Penn State Lehigh Valley Office of Student Life will host a screening of the Spike Lee film “Chi-Raq” followed by an open discussion about the film led by James Braxton Peterson, a media commentator and director of Africana studies and associate professor of English at Lehigh University. The screening and discussion, which are free and open to the public, will take place from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in room 135 at the campus in Center Valley.

“Chi-Raq” is described as “a modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago,” according to the website IMDB.com.

Peterson, who will have an open dialogue after the film is shown, is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the founder of Hip Hop Scholars, Inc., an association of hip hop generational scholars dedicated to researching and developing the cultural and educational potential of hip hop, urban, and youth cultures.

His first book, “The Hip Hop Underground and African American Culture” was published by Palgrave Macmillan press (2014). Peterson hosts “The Remix” on Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate, WHYY.  “The Remix” is a podcast that engages issues at the intersection of race, politics, and popular culture. Peterson has written for the Huffington Post, The Guardian, Reuters and The Daily Beast.  He is a media commentator and has appeared on MSNBC, Al-Jazeera, CNN, HLN, Fox News and other networks as an expert on race, politics and popular culture.

No registration is required for this screening. Walk-ins are welcome.