Byron Patrick Hurt (born December 31, 1969) is an American activist, lecturer, writer, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In 2010, he hosted the Emmy-nominated television show, ''Reel Works with Byron Hurt''. His documentary '' Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes'' premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and broadcast nationally on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in 2007. His film '' Soul Food Junkies'' received the Best Documentary Award at the 2012 American Black Film Festival and aired on PBS'

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...

in January 2013. Hurt is currently working on his new documentary ''Hazing: How Badly Do You Want In'', an exploration on the culture of hazing following the tragic hazing deaths of young people.

Biography

Byron Hurt attended Northeastern University to study Journalism. While attending Northeastern, Hurt played football as a quarterback,Bigg, Matthew and
"U.S. hip-hop film sparks debate on masculinity"
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

'', February 20, 2007. and founded God Bless the Child Productions before graduating in 1993. Upon graduation he was hired by the university's Center for the Study of Sport in Society to help form the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program with the purpose of educating young black men about gender and sexual violence. This experience led Hurt to produce and direct the documentary ''I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America''. Hurt is also the former associate director of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

gender violence prevention program. On September 30, 2006, Byron Hurt married Kenya Felice Crumel at their home in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

Filmography

*''Moving Memories: The Black Senior Video Yearbook'' *''I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America'' *'' Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes'' *''Barack & Curtis: Manhood, Power, & Respect'' *'' Soul Food Junkies''

References

External links

Official website
*
Byron Hurt on YouTube

"Soul Food Junkies"
(2013)
"Barack & Curtis: Manhood, Power, & Respect"
(2008)
"Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes"
(2006)
"I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America"
(1998) American documentary film directors American documentary film producers Documentary films about hip hop music and musicians Living people Writers from Plainfield, New Jersey 1969 births Film directors from New Jersey Film producers from New Jersey African-American film directors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{US-film-director-1960s-stub