Brian Dwayne Smith Jr

Brian Dwayne Smith Jr

Bachelor of Arts

Africana Studies, High Honors

Cinema Studies

Theater

I am a writer and filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois. I received a scholarship for outstanding leadership from the Posse Foundation in 2016 to attend Oberlin College. In my first semester, I declared Cinema Studies and Africana Studies as my majors and a minor in Theater. In 2018 I was selected as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. I designed an independent, original research project titled "Transforming Hollywood: The Deconstruction of Race and Gender Hierarchies in the U.S. Film Industry through Social Movements." Over the course of two years I have studied the effects of #BlackLivesMatter and the #MeToo movements in cinema and the American film industry. I have always been invested in exalting the experiences of under- and misrepresented groups, especially in film and media. Beyond my academic and creative life, I have performed in plays, dance performances, and stand-up comedy. My favorite social activities at Oberlin include: dancing, going to Soul Sessions in A-House, and happy hour.

In the fall of 2018 I was in the Czech Republic at the Prague Film School. It was my first time out of the U.S. It was a defining moment in my life.

Resident Assistant

Intern at Student Employment Office

Mellon Mays Research Fellow

student performer

Multicultural Resource Center student assistant

Office of Undergraduate Research student assistant.

The Africana Studies lounge because whenever I had a million things to do and hordes of people looking for me that is the one place I could go to breathe, be in good company, and not be found.

"Resistance and Voice: Caribbean Literature" taught by professor Meredith Gadsby. This course introduced me to radical and compelling literature that changed my life.

ABUSUA

Drag Ball Committee

Experimental College

Improv Coalition

La Alianza Latinx

Movimiento

Posse Scholar

"I have a right to show my colors, darling. I am beautiful and I know I'm beautiful." Quote by: Crystal LaBeija from the documentary "The Queen" (1968).

There have been many but I must say the night I opened for Jaboukie Young-White with my first ever stand-up comedy set was spectacular. I was away at the annual Posse Plus Retreat which was about an hour and half away. I drove back from the retreat location to Oberlin with my best friends Eder Aguilar and Alex Eisenthal to make it to soundcheck on time. I got to stand in front of 800 people and make them laugh, and met a wonderful comedian.

05/25/2020

I will be attending the University of Southern California - School of Cinematic Arts to pursue a Master's Degree in Cinema and Media Studies. My long term goal is to become a writer in director in the film industry to create cinematic works that transform people's thinking and being.