Laughing Matters: Comedy’s Serious Role in Human Rights

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Laughing Matters: Comedy’s Serious Role in Human Rights

How can comedy and popular culture work to advance human rights and social equity?

By John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Date and time

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 · 5 - 7:30pm CDT

Location

The Second City, UP Comedy Club

230 W. North Avenue Chicago, IL 60610

Agenda

5:00 PM

Reception

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Panel Discussion and Stand-Up

About this event

The MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with The Second City and Pillars Fund, invites you to a conversation about the innovative ways comedy and pop culture are being used to engage a range of audiences in difficult discussions about race, gender, equity, and belonging. The conversation will include an in-depth exploration of the power of comedy for social equity and a stand-up performance from comedian Yasmin Elhady. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments and appetizers will be served.

The panel features people and organizations supported through MacArthur’s Journalism and Media Program, which aims to strengthen U.S. democracy by supporting just and inclusive news and narratives that inform, engage, and activate Americans to build a more equitable future.

Space for this event is limited and a waitlist will be created once capacity is reached. If your plan to attend this event changes, please update your RSVP.

Moderator:

Kelly Leonard, Vice President of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development, The Second City

Panelists:

Caty Borum, Executive Director, Center for Media & Social Impact, American University; Co-Founder/-Director, Yes, And...Laughter Lab and GoodLaugh

Crystal Echo Hawk, CEO and President, IllumiNative

Yasmin Elhady, Comedian

Kelly Leonard

Kelly Leonard is the Vice President of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City. His book, “Yes, And,” was published to critical acclaim by HarperCollins. Kelly has spoken at Aspen Ideas Festival, Microsoft, Twitter, TEDx Broadway and has guest lectured at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

He hosts the podcast “Getting to Yes, And” for WGN radio. For over twenty years, he oversaw Second City’s live theatrical divisions working with such talent as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Keegan Michael Key and others. He and his wife Anne Libera were awarded the Creative Voice Award in 2019 by Arts Alliance Illinois.

Caty Borum

Caty Borum is Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI), a creative innovation lab and research center based at American University, and the Provost Associate Professor at AU's School of Communication. She is an award-winning media producer, engaged scholar, and author of three books about entertainment media and social change, including her newest, The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power (NYU Press, 2023). Her other books include A Comedian and An Activist Walk Into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice, with co-author Lauren Feldman; and Story Movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change.

Under Borum’s leadership, CMSI founded and directs several large-scale national and international comedy and human rights programs: the Yes, And…Laughter Lab (co-directed with Moore + Associates), a first-of-its-kind creative incubator of comedy for social justice, with robust partnerships across the entertainment industry and social movement leaders; and GoodLaugh, which brings professional comedians together with human rights organizations to co-create comedy for public engagement with civic challenges.

Crystal Echo Hawk

Crystal Echo Hawk is President and CEO of IllumiNative, and an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. IllumiNative was founded by Echo Hawk and a group of respected Native artists, thought leaders, and allies, to capitalize on the findings of Reclaiming Native Truth (RNT) – the largest public opinion research and strategy setting initiative ever conducted for, and about, Native Americans. The organization was among the advocacy groups that proved instrumental in compelling the Washington National Football League organization to change its name and logo in 2020 because it had long been considered offensive.

Prior to leading IllumiNative and Echo Hawk Consulting, Echo Hawk served as the Executive Director for the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation from 2009-2014. She received both her Master’s Degree in Social and Political Thought and Bachelor’s Degree in European History from the University of Sussex at Falmer, England.

Yasmin Elhady

Yasmin Elhady is a comedian and attorney who has toured both nationally and internationally. She has performed at The Kennedy Center and is featured on NBC’s True Story with Ed Helms and Randall Park, now streaming on Peacock. She has also appeared on NPR, Netflix is a Joke Radio on SiriusXM, The Washington Post, WUSA9 with Reese Waters, and in Vice Media’s book “Little America: Incredible True Stories of Immigrants in America,” which was later turned into an Apple TV+ series by Kumail Nanjiani. She was named a 2022 “Yes, And…Laughter Lab” finalist for comedy & social justice.

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