“We Are” Explores Race and Ethnicity through Arts

Madison, Wis. (October 11, 2016) – How does your racial and ethnic background affect who you are? Students at Edgewood College along with Greater Madison will explore that question through performance and discussion in “We Are: Exploring Inter-Cultural Identity.”

This special evening takes place from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 in the Diane Ballweg Theatre.

This free program is offered in connection with the 2016-17 Edgewood College Common Reading selection The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Michelle Alexander’s important book points to the ways in which policy decisions at the national and state level profoundly affect people’s lives and opportunities.

The all-age cast of “We Are” brings these issues to life by sharing their individual stories through spoken word performances, music, monologues, poetry, and tap dance. The evening’s program includes performances by:

• Donna Peckett – Choreographer/actor/educator  
• Fabu – Poet/educator, former Poet Laureate of Madison
• Tiffany Ike – Spoken Word artist and activist
• Jane Reynolds – Pianist and music educator

“In developing curricula around the Common Reading, we found that the book raises, but does not directly address, issues of individual identity,” said Sue Pastor, Associate Director of the COR General Education Program. “We wanted to illustrate, through the arts, how social structural patterns affect us and the relationships we have with others.”

After the presentations, audience members will join students, faculty, staff, and the performers in facilitated discussion groups. 

The Edgewood College Common Reading program is designed to encourage students, faculty, and staff to reflect together on human issues through the lens of the College’s Dominican values. As an institution committed to building a just and compassionate world, the College’s selection of The New Jim Crow by campus-wide vote shows the campus community is deeply concerned about systemic inequalities.
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