Black Male, Re-Imagined II: Performance & Welcome, Day 1

Shawn Dove

Shawn Dove joined the Open Society Foundations US Programs staff in May 2008 to launch and lead the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, a national philanthropic initiative that builds on OSF’s existing grantmaking strategies to improve the life outcomes of black men and boys in the areas of education, work and family. Dove has over two decades of leadership experience as a youth development professional, community-builder and advocate for children and families, designing and leading initiatives locally and nationally. He began his professional career in the field at the age of 24 when he was appointed to the position of Executive Director of The DOME Project, a NYC-based youth development organization he joined as a youth participant at the age of 13.

Before joining OSF, Dove served as Director of Youth Ministries for First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, NJ, where he was responsible for the management of the 7,000-member institution’s youth development strategies, strategic partnerships and cross-ministry collaborations. Dove has also served as the New York Vice President for MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership between 2003 and 2006, where he was responsible for the leadership and management of The Mentoring Partnership of New York (MPNY), the flagship local affiliate of MENTOR. During his tenure he doubled the organization’s membership of mentoring programs and created The Male Mentoring Project, a city-wide public awareness and recruitment strategy responding to the need for more African American and Latino male mentors for New York City's boys and young men.

Dove holds an undergraduate degree in English from Wesleyan University. He is a graduate of Columbia University Business School's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management and a 1994 recipient of the Charles H. Revson Fellowship at Columbia University. He has earned numerous awards for his service to youth, families and communities and currently lives in New Jersey with his wonderful wife and four amazing children.

Jasiri X

Emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with Jasiri X, which has garnered critical acclaim, thousands of subscribers, and millions of internet views. From the controversial viral video What if the Tea Party was Black?, to the hard hitting truth of A Song for Trayvon, Jasiri X cleverly uses Hip-Hop to provide social commentary on a variety of issues. His videos have been featured on websites as diverse as Allhiphop.com and The Huffington Post and Jasiri has been a guest on BET Rap City, The Michael Baisden Show, Free Speech TV, Left of Black, and Russia Today.

Jasiri X first burst on the National and International Hip-Hop scene with the powerful hit song Free The Jena 6 which was played on more than 100 radio stations and was named Hip-hop Political Song of the Year. His debut album, American History X, was named Album of the Year at the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards. A six time Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Award winner, Jasiri recently became the first Hip-Hop artist to received the coveted August Wilson Center for African American Culture Fellowship. A founding member of the anti-violence group One Hood, Jasiri started the New Media Academy to teach young African-American boys how to analyze and create media for themselves.

Jasiri has performed from New York City to Berlin, Germany and various cities in between, including recently in front of 30,000 at the Our Communities Our Jobs Rally in Los Angeles. He has toured colleges and universities across the country presenting his innovative workshop, How to Succeed in Hip-Hop Without Selling Your Soul, and is working on a book of the same name. He also blogs for Jack and Jill Politics, Daveyd.com, and The Black Youth Project. Jasiri X signed a record deal with Wandering Worx Entertainment and is currently working on his album, Ascension with acclaimed producer Rel!g!on.