Daily Show host Trevor Noah made a swing through Lexington Friday, sitting down for a nearly-hour-long chat with the University of Kentucky’s new Dean of the College of Education.
The comedian and author of Born a Crime, detailing stories of his youth in South Africa, touched on topics ranging from millennial stereotypes ("you're not living at home because you're a loser; you're living at home because you're normal") to which guest most influenced his take on race and social justice (President Obama). The successor to Jon Stewart at Comedy Central's flagship news-based show said young people are in a "beautiful yet dangerous space," with new technologies offering great promise and simultaneously spreading misinformation.
Asked which historical figure he’d most like to speak with today, Noah chose Martin Luther King, Jr., whose legacy of calling for protest, Noah said, has been downplayed in favor of a more sanitized image.
The event was the first part of a year-long series marking 70 years of integration at UK.
"We thought there was no one better that would help to kick this event off," says organizer Sonja Feist-Price. "I appreciate the ways in which he talks about students getting to engage with people they may never get to meet again, and I thought he did a profound job illuminating that point. That is what is so near and dear to my heart, helping students to get to know each other irrespective of identity and lived experience."
Noah also urged universities to find new ways to speak to all students, or risk becoming an "academic elite" that plays into populist narratives.
Media were not permitted to film or record the appearance.
