Jasmine Leeward
Jasmine Leeward is an activist, narrative strategist, and emerging filmmaker committed to the delicate work of culture shifting towards Black liberation, particularly in the US South. They are the owner of Impulse Media, an independent consulting company. They have worked as a Communications Specialist for Marijuana Justice, Women's March Inc., ReFrame, and New Virginia Majority, a group organizing for racial, environmental, and economic justice through strategic electoral work and grassroots campaigns. Jasmine is a 2020 Echoing Ida fellow. Their first short film “dusk” was selected for the 2020 Africana Film Festival.
Jasmine's primary goal as a filmmaker is to translate complex policy into accessible stories that inspire people to action. Their work is anchored in pan-africanism. They see their art as a reflection of Audre Lorde's definition of survival: learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. They are a 2021 Rockwood Leadership JustFilms fellow.