(UNITED STATES)

GRADES 3-8

10-year-old Jabari loves to paint. And through these paintings, he escapes the turbulent world around him and the reality of a friend hurt by police violence. In his dreams, he meets children and young people from the Civil Rights Era, including Ruby Bridges, Claudette Colvin, and others, who teach him how to be fearless. He also meets his hero, Barack Obama, as a 7-year-old boy on the eve of the assassination of MLK, Jr...

Will Jabari be able to instill in 7-year-old Barack the lessons he's learned and therefore ensure that Barack will have the necessary tools to become president? Will Jabari learn to take these lessons back into his own life and heal his community?

Whether processing lived experiences or making sense of grown-ups’ conversations about current events, today’s young people continue to grapple with the legacy of civil rights and the work still to be done. Using rap, freedom songs, hip-hop dance, history and humor, Jabari Dreams of Freedom provides examples of courage through adversity and empowers viewers to be brave like the freedom fighters before them.

Teacher Workshop + Preview Opportunity
While children are at the heart of Jabari Dreams of Freedom, it is important that the grown-ups in their lives also have support for helping them navigate complex content.

Educators are invited to join us for a special virtual workshop, in which they will have the opportunity to preview full-length video of the performance and to engage in conversation with local experts and the show’s creators. The workshop aims to provide tools and strategies to lead discussion and process Jabari Dreams of Freedom with students before and after the performance. More details will be shared with ticketholders in advance of the workshop.

Please note our current health policies for school performances:

• Effective Wednesday, March 9, masks will be encouraged inside DMPA venues, but not required for audience members attending school performances. These are DMPA’s current policies and are subject to change at any time. Until then, all audience members must wear a mask at all times when inside a DMPA venue and we have reduced audience capacity for these performances to allow for physically distanced seating.

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