afropunk bk: join the solution sessions conversation

This weekend, before we turn the hell up at AFROPUNK Brooklyn 2019, we’re presenting some extraordinary Solution Sessions talks and panels, featuring podcast hosts Bridget Todd and Yves Jeffcoat and an incredible group of speakers. Taking place on Friday, August 23rd and Saturday, August 24th, at Roulette Brooklyn, the candid conversations will feature the likes of former Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown; New York Times bestselling author Elaine Welteroth; #metoo creator, activist and advocate, Tarana J. Burke; and many others.

On Friday night, we will explore together what it means to take up space, discuss liberation tools for understanding gender and body positivity, and how we can return to freedom. Our special guests for the evening, entitled WE SEE YOU: AN ODE TO THOSE WHO HAVE REMAINED UNSEEN, will be  April Reign, Danarii Grace, Elaine Brown, Tamika Mallory, Kimberly Drew, and Elaine Welteroth.

Saturday’s program will open with a frank discussion of boundaries at MY FIRST NAME AIN’T BABY: UNDERSTANDING STREET HARASSMENT. Centering femmes, trans folks, and women, this conversation will explore the experiences these groups have navigating the public world and what we can do to tear down the patriarchal culture. Sponsored by AARP, this session will feature Tarana Burke, activist/artist and Soul Showers founder Indigo Mateo, and visual artist and Stop Telling Women to Smile founder Tatyana Fazlalizadeh.

Centerpiece of Saturday’s program will be NEVER FORGET: THE 1619 PROJECT, with journalist/editor Nikole Hannah-Jones.  She will unpack the argument that August 1619, the date the first slave ship arrived on America’s shores, is a more defining date for America than Independence Day, reaffirming the idea that “no aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed.” Hannah-Jones helmed the project, published last week by the New York Times, and she will discuss its conception and development. Physical copies of The 1619 Project will be available.

Next up, ticket holders will join RECLAIMING THE VILLAGE an examination about rebuilding our local communities, and about moving away from ‘cancel culture’ and towards love and accountability. This session will feature Janaya ‘Future’ Khan, Professor Wendy Greene, activist Richie Reseda.

Finally, the program will end with MY PEOPLE, OUR STORIES: MEDIA x ART x ACTIVISM, a deep dive into using our platforms to inform, inspire, and spark revolutionary action. We will address the responsibilities of creatives to use media and the arts to “bring awareness to the past and imagine a more inclusive vision of the future.” Sponsored by Al Jazeera, the session will feature Jamira Burley, Head of Youth Engagement and Skills for the Global Business Coalition for Education; Michael Denzel Smith, author of the best-selling book, Invisible Man; writer, author, performer, and story-teller Joel L. Daniels, and multi-media journalist Charise Frazier.

AFROPUNK Solution Session is a safe, authentic space for dialogue, problem-solving, and connecting with each other. For more information about tickets, each session, our speakers, click here.