Arts Today vol 2 .11 by Arts Today Ezine

Vol 2.11

January 17, 2016

FEATURED POET:

RuthRuth Miriam Garnett -

View this and past issues from our website.

pg #58

DRESS CODE? DR. HORNE pg. #20

46 YEARS... AFROWORLD pg. #38

2 MARTIN’S BERNIE HAYES pg.#48

IN THIS

ISSUE:

IN THE NEWS NABJ

TBA OP / ED TBA

20 WHAT HAPPENED TO DRESS CODES? DR. MALAIKA HORNE

“LIGHTS ARE SHINING” WITH ST. LOUIS TALE WINNIE SULLIVAN

107

78 REPORT FROM THE STREETS... MICHAEL CASTRO

AINT NO THANG BUT A CHICKEN WANG LENA O.A. JACKSON

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LIVE / WORK / PLAY NATE JOHNSON

AN EVENING WITH BREE @ WASH U. BREE NEWSOME

GEORGE YANCY’S JEREMIAD DR. JERRY WARD

GERRYMANDERING PIERRE BLAINE

“. . . for u, the sky’s the “unlimit”...” Baba Sherman Fowler,

Griot and Poet

Established 2014 Volume 2.11 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 2.11 January 17, 2016

In The News

Statement From NABJ on Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery Trespassing Charge While Covering Ferguson Last Year

The National Association of Black Journalists expresses concern with the decision by prosecutors in St. Louis County, Mo. to charge Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post with trespassing and interfering with a police officer. The charges stem from an incident that took place as Lowery, 25, was in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014 to report on the shooting death of Michael Brown, a black teen, by a white police officer. “Reporters have every right to do their jobs, pursue the truth and publish it,” NABJ President Sarah Glover said. The association is troubled by the action taken by prosecutors and believe it to be a direct assault on the free exercise of the First Amendment, which ensures journalists can practice their craft. Journalists understand citizens, including journalists, must respect the rule of law, but as the Supreme Court of the United States noted in its 1972 decision in Branzburg v. Hayes,”... without some protection for seeking out the news, freedom of the press could be eviscerated.” The organization believes Lowery acted reasonably in pursuit of news and information needed by the public in the aftermath of the shooting death of Brown and in light of ensuing unrest in Ferguson. The initial decision to release Lowery without filing charges also suggests that authorities themselves believed that his initial arrest could have been an abuse of power and discretion. The organization encourages local officials to drop the charges filed against Lowery so journalists can operate without fear that doing their jobs will lead to them being jailed. Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron called the charges “outrageous.” Lowery is a former NABJ board member. An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation, and provides career development as well as educational and other support to its members worldwide.

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TRIGNEY MORGAN AS CASSIUS CLAY...............................pg. 88 KICKING OFF NEW YEAR THE FITNESS BOSS..........................pg. 102 ARTIST WISDOM KUDOWOR.........................pg. 116 MSD RETRO TEAM ADOLPHUS PRUITT...........................pg. 150

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DANCE ST. LOUIS PRESENTS MOMIX................................................pg. 161 VIRTUOSO (POEM) ANGEE TURNER................................pg. 176 LEGAL COMMUNITY STAND PAM MEANES....................................pg. 184

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pg.

OP / ED SECTION

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:34-40 NIV

We seek to impact the world with the love of Christ one life at a time! Hopelessness and desperation are on the rise in a world where the greatest segment of the population possesses the least amount of resources. We need your help! Please help us fight this epidemic by sending your tax deductible donations/contributions to: For His Glory Ministries of St. Louis P.O. Box 1942 Maryland Heights, MO. 63043 http://calvarychapelslc.com/homeless-ministry/ For other ways in which you can help please contact Pamela Ford at pamelaford98@gmail.com or 314-216-0744. Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT

Contact: black.anthology@gmail.com

January 6, 2016

AN EVENING WITH BREE NEWSOME AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ST. LOUIS, JANUARY 6, 2016– Somewhere between art and activism is Bree Newsome who encapsulates both.

Bree Newsome Newsome, known for her short film work and for removing the Confederate Battle flag in a

An evening with

Filmmaker, musician, and activist

direct action last June, believes that creativity and advocating for social justice are closely related, if not the same, proclaiming that “art is activism and activism is art”.

For Newsome, the intersection of artistry and advocacy is one that is inevitable. “The space that exists for many of us, as a young black girl, is so extremely limited so that you really can’t go very far without being an activist, without being in defiance of something” she explained during a panel discussion at Spelman. Black Anthology, Washington University’s oldest student cultural production, is bringing Newsome in conjunction with their upcoming production, woke, a show that explores how social media in conjunction with constant reports of the loss of Black lives affect the lives of students. As a filmmaker and activist, Newsome will discuss the influence of both traditional and social media on the movement and the intricacies of creative pieces as social commentary.

“I am very excited to host Bree Newsome on campus,” says show producer Alexandra Mitchell. “She speaks to exactly what Black Anthology aims to promote: art can be used to educate and to inspire. Many times, activism is only presented as being certain actions, but it is important to remember that activism comes in many forms. Bree Newsome embodies this principle. We are fortunate to bring her voice to campus to hear about her experiences.” The speaking engagement will be held on Wednesday, February 3 at 7pm in Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall. ABOUT BREE Brittany Ann Byuarium “Bree” Newsome is a filmmaker, musician, and activist. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Bree has earned accolades and recognition for her short film Wake which was screened at the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival and received honors such as the Outstanding Independent Short Film award in the Black Reel Awards of 2012 and the Best Short Film at the BET Urban World Film Festival. As an activist, Bree has protested against attacks on voters rights in North Carolina and notably the use of the Confederate flag on the South Carolina State House grounds. On June 27th, Bree scaled the 30 foot flag pole in front of the state house and removed the flag following the devastating Charleston church shooting.

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

LIVE WORK PLAY

Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Nate K. Johnson ABR,CRS,GRI Broker/Owner Real Estate Solutions nate@livingstl.com www.livingstl.com

I don’t have to tell you that 2015 was a remarkable year. The late basketball coach Jim Valvano said that If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. If you’re like me, that is what your year looked like, and if we’re lucky, this year we’ll laugh a little more, think a little more, and help someone else do the same. I am certainly looking forward to helping people achieve more of their goals in 2016. Hopefully one of those goals is to get out and enjoy our great city! Here are a few things to get you started this month. I certainly hope that you will join me in making this a phenomenal year!

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Local Events JANUARY

JANUARY

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JANUARY

On Friday, head over to the St. Louis Art Museum as this weekend marks your last opportunity to check out The Artist and the Modern Studio, where you will find a collection of more than 30 American and European artists and a mix of media including prints, drawings, and photographs as well as paintings and three-dimensional objects. While you are there, check out the St. Louis Modern exhibit, which is closing this month as well. Later on Friday night, head over to BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups for the One Irie Reggae Party, a conscious kickoff for 2016! At the Missouri History Museum on Saturday, you can check out the final days of Coffee: The World in Your Cup exhibit, which explores how one of the world’s most traded commodities affects culture, economies and environments around the world. Later that night, you may consider checking out the Queens of Comedy in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill. If you are looking for live music, be sure to check out the Jeremiah Johnson Band at Hammerstones. On Sunday, you may find me at Shelly’s in Soulard watching the final day of the pro football regular season. Later, you can check out the final night for Wild Lights, where you will find half a million bulbs of light, music, s’mores, hot chocolate and more at the St. Louis Zoo. Tuesday, you a chance to fulfill one of your New Year’s Resolutions by preparing to join the circus as The City Museum is host to Circus Harmony and their Circus Strength classes! If the circus is not your style, but still looking to get active, you may want to check out Yoga Buzz and their 100th Pop-Up Yoga Event at the Peabody Opera House. This event will be complete with live music, post-yoga refreshments, and a tour of the historic venue!

If you want to share your photography with the world, Framations Art Gallery is inviting you to enter your work on Friday for their 10th Annual Beyond the Lens Exhibit. Also on Friday, be sure to check out the send off party for Hillary Fitz , the talented singer/songwriter at The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy. For a different flavor, you might want to check The Storyteller, a two-act improvised show at The Improv Shop.While you’re in the CWE, you might want to walk a few doors down to check out the Midwest Jazz-Tette at Evangeline’s Bistro & Music House. On Saturday morning, start your day off with the Morning Meditation Series at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, which offers a relaxing and intimate experience with the exhibition Kota: DIgital Excavations in African Art. Later in the afternoon, if you are in the mood to check out some talented dancers, you are sure to have a great time at COCA for Perpetual Motion, a fast paced dance concert with cutting edge contemporary and hip hop styles. Also Saturday afternoon, you can head over to Soulard Market Park for bounce houses, music, petting zoo, food, and fun at the Family Winter Carnival. On Saturday night, if you are up for a surprise, you can apply for a ticket and join Sofar Sounds for a secret concert with secret talent in a secret location in The Grove to be revealed the day of the show.

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

LIVE WORK PLAY

JANUARY

On Tuesday, the Arianna String Quartet presents it’s annual Orchestra Festival featuring three of the top high school orchestras in St.Louis at the Touhill Performing Arts Center! You will not want to miss The Art of Live Festival which kicks off on Wednesday at The Old Rock House in the Soulard LaSalle Park area, with Greensky Bluegrass, and The Demo in The Grove with Eternal Summer w/ Lazy Eye. This 12 concert, 4 day, 5 venue festival runs through Saturday with great bands from all over the country performing at this event! Also on Wednesday, you might want to take the someone’s kids to movie night in Ballpark Village where Minions will be the selection for the silver screen. DId I mention that this is an indoor event, and it’s free with a free bag of popcorn!! Wednesday also marks the opening of The Black Rep performance of Sunset Baby at the Edison Theatre at Washington University. On Thursday, head over to The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy to check out the jazzy, bluesy & funky styling of The People’s Key.

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Friday, The Snow Ball kicks off the The 11th Annual Loop Ice Carnival at the Moonrise Hotel. I expect that you will be there in all of your finery as the best creatively dressed will be crowned the Ice King & Queen. Also on Friday, since you bothered to enter your photography in the Beyond the Lens exhibit, you might as well check out the opening exhibition at Framations Art Gallery. Friday is also the opening of the Spring Exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Museum! You won’t want to miss Archangelo Sassolino: Not Human, which is the Italian sculptor’s creation of anthropomorphic, kinetic objects that breathe, explode, rupture, and crush. This will be his first solo exhibition in the United States! There will also be new work by painter Lisa Yuskavage, the painter/ animator Tala Madani, along with Arlene Shehet, Peter Sutherland, and the Propeller Group, whose video work will be showing on the monumental exterior projection screen! If you are looking for a different flavor, it’s also Free Family Night at the Magic House! On Saturday, The 11th Annual Loop Ice Carnival continues with over 50 ice sculptures, live demos, human dog sled races, fire performers, food, music, and more!! Also on Saturday, you can check out Aaron Kamm and The One Drops at Broadway Oyster Bar.

JANUARY

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

LIVE WORK PLAY

JANUARY

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and although you may have the day off, I challenge you to make it a day on and do something positive for your community! On Tuesday, you can catch Leadership by Design by Innovator and artist Maria Giudice at the Ann W. Olin Lecture at the St. Louis Art Museum where Ms. Giudice will discuss why the Rise of the DEO and why innovation starts at the top. Wednesday, the Sheldon Classics Series welcomes Bjorn Ranheim & Shawn Weil, two-fourths of one of my favorite groups, The 442’s to the stage. If you haven’t seen them then you should go, if you have seen them, then you’ll already be there to catch ½ of the jazz-classical quartet! They will be performing along with the outstanding vocalist Brian Owens and others at The Sheldon Concert Hall. On Thursday, head over to the Tavern of Fine Arts to join theSt. Louis Symphony for their Sips & Symphonies program. Listen to and discuss Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in a casual environment over a nice glass of wine.

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On Friday, The Pageant will expose you to Mud Tracks, which is what happens when you join the 2015 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship recipient and the dancers of the Big Muddy Dance Company for a world premiere performance! Saturday morning, take the kids to Left Bank Books in the CWE for Storytime with Miss Jonesey. In the afternoon, stop by Schlafly Bottleworks for the a brew and the opening of their Winter Market where you’ll find fresh produce along with meat and cheese vendors and other locally produced baked goods and specialty products.The Maplewood Sweet Tooth Tour is also upon us! This self-guided tour offers a delicious treat at each of the 14 tour stops! Since you discussed and learned more about Mahler’s Fifth Symphony the other day, now is your chance to hear it live on Saturday night at Powell Howell in Grand Center. The St. Louis Symphony will blow you away with this larger than life masterpiece!

JANUARY

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

LIVE WORK PLAY

JANUARY

Thursday will be a great night to join me over at The Dark Room to check out yet another one of my favorites, Ptah Williams, one of the finest jazz pianists that you’ll see. I still have a cd with his rendition of Mandela City from the St. Louis Jazz Festival from over 15 years ago! On Friday night, join me for Charlie’s Angel’s Annual Game Night which features a No Limit Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament to Bingo to raise money to fight Cystic Fibrosis. Also, The Chase Park Plaza is host to the The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the 14th Annual St. Louis Food and Wine Experience! With over 900 wines to taste and culinary delights, this event is not to be missed. You might also want to catch Love Jones - The Band for their 10pm performance at BB’s Jazz Blues & Soups. Saturday will be a good day to let the dazzling dancerillusionists of MOMIX take you on an enchanting journey with its stunning new multimedia show presented by Dance St. Louis at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

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On Sunday, you might want to check out the Cycle Showcase, which is a celebration of the art and history of motorcycling, and a collection of unique motorcycles from across the country! Also, Yo La Tengo is on a world tour, and they will be blessing the stage at The Ready Room on Sunday night. Yes, there are some great things going on this month in St. Louis, and there is more to come. This is going to be a great year! As always, don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything that I can do for you.

All the Best. -Nate

JANUARY

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

ATTENTION: PROFESSIONAL CRAFT ARTISTS IMPACTED BY THE FLOODS Our colleagues at CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund) asked us to share this information: CERF+ would like to make sure that any professional artist working in a craft discipline seriously affected by the storms is aware of the emergency relief assistance available from CERF+. The organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programs include:

... ..

Grants up to $6,000; No-interest loans up to $9,000; Booth fee waivers at craft shows; Discounts on materials and equipment from suppliers and manufacturers; and Assistance with business development through referrals to consultants and other low or no-cost resources.

For eligibility requirements and more detailed information, please visit the Emergency Relief section of our website or contact us at: CERF+ PO Box 838, Montpelier, VT 05601 (802) 229-2306 relief@craftemergency.org www.craftemergency.org Studio Protector: Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Information for Artists The CERF+ Studio Protector website has extensive information and resources designed to help artists and those helping them in the disaster recovery effort, as well as disaster planning resources.

... .. ..

Getting help from FEMA and other major relief providers Disaster aid provided by arts related organizations Managing disaster recovery volunteers and volunteering Tips for disaster clean-up Salvage and e-salvage tips Rebounding after a disaster Video interviews with artists who have been through disasters

St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA) serves the arts community by making referrals to lawyers and accountants; mediating arts-related disputes; publishing concise how-to guides; sponsoring seminars and public forums; providing guest speakers; maintaining a content-rich website; collaborating on arts advocacy initiatives; and facilitating access to the national volunteer lawyers for the arts network.

VLAA is supported by the Regional Arts Commission; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts 6128 Delmar, St. Louis, MO 63112 314/863-6930; vlaa@stlrac.org

www.vlaa.org pg.

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

What Happened To

Dress CODES pg.

What Happened to Dress Codes? In Peniel E. Joseph’s extraordinary biography, Stokely, A Life, he writes that Stokely dressed in “sartorial perfection.” His style got even dapper after the radical PanAfricanist married the megastar South African-born singer Miriam Makeba. Like many revolutionary giants, he evolved in many ways, from Howard University student activist, changing his name to Kwame Ture, to becoming a towering public figure and international icon. Yet critics and even some of his admirers expressed disappointment in his meticulous attention to dress. As if his sartorial flair betrayed his street creds.

Reflecting back or looking at old photos of Black Panther Party members, which Ture helped to organize, the young turks of their day (both men and women) had a unique style of militancy and urbanity. Hair perfectly coiffed in huge Afros, leather jackets (their signature piece) with crisply starched white shirts and black pants -some donned berets. As any fashion conscious person knows, black is always the default color. Their activist brand spoke to their image of self-determination to fight back against police brutality and to gain Black political and economic power. Think Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver and H. Rap Brown (Jamil Al-Amin). There was an aura of seriousness, not just their distinctive garb, but also the Black Power salute, the Black Panther logo (the snarling black feline), their rhetorical eloquence and force when they spoke and walked. It jumped out at you and the message was receivedwww.the-arts-today.com as intended.

Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

WHAT HAPPENED TO...? cont.

In old movies or photos before the ‘60s, men dressed in suits, ties and hats and women in dresses, well groomed and chic. (Note: thank God women can now choose to wear pants.)

Fast-forwarding to the 21st Century, just look around. Something has changed. Whether it’s attending church, a wedding, a funeral or a job interview, most seem challenged about what to wear. Of course, if they wear a uniform to work, the problem is solved, at least for work. There is a walmartinization and casualization going on. Outsourcing abroad has produced cheaper but flimsier clothes. Casual Fridays have morphed into casual everyday and the slippery sartorial slope has now slid almost to the bottom. Some may think the only problem is with some young -- and not so young -- African American males who persist in “sagging.” Bystanders witnessing and wincing in horror at pants belted under buttocks (with shorts on, of course) then imagining even worse, droopy pants accidentally and embarrassingly suddenly sliding down and dropping to their feet. It’s not a pretty picture. Still, one must realize that this is only a small portion of the problem as most Americans (across ethnicities) have had many brushes with the proverbial fashion police, violating all kinds of dress codes. It’s now so entrenched in the culture, those dressing according to the occasion may come across as a bit of an oddity.

So what’s brought about casual dressing 24-7? Could it be the poor economy that squeezed the middle-class and failed the working class? Could the culprit be the

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counter-culture/hippie/anti-war movement of the ‘60s and 70’s that sought to challenge everything about the status quo? It doesn’t seem to be related to the civil rights movement, as many participants seemed rather mindful of their image. Dr. Martin Luther King was always dapper. So was his abiding protégé, Ture. In Joseph’s book, here is what Harry Belafonte, a colleague, said about Ture: “One day I went to one of Miriam Makeba’s concerts, and there, backstage, was Stokely, in one of the finest Nehru suits I’d ever seen. A hand-tailored Nehru suit. On one hand he sported a big jeweled ring, in the other he held a gold-headed mahogany cane.” Ture was “living Large” and Belafonte was critical. But Joseph also noted that the two Caribbean-born activists were also fierce competitors. Ture was also leader of SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee). Always dressed for the occasion, when Ture worked with sharecroppers in the South and as a Freedom Rider, he wore overalls and jeans, respectively. The SNCC men and women, disciplined, focused and upright, dressed similarly. Powerful civil rights women such as Ella Baker, Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer and Coretta Scott King, public figures of course, but understood the importance of keeping up appearances.

But this was not just the way leaders dressed, whether activists or not, the rank-infile also put on their best when they left the house to work, shop, hang out, sit-in at lunch counters, march or protest. But one must be reminded that a steady drumbeat began against men of the era like Ture not to over-emphasize their dress. CONTINUED ON pg. 26

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

S.L .A .M.

St. Louis Art Museum

ART COLLECTIONS

EXHIBITS

EVENTS

Admission to the Museum is free every day. Hours:

Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 am–5:00 pm

Friday, 10:00 am–9:00 pm

Closed Monday

w w w. s l a m . o r g One Fine Arts Drive - Forest Park, St. Louis, MO 63110-1380 314.721.0072

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WHAT HAPPENED TO...? cont.

For some time now, most people have been dressing down, with the erroneous idea that you shouldn’t offend the less fortunate. Ture did not dress down even though he dressed for the occasion.

Dressing down is different from fashion, which can carry brand names from Gucci to Pucci to Giorgio Armani. Some reject the idea of brand names for clothes but have no qualms with brand names for cars like Mercedes, Cadillac or Ferrari. Fashion also can be very trendy and upbeat and can change with the wind, sometimes from the sublime to the ridiculous. A case in point is fashion half a century ago, the last heyday of activism (circa ‘60s and ‘70s) -- before the current activism of Black Lives Matter. There was the activist style but other variations. Bellbottoms, platform shoes, mini skirts, hot pants, the big and TWAs (teeny weenie Afros), the dashikis and other anti-conformist, anti-imperialist wear were also the rage.

Ture and others melded dress with ideology. He also established the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party, galvanized by Malcolm X and predecessor W.E.B. Dubois who called for solidarity with Africans of all descents across the diasporic boundaries. Hence, the influence of an Afro-centric or Pan-Africanist worldview influenced many to not only dress in African garb, change their names to sound more African but also visit and commune with those in the motherland. Apparently, the cause drove the fashion.

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Music also played an up-to-the-minute role; a few songs of the era included: • • • •

Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone (1965) Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud (1968) What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye (1971) Wake up Everybody by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes with Teddy Pendergrass (1975)

Mississippi Goddam (Lyrics slightly truncate) by Nina Simone

Alabama’s got me so upset Tennessee made me lose my rest And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

You try to do your very best Stand up be counted with all the rest Cause everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Can’t you see it, can’t feel it it’s all in the air I can’t stand the pressure much longer, somebody say a prayer

Picket lines, school boycotts they try to say it’s a Communist plot All I want is equality for my sister, my brother, my people and me Yes you lied to me all these years, you told me to wash and clean my ears And talk real fine just like a lady and you’d stop calling me Sister Sadie

Hound dogs on my trail School children sitting in jail Black cat cross my path I think every day is gonna be my last Lord have mercy on this land of mine We all are gonna to get it in due time I don’t belong here; I don’t belong there I even stopped believing in prayer Don’t tell me, I’ll tell you Me and my people just about due I’ve been there so I know, keep on saying go slow But that’s just the trouble, washing the windows Picking the cotton, you’re just plain rotten You’re too damn lazy You think it’s crazy Where am I going; what am I doing? I don’t know, I don’t know

Oh this whole country is full of lies, you’re all gonna die and die like flies I don’t trust this country anymore, keep on saying go slow, go slow But that’s just the trouble, desegregation, nice participation, beautification Do things gradually, but we march straggly Why don’t you see it; Why don’t you feel it? I don’t know; I don’t know You don’t have to live next to me, just give me my equality Everybody knows about Mississippi, Everybody knows about Alabama, Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

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WHAT HAPPENED TO...? cont.

Whether it’s smoothness or grittiness, from Gaye, Pendergrass, Brown to Simone in that order, Simone, who fit no musical genre, epitomized racial and social consciousness. No stiff pomposity, no hugga-mugga togetherness, just plain downhome, flat-footed Blackishness. Yet in her performances, she was elegantly dressed and her Afro was always coiffed. So were all the others back-in-the-day. Styles may have been a bit bizarre for some, like Parliament-Funkedelic, Cameo or Patti Labelle and the Blue Bells, but glitz and glam were still there.

With backlash from the Nixon and Reagan Regimes, partly induced by the Southern Strategy and Reagan Democrats, strongly reacting and fiercely beating back Black progress, let alone Black liberation, malaise seemingly set in. The civil rights, Black power and Pan-African movements now under assault, were mollified, albeit neutralized, so fashion seemed to take a terrible turn.

The fashion of the ‘70s disco hedonistic era was fancy and outlandish; clubs with mirrored disco balls, frenetic flashing lights, clubbers dancing to thumping music beats, fueled with cocaine and of course alcohol, marijuana and cigarettes, swung the pendulum to decadence. Many low-income residents, too many still “landless, jobless and luckless” were prime candidates for the lifestyle, albeit a poor imitation, seeking bright lights, excitement and relief from daily boredom. Scores became hooked on Tees and Blues, a pentazocine and tripelennamine combination (which some said stood for tee shirts and blue jeans), PCP (phencyclidine, an animal tranquilizer) and Crack-cocaine. Nixon’s War on Drugs

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in 1971 was laying for them. Huge swaths of the Black community were rounded up and imprisoned. During this era of decadence and drug epidemics, dress became tee shirts, blue jeans and tennis and it took hold with a vengeance, usually topped with a baseball cap. Old tennis shoes thrown over telephone wires in neighborhood signified a drug den nearby. There was also a period of “dress to impress,” but it soon sputtered, perhaps a victim of the souring economy.

By the 1980s, Black cultural nationalists and leftwing factions, still mighty but smaller, no longer captivated huge followings. Nevertheless, remnants remained, such as Kwanzaa, the first Pan-African Holiday, created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga.

Disco was eventually dismantled by disgruntled disc jockeys that loathed disco, preferring to stake their claims on rock music. R and B (Rhythm and Blues) or Soul was still bumping along but soon rap music shot forth, born like the goddess Athena springing out of Zeus’ head. There has been good rap, socially conscious rap (Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, 1989) and bad rap. Gangsta rap certainly plumbed the depths. Critics carped that too much has been claptrap, decadent, empty and bombastic. Performers focused on street creds and dressed accordingly, typically adorned with the bling of heavy gold chains and sometimes rapper teeth grills and ubiquitous baseball caps.

CONTINUED ON pg. 32

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

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Book of Poetry by

Lenard D. Moore

th on 30 iti d Ed ite ry Lim ersa niv

http://www.mountainsandriverspress.org/Home.aspx

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

WHAT HAPPENED TO...? cont.

To be fair, rap took nothing and made it into something. With only a turntable and their voice, scratching and spitting, it’s the stuff of legend. Perhaps Empire, the Fox TV hit series, that chronicles a “bootstrap” struggle of a family to realize their dreams in the rap game, will influence fashion on the streets. The show is receiving raves about Cookie Lyon, played by Taraji P. Henson, and her fabulous wardrobe, but also other women and even the men on the show. Luscious Lyon, (Terrence Howard) is no slouch either. Let’s just say, virtually everybody is “cleaner than the board of health.”

Rap paved the way for young Black capitalists, looking outside their sectors, segueing into other successful businesses. Now many get attention from such paeans to capitalism as Forbes magazine including rapper Dr. Dre, previously coowner of Death Row Records, who made a bundle, reportedly $3 billion, selling his headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre to Apple, Inc. Dr. Dre is now considered the richest man in hip-hop. Also mega-mogul Jay-Z, former part owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball franchise and very successful in many endeavors; Bad Boy CEO Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs has enterprises such as music/entertainment, fashion and acting and 50 Cents, rapper, actor and entrepreneur. It would be very remised not to include Kanye West, Yeezy, protégé of Jay-Z, called a fashion visionary with successful forays as a designer. Others have gone into acting such as Ice Cube, Ice Tea and Queen Latifah who has also dibbled and dabbled in TV talk shows.

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But this is not unusual for how many capitalists got started, first questionable enterprises, then capital formation for more legitimate or acceptable ones. As an aside, Jay-Z is married to style icon Beyonce. Rhianna also dominates the fashion orbit and there are many others. In a league of her own is FLOTUS Michelle Obama, who has thrilled the public with her elegant high-low sensibilities. In fact, President Obama and children, Malia and Sasha, also get kudos.

Professional athletes are being recognized; among them are LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Serena Williams, also a designer. Now that Mark Anthony Green, African American, recently named the style editor for GQ magazine, bringing loads of digital savvy, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the Black fashionistas are back.

In short, fashion in the U.S. has been a mixed bag for some time now. But that’s to be expected. There are normal fluctuations in practically every sector whether political, economic, music or fashion. But for some reason, despite the uptick among celebrities, dress of everyday people continues to languish.

The pure ideology of the Black Power or Pan-African movement has been a point on the continuum, eventually fanning out in different directions, but kernels, the heart and the soul, are now imbedded in many fields. Black artists including Jay-Z have been influenced by a whole host of awe-inspiring types from Malcolm X, Che Guevara to the flamboyant and tawdry pimp aesthetic. The civil rights movement

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has influenced Black Lives Matter, undergirded by the Rainbow/Push Coalition led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharptonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Action Network. It is yet to be seen whether these young protesters will create a style of their own.

Yes dress is one problem, but more important is obesity, as studies show that its nearing epidemic proportions and African Americans are over-represented. While you can look good if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re almost any size, being overweight brings health risks such as diabetes, hypertension and stroke. As they say, poverty can lead to bad health and bad health can lead to poverty.

So on behalf of the fashion conscious everywhere, it would behoove to inspire and influence those who look beaten down or about to give up to dress better. The years have not been kind and dreary street wear is most likely related to chronic poverty. Yet when you look good, you feel better. And there are ways to spiff up without breaking the bank.

Finally, R.I.P. Kwame Ture -- thank you for your courageous speaking truth to power and for sticking to your sartorial guns while wearing your daishikis and Nehru jackets.

Malaika Horne, PhD, is an academic writer and journalist.

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Dear Friends of Gitana, During this first quarter of 2016 you will have a number of opportunities to experience the diversity and quality of our programming. In January youth in Gitana's Global Education through the Arts Program from St. Louis City and Ferguson will present RISE UP 2 B U: A UNITY RECITAL that will be presented at two performances in South City and Ferguson. Global Education through the Arts is a community arts program for local and immigrant youth that provides dance, drama, voice and leadership training including cultural diversity, conflict resolution skills and character development. In February NEW WORLD, an original one act play about the lives of three refugee women living in St. Louis, will be presented at the University of Missouri St. Louis and at St. Louis Community College. The play is compelling and includes a post-show discussion with representatives from the Center for Survivors of War and Torture about the plight of refugees in St. Louis. Also on February 4 we will conduct auditions for a few open spots in the cast of BLACK AND BLUE that returns in May and June 2016. In March our youth touring group will travel the region bringing a message of nonviolence to other youth in the play LIVING THE DREAM. Plans are to visit Juvenile Detention Centers, Community Centers, Churches, Libraries or more. There are still a few spots for presentations so if you are interested in bringing our youth to your organization please do give us a call as soon as possible at 314-721-6556. You may get details on all of the above mentioned activities within this newsletter. Happy New Year! We hope you will spend some of your time with Gitana as we bring our community together through cross-cultural engagement and the arts. Peace and Blessings, Cecilia Nadal

FOR EVENT DETAILS SEE pgs. 144-147

RISE UP 2 B U:

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ďż˝

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“Lights are Shining”

The in A New Saint Louis Tale

St. Louis in its heyday takes center stage in the story of Ernst and Tillie, a turn-of-the-century, coming of age tale. In 1904, Ernst Eggers is a first-year seminary student in St. Louis. His life is clearly marked out for him as a pastor in the hidebound, German-speaking Lutheran church body in which he has been raised. However, his blazing fastball has already brought him to the attention of the newly formed St. Louis Browns who want to lure him away from the ministry. And he loves a girl he has never met, the sister of his troubled classmate, Arthur Carre. In 1904, beautiful Otillie Carre is engaged to a wealthy lawyer. Her life also seems to be laid out in a predictable way—marriage, children, and a mansion in East Akron. But a picture of Tillie on her brother’s desk has captured the imagination of Ernst Eggers. When he eventually meets her, fantasy and reality, life and love intersect, and the future becomes anyone’s guess. Based on a true story, Ernst and Tillie unfolds against the turbulent backdrop of the dawning twentieth century—a time that witnessed the wonders and oddities of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, as well as the racial strife evident in towns big and small. There’s lots of baseball, lots of train travel, lots of folks who either love or hate the new horseless carriages. And there’s Ernst and Tillie, weighing life’s big decisions, struggling to free themselves from the religious and cultural strictures of their parents’ generation, and eager to reap the promise of the new era. Author Richard Neitzel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Concordia College in that city for six years, as did his father and his grandfather—the Ernst of Ernst and Tillie. The author is a graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and an ordained Lutheran pastor who has served congregations in Chicago and St. Louis. Neitzel, who currently works as an advocate for affordable housing, lives and writes in St. Louis. Ernst and Tillie is a publication of PenUltimate Press, a St. Louis-based nonprofit publisher. Financial assistance for the book’s publication was provided by the Missouri Arts Council. Ernst and Tillie is available from the Chicago Distribution Center (800.621.2736; orders@press. uchicago.edu), from PenUltimate Press (penultim@swbell.net), from amazon.com, and from independent bookstores nationwide.

Winnie Sullivan

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Afrowo of

46 Years

m m

un ity

Celebrating US!

Jan. 1st

Jan. 15 , 16th, &18th th

Jan. 30th

Afro World 46th Anniversary Kick off Celebration 46% off one item at Afro World

Bring a can good to share with those in need

Dr. King Jr. free movie 11 am 1pm & 3pm Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A Historical Perspective at Afro World Bring a can good to share with those in need

Black History / Award Gospel Celebration featuring Gospel Recording Artist, Lady E, Gospel Rap Mike Dyson & others Time: 3pm-5pm at Afro World Bring a can good to share with those in need

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orld Mar. 5

Meet/Greet Author Dr. Eugene Redmond Time: 3pm-5pm at Afro World

Mar. 12th

Local Author’s book signing Lydia Douglas, Stanley Pitchford, Marie Elliot & Artist Antoinette Crayton Time: 3pm-5pm at Afro World

Mar. 26th

Meet Actress/life coach Redina Medley with a one act excerpt of Herstory “the new Harriet Tubman” Time:5pm-8pm at Afro World

Feb. 6th

Meet/Greet Dr. Johnson author of “The Black Biblical Heritage” Time: 3-5pm at Afro World

Feb. 13th

In-Store Jazz concert featuring Jazz recording artist Ron Wilkinson Time: 3-5pm at Afro World free gift for the ladies

Feb. 20

Bring a can good to share with those in need

Bring a can good to share with a local food pantry

Bring a can good to share with those in need

Conversation with journalist Sylvester Brown founder of the “Sweet Potato Project:” speaking on what’s next for our community. th Time: 3-5pm at Afro World Bring a can good to share with those in need

Author series meet/greet Authors; Keith Antone Willis Sr. “10 Laws of the Ultimate Rainmaker”, John E. Fortson, “According to God’s Word”, & HC Armstrong “Who Are You!” Time: 3-5pm at Afro World th

Feb. 27

For info call 314-389-5194 Afro World 7276 Natural Bridge Rd.

Bring a can good to share with those in need

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May 6th

May 7th

Meet /Greet /Conversation/ with Founder Harriet “Rosebud” largest female Milner in the US Time: 5pm-7pm $10/can good. Light refreshments served In-store hat show featuring “Rosebud Hat Show” Harriet Rosebud theme 46th meet 26th Anniversary Times:11am & 3pm $10 adv $15 at the door at Afro World

*Bring a can good to share with those in need

EV EE C om EN m un TS ity *

Jun. 13th

Jueteeth In-store celebration from 3pm-5pm at Afro World

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Oct. 1st - 31st

Nov. 25th

Dec. 10th - 17th

Dec. 31st

Breast Cancer Awareness month 20% off all wigs at Afro World

Black Friday fun for all Time: 10am-6pm buy one 50% off sale. at Afro World “Soulful Santa”tm pictures books, fruit & treats for the children From 1pm - 5pm cost $10 plus can good for a local pantry at Afro World Kwanzaa Celebration featuring Actress Redina Medley & Poetic Percussionist David A.N. Jackson Time: 3pm-5pm at Afro World *Bring a can good to share with those in need

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Art auctions every Saturday at 2:00 and Wednesday at 6:00 pm

Special holiday event with Santa Sunday, Dec 13 at 3:00!

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George Yancy’s

2015 Jeremiad

One hundred years ago a poet born in St. Louis asked in his

twist to the form, which emerged in colonial American; it has been used by many African Americans throughout our

modernist love song

history to call our nation to judgment for its worship of a

And would it have been worth it, after all, would it have been worth while... If one, settling a pillow by her head Should say: “That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all.”

racial contract that violates natural law, but none of them offered themselves as a Christ-like figure to model what they were asking of their listeners. Yancy makes himself a model by inserting a confession of his being ambushed by his involuntary sexism just as white Americans are ambushed by their hidden and historically determined

The question and implied situation posed by T. S. Eliot can be

racism.

applied to the philosopher George Yancy’s December 24 letter Dear White America, a Christmas gift to our nation in a New

Yancy’s magnanimous rhetorical gesture illuminates a

York Times blog. Yancy did not extend his gift to approximately

weak link in the chain of African American character:

45 million African Americans nor to millions of others who

unconditional generosity. Like his patient ancestors, he

inhabit the social science fictions of Yellow, Brown, and Red

persists in asking that a social science fiction will bring

America. Was it worth it, after all, to address the citizens of

honesty to a global conversation regarding its social

the White America fiction? Yancy did know that many of them

construction, its flawed narratives and brazen lies, and its

would throw the gift back in his face, hardening their hearts and

confirmative/affirmative actions. If evidence provided by

cursing him with alacrity. Was it worth it, after all?

herstory and history is at all credible, it is most probable Yancy’s gesture will prove to be admirable, commendable

Yancy asked the recipients to read his letter and “to listen

failure in a national culture that has murdered and buried its

with love, a sort of love that demands that you look at parts of

moral conscience.

yourself that might cause pain and terror, as James Baldwin would say.” His request is at once a plea and a preachment,

It is fascinating that Yancy chose to publish his letter during

a twenty-first century example of the jeremiad. He adds a

Yuletide. The timing draws attention to the vexed nature

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of the holiday period from Hanukah through Christmas and Kwanzaa

enslavement, the guilt of our being complicit with

to New Year’s Day. It draws attention to Christ and the nation’s

it, and the implications for a future. All that has

heritage of having faith in the power of love. But love is strange. It

happened, however, convinces me that White, Yellow,

can be remote from faith , and White America is capable of settling

Red, Black and Brown America as social science

on the pillow of exceptionalism and skin privilege and asking what

fictions are too insane to know what love is or isn’t,

has love to do with it. In the context of hashtag “blacklivesmatter,” I

or how to use it properly after all. I am not from

do hope Yancy will read Stefan M. Wheelock’s call in Barbaric Culture

Missouri, but I do believe the utterance “You have got

and Black Critique (2015) “to dispense with naive optimism to soberly

to show me” makes a great deal of common sense.

reconcile the raced and classed realities of the present with the brutal heritage of a North Atlantic slaveholding past”(ix) We have to

Jerry W. Ward, Jr.

decide in 2016 whether Yancy’s gift is a stealthy weapon or a sinister distraction. All that has happened in the United States during 2015 persuades me to respect Yancy’s insights about systemic American

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TheVillageCelebration radio show Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. on www.thevillagecelebration.com.

Call in at 1-855-525-5683

pg.

Click image to

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Celebrating Martin

’s!

Two

n January 18, 2016, we will celebrate the life, commemorate the death and observe the holiday dedicated the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 as a Baptist minister’s son in Atlanta, Georgia. He was born as Michael King Jr., named for his father. But after a trip to Germany where the Senior King learned about the Protestant leader Martin Luther, his father changed both his own and his son’s names to Martin Luther. He was quite an intelligent student, skipping several grades, entering Morehouse College at the age of fifteen without a high school diploma, and earning his doctorate degree from Boston University in 1955. King married Coretta Scott and together they had four children. He later became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and in 1955 became the leader of the first great non-violent African American protest in the United States. King helped organize protests, boycotts, and marches that led to the desegregation of Montgomery, Alabama’s bus system. Through his leadership, segregation laws in the South were declared illegal and he helped to begin the slow turn of the United States toward equality. King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the U.S., but was assassinated on April 4, 1968. But there is another Martin that we have seemed to have forgotten. A man named Martin whom MLK quoted, and Marcus Garvey admired, and Malcolm X revered. A Martin that was a role model for Stokley Carmichael, and whom W.E.B. Dubois emulated. Many adherents to Black Nationalism assumed the doctrine of Martin R. Delany, who was born on May 6, 1912.

The historical roots of Black Nationalism can be traced back to nineteenth-century African-American leaders

such as abolitionist Martin Delany, who advocated the emigration of northern free blacks to Africa, where they would settle and assist native Africans in nation-building. Delany believed that this development would also uplift the status and condition of African Americans

‘‘a nation within a nation … really a broken people”. who remained, calling them

Martin Delany was a radical pre-Civil War abolitionist, Black Nationalist, explorer of Africa, and veteran of the American Civil War. His father was a slave, and all four of his grandparents had been captured in Africa and brought to America as slaves, but his mother was free, and by law this meant Delany was born free. From earliest childhood, he was told by his parents that his ancestors were African royalty. His family fled north when his mother faced prosecution for educating her children. From 1843-47, Delany published Mystery, a weekly newspaper advocating abolition, with Fredrick Douglas eventually joining the efforts. Delany then closed Mystery and became co-editor of Douglass’s newspaper, North Star. He apprenticed under several physicians in the Pittsburgh area, then opened his own practice, specializing in dentistry and leech therapy. With letters from 17 local doctors attesting to his skill, he applied to several medical schools but was rejected on account of his color, before being admitted at Harvard in 1849. He attended for only a few months, however, before his presence became so controversial that the Dean of the Medical School, Oliver Wendell Holmes rescinded Delany’s admission. Returning to Pittsburgh, he expanded his medical practice to include women’s and children’s diseases, and became deeply involved in the Underground pg.

Railroad and abolitionist movement. Addressing an 1850 rally, Delany said, “My house is my castle. If any man approaches that house in search of a slave... if he crosses the threshold of my door, and I do not lay him a lifeless corpse at my feet, I hope the grave may refuse my body a resting place, and righteous Heaven my spirit a home.”

he spent several months lecturing to scientific groups about his two years in Africa, and to human rights groups about his life in America. In 1861 he addressed a colony of fugitive slaves and American Negro expatriates in Canada. During the Civil War he was assigned to the 104th Colored unit, and became the first African-American to reach the rank of Major in the US Army.

His 1852 book, The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered, was the first widely-read call for Black Nationalism. His novel, Blake, or The Huts of America, was written as something of a response to Harriett Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, as Delany was frustrated by Stowe’s portrayal of black slaves as passive victims. One of the first black-authored novels to be published in America, Blake was based on Delany’s own underground activities and stories told by friends who had been slaves, and it is seen as a generally accurate portrayal of insurrectionist efforts within slave communities.

After the war he worked at the Freedman’s Bureau, seeking to secure voting rights for former slaves. Settling in South Carolina, he ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1874, losing narrowly, on the ticket of the Radical Independent Republican Party, a short-lived party formed to oppose the Republican Party. In the next election cycle he endorsed the Democrats’ ticket, and after the Democrats’ victory he was appointed to a judgeship. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and active in the Masonic fraternity.

Delany helped organize the National Emigration Convention of Colored People, held in Cleveland in August 1854, where he called for abolition, and for free blacks to resettle in the Caribbean, Central or South America, or East Africa. In 1858 he led an expedition to Africa’s Niger Valley, where he negotiated treaties with several tribes as a first step for resettlement of American blacks. He then traveled to London, where Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

Maybe in May, someone, somewhere, will celebrate and have a Martin Delany Day.

Have a wonderful, service filled Martin Luther King Day, but also remember the other Martin. Bernie Hayes www.the-arts-today.com

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Gerrymandering

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By Pierre Blaine author of soon to be released: Movement: Race, Power and Culture in America

Gerrymandering is the process by which politicians in legislative power draw the borders of legislative districts as the result in changes of population increases and decreases in legislative districts. During the census every 10 years, states must redraw electoral districts to reflect these changes in population. The concept is named after Elbridge Gerry former governor of Massachusetts, whose party redistricted the state and the shape of the districts of Essex County looked like a salamander in order to maintain power in his political party. Even though Gerry himself had reservations about the highly partisan way in which the district was drawn, he signed the bill creating the district. A newspaper in reporting on the newly drawn district printed a political cartoon of the state senate district calling it a “Gerry-mander” in 1812. During the Reconstruction Period – January 1, 1863 – March 31, 1877 – Blacks gained significant progress in obtaining the rights of citizenship. Subsequently, thereafter the Black Codes were implemented to deny those rights. Mississippi implemented legal constraints to retard that progress. It implemented the poll tax, registration hurdles, reading prerequisites to vote, and legislative apportionment schemes to increase white county representation and an Electoral College scheme to insure white control over state government. Gerrymandering was used to dilute the voting strength of African-Americans denying them the right to have representation. As state legislators used gerrymandering throughout the U.S. to dilute voting strength of AfricanAmericans, it became more difficult for black candidates to secure 40% of the white vote to win elections in racially mixed districts. Brennan was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. He wrote the landmark reapportionment

case of Baker V. Carr in which the Supreme ruled that the federal government could intervene in states’ reapportionment issues to insure fairness. The defendant, Joe Carr, Secretary of State of Tennessee, argued that reapportionment was a political issue and not a judicial issue. Justice Brennan wrote the majority opinion and wrote in part:

“A citizen’s right to vote free of arbitrary impairment by state action has been judicially recognized as a right secured by the Constitution, when such impairment resulted from dilution by false tally, refusal to count votes from arbitrarily selected precincts, or by a stuffing of the ballot box.”

used gerrymandering to ensure they will keep control of the House of Representatives. Therefore, moving forward the people must demand the development of independent redistricting commissions be established in respective states throughout the U.S. This needs to happen not because they are republican but because they have shown through their actions that once elected they do not intend to govern. It is important going forward that one-person one-vote be the guiding principle of our republic.

In other words, voting is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. So, the basic idea for drawing districts is to send a proportional number to the House of Representatives to represent the people. However, if you are more concerned about power than representation you will divide the district so you can send more representatives than the other party, so the district under that scenario will be “compact but unfair.” And when you are really brazen you create irregular districts which turn out to be un-compact and un-fair. There is a digital movement afoot which would develop independent commissions to create ‘optimally compact and equal population congressional districts’. The Supreme Court did rule in 2015 that states may attempt to remove partisan politics out of the process of reapportionment – the drawing of political maps. Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, and Washington have created independent redistricting commissions to thwart map drawing methods that lead to districts easily won by Democrats and Republicans. The Court rightly concluded that arguing that only legislatures can pass election laws runs against the basic fundamental principle that the people themselves are the originating source of all the powers of government. The Republicans have successfully

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

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Featured

Poetry

Submission

pg.

Ruth-Miriam

Garnett

EXECUTION OF A CHILD by Ruth-Miriam Garnett

This is how we do it. The boy is just under 4’ tall. He’s friendly, smiles a lot. I will tell him, my dog is in the alley and I want to take a picture of him petting the animal. The picture will be a gift for his parents. I will ask if his parents like dogs. He will nod yes. I know this for a fact. They have a dog. I will hold the boy’s hand while we walk behind the buildings, alongside the dumpsters, the filth, the garbage, the junkies, the winos and the other human slime. I know this block. The shit-ass homeless people don’t hang there anymore. That’s good; they’ve seen me before, doing stuff. This is the first time I’ve had to take out a kid. But I’m down, all the way down with my crew, all the time. You do what you gotta do. Thasswussup. My crew, they all I got; that’s the stone truth. I already know I’m going to hell, sho-nuff. Dis here hell. So, ain’t no thang, straight up.

Ruth-Miriam Garnett is a poet, author, and essayist. Her published works include A Move Further South, poems (Third World Press 1987), Laelia, a novel (Simon & Schuster 2004) and Concerning Violence, New & Selected Poems (Onegin 2010). Her novel Chloe’s Grief will be published in 2016 by Onegin Press.

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THE STRONG SEA by Ruth-Miriam Garnett “Hard on the land wears the strong sea, and empty grows every bed.” —John Berryman, Dream Song #1 The light globe is promised for later today. Orchestrating the morning, I bear this in mind. For me, waking is a tricky business. I am unloving and unloved during the ungraying of consciousness. You do well not to encounter any aspect of me during the opaqueness, the brain matter-colored incipient assembly of sensory packaging, not to mention encountering my heart, daunted, crucified during the terror of dreaming. Abominable imagery taunts, weights, thwarts any hope of punctuality in achieving an upright stance. For several eons, my tribe has been known for its unchoreographed forward trek. What you will find predawn, the moment my body clock sounds, is little of the familiar. There is not merely sufficient reason for alarm over what emerges minus the cosmetic, alongside the light. I engage, as perhaps you yourself do, the monstrous extraction of signposts for my footing on the present day. I am afraid. I fear infinitesimally, as should you. The awful rowing is concretized, if you can imagine such. If you are able to do so, picture waves crashing against rock, then rock disintegrating into sand, then sand filling the sea. Should I get it wrong over and over, the rowing, that is, the likelihood is that I will be atomized. That is, before the designated hour of my flesh disintegrating, in itself a harrowing thought, except for the probability of my being asleep throughout. I had a lover once, who loved to watch me rise from sleep, exit my side of the bed and walk awkwardly toward the adjacent bath for ablutions in the enormous old house he loved. He enjoyed the rearview, watching my not quite voluptuous ass. (To this day, I long for the black woman’s birthright, to no avail.) I’m here to tell you what you better believe: You best go with what you got. I’m telling you like it is. Straight up. Square business. Ain’t no half-stepping. I am compelled to daily make this exhortation toward my trifling behind. If I take the initial steps, go on to slough the oiliness that is my morning face, I’ve got a shot. Vibrancy will reassert. Give it a few hours, and the knowing will reemerge. We think we see, until we actually see. I would aver, however, something beyond. Blindness is only part of our dilemma. The reason one walks upright, washes one’s face, clothes one’s nakedness, embraces one’s terror, is due to there being others in the mirror staring back. There are, in fact, all of us, multitudes, centuries, millennia, eons of faces, facing us. Some say, one can see God’s face in every face. I, myself, am a bad example of courage, but I try hard to tell the truth. That way, I am less confused by grisly histories. I never spat in the presence of my lover, aforementioned, but would close the door before the first spit of the day. I like the idea that there is sanctity in all moments, overwhelming abominations, spirit corrosion. That way, I never completely gross myself out, but adapt to relativity. Lord knows, there are enough crushing variables being female and a despised descendant of the first tribe. For example, recently a mean ancestor, transitioning, gave me vertigo. I know for a fact it was her. She was angry when she left. She’ll be back. We’ll hold hands. We’ll walk together by the sea. Ruth-Miriam Garnett is a poet, author, and essayist. Her published works include A Move Further South, poems (Third World Press 1987), Laelia, a novel (Simon & Schuster 2004) and Concerning Violence, New & Selected Poems (Onegin 2010). Her novel Chloe’s Grief will be published in 2016 by Onegin Press.

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EVOLUTION by Ruth-Miriam Garnett Some days I want to die. I will die, indeed, if I do not eat, or if there is no rebirth. I may appear to be alive, living, breathing, the whole nine. It is, however, a ruse, for I am stone cold dead. I died weighted down from abysmal repetition assaulting my ear, the rot proceeding to the inside, to inner canals of this and other orifices. My womb died from puncturing; you see, one must have hope of cycles returning, spawning creations differing from the last set exiting the gaping hole. It is unbearable, I swear it is, to catch sight of the new wanderers, their delight in trampling the ground cover underfoot, though I make no pretext, the previous ones appalled, in the same manner blood kin predictably manage. Of necessity, one might question any durable linkage to the earth . Do you infer from this the accuracy of my assessment? Or, perhaps, you refute my contention, namely, that my nostrils this moment are closing, and a million microbes just found the space behind my eyes. They crawl as I speak. As I speak, I become skeletal. As I speak, I am sickened, inexplicably bound to what I have known, while estranged from my senses. Perhaps you insist that you yourself and your generations are what I have not seen. Perhaps you are the ones I have been waiting for.

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QUITE A CHILD by Ruth-Miriam Garnett I have labored mightily to never hate. My comportment, despite my not quite porcelain vessel, is indeed that of a lady. I was bred for the House. I speak French. I was, in fact, and there is no delicate way this can be stated, “buttered” in Paris. Comme vous sauvez, the French believe that parceling the heart’s regions, according to the animal in us is human, intrinsically. I love them for that. And yet, my womanliness, during my life’s clatter, is hidden away. From 14, when Mrs. Adams termed me “quite a child,” I knew it had to be thus. The man took me then, a man with a wife, dead early-on, a woman by birth my half-sister. Such is the manner of the House. One understands that rage must needs be noiseless within dark bodies, else one risks brute silencing by torture or by the whip, grasped by practiced hands. To say that one’s back is unblemished is cause for acclaim in the bondswoman’s case. I suppose I am beautiful, but that may yet be, perhaps, overstatement, for some Thing ontologically other. One thing is clear. When he pushes into me, I am not there. I force this to happen. When he is himself absent, I look at my form. I move languorously, first oiling my hands. Then I touch my skin. I delight myself. I caress what belongs to me. When I am alone, I murmur in French. When I am alone, I fall in love with my animal self. To be able to say that my red-haired children have not been sold, I count as fortuitous. And, yes, I understand the advantage of not daily facing the whip, like Field Negroes. Of course, that others endure such beckons despair, coarse sensation. In my mind’s eye, I see blood. In my mind’s eye, my hands are unclean. These are unwomanly thoughts. Thinking is as far as I go, given my breeding, within a circumstance I did not choose. No one chooses in advance, but the caliber of one’s life upon entering this earth might very well proceed from another’s horrific mandate. I will say this: I am lucky in other ways. It is clear to me who I love; who I do not. Ruth-Miriam Garnett is a poet, author, and essayist. Her published works include A Move Further South, poems (Third World Press 1987), Laelia, a novel (Simon & Schuster 2004) and Concerning Violence, New & Selected Poems (Onegin 2010). Her novel Chloe’s Grief will be published in 2016 by Onegin Press.

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THE SKY IS DONE by Ruth-Miriam Garnett The sky is done emptying. My own cries are burgeoning. What is happening to the earth, as it floods, then cracks, is clearly the same sentient memory crusting my innards. I am afraid always. A man long ago told me I had multiple fears. He was right. He was also wrong. I am unafraid to name these multiples, and I am bold. I purge them where they live. They leave my spirit and move on to swine. I know who I am. I know to be tribe. I remember always what is said, and I remember the war. I am not like the ones who do not enjoin, do not battle, who have not made the same declaration. Not that I am warlike. I am, in fact, perennially in repose, so that when you drum, I listen. Your rhythms reach my heart. We etch our lines on hefty stones, even if everything is punctuated, badly so. It is better to speak. My apologies if I ask too much; I ask only for actualization. The point is to speak and, alongside the abhorrent conceit that is humanness, risk all. Refrain from no inexplicable sighting of faces and hands, ancient skulls, the drawings of cave dwellers beneath the walls of empire. Death is the longer moment, its texture life’s exquisite weaving the involuntary flesh of all creatures, disentangled from all that is not the savagery spared by the tongue. You must; you must. Certainly, I sense that you will. It is quite essential that minutiae figure in one’s reckonings. Awakened in this moment, I choose: cerulean, fuscia, chartreuse. Sight. Sound. Touch. Smell. Taste. Magnificence. It has taken me perennially grasping cards by the handfuls, out of step with the deliberate. Until now, it was unclear, as it is now very clear the bona fides, that each card I held, singly and aloft, was the trump, pertinent not only to the current round, but to all previous rounds. My God. How might I have known better than I knew? Moot thoughts tempt my regressing, moping, drooping, revisiting swamps, where, mired, impolite, eaten by reptiles who vomited my remains, only partially chewed, I grimaced at the spoilage of my flesh. So many decorative hours missed, fashions misread as pedestrian. Still, there is nothing to rectify. Rather, there are rooms to visit, each time with guests, appendages to forays, spirits vanishing split seconds ahead of my gaze, spirits inhabiting all the words I would speak, long before my first breaths were even drawn. Ancestors, ascended before I was even a thought, inform my speech. I have invited them to a parlance I feared made no sense, only because I sought a route to silence, rather than to emphatic whispers. Ruth-Miriam Garnett is a poet, author, and essayist. Her published works include A Move Further South, poems (Third World Press 1987), Laelia, a novel (Simon & Schuster 2004) and Concerning Violence, New & Selected Poems (Onegin 2010). Her novel Chloe’s Grief will be published in 2016.

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“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 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Redefine the Life in Your Lifestyle I know that it’s been a while since I’ve e-mailed you, I truly hope that all is well! I also hope that you’ve been able to stay up to date with all the happenings via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Between my recent trip to Mexico and the latest additions at the Meditation Lounge, there’s been way more to share than there is time, but I do the best I can! Healing Spa is Back!

So I want to tell you quickly that right after Journey Meditation this Sunday, the Healing Spa starts at 5:15pm! I haven’t offered this experience since October so I know that many of you are super excited about this. If you haven’t yet been, it’s a beautiful experience... You will be in a group setting with soothing, healing music to help you relax while you focus your intentions on the clarity or healing you seek. I’ll spend 15-20 minutes per person laying hands and sharing the spiritual insight that I receive for you. Please Register in Advance Our standard classes no longer require advance registration, however due to the nature of this experience, I’ll need to limit how many people attend so advance registration is required in order to attend. You can sign up online HERE or call 314-441-6929 to get signed up over the phone.

www.selenaj.com

Classes Offered 5 Days a Week In case you’re out of the loop, we now have meditation and yoga classes at the Meditation Lounge 5 days a week and our rates are still in the introductory phase! A single class is $10, but you can save by signing up for a Monthly Membership (starting at $35 p/m), or Pay-As-You-Grow Class Passes (starting at $40) - either way you save! Check out all of your options and view the class schedule and all of the services that we’re offering at www. selenaj.com! I’m looking forward to seeing you in classes this Sunday!

Peace, Love & Light, SJ

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MUST- VIEW New Orleans and HURRICANE KATRINA:

10 Years Later

Click Here to WATCH NOW!

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� ARTS-TODAY 2.11 / Black Rep - Sunset Baby Opens January…

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

314-566-9125

I.G WaistNotFitness | FB WaistNotFitness | Email:WaistnotFitness1@yahoo.com

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Featured

Poetry

Submission

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Michael Castro REPORT FROM THE STREETS AROUND TOWN

Trolls patrolling the bridges & byways out of town, highwaymen, stagecoach robbers, thuggees, all waylaying travelers, taking their money, highjacking the strongbox, sometimes leaving people dead lying on the ground. Historical images abound of thieves & cutthroats on the road.

Here & now, the police play that role. Things are the same, but different.

Trolls of old did not discriminate, targeting wealth in motion whatever its complexion. They operated outside the law, as enemies of the State.

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trolls in blue represent the State, cruise in white patrolcars,

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ike the Lone Ranger on his white horse,

heroes in their own mind movie, the Law at their command.

Unlike historical models, they discriminate carefully, profiling, targeting not the rich, but poor people with the wrong shade of skin, those they are charged with protecting & serving.

Heavily armed against the citizenry with citations & bullets, patrolling neighborhoods like an occupying army, backed by military hardware, inclined by job stress & training to escalate at hints of weary objection or resistance, to shoot to kill if panicked by real or imagined threat, they serve City Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s racist & classist biases, pg.

& a voracious appetite for cash.

Victims who miss hearings or canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay through the nose are served & protected with arrest warrants, do time in modern debtors prisons for broken taillights, illegal turns, failure to signal and the like. Jailed for lack of money.

Who can serve & protect the family while in jail? Who can go to work while in jail? Who can pay the bills while in jail?

And who can do a damn thing lying dead in a cell or in the street?

Ask Sandra Bland, Corey Jones, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Mchael Brown. Ask so many others, tragically & needlessly cut down. Ask the decades. Ask the historical record.

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BLACK LIVES MATTER to those with dimes on their eyes instead of Justice’s blindfolds, to those armed with hair trigger tempers & the Law, to those with weapons of disruption on pads in their pockets, & weapons of destruction on their hips, to governments exploiting & terrorizing their own citizens, and to all those who, with comfortable opinions, deny full humanity to another, not knowing they deny their own:

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

And to those who mask denial with smug self-approval with the counter, “All lives matter,” I say, Too many unnecessary deaths speak loud. Too many harassments, citations, arrests; Too many fines, too many compound charges; Too many days & nights in jails; Too much stress; Too much suffering; Too many, too many deaths— drown out & expose that lame retort.

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BLACK LIVES MATTER: It must be printed in capital letters. It must be shouted.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Don’t fear it, hear it. Embrace it. Things must change.

-michael castro—10-2015

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Check out Blackarchaeologist on Pinterest

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Trigney Morgan as

Cassius Clay

GOODNESS BEFORE GREATNESS Trigney Morgan on Playing Cassius Clay, Jr. in

“And In This Corner…Cassius Clay”

Q: You’re taking on the role of Cassius Clay, Jr. (Muhammad Ali), who went on to become one of the greatest boxers, if not the greatest boxer, of all time. What is it like to play him? How does it rank and compare with some of the other roles you’ve played in your career? A: Playing Cassius Clay is an absolute thrill. Just to have the opportunity to embody such an idolized man as Cassius Clay feels unreal. Cassius was such a driven, hardworking, passionate young man, but also had the greatest sense of humor. He could easily get under his opponents skin with his arrogance, loud tone, and trash talk, and I feel playing with all of those characteristics of Cassius is the most enjoyable part. This by far is one of the most challenging roles I’ve ever played. I’ve had to physically change body, and to psychologically change my state of mind due to the period played prior to this one. Q: Describe Cassius Clay’s character in the play. What’s his age? And what do you think is unique about playing Muhammad Ali at a young age during the Jim Crow era in Louisville, Kentucky? A: In this play Cassius Clay starts off as a very smart young boy, and a mischievous prankster who enjoys nothing more than spending time with his family and friends. As we get further in the play we see Cassius evolve into this passionate, courageous hero who never loses his playful personality and is completely driven by his family and making his hometown proud.

In the play Cassius’s age ranges from 12 to 14, and ends at the age of 18. What’s unique about playing Ali at a young age during the Jim Crow era is seeing just how much of an effect it had on him and his friends growing up. There is one fight in particular between Cassius and O’Keefe where Cassius actually lets his dad know that he’s not only scared because his opponent was bigger than him, but because he was white, too.

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mentaries on Muhammad Ali. I myself am in pretty good shape already, but for the role I went to the gym five times a week, and started doing way more cardio than I usually do to prepare for this role. While at the gym I would also practice moves that I’ve seen from his training videos on the punching bag and try to move and punch like Ali. I’ve grown out my hair to capture that 1950’s Cassius Clay look, and I have also listened to many samples of his dialect and his many speeches to capture and imitate his particular sound.

Q: Tell us more about your boxing training. A: Prior to this play I haven’t had any boxing training at all. The most I had was actually sparing with the bag trying to prepare for the role. Drew Fracher, who is the fight choreographer for the play, is so amazing and is really creating something awesome for the audience and something everyone will react to. Everyday working with him I’m learning something new about Ali’s movement, stance, and behavior in the ring. I’m also training with the St. Louis All City Boxing Team to get more of a hands-on experience.

Q: Boxing has often been referred to as a physical chess— a battle and blend of physical, psychological and tactical strength. As you learn boxing, do you find yourself learning more about Cassius Clay and all the layers and depths to his character and personality? A: As I learn boxing I am absolutely learning more about his layers, and depths to his personality. Boxing requires an extreme amount of focus and skill, which Ali had locked down. What Ali was also good at and known for was getting into his opponent’s head while boxing and also during his press conferences. While boxing he would do this amazing shuffle, which would confuse his opponent, then he would follow up with a jab or a flurry of punches. While doing this he would talk trash to them the whole time. He was very arrogant and cocky and displayed that heavily in his boxing matches.

Q: “And In This Corner…Cassius Clay” looks at Cassius’ relationship with his first boxing coach Joe Martin, who also happened to be also a police officer. Talk about the dynamics of that relationship. How are you and actor David Wassilak, who plays Joe Martin, approaching and portraying that relationship, especially given the emotions and sentiments of current events involving law enforcement and African American youth? A: I found it very interesting that Cassius’s first boxing coach Joe Martin was a police officer as well. I feel as though Cassius would have never approached Joe If he had not lost his bike, but he was so distraught at the moment that he paid no attention to the his skin color. I believe Joe saw a great potential in Cassius, which is why he invited him to the gym and agreed to train him. Their relationship is very much like a father and son relationship, and that’s how David and I are approaching it. Joe genuinely wants Cassius to get better everyday and to become something great and David and I are working to make that very clear so the African American children that see this show can say, “Hey, it doesn’t matter what color you are. If people see that you wanna be great, and work hard toward something they will believe in you just as much as you do, and will help to make your dream a reality.” The fact that Joe Martin is a cop makes our relationship even more important. Children will actually see an officer helping a black pg.

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boy become great, and I hope it will erase the idea that every white officer is out to get them.

Q: Describe Idris Goodwin’s style as a playwright. What qualities do you find intriguing and interesting about this particular play and his style of writing? A: Idris Goodwin’s writing style helps the audience relate to the story very easily. He has a wonderful way of making the listener feel for the characters. You genuinely want to shout when they are victorious, cringe when they are hurt and laugh when they are being silly. Black or white, the audience will completely fall in love with these characters and get an understanding of who Cassius Clay was and what he did not only for the boxing world, but also for his people.

Q: Why should people come see “And In This Corner…Cassius Clay”? What will they take away from it? A: People should see the play because it’s a story that all ages will truly enjoy. It’s a beautifully written play that’s fun to watch, and touches on important relevant issues. I feel after watching this play children and adults will want to believe again. I feel they will be reminded just how important Ali was to not only the world but the black community, and how his skin color never changed how he treated people, or stopped him from where he was destined to go.

Metro Theater Company presents “And In This Corner…Cassius Clay” at the Missouri History Museum on February 12-28. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12-$18. For tickets and info, visit http://cassiusproject.com or call 314-441-5792.

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Rickkita Edwards teaches Core:Cardio & More @ North Co.Rec Center

every Mon-Wed- Fri.

5:30 PM-6:30 PM

She also teaches "WaistNWeights" every Mon

@ Faith Miracle Temple

7:15 PM-8 PM

Contact me today for personal training sessions!

314-566-9125 I.G WaistNotFitness | FB WaistNotFitness | Email:WaistnotFitness1@yahoo.com pg.

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Way Black in Time pt. 7 The Black Archaeologist Web Series. Black Archaeologist In Way Black In Time Part # 7, Black Arch. time travels back to the year 1718 to meet Black Caesar the pirate and also to the year 1 B.C. DVDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at Black Archaeologist.com Seasons #1, # 2, and # 3 https://www.facebook.com/100002768677592/videos/718826761552940/

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e R

n s o i t c e l f

By Sheila Bassoppo-Moyo

n 1980, I travelled to Africa for the first time with my former Zimbabwean husband. We met at an independence party for Tanzania while graduate students in upstate New York. In no time, we were flying into South Africa and running down the tarmac to catch our connecting flight from Jo-burg to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. After finally landing at Harare International Airport, I was tired and in dire need of a bath. I mustered a smile when I met my new relatives, who had traveled for many miles from the rural areas to greet us. We lived with relatives for a few months until we could find an apartment, and later we move into a lovely ranch style home located in the suburb of Vainona, near a strip mall with a modern grocery store and other small shops.

on my life in

smiled easily and ended every sentence with “Madam” whenever she spoke to me. Even though we were separated by culture and class, she was not only my maid, but had worked hard to make me feel comfortable in my newly adopted country. She did all the household chores including washing, cooking, and even polishing the floors on her knees. I hated walking barefoot on the wooden floor feeling my feet squish into heavy layers of wax not quite dry.

One Saturday, my ex and I drove back home from our regular trip to the farmer’s market in a township called Chitungwiza. As we pulled up into the two-car red-brick garage, he tooted the horn of our silver BMW to alert both Maude and our gardener, Lovemore, that we had arrived. My flipped the switch for the trunk door to open. A few days after moving into our new ex Maude quickly came out of the back door of home, my husband suggested the kitchen, dressed in her uniform and cap. hiring a maid. Maude was my We bought her one uniform and one cap for the first servant--a spunky, black year. She did not get two. My husband thought Zimbabwean woman, that would be an unnecessary expense. whose light blue uniform clung to Maude wore this uniform into the ground rolls of fat. working for us. Torn and busting at the seams, She her uniform was a badge worn proudly as she cooked and cleaned. It pained me to look at her in that uniform, but if I brought up buying a second one for

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imbabwe her, it only resulted in another argument with my husband.

“Mangwanani, Amai. Mangwanani, Baba.” Maude chirped with a smile, “Good morning, Mother, Good morning, Father” as soon as we alighted from the car. It was the custom that maids use familial terms when speaking to their employers – a rather ironic custom given that we, like other employers, could be so oppressive and cruel I thought.

Lovemore, our gardener, tugged at his suspenders from his overalls as he ran to help Maude with the groceries. She reached into the trunk to take the two chickens, whose feet were securely tied with brown twine. As soon as she grabbed the birds by their feet, they protested vehemently gawking and flapping their wings. Maude’s job was to slaughter, defeather, and cook them. I did not have the stomach for slaughtering chickens, though I must admit Maude made the best stewed chicken. These free-running field chickens tasted so much better than those found in the majority of American supermarkets.

quarters, Lovemore had planted a small garden of collard greens, tomatoes, and onions. Also growing in the backyard were four huge avocado trees as well as the trees of plump yellow lemons and sweet orange mangoes. Our plot, including the servants’ quarters, was surrounded on all four sides by a six-foot tall wall. As a security measure, bits of cracked glass were stuck in cement on top of the walls to stop thieves from coming onto the property. Sometimes I felt those walls were there to keep me in.

Maude and Lovemore shared a two-room servants’ quarters located in the far left corner of our backyard. Our house was on two acreas of land with an abundance of fruit trees. The “boy’s kyle” had a common kitchen and toilet. Just outside their

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Fitness Boss & First Civilization

Monthly Health Tip! KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR!

more than just how you appear on the outside it is essential to your overall health. Additionally, if you are taking the time for cardio as well as strength training your body will shape up better, developing a more toned physique.

Written by : Tracee Green, Fitness Boss, LLC January 2016

Time for a new year and all of your new year’s weight loss resolutions are front and center! Here are some tips for keeping those habits beyond January 31st!

Pick a meal plan and stick to it: There are tons of plans available for losing weight and there isn’t a one size fits all. There are certain things about the plan a friend or relative may be on that may not be the right plan for YOU. Do not let anyone make you feel that the way they are achieving their goals is the ONLY way. It isn’t. Take the time to review different plans that will fit your lifestyle long term. As a Weight Management Coach I would be glad to discuss a great plan with you! Contact information below.

Good luck to the new you! Make sure you visit www. bossfitnessmovement.com to learn more about our products, ask additional questions as well as learn of our next Fitness Boss Wellness Expo. Please like be sure to like our Facebook Page: Tracee Lynn Fitness Boss

Set realistic expectations: You will not lose 20lbs in a month! It didn’t take you a month to put on those extra pounds so don’t expect to lose it in a month. The fastest way to set yourself up for failure is by expecting to lose a bunch of weight really fast and keep it off. Sure if you starve yourself you may lost a lot of weight but that cannot be maintained. You want to align yourself and your goals realistically. I personally set small goals for weight loss. Instead of saying you want to lose 40lbs to be happy, start off by saying I will lose 10lbs. After that first 10 then you can set a goal for another 10. This will help you reap the benefit of those small victories!

Exercise: In last month’s article I stressed exercise. I cannot stress this enough. Sure you could lose weight without exercise however this is not the best way to build a lifestyle. Did you know there was a such thing as being “skinny fat”? This is a person who may be physically thin but their cardiovascular health doesn’t match their body type. Exercise is far pg.

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Health, Beauty

And

Fashion

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Ain ’t

ART OF FOOD

but a

Chicken Wang

Ain’t No Thang But A Chicken Wang Are you ready for some football?! Or better yet, are you ready for the Super Bowl? The halftime show with Coldplay? For all my foodies… are you ready for the food?! According to 2013 research, Americans spend more than $50 million annually on food for their watch parties. 49.2 million cases of beer sold every year on game day, alone!

Along with several millions of pounds of ranch dressing, pizza, potato chips, avocados, etc. that are eaten on one day, there’s still one winner that trumps those insane amounts.

Chicken Wings!!! I don’t know about anybody else but chicken wings are hands down one of my favorite

Super Bowl finger foods. I think the rest of America may be in agreement, especially since approximately 1.23 billion chicken wing portions were consumed on game day in 2013. So for this, my 1 year anniversary article, I decided to try out 3 different chicken wing recipes. Traditional grilled, barbeque & hot wings are always a winner…but let’s get a little adventurous and try something a tad bit different. Jamaican Jerk Wings, Salt & Pepper Wings and Sweet & Sticky Wings are sure to be a game day hit. As usual adjust the recipes to your liking and send me any feedback or questions. Enjoy!!!

~Lena O.A. Jackson To contact me, get more recipes, find out about events I’m a part of, or to even order some of my food: www.facebook.com/gspDore www.instagram.com/gspDore

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Jamaican Jerk Wings

Ingredients: ≈ 2 lb Chicken Wings 1½ Tbsp Caribbean jerk seasoning Vegetable Oil For the Sauce: ¼ C Soy Sauce ¼ C Water 2 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, chopped or Ground Ginger 2 Tbsp Orange Zest 1 tsp Habaneros or Scotch Bonnets, minced (optional) ¼ C Orange Juice ¼ C White Vinegar 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 2 tsp Dijon Mustard 1/8 tsp Ground Allspice ¼ C Sugar or Honey ½ tsp Arrowroot Powder or Cornstarch

For the Wings: If baking: Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the chicken wings in a large bowl and toss them with 1–2 teaspoon of vegetable oil, jerk seasoning, sea salt + pepper. Place wings on the prepared baking sheet and put them in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until they are crispy.

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If frying: Combine 11/3 cup allpurpose flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 11/3 cup water, salt, pepper & jerk seasoning in a medium-sized bowl until no lumps remain. Pour enough vegetable oil into a pot so that it is about 2 inches deep. Heat on medium-high until oil reaches 350Â°F. Pat chicken wings dry with paper towel. Coat chicken in slurry and then place into hot oil. Work in small batches, about 6-8 pieces at a time. Fry for â&#x2030;&#x2C6; 8 minutes or until golden in color. Drain excess oil on paper towels. Set chicken aside, and continue until all your wings have been fried once. Toss chicken in the jerk sauce and serve immediately. For the Sauce: Combine soy sauce, water, ginger, peppers (if using), orange zest, orange juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce & dijon mustard in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil & simmer for about 8 minutes. Strain the sauce to remove the habaneros, ginger and orange zest. Add the strained sauce back into the pan, and add in the allspice, sweetener (sugar or honey) and arrowroot powder, whisking until smooth. Simmer for another 5 minutes until thickened. Taste & adjust seasoning to your preference.

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Salt & Pepper Wings My former manager & really good friend Willie got me hooked on these. I definitely was expecting something different based on the name of these wings. However, I quickly fell in love with these while living in Southern California! They are extremely popular throughout Chinese restaurants all around San Diego. Try it out & enjoy!

Ingredients: 11/3 C Flour 2 Tbsp Cornstarch 11/3 C Water â&#x2030;&#x2C6;2 lb Chicken Wings Vegetable Oil for frying 1 head Garlic, minced 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 bunch Green Scallions, finely chopped 2 Tbsp Red Chili Flakes White Pepper Black Pepper Salt MSG

Pour enough vegetable oil into a pot or wok so that it is about 2 inches deep. Heat on medium-high until oil reaches 350F. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and water in a medium-sized bowl until no lumps remain. Pat chicken wings dry with paper towel. Coat chicken in slurry and then place into hot oil.

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Chicken will be fried twice. Work in small batches, about 6–8 pieces at a time. Fry for 8 minutes; chicken will be a light golden color. Drain excess oil on paper towels. Set chicken aside to wait for second fry. Continue until all your wings have been fried once for 8 minutes. Then, again working in small batches, fry chicken a second time. Chicken should now be golden and crunchy. Set finished chicken aside. Repeat with remaining chicken until all wings have been fried twice. In a wok, add olive oil. Once oil is hot, add in garlic. Once aroma of garlic comes out, add in chili flakes and scallions and cook a few minutes. Turn off heat and place finished chicken into wok and toss chicken in the garlic mixture. Sprinkle white pepper, black pepper, salt and MSG on top to taste. *There is a special Pepper– Salt seasoning mix that is typically sold in Asian food markets that is designed specifically for frying chicken. If you can find it, sprinkle it on top of your chicken at the very end. If you are uncomfortable with using msg (as I was) in this recipe, you can simply omit it or use an extremely scarce amount. The white pepper is the key to the addicting flavor. So be sure to add more of the white pepper versus is the other seasonings and make sure not to leave it out. Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Sweet & Sticky Wings

Ingredients: 2 lb. Chicken Wings 1 tsp Sesame Oil 1 tsp Sea Salt ½ tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper Cilantro and/or Sesame Seeds, for garnish For the glaze: 1/3 C Honey 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce 1 Tbsp Finely Grated Ginger ¼ C Orange Juice 2 large Garlic Cloves, very finely minced ½ tsp Sesame Oil 1/8 - ¼ tsp Chili Flakes

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the chicken wings in a large bowl and toss them with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, sea salt and pepper. Place them on the prepared baking tray and put them in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until they are crispy.

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While the chicken is baking, begin to make the glaze. Add all the glaze ingredients to a small frying pan over mediumhigh heat. Boil mixture rapidly for 3–4 minutes, or until the glaze has reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from the heat. Once the chicken wings are crispy remove them from the oven and toss them with the glaze. Sprinkle some cilantro and toasted sesame seeds over top and serve immediately.

Doré

Bon Appétit,

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VIDEO: bell hooks + Kevin Powell conversation on manhood, trauma, hiphop, violence against women, healing, more:

Click below to watch now!

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Featured

Artist

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Submission

Wisdom Kudowar

Wisdom Kudowor, known as “Wiz” is one of photographer & videographer, Annetta Vickers-Bentil’s favorite artists. She exhibits his paintings at the T.A.B. Company’s. “Jahz’ Art Private Gallery” located in the West End of the City of St. Louis. Wiz was born in 1957 in Takoradi, the fourth largest city in Ghana and studied art at the College of Art in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. He graduated in 1981 with a first class honors degree in fine arts and now lives and works in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Wiz is one of Ghana’s famous international artists whose paintings are in private collections and exhibited in major art galleries and museums throughout the world. Wiz was commissioned to design and execute several public works in Ghana, including the relief mural at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra. Wiz is a pioneer in Symboligraphics, he speaks a multi-dimensional language which uses excellently stylized abstract images, shapes, colors and textures as it’s alphabet in a trans-cultural, visual ovation to the unrestrained universal truths inherent in Ghana’s culture. There will be a public exhibition on the 5th of March of 2016 from 1 – 3pm at T.A.B. Company, Inc, in commemoration of Ghana’s Independence Day Celebration. Additional information will be available in February’s Issue. Meanwhile, please enjoy the images selected by Annetta Vickers-Bentil and enjoy the video presentations at: https:// youtu.be/217QkbWJKeY and https://youtu.be/LVubah8YVVc . For additional information, contact Annetta Vickers-Bentil at 314-827-4028 or email art@tabsales.net.

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Dear Friends of Gitana, During this first quarter of 2016 you will have a number of opportunities to experience the diversity and quality of our programming. In January youth in Gitana's Global Education through the Arts Program from St. Louis City and Ferguson will present RISE UP 2 B U: A UNITY RECITAL that will be presented at two performances in South City and Ferguson. Global Education through the Arts is a community arts program for local and immigrant youth that provides dance, drama, voice and leadership training including cultural diversity, conflict resolution skills and character development. In February NEW WORLD, an original one act play about the lives of three refugee women living in St. Louis, will be presented at the University of Missouri St. Louis and at St. Louis Community College. The play is compelling and includes a postshow discussion with representatives from the Center for Survivors of War and Torture about the plight of refugees in St. Louis. Also on February 4 we will conduct auditions for a few open spots in the cast of BLACK AND BLUE that returns in May and June 2016. In March our youth touring group will travel the region bringing a message of nonviolence to other youth in the play LIVING THE DREAM. Plans are to visit Juvenile Detention Centers, Community Centers, Churches, Libraries or more. There are still a few spots for presentations so if you are interested in bringing our youth to your organization please do give us a call as soon as possible at 3147216556. You may get details on all of the above mentioned activities within this newsletter. Happy New Year! We hope you will spend some of your time with Gitana as we bring our community together through crosscultural engagement and the arts. Peace and Blessings, Cecilia Nadal

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include drama, dance, voice and an understanding how to work with others in effective ways. This 45minute presentation is free to the public and parents are encouraged to bring their children. Light refreshments will be served. Here are the details: Saturday, January 16 at 1:00 PM Ferguson Library at 35 N. Florissant 63135 Saturday, January 30 at 1:00 PM Carpenter Branch Library, 3309 S. Grand 63118

NEW WORLD

by Lee Patton Chiles

Come and experience the amazing stories of three women from the Congo, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Hear how they came to St. Louis with hope to create a new world by healing their old world wounds. This one act play is based on interviews and documents related to actual accounts. There will be Q/A following the play with the engagement of the Center for Survivors of Torture and War. You may see this play at the following locations: Here are the details: Monday, February 22 at 12 Noon University of MissouriSt. Louis, Gallery 210 (Free Admission and Parking and Light Refreshments) Thursday, February 25 at 12 Noon Meramec Theater, St. Louis Community College at Meramec (Free Admission and Parking)

Auditions for BLACK AND BLUE February 4 5:30PM7:30PM

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LIVING THE DREAM starts tour in March This is the seventh year that Gitana will tour LIVING THE DREAM. Inspired by the principles of nonviolence by Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi Gitana was encouraged to start this tour by the late Jim McGinnis of the Institute for Peace and Justice now headed by Kathy McGinnis. It was his desire that youth would mentor other youth in exploring how nonviolence was important to self and community within homes, schools and society. Gitana heard his call and approached Lee Patton Chiles to work with our youth in developing stories that came from their own experiences. Since 2007 we have reached thousands of youth and continue to promote nonviolence through theater, music and dance. Children and youth from St. Louis City and County will work together for the tour with bookings at diverse locations. For bookings contact us at info@gitanainc.org by February 15 or sooner. Openings are now limited to Wednesday evenings and weekends.

Welcome Daniel, Valeri and Vindhya! (Peer Counselors/Actors)

There is a great deal of evidence that young people listen and communicate with their peers far more than adults. A program of social development in the arts can only be enhanced with the participation of promising young artists that receive training in peer counseling as well as the arts. Gitana is excited to have three outstanding students who not only excel academically but also love the arts and helping others in proactive ways. Daniel, Valeri and Vindyha will be joining us for the LIVING THE DREAM TOUR and will be an important part of our arts training program for youth in the Global Education through the Arts Program.

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ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SYMPOSIUM ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN IMMIGRANTS AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN ST. LOUIS? Gitana is looking for citizens from all cultures that are interested in promoting relationship development between immigrants and refugees and African Americans in the St. Louis region. Please feel free to contact us for further information. 3147216556 or info@gitanainc.org We would like to thank the St. Louis Clergy Coalition for hearing Gitana's call for engagement and hosting a preview of NEW WORLD in December!

GITANA YOUTH ATTEND BACH SOCIETY CHRISTMAS CANDLELIGHT CONCERT Students and parents had a fantastic time at Powell Symphony Hall for the awesome concert sponsored by the Bach Society. In preparation for this concert students discussed the biography of Johann Sebastian Bach and were particularly intrigued by the fact that he was an orphan at a young age and in spite of it all produced such incredible music.

Donate Now!

You may send your taxdeductible contribution to: Gitana Productions, PO Box 300322, St. Louis, Missouri 63130 Click Here to Donate

Check us out on Facebook!

Gitana Productions (www.gitanainc.org) is a notforprofit arts and education organization which is dedicated to increasing crosscultural awareness and collaboration in St. Louis through arts and education. Gitana events present a rarely seen diversity of international and local arts performing an array of traditional and innovative artistic expressions.The company sponsors concerts, theatre productions and dance performances that are often preceded by educational events. Gitana also developed the first community arts program in Missouri targeting atrisk immigrant/refugee and local youth. Global Education through the Arts promotes intercultural understanding, teamwork and leadership through the arts while preventing juvenile delinquency.The Missouri Arts Council and the Regional Arts Commission support Gitana.

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The 2016 Missouri legislative session is underway and hearings are starting. On Tuesday, January 19, at 1:00 p.m., the House Appropriations Committee for Elementary & Secondary Education will take public testimony on education budget items....including the Missouri Fine Arts Academy funding. MCA is requesting arts advocates who would like to testify in support of funding for the Missouri Fine Arts Academy. The hearing will be held in House Hearing Room 1, in the basement of the state capitol. (1)

If you are interested, please contact Kyna Iman at kynaiman@earthlink.net.

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MSD’s Retro Team

Plan

By Adolphus Pruitt, St. Louis NAACP

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In 1969 four Washington University Graduate school students form a consultant firm named Team Four Inc., and within a few years landed a contract with the St. Louis Community Development Commission to draft a new master plan for the City of St. Louis. They submitted a set of memorandums (City Wide Implementation Strategies) in March 1975 that would gain fame as the ‘‘Team Four Plan.’’ The plan advised St. Louis to apply

different treatments to neighborhoods based on their condition and market potential: ‘‘conservation’’ for areas in good health, ‘‘redevelopment’’ for areas just starting to decline, and gradual ‘‘depletion’’ for areas already in severe distress. The memorandums

called for the conservation of strong neighborhoods as the highest priority, targeted redevelopment of inbetween neighborhoods as the second highest priority, and gradual depletion and later the redevelopment of deteriorated areas the third priority. The plan called for a ‘‘no growth policy until public resources are available,’’ and was to require any new development in these areas to be planned concurrently with capital improvements for strategic redevelopment. Redevelopment projects were only be approved if they could be paired with capital improvements and an increase in public services.

LRA got the memo The Team Four memorandums called for the city to use its Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) as a land bank, gathering parcels through tax foreclosure and holding them indefinitely until market conditions permitted large-scale redevelopment of the area; and refrain from selling individual parcels or allowing

homesteading. LRA has done its part it seem; in the city of St. Louis there is no bigger land-owner than LRA. The city has accumulated more than 11,000 parcels of real estate (empty houses, large commercial buildings and thousands of vacant lots).

Retro Team Four Plan The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) recently announced plans to spend $100 million in what it’s calling Rainscaping improvements; $13 million primarily in north St. Louis City to prevent sewage from backing up into homes calls for the demolition of hundreds of LRA owned buildings. According to MSD, they will work with the city to target properties that provide the greatest social benefit to neighborhoods; resulting in acres of permeable green space to reduce rainwater runoff into the sewer system; and address a strategic priority for neighborhoods. The only problem is the neighborhoods in question have not been made aware of the social benefit of living next door to the vacant ground to be left behind. Nor have they been informed of the strategic priority — in other words what, who, why, and how does my neighborhood best benefit. I’m reminded of the 100 acres proposed for the relocation of NGA in north St. Louis. After decades of massive demolition left are 47 owner-occupied residences; 41 tenant-occupied residences; several churches; and the rest is vacant land. The impact of the massive demolition was borne mostly by minority and lowincome populations; as would MSD’s demolition plan. And while MSD declares that the homeowners left behind will see increases of 4% in their property values; according to the Environmental Impact Statement

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for the NGA relocation, that didn’t happen after the massive demolition in the proposed NGA relocation area, evidenced by the meager $64,000 in property taxes generated (by all properties combined) each year in the proposed 100-acre site.

Market Value Analysis (MVA) In January 2014 the City of St. Louis and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) completed a Market Value Analysis to assist St. Louis’s public sector officials to more precisely craft intervention strategies to support sustainable growth; by deploying governmental programs based on objectively gathered data and sound quantitative and qualitative analysis—such as an Environmental Impact Statement.

MSD’s Tunnel Vision MSD’s Project Clear mission of keeping sewage from backing up into homes during heavy rains includes designing and building underground wastewater storage facilities; this is how most of the $4.7 billion will be used. These deep underground tunnels will both store and transport wastewater during heavy rains, virtually ensuring that homes will be safe from sewage backing up into them. Ironically, the tunnels are being constructed to prevent backups primarily in south city and south and west county homes. In north St. Louis city and north county you will have to rely on the demolition of vacant LRA owned properties, rain-gardens and green space. Patrick Cooper-McCann, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Michigan, put it best—the history of ‘‘Team Four Plan’’ holds cautionary lessons—‘‘color-blind’’ policies are not necessarily race neutral in effect. In cities like St. Louis, where race corresponds with neighborhood condition, policies to geographically target investment cannot rest on neighborhood condition alone. Planners must also consider racial equity as a factor in investment.

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Kevin Powell in Oakland, CA! OAKLAND, CA! Join Kevin Powell for a community conversation in partnership with KPFA Radio! Hosted by Davey D Tuesday, January 26 2016 at 7:30pm at First Congregational Church 2501 Harrison St, Oakland, CA 94612

Get your tickets here: http://tinyurl.com/hpf7wd8

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Portfolio Fundraiser Moves to Artist's Studio

Janet Riehl's "Women & Wardrobe: The Riehl Collection" exhibit has finished it's successful run at The Portfolio Gallery and Education Center. It brought in $2,000 to help with much-needed building repairs. Many people went home with framed ($150) and unframed ($50) prints they love, and a good time was had by all. Folks have said they would have loved to have seen the show, and were sorry they missed it. Janet has decided to host At Home evenings on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. so you can! Come visit, enjoy the work, and of course buy whatever calls to you. Any profit realized will continue to benefit Portfolio Gallery. If you'd like to come, please contact her at janet.riehl@gmail.com. Janet and Robert Powell, director of Portfolio Gallery and Education Center appeared on Fox 2 news. http://fox2now.com/2014/07/29/women-wardrobe-and-art-on-a-cell-phone-atportfolio/# Janet and her art was featured in the Alton Telegraph. http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/home_top-lifestyle-news/50095336/Artists-workmakes-Riehl-results#.U-Tbf1Ao7qC

Come on out! Meet some new people and enjoy some playful, colorful, and sensuous art inspired by African Women.

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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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About Guardian Prime Guardian Prime from the eyes of the creator Jide Martin Why I do this? Guardian Prime is the sentinel of earth, Nigeria’s own Superman. He was inspired by America’s own hero who promoted justice, truth and peace. I saw that Nigeria was filled with so much negativity; it became obvious that this generation and the ones to come, needed an icon, an example, to teach us justice, truth and peace. This hero would be designed to give us faith to see that our actions and words could indeed make a difference and throw a positive light on Nigeria to a global audience… In came Guardian Prime. A read on Guardian Prime prepares you for a ton of inspiring quotes and subtle messages on ethics and values but It is not just about ethics, Guardian Prime hits the core of humanity, a journey into mankind and an experience that will make you question our relevance as a race on earth and the universe as a whole. Guardian Prime is the alter ego of Tunde Jaiye. He is the fifth element, one of the five essential elements on earth (earth, air, water, fire and man). He is the perfect man. He can do everything a normal man can do only magnified to almost God like levels. This is our flagship character and a favourite among the fans. They have shared with us so many fan art and the title was named the Nigeria’s number 1 comic character of the year on Emperors groove in 2013 and the title to rule them all in 2015. We are humbled by the love from our fans. Guardian Prime is nothing without them. Guardian Prime’s power is faith; his ability to do all things if he only believes he can. Simply put, he is as strong as he thinks he his. The subtle message here is when you believe in yourself, you can be and do anything. This is the take away we want everyone to have when they read this one. When you believe, you can achieve! Next issue is out this January. Anticipate!

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The

New African Paradigm Study Group (NAPSG)

is an organization dedicated to the empowerment and education of our community through book study and our lecture series. We have brought many African scholars to St. Louis to awaken our people and to get on one accord to face the challenges in our community. The NAPSG is in need of your help so we are currently seeking new members to help us continue to be able to meet the demands of our lecture series and our study group. Our study group meets every 3rd Sunday at Sabayet, 4000 Maffit, St. Louis, MO. at 4:00 p.m. Please join us on our journey for knowledge of self, our gods, and our Ancestors. Contact James Steward at (618) 977-8191 for more information. Also, Like us on FaceBook.

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Debra, Has issued a $100 challenge

Help African Non-Profit Open Store African businesses, just like African people, have a responsibility to share their skills and resources with the people. When African businesses are dedicated to our people...

VIEW CAMPAIGN

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Featured

Dance Submission

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MOMIX “Turning Dance Into Gold” - Wall Street Journal

“Alchemia Defies Reality” - Huffington Post

“Momix Shoots for Astonishment” - New York Times

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Dance St. Louis presents...

The dancer-Illusionists of MO in dazzling “Alchemia” on Jan. 29 Optical illusions. Beautiful stunts. Impressive theatrics. It’s all there in MOMIX’s newest production, “Alchemia,” presented by Dance St. Louis at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on January 29-30. MOMIX, the troupe of dancer-illusionistsathletes that was founded more than three decades ago by Moses Pendleton as an offshoot of Pilobolus and has performed on stages worldwide as well as on TV in everything from the Golden Globe Awards to a Target ad, returns to St. Louis in what critics and reviewers have called a “magical” production. MOMIX transports audiences from their everyday lives to a fantasy world through its trademark use of magical lighting and imagery. Known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, the company has thrilled fans in more than 22 countries and has been featured on stage, screen and television. “Alchemia” brings the audience into an enchanting, magical, ethereal, dream world: the World of the Unconscious. Inspired by Carl Jung, William Butler Yeats, and alchemical literature, MOMIX Founder and Artistic Director Moses Pendleton loosely connects the four classical elements—earth, water, air and fire—and focuses on the “Elementals,” or spirits, of each. Like every MOMIX performance, “Alchemia” is full of aesthetic thrills, surprising metamorphosis, and the sexuality of nature. An alchemist himself, Pendleton creates a 90-minute concoction of light, music, dance, props, and imagery that abandons the world of reality and enters into the mysterious world of the ancient art.

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OMIX

9-30

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WHO: Dance St. Louis WHAT: MOMIX in “Alchemia” WHEN: Friday, January 29 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, January 30 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. WHERE: Touhill Performing Arts Center TICKETS: $30-50. Tickets are available at http://dancestlouis.org.

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Art of Healing

Your Ad or Article could be here!

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Hidden Jewels of North St. Louis

To all: I am trying to close in on my target for this project, please do two things: Support it with a donation as small as $10.00 and Forward this e-mail to friends, family and colleagues in hopes they can support as well. This link includes both the IndieGoGo site, and my St. Louis on the Air Interview.

Why Hidden Jewels of North St. Louis Matters For those who just want to go straight to the campaign site go here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hidden-jewels-of-stl/x/46548#/ Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make this project happen! Thank you!

-Phillip W. Johnson, Producer of the #Ferguson Film Fire this Time

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WATCH NOW!

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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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I want to quilt the way Toni Morrison weaves a story. I want to quilt the way Misty Copeland dances with strength and delicacy. I want to quilt the way Rosa Parks stayed seated to start a revolution. I want to quilt the way Oprah Winfrey gives voice to the power of faith and kindness. I want to quilt the way Viola Davis acts to bear witness. I want to quilt the way Mae Jemison shot for the stars and got a view of the world that few will ever see. I want to quilt the way Sweet Honey in the Rock sings of love, struggle, and freedom. I want to quilt the way Angela Davis reminds us that the struggle isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t over. I want to quilt to release the colors of my soul.

Virtuoso By Angee Turner

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Angee Turner

Sew Angee... Keeping the world bright, colorful and funky sewangee.blogspot.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information Contact: Angelia D. Bills, MSW Vice President of Communications (314) 615-3604 (314) 309-6778 abills@urbanleague-stl.org

Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. Receives $250,000 Grant from Citi Foundation for Youth Tech Workforce Initiative St. Louis (October 23, 2015) --- Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. received $250,000 to work in collaboration with the City/County Workforce Board and Tech boot-camp Academy along with higher educational partners to provide 250 youth with 21st century IT skills training and credentialing that leads to long-term IT-related employment in the St. Louis region. “The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis runs innovative, proven programs that connect young adults to jobs in urban centers”, said Michael McMillan, President and CEO of the Urban League. “Working in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance and the Citi Foundation, we will provide IT skills training that will better prepare more low-income youth in St. Louis creating pathways to academic and career success.” The Youth Opportunity Fund Program is designed to support direct-service programs that empower urban youth, ages 16-24 that are St. Louis City and County residents. A total of 12 grants were awarded to nonprofit organizations in 10 of the largest U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Newark, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. For more information about the Youth Tech Workforce Initiative, please call (314) 679-3500. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. is a social service and advocacy organization that works to fulfill its mission of Empowering Communities and Changing Lives. Programs are offered in the areas of Economic Empowerment, Meeting Families Basic Needs, Educational Quality and Equality and Civic Engagement and Social Justice. About America’s Promise Alliance America’s Promise Alliance leads an alliance of organizations, communities and individuals dedicated to making the promise of America real for every child. As its signature effort, the GradNation campaign mobilizes Americans to increase the on-time high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020 and prepare young people for postsecondary enrollment and the 21st century workforce. For more information, visit www.americaspromise.org. About the Citi Foundation The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation’s “More than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com. ###

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Black Anthology Presents:

$10 for WUSTL Students/Staff with ID $12 for General Public $10 for Group of 10 or More

February 2016 12th & 13th, 7 P.M. Edison Theatre; Malinckrodt Center Washington University in St. Louis blackanthology@gmail.com Box Office: (314) 935-6543

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Legal Community:

RISE and be Counted

By: Pam Meanes

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Legal Community: Rise and be Counted      HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE There are some positions in our society that require at least the illusion of complete impartiality. Judges and police officers who enforce our laws are chief among those. Because we entrust these individuals with the authority to take away a person’s freedom, and in some case even their lives, it is imperative that we have an assurance that these professionals do not make decisions based on any negative feelings about a person’s race or ethnicity. As Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently stated in his “I Have a Dream” speech, “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Dr. King’s quote applies to all of us, but especially to those who comprise our legal system. With respect to the police, we Americans rely on them to keep us safe and treat us fairly, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin or religion. However, across this country there exists a deep rooted mistrust of the police and the criminal justice system because so many tragedies are caused by police callousness, folly or ignorance, and the subsequent refusal by grand juries to find criminal culpability. Contrary to popular belief, this mistreatment did not magically happen overnight. Minorities communities have suffered decades of over-criminalization with policies such as “broken windows,” which theorizes that where signs of disorder – such as broken windows or graffiti – proliferate and persist, a general failing of the community takes hold. So, as this theory continues, minor infractions are treated as major crimes, and when more and more behaviors are criminalized there are more occasions for police departments to enforce their monopoly on legitimate violence in the community. Minority communities have experienced the same overcriminalization in our juvenile justice system and school discipline. Conduct by students in school that in the past would have at worst resulted in suspension, now result in minors being arrested and taken to juvenile hall. In many of these cases, students are expelled, which leads to them entering the “school to prison pipeline.” Despite these numerous complaints, the pervasive racism by law enforcement seems to fall on deaf ears, and until a “Trevon Martin,” “Eric Garner,” or “Michael Brown” is killed no one listen to the calls for a fair criminal justice system. Despite the complaints of the existence of racist and biased police officers, not until a "Lt. Shawn Williams," "Deputy Chief David Borst," or "Officer George Hunnewell" does anyone listen to the calls for a fair criminal justice system. Limited But Powerful Statistics Though the U.S. Government does not have a database collecting information about the total number of police involved shootings each year, according to Katie Rucke of MintPress News "it's estimated that between 500 and 1,000 Americans are killed by police officers each year.

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LEGAL COMMUNITY cont.

Since 9/11, about 5,000 Americans have been killed by U.S. police officers, which is almost equivalent to the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq.” According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in August 2014, local police were involved in 400 killings each year, with many of those incidents involving white cops and black victims. The FBI also reported that between 2005 and 2012 on average nearly two times a week, a white police officer killed an African American and that there were 96 such incidents among at least 400 police killings each year that were reported to the FBI by local police. Moreover, a pilot study conducted by the federal government between 1991 and 2000 found that "excessive force” was not used in 99.583% of all reported cases. In fact, the FBI stated that there were an average of about 400 "justifiable homicides" a year by law officers in the line of duty between 2008 and 2012. Finally, a report by a group called the National Police Misconduct Reporting Project (NPMRP) identified 4,861 unique reports of police misconduct in the U.S. involving 6,613 officers from April 2009 through the end of 2010. In these cases only 33 percent resulted in conviction and 12 percent in prison time. These statistics suggest that the fatal shooting of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri; Eric Garner from Staten Island, New York; John Crawford from Beavercreek, Ohio; Marquis Jones from San Antonio, Texas; Ezell Ford from Los Angeles, California; Rodney Mitchell from Sarasota, Florida or Raymond Herisse from South Florida are anything but isolated incidents. On the contrary, police brutality is a national crisis, and the underlying structural violence – racism, economic injustice and militarism – is a national epidemic. Those who deny that racism is at the heart of police brutality only need to pay attention to recent news reports. For instance, in San Francisco, California – a supposedly very progressive and enlightened community, there is a serious and growing scandal uncovered by the FBI and Federal Prosecutors involoving San Francisco Police Officers sending racist and homophobic text messages. Four of the officers under investigation have been members of the police department over 10 years. Federal Prosecutors and the FBI turned over the text messages obtained from a San Francisco Officer who was recently convicted in federal court on corruption charges. The texts included: Q: Do you celebrate quanza at your school? A: Yeah we burn the cross on the field! Then we celebrate Whitmas! The convicted officer wrote to another officer the following text: Q: I hate to tell you this but my wife’s friend is over with their kids and her husband is black! He is an attorney but should I be worried?

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A: Get your pocket gun. Keep it available in case the monkey returns to his roots. It’s not against the law to put an animal down. Convicted Officer responded: Well said! The FBI found numerous texts containing racial and homophobic epithets. For instance, in response to a black officer being promoted, the convicted officer wrote, “Fuckin’ Nigger.” The frightening consequence is that these officers were patrolling the streets of San Francisco for over ten years, arresting members of the minority community and being promoted presumably as persons of character. The reality is you had virulent racist and homophobe officers patrolling the streets of San Francisco and arresting minorities. This scandal is growing: It was announced on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, that 10 more officers, including a captain, are under investigation for sending racist and homophobic texts, and have been reassigned to non-public contact duties. Unfortunately, this situation is not limited to San Francisco. A similar, but more severe, incident occurred in Charleston, West Virginia. Last September, Lt. Shawn Williams, a 16-year veteran of the Charleston Police Department, was placed on leave pending an investigation by the Charleston Police Department’s Professional Standards Division. According to media reports, Williams was being investigated over allegedly racially charged comments made on videos that depicted his 8 year old daughter dressed in what appeared to be articles of a police uniform and dancing to an anthem of the Ku Klux Klan. The refrain of the song repeats the words, “Stand up and be counted, show the world that you’re a man. Stand up and be counted, go with the Ku Klux Klan.” Moreover, a man alleged to be Williams can be heard asking the girl questions and utilizing derogatory racial language. Lt. Williams gave an interview to WCHSTV that aired on Nov. 26. He said that the videos were never made for public consumption, and that the views expressed on the video are not those that he or his family holds. He acknowledged, though, that the videos were disturbing, and that they would reasonably lead someone who does not know him to conclude that he harbored racially hostile beliefs. He said that he is not a racist. In January, he submitted his resignation one day before his scheduled hearing. Initially, Lt. Williams did not believe that he should be fired for his actions and continually and strongly hinted that others’ acts would be exposed if he wasfired or disciplined for these videos. He said that, if his behavior were placed on some theoretical racism scale at the Charleston Police Department as a 10, others would rate a 20 or 30. Moreover, last July, the Daily Mail reported that that Deputy Chief David Borst and Officer George Hunnewell, two Florida police officers, were discharged from the force after they were outed as KKK members in an FBI investigation. One officer was fired and the other resigned before the department had the opportunity to fire him.

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UrbArts opens a new exhibit this New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day featuring several local artists with striking approaches to creating art. Meet them this Friday during the 1st Friday Art Walk in Old North Saint Louis at UrbArts and support their work.

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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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LEGAL COMMUNITY cont.

If America is to have any hope of eradicating policy brutality, eliminating bias in our courts and restoring the faith of minority communities in the legal system, then it will have to employ a multi-faceted approach which will include but not be limited to, legislative, educational, economic and social reform. And at the heart of this reform will have to be our legal community. The founders of the National Bar Association – our nation’s largest and oldest organization of legal professionals – and our civil rights leaders, have always understood that any effort to advocate for civil rights HAS to have a legal component, a group of lawyers committed to eliminating discrimination that is institutionalized in the laws of our cities, states and our nation. There is ALWAYS a legal strategy behind any successful civil rights effort. Suggested Legislative Reform With respect to legislative reform, said reform must occur on the local, state and federal levels by establishing training, accountability, and de-escalation of the use of force. Until this occurs, America will continue to see police officers murder African Americans and the "law" deem it "justifiable" or "self-defense.” “The Law, in its many forms – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions, state law, and criminal codes - has played a critical role in defining the basic human principles of citizenship and equal opportunity in American.” Unfortunately, prior to the Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968, for African Americans and other people of color, the law was the primary source of inequality in America. In an effort to change this dynamic, various civil rights organizations have employed conventional strategies, such as litigation and lobbying, to abolish discrimination against African Americans. Frustrated that these tactics were not yielding any real results, civil rights leaders adopted a dual strategy of direct action and civil disobedience, including boycotts such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956); sit-ins such as the Greensboro Sit-In (1960) in North Carolina; and protest marches, as exhibited by the Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) in Alabama. These acts captured world attention and exposed America's hypocrisy: her ability to advocate for justice of others around the world but inability and refusal to give it the very individuals who helped build America herself. This dual strategy of direct action and civil disobedience was successful and resulted in legislative reform. Some of the most notable achievements of the Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) are: 1. The legal victory in the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case that overturned the legal doctrine of "separate but equal" and made segregation legally impermissible;

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2. Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that banned discrimination in employment practices and public accommodations; 3. Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that safeguarded blacks' suffrage; 4. Passage of the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965, which dramatically changed U.S. immigration policy; and 5. Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 that banned discrimination in the sale and/or rental of housing. Sixty years after the Brown decision and fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voters Rights Act, mistrust and ignorance of cultural differences between Americans of varying races continues to plague our communities. More importantly, in concept, we may have equal protection under the law, but the real question is whether we, in reality have such equal protection in our: 1. Day-day interaction with the police, 2. Day-to-day interaction with the court system, 3. Day-to-day interaction with the educational system, board of elections, the Department of Justice --- do we experience, do we enjoy, do we benefit from equal application of the law? The central problem lies in the flawed legal standard established by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1985 in Tennessee v. Garner which states in pertinent part, if an officer "… had probable cause to believe that the suspect posed a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others, he or she could use deadly force” Translation: if an officer believes his life or others’ lives are in danger or will be seriously injured, then the use of deadly force is legally permitted. However, as we’ve seen in far too many cases, police assume broad latitude with regard to the application of this decision, and the courts certainly seem to support that latitude with their decisions. The result is more police officers employing deadly force against minorities, more courts supporting those actions and more dead or wounded members of minority communities. This is unjust.

Accordingly, the National Bar Association has advocated that the grave miscarriage of injustice caused by police brutality will only be corrected by legislative reform (local, state and federal) establishing Training, Accountability, and De-Escalation of the Use of Force: LOCAL REFORM Stricter Adherence of Mental Health Testing

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LEGAL COMMUNITY cont.

Detailed & Thorough Diversity Training De-escalation of Force Training

STATE REFORM Establish an Independent Police Investigation Establish an Independent Prosecution Body(for cases involving police brutality and misconduct)

FEDERAL REFORM Mandatory Body Camera With Penalty For Tampering Succinct Definition and Training for Escalation of Force Succinct Definition and Training for Excessive Force Felony Brutality & End Racial Profiling

Certain Police Departments must be brought under Federal Oversight: In Cincinnati, the history of tension between black residents and law enforcement stretches back to at least 1967, when riots erupted following the arrest of a protester. In March 2001 a group of residents who had formed the Cincinnati Black United Front joined with the American Civil Liberties Union to bring a class-action suit against the city claiming systemic police bias. Not long after the suit was filed, on April 7, 2001, a young white cop chased an unarmed 19-year-old named Timothy Thomas down a dark alley and shot him dead, sparking three days of unrest. Within a month, the city agreed to enter mediation with the police union, the ACLU, and the Cincinnati Black United Front. While they were working on a settlement, the Justice Department found a pattern of excessive force at the CPD and said it would sue if the city didn’t agree to a reform plan. To satisfy the Justice Department, the city agreed to rewrite its use-of-force procedures, develop an early-warning system to flag problematic officers, and establish an independent citizens’ complaint board. Through the mediation to resolve the class action, the city agreed to change its overall approach from focusing on catching bad guys to “problem-oriented policing,” a strategy of working with public agencies and the community to prevent crime before it happens. Suggested Reforms of the Criminal Justice System: There must be an acknowledgement by the several states that across the country, public support for criminal justice reform is becoming increasingly clear. Mid-term voters in Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., approved the legalization of marijuana, which will help protect thousands — particularly minorities – who are disproportionately arrested for simple possession. New York

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City police recently announced that they will stop making arrests for simple marijuana possession. And California voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative, Proposition 47, that reclassified a number of nonviolent and drug-related felonies as misdemeanors and is expected to affect about 40,000 offenders a year. The campaign for Proposition 47 brought together a diverse collection of supporters, including rap icon Jay Z, Newt Gingrich, the American Civil Liberties Union and conservative billionaire B. Wayne Hughes. The movement for criminal justice reform is not going away. This month, the ACLU announced an ambitious plan to force the issue into the electoral debate, with the goal of cutting the incarceration rate in half in eight years. George Sorosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Open Society Foundations contributed $50 million to support the campaign, the largest grant in ACLU history. While any connection to Soros, a longtime boogeyman of the right, would typically send Republicans running, the billionaire Koch brothers have also shown support for criminal justice reform initiatives, such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums. This coincides with the launch of the Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom headed up by Bill Keller, formerly of the New York Times, which will focus on criminal justice issues.

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A Worldwide Reading for Condemned Poet Ashraf Fayadh

LEND US YOUR VOICE In November, a Saudi Arabian court sentenced Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh to death for “blasphemy” in his 2008 poetry collection, Instructions Within. We’re joining PEN American Center and the international human rights community in calling for Ashraf’s release. Writing poetry is not a crime.

JANUARY 14

MORE INFO

This Thursday, January 14th, we’re organizing a digital protest in solidarity with Ashraf. To take part, simply record a video of yourself reading one of Ashraf’s poems and share that video to your online networks of friends, family, and colleagues using the hashtag #FreeAshraf. Together, with only our laptops or the phones in our pockets, we’ll create a living document of Ashraf’s words, and undo the silencing intended by his inhumane and indefensible sentencing. pg.

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Lend Ashraf your voice. Record a video. P.S. If you are unable to record a video, you can still take part by following us on Twitter or Facebook, sharing any updates and videos, and urging others to do the same. LIKE US ON FACEBO OK

FOLLOW ON TWITTER

FORWAR D TO A FRIEND

New England’s chapter of PEN American Center, part of a global association of writers celebrating literature and defending free expression. We make our home at MIT, where the Arts are rooted in imagination and experimentation. Copyright © 2016 PEN New England, all rights reserved.

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Volume 2.11 January 17, 2016

Community Women Against Hardship

Celebrates Black History Month

Charitable Benefit Concert Featuring

Bethany Pickens Daughter of Legendary Jazz Pianist Willie Pickens

The Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz Sponsored by Centene Corporation “Bethany’s performance is sparked by her adventurous compositions…” Sunday, February 21, 2016 6:00pm Doors open at 5:00pm

Down Beat Magazine

“Steeped in tradition, committed to creativity” is how Bethany describes her musical outlook. “A musical menu --- something for everyone.”

Tickets $45 Joining Ms. Pickens on stage; Three Virtuoso Artist:

All tickets available via the Jazz St. Louis Box Office 3536 Washington, St. Louis, MO 63103 – (314) 571-6000 Mon. – Fri., 10am – 5pm and Saturdays, 2pm – 10pm Or online by visiting: www.jazzstl.org $1.50 fee added to purchases by phone or online Checks can also be written to Jazz St. Louis

Jeffrey Anderson, Bass,

Jerome “Scrooge” Harris, Drums

All Proceeds benefit CWAH’s Programs and Services

***Special performance by students - Institute for the Advancement of Jazz Study and Performance***

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Ms. Anita Jackson Songstress

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Way Black in Time pt. 7 The Black Archaeologist Web Series. This week on Black Archaeologist.com, YouTube:TechNubian1, Lamberton1 Facebook: Black Archaeologist Group And I Love Black Archaeologist DVD’s at http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00ZZ3K6F&PP=1

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The Black Rep Presents

The reviews are in and everyone loves Sunset Baby at The Black Rep. Get your tickets for $20 Wednesdays today!! Only 2 Wednesdays left.

The Black Rep's Sunset Baby Offers a Fearless Take on Fatherhood. By Paul Frizwald - Riverfront Times The Black Rep's production eagerly leans in to Kenyatta's fear and dares you to look away - because Sunset Baby ain't gonna blink first. It's an absorbing, thought-provoking play that reaches for the heart and succeeds in making you care about the characters and the issues they confront.

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Dominique Morisseau's Sunset Baby is no cakewalk. This is an eyeswide-open look at the responsibilities - and failings - of fathers in the black community. But it's also about hope for the future, forgiveness and the blind spots children have when it comes to their parents.

Life, fatherhood and revolutions don't always come with happy endings, and forgiveness is never an easy thing to extend to an enemy. If you can see your opponent as a human being, though - flawed, scared and as uncertain as yourself - they're much easier to embrace. And that's revolutionary thinking in action.

Fatherhood is decades of fear. Lots of fear." And this is before he learns that

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his daughter makes a living by dealing drugs and posing as a prostitute so her boyfriend can rob the clients.

Read full review here

Stormy Relationships Propel 'Sunset Baby" at The Black Rep Nina hustles the streets and deals drugs along with her boyfriend Damon to pay the rent on her modest studio apartment in Brooklyn. It's not much of a life, but she holds on to the memories of her beloved late mother, who raised her. By Mark Bretz - Ladue News Read full review here

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Sunset Baby runs now through Sunday January 31, with performances on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. All tickets Thursdays through Sundays are $ 30. You can purchase tickets by calling The Black Rep Box Office - 314 534 3807 or in person at 6662 Olive Blvd, University City, MO. Box Office hours are from 10am - 4pm Monday - Friday. Tickets can always be purchased through our website theblackrep.org (a small service fee will be charged)

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“Good Negroes” Art Gallery Opening January 18, 2016: 5:30pm Panel / Gallery talk: 7pm WGCC Art Gallery (Webster Groves Christian Church) 1320 West Lockwood Ave. St. Louis, MO 63122

Denise Ward-Brown Associate Professor of Art Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1031 One Brookings Drive Saint Louis, MO 63130-4899 Ward-Brown@wustl.edu deniseward.brown@mac.com

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OPPORTUNITIES

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AD

The Bernie Hayes Show Talk and interviews about affairs of the day with a St. Louis slant. The Bernie Hayes Show can be seen: Friday’s at 9 A.M. Saturday’s at 10:00 P.M. Sunday’s at 5:30 P.M.

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Closing in on my goal for “Fire this Time” - if everyone would do two things 1) support the making of this film with just a $20.00 donation and 2) encourage 2 of your friends to do the same - it will allow me to license some additional footage and photos - you can donate now by going here: http://www.cmt-tv.org/#!join-the-team/c1195 CMT-TV.org is a 501c3 non-profit organizations thus your donations are tax deductible - thank you - the making of this film will help me attract more resources which will allow real community filmmaking in STL -Phillip W. Johnson Producer of the #Ferguson Film Fire this Time

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CAREERS

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A big Thank You to our CONTRIBUTERS