Jamal Joseph

Orphan, activist, subversive, urban guerrilla, FBI fugitive, drug addict, drug counselor, convict, writer, poet, filmmaker, father, Columbia University professor, youth advocate, and Oscar nominee Jamal Joseph lives with his wife and family in New York City.

While incarcerated for his active participation in the Black Panther Party, Joseph earned two college degrees, and wrote five plays and two volumes of poetry. He is currently a professor and Chair of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Division and the artistic director of the New Heritage Theater in Harlem.

He has been featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, BET's American Gangster and on Tupac's Shakur's "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" Volumes 1 & 2. He is the author of the interactive biography on Tupac Shakur, Tupac Shakur Legacy.

Jamal Joseph is nominated for a 2008 Academy Award in the Best Song category for his contributions to the song "Raise It Up,” performed by IMPACT Repertory Theatre and Jamia Nash in the 2007 film August Rush. Panther Baby is his first book.