12 Facts About Jamal Joseph

1.

Jamal Joseph is an American writer, director, producer, poet, activist, and educator.

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2.

Jamal Joseph was born Edward L Joseph in New York City.

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3.

Jamal Joseph's parents, who never married, were both Afro-Cuban; his father, Alipio Zorilla, was a revolutionary comrade of Fidel Castro, who later served as Cuba's ambassador to Tanzania and Zambia.

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4.

Jamal Joseph's mother placed him in foster care when he was 17 days old, and he was raised in Harlem by the housekeeper of his foster family and her husband.

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5.

Jamal Joseph joined the ranks of the Black Panther Party in September 1968 at the age of 15.

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6.

Jamal Joseph sought out the Panthers believing them to be the most militant Black group around.

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7.

In 1969, Jamal Joseph was one of the defendants in the Panther 21 trial, which accused the Panthers of planning a series of deadly attacks across New York City.

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8.

Jamal Joseph spent a year in prison pending the verdict before it was deemed he, as well as all other defendants, were ultimately not guilty.

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9.

Jamal Joseph is a full professor and former chair of Columbia University's Graduate Film Division and the artistic director of the New Heritage Theatre Group in Harlem.

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10.

Jamal Joseph has been featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, BET's American Gangster and on Tupac Shakur's The Rose That Grew from Concrete Volumes 1 and 2.

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11.

Jamal Joseph is the author of the interactive biography on Tupac Shakur, Tupac Shakur Legacy.

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12.

Jamal Joseph was nominated for a 2008 Academy Award in the Best Song category for his contributions to the song "Raise It Up", performed by IMPACT Repertory Theatre and Jamia Nash in the 2007 film August Rush.

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