Sundiata s newfound American feeling was at odds with his radical beliefs. oming of age during the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and performing on Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam and Ani DiFranco s Rhythm and News Tour, Sekou Sundiata has garnered international recognition. A professor of English literature at The New School in New York City, Sundiata spoke about his experience on Sept.
11 at the 13th annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference held at Rarig Center last weekend. I went to bed on September 10 in the 20th Century and woke up on September 11 in the 21st, he said. Inspired by the events of Sept.
11, Sundiata said that day marked a turning point in the world. Sundiata described his experience at ground zero as a kind of deep witnessing that inspired an American feeling. I got off the train at Wall Street to go to ground zero and it was quiet, like the quiet around the grave, he said.
Sundiata said his newfound American feeling was at odds with his radical beliefs held during the Black Power movement. We were left of the civil rights movement, he said. From left to right, Tish Jones, Mandi Masden and Harry Waters, Jr.
, play drums Friday evening before the 13th Annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference held at Rarig Center. If anything stood in your way, burn it down. PTO is an organization committed to performance that advocates social justice.
Event planners asked Sundiata to present portions of his production, The 51st Dream State. A multimedia event, Dream State uses poetry, monologues and music. The program is a product of The America Project, Sundiata s initiative designed to contemplate America s national identity, world influence and what it means to be a citizen.
Dream State is intended to face those contradictions and uncover what Sundiata called authentic poetry. Traveling the country, he interviewed people about their experiences. Sundiata spoke about how people first realize they are affected by world events as an important portion of Dream State and citizenship.
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