For Freedoms, the artist-led organization centering civic engagement, will present “AMERICA(!) THE BEAUTIFUL(?),” a night of jazz, blues, hip-hop, and poetry on October 3 at The Ford in Los Angeles. The performance marks the debut of AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL, a national initiative organized by For Freedoms and Future Currents commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The event’s undercurrent: probing the question “For whom, America the beautiful?”
The lineup will feature surrealist blues poet Aja Monet, artist and cultural strategist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Indigenous recording artist and activist Xiuhtezcatl, and DJ Kai the Universe, opening with a live set before moving through reflections on solidarity, resistance, and belonging. Monet closes the night with a live band, blending jazz and soul with poetry. “The 250th anniversary of this country’s founding is an invitation for anyone who cares about the American promise to co-create our cultural horizon,” said Joseph, who developed six guiding questions for the initiative’s national roadshow. “We believe that artists are critical to the infrastructure of inspiration in our country.”
