Sheila Smith McKoy is the director of the African American Cultural Center at North Carolina State University where she is also the director of the Africana Studies Program, an Associate Professor of English and African Studies and the editor of Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora. Smith McKoy has a special interest in the impact of hazing rituals in sororities and fraternities. This expertise was hard won: her son Raymond's education was interrupted for eight years due to injuries he sustained during pledging. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including the critically acclaimed Schomburg series African American Women Writers 1910 -- 1940, Callaloo, Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora, Mythium, Research for African Literatures, Representation and Womanhood: The Legacy of Sara Baartman (2011) and Cotemporary Black Men's Fiction and Drama (2001). Her book, When Whites Riot: Writing Race and Violence in American and South African Cultures (2001) received critical attention in the U.S. and in South Africa. About TEDx, x = independently organized event. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx, event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance fro the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations).