You may not recognize the name or even the face of Paul D. Miller, an accomplished composer, multimedia artist, editor and author whose career continues to soar with meteoric proportions.
But once you’ve witnessed this D.C. native employ his provocative imagination and extensive knowledge of music, cast through the lens of his unique art of remixing, you’ll never forget the sound of his alter ego, DJ Spooky.
And as part of the Kennedy Center’s JFK Centennial Week, DJ Spooky, along with a string quartet from the District-based music ensemble Sound Impact, will present “Rebirth of a Nation,” conceived as a reimaging of director D.W. Griffith’s infamous racist silent film, “The Birth of a Nation,” first shown in 1915.
The culturally significant project, debuting on Tuesday, May 23 in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, will showcase the deejay as “artist” accompanied by two violins, a viola and a cello, along with three screen video projections controlled live on stage by DJ Spooky.
In describing his work and the influences that led him to consider tackling the images and ideology that serves as the basis of Griffith’s controversial film, he says he wanted to examine how “exploitation and political still haunt the world to this day.”
We asked him to tell us more about his project, a commissioned piece by the Lincoln Center Festival in 2004 and has been performed in venues around the world from the Sydney Festival to the Herod Atticus Amphitheater.
Washington Informer: Given the controversy that has long surrounded “The Birth of a Nation,” what prompted you to use this as the foundation of your project?
DJ Spooky: I’ve been a firm believer that history is increasingly important. The problem of our time is that people too easily forget how the gains we’ve made in human rights, civil rights, women’s rights — you name it, all come into being because people were unwilling to accept the world as it was and they wanted to change it. I’ve wanted to look at cinema as a reflection of the possibilities that we have at our disposal. It’s so important to remember — the past is never the past. It lingers in the present at every level.
WI: What are your goals for the audience as they experience this multi-faceted presentation?
DJ Spooky: I want people to walk out of the Kennedy Center feeling like they saw history as a cinematic remix and realize that the world is what we make it. Let’s face it — “Birth of a Nation” is a propaganda film. This is anti-propaganda propaganda.
WI: How did you first get interested in working as a DJ? What prompted you to develop your music in ways that are so different from others — so out of the box?
DJ Spooky: I’m from Washington, D.C., and grew up in a household that valued information. My father was Dean of Howard University Law School and my mother owned a store called Toast and Strawberries at DuPont Circle. I grew up listening to music that came from Washington — Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds, Trouble Funk, Minir Threat, Bad Brains and later Thievery Corporation and beyond. I never planned on being a DJ. I was planning on being a diplomat. So, I guess this is just an extension of that process of thinking about international D.C. culture.
WI: Do you believe that entertainers have a responsibility to address societal ills, problems and challenges? problems/challenges?
DJ Spooky: Absolutely.
WI: In your recent travels abroad, what was the focus of your music and how were you received?
DJ Spooky: One of my favorite projects is where I took a studio to Antarctica and wrote a symphony about the sound of ice. To me, environmental issues are more than ever at the core of what Americans can do to help the world. We need to understand that human rights, civil rights and environmental justice are all tied together. “Rebirth of a Nation” is a kind of call to people to realize — we are all in this together.
About D. Kevin McNeir – Washington Informer Editor 147 Articles
Award-winning journalist, book editor, voice-over specialist and author with 17 years in the industry. Currently an education and religion beat reporter for The Washington Informer. But I also tackle local (D.C. and Maryland) politics, entertainment, business and health articles to maintain my edge.
Born and raised in Motown and a staunch Wolverine – that is a graduate of the University of Michigan, I left corporate America (IBM) to pursue my passion for writing, accepting a beat reporter’s gig under the tutelage of the late Sam Logan, founding publisher of the Michigan Chronicle. I continued to hone my craft at N’DIGO Magapaper, Windy City Times and The Wednesday Journal, all in Chicagoland; the Atlanta Voice and The Miami Times. I’ve been fortunate to be chosen twice as the Feature Writer of the Year by the Chicago Association of Black Journalists. Later, as the senior editor of one of the country’s oldest Black-owned newspapers, The Miami Times, I helped my staff bring home the NNPA’s highest honor – Publication of the Year, 2001. That same year I picked up first and second place awards for news and feature writing, respectively, also from the NNPA.
Today I’m based in the nation’s capital where I’m honored to serve as the editor for The Washington Informer. Recognizing the importance of education, I’ve earned two master’s degrees from Emory University, Summa Cum Laude and Princeton Theological Seminary, majoring in theology and philosophy.
If I can slow down, I may actually complete and publish a collection of essays I’ve been working on for many years, “Growing up Motown,” sharing childhood memories of experiences with musical legends like Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston, the Four Tops, the Miracles, Gladys Knight and Take Six. My favorite foods: spinach, lasagna, pancakes and Oysters Rockefeller. My mom, 86, always my “best friend” and “cheerleader,” now lives with me and she brings me great joy. I’m a fiercely protective yet encouraging father and grandfather always down for traveling, shopping or celebrating the natural beauty of God’s world. I live by the following words: “Less is more” and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
You can reach me on Twitter (@dkevinmcneir), Facebook (Kevin McNeir) or via e-mail, mcneirdk@washingtoninformer.com
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Tell USDA to Restore Fairness for Farmers and Ranchers
Action Alert
Dear friends & allies,
After being blocked and delayed for years by Congress, the Obama
Administration published new Farmer
Fair Practices Rules in its final days and launched another public
comment period. USDA heard, again, from family farmers and ranchers that
these rules are essential to level the playing field between independent
livestock producers and big packers.
On April 11, despite widespread support from independent producers, USDA
caved to industry pressure and delayed the effective date of the interim
final rule on competitive injury for 180 days, until October 19.
USDA has opened yet another comment period on one of the three rules, the
interim final competitive injury rule, and is asking the public to vote on
what should happen to this rule: let it become effective, suspend the rule
indefinitely, delay the effective date further, or withdraw the rule.
The competitive injury rule includes essential safeguards to restore fairness
for producers seeking justice under the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Under the interim
final competitive injury rule, ranchers contesting unfair
meatpacker contracting and buying practices would not have to prove a
practice harms the whole market to prove the practice is unfair.
Take action today and tell USDA that the competitive injury rule must
become effective on October 19.
Comments are due June 12, 2017. Here’s how you can submit your comment:
Step 1
Copy one of the draft comments below (or write your own):
Draft Comment 1
I am writing to provide comments with regard to 9 CFR Part 201, Federal
Register Number 2017-07361, posted on April 12, 2017. I urge the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to let the Interim Final Rule on Competitive
Injury to become effective on October 19. This long-overdue rule takes
important steps to ensure that ranchers and farmers are treated fairly and
have some safeguards against unfair buying and marketing practices from
meatpackers.
Draft Comment 2
I am writing to provide comments with regard to 9 CFR Part 201, Federal
Register Number 2017-07361, posted on April 12, 2017. The competitive injury
rule is necessary to restore fairness for producers seeking justice under the
Packers and Stockyards Act. I urge USDA to let the rule become effective On
October 19.
Draft Comment 3
I am writing to provide comments with regard to 9 CFR Part 201, Federal
Register Number 2017-07361, posted on April 12, 2017. I strongly urge USDA to
allow the Interim Final Rule (IFR) to go into effect, without any further
delay. It’s time to restore the original intent of the Packers &
Stockyards Act.
Step 3 – Submit the Comment
Add any additional information you’d like to include, and click on the
“Continue” button. On the next page, confirm you’ve read the statement and
click on the “Submit Comment” button.
If you have any trouble submitting your comment, please
click here to email Rachel Zatterstrom.
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FEMA Encourages People to Prepare Now for the 2017
Atlantic Hurricane Season
June 1, 2017
WASHINGTON – The Atlantic hurricane season starts today, and there is no
better time to get ready than now. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) encourages residents and businesses across the nation to prepare by
understanding their risk, planning together for the entire family, and
downloading the FEMA App.
Both hurricanes and tropical systems have the potential to cause serious
damage to coastal and inland areas. Their hazards could come in many
forms including storm surge, heavy rainfall, coastal and inland flooding, high
winds, and tornadoes.
“The time to prepare for hurricanes and tropical storms is now, before a
threat even exists,” said FEMA Acting Administrator Robert J. Fenton, Jr. “We
want people who live in coastal and nearby inland areas to know where they can
get reliable information; prepare their home and workplace ahead of time; know
if they live in an evacuation zone and be familiar with evacuation routes.
Knowing what to do and practicing your plan now can make the difference between
life and death if a hurricane or tropical storm does strike.”
There is a lot of information available to help individuals and communities
prepare:
Learn
Your Flood Risk: Flooding is the nation’s most frequent
and costly natural disaster. Go to FloodSmart.gov and learn how to protect your
home or business. Purchase a flood insurance policy if you do not already have
one.
Make
A Plan: Residents should speak with their family today
about how they will communicate with each other during a significant weather
event when they may not be together, or during an evacuation order.
Download
the FEMA App: The FEMA App contains important information
on what to do before, during, and after a hurricane. The App also allows users
to receive weather alerts from NOAA’s National Weather Service, includes
lifesaving safety tips, and provides access to disaster resources should
survivors need them. The App is available in the Apple
App store or the Google
Play store, and is also available
in Spanish.
Know
your evacuation zone: Evacuation zones are areas that may
be impacted by hurricane flooding. Many communities designate evacuation zones
and routes to get citizens to safety. This information is typically found on
the websites of state, county, or town emergency management offices. If a
hurricane threatens a community and local officials say it's time to evacuate,
residents should evacuate immediately. Do not wait for the next forecast.
While much attention is often given to the Atlantic hurricane season, there
are tropical systems that can affect many other areas around the nation. To
learn more about hurricane seasons in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, visit www.hurricanes.gov.
To learn more on how to prepare before, during, and after a hurricane, visit www.ready.gov.
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure
that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability
to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all
hazards.
