Critical Race Theory Matters

Jessica Kirson is a powerhouse comedian known for her silliness, vulnerability, and ridiculous characters. Jessica recently produced FX’s Hysterical, a feature-length documentary that explores the changing landscape of women in stand-up comedy. The documentary features Margaret Cho, Nikki Glazer, Chelsea Handler, Fortune Feimster, and other notable comedians (including myself!). Her one-hour special, "Talking to Myself" debuted on Comedy Central and was executive produced by Bill Burr. She is a regular on This Week at the Comedy Cellar, and has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View, and Kevin Can Wait. Last year, Jessica was featured on the HBO series Crashing. She also recently acted in and served as a consultant, producer, and writer on the Robert De Niro film The Comedian. Jessica’s characters come to life in her podcast, Disgusting Hawk. Through her other podcast, Relatively Sane, Jessica has interviewed the likes of Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan, and Rosie O’Donnell. She was recently awarded “Best Female Comic” by the MAC association in New York City and received the prestigious Nightlife Award for “Best Stand-up Comedian.” In her spare time, Jessica is a regular contributor to The Howard Stern Show, where she produces and stars in prank calls for the program. Hollie Harper is a writer/comedian/actress from Cape May, New Jersey. She's currently the creator and co-exec producer of Hella Late! with Hollie Harper on BRIC TV and a co-host of the nationally trending Twitter Storytelling Chat “BlerdDating”. She's the creator of the popular sketch comedy show AMERICAN CANDY. They have played the Comic Strip, Gotham Comedy Club, BAM Café as well as the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. Team CANDY is presently editing a pilot they shot last winter and Time Out Chicago named them one of the five groups to watch. She's a regular host for West Side Comedy Club. Since the pandemic started she's produced three smash shows on Zoom. As an actress, she recently starred in the Off-Broadway production of Melanie Maria Goodreaux's "The White Blacks". And she works with Gold Comedy and Stand Up Girls, two programs that empower young women by teaching them standup comedy.  Erin Jackson is one of the fastest-rising comedians in New York City. She works nightly in the city’s top comedy clubs, and most recently made her Netflix debut as part of Season 2 of Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready. She’s also appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, CONAN, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, truTV’s Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks, Last Comic Standing, and Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. Erin's debut comedy album, Grudgery, was released in 2018 and debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes comedy charts. Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), Hysterical at FX on Hulu,  Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf.