In 1969, following the Black-led effort to bring community control to schools in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, educator and activist Jitu Weusi and others founded The East, a groundbreaking, pan-African center rooted in the philosophy that Black people have the right to control their own communities and institutions. Expanding into dozens of educational and cultural initiatives including a school, performance center, food co-op, bookstore, newsmagazine, and record label, The East quickly became an epicenter of the 1970s Black Power and Black Arts Movements, making Central Brooklyn a national hub of Black self-determination.
The documentary The Sun Rises in The East, by filmmakers Cynthia Gordy Giwa and Tayo Giwa, chronicles the birth, rise, and legacy of The East. Join us for an evening of short film excerpts and discussion that lift up the history of this extraordinary institution, its lasting impact, and the community-building that continues in the spirit of The East, as Central Brooklyn faces runaway gentrification.
Moderated by HuffPost editor-in-chief Danielle Belton the panel includes filmmaker Tayo Giwa along with two leaders who share their experiences of The East in the film and whose work continues in its footsteps - Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele (Director of Community Organizing and Advocacy at the Alliance of Families for Justice) and Fela Barclift (founder of Little Sun People) - and two Central Brooklynites who stand on the shoulders of The East’s lasting legacy - Paperboy Love Prince (artist, activist, and presidential candidate) and Zakiyah Ansari (education activist, AQE).