Artist Talk & Collective Freedom Dreaming with Samora Pinderhughes & Tef Poe

Date: 

Tuesday, February 23, 2021, 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Join composer Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes and featured artist and activist Tef Poe as they share stories  and discuss their work on the film Whose Streets? Their visit will culminate with Dr. Bell and her Dartmouth College and Harvard University student organizers leading attendees in Collective Freedom Dreaming.

This event is private to Dr. Bell's students but will be broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook so viewers can participate via the chat function. The viewing audience will be invited to join in on the Collective Freedom Dreaming session in the last 30 minutes of the event.

Watch here on Theater, Dance & Media's YouTube page or Facebook page! (opens in a new link).

This event, part of Dr. Shamell Bell's Black Arts Movement to #blacklivesmatter (TDM 182B) course at Harvard and Rituals of Breath (AAAS 33.10) at Dartmouth, is presented in partnership with the Provostial Funds for the Arts & Humanities at Harvard; Theater, Dance & Media at Harvard, and the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Darmouth.

ABOUT TEF POE

Tef Poe born Kareem Jackson is an African American emcee, multi-genre artist, educator and revolutionary. He is also a co-founder of Harvard University’s  Commonwealth Project. He is also an Harvard University American Democracy Fellow, and Harvard University Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellow. Poe is currently the creative lead for Black Men Build. He  has also served as a United States cultural Ambassador to the country of Jordan through the Next Level exchange program (with the U.S. State Department and Meridian). Poe is currently signed to the New York based label Tommy Boy Records. In 2014 he joined Killer Mike, EL-P, and DJ Trackstar for the midwest regional leg of the Run the Jewels world tour. He has shared stages with Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def). He has performed on stages with Nipsey Hussle, Lupe Fiasco, Big Krit, Scarface, and Stevie Wonder. He is also a retired undefeated 106th&Park Freestyle Friday Champion. His passion for social justice was  featured in the award winning documentary Whose Streets as seen on Netflix and Hulu. This film highlights his activism after the death of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson Missouri where Tef Poe participated in the Ferguson Rebellion, standing against police brutality  for over 300 days.  As  an international thought provocateur Poe has even travelled to the country of Palestine and demanded an end to the military occupation.  Tef Poe is from St.Louis Missouri where he was given the key to his  childhood providence.August 6th (2013) was officially renamed “Tef Poe Day” in the St.Louis County of Pine Lawn Missouri. This is significant to him because his mother was once on section 8 while raising him and his siblings in this same exact neighborhood. He is co-founder of the award winning  activist group Hands Up United and is the Executive Director of the independent media publication  The Boycott Times  where Dr.Cornel West serves as his top advisor. His memoirs aptly titled  “Rebel to America” will be released next year through Norton publishing. His latest albums and collaborations can be found available  on all streaming services. 

ABOUT SAMORA PINDERHUGHES

Samora Pinderhughes is a composer/pianist/vocalist known for striking intimacy and carefully crafted, radically honest lyrics alongside high-level musicianship. He is also known for his use of music to examine sociopolitical issues and fight for change. 

He’s collaborated and performed with many artists across boundary and scene including Common, Sara Bareilles, Glenn Ligon, Robert Glasper, Daveed Diggs, Lalah Hathaway, Herbie Hancock and many more. 

Samora is the first-ever Art for Justice + Soros Justice Fellow, given to him in support of his upcoming project "The Healing Project"; he’s also a recipient of Chamber Music America’s 2020 Visionary Award. He works frequently with Common on compositions for music & film, and is a featured member on the new albums August Greene and Let Love with Common, Robert Glasper, Boom Bishop, and Karriem Riggins. Samora has performed in venues including Carnegie Hall, MoMA, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Kennedy Center, and toured internationally with artists including Branford Marsalis, Christian Scott, Jose James, and Emily King. 

A Sundance Composers Lab fellow, Samora scored the award-winning documentary “Whose Streets?” and the Field of Vision film Concussion Protocol. He is a member of Blackout for Human Rights, the arts & social justice collective founded by Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay, and was musical director for their #MLKNow and #JusticeForFlint events. This year, Samora also began his PhD at Harvard University in the Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry program under the direction of Vijay Iyer.

Photo: Jacob Blickenstaff