FX reality show cast to speak tonight

Tim Magaw

Two cast members of FX’s reality show “Black. White.” will be speaking at 7 p.m. tonight in Carol A. Cartwright Hall. The event, sponsored by Black United Students and the All Campus Programming Board, is free.

“It’s going to be an entertaining type of event,” said Carla Smith, BUS programming chair. “We’ve never had an event quite like this.”

The discussion will feature Bruno Marcotulli and Brian Sparks, who, with the help of modern makeup techniques, traded races for the FX reality show.

Sparks, the father of a black family from Georgia, and Marcotulli, the father of a white family from California, went out and experienced the world in the other race’s shoes, according to the show’s Web site.

“It was a pretty controversial show,” Smith said. “There was drama every week.”

Smith said Sparks and Marcotulli will spend half an hour talking about their experiences on the show, followed by a question and answer session. A small reception will be held afterward with refreshments and autograph opportunities.

Shana Scott, president of ACPB, said people should go to the event for two reasons.

“I think, one, we should always support things student organizations are holding in Kent,” she said. “Secondly, I think it brings about topics familiar to our campus, but not discussed openly.”

Scott said she has encouraged faculty members to have students attend, and the event’s material can be classroom related, especially in political science and Pan-African studies courses.

Smith said BUS is not looking to change anyone’s view with the discussion.

“No experience is quite like your own,” she said. “But we want people to go away with a new experience.”

Contact ethnic affairs reporter Tim Magaw at [email protected].