Arts Today Ezine vol 5 1 by Arts Today Ezine

Vol 5.1

April 28, 2018

Payne +

Dorothy Featured Artist pg #74

FRENCHAIRE

View this and past issues from our website.

GARDNER

HOW TO COMBAT...PROPOGANDA pg #140

TOON IN

STUPID CRAFT ...

BRIDGING...

pg. #8

pg. #12

pg.#28

MARIAH RICHARDSON

AFRICA JACKSON

DR. MALAIKA HORNE

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018

IN THIS

ISSUE:

IN THE NEWS We Grow...

TOON IN MARIAH RICHARDSON

EPILOGUE

Quarantine prison planet, Yadu.

BRIDGING THE DELMAR DIVIDE DR. MALAIKA HORNE

MARTIN LUTHER KING... PIERRE BLAINE

124

FEATURED COMIC ARTIST KEATHAN JONES

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER OLIVIA COX “You’ll do fine.”

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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.â&#x20AC;?

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

OP/ED SECTION INFINITE SCHOLARS

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

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER RON VESTAL

FEATURED ARTIST DOROTHY PAYNE ...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 5.1 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.

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.

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 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.

Your Source for Art Appreciation

Volume 2.1 March 4, 2015

St. Louis

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE FEATURED ARTIST | KEN CALVERT ................................................ pg. 134 PROPOGANDA | FRENCHAIRE GARDNER .................................. pg. 154

Please support our sponsors, many of-

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

ART OF FOOD | LENA O.A. JACKSON ............................................. pg. 164

ART OF HEALING | A.T.E.Z. ............................................................... pg. 162 PEN AMERICA | CAITS MEISSNER .................................................. pg. 178 TO LIVE AGAINST... | JERRY WARD .................................................. pg. 182 HIP HOP... | BERNIE HAYES .............................................................. pg. 186 OPPORTUNITIES | A.T.EZ .................................................................... pg. 190 CAREERS | A.T.EZ ................................................................................... pg. 192

#ArtsTodayEZ

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Volume 5.15.1 Volume April 28, 2018 April 28, 2018

o o

T By Mariah L. Richardson

n In

the input from Fonda Snyder of Alchemy Ink who spoke about publishing and how it could be a good way to start before moving directly into animation.

A gathering of a tribe of creatives, producers, executives, and distributors alongside appearances of huge costumed cartoon characters (being led gracefully through the corridors so as not to run into anyone. This group came from every corner of the globe. They held meetings and panel discussions to find out what makes the hearts of pre-school, kids, tweens, and teens skip a beat and tune in to content on their televisions, tablets, computers, and smartphones. All this set amongst the balmy breezes and spectacular art and skyscrapers of Miami.

Let’s say you have an idea but you don’t draw, you don’t write, basically, you have no clue of where to start. Then you would want to seek out someone like Mark Simon at www.Storyboards-East. com. Mark and his wife sell a digital product called, Sell your TV Concept, and have done so for years. Mark does character designs, animatics, and storyboards. Mark is no newbie to this business after having had shows picked up before. This Kidscreen, Mark brought Jennefer Jones, a former golf pro who was pitching her animated series, Josey’s Dimples & Divot. He and Cameron “Kim” Dawson, veteran producer, help prepare Jenn for the big day. I watched as they prepped Jenn for the nine pitch meetings that they had scheduled throughout the week. It is essential that you find someone who can help and support you in the early phases of creating. You may want to also research companies like, The Family Room, run by George Carey. Carey was the keynote speaker with a talk titled, The Day the Universe Changed. His company looks at trends to recommend to media creators. His talk was highly informative, and I am sure many people took note. You could have listened to actress Geena Davis and the work her company, Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media, and her charge to get more female representation in media. Or maybe even Adam Woodgate, research manager of Dubit, a UK company that does research but also help you to create apps and programs in virtual reality. What if you need music? You can talk to Gavin Alexander from Vapor in Toronto and he can help with that. But you don’t have to go far from home to find this type of help. Here in St. louis there is a company, Lion Forge labs that can create a graphic novel as well as create animation for your story.

Welcome to Kidscreen. Thanks to Jocelyn Christie, VP and Publisher of Kidscreen, the global publication that serves “the information needs and interest of the kids’ entertainment industry”. Christie, Rachel Wolfe, Tory Johnston, and the entire staff for made Kidscreen a memorable experience and is giving our readers a glimpse into the world of kids’ programming. So, I thank them for allowing me to cover this story close up and in person. Kidscreen is a publication of Brunico Communications Ltd and was founded in 1986. Their goal is to build communities that specialize in the marketing and entertainment sectors. Kidscreen brings together everyone who is anyone for this annual conference. If you have any interest in getting into programming for children, this is the must be event. In the next few minutes, I will do my best to enlighten you on what to expect if you ever get to Kidscreen. First, there is creation. There were hundreds of hopefuls along with seasoned producers of content holding meetings and pitching their ideas. People like Kathleen Rogers, Carl Mineck, and Caroline Wagner from Simeck Entertainment. We breakfasted together the first day, along with Dylan Edwards of Copernicus Studios. There I learned of Caroline’s 2D animated show, Me, My body, and I, a program for girls 5-8, which is one of the hundreds that would be pitched that week. One helpful piece of advice that was gleaned from just about everyone who would be acquiring content was to develop the core story and stick to it. Or you can have people like Alwayne White of Skyres Studios and Corretta Singer, both who were part of the Jamaican delegation who can help you with your animation needs. Santiago Salas of Journey Animation is an artist and Production Manager from Costa Rica and they are looking to partner with creators. The conference had panels throughout the day like, From Scribble to Screen to Stuff. This panel looked at the process of animation, the design of properties, and moving on to licensing. Another panel was on Picking Platforms; What’s the best vehicle for your project and how to get it there. I appreciated pg.

Second, there is distribution, which means someone has got to buy your show so that you can be seen by millions of kids who will then want to buy every piece of merchandise that goes with it. Well that that’s the goal. But, remember, before anyone buys those toys and t-shirts, and backpacks, you have to have a great core story that makes a studio or production company want to invest tons of money and time into your idea. People like Adina Pitt of Cartoon Network, or Colin Shevloff of NHNZ Kids, or Susan Oliver of Beach House Kids, in Singapore. There is a need to fill content gaps for emerging points of distribution such as Apple, Amazon, and Netflix. Kidscreen gives you access to these individuals and their companies. The greatest part about Kidscreen and those who attend is the accessibility. Not just they are there but I found everyone that I interviewed or listened to were open to talking with people and

hearing about their ideas. They want to help you succeed and in turn they will succeed. Licensing can also be part of the equation for success. In the panel, So You think You Want to Get Into Licensing, Bill Graham (PhatMojo), Pam Westman (Nelvana), Sam Ferguson (Jazwares), and Naz Amarchi-Cueves (SYBO) spoke about all the merchandise that can go along with a show and how it can help it but also how it can hurt it. Again, they stressed focusing on the core idea of the story and not to think about the merchandise driving the story. Westman’s advice, “fail fast and keep moving”. Third, there is patience. You may have a great idea, get it developed, know the right platform, been picked up by a production company or network but everything does not happen overnight. Most projects take years. One, because animation is time consuming. Second, it is expensive, and funds have to be raised or allocated. So, you have to be willing to take as long as it will take. So, don’t think you are going to be a millionaire. It’s possible but, the reason you get into this is to tell the story, develop the characters, create a new way of looking at things that kids can enjoy, relate to, and want to hear more of.

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Stupid Craft Project or Helpful Business Tool?

On The Effectiveness of Vision Boards

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ost entrepreneurs made new year’s resolutions related to profit: increase sales, improve client retention, reduce operation costs. As silly (or cat-lady-like) as it may seem, though, creating a vision board is the most effective way to accomplish your business goals--especially if you’re the type of entrepreneur who works solo.

You can paint or paste over old goals or even start a new board altogether. Holding yourself accountable is easier when you post your vision somewhere you stand in front of every day (the bathroom mirror, your bedroom closet, etc). Take a photo of your vision board and post it in a facebook group related to business goals. Text it to friends/family members who support your vision.

What is a Vision Board?

Vision boards can be a great tool for your business and/ or personal life. There is no wrong way to make a vision board. If you want to achieve a goal, imagine a future where you accomplish the steps needed to make it all happen.

A lot of people assume a vision board is just a fantasy collage--magazine cut outs of your dream spouse and you riding a white horse on the beach near your mansion. In reality, though, a vision board is more of a blueprint for success. It can be a great way to help clarify your business goals so you are better equipped to concentrate on your objectives. Images are the visual motivation, but the process of creating the vision board is what actually helps make it effective.

How Do I Start My Vision Board?

~ By Africa Jackson Bio: Africa Jackson is a politics + culture writer for Taji Magazine. Her work has been featured at Hello Giggles, The Mary Sue, and The Establishment. Follow her on IG + Twitter: @AfricaJwrites

Before you start cutting out random pictures, try writing a list of your short term and long term goals. Make some concrete goals as well as some abstract goals. The concrete goals should be measurable. For instance, rather than writing “increase sales”, you could say that you want to increase sales of your most popular product/ service by 10% in the next two quarters. For your more abstract goals, think about how your life will look once that goal is accomplished. This positive energy can motivate you to follow through. Sowing these mental seeds early on can ensure greater success in the long term. It’s ok to go through a few drafts before you start the more artsy part of the process. Once you’re happy with your list, start searching for images that represent the goals you set. Don’t worry about how other people’s vision boards look. Just start. The bigger images could represent your bigger goals/ objectives, while smaller images can represent the process to accomplish them. You can draw/paint some of the images as well. Remember--it’s more about the process than anything else.

What’s the Best Accountable?

Way

Hold

Myself

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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.

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our Badges Create Scholars.â&#x20AC;? 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.

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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.

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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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

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.

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UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Spotlight Talk

Erin Sutherland Thursday, April 26, 5p Join Erin Sutherland, curator of exhibitions, archives, and special collections at the Washington University Libraries, for a talk about the renowned 16th-century prints known as the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (Mirror of Roman Magnificence). This series of finely detailed images of Roman monuments, buildings, and sculptures reflects the tremendous interest in antiquity during the Renaissance.

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018

LIVE WORK PLAY

Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018 St. Louis

hat a beautiful day in St. Louis! I know that W it will be cold again soon, but that's ok, because we need the cold days to appreciate

the warm ones. Fortunately, the real estate market continues to be hot, which is why I am so late getting this letter to you. In fact, I was so close to just skipping the letter for this month, but I ran into a couple of friends that said that they count on this every month. So, I couldn't let them, or you down by getting through the month without letting you know about just a few things that might be worth checking out in our beloved St. Louis! I hope that you'll join me at some of them!

APRIL

26 thru

APRIL

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4/27

The Ambassador

Local Events APRIL

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LIVE WORK PLAY

5/4

Powell Hall

MAY

1 thru

MAY

5/2-3

Jazz St. Louis

5/2

The Pageant

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5/3

Chaifetz Arena

5/4-5

Jazz St. Louis

5/9-20 Fox Theatre

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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. PRE-ORDER:

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Bridging The DELMAR Housing

DIV IDE

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Bridging the Delmar Housing Divide Most wealth in the U.S. comes from home ownership

The civil rights exhibit at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park ends April 15 this year, called #1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis -- it opened March 11 last year. Recurring reactions from many visitors’ have been: “We never knew this history.”

Gwen Moore, curator, Urban Landscape and Community

Identity, who conducted the research and oversaw the project, frequently replies:

“African American history is American history,”

going on to say that Black history ought to be more included in our nation’s history. But also in order to understand the present you must understand the past. So if nothing else, the exhibit will continue to unfold the fight against racism as American history. The exhibit presents the 1948 Shelly v. Kramer case, the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling that stated U.S. law prohibits racially restrictive housing covenants and they’re unenforceable in court. For example, Whites were signing agreements to not sale their homes to Blacks and “Orientals” and the high court ruling said the government does not sanction nor enforce such practices. The case originated in St. Louis, one of four St. Louis civil rights high court decisions that led Judge Nathan B. Young, then publisher and editorial writer of the St. Louis American newspaper, to proclaim that St. Louis is “Number one in civil rights.” Quite an audacious claim but as defined, it’s accurate. It’s just that heretofore many did not know this history.

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BRIDGING DELMAR... cont.

“African American history is American history.” Despite racial discrimination in housing being outlawed, discrimination continued unabated. Hence, many neighborhoods collapsed under the heavy weight of systemic racism including banks redlining (not approving loans), racist real estate practices, racist government policies, weak and complicit elected officials and other nefarious practices, creating hyper-segregated neighborhoods across the nation. In an information/knowledge-based digital 21st Century age, with 24hour news coverage as well as social media and the like, history ought not repeat itself with current examples of caste politics and practices occurring right under our noses. So it’s startling when many residents still remain uninformed and therefore silent.

For instance, the BBC

(British Broadcasting Corporation) produced a documentary in 2012: “The Delmar Divide” that woke some people up. Delmar Boulevard is a long stretch running east/west through the middle of the city to the suburbs, demarcating a hyper-segregated city.

But this is not that

unusual, as the entire nation is racist (segregated); has always been racist and will continue to be racist until anti-racist leaders, members and supporters employ stronger intervention measures and hold those in charge more accountable.

For example, thus far the Trump

administration has not sued one single lender for racial discrimination in housing. Wealth and financial stability are strongly associated with home ownership, that is, families having the largest share of their wealth coming from homes

pg.

and home equity. Subsequently, when houses sell, banks (as opposed to check-cashing places), restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses begin to open and thrive; employment also increases. Sadly, Black home ownership has not changed in 50 years; remaining the same since the Jim Crow era, exacerbating income inequality. Not to be deterred, the Community Engagement Committee of STL Village sprung into action in response to this persistent problem. The Community Engagement Committee is dedicated to “Strengthening the STLV footprint by strengthening the footprint’s underserved areas.” Executive Director Madeline Franklin (Black), an attorney, leads STLV and Lois Yatzeck White) heads the multi-racial committee. When STLV was established approximately three years ago, founder, Gloria Gordon, PhD, (White) said it purposely drew a footprint that would be 50 percent White and 50 percent Black. The area includes the Central West End as well as neighborhoods north of Delmar. STLV members are older adults, 50 years of age and older, who believe in “Gray Power,” that is, being productive, active and aging in community. On a balmy Sunday afternoon, March 18, it put on its regular Souper Sunday program called: Bridging the Delmar Housing Divide at Second Presbyterian Church, Taylor and Westminster in the CWE where STLV is also housed. A multi-racial group, close to 90 attended, about one-third lived north of Delmar.

They came to hear about activities occurring within the STLV

footprint.

Not only this, they came with the notion that residents are

becoming increasingly empowered, taking charge and ready to tackle deplorable housing conditions compounded by racism and segregation. Also announced is a fair housing conference, Wednesday, April 25 at the

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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!

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

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BRIDGING DELMAR... cont.

University of Missouri-St. Louis, featuring Richard Rothstein, author, Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. The program’s thrust was the activist organizations addressing the problem and making a difference. The panel included: Malaika Horne, PhD, director of the UMSL Executive Leadership Consortium served as moderator; also a STLV board member. Panelists were: ! Gail Brown, president, Brown-Kortkamp Realty and Urban Planning and Development Corporation; also a STLV board member. ! Neal Richardson, assistant director, New Market and Historic Tax Credits, US Bancorp CDC. ! Tyrone Turner, vice president, Better Family Life’s Housing and Asset Development. Gail Brown said her real estate company (which is Black-owned) has been “working for four years with the Lewis Place/Fountain Park neighborhood and the Kingsway Merchant District. KMD is comprised of member businesses and other concerned residents working together for the continued support of the business community by attracting and retaining businesses and events promotion. She said her agency is on the north-side of Delmar, purchased by her father, the late Elisha Brown, the previous owner, from the Morocco Candy Company.

She noted ordinances being put in place for 270 acres of

development with several buildings already purchased. Lenders are involved as well as working with Lisa Potts, coordinator of financial services for the People's Community Action Corporation. Potts was also in attendance. “Kevin Bryant is the neighborhood rock star,” said Brown. Bryant, who also attended, heads a successful and well-known business, Global Conversion Marketing. In 2012 Mayor Francis G. Slay named him St. Louis Neighborhood

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Business of the Year.

Bryant now serves as president of the Kingsway

Merchants District. Neal Richardson started Dream Builders providing “youth with the opportunity to attain financial ownership in real estate in low-income/highly distressed communities.” His goal is “… to build social equity through the financial empowerment of marginalized people and communities.”

mentors Harris Stowe State University students and 15 high school students and introduces them to business leaders of color.

He and many of the

students are rehabbing a house that stood vacant for four years in the Lewis Place/Fountain Park neighborhood, where he grew up. He’s also providing high school students with scholarships and students have written a book about their experiences, Together We Can Break Chains.

Book proceeds help

students with their college tuition. Richardson leads a team at U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation that manages over 350 tax credit financing investments ranging from $5-to-$100 million targeted for lowincome communities. Tyrone Turner said, “Better Family Life is an anomaly” as it makes its foray into improving housing conditions in the BFL area. The organization is more known for its direct community and family engagement with artistic, cultural, educational, business and community activities.

Several years back, it

renovated the old Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School on Page Avenue just west of Union Boulevard, listed on the Missouri State and National Registry of Historic Landmarks. The rehab brought stunning improvements and became a marker for the revitalization of the area. BFL is targeting 100 houses for rehab, starting east on Kingshighway Boulevard to Skinker Boulevard on the west -- to the south on Vernon Avenue and north on Wells

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BRIDGING DELMAR... cont.

Avenue.

It also helps first-time homebuyers as well as providing housing

repair and maintenance assistance. After the panel discussion, participants mixed, mingled and networked. There was a great deal of optimism, enthusiasm and excitement engulfing the lower level of the church. By all accounts, leaders, activists and residents were energized, galvanized -- discussing ways to mobilize to work better together to reverse decades of conscious systemic and structural racist practices that among other things, steered middle-class Whites and Blacks away from north of Delmar, further undermining and seriously damaging predominantly Black neighborhoods. While these racist practices are occurring right before us, it would stand to reason that if organizational leaders, members and supporters stay wellinformed, band together in solidarity as well as keeping the pressure on the real estate industry, banks and the government with laser-sharp focus, history could well not repeat itself. Effective strategies and tactics should result in a bridge to fair housing practices, improved neighborliness and safer neighborhoods. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, one day neighborhoods north of Delmar will have good housing stock, similar access to resources and services and not be put on blast (publicly exposed) by a British media company as some blithely go about their day a stoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s throw away from others suffering unnecessarily. The event was free and open to the public, including a variety of delicious soups, breads and beverages. Malaika Horne, PhD, is an academic writer and journalist.

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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

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;

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

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www.newmusiccircle.org

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)

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THE WORLD PREMIERE of TORN ASUNDER Presented by

THE BLACK REP OPENS FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018 Don't miss this incredible love story!! Get you tickets today Call (314) 5343807 or theblackrep.org #reptheblackrep #blacklove

World Premiere of Torn Asunder by Nikkole Salter The Love Story : Prince George's County,

MD, 1859. Hannah, a relatively contented enslaved woman, has her world rocked when her master dies and she, for the ﬁrst time, is separated from her family, new husband, and baby. But, just as she begins to lose all hope to ever see her husband and child again, the seceded south falls to the Union, slavery is abolished with the 13th Amendment, and Hannah has the opportunity to put her family back together...if she can ﬁnd them. TORN ASUNDER dramatizes true stories of newly emancipated African Americans trying to overcome the ever-present vestiges of chattel slavery to reconnect with their families. Based on the research of Prof. Heather Andrea Williams in her book HELP ME TO FIND MY PEOPLE. (Commissioned by Prof. Heather Andrea Williams and Kathy A. Perkins). 2 - 29, 2018 Torn Asunder runs Week April 13 Wednesday, April 18, 20181‐ ‐ 10am Week (Student/Senior Matinee) Thursday, April 2018 ‐ 7pm (Post show Friday, April 13,19, 2018 ‐ 8pm (Opening Night discussion) Reception After the show) Friday, April 20, 2018 ‐ 8pm Saturday,April 14, 2018 ‐ 8pm Saturday,April April15, 21,2018 2018‐ 3pm ‐ 8pm Sunday, Sunday, April 22, 2018 ‐ 3pm Week 3 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 ‐7pm ($20 Wednesday) Thursday, April 26, 2018 ‐ 7pm Friday, April 27, 2018 ‐ 8pm Saturday, April 28, 2018‐ 8pm Sunday, April 29, 2018 ‐ 3pm

The Black Rep | 6662 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63130

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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!

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Martin L

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Luther King

Drum Major for Justice

e need to reflect on the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s death because we as a people and as a nation and as a world must stand on the principles which he left on creating the beloved community. We shall either come together or recognize our collective humanity or we shall die because of wars which will end up destroying humanity as we know it. We need to stop

running away from the foundation that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. bequeathed to us. Our elders can, have and will give to our young people the instructions that enlighten them to resolving systemic institutionalized disparities in our polity. These issues of race, class and culture clash against the ideals of our founding as a nation. Dr. King led us through the buses, through the streets, through the courts, through the Congress, through the White House, through the churches and through our collective consciousness as a drum major for truth, justice and the American way. He taught us what it truly means to be an American.

The great social movements in America are accomplished by leading a charge of a million points of light. We cannot allow hatred nor the perpetuators of hate to lead our country down a great abyss. We will miss our opportunity if we only deal with curing the symptoms of systemic problems in America. Democracy, just like the atom, has a nucleus - a dense center of highly motivated individuals composed of positive and negative ideas. If we are unable to find common ground, no positive electrical charge will be created to move our cause forward. Factionalism is a fact of life in a pluralistic society, but nothing gets accomplished even when we mean well unless factions can find common ground. The rules of “moral engagement” as practiced by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offer a paradigm that can be useful in training this army of activists. King’s doctrine of nonviolent social change can be an effective strategy to prepare the people for a movement for improving our communities. Today, everybody except the elements of our society who think that flying the confederate flag represents our American ideals, loves the teachings of Dr. King to move our country forward to solving the systemic problems of poverty, racism and mass incarceration. But during his time, that was not the case and in fact he even had to scold those pastors who were part of the ecumenical community that did not agree with him – at first. Dr. King laid out the basic outline of implementing a nonviolent campaign in his Letter From A Birmingham Jail.

By Pierre Blaine

negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation.” There are many in the 21st century who say that these tactics of confronting racism and injustice in America do not work since we find ourselves in similar circumstances right now. I submit that we are not where we were 50 years ago although we have not improved the poverty and racism that Dr. King confronted. Each generation must confront these issues until they are fully resolved and they will not be fully resolved until Americans who not believe that these policies represent who we are as Americans, confront these issues and make the changes necessary to implement justice in our country. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem, if you cannot vote then you are part of the problem, if you cannot put politicians in office who will implement policies that support a living wage, a path to citizenship, companies that manufacture goods that do not harm the environment, then you are part of the problem. Yes, the money that is being spent in our elections is unconscionable but we the people still have the power to change it and the opposition only has the votes when we get confused and find a way not to participate. If we come together we are more formidable than the money that is being spent to retard the vote, disenfranchise the vote, to purge the voting rolls, to change how the census is being implemented to purge the vote, to decrease the numbers to negatively impact the drawing of the district lines for representation in Congress, to reduce the number of immigrants in this country, to devalue women, to implement injustice. Dr. King shows us the way in his sermon – The Drum Major Instinct. This sermon was delivered three months before his death and Dr. King preaches on how from a very young age all www.the-arts-today.com

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MARTIN LUTHER KING... cont.

of us crave to want to be first. We all have the Drum Major instinct. He preached about how the race question grows out of the Drum Major Instinct – the need to feel superior to another human being causing discrimination and racism. Dr. King shared the story of how when he was incarcerated in the Birmingham jail the white prison guards came to Dr. King and Dr. Abernathy to discuss with him why blacks and whites should be separated and that Dr. King and the movement was wrong for protesting and trying to bring about change to America.

Dr. Martin Luther, Jr.’s life is not a period, but a comma And therefore, we all must become Drum Majors for Justice.

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

Dr. King then asked the jailers where did they live and how much did they earn? When they told Dr. King what they earned, Dr. King told them: “You should be marching with us because you are just as poor as we are and the very same forces that oppress us are oppressing you.” After the congregation had a big belly laugh, Dr. King pivoted back to his sermon about the two men who asked God if they could sit on the right and left hand of God? King then paraphrases Jesus’ response: ‘Oh, I see so you want to be great. You want to be first. You want to be significant. Well, you should be. If you are going to be my disciples, you must be. Yes, this is a good instinct if you do not pervert it. Keep feeling the need to be first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generousity… Jesus gave us a new norm for greateness. If you want to be great, if you want to be important, if you want to be recognized – wonderful. But understand that he who is great among you shall be your servant. By giving this definition of greatness, it is possible for everybody to be great, because everybody can serve… Hauntingly, Dr. King then preached his own funeral: ‘Tell them on that day not to mention that I won the Nobel Peace Prize – that is not important, tell them not to mention that I have over 400 awards – that is not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. On that day tell them I would like somebody to say that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to live his life serving others. I’d like somebody to say that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to say I tried to feed the hungry. I want somebody to say that day I tried to clothe the naked. I want you to say that I did try to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say I tried to love and serve humanity. Yes, if you want to say I was a Drum Major say that I was a Drum Major for peace. I was a Drum Major for righteousness. Say that I was a Drum Major for justice…

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Available -

FEBRUARY 2018

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Calling All

ARTISTS

LEARN MORE

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The Tammi Holland Show

WATCH NOW!

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Happenings at the Museum

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

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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

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Featured

Photography Submission

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Ron

Vestal

Photographer | Ron Vestal Neon Body Glow ÂŽ Photographic Artist Model | Dinka Doll offfurnoutlet@cs.com NOTE: Model is over 18 years. Photographer has signed releases. Copyright ÂŠ 2017 - All rights reserved.

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Dementia from a

Caregiver’s Perspective Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Veterans and Volunteers meet in Gymnasium at 8: 30 a.m.

Workshop 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Building 56, Room 1A-100 Volunteer Respite Program providers will be available to engage Veterans in activities while the Caregiver attends the workshop. Please take your Veteran to the Gymnasium, Building 63, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration is required. This workshop specifically for Caregivers of a Veteran with Dementia is designed to help Caregivers gain a goal-oriented perspective related to Dementia as they experience it with their Veteran.

Topics for the day will cover: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Understanding the clinical side of the diagnosis and how it’s made Managing challenging behaviors Communicating with someone with dementia Caregiver self-care and managing caregiver burden

Please RSVP by May 4, 2018 to Tammy Scott or Deanna Farrell

(314) 652-4100, Ext. 54127 or VHASTLCareGivers@va.gov Gym, Bldg. 63

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workshop

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

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a h s r a M

Live

n n Ca

is S y M at “

t t ie

u l tB

e i am

H ith

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P s ’ ta

” e c la

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

(Live in Montreux) 1976

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Featured

Artist

Submission

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Dorothy

Payne

dorpayne@hotmail.com

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Featured

Photography Submission

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Olivia

Cox

All pictures are taken with my iPhone 6, taking pictures is my passion. I love bringing the pictures to life! Facebook: Studgirl3232

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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.

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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.

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Circle of Light Associates

1515 VARNUM, St Louis, MO 63136 • $72,500 Residential | .265 acres • 3 bedrooms • 1 bathrooms • MLS# 17059099

This Beautiful Home is Ready for Family to move right in and Kick up their feet!! Your home has been completely rehabbed ready to pass all inspection!!

Rochelle DIXON Contact

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Enjoy the beloved classic on the big screen View in browser

Tickets

Community

Support

Winner of six Academy Awards – including Best Picture – and one of the American Film Institute’s Top 10 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time, An American in Paris, stars Leslie Caron and Gene Kelly and features the timeless original music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Enjoy the musical film on the big screen while the SLSO performs the score live.

Buy Tickets Please note this is replacing the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's May 12‐13 performances of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man."

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718 North Grand Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63103

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Featured

Comic Artist Submission

Keithan Jones: Owner/Publisher of KID Comics Book: The Power Knights Availiable at: kid-comics.com and Comixology Founder of Black Comix Day in San Diego, CA. Education: BFA at Platt College, San Diego, CA. Keithan Jones is the founder and owner of KID comics, a comic book and multi-media publisher based in San Diego, California. The mantra and

philosophy behind KID is, “The Kid In You Never Dies”, as a constant reminder that our childhood spirit is the core of who we really are no matter how old we get. Jones was introduced to comics in the late 1970’s by way of his late step-father, who as a young Navy officer would read them as a way to bide time on long deployments overseas. “My Dad would come home after 3 months of duty overseas and pass off all the comics he had collected over that time period to me. Where I became a collector, he saw them as a disposable entertainment. Up to the time that he died, I don’t think he realized that he was the impetus to what launched me into comic fandom and ultimately my career.” From his first exposure to comics in the 1970’s leading up to current times, the sight of a black character in a comicbook still strikes as a novelty. Jones wanted to change this accepted normality and start injecting new characters in comics culture that were not just black or ethnic, but also the hero of the stories without an asterisk. “I wanted to see actual characters of color that occupied lead roles that were not temporary or taking place in an alternate universe. I wanted to see characters of color that were not replacing well established white characters as a way to fill a social qouta, but are 100% original concepts.” Thus the creation of his company, KID comics and his first publication, The Power Knights. “The Power Knights is not a preachy, social commentary at all. It’s basically what I intended it to be from the time I created it when I was 11 years old; a fun action-packed sci-fi adventure. The characters happen to be black.” Jones hopes that his brand of escapism is embraced by all cultures in the same manner as a Star Wars film. “That would be amazing!”

The Power Knights can be purchased at kid-comics.com

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Keithan

Jones

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EPILOGUE

Quarantine prison planet, Yadu.

“You’ll do fine.”

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Creator, Keithan Jones and co-writer, C.R. Ward, present an urban science fiction fantasy like no other!

THE POWER KNIGHTS:

UNBOUNDED

A FIVE-PART SERIES Kandle Watson and his older brother Davion, find themselves caught in the middle of an age old battle between the maleficent, King Sinoj and the six powerful beings that once fought for him. These Power Knights, were forced through a wicked spell to use their special abilities to wage war across the galaxy for, Sinoj. Eventually, the spell was broken and they fought back the maniacal king. Despite their heroic effort, they were not absolved of their crimes and were sent into a black hole to die. Through mysterious circumstance, they somehow pass through unscathed and crash land on Earth. Vowing to not interfere with the affairs of mankind, the six retreat into a reclusive life, to ponder their atrocious past. However, Warseed, not willing to risk becoming a slave to a new master, designs plans to take Earth for his own. He recruits, Davion Watson as his first Earth soldier, only to be betrayed by him. The remaining Knights, must decide to either stay in the shadows or reveal themselves as, Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new defenders.

3 THE KID IN YOU NEVER DIES KID-COMICS.COM

$3.99 US

KEITHAN

JONES C.R.

WARD BEEZZZ

STUDIO JASEN

SMITH RATED T MILD INTENSITY

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;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.â&#x20AC;? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Featured

Artist

Submission

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Ken

Calvert

BIO:

Ken Calvert, painter, illustrator, graphic designer, and muralist was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned his BFA degree from Lindenwood University. His work demonstrates an ability to handle difficult aspects of the natural world as well as a sensitivity to modernist innovations. Among his numerous solo exhibition credits are: “Ken Calvert Brush and Canvas” at the 10th street Gallery in St. Louis, MO in 2012 “Cultural Connections” exhibition at the Beach Institute and Savannah State University in Savannah Georgia, in 1998. “Ourstory” at the Vaughn Cultural Center in St. Louis in 1999. Exhibition / lecture, “Through the Eyes of a Child” at the Missouri History Museum, Calvert returned to the Beach Institute in Georgia for a yet another solo exhibition in 2003. Calvert is credited with the cover painting for the Missouri Historical Society publication, “Discovering African American St. Louis”. Amongst his Murals is “Cornerstones of Courage and Culture” at the St. Louis, City Hall. Calvert’s painting of Chokwe Chief Ndumba Tembo, is included in the Anheuser Busch “Great Kings and Queens of Africa Series”. He was the 1997 recipient of the “Romare Bearden Award” for artistic contributions to the St. Louis community.

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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

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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!

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Follow 13

Read Article Elaine Young Artist

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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.

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How to Combat ANTI-

African

ANTI-

Black

PROPOGANDA

ow do we combat the ignorance

we are accused of; other races treat us accord-

of African people? Do we remain

ing to the lies fed. From birth, we are assimi-

silent about the negative imag-

lated to an understanding that “white is right”

es of Africans in every aspect of

and “Black is bad.” The Ferris State University

media? No, many of us do use

Jim Crow Museum display several examples of

our platforms (e.g. social media, blogs, books,

anti-Black propaganda. Their website says this

football fields, etc.) to show that we are tired of

about racist cartoons: “Between 1928 and 1950,

the status quo. We insist on showing the world

America’s premier animators-Walt Disney Cor-

that there are positive images and positive

poration, Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,

African role models. When I speak of Africans,

Merrie Melodies, Looney Tunes, and R.K.O.

I am naming every so called Black person or

Radio Pictures-produced many cartoons that

melanated person across the diaspora. We

ridiculed the appearance, behavior, and intelli-

are Africans in America not African Americans.

gence of African Americans and other racial and

We must always show pride and solidarity with

ethnic minorities.” (https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/

Africa.

news/jimcrow/antiblack/)

For generations, albion white Western Euro-

criminalizing Africans. The entire point of these

It is in the advantage of the oppressor to justify African systematic institutional oppression, racism and discrimination. Make the Africans

campaigns is to make us Africans believe we

think it is their fault why they are criminals, poor

are inferior and ultimately bad people. When

and the lowest in world in power status; when

they continue to push this agenda on the world

we are the majority across the diaspora. If we

not only will the world believe Africans are awful

believe their propaganda, then their projection

other races will believe this too. With the be-

will result in our negative behavior; which leads

lief, your actions will follow accordingly. When

to their lies becoming truth. Whites can contin-

people continuously see these negative images

ue to murder us through genocide across the

and stories about Africans subconsciously they

diaspora, emasculate our African Kings with ho-

start to believe the lies and misnomers. This

mosexuality and dismantle African families and

propaganda was used to rationalize African

values; if we buy into their anti-African propa-

slavery in the United States and globally. Nega-

ganda. Their laws, systems and institutions will

tive African propaganda is still used in the news,

not be challenged because we have been made

with always showing African criminalization and

to believe their lies. Yes, throughout centuries,

poverty as if its only Africans committing crimes

there have been some Africans concerned

or have less money. Beliefs transform to ac-

enough to protest our negative images but not

tions. Africans begin to display the very actions

enough. Today we still face many negative

peans have created these mass media propaganda campaigns degrading, dehumanizing, &

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images of Africans probably more so than ever now that we have new age technology and the world wide web. We are constantly bombarded with media that misrepresent us Africans. It is a shame. The writer Jennifer Wilson says in her article How red Russia Broke New Ground in the Portrayal of Black Americans on www.pri.org: “When Langston Hughes traveled to Moscow in 1932 to film “Black and White” — a Soviet propaganda film about the horrors of American racism — he figured he had little to lose. Hughes and the remaining cast, a group of 21 young African Americans, believed the nascent Soviet film industry, which had launched the careers of innovative and socially conscious directors like Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin and Dziga Vertov, couldn’t help but do a better job of portraying Black people than Hollywood. The latter, depicted Black people as violent, dim-witted, and sexually rapacious. The fact that the Soviets wanted to employ Black actors to play Black roles was already an encouraging sign. Hollywood films tended to cast white actors in blackface; a rare exception at the time was the 1929 American film “Hallelujah” whose all Black cast was only approved when the director promised Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) that it would be a film about the horrors of Black sexual deviance…” “One of those values was the Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved.

“How the Chocolate Got to Mossel’prom,” a popular Russian children’s book about chocolate production. Credit: Picture reproduced courtesy of the Cotsen Children’s Library, Princeton University

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HOW TO COMBAT... cont.

importance of internationalism and the spread of proletarian consciousness to Black and brown nations who’d been oppressed by capitalism and colonialism. However, Soviet writers and illustrators too often perpetuated a lot of the harmful

tions to discover key information about our his-

stereotypes about these nations that they were

tories. I have conversations with my peers and

ostensibly trying to dismantle.

they ask me: “Why are we so dumb and ignorant? and “How we can change this reality?” My

For instance, in a popular children’s book about

answers are simple. We must want to change.

chocolate production, ‘How the Chocolate Got to

We must want to learn something besides the

Mossel’prom’ (Mossel’prom was a state depart-

information we already know. We that have the

ment store that sold candy), the cocoa beans

wisdom and knowledge about Africans must

are collected by an African boy who we’re told

share this information with our peers and strang-

‘doesn’t go to school’ and ‘runs around naked.’

ers. We must tell our positive narratives, display

He’s accompanied by his friend, a ‘red-skinned’

our positive images, and continue to do amaz-

Native American child (who’s magically popped

ing works in our communities throughout the

up in Africa), and their movements in the trees are seemingly mirrored by an image of a monkey climbing up the same cocoa trees.” (https://www. pri.org/stories/2017-08-31/how-red-russia-brokenew-ground-portrayal-black-americans)

diaspora. It is our duty to make this world better than how we came here as “Sankofa” sug-

Dear Africans throughout the diaspora open your hearts, minds and souls to different perspectives. It is when you are open that you may experi-

from the Akan tribe

the word and the

of what an African is and does. Research and

symbol is “it is not

study who and what great things Africans have

taboo to fetch what

done since the beginning of time. We, Africans

is at risk of being

were the first humans, created from The Black

left behind.”

Dot, Melanin (Dr. Richard D. King, our ancestor) which means all other races came from us. We created all things from science, astronomy, math, religion, writing and everything else between. But you must be open to even deal with this infor-

pg.

an African word

literal translation of

must challenge internally and externally the idea

There are no excuses for our

gests. Sankofa is

in Ghana. The

ence different realities and understanding. We

mation.

ignorance due to all wisdom being at the end of our finger keystrokes, the internet holds all knowledge and wisdom. We must ask the right ques-

The word is derived from the words: SAN (return),

156

A Soviet anti-racism stamp from 1960 features a black child in typical blackface imagery. Credit: Wikimedia Commons (https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-08-31/how-red-russia-broke-new-ground-portrayalblack-americans)

KO (go), FA (look, seek and take). The Sankofa symbolizes the Akan people’s quest for knowledge among the Akan with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination, and intelligent and patient investigation.” (https://www.berea.edu/cgwc/the-power-of-sankofa/)

Bio: Iyanda Sijuade AKA Frenchaire Gardner is a serial entrepreneur: Insurance Agent at Mutual of Omaha, Manufacturer of her business’ Be And Us LLC’s Nigerian Organic Shea Butter and Property Manager for her business Melchizedek LLC. She is a visual artist, photographer, actress and dancer. Graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Mother of Joseph Jr., Frenchaire-Two, Melchizedek Malcolm X and Sarai. Follow her on IG, Twitter and Facebook: @frenchaire, @msfrenchy06 or Facebook.com/FrenchaireInsLady FrenchaireGardner. com Frenchaire © 2018 Thank you.

Images from the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University unless otherwise noted.

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018

DISPLACED

&ERASED

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

pg.

158

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

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"Quiet Time" by: Lonnie Powell

"Cuban Dancer" by: Ed Johnetta Miller pg.

160

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

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CONTACT: Nancy Milton, Insight PR St. Louis 314-962-6400 nancy@InsightRocks.com Tom O'Keefe, Family Arena (636) 896-4289 tokeefe@familyarena.com

The Family Arena Announces The Missouri River Music Fest with The Guess Who, Ambrosia and More Saturday, April 14, 2018 Tickets on sale Friday, January 5 WHAT: Superstars from classic rock's glory days will come together for one night only at the 2018 Missouri River Music Fest at The Family Arena. The Guess Who, Ambrosia, Bill Champlin, Stephen Bishop and John Ford Coley headline the event scheduled for Saturday, April 14, 2018. Tickets go on sale, Friday, January 5, 2018 at https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/mrmf.

WHO: The Guess Who is a group that's connected with the masses throughout a exultant hit parade spanning fourteen Top 40 hits, including "These Eyes," "Clap For the Wolfman," "Hand Me Down World," "No Time," "Star Baby" and "Share the Land." Add in fellow classics and double sided singles like their #1 rock anthem, "American Woman" and "No Sugar Tonight," plus "Laughing" and "Undun," and the Canadian-bred stateside conquerors are amongst music's most indelible treasures who are eternally etched within the very fabric of pop culture history. In its brief recording history, Ambrosia garnered five Grammy Nominations, five Hit Singles (including "You Are The Only Woman," "How Much I Feel," and "Biggest Part Of Me"), Heavy FM Airplay and the admiration and respect of the musical community. All this was in addition to Sold Out concerts around the world. Today, the band is more alive and compelling than ever. With three of the original members intact plus the addition of guitar ace Doug Jackson on electric guitar and backing vocals, Mary Harris contributing amazing keyboards and vocals, and the powerful and contemporary lead vocals and acoustic guitar of Ken Stacey, Ambrosia is exploring new musical territory and continuing to wow life-long fans and new converts alike. Bill Champlin is best known for being a member of Chicago, which he joined in 1981 and remained a member of for 28 years. However, his career encompasses much more. The Sons of Champlin formed in 1965 as a fivepiece band, and later expanded to seven members. The Sons recorded seven commercially released albums between 1968 and 1977 and gained a devoted fan base. Bill received two Grammy awards for his song writing and has released seven solo albums. He has recording credits on numerous albums by various artists that cover a 30-year period.

pg.

162

Stephen Bishop released his first album, "Careless," in 1976. The album featured the hits "Save It For a Rainy Day," and "On and On." He sang the hit theme, "It Might Be You," from the movie, "Tootsie," as well as writing and/or singing for 13 other films including, "Animal House," and "Separate Lives" from "White Nights." His songs have been performed by artists such as: Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Steve Perry, Stephanie Mills, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Phoebe Snow, David Crosby, The Four Tops, Aswad and Pavarotti. There are songs you hear in your life that transport you to a certain time period or give you a special feeling. Songs like "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight," "Nights Are Forever Without You" and "Love Is The Answer" have that kind of effect on people. Those songs and numerous others have made John Ford Coley a singing legend. He has spent decades touring, writing, recording, and producing. WHEN: Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. WHERE: The Family Arena - 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles, MO 63303 TICKETS: Tickets go on sale Friday, January 5 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at the Family Arena Ticket Office or online at https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/mrmf . Prices: $85 (Gold Circle), $70 (Floor), $60 (100 Level Sidelines), $50 (100 Level Endzone), $40 (Upper Level) To charge by phone call MetroTix at 314-534-1111. For help purchasing accessible seating, call The Family Arena ADA Hotline at 636-896-4234. BUY TICKETS: https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/mrmf MORE: Call The Family Arena event hotline at 636-896-4242 for more information, or visit www.familyarena.com. Suites are available for this event. Treat the family and friends, reward clients or employees or celebrate a special occasion with a private suite. For details and pricing, contact Blake Rapert at 636-896-4211. ### MEDIA INFORMATION: For advance interviews, images and additional information, contact Nancy Milton, Insight PR St. Louis, 314-962-6400 or nancy@InsightRocks.com.

Insight PR St. Louis, 59 Wilshire Terr., , St. Louis, MO 63119 SafeUnsubscribe™ ibj1960@aol.com

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pg.

164

ART OF FOOD

When Trying to

$AVE Growing up, birthdays are and have always been huge deals. My birthday has forever been my favorite holiday! (Yes, I said holiday! It’s marked on my calendar every year lol) It got so bad that my mom implemented a rule about my birthday after I turned 4 or 5. I was not allowed to talk about my plans for birthday (which is in April) until January! One of my mother’s favorite stories to tell is me talking about next years party plans while we’re walking to the car with my gifts in our hands. I vividly remember doing this, so unfortunately I can’t even say she’s blowing it out of proportion. This year’s celebration was no different than the others. Even though I’m rapidly approaching 30 (eek!), I’m still excited to celebrate in any way. I do so much for others all the time and always have a full plate before me…the ability to have one day where it’s just for and about me, unparalleled. This year I decided to make my own birthday cake for the 1st time. I couldn’t decide what flavor I wanted nor did I want to shell out $60-$80 that I knew we wouldn’t finish eating. One of my favorite cupcakes was a Lemon Poppyseed cake filled with Lemon Curd and topped with a Blueberry Buttercream. I didn’t have time to make it from scratch, especially since I made it at work, but I’ll leave multiple recipes for this delectable dessert. I’m a bigger fan of Cream Cheese Icing more than any other, but I decided to go with a traditional Buttercream Icing. I low key regret it. Buttercream & I just don’t get along. While my cake turned out to be amazingly delicious, the icing fell and I was forced to re-frost parts of my cake before “Happy Birthday” was sung. Part of it was due to the blueberries that I simmered in lemon juice, water and sugar, because even though I drained it, it added extra moisture to the icing. The other part, that’s just the relationship I’ve typically had with Buttercream. So I would recommend using your favorite Cream Cheese Icing recipe, or your go to store brand.

Pillsbury’s Buttercream Icing. The only step that I did from scratch this time, was cooking the blueberries to make them a compote consistency. I don’t regret making this from scratch for one second, because it turned out to be delicious! I’m not a baker by any means and I know I’m not the only one out there. My trick/secret to making any boxed dessert is to substitute milk for water. It makes cakes, brownies, cookies, etc. fluffy, moist & taste more like it’s homemade.

Bon Appétit,

Doré

when you're done. ~Léna O. A. Jackson www.facebook.com/gspDore www.instagram.com/gspDore gspDoreinfo@gmail.com

I took easy way out on this cake! I purchased 2 boxes of Pillsbury’s Super Moist Lemon Cake, found jars of lemon curd (after going to 2 stores), & 3 containers of

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018

ART OF FOOD... cont.

Lemon Cake INGREDIENTS 1 ½ 1 ½ C

Sticks Unsalted Butter, softened

Granulated Sugar

4 large 2 ½ C ½ tsp 2 ½ tsp zest of 2 1 ¼ C 2 Tbsp 2 tsp 2 Tbsp

Eggs, room temperature §

Cake Flour *

Salt Baking Powder Lemons Milk Vegetable Oil Lemon Extract Poppyseeds

* If you don’t have cake flour, for each cup of all purpose flour remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch. For this recipe, measure out 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, remove 5 Tablespoons and replace with 5 Tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk to blend. § If eggs are cold, place in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch pans. In a medium sized bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt and zest of 2 lemons. Whisk to blend. In another bowl, add the milk, vegetable oil and lemon extract. Whisk to blend. Beat the softened butter until lightened in color and smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix on medium speed 4 to 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears. Add the flour mixture and the milk mixture alternately. Begin and end with the flour. Mix until combined and smooth, do not mix above medium speed or over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached. Let the cakes cool in the pans 10 minutes then turn out.

pg.

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ART OF FOOD... cont.

French Blueberry Buttercream

INGREDIENTS 1 ½ C

Blueberries, fresh or frozen,

if using frozen don’t thaw

2 Tbsp

Lemon Juice

2 sticks (8 oz) Unsalted Butter, VERY soft ½ tsp

Salt

3 ½ C

Confectioners Sugar

(more if needed), sifted

1 Tbsp

Heavy Cream (more if needed)

¼ cup ing

Fresh Blueberries, for decorat(optional)

In a small saucepan combine blueberries and lemon juice; bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly and gently smashing the blueberries smooth, until thickened into a deep, dark blueberry reduction, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and push the puree though, leaving any skin/large chunks behind. Allow mixture to cool completely before using. If you’d like to have enough blueberry puree to drizzle on the cupcakes, double this recipe and set half aside for decorating. Once the blueberry puree has cooled, place the softened butter in a large bowl or in the body of a stand mixer. Using a handheld mixer, or with the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, beat butter on medium-high (scraping down the sides as needed) until completely smooth; about 2 minutes. Add in a ¼ cup of the blueberry puree and beat until completely combined; about 1 minute. Add in the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time, on low speed. Once all of the sugar has been added, add in the cream and salt, then beat on high-speed for a full 2 minutes - this thickens up the frosting and makes it nice and fluffy.

pg.

168

Fresh Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting Yields: 4 cups Ingredients: 2 C

Blueberries, fresh

3 Tbsp

Granulated Sugar

1 Tbsp

Cornstarch

16oz

Cream Cheese, softened

½ C

Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

2¼C

Powdered Sugar

2 tsp

Vanilla Extract

pinch

Kosher or Sea Salt

finely grated zest from ½ a medium lemon

Directions: Combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest in a saucepan. Cook the sauce over medium heat until the sauce thickens and the cornstarch becomes translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. In large bowl, add cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Cream together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Add half of the blueberry sauce and gently fold into the cream cheese frosting. Add the remaining half of the sauce and stir in until the frosting becomes a blue/purple color, or until you like the texture of the frosting. The more you mix the frosting, the less chunks of blueberry you will have in the frosting. Spread frosting on your favorite cake or cupcakes. Enjoy!

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pg.

170

“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

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018

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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

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Volume 5.1 April 28, 2018

Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration Art Exhibiďż˝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]

Black and White (only): $40

pg.

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ART OF HEALING Your Ad or Article could be here!

pg.

176

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

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Past Issues

Translate View this email in your browser

Dear Friend, Over more than four decades PEN America’s Prison Writing Program has amplified the writing of thousands of imprisoned writers by providing free resources, skilled mentors, and audiences for their writing. We are proud to share our deepening commitment to confronting our era of mass incarceration with the launch of the PEN America Writing For Justice Fellowship. The 12 monthlong Writing For Justice Fellowships will commission writers to create written works of lasting merit that illuminate critical issues related to mass incarceration and catalyze public debate. The aim is to harness the power of writers and writing in bearing witness to the societal consequences by capturing and sharing the stories of incarcerated individuals, their families, communities, and the wider impact of the criminal justice system. Our goal is to ignite a broad, sustained conversation about the dangers of overincarceration, and the imperative to mobilize behind rational and humane policies. As an organization of writers dedicated to promoting free expression and informed discourse, PEN America is honored to have been entrusted by the Art for Justice Fund to engage the literary community in addressing this pressing societal issue. Fellows may be emerging or established writers, working in fiction, nonfiction and journalism, poetry, drama, or mixed genres. Fellows will receive an honorarium of $10,000, and may request up to $5,000 in additional funding for travel and research. In addition to financial support, Fellows may choose to be paired with a mentor to serve as a source of guidance for the project, and the cohort will convene in person twice during the course of the Fellowship. PEN America will draw on the expertise of the members of Writing for Justice Advisory Committee, as well as our network of agents, editors, publishers, partner organizations and outlets in order to assist efforts for publication and dissemination of the work of the Fellows. Opportunities for sharing the created work through public forums will be

pg.

178

organized in New York City at the PEN World Voices Festival, the Fellow’s home

ubscribe community, and possibly additional locations. Past Issues

The best Writing For Justice Fellowship applications will demonstrate how the proposed project plans to engage on issues of reform, fuel public debate, and facilitate the possibility of societal change. Currently and formerly incarcerated writers are highly encouraged to apply, and special provisions will be made for incarcerated writers to participate through alternative methods. We invite you to review the full Fellowship overview, application requirements, and FAQs on our website. We hope you will share the Fellowship announcement with your community, consider applying, and encourage promising candidates in your network to apply. Our application portal opens April 15, and applications will be accepted until July 1st. I look forward to updating you on this initiative as we progress. With warm regards, Caits Meissner Prison and Justice Writing Program Manager PEN America

Share this email with a friend.

Get More News, Events, and Original Literature from PEN America ›

You are receiving this email because you opted in at PEN.org or a PEN Americasponsored event. manage subscriptions | unsubscribe | contact us Copyright © 2018 PEN America | 588 Broadway Suite 303, New York, NY 10012 USA

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SINGING BONE PRESS . 700 Skyland Dr. Columbia, SC 29210 singingbonepress@gmail.com; singingbonepress.com; 803-730-8594

WINTER 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SINGING BONE PRESS publishes

WE NEED TO TALK: new & selected poems 1970-2016 by MICHAEL CASTRO We Need to Talk, Michael Castro’s Selected Poems draws on the poet’s dozen collections since 1970. It includes poems for John Coltrane, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Creeley and other artists, as well as poems on a range of subjects, sacred and profane. Haiku, kwansabas, blues, sonnets, ghazals, chants, and concrete poems are scattered throughout the collection of this essentially free verse poet who was named, in 2015, St. Louis’s first Poet Laureate. Charles Guenther wrote of Castro in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Michael Castro is a legend on the St. Louis poetry scene, as an editor, arts activist, and radio host, and for his poems, which have been widely published. His voice is wideranging and versatile. Whether in long lines . . . or in terse measured syllables, his voice is original.” Of this book, Jerred Metz wrote, “These are poems of substance. Each is a gem, a treat, a treasure, a treasury of verse and thought, and takes its rightful place in the collection.” Poet and critic Eugene B. Redmond said of Castro’s work as a poet: “Since taking the oath of poetry, Michael Castro has kept brilliant wordfaith & good company—Eliot, Baraka, Basho, Ginsberg, Black Elk, jazz, spokenwordworld—not bad for a poetic souljourner occupying formidable ritual ground: Ancient, American, Multi-cultural.” On the Author: Born in New York City in 1945 and residing in St. Louis since the late sixties, Michael Castro has brought his poet’s spirit to a range of life roles: educator; founder of the literary organization and magazine, River Styx; radio host; editor; scholar; performance artist; and translator. In addition to his widely published poems, his prose work, Interpreting the Indian: Twentieth Century Poets & the Native American, is regarded as a pioneering work in the field of Native American Studies. He has co-translated with Gabor G. Gyukics, more than fifty Hungarian poets, resulting in an anthology and several books, including A Transparent Lion by the great twentieth century poet, Attila Jozsef. Castro has been active in spreading poetry off the page, performing and recording with jazz musicians, hosting the prestigious River Styx at Duff’s Poetry Series for twenty years and the Poetry Beat radio program for fifteen. He has done hundreds of readings, locally, nationally, and internationally. In 2015 Castro was named St. Louis’s first Poet Laureate. WE NEED TO TALK: New & Selected Poems 1970-2016 by MICHAEL CASTRO Cover art by Cbabi Bayoc; ISBN 978-0-9334391-6-0; 305 pp; $14.95; AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON.COM, LEFT BANK BOOKS, SUBTERANEAN BOOKS

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pg.

182

TO LIVE AGAINST THE

TIMES On Wednesday, April 4, 2018, I remembered an assassination on April 4, 1968. As I flew from New

Orleans to Chicago, the finality of death monopolized my thinking. The end is promised, and it never fails to deliver. That I remember. I remember and protect myself against the cultural amnesia that the Tribe of Trump bids our nation to embrace. I shall not forget. And I have yet to arrive at a point from which I can forgive our nation for its dedicated barbarity. Although my mother’s name was Mary, my conception was not immaculate. My name is Jerry not Jesus. I am not obligated to perform salvation on a cross.

Unlike a few of my friends who still hold fast to dreams of a better future, I gave up the will to dream on April 4, 1968 when I heard Duke Ellington announce, at a Tougaloo College concert in New York, that Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead. His death enlightened me about the hype of American hope. After fifty years, I refuse to be bamboozled by it. I live against the times in a spiritual location of actuality rather than in a secular ghetto of reality. A death is a death is a death. ~Jerry W. Ward, Jr.

To the extent that I embrace a fluid, Roman Catholic understanding of how sin is constructed and why it flourishes within the operations of capitalism, I am aware that I belong to a sin-saturated Church . I have citizenship in a nation wherein sin is a palpable virtue. There is small profit in being orthodox by any measure. Or, as I informed an audience at the 2018 Tennessee Williams Festival, no one is entitled to claim that she or he is innocent. All Americans are complicit in the production of a United States “history” (a speculative narrative at best) that rewards sin (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) with delusions of goodness. Blessed is the American who is ignorant in the name of patriotism and who is capable of sinning without overmuch twinge of conscience. Such an American is akin to the protagonist Cross Damon in Richard Wright’s The Outsider (1953), is an ethical criminal. She or he will be justly rewarded with Biblical blindness until death brings the shock of vision. I survive what is casually called “the times” by living against them, choosing my terms of engagement with calculated discretion, and trusting no one without first spending decades in reading the person’s character. I survive by assuming that human beings are fundamentally evil. Nevertheless, they have the potential to be just and decent; a minority of them can do good things for the benefit of humanity.

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p o H

p i H GENERATION at Jeopardy!

pg.

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am pleased at the amount of attention that is currently focused on our village’s next generation. The awareness and interest are certainly necessary. Many consider future generations already lost because of the violence and disrespect that is widespread and out of control in certain areas. Some of our elders are afraid and literally held captive in their homes. It is not a state of affairs most villagers are proud of. I notice more attention is paid to what the children are reading and watching. I wish as much awareness was paid to the lewd and filthy music videos and compact disc recordings that are polluting our airways. One person who has taken note is Harvard University lecturer, author and African-American, Cornell West. He will be visiting Dr. Eugene Redmond on May 17th in the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus. HEC is located at 601 J.R. Thompson Drive, ESL, IL 62201. West is the author of several books, including ‘Race Matters’. A copyrighted story in the Associated Press a few years ago reported ‘Cornel West isn’t the typical rapper, as the audience who gathered at Harvard University to hear his recent hip-hop debut knows well. A prominent professor of African-American studies and philosophy at Harvard, West recently released his first album, “Sketches of My Culture,” a mixture of rap and spoken word. He sees it as a way to deliver a message of pride in oneself and black history to people who may not get into Harvard or pick up his books. West hopes his CD will inject some meaningful themes into a genre often dominated by songs glorifying money, drugs and sex.’ This to me is encouraging. It gives me hope that others are seeking ways to reach our youth that some say are unreachable. These of course are the pessimists and cynics. I believe that Sanyika Anwisye, co-founder of the Frederick Douglas Institute here in St. Louis, and education consultant and author Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu is on the right track.

Anwisye suggests that the entire community has a responsibility in countering the conditions that are destroying our youth. And in his books ‘Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys’, Kunjufu publishes the “Pledge of Black Manhood”. It reads ‘I am the Black man. Some know me as Imhotep, Ramses, Martin or Malcolm. Others know me as the brother on the corner or in jail. I am both, Detroit Red and Malcolm. From this day forward, I pledge my life to the liberation of my people. I will put God first in my life. Black women will feel safe when they see me. I will be supportive, responsible, and a loving husband. I will hug, talk and listen to, and educate my children. I will be involved in the Scouts, Role Model and Rites-of-Passage. Why? Because I am the Black man, the original man, then one and only. The one that other men are afraid of, because they know whenever I’ve been given the opportunity-I succeed.’ Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the so called ‘gangsta rappers’, comedians and other entertainment industry moguls who have been disrespecting women and their peers would adhere to this vow? This promise in some form or another, should be in every household in the village and taken sincerely. If so, the elders would return to their rightful and respected places. They would resume teaching and making the family whole again. ~Bernie Hayes

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