Join the Arthur Ashe Boulevard Initiative x Afrikana Independent Film Festival as we kick off the Arthur Ashe Boulevard dedication weekend!
Meet us at the VMFA Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for the Arthur Ashe Boulevard Social Justice Forum featuring the RVA premiere of Ashe '68 (VR version) and the big screen presentation of ESPN's short film, Johnnie and Arthur.
Screenings will be followed by a panel discussion about how the renaming of Arthur Ashe Boulevard is an extension of his legacy and how it can be a catalyst to move our city forward.
Panelists include Johnnie Ashe, younger brother of Arthur Ashe, Sionne Neeley of Initiatives of Change, Justin Tinsley of ESPN'S Undefeated, Michael Paul Williams of Richmond Times Dispatch and Clovia Grooms Lawrence of KISS FM. Panel moderated by Marc Cheatham of the Cheats Movement.
Free & Open to the public
Doors: 6:30p
Event: 7p
Enjoli Moon, Host
Enjoli Moon is the founder and creative director of the Afrikana Independent Film Festival, a festival dedicated to showcasing the cinematic works of people of color from around the world - they place a special focus of the global Black narrative.
Marc Cheatum, Moderator
Marc Cheatham is a freelance writer and photographer. In 2011, he launched The Cheats Movement Blog, a platform that celebrates the Richmond region as a hub for music, art, culture, and diversity.
Johnnie Ashe, Panelist
Retired marine and brother of Arthur Ashe
Clovia Lawrence, Panelist
Clovia “Miss Community” Lawrence is a multi-Virginia Association of Broadcasters award winning journalist, and continues to lead the charge on moving our communities forward with team collaboration on voter registration, voter empowerment, restoration of rights, ending the stigma of mental health and substance use disorders through monthly ‘Barbershop Talks’ just to name a few.
Sionne Rameah Neely, Panelist
Sionne Rameah Neely, PhD is a womanist researcher, writer, teacher and multimedia producer who spent eight years cultivating critical movements in the artist community of Ghana before returning to her hometown of Richmond and joining Initiatives of Change USA as Director of Marketing & Communications.
Justin Tinsley, Panelist
Justin Tinsley is a Sports and Culture Reporter for ESPN’s The Undefeated. Since 2015, he has used his masterful narrative skills to offer thought-provoking and engaging commentary on a range of timely and culturally relevant topics. From Marvin Gaye to Malcolm X, Lauryn Hill to Cardi B, Muhammad Ali to Serena Williams, Biggie Smalls to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, LeBron James and Zion Williamson to Nipsey Hussle and Jay-Z, Justin finds common themes and uses his pen to explore the intersection of sports, race, and culture.
Michael Paul Williams, Panelist
Michael Paul Williams is a columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the daily newspaper of Virginia’s capital. The columns, which run twice a week, are his take on the doings of local government, matters of social justice and how the unresolved issues of race, poverty and the past continue to inform and afflict Richmond today.
