Mission & Goals
- The Black History Month 2020 mission to honor the life and memory of Botham Jean and examine the issues that contributed to his death at the hands of ex-police officer Amber Guyger
- Using performing arts as a catalyst for positive social change by fostering conversations nationwide that:
- Heal racial divides through empathy
- Examine issues within the American criminal justice system
- Promote healthy relationships between all but especially African-American civilians and police officers
How does an organization or institution participate?
During Black History Month 2020, host a staged reading and community discussion of For Bo: A Play Inspired by the Murder of Botham Jean by Police Officer Amber Guyger
- Click here for script acquisition inquiries
- Never hosted a staged reading of a play before? No worries! Click here. We are happy to provide guidance. Since a staged reading is not a full-blown stage production with costumes, sets, and memorized lines, it is manageable and can be as casual or as dazzling as you like.
- For community discussions, organizations and institutions are encouraged to:
- Feature a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary panel of professionals and community leaders who can provide insight and informed perspectives on these social issues
- Take active measures to ensure their community discussions: allow community members to share emotions and thoughts in a constructive way; encourage all points of view to be heard; move conversations in the direction of viable solutions for positive social change
- NOTE: The objective of this initiative is to facilitate peaceful, safe discourse between community members and community leaders.
Initiative Origins
The For Bo Initiative was conceived by Ayvaunn Penn, Black And Making It founder and the award-winning playwright and director behind For Bo. She was moved to write this play while following the nationally televised trial in which Dallas, Texas, ex-Police Officer Amber Guyger was convicted of the murder of Botham Jean. As an African-American woman disturbed by the number of unarmed African-Americans suffering police brutality and/or dying at the hands of police, she purposed to use For Bo to spark community conversations nationwide that will achieve the goals detailed above.
#ForBo Initiative
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Photo of Botham Jean courtesy of WFAA-TV
