Loretta J. Ross, Shirley Franklin to headline ArtsXchange’s Ebon Dooley Human Rights Weekend
Inaugural three-day program honors legacy of ArtsXchange founder through film, dialogue, new awards
By Angela Oliver | ArtsXchange Media
ArtsXchange is marking World Human Rights Day by launching a bold new chapter: the Ebon Dooley Human Rights Guest Lecture and Awards Weekend Dec. 11-13. Reproductive justice pioneer Loretta J. Ross headlines as the inaugural speaker and honoree as the weekend blends music, poetry, film, conversation and recognition of human rights leadership in honor of the late poet, activist and ArtsXchange founder Ebon Dooley.
After seven years of a traditional awards program, ArtsXchange is transforming its signature honor into an action-oriented series designed to tackle pressing issues at the intersection of arts, social justice, and grassroots organizing.
“We are moving away from an awards format and shifting toward something more tangible and aligned with the fullness of who Ebon was –– a true humanitarian,” said Alice Lovelace, executive director of ArtsXchange.
Ross is an acclaimed reproductive justice theorist, activist, and MacArthur Genius Fellow, whose human rights work is deeply connected to Atlanta. She worked alongside civil rights icon, the Rev. Dr. C. T. Vivian at the National Center for Human Rights Education in Atlanta and has longstanding ties to local reproductive justice and human rights organizations, including SisterLove.
Ross will speak about her work and the evolution of reproductive justice, as well as the ideas behind her book Calling In, which challenges people to move beyond “calling out,” or cancellation, and toward the difficult work of building change across differences.
The weekend will open at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, with a free Music in Common concert that will flow into a human-rights themed Xchange Open Mic. It will continue at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, with a free screening of TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing, a documentary exploring the life, activism and cultural legacy of the groundbreaking Black feminist writer, educator, and cultural worker Toni Cade Bambara. Students from the Spelman College Women’s Research and Resource Center will lead a talkback.
Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin will host the culminating event at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, with Ross delivering the inaugural Ebon Dooley Human Rights Guest Lecture. The program will also introduce the Emerging Human Rights Champion Award, presented by Muwali Davis of Davis Bozeman Law, recognizing a new generation of leadership in the ongoing work for justice and human dignity.
For Dázon Dixon Diallo, the founder and president of SisterLove who works closely with Ross and also worked alongside Dooley at WRFG-FM Radio, the connection between them could not be more timely.
“This event is even more necessary in today’s struggle for justice and the dignity of all people, especially those in the margins of the margins,” Diallo said. “Ebon was a human rights champion, and Loretta is a human rights defender. The connection between their remarkable legacies is forever solidified with this incredible weekend and moment.”
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