THE EVERY 28 HOURS PLAYS to Combine Theatre and Social Justice at The Kennedy Center Next Week

 

On Oct. 24th, 2016 at 7:30 pm in the Kennedy Center Theater Lab, The Kennedy Center will host an event that combines the theatrically based social justice initiative of THE EVERY 28 HOURS PLAYS (E28H) with community-based faith initiatives to engage local issues that matter.

Produced by Gregg Henry and Jerome A. Parker, curated and directed by DC Theater Artist and Every28Hour producer Vaughn Midder, the presentation of plays includes short works by playwright luminaries like Lynn Nottage, David Henry Hwang, Stew, Neil LaBute and Nikole Salter alongside playwrights and artists from St. Louis (Ferguson) where these plays were developed.

Following the plays Aaron Jenkins, the Director of the Commerce Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will moderate a panel of local faith and activist based leaders in the DC area, including a sermon by Minister Thomas Bowen of the DC Mayor's office, who will respond to the work from a spirited perspective and engage in solution oriented conversations.

This engagement continues a long relationship between the Kennedy Center and the Every28Hours Plays, national, civil rights, theater project. Not only did the Kennedy Center sponsor playwright, Jerome A. Parker, as an artist on the ground in Ferguson to build this collection of plays, but the Kennedy Center continued its commitment to this initiative by producing a full presentation which was livestreamed from its Millennium Stage in April. From that presentation a DC team was born including Vaughn Midder, Theater Artists Jeff Kirkman III and Maleke Glee. This team was instrumental in creating a presentation and post-performance discussion at the TCG conference in DC. These presentations directly influenced engagements in Los Angeles and Atlanta and each of these DC artists is spearheading their own engagement for DC this October as part of E28H's national engagement period.

With a focus on changing hearts and policy, this Kennedy Center sponsored E28H event will feature a sermon given by Minister Thomas Bowen. In his role as the Director of the Office of Religious Affairs, he is the mayor's representative to the faith community for Washington, DC where he works to develop collaboration between government and the faith community. He also fosters government action to enhance and increase program efficiency and effectiveness of the faith community. In addition, he is the Minister of Social Justice at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, DC.

As the country continues to search for solutions to the rampant problem of senseless murders of black bodies by police and vigilante force, the Kennedy Center once again stands with E28H and these community liaisons to reflect on faith's past and present impact in fostering social justice.

This event is free to the public and open to all.

Every 28 Hours (E28H) is a national theater partnership focused on the widely shared and contested statistic that a black person is killed by the police every 28 hours in the United States. The full collection of Every 28 Hours plays consists of 70-plus one-minute plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Every 28 Hours is produced by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival under the leadership of OSF Community Producer Claudia Alick, and developed with Dominic D'Andrea (producing artistic director of The One-Minute Play Festival), artists from across the nation and in association with local St. Louis theater makers.

The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships within the Domestic Policy Council works to form partnerships between the Federal Government and faith-based and neighborhood organizations to more effectively serve Americans in need.

Aaron Jenkins serves as the Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the United States Department of Commerce. Prior to Commerce, Aaron was the Executive Director of Operation Understanding DC (OUDC), a non-profit organization that specializes in cultural education, leadership and interfaith dialogue programming. He previously worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Aide to then-Senator John F. Kerry. Aaron started his career as a legislative staffer in the District of Columbia City Council working on a variety of domestic policy issues. A native Washingtonian, Aaron is a licensed minister and serves on the board of the Abramson Scholarship Foundation.

The DC Mayor's Office of Religious Affairs cultivates policies that engage community and faith-based organizations in the creation of citywide programs and initiatives across multiple disciplines. The Office of Religious affairs also seeks to establish and coordinate effective collaborations between District of Columbia government agencies and the faith community in addressing citywide issues. In addition, the Office of Religious Affairs collaborates with the Mayor's Interfaith Council to provide outside input into partnerships and other issues of concern to the religious community. The common thread in all beliefs is that we are our brother's keeper and that we are to show compassion, concern and care for our fellow humans.

Minister Thomas L. Bowen is the Director of the Office of Religious Affairs in the Executive Office of the Mayor and serves as a liaison to the faith community in the District of Columbia where he also provides support to the Mayor's Interfaith Council. A contributing panelist for the Washington Post's On Faith/Local Section and a contributor to the Huffington Post's Black Voices he's also served as the Religion Editor for the Washington Informer. Minister Bowen is a founding member of the Jamestown Project, an action-oriented think tank, and a member of the African American Ministers Leadership Council of People for the American Way. He has served on the Board of Trustees for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and the Centennial Celebration Task Force for the American Baptist Churches, Inc. The recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from US Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a Proclamation for Outstanding Achievement from the Ohio House of Representatives. Ebony Magazine once named him one of the "50 Leaders of Tomorrow." A graduate of Morehouse College, where he was a Ford Foundation Scholar and president of the NAACP, Bowen received his ministerial and theological training from The Divinity School at the University of Chicago.

 

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