Online Viewers React to "Who Gets to Feel Safe" Salon

Watch the video of the "Who Gets to Feel Safe" Salon. Theater and Policy Salon, hosted by NYU Washington, held an event titled “Who Gets to Feel Safe?” and organized in connection with Mosaic Theater Company of DC repertory series of Native Son and Les Deux Noirs: Notes on Notes on A Native Son. At the Thursday, April 25, 2019 event, Mosaic Artistic Director Ari Roth discussed how these Mosaic Theater Company of DC productions relate to issues of justice and community. Ari was joined by a panel of policy experts Dr. Houston of the Criminology Department of George Mason University, Karen Volker of Cure Violence and Ajmel Quereshi of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Theater and Policy Salon Co-Facilitator NJ Mitchell moderated the panel.

One online viewer responded to watching the panel as follows: Thank you so much for sharing the NYU-DC (my Alma Mater) Talk sponsored by your Theater and Policy Salon on Native Son! I LOVED the production AND the mission of Mosaic to WALK THE WALK! I was so impressed by your moderation, the panelists, and the insights/questions provided by the audience. As a seasoned facilitator, I can only express admiration of the smooth, non-confrontational, and well-paced manner you moderated the panel!"

Another viewer responded: "The panel's insight was enriching. Comparing how each director chose to interpret Richard Wright's work was like sitting at a table with a full course meal. I ate a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Karen Volker made the experience current day as she compared and contrasted the characters to the children she works with. I appreciated that. Of course, Ari Roth deserves a million thank yous for putting the play together. He conjured up this desire to want to be part of the impact he is having on the DC Theater community. There were the academic and philosophical perspectives that needed to be discussed but for a moment; especially when Professor Houston spoke I felt like I was watching him facing his own challenges. His credentials placed him in a perfect position to discuss the sociological framework that makes the story of Native Son current. Attorney Quereshi did from a legal standpoint. I wanted them both to go a little deeper."