Tef Poe

Last updated

Tef Poe Age 39
Birth nameKareem Jackson
BornUnited States
Origin St. Louis, Missouri
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, musician

Kareem Jackson, known by his stage name Tef Poe, [1] is an American rapper, musician and activist. [2] [1] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Poe was born in St. Louis, Missouri. [6]

Career

Tef Poe is one of the co-founders of the Hands Up United movement. [7] [8] [9]

Tef Poe has advocated for grass-roots involvement in improving the lives of African Americans and in racial justice within and outside the United States. In his art and activism, he emphasizes local people taking charge of conversations about their own communities rather than relying on national organizations. In an interview, he said: "And all too often, these conversations are intellectualized and moved completely away from the people who aren't allowed to come into the rooms and intellectualize the different theories surrounding racism. But they did show up in the middle of the street on West Florissant when a militarized police force was encroaching on their neighbors. So many people in pop culture are speaking out now, but they are not speaking in terms of an all-out need for a political revolution in America for Black people." [4]

Tef Poe's work in the Ferguson protests was featured in the documentary Whose Streets? , which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 and had a theatrical release marking the third anniversary of the killing of Mike Brown. [10] [11]

Poe has been a fellow at Harvard University in the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History (2016-2017) and the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute, [12] and collaborates with historian Walter Johnson. [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 Bakare, Lanre (November 12, 2014). "St Louis rapper turned activist Tef Poe releases shooting protest song 'War Cry'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  2. ↑ Jackson, Kareem. "Ferguson rapper Tef Poe: Obama has forsaken us...please, don't forget about Ferguson". Time. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  3. ↑ Poe, Tef (August 14, 2014). "St. Louis Rapper Tef Poe Describes the Scene on the Ground in Ferguson, Missouri". Noisey. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Solomon, Akiba (February 10, 2016). "Tef Poe on Why He's Taking Aim at 'White Privilege II' With 'Message to Macklemore'". ColorLines. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Kevin C. (July 13, 2015). "Rapper Tef Poe returns with a new maturity, outlook on latest album". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  6. ↑ Barnes, Tom (January 8, 2015). "Tef Poe Is More Than a Rapper — He's Becoming the Voice of Ferguson". Mic. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ Phillips, Camille (October 12, 2014). "More Than 1,000 March For Michael Brown in Downtown St. Louis; Night Ends With Sit-In, Arrests". Newsweek. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Tef Poe Breaks Down The Hands Up Don't Shoot Movement". News One. December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ Rivas, Rebecca (December 3, 2014). "Ferguson protest leaders meet with Obama". The St. Louis American. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  10. ↑ McGovern, Joe (August 10, 2017). "'Whose Streets?' Is an Essential Portrait of Ferguson Unrest: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  11. ↑ Mancini, John (August 11, 2017). "'Whose Streets?' gives Ferguson's residents a voice". NBC News. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Tef Poe". Berklee. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  13. ↑ Bolotnikova, Marina N. (April 10, 2020). "Walter Johnson writes about "The Broken Heart of America"". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2024.


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