A social justice block party will take place today on the HUB lawn to educate Penn State about injustices in society and to entertain them with performances.

Poets and representatives from student groups will speak and step teams will perform during the eight-hour event.

Saul Williams, a spoken word artist, is the featured speaker.

The event was organized because groups often focus on their individual concerns and do not look at the larger picture, said event organizer Chester Asher (senior-political science).

"I think we have a great amount of diversity here at Penn State, and too often issues are relegated to their specific groups," he said.

More than 30 organizations will have booths set up throughout the day to educate the public through informational displays and posters.

"The purpose of the booths is to engage and inform students about specific economic issues," said Manish Vaidya (senior-social and economic justice), a member of the party's planning committee.

Student groups including the African Students' Association and Penn State's chapter of Amnesty International will speak about how their organizations work for social change.

Vaidya said Amnesty International will also speak about innocent prisoners on death row.

The block party will help take away the mystique associated with different issues related to social justice, Asher said.

Beth Golden, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) president, said her group hopes to inform people about misconceptions of feminism.

"Our version of feminism is tied up with all of the inequalities that exist," Golden said.

Vaidya said all people need to understand what different minorities deal with.

"In order to build a community and have an equal community, we all must have an understanding of the injustices that exist for marginalized groups," Vaidya said. "That's the only way we can live together in equal society."

Asher said the entertainment, including the step shows and main event speaker Saul Williams, should attract students.

Golden and Asher spoke highly of Williams.

"The content is unbelievable. He puts your whole mind in a tailspin," Asher said.

Golden said Penn State is lucky to have Williams at the block party.

Asher hopes the attendants gain an interest in fighting social injustice after seeing some of the groups' displays.

"The statistics of some of these problems should be enough that people should be up in arms about the injustices," Asher said. "Hopefully we can open some eyes and get some feet moving."