Arts today 5.3

Vol 5.3 |

June 24, 2018

BO

HARRIS FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER pg #52 ~ WITH MODEL ~

Yanju STEPHENS

+

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE MAYOR VICKIE NEWTON (VILLAGE CELEB.) pg #8

View this and past issues from our website.

AFRICAN...

MICHELLE LEWIS

DO SOME...

pg. #42

pg. #68

pg.#144

DR. JERRY WARD

FEATURED ARTIST

DR. MALAIKA HORNE

Shannon Lanier

Descendant of US President Thomas Jefferson

John LeBourgeois Descendant of Peter Blow

Lynne M. Jackson Descendant of Dred Scott

Kate Taney Billingsley Descendant of Justice Roger B. Taney

Bertram Hayes-Davis Descendant of Confederate President Jefferson Davis

Every nation must bear the weight of its own history. The United States continues to grapple with the promise of freedom, enshrined in the nation’s founding documents, and the stain and shame of slavery.

During this symposium, we will hear how, from the descendants of Dred Scott, Peter Blow (one of Mr. Scott’s previous owners), Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, President Thomas Jefferson, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the weight of history affects five American families. The panel of descendants will discuss the meaning of the Supreme Court decision in Scott v. Sanford, the life of Dred Scott, and Dred Scott’s impact on the nation. Faculty members from The National Judicial College will explore the role of the courts in a culturally responsive democracy. The faculty will explore the judge’s role in safeguarding fairness within the judicial process, and the tools a judge can use to ensure that all people are treated equally in the American justice system.

pg. 2

INAUGURAL JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION OPENING RECEPTION TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2018 6 P.M. – 9 P.M.

ORIGINAL ARTWORKS STARTING AT $40!

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT!

2505 St. Louis Avenue St. Louis, MO 63106

AMOS “SAXMAN” BREWER

“Cousin Roscoe vs. the U.S. Army” Original Work Read by Dr. Charles Wartts

EXPLORE THE GRIOT GALLERIES WITH COSTUMED DOCENTS: NICOLYA THOMAS, PEGGY COMMUNITY PARTNERS:

HARRIS, JORDAN JOHNSON, SHERMAN GEORGE, DANIEL MOODY

BE PART OF THE STORY: DRESS IN PERIOD OR THEMED ATTIRE! CROWN CANDY ICE CREAM!

ATTENDANCE PRIZES! $10.00, Pre-paid, Admission Required by June 15 Reservations: www.thegriotmuseum.com Inquiries: 314-241-7057; info@thegriotmuseum.com

We appreciate the artists who donated their works to make this event a success: Alfredia Bailey; Howard Berry; Jean Brantley; Ken Calvert; Adelia Parker-Castro; Sheow-Hwey Chang (Taiwan); Brandon Chavis ; Larry Clark; Gundia Lock-Clay; Ed Crim; Stajah Curry; Gallery Bonheur; Robert (Rudo) Green; Al Greer; Daniel Hodges (Atlanta); Andrea Hughes; Lois Ingrum; David A.N. Jackson; De’Joneiro Jones; Carrie Keasler; Robert A. Ketchens; Herbert Keys; Paul Althol Lewis (Atlanta); Joe LaMarque; Danielle & Kevin McCoy; Bill Murphy; Tunde Odulande (Nigeria); Meredith O’Reilly; Yvonne Osei; Anastasia Parks; Adrienne Patel; Azariah Pearson; Robert Powell; Luisa Otero Prado; Janet Riehl; Butch Rias; Alexis Rivierre (Kansas); Marilyn Robinson; Byron Rogers; Gary Rogers; John E. Rozelle (Chicago); Brock Seals; Katrina Shannon; Lamont Shannon; Thomas Sleet; Jennifer Colten-Smith; Christopher Thomas; Solomon Thurman; Charles Wartts; Doretha Washington; Jackie Williams; Elaine Young

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

IN THIS

ISSUE:

6

8

IN THE NEWS We Grow...

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE MAYOR VICKIE NEWTON

52

42 AFRICAN AMERICAN IMPACT...

DR. JERRY WARD

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER BO HARRIS

140

108

ESSENCE CELEBRATES WOMEN...

VICKIE NEWTON

TELL THE TRUTH, SHAME THE DEVIL MARSHA CANN

pg. 4

No major discipline problems

our mentorship program with Infinite Scholars, the Moline Acres Police Department wishes to the hopes and dreams of families in our community wishing to send their children to college. te Scholars program uses it extensive nationwide network of 500+ colleges and universities to ege scholarship for students who achieve the criteria above. The Moline Acres Police ent is committed to helping our students accomplish these criteria. The motto for this program dges Create Scholars.”

cres is located in North St. Louis County, Missouri. To learn more, contact the Moline Acres partment at 314-868-2433 or Infinite Scholars at 314-499-6997.

LIVE / WORK / PLAY NATE JOHNSON

16

22

OP/ED SECTION INFINITE SCHOLARS

68

Pictured are Moline Acres Chief of Police Colonel Ware, Police Officer Donaldson, and students Charmaine and Charles.

100

FEATURED ARTIST MICHELLE LEWIS

LET FREEDOM RING PIERRE BLAINE ...Listen people...

Life is a giant, invisible scale with two sides; Good and bad You and your beliefs Are the weights The things you do each day Determine the balance Your conscience is a flawless Judge and jury; It only questions you when you're wrong...

The Temptations,

"You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth" (Regarding the last line of this quote from "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth": "It only questions you when you're wrong" Sang by The Temptations on the recording.

"The only question is what you want" Written by: BARRETT STRONG, NORMAN WHITFIELD, NORMAN J. WHITFIELD)

Established 2014 Volume 5.3 St. Louis, MO www.the-arts-today.com/ Layout/Design www.bdesignme.com

NOTE:

As the publishers of The Arts Today Ezine we take care in the production of each issue. We are however, not liable for any editorial error, omission, mistake or typographical error. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of their respective companies or the publisher.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

COPYRIGHT:

This Ezine and the content published within are subject to copyright held by the publisher, with individual articles remaining property of the named contributor. Express written permission of the publisher and contributors must be acquired for reproduction.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

IN THE NEWS

Export Opportunities in the Americas: Brazil, Canada & Mexico TIME | DATE | PLACE 8:00 am registration 8:30-10:00 am program Thursday, December 7, 2017 Please note NEW ADDRESS: World Trade Center St. Louis 120 South Central Ave. Suite 1200 St. Louis, MO 63105 REGISTRATION $20 REGISTRATION One-on-one appointments available following the program.

Learn about export opportunities in three major markets in the Americas region. Brazil is recovering from recent political and economic upheaval and reforms have seen growth in the energy and agricultural sectors in particular.

Canada's economy has enjoyed greater than expected growth, outpacing all other members of the G7.

Mexico continues to offer a wide range of opportunities for US exporters from industrial equipment and inputs to agricultural products.

Speakers: Mr. Fabio Yukio Yamada Director, Missouri International Trade & Investment Office - Brazil Mr. Ludovic Ortuno Director, Missouri International Trade & Investment Office - Canada Ms. Gloria Garcia Director, Missouri International Trade & Investment Office - Mexico Click here to view speaker bios and learn more.

Contact John Hensley to schedule.

pg. 6

Your Source for Art Appreciation

Volume 2.1 March 4, 2015

St. Louis

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE ART OF FOOD | LENA JACKSON....................................................... pg. 120 ART OF HEALING | A.T.E.Z ................................................................... pg. 132

Please support our sponsors, many of-

fer events or programs with an emphasis on the arts and creativity.

OPPORTUNITIES | A.T.EZ .................................................................... pg. 156 CAREERS | A.T.EZ ................................................................................... pg. 158

#ArtsTodayEZ

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.35.3 Volume June 24, 2018 June 24, 2018

The Man Who Would Be Mayor: How A Felonius Past Can Eclipse The Future

It was a position that offered less money and no benefits, but for Gerald B. French, Sr. it provided something far more valuable — the chance to make a difference.

~Vicki Newton Village Celebration

pg. 8

O

n April 3, the 52-year-old was elected mayor of Vinita Park, a city in Missouri that covers under two square miles with slightly less than 2,000 people.

His office was in an old building that had once been a house and that was now infested with black mold, French said. Still, he was excited about his position and what it meant.

“I was elated,” French said. “I was happy. It was a feeling of being accepted. The people had spoken, and it was time to get to work. I had some great plans for the city.”

But French, who grew up in St. Louis, had a past. He knew he was being watched. He knew that he was a role model for other men who wondered if they could overcome their past and become people who could make a difference in their communities.

He wanted to tell them yes. He had proven it.

But, his victory was short-lived.

French had won the chance to lead the small municipality with more than twice the vote of his opponent, long-time Ward 1 Alderman Brian Gremaud.

As for why he believed he defeated Gremaud, “He didn’t have a platform to move the city forward or build the city up,” French said.

French promptly quit his job as the city’s public works director making $46,000 a year with benefits and got ready to settle into his new position with about $6,000 less money and no insurance.

He had run on the platform of a new day, a new voice taking Vinita Park to the next level. French said he wanted to interject some new life into the city. He and his 39-year-old wife were the youngest people on his block, he said.

The city hadn’t built a new house in years but had torn down four abandoned homes last year and planned to tear down at least seven more this year, French said.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

He planned to implement a leaves removal plan because the city had so many trees that yards were flooded with fallen leaves. He wanted the residents to move the leaves to the curb and he would have a machine come and pick them up. He wanted to build a new city hall, give the employees a decent raise and bring back the Neighborhood Watch program, although he said there was hardly any crime.

French had moved to the city in 2014, two years after he had taken over the public works position. He said the neighborhood was quiet and, except for the occasional theft at night from unlocked vehicles, it was a relatively safe city with no serious crimes.

For years, the city hosted only four events: an Easter Egg Hunt; the Fourth of July Picnic in the park; a National Night out, and a Christmas celebration. But French wanted to see them do more. So, he came up with the idea for Burgers and Blues in the park to be held at least three times a year. French said he already had a band lined up.

But after two weeks in his new position, things began to unravel. Even before he took office, French was met with deception, leaving many to wonder if he was just a pawn in a bigger game set up by the man he thought of as a friend and a father-figure, the former mayor James McGee. Still, in the end his ultimate undoing was the past he thought he had left behind. That past had returned with one phone call and French learned what others like him already knew — society will not easily forgive.

“Society will not allow you to bounce back,” French said.

The Return of the Past The federal court judge in St. Louis looked at the man standing before him. He was an oddity in a courtroom of hardened criminals and repeat offenders.

“You are different from everybody else I see in my courtroom,” the judge told him. “You have a support system.”

The judge held up a stack of character reference

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE... cont.

letters of support for the man to see. They had been sent by members of the man’s church.

The judge then told him to turn around. Behind him in the back of the courtroom were at least 30 church members.

The man, a military veteran, began to cry.

The case was unique. Still, “I’m bound by law to sentence you to 24 months in prison,” the judge told him. He was also given three years of probation.

It had begun more than a decade earlier in 2004. Then, French had seven children and after paying child support, he had little money left. So, when an opportunity for easy money came along, he took it. All he had to do was deposit three counterfeit checks totaling more than $23,000 into his bank account. He got $1,500 out of the deal. He also brokered a deal to sell ½ a kilo of cocaine and took home about $600 to $700.

French had grown up with loving parents, was a devoted church member and prided himself on always being there for his children just like his father was there for him. In 2006, he was convicted of the crimes and could no longer be there for his children. He admitted he had not thought of the consequences. He never thought he would get caught.

French was sent to the federal correctional institution in Forrest City, Arkansas. He quickly realized most of the inmates were repeat offenders who had grown accustomed to life in prison.

They would discuss which jail had the most food and French was stunned.

“I don’t see how people keep going back and back and back,” French said. “Once was enough for me. It was an embarrassment to my kids and my church.”

French never went back, but his case was rare.

An estimated two-thirds of prisoners are likely to be arrested for a new crime within three years

after being released, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. And three-quarters were arrested within five years, the BJS said in a 2014 report.

According to a study by the Urban Institute Justice Policy Center, those who served time in prison were less likely to return if they found employment and made decent wages. But,most employers won’t hire felons. And, most American prisons only focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation. The prison system doesn’t give inmates the care or the tools they need to get a job once they are on the outside.

And many just give up. French has encountered some of them. “They don’t vote,” he said. “They have given up on society and themselves.”

French would urge them to vote. But the responses were always the same. “’Why? They don’t look at us like people.’”

Still, French could understand. He had wanted to be a police officer and after getting out of the military he passed the test to become a state trooper. But before he could go before the oral board, his brother got into trouble and he had to pay the price.

Because he and his brother were close and he was with his brother before the incident, French was arrested. He found out that the prosecutor had him arrested to get his brother to surrender.

His brother eventually turned himself in, but the case against French was continued so many times before it was dropped, he missed the deadline to go before the board.

“I fought for my country and came back and one person could sit on my life like that,” said French who served as an intelligence specialist in the military. The experience left him bitter and he gave up on becoming an officer. But for him, prison was a wake-up call, not a life sentence.

Elected Mayor by the People After French got out of prison, his pastor helped him get a pickup truck and French worked various jobs such as cleaning abandoned houses and cutting grass with a lawn mower

pg. 10

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE... cont.

borrowed from the church.

He attended community college to become a funeral director. But before he could pursue it, Vinita Park’s mayor McGee offered French the public works director’s position. The two attended the same church and had been friends for a long time, French said.

told he didn’t have to wait until McGee’s May 21st deadline. Indeed, they were surprised he had not begun leading the city and urged him to do so. He decided to get sworn in on April 27 after notifying the city clerk and the police chief. He also tried to contact McGee, but never got a response. When he showed up at his new office, McGee had cleared out all the files.

Then in February, McGee told French he plans to retire as mayor. French saw an opportunity to do something more for his community.

He wanted to show his sons that after all the struggles he could succeed. He wanted to show other felons that they too could get beyond their past. He didn’t expect that soon that hope would be gone.

French had not taken over the position for long when he received the phone call. The city prosecutor was looking into his criminal record and wanted his information to be sent to them.

French contacted his lawyer to find out why.

Though, he was elected on April 3 and could technically take office on the 17th, French said McGee asked him to wait until May 21, that would presumably give McGee a chance to throw a big ceremony to welcome French.

The lawyer learned that someone had called the prosecutor’s office about his criminal record.

Then McGee told French the mayor’s job would become part-time and the pay cut in half. That’s how the position was set up originally. Gremaud said McGee, who had been mayor since 2010, was the one who made the mayor’s position fulltime by including additional duties and giving himself two raises in the same year, doubling his salary.

McGee added the duties of city manager, city administrator and public safety officer to his job description, Gremaud said. But the public safety officer was the duty of the police chief, he said.

“It was redundant, ridiculous and abusive of tax payer’s money,” Gremaud said.

It was also a violation of Missouri statute for a class 4 city, according to the Alderman.

Still, McGee was hoping to become city manager after the position changed, French said. On April 22, French attended a conference and returned two days later to find that McGee had held a special board meeting to create the position of city manager, French said.

Gremaud said he was the one who called the prosecutor’s office. He said he had heard from someone else that French had a long criminal history, though he didn’t know the details, and he wanted to know if it would preclude French from serving as mayor.

It did. After serving only two weeks as mayor, French resigned on May 8. He said he didn’t know that under Missouri State law a felon couldn’t serve as mayor. It’s unclear if McGee did. He could not be reached for comment.

French said McGee dangled the offer of getting him his old job back as public works director by trying to get French to appoint him as city manager before he resigned. French refused.

French, who has two sons and a daughter living with him, said he’s not sure what to do now.

“I followed all the rules,” he said.

Still, French hasn’t given up. He’s working as an attendant at the city’s funeral home and in June, he plans to take the state test to become a funeral director.

“I just want to get back to my life,” French said.

“Society has a way of putting a toe tag on you and counting you off as dead.”

McGee denied it, but French was suspicious.

On April 26, at an event for mayors, French was pg. 12

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 14

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

OP / ED SECTION

Moline Acres Police Department College Scholarship Program in partnership with Infinite Scholars Program

The Moline Acres Police Department College Scholarship Program wishes to acknowledge some of the students in our city that have accepted the promise of a college scholarship for accomplishing the following criteria: 1.

2.

3.

4.

95 percent school attendance 3.3 or better cumulative grade average 22 or better composite ACT score No major discipline problems

Through our mentorship program with Infinite Scholars, the Moline Acres Police Department wishes to help fulfill the hopes and dreams of families in our community wishing to send their children to college.

The Infinite Scholars program uses it extensive nationwide network of 500+ colleges and universities to find a college scholarship for students who achieve the criteria above. The Moline Acres Police Department is committed to helping our students accomplish these criteria. The motto for this program is “Our Badges Create Scholars.”

Moline Acres is located in North St. Louis County, Missouri. To learn more, contact the Moline Acres Police Department at 314-868-2433 or Infinite Scholars at 314-499-6997.

Pictured are Moline Acres Chief of Police Colonel Ware, Police Officer Donaldson, and students Charmaine and Charles.

pg. 16

Editorial Rebeccah Bennett TRUTH: This is not the first time that this country has been run by a bigot.

It is not the first time that we have experienced political isolation and social rejection.

Founder and principal of Emerging Wisdom LLC.

A

nd it is not the first time that we have had to figure out how to metabolize our grief and fear in ways that did not immobilize us, but caused us to actualize our power to change the world.

PERSPECTIVE: Right

and forefathers lived through horrors that were generational in scope and scale. They persisted through times when there was little chance of a better tomorrow, much less a better life – not even for their kids. Yet they responded to their lot in life by creating resistance movements, aid societies, educational and religious institutions, banks and co-ops, art forms, innovations and spiritual practices that continue to make our lives

now it might do us some good to call upon our ancestors for wisdom, strength and guidance. Our foremothers Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

better today. Remember that their blood is our blood. Their strength is our strength. They are the ROOTS and we are their FRUITS.

PRAYER:

We call upon our ancestors, those upon whom the sky fell.

We call upon our ancestors who experienced all manner of degradation, humiliation, violation and death. We call upon our ancestors, people who swung from trees and were forced to live on their knees. We call upon our ancestors, many of whom persisted, survived and endured without destroying themselves or others. May whatever it is that nourished and sustained them come more fully alive in us. Ashe.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 18

Socks that heal broken a he a rts DONATE Socks for Courtney is a fund-raiser/Sock Drive in memory of Courtney Adavia Kemp

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 20

Would you like a printed copy(s) of an issue mailed to your home?

Send your request to us by email **Remember to include the volume/issue** Cost may vary per issue.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018 St. Louis

n the words of the great Bob Marley, the sun Iyou is shining, the weather is sweet, it makes wanna move your dancin' feet . Yes,

Festival season is kicking into high gear in St. Louis! I hope that you'll join me by going out and enhancing that sense of community we all desire! To the rescue here I am, with a few suggestions for you to get out and make it a great month.

JUNE

1

thru

JUNE

3

If you are looking for something to do tonight, you might want to join me at Food Truck Fest 2018 at Laumeier Sculpture Park. There will be great food, and great music as well. You remember The Urge, right? Well, Steve Ewing , the lead singer will be blessing the stage from 5:30-7:30!

Every first Friday of the month the museums and galleries in Grand Center are free until 9 PM and lucky for us the first day of June is a Friday!

For the first 3 days of June there will be the Webster Groves Art Fair where you will find over 105 artists from all over the country displaying their works. There will be live music and a wine tasting as well!

If you’re off work early and would like to get your festival fix you should check out the International Horseradish Festival in Uptown Collinsville, just a short drive over the river. Aside from learning to prepare your own homemade horseradish they will also be featuring a Family Fun Area and Craft Village as well.

Also tonight, you could take the kids to Jungle Boogie at the Saint Louis Zoo where the Johnny Henry Band, a band lead by a family man, will be rocking out for a crowd of all ages.

If you are seeking more of an adult-friendly night you could instead attend the St. Louis Uncorked at the Kiener Plaza for their “First Sip of Summer” event. The festival is free to enter, however, you

pg. 22

Local Events JUNE

can upgrade your experience if you want.

This two day event will run from 4-11PM on Friday and 3-11PM on Saturday. The Verve Pipe and the Plain White T’s will be playing on Friday night so be sure not to miss it!

Tomorrow, you might want to stop by the Murphy Park public art project and see how it is working out. For 12 weeks of this summer, artist Cbabi Bayoc will be guiding those participating in creating a piece of artwork that expresses the ideas and spirit of the community. The finished product should be ready for reveal sometime in Mid-August.

On the first and third Saturday of the month the St. Louis Landmarks Walking Tour takes you through a historic adventure to learn about the beginnings of St. Louis Downtown to the present day development. The experienced tour guides are also said to point out hidden gems during the tour.

The Graffiti Bridge: A Tribute to Prince in Chesterfield is going to be wild on Saturday. There will be BBQ and Food trucks providing dessert as well as a bar with an extended drink menu. The opening act, Secondhand Bliss, goes on at 6:30 PM and the Headliners will be on at 7:30 PM. This Saturday the Missouri Botanical Garden is hosting the Green Living Festival which will focus on teaching St. Louis families ways to live healthier and more energy efficient lifestyles. This is exactly the type of thing I can stand behind! I love learning new ways to better our community as a whole. Coincidentally, Saturday is also American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day so after learning ways to better preserve our beautiful planet you should get yourself out there and enjoy it!

The Overland Block Party will also be taking place on Saturday and the theme is Aloha Summer. At 3 PM there will be a parade leading up to the starting time of the party which will span from 4-10 PM. Kids games and slot car races will transpire from 4-8 PM

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

and there will also be live music from 5-10 PM. As we all know the people of St. Louis love locally brewed beer. IndiHop 2018 is yet another festival located in The Grove, which is one of my favorite STL neighborhoods. Shuttles transport folks between neighborhoods and local musicians entertain at each stop. There will be 50 unique tastes, 18 different bands, and 5 shuttles for transport!

Richmond Heights Top of the Hill Block Party is happening on Saturday as well from 4 - 7 PM. There will be all kinds of activities including caricatures, a bounce house and of course balloon animals. Now for the parents, Urban Chestnut Brewing Company will be providing the drinks while On The Fence! will be performing live!

JUNE

1

thru

JUNE

3

You could go celebrate the 80s at the New Town Concert Series in St. Charles with the Rick Schroeder Band. This is going down at the New Town Amphitheater from 7 - 10 PM and I would recommend bringing along some lawn chairs and blankets to sit on.

If that isn’t something that interests you then you could take advantage of another great festival on Sunday called the Kimmswick Strawberry Festival. This is a dog-friendly event located in the small town of Kimmswick, MO, which was voted one of the Top 100 Small Towns by Midwest Living’s Best of the Midwest Top 100 Small-town Getaways!

Another stop for your Sunday plans could include the University City North & South Block Party from 3 - 7 PM. There is going to be pony rides, crystal digging, and bouncy houses! Of course, there will also be food and drinks and live music provided by Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats!

Stephen Marley and Matisyahu are taking the stage at the Atomic Cowboy on Sunday the 3rd for their pavillion block party. The Doors are going to open at 5 PM but the show starts at 6 PM. There will also be a food stand out on the pavillion during the concert but seating is first come first serve so get there quick!

continued

pg. 24

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

Urban Chestnut will be hosting Twangfest at Off Broadway starting June 6th through June 9th. The opening night will feature the bands, The Cactus Blossoms, John Paul Keith, and Edward Burch & the Question of Tomorrow. Doors will open at 7PM and the show starts at 8. All ages are welcome so maybe now that school is out you may want to bring the kids, or maybe you don’t, which is also fine.

Friday the 8th, after you’re off work you should head on over to Tower Grove Park for their Sauce Food Truck Friday. There will be over 20 different food trucks participating as well as a partnership with Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, 4 Hands Brewing Co., Brick River Cider, etc. To top it all off the radio stations z107.7, ALT 104.9, 100.3 The Beat will be playing music as well as a different local band each time because this happens every friday!

JUNE

6

thru

JUNE

10

The World Oceans Day celebration at the St. Louis Zoo on Friday the 8th, is focusing on teaching us folks how to cut back on using the plastic products that are commonly dumped into our oceans. This event is going to run from 10 AM - 2 PM and it will have stops at the Polar Bear Point, Stingrays at Carribean Cove, Sea Lion Sound, and Penguin & Puffin Coast. It is a complete privilege to have such an amazing zoo in our city!

On the Second Friday of each month this summer The Magic House will be hosting their Grooving in the Garden with live music entertainment. This Friday the 8th, the Brothers Walker will be jamming out from 4 - 6:30 PM and while you’re dancing and singing you could also enjoy some free samples from Andy’s Frozen Custard.

I love to be active and I am always trying to find new ways to better my lifestyle and on Saturday the 9th, the Life Outside festival is the perfect place to do that. This is the second annual festival located at the Great Rivers Greenway where sponsorships have provided different activities like kayaking, rock wall climbing, stand-up paddle boarding, and more!

Don’t miss the R&B Bar Crawl in Downtown St. Louis on Saturday the 9th!

There will be strictly R&B music playing only at this event with different eras as themes for different venues. You will need to get your tickets in advance because this event is known for selling out! The check in time is from 4 - 5:30 PM at the Artist Art and the event goes until 10 PM! You have a tough choice to make deciding between these next two music festivals also taking place on Saturday. The 13th Annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival is happening at the Jacoby Arts Center just a short drive over to Alton, IL, to celebrate one of Jazz’s Greatest musicians of all time!

Maybe you’ll be in the mood for a night of rock n roll instead which is just fine because the The Route 66 Cars and Guitars Festival that is being held in Downtown Kirkwood will satisfy that itch. There’s going to be SIX different bands on two different stages, a vintage car show, and of course plenty of food and drinks for everyone.

If this weekend hasn’t worn you out and you’re looking for an exciting experience than the Soap Box Derby on Sunday the 10th is the right stop. This wonderful tradition on The Hill in St. Louis has been around for over 15 years and is hosted by the St. Louis Jaycees. Winners from each race are eligible to head on to the World Championship finals. Who knew there was a world championship for soap box racing?

pg. 26

You could also drop by .ZACK on Locust for The Grand Market, a second year tradition here in St. Louis. This event features live music, local eats, and a variety of Fashion Trucks for shopping.

There will also be a few kid friendly stops throughout the market including a petting zoo, coloring bar, and even a flower crown bar so your kids can make their very own!

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

On either the 14th or 15th take some time off to join those giving classical indian dance lovers a platform to discuss their views and ideas for performances at the 10th American NATYA Festival. This festival is open to people of all kinds and they hope to educate others on Indian Classical Dancing.

If you haven’t had a chance to hit the links yet this summer you might want to check out Golf the Galleries at The Sheldon on the 15th, although this course will be open all summer. This is an artist designed 9-Hole mini golf course installed and designed to provide visual arts and family fun. Did I mention this is a mini golf course inside with air conditioning?

The Taste of Downtown STL kicks off on Saturday the 16th in the Kiener Plaza with 16 different restaurants including Mango Peruvian Cuisine, Drunken Fish, Porano Pasta and more! Of course there will also be live entertainment and beverages served as well. If you have any friends or family in town this would be the perfect place to prove St. Louis is great city with great food.

JUNE

14 thru

JUNE

19

The fun doesn’t stop there because The Grove will be hosting an event themselves for the same days called ShowcaseSTL. This is a two-day ticketed event with over 100 different performances spread across a few different venues in The Grove area. You can choose between a one or two day pass, whichever you would prefer.

It is Father’s Day on Sunday the 17th and I have a few ideas for you to take into consideration. Start the day at The Boathouse at Forest Park for their Father’s Day brunch from 10 AM - 2 PM. After you’ve had your fill you could move on to the Kimmswick Auto Show which will go from noon - 3 PM and will present the trophy at 3. Finish out the night by attending Powell Hall Symphony’s Take on a Tribute to Elton John which begins at 7:30 PM. If you’ve been thinking about homeownership come on by my Keys to Homeownership Seminar I will be holding on June 19th at The Heights from 6:30 - 8 PM. Make sure to bring a friend!

pg. 28

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

If you’re looking for an incredible experience you should climb aboard the Gateway Arch Blues Cruise on Thursday the 21st to calmy drift the Mississippi River while jamming out to some great blues music. The Jeremiah Johnson Band, former winner of the St. Louis Blues Society IBC Challenge in 2011, is going to show you what the blues are all about!

Friday June 22nd could be a movie night with the family if you’re interested in watching them outdoors with access to several delicious food trucks providing snacks.. St. Charles Community College Foundation, SCC Student Activities and Cottleville-Weldon Spring Chamber of Commerce are teaming up to bring you the seventh annual Outdoor Summer Movie Series and Food Truck Frolic.

They will be showing Sherlock Gnomes that night so I hope your kids haven’t seen it!

JUNE

21 thru

JUNE

24

If you don’t have the kiddos for the night you could head to Historic Downtown Ste. Genevieve for Fourth Friday Art Walk. On the fourth friday of the month a few different shops and galleries stay open just a little later for folks to have a night stroll to view the different artwork and creativity on display.

Saturday marks the start of PrideFest in Soldiers Memorial Park on Market Street in Downtown St. Louis. There will be a parade at noon on Market Street.

Additionally there will be lots of food and drink vendors to satisfy your hunger and quench your thirst! Don’t miss all the live entertainment either!

The Chesterfield Wine & Jazz Festival will be taking place at the Chesterfield Amphitheater on the 23rd. Admission is $5 at the gate but children under 12 are free! I would suggest bringing along some blankets and chairs to make yourself at home while you take in all the smooth jazz! Don’t worry there will be plenty of wine and food for everyone.

Don’t miss Krewella at the Ryse Nightclub in St. Charles on the 23rd. This DJ Duo from Chicago, will be on the one’s and two’s for a nonstop dance party.

These two sisters know how to get you moving!

If you’re a car enthusiast I’m thinking the Gateway 200 at the Gateway Motorsports Park located just outside of St. Louis might be your scene. The smell of burning rubber and loud souped-up engines will fill the air creating a roaring crowd.

I am sure you have heard of the famous Stonehenge in Whitshire, England, but did you know we have a similar version in our area called the Woodhenge.

Apparently the Cahokians had used this Woodhenge to track the solar calendar back in the day. On Sunday the 24th you could make a visit to witness the Summer Solstice sunrise and learn how the Cahokians came up with this system.

After that you could catch one of the last showings of The Wiz at the Muny who also just so happens to be celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. The Muny is America’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre and we are lucky enough to have it right here in our own backyard. How amazing is that?

pg. 30

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

The USA Fencing 2018 National Championship will be held at the America’s Center on Thursday the 28th. This is a 10 day event with over 4000 competitors from all over the country. Stop by if you have time to get a taste of a classic olympic sport up close and personal.

On Friday, you should go see some of my favorite performers the Ptah Williams Acoustic Trio for a smooth and relaxing jazz vibe while having dinner.

This performance will go from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at The Dark Room at The Grandel. After some soothing jazz drive on over to the Saint Louis Art Museum for SLAM Underground: Action. On the last friday of the month they have an event from 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM for dancing, drinking, viewing and creating art.

DJ Agile One will be on the turntables until 8 when the Hounds will be taking over for a live performance.

JUNE

28 thru

Black Pearl Media is hosting the 2nd Annual Music for a Cure benefiting Multiple Sclerosis on the 29th which will be featuring “The Chris Black Experience.”

Chris Black, an artist whom has been on tour with huge names like Beyonce’ and Lil Wayne, suddenly lost all mobility of his limbs in 2002. He was later diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis but after totally altering his lifestyle he regained some of his abilities. Chris is now focused on sharing his story and raising money for the cure of this disease.

Saturday the 30th is unfortunately the end of the month of June but hopefully you have no regrets moving on into July. Start your morning in Downtown Kirkwood for Tunes @ Ten where the Mississippi Crossing Band will be playing live as you peruse the Kirkwood Farmers Market. After that make a stop at the 3rd Annual Arcadia Valley Chalk Arts Festival at The Arcadia Academy. People of all kinds will be able to decide on their favorite chalk art design with also having the opportunity to create some of your own!

JUNE

30

The Old Rock House is also hosting the 5th Annual Summer Gras on the 30th. They will be featuring 6 different bands including one of my favorite’s the Funky Butt Brass Band. Doors open at 4 PM and the show will start at 5 PM so make sure to get there early to find a good spot!

What an amazing month we have ahead in St. Louis! I’m looking forward to seeing you out and about.

All the best. -Nate

pg. 32

P.S. Here is the latest Housing Report for your review.

Median sales prices are up 6.8% from April of last year. Inventory continues to be low, which is good for our clients who are selling homes, but a bit more of a task for our clients who are buying homes.

However, we are up for the challenge! Let me know if you have any questions.

Nate K. Johnson ABR,CIPS,CRS,GRI,SRES Real Estate Solutions Group Redkey Realty Leaders 314-575-7352 Direct 314-514-9600 Office nate@livingstl.com www.livingstl.com

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Available - NOW!

on lulu.com and Amazon.com pg. 34

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Friday JUNE 15 • 5pm–8pm

Museum’s North Lawn and Throughout the Museum

FREE

2018 PROGRAMS

JUNETEENTH Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration

commemorating the end of slavery in the US. It

was on June 19, 1865, PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH

St. Louis Inner City Culture Center Enterprise

JUNETEENTH

Celebration

that Union soldiers, led

by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended, and enslaved men and women were free. Join us for a family-friendly outdoor festival featuring live entertainment, spoken word, a film screening, and much

JUNETEENTH more!

Visit mohistory.org

for more information.

Forest Park • St. Louis • 314.746.4599 • mohistory.org

pg. 36

Read Article Elaine Young ­ Artist

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Upcoming Summer Events!

Please join A Call to Conscience at our upcoming performances, screenings and panel discussions this summer!

I've Been to the Mountain Top

"I've Been to the Mountaintop" was Dr. Martin Luther King's final speech delivered at the Mason Temple Church in God and Christ on April 3, 1968; the eve of his assassination. The speech will be interpreted in Reader's Theater format, replete with music that was popular during the Civil Right's Movement.

This interactive play transports the audience back to Mason Temple COGIC when the 3,000 plus crowd came to hear Dr. King’s address during the

sanitation workers’ strike taking place in the streets of Memphis Tennessee.

Grand Center Theater Crawl Sample the finest offerings of the bustling St. Louis theater scene at the sixth annual Grand Center Theatre Crawl!

Rotate through venues in Grand Center every 30 minutes to get free access to over 30 local theater groups in short performances.

Same Difference The documentary provides an insightful look at lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians based on gender roles. The film follows a series of lesbian women stories, discusses the hypocrisy in terms of gender roles and the performative expectations attached. A panel discussion will follow the screening with Kristian Blackmon, Aja La'Starr Owens, Javania Webb, and Jessica Jackson.

pg. 38

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Literacy Begins at Birth with the St. Louis Public Library!

When it comes to literacy, too many children in our community fall behind their more fortunate peers. In response, St. Louis Public Library has launched Born to Read, an early childhood literacy initiative serving families of children birth to age eight. Services like Born to Read bags for newborns and programs like Read It Together open up a world of free resources. With a gift to the St. Louis Public Library Foundation, you can ensure a better future for our city’s children.

Give Today!

Email sent by St. Louis Business Journal All rights reserved. © St. Louis Business Journal

815 Olive St., Suite 100 St. Louis, MO 63101, USA

pg. 40

Jamaa Habari

For Your Information Juneteenth Juni 13-19

Overall Theme: Recognizing and celebrating our Afrikan Freedom Days while continuing to educate and politicize ourselves and our people about Afrikan freedom and our struggle for Kujichagulia (SelfDetermination).

History and Background: The Civil War ended in Aprili 1865. News about the end of the war and abolition of chattel slavery traveled slowly across the united states. Blacks throughout the state of Texas found out at various times between Juni 12th and 20th. The term Juneteenth Freedom Days was coined because most freed women and men realized their liberation during this time. Spontaneous celebrations immediately followed the spreading of the good news. Nonetheless, some Afrikans got word even later. Some Blacks in Missouri, for example, did not get the news until Agosti of that year.

Recommendations: Due to this history, we recommend celebrating Juneteenth as “Juneteenth- Afrikan Freedom Days” throughout the month of Juni. All activities and decorations should be uplifting, festive and colorful.

Decorations: The week before the event, we should place lanterns in and/or outside our homes. Lanterns were used by members of the Underground Railroad to reveal which homes and buildings were “safe houses.” Images of quilts, or quilts themselves, can be placed outside your home as well, indicating you have a “safe house.” The Red, Black and Green can also be placed outside, throughout the home and/or in windows.

Proverbs and quotes related to freedom may be displayed. Streamers, balloons, festive cloth and other relevant items can be used to adorn your home. All of these items are intended to invoke the themes of freedom and celebration.

Activities: Home: Families can gather to tell stories of freedom and work on family trees and histories. A Juneteenth party can also be held in the home. At least one night of the month, families should have a Juneteenth- Afrikan Freedom Days dinner or lunch together. Each night, the outside lantern can be lit, illuminating the way to freedom.

Public: Public events should capture the feeling of the spontaneous celebrations that broke out once the word of freedom was spread. There should be a full day or two of activities, including games for the watoto (children), Afrikan drumming, masks, food, music, folktales, presentations, games, an ancestral memorial, a safe house display and more. Re-enactments of historical events of that day can be held. You can also give speeches about how we fought and brought about our own freedom.

For more information, contact TEACH at 314-875-9277, teachorg33@gmail.com, on Facebook at Teach Jamaa or teachsociety.org

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

IMPACT African American

on Classic American Literature

B

etween June 12 and July 17, 2018, I am co-directing “African American Impact on Classic American Literature,” a six-week summer session for senior citizens who take courses in the People Program in New Orleans. Over five weeks, we shall have video lectures by Arnold Weinstein (Brown University) on works by Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison and my comments on the authors, which may differ in some degree from those Weinstein has chosen to make. Each of the works has to be thought of with reference to the institution of slavery and the psychological impact of enslavement on the slaver and the enslaved, the master and the slave.

Lawrence’s book is witty and packed with British humor , and it is not always a compliment for American literature. He contrasted extreme Russians (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov) and extreme Americans (Hawthorne, Poe, Dana, Melville, Whitman), finding “that the Russians are explicit and hate eloquence and symbols, seeing in these only subterfuge, whereas the Americans refuse everything explicit and always put u a sort of double meaning.

They revel in subterfuge.” (4)

Robert S. Levine’s article “Frederick Douglass Once Turned to Fiction to Describe What He Considered True Heroism” ---(published on the NEH website ---https://www.neh.gov )--- deals with Douglass’ novella The Heroic Slave (1853) and introduces the thematic dimensions that are important for understanding Melville’s novella Benito Cereno (1855) and Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), which transformed one of her primary sources -Josiah Henson’s life story --- into a sentimental novel teeming with stereotypes. Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (1885 ) is the boy’s adventure book to be sure, but it is also very much adventure as criticism of American culture and the moral quandary occasioned by being complicit in a person’s enslavement. Ellison’s Invisible Man (1953) brings remarkable visibility to some consequences of America’s history of slavery; Morrison’s Beloved (1987) examines the emotional costs and the moral problems of enslavement from a woman’s perspective.

If we ignore the fact that many guises of “enslavement” affect all human beings in 2018, we ought to admit that we will to be fools with dirty faces and dirty hands.

With these works we have the 19th century having a conversation with the 20th century for the benefit of our 21st century pondering of what significance this angling of history and fiction might have in our lives as Americans. We have a challenge.

I frame that challenge by way of selective quotation from D. H. Lawrence’s 1923 book Studies in Classic American Literature and Toni Morrison’s lectures published as Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (1992).

Subterfuge is an apt word. We do evade the issue(s) and protect ourselves with heart-warming slogans, dreamy myths, and baldfaced lies.

America was escape from Europe, and Lawrence wished to address the literature that emerged from the escape. Page 11 --”Escaped slaves …people the republics of Liberia and Haiti. Are we to look at America in the same way? A vast republic of escaped slaves. When you consider the hordes from eastern Europe, you might well say it: a vast republic of escaped slaves. But one dare not say this of the Pilgrim Fathers, and the great old body of idealist Americans, the modern Americans tortured with thought.

A vast republic of escaped slaves. Look out , America! And a minority of earnest, self-tortured people.”

How deep is the irony of Lawrence saying the Pilgrim Fathers were “black, masterful men, they wanted something else.” …..The land of THOU SHALT NOT. Only the first commandment is : THOU SHALT NOT PRESUME TO BE A MASTER. Hence democracy.

It is an even deeper matter that Lawrence singled out people from eastern Europe as exceptionally problematic. He might have added that the black Irish and the Africa-marked Italians were special problems. White is not skin. White is how the gears of cognition turn.

BUT if as Lawrence claims the founding fathers transformed

pg. 42

themselves into free men who “discovered America and their own wholeness, still there will be the vast number of escaped slaves to reckon with, those who have no cocksure, ready-made destinies.”(13) That vast number includes kidnapped Africans and generation after generation of European and Asian peoples who immigrated to the USA. Lawrence was throwing into our faces the hypocrisy of achieving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on the blood, sweat, and tears stained soil of slavery and extermination of a native population. The making of whiteness!!! One has to court and marry violence to be properly white.

Without mentioning Lawrence at all, Morrison picks up his line of thought. She says with more deliberate clarity than Lawrence that until very recently classic American literature was quite willfully incapable of admitting the presence of slavery and the descendents of the enslaved was an intimate ingredient in its being ----its veiled multiethnic, multicultural being. Morrison plunges a dagger into the heart of whiteness.

Morrison’s conclusion about Ernest Hemingway is a mind-opening assertion: “Ernest Hemingway, who wrote so compellingly about what it was to be a white male American, could not help folding into his enterprise of American fiction its Africanist properties. But it would be a pity if the criticism of that literature continued to shellac those texts, immobilizing their complexities and power and luminations just below its tight reflecting surface. All of us, readers and writers, are bereft when criticism remains too polite or too fearful to notice a disrupting darkness before its eyes” (90-91).

It is just here, out of disrupting darkness that the body of African American poetry casts light on what has transpired in the Americas from 1492 to the present. The African American impact on classic American literature is the perpetual raising of questions. And our poetry begets more questions than other genres. We shall discover in our reading of five books the multiple responses to the questions. We shall not, however, get answers that could leave us in a state of certitude.

To repeat the key word subterfuge, I will say Herman Melville’s “Benito Cereno” is a masterful expose of subterfuge in the history (verifiable narrative) of the United States and 19th century American literature. Moreover, a 21st century reader who recognizes the evasion may wish to make it a part of her or his equipment for living.

She or he may ponder the difference between aesthetic reading and efferent reading under the guidance of Louise Rosenblatt’s The Reader the Text the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work (1978). That option is valuable. So too is reading Sterling Stuckey’s Going Through the Storm: The Influence of African American Art in History (1994).

Melville served his 1855 Putnam magazine audience well; he serves us well from the distance of 163 years . Both audiences are made aware of the ambiguity of what the eye sees and what the ear hears as evidence to support interpretations. Note how the narrator depicts the scene in paragraph 3 of the story: The morning is “peculiar to that coast,” possessed of a special quality.

All is silent (mute). All is gray --the sea is waved lead; the eye sees gray birds; they are relatives (kith and kin) of gray vapors ---already the mind has begun to make connections and interpret

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

the visual; the motion of the birds is like the movement of “swallows over meadows before storms. Shadows present, foreshadowing deeper shadows to come.” The extended simile transforms sea into land. The final sentence is an invitation to read in pursuit of discovering ; the scene is an omen. We shall not understand the moral, the deeper shadow of the story, until the end. We can only surmise at the paragraph’s end that mysteries will unfold, that the story will be more than an entertainment. It promises to be a learning experience, an exercise in applied morality.

Readers who have more than average exposure to literature in English recognize that “borrowing” (with or without due acknowledgement) from printed stories has a family resemblance with “stealing” and “theft.” Appropriation has its own long history in writing, especially in literary enterprises. Appropriating the language and ideas or intellectual property of another merits discussion in law and aesthetics. What is the ultimate aesthetic experience of seeing, however momentarily, the enslaved (the stolen human beings treated as cargo or property) exercise their will to freedom by transforming the agents of slavery into new versions of themselves, into characters who perform in a drama of absurdity for the benefit deluding Captain Delano? If we emphasize that aesthetic feelings begin with perceptions, we can recast that question: Just how honest can “Benito Cereno” force us to be about what we see and hear daily in 2018? And what might we come to know about the historically situated immorality of law itself as we participate in making sense of the narrative?

Deep questions foreshadow deeper questions to come! Who owns a story?

There is a great deal of deliberate irony in how Melville borrowed from Chapter XVIII of Amasa Delano’s 1817 book, A Narrative of Voyages and Travels, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres; Comprising Three Voyages Round the World; Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery, in the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands. African American impact enables irony to boomerang in Charles Johnson’s 1990 novel Middle Passage, because Johnson appropriates characters from Melville’s narrative in his own demonstration of what facts of slavery and uses of creative imagination can bring into being. As far as “borrowing” ( let us call it benign theft) goes, it is Shakespeare who modeled how to plagiarize with gusto; the stories in his plays are not original. Like Shakespeare, Melville and Johnson use the license of appropriation as they deal with what Morrison indentified in Playing in the Dark (1992) as Africanist presence in the Americas. They follow a literary leader. Impact isn’t a one-way street. As we shall discover, Stowe, Twain, Ellison, and Morrison also borrow in different ways to produce different effects as they provide vistas of knowing.

Contemporary discussion of literature often maims the pleasure of the text with all its clever “theorizing” and shadows the civility of the conversation Harry Levin tried to promote in The Power of Blackness: Hawthorne, Poe, Melville (1957). Levin addressed “two broad assumptions: the symbolic character of our greatest fiction and the dark wisdom of our deeper minds” (xii), and I think these assumptions still hibernate in the heart of whiteness. For Levin, “Benito Cereno” was Melville’s “most forthright confrontation of blackness” (189) as he portrays Amasa Delano as” the innocent American who…finds himself inadvertently drawn into the evils of the old world”…The implication, for the new world, is a change of course: from discovery to corruption. Though Don Benito is saved and sustained, he guiltily pines away. When Captain Delano asks

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

AFRICAN AMERICAN... cont.

him, “What has cast such a shadow upon you?,” his response is “The Negro.” Perhaps the most significant commentary on “Benito Cereno” is one of Melville’s epigraphs to “The Bell Tower,” his Frankenstein parable of a mechanism which destroys its inventor: “Like Negroes, these powers own men sullenly; mindful of their higher master; while serving plot revenge.”…..That higher master can be no other than nature itself, which, outraged by slavery, authorizes the vengeance of the enslaved” (189-190).

Attention to African American impact does not contradict Levin’s insights about Melville, but it reveals what Levin either would not or could not see: neither Amasa Delano nor any other white male American in the 19th century was “innocent.” The old world (Europe) had no monopoly on the evil of slavery; that evil was inscribed in the racial contract of the so-called New World. Levin didn’t lie. He evaded. And in so doing he affirmed that we are never free of our shadows. As D. H. Lawrence warned us, we should expect that the 20th century scholarship of Harry Levin and his peers would, like the classic American literature they examined, revel in subterfuge. The so-called “culture wars” of the late 20th century only minimized subterfuge. We are predisposed to evade ad infinitum.

Knowing is symbolic, and we would symbolize our bottomless curiosity about history and morality by dealing with Frederick Douglass, the mutiny on the Creole (1841) and The Heroic Slave; we provide evidence of what we see in the affair of La Amistad (1839), the agency of Cinque, and the trial and eventual return of the once enslaved to West Africa; by reading “Benito Cereno” we position ourselves to deal more seriously with the fictions of Stowe, Twain, Ellison, and Morrison. By critique of subterfuge, the removal of shellac, we enable those fictions to become components of our nonfiction. We allow them to articulate how American literary imagination confronts or retreats from African American impact and presence and American beautifully sordid histories.

~Jerry W. Ward, Jr.

pg. 44

MISSOURI STATE PARKS COMMEMORATES AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC APPRECIATION MONTH

HOT FUNDAY IN THE SUMMERTIME FEATURING

LIVE MUSIC

JUNE 30, 2018 4:00 - 7:00 P.M. DOORS OPEN AT 3:30 PM

SCOTT JOPLIN HOUSE STATE HISTORIC SITE

2658 DELMAR BLVD ST. LOUIS, MO 63103

ENTER THROUGH ROSEBUD LOCATED ON DELMAR & BEAUMONT

Raggin' ragtime piano Opera from Scott Joplin's Treemonisha RHYTHM & BLUES

SMOOTH JAZZ Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources.

For more information call Scott Joplin House at (314)340-5790 or the St. Louis Area Urban Outreach Office at (314)340-5794.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 46

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Interview with Lewis DIUGUID: Award-Winning Journalist Uses Example of Father to Encourage Today’s Men

There is much discussion today about ways to stem the downward spiral of young African American men. Veteran journalist, Lewis DIUGUID, mines the past to offer hope for the future. TheVillageCelebration’s Vickie Newton talks with Diuguid about his book, Our Fathers: Making Black Men.

Listen to the Interview

pg. 48

The Tammi Holland Show

WATCH NOW!

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Zuka Arts Guild

ZUKA FRIDAY'S

Zuka Arts Guild Art Exhibition at 14th Street Artist Community The Zuka Artist Guild at the 14th Street Artist Community features a different visual artist every First Friday of the month starting 7 p.m.

Zuka is a group of talented local artists with a history of producing collaborative artwork that dates back to 1974. ●

Every Friday @ 1 p.m. Live rhythm and blues with the band Renaissance

●

Bring your lunch and have fun!-FREE

●

First-Friday of each month, 7 p.m. till 10 p.m. Music, live art demos, raffling local artwork and artist marketplace. Free and open to the public. Street and lot parking available @ 2701 N. 14th Street (Old North St. Louis Community) 63106

Experience You Can Trust.

Our products and services have helped millions of American families and businesses prepare for life’s major events and their related expenses.

As a licensed agent,* I can help you: • Meet your everyday needs • Save for your children's education • Save for retirement • Preserve your estate • Prepare for the unexpected • Care for elderly parents

Frenchaire Gardner

Gateway Division Office 314-319-5405 frenchaire.gardner@mutualofomaha.com Insurance products and services are offered by Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company or one of its affiliates. 3300 Mutual of Omaha Plaza, Omaha, NE 68175 *In WA and OR: producer AFN41485_1014

pg. 50

John Jennings Associate Professor Visual Studies SUNY Buffalo tumblr: http://jijennin70. tumblr.com/

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Featured

Photography Submission

pg. 52

Bo

Harris

BIO: Photographer - Bo Harris - Visual Access Photography visualaccessphotography@verizon.net FB: Visual Access Photography IG: @visualaccessphotography IG:@visualaccessphotobo

BEHIND THE LENS

Visual axis (n.) -a straight line extending from the center of the eye to an object on which the eye is focused – the line of sight.

Ac·cess(n.) - A means of approaching, entering, exiting, communicating with, or making use of. The ability or right to approach, enter, communicate with, or make use of.

I’ve had a love for photography for a VERY LONG TIME!!

I’ve been creating images for well over 20 years, that’s right the FILM days. :) From the first time I saw an image produced on a piece of photo paper, after a dektol rinse, I was hooked.

Bo Harris is a freelance photographer, specializing in people, fashion and corporate photography with a style consisting of colorful and energetic imagery. Running a client-friendly, service-oriented business he believes that great creativity often is the result of team effort and values working closely with his clients. Based in the DMV Area, Visual Access Photography is ready to create outstanding visuals for you.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 54

“ I was a shy, always behind the scenes kinda girl, I didn’t even have the confidence to have conversations with people Until I started modeling I got more confident, More attitude, MORE HAPPY, it made me feel beautiful, and I will definitely speak my mind with no apologies!, I try to stay away from all negativity and people who make me feel bad about myself because life should be fun!!!

Don’t ever take it too serious”

Model - Yanju Stephens Yanju.stephens@yahoo.com IG: @yanjusofine Twitter: Yanjustephens1

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 56

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 58

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 60

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 62

What do I do?

I help the college bound teens of busy parents write extraordinary college entrance essays. And, I provide perceptive leaders with trustworthy diversity & inclusion facilitation.

My book, Chop: A Collection of Kwansabas for Fannie Lou Hamer, is available at www.femininepronoun.com

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

VIEW IN BROWSER

GEEK OUT OVER GLASS ON JUNE 15!

GET INTO THE SCIENCE BEHIND GLASS ART AT OUR NEXT OPEN HOUSE! Why do we at Third Degree love glass so much? It’s not only an art form, it’s a science! There's so much to learn: the effects of different temperatures, strength and flexibility, centrifugal force, and much more!

Come geek out over the amazing properties of glass at our next Third Friday open house!

WHAT’S GOING ON? Glassmaking Demonstrations: Geek out over the glass making process!

–Glassblowing Demos at 6:15p, 7:30p, 8:45p.

–Flameworking Demos at 6:00p, 7:30p, 8:45p.

Show us your creative side with our glass art experiences! $35 per project* –Glassblowing (Ages 10+): Sculpt glowing molten glass into a paperweight –Flameworking (Ages 10+): Melt glass rods through a torch to craft beautiful beads. Add them to a bracelet, keychain or necklace pendant!

–Fused Glass: Cut and layer pieces of glass to create jewelry, wine charms, bug magnet, glass tile, or nightlight.

*Experiences are first come, first served. No advance registration available. See our Third Friday page for available options.

We’ve gotta be frank with you…we can’t wait to grab a bite from the Frankly Sausages food truck!

It's science...and ice cream! Grab a frozen treat made with liquid nitrogen from Ices Plain & Fancy!

East Gallery presents a new artwork display, “All About Color” by Carla Dawson. More info on our Third Friday page.

7:00p & 7:45p: The St. Louis Science Center joins us for two fiery demonstrations!

8:30p: The St. Louis Fire Technicians turn up the heat on the patio!

FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 2018 DOORS OPEN AT 6:00PM | FREE ADMISSION | ALL AGES WELCOME

MORE INFORMATION

pg. 64

Nina Simone I wish I knew how it would feel to be free

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

(Live in Montreux) 1976

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Kenautis Smith & lyfestyle7 Peace!

In every life a little rain must fall. Kenautis Smith X lyfestile7 are here with compelling sights and sounds to get you through the storm. If you like it, please pass it on to your loved ones.

Check the video shot by Kenautis Smith! -

Here's the SOUNDCLOUD LINK! https://soundcloud.com/ kenautis-smith-955399236/ kenautis-smith-x-lyfestile- rain Do remember to follow Somethingwonderfulrecords on Youtube and IG?!

Check the links below to catch up things you might have missed https://soundcloud.com/lyfesti le7

https://www.facebook.com/lyfes tile

https://www.instagram.com/sw.r ecords/

twitter.com/lyfestile7

https://www.instagram.com/lyfe stile7

http://lyfestile.tumblr.com/

-lyfestile

pg. 66

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Featured

Artist

Submission

pg. 68

Michelle

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

Lewis

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 70

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 72

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 74

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 76

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 78

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 80

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 82

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 84

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 86

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 88

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 90

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 92

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Subscribe

Past Issues

Translate

View this email in your browser

IPHF Bijou Matinee The First Boys of Spring Saturday, June 23rd, 1:30pm at the International Photography Hall of Fame Movie will begin at 1:30pm Run Time: 60 minutes.

For parts of five decades, the immortals of America’s national pastime trained on baseball diamonds and “boiled out the alcoholic microbes” of winter in the thermal baths of Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 1886, The Chicago White Stockings were the first to trek south to Hot Springs, when the team’s owner and manager decided the boys needed a place to practice and get ready for the season ahead. MORE Released: 2015, Not Rated IPHF Member $3/Non-Member $5

Pre­Register

pg. 94

BLACK COMIX RETURNS - African American Comic Art & Culture

A hardcover collection of art and essays showcasing the best African American artists in today's vibrant comic book culture.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 96

Subscribe

Past Issues

Translate

View this email in your browser

Happenings at the Museum

Join us for a special Howlin' Friday on April 13th as the National Blues Museum honors Kim Massie & Jim McClaren Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved. www.the-arts-today.com with the "Keeping The Blues Alive" award.

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 98

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

FREE DOM LET

RING

pg. 100

T

here is a basic principle that underlies the American system that as a nation we are a nation of law and not of men. This principle underlies the organizing documents of the nation, both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It can be traced to the Magna Carta which established that everyone is subject to the law, even Kings, want to be Kings, and especially former reality show hosts. We as a country must revisit some basic principles of our democracy, which guarantees the rights of the individual, the right to have justice and the right to a fair trial. The reason the Magna Carta was created was the barons trying to stop the King from abusing his power with the people of England. You can recognize this influence on the American thinking when in 1791 Congress proposed amendments to the Constitution to safeguard rights of the people in the first ten amendments. We must be vigilant in our understanding of our basic rights, so we are not taken advantaged of by presidents or Congress’.

We are in an environment in which understanding the truth becomes harder and harder especially if you are not paying attention or doing your homework.

Democracy is hard work and it is not for the faint of heart or individuals who do not educate themselves or allow themselves to become victims of ‘fake news’.

Know the truth and the truth shall set you free…

Frederick Douglass said: ‘I do not despair of this country… The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain. I therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from the Declaration of Independence, the great principles it contains, and the genius of American institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age…The fiat of the Almighty, Let there be light, has spent its force. No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport, or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light.’

We must now shed light on the lies, deceit, hypocrisy and fake news that is being propagated to implement policy that is for the 1% and greed and wealth at the expense of the American economy. We have allowed

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

the southern strategy – individuals who are still fighting the Civil War to infiltrate our institutions to implement racist policies taking us backwards. We must address the institutionalization of racism in our institutions and get rid of the people who implement these policies.

So, if we look at housing for example for lowincome individuals, it has taken over 50 years for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement a rule under the Obama administration that made a commitment to end housing discrimination in cities and states even while they were taking HUD money to deprive people housing choices and maintain residential segregation. HUD has currently suspended the AFFH Rule designed to correct years of government policy to implement segregation, and deny access to safe, decent, affordable housing through exclusion and disinvestment in black communities.

This is the 50th Anniversary of passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and the southern strategy is taking out this AFFH regulation designed to eliminate housing discrimination and promote housing integration. This suspension by the Secretary of HUD is unlawful and violates the Administrative Procedures Act which stipulates that federal rulemaking agencies in order to change rules must notify the public and have a commenting period before such changes can be implemented. Therefore, this suspension is being challenged in court by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Poverty and Race Research Action Council and the Public Citizen Litigation Group. Suspension of the rule means that cities and states receiving HUD Block Grant money are not in compliance and HUD is signaling to these communities that they do not need to be in compliance. This example is just the tip of the ‘southern strategy iceberg’ that is melting away laws, rules, and practices designed to fix the racism and discrimination that is occurring in our nation.

We cannot sit idly by as the fundamental foundations of what America is supposed to be about be highwww.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LET FREEDOM RING... cont.

jacked by people who do not believe -‘My country tis of thee, sweat land of liberty for thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims pride, from every mountain side – Let Freedom ring.’ We know what we need to do – so in the words of that great philosopher – Nike – Just Do It. However, there still is a great deal of confusion and fake news that we must overcome so that we do not get confused in our pathway forward. Dr. King said it eloquently…

‘We must be able to sift through evidence. We must be able to discern the Truth from the false, the real from the unreal, and the fact from the fiction.’

~ Pierre Blaine

Pierre Blaine is author of Movement: Race, Power and Culture in America Available on Amazon.com and the Missouri History Museum.

pg. 102

“Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

#BlackDollsMatter

Buy Now!!!

Bring a sense of pride and strength to the extraordinary girl in your life.

Madeline Delilah Doll and chapter book www.stagemotherproductions.com pg. 104

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Coffee With Caregivers June 14, 2018

9:30-11:30am JB Division, Building 52, Room 1-S-58 This group is designed for Caregivers of our enrolled Veterans or Veterans caring for a loved one. We will have a volunteer to provide respite for your veteran during this event. ➢ Develop support and connect with other Caregivers ➢ Take time to relax and have a little respite from caregiving ➢ Learn about available resources within the VA and community

Please RSVP by June 11, 2018 to Tammy Scott or Deanna Farrell (314) 652-4100, Ext. 54127

Building 52

parking

pg. 106

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 108

Tell the TRUTH, SHAME the Devil An Essay by Marsha Cann PROLOGUE During the Civil Rights movement, Beaumont High School’s integration was featured in a documentary film that was nominated for an Academy Award.

After the closure of Little Rock Central High School after its integration crisis in 1958, three members of the Little Rock Nine came to St. Louis and completed coursework at Beaumont. After the 1970s, however, the school re-segregated as an all-black school…Even after a court mandated desegregation transfer program, Beaumont remained a de facto segregated all-black school from the 1980s through the 2000s. (Wikepedia)

Say it loud! I’m Black, and I’m proud!

It was 1968, my first year of high school…

James Brown traded his process for an afro and penned our battle cry Gone! With your bad self….Say it loud!.... I’m Black, and I’m proud!

And that September we came from up the street, across the park, ‘round the corner To Beaumont High, used to be all white, then just 10 remained, With 3,000 black teens on the scene, the Big B was our claim to fame.

We were ready, with our bad selves.

Turtlenecks and college brogues, mini-skirts, bucks and bell bottoms.

Couldn’t tell us we wasn’t black and beautiful, hip and bad as we wanna be as we entered those halls! Yes, we were ready for this new journey, high school!

Don’t’ you know we were cool and ready for it all.

Some of us sweet, some sassy, some shady, some fly, Most of us silly, some slick, some smart, and some shy.

All different but similar, sharing the same love for the Big B, Sharing the same journey, being teenagers together, Becoming like family.

But in America turbulent times of terror engulfed us, Oppressed us, shook us up to see Our lives in poverty, Our paths challenged with discrimination and white supremacy.

Hating to see Terror too terrible to talk about Black blood spilled from sea to shining sea, shot down in the street, dogs, hoses, bullets, bombings beatings and bodies – having to fear It’s not safe for us here,

Denise, Carol Ann, and I were like the Three Musketeers. We did everything together – and when Deb wasn’t busy working at the record shop or spending time with her boyfriend, we were the Four Musketeers. She was always more “grown” than we were, even though she was the youngest.

She was fast. We were all comedians, experts at finding something funny about everything and everybody. We laughed a lot. Looking cute was also very important and of course boys - looking at the cute ones, having crushes and being in love from afar in our dreams, our imaginations, mostly, except for Deborah, like I said, she was more “grown” than the rest of us. And Denise and JD used to get put out of history class on purpose so they could kiss in the hallway.

But me and my girls, we were hipper than most, got to hear all the newest records before everybody else because Deb would hook us up. We’d be dancing and singing up a storm…doing the James Brown…

Baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby -- I got that feeling baby In love with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles…

Love is here…standing by…

Oooo…and The Dells…

If you stay---stay darling, stay in my corner- wooo…

Loved us some Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell…

Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby, ain’t nothing like the real thing And back to JB hittin’…

Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud!

We were dancing the funky four corners, mashed potatoes, tightening up, bopping and jerking Shopping downtown on Saturdays, Sharing same dreams, clothes and make-up Getting ears pierced and taps on shoes Spending gum poppin’ afternoons and evenings singin’ On the corner like the boys, everyday after school And soon as we’d get home Came hours on the phone for important relatin’ we had to do About what, when & who “…saw him lookin’ at you girrrrl, and his friend was lookin’ at me… ooowee!”

We were about grooving and having fun. And we really did love school, prided ourselves in doing well and got good grades. But hey, we liked talking about boys, making fun of everything and everybody, and hanging out in the smoking area, even though we didn’t smoke. Just teenagers being carefree, trying to get in where we fit in.

But it was becoming clear that things could never truly be carefree for us. Earlier that year, my sister Annie and I were on our way to church for Wednesday night youth meeting when the horrifying news came over the car radio. I remember hearing my sister scream “Oh Lord No!” and bursting into tears. I was panic-stricken. My whole body trembled.

Our present still like the past.

It was hard times at Beaumont High, Trouble had come to pass.

If we would be part of the solution, we had to grow up fast…

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

I was only 13 years old, and though frightened, I knew. We must stand.

We’d have to take up the baton; continue to fight for the right to be judged for the content of our character instead of the color of our skin; fight for justice. We must tell the truth and shame the devil – no matter what. Still, I

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

TELL THE TRUTH... cont.

wondered, how would we get through this? As much as I wanted to avoid thinking of the terror I felt, it was there, in my face. It stayed on my mind.

But that November, I was inspired by a picture of a group of young women who were Black Panther Party members. Crowned by afros, their faces wore somber, seriously focused expressions, and their body language exhibited clarity, dedication, purposefulness. That’s what I wanted.

I was just a kid, still I knew I couldn’t be carefree, I had to be careful, purposeful, dedicated. At the end of our freshman year, Denise, Carol Ann, and I started going to Black Student Union meetings that met once a week after school. On our way home, we’d stop at the record shop and give Deb the low down of what she had missed.

We were learning about ourselves on our own. We knew it was essential if we were to begin unraveling the lies that had defined us for so long. Blacks are inferior…can’t learn…are lazy…are criminals. We had to continue the journey to the truth of who we are. As young citizens, it was our right, our DUTY to protest the injustice and to evolve, to change the world.

At Beaumont, we began that evolution.

My brother Alfred House was the co-founder and prime minister of the Black Student Union. In his presence I had sanctuary, inspiration and hope.

He was the smartest person I knew and I loved him not only as a brother, but a leader. Once I shared with him how frightening it was to think about what could happen to us if we stood against racism and for our rights. He said “It’s okay to be frightened, but you can’t live in fear. It’s like dealing with someone who’s bullying you – you’ve got to stand your ground. The more we stand our ground, the more we are united, the stronger we’ll be.

We’ll be alright, lil’ sis, don’t worry so much.” He smiled that sideways smile of his and assured me, “I got your back.” And I knew he did.

When I came back to school to start my sophomore year, I was sporting my new afro against my mother’s wishes. This was an outside manifestation of an inner poise, a higher purpose. I had begun a new awakening of being Black in America, the complexity, the awesomeness, the tragedy of it. I was beginning to understand how empowering it was and what a burden it is to be “woke.”

In October, 1969, students at Beaumont led by members of the Black Student Union staged a walkout in support of the nation-wide moratorium on the war in Viet Nam, where black soldiers on the frontlines were being killed in disproportionate numbers to whites. Then we began preparing for our Negro History Week program in February. There would be drumming and African dance numbers, poetry and skits, a multi-dimensional presentation – us telling our story.

We had presented a similar program the year before, which was met with some consternation. So the HNIC (head negro in charge), the assistant principal, an uppity, bourgeois, establishment die-hard, demanded to see a dress rehearsal. Afterward, she summoned one of the three teachers that sponsored the Black Student Union and announced she found the program too offensive to present. Our sponsor called an emergency meeting. He told us that they had laid down the gauntlet for him and the other sponsors, and he would have to wash his hands of it. The administrators didn’t want us to go on with the program, but he couldn’t and wouldn’t tell us what to do. He said, “You all have to decide,” and left the room.

Our program was important to us. We were excited and had worked hard to prepare, so we went directly to the principal and persuaded him to allow the presentation. The performance began with African drumming and dance. There was a dramatization of the assassination of Malcolm X, and readings from the poetry of Langston Hughes, LeRoi Jones, Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni. Alfred was one of the student speakers. He gave an impassioned speech about our plight as young people and our need to stand united against racist discrimination, calling the u.s. constitution an old archaic, decrepit piece of paper. In one of the skits, an (imaginary) white teacher was attacked for making derogatory remarks about black students.

The administration called the skit “racially inflammatory” and accused us of urging the students to violence. We all felt like we were in a

perpetual state of “racial inflammation” anyway. We knew we weren’t safe in this country. And this skit and all the rest of the program was us telling our story – this presentation was us using the stage to express our pride as well as the absolute rage we felt. It celebrated our African culture, our musicians, poets and leaders in the movement, and it highlighted atrocities we endured as slaves and patterns of that same treatment in current times.

It was heartfelt, strong, and moving. So when the principal stepped in and tried to interrupt the performance he was shouted down.

Once the program ended, “disorder” ensued. Students raised angry voices against the administration, they yelled and cursed at teachers and some did minor damage to a few lockers and classrooms. School was dismissed for the day. That night each of the three Black Student Union faculty sponsors received telegrams informing them that they were fired because of the provocative nature of the skit and the presentation as a whole. Though it was the principal who gave the okay for us to go ahead with the program, it was the three teachers that ended up being blamed for the “inflammatory” performance AND the ensuing disorder. Okay. Things had gotten out of control and somebody had to take the blame. So the next day, when we got to school and heard about the telegrams, we immediately began to pass the word to meet in the auditorium. We had to decide what to do.

It was 1970 and one of the most troubling and illuminating times in my life.

Some of the white teachers, who were the majority of the teachers at Beaumont, took the skit personally and were afraid. Then there were those teachers who were armed, like Carol Ann’s history teacher who said to his class “If anything goes down, I’m ready for ya’ll,” and placed his open briefcase on the desk, revealing a small handgun for all to see. He wasn’t joking and neither were we, but we didn’t have no guns.

To complicate the already complicated situation, the Black Student Union leaders and members excelled academically and in sports. So the administration had to grapple with the fact that they were dealing with the achievers, not the troublemakers.

Firing our sponsors was a way of reprimanding us for choosing to look intelligently and boldly at controversial subjects that impacted our lives dramatically---- A way to hinder the whole idea of a Black Student Union. We had spoken out and expressed our rage through theatre when our silence and acquiescence was preferred. “Come on now, be sheep, not lions,” says the dominant culture, “sit down, shut up and take what we give you! Don’t think, don’t speak, just Baaaa! Baaaa! Baaaa! Sheep! Keep in line, don’t stray and make trouble, follow the crowd.”

But we said, Say it loud! I’m Black, and I’m proud!

We were finding our voice, trying to find our way, our place.

From overcrowded classrooms and not enough books, to wrongful and disproportionate police confrontations and imprisonment, to the discriminatory pattern of disinvestment and obstructive lending practices of redlining to prevent home ownership - we knew that things were very wrong in how we were treated in this country. We were determined to do something to make a difference. We needed to talk about that, we needed to listen and be heard, and yes, we needed to be supported. There had been no reparations for the work and suffering of our enslaved ancestors, and we continued to live in a world of intolerance, injustice and white supremacy.

It seemed our black skin had sealed our fate of always less than; always wrong; always hated; always disenfranchised, villainized, tricked and oppressed.

We wanted to unite and honor the efforts of those that had come before – Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and members of the Black Panther Party who had been killed for their efforts. Now WE had to stand for them. But how? And what would become of us?

Images from a 1963 news story I saw when I was 8 years old, flashed through my mind. Young black students who marched in a nonviolent demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama, to protest against segregation were violently attacked by white policemen. They were siccing

pg. 110

vicious dogs, spraying, even kids my age, with fire hoses, the force of which pinned them to walls, knocked them to the ground, leaving them bloodied and injured. They were spit on and cursed by angry whites, then dragged to paddy wagons, the police kicking and beating them before tossing them in. It was horrifying. My little 8-year-old mind was traumatized then, as it is now. If we protest and stand for our rights…will we be set-up, beat up, arrested, killed? So many questions, so much at stake.

We were learning about ourselves, our history, our culture, all of which had been denied with threat of death to our enslaved ancestors.

From the “Door of No Return” when we were captured and taken from Africa, our families were separated and we were forbidden to speak our native languages. We were cut off from anything we ever knew. And now, generations later it was up to us young people to be fearless, united. To gather ourselves, our story. To face the pain and embrace the truth of our past so that we could move on.

Swiped from the right life From birthrights to no rights Done been transformed We are of those who chose to survive and though crushed we rise!

So on that day, February 13, 1970, in support of the three teachers who had been fired because of our actions, the BSU decided and my brother Alfred announced that we would walk out and wouldn’t return to class until the teachers were reinstated.

I waited in the first floor hallway for the signal to leave and wondered nervously, “What will happen to us?” I was dazed and for a moment petrified. I remember looking out of the window. It was a beautiful day, and I wished I could just stand there and think about nothing more than it was a beautiful day. The mid-February sun was shining, there was a crisp but spring-like breeze blowing, and the sky was blue. You know, I just wanted to really appreciate the beauty of the day – that’s what I wished – without turning back to the hard reality of the times, which at that moment was the Beaumont student body in the midst of another walk out. Kids began pouring out.

I stood there remembering when I was a little girl, maybe about six, I was with my mother in downtown St. Louis. She was trying to make a purchase, and the salesperson kept waiting on everybody but her. My mother put back whatever she was going to purchase and quietly took me by the hand and walked away amidst whispers and condemning stares from the other customers. I could feel that the vibe was not right and asked my mother what was wrong. She said, “Oh nothing…it’s just that these white people… they don’t like us Negroes and don’t really want us to shop here.” I was speechless. A swelling fear came over me. I felt self conscious and uneasy when I realized that all the people around us were white. I felt alienated, like we didn’t belong, like we weren’t good enough. My thoughts were racing, then the sound of my mother’s voice snapped me back, “Don’t worry, baby, It’s gonna be alright.” She tried to reassure me. Then talking to herself more than to me she said, “Child, it’s just so much prejudice and hate in this world, it’s just pitiful!” Her face etched with pain as she sighed and spoke the unspeakable, the unacceptable truth, “That’s just how it is…It ain’t fair that we’re mistreated and looked down on, but that’s just how it is!

Lord help us.” She looked at me standing there about to cry, then her face softened as she buttoned the top button on my coat and said triumphantly, “But there’s something about us, no matter how they try to keep us down, whatever we do, we are the best at it! They cain’t stop that. So sweetie, we just gon’ keep on doing our best. Everything will be alright.”

Would everything really be alright? I thought as I stood at the window. I smelled smoke and knew someone had set a fire. Damn!

That kind of stuff wasn’t planned and should not be happening. We were walking out to show solidarity, to support and demand reinstatement for the three teachers. The fires were being started by those who just wanted to do something, anything to express the rage of it all. They overturned trash cans, damaged lockers, classrooms and set fires, a pretty bad one in one of the administrative offices. The perpetrators were mostly blowing off

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

steam, and thank goodness no one was hurt seriously. It was senseless, but at the same time, understandable. A natural outgrowth of the madness and wickedness of racism. Still, to the administration, teachers and some fellow students, it made us look out of control and reckless. I felt weary.

There was an eeriness in the almost empty hallway. Where normally the halls would be filled with kids changing class, moving fast, talking, laughing, stopping at their lockers, getting in a quick, secret glance at the cute boy in math class or sharing a piece of gossip before the last bell -- now there were small groups of kids scurrying out the main entrance and the administrators at the entrance and stairways standing guard, waiting for the police. I heard the sirens. I could hear the faint chanting of voices from a group of students outside “Power to the People!” Black Power. Some kids were just glad to get out of school and had no agenda or commitment to making a statement and protesting for justice. But there were those of us who were determined to change the reality of our world.

Full of ourselves, our real black selves We had searched and found treasures buried beneath the muddiness, the garbage of a people denied No more we say with fire and brimstone in our mouth, no more We come full of old cultures morning dew new and are born again, Saved We stand and know we have a right We have ground to stand on and stand Like trees planted by the rivers of water We claim ourselves and shall not be moved I felt the breeze coming through the open window and took a big deep breath. Please God. Hands trembling, I opened my locker and got my things. My thoughts were racing. I remembered the pain in my mother’s eyes and her defiant declaration that day; I saw my sister’s anguished face as yet another of our leaders had been killed, and I held fast to my brother Alfred’s words – “you can’t live in fear…we’ve got to stand our ground.”

Then I walked out amidst the nervous frenzy of the last few hundred kids leaving the building.

The sun shone brightly on that crisp winter day that suddenly felt like spring. I spotted a group of Black Student Union members and rushed to join them. I felt lifted, united. We were jubilant, as we walked together in the strength of our truth with a shared conviction to make a difference, and it seemed we were walking on air.

EPILOGUE When a reporter from the St. Louis Post Dispatch asked Alfred when would the students return to school, his answer was concise, “When the teachers are reinstated.”

Beaumont was closed for ten days. During this time, the principal and another administrator came to our home to get our parents to intervene, and forbid Alfred from continuing the walkout and any other protests. They said that these protests were “doing nothing but causing chaotic disruptions that interfere with the education process, promoting racial discord and essentially inciting riots.” They also threatened that if the walkout didn’t end right away, Alfred could be expelled and graduation would be in jeopardy for the entire class of 1970. When they left, our dad confronted Alfred, angrily forbidding any further protests and political activities. I joined my brother who was alone in his room. I let out a tirade of insults and declarations against my dad for what he said. I let my brother know I would always be on his side. We both knew our dad was just afraid for our lives and knew no other way to support us than to do what he thought would

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

TELL THE TRUTH... cont.

protect us, to have us be silent and acquiesce. As I cried and ranted, Alfred sat quietly, his tears silent. I sat next to him and thought “what will happen to us?”

After the walkout, the three teachers were not reinstated. We were assigned another principal (the third one that year), who approached us with understanding and respect, and even agreed to serve as sponsor for the Black Student Union along with one teacher from Hawaii. Many of the other teachers avoided us like the plague, too afraid to take a chance of being fired like the others.

Alfred and the other leaders of the Black Student Union, David, Chip, Doug, James, Olivia, Madeline, Mike, Renee, Frankie and the rest of the seniors, all graduated. These were a brilliant group of young people and in fact, the class of 1970 secured the most full scholarships than any school in the district and the highest amount of scholarships in the history of Beaumont. They had bravely begun efforts to advocate for a quality education in St. Louis Public Schools, one inclusive of African American presence.

In the books we were studying, our presence was either erased, minimized or misrepresented to our detriment. We were reeling on the heels of Jim Crow. Stunned from the murder and mayhem that was perpetuated under the guise of police enforcement throughout the civil rights and black power movements of the 60’s. The status quo curriculum at the time with its downplay of the role of African Americans in this country and the world; the neglect of African American history and the distortion of facts in the history books deprived us of both the confidence that our history was worth knowing about, and the comfort of belonging. It was like we were nobody from nothing. In order to combat the feeling, we needed to become aware, reclaim and express our cultural heritage. We needed to know our history, that it didn’t start with slavery; to embrace our culture – African and American; to be Black and proud and to know what we were proud of.

Since 1970, Beaumont High School demonstrated a rapid decline in academics and, plagued with violence and gang activity, experienced a steady increase in security problems and severely low graduation rates.

These factors, directly in line with the city’s plan to reclaim and “gentrify” the area (the Team 4 Plan), precipitated its closure as a comprehensive high school. It has now been converted into a technical high school with “employment ready” programs.

During the “movement” of the 60s and 70s, the Black Student Union protested and advocated for a quality education. A stand was taken, voices were heard. Had issues been addressed appropriately then, perhaps Beaumont could have been saved and still serve the community as a neighborhood comprehensive high school, an institution essential to restoring the stability and vibrancy of a troubled neighborhood.

Ancestors Great ones from whom we come Gave fire that each can inspire the next Round goes Higher and higher Truth be told and damn the liars Will all fall down What goes around comes Though stumbling we find Our circle is strong still and unbroken Got footsteps to follow and shoulders on which to stand from back then The light still shines And love comes to surround and show the way To tear down these lies and walls of hate

Marsha Cann Harlem, NY/St. Louis, MO April, 2015

I graduated from Beaumont in 1972 with pride. Despite the issues of inadequate resources, I was successful academically and won full scholarships to NYU, UM-St. Louis and accepted the one to Washington University. I worked in the city school district for over 20 years, pleased to have helped provide support and resources that made a difference for our students. Students in whom I saw myself, students who were walking the same halls I walked. On May 14, 2014, it was heartbreaking to witness Beaumont’s final graduation of 70 students.

Clearly there are still inequities in education. Yes, minds and hearts are changing. Hope is alive. Yet racism and oppression today is just as pervasive and entrenched in society as it was during the sixties. We live in a world where profits come before people and anything goes. There is still a refusal to acknowledge the history and reality of racist terrorism. In that reality, life, and particularly black life is marginal. There is a solution -- to learn from our past, to hope, to evolve. To tell the truth and shame the devil.

pg. 112

50th Anniversary of the beginning of student activism at Beaumont

Thanks to my friend, my mentor/teacher/editor, writer Barbara Esstman for the inspiration to write this essay about teen activism and my tumultuous and hopeful journey through the challenges of racism in late 1960’s St. Louis. Thanks for the inspiration to tell my story.

Young people at Beaumont High School initiated protests and fearlessly navigated their efforts to transition from the civil rights struggle to black awareness and black power. Barbara taught at Beaumont during the time of these student protests. On her first day of teaching her 11th grade literature class, she was confronted with a “riot” led by my brother Alfred House. He and several of the other boys stood up and chanted “We want black teachers! We want black literature! Power to the People!” etc, etc.

She was shook up, but survived and subsequently became one of their supporters, making herself available to listen and provide a safe place to discuss the troubling issues they faced.

Alfred and Barbara developed a special bond of mutual respect and recently, with all the murder in the name of the law and continued disregard of black life, Barbara googled my brother, to get his feedback. She was struggling about her own role as a “conscious” white woman writer, wanting to do something, but not knowing what to do. Unfortunately she didn’t find Alfred, but instead found his obituary. She reached out to the family to share her sympathy and let us know how profoundly my brother had impacted her. It was a divine moment. She and I began a relationship and collaborated to write about this turbulent time at Beaumont and to further reflect on the challenges of the current times, to clarify our purpose and find common ground as artists in this 2018 reality.

I dedicate “Shame the Devil” to my brother Alfred and the extraordinary leaders and trailblazers of Beaumont High’s class of 1970.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

PW.ORG

|

SUBSCRIBE

|

DONATE

JUNE 7, 2018 TOOLS FOR WRITERS

467 Small Presses Waiting to Publish Your Manuscript

Our Small Presses database compiles information on small presses nationwide. Check out a selection of publishers open to submissions: Tolsun Books is "into books that use separate parts to make a whole: poetry, short stories, comics

READ MORE

pg. 114

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

THINGS WE DO IN TIMBUKTU

The second children's book by the creators of The Black History Boy and Black Archaeologist animated black history webseries.

BlackArchaeologist.com / YouTube, TechNubian1

pg. 116

CALL FOR ART “All Colors” OVERVIEW: “All Colors” is an invitational and juried arts exhibit featuring the art of approximately 100 artists and 200 pieces of art. The show takes place January 13 through February 28, 2018 at the St. Louis Artist Guild, 12 Jackson Avenue, Clayton, Missouri 63105. We expect strong attendance, as the “All Colors” exhibit is a fund raiser with art and related funds to benefit artist of all disciplines, small not for profit 501C3 organizations and community/neighborhood organizations. Clayton, and the surrounding region have long been supporters of the arts and Portfolio Gallery and the “All Colors” sponsors are committed to make this exhibit a successful fund raiser and to introduce the St. Louis Metropolitan region to artist that mainstream publications have overlooked.

HOW TO APPLY: Online applications may be completed though Portfolio’s website at www.portfoliogallerystl.org Click the Call for Art link that will take you to the sign-up, upload and payment. Each application must include the requested uploaded images and an artist’s statement of 100 words or less explaining the artist’s creative process including specific information about technique and materials.

Submit your art now!

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

LABOR DAY SPECIAL!! ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS FOR

WEEKLY MEAL PREP, CONTACT INFO BELOW!

Meal prep plans, personal chef, and health coaching services available. Plans starting as low as $75.00- For limited time only!! For more information contact fabulouslyveganme@gmail.com and visit fabulouslyvegan.com!

pg. 118

PRE-ORDER TODAY::

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King death. Here is my new book "My Mother. Barack Obama. Donald Trump. And the Last Stand of the Angry White Man," honest look at America 50 years later on race, sexual violence, guns, more.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 120

ART OF FOOD

Love I Fell in

With A Salad

I am a sucker for a really good flavorful salad. This summer Wendy’s decided to be amazing & produce one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. Their Strawberry Mango Chicken Salad is officially my 2nd favorite salad of all time. It definitely doesn’t help that I have to drive by a Wendy’s every time on my way home from the gym. So of course, it has become a necessary stop before I head back home.

Chopped romaine lettuce, juicy sliced strawberries, ripe chunks of mango, tangy crumbled feta cheese, well-seasoned chicken, honey roasted sunflower seeds all under a simple Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette. Every component of this salad is necessary to the full flavor you should want to experience. It is the perfect fresh summer salad. Now because strawberries and mangoes are seasonal fruits, this isn’t the salad you can eat year-round. However, you could use frozen mango & strawberries, to tie you over until they come back in season.

With this salad, you can use your favorites or opt to try something new. I wish I could tell you where you could find Honey-Roasted Sunflower Seeds already ready for you, however the sliced Honey-Roasted Almonds at Trader Joe’s might be the best substitution. Grill or bake chicken tenders in your favorite seasoning mix. Or you can buy some chicken strips that are already cooked, just chop them up & toss it in the salad. Take out and replace whichever items you don’t like and add ingredients that you love. Make this recipe your own and enjoy! to put together. You'll even be impressed with yourself when you're done. ~Léna O. A. Jackson To contact me, get more recipes, find out about events I’m apart of, or to even order some of my food: www.facebook.com/gspDore www.instagram.com/gspDore gspDoreinfo@gmail.com

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

ART OF FOOD... cont.

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette 2/3 C Orange Juice 1/3 C Olive Oil 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard 2 Tbsp Lime Juice ½ tsp Salt ¼ tsp Black or White Pepper 3 Tbsp Honey ½ Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 1 Tbsp Brown Suagr 1 ½ Tbsp Lemon Juice *2 tsp Orange Extract, optional

Put all ingredients into a mason jar and shake until it is well combined. Or place all ingredients, except the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, in a blender or food processor.

Slowly pour olive oil in while machine is blending the other ingredients. Store in an airtight container and chill until ready for use. *Olive oil may solidify, so let it sit out at room temperature and shake once again, before serving.

Strawberry Mango Salad 4C ¼C ¼C 4 Tb ¼C ¼C a.n.

Romaine Lettuce or Mixed Greens Sliced Strawberries Crumbled Feta Cheese Honey Roasted Sunflower Seeds or Honey Roasted Sliced Almonds Diced Mango Chicken, sliced or chopped Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

Doré

Bon Appétit, pg. 122

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

“Acting White”

Share your Story Dear friends: I have been asked to write a chapter in a book that will address colorism in education. My chapter will focus on “acting white.”

Specifically, when I was growing up, I was a “smart” student. My top performance in school, doing homework, raising my hand to answer questions, etc. often drew the accusation from my African American classmates and friends that I was “acting white.”

Now, I know there are psychologists out there who say this is not true and does not exist. But alas, it was absolutely true for me. I have written about this in past works. I will do so again for this new book. I do know that many young folks today who continue to have such allegations hurled at them so feel free to share this email with whoever and have folks email me directly.

I did a survey on this very question about 7 years ago and the results were consistent with my experiences decades ago. I’d like to update my earlier survey. I would love to hear from anyone out there who has a similar/related story either involving yourself or someone you know. I would like to include your story in the chapter. I will conceal your identity if you request.

Do you have a story to share? If so, please email to me at: norwood@wulaw.wustl.edu.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Margaret Mead Kimberly Norwood , Professor of Law | Washington University School of Law pg. 124

TEN

The Empowerment Network for Men facing Prostate Cancer From: iHEART COMMUNITIES w/ JADE HARRELL

Prostate cancer is not only an invader of the human body it is an infiltrator of the human spirit. Survivor, Mellve Shahid made a promise to God to support and serve other men battling prostate cancer when he was diagnosed ten years ago. He founded The Empowerment Network and has been changing lives and creating hope for hundreds of men ever since. Click here for the podcast.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

“

An artist's duty, as far as I am concerned, is to reflect the times.

(Nina Simone)

pg. 126

“

I choose to reflect the times and the situations in which I find myself. How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?

(Nina Simone)

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Walking the Blue Line: A Police Officer Turned Community Activist Provides Solutions for the Racial Divide

By Terrell Carter Bettie Youngs Book Publishers

$15.00 paperback

“As I recall my experiences, I find it incredulous that people in law enforcement honestly believe and say that a racial divide and racial profiling don’t exist. An officer’s mind is divided: first, between the police and the general public and second, between the police and minorities.”~ Terrell Carter Walking the Blue Line follows the author’s experiences growing up as a black child in St. Louis, MO, a racially charged city still trying to overcome its divided past, and his five year journey as a law enforcement officer which led him to reevaluate his views on citizens and police alike. Readers are taken on a compelling journey as he details personal stories of the challenges of navigating this new world, including how he had to testify against a former partner for falsifying a major drug arrest.

Terrell details the thoughts and tactics of police officers based on their training in the police academy and lessons they learn on the streets and how this information can help citizens better understand why officers do what they do while still holding them accountable for protecting and serving their communities.

Walking the Blue Line can be ordered from www.terrellcarter.net, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and traditional booksellers.

pg. 128

a h s r a M

Live

n n Ca

M

is S y

at “

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

P s ’ ta

t t ie

u l tB

e i am

H ith

w

” e c la

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

ART OF HEALING Your Ad or Article could be here!

Contact us if you have a contribution to the ART OF HEALING.

pg. 130

RICKKITA EDWARDS

CARDIO-CORE & MORE AT NORTH COUNTY REC. CENTER

TIMES: MON WEDS FRI 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

She teaches a class 2 Mondays a month at Faith Miracle Temple 7:15 pm - 8:00 pm.

(ALL CLASSES ARE FREE)

COMING SOON! WAIST-NOT FITNESS PERSONAL TRAINING #GETWAISTEDBYRICKKITA

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

DISPLACED

&ERASED

The history of Clayton, Missouri's uprooted black community. emmakriley.com

pg. 132

Hello, I would love it if you took a moment to check out my GoFundMe campaign: CLICK GOFUNDME LINK BELOW TO DONATE https://www.gofundme.com/black-archaeologist-season-4

Your support would mean a lot to me.

Thank you so much!

- Michael Lambert

Black Archaeologist.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 134

Shop Online Today at NOrepublicansNEEDED.com

Wear Your Disgust on Your Tshirt

N e w s .T s h i r t s . C h a r i t y Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

PTSD from a

Caregiver’s Perspective Thursday, June 21, 2018 Registration begins at 8:45 a.m.

Workshop 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Lunch will be served) Building 56, Room 1A-100-Medical Media Jefferson Barracks Division, VA St. Louis Health Care System This all-day workshop specifically for Caregivers of a Veteran with PTSD is designed to help Caregivers gain a goal-oriented perspective related to PTSD as they experience it with their Veteran.

All topics will specifically address questions and concerns of Caregivers of Veterans with PTSD. Topics for the day will cover: ➢ Enhancements to move Caregivers and Veterans beyond PTSD ➢ What is PTSD? What isn’t PTSD? ➢ Common diagnosis, symptoms, behaviors and personality traits seen with PTSD ➢ Why is treatment so hard? ➢ Treatments that work ➢ What to expect while your Veteran is in treatment ➢ What Caregivers can do to help a Veteran with PTSD

Please RSVP by June 18, 2018 to Deanna Farrell and Tammy Scott

(314) 652-4100, Ext. 54127

pg. 136

Care for the Caregiver:

A telephone education group focused on strategies to enhance resilience and restore balance

A Caregiver’s Story: Overcoming Barriers and Finding Resilience A Caregiver shares the wisdom gained from managing the challenges and rewards of her caregiving journey Open discussion to follow Facilitated by the VA Caregiver Support Line

Wednesday June 27, 2018 at 10am ET This is open to Family Caregivers of Veterans of all eras.

If you would like to participate, please contact your Caregiver Support Coordinator:

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 138

Essence Celebrates the

Women Who Are

“Woke”

For African American women compelled to speak their peace during movements like Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and #TimesUp, Essence Magazine is taking note of those who are “woke” and waking up others sometimes with a gentle nudge or a vigorous shake.

“Every year the staff gets together; we have a brainstorm about what stories we like to [cover],” said Assistant Editor Tanya Christian. The magazine’s “Woke100” list grew from one of those brainstorming sessions and is in its second year.

The women on the list range from Hollywood to New York to the Deep South. Black women in Alabama are widely credited with turning the tide in the U.S. Senate race that grabbed national headlines when Republican candidate Roy Moore sought to overcome allegations of inappropriate conduct with numerous women. As Moore and his supporters seemed positioned to win despite the mounting evidence, Black women flooded the voters’ booth, catapulting Democratic candidate Doug Jones into the winners’ column.

Christian said, “Most of them did not have any political experience. We wanted to celebrate all the women in Alabama who voted and made such a huge difference in that election. I believe it was 98 percent Black who voted, and it was what allowed Democrat Doug Jones to win the election.”

With the 2018 midterm elections looming, Democrats are looking for a potent political force among its base.

One of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces is on the cover of the 2018 “Woke100” edition of Essence.

Actress Kerry Washington joins the list for her advocacy on behalf of women in the workplace.

Washington played attorney Anita Hill in the HBO feature film, “Confirmation.” She has also been vocal about the 2012 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted by a jury. Washington recently wrapped her starring role in the fan-favorite, “Scandal.”

Christian said it was “a natural fit” to select Washington for the cover.

The youngest person on the list is a 10-year-old from Michigan. Mari Copeny also known as “Little Miss Flint” became a leading acitivist in the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands is also included among the “Woke100” for using her influence to galvanize Congress in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Christian applauded Plaskett for taking “the emotional stories of her constituents to Congress and mainstream media [appearing on MSNBC’s AM Joy].”

Months after her termination from ESPN, journalist Jemele Hill continues to use her platform to promote social justice whether it involves matters of race or other subjects where inequity is tolerated. ~Vicki Newton Village Celebration

“You cannot deny the Black woman the power of the vote, especially in the midterms. It is important that we highlight that as much as we can so our readers can understand that it is not a ‘throwaway vote’ when you go in and want to make a difference,” Christian stated.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 140

Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration Art Exhibi�on and Sale Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Adver�sing Opportunity Event Co-Chairs Michael McMillan, President and CEO, The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Lois Conley, Founder & CEO, The Griot Museum of Black History Our Team Co-Chairs Renee Franklin & Adelia Parker-Castro Barbara Bowman Charles Bryson Gundia Lock’Clay Stajah Curry Phyllis Jackson Lee Jeffries Gwen Moore Erika Neal Janet Riehl Patricia Smith -Thurman

Don’t miss the opportunity to be included in the inaugural souvenir program booklet.

The booklet will be a finished size of 5 x 8 inches with no bleed, full color, where indicated.

Yes, please include me/us in the 2018 inaugural souvenir program as indicated below: Organiza�on Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Contact Person: Telephone: (Business)

(Evening)

Email: Please indicate your selec�on below and return with payment by May 31,2018 _______Full Page Color Inside (Front or Back) _______Full Page, Black and White _______Half Page, Color _______Half Page, Black and White _______Quarter Page, Black and White

$400 $200 $100 $70 $40

Ad Copy: All ads must be camera-ready and accompanied by payment _______Camera-Ready Ad copy a�ached _______Digital Ad emailed to info@thegriotmuseum.com PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR AD BY THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 Make checks payable to The Griot Museum and mail to 2505 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63106, or pay online at www.thegriotmuseum.com.

The Juneteenth 40 Acres Team reserves the right to refuse any work of art that it deems inappropriate.

2505 St. Louis Ave. | St. Louis, MO 63106 | (314) 241-7057 | info@thegriotmuseum.com

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration Art Exhibi�on and Sale Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Actual Booklet Size:

[half page ad] Color: $100 Black and white: $70

Full Page Ad Color: $400 Black and White $200

[quarter page ad]

[quarter page ad]

Black and White (only): $40

Black and White (only): $40

pg. 142

“The SAM E

” e c n e r Diffe July 11 / 6 p.m.

SCHLAFLY LIBRARY / 225 North Euclid Ave.

Join us for a screening of the documentary “The Same Difference,” directed by Nneka Onuorah, about lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians based on gender roles. The film takes an in-depth look at the internalized heteronormative gender roles that have become all too familiar within the African-American lesbian and bisexual community. A panel discussion will follow the screening, featuring Kristian Blackmon, Aja La’Starr Owens, Javania Webb and Jessica Jackson.

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Do Some Conservatives Need A

HEART Transplant

pg. 144

?

DO SOME CONSERVATIVES NEED A HEART TRANSPLANT? Oh the callousness, oh the racism, oh the craven disregard for moral duty! Shaking their heads in disgust, they

cry out in the heat of summer madness about President Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy.

The separation at the southern border of an estimated 2,500 children ripped from their mothers’ arms, nixed it. It’s the proverbial one-thousandth straw that broke the camel’s back.

Did he think he could get away with it, pundits ponder? Are his

sinister advisors having a mesmerizing effect over his tiny intellect? What about his penchant for strongmen dictators?

Could it be the feckless Republicans in

Congress controlling both the House and the Senate who quake in fear of his wrath? Rattled by public outrage, Trump recently rescinded separating families. Now children are scattered across the country in about 100 shelters in 17 states.

Whether they’ll be reunited is uncertain.

Word has it about 500 have rejoined their

families.

But most of all, where is the heart? supported his brutal attacks.

To be fair, all conservatives have not

Yet, his hard-core base, including evangelicals, seems

to be marching in lock step with his contempt for human life and his gutting of democratic rights.

Calling immigrants criminals, murderers, thieves, rapists and

animals, even putting them in cages, doesn’t seem to faze them one bit.

While many Blacks have been paying close attention as the consummate activists they are (“woke” as it were), they have long known that there has been a Trojan Horse in White America, heretofore ignored by most conservatives.

Metaphorically

or as a figure of speech, the Trojan Horse (the ultra-right wing) represents a

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

DO SOME CONSERVATIVES... cont.

charade of undercover Whites in plain view, disguised to lure the Republican Party into forfeiting their core values such as fiscal responsibility, family values, limited government and its foreign policy doctrine (now embarrassingly called a “rogue superpower’). At the same time, most Blacks have no allusions about racism, classism and sexism harbored by the conservative elite.

However, in the past they

were able to skillfully finesse this hidden agenda. Now their underhandedness, fake piety and dog whistles have turned into a foghorn.

Where their iron fist was once

in a velvet glove, the gloves are now off and all you see is the vicious iron claw of political maneuverings. To some, these frightening times are seen as the last gasp of White supremacy. To others, it’s the signaling of the Holocaust.

What is

clear is that equality for all is not a Republic Party tenet.

Emblazoned on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”

The entire poem, called the New Colossus, written in 1883 to

raise money for the statue’s construction in the New York Harbor, is as follows: The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus November 2, 1883

pg. 146

So what happened to the “Mother of Exiles” crying out for “the homeless” -- the city on the hill and its great beacon light of hope? Any vestige of this cherished belief vanished with the Trump-led Trojan Horse invasion of the alt-right into the complicit yet unwitting GOP. The “Browning of America” to racists is apparently terrifying and they’ll fight with every fiber, cell and bone in their bodies to maintain the status quo.

Their

obsession to maintain ideological dominance and control public debate can be unnerving.

Even to go so far as calling mainstream media fake news.

This is the

reason those who believe in fairness, equality and human rights must have a full court press.

As the Rev. Desmond Tutu of South Africa said years ago when

visiting the University of Missouri-St. Louis, “We must stare the monster in the face,” referring to South Africa’s apartheid.

The realization that dismantling oppression goes far beyond supporting civil rights for African Americans is also very important. Although it must be quickly noted that racism against Blacks is “ground zero.” In other words, it’s the sine qua non to solving discrimination across the board.

White allies such as those involved in Witnessing Whiteness, an all-White St. Louis YWCA program headed by Dr. Mary Ferguson, are very instrumental.

So is a

multicultural group of women, founded by Evelyn Rice-Peebles (Black), Kim Eberlein and Pat Cox (both White), called Women’s Group on Race Relations and a burgeoning arm of STL Village, the Community Engagement Committee, fashioning themselves as older adult activists, pushing for gray power (confronting ageism) but also social justice.

This committee is also comprised of all-women including Dr.

Gloria Gordon, Lois Yatzeck (both White) and Black members including Gail Brown, Dr. Malaika Horne and Atty. Madeline Franklin. These groups are crucial not only to

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 148

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

DO SOME CONSERVATIVES... cont.

fighting for full equality but also influencing Whites to join.

The reason this is so

critical is because racism is more a question for Whites.

In other words:

It’s the

White racism question not so much the Negro question.

African Americans have

been the traditional leaders of social justice and will continue but it’s high time for more Whites to confront other Whites who refuse to let go of an evil system.

The realization that dismantling oppression goes far beyond supporting civil rights for African Americans is also very important.

Although it must be quickly noted

that racism against Blacks is “ground zero.” In other words, it’s the sine qua non to solving discrimination across the board.

Another way of putting it: to

understand and begin solving inter-sectionality (overlapping oppressions) first study and address racism against Black people.

For example, there are deep historical

roots to separating families going back to slavery.

Furthermore, Native American

families were separated and Japanese-Americans were interned.

An African American friend of mine recently said she was at the doctor’s office and a White woman medical staff broached the separating families issue. and short of it is:

The long

while she expressed concerns about maltreatment, she was

totally baffled as to why immigrants would take such risks.

She more than likely

learned from news reports that parents and children were trekking the long perilous paths to freedom from primarily Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

She might

have heard that they were fleeing violence and persecution, central tenets of refugee status and asylum.

America.

But guess what?

She might be saying like others, this is not my

This is your America too.

What she might be missing is that violence in their home countries in part is fueled by a furious drug trade ergo war by cartels to service the U.S., one of its most lucrative customers. That’s right, U.S. Americans represent one of the highest

pg. 150

rates of recreational drug users worldwide.

She might have also missed a reported

CIA involvement in Nicaragua during the Reagan Administration trafficking cocaine to fund a rebel group, the U.S.-backed Contras, against the popular left-wing Sandinistas.

The U.S. had occupied Nicaragua, the largest country in Central

America, since the 1930s, which the Sandinistas opposed.

“

As

reported

in

the

Associated

Press,

the

Reagan

administration released a three-page report April 17, 1986 stating that there were some Contra-cocaine connections in 1984 and 1985, and that these connections occurred at a time when the rebels were "particularly hard pressed for financial support" because aid from the United States had been cut off.”

Admitting some connections was just the beginning of the fiasco.

Revelations

unleashed public furor that government meddling led to the eruption of a crackcocaine epidemic, first in predominantly Black South Central and later throughout Black communities throughout the nation.

Like a volcano spewing rapidly and

widely, community leaders and elected officials such as Congresswoman Maxine Waters, representing South Central, were enraged, calling for further investigations.

The crack epidemic was devastating to the Black community. Crime, gangs and gun violence spiked resulting in a police dragnet that continues to reverberate to this day particularly with mass incarcerations of non-violent drug offenders.

Latinos

were

also

targeted,

as

the

epidemic

swept

quickly

through

their

communities, leading not only to mass incarcerations but also mass deportations.

Now living in Central America, a country now foreign to many of them, old criminal behavior mostly learned in the U.S. returned, infecting others. To recount:

Due to

unbearable corruption, poverty and gang violence, law abiding citizens began fleeing

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

DO SOME CONSERVATIVES... cont.

their homeland -- once fairly stable but not without flaws. Suffice it to say, it’s difficult to ignore U.S. foreign policy bungling that destabilizes governments and our insatiable appetite for illegal substances and pills that contributed to lawlessness and danger in other countries (not to mention this one).

Just as African American culture is distorted and erased, compounded by “willful ignorance and conscientious stupidity,” Latinos are burdened and oppressed by similar attitudes and practices.

Hence, those who do not know the course of

history most likely will be in collusion with their own oppression and consequently not understanding why desperate families would knock on our doors.

The truth is that borders are usually man-made resulting from conquest, plunder and war.

The most innocent and vulnerable -- as result of colonialism and

imperialisms -- are mothers and children and they should be upheld as sacrosanct.

The family is commonly known as the most fundamental of institutions.

Without it,

the society will surely decline. Perhaps with better facts and information (the truth), tolerance and compassion for the lived experiences of immigrants taking flight, we’d support more humane policies.

Is a heart transplant necessary to save the body and soul of the GOP? now prepare for emergency surgery.

Malaika Horne, PhD, is a journalist and academic writer

pg. 152

Yes --

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

"Quiet Time" by: Lonnie Powell

"Cuban Dancer" by: Ed Johnetta Miller pg. 154

June 26, 2017 PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release Contact: Robert A. Powell 314-265-0432 Portfoliogallery@att.net,

Portfolio Gallery today issues its call for art, and invites visual artist of all disciplines to enter at:www.portfoliogallerystl.org The “All Colors” Fine Art Show will feature 100 artist and 200 pieces of art, both local and nationally known artists, collectors and educators to the St. Louis Region.

The “All Colors” exhibition will feature the art of invited artist Dean Mitchell, Charles Bibbs, Manuelita Brown, Ed Johnetta Miller, Lonnie Powell, Robert Hale, Sandra Smith, Cbabi Bayoc, Thomas Sleet, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, Ronald Johnson and others.

Our goal is to create an exciting art event that attracts a national audience. Sells income will support general operations of Portfolio, Inc. a not-for-profit 501C3 arts organization and further be used to provide grants to St. Louis artists, small notfor-profits and community based organizations.

Please join the award winning Portfolio Gallery as it presents its 1st Annual “All Colors” Visual Arts Invitational & Juried Exhibition to be held January 13th through February 28, 2018, at the St. Louis Artist Guild, 12 Jackson Avenue, Clayton, Missouri 63105.

Portfolio Gallery is a member of The Alliance of Black Galleries

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 156

OPPORTUNITIES

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AD

The Bernie Hayes Show Talk and interviews about affairs of the day with a St. Louis slant.

The Bernie Hayes Show can be seen: Friday’s at 9 A.M. Saturday’s at 10:00 P.M. Sunday’s at 5:30 P.M.

PUT SOMETHING CLEAN ON YOUR TV! Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

CAREERS

pg. 158

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

pg. 160

A big Thank You to our CONTRIBUTERS

&

SPONSORS

For information on sponsoring or Advertising in ARTS-TODAY email us at ATadvertise@aol.com . To contribute articles email us at ArtsTodayInfo@aol.com. www.the-arts-today.com

Connect with us:

ARTS-TODAY is supported by Careers Services and Events and in association and with support from:

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018

Over 30 Issues Published

Thank You!!

pg. 162