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Beats, Rhymes and Laughs: Culture as a Tool for Racial Justice

Artists and creative people have always used culture as a tool for social change.

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Artists and creative people have always used culture as a tool for social change. On this edition, excerpts from a panel on racial justice, culture and politics featuring some of today’s most insightful and outspoken artists. “Culture Trumps Politics: or Does It?” took place at the Facing Race conference in November 2012 and was moderated by Applied Research Center’s Rinku Sen.

On the panel are Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, comedian Negin Farsad, recently named one of the 50 funniest women by the Huffington Post; Lolis Eric Elie, a documentary filmmaker and writer for the HBO show Treme; and Jeff Chang, award-winning author of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.

Special thanks to Applied Research Center, Colorlines and the Facing Race Conference 2012.

Featuring:

Rinku Sen, Applied Research Center executive director; Jose Antonio Vargas, Define American founder; Negin Farsad, comedian; Jeff Chang, Writer; Lolis Eric Elie, writer and documentary filmmaker.

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