Third World Press Foundation (TWPF) kicks off a week long 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, September 30, that will culminate with a gala featuring Grammy award-winning jazz songstress Cassandra Wilson on Saturday, October 7, at the Parkway Ballroom. Event co-chairs are actor, activist and humanitarian Danny Glover and CARES Mentoring Movement founder and ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Susan Taylor. Founded in 1967 by Chicago poet and educator Dr. Haki Madhubuti, TWPF is the oldest continuously-publishing independent Black press in the United States. The Chicago Crusader is the official print media partner.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Saturday, September 30 – Co-Sponsor: Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
Intergenerational Conversation: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Paul Coates and Haki Madhubuti
An intergenerational conversation between Pulitzer Prize-winning writer TaNehisi Coates; his father, former Black Panther Paul Coates, founder of Black Classics Press and BCP Digital Printing; and Madhubuti.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago
5 p.m.-7 p.m. Panel & book signing
7:30pm CD release concert – Nicole Mitchell & Black Earth Ensemble
Sunday, October 1 – Co-Sponsor: The Safe Community of St. Sabina
Keeping Peace: Conversations on Life, Legacy, Commitment and Struggle
St. Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78th Pl., Chicago
1p.m.-3 p.m. An intimate conversation, community dialogue & book release with Cornel West, Fr. Michael Pfleger, Haki Madhubuti and Lasana Kazembe
Tuesday, October 3 – Co-Sponsor: Institute for Positive Education (IPE)
Chicago Premiere of “Footprints of Pan-Africanism” Movie Screening & Conversation with Filmmaker Shirikiana Aina, wife of award-winning writer, producer and director Haile Gerima, who co-produced the critically-acclaimed SANKOFA with Gerima
7pm Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th St.
Wednesday, October 4 – Co-Sponsors: Studio Movie Grill, The Poetry Foundation, BMOA
Gwendolyn Brooks Day: Special screening and discussion of Brooks People by Shahari Moore & Riding and Striding, Reaching and Teaching: A Short Film of a Day in the Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Roy Lewis; special guest Nora Brooks Blakely (daughter of Gwendolyn Brooks)
10 a.m.-Noon Studio Movie Grill, 210 W. 87th St., Chicago (private student screening)
6 p.m. Betty Shabazz Academy Auditorium, 7823 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago (Roy Lewis film only)
6:30 p.m. Chicago Soul in Action: A Celebration of the Words and Music of Gwendolyn Brooks and Curtis Mayfield by Lucy Smith and Cheryl Corley
Thursday, October 5 – Co-Sponsor: Kennedy-King College
Jessica Care Moore: Up Close and Personal
Kennedy-King College Theater, 6301 S. Halsted St., Chicago
6:30 p.m. Presentations by Malcolm London & Ugochi Nwagwugwu
7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Performance by Jessica Care Moore
Friday, October 6
Black Arts Movement (BAM) Conference: Legends, Legacy and Lineage
Betty Shabazz Academy Auditorium, 7823 S. Ellis, Chicago
2 p.m.-5 p.m. BAM Politics, Visual Arts, Culture & Music Workshops
5 p.m.-6 p.m. Dinner and book signing
6 p.m.-6:45 p.m. Musical set with Maggie Brown
7 p.m.-10 p.m. Poetry Set with Sonia Sanchez & Haki Madhubuti, Kalamu ya Salaam, Askia Toure, Lasana Kazembe, Michael Simanga, Yahdna YIsreal, Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, Kendria KLove & Jahari Jones
Saturday, October 7
Presentation by Dr. Maulana Karenga
Betty Shabazz Academy Auditorium, 7823 S. Ellis, Chicago
Noon-2 p.m. Struggle and Building Institutions for Eternity: Karaida, Kwanzaa, Third World Press & Us
6 p.m.-10 p.m. Third World Press Foundation 50th Anniversary Gala
The Parkway Ballroom, 4455 S. King Dr., Chicago
Dinner, presentations and musical performances featuring a concert by Cassandra Wilson
Ticket information and details can be found at http://thirdworldpressfoundation.com/
Co-sponsors of the historic celebration include the Black McDonald’s Operators Association (BMOA) of Chicago and Northwest Indiana; David & Reva Logan Center for the Arts; the Institute for Positive Education; Kennedy-King College; Original Soul Vegetarian Restaurant; the Poetry Foundation; the Safe Community of St. Sabina; and the Studio Movie Grill.
