This digital recording features the voices of UC Davis students in African American Studies 152: Major Voices in Black World Literature, taught by Professor Margaret Laurena Kemp at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
Through a multi-modal curriculum, students engage with texts including Tina Campt’s Listening to Images, Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, and LaToya Ruby Frazier’s Flint Is Family in Three Acts, while exploring creative practices in writing, singing and dance led by Professor Bhumi Patel. Together, they reflect on breath, identity, resistance, and the power of listening.
The project culminates in a public performance that weaves poetry, movement and voice to confront injustice and affirm resilience, agency and spirit.
The final performance takes place in the galleries, alongside Frazier’s photographs, on November 18, 3–4 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.