We Speak Events
Literary Artists speak on #HipHopinBooks at the Atlanta’s A3C Hip Hop Festival
When it comes to Hip Hop and fiction, many often forget the origin and how it impacts our communities. From the likes of a Donald Goines, to Teri Woods, and Ashley and JaQuavis Coleman, our stories have been widespread for decades, impacting millions. This year, the A3C Festival and Conference joined forces with the AAMBC Awards and its origination to produce the Hip Hop in Books panel.
Moderated by Legendary LaQ’uita, the panel featured literary artists such as JaQuavis Coleman and Wahida Clark, who both have dominated the New York Times best sellers list to new age authors, Myss Shan and Booker T. Mattison. The panel also featured AAMBC Awards creator, Tamika Newhouse, who launched the AAMBC platform to advocate for literacy ten years ago.
The panelists spoke on the importance of storytelling and how literary artists contribute to the growth of Hip Hop. When it comes to those types of books, you often think of musical talents and perhaps the songwriter and producers, but the talent, often forgotten about are those who pen novels. With an ever-changing industry, it was much-needed to hear from these talents, and the best part was getting signed books during the wrap-up session.
The AAMBC Literary Awards is a platform that celebrates black books and black writers in a star-studded ceremony each summer. Their partnering with A3C only encourages the mission that we read and that we create! They made reading seem fun, powerfully, and the fact that we can create our stories for millions to read is pretty dope to me.
Check out some images from the Hip Hop in Books panel.
We Speak Events
Atlanta Screening of The Alabama Solution Brings Together Panel of Advocates, Leaders, and Community Voices
ATLANTA, GA — Community leaders, advocates, and residents gathered in Atlanta for a special screening of the Oscar-nominated HBO documentary The Alabama Solution, an evening centered on film, dialogue, and community engagement around issues of justice and incarceration.
Hosted at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, the event brought together organizations and community members for a formal evening of reflection and conversation following the powerful documentary. The film, co-directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman and co-produced by Alex Duran, offers an intimate and unfiltered look into Alabama’s prison system.
At the heart of the documentary are the voices of justice-impacted individuals Melvin “Bennu” Ray and Robert “Kinetik” Council, whose experiences shed light on the realities inside the prison system while challenging viewers to consider deeper questions about accountability, dignity, and reform.
Following the screening, a panel discussion brought together leaders and advocates working in justice reform and community outreach. The conversation was moderated by Bridgette Simpson of Barred Business, who guided the dialogue with panelists representing several organizations committed to addressing issues within the justice system.
Panelists included Gerald Griggs of the NAACP, Kimberly Jones of Fork the System, Octavious Holiday of the Positive Outreach Development Society, Kevin Marshall of The Marshall Law Group, LLC, Kathryn Hamoudah of the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Christopher Willars of The Life Unit Inc.
Each panelist offered insight shaped by their work in advocacy, legal reform, and community engagement. Their perspectives highlighted the far-reaching effects incarceration can have on families and communities, while also emphasizing the importance of awareness, accountability, and continued dialogue around the issues presented in the film.
The screening was supported by several organizations dedicated to justice and civic engagement, including One for Justice, Dream.org, Barred Business, the Southern Center for Human Rights, The Life Unit, the Center for Civic Innovation, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the Free Atlanta Abolition Movement.
The evening also served as a moment of connection for those in attendance, including family members and advocates whose lives have been impacted by the justice system. Through film and conversation, the gathering created space for reflection and for communities to engage with the realities highlighted in the documentary.
As conversations continued after the screening, the event underscored the power of storytelling to bring people together, raise awareness, and encourage deeper consideration of issues that often remain unseen by the public.
As momentum continues to grow around conversations sparked by the documentary, organizers are encouraging community members to take an additional step by supporting efforts aimed at protecting justice-impacted individuals from discrimination.
Advocates are currently inviting the public to sign a virtual petition card supporting the establishment of a statewide Protected Class Ordinance in Georgia, which would help ensure justice-impacted individuals are protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and opportunity.
You may find and share the virtual petition here:
Statewide Protected Class
https://www.theprotectedclassnetwork.org/sign-our-petition
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