SOUL! SUMMIT AGENDA for Friday, October 18, 2013

WNET Channel THIRTEEN, Kellen Boardroom 9:00am – 5:30pm

9:00 - 9:30am Coffee and Sign-in

9:30 - 9:35am Melissa Haizlip, Producer/Director, Mr. SOUL! – Opening remarks and welcome; introduces Kevin Powell, writer, activist, President & Co-founder of BK Nation (new national organization)

9:35 - 9:45am Kevin Powell – Opening remarks; introduces Julie Anderson, Executive Producer, Documentaries and Development for THIRTEEN

9:45 - 9:55am Julie Anderson - Welcomes SOUL! Summit and introduces clip “Pioneers of THIRTEEN” featuring footage from SOUL!

9:55 - 10:05am “Pioneers of THIRTEEN” clip

10:05 - 10:10am SOUL! Summit will be facilitated by Terrie Williams, founder of the public relations firm, The Terrie Williams Agency. Williams introduces award winning filmmaker, Orlando Bagwell, Moderator of Session #1

10:10am - 12:00pm Session I: "Ellis Haizlip & SOUL!: Origins of Black Power TV" Moderated by Orlando Bagwell, Filmmaker

PANEL DESCRIPTION:
The first panel introduces us to television/theater producer, Ellis Haizlip, and the SOUL! Series. Haizlip was the creator, executive producer and host of SOUL! Which debuted in 1968 and continued through 1973. This in-depth discussion offers an engaging lens for exploring the early days of public television and the creativity and cultural expression of the Black Power Television era. It further helps us to understand the television landscape of the 1960s-70s as well as the ongoing struggles for voice and autonomy for African Americans working in Public Media.

WITNESSES:
• Aniko Bodroghkozy, Associate Professor, Media Studies, UVA
• Thulani Davis, Author
• Christopher Lukas, former Director of Programming, WNET
• Louis Massiah, Filmmaker, Scribe Video Center Exec Director
• Sam Pollard, Director, Mr. SOUL!
• Hugh Price, Former CEO, National Urban League

12:00 - 12:15pm BREAK

12:15 - 1:30pm Session II: “Art & Activism: SOUL! & the Black Arts Movement.” Moderated by Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NYPL

PANEL DESCRIPTION:
SOUL! was the first television show to feature poets and poetry in general, and African American Poets and their Poetry in particular. The SOUL! series gave African American poetry a platform on which to be overtly political and empowered. “It’s the popular embrace of poetry (and what we now call spoken-word) as a conscious tool of unabashed militancy that SOUL! pioneered in broadcasting, ” says filmmaker Louis Massiah. This session will attempt to contextualize SOUL! within the Black Arts Movement, Black Nationalist Movement, and Women’s Movement. This conversation will investigate the role of ‘culture’ within political movements and will also consider ‘culture’ as a fundamental process of change.

WITNESSES:
• John H. Bracey, Jr., Du Bois Dept Afro-American Studies UMass/Amherst
• Abiodun Oyewole, & Umar Bin Hassan, The Last Poets
• David Henderson, Umbra member & Biographer, Jimi Hendrix
• Sonia Sanchez, Poet Laureate of Philadelphia
• Quincy Troupe, Poet, Writer, Editor, Educator

1:30 - 2:30pm LUNCH (catered)

2:30 - 3:45pm Session III: “SOUL! and Self Expression in the Movement” Moderated by Dr. Yohuru Williams, Associate Professor of History & Co-Director of Black Studies, Fairfield University

PANEL DESCRIPTION:
SOUL! was both an inspiration for and a reflection of the liberation movements of the 1960s/70s. SOUL! provided a creative and progressive space where African American artists and activists from a variety of backgrounds could express themselves freely. SOUL! often featured female guest hosts and there were entire episodes produced honoring the Black Woman. But the celebration of Black culture was tempered with critique – with frequent challenges to perceived sexism and homophobia within the movements. This session will explore how Haizlip opened doors for people of color, women and LGBTQ artists both in front of and behind the camera. As a stalwart champion of multicultural stories and inclusive programming, Haizlip influenced arts production both in New York and across the nation. We will also speak to SOUL!’s influence on later shows such as SOUL TRAIN, TONGUES UNTIED, etc.

WITNESSES:
• Ericka Blount Danois, Author, “Love, Peace & Soul: Behind the Scenes of America's Favorite Dance Show Soul Train”
• Carlos DeJesus, Filmmaker & Associate Professor of Film and Television at NYU’S Tisch School of the Arts
• Jamal Joseph, author, filmmaker, professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts
• Voza Rivers, Producer, Founding Member, New Heritage Theatre Group
• Roxana Walker-Canton, Filmmaker, Assistant Professor of Visual & Performing Arts, Fairfield University
• Shawn D. Wilson, Writer, Filmmaker, “Separate, But Equal”

3:45 - 3:55pm BREAK

3:55 - 4:05pm Kevin Powell introduces Jacquie Jones moderator of the final panel

4:05 - 5:15pm Session IV: “The New Frontier: SOUL! in the Digital Age” Moderated by Jacquie Jones, Executive Director, National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC)

PANEL DESCRIPTION:
The final panel of the SOUL! Summit explores the challenges and opportunities of the digital media revolution that face Black independent documentary makers today. Our discussion will include Media strategies focusing on best practices and trends in the digital world for “emerging and established cross-platform and immersive storytellers.” How do we use the lessons from SOUL! to make content committed to Black history and culture, while keeping it relevant? What are some models (sustaining) and what is the next big NEXT? How can independents with limited resources and access compete in this rapidly changing environment?

WITNESSES:
• Aina Abiodun, Co-founder of StoryCode
• Monifa Bandele, Community Activist, MomsRising.org
• Nicole Eley-Carr, PBS Black Culture Connection
• Thomas Allen Harris, founder|president Chimpanzee Productions
• Jennifer MacArthur, Borderline Media

5:15 - 5:30pm Conclusion, Reflections, Thank Yous

6:00 - 7:30pm Cocktail Reception, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (for SOUL! Summit Participants)