Please join the Department of English as we celebrate the work of our graduating seniors, graduate students, and faculty. There will be a reception in front of the Fine Arts Building following the ceremony. This year's student address will be delivered by Rachael Dier, President of the Undergraduate English Association. The Keynote Address will be given by Commissioner Mariah Parker, aka Hip Hop artist Linqua Franqa.
LINQUA FRANQA is the hip hop project of Athens, Georgia-based linguist-turned-legislator Mariah Parker, whose passion for social justice and scientific fixation with hip hop language are obvious in the intricate, self-aware rhymes she interweaves with boom bap beats. Parker holds a Master's degree in Linguistics from the University of Georgia, where she now pursues a PhD in Language and Literacy Education. Her lyrics, garnished with haunting neo-soul hooks, tell unflinching tales of chemically-induced heartbreak, racial violence, reproductive justice, and feminist swagger. In the wake of a critically acclaimed first album and narrowly-clinched election to the Athens city council earlier this year, Parker has garnered the attention of CNN, The New York Times, Teen Vogue, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, The Nation, Afropunk, The Root, The Bitter Southerner, Performer Magazine and others for her outspoken commitments to racial and economic justice and her electrifying live performances, which call listeners to self-reflection and critical action in their lives and their communities.