Then and Now
As part of its current program is Somewhere We Are Human—a vision for a time and space where no one’s humanity is in question—EADJ is collaborating with Then and Now, a series of conversations hosted by Vanderbilt University and the Nashville Public Library SpecialCollection. These conversations explore the history and impact of cultural communities in Nashville through the work of noted historians and the personal stories of community members. EADJ has contributed by promoting the voices of artists, writers, and cultural practitioners within the Then and Now series and co-curating a Reading List that will be featured at the Library.
Then and Now shared events at the Nashville Public Library from January-May, 2025, bringing together the voices of Nashville’s Levant communities, North African communities, Sub-Saharan African communities, and African Gulf State Region communities. These events were co-moderated discussions with Samar Ali and Dr. André L. Churchwell.
Program Details:
Location: Nashville Public Library-Main Library (615 Church Street, Nashville, 37219)
Dates for 2025: Wednesday, January 15th, February 19th, April 16th and May 14th 2025.
Admission: Free and open to the public.
Featuring catering from chefs in Nashville each night before the discussions.
5:30 p.m. _Program Begins
8:00 p.m. _Program Ends
About the Moderators:
Samar Ali is the Founding President of Millions of Conversations (an EADJ Partner Organization) and a Vanderbilt Research Professor of Political Science and Law.
Dr. André L. Churchwell is the Senior Advisor on Inclusion and Community Outreach at Vanderbilt University. He is also a renowned Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University.
Events and Exhibition Programs
Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 5:30 – 8:00pm
Partner Event__Then and Now: The North African Communities in Nashville
Nashville Public Library, Conference Center. 615 Church Street, Nashville, TN, 37219
Then and Now will continue this May with an event at the Nashville Public Library on May 14th, bringing together the voices of Nashville’s North African community. The event will be a co-moderated discussion with Samar Ali and Dr. André L. Churchwell.
See the event program pdf for more details:VU Then and Now_Flyer – N. Africa (5.14.25)
Event Details:
Location: Nashville Public Library (615 Church Street, Nashville, 37219)
Date: Wednesday, April 16th
Admission: Free and open to the public.
5:30 p.m. – Program Begins
8:00 p.m. – Program Ends
Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 5:30 – 8:00pm
Partner Event__Then and Now: The Sub-Shara African Communities in Nashville
Nashville Public Library, Conference Center. 615 Church Street, Nashville, TN, 37219
Then and Now will continue this April with an event at the Nashville Public Library on April 16th, bringing together the voices of Nashville’s Sub-Saharan African community. The event will be a co-moderated discussion with Samar Ali and Dr. André L. Churchwell.
Included in the panel will also be James Kuol Makuac, EADJ’s featured artist for the Fall 2024 exhibition at Begonia Labs: my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet. James Kuol Makuac (b. South Sudan, 1976; lives in Nashville) is a painter whose work reflects a life spent navigating between worlds. For nearly twenty years, Makuac has cultivated a practice of contemporary Sudanese painting that tells impossible stories of human tragedy and simultaneously speaks to survival and hope, grief and joy, surrender and determination.
See the event program pdf for more details:VU Then and Now_Program – Sub-Saharan (4.16.25)
Event Details:
Location: Nashville Public Library – Main Library (615 Church Street, Nashville, 37219)
Date: Wednesday, April 16th
Admission: Free and open to the public.
5:30 p.m. – Program Begins
8:00 p.m. – Program Ends
Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 5:30 – 8:00pm
Partner Event__Then and Now: The Gulf States
Then and Now will continue this January with an event at the Nashville Public Library on January 15th, bringing together the voices of Nashville’s African Gulf States community. The event will be a co-moderated discussion with Samar Ali and Dr. André L. Churchwell.
A special trailer of JACIR will also be shared during the event. Jacir ( جاسر) is a film that looks through the eyes of a Syrian refugee as he faces the harsh realities of chasing the American dream while living in poverty on the streets of Memphis. English, Arabic. 105 min. It is written and produced by Waheed AlQawasmi. Earlier this Fall, Jacir ( جاسر) was screened for EADJ’s Migration in Film program in collaboration with INTERNATIONAL LENS at Vanderbilt’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts.
Event Details:
Location: Nashville Public Library – Main Library (615 Church Street, Nashville, 37219)
Date: Wednesday, January 15th
Admission: Free and open to the public.
5:30 p.m. – Program Begins
8:00 p.m. – Program Ends
Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Partner Event__Then and Now: Levant Community
Then and Now will continue this December with an event at the Nashville Public Library on December 11th, bringing together the voices of Nashville’s Levant community. The event will be a co-moderated discussion with Samar Ali and Dr. André L. Churchwell.
Event Details:
Location: Nashville Public Library – Main Library (615 Church Street, Nashville, 37219)
Date: Wednesday, December 11th
Admission: Free and open to the public.
5:30 p.m. – Program Begins
8:00 p.m. – Program Ends
