Creative Conversations: Hakeem Adewumi with Brenda Cherry
October 24 - October 24,2020
Note: This event is online only. To register, go here. Photographer Hakeem Adewumi in conversation with Brenda Cherry, a Paris, Texas-based civil rights activist and writer. From FotoFest: "Art and Activism, Past, Present, Future As individuals around the globe contend with persistent and ongoing injustices, artists and activists are working in the studio and in the streets to promote resistance against oppression and disenfranchised populations. FotoFest presents artist and photographer Hakeem Adewumi in conversation with Brenda Cherry, a Paris, Texas-based civil rights activist and writer. This conversation brings together two voices working in disparate social and cultural realms, arts and activism, to examine the various ways in which sociopolitical resistance can be enacted and performed both locally and globally. Hakeem Adewumi, a photographer whose work can be described as a celebration of Black presence, joy, and love, photographed Cherry and other activists in the small Texas town of Paris for a recent Texas Monthly magazine story on the town, its burgeoning activist community, and its reckoning with its past as the site of one of the United States’ most infamous lynchings. Brenda Cherry’s activism spans over two decades, focusing on social issues related to systemic racial inequality such as police murder and misconduct against BIPOC communities, workplace discrimination, and confederate monument intimidation. As the President and Co-founder of Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality, Cherry has organized landmark protests that have influenced public policy and reform in Texas as well as in the context of the U.S. Federal Government. The Texas monthly story, “Can the Black Lives Matter Movement Heal Paris, Texas?”, may be found at: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/black-lives-matter-movement-paris-texas, and will act as a launching point for the discussion on the relationship between art, photography, activism, and the media. ---------------------------------------------------------------- A live Q&A with the audience will follow the discussion. Questions may be submitted via the chat interface on Zoom or YouTube. This event will be broadcast live on Zoom and on FotoFest’s YouTube Channel. Advanced registration is required to attend the Zoom webinar. To watch the event via YouTube, visit www.youtube.com/fotofestintl. ---------------------------------------------------------------- About the Participants Brenda K Cherry is an American Civil Rights Activist from Paris, Texas. She is the President and co-founder of Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality, a non-profit civil rights organization located in Paris, Texas. Founded in 2003, CCFRE co-sponsored events with the U.S. Department of Justice, Lone Star Legal Aid, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Cherry gained national and international attention during her fight for justice in high profile cases including ShaQuanda Cotton, Brandon McClelland, Turner Industries, Bobby Yates, and Joquan Wallace. In addition to her activism on the ground, Cherry has contributed writing and interviews to numerous publications and journals including The Paris Texas Chronicle and the Shawn P. Williams website. Her work has been the subject of writing including Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse (Verso, 2013) and news reportage in Texas Monthly, The New York Times, CBS News, Chicago Tribune, and the Houston Chronicle."
