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Presentation: The Souls of Black Folk: Joy, Grace and Glory

Saturday, 6/20/2020
2:00 - 3:00
Virtual Library
Address

United States


Jarrel Phillips explores Black culture and presence in America and the African diaspora through film and photography. Phillips’ stories unfold from his first-hand experience growing up Black in San Francisco and observing the African diaspora through his travels in the United States, Ethiopia, Haiti, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Brazil and more.

This event will be live streamed on our YouTube. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/user/SanFranciscoLibrary

A note from Jarrel Phillips on The Souls of Black Folk

Through my work, I aim to recognize and honor the joy, grace and glory I have had the privilege of witnessing and documenting. My ability to travel has granted me access to a global perspective that extends beyond the Western European outlook and into other Black cultures. My journeys allow me the opportunity to continuously and actively reconcile what W.E.B. Du Bois refers to as the ‘double self’ and/or ‘double consciousness’. 

I want my work to both counter and balance the dominant narratives of despair and powerlessness that is pervasively utilized to portray our people and communities. The struggles do exist, but this depiction is incomplete and, therefore, misleading. 

As a result of my experience and interactions with Black folk across the globe, I have concluded that our ability to persevere and overcome the obstacles and self-perpetuating narratives lies in the essence of who we are at our core. We are joy. Joy is the secret ingredient for growth, healing and transformation. It is the antithesis of despair and the catalyst to what can become an alchemical process which transforms the mundane, the arduous and uncertain into gold. Gold, in its essence, is pure and treasured by many for its high quality and can take form as currency, adornments and so forth. Most analogous is that gold is said to retain its value in any form and in any place.

One of my mentors, Joanna Haigood, once said to me, “Black presence is like black gold.” How could it not be? When the rest of the world has tried to take from us, when we were and are denied basic rights, when we are overlooked and undermined we still keep and know our value. We rejoice. We laugh. We dance. We sing. We strive. And we do it all with sincerity. We are pure, like gold. This is what our souls are made of.

― Jarrel Phillips

Reservations required: https://bit.ly/SoulsJP2020

Connect with Jarrel Phillips - Website | Instagram

 



Summer Stride is the Library's annual summer learning, reading and exploration program for all ages and abilities. Read and learn with the Library all summer long.


This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.


Attending Programs

For questions about the program or help registering, contact sfplcpp@sfpl.orgAll programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL or language interpretation), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.


Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.