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SisterSong 2023 Ebon Dooley Honoree Social Justice Champion info@sistersong.net https://www.sistersong.net SisterSong is a Southern based, national membership organization; our purpose is to build an effective network of individuals and organizations to improve institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective was formed in 1997 by 16 organizations of women of color from four mini-communities (Native American, African American, Latina, and Asian American) who recognized that we have the right and responsibility to represent ourselves and our communities, and the equally compelling need to advance the perspectives and needs of women of color. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

LaTosha Brown 2021 Ebon Dooley Honoree Social Justice Champion http://www.mslatoshabrown.com LaTosha Brown works at the intersection of social justice, political empowerment, human development, and the cultural arts. As a catalyst for change, thought leader and social strategist, her national and global efforts have been known to organize, inspire and catapult people into action—not just lip service—enabling them to build power and wealth for themselves and their community. Brown received the 2010 White House Champion of Change Award, the 2006 Spirit of Democracy Award and the Louis Burnham Award for Human Rights. She is also the recipient of the 2018 Bridge Jubilee Award and Liberty Bell Award. She has been able to use her voice in the U.S. as well as more than 30 countries abroad. In addition to being a well-respected leader in the South who has led numerous initiatives, campaigns, and special projects to empower marginalized communities, LaTosha is leading several international efforts to provide training, support and funding for women-led institutions based in Guyana, Senegal, Belize, and Tanzania. Perhaps one of her most important accomplishments is as Co-Founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and the BVM Capacity Building Institute. Ms. Brown is working to eliminate human suffering and amplify women’s voices through her vision of the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. She proudly serves as the Founder of Saving Our Selves Coalition, a community-led disaster relief organization that helped hundreds of families in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

Victor Love Studio Artist act@evolvatlanta.com https://evolvatlanta.com/ Victor Love was born in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.He grew up in Los Angeles California. He fell in love with acting at an early age. He is no stranger to the entertainment industry, having spent 30+ years as an Actor prior to starting EVOLV ATLANTA. Love received his AA at the prestigious Los Angeles Theater Academy and MFA at the Professional Actor’s Training Program in Milwaukee, now located in Delaware. He completed the Meisner Technique with Bill Esper in New York and the Chubbuck Technique with Ivana Chubbuck in Los Angeles. He also trained with Tadashi Suzuki in Japan. Victor had speech training with the legendary Edith Skinner and Timothy Monich. His classical training included stints with Shakespeare and Company. Victor Love achieved international attention for his debut role as Bigger Thomas in the 1987 film adaptation of Richard Wright’s novel NATIVE SON. His co-stars included Oprah Winfrey, Geraldine Page, Matt Dillon and Elizabeth McGovern. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor in his first film, Native Son. He continued his career with several TV and film roles: It’s My Party, Gang Related, Velocity Trap, The Hank Gathers Story, Jaded, Mr. Payback, Heaven is a Playground, Miami Vice, A Different World, LA Law, Babylon 5, West Wing, and many others. Victor had a recurring role on “RED BAND SOCIETY”. Recently he guest starred on FOX TV’s “THE RESIDENT” as well as a series regular in a pilot on “ADULT SWIM”. He is an active member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA. Most recently he has completed filming “RED ALL OVER” and is preparing to film THE OLIVE BRANCH (with Louis Gossett Jr.). He is the Managing Director and Master Instructor of the EVOLV ATLANTA ACTING studio in Atlanta, Georgia USA, where he teaches acting and scene study for stage and film. Mr. Love has previously coached actors in the academy award winning film “MOONLIGHT” and “HIDDEN FIGURES”. He is excited to be working on “BAD BOYS FOR LIFE 3” as an acting coach. Mr. Love knows what a working actor needs to make it in this competitive world and he is uniquely qualified to give his knowledge and expertise to his actors. EVOLV ATLANTA ACTING We create an environment where actors become conscious and comfortable with the changes necessary to achieving freedom from anything that inhibits their brilliance. We are an gym for the actor where failing forward is our philosophy. We work acting technique, excercises and on scenes from television and film. On camera class work is an integral part of our training program. We expose the student to several different methods as well as teaching the Chubbuck technique. The Chubbuck technique is the cutting-edge technique that has launched some of the most successful careers in Hollywood. (Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Terrance Howard, Eriq La Salle, Charlize Theron, James Franco, Taraji P. Henson) The classes are small and the work we do is designed around each students needs. We accept all levels of students. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

0a50bc2d-f80f-4eca-8226-ac118efbd548 PRESS Reimagined Joy aims to recharge youth and families after pandemic slump April 15, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE REIMAGINED JOY: A Festival of Creativity & Learning May 6, 2023 | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. More Info & Free Tickets ‘Reimagined Joy’ aims to recharge youth, families after pandemic slump Free festival to fuse arts, health and wellness at ArtsXchange East Point, GA — After the past few years, many communities need resources to counter the mental and physical toll of adjusting to a world changed by the pandemic. The ArtsXchange’s REIMAGINED JOY: A Festival of Creativity & Learning aims to help youth, families and seniors find relief and reinvigoration by exploring the arts, physical health and mental wellness all at once. The festival will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 6 at the ArtsXchange, 2148 Newnan St. in East Point. It is free and open to all ages. “We believe that a strong extended family unit is key to increasing the wellbeing of children,” said Executive Director Alice Lovelace. “This program allows us to focus on each participant's ability to improve their physical health, reduce stress and anxiety, and explore their creativity." Reimagined Joy’s various offerings include Sanskrit Moon Yoga, West African dance and drumming class and performances by I Am Arts, a Blues Legacy presentation by legendary photographer Jim Alexander, art by 7 Stages, beading with Sista Shaman, Tai chi, martial arts and Capoeira with Tabala Research Institute, trapeze and circus arts with Steve Seaberg and Earth to Sky Youth Aerialists, artmaking with Lisa Tuttle, seed planting with the Champion Gardeners Youth Entrepreneurs, an East Point Grown gardening class “Food as Medicine,” a sculpture installation, music, food, door prizes and more. “Art making and creative pursuits focus your attention while engaging multiple parts of the brain. We know that this type of cognitive challenge increases the feelings of self-worth and wellbeing,” Lovelace said. “This festival is a source of creative healing after being isolated by the pandemic. We want people to feel that sense of connection, to know they’re not alone.” The festival will also be the backdrop for the opening of our next exhibition, Now is the Day: A Life Well Lived, which celebrates the poetry, photography and collections of the late civil rights activist, SNCC Free Southern Theater founder and Georgia State professor Dr. Doris Derby. Reimagined Joy is funded by a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts, which includes appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and National Endowment for the Arts. For more information or to get free tickets, see our event page. ABOUT THE ARTSXCHANGE The ArtsXchange, d/b/a the Southeast Community Cultural Center, was incorporated in 1983 and opened The Arts Exchange In 1984 in Grant Park, reshaping the landscape of Metro Atlanta’s arts scene. In East Point since 2017, the ArtsXchange is home to 14 multidisciplinary artist studios, ranging from photographers and muralists to djembe drummers and textile artists. We empower artists, social justice activists and creative entrepreneurs to engage communities with innovative artistic learning experiences and cultural exchange. Our programming is designed to be inclusive, diverse, and to encourage positive change as participants come to a better understanding of themselves and others. Our art is our activism. Visit www.artsxchange.org for more information. ABOUT GEORGIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) is a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development whose mission is to cultivate the growth of vibrant, thriving Georgia communities through the arts. GCA provides grant funding, programs, and services statewide that support the vital arts industry, preserve the state’s cultural heritage, increase tourism, and nurture strong communities. Funding for Georgia Council for the Arts is provided by appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit www.gaarts.org for more information. DOWNLOAD THE PDF Press Contact Angela Oliver media@artsXchange.org She/Her

Reforming Arts 2019 Ebon Dooley Honoree Social Justice Champion https://www.reformingarts.org/ Reforming Arts ' organizational mission is to offer a liberal arts higher education to people incarcerated in women’s prisons in Georgia to serve as a foundation for building purposeful, meaningful lives. Evidence based studies show that education reduces recidivism and helps returning citizens become productive. Reforming Arts works with volunteer instructors at local colleges and universities to provide diverse, multi-dimensional curriculum at Lee Arrendale State Prison. A sense of community and expanded possibilities develop through intense dialogue and self-exploration. Through reflection, critical analysis, and a deeper understanding of the systems at work in their lives, the students gain a greater insight on how to think critically about their past and imagine their future. Wende Ballew Executive Director- Reforming Arts Wende has a BA in Theatre, an MBA, an MA in American Studies, a graduate certificate in Women's Studies, and is a PhD candidate in Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methodologies at UGA. They has extensive experience as a freelance theatre professional, arts manager, and educator. As a theatre professional she has worked for Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Aurora Theatre, the Neighborhood Playhouse, and the Atlanta Arts Festival. As an arts manager, Wende worked for the University of West Georgia and Cobb County. Wende has taught at Kennesaw State University and continues to teach and direct Reforming Arts classes inside women's prison facilities in Georgia and facilitate their Theatre Reentry Project. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

Ebon Dooley (1942 - 2006) ArtsXchange Founder https://www.artsxchange.org/ebon-dooley Ebon Dooley (1942-2006) was a caring, creative, brilliant, insightful, progressive, proactive, and delightfully charismatic community activist who established the ArtsXchange in 1983. A long-time advocate for the fair distribution of wealth, Ebon brought the spirit of grassroots collectivity to all of his efforts to achieve freedom, dignity, and equality for all people. He understood that these interconnected cornerstones of humanity provide the opportunity for creative expression, community building, and empowerment. The ArtsXchange is proud to present the annual Ebon Dooley Arts & Justice Awards in recognition of individuals and organizations that, like Ebon, work to improve the lives and futures of the communities they serve. Ebon was born Leo Thomas Hale in the small farming community of Milan, Tennessee, and went to Fisk University in Nashville after the 10th grade on a scholarship. His activism began with his work as managing editor of the Fisk literary magazine and newspaper (where poet Nikki Giovanni also worked as a freshman reporter). He entered Columbia Law School on a full scholarship in 1963. In New York, he saw two very different sides of the larger world: as a law school management trainee at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company and as a member of the Law Students Civil Rights Research Council and volunteer for a community action project in Harlem. He attended the first Black Power Conference in Newark in 1967 and was so impressed by the Chicago delegation that, after graduating from Columbia, he turned down a job on Wall Street to go work in Chicago as a VISTA legal volunteer. Ebon was active in Chicago’s OBAC (Organization for Black American Culture), and, in 1968, Third World Press published his book Revelation; a poem, which cemented his reputation as a talented poet and dedicated agent for justice. That same year Ebon moved to Atlanta, arriving at a pivotal time in the city’s evolution as a center for social justice movements under the Civil Rights banner. For many years Ebon owned a bookstore, Timbuktu Market of New Africa, which became a hub not only for political activists but also for Atlanta’s burgeoning community of progressive cultural workers. Ebon’s political and intellectual clarity and his calm and friendly demeanor quickly made him a sought after member of the city’s social change community. He served on the board of the Southern Education Program, worked for Atlanta Legal Aid, and was an early organizer of WRFG community radio. He joined the staff at Atlanta’s historic Neighborhood Arts Center in 1975 as a writer-in-residence and later served for nearly a year as the center’s acting director. As writer-in-residence, Ebon edited the regional magazine Potlikker and helped to organize the Southern Collective of African American Writers with author Toni Cade Bambara. He was involved in the establishment of the Dunbar Center, the Atlanta Center for Black Arts, and, in 1983, drew up the incorporation papers for the Southeast Community Cultural Center, giving birth to The ArtsXchange. When the ArtsXchange opened, it reshaped the landscape of metropolitan Atlanta’s arts scene. It was the first fully integrated center of its kind—multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary, and inter-generational. Over the years it has maintained its place as a hub of artistic expression for emerging and established artists who push boundaries, blend genres, and foster future generations of creative talent as well as a gathering place for community planning, activism, and events. The ArtsXchange is proud to pay homage to its founder, Ebon Dooley, and to other progressive visionaries, Revolutionary organizers, and cultural activists who carry forward Ebon’s quest for human dignity for everyone everywhere. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

I AM ARTS Foundation Studio Artist Iamartsfoundation@gmail.com https://www.iamartsfoundation.org/ The I AM ARTS Foundation is non-profit arts organization that utilizes the ARTS to transform lives. Additionally, the foundation is known for mentoring youth and providing them with access to arts education and community-based services. Our curriculum prepares youth to be well rounded citizens in the arts and within the creative industries. We currently run four significant programs including: I Am Arts Performance Company , a youth performance company, Project I Am Arts , an online and after school program, Creative Arts Summer Intensive , a summer enrichment program, I Can Dance NYC , a cultural enrichment dance experience. Our Vision To provide wellness through experiential artistic practice and community engagement. Our Mission To provide a platform of personal expression, cultural awareness and social development through artistic creation and service learning. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

Brian Spears 2021 Ebon Dooley Honoree Social Justice Champion Brian Spears , Attorney at Law, specializes in litigation involving governmental liability on a state and local level. He has knowledge and experience in the handling of cases involving civil rights, constitutional law, and police misconduct. He has built his law practice around fighting against violence and racism by law enforcement and by white supremacists. He has brought more lawsuits against the Ku Klux Klan than any other Georgia attorney—from Wrightsville to Albany, from Rome to Forsyth County. Mr. Spears has also supported peoples’ movements by providing defense to activists arrested when demanding an end to forcing homeless people out of downtown Atlanta, equal rights for persons with disabilities, equal educational opportunities, and an end to US support for apartheid in South Africa. He has worked towards the ending of US wars in Latin America. He has also worked for fair elections, affordable medical care (the Grady Coalition), and an end to corporate domination of our democracy (Occupy Wall Street, Atlanta). Spears is the former Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild, a founding member of the National Police Accountability Project—the largest lawyers organization specializing in police misconduct, a founding member of the Detroit-based Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, and, for more than thirty years, he organized the annual Atlanta Civil Rights Litigation Seminar to train other lawyers to bring civil rights lawsuits. Brian is an attorney who does not back down from taking on the system firsthand to address issues governing police practices, civil rights and governmental liability and has also donated his legal skills to nonprofit organizations. He has practiced law for more than three decades and received rewards from the ACLU of Georgia, SCLC, NAACP, and the Georgia Lawyer Chapter. Brian represents the kind of social justice champions who are seldom celebrated, but essential to advancing justice in this nation. He is among those lawyers who are always ready to advise, support and defend the rights of protesters holding the line against economic and social attacks by those in power. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

WRFG-89.3 FM Radio 2021 Ebon Dooley Honoree Bridge Builder https://wrfg.org/ WRFG-89.3 FM is an independent, noncommercial, nonprofit, community radio station whose mission is to provide an outlet for progressive voices, information, and perspectives that are missing from or minimized in the mainstream media. Radio Free Georgia Broadcasting Organization, Inc. has been broadcasting continuously since 1973. As a Bridge Builder, WRFG has a history of engaging Atlantans through radio conversations, connecting communities and helping share social solutions. WRFG’s heavy grassroots and consistent involvement to lift the people’s voice, and demonstrate character shows the organization’s passion and purpose. WRFG has clearly demonstrated servant leadership in its effort to address a vast array of socio-economic issues that plague civilization. Since 1973, it has presented various programming and events centered around social issues involving women’s rights, racial justice, culture, and youth. WRFG supports social change that increases equality, liberation, human rights, and justice for all people everywhere. In addition to music programs that honor cultural diversity, scheduling includes shows on health and nutrition, racial justice, the environment, initiatives by local activists, gender/LGBTQ+ issues, animal rights, global politics, the economy, women’s issues, education and youth concerns, and the workplace. For many years, WRFG produced live broadcasts from The Hungry Club Forum, Atlanta’s famous interracial luncheons. They hosted community forums on important issues, including electronic voting, homeland security, same-sex marriage legislation, and global economic policy. WRFG has garnered awards from Emory University, Georgia WAND, Georgia’s Caribbean Association, the National Blues Foundation, Atlanta’s Hip Hop Appreciation Award Committee, and several “Best of” recognitions by Creative Loafing. Between 1977 and 1980, WRFG produced the award-winning 52-part “Living Atlanta” series, published as a book by the University of Georgia Press. OUR STAFF STUDIO ARTIST EBON DOOLEY HONOREES

Your Support Matters The ArtsXchange is an art space that empowers artists, social justice activists, and creative entrepreneurs to engage communities with innovative artistic learning experiences and cultural exchange. Our programming is designed to be inclusive, diverse, and to encourage positive change as participants come to a better understanding of themselves and others. Our art is our activism. Whether you are a member or a donor, we thank you for your generosity today. How would you like to get involved? Become a member Donate Rent event space Volunteer