The Triangle

Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Melissa Cell

On Tuesday Nov. 18, the University of Pennsylvania hosted "The People Speak Tour" at the Irvine auditorium. This tour, which has been visiting universities across the country, is promoting the History Channel's new documentary "The People Speak." The event starred producer Chris Moore, Daryl "DMC" McDaniels and Lupe Fiasco.

"The People Speak" is a documentary initiated by Moore, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, who all worked together on "Good Will Hunting" and "Project: Green Light," to have celebrities perform certain documents, quotes, speeches, or songs from history ranging from Frederick Douglas to Public Enemy and were performed live in front of an audience. The documentary is based off of the Howard Zinn book, "A People's History of the United States," which focuses on material about the people of America and how democracy influenced them and their experiences. The list of performers includes Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Marisa Tomei, Danny Glover, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, and more.

Though the audience at the event seemed more interested in catching a glimpse at hip-hop star, Lupe Fiasco, it almost fits into Moore's idea for the film on how the celebrities and well known performers help communicate ideas to a wide audience and hopefully spark activism in the youth of today.

"But what I think really draws me in is the honesty," Moore explained about the film's tone, "the everyday people nature of it and the authenticity of the real people and their real words performed in a very real way by great performers. I would come out to that in my own life. We thought that was the best way to put it on.

"It really challenges you to question yourself," Fiasco added about the material and how it can inspire activism.

The night, which was moderated by Dr. Tufuku Zuberi, began with live readings from Fiasco reciting a statement by Muhammad Ali on the Vietnam War and "DMC" reciting the lyrics to the Public Enemy classic song "Fight the Power. Next, the audience was treated to a few film excerpts from the documentary, which included Don Cheadle reciting Frederick Douglass's "West India Emancipation" and John Legend performing "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. The evening continued with a Q&A session, where the three stars of the evening got to field questions from students at the event.

"The People Speak" airs on HISTORY on December 13.

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