sustaining transformative love

2012-01-29T08:25:00.001-05:00

Venerating Dr. Nina Simone: Conjure Woman, Soul Woman
by: Ebony Noelle Golden,
Co-Founder/ Co-Curator of Women on Wednesday Art and Culture Project

Women on Wednesday Arts and Culture Project honors the incomparable Dr. Nina Simone as the ancestral mother for WoW2012: The Naked Edition. WoWs organizers honor Nina Simone because of her unabashed boldness and fearless dedication to truth-telling, liberation and creative excellence. Join us in celebrating the brilliance of Nina Simone this month and every month.

Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina February 21, 1933 and transitioned April 21, 2003. Her life, legacy, music, fashion and pursuit of liberation serve as guide for how black girls, women and the rest of the world can live their NAKED TRUTHS.

I was first introduced to Nina Simone in college. Every summer I taught dance and worked as a choreographer for the Young Performers Program at the Ensemble Theatre in Houston, TX. My first summer, I choreographed Lorraine Hansberry’s play “To Be Young Gifted and Black.” While researching the piece, I found Simone and remember listening to the song a few hundred times. I remember thinking that she didn’t necessarily have a melodic voice, but instead a committed voice. A voice that made to sit up and pay attention. A voice that demanded every listener recognize the wealth that is the black youth, black talent and just blackness overall. From then, I was hooked. Using her work in my scholarly, artistic and amorous adventures.

Years later, I remember playing a game of chest with a lover, who didn’t dig her sound. Her voiced opened me to a greater capacity of strategic maneuvering. I remember my lover asking about her, where she came from, why did I like her. I remember being bothered by his lack of love and admiration for Simone. In the months following that game of chest, I continued to play Simone’s music. Eventually, he learned to love her, and couldn’t remember the time when he didn’t appreciate her voice.

In a time where the cult of black respectability forced women and men to bend to white culture and standards, she was a member of a crew politically active, cultural warriors who visioned and worked for a world where creative innovation and liberation conspired to blaze a trail of possibility, beauty and freedom for communities, artists organizers and educators the world-over.

Simone’s iconic sound, political action and musical innovation resisted tradition, form and boundaries. Songs like “Mississippi Goddam” and “Four Women” season the soundtrack of liberation movements for global human rights. Always the conjure woman; Simone was able to move the crowd with the greatest of ease, radicalize a soul with a moan or a hollar, change the temperature of a room with a stoke of the piano and delve into the heart of all that is beautiful and troubling about the world with her soothing or harsh tones. She was one bad mama-jama.

This contemporary moment finds Nina Simone just as relevant. Simone serves as the muse for many Hip-hop artists, theatre-makers, dancers, choreographers and visual artists around the globe. Several of the Women on Wednesday Art and Culture Project participants are currently or have in the past created work that honors her life and legacy.

I wrote the poem below a few years ago. It is included in a poetry collection I am building and obsessed with called “again, the watercarriers.” The collection, includes a section dedicated to the diverse manifestations of the conjure woman archetype. That section includes a suite of poems dedicated to the one and only Nina Simone.

conjure woman, soul woman
for nina

nina
they say you stole shadows
you cast babyspirits out in nocturnal limboyou make them wander

in search of womb
in search of milk
in search of the space between heaven and hell
where each step is a breathsqueeze

they say you keep a sachet of boneshavings crescent city spit
and motherlanddust under your slip
that you blew
the brows clean off a man's forehead
for cutting his eyes at you

they say you could have been a street preacher
but you couldn't keep your legs closed
or pray just to our lord jesus

i know a woman who carries your face
and she aint nothing but sanctified
and she speak sweet like i hear you speak
and her fingers too are wands that stir heaven

and she holds night in her skinsings it to her children when dawn breaks

nina
they really don't know how you got the blood and the lightening in your tone
don't know how you swung back this lifetime without wings
know how you birthed us with out light so

they call you witch when obeah be your name
call you mystery when you are everywhere like dew
magician when magician you are
they call you alien when you are mamathey call you alien cause you tune our hearts
your name be obeah

you bend time
siphon your way through space
i hear you do it

stretch through speakers at me
stretch through speakers at me
just when i get tired of shouting freedom
writing freedom birthing freedom

stretch through speakers at me--your groove
a feathered redemption

About the Author
Hailing from Houston, TX, Ebony Noelle Golden is a cultural worker, artist and creative director of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC and artistic director of Body Ecology Performance Ensemble. Ebony's current bodies of work include: "RingShout for Reproductive Justice" and "again, the watercarriers." She also writes about jazz, culture and liberation for Okayplayer’s The Revivalist Magazine. www.bettysdaughterarts.com.

About WoW
Motto: Engage, Create, Empower
Mission: WoW is dedicated to celebrating the creativity, empowerment, holistic health, and civic engagement of black girls and women.

In honoring the voices of women and girls of the African Diaspora, “Women on Wednesdays: Art and Culture Series” privileges our ancestors and their labor, affirming our collective truth – we do not walk alone, and we could not create transformative and innovative art without the journeys of those who came before us. Thus, WoW creates a space for our ancestors’ at every “Women on Wednesdays” event, encouraging participating artists and audience members to share this sacred space.

This series’ success is notable, because it provided women of color professional and emerging artists with an opportunity to share their work, engaging audience members in talk-backs after each performance. Such opportunities are crucial for women of color and our community. Though many social and political advances have been made, cultural art-making by women and girls of the African Diaspora still lacks the support often granted to others. “Women on Wednesdays: Art and Culture Series” celebrates our labor and creativity, putting women of color at the center of cultural exchange while simultaneously creating a welcome space for audiences which may not have known of this work without such a platform for expression.

To find out more about Women on Wednesday Art and Culture Project visit our Facebook Group or wowproject.yolasite.com.

2011-11-18T12:05:00.001-05:00

https://www.facebook.com/events/264913493551887/

Greetings,

Tomorrow is the day for Body Ecology's 2nd RingShout for Reproductive Justice! Dress warmly, fill your thermos and prepare yourselves for what will be a gripping and enlightening public art performance.

What is a RingShout? A ringshout is a method for praise and worship. In the ring shout people sing, dance, testify. Body Ecology recognizes the technology of the circle has made black women and black communities un-breakable. It is our circle that keeps us focused on the whole, the light in our community, the hopefulness that we can collectively vision.

Body Ecology affirms that this campaign, this ring shout this circle of energy and creativity is our best asset for addressing justice and reproductive health.Our RingShout is a performance of healing, truth-telling, humor and recovery. We do this through the performance of original poetry, narrative, choreography. Expect to be moved! Each ringshout ends with a community cipher/ story circle so bring a dance, a poem a testimony about health, legacy, reproductive justice or creativity! Join us!

In solidarity,
Ebony Golden
Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
www.bettysdaughterarts.com

2011-11-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

RingShout for Reproductive Justice Continues Nov. 19th!

Body Ecology continues its RingShout for Reproductive Justice Campaign with a second public performance and street story circle. Check back soon for more information about the performance and how you can get involved!

Lauded as the "father of gynecology", Dr. James Marion Sims brutally experimented on enslaved African women in Birmingham, Alabama. There just so happens to be a monument built in his honor on 5th Avenue. Body Ecology wants this memorial removed!

We are calling on the power of the women who suffered at the hands of this "doctor" as we offer our second installment of RingShout for Reproductive Justice. We are calling on the power of the women are experiencing joy, trauma, revelation, doubt, and a myriad of emotions and feelings that relate to our reproductive health and choices.

What is a RingShout?

A ringshout is a method for praise and worship. In the ring shout people sing, dance, testify. Usually the songs are lead but there is time for each person to speak or sing. You may be more familiar with recent configurations of the ringshout including the cipher or even the "sista circle" or sacred circles for women. The idea is that the circle is sacred and when those join in the circle they harness an energy and power to manifest what they choose. Also, there are theatre makers who are using the ring shout in traditional theatre settings for similar purposes.

Body Ecology recognizes the technology of the circle has made black women and black communities un-breakable. It is our circle that keeps us focused on the whole, the light in our community, the hopefulness that we can collectively vision. Body Ecology affirms that this campaign, this ring shout this circle of energy and creativity is our best asset for addressing justice and reproductive health.

Our RingShout is a performance of healing, truth-telling, humor and recovery. We do this through the performance of original poetry, narrative, choreography. Expect to be moved!

Each ringshout ends with a community cipher/ story circle so bring a dance, a poem a testimony about health, legacy, reproductive justice or creativity! Join us!

More about the RingShout for Reproductive Justice Campaign

Read More Here:
http://www.bettysdaughterarts.com/#!ringshout-for-reproductive-justice

www.bettysdaughterarts.com

2011-10-22T01:00:00.001-04:00

BDACs current campaign is called the RingShout for Reproductive Justice!

Join us for our 2nd RingShout November 19!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=264913493551887

What is a RingShout?

A ringshout is a method for praise and worship. In the ring shout people sing, dance, testify. Usually the songs are lead but there is time for each person to speak or sing. You may be more familiar with recent configurations of the ringshout including the cipher or even the "sista circle" or sacred circles for women. The idea is that the circle is sacred and when those join in the circle they harness an energy and power to manifest what they choose. Also, there are theatre makers who are using the ring shout in traditional theatre settings for similar purposes.

Body Ecology recognizes the technology of the circle has made black women and black communities un-breakable. It is our circle that keeps us focused on the whole, the light in our community, the hopefulness that we can collectively vision. Body Ecology affirms that this campaign, this ring shout this circle of energy and creativity is our best asset for addressing justice and reproductive health.

Our RingShout is a performance of healing, truth-telling, humor and recovery. We do this through the performance of original poetry, narrative, choreography. Expect to be moved!

Each ringshout ends with a community cipher/ story circle so bring a dance, a poem a testimony about health, legacy, reproductive justice or creativity! Join us!

2011-10-09T10:42:00.001-04:00

This Body Ecology: Creativity & Transformation Residency will be looking at the connection between spiritual practice and creative performance. Expect to deepen conversations around ritual, Shange, Alice Walker, Sonia Sanchez and others. Expect to be asked to "perform something that pushes you to a new awareness of yourself and your creative potential". Join us!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197374113662828

Join Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative in our inaugral cultural arts direct action campaign!!! We begin tomorrow!

2011-09-27T11:45:00.001-04:00

Body Ecology: Creativity and Transformation Residency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Public Performing Arts and Activism Workshops for South Bronx Community
Contact: Ebony Noelle Golden
Email: ebonygolden@bettysdaughterarts.com

www.bettysdaughterarts.com

South Bronx, New York --6 pm on September 28, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative in collaboration with Casa Atabex Ache will launch the Body Ecology: Creativity and Transformation

residency for women and trans folks of color . The residency will address reproductive rights, environmental justice and spiritual activism over a period of a month. The residency will

feature public performance opportunities, creative dialogue, dance, writing and theatre workshops at Casa Atabex Ache. Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in two

public performances: one at Casa Atabex Ache and the other at the Harriet Tubman Memorial statue in Harlem. The performances will feature the original work of participants who will be

exploring the role of creative arts in working for individual transformation and community action.

The workshops will take place 6-8 p.m. at Casa Atabex Ache located at 471 East 140th Street Bronx, NY 10454. Participants have the option of paying between 20 and 40 dollars each

session, although no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

Dates & Topics Include:

September

Reproductive Justice Cultural Arts Direct Action Campaign Debuts

28: Body Ecology Residency Begins @ Casa Atabex Ache. Register Here. Reproductive Justice!

October

1: Ringshout for Reproductive Justice 3 pm @ the Harriet Tubman Memorial Plaza 122nd and St. Nick.

3: Performance/Workshop: Ritual Theatre & Choreopoem Aesthetics @ Medgar Evers College

5: Environmental Justice Workshop

12: Spiritual Activism Workshop

19: Solo and Collaborative Performance Workshop

22: Body Ecology at The Black Girl Project Symposium

26: Final Benefit Performance in Support of Casa Atabex Ache and Project Zanzibar

The residency is a part of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative's inaugural cultural arts direct action campaign season dedicated to using arts to address issues of reproductive justice within

the African Diaspora community. Ebony Golden, Creative Director of Betty's Daughter said, “This cultural arts direct action campaign has been a dream for several years. I am excited to

use the arts to vision a world I want to live in with the rest of the ensemble and community. We are not fighting against anything, we are honoring our autonomy over all that we choose to

create-artistically, politically, spiritually, economically, educationally...” The goals of the campaign are to raise awareness, increase creative action, facilitate dialogue and support local

organizing efforts.

The campaign will take the ensemble to Boston, Washington, DC, and Baltimore. Local allies include Casa Atabex Ache, Ocean Ana Rising, Brecht Forum, and WOW Cafe Theatre.

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC is a cultural arts direct action group that inspires, enlivens, and incites justice and transformation of individuals and communities through

creativity, cultural arts and radical expressiveness.

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative envisions and works for a world where cultural and artistic practice envelops and sustains wellness and justice movements for individuals and

communities.

2011-07-13T00:35:00.001-04:00

Project Zanzibar:: Cultural Arts Residency

BDAC needs your help to get to Zanzibar!!! Each dollar is an investment!

Donate here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projectzanzibar

Our Story
In August of 2010, Ebony Golden was introduced to Bi Aida and Mbaruk (Directors of Creative Solutions) by Tufara Muhammad at the Highlander Research and Education Center. During Cultural Workers' Weekend, Bi Aida and Ebony talked about the possibility of community cultural arts residency at their Creative Solutions school in Zanzibar. By the end of the weekend, Ebony was sure that this collaboration would be an awesome opportunity to learn and share art in community, while beginning an intentional and sustainable relationship with an international collaborator. This weekend, Project Zanzibar:: Cultural Arts Residency was born.

Utilizing art and creativity, Project Zanzibar:: Cultural Arts Residency seeks to amplify the voices and creativity of young adults and women at Creative Solutions Resource Systems school located in Mangapwani, Zanzibar.

The residency is a collaborative effort between Creative Solutions and Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, based in New York, NY.

Goals and Outcomes
1. 3 Yoga Workshops
2. 2 Dance/Movement Workshops
3. 2 Writing Workshops
4. 1 Story Circle
5. 2 Theatre/Performance Workshops
6. 1 Visual Arts Workshops
7. 1 Community Performances

More About The Collaborators
Creative Solutions Resource Systems is a non profit community learning center, located in the village of Mangapwani, approximately 27 kilometers from Zanzibar town and one kilometer from the beach. We are a grass roots organization providing access to education through both traditional and modern systems. CSRS strives to unleash the creative energy within each individual through participatory workshops, classes and demonstrations. CSRS is committed to the philosophy of creating solutions through self-help.

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC is a cultural arts direct action group that inspires, enlivens, and incites justice and transformation of individuals and communities through creativity, healing arts practices and radical expressiveness. Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative envisions a world where cultural and artistic practice envelops and sustains wellness and justice movements for individuals and communities. Betty's Daughter Arts collaborative provides workshops, residencies, performances and consulting services to communities working for justice and transformation.

Check out BDAC at work--http://youtu.be/j5evUICB7as and http://vimeo.com/17252820

The Impact

Participant Impact
Transformation: Creativity heals, transforms, liberates and enlivens individuals and communities. This experience will provide participants with tools they can use in their everyday lives to reflect, rejoice and renew through writing, performance, movement and meditation.

Community Sustainability: Creativity is integral to building and sustaining community. The residency will provide participants with tools to investigate art and creativity as a practice for solving issues impacting local communities. Through creative visioning, action and reflection participants will experience movement from issue to resolution while at the same time building a tool kit to continue the forward movement for community sustainability and growth.

Literacy: Creativity is directly linked to achievement in literacy and basic skills. Because arts practice supports the overall critical thinking skills of students, it is extremely important to find new and innovative approaches to getting students writing and thinking outside of books. Creativity helps students conceptualize and envision experiences that extend comprehension of texts and problem solving skills. The activities used in this residency will be useful to students as they work to achieve their educational goals.

Organizational Impact
Creative Solutions is looking for ways to offer its students quality cultural arts programming. These costs, of course, are steep for a community school. Through our collaboration, Creative Solutions will have a month-long residency that it can use as a template for building and sustaining cultural arts programs throughout the year. Because BDAC is looking to its supporters to help fund this residency, Creative Solutions will not have to worry about payment for the services and use those funds to sustain other educational projects.

The Bottom Line
1. If this project does not happen, Creative Solutions quite possibly will not have intensive cultural arts programming for the month.
2. Participants will not have access to a transformative arts experience.
3. BDAC will not be able to begin its international arts initiative.

What We Need
BDAC Needs 2500.00 for the residency. Here is how it will be spent.

1500-flight
200-medication
700-Food and Lodging
100-Flip Cam

What You Get
Mention in Newsletter
Mention on website
DVD of Residency
Residency Chapbook
A gift from Zanzibar
A post card from Zanzibar

Other Ways You Can Help
Tweet about the residency using the #ProjectZanzibar hashtag
Mention the residency and our campaign on your Facebook wall or status update
Come to the going away party in Brooklyn July 16th.
Donate books, media or school supplies to Creative Solutions
Donate yoga mats
Donate DVDs
Donate art supplies
Donate frequent flyer miles
Get your social club to donate
Purchase mailing of materials
Come up with another way to help and let BDAC know!

2011-05-18T14:46:00.001-04:00

Register for the 5th In The People's Hands Arts and Activism Project workshop, in Durham NC.! Free.

4th Annual In the People's Hands Arts and Activism Project Presents...
The LIBERATION INTENSIVE

Location: TBA
Cost: FREE
Contact: Ebony Noelle Golden-ebonygolden@bettysdaughterarts.com,
Nia Wilson-spirithousenc@gmail.com
tel: 919.283.9032

www.inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com

Registration: email or text- ebonygolden@bettysdaughterarts.com or 919.283.9032.

Join SpiritHouse, Alternate Roots and Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative for the 4th In The People's Hands Arts and Activism Intensive. This year we are focus is LIBERATION. The weekend we will offer creative performance, spoken word, writing and community action workshops for the community.

Agenda

Thursday June 30th 430 pm
Meet and Greet and Opening Session
530 Introductions and Ice Breaker
600 Opening Session
Why Liberation? Why Now: A Creative Imperative
In this session, Ebony Noelle Golden will lead an interactive session with participants exploring creative approaches to liberation, RSC's principles of community engagement while framing the scope and range of the weekend intensive.

Friday July 1st 430 pm
430- Light Dinner/Snacks
5 pm- Session 1
630-645 Break
645 pm - Session 2
815- Wrap Up

Saturday July 2
10 am- Performance/Manuscript One-on-Ones with Visiting Artists (20 minute sessions)
11 am - Light Brunch
1130- Session 3
1pm- Break
115- Session 4
245- Break
330
Cultural Arts Direct Action: The Creative and the Strategic Road Map
In this session, Ebony Noelle Golden will lead participants in a process of mapping out the next steps for using art and culture for change. Participants should come prepared to talk about a tangible shift they want to see in their communities and how they want to use art and culture to do that work.

530 Break

7 pm Community Performances

2011-02-12T11:30:00.001-05:00

Women on Wednesdays Teach-in & Healing Cipher

This year, WoW organizers are pleased to offer a day-long teach-in to deepen our exploration of our motto "Engage. Create. Empower". Save your spot by RSVP with an email to ebonygolden@bettysdaughterarts.com.

Agenda

10 am- Welcome and Honoring Toni Cade Bambara
1015 am-Yoga and Mindfulness w/ Dehejia Maat

1115 am- Workshop Selections (Descriptions below)

A-Define Your Personal Shine w/ BurnBright Lifeworks, Inc.
B-Finding Voice through Identity w/ Carmen Mojica
C-Lyrical Meditations: Using Freestyle to Free the Spirit with Toni Blackman

1215 pm- Lunch

1 pm-Safe Spaces w/ Ocean Ana Rising

3 pm-Break

315- Prepare Community Sharing from Workshops
330 pm-Community Sharing from Workshops
430 pm-Next Steps Continuing the Sisterhood
5 pm-Closing Activity

Workshop Descriptions

Yoga and Mindfulness with Dehejia Maat

All-Group Session 1 hr.

As a poet and writer I've come to a place where I can't write anymore, because the exterenal world impacts my internal. Yoga for Poets and Writers is a workshop that I've created to remove blockages thru meditation and yoga. Our focus: clearing the noise and drawing form the pool of inspiration.

Safe Spaces for Trauma to Triumph with Ocean Ana Rising

All-Group Session 2 hrs.

The Safe Spaces Workshop is designed to provide women survivors of violence with tools of creative expression to help them transform trauma into healing and liberation. Through this workshop, participants are encouraged to express their own sacred, magical selves, using cultural art techniques that can be revisited long after participation in the workshop. For this Safe Spaces residency, workshop participants will re-discover body awareness on their own terms through guided creative movement, body painting, & writing techniques. We will begin with free writing exercises using prompts that inspire participants to explore the initial and personal trauma. This writing will lead to creative movement techniques, focusing on breathing, flexibility, and rhythmic dance, utilizing an African dance fusion technique. The creative movement will gently guide participants through the memory of the initial wound/scar/trauma addressed through the writing exercise, toward a transformative process of re-memory through which the body experiences full expression and triumph. Participants do not need any formal dance training to participate in this workshop. Following the first portion of the creative movement aspect of the workshop, workshop participants will further celebrate their bodies, self expression, and beauty through a body painting session, high-lighting spaces on the body with visual symbols, designs and colors that reclaim and reinforce personal ideas of affirmation. After body painting, participants will return to creative writing, emphasizing transformation and triumph.

Define Your Personal Shine with BurnBright Lifeworks, Inc.
1 hour

Artist Track:
The overall objective of this workshop is is to equip artists with a deeper level understanding of how they may use branding as a personal & professional tool for their artistic endeavors (networking, seminars, collaborations, exhibit, etc.)

BREAKDOWN

This workshop will take place as a free-form dynamic discussion/presentation followed by a break out Q & A where participants may pose questions.

Glow Assessment (What's working for/against me?) With their lives moving at a lightening pace, many artists rarely get an opportunity to see themselves clearly. This section will focus on teaching participants to do a 360 degree analysis of their current situation.

Selecting Your Candle (Formulating their goals) Selecting your candle will help artists prioritize their goals and by doing so, develop their OWN standards for success.

Burning Bright (Branding Statement) The purpose of this section is for participants to walk away with their own personal Branding statement. Please not that this statement is quite different than an Artist's Statement. Participants will be coached to create a Branding Statement that will speak more to how they want to be SEEN as opposed to what their artistic vision is.

Voice and Individuality with Carmen Mojica
1 hr

Lyrical Meditations: Using Freestyle to Free the Spirit with Toni Blackman

1 hr.

Toni Blackman will lead a session using the spoken word to heighten creativity, inspire self-expression, and improve one's ability to go with the flow. Toni's participant centered wkshp provides a transformative experience that empowers those present to exist beyond their comfort zones. She facilitates the process of "getting open", guiding the energy so that both artist and non-artist benefit from the exercises. Be a part of the cipher.

2011-02-08T22:01:00.001-05:00

Join Us as WE Celebrate Girls and Women of the African Diaspora!!!

2010-12-09T10:52:00.001-05:00

Women on Wednesdays Art and Culture Project Now Accepting Performance and Workshop Proposals

Greetings,

I hope you all are finding warmth as it gets really cold outside. I co-curate Women on Wednesdays Arts and Culture Project based here in NYC. We are currently accepting performance and workshop proposals from girls and women of the African diaspora to present creative works and teach during the month of February. Here is the link: http://www.bettysdaughterarts.com/women-on-wednesday-teach-in.php If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me at ebonygolden@bettysdaughterarts.com.

Ebony Noelle Golden
Peace.

2010-01-21T20:35:00.001-05:00

Get Hip and Get Some Black Women's Art in Your Life

Women on Wednesdays: Arts and Culture Series
Curated by Ebony Noelle Golden and Nina Angela Mercer

Description

Women on Wednesdays (WoW)is a month-long series that highlight the arts and cultural practices of girls and women of the African diaspora. Co-curated by Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative and Ocean Ana Rising, WoW features work of emerging and seasoned artists and cultural workers in the fields of theater, music, film, dance, literature, and scholarship. The series culminates in a day long teach-in as we explore activism through creative arts; a reception will follow. There is a suggested donation for all WoW events, and no one is turned away. Events take place at Brecht Forum located in the West Village at 7pm on each Wednesday of the month.

Artistic Manifesta

Culture

I guess that waltzes
Do not move me.
I have no sympathy
For symphonies.
I guess I hummed the blues too early
And spent too many midnights
Out wailing to the rain.

-Assata Shakur

"Magic, Everyday"

In "The Quilt: Towards a Twenty-First Century Black Feminist Ethnography" Renee Alexander Craft offers, “African/black women have all too often been imagined, defined, labeled and packaged in ways that are at odds with who we are and understand ourselves to be” (56). Craft's ideas highlight media representations of the mythic Black woman. Craft acknowledges that Black women's identities, (re)productive potential, and labor/work have been high-jacked by dominant media outlets. Women on Wednesdays Arts and Culture Series (WoW) grew out of a similar acknowledgement. WoW's organizers recognize the intersecting oppressions of race, sex, and gender that marginalize Black women's cultural and artistic labor. We affirm the pressing need to collaborate with Black women artists who are expanding conversations about what it means to be Black, woman, artist, cultural worker, and scholar. As a Black women-led project, we recognize the radical practice of providing an uncensored and economically-supported platform for WoW's participants to articulate identity, art, and cultural practice as a personal evolutionary process and negotiation of violent landscapes founded in doctrines of silence and erasure.

When we harness artistic and cultural practices in the tradition of our fore mothers, we quilt a brilliant narrative that shifts and balances the rhythm of this universe. WoW honors the art women make on the porch, at the kitchen table, in the studio, classroom, street and beyond. This series affirms the movement, stories, melodies, theories, and meditations and laments, placing women's voices at the center of narratives about our shared and unique experiences. Women's artistic practices are not only tools for survival but tools for activating an aesthetics of radical imagination that conjures liberation for the artist and our communities. Utilizing art and culture, women conflate the personal and the political, the intimate and the communal, the artistic and the academic to not only honor our collective legacies but inform and imagine the world we want to live in today and tomorrow.

February 3

Body: Word, Move, Perform
"Body: Word, Move, Perform", is an exploration of the body through word, movement, and performance. The night features literary readings, choreographic works and short performance pieces and ends with a round table discussion about how Black women use dance, performance, and literary art to explore the individual in relationship to surrounding political, environmental, and social landscapes. Talk-back moderated by Ebony Noelle Golden

February 10
She Got a Fierce Up-Rock: Women in Hip Hop
Featuring a screening of the film "Say My Name" and a performance by Kymbali Craig, "She Got a Fierce Up-Rock" provides a space to explore Black women in Hip Hop. From politics of production, to juggling motherhood and career, the panel discussion promises to be a vibrant and necessary conversation. Talk-back moderated Brandy Monk-Payton and Kymbali Craig.

February 17
Daughters of Shange
Featuring a staged reading of "I Am a Drum" by Sybil Roberts, "Daughters of Shange" features short experimental performance works that trouble and conflate traditional categories of theatrical performance. Talk-back moderated by Nina Angela Mercer.

February 21

"Teach the Teacher" harnesses the power of communal learning and knowledge sharing. Featuring workshops, discussion, and performances, "Teach the Teacher" is day-long teach-in for those who are interested in utilizing art and culture for awareness and social justice

February 24
Ñañakuna K’uychimanta (sisters of the rainbow) is a musical, literary and dance performance that will explore the artistic expressions of women from the African Diaspora. The evening employs a reinterpretation of "round robin sessions" where each artist will share with their fellow performers, writers and musicians, their work to generate a discussion at the end of the performance. This event will feature the talents of The Mimi Jones Band; poets Tara Betts, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs and, Tonya Foster; and choreographer dancer Paloma McGregor.
This event is curated and moderated by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs.

2009-12-09T15:16:00.001-05:00

WHAT RACE ARE YOU RUNNING? SUBMIT YOUR LO-PHY PERFORMANCES/LO-TECH PHOTOS ebonygolden@bettysdaughterarts.com to contribute to our web installation project debunking POST-RACIAL HYPNOSIS!!!!!! GO HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.bettysdaughterarts.com/a-poetics-of-progressive-pedagogy.php

2009-11-05T11:12:00.001-05:00

Call for art, spoken word, music- Sex worker rights are Human rights!

In conjunction with International Human Rights Day on December 10th, a coalition of New York-based sex worker rights, anti-violence and decriminalization advocates are hosting a Human Rights Speak-Out and Arts Evening. You are encouraged to submit your work!

We are looking for:
- pieces that connect to or highlight themes in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ and the examples below); and to the idea that criminalization of sex work leads ultimately to human rights violations.
- visual art; and short (2 to 7 minutes) spoken word or poetry pieces, musical pieces, theater shorts, films, etc.
- current/ former sex workers, and folks who are otherwise in communities that are heavily impacted by criminalization and policing of sex work are especially encouraged to submit

Submit to : kmdadamo@gmail.com and belltoweroverflo@hotmail.com
For spoken word and performance, please email written copies if possible. For film, either mail a copy or send an online link to view. For visual art, please either send JPG images (no more than 2) or otherwise call to make arrangements to submit.

Submit by: November 25th

Be sure to keep Dec. 10th on your schedule! Travel stipends for local NYC area travel to the event on the evening of December 10th may be available for submitting artists. Please keep in mind that the event will be promoted to media outlets in order to try to bring a sex worker rights and human rights message to a wider audience.

Here are some examples of conditions faced by sex workers and articles of the UDHR that correlate:

Sex workers and people profiled as sex workers are often ignored when they report violence, rape, or other crimes against them, and even presumed to have brought the violence on themselves. Frequently, they face violence, including sexual violence and extortion, at the hands of the police.

Article 3.

* Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 5.

* No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 7.

* All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

People, particularly transgender folks and people of color are often profiled as sex workers and arrested. For example in Washington, DC, officers can arrest people they “presume to be prostitutes” in so-called Prostitution Free Zones.

Article 9 of the Declaration says:

* No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 20.

* (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Criminalization and stigmatization create enormous obstacles to sex workers organizing for labor rights, and sex workers sometimes face discrimination when they seek different work.

Article 23.

* (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
* (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
* (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
* (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 25.

* (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

2009-10-19T11:37:00.001-04:00

Stand in Solidarity with Gumbo YaYa!
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

Greetings community,

Gumbo YaYa wants you to stand in support of healing and creative expression for African American girls and women. Most of you know I help sustain a community-based sister circle called Gumbo YaYa: Creative Expression and Healing for African American Girls and Women. Well soon the project will expand to communities in South Africa and Kenya and continue in Durham, NC.

We want you to stand in solidarity with us! If you believe in our mission and our work email your name and the organization you represent to be listed on our community support page!

Gumbo YaYa is a holistic, arts-based program that directly addresses reproductive justice, awareness, and empowerment of African American girls and women. Established in 2007, Gumbo YaYa draws on the cultural practices of knowledge-sharing, political action, art-making, and community- building created and sustained by African American girls and women.

Gumbo YaYa’s mission is to affirm the health, wellness, and vitality of African American girls and women through creative and expressive healing.

To date, Gumbo YaYa has worked with over 100 women and girls in New York, North Carolina, and New Orleans. We have staged three community performances, and held one community forum.

We have collaborated with a host of like minded individuals who firmly believe in our mission and our work. We have been funded by New York University- ism project grant, New York University- Department of Multi-cultural Programs, Health Medical Research Foundation, The Imperial Court of the Daughters of Isis, Billings & Martin and several private sponsors. We have successfully entered our fall giving season, and raised over 2,000 for our international initiatives.

Here is what coming up...

Winter 09-10: Gumbo YaYa Cycle 3 Planning phase
Spring 2010: Gumbo YaYa Reproductive Justice, Now! begins
Community performance and forum
Summer 2010: Gumbo YaYa South Africa/ Kenya
Fall 2010: Gumbo YaYa documentary short film screening

We want you to stand in solidarity with us! If you believe in our mission and our work email your name and the organization you represent to be listed on our community support page!

Please feel free to share resources with us about grants, funding streams, donations, bartering/freecycling, people doing this work internationally, activities, and more.

We look forward to hearing from you.

In service and solidarity,

Ebony N. Golden

2009-09-25T00:09:00.000-04:00

2009-09-23T13:57:00.001-04:00

3rd Annual In the People's Hands Arts and Activism Project

Community Writing Intensive

Poetry. Hip Hop. Performance. Instead of Prisons.

Contact Ebony Noelle Golden
inthepeopleshands@gmail.com
www.inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com
919.423.3780

Durham, NC—Oct. 1-4 artists from North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, New York, and beyond will gather for the third annual Community Writing Intensive in Durham, NC at the New Horizons School and The People's Channel. This year's theme, "to p.i.m.c. w/ love", is a satirical take on the lack of justice the prison system practices towards people of color and poor people. Visit http://www.inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com to register and see full schedule of events.

Participants will engage poetry, media, hip hop theater, and music as tools for critically and creatively engaging community wellness, prison reform, the school to prison pipeline, and decreasing violence in local communities.

Nia Wilson, Executive Director of SpiritHouse-NC said, "This program is absolutely necessary. Our path to freedom is informed by being able to articulate our stories, our visions, in our own words. SpiritHouse is dedicated to creating these intentional spaces for the entire community to dialogue, write, perform, and heal."

This year’s intensive features:

· Tuition-free workshops
· Workshops led by community poets and community organizers
· Travel Scholarships for commuters
· Youth-led workshops
· Writers-in-Residence
· Performance workshops
· Action-based community dialogue
. Manuscript workshops
. Open-Mic
. Virtual release of e-zine www.inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com
. Establishing a community board of artists and writers in the rooted in the south east

The In the People's Hands Arts and Activism Project is based on June Jordan's 15-year old "Poetry for the People" program. The program "continues to pursue Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a beloved community for all".

June Jordan crafted Poetry for the People with three guiding principles in mind:
1. That students will not take themselves seriously unless we who teach them, honor and respect them in every practical way that we can.
2. That words can change the world and save our lives.
3. That poetry is the highest art and the most exacting service devoted to our most serious, and our most imaginative, deployment of verbs and nouns on behalf of whatever and whoever we cherish.

For more information about June Jordan and Poetry for the People, visit www.poetryforthepeople.org.
This project is made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the We Shall Overcome Fund, The People's Channel, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, and SpiritHouse-NC.

For more information about the intensive, to apply or to donate time, money, or services contact inthepeopleshands@gmail.com, or call Ebony Noelle Golden at 9194233780. To register for the intensive, visit http://inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com/registration.php.

-END-

2009-09-19T00:40:00.001-04:00

2009-09-11T09:29:00.000-04:00

3rd Annual In the People's Hands Arts and Activism Project

Community Writing Intensive

Poetry. Hip Hop. Performance. Instead of Prisons.

Contact

Ebony Noelle Golden For Immediate Release 919.423.3780 www.inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com
inthepeopleshands@gmail.com

Durham, NC—Oct. 1-4 artists from North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, New York, and beyond will gather for the third annual Community Writing Intensive in Durham, NC at the New Horizons School and The People's Channel.

This year's theme, "to p.i.m.c. w/ love", is a satirical take on the lack of justice the prison system practices towards people of color and poor people. The intensive will engage poetry, media, hip hop theater, and music as tools for critically and creatively engaging community wellness, prison reform, the school to prison pipeline, and decreasing violence in local communities.

Nia Wilson, Executive Director of SpiritHouse-NC said, "This program is so absolutely necessary. Our path to freedom is informed by being able to articulate our stories, our visions, in our own words. SpiritHouse is dedicated to creating these intentional spaces for the entire community to dialogue, write, perform, and heal."

This year’s intensive features:
· Tuition-free workshops
· Workshops led by community poets and community organizers
· Travel Scholarships for commuters
· Youth-led programs
· Writers-in-Residence
· Performance workshops
· Action-based community dialogue
. Manuscript workshops
. Open-Mic
. Virtual release of e-zine www.inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com
. Establishing a community board of artists and writers in the rooted in the south east

The In the People's Hands Arts and Activism Project is based on June Jordan's 15-year old "Poetry for the People" program. The program "continues to pursue Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a beloved community for all". June Jordan crafted Poetry for the People with three guiding principles in mind:

1. That students will not take themselves seriously unless we who teach them, honor and respect them in every practical way that we can.
2. That words can change the world and save our lives.
3. That poetry is the highest art and the most exacting service devoted to our most serious, and our most imaginative, deployment of verbs and nouns on behalf of whatever and whoever we cherish.

For more information about June Jordan and Poetry for the People, visit www.poetryforthepeople.org.

The Community Writing Intensive is sponsored by the We Shall Overcome Fund, The People's Channel, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, SpiritHouse-NC, and the North Carolina Humanities Council.

For more information about the intensive, to apply or to donate time, money, or services contact inthepeopleshands@gmail.com, or call Ebony Golden at 9194233780. To register for the intensive, visit http://inthepeopleshands.synthasite.com/registration.php.

-END-

2009-05-19T10:52:00.001-04:00

Zora! Festival

have you all seen this? http://www.zorafestival.com/index.html

FYI: FW: CFP
You have probably seen the call for papers below, posted at our website
over the last year, for the 2010 Zora Neale Hurston (ZNH) Festival of
the Arts and Humanities in Eatonville, Florida (USA) January 23-31,
2010.

The JUNE 1st deadline is around the corner, and your submissions is
enthusiastically anticipated from across disciplines and areas of study.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES , and LISTSERVES.

Taking a minute to forward the email below can make a world of
difference for this academic forum and for the sustainable development
of Eatonville, America's oldest incorporated African American town in
the US.

[Cultural preservation activism has helped this community survive urban
gentrification]

Questions?
See the call below and feel free to contact me directly.

Dr. Deidre Helen Crumbley: ZNH National Planner
Associate Professor/ Africana Studies Program
Interdisciplinary Studies Division Box 7107
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7107, USA

CALL FOR ACADEMIC PAPERS
Invitation:
Scholars are invited to submit papers for the 2010 Zora Neale Hurston
Festival of the Arts and

Humanities (January 23 - 31). The festival theme is "Reflection on the
Life and Legacy of Zora Neale

Hurston 50 Years After Her Death."

The legacy of Zora Neale Hurston is a phenomenon that has undergone a
remarkable

development and expansion in recent decades, embracing, among others,
topics in ethnic identity, social

interactions, feminist theory, and cultural continuity. Hurston's unique
insights into folklore,

performance, and creative expression have invited new interpretation and
inspired emulation, while the

corpus of her own work has grown as a result of research and discovery.
The committee will welcome

papers exploring the dynamic dimensions of the Hurston legacy from
theoretical and/or historical

perspectives and will be especially attentive to appropriate
consideration of past, present, and emerging

scholarly content.

In a tradition of excellence, scholars are encouraged to engage the
literature and discourse of

their respective fields at the same that they present their findings
during the public forum in a form that

is accessible to academics in other disciplines and is also
intellectually stimulating for an intelligent

general audience.

Submission Instructions:

Submit a 150-word abstract along with an 500-word summary of your paper
that of your paper that indicates the

thesis or central question, which you plan to explore, as well as an
idea of the theoretical framework

within which your findings will be considered.

Deadline:

Abstract and summary are due June 1, 2009.

If your work is accepted for the festival, a copy of

the full paper must be submitted by November1, 2009.

Email your submission to:

Deidre Crumbley @: deidre_crumbley&ncsu.edu

AND

N. Y. Nathiri @: apec@cfl.rr.com

Then Mail a Hard Copy to:

Hurston Papers 2010

Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.)

227 East Kennedy Boulevard

Eatonville, Florida 32751

2009-04-08T11:55:00.002-04:00

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative continues the "Working Our Rainbows: Critical Approaches to Africana Women's Performance Methodology" Series

Peace family. As I continue to think about "women's work", political division, art, community and sustainability, I am critically looking at these terms-feminist and womanist and how they create/define/conflate/re-iterate power, everyday "happenings" and creative performance dynamics among Black women.

The Working Our Rainbows Series is an at-home, mobile device, on line lecture series devoted to Black Women in Performance Studies. Please email bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com if you would like to host a lecture!

This weeks lesson:

1. Watch Staceyann Chin's performance of "Feminist or Womanist".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQOmyebFVV8

2. Read Revisiting "What's in a Name?": Exploring the Contours of Africana Womanist Thought
Nikol G Alexander-Floyd, Evelyn M Simien. Frontiers. Boulder:2006. Vol. 27, Iss. 1, p. 67-89,131-132 (25 pp.)

I will email the essay if you would like.

3. Write a letter to yourself answering some or all of these questions: 1. Am I a feminist? 2. Am I a womanist? 3. How do I identify politically, culturally, socially?

4. If you were talking to Alice Walker right now, what would you say to her about womanism? 5. If you were talking to Clenora Hudson Weems right now, what would you say to her about womanism? 6. If you were speaking to Audre Lorde right now, what would you ask her about hybridity? 7. If you were talking to your mama right now what would you ask her about herself?

Hit me up on facebook or respond on my blog here!

Peace and performance!

Ebony Noelle Golden
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com
bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

2009-03-25T10:51:00.001-04:00

Peace Gumbo YaYa Supporters,

Thank you for your generous thoughts, participation and support since the first cycle of Gumbo YaYa in 2007. Gumbo YaYa has travelled from NYC to NC drawing on the power of sisterhood and creative healing in every session or workshop. The second cycle of gumbo yaya is wrapping up in Durham, NC.

Here are a few updates:

New Community Support!
Gumbo YaYa is pleased to announce new sponsor, The Body Shop. The Body Shop (http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/bodyshop/) is providing wellness and beauty items for the Gumbo Yaya Sister Circle and supporters. Many thanks to our awesome intern, Kenya C. Harris, for solidifying this sponsorship. You rock Kenya!

Love is Radical Performance!
Gumbo YaYa is wrapping up its second cycle on 3/29/2009 with a community performance, panel, and potluck.

What: Love is Radical: Performing Mothering, Daughtering, and Sistering
When: 3/29/09, 2:30 pm
Where: 214 Broadway St.
Durham, NC
Who: The Entire Community
Cost: Free
Why: Because we want to share our magic with you!

Please bring a dish, dessert, or beverage for the community potluck.
More Information: bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com or 919.423.3780

Please tell everyone you know to come out and support Gumbo YaYa!

Gumbo on the Go!
A Gumbo YaYa session was presented at the 5th Annual State of the Nation Arts and Performance Festival. Accepted with open arms by a diverse community of artists and activists, women and men engaged in "Brilliant Tomorrows: Sister(ing) as Creative Communal Performance" session in New Orleans, LA. www.sonfestival.org.

Brilliant Tomorrows will also be presented at the first We Are 1 Women's Conference in Durham, NC. The conference seeks to bring women together regardless of sexuality, faith, ethnicity. Check them out at http://www.infinitydiamondclub.com/infinity_diamond_club_015.htm.

On the Horizon...
Gumbo YaYa, the movie!
Gumbo YaYa, the curriculum!

We want to hear from you!
-Join our list serv at http://bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com/contact.php.

-Check out our website and leave a comment at www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com.

In sisterhood and community building,
Gumbo YaYa/ or this is why we speak in tongues

2009-03-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

2009-03-11T10:37:00.000-04:00

ORIGINAL FOR COLORED GIRLS CAST MEMEBER OFFERS PEFORMANCE WORKSHOP!!!

The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB)
--a member of The Institute for Popular Education at the Brecht Forum--
--founded in 1990--
451 West Street
New York, New York 10014
(212) 924-1858
toplab@toplab.org
http://www.toplab.org

The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory presents

Confronting Diabetes with Theater

Two Workshops with Robbie McCauley

Saturday, March 21,2009 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Register online at http://brechtforum.org/events/diabetic-dramas-1?bc=

Saturday, April 25,2009 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Register online at http://brechtforum.org/events/diabetic-dramas-2?bc=

Award-winning actress Robbie McCauley returns to the Brecht Forum to lead
a series of workshops called "Diabetic Dramas" based on subject matter
from her performance piece *Sugar*, which looks at everything there is to
see about sugar, from slavery to colonialism to American mythologies to
diabetes. An ongoing work-in-progress, *Sugar*, which will be presented
again at the Brecht Forum in June, will incorporate some of the story
exchanges by participants in the "Diabetic Drama" workshops facilitated by
Ms. McCauley. Through the interweaving of stories, images, facts and lore
we will see that diabetes is not only a medical issue but also one of race
and class, and we will also see how sugar is sometimes something that is
very bittersweet.

The first Diabetic Drama workshop took place in January and will continue
with two more workshops on March 21 and April 25. It is not necessary to
have attended the January session to enroll in the March or April
sessions.

Robbie McCauley has been an active presence in the American avant-garde
theater for three decades. One of the early cast members of Ntozake
Shange's *for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is
enuf*, Ms. McCauley went on to write and perform regularly in cities across
the country, striving to facilitate dialogs on race between local whites
and blacks.

In the 1990s, she received both an OBIE Award (Best Play) and a New York
Dance and Performance (BESSIE) Award for *Sally's Rape*, which she wrote,
directed and performed.

A core member of the American Festival Project, she has practiced and
taught theater in several communities throughout the US and abroad. She is
anthologized in several books, including Extreme Exposure; Moon Marked and
Touched by Sun; and Performance and Cultural Politics, edited respectively
by Jo Bonney, Sydne Mahone, and Elin Diamond.

In 1998, her *Buffalo Project* was highlighted as one of the "the 51 (or so)
Greatest Avant-Garde Moments" by the Village Voice, a roster that included
work by artists such as Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, and John Cage. Her
recent piece, *Sugar*, a work in progress, was presented at Ohio State
University in collaboration with several institutional departments and
organizations, and with members of Columbus' Near East community.

Robbie McCauley is on the Performing Arts Department faculty at Emerson
College in Boston.

Co-sponsored by the Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB) and the
Brecht Forum.

Tuition--sliding scale: $15-$35

Pre-registration required.

Register online by using the links above or contact TOPLAB at
toplab@toplab.org or (212) 924-1858.

All sessions take place at:

The Brecht Forum
451 West Street*
New York City

* travel directions below

*****

Other Upcoming TOPLAB Workshops

March 28-29: The Rainbow of Desire
(info at http://brechtforum.org/events/rainbow-desire?bc=)

March 29: Closing party for Refuge and Resistance: Reflections on Gendered
Violence (an installation and performance piece conceived and executed by
Ocean Ana Rising)
(info at
http://brechtforum.org/events/ocean-anna-rising-presents-refuge-and-resistance?bc=)

April 18-19: Cop-in-the-Head
(info at http://brechtforum.org/events/cop-head-0?bc=)

May 23-28: Workshops with Augusto Boal
(info from toplab@toplab.org or [212]924-1858)

May 25: An Evening with Augusto Boal
(info at http://brechtforum.org/boalperformance-2009?bc=)

*****

Travel Directions

The Brecht Forum and TOPLAB are at:

451 West Street *
(between Bank and Bethune Streets in the far West Village,
1-1/2 blocks north of West 11 Street)
New York City

* Note: West Street is the same as the West Side Highway

Subway

IND Eighth Avenue A, C, or E to 14 Street or BMT Canarsie L to Eighth
Avenue (take a few minutes to look at "Life Underground", Tom Otterness'
series of whimsical bronze sculptures scattered throughout both sections
of the station). Walk down Eighth Avenue (against the traffic) to Bank
Street (at Abingdon Square). Turn right on Bank and walk west to West
Street. Turn right, walk a quarter-block to 451.

IRT Seventh Avenue 1, 2, or 3 trains to 14 Street. Exit at the south (12
Street) end of the station. Walk a short block west, across 12 Street, to
Greenwich Avenue. Turn left and walk one block to Bank Street. Turn right,
walk west on Bank Street to Abingdon Square. Bank Street continues on the
other side of the park; keep walking on Bank Street to West Street. Turn
right, walk a quarter-block to 451.

New Jersey PATH train to Christopher Street. Walk north (with the traffic)
on Greenwich Street to Bank Street. Turn left, walk west on Bank Street to
West Street. Turn right, walk a quarter-block to 451.

(From Penn Station or Port Authority Bus Terminal take the IND Eighth
Avenue A, C or E trains downtown to 14 Street and follow the directions
above. From Grand Central Station take the IRT Lexington Avenue 4, 5 or 6
trains downtown to 14 Street/Union Square and then change to the BMT
Canarsie L train heading toward Eighth Avenue. Follow the directions
above.)

Bus

#8 (Ninth/Christopher Streets crosstown) to Christopher and West Streets,
walk up West Street to 451.

#11 (Ninth and Tenth Avenues): From uptown--to Abingdon Square (at Bethune
Street). Walk south one very short block to Bank Street, turn right, walk
west to West Street. Turn right, walk a quarter-block to 451. No service
from downtown--Abingdon Square is the terminal stop.

#14A (Grand/Essex Streets/Avenue A/Fourteenth Street crosstown) to
Abingdon Square (at Bethune Street). Walk south one very short block to
Bank Street, turn right, walk west to West Street. Turn right, walk a
quarter-block to 451.

#20 (Seventh Avenue and Hudson Street/Eighth Avenue): From downtown--to
Abingdon Square (at Bethune Street). Walk south one very short block to
Bank Street, turn right, walk west to West Street. Turn right, walk a
quarter-block to 451. From uptown--to 12 Street (near St. Vincent
Hospital). Walk a short block west, across 12 Street, to Greenwich Avenue.
Turn left and walk one block to Bank Street. Turn right, walk west on Bank
Street to Abingdon Square. Bank Street continues on the other side of the
park; keep walking on Bank Street to West Street. Turn right, walk a
quarter-block to 451.

Car

Drive west on 11 Street all the way to West Street (West Side Highway).
Turn right for one block, to 451, between Bank and Bethune Streets.

Along the West Side Highway: From downtown--stay to the right and follow
the Highway to 451, between Bank and Bethune Streets. From uptown: Take
the Highway to Clarkson Street (exit left), make a U-turn at Clarkson and
proceed back up the Highway to 451, between Bank and Bethune Streets.

Note that there is no legal parking on many parts of West Street before
6:00 pm, and parking on the surrounding streets is scarce. Fines for
illegal parking are a minimum of $115, and your car could be towed.
Retrieval can cost you as much as $300. Fees at parking lots and garages
can run as high as $35 a day. WE URGE YOU TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

===
The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB)
toplab@toplab.org
http://www.toplab.org

"My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the
battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
--George W. Bush, May 1, 2003

"...I told the American people that the road ahead would be difficult, and
that we would prevail. Well, it has been difficult--and we are
prevailing."
--George W. Bush, June 28, 2005

"Our cause in Iraq is noble and necessary....America is engaged in a new
struggle that will set the course for a new century. We can and we will
prevail."
--George W. Bush, January 10, 2007

"Prevailing in Iraq is not going to be easy."
--George W. Bush, March 19, 2007

+U.S. military fatalities through May 1, 2003: 140
+U.S. military fatalities through June 28, 2005: 1743
+U.S. military fatalities through January 11, 2007: 3017
+U.S. military fatalities through March 19, 2007: 3217
+U.S. military fatalities as of March 10, 2009: 4256 (this figure exceeds
the number of people killed in all of the incidents that occurred on
September 11, 2001)

+Iraqi deaths due to the US invasion, as of September 2004 (estimated by
The Lancet): 100,000+
+Iraqi deaths due to the US invasion, as of July 2006 (estimated by The
Lancet): 654,965
+Iraqi deaths due to the US invasion, as of March 10, 2009 (estimated
by Just Foreign Policy): 1,311,696*

*These figures are based on the number of deaths estimated in The Lancet
(the British medical journal) study through July 2006, and then updated
based "on how quickly deaths are mounting in Iraq". To do that, Just
Foreign Policy multiplies The Lancet figure as of July 2006 by the ratio
of current deaths reported by Iraq Body Count (IBC), divided by IBC deaths
as of July 1, 2006. The IBC numbers, considerably lower than those cited
by The Lancet, Opinion Research Business (a British polling firm which
estimated 1.2 million Iraqi deaths as of September 2007), and even the
Iraq Ministry of Health, are based on the number of fatalities cited in
various news reports and have been criticized, with much justification,
for not giving an accurate assessment of the real Iraqi death count. The
much more rigorous and statistically-reliable study, conducted by teams
from Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University and Al-Mustansiriya
University, and published in The Lancet in September 2004, put the figure
at around 100,000 civilians dead. However, that data had been based on
"conservative assumptions", according to research team leader Les Roberts,
and the actual count at that time was credibly assumed to be significantly
higher. For example, The Lancet study's data greatly underestimated
fatalities in Fallujah due to the surveying problems encountered there at
that time. The second Lancet study, released on October 10, 2006,
indicated that 654,965 "excess" deaths of Iraqis have occurred since the
outbreak of the aggression and genocide committed by the United States
against the people of Iraq. The current figures provided by Just Foreign
Policy seem to be logically consistent with the increasing rates of death
from 2003 to 2004, and 2004 to 2006.

Sources: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
http://icasualties.org/oif/
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
http://www.zmag.org/lancet.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1338749,00.html
http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/Iraq_war.html
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=6271
http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20041025/008279.html
http://www.thelancet.com/webfiles/images/journal/lancet/s0140673606694919.pdf

2009-03-10T12:22:00.001-04:00

2009-03-05T19:14:00.001-05:00

Gumbo YaYa Celebrates Women's History Month
with Love is Radical:
Approaches to Mother(ing), Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing)

Contact: Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
Media Alert
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com
www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Durham, NC- March 5, 2009

Gumbo YaYa, ushers in Women's History Month with a four-part series of creative arts workshops, performances, and community-wide discussions about the beautiful complexity of relationships among women of the African diaspora.

Gumbo YaYa Dates of Importance:
March 8: The Aesthetics of Intimacy: Daughter(ing) as Communal Performance with Ebony Noelle Golden

March 15: Love is Radical: Performing Mother(ing), Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing) with Gumbo YaYa Sister Circle

March 22: Performance Rehearsal

March 29: Community Performance and Panel Discussion with the Gumbo YaYa Sister Circle (this performance is open to the entire community)

Nancy (Nia) Wilson, executive director of SpiritHouse-NC, shares, "Thank you to our sponsors: The North Carolina Humanities Council, Healing with CAARE, Inc., betty's daughter arts collaborative, and everyone who has supported this process by providing child care, cooking a meal, or attending a session. Gumbo YaYa is such a wonderful way to begin or continue building a healthy relationship between women and girls in our communities."

Ebony Noelle Golden, creative director of Gumbo YaYa, is over-joyed by the response. "Our sessions have been generously attended every week. Mothers have brought their daughters and granddaughters. I can't wait to see what the final performance brings, and what the lasting effect of this 12-week session will be."

The "sista circle" uses improvisation, dance, journaling, meditation, storytelling, photography, theater, poetry, and music to explore the intergenerational relationships among black mothers, daughters, and sisters.

All sessions, materials, performances, and discussions are free for participants and audience members. Gumbo YaYa provides child care and dinner during every "sista circle". Participants do not have to be students, or affiliated with any particular institution to participate.

For more information about Gumbo YaYa visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com, or email bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com.

--
Ebony N. Golden, MFA, MA
Creative Director
bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Hire Betty's Daughter for your arts consulting needs!
"creating radical expressiveness in community"

Check out...Gumbo Yaya/or this is why we speak in tongues
"Creative Healing and Expression for Women of the Diaspora"
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

2009-02-26T23:59:00.000-05:00

Gumbo YaYa Celebrates Women's History Month
with Love is Radical:
Approaches to Mother(ing), Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing):
Creative Arts Workshops, Performance, and Panel" (2:00-5:00)

Contact: Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
Media Alert
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com
www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Durham, NC- Feb. 26, 2009

Gumbo YaYa, ushers in Women's History Month with a series of creative arts workshops, performances, and community-wide discussions about the beautiful complexity of relationships among women of the African diaspora.

Gumbo YaYa Dates of Importance:
March 1: Alt(a)rations: Building Sacred Space in Community with SpiritHouse (this session will begin at CAARE and move to other sites.)
March 8: The Aesthetics of Intimacy: Daughter(ing) as Communal Performance with Ebony Noelle Golden
March 15: Love is Radical: Performing Mother(ing), Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing) with Gumbo YaYa Sister Circle
March 22: Performance Rehearsal
March 29: Community Performance and Panel Discussion with the Gumbo YaYa Sister Circle (this performance is open to the entire community)

Nancy (Nia) Wilson, executive director of SpiritHouse-NC, shares, "Thank you to our sponsors: The North Carolina Humanities Council, Healing with CAARE, Inc., betty's daughter arts collaborative, and everyone who has supported this process by providing child care, cooking a meal, or attending a session. Gumbo YaYa is such a wonderful way to begin or continue building a healthy relationship between women and girls in our communities."

Ebony Noelle Golden, creative director of Gumbo YaYa, is over-joyed by the response. "Our sessions have been generously attended every week. Mothers have brought their daughters and granddaughters. I can't wait to see what the final performance brings, and what the lasting effect of this 12-week session will be."

The "sista circle" uses improvisation, dance, journaling, meditation, storytelling, photography, theater, poetry, and music to explore the intergenerational relationships among black mothers, daughters, and sisters.

All sessions, materials, performances, and discussions are free for participants and audience members. Gumbo YaYa provides child care and dinner during every "sista circle". Participants do not have to be students, or affiliated with any particular institution to participate.

For more information about Gumbo YaYa visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com, or email bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com.

--
Ebony N. Golden, MFA, MA
Creative Director
bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Hire Betty's Daughter for your arts consulting needs!
"creating radical expressiveness in community"

Check out...Gumbo Yaya/or this is why we speak in tongues
"Creative Healing and Expression for Women of the Diaspora"
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

2009-02-17T18:14:00.001-05:00

Gumbo YaYa Continues Feb. 22
with "Meditation and Creative Visioning:
Building Intergenerational Bridges Among Black Women and Girls" led by Kenya Harris (3:00-5:30)

Contact: Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
Media Alert
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com
www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Durham, NC- Feb. 17, 2009

The North Carolina Humanities Council and SpiritHouse-NC sponsor a creative healing and expression process for women and girls of the African diaspora in Durham, NC. We are pleased to announce that Kenya Harris, Gumbo YaYa's Intern, will lead this session along with two youth participants Bryonna and Nadirah.

The 12-week process, Gumbo YaYa, began January 4 and as is now gearing up to enter its third month with a series of performance workshops that will lead up to the final performance, March 29. Gumbo YaYa continues to incorporate methods for growth,expression, and community-building to actualize individual and artistic processes. The theme of this session is "Love is Radical: Approaches to Mothering, Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing)".

The "sista circle" uses improvisation, dance, journaling, meditation, storytelling, photography, theater, poetry, and music to explore the intergenerational relationships among black mothers, daughters, and sisters.

All sessions, materials, performances, and discussions are free for participants and audience members. Gumbo YaYa will provide child care and dinner during every "sista circle". Participants do not have to be students, or affiliated with any particular institution to participate.

Ebony Noelle Golden, Creative Director of Gumbo YaYa thanks the North Carolina Humanities Council, SpiritHouse-NC, and Healing with CAARE, Inc. for their generous sponsorship.

Nancy "Mama Nia" Wilson, Executive Director of SpiritHouse-NC said, "We are really looking forward to hosting Gumbo YaYa. This process will definitely help to continue conversations black women and girls are having about how we relate to each other. We hope this process helps mothers, daughters, and sisters strengthen their relationships with each other and the larger communities."

For more information about Gumbo YaYa visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com, or email bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com.

--
Ebony N. Golden, MFA, MA
Creative Director
bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Hire Betty's Daughter for your arts consulting needs!
"creating radical expressiveness in community"

Check out...Gumbo Yaya/or this is why we speak in tongues
"Creative Healing and Expression for Women of the Diaspora"
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

2009-02-17T18:10:00.000-05:00

2009-02-12T14:22:00.001-05:00

Gumbo YaYa "Sista Circle" Continues with Feb. 15
with "Dancing with Our Spirits: Understanding Our Lives Through Rhythm" with
Mabinti Shabu (3:00-5:30)

Contact: Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
Media Alert
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Durham, NC- Feb. 12, 2009

The North Carolina Humanities Council and SpiritHouse-NC sponsor a creative healing and expression process for women and girls of the African diaspora in Durham, NC. We are pleased to announce that Mabinti Shabu of The Magic of African Rhythm will lead the Gumbo YaYa Sisters in a 4-session choreolab that will inform and enhance the participants individual lives and craft the choreography for the final community performance, March 29.

The 12-week process, Gumbo YaYa, began January 4 and as is now in its second month. Gumbo YaYa continues to incorporate methods for growth,expression, and community-building to actualize individual and artistic processes. The theme is "Love is Radical: Approaches to Mothering, Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing)".

Up-coming Sister Circles Include

Feb. 22, "Meditation and Creative Visioning: Building Intergenerational Bridges Among Black
Women and Girls"

The "sista circle" uses improvisation, dance, journaling, meditation, storytelling, photography, theater, poetry, and music to explore the intergenerational relationships between black mothers, daughters, and sisters. The "sista circle" series culminates in multimedia theater performance March 29.

All sessions, materials, performances, and discussions are free for participants and audience members. Gumbo YaYa will provide child care and dinner during every "sista circle". Participants do not have to be students, or affiliated with any particular institution to participate.

Ebony Noelle Golden, Creative Director of Gumbo YaYa thanks the North Carolina Humanities Council, SpiritHouse-NC, and Healing with CAARE, Inc. for their generous sponsorship.

Nancy "Mama Nia" Wilson, Executive Director of SpiritHouse-NC said, "We are really looking forward to hosting Gumbo YaYa. This process will definitely help to continue conversations black women and girls are having about how we relate to each other. We hope this process helps mothers, daughters, and sisters strengthen their relationships with each other and the larger communities."

For more information about Gumbo YaYa visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com, or email bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com.

2009-02-03T12:33:00.001-05:00

Get Hip and Get Some Free Poetry in Your Life!

Greetings lovers of poetry, art, and culture!

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative is now accepting poetry, residency, and performance bookings for Black History, Women's History, and National Poetry Months.

If your organization, non or for profit, is located in New York and California, as well as in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Seattle, New Orleans, Tucson, and Washington D.C, you are in luck! Poets & Writers, an organization dedicated to bringing literary arts to communities across the country, will help pay the honorarium. Just visit http://www.pw.org/funding for more information.

Here is a short list of what I can offer:

1. Residencies: Poetry, Spoken Word, Performance Poetry, Experimental and Community-Based Performance
2. Readings: Poetry, New Works, Performance Works (original works)
3. Workshops: 1 hr, 1 1/2 hrs
4. Combos: Performance and Workshop
5. Teacher/ Artist Trainings: 1 hr, 1 1/2 hrs

Visit
http://bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com/a-poetics-of-process.php for teaching philosophy and sample lesson plan.

Bio:
Ebony Noelle Golden is the daughter of Pearl Glover, Bertha Sims and Betty Sims. She is a native of Houston, TX. Ebony holds a BA in English Literature and Poetry from Texas A & M University an MFA in Poetry from American University and a MA in Performance Studies from New York University. Ebony is an artist and cultural worker who has been awarded grants from the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Fund for Southern Communities, North Carolina A & T University and New York University. She has been published by Black Issues and Books Review, American Book Review, Obsidian, Pluck, and Third World Press. Ebony serves as the creative director of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative, a boutique arts consulting group, based in NYC and NC. Her current projects include, “Gumbo Ya/Ya or This is Why We Speak in Tongues”, Images: for Younger SiStars, The Community Writing Intensive, i hear you breathing for me/ an embodied blues for meagan williams (multi-media performance) and “again, the water carriers” (a full length book of poetry). Ebony’s work is informed by her ancestral and spiritual family, guides, and homes, primarily. She can be reached at bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com or ww.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com.

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative looks forward to working with you to create "radical expressiveness in community".

Yours truly in the arts,

Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

2009-01-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

Gumbo YaYa in Action: Intern, Corporate Sponsorship, and More!

Greetings Gumbo YaYa Supporters,

We are excited to announce that Gumbo YaYa enters the 2nd month of the 2nd cycle this Sunday.

Our session this week is: “Mother. Ourselves.” facilitated by Alexis Pauline Gumbs & Zachari Curtis.
Check http://iamnotaproject.wordpress.com/calendar-of-events/ for the description.

All events are held at 214 Broadway St. in Durham, NC. We begin at 3 pm and end at 5:30 pm.

Interns!
Also, let's virtually and collectively welcome Ms. Kenya C. Harris and Queen Precious Jewel Earth Zabriski to the Gumbo YaYa planning committee. Kenya is our official Intern and Queen has organized and supported community-based initiatives in Durham for many years. We are blessed to have them.

Corporate Sponsorship
Additonally, It is indeed a pleasure to inform you all that Gumbo YaYa is currently finalizing the details of our first corporate sponsorship with American Express. This funding will allow us to buy books, gift cards, and could possibly fund our weekend retreat! We will keep you updated about the specifics in up-coming messages.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. You all are why Gumbo YaYa continues to float easy.

Calm Spirits and Cool Waters,
Ebony Noelle Golden, MFA, MA
Gumbo YaYa
Creative Director
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com
www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com

2009-01-28T12:45:00.001-05:00

Gumbo YaYa "Sista Circle" Continues with

"Mother. Ourselves" Interactive Workshop led by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and

Zachari Curtis (3:00-5:30)

Contact: Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative
Media Alert
bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com www.bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Durham, NC- Jan. 28, 2009

The North Carolina Humanities Council and SpiritHouse-NC sponsor a creative healing and expression process for women and girls of the African diaspora Durham, NC. The 12-week process, Gumbo YaYa, began January 4 and will continue to March 29 with a creative performance. Now in its second month, Gumbo Yaya continues to incorporate methods for growth,expression, and community-building to actualize individual and artistic processes. The theme is "Love is Radical: Approaches to Mothering, Daughter(ing), and Sister(ing)".

Up-coming Sister Circles Include

Feb. 1, "Mother. Ourselves." with Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Zachari Curtis.
Feb. 8, "In The Beginning Was Her Word: Empowering Women One Story At A Time", with Dr. Anjail Rashida Ahmad.Feb. 15, "The Healing Practice of Dance"
Feb. 22, "Meditation and Creative Visioning: Building Intergenerational Bridges Among Black
Women and Girls"

The "sista circle" uses methods such as improvisation, dance, journaling, meditation, storytelling, photography, theater, poetry, and music to explore the intergenerational relationships between black mothers, daughters, and sisters. The "sista circle" series culminates in multimedia theater performance at the end of March.

All sessions, materials, performances, and discussions are free for participants and audience members. Gumbo YaYa will provide child care and dinner during every "sista circle". Participants do not have to be students, or affiliated with any particular institution to participate.
Ebony Noelle Golden, Creative Director of Gumbo YaYa thanks the North Carolina Humanities Council, SpiritHouse-NC, and Healing with CAARE, Inc. for their generous sponsorship. Nancy "Mama Nia" Wilson, Executive Director of SpiritHouse-NC said, "We are really looking forward to hosting Gumbo YaYa. This process will definitely help to continue conversations black women and girls are having about how we relate to each other. We hope this process helps mothers, daughters, and sisters strengthen their relationships with each other and the larger communities."

For more information about Gumbo YaYa visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com, or email bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com.

--
Ebony N. Golden, MFA, MA
Creative Director
bettysdaughterarts.synthasite.com

Hire Betty's Daughter for your arts consulting needs!
"creating radical expressiveness in community"

Check out...Gumbo Yaya/or this is why we speak in tongues
"Creative Healing and Expression for Women of the Diaspora"
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

2009-01-21T12:22:00.000-05:00

Greetings Gumbo YaYa Supporters,

Last week's session "Brilliant Tomorrows: Sister(ing) as Communal Creative Performance" was a success! We had 20 women in attendance as we engaged diverse ways of practicing sisterhood.

This sunday features an extended gourd making and percussion workshop, HandWork to HeartWork" led by Connie Leeper of Kannapolis, NC. The session will begin at 2:30 and end 6:30. All programs happen at Healing with CAARE, Inc on 214 Broadway St in Durham, NC.

We are also pleased to announce that two of our youth, Nadirah and Bryonna, will lead us in a meditation and visualization activity to start the workshop.

As always, dinner and child care will be provided.

Additionally, please see the link to more pictures of the Everlasting Life workshop from our second week. Thank you sister Courtney Powell-X for the photography work.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sis.courtney/GumboYaya?authkey=vLMkbfNO_IU#5293620404058243410

Please visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com and leave us a note!

2009-01-11T14:33:00.001-05:00

Greetings Gumbo YaYa Supporters,

Below you will find upcoming Sister Circle information. Please forward to Black women and girls you think may be interested in coming.

As with all circles, refreshments and child care are provided.
For more information, visit www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com or bettysdaughterarts@gmail.com

Jan. 18. “Brilliant Tomorrows: Sister(ing) as Communal Creative Performance”
Ebony Noelle Golden

Workshop Description- How are black women taught to sister? What are the some of the rites, rituals, and performances of sistering? How can we honor the space and practice of sistering? In this session, participants will engage in poetry, performance, music, and movement activities that help us create a vocabulary for active, present, and radical sistering.

The workshop is informed by the work and scholarship of Alice Coltrane, Romare Bearden, Ntozake Shange, Augosto Boal, Anna Deveare Smith, Nina Simone, Zora Neale Hurston, Soyini Madison, among others.

Jan. 25 “HandWork to HeartWork” Gourd Making & Percussion Connie Leeper

On the surface, this workshop is about music and gourd making. On a deeper level, it is more about connection…connection to ourselves, playfulness, imagination, culture, health and community. No experience necessary. Must be willing to be open, welcoming & ready to learn and teach. This workshop only requires that you bring your whole self into a process of intentional creativity.

Feb. 1 “Mother. Ourselves.” Alexis Pauline Gumbs & Zachari Curtis What happens when a life’s work stretches to include many lifetimes and multiple bodies? What models of communication allow those of us living in the flesh on this plane to access the imperatives of ancestors and the unborn? This exploration of the practice of spiritual daughterhood demonstrates and investigates radical connection as a calling and a strategy for healing and action.

Presented by three spiritual daughters of Durham visionary artist, educator and now ancestor Nayo Watkins, “Mother. Ourselves.” is both a performative tribute to Mama Nayo’s life and energy and a model for communication across the presumed limits of life itself. Mama Nayo understood the necessity of the creative process to radical political struggle and healing. This is how she lives with us now; reaching forward and back, moving away and drawing us together.

Time, distance, dis(ease), death, scarcity if asserted as essential, linear, terminal, logical, confine individuals and disrupt communication across seemingly impermeable barriers. What we know already is that we already have everything we need in order to reclaim, remember, revision ourselves, together, free. As Nayo put it, “You already know all you need to know… It’s in your bones.”

Feb. 8 “In The Beginning Was Her Word: Empowering Women One Story At A Time”

Dr. Anjail Rashida Ahmad

Over the millennia, women have held societies together word of mouth, hand to hand and vision by vision simply by the words issued from their tongues. The word or the power of one’s intention spoken into existence is the essence of who we are and can be a force that drives the unfolding of our life experiences. This speaking often takes the shape of stories both narrative and poetic. It’s the power of one’s own story articulated and shared that can have a most transforming effect throughout our societies both private and public.

In this workshop, Dr. Ahmad will lead us in uncovering the essence of the words lying at the bottom of our own hearts and use them to formulate our stories/poems/womanifestas-what desires to be spoken that has not yet been uttered.

Participants should bring a photograph of themselves preferably from the remote past. Use black and white if you have it or copy with a black and white copier. Together we will write autobiographically/biographically, herstorically inspired poems. Come prepared to be reaffirmed, to search-out the words and images, to gather and shape them and to share that which has the power to make us whole.

2009-01-06T19:29:00.000-05:00

Get Hip and Get Your Necessary Dose of Gumbo YaYa!

January 5, 2009 –A New Year and new process to get the job done
On this new show in the New Year, we talk about upcoming events and setting goals for 2009.
Phyllis Coley, editor of Spectacular magazine and Ebony Noelle Golden creative director of Gumbo Yaya gives us a lot of new information to think about. Phyllis shares info on the upcoming Jan 31 celebration of Martin Luther King in Durham. Ebony tells us about the weekly sisterhood circles that she is guiding. Each of my guests use a process unique to them that I know you will find interesting and can be used as a guide to strengthen your own goals in 2009. Join the conversation and send me your goals that you have set for 2009.

Visit at www.richardbrownshow.com to listen to and download the podcast.

Visit Gumbo YaYa at www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

2008-12-29T03:01:00.000-05:00

2008-10-27T14:56:00.002-04:00

October 27, 2008
Gumbo YaYa/ or this is why we speak in tongues travels~~~~south!

It is that time, again. Last year Gumbo YaYa/ or this is why we speak in tongues worked magic in NYC. Almost a year to date, I sent out this email to women for support of this so fresh and so necessary improvisational, sista-circle, healing, performance opportunity.

I am Ebony Golden currently living in Manhattan and working as an arts consultant and performer. Over the last year, I had the wonderful pleasure of working with a beautiful group of women who helped me think through what Womanist Performance Methodology and Practice is about. I had the opportunity to study with, learn from, and make trouble with some of the flyest sistas around. We honored ourselves. We were able to be honest. And we participated as we could. I would not have graduated without them.

I add these sistas to my infinitely growing family of sistas around the country. I am so blessed to work and dream with you all. Thank you Ayanna, Geneva, Joi, Cammile, Chelsea, RonAmber, Crystal, Tonya, Samantha, and everyone else who participated along with the rest of my family in DC, TX, GA, NC, IL CA, LA, and in other spaces. You hold me up, thank you.

It is time to begin the 2nd cycle of Gumbo YaYa! Through the generous funding and support of SpiritHouse-NC, North Carolina Humanities Council, Healing with CAARE the 2nd cycle will happen in Durham, NC.

I am dedicated to my healing, the healing of the women in my family and extended family, and the world. This is a process we are creating everywhere, let's continue to tap in together and see what shifts.

This process will have a few opportunities for performance, live and virtual, but mostly I am interested in articulating a poetics of womanist performance process and methodology that can be reproduced by us every where to heal ourselves and this world.

NEED

1- Intern interested in arts management, performance, grassroots activism, media relations, and social justice. Applicant must be flexible, a self-starter, and dependable. Applicant must be based in Durham-NC (or close by). Course credit and possible stipend available.

NEED

Women and girls to participate. If you know of a school, community center, or pre-existing program who might be interested in collaborating, let me know.

NEED

I need you to tell our story. A small group of sistas who are not afraid to undertake this work with me, whether they understand exactly where it is headed or not. Sistas who enjoy movement, music, writing, photography, people, good food, performing, making a fuss about us (black women), and who are not afraid to say we (black women) matter anywhere in this world.

NEEDS

1. sistas to perform several times during a 12-week period and beyond
2. videographer/ photographer/ editor
3. choreographer
4. stage manager
5. 'zine designer
6. web designer

NEEDS
1. voice recorders, tapes
2. gift cards (Target would be excellent)
3. performance space
4. video recorders, tapes, dvd
5. money, frequent flyer miles, train tickets, gas cards!!!

did I say money? oh, and money!

NEEDS

Your stories. Some of you are far away from me right now. But I would love to interview you about you and your healing process. Let's set up some time for phone interviews. I travel often, and maybe we can get together and talk.

Every one is invited to NC in March 09 to see a pivotal step in this journey. Can't wait.

Please take a look at the updated web site and leave poems, videos, letters, and words of encouragement on the Poetic Healing page.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Cool Spirits and Calm Waters,

--
Ebony N. Golden, MFA, American University
Performance Studies MA, NYU
Gumbo Yaya/or this is why we speak in tongues
Creative Director
www.iamnotaproject.wordpress.com

www.communityspeak.wordpress.com

2008-09-04T23:25:00.001-04:00

2nd Annual Community Writing Intensive

2008-08-16T16:25:00.001-04:00

support critical resistance in durham, nc

2008-07-09T11:17:00.001-04:00

2008-05-22T00:24:00.001-04:00

Women, Rock! and Politics Conference 2008
Institute for Women's Studies, UGA
Athens, Georgia

Everyone is welcome to this free conference. For information on local
accommodations, registration, and other details, go to http://www.uga.edu/iws/wrp08.html

Athens locals don't miss keynote performance by queer and feminist rock icon
Gretchen Phillips, 6pm Saturday
(http://www.queermusicheritage.us/aug2005.html) and after-conference party
with guest dj Melissa York.

Conference Program

Friday, May 30, Edge Hall, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, UGA

5:00 Opening reception

5:30 Welcome and Introductions

6:00 Fred Maus “52 Girls” A talk on the women of the B52s

7:00 Latin-American Scenes
Lesley Feracho , “Contesting the Nation :Women and Rock in Latin America”
Patricia Vergara “Funkeiras: Transgressing the Place of the Poor, Black, and
Female in Rio de Janeiro”

SATURDAY, May 31, Tasty World, downtown Athens

12:00 Brunch Buffet

1:00 Girls Rock Camps Collective, “Creativity, Community and Confidence
through Rock & Roll: Girls Rock Camps”

2:15 Rocking the Margins
Matt Jones, "(Re)discovering the Music of Judee Sill"
Sarah Cozort, “Women in Experimental Music”

3:00 Break

3:15 Stella Pace, “Riot Grrrl Self-Esteem Now: A Multimedia Performance”

4:00 Hip/Hop Feminisms
Ebony Noelle Golden, “Sonic Soul: Erykah Badu's Performance Practice”
Sarah Young Ngoh, “Black Motherhood in Hip/Hop and R&B Music”
Marnie Binfield, “Women’s Contributions to ‘Conscious Rap’”

5:45 Break

6:00 Keynote Performance/Presentation Gretchen Phillips

9:00- After-party at Tasty World with special DJ Melissa York, of The Butchies
midnite

UGA to host second annual conference on Women, Rock! and Politics

Athens, Ga.—The Institute for Women’s Studies at the University of Georgia is
hosting its second annual conference, Women, Rock and Politics, from Friday,
May 30 to Saturday, May 31.

This year’s conference brings together a great range of talks, images, and
performances on topics ranging from Girls Rock Camps, to hip hop feminism, to
the riot grrrl movement, to women in rock in Latin America.

The conference will begin on Friday at 5:00 p.m. with a reception and
presentations in Edge Hall at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music on the
University of Georgia campus, followed by a talk on the women of the B-52s by
renowned music scholar Fred Maus (UVA). Saturday's presentations and
performances, including keynote performance by rock icon Gretchen Phillips,
and conference after-party with guest dj Melissa York, will be at Tasty World in
downtown Athens. For a full program please visit www.uga.edu/iws.

The conference is free and open to the public. Edge Hall is located in the Hugh
Hodgson School of Music, Third Floor, at 250 River Rd on the eastside of
campus. Tasty World is located at 312 East Broad Street in downtown Athens,
Ga. For more information contact the Institute for Women’s Studies at 706-
542-2846.

Molly Moreland Myers
Public Relations Coordinator
Institute for Women's Studies
University of Georgia
706-542-0066 (voice)
706-542-0049 (fax)
momolly@uga.edu

variations on the same riff

2008-03-27T02:20:00.001-04:00

you knew
when you placed that light inside me
when you licked this gold mine like you knew x marked the spot
when you stole my eyes
when you said rest here and waited three seasons
for peace to dwell in my pulse
when you measured my laughs in teaspoons of rain and breath
when you wrapped my hair in your skin
and carved an ankh on my lips
and softened the span of my hips
and charmed my neck roll
and said rest here and waited for the tides to subside in my step

you knew you knew
your face would be infinitely written on any future-brotha
your thumb print could never be washed from the inside of my left thigh
your scent would mingle in my every folicle
you knew
i would pass someone in a city you never visit and look twice and think its you
although you never visit

you knew
i would say hello hello twice like that
and wait for the sax in your voice to be revealed

hello hello

you knew how much i believe in god

and that even if i carved myself into some distant unthinkable corner of this earth
even if i went underground cause of some extraordinary revolutionary shit i got hooked up with

even if i forgot my own name cause my memory decided to swim away from me

i would never forget you

sista circle goes live!!!

2008-03-13T11:07:00.001-04:00

You thought you were too far away to participate in a performance process going on in NYC, well you were wrong.Calling all sistas who got something to say about blackness, womanness and artistic process. For more information visit www.imanotaproject.wordpress.com.

Please answer the questions below in any form you choose: a poem, letter, story, list, sketch, dance, meal, outfit or what ever!

Then send it to me at furiousflower@gmail.com along with a bio and picture or yourself and what you created.

Please note if you want your ideas to be kept private, just let me know and I will honor your wishes

So here is the assignment:

As the Gumbo Yaya Sistre transition into thinking about our personal narratives of healing and spirituality, I would like to extend this process around awareness, identification, and literary production to all the sistas who come in contact with this email.

-please complete the questionnaire below

then,

choose one of the following prompts and engage with it in your own way-

-a letter written to yourself as an infant

-a letter written to yourself as an elder

-an interview between you and a sista younger or older than you.

Questionnaire-

Please answer the following prompts-

-what does it mean to be a black woman to you? do you identify yourself as a black woman?

-what is black women’s art? is this important to identify? should art be universal?

-what does it mean to be an artist to you? do you identify yourself as an artist?

-what does womanism mean to you? do you identify yourself as womanist?

-if you could ask your mother one question about her journey as a black woman or artist, womanist, or spiritualist, what would you ask her?

-if you could ask your daughter or future daughter about her journey as a black woman or artist, womanst, or spiritualist, what would you ask her?

-is there anything that gets in the way of your process as a black woman artist womanist spiritualist?

-is there anything that supports your process as a black woman artist womanist spiritualist?

-what does an artistic process look like to/for you? do you have an artistic process?

-what comprises a womanist artistic process? is there such a process? should we (we being black women cultural producers) be concerned with this process?

Life and Peace,
Ebony Golden
furiousflower@gmail.com

2007-12-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

Asanas for Megan Williams
i am trying to think about the intentional process of invisibility around the violence acted against Megan Williams. i am still trying to wrap my brain and my heart around this case and what our collective responses could be.

i am trying to think about how trauma stifles my ability to respond to acts of violence in my community and around the world. is it that my trauma stops me from acting when i see other black women traumatized? what do we do next? is it these historical traumas that some how shift my body back to a time when i could not say anything, or bear the same trauma my sista experienced, or worse? is choosing not to act against our historical or contemporary trauma a mechanism for keeping our safe, in some way?

i am trying to think about how i can take back my body from trauma. what does an embodied resistance look like? perhaps, it looks like a body, full of light, harnessing her strength, and refusing to be frozen by trauma. perhaps, it is a body who refuses to have her tongue tied by fear. maybe embodied resistance is a heart that refuses to stop beating, that refuses to have the love pressed out of it.

embodied resistance, could be black women free from heart disease, diabetes, womb disease, mental disease. embodied resistance could be black women freeing their bodies from food, cultural pressures, drugs, alcohol, social pressures... as i write this i am sure embodied resistance is all of these acts and more.

i am trying to think about how to process this trauma against our sista megan williams in an intimate, real, transformative way. i am looking to find a way for individuals to actively participate in a healing movement for Megan Williams no matter whereever they are. here is a call to action for anyone interested in sharing healing evergy with our sista. you don't have to march, protest, write a letter. you don't have to leave your dorm room, you warm living room, you can even do it on the train, at a stop light, on the bus.

i am asking for everyone who reads this post to dedicate one minute of yogic practice, meditation, or breath work to Megan Williams. if you are not a yoga person to do one or two stretches for her. if you are advanced do a head stand or full lotus position for her. take a moment or two out of your day to breath deeply, complete some fire breaths, or kemetic breaths for Megan Williams.

as you are doing this, think about her healing, send out some well wishes for her, her family and our collective healing.

our collective action will shift the energy around this case. we will not be immobilized by trauma.

our embodied resistance is movement is breath meditation is the quest for our collective health and well-being

here is a poem for encouragement

i am a daughter of ntozake
of june of audre of nikki
of sonia of gwendolyn of jayne
of asha of lucille of rhodessa of anna
of ruth of elizabeth of toi of marilyn
of nina of cassandra of ella of fannie
of rosa of nayo of bernice of anjail of aretha
of toni of sapphire of ai of betty of pearl of bertha
of of of of of ofoofffffof fofofff

our collective heat is a back bend that strenghthens our walk
our collective heat is a visualization that wraps us in warmth
our collective heat is a moon salutation that greets the night
our collective heat is slow and concentrated breath deep in the diaphragm
our collective heat is heat is heat supple and pulsing and balancing the universe

peace,
e
furiousflower@gmail.com

2007-11-24T21:23:00.001-05:00

Calling Black Women for Ethnographic Performance Process

Calling Black Women for Ethnographic Performance Process

Greetings people,

It is that time. I have been in a bit of hibernation while I was cooking up a way to get you involved with a so fresh and so necessary improvisational, sista-circle, healing, performance opportunity.

I am Ebony Golden currently living in Manhattan and attending NYU. I call a few places home, most recently Durham, NC. While living in Durham I had the opportunity to study with and make trouble with some of the flyest sistas around. We made art with the people and shared it with the people. We healed ourselves everyday!

I would not be here at NYU right now if it wasn't for them. I am dedicating this process and this year at NYU to them: Mama Nia, Mama Asantewa, Mama Nayo, Mama Nana, Mama Jaki, Mama-Dr. Ahmad, Mama Pearl, Mama Dimples, Mama Theresa, Sista Kim Arrington, Sista Zachari, Sista Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Sista Jurina, Sista Alisha Gaines, Sista Serena, Sista Kriti, Sista Kai, Sista Shirlette, Sista Emily, Sista Kriti, Sista Kia/Mercedes, Sista Liz, Sista Amaris, Sista Namira, Sista Raina, Sista DeLana, Sista Nikki, Sista Alfreda, Sista Vikki, Sista Michelle, Sista Afyia, Sista Zelda, Sista Dannette, Sista Inga, Sista SimaFlower, Sista Paulette, Sista Manju

This process is in your honor along with my sistas from DC, TX, and in other spaces. You hold me up, thank you.

I am currently facilitating a performance project for Black women as a part of my Master's Thesis in Performance Studies based on black women's processes of healing from trauma, particularly historical and generational trauma. So how are your healing practices different from your mother's? How are they similar?

I am dedicated to my healing, the healing of the women in my family and extended family, and the world. This is a process we are creating everywhere, let's continue to tap in together and see what shifts.

This process that will have a few opportunities for performance, live and virtual, but mostly i am interested in articulating a poetics of womanist performance process and methodology that can be reproduced by us every where to heal ourselves and this world.

NEED
I need you to tell our story. A small group of sistas who are not afraid to undertake this work with me, whether they understand exactly where it is headed or not. Sistas who enjoy movement, music, writing, photography, people, good food, performing, making a fuss about us (black women), and who are not afraid to say we (black women) matter anywhere in this world.

NEEDS
1. 5-6 sistas to perform several times next semester
2. videographer/ photographer/ editor
3. choreographer
4. producer
5. stage manager
6. 'zine designer
7. web designer

NEEDS
1. voice recorders, tapes
2. gift cards (Target would be excellent)
3. performance space
4. video recorders, tapes, dvd
5. money, frequent flyer miles, train tickets, gas cards!!!

NEEDS

Your stories. Some of you are far away from me right now. But I would love to interview you about you and your healing process. Let's set up some time for phone interviews. I will be in TEXAS in December and NC in January so we can get together.

Every one is invited to NYC in May 08 to see a pivotal step in this journey. Can't wait.

oh and check out some of these sites to get an idea of what sistas are doing to inspire me: http://www.thatlittleblackbook.blogspot.com/, http://talitharise.blogspot.com/, http://bettertospeak.blogspot.com/, www.goldendharma.blogspot.com, http://atthekitchentable.blogspot.com/, http://brokenbeautiful.wordpress.com/, http://sweating-it.blogspot.com/,

Email me if you are interested!
Ebony Golden, MFA
Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, Director
furiousflower@gmail.com

2007-08-31T04:01:00.001-04:00

From: Creative Writing @ A&T

Re: The North Carolina A&T State University Lyceum Series Presents

Date: August 30, 2007

For more information contact: Dr. Anjail Rashida Ahmad, Director, Creative Writing @ A&T Telephone: (336) 334-7771, ext. 2370; Email:arahmad@ncat.edu

For Immediate Release:
The North Carolina A&T State University Lyceum Series and the Creative Writing Program in English Presents:

"Sankofa: Secure Your Future~Culturally Engage Your Past."

Featuring: Righteous AIM Spoken Word Performance Troupe

Amaris Howard – Out of Hampton – Aggie Grad ‘04
Poet/Freedom Fighter/Activist

D. Noble Out of G’boro, formerly of The Collective
Poet/Essayist/Activist

Ebony Golden – Out of New York by way of Durham & Houston and DC
Poet/Dancer/Choreographer

3 of America’s hottest, most committed, award winning spoken word poets working on college campuses today. They’ve been featured on Def Jam, Nubian News, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide…and have toured in DC, Atlanta, Houston & Phoenix.

Their mission is Dedicated to uplifting and empowering individuals and communities through creative expression, social change, and the divine spirit through the arts.

Wednesday, September 19, 7:00 pm, NC A&T Harrison Auditorium ()Corner of Nocho & Bluford Streets. Doors open at 6:30 pm

(Also performing: The Donfolie Dancers & NC A&T Spoken Word Troupe: Poetic Insurgents)

Righteous AIM will conduct several interdisciplinary workshops Tuesday, September 18) with A&T faculty and students. These will be interactive experiences in which participants will explore different examples of self-expression as illustrated by certain genres of the black literary canon. For instance, Claude Brown’s Man Child and the Promise Land and Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X will be discussed as precursors of the hip-hop movement and other contemporary modules for exploring ideas of Black womanhood and the Black male sensibility as expressed toward Black women.

2007-07-20T16:13:00.000-04:00

for sekou:

raised by jack-o-lanterns and parking tickets
dandelion eyelashes part the onyx birthstone

in weary times
our soupy mouths form easy o’s like lake huron
lumbering towards the universal sound
the land of rocking chairs

when poets die
let their henna circle my body seven times and become a new mole

crimson neither stopwatch
nor discount metronome

when poets dielet them be carried through the streets on the lips of harmonics and
earlobes.

Kim Arrington is a singer/song writer/playwrite/poet and all around fly sista. google her and be inspired. www.kimarrington.com
please send your sekou poems to me and i will post them where ever i can.

ebony

2007-07-19T23:04:00.001-04:00

for sekou, now!
Now!
for sekou sundiata

i know what is means to have miles davis in your skin
to speak like a weeping willow
to resist citizenship
to chew gum like a gourmet meal
now
i know how to harness a dream
right behind my belly button
and hold it there til it sprouts wings
bears fruit
blows across an ocean like a liberated spore
you asked me the question
is the american dream a dream or a program
and at that moment i knew you were a blessing in my wounds
a libretto for the revolution epic
a hinge for me to hold onto in times of extended prayer
now
i know why i love my daddy's black taffy laugh
and his eyes like an anthology of sunsets
and his one purple nail that speaks slow around his chin
a chin that drinks the moonlight
i know now sekou you drink the moonlight
let it fill your vaselined cheeks articulate your tongue reawaken your tonsils
you asked me
what is a dream with out education
you asked me what is a dream with out education
youaskedmewhatisadreamwithouteducation liberation resistance love light
youasked me me me mmeeeeeee
whatisadreamwithouteducation
maybe its gospel without mahalia
or hip hop without rakim
or jazz without john
or new orleans without the mississippi
or my grandma without the love of her life
or me without poetry
orororoororororor
you asked me
what is a dream without education
i say it aint it aint it aint a dream with out the technology of technicolor

may the spirits walk you gently down
and raise a song in your honor
may elegba grant you safe passage
asheooooo asheooooooooo ashe

Brown and Blue (for Alex)

2007-07-01T23:09:00.000-04:00

(presented at the Art of Community Healing Workshop at the United States Social Forum)

i.
this
is a first breath
again
and now
put your hand on your heart
if you hear this
and breathe

ii.
where is the place
for little girls
who breathe in bubbles
sneak home in song

where is the place
for this little girl
who would make a jumprope
out of every cloud

iii.
dark is a place
not a color
not an absence
dark is a place
of resewn curtains
where the law is fear
where the knot is not (w)hole

iv.
family
is a place
a chainlink playground
of struggling grass
and broken glass
we could grow a garden here
unbottle this mosaic
this is almost home
when i tilt my head

vi.
and loud is the spot
next door
the place that wants more
and loud has a secret revolving back door
an off the books staff
and a filthy kitchen
i heard
that on thursday nights
loud is a front
one panel from shroud
and loud
is the place that i hide

vii.
but free is a place too
it's the place that I loosen
when i'm speaking the truth
that the ancestors use
like a brown parachute

this
is the place for little girls
and their songs
where always learning
is never wrong

this is a first breath
again
and now
put your hand on your heard
if you hear this
and breathe

A Spelling Lesson

2007-04-11T18:52:00.001-04:00

for this and every survivor

drop
is a four-letter word
an instruction after catching fire
a movement behind stop
a command we must memorize
and tell ourselves
if we would be safe

drop
is what we do to the kids
at school, at practice, at auntie's
training for a next that will keep them (running)
warning that they will not be at home anywhere
treason required by our other jobs

drop
is what the dj plays
what the hypeman says
the entrance of the beat(ing)
stretching our skin like a place to call
drowning our knees like a new heartbeat

and today
drop
is what my stomach does
is a frame for the rain
is the shape of the blood
that would seek to be the last word
as if we weren't students as well

but we know how to spell

so when i see D-R-O-P
dropped open in front of me
like it was new(s)
all i do is add you
all of bright breaking you
all of impossibly speaking
light leaking
you

and the next word is yours

P-R-O-U-D

love always,
alexis

2007-02-05T17:26:00.000-05:00

Ebony Wants You to Submit to "In The People's Hands"

Call For Submissions
In The People’s Hands(a grassroots literary zine)

Theme: Africana Women and Violence

Submission Deadline: March 5, 2007

IntroductionAfricana (women of African heritage) share an interesting and distinct relationship with violence. Throughout h(er)story, and contemporary times Africana women have interfaced with police brutality, sexual assault, verbal attack, cultural brutality, academic dehumanization, reproductive injustice, political, and social disenfranchisement. Thank goddess, this is not the story of Africana women in total. We also experience and create love, joy, spirit, resilience, and fortitude that make our individual and collective journeys worth traveling. The complex relationship Africana women share with violence is reflected in our relationships with other women, men, ourselves; and is wonderfully and heartfully highlighted in the songs we sing, the stories we share, the love we make, the poems we recite, the food we cook, etc. etc.

In The People’s Hands, a SpiritHouse publication, was created to hear the voices of diverse communities. Submit work that explores your personal relationship with violence as an Africana woman or work in which explores this theme. Submit a literary creation that fits one or a combination of categories. Please note: We will not use your submission for any other purposes than creating In The People’s Hands literary zine. We will not reproduce in total or in part your submission for any other purpose than the paper-based, and online publication of this project. After publication author retains all implicit and explicit publication rights.

Criteria

Poetry
Two poems (maximum of two pages)

Short Fiction
1 story (maximum of four pages)

Essay
1 Essay (maximum of three pages)

Visual Art

2 pieces (please note one maybe chosen as the cover of collection)

Along with your creative work send:
-Two sentence biography-picture (optional)
-contact information (phone, email address)

All submissions must be sent to:
InThePeoplesHands@gmail.com
In the subject line please type: Africana Women and Violence Issue

About the Sponsoring Organization
SpiritHouse- www.spirithouse-nc.org
SpiritHouse is a nonprofit grassroots community-based organization. We are part of a movement of progressive movements and organizations that endeavor to connect people to each other for the purpose of liberation, enlightenment, and fulfillment. We are independent. We are not supervised by any corporate, religious, or state bureaucracy. Our freedom allows us the flexibility to work and develop the partnerships of our choice. This gives us clarity and direction.

About the Editor-In-Chief www.myspace.com/mamashieroglyphics
Ebony Noelle Golden, MFA, is a poet, performer, and educator currently teaching African American Literature, Composition and Creative Writing at North Carolina Central University and Louisburg College as a Visiting Instructor. She has self-published a chap book of poems titled the sweet smell of juju funk and is currently editing mama's hieroglyphics to be released next year. In the near future, Ebony plans to undergo doctoral studies in Performance and stage her multimedia choreopoem, What Aunt Sarah Says to Siffronia When Sweet Thing is Moon-Watching and Peaches is Dancing to the Wind. Ebony can be contacted via email at furiousflower@gmail.com.

Reclaiming our spirits- Join us in a three day fast

2007-01-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

This is a call to reclaim our spirit. To fight the way we know how. And to following the paths our ancestors set before us.
Join Black Women in Durham as we expel and heal from the hatred spewed upon our bodies. Collectively we can cleanse ourselves and our community of this venom.
We are calling for a 3 day fast (Tuesday, January 16th - Thursday January, 18th), along with meditation and prayer as we ignite a collective power of healing.
This is not meant to be a hardship so please fast in a way that feels right to you. Many of us will be eating only raw fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of water and detoxifying teas. Please do what feels right to you. We ill break this fast on Friday morning and continue to fast one day a week until...
Please distribute this email widely and post a comment our blog
iambecauseweare.wordpress.com
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Sista Story Circles

2006-12-15T13:24:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies,

So tomorrow will be the first of a series of Sista Story SharingCircles (say that a bunch of times fast) hosted by Artistic Response.This series will give us a chance to share each other's stories inpairs and as a larger group with some fun exercises and some goodfood. Our collective wisdom for this process will inform themultimedia performance that we are continuing to envision...butnothing will be audio recorded and our sharing will be consensual andconfidential. We will be creating questions and answers and historiesand futures together.

So please...invite women of color that you know or want to get to knowbetter and come through to Ebony's place (feel free to bring snacks)anytime between 9am and 1pm. Some guided exercises will start at10am.Hope to see and hear and love you up tomorrow!

love,

Artistic Response--

www.brokenbeautifulpress.blogspot.com
www.thatlittleblackbook.blogspot.com
www.atthekitchentable.blogspot.com

So it is better to Write, Artistic Response Team, Activate!

2006-12-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

SO IT IS BETTER TO WRITE,

and love, and prevail, and dance, and commune, and insist on change!

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Time: 7 PM-9 PM
Location: The Center for Doc. Studies
1317 W. Pettigrew Street,Durham,
North Carolina, 27705

Join UBUNTU as we engage in discussion and creative expression about the literal and metaphorical importance of midwifery and its relationship to "birthing" communities rid of sexual violence.

For more info email goldendharma@yahoo.com

I'mma Heal ME

2006-11-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

And you think you know ME… cause you saw a girl like ME… in a book by an anti-ME, who sniffed MY shit when he was in school.
Don’t get it twisted…
Anthropology don’t mean you know ME
My badd to the anthropology degree

And you think you can heal ME… cause you know the man who killed ME, riddled MY life with “what if “ hypothesis.
His DNA charging you with scrutiny, you performed your duties well…
Serving up invisibility… you smother ME in flowery blankets of muli-cultural
Selling pre-fabricated images in Ninth Street shops
Sowing hollow seed to deplete mal-nourished souls
You spread mad cow diseased shit over ME and kill fertile soil… tip-toeing between ME and MY self

You don’t know nuthin bout ME
And My SIRvival names your destiny

And when dawn breaks I am Sun kissed Sankofa
Snug hugged, sista loved
Head nestled in a napped neck bathed in hints of Peacefire oil.
I’m plotting revolution with six forks in a five dollar piece of sweet cream pie,
and meeting Audre through Lex
as Zach pumps Sweet Honey through my veins
I am strong now
I am fed
Nourished through poets writers and song
Booty windin Hips grindin to Lauryn cause
Hell yeah “ You just lost one”
And Aiden and ME…
We pick steel door dead bolt locks for Patty Sue
Cause we know
Freedom Looks like squirrels mating on rooftops,
and mama birds nesting in second story dryer ducts
Creating home despite your destruction.
Outside the big box, where Ubuntu grows.
I got ME
So if you think you know ME cause you saw a girl like ME in a book
Think again

AGAIN!

2006-11-10T12:19:00.000-05:00

Join us at The Anvil Room in Greensboro NC for the second ever-evolving installment of....

Traveled Bodies: Policing Blackness and the Technology of State Violence (A HERstorical Improvisation)

email me for more information goldendharma@yahoo.com

We are not gravel roads. We are not target practice bull's eye. We are not husky muted flesh. We are living ligament and beating heart. We are not rope juice. We are not field seasoning. We are not sharpeners for dry molars. We are bright travelers, swollen moon and beauty that chants down our birth right.
-e. golden

Traveled Bodies: Policing Blackness and the Technology of State Violence (A HERstorical Improvisation) is a multimedia meditation on the pervasive tapestry of police brutality as it progresses from slavery to now. The artists pay homage to the revolutionary women arts movement, our resilient bodies who continue to create under this haunting violence, and our sisters and brothers locked up in modern day plantations here and abroad.

a luta continua!

Come out and Support some fo' sho' artistic response!!!

2006-10-18T19:32:00.000-04:00

Traveled Bodies: Policing Blackness and the Technology of State Violence (A HERstorical Improvisation)

email me for more information goldendharma@yahoo.com

We are not gravel roads. We are not target practice bull's eye. We are not husky muted flesh. We are living ligament and beating heart. We are not rope juice. We are not field seasoning. We are not sharpeners for dry molars. We are bright travelers, swollen moon and beauty that chants down our birth right.
-e. golden

Traveled Bodies: Policing Blackness and the Technology of State Violence (A HERstorical Improvisation) is a multimedia meditation on the pervasive tapestry of police brutality as it progresses from slavery to now. The artists pay homage to the revolutionary women arts movement, our resilient bodies who continue to create under this haunting violence, and our sisters and brothers locked up in modern day plantations here and abroad.

a luta continua!

Stand Up and Speak Out!!!

2006-10-18T15:36:00.000-04:00

Remembering the Victims
Silent Protest
&
Candlelight Vigil 2006
Thursday October 19, 2006
6:30p-8p

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Monica Daye, director of S.U.S.O and local spoken word artist, is leading the charge to bring attention to the impact of domestic abuse in the Durham and surrounding community. On Thursday, October 19, Daye and other advocates will meet at the Bivins Building on Duke East Campus in what will be the beginning of a peaceful reflection on the consequences of domestic violence and sexual assault. Daye and Tim Jackson, another spoken word artist, host the Shari’s Radio Show on WXDU. The vigil will begin across from WXDU (directions: going north on Broad Street, turn right on Markham. First driveway on the right). From the WXDU radio site, participants will march silently to 610 N. Buchanan Street, the site of the alleged Duke Lacrosse rape. The names of persons who lost their life due to domestic violence over the previous year will be called out at 610 N. Buchanan Street. 49 victims have lost their lives as a result of domestic abuse in North Carolina so far this year and a total of 70 last year.

Dasan Ahanu of Men Attacking Rape Culture (MARC) Kenya Fairly with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, and many more will speak at the Bivins building tomorrow night. Along with Survivors of domestic abuse will be on hand to share their story. The vigil at Bivins will begin at 6:30 p.m. The silent march to 610 N. Buchanan Street will follow the vigil. The candlelight vigil is sponsored by a number of agencies that provide services to victims of domestic abuse.

F.M.I
Contact
919-672-1701
info@monicadaye.com
monica@standupspeakout-nc.org

Intentions bring Light

2006-10-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

Thank you Mona for hosting a beautiful and uplifting conversation tonight at Ideas Coffee House. The coffee flowed the poetry flowed. The loving transformative intentions flowed~~~~~

As we observe Domesitc Violence Awareness Month use this space to list and improvise what you intend to do to bring light and voice and creative resolutions to this community problem.

Here are some examples~~~

1. I intend to ask brothas to stand up and speak out about Domestic Violence. -M. Daye
2. I intend to talk to brothas about how they victimize women. -C. Kenney
3. I intend to create poems and engage in dance, and loving conversation about why women are beautiful and wonderful and absolutely brilliant stars. - E. Golden

Respond and Intend
Everyday.

love and light and fruitfully passionate resistance.
e!

Ebony Features in DC Oct. 9 at Bus Boys and Poets...

2006-10-04T00:51:00.000-04:00

12 Artists...12 Shows

Holly Bass
Paulette Beete
Derrick Weston Brown
Tyehimba Jess
The Mcintyre Sisters
Tonya "Jahhipster" Matthews
PS24
D.C. Emancipation Day Celebration feat: DJ Renegade, Toni Asante Lightfoot
Papillion
Tara Betts
Bro. Yao
Regie Cabico

What a first year for The Nine On The Ninth Poetry Series!!!
Its been one full year of great performances, eclectic artists and standing room only crowds. So what can one do to top this great year? Celebrate!!!!

This coming MondayOctober 9th, will be the 1 Year Anniversary Celebration of The Nine On The Ninth. The theme for this installment is entitled "The Next Movement" meaning...its time to move ahead into this next cycle by sharing all new poetry!!!!!

That's right! We all have old favorites..but let's hear and see what you all have in store for the future. In doing so this month's feature is performance poet, teacher, and multifacited artist, Ebony Golden!!

Ebony Golden began her journey as an artist, activist, and educator twenty-eight years ago in the Bayou City, Houston, TX. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from American University in Washington, DC. She served as a writer-in-residence for DC Writers Corps, and Montgomery Community Colleges Young Writers Workshop. Ebony Golden has studied with Willie Perdomo, Saul Williams, Ruth Forman, Ishmael Reed and a host of other dynamite artists, activists, and teachers.
Currently she is a Visiting English Instructor at North Carolina Central University and Louisburg College where she is the director of the Louisburg College 4th Thursday Reading Series.

Her first poetry chapbook, the sweet smell of juju funk, was published by her grassroots literary press, bettys daughter, April 2006 and her full-length poetry and CD project mama's hieroglyphics will be released in February of 2007.
For more information about Ebony or to schedule a performance or workshop,please visit www.myspace.com/mamashieroglyphics, www.goldendharma.blogspot.com or email her at goldendharma@yahoo.com.

And did I mention that DJ Two-Tone Jones returns to once again set the mood with his special array of vinyl treats and musical accompaniment. If you missed him at the very first Nine On the Ninth then definitely get yourself in a seat early

Since touching down in the nation’s capitol in 2001 via Atlanta, GA, DJ 2-Tone Jones has slowly and steadily been carving out his own niche in the D.C. area hip-hop scene. A true fundamentals DJ, 2-Tone speaks with his hands as in the tradition of a Pete Rock or E-Swift, and through his bottomless crates has rocked parties from LA to NY on down to the A-Town and even out in Europe.
Currently 2-Tone can be found most nights of the week at a number of venues around the D.C. area and on the airwaves. On Tuesday nights from 11pm to midnight 2-Tone is the resident DJ for a progressive hip-radio show, “Blackademics,” part of the Decipher hip-hop strip on DC’s own WPFW 89.3 FM/Pacifica Radio. And every 1st Wednesday of the month at the Common Share in Northwest DC, 2-Tone and crew host Artz & Craftz, an intimate arts exhibition where artists exhibit and create work while the music spins.

So I hope you are ready for some serious celebrating in addition to a great feature and great music!!! Hope to see you there. So One more time:

WHAT: Nine On the Ninth Monthly Poetry Series

WHEN: Monday October 9th, 2006 / Show starts @ 9pm/ (Limited Seating/Get here early!!!!) 8pm is the best time to arrive.

WHERE: BusBoys And Poets in The Langston Room
2021 14th St NW ( at the corner of 14th and Vst N.W.)
Washington DC 20009

Metro Accessible: Green Line/ Ust Cardozo stop

COST: Free!! Free!! Free!!! But we do ask for generous donations. Thus, the box of gratitude will be passed around after the feature's performance.

HOSTED BY: Your friendly neighborhood poet-in-residence, Derrick Weston Brown!!!

FEATURED ARTIST: Ebony Golden and special guest DJ 2-Tone Jones

THEME: The Next Movement

Need More info? Log onto www.busboysandpoets.com or www.teachingforchange.org

or call: 202-387-7638 ( POET) for times and event information
See you there!!!

Derrick Weston Brown
Poet-In-Residence @ BusBoys and Poets

9/21 Meeting Notes

2006-09-22T08:44:00.001-04:00

BigNews!!!
UBUNTU Artistic Response has been offered a residency at Bennett
College!!!! Hoooray!!!!

If you'd like to be involved with planning the residency
come to Professor Ebony Golden's office at NCCU at 3pm on Friday (yes
tomorrow) September 22nd

Upcoming events and meeting:
Saturday, September 23rd: AMAZING "I Be Who I Be" Workshop at WD Hill
Community Day (meet at WD Hill community center by 10am)
Sunday, September 24th: Spontaneous Alter-building meet at the Scrap
Exchange at 11am

Tuesday October 3rd "Let the Healing Begin' Domestic Violence Poetry
Speakout at Ideas Cafe
Wednesday, October 4th Women of Color Workshop at UNC
(PLANNING MEETING AT NCCU or Stanford L. Warren on Thursday September
28th 1:15 to 2:15 pm (call ebony!))

October 19th Candlelight Vigil at Duke (interactive activity fire, fun)
October 20th Shairi's Poetry Radio Show
October 21st POSSIBLE Workshop for Domestic Violence Month (IF people
step up to facilitate...anybody in?)

Holler back with your interest and insight!
Peace,
Alexis

Wading with my Sistahs

2006-09-20T17:02:00.000-04:00

Bennett college was wonderful yesterday. Thank you Ebony, Zach and songstress Diva Ms. Rachael. Revolutionary art is what's up!!! You ladies are something fierce!!!

Artistic Response's Moving and Grooving Bridging and Breathing And Loving Upcoming Events

2006-09-15T19:11:00.000-04:00

September

Sept: 19

"Changed Waters: Reinvention, Repurpose, and Reclamation"
Bennett College, Greensboro
6 pm (meet us at NCCU at 5 caravan!! I will drive at least 3 sistas who want to perform.)
The organizer are excited about beginning a lasting relationship with us. Beautiful things are happening at Bennett and we should be involved.

Sept. 21
ARTISTIC RESPONSE MEETING ( we need to schedule Sept. and Oct. so it is better to writes for sept. and oct, congealing our toolkit, and also rehearsals for the multi-,media performance piece)

Sept. 23
Community Day
W.D. Hill Community Center
I Be Who I Be Workshop: 10-11
(and various other times throughout the day, respond if you wanna help, meeting tomorrow)

Stand Up Speak Out Has Gained Non-Profit Status!!!
I had a meeting with sista Mona Daye and she has invited us to participate in the following activities:

October: All month Collection Drive

October 3: "Let the Healing Begin"
Ideas Coffee House Highway 54 &55
Time: 630-800
(I will facilitate an open forum) and we can share some artistic envisioning/poetry/movement/song as well

October 4:
WOC Workshop (previously scheduled event)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
I think we have between 1.5 and 2 hours

October 14: Spa Day
At women's shelter (Place TBA)
(including make-up, manicure, yoga/meditation, massage, pedicure, arts performances)
(who wants to co-lead a yoga/meditation workshop with me, only 20 min!!!)

October 19 Candle Light Vigil
Multi-cultural Center Duke
Time: 630
(I will be hosting and Mona wants us to do an interactive performance of our choosing)

October 20: Shairi's Radio Show
Mona wants us to come and talk about Artistic Response, UBUNTU, and what we are doing in the community around issues of sexual assault and domestic violence.
(ooo! we can read a poem as well.)

October 21 Understanding Domestic Violence Workshop at "The Connection- a Church" ( Mona wants us to be responsible for the healing portion of this workshop!!!)

Also: Curriculum Development is needed so that they are marketed to different communities decide on payment workshop synopsis

Nov.

Nov. 14
"Changed Waters: Reinvention, Repurpose, and Reclamation"
Bennett College, Greensboro

December

Did somebody say something about Jamaica!!! I know we will be there in full effect!!!

NO! by Aishah Simmons on Sale NOW!

2006-09-05T09:38:00.000-04:00

Tell everyone!!!

NO! a profoundly brilliant film by Aishah Simmons on rape in the Black community
officially goes on sale at California Newsreel today!
Click here for info on buying the film!
http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0187

Please forward this to educators, activists and everyone you know for
two obvious reasons that i'll restate here

1. this film makes a revolutionary impact and is NEEDED in every community
2. Aishah deserves to be fully supported in continuing to do the brave
healing warrior work that she/we be doing

Every institution that you are affiliated with should own a copy of this film!!!!

loooove,
alexis

so it is better to speak (and to move!)...

2006-09-01T07:41:00.000-04:00

...at NCCU!
Big shouts to the lovely ladies (and two gentlemen) at the VOX interest meeting at Central last night!
We moved our bodies and invoked Audre Lorde and proved that is so so so much better to speak.
Feel free to post any of the one million reasons that it is better to speak or anything that you may have written in response to the poem here!

love,
lex

For my Sistahs

2006-08-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

Your strength inspires but you are not required
to carry us.
We know you through unspoken tears...

Cry mother cry, silent daughter, amber child…
You are worthy of our ears.
Suffering blinds your legacy.
Martyrdom speaks no gift to pride.
Torture breeds pain to resistance.
Persecution feeds anger to death.
Unveil these eyes, let us bathe in tears
In facts we find strength.
Through loneliness relate,
Cry, sister cry, you needn’t stand stout
You are worthy of our ears.

some sites to check out

2006-08-20T01:05:00.000-04:00

www.ymib.com

and

www.rent-a-negro.com

light,

e!

from www.notherapedocumentary.org!!!

2006-08-18T15:46:00.000-04:00

To quote Dr. Charlotte Pierce-Baker, from both her award-winning book Surviving the Silence: Black Women’s Stories of Rape and from NO!, “there is an uncanny silence surrounding the trauma of Black rape…” Based on this his/herstorical silence, I can’t think of a better place to premiere a feature length documentary, which unveils the reality of rape, other forms of sexual violence, and healing in African-American communities than at the largest Black History Month event in the US.

In the Spirit of Black August

2006-08-16T17:55:00.000-04:00

See what one of our participants wrote after her experience at Stagville.

view:

http://onecommunityofmany.blogspot.com/2006/08/black-august-at-stagville.html

we are reborn every second...so shine sweet baby shine!
light,
e!

MOSADI rock rock ya body

2006-08-14T22:21:00.000-04:00

One billion congratulations to SHIRLETTE and MOSADI. The album of the century is in print!
Save up your cd-buyin money
and your release party bootyshake
the official release party in October 27th at
Raleigh Music Hall.
Be there!

and celebrate our soulbumpin sista for making
a groovier world
and a moovier movement that beats to it's own liberating drum.

My shoulders are bouncing already!

mosadimusic.com
tell somebody!
love
lex

poems of gratitude

2006-08-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

a love note for
alexis

dear sista alexis,

you are a lion woman swril
of rainbow hurricane
a for real teacher subversive
thunderstorm insistent
itch on the belly of this world

i think your name must
mean "she who is a forest
of words and ancestor wisdom"
i think so

i wonder how you snag such
light in hunrgy tendrils i
wonder how you stew
such magic in your womb
i wonder how you speak
the oceans in your poems
i wonder how you bring a globe of
laughter in your eyes
i wonder

i think your name must
mean "she who paints
a new world with her
body" i see your
fingers fidget our minds
and the heart sketched impression
embedded in us all i see brandless
colors you pull from your purse
i see

sisterly,
e!

Black August Celebrated in Durham Sunday August 13, 2006

2006-08-12T12:02:00.000-04:00

Black August Throwdown with UBUNTU!

"The spirit of Black August moves through centuries of Black, Indian and multi-cultural resistance. It is an emblem of the spirit of freedom. It is a long smoldering spark of the fire in the hearts of a people, hearts burning and yearning for freedom."

Mumia Abu Jamaal

UBUNTU! invites you to join us in commemorating Black August!

Activities Include: Drumming, Dance, Writing Workshops, Performance, Love and Transformation!

When: Sunday, August 13, 2006
Where: Historic Stagville5828 Old Oxford Highway
Durham, NC 27712
Time: 4pm

**It's FREE!!! YAY!****

Please remember to bring:
Water, a blanket or folding chair and bug repellant**

**Childcare will be provided**

UBUNTU! is a Women of Color and survivor-led coalition committed to ending sexual violence. A sustaining transformative love is at the center of our work. For more information about UBUNTU! or Black August visit onecommunityofmany.blogspot.com or email us at UBUNTUNC@gmail.com

revolution and love

2006-08-09T11:27:00.000-04:00

Check out the premier issue of The Coup on Revolution and Love!
This is soooooo us.

www.thecoupmagazine.com

also...check out my article "Improvising Peace in a Moment After Faith": A Review and Meditation on Me'shell Ndgeocello's latest project.

peace,
lex

Baba Mumia Abu Jamaal drops science about Black August!!!!

2006-08-08T21:37:00.000-04:00

Black August Black August has many markers throughout the long history of resistance in the Americas. There are more than we could ever recount here. But here are a few that are important and undeniable events that affected other events and indeed had global impact.It was a hot, humid morning in August 1619, when dark skinned Africans were unloaded from a ship in the English colony of Jamestown in Virginia. They were called indentured servants by the people who purchased their contracts. It is unknown what the Dutch sailors called them. Some thirty years later, they would be called something that millions of other Africans would be called on American shores for the next two hundred years, Slaves. They were in fact captives. Chained, stolen captives of a vicious race war against black life by the merchant princes of Europe. For those people who call themselves African Americans their unique history begins here.Another notable date in the struggle for liberty in the Americas happened on another shore among people who spoke no English and perhaps no European languages at all. Their freedom struggle, however, would change the course of world history. And before it ended transformed the face of at least two empires. I speak of the valiant people of Haiti, at the time called Saint-Domingue. In the northern reaches of that Caribbean island, in August 1791, Africans mostly from the Congo held religious services in the dark of the night. They prayed to their ancient gods of African memory and vowed to fight against every slave owner and overseer in the land. They vowed to not stop until free or dead. It was a sweaty time when the slaves rebelled against their tormentors. It would be thirteen long years, but by January 1804 a new and independent nation was born. Free of the monstrous transatlantic slave trade. The Haitian revolution, the first truly successful slave revolution in history has succeeded. The destruction of the French army by the black and mullato armies of Toussaint L'Ouverturemeant far more than a military or even a political victory. It meant the end of French dreams of an American empire and the loss of the richest colony in the world. It meant Napoleon could not hold the vast mid-American territories called Louisiana. The revolution therefore weakened French holds on the Americas and allowed the United States to purchase a prize that would double the new nations size overnight. All of this began in the dead of night in August 1791 when slaves planned a revolution.On August 21, 1831 the explosive rebellion of Nat Turner turned southern society inside out. Although he has been labeled by traditional, that is white, historians as a madman, Turner was in fact a deeply religious man who was moved by signs and (???) that he saw in the summer sky compelling him to fight for the freedom of his captive people. Only in a slaveocracy would the idea of freedom fighting and resistance seem mad. Some thirty years after Nat Turner's rebellion, the civil war would deal a death blow to American bondage.If there is a fasis of American history that does not go beyond the books in records of yesteryear, it has been the various Seminole American wars that were waged across Florida. There were at least three Seminole US wars and one of them ended on August 14, 1842. Though some will ask, what does an Indian American war have to do with Black August? Well that's because the nature of the Seminoles and the real reasons behind their raging wars with the Americans is hidden beneath the mists of history. The very name Seminole derives from the American Spanish term for escapee, refugee or runaway. It stems from the term Semeron (???), which was used by the Spanish to denote Indian or African runaways from slavery. The English in Jamaica and (???) islands called their runaways maroons from the same root word. The Seminoles The Creek Confederacy, but unlike many of their contemporaries they forge close and lasting relationships with runaway Africans and habitually refuse British and American demands for the return of slaves to white service. The American general who fought in the Seminole wars, Thomas Jessup, put the question squarely when he declared, this, you may be assured, is a Negro not an Indian war. General Jessup wrote those words because of the hundreds of black warriors fighting on the side of the Seminoles and because the Seminoles refused to sell men, women and children who had become their kinfolk. It is noteworthy that of all the Indian wars fought against the Americans the Seminole wars cost the most American casualties.August 30, 1856. When the name of John Brown is evoked the shadow of Harpers Ferry arises in the mind. Of the small group of rebels who tried, unsuccessfully, to seize an American armory and fullment rebellion among the slaves. But years before Harpers Ferry, John Brown had waged war against pro-slavery forces in Osawatomie, Kansas, after Missourians had sacked the town of Lawrence, Kansas some three months earlier. The fighting in Kansas led to excited reports about bleeding Kansas. What they were were tough, nasty border wars between anti and pro-slavery forces. Each trying to dominate the other. Indeed, Brown was called Osawatomie Brown before Harpers Ferry marked him as a martyr for the sacred cause of freedom.August 11-16, 1965. The fires of Watts, a black community in Los Angeles, CA were markers for rebellion for the generation of blacks in the 1960s. These rebellions, staged in response to brutal police attacks on people, cost the lives of 34 people and also almost 20 million dollars worth of property damaged or destroyed.August 5, 1970. The Black Panther party's minister of defense, Huey P. Newton, spent some four years in prison before winning his release on $50,000 bail on this date. It marked his physical return to the party at the time a period of great hope.August 8, 1978. One of the earlier MOVE confrontations. Some nine MOVE men and women were sent to prison for hundred of years stemming from a deeply flawed trial. MOVE members continue to fight for the release of their imprisoned comrades. MOVE veterans of the August 8 police assault have been in prison for 25 years in dungeons throughout Pennsylvania. They remain rebellious spirits who oppose a repressive status quo. The spirit of Black August moves through centuries of Black, Indian and ulti-cultural resistance. It is an emblem of the spirit of freedom. It is a long smoldering spark of the fire in the hearts of a people, hearts burning and yearning for freedom.by Mumia Abu Jamaal

Resistance is Fertile...Celebrate Black August

2006-08-03T01:25:00.000-04:00

RESISTANCE: THE ORIGIN OF BLACK AUGUST

www.blackaugust.com

Black August originated in the concentration camps of California to honor fallen Freedom Fighters, Jonathan Jackson, George Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain and Khatari Gaulden. Jonathan Jackson was gunned down outside the Marin County California courthouse on August 7, 1970 as he attempted to liberate three imprisoned Black Liberation Fighters: James McClain, William Christmas and Ruchell Magee. Ruchell Magee is the sole survivor of that armed rebellion. He is the former co-defendant of Angela Davis and has been locked down for 40 years, most of it in solitary confinement. George Jackson was assassinated by prison guards during a Black prison rebellion at San Quentin on August 21, 1971. Three prison guards were also killed during that rebellion and prison officials charged six Black and Latino prisoners with the death of those guards. These six brothers became known as the San Quentin Six.
To honor these fallen soldiers the brothers who participated in the collective founding of Black August wore black armbands on their left arm and studied revolutionary works, focusing on the works of George Jackson. In the month of August the brothers did not listen to the radio or watch television. Additionally, they didn't eat or drink anything from sun-up to sundown; and loud and boastful behavior was not allowed. The brothers did not support the prison's canteen. The use of drugs and alcoholic beverages was prohibited and the brothers held daily exercises because during Black August emphasis is placed on sacrifice, fortitude and discipline. Black August is a time to embrace the principles of unity, self-sacrifice, political education, physical training and resistance.
The tradition of fasting during Black August teaches self-discipline. A conscious fast is in effect FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET (or suggested from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm), this includes refraining from drinking water or liquids and eating food of any kind during that period. Some other personal sacrifice can be made as well. The sundown meal is traditionally shared whenever possible among comrades. On August 31, a People's Feast is held and the fast is broken. Black August fasting should serve as a constant reminder of the conditions our people have faced and still confront. Fasting is uncomfortable at times, but it is helpful to remember all those who have come and gone before us, Ni Nkan Mase, if we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors.
THE SPREAD AND GROWTH OF BLACK AUGUST
Black August is a time to STUDY AND PRACTICE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ABOUT OUR HISTORY AND THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF OUR PEOPLE. In the late 1970’s Black August was moved from the yards of California’s concentration camps to New Afrikan communities throughout California and the united states empire. As the Black August practice and tradition spread, it grew to observe not only the sacrifices of the brothers in California’s concentration camps, but the sacrifices and struggles of our ancestors against white supremacy, colonialism, and imperialism.
In the late 1970's the observance and practice of Black August left the prisons of California and began being practiced by Black/New Afrikan revolutionaries throughout the country. Members of the New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM) began practicing and spreading Black August during this period. The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) inherited knowledge and practice of Black August from its parent organization, the New Afrikan People's Organization (NAPO). MXGM through the Black August Hip Hop Project began introducing the Hip-Hop community to Black August in the late 1990's after being inspired by New Afrikan political exile Nehanda Abiodun.
BRIEF HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF “BLACK AUGUST”
A sampling of this month of “righteous rebellion” and “racist repression” includes: The first Afrikans were brought to Jamestown as slaves in August of 1619. In 1843, Henry Highland Garnett called a general slave strike on August 22. The Underground Railroad was started on August 2, 1850. The March on Washington occurred in August of 1963, Gabriel Prosser's slave rebellion occurred on August 30th, 1800. The “Prophet” Nat Turner planned and executed a slave rebellion that commenced on August 21, 1831. The Watts rebellions were in August of 1965. On August 18, 1971 the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) was raided by Mississippi police and FBI agents. The MOVE family was bombed by Philadelphia police on August 8, 1978. Further, August is a time of birth. Dr. Mutulu Shakur (New Afrikan prisoner of war), Pan-Africanist Leader Marcus Garvey, Maroon Russell Shoatz (political prisoner) and Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton were born in August. August is also a time of transition and rebirth. The great scholar and educator W.E.B. Dubois died in Ghana on August 27, 1963. So, August is a month during which New Afrikans can reflect on our current situation and our struggle for self-determination and freedom.
The Struggle Continues!
“Recognizing that the Roots of Black August are founded in the Black August Organizing Committee (BAOC), we, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), are respectfully including this organization in the trademark of *Black August in solidarity with the history and actions that come from this movement.”
Related Information:MXGM Solidarity Statement Black August Organizing Committee (BAOC

with love and possibility...we will revise the script

2006-08-02T19:54:00.000-04:00

Yo! Sistas please schedule your interviews in the next month. Transcribe as you see fit! (poem, monologue, collage, story, song, etc…)

Feel free to improvise these questions

All about the body

Tell me about your first kiss?
Choose a part of your body. What would it say if it could speak?
How do you feel about your vagina?

Relationships with women

What are some things you learned about being a woman? (i. e. rituals, “old wives tales” superstitions and such)
What have you learned about being a woman by looking or being around other women?

Labor (we did not come up with any questions but zachari brought up some excellent points on the topic)

Trauma
Has any woman silenced you or your response to sexual assault or abuse?

Health
Do you feel healthy?
What does illness look or feel like?
What makes you feel right in your body?
What memories do you have of dealing with doctors?

Image
What inspires you?
What do you need?
Write about a time someone said you were beautiful?
What is the difference being a _______________ woman and a ___________ woman

2006-08-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

Every three minutes
Every five minutes
Every ten minutes
Every day or (collaged voices remix a world)
And (our fire breath is a mantra for the new day)

By: Them funky fresh and oh so fly….AR Sistas

Every day unconditional love
Three days ago mommy’s chicken soup
Every three min surprised by how the same love stays new
Every day ginger lemonade
30 yrs ago a black love like blow(ed) out afro
Today an altar with excess hope

30 yrs ago polyester pants afro puff standing up
On my cousins big wheel
Throwing mail getting spankings…good times
Today faith in my mother
2 wks ago mama’s first poem in 20 yrs
Later in the day I write because of you

Immediately there is cause for celebration
Every day ushering a girl child into wombynhood
Today my baby brother is 16
michaiah swallowed the pool
and survived bloated and beautiful

today free books
today UNC embraced UBUNTUevery ten min Jurina comes home
every three min a ten minute orgasm

every five min laughter from the belly
every ten min a foot massage
every day a song to dance to
a poem to walk to

every five min innocent giggle
every day free fresh fruit
every ten min falling in love
every five min I speak/ I listen
I shimmy

Every ten min we smile accidentally
Every three min Rachel sings
Every day we sing a song by michell
Every five min clean water for all
Everyday someone gives away a gift
that’s special to them
Talya speaks
Every ten min grandma whispers a secret

Every three min I grow hummingbird wings
Every ten min a phoenix rises
I share my heart
Every five min I hear my god children’s voices
A flirty laugh on the back of the neck

Every three min I retrieve my ancestors memory
A woman safe
Every ten minutes a woman screams with joy and hugs another woman
Every day a scalp massage from someone who loves you

Every day chamomile and deep breath
Every five min a walk in the rain
I get to cheer someone up
Every day lavender frankincense myrrh (I want that)
Bath salt

every three min brilliant blue stars and unhinged eyes
every ten min jurina’s special cream cheese
and spinach omelets
every three min just because I am
every day rock my baby to sleep

thirty yrs ago somebody had a great dream
Woken up by laughter
And it was me
thirty yrs ago I was swinging in trees
three days ago roller skating with my kids

every three min breathing with myself
every five minutes I would learn a lesson once and not
have to learn it again
whispered truths remind me of me
every day a warm place to lay my head
a home filled with love
a good heart I get wiser

every five min I get wiser

speaking up speaking out

2006-07-31T00:31:00.000-04:00

Peace family,> > Monday July 30, 2006, 9 am 103.5> I will be featured on the Richard Brown Show (the only Black progressive radio show in NC). I will be reading poetry and engaging in a conversation about ideals of beauty and Black girls. Click on the link below to listen to the streaming audio or to find out about more information on Richard Brown.> > light,> e!

Because Everybody Deserves a Cool Breeze!!!

2006-07-25T11:25:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone,

I am smiling
because you care...

thank you to everyone who donated money, a fan, or kind words of encouragement. To date, over 100.00 has been raised and we may be getting a heafty donation from a school in the community.

love and light,
e!

this weekend

2006-07-20T20:25:00.000-04:00

Greetings sistas,

We are moving and grooving and vibing with the community... Here's what's happening!!!

Saturday
morning after the healing session-
Canvasing: Alexis created a dope flyer for us to get out and give to the beautiful people in the Fayetteville street area!

evening-
VOX Retreat: Alexis, Zach, Nancy, and I will be presenting an interactive workshop on Black Women, Body Politics, and Activism!

Sunday 2pm at Francesca's
listen and share ideas/dreams/visions about multimedia projects incorporating visual and performing arts.

Monday
Afiya, Alexis, and Nancy will attend the Fayetteville St. community meeting and begin to solidify that relationship.

questions? please let us know.
oh, and feel free to respond to the writing prompts...your words and your voice make change happen.

e!

Loving what makes us us

2006-07-19T23:21:00.000-04:00

So there was a specific request made today that the artistic rresponse group send out beautiful Birthday, anniversary, special day or moment cards. I think this is important for our sustainance. keeping in mind that we are not task driven, we are truly getting to know each other. Something to think about and begin to generate. I think I have lots of birthdays registered in that Birthday thing that I sent out I'mma see what I can come up with!!!
Lovin y'all
N

i am WRITING because we are FLYERING

2006-07-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

Hey ladies,
so according to our timeline we're sposed to be flyering this coming saturday between the know bookstore and Kerr Drugs. I have an idea! What if we use the awesome writing prompt that Afiya used at our big group meeting last month to let our new folks know who we are!

eg. I am HUSTLING
because we are HUNGRY FOR CHANGE
I am HOPEFUL
because we are BEAUTIFUL
I am HURTING
because we are NOT TALKING ABOUT ABUSE
(or whatever better stuff we think of)
and then UBUNTU with a brief blurb and a link to the main blog)

hope to hear your awesome ideas soon!
love
alexis

So it is better to... Proclaim!!

2006-07-18T11:21:00.000-04:00

So sistas,

I have been thinking of ways we can create dialogue for future activist/body installation/performance art. Here is one idea I am using with some dynamic young writers!

The Personal is Political: Writing Your Manifesta!

Take a look at the following information that read online and then try writing your own manifesta!! And then post to the blog or send them to me at goldendharma@yahoo.com or goldendharma.blogspot.com. Feel free to contact me if you want and or need more information.

peace and luv,
e!

http://wrt.syr.edu/pub/handbook/manifesta.html

The manifesta/o is the part of the zine where you define your purpose in writing the zine. Why is your topic important to you? Why should it be important to your reader? Why did you decide to write on it? What is the title of your zine? Why did you choose this title? How do you locate yourself in relation to your topic? Where does it fit in subculture pop culture? How does is challenge hegemonic popular culture?

One of the most important aspects of your manifesta/o is your voice. The manifesta/o is not a place where you outline your zine, but rather one where you engage with the (sub)cultural (and personal) importance, intervention and possibilities of your topic. As we discussed in class, manifesta/os are infused with a sense of purpose and passion–you need to make your reader care about your topic, and provide her/him with enough information so that s/he can understand why you care about it.

Be careful–the manifesta/o is not a rant. A rant is a diatribe against something which frustrates or angers you. A manifesta/o is a mission statement that articulates your position and your passion for your topic.

When you put your manifesto in your zine you will be altering its format–you are welcome to handwrite it, to add artwork, to cut and paste.

Format: It’s your manifesta/o–you decide. You must have a title.
it can be a poem, story, play, essay, song or a combination of literary genres.

tasks tasks tasks, oh my

2006-07-13T11:41:00.000-04:00

Task List...

1. flyer for black august day at stagville
2. flyer for fayetteville programs - Nikki, Emily
3. AR block party liason- Mama Nancy
4. Multi-media performance- ebony
5. Workshop/University liason- Mama Nancy(local)
Workshop liason (world-wide)
6. So it is better to write...- Zach and Michelle
7. Community contacts- Mama Nancy, Afiya, ebony
8. Development- ebony (i will draft the first donations letter and ask for assistance from the group later)
9. Community Feedback form- (Shirlette mentioned this but needs help with creating a form with a wholistic emphasis)

This just seems like the tip of the iceberg please add what i missed.

peace and love and light
e!

7/11 Artistic Response Meeting Report

2006-07-11T23:10:00.000-04:00

aka revolution is:
famlihood
loverliness
growth
fluidity
now!
(thanks to the dope one word revolution exercise that wrapped our meeting up)

So we had a great meeting (imagine the beauty of Dannette, Afiya, Shirlette, Kai, Zach, Kia, Alexis, Nancy, Naima, Sekou, Assata in the park with a ride by hello from Serena's husband Joe and a superfly hello from queer youth leader Andres! Yes!)

Here is what we're up to (please check-in about what you said you help with by next Tuesday (7/18....also feel free to post your dope haikus from the meeting!)

Everyone present: will check in with another Artistic Response person about roles, vision and participation.

Nancy: will talk to Rachel about scheduling a NEED workshop as a healing session, and will attend a Fayettville Street Committee meeting (along with Afiya)

Afiya: will attend a Fayettville Street Committee meeting, a Neighborhood Organization meeting and a PAC meeting and will be organizing a brainstorming/dream-sharing session for the NEED/survival multimedia performance for this Sunday afternoon (exact time and place to be announced)

Shirlette and Dannette: (i love how that rhymes) will be creating a comprehensive evaluation/feedback sheet to be handed out at the UBUNTU NEED workshop

Zach: will be organizing (along with Michelle) an (it is better to write!) fieldtrip to Stagville Plantation, complete with writing and performing rituals designed to allow us to reclaim that space and meet some ancestors (see the timeline for a date which will be floated to the group at tomorrow/Weds big group meeting

Ebony: is officially an artistic response point person for six months (starting today) and will do this week's large group meeting report-back/update, she will also post a list of Artistic Response tasks to the blog

Alexis: is officially an artistic response point person for six months (starting today) and will make this very post, email nancy the SESF NEED proposal for use in the fall college tour packet and be blissful that she knows you ladies.

If you couldn't make the meeting feel free to post announcements, ways that you want to get involved and haikus about how you be/what revolution means to you in one word....or anything at all.

Love and love and love,
Alexis

p.s. Shirlette's band MOSADI is playing in Raleigh at place called "White Collar Crime" tomorrow (weds) night at 10:30 pm...join the caravan to roll-out there after (or during..for that matter) tomorow's big group meeting.

i think....

2006-07-08T15:39:00.000-04:00

What follows is the writing prompt from the need for speed ice-cream pre-game.

If you participated and want to share all or part of what you wrote please post it by clicking on comments. If you did not participate and want to write something to share we would love to hear from you.

I think my hair is....
I think my lips are...
I think my nose is...
I think my hips are...
I think my feet are...
I think my skin color is....

Looking forward to your brilliance!
love,
alexis
p.s. see you on Monday at 5:30 at Trinity Park for "It is better to Write!"

your powers

2006-07-08T15:24:00.000-04:00

Hey ladies,
Thanks for an amazing meeting last night. We are powerful and we have each other. So we have everything that we need. When the revolutionary struggle comes down to lazer tag and speed racing to a future of justice we will be prepared!
As Ebony suggested last night, it's time to express your desire for our upcoming world takeover!
Click on comments and tell us what you're interested in doing. (Feel free to look at the comments section on the Need for Speed post for the task descriptions.) Also if you are one of the many people with specific community contacts please list what those contacts are (i.e. Hayti, MacDougal Terrace, Bennett College)!

What I remember as far as desires/roles:
Nikki-technological stuff (how to post the wav. file of us singing "courage sister" to this blog), flyer layout and design, multimedia tech stuff, connections to Katrina community

Michelle-block party laising (and getting on down the road), working with zach on beautiful and historically rich places to write and connections for a (well funded) multi-media performance event

Afiya-dreams for a multimedia event, community contacts and the desire to work together

Emily-some community contacts, spanish translation

Zach-documenting the process, finding lovely places to write with Michelle and finding lovely places to go in the world

Dannette-a gift and sensitivity for coordination, artistic creative non-process stuff

Nancy-campus work coordination (in concert with the NO screening/MARC workshop effort)

Ebony-pushing the process of creating performances, writing prompts and community contacts

Alexis-has not defined a role...but intends to keep starting things, to perform, to facilitate, to interview and to process and to communicate.

Please amend and add to and clarify and correct these posts with your specific comments. Looking forward to seeing your posts!
love,
alexis

Arts Timeline from Now til the Block Party

2006-07-05T07:55:00.000-04:00

Artistic Response Tentative Calendar
Or the most ambitious arts activism schedule known to woman!!!

Calendar
July
Friday 7: Ice Cream Social/Strategy Meeting (women of color)
Go-Karts (whole group)

Monday 10: It is Better to Write: Park on Trinity (whole group)

Tuesday 11: Artistic Response Meeting 6 pm Park on Trinity (everybody!)

Wednesday 12: UBUNTU Meeting (whole group)

Tuesday 18: blog site check-in (whole group)

Saturday 22: Canvasing (whole group)

Tuesday 25: Community Interviews/Installation (women of color)

August

Tuesday 1: Interactive Workshop/ Interviews (women of color)

Tuesday 8: Artistic Response Meeting (whole group)

Sunday 13: Black August/It is Better to Write: Stagville Plantation (whole group)

Tuesday 15: blog site check in about tasks and Canvasing (whole group)

Sunday 20: Hiking (women of color)

Tuesday 22: Interactive Workshop/ Community Interviews (women of color)

Tuesday 29: Block Party Canvasing (whole group)\

September

Saturday 9: Block Party (yiiiiiiipeeeee!!!!)
(interactive workshop in fayeteville community following from the block party to be planned)

Artistic Response Meeting Tues July 11th

2006-07-05T07:29:00.000-04:00

Hey Artistic Response Family!!!!
We are having an Artistic Response Meeting on
Tuesday July 11
6 pm
Trinity Park (corner of Trinity and Watt)

peace and luv,e!

p.s. click on comments for a preview of the agenda

NEED for Speed!!!

2006-07-04T10:05:00.000-04:00

oh love...
As part of the "women of color NEED each other love-up, celebrate ourselves festival"... which will be going on from now until forever...ALL WOMYN OF COLOR ARE INVITED TO COME GO-KARTING! Hooray! Feel free to foward this to other folks who identify as women or girls of color (or as transformational divas of color who may choose to be women or girls this Friday evening) and come to Alexis and Jurina's house to carpool to the racetrack by 7 (email alexispauline@gmail.com for directions).
or meet us at Frankies Fun Park, 11190 Fun Park Drive Raleigh 27617 919-433-7888

NOTE: If you are interested in being part of a strategizing meeting about the in-process series of community based poetic movement performance/workshop/interviews provoked by our NEED to create a world where women of color are free, come have ice cream at A and J's house at 4:30. Please indicate in your invitation response which part(s) of the event we can expect you for!
love,

alexisebonynancyzach

p.s. click on comments for a preview of the agenda from ebony (the golden)

Welcome!

2006-07-04T09:52:00.000-04:00

For those of us who are committed to creating the world that we NEED...

For those of us who use love as a medium...

For those of us who believe that change is possible...

For those of use who know that we can sustain each other for revolution...

This is our space! Look here for announcements about a particular love movement being sparked in Durham in response to a world of racist, sexist and economic violence. Look here for writing prompts that can provoke a new world. Look here for updates on when and how we'll be getting together to love each other up, dance, sing, move, hug, brainstrom, and build. Write here. Right here.
much love,
UBUNTU Artistic Response Crew and NEED