5th Annual Juneteenth Recognition – Film Screening “The Negro Artist”

Nik Heftman’s new documentary on Iowa City-based spoken word poet Caleb Rainey is inspiring and uplifting and much-needed at this time. Caleb, the Negra Artist, has performed in Washington on two other occasions and the local audience has been very appreciative. Caleb Rainey and Nik Heftman are two creatives whose work is unapologetically Black. They center Blackness and the Black experience at the heart of whatever they’re doing rather than try to shoehorn their passions into spaces that are considered more mainstream, especially at a time when anti-Blackness is loud and abundant.
“The Negro Artist” is a film that chronicles Caleb’s life so far. It features insight from friends, family, and professional acquaintances who help document his meteoric rise from being a byproduct of an interracial marriage — a love story that his white mother’s family refused to accept — to his discovery of poetry in high school as a means to chase after a girl.
The film is riveting, inspiring, honest and authentic.
AS A BONUS, DIRECTOR NIK HEFTMAN WILL JOIN US VIA ZOOM AFTER THE FILM TO INTERACT WITH THE AUDIENCE.

This event is sponsored by Washington for Justice.