All posts by Brendan Smith

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Film Screening this Thursday Highlights Power of Public Protest in Burkina Faso

How can a seemingly powerless public triumph over tyranny? The people of Burkina Faso showed how it’s done when they rose up in massive street protests in 2014 to overthrow a dictator who ruled the West African country for 27 years. The City of Takoma Park’s We Are Takoma cultural series will highlight that neglected story in a free screening of Burkinabè Rising: The Art of Resistance in Burkina Faso, a new documentary from Cultures of Resistance Films. The screening will be held at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 3, at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue.

Burkina Faso is home to a vibrant community of artists and engaged citizens who showed how political change can be achieved when people come together. Dance, music, visual arts, and citizen journalists are highlighted in this compelling film.

After the screening, there will be a panel discussion with Barthelemy Bazemo, a policy analyst with the Africa Faith & Justice Network who grew up in Burkina Faso, and Paul Sankara, the brother of former Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara who was assassinated in a 1987 coup. Kerry Danner of Georgetown University will facilitate the discussion and a Q&A with the audience.

Donations will be collected to benefit an orphanage in Burkina Faso that is featured in the film. You can check out our Facebook event  and watch the trailer. We hope you’ll join us Thursday night.

Arts & Humanities

Third Thursday Poetry Reading Features Glen Echo Poets

The Glen Echo Poets will read their original work at the next Third Thursday Poetry Reading, including Nancy Arbuthnot, Saundra Maley, Anne Sheldon, and Matt Westbrook. Stay for the reception and learn more about the 30-year history of the group and the collaborative process they use to write their poetry.

Takoma Park Poet Laureate Merrill Leffler also will read some poems about civil rights as part of the City of Takoma Park’s month-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. This free event will be held at 7:30 pm on Thursday, April 19, in the Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium at 7500 Maple Avenue.

To learn more about other upcoming We Are Takoma arts and culture events, go to www.takomaparkmd.gov/arts or sign up for our weekly e-newsletter here.