The “beloved community” was a phrase championed by the valued, cherished, and admired Lorna C. Hill (1951-2020) – founder and artistic director of Ujima Theatre.

Ujima continues to use theatre to build the beloved community; shape and reflect our lives; participate in civic conversations; and serve as a vehicle for social change.

Ujima Theatre

In the late 1850s, Walt Whitman composed “Calamus:” a daring, sometimes utopian sequence of poems about camaraderie, friendship, and love among men, and how that love could save American democracy. In this event, Brandon Williamson and Brian Brown of Ujima Theatre will perform poems from Calamus, with an introduction and discussion about Whitman, love, and democracy moderated by Sam Magavern, senior policy fellow at Partnership for the Public Good. This event will provide a sneak preview of the Calamus Project, which will feature films of all 45 Calamus poems, a website, and a “Calamus Day” in Buffalo in June 2022.

Join Sam, Brandon, and Brian on Saturday, Sept. 18, 5:00pm under the Willow Trellis.