys & Girls Club, The Ronald McDonald House, The Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, KidsVoice, Urban Impact and North Side Youth and Craig’s Closet, a program named after Heyward’s father, Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, which provides dress and interview clothing to young boys. Heyward also participates in numerous Steelers’ charitable events and endeavors, supporting the Pittsburgh Food Bank, The United Way, and the UPMC Children’s Hospital among other Western Pennsylvania charities.
Damon Young is a writer, critic, humorist, satirist, and professional Black person. He's a co-founder and editor in chief of VerySmartBrothas -- coined "the blackest thing that ever happened to the internet" by The Washington Post -- and a columnist for GQ. Damon's writing -- which vacillates from anthropological satire and absurdist racial insights to razor-sharp cultural critique and unflinching indictments of privilege and bias -- has often generated praise from his peers. Ava DuVernay called his voice "clear and critical." Michael Eric Dyson said he's "one of the most important young voices in humor writing today." And Kiese Laymon called his work "the best of American twenty-first-century writing."
Damon's debut memoir -- What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir In Essays (Ecco/HarperCollins) -- is a tragicomic exploration of the angsts, anxieties, and absurdities of existing while black in America, and won Barnes & Noble's 2019 Discover Award. It was also longlisted for the PEN America Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award, nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and is a Krause Essay Prize nominee. NPR, which named it one of the best books of 2019, called it an "outstanding collection of nonfiction."
Damon currently resides in Pittsburgh's Northside, with his wife, two children, and his faithful bottles of Nexium and Lisinopril.
Upcoming Guests
July 31:Dominic Chambers StudioTour
with Kilolo Luckett
August 28:George Nelson
Fahamu Pecou
September 25:Mikeal Owunna
Jari Bradley
October 30:
Bernardine Evaristo
