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News Release

WSU Vancouver Launches “DocArts” Spring Series Featuring Films, Artists And Public Intellectuals - 02/13/26

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University Vancouver will launch a new weekly “DocArts” series next week, bringing together film and video screenings, artist talks and community conversations throughut the spring term.

 

The series features a diverse group of multimedia artists, activists and public intellectuals—from community organizers whose lives are deeply documented to poets, songwriters and hip-hop performers working across media. Events are free and open to the public.

 

The series opens during Black History Month with Kent Ford, co-founder of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Black Panther Party. His talk will start at noon Feb. 18 in the Firstenburg Student Commons, Room 101. Through his leadership in the Panthers’ Free Breakfast for School Children Program in Portland, Ford helped feed thousands of children in Northeast Portland. Nationally, the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast program helped spur the development of free meal programs in public schools across the country. Lunch will follow the talk at 12:30 p.m.

 

Ford also volunteered for years in supportive roles with the Panthers’ free medical and dental clinics in Portland. He currently leads Black Panther Legacy Tours in Portland’s Albina neighborhood and is the subject of the solo play “Walking through Portland with a Panther: The Life of Mr. Kent Ford,” written by Don Wilson Glenn and directed by Demaris Webb.

 

On Feb. 19, the series continues with a screening of “A Thousand Pines” and a talk with director Noam Osband, sponsored by the School of the Environment and the College of Arts and Sciences Speakers Fund and the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice. The event will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Engineering and Computer Science Building, Room 105. The documentary follows a crew of guest workers from Oaxaca, Mexico, over the course of a season planting trees across the United States. The film explores the physical demands and isolation of the work, as well as the workers’ efforts to remain connected to their families back home. Over time, the crew forms a tight-knit community, cooking and caring for one another as they endure the challenges of the season. Reception to follow.

 

On Feb. 25, the series will feature a screening of “Silent Voices” from 11 a.m. to noon in the Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110, followed by a talk from noon to 1 p.m. by playwright and activist Donna Hayes. Director and photographer Kendall will also share reflections. A reception will follow.

 

Hayes lost her grandson to police violence and has yet to see institutional accountability. “Silent Voices” tells not only her grandson’s story but also six other true stories of police violence. The project was developed through an emergent, collaborative writing process with surviving family members of those killed by Portland-area police and was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic by a volunteer production team.

 

The DocArts Initiative is a joint Project of the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice and Native American Programs. For more information about DocArts events, email van.csej@wsu.edu.

 

About WSU Vancouver

WSU Vancouver is one of six campuses of Washington State University and the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington. The campus offers undergraduate and graduate programs that support workforce development, innovation and economic growth through strong partnerships with businesses, industries and community organizations.

 

WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. in Vancouver and is accessible via I-5, I-205 and C-TRAN bus service.

 

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WSU Vancouver Launches “DocArts” Spring Series Featuring Films, Artists And Public Intellectuals - 02/13/26

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University Vancouver will launch a new weekly “DocArts” series next week, bringing together film and video screenings, artist talks and community conversations throughut the spring term.

 

The series features a diverse group of multimedia artists, activists and public intellectuals—from community organizers whose lives are deeply documented to poets, songwriters and hip-hop performers working across media. Events are free and open to the public.

 

The series opens during Black History Month with Kent Ford, co-founder of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Black Panther Party. His talk will start at noon Feb. 18 in the Firstenburg Student Commons, Room 101. Through his leadership in the Panthers’ Free Breakfast for School Children Program in Portland, Ford helped feed thousands of children in Northeast Portland. Nationally, the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast program helped spur the development of free meal programs in public schools across the country. Lunch will follow the talk at 12:30 p.m.

 

Ford also volunteered for years in supportive roles with the Panthers’ free medical and dental clinics in Portland. He currently leads Black Panther Legacy Tours in Portland’s Albina neighborhood and is the subject of the solo play “Walking through Portland with a Panther: The Life of Mr. Kent Ford,” written by Don Wilson Glenn and directed by Demaris Webb.

 

On Feb. 19, the series continues with a screening of “A Thousand Pines” and a talk with director Noam Osband, sponsored by the School of the Environment and the College of Arts and Sciences Speakers Fund and the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice. The event will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Engineering and Computer Science Building, Room 105. The documentary follows a crew of guest workers from Oaxaca, Mexico, over the course of a season planting trees across the United States. The film explores the physical demands and isolation of the work, as well as the workers’ efforts to remain connected to their families back home. Over time, the crew forms a tight-knit community, cooking and caring for one another as they endure the challenges of the season. Reception to follow.

 

On Feb. 25, the series will feature a screening of “Silent Voices” from 11 a.m. to noon in the Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110, followed by a talk from noon to 1 p.m. by playwright and activist Donna Hayes. Director and photographer Kendall will also share reflections. A reception will follow.

 

Hayes lost her grandson to police violence and has yet to see institutional accountability. “Silent Voices” tells not only her grandson’s story but also six other true stories of police violence. The project was developed through an emergent, collaborative writing process with surviving family members of those killed by Portland-area police and was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic by a volunteer production team.

 

The DocArts Initiative is a joint Project of the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice and Native American Programs. For more information about DocArts events, email van.csej@wsu.edu.

 

About WSU Vancouver

WSU Vancouver is one of six campuses of Washington State University and the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington. The campus offers undergraduate and graduate programs that support workforce development, innovation and economic growth through strong partnerships with businesses, industries and community organizations.

 

WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. in Vancouver and is accessible via I-5, I-205 and C-TRAN bus service.

 

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