Arts Today vol 2 9

Vol 2.9

November 17, 2015

DANCE ST. LOUIS PRESENTS...

CARMINA BURANA pg #117

At Touhill Performing Arts

View this and past issues from our website.

“EUGENIUS” COLLECTION ... pg. #14

FATHER/CHILD DR. MCCARTHY pg. #20

HEALTH TIP FITNESS BOSS pg.#100

IN THIS

ISSUE:

4

IN THE NEWS NABJ

6 OP / ED TBA

30

20 FATHER/CHILD RIGHTS DR. TRACEY MCCARTHY

SOMEWHERE ROUND 8:O’CLOCK NGOMA! SESSION

100

86 THE NEXT BETRAYAL BERNIE HAYES

TRACKING WHAT YOU EAT FITNESS BOSS

pg. 2

LIVE / WORK / PLAY NATE JOHNSON

14

10

“EUGENIUS” COLLECTION & LEARNING CTR.

34

42

VOTING MATTERS PIERRE BLAINE

FEATURED ARTIST LINDA JONES

“. . . for u, the sky’s the “unlimit”...”

Baba Sherman Fowler,

Griot and Poet

Established 2014 Volume 2.9 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.

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COPYRIGHT:

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

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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.

pg. 4

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“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.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Jamaa Habari

For Your IInformation Masanyiko ya Utani (Gathering of Allies) Last Thursday of Novemba

History and Background Masanyiko ya Utani is a celebration that recognizes our historical connection with the indigenous people of the western hemisphere, which predates european invasion. Utani celebrates the Afrikan and Native shared struggle for liberation and cultural self–determination and sheds light upon the nefarious tradition of “thanksgiving-” a history steeped in betrayal and deceit.

Afrikans and Native people had connections with each other thousands of years before the europeans brought them back together through the Transatlantic Slave Trade. At its height, the Nubian civilization traveled to western lands. Travelers from West Afrika also visited the native civilizations during the Mali and Songhai periods. Afrikans and Indians shared crafts, goods and culture. In those days, we feasted with each other, gave thanks and celebrated our connections. These connections are proven by statues depicting Afrikan visitors with hair braided in cornrows, Afrikan weapons, and armor in the americas. It is further illustrated by the presence of Afrikan cotton strands and tobacco seeds in american soil as well as Native american cotton strands and tobacco seeds in Afrika. This material culture can be traced back to hundreds of years before europeans knew how to build ships that could travel the seas. Masanyiko ya Utani celebrates this historic time and our united fight against european oppression.

The first “thanksgiving” refers to a feast that was held in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The pilgrims were initially and later sustained as a result of Wampanoag and Afrikan knowledge of horticulture and husbandry. For this help, the pilgrims infringed upon native land and made the enslavement of Afrikans a permanent part of the colonies’ culture and economy.

Those Native american groups who survived this european imperialist invasion were made refugees on their own land, then exiled to reservations. Simultaneously, additional Afrikans were brought to work for free in this land. “Thanksgiving,” which is said to be in the harvest feast tradition, in effect, celebrates Indian colonization and Afrikan enslavement.

Though linked by trade and cultural exchange in the past, this new exploitation and oppression of both Afrikan and Natives caused the two groups to unite in a common armed struggle. Afrikans who escaped from slavery joined Native villages whose people were seeking freedom from european aggression. The two groups joined to wage war against europeans. The Seminoles in Florida were said to have so many Afrikans freed from bondage joining them that many of their settlements were composed of all Afrikans.

How to Celebrate: In recognition of the shared history between Afrikans and Natives, whose beginnings predate european imperialism, we celebrate Masanyiko Ya Utani. In the home, before eating the big meal on “thanksgiving” day, words can be said about our historical connections with the native people of this land. The meal will be dedicated to the connections we held with Natives. Later, a small candle is lit and placed in the center of the table in honor of this connection, to give thanks for our blessings, and for our victory in our common struggle for cultural restoration and liberation.

For more information, contact TEACH at (314)875-9277, email us at teachorg33@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook at TEACH Jamaa or at our website- www.teachsociety.org.

pg. 8

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

LIVE WORK PLAY

Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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

I hope that you are doing well. Skipping the letter this month was certainly tempting for me, but I must admit that it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t point out a few things that are going on in St. Louis for the rest of the month. I couldn’t have said it any better than L.M. Montgomery when her character Anne of Green Gables said “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” I hope that you will join me in enjoying the rest of this splendid month!

pg. 10

1

Local Events NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER

15 thru

NOVEMBER

18

COMING Soon!

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

LIVE WORK PLAY

NOVEMBER

20

3

thru

COMING Soon!

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3 pg. 12

NOVEMBER

30

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

“Eugenius” on Display at SIUE’s Grand Opening

pg. 14

”

N

For the Eugene B. Redmond Collection and Learning Center

ow there is a place to come and appreciate more than 60 years of chronicling of the artistic world, study cultural history from around the globe, and view the photographs and works of poetic legends and other noted wordsmiths. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville held the

The Collection and Learning Center contains three rooms, said Regina McBride, PhD and LIS dean, to a crowd of more than 200 people. The reading room displays many of Redmond’s collections and artifacts and those pieces will be rotated on a regular basis. A workroom houses special collections that will be digitized in coming months. The teaching room is equipped with 24 computers, a smart board and a state-of-the-art podium.

McBride also acknowledged special guests including SIUE Interim Chancellor Stephen Hansen, SIU Board of Trustee Member Shirley Portwood and East St. Louis Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks. McBride thanked Hansen and his wife, Julia Hansen, emerita associate professor; and Howard Rambsy, PhD, English Language and Literature associate professor, for being key in developing the Learning Center.

“We are here to celebrate the art and genius of Eugene B. Redmond,” Hansen said. “As Maya Angelou wrote about him: ‘Eugene B. Redmond is the preacher of poetic rhythm, syntax and content- remarkable achievement unto itself.’”

“In a larger sense, the Center is a testament to the larger community,” Hansen continued. “It reflects our values, diversity, plurality and freedom. It makes us proud to be human beings. It calls to the better angels of our nature.”

grand opening Monday, Oct. 19 of its Eugene B. Redmond Collection and Learning Center.

Dr. Maya Angelou, the late legendary American author, poet, dancer, actress and personal friend of Redmond,

“To have a home for all the many sundry and varied things that I have come across and often held onto for more than 60 years is too wonderful for me to grasp,” said Dr. Eugene B. Redmond,

also wrote:

SIUE English Language and Literature emeritus professor. “I came from a family where all the siblings did not finish high school. I became an English professor who specializes in African American multicultural thought and expression, and then to have it further culminated in the naming of a Learning Center after me is almost in the words of James Baldwin ‘unspeakable.’” The collection covers from the impact of Emmett Till and Rosa Parks in 1955 until the present.

The University’s Library and Information Services (LIS) acquired the sizable and impressive collection from Redmond, cofounder of the Eugene B. Redmond Writer’s Club, founding editor of Drumvoices Revue, East St. Louis Poet Laureate and affectionately known as “EBR.” Redmond’s collection has a unique historical record of African American and multicultural arts movements and integrates research in the fields of art, folklore, literature, poetry, history, dance, music, drama, photography, diversity and culture.

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

“He has also amassed a one-of-a-kind collection that deserves to be placed under one roof and made available to scholars, teachers, the general public and especially children. Therefore, I am pleased to support the creation of the Eugene B. Redmond Learning Center in the Elijah P. Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.”

The night was peppered with poetry readings from Redmond and members and friends of the EBR Writer’s Club. Many read a kwansaba, which is a poetic devise devised by the Writer’s www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

EUGENIUS cont.

Club and is a seven-line poem with seven words on each line, and no one word more than seven letters. Others giving poetic offerings included Darlene Roy, EBR Writers Club president and Writers Club co-founder; Sherman L. Fowler, Writers Club co-founder; Charlois Lumpkin, Roscoe Crenshaw and Jaye P. Lewis, all Writers Club members; and Charles Blackwell, friend of the Writers Club.

The idea of the Center germinated with Rambsy.

“When I first visited professor’s home in 2003. I was walking up the steps to the second floor, I froze when I saw the photo of Sonia Sanchez and Toni Morrison touching heads,” Rambsy said.

“I said we have to do an exhibit of your collection and work.”

Rambsy first learned about Redmond’s research and writing on African American poetry in 1997 and came to the University for the sole purpose of being able to work with Redmond.

Rambsy and Redmond worked together to form the Eugene B. Redmond Collection and held its first public exhibit in February 2004.

Redmond is also an award-winning author/editor of several dozen books, journals and anthologies. As Literary Executor of the estate of Henry Dumas (1934-1968), and in collaboration with writers such as Amiri Baraka and Toni Morrison, he has edited several volumes of Dumas’ works.

pg. 16

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 18

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Father /

Responding to a Pervasive Culture

Father and Child Rights: Responding to a Pervasive Culture of Father-Child Alienation Dr. Tracey McCarthy, Psy.D., DCFC, J.D., M.A. Psychologist/Attorney/Educator Webster University - Legal Studies Department Benchmark Organizational Learning and Development, LLC DrTraceyMcCarthy@live.com -Father AbsenceIt is time for more fathers to be more consistently active in the lives of their children. The overall wellbeing of children, families, and society requires such increase.

To the detriment of children, parents, families, and society, however, there has been a dearth of research conducted on the issue of father-child relatedness and attachment. This is, likely, due to higher rates of unmarried mothers automatically assuming sole custody, unmarried fathers refusing to assume sole or joint custody, and courts granting sole custody to unmarried or divorcing mothers when unmarried or divorcing fathers do not mount a sufficient case for the awarding of father custody. Such lack of empirical attention is also, likely, due to researchers having a bias towards focusing on mothers in understanding the lives of children.

Regardless of the reasons for the empirical lack, children, parents, families, and society benefit from increased positive interactions between fathers and their children. Children need healthy and present fathers to be directly and consistently involved in overall child development.

Whether parents are aware, both mothers and fathers benefit from the consistent involvement of healthy fathers in the lives of their children.

Although researchers (Gunnoe & Braver, 2001) determined that some mothers tend to be less satisfied with joint custody arrangements and increased father-child contact, it has also been discovered that joint custody arrangements result in higher rates of father-child interaction and lower child adjustment problems. To the mother’s benefit, joint custody has also tended to result in joint custodial mothers being able to more rapidly re-partner than those with sole custody.

The overall lives and custody of children, however, need to be based upon more than the mother’s needs and predilections and the father’s conveniences. When the courts are involved in custody decisions, many parents are in the dark regarding what will be considered in making a custody determination in the best interest of the minor children.

-Knowledge is PowerWhile each state has unique child custody laws, and parents tend to rely on attorneys to assert their custodial interests in court, each parent needs to be at least rudimentarily aware of the issues considered by courts in order to be more informed regarding the rhyme and reason for court custody determinations. Such information also provides parents with a better understanding of what they should likely be focusing on in providing their children with a healthy set of life circumstances.

pg. 20

/ ChildRights

e of Father-Child Alienation

Too often, fathers approach child custody issues in a feckless manner and wrongly assume that the mothers (regardless of their actual readiness for parenting) should have sole custody of any and all children. However, unless a father is incarcerated, has an active addiction to drugs or alcohol, or has a penchant for using physical or emotional violence to solve many of life’s concerns, all fathers need to be actively involved in their child’s life. In many instances, fathers need to be in joint, if not sole, custody of their minor children. When they assume the responsibility of active parenting and custody assumption, fathers quickly discover that their children are significantly better off than such would be and have been in the father’s absence.

When men impregnate women and create life, such men need to understand that the creation of any and all life comes with not only rights related to such life but responsibilities on behalf of such life. Fathering comes with a right to determine what might be in the best interest of children with respect to health, education, and general wellbeing and care. Such rights also come with a responsibility to provide essential food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare for minor children.

These fathering responsibilities begin during pregnancy and extend throughout childhood. Hence, fathers need to be exceedingly prudent in who they chose to mother their children. Good fathering means choosing good mothering for their children. Too often, however, fathers negligently choose mothers for their children in ways that are wholly inconsistent with what is in the best interests of children, families, and society. (Many mothers are equally culpable in selecting inappropriate fathers for their children.)

Courts, nevertheless, are charged with creating custody dynamics that maximize benefits to dependent children and society.

-What Does Child “Custody” Mean?In Missouri, pursuant to RSMO 452, custody is broken down into five primary types which include: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Joint legal custody Sole legal custody Joint physical custody Sole physical custody Third party custody -Sole versus Joint Custody-

"Joint legal custody" involves both parents sharing authority and responsibility regarding health, education, and welfare of the child. Generally, this type of custody involves parents being required to consult with each other when exercising such rights and responsibilities - similar to consulting when married with children.

“Sole legal custody” grants the authority and responsibility of decision making regarding health, education, and welfare to only one parent.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

FATHER / CHILD RIGHTS cont.

"Joint physical custody" is another form of shared custody. This type of custody, however, involves providing each parent with substantial live-in time with the child. With joint physical custody, the child resides with both parents alternately. In this case, when the child is living with the custodial parent, that parent is primarily responsible for providing basic care and supervision. The idea behind joint physical custody is that the child will be assured continuing, frequent, and meaningful contact with each parent.

“Sole physical custody” grants one parent the ability to have the child living completely in residence with one parent.

-The Third Party Custody AlternativeIf a court determines that both parents are unfit, unsuitable, or completely unable care for their children, the court may grant temporary custody or visitation to any other person(s) determined by the court as able to provide an adequate and stable environment for the child.

“Third party custody” is generally granted to a non-parent (such as the state, a grandparent, a family member, or other) when it has been determined that neither parent is an appropriate parent for a child. This tends to occur when the parents are dangerously mentally ill, habitually abusive, habitually neglectful, or unwilling to assume their parenting responsibilities.

-The Best Interest of the Child: Determining CustodyRegardless of the custody determination, courts make such determinations based upon what is known as “The Best Interest Test.” This Test involves courts considering several factors prior to awarding custody of minor children.

Custodial Determination Factors: 1. Parental Desires a. Principally, the court considers the wishes of the child's parents regarding custody and the proposed parenting plan submitted by each parent. Wishes of parents that are consistent with what is best for the child will tend to be considered favorably by courts. This means that when parents are focused on the child’s needs such will, likely, be positively noted by the courts.

2. Child Relations a. Courts also consider the child’s actual needs for continuing, frequent, and significant relationships with both the mother and father. This means that courts consider the willingness and potential of each parent to perform their duties as father and mother on behalf of the child’s needs. b. When determining custody, courts also take into consideration the child’s relationships and interactions with the parents, the siblings, extended family members, and any person who may substantially impact a child’s best interests.

This includes assessing the impact of significant others (including new spouses and romantic partners) of the parents on the child. Out of concern regarding the

pg. 22

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FATHER / CHILD RIGHTS cont.

child’s relationships, courts will often order psychological evaluations of various individuals who may be involved in the care of the child, particularly the parents. c. One of the challenges parents have to negotiate is meeting their child’s needs while balancing such with their own developmental (career, social, spiritual, physical, and emotional) needs. This is a fine balancing act, which should be addressed with prudence and much forethought. Healthy and balanced men and women make for the most balanced and healthy parents for children.

3. Support for Meaningful Parental Contact a. Due to concerns over parental alienation, courts are very interested in understanding which of the parents is most likely to support the child in having continuing, frequent, and meaningful contact with the child’s other parent. This is highly important, as some parents are more concerned with using the child as a pawn and tool in dealing with the other parent than with actually providing the child with the most physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, and spiritually fulfilling childhood possible.

4. Child’s Overall Adjustment a. Courts also pay attention to the child’s adjustment to the current home, the child’s current school, and the child’s current community. Courts, therefore, seek to maintain the child’s stability in the home, school, and community. This means that parents are also tasked with determining how to best support the child’s stability in multiple contexts.

5. Mental & Physical Health of Significant Persons a. The courts are particularly concerned with the mental and physical health of all parties involved in the child’s life. If the court finds that a pattern of domestic violence (child or adult abuse) has occurred, courts consider such in the awarding of custody and visitation. (Unfortunately, courts do not always act consistent with the best interests of children when abusive circumstances exist.)

6. Parental Relocation Plans a. Courts also consider a parent’s plans to relocate children from their principal residence. Again, some parents may be prone to make decisions inconsistent with a child’s needs, which may include needlessly disrupting a child’s stability in school and the community. Each state, however, has a vested interested in maintaining children in the original home state and in maintaining overall stability for the child. Oddly, some parents have no problems with moving forward with their own lives, and leaving the state, while abandoning their children to be raised primarily by the other parent - or by any other person who is willing to take on the quasi “parenting” role.

7. Child’s Desires

pg. 24

a. Courts want to know what the children desire in terms of custodial situations. This may result in awarding custody of children in a differential manner. For many reasons, that may have little or nothing to do with a child’s love for a parent, a child may believe it in their best interest to be in the primary physical custody of a particular parent. The wishes of older children are, likely, given greater weight than the wishes of younger children. To protect the child, the court may determine it best to question the child about his or her wishes and experiences in private and away from the parents.

8. Abuse Histories a. Finally, there are some instances when a court will not award custody or unsupervised visitation to a particular parent. This includes instances where a parent has been found guilty (or pleads guilty) of certain felony abuses (e.g. sexual abuse) of the child in question. The court also seeks to determine if a child may be at risk of harm from one who may be residing with a parent. Sadly, some parents have no qualms about placing their child in harm’s way in relation to themselves or potentially abusive others.

-Custodial Sex & Gender Discrimination PreventionWhile it may seem that mothers are more frequently granted custody over fathers, the fact is that some fathers never pursue custody and the mother is awarded such based upon this fact.

When fathers do seek the awarding of some form of custody, however, the courts are not to give custodial preference simply based upon a parent's age, sex, or financial status, nor because of the age or sex of the child. This is consistent with very early findings by Christopher Tillitski (1992) which supported the contention that actual parenting skills and actual parenting adjustment, versus sex and gender, are the most significant variables in the adjustment of children after a divorce.

As more fathers step up to the plate to demand their parenting rights and responsibilities, more fathers will be found in possession of such. As more fathers assume their custodial and care rights and responsibilities, society will likely see healthier children who experience significantly better physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and educational outcomes.

-The Best Interest of Children and FathersChildren need their fathers and, while such may be largely overlooked in the research, the developmental outcomes of fathers are likely improved by their increased and consistent involvement in their children’s lives. Accordingly, as a society, every effort needs to be expended to support father-child relations and increased father custody and visitation. This should include courts actually ordering reluctant fathers to increase their involvement in the lives of their minor children. While a father’s financial support of children is crucial, emotional and social support of minor children, by the father, is also paramount. Just ask any man or woman who has had to go without.

Cited Sources:

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

FATHER / CHILD RIGHTS cont.

Gunnoe, M. & Braver, S. (2001). The effects of joint legal custody on mothers, fathers, and children controlling for factors that predispose a sole maternal versus joint legal award. Law and Human Behavior, 25(1), 25-43.

Missouri Revised Statutes (RSMO) Chapter 452 (Dissolution of Marriage, Divorce, Alimony and Separate Maintenance).

Tillitski, C. (1992). Fathers and child custody: Issues, trends, and implications for counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 14(3), 351-361.

This information is for general educational purposes only. It should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between any reader or recipient and the author. If a child or family requires legal assistance involving a child law/juvenile law matter, a private attorney should be consulted. A list of licensed attorneys can generally be obtained from the Missouri Bar, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.

pg. 26

Black Caesar The Pirate, 1718.

The Black Archaeologist Web Series.

Black Caesar The Pirate, from the 1700’s, will be featured in the next Black Archaeologist episode in early November. Check out the series at Black Archaeologist.com, YouTube:TechNubian1, Lamberton1 Facebook: Black Archaeologist Group And I Love Black Archaeologist

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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

Call in at 1-855-525-5683

pg. 28

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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pg. 30

Saturday November 28th 2015, Somewhere Round 8:O’Clock David A. N. Jackson, founding Artistic & Producing Director of: The HOTBOX Virtualclub.STL hosts and presents

“A SATURDAY NIGHT NGOMA SESSION” featuring NIM “NGOMA In Motion”

with other special Guest Artists, Word Warriors, and Community Members Come join in this NGOMA SESSION as it returns to the U City Loop Area root where it all began and flourished at LaPatisserie Cafe back in the early 90’s; where for 4.5 years there was an indelible mark carved out in Saint Louis that literally affected the local, regional and national arts scene.

The energy, lore, spirit and magic of these weekly gatherings still echoes a lasting effect of those 4.5 years (1992 - 1996;) The sounds, feel, relationships, community ties, institutions built, achievements, challenges and victories still resonate and reverberate deep throughout the area and certainly deep within the heart and soul of all those who experienced and shared it with others.

The evening’s proceedings will be Complete with familiar faces, Ourstory, Community News, Nzuri Habari Gani, and the customery DRUM!!! DANCE!!! & SONGOETRY!!! There will be Merchant Vendors, Food, Music, Smiles, Hugs, Remembrances, Memories, and Great News shared all around in the midst of Great Cultural Positive Vibrations

Advance Reserved Admission Tickets are $15.00 per person General Admission at the Door $20.00 per person https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somewhere-round-8oclock-a-saturday-night-ngoma-session-tickets-19023918051 Reserved Seating At The Door DOS 25.00 per person (limited number available).

Facility Doors open at 6:00pm with access to Marketplace.

Ngoma Session featuring NIM in performance beginning SWA 8:00 pm.

Street Parking. Off street Parking available on the Metro Lot behind the Pageant.

This community gathering and public family friendly event is also a fundraiser to support and assist a chosen local organization working with youth to achieve it’s goals. Therefore in addition to the SILENT AUCTION, and ORAL AUCTION being held that evening; A portion of the ticket proceeds go to benefit GOOD JOURNEY Development Foundation; a community organization whose goal and mission is to provide and foster a ‘GOOD JOURNEY …developing young leaders, providing skills, experiences, opportunities and encouragement for success’.

I encourage and ask that you to please go to and visit their website to learn more about the programs they offer.

www.goodjourney.org • https://www.facebook.com/GoodJourneySTL •

For more information regarding - Vendor Booth Space, Group Sales, Special seating ADA, or requests for Souvenir Ad Book Space or Sponsorship contact David A. N. Jackson via (314) 884-1819 (Call or Text) and or via email: ishallwearacrown@gmail.com SUB: NGOMA! LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON - HARAMBEE!!! TICKETS ON SALE!!

On FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/events/1001601469900826/ All EVENTS http://allevents.in/e/1001601469900826 TICKETS - http://www.eventbrite.com/e/somewhere-round-8oclock-a-saturday-night-ngoma-session-tickets-19023918051

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NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO: ALL COMMUNICATION MEDIA FROM: THE HOTBOX Virtual Club STL RE: NGOMA SESSION NOVEMBER 28 FUNDRAISER BENEFITS GOOD JOURNEY FOUNDATION Further information: Contact David A.N. Jackson at: 314-884-1819 and/or email: ishallwearacrown@gmail.com The HOTBOX Virtual Club STL is proud to present a “Saturday Night NGOMA Session “ on Saturday, November 28, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. with NGOMA in Motion ( NIM) and other special guest artists at the Regional Arts Commission located at 6128 Delmar Boulevard.

“Saturday Night, Somewhere Around 8 O’clock “ for 4 ½ years in the early 90s was the familiar opening of the weekly communal gathering known as NGOMA which was held at LaPatisserie Café in the U City Loop area. In many African countries, Ngoma ( N Go Mah) performances centers on the power of communal participation and summarizes the holistic connection between music, dance, other arts, society, and life force. In the Swahili people, it centers on poetry. In all of the cultures, the “Drum” is a central and customary feature of Ngoma!

During the early 90s, the weekly gathering in Saint Louis came to symbolize a communal participation of cultural artists’ celebration which left an indelible mark that literally impacted the local, regional and national arts scene.

According to David A.N. Jackson, Founding Artistic Director of the HOTBOX Virtual Club STL, “this is a special Saturday

Night NGOMA Session which will include a Merchant Vendor Market, food, and a Silent Auction fundraiser to support and benefit Good Journey Development Foundation , a 501 (c ) 3 non- profit organization whose mission is to provide leadership skills, experiences and encouragement for success and/or a good journey to youth.”

Jackson adds, “Within the Spirit of humankind, NGOMA can serve as not only a cultural impetus which can

foster community goodwill, but it can also offer a healing balm to our community, and others like it.”

Facility doors will open at 6 p.m. with access to the Marketplace. For more information regarding Vendor space, Group Sales, Special Seating, or requests for Souvenir Ad Book Space/Sponsorship contact David A.N. Jackson at 314-884-1819 or via email at ishallwearacrown@gmail.com, sub: NGOMA Advance Reserved Admission Tickets are: 15 dollars per person and a general admission of 20 dollars at the door. Co-sponsors/ support for this event includes the Regional Arts Commission, First Civilizations, and Good Journey Development Foundation.

Ticket information is available – Eventbrite.com Somewhere-Round-8oclock-A-Saturday-Night-Ngoma-Session http://www.eventbrite.com/e/somewhere-round-8oclock-a-saturday-night-ngoma-session-tickets-19023918051?aff=es2

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

VOTING

MATTERS

pg. 36

By Pierre Blaine Excerpt from forthcoming book – Movement.

J

anuary 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the first AfricanAmerican elected President of the United States of America.

For those of you who still do not grasp the significance of that victory, go out and purchase a poster with all the presidents of the United States on it and look at it. On that fateful day, many blacks wept as they saw the whole history of blacks in America flash before their very eyes witnessing something that they thought they would never see in their lifetimes. Barack Obama stood on the shoulders of Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Shirley Chisholm, and yes, Jesse Jackson, Sr. to name only a few…

But he did not do it alone, he needed all of us who could imagine that this was possible for the United States of America by registering and voting in 2008 and 2012. Voting Matters and it matters now more than ever. Currently, there is a lot of movement around disenfranchising those who are Black, Hispanic, elderly, those classified as felon, immigrant and anyone Republican legislatures think are going to vote for Democrats. The real point is that Republican legislatures are trying to solve a voting fraud issue that does not exist. There are very few cases where anyone goes into a voting booth and masquerades as someone else. The Voter ID requirements are the New Poll Taxes used to purge voting rolls and disenfranchise minority voters. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, Asians and young voters all came together and achieved something which the conservatives through laws, customs and intimidation never intended to happen ever in the United States of America.

And for the first time in voting history, Blacks voted at a higher rate than whites in 2012. The coalition that President Obama stitched together in his historic achievement must stay together in the next presidential election cycle.

Voting rights and The Court and Governance for example must be challenged as the Supreme Court decision gutted section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 failing to acknowledge that the same states are purposely denying the right to vote to Blacks in the 21st century just as they did in the 20th century and before. We must challenge governance issues that continue to use race as the underlying cause for not governing because the primary objective is to make the President a one-term President.

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We the people must support legislation to fix a voting system that would deny any citizen the right to vote.

According to the Census Bureau, non-whites made up 26.3% of all voters and the non-white population is expected to increase from 33.9% to 37.8% by 2020 and 54.8% by 2060. The train of multiculturalism cannot be stopped – the demographics of the United States becoming more Hispanic, more Asian, African-American and immigrant are unstoppable. The question the American people must understand and act upon will be are we going to become the United States of America?

Are we going to attack the institutionalization of racism and relegate it to the dust heap of ancient history it deserves to be in a multicultural, democratic, republic nation? Are we going to turn to each other and not on each other? Do you realize that as necessary as this coalition is to the future development of a progressive movement going forward that in the last election cycle 58% of whites voted against the president? We cannot allow that to happen. How important is voting? The Republican Congress has voted to block: Veterans Jobs Bill Wall Street Reform Immigration Reform Political Ads Disclosure Small Business Jobs Act Affordable Care Act Voted against 33 times to Repeal Tax on companies shipping jobs overseas Dream Act Jobs Bill Do you think that just maybe if these bills had passed maybe you would be feeling the Recovery which has reduced unemployment from 10% when President Obama came in to office to 5% now?

Elections Matter. Isn’t it amazing that as you get closer to elections that the nations’ business that has not been able to get done all of a sudden can get done? So, after years of total obstructionism and just say no, the House of Representatives passed a two-year budget which extends the nation’s debt limit through 2017 which is basically what the job of the Congress is once they are elected and in a position to govern. Do not be lullabied - the real agenda is happening all around you and stealing the next election may be a real possibility. But only if we do not shine a light www.the-arts-today.com

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VOTING MATTERS cont.

on what is happening and be vigilant challenging the purging of voters and doing activities which are designed to retard the vote.

Strict voter requirements mean that voters without acceptable identification must vote provisional ballot and must take additional steps after the Election Day for their vote to count. Non-strict voter requirements mean at least some voters without acceptable identification have an option to cast a ballot that will be counted without further action on the part of the voter. In the state of Missouri, bills have been introduced to so called strengthen existing Voter ID laws: Is it an accident that Voter ID laws are going into effect in states with Republican majorities in their legislatures and with Republican governors?

Make no bones about it not only are Republican legislatures suppressing the vote in this country, but they are using the Supreme Court of the United States to validate the 21st century version of voter suppression. The Supreme Court, in its 2013 decision, weakens the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, states and localities with a history of racial discrimination needed to get permission from the federal government to enact any changes to their voting laws – a process called ‘preclearance’. This law affected nine states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia – states which needed to get permission to change voting laws precisely because they were deliberately suppressing the vote. This oversight by the federal government was not just a Southern strategy but it also applied to: California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota, and Michigan.

Why, because these states implemented literacy tests, and other voter suppression techniques to deny African-Americans the vote.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America decided in Shelby County v. Holder 5-4 that preclearance is unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment, which gives states the power to regulate elections. The Court said that since the preclearance formula was based on 40-year old facts having no logical relation to the present day – it is unconstitutional. Specifically, the Court found that the Section 4 formula which determined the jurisdictions subject to the preclearance of voting laws under Section 5 of the Act to be unconstitutional.

The formula struck down identified states that historically implemented voting tests or devises which had 50 percent or less voter registration and/or turnout as of 1964, 1968, and 1972. The law originally was designed for preclearance to expire in 5 years but the Congress reauthorized it 4 times and in 2006 which was to be in effect for another 25 years or just as the United States of America will become a minoritymajority. Justices Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Alito, and Thomas argued that the formula is based on the past which cannot take in to account the progress that has been made in America in terms of voting participation and the election of AfricanAmericans to public office since 1965. Also, the Justices went on to leave the door open for the Congress to write a new formula which would be based on current practices that justify continued use of the preclearance on states that continue to implement strategies that undermine minority voting patterns.

The dissenting Justices on the other hand found that the Congress submitted compelling evidence that the states in question continue to engage in activities that substantially deny minorities the full potential of exercising their right to vote without arbitrary obstacles. Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan argue that preclearance is essential to prevent current undermining of voting of minorities. Even now minorities and others experience obstacles like moving voting places without warning, telling voters that if they vote they will be arrested, overly burdensome voter ID requirements, disallowing former felons to vote, purging voter rolls, not counting votes, companies who make electronic voting machines hacking those machines to increase Republican votes.

Thomas Mann, Senior Fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution wrote the article “Voting Rights After Shelby County v. Holder” comes to the conclusion that because of a dysfunctional Congress it will be impossible to correct the formula and base it on current data of obstructionism in voting. He further concluded that section 4 was the most potent tool this country had in place to deliver the objectives of the Civil War Amendments. Furthermore, because of the Supreme Court decision he believes that it will be a long time before we can develop the consensus to renew Sections 4 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In the 21st century our country is going to finally put this bigotry and hatefulness to rest because if the United States is pg. 38

going to be the shining city on a hill for the rest of the worldit must.

So, check your voting cards in Missouri and make sure you know where your polling places are and if they have been changed find out where. In Missouri, we have more than one type of ID that is acceptable to identify yourself to vote. If you are not registered to vote, register before the deadline to participate in this election cycle.

Find out whether your relatives in other states are having trouble with Voter ID laws and tell them to make the case that if they need them to vote then challenge the state to provide free ID cards for them and if they are not provided – have those individuals sue in court to provide them so they can vote. If you have any issues with relatives and friends in other states where this is an issue have them to contact the NAACP in their city and state.

We can and we shall make real the promises of this nation – because that is our job as Americans.

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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 pg. 40

Are you a choreographer who started a dance company? Did you major in philosophy or art history? Are you someone with a 9-5 job who runs an arts organization in your “spare” time? You’re an accidental arts administrator!

Tuesday, Dec. 1

4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Accidental Arts Administrator, which is co-presented by the Arts and Education Council, Missouri Arts Council and Regional Arts Commission, covers working with a board of directors, marketing, fundraising and financial management. Participants receive a 100-page manual, and refreshments are served. and...Strategic Planning Fundamentals Wednesday, December 2 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Too many strategic plans sit on a shelf and gather dust. Based on “The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution: Real-Time Strategic Planning in a Rapid-Response World” by David La Piana, this interactive, jargon-free workshop will help you develop an approach to planning that answers your organization’s big questions and enables your staff and board members to think and act strategically.

Accidental Arts Administrator workshops are held in the Regional Arts Commission’s building, 6128 Delmar. Free parking behind the Pageant or in the MetroLink lot. Advance registration is $20 per organization plus $5 for each additional person from the same organization who attends. Registration at the door is $35 per person. Tuition covers both sessions. Sorry, no discounts for attending just one session.

Registration Form House Calls for Nonprofits

Our FREE House Calls program offers hands-on training directly to arts organizations during their regular board meetings. This free training program includes a 20-minute presentation by a St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts volunteer or staff member, ten minutes for questions and easy-to-understand hand-outs. Organizations pick the date, time and location. Training options include: Board Excellence, Financial Oversight, Legal Duties of Nonprofit Boards, Developing a Freedom of Expression Policy, The Art of Conflict Resolution and Evaluating the Executive Director. To request a House Calls speaker, please call 314/863-6930.

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 Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Click image to

WATCH NOW! pg. 42

ST. JUDE HERO 2015 NYC Marathon for kids w/ cancer

Need your help!

St. Jude and I just need 20 more of you to support kids with cancer.

HEY EVERYONE! I am running the 2015 New

York City Marathon for the second time in November.

I am raising money once again for St. Jude @ StJude, the great hospital for children with cancer.

I am very close to my goal of $3500, and simply need 20 more of you to donate $25 each as soon as you are able, and then I am done and can focus strictly on training for the marathon. Can you please take a few minutes today to make a $25 donation? It would really mean a lot to me. Thank you so much in advance, and here is the link to donate: http://tinyurl.com/nb7p3e3 And if you have previously donated

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Kevin Powell Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Featured

Artist

Submission

About . . .

Linda Darnece Jones is a writer and visual artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. She shares her artistic works and writings at community events, exhibits, and at private showings.

Her works and messages are designed to inspire, entertain and celebrate life’s special moments. Linda is a former college and non-profit program administrator. She has a B.S. from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and a M.S. in Counseling and Art Therapy from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Linda is a formidable poet and has published three (3) poetry chap books. pg. 44

Linda Darnece Jones

Style and inspiration . . .

Linda is currently developing several artistic and literary projects that are inspirational and historical in nature. She is a noted poet and paints historical, abstract and whimsical renderings. Utilizing techniques developed as a student under local artist and gallery owner, Solomon Thurman. Her preferred media are acrylics and watercolor.

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Services, concepts and clientele . . .

JJK Youth Center/Greater East St. Louis Comm. Fund Back to Basics – North Area Comm. Dev. Corp.

Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

St. Louis County Library Brotherly Love West Christian Assembly JMHRDA – St. Louis Freedom Schools

Kingdom House - Catherine Dunham KAI- YMCA Old Tymers – Y Circus History SO Project St. Louis Public Library – Art & Poetry Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Workshops

Awards and community projects . . .

2014 Teacher, East St. Louis Community Fund “Our Town” Workshop – JJK Center, Illinois 2014 Artist, Jah’z Art Private Gallery, Celebrate “Creative ConneXions” Art Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of St. Louis 2014 Artist, Various Community Art Exhibits 2013-2014 Emerging Artist Program – St. Louis Art Fair 2013 Black Expressions 2.0 – Washington University – Invited Artist 2011 10th Street Gallery Grand Opening – Invited Artist 2011 April Exhibit St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch – Invited Artist 2009 Missouri Botanical Gardens Earthways Center Summer Solstice Benefit 2009 Art Exhibits - Hyde Park House Tour; Downtown Loft Tour 2008 St. Louis Congo Run/Walk – Queeny Park 1st Place Prize “Cries in the Congo” 2007 “Speak Up St. Louis” – American Democracy Project/Exhibit Regional Arts Commission 2004 “The Adventure Begins” (Lewis & Clark Exhibit) – Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO 1997 St. Louis Urban League’s Vaughn Cultural Center – 1st Place, Poetry Slam

Contact Information: Linda Darnece Jones, Creative Designer C LDJ Creations ldarnece@hotmail.com Phone: 314-541-2818/ 314-621-1736

Facebook: Linda Darnece Jones

pg. 46

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MasterP © DER 2010

The purpose of pain is to propel us towards the Potter’s House to be in His presence preparing for our promotion with the Promise Keeper who has a plan and a purpose for our public life – pontificators of the Gospel. Master P’s plan is to prosper us in this life if we position ourselves through the power of corporate and private prayer. So, praise the Lord for the privilege of His passionate pursuit of us while we sit in perfect peace with our mind stayed on Him in the process. Press on towards the promised blessing spoken prophetically knowing… “By His stripes, we are healed!” Please keep the proper perspective in all ponderings knowing that practicing the presence of God provides you with the protection that only He can give. Yes, these are perilous times, but Master P will prevail over every predicament you find yourself placed in. Don’t placate people (especially your peers) by compromising the Gospel. Instead, persistently pursue the pure unadulterated truth found in Master P. And just who is He – this Master P? He is the Great I AM. He is Abba Father. He is the promulgation of all truth. He is the Master Promise Keeper. No problem is too great or too small.

He can (and will) handle them all. Why? It pleases the Father when His people are positioned for service and patterning themselves after His precious Son, Jesus. Perhaps you need to do some purging and pruning in your life in order to stay connected to the vine. Don’t let pride prevent you from your rightful place in God’s Kingdom. Don’t allow pitfalls to push you away from prominence in Master’s P’s perfect will for your life. Don’t play games nor pursue unrighteousness. Pay attention and the Great Physician will pave the way for you on this prestigious road called destiny! Pity the one who parlays his soul trying to profit with the riches of this world. Don’t take the path of the Prodigal son. Instead, Party with the Prince of Peace – because foolish preaching it is not! He is a Prominent and prolific writer; His Word cuts like a two-edged sword. Why would a good God permit such practices? It’s all about our posture- are you positioned in prayer petitioning God for His divine will and prophetic Word for your life? Understand this; discipline is necessary because it produces spiritual growth. Punishment causes pain, but it produces power through prayer. You’ve heard it said before, “No pain – No gain!” After all, pain is all about love and love having its perfect work in us. (Ephesian 4:17-31) Divine providence at its best! Who wouldn’t want to participate in Master P’s program? Precious in His sight are we.

“Thank you Lord for being our Shepherd, making us lie down in the green pasture and leading us beside the still water!”

Let’s praise the Potter – because we are planned, purposed, pretty, fearfully and wonderfully made!

Amen.

“Sista Rev. Denita E. Robinson”

pg. 68

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MUST- VIEW New Orleans and HURRICANE KATRINA:

10 Years Later

Click Here to WATCH NOW!

pg. 70

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

What Makes a Leader?

Why don’t we Appreciate them More?

The Ferguson tragedy involving the killing of 18-year old Black male, Michael Brown, last year in August ought to be viewed against a larger backdrop of activism and leadership in American culture. The controversy of police violence against unarmed African Americans erupted into a blitz of criticism, calling for deeper systemic changes and reforms.

Surprisingly, cynics scoffed that inadequate Black leadership is a contributor to the problem. This writer recalls on more than one occasion where African Americans were voicing complaints about anemic or compromised Black leadership. This criticism might at first glance seem rather puzzling, sort of coming out of the blue as a misguided or peculiar analysis. But there may me some plausible explanations for this thinking. Perhaps there’s insufficient understanding of the concept of leadership?

Firstly, it’s important to have a good definition. As there are as many definitions as “stars in the skies.” Secondly, it’s important to distinguish between leaders who are celebrities and those who not. If a leader isn’t a famous person with a big household name and therefore absent from the spotlight, is she or he a leader?

It sort of raises the old philosophical question: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Or to put it another way: “How do we know what we know?”

A Useful Definition of Leadership A leader effectively communicates vision and values while organizing and influencing followers or members to achieve a goal.

Leaders don’t have to be brilliant, audacious or even charismatic. That is the stuff of Hollywood lore. The general leading his troops over the hill makes for good cinema but not necessarily systemic change.

Warren Bennis, well-known leadership consultant said: “The leader … is rarely the brightest person in the group. Rather, they have extraordinary taste, which makes them more curators than creators. They are appreciators of talent and nurturers of talent and they have the ability to recognize valuable ideas.”

Systemic change calls for a paradigm shift with no double standards. It’s a crucial and radical shift away from a racist system, including eliminating White supremacy, dismantling systematic bias and in its place fashioning policies and practices with strong enforcement where everyone competes without impediments.

That is a tall order. Therefore it takes a number of committed key actors throughout the ranks in a unified fashion with a common goal to bring about positive change. To that end, there’s no such thing as the lone wolf or the lone leader at the top waving a magic wand. What’s more, there’re different types of leaders; they don’t necessarily fit a particular mold.

W.E.B. Dubois, father of the modern day civil rights movement, believed that oppressed people should be their own agents of social change. Which means there should be a mass movement; including leaders at all levels; from the bottom, to the middle to the top -- in solidarity.

To only look toward the famous person at the top seems like expecting the Great King or Queen on the proverbial white horse to come to the rescue, swooping up victims and galloping off into the sunset. Therefore, leadership shouldn’t be elitist. Dubois also believed that the petit bourgeoisie was too selfish and self–seeking to lead the race forward and called for more focus on guiding the masses. It takes a humongous effort to defeat the giant juggernaut of systematic racism, likened to an immovable force meeting an unstoppable object. So the notion that the problem is lack of leadership is rejected out-of- hand. In fact there’re lots of effective leaders in St. Louis; it’s just that the opposition is so strong and powerful, it frequently mutes, suppresses or infiltrates. pg. 72

Hence, leaders and their organizations may go unnoticed, unrecognized and many times weakened.

Leadership characteristics can be as mystical as unicorns and as difficult to put a finger on. It’s complex, convoluted and very individualized. To add to the confusion, leadership is mistakenly imbued as White and masculine. Men of color and all women once given the chance to lead are just as effective and in many instances, surpass White males. Despite the lack of clarity about the meaning of leadership, below are some characteristics that could shed more light on this ill-defined concept:

Leadership Characteristics Abstract thinking Adapts quickly to change Ambition Analytical Astuteness Creative Decisive Enterpriser Effective communicator Enthusiasm Integrity Open mindedness Perseverance

Recognizing opportunities Risk taker Tackles unpleasantness Team leader (creating and building) Willingness to work hard A way to know whether a leader is amongst us is to have a finger on the pulse and an ear to the ground. Being active, reading and staying current are good ways to identify a leader. The inactive and less informed will certainly experience more difficulties. Some people may have a natural affinity recognizing leading exemplars, but most will overlook them.

For sure, leaders can’t be self-centered or swollen with importance. Some even shun the spotlight for fear it will hold back progress. But what can be said without hesitation: leaders have strong, positive characters, conduct and belief systems.

In St. Louis, there are a number of people who exemplify these attributes. They’re the salt of the earth – laser-focused, passionate and extremely committed with strong convictions and a deep disdain for unfairness and inequality.

The following are profiles of a few of these unsung and seldom sung heroes who’ve dedicated much of their lives to racial progress well before the Ferguson upheaval. All remain active in the area.

Malik and Deborah Ahmed: This husband/wife team established Better Family Life in 1983, dedicated to the prosperity and growth of African American families, assisting thousands. BFL’s mission is to “plan and establish social, cultural, artistic, youth, economic, housing and educational programs that help to promote positive and innovative changes within the community.“ About a decade ago it launched a capital campaign to restore the Ralph Waldo Emerson School on Page Ave. just west of Union Blvd. BFL recently moved into the renovated state of the art facility and is now embarking on rebuilding the 26th Ward where it is located.

Percy Green: Green might be best known for climbing the Arch in 1964 while it was still being built as part of civil disobedience campaigns against the lack of Black contractors and workers on the project. He was the chair of the employment committee for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a community action group. He was also founder and headed Action Council to Improve Opportunities for Negroes, or ACTION, which focused on businesses that discriminated against Blacks. Before disrupting started trending, Green was the master, invading the province of St. Louis’ elite, which included the 1972 unmasking of the Veiled Prophet, the mystique and allure of this touted pageantry were never the same. Percy thrilled African Americans who viewed his “in your face” tactics as another way of dismantling racism. Fifty years later regarding the Arch, Green said: “We still have work to do in minority hiring.” He continues to dedicate his work to this goal and other unfairness.

Zaki Baruti: Baruti is the president-general of the Universal African People’s Organization. He is a longtime human and civil rights activists fighting for the rights of St. Louisans and others. He is co-coordinator of the Green Party of St. Louis and for decades ran for governor as an independent and as a Missouri Green Party candidate, participating along with other gubernatorial candidates in statewide debates. In 2014, he ran as a write-in candidate for St. Louis County Executive. Steve Stenger won that race. He is Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

WHAT MAKES A LEADER cont.

one of the organizers for Justice for Michael Brown Coalition. Over the years, he’s participated in hundreds of press conferences, radio talk shows and public forums, as well as being a frequent guest on Green Time TV. In 2010, Bill O’Reilly of FOX News interviewed him about the Tea Party. He has a national and international reputation, having traveled throughout the country and the world.

Ajuma Muhammad: Muhammad is a community activist and license psychotherapist with a private practice, Ajuma Counseling.

For decades he’s been relentless in emphasizing the importance of positive role models for young African American males, reaching more than 30 thousand. His innovative programs and activities to empower youth and their families have received local and national acclaim. He’s also a nationwide motivational speaker and author of Understanding the Crisis of the Black Male: A Handbook on Raising Black Boys to be Responsible Black Men. His latest is 101 Proven and Effective Strategies for Empowering Black Boys.

Jamala Rogers: Rogers is head of the Organization for Black Struggle, which she and other activists founded in 1980. OBS is based in the city’s west end at the Rowan Community Center, focusing on civic, youth, education and cultural arts from an African perspective. In 1993, Mayor Freeman Bosley, the city’s first African American mayor, appointed her as director of the Office of Youth Development. She’s also chaired the Black Leadership Roundtable. As co-chair of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, she and others tirelessly pushed for decades for a civilian oversight board, recently established in the city; a hardfought victory for the group. She’s also a national and international social and political speaker, a columnist for the award winning Black weekly newspaper, The St. Louis American, and recently penned a book, Ferguson is America-Roots of Rebellion.

Pam Talley: Talley is head of the Lewis Place Historical Preservation, Inc., leading efforts to preserve a historically Black private street in the city that dates back about 70 years (for its Black residents), just north of the Central West End. In 1980 its architecturally unique homes were placed on the U.S. Register of Historic Places. Built during the 1800s, at the time, it was all White with big mansions and later smaller bungalows, but restrictive covenant policies denied African Americans opportunities to purchase homes and reside there. In 1945, a group of African Americans challenged the covenant and won, integrating it. Talley has spent more than 20 years fighting divestment of North St. Louis focusing on Lewis Place where she also resides. Policies and practices that she said are killing the city. In 2015, she received the Women of Achievement Award for her work.

Prince Wells: Wells started the Black Music Society in 1984 challenging the city’s music institutions such as the St. Louis Symphony and The Muny to hire more African American musicians. He also arranged auditions for Black artists at these institutions. The Black Music Society put on concerts throughout the region, giving African American musicians an opportunity to work and further hone their talents and exposing residents to jazz and other musical art forms. This was supported in part by grants from the Regional Arts Commission. In some instances Black music was being culturally appropriated by the dominant culture and consequently Black musicians were being shut out of the industry. He and his group fought to keep Black musicians in the mainstream of the music scene. He later became a music composer, music theorist and writer, joined the local music union as well as hired as a tenured professor and chair of the Black Studies Program at SIUE. The aforementioned is just a small sampling of Black community leaders in St. Louis. We should also be mindful of the legions of members, supporters, followers and influencers who contribute to these causes. Nor does it include leaders in politics (except for forays of Baruti), business, religion, government and other groups.

Many sit on the sidelines as if it were a spectator sport. I’ve personally discussed with a number of people about getting involved.

Some would actually say and others to the affect of: “I don’t want to be Martin Luther King.” Why do they respond this way? Primarily because they don’t want to be a martyr (at worst or at least harmed in any way) while others say it because they don’t mind inflicting harm on others at the slightest provocation. But the retort to either of these laggards is: “You should do something.” It could be donating money, writing an editorial or a blog, calling into a talk show, volunteering, staying up-to-date or simply giving leaders the benefit of the doubt. As they say: “Lead, follow or get out the way.”

This canard, this absurd claim, of no Black leadership, is usually the sentiments of the powerless or disempowered. It’s also an indication of those who don’t know their history and have accepted their lot in life. For centuries, the establishment press refused to cover progressive Black causes and leaders. Even today, it’s difficult to find accurate or complete information. If it weren’t for the Black press, many would be lost to the dustbins of history. Civil Rights veteran, the Rev. C.T. Vivian of Chicago, an ally of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, said, “a crisis creates opportunities for leadership.” This is what happened with the 1955 brutal murder of 14 year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, which many historians assert ignited the civil rights movement.

A smattering booed the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson when they sought to come to the aid of the Ferguson protestors. This is a terrible tactical error as older leaders, local and national, have wisdom, practical knowledge and connections that could only help the movement. The empowered takes charge of their own success, but they also understand the importance of sharing power or establishing coalitions. This riveting piece of poetry is a reminder to never give up:

pg. 74

Invictus (Unconquered): Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. ~~William Ernest Henley In Robert Putnam’s groundbreaking book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Life, he found a disturbing indifference and apathy in most communities. Public life and civic participation are deteriorating, he said, calling it “the decline in social capital.” This is a problem in virtually every U.S community, i.e., fewer and fewer people are connecting and looking out for each other. In fact, he lauds some aspects of the Black community as being more engaged and involved, bearing in mind that the bar is low. This is not to say that African Americans don’t need to continue to push forward as many problems remain. It’s just that when it comes to social activism, African Americans are the leaders.

Perhaps it’s just a consequence of life or human nature that those who’re more committed are less appreciated or recognized.

“A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country,” Matthew 13:57. Be that as it may, it’s incumbent on all responsible people to recognize and support our courageous and spirited leaders. But also when we’re confronted with the enormous consequences of a virtual police state wracked with police violence against unarmed African Americans, it’s high time to get involved.

Sadly, Michael Brown is no longer with us, yet his legacy endures. To honor his memory, it would be wise to drill deeper (hitting rock bottom) to better understand what led to that fateful day.

Malaika Horne, PhD, is an academic writer and journalist and director of the UMSL Executive Leadership Consortium

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

LLC Clinic Saturday, Nov. 14 (10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)

Whether you’re thinking about forming a limited liability company or already have one, find out if this business structure really is for you. Attorney Brian Salmo, Polsinelli, will cover all the basics, including how to form and run a LLC, operating agreements, when you can be held personally liable and how LLCs are taxed. Then you’ll have an opportunity to spend 20 minutes talking one-on-one with a volunteer lawyer-accountant team. Consultations are scheduled in person that morning and may not be available if you do not register in advance. Your tuition covers our referral service fee, so you can be matched with an attorney or accountant, if needed, after the clinic.

Our LLC Clinic will be held in the Regional Arts Commission’s building, 6128 Delmar. Free parking is available behind the Pageant or in the MetroLink lot.

Register at least 24 hours in advance and pay $15. Tuition is $20 at the door.

If you need a scholarship, please contact us.

Registration Form 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. 76

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

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 78

Hey, high schoolers— want a job at the History Museum?

Want to meet and work with other students from all over St. Louis?

Hope to build your professional skills for the future?

HERE’S HOW!

More information about Step #1:

STEP ONE

When?

Apply for the Teens Make History Academy, a workshop that gives you a look into the world of museums—from exhibitions to marketing. You’ll meet professional staff, conduct weekly challenges, and complete a capstone project with teammates.

The 2016 Academy will run from Saturday, January 16 to Saturday, March 5, 2016. It will meet on Thursdays from 3:30–5:30pm and Saturdays from 10am–2pm.

Where?

The Academy meets at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park.

STEP TWO

Interested?

Graduate from the Academy successfully to receive a stipend and be eligible for a job in Teens Make History at the Missouri History Museum.

What’s next?

STEP THREE Apply for a paid apprenticeship in exhibitions or museum theater that you could keep until graduation!

Applications are due by Saturday, November 28, 2015. Visit mohistory.org/tmh/apply for the online application. Paper copies are available by request.

Applicants will be contacted to set up a formal interview in December.

Questions?

Visit mohistory.org/TMH or contact Ellen at 314.746.4436 or ekuhn@mohistory.org.

Missouri History Museum Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park

314.746.4599 | mohistory.org/TMH

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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

pg. 80

Hello, You are invited to the following event:

SPEAK LIFE NOW! - COCO ROCHELLE BOOK LAUNCH PARTY

Sunday, November 22, 2015 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM (CST) 1900 Park Avenue Saint Louis, MO 63104

Speak Life Now Book Launch: Inspirational Author/Speaker Coco Rochelle invites you to the launch of her Speak Life Now book series. Come help her celebrate this amazing accomplishment that will catapult her into a new plateau and journey. Join us at the following times3pm - 4pm: The VIP package consists of admission from 3pm to 4pm with a signed copy of the book, complimentary food and beverage, meet and greet with engaging Q&A session.

4pm - 6pm: Complimentary entry with the option to purchase the book in advance through eventbrite or at the event.

Music Provided by DJ Needles.

Share this event on Facebook and Twitter We hope you can make it!

Cheers, Coco Rochelle Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 82

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Tacit Knowing / Explicit Knowledge Tom Dent’s one-act Ritual Murder (1967), first performed in 1976, is a classic of Black South drama . Dent minimized plot and depended on the Narrator’s investigation and the individual testimonials of type-cast characters (the wife, the public school teacher, the boss, the anti-poverty program administrator, the mother and father, the chief of police, a black psychiatrist, the victim and the murderer) to sketch a communal story. His verbal economy is effective. The only action is focused speech.

Spectators can experience the play as an investigative tool, a device for analyzing a familiar event in modern life: African American men killing African American men. As we move from the particular to the general, especially in 2015, we recognize that what demands investigation is why in the United States officers of the law take pathological pleasure in killing unarmed civilians inside and outside of prisons (literal and figurative) and why our nation’s primary story (myth) is one of death, dying and despairing rather than one of life, living and loving.

Thanks to the unrelenting immediacy of visual and verbal evidence, we have no escape route from a most disturbing question: in which place of human habitation will the next accidental or intended “ritual murder” occur and necessitate our speaking the words “lives matter”? In 2015, we are condemned to knowing that our beloved democracy is a cuckoo’s nest. Just as Ken Kesey could not predict that his 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest would become emblematic of American history, Tom Dent could not be certain that his play would universal applicability in the United States and beyond.

What Dent did know, however, was that Ritual Murder figuratively incorporates its audience.

Written in the early years of what we now call the Black Arts Movement, the play provokes those who witness it to speak at the end of the

performance. Even spectators who refuse to speak become characters in a theatrical ritual.

Ultimately, Ritual Murder is metadrama, i.e., a play that explains how a play may have a socially engaged purpose. Thus, it is at once a local (New Orleans) and a transcendent example of art for life, or in the more familiar wording of the Black Arts Movement, the indivisibility of art and politics.

It is noteworthy that Dent remixed elements of tragedy as described in Aristotle’s Poetics with some of the dark, biting humor Bertolt Brecht used in writing the libretto for The Threepenny Opera (1928). The aesthetic effect of Ritual Murder is cool and unsettling. It does not provoke fear and pity; its performance does not lead spectators to have any feeling of catharsis, of being purged and cleansed. On the contrary, because one witnesses the collection and broadcasting of opinions about the crime rather than specific visual details about Joe Brown’s knifing his friend James Roberts on a Saturday night, one feels moved to have compassionate disinterest. One experiences the frustration of the need to clarify a recurring social problem that defies resolution.

For some of its readers, Bracey, John H., Jr., Sonia Sanchez, and James Smethurst, eds.

SOS --Calling All Black People: A Black Arts Movement Reader. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2014 will produce renewed interest in problems that we can’t resolve. The book is an invitation to think about how a moment in American cultural history still compels us to deal with the implications of human knowledge. Such thinking can benefit from a possibility set forth by Michael Polanyi in The Study of Man (1959). Polanyi proposed that written knowledge is “only one kind of knowledge; while unformulated knowledge, such as we have of something we are in the act of doing, is another form of knowledge. If we call the first kind explicit knowledge, and pg. 84

the second, tacit knowledge, we always know tacitly that w explicit knowledge to be true. are satisfied to hold a part of tacitly, the vain pursuit of refle on our own reflections no lon Such anthologies as SO--Cal People suggest our ability to than our capability to rememb forms of explicit knowledge to job of tacit knowing, because we have failed to remember is Common sense instructs us t remember and use works cre and thinkers of the Black Arts

Weighing in at 666+ pages, S All Black People might be on texts in community or academ investment in remembering th Black Fire (1968), edited by Larry Neal, Drumvoices: Th Afro-American Poetry (1976 Redmond, The Black Aesth

by Addison Gayle, Jr., The B and the Production of African (2011) by Howard Rambsy II, Arts Movement: Literary Na 1960s and 1970s (2005) by J Smethurst. Arnold Rampersa that the anthology can “add im ability to understand and teac of modern African American a literary history” is wonderful a and university might be conce of-school people deserve to They are the troubled citizens most from the renewal of tac considering how an anthology and freezes particular “docum use.

The book has five major secti criticism, 2) statements of pur

we may say that we are holding our . If, therefore, we our knowledge ecting ever again nger arises” (12). lling All Black o forget is stronger ber. They serve as o help us with the e reflecting on what s not a vain pursuit. that we need to eated by the artists s Movement.

SOS---Calling ne of the primary mic seminar, an hat might include LeRoi Jones and he Mission of 6) by Eugene B. hetic (1971), edited Black Arts Enterprise n American Poetry , and The Black ationalism in the James Edward ad’s recommending mmeasurably to our ch a crucial aspect and American as far as colleges erned, but outshare its wealth. s who can benefit cit knowing, from y assassinates time ments” for everyday

ions ----1) theory/ rpose, 3) poetry,

4) drama, and 5) fiction/narrative---and concludes with commentary by James G. Spady , John H. Bracey, and Audre Lorde. In the introduction, the editors inform us the anthology is intended to provide access to “the ideological, aesthetic, and geographical scope of the movement”(10). The editors went a step beyond on September 17, 2015 in modeling how to contextualize this access in a panel “First Fires & the Black Arts Movement in the South” at the Sonja Haynes Center, University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill.

The book provides a great amount of material for study, but it falls short in matters of identification and internal contextualizing. This failure may be a result of haste in making editorial decisions. For example, the book does not have an index, the apparatus needed for quick comparison with other indexed compilations or for highlighting areas of emphasis.

The book does not provide notes on contributors.

Younger readers may be familiar with the names Amiri Baraka, Margaret Walker, and Gwendolyn Brooks, but they may need to visit the Internet to discover who were Carolyn Gerald [Carolyn Fowler], Ebon Dooley, Ahmos Zu-Bolton, Joe Goncalves, A. B. Spellman, and Henry Dumas. People of a certain age who belong to special communities of reading need no special assistance in knowing why Ronald Milner, Louise Meriwether, Tom Dent, James G. Spady, and Sam Cornish are important, but it is wrongheaded to assume general readers will possess such knowledge.

Rambsy; to The Cambridge History of African American Literature (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011); to New Thoughts on the Black Arts Movement (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2006), edited by Lisa Gail Collins and Margo Natalie Crawford; to Tony Bolden’s Afro-Blue: Improvisations in African American Poetry and Culture (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004), and to many journal articles for supplemental information. But the habits taken for granted within academic settings may not obtain when SOS--Calling All Black People circulates in more public communities of reading and discussing and agonizing over the recurrent issues and problems of African American life (and indeed all lives) in the United States of America. The editors might have used their tacit knowing to anticipate such a possibility.

This editorial shortcoming does not undermine the invaluable contribution of the anthology as a resource for dealing with seismic and paradigm shifts in American culture. And it is probable that like Tom Dent’s Ritual Murder, SOS--Calling All Black People will be welcomed as an investigative tool for examining contemporary American pathologies which unite politics and art.

Dr. Jerry W. Ward, Jr.

Those readers do need the apparatus or metadata commonly used in the best contemporary anthologies.

Moreover, serious scholarship is obligated, for example, to provide more than a single descriptive paragraph to cast light on such documents as “NKOMBO, Food for Thought,” “Southern Black Cultural Alliance, By-Laws,” and “Umbra, Foreword to Issue 1.1.” Indeed, scholarship demands some annotation regarding Tom Dent’s formative role in the intellectual process of bringing Umbra, Southern Black Cultural Alliance , and NKOMBO into being. Yes, we can turn to books by James Smethurst and Howard

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

CALLALOO, the premier literary journal of the African Diaspora, is now accepting applications for the 2016 Oxford CALLALOO CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP (CCWW) until December 13, 2015. We invite submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for admission consideration for this weeklong workshop, which will be hosted by The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) at Oxford University, July 10-16, 2015.

Fred D’Aguiar (creative nonfiction), Vievee Francis (poetry), and Ravi Howard (fiction) will serve as the 2016 workshop leaders.

Fred D’Aguiar, a native of London who grew up in Guyana, is a novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist. A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death, his 1991 play, was produced at Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. In June 2013, his most recent collection of poems, The Rose of Toulouse, was published, and his sixth novel, Children of Paradise, was published in February 2014 by Granta (UK) and HarperCollins (USA).

Vievee Francis is the author of Horse in the Dark (Northwestern University Press, 2012), which won the Cave Canem Northwestern University Poetry Prize for a second collection, and Blue-Tail Fly (Wayne State University, 2006). Her third book, Forest Primeval, was released in 2015 (Northwestern University Press).

Ravi Howard was, in 2008, a finalist for The Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for his debut novel, Like Trees, Walking. In 2008, he won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. His second novel, Driving the King, was published in January 2015. > HOW TO APPLY: Applications must be submitted online at http://callaloo.expressacademic.org/login.php no later than December 13, 2015. Each applicant must submit a brief cover letter and writing sample (no more than five pages of poetry, twelve pages of prose fiction, or twelve pages of prose creative nonfiction). To complete & submit your application, go to http://callaloo.tamu.edu/node/240.

For additional information, email (callaloo@tamu.edu) or call (979-458-3108).

Find the CCWW FAQ online, as well.

pg. 86

CALLALOO CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Prepare for the next betrayal!

It is election time again and I hope you are prepared for the many campaigns promises that will be targeted directed to you. Now is a good time to remember the teachings of Dr. Carter G. Woodson from his 1933 publication ‘The Mis-Education of the Negro’.

The pursuit of happiness will come if we achieved what was guaranteed. And for white people who ask ‘what do they want?’ the answer is ‘the same thing that you want,’ No more or less. The words are equal, equitable, fair, just, and unbiased treatment.

Dr. Woodson wrote “Negroes sometimes choose their own leaders, but unfortunately, they are often the wrong kind. Negroes do not readily follow persons with constructive programs. Almost any sort of exciting appeal or trivial matter presented to them may receive immediate attention and temporarily at least liberal support.

When the bubble collapses, of course, these same followers will begin to decry Negro leadership and call the misrepresentatives of the group rascals and scoundrels. Inasmuch as they have failed to exercise foresight, however, those who have deceived them should not be blamed as much as those who have liberally supported these impostors. Yet the fault here is not inherently in the Negro, but in what he has been taught”.

Dr. Woodson seemingly was a prophet. His references from his book are still relevant to this day. He wrote ‘If the Negro in the ghetto must eternally be fed by the hand that pushes him into the ghetto, he will never become strong enough to get out of the ghetto. This assumption of Negro leadership in the ghetto, then, must not be confined to matters of religion, education, and social uplift; it must deal with such fundamental forces in life as make these things possible. If the Negro area, however, is to continue as a district supported wholly from without, the inept dwellers therein will merit and will receive only the contempt of those who may occasionally catch a glimpse of them in their plight. As Frederick Douglas said in 1852, “It is vain that we talk of being men, if we do not the work of men.”

It seem these situations and circumstances have not really changed. Dr. Woodson wrote, 82 years ago; ‘The enemies of the race will find a Negro willing to do certain things they desire to have accompanied and will finance him and give him sufficient publicity to get before the world, for the few favors which he may dispense among his followers.’

Above all, remember what Dr. Woodson said concerning education. He wrote “Negroes have no control over their education and have little voice in their other affairs pertaining thereto. In a few cases Negroes have been chosen as members of public boards of education, and some have been appointed members of private boards, but these Negroes are always such a small minority that they do not figure in the final working out of the educational Also be ready for the stream of white candidates who will be program. The education of the Negroes, then, the most important visiting your church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship, soliciting your vote and promising anything you ask for. How thing in the uplift the Negroes, is almost entirely in the hands of many have returned to worship with you since you gave your last those who have enslaved them and now segregate them.” vote away? How many promises were kept? Who have benefitted since their last visit? Were their promises kept? These are critical ‘For the white man’s exploitation of the Negro through economic restriction and segregation, the present system is sound and will questions. Are the same preachers and other religious leaders doubtless continue until this gives place to the saner policy of going to ask you again to give your support to someone from actual interracial cooperation. Not the present farce of racial maoutside of your neighborhood? nipulation in which the Negro is the figurehead. History does not Be primed because in a few months, they will be back again, with furnish a case of the elevation of a people by ignoring the thought and aspiration of the people thus served. This is slightly dangerthe same old stories and promises and commitments, vowing ous ground here, however, for the Negro’s mind has been all but to love you, respect you and finally to include you in the agenda. You know. You have heard it all before. This time, why not perfectly enslaved in that he has been trained to think what is ask your preacher, Imam or Rabbi, why are they parading these desired of him.’ folks in front of us now? Will they be back to worship with us next weekend, next month, or next year?

Dr. Carter G. Woodson-The Mis-educaction of the Negro-1933-Associated Publishers.

African people have lived and died on this continent since 1619.

That is 396 years of agony, misery, torment and affliction. The Bernie Hayes Emancipation Proclamation, The Black Laws, The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the US Constitution and countless civil rights laws have not made living in America any easier for the descendants of our African ancestors.

Why, in 2015 we are replaying 1964 tapes of Percy Green and other members of CORE demanding jobs for black people? Can you believe that the issues that activated the masses then are the same factors that are motivating people of consciousness to organize once again? Demanding what America has promised.

Equal rights, and fair employment opportunities. Why did demonstrations and revolts happen in Ferguson, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York and other urban areas? pg. 88

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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#/ Let’s make this project happen!

Thank you!

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

pg. 90

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Wed., Nov. 11, Noon-4:45 PM and Wed., Nov. 18, 1:00 PM-4:45 PM This two-part, hands-on training for PC users with little or no accounting or QuickBooks experience is team taught by Anders CPAs + Advisors at Webster University’s downtown campus. Optional pre- and post-sessions cover bookkeeping basics and payroll. The training will cover both QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Online.

Tuition covers both sessions — November 11 and November 18. Sorry, no discounts for attending just one session. Register at least 24 hours in advance and pay $35 per organization plus $15 for each additional person from the same organization. Tuition is $60 at the door.

This training is held at Webster University downtown, Old Post Office, 815 Olive. Free parking is available in the 9th Street garage, 9th and Olive (bring your ticket).

Registration Form

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. 92

NOVEMBER 5 - DECEMBER 17, 2015

​(EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT)

SEE OUR INSTRUCTORS AND WORKSHOPS A BIT ABOUT US AND OUR MISSION

Night Writers STL, offers six weekly, writers workshops to beginning and established writer’s in St. Louis City and surrounding areas. Workshops will spotlight a new instructor every two weeks to expose workshop participants to different styles and forms. The goal of Night Writers STL is to foster mentorships among new and established local writers and to bring our diverse writer communities closer together. Each workshop night will be followed by a reading from participants of the workshop and fellow writers. Reading is open to the public and is $2 at the door.

Workshop and reading will take place at the beautiful upstairs bar and conference room at Tree House located at 3177 S. Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63118.

Workshops are $25 per class. $15 for Students and persons over 60-years of age. Students must have a valid high school or college I.D. to receive discount.

O U R

I N S T RU C TO R S

Jason Vasser

Workshop dates: November 5 & 12 ​6:30pm-8:30pm

Richard Newman Workshop dates: Nov. 19 & Dec. 3 6:30pm-8:30pm ​

Jane Ellen Ibur

Workshop dates: December 10 & 17 6:30pm-8:30pm ​

Night Writers STL is supported by Alchemy 7 Publishing, Tree House Restaurant located in the historic South Grand district, and our long-time partner, First Civilizations- a Literary and Arts nonprofit.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 94

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 Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

l FoFeet l FoFeet l FoFeet l WWW.FOFEET.COM & FOFEET DEEP INTERNET RADIO SHOW @ www.hottalkfm.com 1: www.fofeet.com - check her out!!

2: FoFeet Deep Internet Radio Show -www.HotTalkfm.com

PRE- SHOW Date:

Nov 1st, 2015

Time: 11:00 to 12:00pm Special guest: Chairman Omali Yeshitela the founder of the Uhuru Movement, African Internationalist organization & Author of “An Uneasy Equilibrium” one of many books.

The regular scheduled program time 7:00-10:00 pm on www.HotTalkfm.com & www.fofeet.com websites l FoFeet l

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WWW.FOFEET.COM & FOFEET DEEP INTERNET RADIO SHOW l FoFeet l l FoFeet l

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pg. 98

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Fitness Boss & First Civilization

Monthly Health Tip! TRACKING WHAT YOU EAT

Written by : Tracee Green, Fitness Boss, LLC November 2015 Have you heard people say “I really don’t eat that that much” but when you look at them that doesn’t appear to be true? They can’t understand why they aren’t losing weight or why they keep gaining. Let’s talk about that.

I have a lot of people come to me with this very statement. I don’t tell them they aren’t telling the truth because usually in the minds of a person unaware of what it takes to lose weight they may not actually be eating a lot.

My first assignment is typically to have them journal the next day of food and then we will discuss what the findings are. This is usually what I discover:

Not eating the right foods and snacking on bad foods:

height. The daily recommended calorie intake would be between 1200-1600 (this will vary on how quickly you want to lose and other factors such as daily activity level).

If they are eating only one meal a day, this is unhealthy for my previously reasons pointed out. The second issue is that the majority of the time when I ask individuals to journal and they have only had one meal. Here is an example of what I see: Average meal at McDonald’s (1530 Calories): • Double Quarter Pounder with cheese: 740 Calories • Large fry : 510 Calories • Sweet Tea : 280 Calories

Not eating enough: Your body actually can go into starvation if you aren’t eating enough.

You should always consult your Dr. or a nutritional coach to discuss how many calories you should consume.

You can also use an online tool like the one below to help you figure out your ideal daily calorie count: http://www. calorieking.com/interactive-tools/howmany-calories-should-you-eat/?ref=nav

In addition to the one big meal they are usually snacking on chips, candy, and drinking sodas or juices. They feel because they didn’t sit down for breakfast, lunch and dinner they didn’t eat a lot and additionally most people don’t realize how much they snack throughout the day.

What should you be eating?

Now that I’ve pointed out the common mistakes of dieters I have provided an example of a good meal plan for losing weight. Calculations are based on a female weighing 180lbs and 5’5” in

Meal 1: Egg white omelet scrambled with veggies and 3 pieces of turkey bacon (259 calories) Meal 2: Apple slices with 2 tbsp. all natural peanut butter (195 calories) Meal 3: Baked tilapia, 1 cup of brown rice, and 1 cup of spinach (367 calories) Meal 4: 1 cup of grapes (62 calories) Meal 5: Pan seared chicken breast cooked in olive oil and 1 cup of green beans and ½ cup of Quinoa (352 calories) Meal 6: 1 cup of raspberries (65 calories) Total Calories Consumed: 1300 – Calorie tracker apps: MyfitnessPal or Lose it are great resources

Last but not least, MOVE DAILY!!!

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 our Facebook Page: Fitness Boss

pg. 100

Health, Beauty

And

Fashion

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

AfroWorld is an African-American owned and operated cultural and fashion center located in St. Louis.

It was founded in 1970 and has been a space where the community can come to learn, share, and shop! In 2015 we are proud to celebrate our 45th year of service to our customers.

AfroWorld needs your support so we can continue to have the funds necessary to market, operate, and sustain high quality cultural education programs that support our network of authors and artists who participate in our ongoing community empowerment series. We also want to purchase computers and materials to increase the efficiency of our outreach efforts, educate the next generation of community entrepreneurs, and upgrade the tech equipment used to produce our events and programs. Your financial commitment allows AfroWorld to continue its legacy of bringing people together in a space that celebrates and uplifts the African-American experience.

Please help us reach our goal today! pg. 102

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!

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

Peace, Love & Light, SJ

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 104

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MAKE ME AN OFFER. www.Allstarmotorsinc.com

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 106

ART OF FOOD

1

Peer Pressure Experiments -

I wish I could tell you how many times my friends ask me to make them something or constantly tag me in posts on Facebook and Instagram about food. It always “when are you making this,” “we need to make this happen,” or “I know you can do this.” Normally I can ignore it or add their request to my Dishes to Master List. However, I ran across a picture of this one particular dish and my mouth immediately began to water! So I called up two of my close friends, we divvied up the ingredients & picked a day to make the experiment happen: Stuffed Pineapple Bowls.

Now I will admit, I had absolutely no real idea what I was doing. I was winging this whole dish based off the picture we saw. It wasn’t my intention for the sauce to come out the way that it did, but that’s what happens when you’re winging it. It actually turned out to be more a little more teriyaki than I wanted, but it was still delicious. A Stuffed Pineapple Bowl is basically a pineapple sliced lengthwise in half, stuffed with rice, meat/seafood & veggies.

Finding a ripe pineapple was the hardest part, because they’re typically not in season now. It may have worked better if I had the time to let it sit for a couple of days, but I didn’t have that luxury this time around. If you come across the same dilemma, grab some pineapple juice, pour it over the hollowed out pineapple and let the juice soak until you’re ready to serve. Below I’ll include a teriyaki sauce recipe, but of course to make it easier and quicker you can always buy the sauce.

~Lena O.A. Jackson www.facebook.com/gspDore www.instagram.com/gspDore

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Teriyaki Stuffed Pineapple Bowls

1-2 lbs Shrimp, uncooked, deveined & peeled 2 ea Pineapples, halved lengthwise & gutted ¾ C Broccoli Florets 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced or granulated 2/3 C Bell Pepper (green, red, yellow or orange) 1/3 C Zucchini, small dice for garnish Green Onions, sliced

For the Pineapples: Slice the pineapples in half lengthwise, then carefully cut out a border in the inside. Make another cut going down the middle of the pineapple and begin to make slices horizontally. Next take a large spoon and carefully remove the pineapple pieces.

If you desire a perfect bowl, use the spoon to scrape and further hollow the bowl. Set aside.

4-6 Chicken Breasts, skinless & fully seasoned with your favorite spices ½ C Pineapple, small chunks (from remnants of whole pineapple) ¾ C Yellow or White Onion, small diced ½ C Green Beans 1/3 C Yellow Corn, frozen 2 C Rice (Jasmine, Brown or White)

For the Stir-Fry:

In a small pot, cook rice based on the directions on its label. (I strongly suggest that you wash the rice before cooking. This will aid in the texture of the rice, just in case it gets overcooked.)

Place your shrimp on skewers, season and set aside. (Shrimp should be the absolute last thing you cook.) Fully season the chicken breasts with your favorite spices and cook in a large pan with a small amount of vegetable or olive oil. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side on medium-high heat. Once your chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan and cut or slice. Place in a warm spot.

Whatever oil you have left will be used for the vegetables.

With the leftover oil, start sautéing the onions, peppers and garlic. Once the onions become translucent add the other vegetables to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, seasoned salt and whatever else you desire. Cook the vegetables until they are slightly crunchy and not mushy. Add the pineapple chunks & teriyaki sauce to the vegetable mixture and stir until the sauce fully covers all ingredients.

In a small separate pan, melt approximately 2 Tbsp of butter and add leftover teriyaki sauce (if any). Cook shrimp in the mixture until they have turned pink on both sides. Cooking them on skewers makes it slightly easier and faster to flip over.

Assembly: Grab the pineapple bowls and begin filling with the cooked rice and vegetable mixture. Place shrimp skewers & sliced chicken on top and sliced green onions for garnish. pg. 108

For the Teriyaki Sauce: yields 1½ cups 1 C Water 5 Tbsp Brown Sugar ¼ C Soy Sauce 1-2 Tbsp Honey 1 Tbsp Garlic, finely minced ½ tsp Ground Ginger 2 Tbsp Cornstarch ¼ C Cold Water Combine the 1 cup water, brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the ¼ cup water and whisk until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan. Heat the sauce until it thickens to your desired thickness. If the sauce becomes too thick, add more water to thin it out.

Doré

Bon Appétit,

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 110

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015





Holiday Sale

BUY ONE ITEM GET THE NEXT ITEM 30% OFF PROGRESSIVE EMPORIUM & EDUCATION CENTER

Friday, November 27 - Sunday, November 29, 2015 1108 North Sarah Street Extended Holiday Hours Monday – Sunday - 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

For more information call (314) 875-9277

PEEC has a wide selection of Black books, Health food items, Holistic Items, Spiritual Tools, Greeting Cards, African Cloth, Kwanzaa Items, Beauty/Health Items and Much More...

This sale cannot be combined with any other sale.

pg. 112

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF HOW PEOPLE ARE SHEEP? KRISTA FRANKLIN MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE, 2015

MIND BLOWN

BRAVE NEW WORLD

MANZEL BOWMAN

DAMON DAVIS

DIGITAL MEDIA, 2015

DIGITAL MEDIA, 2015

INTRODUCTION Unveiling Visions: The Alchemy of the Black Imagination is a visual exploration of complex narratives on the esoteric black speculative imagination. Through an analysis of visual culture surrounding Afrofuturism, science fiction, horror, comics, magical realism, and fantasy, the exhibition examines the power that creativity wields in the struggle for various freedoms of expression and the politics of resistance. Divided into six sections—The Living Arkive, The Data Thief, Finding Shadow Objects, The Pantechnological Impulse, Material Culture, Both Real and Imagined, Augmented Reality Through

“The Veil” Unveiling Visions applies a global lens to the black imagination, and brings this context to a wide survey of contemporary works.

This exhibition showcases illustrations, graphic design, literature, posters, and mixed-media digital and analog artworks by 87 emerging, mid-career and acclaimed artists. The collection of visual materials on view serves as a creative, experimental and educational impetus to analyze the growing corpus of work surrounding the nexus between S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and contemporary artistic production.

pg. 114

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION EXHIBITION HOURS Monday – Saturday, 10AM – 6PM

WEBSITE nypl.org/events/exhibitions/unveiling-visions

THE SCHOMBURG GIFT SHOP Monday-Saturday, 11AM – 6PM

RELATED PROGRAMS Fall Open House: The Black Fantastic Wednesday, October 7 | 6PM Our annual showcase of Schomburg collections and exhibitions will focus this year on the following themes: radical storytelling and black speculative fiction; black futurism; protest; and black survival.

Visit schomburgcenter.eventbrite.com for more information on all our events.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ON VIEW

OCTOBER 1, 2015 THROUGH

DECEMBER 31, 2015

Curators: John Jennings and Reynaldo Anderson; Exhibition Design: John Jennings and Isissa Komada-John; Art Director: Stacey Robinson; Archivist: Clint Fluker; Curatorial Assistants: Tim Fielder, Damian Duffy, and Chimene Jackson; Director of Education and Exhibitions: Deirdre Lynn Hollman; Exhibitions Manager: Isissa Komada-John; Communications Manager: Candice Frederick; Exhibition Contributors: Mei Tei Sing Smith and Sanders Design Works, Inc., Fabrication and Installation; Printing: Jeffery Sherven; Augmented Reality Developer: Damon Baker; Art & Artifacts Division/Schomburg: Tammi Lawson and Serena Torres; and Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division/ Schomburg: Maira Liriano.

IMAGE CREDITS Front cover: “Mind Blown” by Manzel Bowman, courtesy of the artist, copyright 2015; Logo design by Alex Batchelor, Cover design by John Jennings; “Sun Shepardess” by Julie Dillon, Digital Media, courtesy of the artist, copyright 2015; “The Offering” by Paul Lewin, acrylic on canvas, courtesy of the artist, copyright 2015; “Brave New World” by Damon Davis, Digital Media, courtesy of the artist, copyright 2015; “Do Androids Dream of How People Are Sheep?”

by Krista Franklin, mixed media collage, courtesy of the artist, copyright 2015; “Mind of My Mind” by John Jude Palencar, oil on canvas, copyright 2016, all rights reserved; “Z-5” by Vigilism X Ikire Jones, Digital Media, courtesy of the artist, copyright 2015.

Schomburg Center programs and exhibitions are supported in part by the City of New York; the State of New York; the New York City Council Black, Latino and Asian Caucus; the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus; the Rockefeller Foundation Endowment for the Performing Arts; and the Annie E. and Sarah L. Delany Charitable Trusts.

CONNECT WITH THE SCHOMBURG 24/7 CURATED BY JOHN JENNINGS & REYNALDO ANDERSON www.schomburgcenter.org | #UnveilingVisions

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The New York Public Library

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The New York Public Library

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

THE LIVING ARKIVE

FINDING SHADOW OBJECTS

The archive, or as John Jennings and Reynaldo Anderson call it, the ARKive, is a constantly shifting space that allows for a great deal of flexibility on how artwork is shown and represented within the gallery space. It allows us to travel through the objects on display. The ARKive is a space of discovery, interaction, and constant growth. Each day, a new aspect of our culture is discovered, created, and re-contextualized.

Unveiling Visions treats the arts and design as part of an ever-evolving discourse between the past, present and future.

In his award-winning book, The Grey Album, poet and scholar Kevin Young poses a theoretical construct he refers to as “The Shadow Book.”

The Shadow Book is a publication that has never actually happened, but constantly “haunts” the existence of an actual text, has been lost, or should be created. Ralph Ellison’s second novel that was never

Z-5 VIGILISM X IKIRE JONES DIGITAL MEDIA, 2015

MIND OF MY MIND JOHN JUDE PALENCAR OIL ON CANVAS, 2015

THE DATA THIEF In his 1995 documentary, The Last Angel of History, artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah introduces the concept of a “Data Thief,” a fictional time-travelling archaeologist that is charged with piecing together black creative history. The Data Thief digs through the detritus of time and space to seek connections between various points in history and formulate a cohesive narrative. It’s within the spirit of this avatar that the curators are operating. Their method is not a direct representation, but rather a critical interpretation through the lens of black speculative cultural production. The thread that joins these objects—both real and imagined—together is in fact the notion of storytelling. The Data Thief is a story that represents what many people are seeking today: a history, a purpose, and a connection to the past that informs our collective future.

completed is a prime example of this concept. Its non-existence inhabits the memory of this great scholar and asks questions that will never be answered. The curators believe that these books emanate from a “shadow world” filled with “shadow objects.” Books and their neverdesigned covers, songs without lyrics, and objects without their designed schematics. Designer and futurist Bruce Sterling calls these “diegetic prototypes” that use narratives to create designs that ultimately become spaces of inquiry and contention around what has and could transpire.

Unveiling Visions blurs the line between fiction and reality by stealthily including shadow objects throughout the collection of works on view.

THE PANTECHNOLOGICAL IMPULSE Much of the story of Afrofuturism is told in relation to black bodies and technological prosthetics. However, technology does not have to be an object. It also refers to systems, processes, planning methods, applied knowledge and any designed aspect of a culture that can be used by mankind for various tasks. Therefore, race, religion, literacy, and other cultural

pg. 116

THE OFFERING PAUL LEWIN ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 2015

constructions can also be seen as technologies. Our curators believe that most Afrofuturists, whether or not it’s intentional, imagine their experiences through a pantechnological perspective. It is through this lens that they are able to metaphorically hack into various situations and overcome adversity by understanding that all problems are systemic in nature. It is this hacker mentality that has served people of African descent for generations. These practices permeate all black cultural production from music to art, and from literature to dance.

MATERIAL CULTURE, BOTH REAL AND IMAGINED The ARKive is a house of material culture. Records, sketches, posters, and books are vital to understanding this culture. To truly delve into black speculative culture, the curators constructed a narrative through the consumable objects of popular Afrofuturism in order to uncover deeper meanings for why these types of dialogues are useful spaces of resistance, and how we can learn from them through use in our everyday lives.

AUGMENTED REALITY THROUGH “THE VEIL” W.E.B. Dubois’s concept of “The Veil” has been scrutinized by scholars and artists alike since he first used the phrase in his seminal book, “The Souls of Black Folk,” at the beginning of the 20th century. The Veil was a literary and philosophical translation of the lives of people

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

SUN SHEPARDESS JULIE DILLON DIGITAL MEDIA, 2015

of African descent in the Americas. It operated as a second sight, and still functions as a psychological lens through which African peoples in the Americas express anxiety, hopes, fears, and knowledge of the other. This exhibition examines what The Veil often hid from the oppressive other in the creative expression of African peoples. The curators expose what happens when there is a successful fusion within The Veil that is not concerned with American assimilation or acceptance, and instead pursues an autonomous creative reality.

This choice illuminates how these cultural creative expressions are connected to Afrofuturism, black speculative thought, magical realism, fantasy and Diasporan culture production. Merging within The Veil, these concepts function as an enhanced lens for critical interpretation, a space to create alternate realities that re-imagine phenomena for African peoples. The artists on view do not ask for permission to identify alternate realities. They envision the world they want and take action to create it.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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

Click below to watch now!

pg. 118

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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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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

pg. 120

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 122

Dance St. Louis presents...

CARMINA BURANA at the Touhill

A larger-than-life production with more than 200 performers live on stage together returns to the Touhill on November 6-8

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK ACTRESSES cont.

pg. 124

120 singers, 60 musicians and 40 dancers together on stage together in an extraordinary production.

It’s Carmina Burana like you’ve never heard or seen before.

Considered one of the most popular and epic pieces of music ever written, Carmina Burana is the thunderous, dramatic, exhilarating and sacred cantata by German composer Carl Orff. It is performed by orchestras and choirs all over the world and often heard in movie trailers, feature films, TV commercials and video games. Now,

back by popular demand as part of Dance St. Louis’ 50th anniversary season, Carmina Burana

returns in all its glory and magnificent proportions to the Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL on November 6-8.

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

Presented by Dance St. Louis, Carmina Burana

stars Nashville Ballet, the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee, and features University of MissouriSt. Louis Orchestra & Singers, Bach Society of Saint Louis and the St. Louis Children’s Choirs.

This year the production also features a special opening act—a world premiere choreographed by Dance St. Louis Artistic and Executive Director Michael Uthoff and performed by Saint Louis Ballet. www.the-arts-today.com

Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK ACTRESSES cont.

pg. 126

earthly pleasures gone wrong (“In the Tavern”), to a balanced place, a balance between earthly desire and spiritual awareness (“The Court of Love”).

When Dance St. Louis first presented Carmina Burana in 2013, its three performances sold out. Don’t miss the opportunity to see it again.

WHAT:

Dance St. Louis presents Carmina Burana.

Starring Nashville Ballet, University of Missouri-St. Louis Orchestra & Singers, Bach Society of Saint Louis and St. Louis Children’s Choirs

Carl Orff’s score is known the world over, but there’s an interesting history behind the music. Carmina Burana is a collection of poems written in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries that challenges conventional values and religious leadership of the time. Written by clergy and theology students, the poems examine the cycle of life and question the source of life’s pains. They explore topics applicable to that time, as well as the present, such as the unpredictability of fate, lost love and hypocrisy of leaders. The poems were discovered in 1803 in Bavaria.

WHEN:

November 6 at 8 p.m.; November 7 at 8 p.m.; November 8 at 2 p.m.

WHERE:

Touhill Performing Arts Center

TICKETS: $38-65.

Carl Orff wrote his iconic instrumentation in 1937 and set the ancient poetry to music.

The poems of Carmina Burana were recorded on parchment, animal skin that was often written on, erased and reused many times. The parchment material inspired portions of the choreography, created

by Nashville Ballet Artistic Director & COE Paul Vasterling, and former Nashville Ballet company member Eric Harris’ costume designs in the production.

“The imagery of the Wheel of Fortune and the parchment both spoke to me when choreographing this piece, because they are both illustrations that we are all part of something bigger, a greater whole,” said Vasterling.

The opening piece of Carmina Burana, “O Fortuna,” is likely the most familiar portion of the piece. Fortuna in the production is visually represented by the Wheel of Fortune, which determines the fates of human beings.

Go to http://dancestlouis.org

The ballet progresses from virtuous earthly pleasures (“Spring”), to

Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK ACTRESSES cont.

pg. 128

Go to http://dancestlouis.org Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 130

Go to http://dancestlouis.org Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Go to http://dancestlouis.org pg. 132

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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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

Art of Healing

Your Ad or Article could be here!

Contact us if you have a contribution to the ART OF HEALING. pg. 134

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

pg. 136

Featured

Cartoon

Submission

-Comic Republic-

-Who started Comic Republic?

Jide Martin, the CEO of Comic Republic.

Full names of team members and their roles.

1. Jide Martin -

CEO Comic Republic

2. Eduvie Oyaide – Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications 3. Wale Awelenje – Director, Comic Republic 4. Tobe Ezeogu –

Chief Operating Officer and Creative Director, Comic Republic

5. Michael Balogun – Vice President, Comic Production, Comic Republic 6. Ozo Ezeogu –

Editing Director, Comic Republic

7. Toheeb Ipaye-

Legal Adviser, Comic Republic

8. Tolu Onewo –

Head, Online Operations Comic Republic

9. Stanley Obende- Creator, Avonome, Comic Republic 10. Xavier Ighorodje- Writer, Avonome, Comic Republic 11. Franklin Ikechukwu - Colorist , Comic Republic Side noteAs a little boy, everyone knew Jide as one who could survive with just his pencils. He would spend hours drawing on all his school books including the walls on his room! He finally went on to become a Law graduate from the University of Ife, Nigeria, but, the drawing never stopped. The dream to begin a company focused on comics remained a close passion of his and one morning, during a conversation with a few friends, the company was shaped. The formulation of the dream and the brand identity began with Martin, Eduvie and Wale. On this journey, they met with a group of longtime friends -Michael Balogun (Balox), Ozo Ezeogu and Tobe Ezeogu who joined the dream. Toheeb Ipaye became the Legal adviser and Tolu Onewo became the Head of Online operations. Other members joined the dream along the way.

-What inspired them to launch a comic start-up in Nigeria?

FOR THE LOVE OF COMICS! Team Comic Republic is passionate about all things comics and believes in the power of story telling.

With their stories, they aim to reprogram the values and beliefs that drive behaviour among individuals.

At the time, there seemed to be a misconception among humans. Some do not believe in their power to influence their environment with their actions. Also, at the time, there were very few good quality comics out of Africa and a decline in the reading culture of comics on the continent. The team set out on an arduous task to achieve the following: 1. To create such good quality art and intriguing stories so that people will be encouraged to start reading comics again even if it meant providing the comics free.

2. To inspire a movement that drives people to believe they can influence change if they start from within. We have a cry to all of our readers to #Jointherepublic It urges all to believe you can influence positive actions then take action; we believe we are all guardians, we can all be heros.

Side note: Jide Martin CEO Comic Republic on why he believes in the dream Jide would recount memories he had as a child when he would model his behaviour after superheroes often asking himself “what would superman do” when he found himself in a tight situation. His dream is for Comic Republic to become that platform that instills confidence in the average youth so that they believe that they can attain their greatest dreams if only they believed in themselves.

Jide likes to say this to fellow comic artists: Dream! Go to the future, come back to the present, then make it happen.

Side note: Tobe Ezeogu, Chief Operating Officer, Comic Republic on why he believes in the dream Tobe believes that one can leave a legacy, a myth behind through writing drawing and art. He wants to change the world and Volume 2.9 Copyright © 2015 - All rights reserved. www.the-arts-today.com November 17, 2015

believes that it doesn’t take a martyr to do it, he believes he can with the little he can do and is good at.

-What exactly does the start-up do?

1.We produce comics which are currently available online at no cost to the reader, 2. We help companies extract stakeholder value for their products by using comic strips to create and implement compelling advertising strategies for their brands targeted at an internal and external audience 3. We teach art and design on our social media platforms and speak at conferences on the power of comics, self confidence and other art forms.

-What values and ethics do you want to promote with your comics?

We believe in the power of stories. Sometimes, people struggle with acceptance of who they are. With our stories, we want to reprogram the values and beliefs that drive behaviour among individuals. We want to inspire people to believe they can be so much more than they think if only they believe, we want to drive them to believe they have the power to influence their future.

-What subtle messages can readers find in your comics?

Some of our stories are focused on entertaining the audience, while others will include phrases that inspire you to think deeper about self worth. We drive the message- We can all be heros and We are all guardians, guardians of our future. Our flagship character Guardian prime focuses on motivating the reader to be better, inspiring him/her to believe he/she can be so much more than he/she imagines.

-What has been the company’s biggest success thus far?

We have won multiple awards which attest to the quality of our work but none of that matters as much as the fact that we have an opportunity to even do this. We have an audience that can read our comics!

We have a growing fan base and their love for the republic is really something, they draw our characters all the time, send to us and are eager to promote our stories too. We will be nothing without our fans. The fact that we have them and can impact positively on them through our messaging is to us the biggest success we can think of. We will be nothing without our readers.

What subtle messages can readers find in your comics?

Our characters have one thing in common, they are dogged and tenacious to say the least , they never give up that’s one thing readers will note “you cant keep Guardian prime down”, “ you cant stop power boy” etc were hoping to pass that subconscious message to the readers to tell them keep fighting for what you believe in...

Why did you choose to focus on women superheroes?

There is a lack of female heroes in the African scene in general , girls don’t have heroines to look up to these days ,rather they have celebrities of questionable characters , what you end up with is a generic stereotype of the female gender, girls are seen to others as delicate roses and we say yes females are roses but roses have thorns and roses are tough not delicate, we wanted female characters that would become icons to the African girl growing up to give them something to aspire to that they too can be heroes and its not an all male field, its a tough audience to pitch to but we’ve got the right stuff.

Information provided by: Eduvie Oyaide Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications Comic Republic Website Facebook Twitter Instagram pg. 138

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Volume 2.9 November 17, 2015

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

By Terrell Carter Bettie Youngs Book Publishers

$15.00 paperback

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

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

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

pg. 140

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WATCH NOW!

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Way

Black In Time pt . 6

COMING THIS WEEK!

Animated WEB SERIES Starring The Black Archaeologist.

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Sew Angee

pg. 146

GRATITUDE One of the requirements for a class I’m taking is to write down everyday 5 things for which I am grateful.

My first thought was, “Oh, that’s nice.” Yet, having written them everyday for almost 2 months, I now understand the significance of taking the time to think about what I’m thankful for and why. I had the choice to write the list in the morning or at night before I go to bed. I chose the latter so that I could reflect on how my day progressed.

In the beginning of this assignment, I concentrated on events that occurred each day. On day 1, I was so thankful that the lady driving behind me while talking on her cell phone didn’t run into the back of my car on my way to work. On day 2, I was grateful that I ironed my pants before going to bed because I woke up late the next morning and my clothes were ready and hanging on the back of the closet door.

Though some days it was difficult to think of something that happened that I could feel thankful for. Did I really need to write down that I was grateful that my coffee didn’t spill on my laptop when I moved the stack of books? Was it necessary to note that I was grateful for hot chicken noodle soup at lunch?

And really, was it silly to list clean sheets, a fluffly pillow, and fuzzy socks one night when I couldn’t think of anything else?

After all this list making, I realized that I’ve become calmer. When unexpected events occur, I just roll with it. Just this evening, my car wouldn’t start. In the past I would have panicked, wondered what to do, and worried about what might happen…. Instead, I called for roadside assistance and simply waited for the man to arrive. I’d already had dinner, was in a well-lit, well-traveled location. I also had gas in my car, emergency cash, a fully-charged cell phone and a Kindle. I was back on the road in 35 minutes, no worries.

I also believe that the daily lists of gratitude have made me a more optimistic person. Instead of thinking about what went wrong during the day, my focus is on what went right and how I can make the next day even better. I’ve met new people, had new experiences, and have some new artistic opportunities coming my way. I even found a used sewing cabinet for my quilting machine. After sewing for a few hours, my neck and back don’t get tense and ache.

And this happened because I decided to be grateful for what I already have. I think Maya Angelou’s words are correct: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” So far, it’s working for me.

Nope, it wasn’t silly at all. Over time, I came to realize that it’s easy to be grateful for the big things: family, friends, food, and a job that pays for all your needs and a few of your wants. But sometimes it’s best to be thankful for the little things, the things that you don’t often think about or take for granted.

Yes, be grateful that lady didn’t hit your car. The folks waiting on a cold bus stop at 6:00 A.M. wish they had a car. Be grateful that your clothes are ironed and ready to go in the morning. Some of my students have to wear dirty, wrinkled clothes to school because their mom can’t afford to pay the water bill.

It is necessary to be thankful for hot chicken noodle soup, especially when some people don’t have anything to eat and beg on the street for help. And who wouldn’t be thankful for a warm, comfy bed to sleep in at night… especially one with a warm quilt to snuggle under?

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Sew Angee... keeping the world bright, colorful, and funky

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Black Archaeologist Group / Facebook pg. 150

Way Black In Time

t i n NOW w O DVD! on

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OPPORTUNITIES

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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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