Pierce Freelon Champions An Afrofuturist World For North Carolina Youth

WUNC | By Laura Pellicer,

Published April 16, 2018 at 12:33 PM EDT

Pierce Freelon is known to many in the Triangle for his ambitious projects and constant stream of new ideas.

If he is not performing onstage with his band The Beast, teaching about the intersection of politics and hip-hop, or heading a rap cypher in downtown Durham, he is likely leading workshops at Blackspace: a digital makerspace that offers black and brown youth the opportunity to create multimedia projects that reflect their identities.Meet musician and activist Pierce Freelon.

Freelon’s passion for community building drove him to run for Durham mayor and campaign for a seat on the Durham City Council. But after his time on the campaign trail, Freelon is back to focusing on what he loves most – re-imagining a black future.

Freelon joins host Frank Stasio in studio to talk about how growing up with the influences of his politically-minded grandmother Queen Mother Frances Pierce and parents, Grammy-nominated jazz artist Nnenna Freelon and architect Phil Freelon, shaped the man he is today.

Freelon premieres his new collaborative film "The History of White People in America" at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21.

Freelon performing with his jazz/hip-hop band The Beast and guest vocalist Jesse Hudleston during the launch of field operations for his campaign for Mayor of Durham.

Kathryn, Stella, Justice, and Pierce Freelon.

Blackspace students and families from McDougald Terrace at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. on April 14th, 2018.

Auntie Maya Angelou and Queen Mother Frances Pierce.

Blackspace project in Portobrlo, Panama circa 2015 at the festival de los Diablos y Congos, exploring black identity in a Pan-African context with collaborators: photographer Saul Flores, Poet Herrison Chicas, and several festival performers.