SOUL! James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni: Screening & Conversation

Upcoming
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The David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center

Ticket price: $16.82

In an episode of WNET’s “SOUL!” recorded in London in 1971, 47-year-old novelist James Baldwin sits down for an interview with 28-year-old poet Nikki Giovanni. Their wide-ranging conversation delves into Black life in America, the fight for racial justice, and shifting gender roles while offering a glimpse into the creative minds and artistic processes of two literary icons. 

This screening caps off the Literary Freedom Project's yearlong celebration of the enduring legacy of writer and activist James Baldwin. Baldwin's extensive body of work—including essays, speeches, plays, poetry, short stories, and novels—boldly addresses racial and social issues, providing profound insights into the Black American experience in the 20th century. 

The one-hour screening will be followed by a lively conversation with the audience and creatives tasha dougé, Asma Neblett, Peggy Robles-Alvarado. The discussion will be facilitated by Ron Kavanaugh, executive director of the Literary Freedom Project.

The event will conclude with a reception which includes special access to the DR Center Gallery, currently showing Sketching Light: Chagall’s Windows for Union Church.

Presented in partnership with the Culpeper Arts & Culture Program.

Ron Kavanaugh

Founder, Literary Freedom Project

Ron Kavanaugh is a dedicated literary activist and the founder and director of the Literary Freedom Project, a vibrant arts organization rooted in the Bronx. Kavanaugh has contributed to numerous local arts organizations, such as The Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Bronx Council on the Arts. In 2017, he organized the exhibition Black Documents, featuring the works of photographer Jamel Shabazz.

tasha dougé

Artist

tasha dougé is a Bronx-bred and based, Haitian-infused visual and performance artist and activist whose work experiments with different mediums that examine the nuances of the human experience, tasha has been featured in Sugarcane Magazine, Essence, and The New York Times. Her work has been shown in exhibitions in New York at The Apollo Theater, BronxArtSpace, and The Shed and in Philadelphia at Rush Arts Gallery.

Asma Neblett

Educator

Asma Neblett was born and raised in Brooklyn. She is an educator and specialist in the Center for Teaching and Learning at CUNY Lehman College and an alum of the CUNY Graduate Center. She lectures in the social sciences on topics within the digital humanities and feminist philosophy. Asma currently serves as an editor and editorial committee member for CUNY's Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy.

 

Peggy Robles-Alvarado

Writer

Peggy Robles-Alvarado, a Jerome Hill Foundation Fellow in Literature and three-time International Latino Book Award winner, has earned fellowships from CantoMundo, The Frost Place, and more. Her work is widely anthologized and published in Poets.org, 92Y.org, and The Acentos Review. She has been featured at The Dodge Poetry Festival, HBO Habla Women, and Lincoln Center. Through Robleswrites Productions Inc., Peggy created Lalibreta.online and The Abuela Stories Project.