Awadagin Pratt: Black in America is a one-hour presentation by the internationally renowned pianist combining live musical performance with students from the School of Music, autobiographical narrative, and silent film with recorded piano accompaniment. Pratt’s narrative, the program’s centerpiece, focuses on the impacts and contexts of his repeated experience of being stopped by police for no apparent reason. Included in the presentation is the 11-minute film, Histoire(s) des Noires, A Visual Experience by Alrick Brown, edited by Rachel Brown, a kaleidoscopic collage of more than 150 images that confront varieties of African American representation in visual media across more than a century.

Please note that some of the film’s imagery is disturbing and potentially traumatizing.

After the presentation, filmmaker Alrick Brown will join Pratt and moderators Lou Turner and Casey Robards on stage to discuss their collaboration and the development of the work.

Hosted by: School of Music

In conjunction with: Bruce D. Nesbit African American Cultural Center (BNAACC), College of Fine & Applied Arts, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Department of African American Studies, Department of Dance, Department of English, Department of History, Department of Media & Cinema Studies, Department of Sociology, Department of Theatre, Krannert Art Museum, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation. Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies, School of Art + Design, University Library
 

• Listen to the audio version of the performance HERE

• Watch the video of the panel discussion HERE