RESCHEDULED and IN-PERSON: Author Event: Big Black: Stand at Attica

RESCHEDULED FROM LAST MONTH:

Frank “Big Black” Smith was a prisoner at Attica State Prison in 1971. Fifty years ago Smith, along with other prisoners, led a rebellion against the injustices of the prison system which remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history. Join us for an author visit with Jared Reinmuth who co-wrote the graphic memoir, Big Black: Stand at Attica (2021 Eisner nominee, Best Reality based Book) with Frank “Big Black” Smith, which was illustrated by the artist Ameziane. Jared is the stepson of Attica Defense Attorney Dan Meyers. Meyers devised the legal strategy and filed the civil lawsuit on behalf of the Attica Brothers. In addition, Meyers penned the introduction to Big Black: Stand at Attica. Reinmuth will cover the history of the events at Attica, and the life of Frank “Big Black” Smith, using a multimedia presentation that includes video, and original music co-written by Reinmuth and composer Alex Tichane. The discussion also covers the creation of this important Original Graphic Memoir

Jared Reinmuth has worked as an actor, writer, teacher, director, and songwriter. He made his acting debut at the 1994 Dionysian International Theatre Festival in Veroli, Italy in Karen Malpede’s The Beekeeper’s Daughter. Reinmuth made his directorial debut in 2016 at the Theater for the New City’s Dream UP Festival with Andrea J. Fulton’s Roof-Top Joy. His adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ seminal masterpiece, Monte Cristo, debuted at the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center. He began his writing collaboration with Frank “Big Black” Smith in 1997, while assisting his father, famed Attica attorney Dan Meyers. In 2017, at the suggestion of his friend and colleague, Patrick Kennedy, Reinmuth joined forces with co-creator and artist Améziane, Frank Smith’s wife Pearl Battle Smith, and composer Alex Tichane to fully realize the work initially started by Frank “Big Black” Smith, as the graphic novel BIG BLACK: STAND AT ATTICA (2020 Eisner Nominee: Best Reality Based Book)