Rice students reimagine the black future

A spoken word performance by Jones College freshman Drew Carter opened the evening’s program at the Moody Center for the Arts Nov. 29, the final class session for Religion and Black Lives Matter taught by Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and a professor of religion.

The event, “Black Lives Matter: Reimagining the Black Future” also served as the final project for Pinn’s students, who conceived of, executed and hosted the entire evening in collaboration with Rice’s Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning.

The Moody’s Lois Chiles Theater was filled to capacity for the program, which included a panel discussion with local activists and a dance performance by Houston’s Urban Souls Dance Company and concluded with a reception. Hanzsen College sophomore Summar McGee, president of Rice’s Black Student Association, and Brown College sophomore Astrid Sarfo moderated the panel and the Q&A that followed.

Panelists included Britt Hawthorne, educator and co-creator of the #antiracistbookclub; Ashton P. Woods, founder of Black Lives Matter Houston; multidisciplinary artist Lovie Olivia; Harrison Guy, founder and artistic director of Urban Souls; and Jones College senior Senyte Pierce, a Rice activist with Black Lives Matter. (Photos by Katharine Shilcutt)