Arts & Social Justice Fellows Project Showcase and Community Conversation

project showcase and community conversation December 15, 2020, Noon est

Created at a moment of crisis in our nation and inspired by faith in the power of art to open spaces for conversation, community-making, and collective action, the Arts and Social Justice Fellows program brings six Atlanta artists dedicated to working toward racial justice into Emory classrooms, to help students translate their learning into creative action and activism. We invite you to join us in discussion and learning as the program’s inaugural cohort shares the results of their collaboration with the community.

Program directors Carlton Mackey, director, Emory Ethics and the Arts Program Kevin C. Karnes, associate dean for the arts, Emory College of Arts & Sciences

Special Thanks to

Rizky Etika Jacquelyn Pritz Candy Tate Melody Totten Emma Yarbrough Southwest Airlines Support for this program was provided by the Emory College of Arts and Sciences and the Emory University Center for Ethics.

Cover photo by Bach Nguyen

Program Noon

Welcome and Video Introduction Kevin C. Karnes and Carlton Mackey

12:05 pm

President Gregory L. Fenves

12:15 pm

Videos and Ten Minute Conversation

• Film, Media, and the Art of Social Change Carlton Mackey, director, Ethics & the Arts Program, Emory Center for Ethics, and Edward Queen, director, Ethics and Servant Leadership Program, Emory Center for Ethics, with Ash Nash, founder/CEO, Power Haus Creative • Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Hank Klibanoff, professor of practice, Creative Writing Program, Emory College, with Garrett Turner, actor 12:45 PM

Videos and Ten Minute Conversation

• Epigenetics and the Human Condition Arri Eisen, professor of pedagogy, Biology and the Institute for the Liberal Arts, Emory College, with Fahamu Pecou, visual artist • Social Justice: Zoning, Contracts, and Environmental Racism Allison Burdette, professor of practice, Business Law, Goizueta Business School, with Olivia Dawson, actor and playwright 1:15 PM

Videos and Ten Minute Conversation

• The Feminist Art(s) of Activism Alix Olson, assistant professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), Oxford College, with Shanequa Gay, visual artist • Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders Elizabeth Walker, research assistant professor of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences (BSHES), Rollins School of Public Health, with Okorie “OkCello” Johnson, composer and cellist 1:45 PM

Reflections and Closing Remarks

Film, Media, and the Art of Social Change Ash Nash is more than just the founder and CEO of Power Haus Creative, she is a community leader who mentors local artists, and helps them to develop sustainable careers. She has immersed herself in the local arts economy, and empowers visual artists to utilize their influence for change in underserved communities, and to build capital for the creative class. Recognized for her impassioned work ethic, Ash has led several highly successful campaigns for a multitude of global brands such as Papa John's, Coca-Cola, and Nike.

She gained international attention in 2019 for her strategic work coordinating #Kaeperbowl, a public art/activism initiative centered around muralist Fabian Williams and former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. Her work has been recognized by Creative Loafing, and she has been featured in Visionary Artistry Magazine, The Atlanta Podcast, and the Our Voices. Our Lives. docu-series. In her partnership with Remerge Community Museum, Ash serves as a Creative Community & Cultural Strategist. Ash is also an active board member for MINT Art Gallery, and W.A.G.E Certified Gallery in Historic Southwest Atlanta. In her role as principle of Power Haus Creative, Ash serves as a liaison and accountability partner to both visual artists and the brands that hire them.

Carlton Mackey, director, Ethics & Arts Program, Emory Center for Ethics. Mackey is also the associate director of the Ethics and Servant Leadership program and an adjunct faculty member of Emory's Department of Film and Media Studies. In 2013, Mackey won the Emory University Award of Distinction.For six years Mackey served on the board of directors of the WonderRoot Center for Arts and Social Change. He currently serves on the advisory board of the Youth Theological Initiative at Candler School of Theology and on the advisory board of ForeverFamily, an Atlanta-based nonprofit serving youth who have one or more incarcerated parents. In May 2017, he was named a teaching artist at the High Museum of Art, curating the Art Talks Back series. Mackey was appointed to the Atlanta Board of Education Ethics Commission in October 2017. He is an award-winning professional photographer and filmmaker and the creator of several socially engaged, art-based platforms. For his 2009 documentary 17 Degrees Ain't Nothing, an intimate profile of five people experiencing homelessness in Atlanta, Mackey was awarded the first-ever Creativity

in the Arts Award and a grant by the Emory Center for Creativity and Arts.

In 2012. Mackey created 50 Shades of Black, a multifaceted platform for creating an interactive global dialogue around issues of race, skin tone, sexuality,and identity. Exploring these themes through visual art, literature, curated blogs, educational curriculums, and workshops, 50 Shades of Black aims to explore the ways in which our individual experiences of race and sexuality give rise to the formation of our unique and complex identities. In summer 2013, Mackey published the book 50 Shades of Black, Vol.1. Mackey was the winner of the 2014 One Region Atlanta Ideas Challenge for his project Typical American Families. This grant, funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, is awarded to ideas that best bridge faith and culture in the city. He also created Black Men Smile, a resistance and empowerment movement for black men and Beautiful in Every Shade, an apparel company and empowerment movement with a mission to transform the way everyday people from around the world see themselves and others Edward Queen, director, Ethics and Servant Leadershp Program, Emory Center for Ethics. Edward Queen is director of the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership and coordinator of Undergraduate Studies at the Ethics Center At Emory, he also serves as director of research for the Institute of Human Rights and co-convener of the Initiative on Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding. Queen received his BA from Birmingham-Southern College, his MA and PhD from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, and his JD from the Indiana University School of Law–Indianapolis. Queen previously served as founding director of the Religion and Philanthropy Project at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and of the Islamic Society of North America's Fellowship Program in Nonprofit Management and Governance. A former program officer at the Lilly Endowment, with major responsibility for grants in nonprofit governance and leadership, Queen has consulted with numerous nonprofit, governmental, and educational organizations on management issues and ethics policies. These organizations have included the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, the Pew Charitable Trusts, Independent Sector, USAID, NAFSA: The Association of International Educators, the Southeastern Council of Foundations, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

A specialist in issues related to professional and social ethics, religious and ethnic conflict, and civil society, Queen has written, coauthored, or edited numerous books, including Serving Those In Need: A Handbook for Managing Faith-Based Human Services Organizations (2000), Philanthropy in the World's Traditions (1998), and The Encyclopedia of American Religious History (1992; rev. ed., 2002; 3rd rev. ed., 2009).

Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Garrett Turner is a native of Florence, Alabama and a proud member of Actors’ Equity. NYC: Bayano (National Black Theatre), The Dove (York Theatre Company), Acappella the Musical (NYMF). Regional: Thoughts of a Colored Man (Syracuse Stage/Baltimore Center Stage), Half Time (Jerry Mitchell; Paper Mill Playhouse), Holler If Ya Hear Me (Kenny Leon; True Colors Theatre), The Royale (Theatrical Outfit), The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Asolo Rep), Lookingglass Alice (Baltimore Center Stage), Memphis (Mason Street Warehouse), In The Heights (Aurora Theatre), Dreamgirls (Atlanta Lyric Theatre). TV: “Law & Order: SVU,” “Madam Secretary.”

Emory Grad (Woodruff Scholar and Bobby Jones Scholar). CSSD Alum.

Marshall Scholar. @garrettmturner

Hank Klibanoff, professor of practice, English and Creative Writing.

Klibanoff, a veteran journalist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and a Peabody Award-winning podcast host. He co-authored The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for history. Prior to joining Emory, he was a reporter and editor for more than 35 years, held various reporting and editing positions in Mississippi, at The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer and served as a managing editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He holds an undergraduate degree in English from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He directs the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project at Emory University (coldcases.emory.edu), for which students examine Georgia's modern civil rights history through the investigation of unsolved and unpunished racially motivated murders. His podcast, "Buried Truths," produced by WABE public radio station, won Peabody and Robert F. Kennedy awards in 2019.

Epigenetics and the human condition Fahamu Pecou is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose works combine observations on hip-hop, fine art and popular culture. Pecou’s paintings, performance art, and academic work addresses concerns around contemporary representations of Black masculinity and how these images impact both the reading and performance of Black masculinity. Fahamu eceived his BFA at the Atlanta College of Art in 1997 and a Ph.D. from Emory University in 2018. Dr. Pecou exhibits his art worldwide in addition to lectures and speaking engagements at colleges and universities. As an educator, Dr. Pecou has developed (ad)Vantage Point, a narrative-based arts curriculum focused on Black male youth. Pecou’s work is featured in noted private and public national and international collections including; Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Societe Generale (Paris), Nasher Museum at Duke University, The High Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Paul R. Jones Collection, Clark Atlanta University Art Collection and Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia. Pecou was recently named the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Atlanta Beltline. In 2017 he was the subject of a retrospective exhibition "Miroirs de l'Homme" in Paris, France. His work also appears in several films and television shows including; Black-ish, The Chi, and Lifetime's The 10th Date.

Arri Eisen, professor of pedagogy, Biology and the Institute for the Liberal Arts. Eisen received a BS with honors from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Washington–Seattle. He has been teaching at Emory since 1990 and is in the Department of Biology, Institute for the Liberal Arts, and the Center for Ethics. Eisen has been the director of the program in Science and Society since its inception in 1999. This program, with support from the Nat Robertson Fund, facilitates visiting lectures and professorships and programming from science fiction to medical history, and from evolution to Buddhism and science.

Social Justice: Zoning, Contracts, and Environmental Racism Olivia Dawson is an actor, a writer, a producer and an AOC (Artist of Color). Dawson’s work focuses not on expanding what it means to be Black in America, but continuing to expand the visibility of it. The former is an explanation of her humanity. The latter, simply because of her existence, states that She is. Being an Artist of Color is to risk. Being Black in America is to be at risk. Dawson has performed onstage with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Horizon Theatre, Aurora Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theater (Chicago), among others. Dawson’s film and TV credits include Greenleaf (OWN), The Resident (FOX), Chicago Med (NBC), and Empire (FOX).

Allison Burdette, professor of practice, Business Law, Goizueta Business School. Prior to joining the Goizueta Business School in 1998, Allison Burdette practiced environmental law for two years in Washington, D.C., then went on to teach business law at Georgia State University. Currently Burdette teaches courses on the legal environment and law and business in the undergraduate program.

The Feminist Art(S) of Activism An Atlanta native, Shanequa Gay received her AA in Graphic Design and Fashion Marketing from the Art Institute of Atlanta (1999), a BA in Painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), summa cum laude (2015), and an MFA at Georgia State University. Gay was one of ten selected artists for OFF THE WALL a city-wide mural initiative led by WonderRoot and the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee (2018). In 2013, Gay was chosen by The Congressional Club to be the illustrator for the First Lady's Luncheon hostess gift for First Lady Michelle Obama. Gay's work includes features in the Lions Gate film Addicted, the BET television series Being Mary Jane

and Zoe Ever After, and the OWN series Greenleaf. Solo exhibitions include the Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA (2015); Anne O Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA (2016); Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC (2017); Mary S. Byrd Gallery, Augusta University, Augusta, GA (2018); Sumter Gallery of Art, Sumter, SC (2018); and Milliken Gallery, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC (2018). Group exhibitions include Xhibiting Blackness, Evolve the Gallery, Sacramento, CA (2014); WonderRoot CSA: Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA (2015); Personal Politics: Artist as Witness, Memory Keepers, & Social Conscience, Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, GA (2016); New Painting, The Southern Gallery, Charleston, SC (2016); 5 Perspectives, Steffen Thomas Museum, Buckhead, GA (2018). Residencies include Independent Study, Iwakuni, Japan (2014); The Creatives Project Artist-in-Studio Program, The Goat Farm Arts Center, Atlanta, GA (2015-2017); and Baldwin's Room Artist in Residence, Johannesburg, South Africa (2017). Public Collections include The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong; The Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, Augusta, GA; The Chattanooga African American Museum, Chattanooga, TN; and Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Atlanta, GA; and Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA. Alix Olson, assistant professor fo Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oxford College. Olson‘s research interests include contemporary social and political thought, critical theory, feminist and queer politics, and social movements. Dr. Olson's book manuscript The Promise(s) of Resilience: Governance and Resistance in Complex Times offers a critical examination of the rise and circulation of the concept of “resilience” within 21st Century political life and the ways it is fundamentally re-ordering peoples’ understanding of themselves, the world, and possibilities of action. Grounding her analysis in a wide breadth of empirical case studies—from the United Nation’s refugee policies and post-Katrina “regeneration” programs to self-help literature and social movements—she shows how resilience discourses work to produce a sustainable human infrastructure capable of upholding the crisis conditions of late capitalism.

Dr. Olson has published peer-reviewed articles/chapters in The Journal for a New Political Science, Wagadu: Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies and in Agitation with a Smile: Howard Zinn’s Legacies and the Future of Activism (Paradigm 2013). She has received the “Christian Bay Award” for the paper presented at APSA that “best exemplifies the goal of New Political Science: making the study of politics relevant to the struggle for a better world.”

Prevention of Mental and behavioral disorders Okorie “OkCello” Johnson’s new album Resolve proffers a healing balm of hope. He invites listeners to move through and beyond their pain into a new perspective. The American cellist-songwriter’s sophomore album marks his evolution as a communicator and a storyteller who reveals personal truths: of time travel, of the African Diaspora, of a deep love for women and of unspoken prayers. Though dealing with grave matters, Resolve is an uplifting album which builds on the musical rebirth that began with OkCello’s debut album, 2015’s Liminal, which established him as a pioneer of electronic and experimental string music in the United States.

OkCello has balanced musical pursuits – which include performing and recording with major label artists such as De La Soul, India.Arie and Big Boi - with a career as an educator. In 2015, he launched “Epi.phony,” a multi-city, 12-show, concert series which produced the track list for Liminal. He is a recipient of the Alliance Theatre’s 2018 Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab grant.

Elizabeth Walker, research assistant professor of Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health. Walker’s research focuses on evaluating and supporting capacity building for the mental health workforce and examining the multilevel factors (e.g. health behaviors, comorbidities, services access and use, socioeconomic disadvantage, and policies) that influence the health and quality of life of people with mental disorders. As the Director of Evaluation for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration-funded Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), she is involved in the development of training activities for mental health professionals and leads the evaluation of the center’s programs. The goal of the Southeast MHTTC is to promote the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based mental health services in the eight southeast states.

She is also currently leading a qualitative evaluation of a pragmatic trial aimed at improving linkage to care between emergency rooms and community mental health centers, as well as enhancing engagement in care, for people with mental disorders.