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The Center for Black Literature
Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D.
Executive Director
CBL Advisory Board
Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams
Honorary Chair
Dale Allender
Associate Executive Director
National Council of Teachers of English
Patrick A. Buddington
Chief Marketing Officer
IMC Communications Group
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
U.S. House of Representatives
D-NY, 8th District
Richard Jones, Jr.
Chief of Staff and Deputy to the
President, Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Louise Mirrer
President and CEO
New-York Historical Society
Jerald Posman
Senior Vice President/Chief Operating
Officer, Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Lawrence Schiller, Jr.
President and Co-Founder
The Norman Mailer Center
Richard Wesley
Writer; Goldberg Chair, Department of
Dramatic Writing, New York University
Marcia White
President, Personalized Skincare
John Edgar Wideman
Writer; ASA Messer Professor of African
American Studies and English
Brown University
Cheryl Wills
Author, Anchor, Reporter
Time Warner Cable, NY1 News
Schawannah Wright
Associate Director, Community
Outreach and Education, Columbia
University School of the Arts
Medgar Evers College
1650 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
E: [email protected]
www.centerforblackliterature.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2015 (revised)
Media Contact
Clarence V. Reynolds, Center for Black Literature
[email protected]
718-804-8881
April R. Silver, AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc.
[email protected]
718-756 8501 office | 646-522-4169 mobile/text
National Black Writers Conference 2015
Biennial Symposium Welcomes DANNY GLOVER.
Danny Glover Tribute, Dr. Greg Carr Keynote Are Select Highlights for 2015
Symposium: Saturday, March 28 at Medgar Evers College (Brooklyn)
The rich tradition of literary activism among Black writers dates back to the work of
Phillis Wheatley, the first recognized African-American poet in American literature;
and it is represented in the works of such iconic writers Amiri Baraka, Jayne Cortez,
and Langston Hughes among many others. This tradition has continued to the
present and includes the fiction, poetry and prose produced by Black writers during
the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights and
Black Arts Movements. Focusing on activism, liberation, and resistance in literature
and the arts, the 2015 National Black Writers Conference “Voices of Liberation and
Resistance” will be held Saturday, March 28, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on
the campus Medgar Evers College (1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY). Keynote
speakers for the Symposium are DR. GREG CARR of Howard University and actor
and activist DANNY GLOVER.
Focusing on activism, liberation, and resistance in the arts, the 2015 NBWC Biennial
Symposium explores this subject from different perspectives and offers an
intergenerational perspective on the legacy of resistance and activism in the arts,
with a special emphasis on how novelists, poets, playwrights, and screenwriters
have addressed these themes through their work and through the roles they play.
“There is a proverb that says as long as we tell the stories of our ancestors and
repeat their names, we keep them alive. We have to create venues and forums that
enable us to keep the legacy, experiences and stories of those who came before us
alive. And we have to ensure that the present generation understands the basis for
carrying forward this tradition and is poised to do so. Through exploring the legacy
of activism and resistance from varying perspectives, the 2015 NBWC can help to
make this happen,” says Dr. Brenda Greene, Executive Director of the Center for
Black Literature.
The goal of the 2015 NBWC Biennial Symposium is to bring together an
intergenerational group of writers and artists from various genres and include
RASHIDAH ISMAILI ABUBAKR, BRIDGETT M. DAVIS, THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS, JAMAL
JOSEPH, SAM POLLARD, DR. HAKI MADHUBUTI, DAVID HENDERSON, SAPPHIRE,
and JACQUELINE WOODSON.
With a special focus on film and literature, the program will honor Danny Glover.
Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Glover has dedicated himself to the
development and production of films of historical relevance, social purpose,
commercial value and artistic integrity, and he has a record of addressing issues of
economic development and poverty in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. We
applaud his legacy of paving the way for Black actors and filmmakers to create a
presence in the film industry and of supporting a tradition of social consciousness
and resistance among fellow artists and writers.
Through panel discussions, readings, and a film presentation, the participants will
engage the public in deep discussions of the legacy of activism and its impact on
contemporary writers and artists and will examine the ways in which writers and
artists use their work to raise public awareness of these issues.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The program will begin with a keynote by cultural and sociopolitical actor, activist,
humanitarian, and producer Danny Glover.
Glover’s discussion will be followed by a viewing of the film The Black Power
Mixtape 1967–1975, which is compiled from the footage of Swedish journalist
Goran Hugo Olsson. The film samples very powerful voices from the 1960s and
1970s and injects contemporary commentary from older people who were involved
with the movement and younger people (including Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and
Questlove [Ahmir Khalib Thompson] from The Roots) whose lives were changed by
it. Sam Pollard, television video editor, documentary producer/director, and
educator and Jamal Joseph, writer, director, producer, poet, activist, and educator,
will provide a critical response to the film; the audience will then participate in a Q
and A with Pollard and Joseph. The post-discussion will be followed by a panel of
writers whose work examines the intersection of literature, politics, culture and
activism. Panelists include writers Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr Touré from the Black
Arts Movement, poet and activist David Henderson from the Umbra and Black Arts
Movements, novelist and educator Bridgett M. Davis, and poet Thomas Sayers Ellis.
Following the discussion will be a keynote by Dr. Greg Carr, who is associate
professor of Africana Studies, Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at
Howard University, Adjunct Faculty at the Howard School of Law. The keynote will
be followed by select readings representing voices of liberation and resistance from
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, Sapphire, and Thomas Sayers
Ellis. The program will close with a musical tribute to Amiri Baraka.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL BLACK WRITERS CONFERENCE
Biennial Symposium
The National Black Writers Conference is hosted every two years by the Center for
Black Literature and our NBWC Biennial Symposium is hosted on alternate years.
The symposium honors the life and work of a specific writer or artist. In the past, we
have paid tribute to Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks, Octavia Butler, August
Wilson, John Oliver Killens, and Bob Marley. We believe strongly in educating the
general public and students about the contributions of Black artists throughout the
African diaspora. This work greatly ensures that our students will study and gain
knowledge of the contributions of writers and artists. We are pleased this year that
our symposium theme is “Voices of Liberation and Resistance” and that we will have
panel discussions, readings and a film discussion on the topics of literature, the arts,
and activism. The 2015 NBWC Biennial Symposium will be held on Saturday, March
28, 2015.
About the Center for Black Literature
The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College was established in 2003 to
institutionalize the National Black Writers Conference (NBWC). In addition to
hosting the NBWC, the Center has a mission to provide a forum for the
dissemination of knowledge about Black literature and to support Black writers and
Black literature through author readings, workshops, retreats, and conferences. To
achieve its mission, the Center partners with high schools, the college, and
community and cultural organizations to provide literary arts to youth, college
students, and the general public. The mission of the Center for Black Literature is to
expand, broaden, and enrich the public’s knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of
the value of Black literature. The Center for Black Literature serves as a voice,
mecca, and resource for Black writers and the general public to study the literature
of people from the African Diaspora. It is the only center devoted to this in the
country.
The Center for Black Literature
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF HONORING THE LITERATURE OF
PEOPLE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. For more information,
visit us online at www.centerforblackliterature.org.
Search “Center for Black Literature” on Facebook.
Phone: 718-804-8883. Email: [email protected]
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THE CENTER FOR BLACK LITERATURE
at MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE, CUNY
presents
Voices of Liberation and Resistance
And a Tribute to Danny Glover
Saturday, March 28, 2015
SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM
As of March 23, 2015 | Subject to Change
MORNING
9:30
10:00
10:15 - 10:20
10:20 - 10:30
10:30 - noon
AFTERNOON
12:15 - 1:00
1:20 - 3:00
3:10 - 3:30
3:30 - 4:00
4:00 - 5:15
5:20 - 6:00
EVENING
6:00 - 6:30
6:30 – 7:00
7:00 – 9:00
Registration Opens
Welcome and Introduction by KIERNA MAYO, VP, Digital Content, EBONY.com
Student Reader from Medgar Evers College: Christian Ademola Lewis
Remarks from DR. AUGUSTINE OKEREKE, Provost, Medgar Evers College
Tribute and Presentation to DANNY GLOVER with an introduction by DR. HAKI
MADHUBUTI, Publisher, Third World Press, a keynote address by Mr. Glover,
and at Q&A session with the audience.
- Break Film Screening of “The Black Power Mixtape 1967 - 1975” (100 minutes)
Film Discussion with JAMAL JOSEPH and SAM POLLARD
Featured Speaker DR. GREG CARR, Chair, Afro-American Studies, Howard University
Panel Discussion “Politics and Culture: The New Dialogue,” with panelists
RASHIDAH ISMAILI ABUBAKR, BRIDGETT DAVIS, and DAVID HENDERSON
Readings of works that are representative of the symposium theme. Authors
include THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS, SAPPHIRE, and JACQUELINE WOODSON
Performance by Heroes Are Gang Leaders In Memory of AMIRI BARAKA
Book-signing
Closing Reception
More Information is Online: www.CenterForBlackLiterature.org
For general info, call 718.804.8883. Media inquiries are directed to AKILA WORKSONGS at [email protected] or
call 718.756.8501 (office) or 646.522.4169 (mobile/text). Directions: www.mec.cuny.edu/aboutmec/Campus-Map.aspx