Announcing: Activism in the Arts – Creating Change Through Expression

Activism in the Arts – Creating Change Through Expression

Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | June 3, 2014 – As part of the upcoming National Convention, ADC is proud to host a session discussing “Activism in the Arts – Creating Change Through Expression.” A panel of experts will discuss how they facilitate change through their work in the entertainment industry. Presenting on the panel will be Luci Murphy, singer, artist and activist; Dean Obeidallah, performer and columnist; and Said Durrah, comedian, entertainer and humanitarian.

The session will be held on Saturday June 14 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. To register for the Convention please click here. This year the Convention is being held from June 12-15, more info and the full program can be found here.

Following the session there will be a conversation about Social Activism in the 21st Century: Facilitating Change through Web Roots and the Arts — speakers will be announced shortly. Additionally, students interested in attending the Convention can still take advantage of the scholarship opportunities available, click here to learn more!


Luci Murphy is a native of D.C. where she is a vocalist who often leads group singing, but “sun-lights” as a medical interpreter of Spanish and English. She has a long history of community activism, especially working with children at risk. She has visited Lebanon to observe Palestinian Refugee Camps, China just before the normalization of relations with the U.S., Brazil for a grass-roots organizing conference, and Cuba to oppose U.S. travel restrictions. A past president of the D.C. League of Women Voters, she has also served on the Steering Committees of the People’s Music Network, “Health Care Now!” and Washington Inner-city Self Help. She has also been the convener of the Gray Panthers of Metro D.C., an associate producer of Sophie’s Parlor Women’s Radio Collective at WPFW 89.3 FM, the Pacifica Station in D.C. and contact person for the Community Coalition for Peace and Justice. Currently she sings with the SGI New Century Chorus and the D.C. Labor Chorus. In 2007, she received the Paul Robeson Award for Peace and Justice from the Friends of the People’s Weekly World. Luci has been performing since her childhood in the 1950s. To reach the members of our diverse human family, she sings in ten languages: English, Spanish, French, Creole, Portuguese, Zulu, Arabic, Hebrew, Cherokee, and ki-Swahili. She draws on the folkloric traditions and musical idioms of all these cultures, as well as her own roots in Spirituals, Blues and Jazz.

Dean Obeidallah‘s comedy comes in large part from his unique background of being the son of a Palestinian father and a Sicilian mother. Dean, an award winning comedian who was at one time a practicing attorney, co-starred in the Comedy Central special “The Axis of Evil” and has appeared on numerous TV shows including “The View,” “VH1’s Morning Buzz,” as well as on CNN and MSNBC.  He is a columnist for The Daily Beast and has written for CNN.com and The Huffington Post. Dean is the co-director/co-producer of the recently released comedy documentary entitled “The Muslims are Coming!” featuring a stand-up comedy tour of Muslim-American comedians performing free shows across the South and West in the hopes of fostering understanding. The film features interviews with The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, comedians Lewis Black, David Cross and many more. Dean is the co-creator/co-producer of the annual NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, which will celebrate its 11th anniversary in fall 2014.  In addition to performing comedy throughout the US, Dean has performed across the Middle East.  For more details, please visit: www.deanofcomedy.com.

Said Durrah is a Arab American Muslim Comedian who has traveled all over the world performing hilarious standup comedy. He draws inspiration for his storytelling style from his day to day encounters living as a palestinian jordanian muslim living near Washington DC. Said has shared his comedy on nearly every successful arab or muslim tour including The Funatical Tour, Arabs Gone Wild, 1001 Laughs, Allah Made Me Funny, and many many more. He has performed his comedy on Broadway but also famed locations such as the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and even his own comedy tour after only 1 year in comedy. His impersonations, facial expressions, and real life stories have allowed him to perform all over the world simply through word of mouth and little youtube exposure. He has been called “The One to Watch” by the global media as well as “The best kept secret in Arab and Muslim comedy”.


Early Registration Still Open for 2014 National Convention!

Early Bird Registration rates for the Annual Convention are still available! Register now and get a $100 discount ($199 for ADC Members, and $299 for Non-Members). Registration includes access to all meal events, as well as all panels. A full program can be found here.

Also, thanks to a generous donor, student scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate students who wish to attend the conference. You can learn more here. 

Click here to become a Sponsor.

Click here to Reserve a Hotel Room.


Support ADC | Become a member | Facebook | Twitter | adc.org

ADC | 1990 M Street NW, Suite 610 | Washington, DC 20036 | (202) 244-2990 | adc@adc.org

You have received this email through your subscription to ADC’s email list. 

If you did not subscribe, or would no longer like to receive email updates, unsubscribe here

© 2014 ADC. All rights reserved.

Scroll to Top