SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20TH AT 7PM CST
FOCUS ON EDUCATION AND POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
WORD WARRIORS lll 1hr. 19 min. 2020 Directors Takia Green and Jamal Joseph
DISCUSSANTS: “TIZZI” GREEN, KIMBERLY WALLER AND JIBARI TIDMORE
In a country that was built on the foundation of oppression and white supremacy, those who are of the African Diaspora in America struggle with the cyclical epidemic of systemic racism generation after generation.Since slavery, the Black community has used the power of words as a weapon to explore freedom through their art of song, poetry, writings, protest, and speeches to heal and continue to push the culture forward.
FILM WORD WARRIORS III is a documentary that examines the importance of using words from the perspectives of young Black men who are poets, community activists, educators, and noted elder poets – aka THE WORD WARRIOR GRIOTS. These men speak wisdom from a historical point of view as they have been instrumental figures in the Civil Rights Movement and in shaking the halls of injustice with their weapons of words. WORD WARRIORS III sounds the alarm calling for an end to the cyclical epidemic of self- destruction that has attacked our black boys and young black men.
DISCUSSANTS TIZZI GREEN, KIMBERLY WALLER, JIBARI TIDMORE
TAKIA “TIZZI” GREEN is a multi talented creative force who began her career at Lionsgate Films and subsequently worked her way up from production assistant on the “The Gregory Hines Show”, to developing multiple television shows and other outlets for her creativity. After starting her television/film production company, Majestic 9 Films in 2012, Green works as director, producer and songwriter with multiple projects in the pipeline. Majestic 9’ series “Chasing Hollywood” lives on their “A Space For Creator’s “ platform and “Tell The Truth And Shame The Devil”, is greenlit for Warner Bros Studios. Her music has been featured in many film projects such as “REVOLT’s Letter to Prez” PSA series featuring Rapsody and Joey Badass, BET’s “8 Days A Week” and she recently penned the theme song “Wake Up” for the newly released documentary film “Word Warriors III”.
KIMBERLY WALLER is an educator focused on collecting, preserving, and sharing stories that uplift and empower people across borders. Her doctoral work also looks at what the educational community in the U.S. can learn from Cuba’s literacy initiatives
MICHAEL “JIBARI” TIDMORE is a restorative justice advocate in the Englewood community of Chicago. Mr. Tidmore served nearly 10 years in prison for his role in an armed robbery and murder that was committed when he was 18 years old. While incarcerated Mr. Tidmore became a peer counselor for other inmates and has continued his work to mitigate violence and provide access to opportunity for young people. He has been certified as community mediator to de-escalate issues in the community by the United States Department of Justice. Tidmore is well respected for his role as the African-American Male Program coordinator at Teamwork Englewood, as a volunteer at the PEACE Center, a founding member of the Englewood Political Task Force, and as a male mentor and writer. He has spent years leading group workshops and program activities on issues of academic support, anti-gun violence, peace movements, conflict resolution, restorative justice, and civil engagement.
