LISTEN! PLEASE! A Documentary by J.D. Steele

Please note: This film contains brief instances of adult language.

In a year when the pain and injustice of systemic racism has once again placed our city and our nation on center stage, musician J.D. Steele has produced a documentary with a simple yet compelling message: “Open your heart and listen…please.”

“Listen! Please!” features the testimonials of four elite octogenarians: Elder Mahmoud El Kati, Macalester College professor emeritus, lecturer, and essayist on the Black Experience Since World War II; Dr. Josie Johnson, Minnesota Civil Rights activist and creator of the department of African American Studies at the University of Minnesota; Bill English, consulting project director for the Northside Job Creation Team (NJCT) and co-founder of the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis; and Sallie Steele Birdsong, J.D.’s mother.

Through personal stories and moving recollections of their past, these distinguished individuals recount the ways that systemic racism has impacted them throughout their lives.

“Listen! Please!” is executive produced by Penny Winton and produced by J.D. Steele and Karl Demer. Original music for the film is composed by J.D. Steele, with Billy Steele on keyboards, Chris Smith on bass, Kenyari Jackson on drums, Spencer Christianson on guitar and Daryl Boudreaux on percussion.