Black-Jewish Solidarity for Prison Abolition, Expressed Through Aerial Dance

KQED's Forum

“I am freedom,” says Rahsaan Thomas in a recorded phone call from San Quentin State Prison, featured in a new performance by Flyaway Productions and Museum of the African Diaspora. "Meet Us Quickly with Your Mercy" combines first-person recordings with music and aerial choreography— with the goal of conveying the solidarity of Black and Jewish activism for racial justice and prison abolition. It’s rooted in a four-year collaboration that comprised hundreds of letters, prison visits and monitored phone calls between artistic director Jo Kreiter and lead writer Thomas, who co-hosts and co-produces the Pulitzer Prize-nominated podcast “Ear Hustle” and who is currently incarcerated in San Quentin. "Meet Us Quickly with Your Mercy” will run through Oct. 17 and charge no admission fee. Kreiter and Thomas join us to discuss the show and its message.