Jeff Chang in Conversation: 'From Hip Hop to Policy Making'
Award-winning author, cultural critic and journalist Jeff Chang will participate in a performative panel discussion and movement facilitation on the relationship between art, social impact and public policy using hip hop as a lens for social transformation as part of a visit to ASU.
Performance in the Borderlands in ASU's School of Film, Dance and Theatre and Southwest Folklife Alliance are thrilled to bring Chang back to Arizona to work with creative and organizing communities to ask ourselves: What is the role of arts and culture to advance the work of racial and social justice in Arizona? Over the course of two days, Chang will share space with a dynamic group of cultural workers and community organizers to imagine a more equitable Arizona. In this visit, we have centered the critical cultural and artistic leadership of women of color and communities of color using art to impact radical social change in the borderlands.
As the vice president for narrative and visual culture for Race Forward, Chang is continuing his long career specializing in culture, politics, the arts and music. His first book, "Can't Stop Won't Stop," garnered many honors, including the American Book Award and the Asian American Literary Award. He also edited the book "Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop." His book "Who We Be: The Colorization of America" was published in October 2014 to critical acclaim (published in paperback in January 2016 under the title "Who We Be: A Cultural History of Race in Post Civil Rights America"). In September 2016, he published his fourth book, a set of essays entitled "We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation."
Chang will also participate in a Race and Resegregation Panel at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at Eastlake Park. LISC Phx and InSite Consultants are hosting the public panel with community organizers and leaders to discuss the continued impact of race and resegregation along the south Phoenix light rail and the opportunities to reimagine a more equitable development model.
In collaboration with the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, ASU Hip Hop Cluster, LISC Phoenix and InSite Consultants.