Meet 2014 Outstanding Young Alumnus, Marcus Matthews (BA 03, MAT 08), author of I Am Not the Father. As an undergraduate at Memphis, he worked as a reporter and editor for The Daily Helmsman and later worked as an intern at Birmingham Post-Herald, The Associated Press, NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, and The Commercial Appeal. He was awarded the Outstanding Newspaper/Magazine Student and National Association of Black Journalists, Excellence in Sports Reporting Awards from the U of M in 2003 before graduating with a bachelor’s of arts in journalism. From there, he taught African American Literature, American Literature, British Literature, Contemporary Issues, and Speech for Memphis City Schools while earning a master’s degree in instruction and curriculum leadership from the U of M in 2008. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in higher education from the University. As a teenager, he dated a girl who said he fathered her child. In a tragic turn of circumstances, the girl who accused him died weeks before a DNA test proved that he was not the father of her child. His story and four other stories of men who were falsely accused of paternity are told in his first book, “I Am Not the Father: Narratives of Men Falsely Accused of Paternity.” “The book was featured in the 2011 National Association of Black Journalists Authors Showcase in Philadelphia and has been featured on many news outlets. Matthews was also featured on the “Maury Show” in 2012 where he discussed his first book and the namesake documentary “I Am Not the Father,” which made its cable television debut this year on Soul of the South Television Network (SSN). Matthews was a member of the Journalism Alumni Club Board of Directors from 2010-12 and served as vice-president in 2012. He coordinated the largest circulated high school news publication in the country, The Teen Appeal, and advised the local student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists from 2007-12. Matthews currently teaches English at Cordova High School. His latest creative project is a reality show, “Single Moms of Memphis.” Meet Marcus Matthews and the other honorees at the 2014 Journalism Outstanding Alumni Awards Luncheon on Friday, October 17. Learn more here!
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:00:01 +0000
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