Jimi Izrael's official biography

jimi izrael is a writer and journalist from East Cleveland, Ohio. He earned a baccalaureate degree from Cleveland State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Spalding Unversity. His opinion appears in the Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, American Spectator ,The Plain Dealer, and elsewhere. As a staff writer for the United Church of Christ, one of the largest mainline Protestant denominations in the world, he won religious news-writing and editing awards. As a staff writer for New Times’ Cleveland Scene, he won awards for investigative and consumer journalism. He logs appearances on CSPAN, CNN, BBC, Fox News Network’s “Hannity & Colmes” and “The O’Reilly Factor” as a pundit and culture critic.

Currently, he moderates “The Barbershop” for National Public Radio’s “Tell Me More with Michel Martin,” and blogs regularly for the Washington Post-backed TheRoot.com at “The Hardline.” As a professor, he is a Presidential Fellow at Case Western Reserve University and teaching film and new media courses for Cuyahoga Community College in Fall ‘09 and Cleveland State University in Winter ‘10.

He is the author of “The Denzel Principle,” being released on St. Martin’s Press Feb. 16, 2010. As a screenwriter, he has optioned two scripts, “S-Town” and “The New Binky Show” to Hollywood producers and is currently shopping and developing a premium cable sitcom vehicle,”PornStar,” for adult film icon Mr. Marcus.

As a lecturer, he speaks at conferences, colleges and universities on topics ranging from alternative journalism and opinion/editorial writing to hip-hop music, film, culture and politics.

From appearing in HBO's The Wire to narrating A & E's The First 48, Audie Award-winning and critically acclaimed actor and narrator DION GRAHAM has performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. His performances have been praised as thoughtful and compelling, vivid and full of life.