Dallas, Mark Your Calendars for Barbecue & a Movie…A Juneteenth Celebration, Screening “It’s a Wonderful Plight”, A Hip-Hop Musical

Juneteenth is slated to be larger than ever as gatherings are scheduled to span the DFW metroplex, with events popping from sunup to sundown. Local filmmaker, producer and multi-hyphenate creator, J. Rhodes, along with Kory Williams, will kickoff “Barbecue” & a Movie on Juneteenth, to celebrate the worldwide release of their hip-hop musical, “It’s a Wonderful Plight”. An artistically flavorful spin to legendary Hollywood classics “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story”, the film centers on Scott, “a well-intentioned white man who appreciates Black art and culture but fails to realize his own privilege.” Thoughtfully articulated for these times, Josef the Hotep (played by Rhodes) journeys alongside Scott in the 1 hour and 15-minute film, to take him through the mythical and musical adventure of “wokeness.”

“The film circulates around allyship,” Rhodes emphasized. “We can talk about this stuff until we’re blue in the face. What I have found with music and the way I do it [through this film], is that I’m saying the same thing we’ve been saying about the plight of African-Americans and that real allyship is not being quiet [or] comfortable — but we’re demonstrating it in a way that everyone can gravitate towards.” 

“It’s a Wonderful Plight” was recently praised by USA Today, amongst other notable nods. The film, which was shot in 5 days with a budget of $5,000, will also be released on Amazon and available for worldwide viewership June 15th.

Rhodes, in a thoughtful reflection of the overall message of the film said, ”Black people, we’re doing our best. We’re trying to solve a problem we didn’t create…and it’s not on us to fully solve. If we’re going to get to where we need to be, the people who benefit from White privilege or systemic oppression, will have to be the ones that want to get rid of it.”

The “Barbecue” & a Movie Juneteenth celebration and screening will take place at the Angelika Film Center & Cafe (5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Unit 230, Dallas, TX 75206) from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The event will be hosted by Lady Jade, co-host of K104FM’s DeDe In the Morning radio show. The film will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m., with limited seating available. General Admission and VIP tickets can be purchased now at Eventbrite.com.