Emmy-Award winning producer Pierce Freelon will speak Thursday at Union South’s Varsity Hall to discuss Afrofuturism, the theme of this year's Black History Month.
UW-Madison elected Afrofuturism: B(l)ack to the Future as this year’s theme in order to focus on reimagining the future for Black people through various forms mediums, such as the arts, media and literature, according to the university.
Freelon is a professor, musician and the founder of Blackspace, a digital makerspace for Afrofuturists. He is also the co-founder and host of the Emmy-Award winning PBS web-series “Beat Making Lab.”
Blackspace is an Afrofuturism digital makerspace based out of Durham, North Carolina. They offer teenagers free WokeShops in the digital and creative arts, including videography, electronic music production, spoken word poetry, puppetry, coding and 3D printing. Blackspace has been on an intentional hyatous for breathing space, reflection and growth, according to their website, but they relaunched Feb. 21 with a concert in downtown Durham.
Their mission is to bridge the racial divide in technology fields by providing a safe space for youth to flourish, according to Freelon.
Freelon will speak Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Union South’s Varsity Hall. Attendance is free and open to all.
