Flowin’
Breakthroughs in Black Feminist Jazz and Literary Studies
In Celebration of Farah Jasmine Griffin
Friday, September 23rd
7:00pm-7:30pm “Who Set Us Flowin”: Welcome
Courtney Bryan (Tulane University)
La Marr Bruce (University of Maryland) Elleza Kelley (Yale University)
Daphne A. Brooks (Yale University)
7:30pm-8:45pm Opening Keynote: A Black Feminist Nocturne: Angela Davis, Gina Dent, Farah Jasmine Griffin in Conversation
Angela Davis (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Gina Dent (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Farah Jasmine Griffin (Columbia University)
8:45pm-9:00pm Intermission
9:00pm-10:00pm Keynote Performance by Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves (Grammy-Winning Jazz Vocalist) with Romero Lumbambo (Guitar)
Nichole Rustin (Rhode Island School of Design), Introductory Remarks
Saturday, September 24th
9:00am-9:30am Toward “A Beautiful Freedom”: Welcome
Nina Eidsheim (University of California, Los Angeles)
Maureen Mahon (New York University)
Alexandra T. Vazquez (New York University)
Daphne A. Brooks (Yale University)
9:30am-11:00am A Black Feminist Holiday: In Celebration of If You Can’t Be Free, Be A Mystery & Its Legacies
Nina Eidsheim (University of California, Los Angeles), Session Host
Hilton Als (The New Yorker)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Film, Stage & Television Actor)
Ruth Feldstein (Rutgers University)
Gayle Wald (George Washington University)
Salamishah Tillet (Rutgers University)
Shane Vogel (Yale University), Moderator
11:00am-11:15am Break
11:15am-12:15pm Philadelphia Critical Karaoke: “Songs in the Key of Farah Griffin’s City”
Sonnet Retman (University of Washington), Session Host
Ursula Rucker (Poet/Musician)
Guthrie Ramsey (University of Pennsylvania)
Wesley Morris (NY Times critic-at-large)
Deborah Willis (New York University)
Vijay Iyer (Harvard University)
12:15pm-1:30pm Break
1:30pm-3:00pm Playing the Changes: Meditations on Major Works
Braxton Shelley (Yale University), Session Host
Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran (Who Set You Flowin’)
Daphne A. Brooks (Yale University) (“When Malindy Sings”)
Michael Veal (Yale University) (Clawing at the Limits)
Sherrie Tucker (University of Kansas) (Harlem Nocturne)
Fredara Hadley (The Juilliard School), Moderator
3:00pm-4:00pm Until You Understand: A Farah Keywords Freestyle Session
Brian Kane (Yale University), Session Host
George Lewis (Columbia University)
Salim Washington (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Alexandra T. Vazquez (New York University)
lmani Owens (Rutgers University)
Maxine Gordon (The Radcliffe Institute)
Diedra Harris-Kelley (The Romare Bearden Foundation)
Erica Edwards (Yale University)
4:00pm-4:15pm Break
4:15pm-5:15pm “’LEGACY! LEGACY!’ To Be Young, Gifted & Farah’s Students”
Elleza Kelley (Yale University), Session Host
Courtney Bryan (Tulane University), Session Host
La Marr Bruce (University of Maryland), Session Host
Regine Jean-Charles (Northeastern University)
Patricia Lespinasse (Adelphi University)
Matthew Morrison (New York University)
Courtney Thorsson (University of Oregon)
Jarvis Mcinnis (Duke University)
lmani Owens (Rutgers University), Moderator
5:30pm-6:30pm Closing Keynote: “Dreaming Freedom”: Farah Jasmine Griffin and Robin D.G. Kelley in Conversation
Gayle Wald (George Washington University), Session Host
Ellie Hisama (University of Toronto), Moderator
6:30pm-6:40pm Intermission
6:40pm-7:00pm A Musical Meditation with Courtney Bryan and Terri Lyne Carrington
Courtney Bryan (Tulane University)
Terri Lyne Carrington (Berklee College of Music)
Nichole Rustin (Rhode Island School of Design), Introductory Remarks
Fredara Hadley (The Juilliard School), Introductory Remarks