The Occupy Wall Street protest will be discussed by historian, author, and UCLA professor Robin D.G. Kelley, Thursday, Nov. 10 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Cypress Hall 158.

“Robin (Kelley) had been invited to come to campus in early fall and we were trying to work out a date for him to speak and then history happened with the occupy movement,” said Renee Moreno, CSUN professor of Chicana/o studies and an organizer of the event.

“It so happened that Occupy Wall Street coincided with his interest in labor,” Moreno said. “It was really his idea to speak on this topic.”

The multi-talented author will also play the piano during his lecture.

“We are holding the lecture in the music recital hall facilities and the person working on the space emailed me asking what to do with the piano, so I asked Robin (Kelley) if he wanted to play,” Moreno said. “He said sure, ‘I can start by playing the composition “Ugly Beauty.” It’s appropriate for the moment we’re in.’”

Kelley is a history and American studies and ethnicity professor at UCLA. He has covered topics from labor and racial movements to music and visual culture.

He is the author of several prize-winning books, such as “Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original,” “Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Time,” and  “Yo’ Mama’s DisFunktional: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America.”

“Everyone will be there, faculty, students from the history, ethnic studies and music departments at least,” Moreno said. “I think it’s going to be really interesting and exciting. He’s an amazing person and a wonderful scholar.