DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Author, editor and educator Ta-Nehisi Coates will speak March 12 (Thursday) as part of the University of North Texas Distinguished Lecture Series.

Coates will discuss millennials and social justice, and his speech begins at 8 p.m. March 12 in UNT's Auditorium Building, at 1401 W. Hickory St. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased online.

As an Atlantic senior editor and writer, Coates brings together a sense of how pop culture, politics and history shape discussions of diversity. In 2011, Time named Coates's blog one of the 25 best in the world.

Coates is a former writer for The Village Voice, contribute to Time and O, and The New York Times Magazine. In 2012, he was awarded the Hillman Prize for opinion and analysis journalism. Coates teaches at the CUNY School of Journalism, and was previously the Martin Luther King Visiting Associate Professor at MIT.

The Distinguished Lecture Series program introduces the UNT community to the excellence of world-class speakers whose messages enhance student learning outside the classroom. Previous speakers include President George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., John Legend, Bill Nye, George Takei, Steve Wozniak, Rainn Wilson and Vicente Fox.

The Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsored by UNT's Division of Student Affairs. For more information, contact UNT Student Affairs Coordinator of Special Projects Michelle Bradley at 940-565-3355.

Student tickets are free and student guest tickets are $5; UNT faculty, staff and alumni tickets are $8 and tickets for the public are $10. All tickets may be purchased online.