FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Center for Justice at Columbia University presents Lyrics from Lockdown at Miller Theatre Thursday, Nov. 20
Bryonn Bain tells his own story of wrongful imprisonment in Lyrics from Lockdown through hip hop, spoken word, blues, comedy, calypso and classical music
New York, NY – November 20, 2014 – The Center for Justice at Columbia University, along with campus and community partners, present Bryonn Bain’s Lyrics from Lockdown at Miller Theatre on Thursday, November 20th at 7:00pm. Immediately following the performance, there will be a talkback and discussion with Bryonn Bain, Academy Award Nominee and School of the Arts Professor, Jamal Joseph and Asha Rosa, CC ’15 and Organizer with Students Against Mass Incarceration and the Black Youth Project 100. The event is open to the public, and tickets are available to purchase online through Miller Theatre’s Events & Tickets webpage.
This unbelievably true story begins when Brooklyn’s own hip hop theater innovator and spoken word champion, Bryonn Bain (60 Minutes, The Village Voice, BET’s My Two Cents), is wrongly imprisoned in NYC jails — while studying law at Harvard following graduation from Columbia College. Weaving together the voices of over 40 characters into a one-man tour de force, Lyrics From Lockdown, executive produced by Gina and Harry Belafonte, is receiving extraordinary reviews around the world. A groundbreaking multimedia production, this critically acclaimed show tells a provocative story exposing racial profiling and wrongful incarceration in a nation imprisoning more people than any other in the world. The show will be followed by a post performance discussion about arts and activism in the era of mass incarceration.
Lyrics from Lockdown has garnered considerable praise in the U.S. and abroad, from its world premiere theatrical run produced by the National Black Theatre to being included in the Official Selection of the NYC Hip Hop Film Festival, Festival De Liegel in Belgium and the Singapore International Theater Festival. “The world needs to see how Bryonn Bain’s Lyrics from Lockdown carries the tradition of joining art and activism as an instrument for justice…” remarked Harry Belafonte. Cornell West described Bain as “One of the leading minds of his generation” adding, “Bain speaks his truth with a power we desperately need to hear.” Renowned activist, scholar and author Angela Davis summed his performance up in a word – “Amazing”.
Tickets available at: http://www.millertheatre.com/events/lyrics-from-lockdown
About the Artist: Nuyorican Spoken Word Champion, Bryonn Bain (CC ’95) was wrongfully imprisoned during his second year at Harvard Law School. After suing the NYPD and telling his story on 60 Minutes, Bain launched a national campaign using hip hop, spoken word and theater to address police abuse and the prison crisis. His latest book, The Ugly Side of Beautiful: Rethinking Race and Prison in
America (Third World Press), was recently banned from Texas prisons by the Department of Corrections. Inspired by over two decades of work in correctional facilities and on more than 100 college campuses nationwide, his “Life After Lockdown: Digital Mixtape” is executive produced by founding hip hop DJ Kool Herc. A founder of NYU’s Prison Education Program, Bain has taught courses linking the arts and incarceration at Rikers Island, Boys Town Detention Center, New York University, the New School, Columbia and Harvard.
Lyrics from Lockdown at Miller Theatre is presented by the Center for Justice at Columbia University in collaboration with the Division of Social Science – Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Columbia University the Institute for Research in African American Studies, Sankofa.org, Center for NuLeadership, the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Columbia College | Columbia Engineering, CAA Arts Access, Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Human Rights Project at the Urban Justice Center, JustLeadershipUSA, Education from the Inside Out Coalition, The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University, The Mailman Incarceration and Public Health Initiative, The Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Teachers College – Vice President’s Office for Diversity and Community Affairs, NYU Prison Education Program, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project, Columbia University Students Against Mass Incarceration, CSSW Criminal Justice Caucus, the Association for Justice and Health, the Human Rights Working Group and CU Students for Human Rights
About the Center for Justice at Columbia University: The Center is committed to reducing the nation’s reliance on incarceration and to developing new approaches to safety and justice through education, research and policy. For more information, visit: centerforjustice.columbia.edu
Event Information:
Lyrics from Lockdown written and performed by Bryonn Bain Thursday, November 20, 2014
Doors open at 6:30pm
Showtime at 7:00pm
Miller Theatre, Columbia University 2960 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Contact Information:
Cameron Rasmussen
[email protected]
(916) 524-9401