ASHLAND — Ashland Community and Technical College will be hosting Harlan County native Dr. Bill Turner at noon on Thursday.

Turner will be at the J.B. Sowards Theatre for a discussion of his latest book, “The Harlan Renaissance,” in which he reconstructs black life in the coal company towns in and around Harlan County during coal’s final post-war boom years from his own personal experiences.

Turner has spent his career studying and working on behalf of marginalized communities, helping them create opportunities in the larger world while not abandoning important cultural ties. He is best-known for his ground-breaking research on African-American communities in Appalachia.

The event is free and open to public.

For more information about Turner go to www.whturnerphd.com.