In collaboration with the Longmont Museum, Motus Theater presents JustUs: Stories from the Frontlines of the Criminal Justice System.
In this performance, special guests Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin and NAACP Boulder County leader Madelyn Strong Woodley model civic hospitality as they stand on stage with JustUs Monologist Juaquin Mobley and read aloud his monologue. Motus JustUs monologists Dereck Bell and Daniel Guillory will read aloud their powerful stories as well.
Each monologue will be followed by a musical response from jazz great Robert Johnson and brilliant pianist Victor Mestas. Their healing music will help us reflect on current injustices within the criminal legal system and allow us to imagine opportunities for true justice.
The JustUs project was developed by Motus Theater in 2019 and premiered as a keynote at the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice Conference in front of 1,600 stakeholders. Since then, the JustUs monologues have been featured in several national and global conferences and have been read and embraced by religious, social justice, civic, and law enforcement leaders across the state. The powerful monologues explore themes such as racial profiling, inequality in the bond/bail system, human rights abuses in prisons, criminalizing substance abusers, and the systemic racism and poverty that pushes people into illicit economies.
“Motus Theater has provided a voice to those who were voiceless. As a result, a lot of people are speaking about things that they weren't speaking about: the injustices of the justice system and its punitive damage.” - Juaquin Mobley, JustUs monologist
BIOS
JustUs Monologists
Daniel Guillory is a minister, visual artist, poet, and writer with the pen name JB. He is developing his voice as a motivational speaker. Guillory is a grateful father and a new grandfather. He has been moved by his work with Motus Theater to not simply support Restorative Justice but to transform the entire criminal justice system.
Dereck Bell (aka N.I.F.F) is the lead artist in the hip-hop band, N.I.F.F, based out of Colorado Springs. He is the founder and owner of a marketing, promotions, and photography company called Still Maccin Entertainment Group LLC. In 2018, Bell was the Artist Auditions winner in Denver and the March Madness winner in Colorado Springs. In 2017, he was awarded the Best Collaboration award. He describes his work as “unfiltered and intellectual” in which struggle is infused with culture. Bell is a proud father and partner.
Juaquin Mobley is the Vice President of Community Works and the Co-Owner of Community Ties and The Community Barber Shop based out of Colorado Springs. He is also the JustUs Project Strategist at Motus Theater. Mobley helps individuals, who were recently incarcerated and/or at risk of becoming incarcerated, to realize their true potential and manifest their limitless potential. He was once incarcerated for the better half of a decade and believes that a “helping hand,” as opposed to a “hand out,” can motivate one to succeed. As a proud father of three beautiful girls, he refuses to let the next generation fall victim to the traps that he and his peers fell into.
Guest Readers
Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin is a long-time Longmont resident, who continues to work for social, economic, and housing justice by building opportunities for families throughout Boulder County and the Front Range. Prior to serving on the Board of County Commissioners, Marta facilitated a project with Community Foundation Boulder County, which highlights the opportunity for Cultural Brokers to influence decision making in our county. Additionally, her work with the City of Longmont, after the 2013 flood, established the Resiliency For All Project for the State of Colorado Division of Local Affairs.
Madelyn Strong Woodley is a Retired FedEx Corporate Executive. Her law enforcement background has proven beneficial in her most recent role as a member of the Boulder Police Oversight Task Implementation Team. As a lifetime member and executive committee member of the NAACP in Boulder County, the core of Madelyn’s service endeavors are focused on making valuable contributions to her community. She is a newly appointed board member of the Longmont Community Foundation, and a longtime board member of the Longmont Housing & Human Services Advisory Board. Madelyn’s dedicated service can be realized through her volunteerism and community work of the aforementioned organizations and many others.
Musicians
Robert Johnson is a highly celebrated international jazz singer who toured and recorded with Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Roberta Flack, Angela Brown, Lionel Richie, Stan Getz, and more recently the Boulder Blues Quartet, and many others. Mr. Johnson has a four-octave range and sings everything from Blues, Opera, Show tunes, R&B, soul, and jazz - with mastery. He has participated in national and regional productions of Porgy and Bess, Ain’t Misbehaving, Blues in The Night, A Brief History of White Music, Showboat, The Full Monty, The Buddy Holly Story, and as the voice of the plant in Little Shop of Horrors. Mr. Johnson was named Best Male Vocalist in the Denver Post’s Readers Poll, Best Jazz Vocalist by the Colorado Black Artists Association, and was honored as Colorado’s Best Male Singer by the News and Radio Media.
Victor Mestas was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and studied at the "J. A. Lamas" School of Music with Carmen Moleiro. His professional background includes more than 100 recording productions for national and internationally renowned artists. Mestas has performed as a pianist, keyboardist, and arranger for renowned bands in Latin America and Venezuela, including Guaco and Trabuco Venezolano. He has also accompanied an array of world-renowned singers, including: Soledad Bravo, Cheo Feliciano, and Julio Iglesias. He moved to Boulder 5 years ago with his wife and two daughters. Locally, he’s been performing on the Brazilian-Latin Jazz scene and teaches a Latin Jazz Ensemble at the Thompson Jazz Studies Program at CU Boulder.