BUZZER Hosts Community Forums- Race and Gentrifcation

The producers and artists behind Tracey Scott Wilson's new play BUZZER (premiering in the ACTLab Feb. 5th) are hosting three community forums to go indepth and have expansive conversations about issues raised in the play. Each event will have different community leaders guiding discussions on the topics of race and gentrification in modern America. All events are free, and those attending can receive vouchers for discounted tickets to Buzzer.

• January 28, 6pm - Northwest Film Forum with Yasmeen Perez and Goorish Wibneh
• February 10, 6pm - The Hillman City Collaboratory with Jaebidiah Gardner and Ubax Gardheere
• February 17, 6pm - Coyote Central with Amir Islam and Sharon Chang

BUZZER COMMUNITY FORUM #1

Thursday January 28th at 6pm to 7:30pm

Northwest Film Forum - 1515 12th Ave, Seattle, Washington 98122

Our kick-off event takes place at Capitol Hill's Northwest Film Forum on Thursday, January 28, just days before BUZZER opens at ACT Theatre (on February 3).

Join us for a short excerpt from the play performed by our cast members (Andrew Lee Creech, Chelsea LeValley, and Spencer Hamp), immediately followed by a Q&A session with the actors and our director, Anita Montgomery.

Then, once Anita and team head back to rehearsal, we'll have a panel discussion with local community leaders, including:

• Yasmeen Perez (Program Director, Social Justice Fund NW)
• Goorish Wibneh (Author, The Seattle Globalist)

Topics to be discussed include neighborhood gentrification, race relations, and other themes raised in Ms. Wilson's play.

Plus, ALL attendees will receive vouchers for discounted tickets to see BUZZER.

More about our panelists here:

Yasmeen Perez

Originally from Seattle, Yasmeen has been a community organizer, educator, and resource organizer for over 12 years in racial and economic justice, youth liberation, and LGBTQ left movements. Yasmeen is the former Co-Director of Seattle Young People's Project and Leadership Development Director of FIERCE in New York. Most recently, Yasmeen was the Development Director at Right To The City Alliance, raising funds to support grassroots organizations fighting gentrification and displacement of low-income communities of color from their historic urban neighborhoods. Yasmeen is a recognized leader in grassroots fundraising and co-author of "Resource Organizing: A Toolkit on Member Led Community-Based Grassroots Fundraising." Yasmeen received a BA in Race, Class, & Gender Studies, with a focus in Participatory and Anti-Oppression Education from the Evergreen State College. Yasmeen is thrilled to be joining the Social Justice Fund staff and is excited to return to the Pacific Northwest!

Goorish Wibneh

My line of work is in the Infosec field: digital forensics, network exploitation and vulnerability analysis. Oh, and journalism. I can be found playing chess before or after drinking beer. I enjoy learning about languages, history and culture. I have traveled to a few countries around the world for "fun and profit". I pretend to understand politics, philosophy and rational thinking.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1681665558757746/

BUZZER COMMUNITY FORUM #2

Wednesday, February 10 at 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

The Hillman City Collaboratory - 5623 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, Washington 98118

Our second event takes place at The Hillman City Collaboratory on Wednesday, February 10, during the second week of its run at ACT Theatre. Join us for a panel discussion with local community leaders, including:

• Jaebidiah Gardner, JD (Founder & CEO, GardnerGlobal, Inc.)
• Ubax Gardheere, MPA (Program Director, Puget Sound Sage)

Topics to be covered include neighborhood gentrification, race relations, and other ideas raised in Ms. Wilson's play.

Plus, ALL attendees will receive vouchers for discounted tickets to see BUZZER.

More about our panelists here:

Ubax Gardheere

Ubax is a Program Director at Puget Sound Sage. She is responsible for advancing Sage's priorities related to equitable transit oriented development and housing. She is the lead organizer for South Community Organizing for Racial/Regional Equity (South CORE).

She has worked extensively with the East African refugee/immigrant community in Washington State for over 10 years as an organizer, lobbyist, human rights advocate and Resource Development Director. Ubax is Somali- American and is tri-lingual (English, Somali and Swahili). She is the Co-founder of Culturally Appropriate and Responsive Education Center, an organization with a mission to eliminate the opportunity gap among low-income East African Youth in South King County. Ubax also serves on the boards of African Diaspora of Washington (ADWA) and the Social Justice Fund NW, a foundation working on the frontlines of social change.

Ubax has a Bachelor's degree in Management Information System from Washington State University, Fundraising Management Certificate from University of Washington and Masters in Public Administration from Seattle University.

Jaebidiah Gardner

I founded GardnerGlobal (GG) to chip away at the economic disparity that exists largely in my community. Many people ask, "is it a non-profit? and I quickly reply, "wrong answer!" GG is a for-profit company dedicated to building communities through our acquisitions and partnerships. I firmly believe you can be about the community and still be about the bottom line. It comes down to how much are you willing to struggle to find that balance? It exists and each day GG get's closer.

The amazing thing about GG is it no longer belongs to me, it belongs to the shareholders; it belongs to those who have been positively affected by the knowledge and expertise GardnerGlobal brings; it belongs to those who work for and with GG. It is this healthy mix of high caliber intellectuals, community "realness" and foresight that creates an undeniable inertia.

GG stands on the shoulders of those who came before us, paying homage to the struggle. Now together, let's build wealth.

https://www.facebook.com/events/951842134881841/

BUZZER COMMUNITY FORUM #3

Wednesday, February 17 at 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Coyote Central - 2300 E Cherry St, Seattle, Washington 98122

Our final event takes place at the Central District's Coyote Central on Wednesday, February 17. We'll have a panel discussion with local community leaders, including:

• Amir Islam (Founder, United Hood Movement)
• Sharon Chang (Author & activist, The Seattle Globalist & FOCS - Families Of Color Seattle)

Topics to be discussed include neighborhood gentrification, race relations, and other themes raised in Ms. Wilson's play.

Plus, ALL attendees will receive vouchers for discounted tickets to see BUZZER.

More about our panelists here:

Sharon Chang

Sharon H Chang is a writer activist who focuses on racism, social justice and the Asian American diaspora with a feminist lens. She is author of the well-received 2015 book Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children In a Post-Racial World. Her pieces have been featured in BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, Hyphen Magazine, ParentMap Magazine, AAPI Voices and International Examiner. She also serves as a consultant for Families of Color Seattle and is on the planning committee for the Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference.

Amir Islam

http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/959865-129/gang-members-past-and-present-come

https://www.facebook.com/events/1715422122027759/

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