Comedian, TV Host, Producer W. Kamau Bell Next Bucknell Forum Guest
Emmy Award-winning comedian, TV host and producer/director W. Kamau Bell will be the next guest in the Bucknell Forum speaker series, appearing with moderator and University President John Bravman to discuss the theme "World in Transition" on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. The event is free and open to the public, although tickets are required (see details below).
Bell is the second of four nationally renowned speakers participating in this year's Bucknell Forum — a speaker series that since 2007 has featured national leaders, scholars and commentators who have examined various issues from multidisciplinary and diverse viewpoints.
About Bell
Bell is a stand-up comedian, director, producer, husband and dad. For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. In 2023, he won an Emmy for his HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. He also won a Peabody Award for his 2022 Showtime docu-series We Need to Talk About Cosby.
He is the co-author of the New York Times best-selling book Do the Work!: An Anti-Racist Activity Book and the author of 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. His newest writing project is the substack newsletter, Who's With Me? His comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix.
Bell is on the board of directors for DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration and mass criminalization. He is also the ACLU's Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. In 2023, he and his wife, Melissa Hudson Bell, co-founded Who Knows Best Productions, a media production company in Oakland, Calif.
Event Information
All Bucknell Forum events are free and open to the public, although tickets are required. Current Bucknell students and employees may receive up to two free tickets at any campus box office location or online between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. one day prior to the event. A valid Bucknell University ID is required to receive advance tickets. Using multiple Bucknell IDs to pick up additional sets of tickets is prohibited.
Remaining tickets will be available for the general public at the Weis Center box office beginning at 6 p.m. on the day of the event. All individuals may receive up to two free tickets, depending on availability.
An ASL interpreter will be signing at the event for the deaf community. Attendees who need this service should contact sebright@bucknell.edu for seating arrangements.
Questions regarding this event may be directed to the Division of Marketing & Communications at 570-577-3260 or theforum@bucknell.edu.
Remaining Bucknell Forum Speakers
The final two Bucknell Forum speakers will appear at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on these dates:
- Pioneering actor and civil rights leader George Takei, presented in partnership with MLK Week, on Tuesday, Jan. 28
- Entrepreneur, investor and renowned ABC Shark Tank panelist Kevin O'Leary, presented in partnership with the Perricelli-Gegnas Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, on Tuesday, Feb. 18
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