Juneteenth at Homewood: Expressions of Freedom

Description

The Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences host Juneteenth at Homewood: Expressions of Freedom.

The Billie Holiday Center's Living History Fellow, Elder Charles Dugger, will lead a libation ritual and render a theatrical retelling of the first Juneteenth, laying the foundation for interactive praise dancing and spoken word to follow. Performers from Urban Foli will provide drumming as Ms. Amaniyea Payne, a native Baltimorean and global cultural icon, will enact the West African-derived church dancing styles of early Black Methodists, surviving today in tidewater Maryland as a regional variant of the African American ring shout tradition. Prize-winning youth poets from DewMore Baltimore, Black Rose and Jay Le Rey, will follow with embodied responses that reflect on Juneteenth and the protection of free speech. Community Organizer Nneka N'namdi will deliver the keynote address. Rounding out the program will be a festival of Black music, soul, and joy, as the talking drums of Urban Foli and the turntables of DJ Tanz join forces to create an improvisational freedom soundscape.

Lunch is provided. No reservations needed.

Register for this event online.

All in-person events at Johns Hopkins must follow university COVID-19 policies. See current guidelines online.