Cave Canem 20th Anniversary and Black Power 50 Present “Freedom Now!”

Cave Canem’s 20th anniversary and the Schomburg Center, for our year-long exploration of the Black Power Movement, will present  an intergenerational, interdisciplinary performance based on the musical composition of jazz composer and drummer Max Roach’s 1961 "Freedom Now Suite." Freedom Now! will feature Cave Canem co-founders Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady and Black Arts Movement icon Sonia Sanchez, with a special appearance by New York City-based youth poets. The evening's artistic director will be composer/performer and Cave Canem fellow Karma Mayet Johnson. 

"Freedom Now!" will draw upon the words of Audre Lorde and Henry Dumas, and the legacies of Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach and Oscar Brown, Jr. Guest musicians Lisala Beatty, Chris Eddleton, Henry Grimes, Alex Harding and Marvin Sewell join members of the legendary Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber to furnish the piece’s musical foundation.

This event is funded in part by Poets & Writers with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

@SchomburgCenter #FreedomNow

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED
For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. All registered seats are released 15 to 30 minutes before start time, so we recommend that you arrive early.

GUESTS

Please note that holding seats in the Langston Hughes Auditorium is strictly prohibited and there is no food or drinks allowed anywhere in the Schomburg Center. 

PRESS 
Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Angela Montefinese at angelamontefinise@nypl.org.

Please note that professional photography and video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.