Arts Today vol 3.4

Vol 3.4 |

June 17, 2016

Feat. Artist

Ambrose WESLEY PAPER BAG SERIES pg #63

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DIVERSITY IN...

SMALL ADVANTAGES

SPIRITUAL REV..

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OPERA THEATRE - STL

DR. JERRY WARD

DAVID SCOTT PARKER

IN THIS

ISSUE:

4

IN THE NEWS POLITICAL HISTORY...

6

TBA OP / ED TBA

20 IVORY PERRY CONCERT SERIES UNION COMMUNION MIN.

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24 JOURNEY - A STORY OF THE ISRAELITES EYESEEME

128 HAS COLLEGE LOST...

DR. MALAIKA HORNE

FEATURED ARTIST JEANETTE LANDRY

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LIVE / WORK / PLAY NATE JOHNSON

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DIVERSITY IN OPERA OPERA THEATRE ST. LOUIS

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36 THE COLORED MUSEUM THE BLACK REP

JUNE IS MORE THAN BLACK MUSIC...

BERNIE HAYES

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

Baba Sherman Fowler,

Griot and Poet

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

IN THE NEWS

Judge Signs Order to Release

Michael Brown Investigation for Brown Family Lawsuit

By MCNS Staff A St. Louis federal judge signed an order on Monday with protections for the evidence from the investigation into the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, Jr. that will be released to lawyers in a lawsuit levied by Brown’s family. The order outlines restrictions on sharing the information for use in the suit.

Local reports indicated that US District Judge Richard Webber agreed in April to release the evidence for the lawsuit. Following the decision, the details of restrictions on the information had to be negotiated.

That information includes the names of grand jury witnesses, as well as witness interviews, statements made to police and the FBI, statements read to grand jurors and autopsy photographs.

The evidence is to be used in a lawsuit filed by the Brown family against the city of Ferguson, former Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson, and Darren READ MORE

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Your Source for Art Appreciation

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 6 WAYS TO MAKE EXERCISE...

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

LIVING THE CREATIVE LIFE SEW ANGEE ............................................................pg #148 WRAP IT UP LENA O.A. JACKSON ..........................................pg #154 FOODIE ADVENTURES RANOUSH ...............................................................pg #160

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OP / ED SECTION

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DIVERSITY I N

O P E R A

Providing a Stage for all Voices

pg. 8

DIVERSITY IN OPERA Providing a Stage for All Voices

By Anh Le p Like the rest of the entertainment world, the opera industry has historically been challenged to provide ample opportunities for artists of color. This issue was highlighted last August when The New York Times published an article about the Metropolitan Opera’s historic use of skin-darkening makeup for the title character in Otello. The public responded with a range of opinions, sparking a firestorm in both the opera media and industry. In September, the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players canceled its run of The Mikado, following a wave of protest about an all-white cast.

ALYSON CAMBRIDGE AS MIMÌ IN OTSL’S 2009 PRODUCTION OF LA BOHÈME. PHOTO © KEN HOWARD

In October, Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette added to the dialogue with an article titled “The rarity of black faces, not Otello in blackface, should be the issue in opera,” for which she interviewed a number of AfricanAmerican opera singers. Soprano Alyson Cambridge, who sang Mimì in Opera Theatre’s last La bohème (2009), said, “Otello is a specific voice type. There may or may not be a person of color to sing that role; regardless, though, it’s key to the story line. So I feel like it’s a costume in some ways... I wonder about the greater issues, in general, of casting opera. There are black singers who are qualified to sing these roles. Why don’t they get cast?”

From Opera Theatre’s first years, the company has made a special point to engage singers and artists of color in key roles, and not just through “color-blind” casting in traditional repertory. From Minoru Miki’s Jōruri (1985) to Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha (2000) to Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s Shalimar the Clown (2016), OTSL puts a wide range of voices and cultural experiences on our stage. In 2018, the New Works, Bold Voices series will continue with An American Soldier, which tells the true story of Private Danny Chen and confronts the stereotypes and realities of the Asian-American experience. With each commission, Opera Theatre expands the range of opportunities available to singers from every walk of life — because opera can, and should, speak to every aspect of the human experience.

“Diversity in opera is about casting, commissioning work, filling leadership positions, but also about deciding whose stories get told, whose identities and perspectives give vibrancy to the work,” wrote The Daily Good, praising a new production of The Magic Flute at Glimmerglass Festival. In addition to a highly diverse cast, the director’s interpretation was also inspired by the experience and legacy of Native Americans. In short, opportunity is not just about the casting of traditional roles, but is also created through new stories that speak to today’s diverse communities and experiences. continued on next page

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DIVERSITY IN... cont.

DIVERSITY IN OPERA continued from previous page

Opera Theatre invited a few of this season’s singers of differing backgrounds to share their personal stories. Participants included soprano Lauren Michelle (Musetta in La bohème), tenor Geoffrey Agpalo (Gopinath Razdan in Shalimar the Clown), and bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock (Bulbul Fakh in Shalimar the Clown).

What are your thoughts, as a singer of color, on the question of casting for roles like Otello? Do you find it problematic for artists to be dressed to represent a different race, or do you believe that it is an inescapable necessity for theater?

AA: As a singer of color, I do not think it is controversial to paint a singer to look like the Moorish character Shakespeare created. Changing the color of a singer’s/actor’s skin for a CHAMPION (2013). PHOTO © KEN HOWARD role — or rather, painting them — is merely just a cosmetic issue to transform the artist into the role in which they have been cast. But if companies would like to remain true to a story without that kind of makeup, they should simply hire a singer of color to portray the character.

AUBREY ALLICOCK AS YOUNG EMILE GRIFFITH IN

GA: I admit there have been instances when I have been personally offended by yellowface, and it’s no wonder considering the long history of the offensive use of blackface/yellowface/redface in theater. Its original intent was to make a mockery of disenfranchised ethnic groups. There may be productions where the intent of the artists is not intentionally malicious, but the unfortunate fact is that the history of theater is too steeped in negative representations to disregard it. I disagree with the traditionalist idea that things like blackface are necessary in modern practice to conserve the story. If race is as integral to the plot as we say then the necessity is not makeup, but diverse casting and perhaps audience re-education.

LM: Hiding behind the term “color-blind casting” isn’t forward-thinking if you can’t start by considering everyone equally in the first place. I believe men of color could be found for Otello.

In your career thus far, how has your ethnic heritage influenced the roles that you have been offered, have turned down, or have been most excited to pursue?

AA: Coming from a Guyanese heritage, I am often mistaken for many other ethnic heritages.

I usually get the question: “What are you?” Since my look is more exotic, I can easily fit into many different types of characters. So I have not really been cast just for my coloring alone, not that it hasn’t been a deciding factor in certain roles.

GA: The only Asian character I have portrayed is Prince Sou-Chong in Lehar’s The Land of Smiles and I was very excited about the opportunity. Although the music is incredible, the storytelling is filled with cultural stereotypes of cold and stony Asian men. I would be excited to experience takes on traditional pieces like Pearl Fishers, Turandot, or The Land of Smiles that would experiment with addressing the sensitive issue of the historical representation of Asians in these operas.

LM: Honestly, I just want everyone to be heard the same and be on equal grounding. Unfortunately, we’ve regressed from the 80s when people were able to be heard.

In your opinion, is there an important distinction between (or needed prioritization for) color-blind casting in traditional repertory vs. the creation of new operas based on culturally-specific stories?

AA: In my opinion, I see more new works being cast with a specific cultural look in mind. You will definitely see this in Shalimar the Clown’s very diverse cast. And I see nothing wrong with this. The creators and directors of these operas have a specific idea of what they want, for any opera old or new, and there is a huge pool of talent out there that can fit into any of these ideas.

GA: I always appreciate color-blind casting. Unless Hooker [from last season’s Emmeline] was actually Filipino-American, how else would you explain a “colored” foreman in early 19th century New England? I think the creation of new culturally-specific works goes hand-in-hand with this. Until there is an abundance of these operas I would be out of work if I were cast strictly based on my ethnicity.

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pg. 10

GEOFFREY AGPALO AS HOOKER IN EMMELINE (2015).

PHOTO © KEN HOWARD

LM: When Mozart set The Marriage of Figaro to music, it was highly political. The original play was even banned in France when it first came out! And when Verdi was composing a lot of his works, entire scenes were omitted or he had to alter things because of his political messages. Are we even coming close to doing that today? What would the equivalent opera be today that would make the United States government want to omit a scene?

At the time of its premiere, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess created opportunities for African-American singers who might otherwise have struggled to be cast. Today, however, many African-American singers feel frustrated when they constantly field offers to do the same role (e.g. Porgy) over and over again. Do you ever worry that modern companies are creating works that might pigeonhole future generations of opera singers?

AA: I have heard this “pigeonholed” term for years and years throughout my training. It was always simply more of a worry for my teachers rather than myself. In productions of Porgy and Bess specifically, it mostly boasts a cast of African-American opera singers that most people have never seen or heard. It has created many opportunities for African-American singers and created many stars we still listen to today. I’m not worried whatsoever about companies creating works that may pigeonhole a singer, any singer. The fact of the matter is your gift and talent will always make a way for you. In this field, many singers, aside from the huge stars, don’t get to choose who hires them or for which role they are hired. We are lucky to simply be hired.

LM: The sad truth is that Porgy and Bess still does create opportunities for singers of color who are not getting hired in other roles. I wish this wasn’t the climate that we all work in.

Race-specific operas should be made, because it helps open up the conversation that we desperately need to have in our industry. As for being pigeonholed, the problem is not the work, it’s the casting across the entire operatic repertoire.

GA: As an Asian-American opera singer, I feel my perspective on Porgy and Bess is unusual.

To my knowledge there are no operas in the repertory performed with as much proliferation that specifically call for a cast of Asians, or for that matter Native Americans or Middle LAUREN MICHELLE AS IRINA IN WASHINGTON NATIONAL Eastern/Western Asians or Latinos. That does not mean that African-American singers OPERA’S PRODUCTION OF LOST IN THE STARS (2015). should be beholden to Porgy and Bess. The feelings of frustration are real and legitimate.

PHOTO © KARLI CADEL/WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA. Representation in opera is limited to a few roles. It’s the same reason all minorities should be frustrated. But we shouldn’t feel threatened that new works might place labels on us. On the contrary, I think the only way we can be pigeonholed is if we are content with what we have and stifle new works.

If you were able to commission an opera for yourself, what is the one story (or even individual) that you would want to portray onstage?

GA: The 1960s farm labor movement would be a great story to tell. Many are familiar with Cesar Chavez’s influence, but FilipinoAmerican farmers played a huge role in the birth of the National Farm Workers Association. It would create opportunities for Latino as well as Asian-American performers.

LM: Frida Kahlo. (Actually, I think she’d be more of a mezzo, but let’s not talk about that…)

What, in your opinion, are the greatest barriers today for a singer of color? And what can opera companies do to help remove those barriers?

LM: We should open up the discussion, as the rest of the United States is currently doing. If companies aren’t sure where to start, the corporate world has already taken these steps. They have already addressed hiring practices for both women and people of color. We should do the same for both artists and staff... It’s not mysterious.

AA: In my opinion, the greatest barrier for a singer of color would be opportunity in this field. This also includes finances, such as grants from opera companies that want to support us, and winning competitions. The world is not short on talented opera singers of color, but the singers of color are given fewer opportunities in roles in which they are able to shine. What opera companies can do is to think more outside of the box when it comes to hiring singers and programming operas. Companies like OTSL and even Washington National Opera are true examples of companies where you will see the finest singers of color on their stages. OTSL has given me many opportunities when no other company would give a young African-American male a second glance. THIS is what it takes!

GA: I once did an outreach production of The Barber of Seville where I sang Count Almaviva, the romantic lead of the opera. At the end of the performance one of the children asked why Rosina didn’t end up with Figaro, who happened to be played by a Caucasian baritone. I admit that the singer playing Figaro was criminally attractive, so it may have had nothing to do with my race, but one of the most difficult obstacles for me is believing I can portray a character convincingly. As an actor there are many things I can do to convince the audience I am a hero or romantic lead, but my skin color is the one thing I have little to no control over. I think if opera companies continue to educate and train audiences to be more color-blind through diverse casting it will remove one of the toughest barriers we have as performers. p 37

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IVE WORK PLAY

Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

JUNE

8

thru

JUNE

13

pg. 14

Local Events JUNE

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IVE WORK PLAY

JUNE

14 thru

JUNE

20

Tribute to David Bowie

June 17th

Powell Symphony Hall

Shakespear Festival - A Mid Summers Night Dream

Starting June 17th Forest Park

pg. 16

CIRCUS FLORA at Grand Center

The Joey Alexander Trio

June 18th Jazz at the Bistro

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IVE WORK PLAY

BLUE OCTOBER

June 25 The Pageant

JUNE

21 thru ST. LOUIS AMBUSH

JUNE

31

June 26TH The Family Arena

LIVE AND LET DIE - PAUL MCARTNEY TRIBUTE

June 24th

Powell Symphony Hall

pg. 18

Chick Corea Trio

June 21-22 Jazz at the Bistro

at Urb Arts

June 24th The Muny

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Ivory P

UNION COMMUNION MINISTRIES PRESENTS...

Infrared Rockers - June 26 6-8 PM

Since the 80’s, the St. Louis based Infrared Rockers has broadened the Reggae audience in the St. Louis metro area with their unique soulful and original music. They are world renowned and have played to audiences in many U.S. cities. They also have played in the Ivory Coast, with Burning Spear and in Jamaica. Their musical works have garnered numerous awards. The band has returned after a decade long break due to personal tragedy. They are back and bringing much needed freshness to the Reggae scene in St. Louis and throughout the U.S.!

The Soulard Blues Band - July 24 6-8 PM

The Soulard Blues Band has been playing Blues since 1978. While St. Louis is their home, the SBB has performed throughout the U.S. and, while on tour in Germany, recorded the CD “Live In Stuttgart.” The SBB was voted St. Louis’ best Blues Band 13 years in a row in the RFT readers’ poll. With ten records released to date, the latest recording project is slated to be released in the summer of 2016. Extraordinary singer Marty Abdullah is at his best singing the Blues for his hometown.

​Cheryl Brown - June 26 6-8 PM

Cheryl Brown is the premier choice when it comes to jazz, soul and R&B. A vocalist with terrific range. She is often called upon to pay tribute to the magnificent women of Motown. Her supple voice makes her the obvious choice when the crowd wants to hear Whitney Houston, Diana Ross and others. Count on Cheryl to bless the crowd with her vocals

CONCERT pg. 20

Perry 2016

“

This is a family affair, so bring a picnic or purchase from a vendor and let the kids play in the bounce house and get a face painting.

”

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pg. 22

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

In celebration of Juneteenth and the 1 year anniversary of the the opening of the EyeSeeMe African American Children's Bookstore, The Journey, a story of the Israelites, is debuting in Saint Louis on Saturday, June 18th as Harris Stowe State University.

The Journey is a unique theatrical musical filled with African rhythms, soulful negro spirituals, gospel music, poetry and dance perfectly woven together in portraying the story and culture of a people dispersed from the Promise Land, through the Sahara to Western Africa, and then pg. 24

June 2016

18

to the Americas.

The perfect Juneteenth story, which highlight a people who found their way through the hallways of time enduring unimaginable experiences, and yet still triumphing as survivors.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self­ development and respect for all cultures.

The Journey has been performed to sold­out crowds in Harlem, New York, Toronto, Canada, and London, England. Bring the whole family and experience the passage of history; you will laugh and you will cry. You will be amazed. This is a show you will not want to miss! Appropriate for all ages.

EyeSeeMe, is the only children’s bookstore in the region devoted exclusively to promoting positive African American Images while advocating for Academic Excellence. Eyeseme focuses on three key initiatives, Early Childhood literacy, African American History for children and families, and promoting positive Black images.

Date/Time:

June 18, 2016 at 7pm

Location: EMERSON PERFORMANCE CENTER at Harris­ Stowe State University Bank of America Theater 3101 Laclede Avenue St. Louis, MO 63103 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Tickets can be purchased online at:www.eyeseeme.com or at the EyeSeeMe bookstore Adult: $20 in advance, $25 at the door Children: $10 in advance, $15 at the door Group Discounts Available Proceeds will help the EyeSeeMe Foundation continue its work towards increasing early childhood literacy, promoting black history, and providing books which highlight positive black images for all children.

For More Info: (314) 349­1122, or visit their website at www.eyeseeme.com. *Vendor Tables Available SHARE THIS EVENT

FOLLOW ON TWITTER

SHARE O N FACEBO OK

Copyright © 2016 Eyeseeme, LLC All rights reserved.

pg. 26

FORWAR D TO A FRIEND

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at Ivory Perry Park Infrared Rockers

Reggae

Sunday, June 26, 2016 6:00 p.m.

Soulard Blues Band with Marty Abdullah

Blues

Sunday, July 24, 2016 6:00 p.m.

Cheryl Brown

R&B, Soul and Women of Motown

Sunday, August 28, 2016 6:00 p.m.

Presented by

Union Communion Ministries

on the Commerce Bank Stage in Ivory Perry Park 800 N. Belt, 63112 (3 blocks north of former Connect Care)

In the event of inclement weather concert will be cancelled.

For more information visit us. at www.ivoryperrypark.com or Facebook and Twitter at Union Communion Ministries THIS EVENT IS SUPPORTED BY

Westminster Presbyterian Church (USA) Pilgrim Congregational Church (UCC) Union Avenue Christian Church (DOC) St. Louis Friends Meeting (Quakers)

The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy STL Assoc. MO Mid-So. Conference UCC Centric Group Yoga Alliance®

W H I TA K E R F O U N D AT I O N pg. 28

OLIVE BAR ROOFTOP O P E N TO N I G H T Click to RSVP COMPLIMENTARY ENTRY 10PM-11:30PM(ladies) and 11:00 (Men)

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

Small Advantages of the

C

asual, unscientific observations about events in American daily life reveal a shrinking of civility. Vulgarity flourishes.

Self-fulfilling irony lends credibility to unfettered expressions of hatred. Relentless negativity is normal, and iconoclasm is unchecked.

People who thirst for power, who want to manipulate and dominate others, know how valuable Adolf Hitler’s comment on “the big lie” (see Mein Kampf) is for 2016. They lie with glee. Those of us who want to preserve our partially free lives and much of our sanity are driven to embrace Machiavelli’s suggestion that a person who vows to be good all the time comes to ruin among people who choose not to be good.

We are driven to acknowledge the peculiar wisdom of Aimé Césaire’s proposal in Discourse on Colonialism (1955) that Hitler deserves to be studied because “he makes it possible to see things on a large scale and to grasp the fact that capitalist society, at its present stage, is incapable of establishing a concept of the rights of all men, just as it has proved incapable of establishing a system of individual ethics.”

The prevailing climate does not bode well for people who insist on being public intellectuals. One might predict they will be killed literally and figuratively as fascist democracy materializes. To be sure, the United States of America has no monopoly on bad behavior as a new world order dawns, as actuality triumphs over reality. We should see things on a large scale. All nation-states contribute to the progress of global tragedies. The handful of United Nations officials who might risk their lives to tell “a truth” can supply confirmation.

Now it is good to read (or discover for the first time) Sissela Bok’s Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life (1978), Samantha Power’s “A Problem from Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide (2002), and Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life (1985) by Robert N. Bellah and others. In the near past, public intellectuals garnered a modicum of respect. Thinkers as diverse as Derrick Bell, Noam Chomsky, Mari Evans, Rachel Carson, Toni Cade Bambara, Ishmael Reed, Angela Davis, Vincent Harding, Edward Said, Amiri Baraka, and John Hope Franklin could urge us to be still and to seek clarity in critical thinking. A public intellectual who was a rare politician wrote The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2006) and reached the mountain top of American politics. Gone are those days.

We are witnessing a death of integrity, and we are asked to find colorblind salvation in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Bob Kaufman and Audre Lorde; in the fictions of Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, and John Grisham; in the prophetic essays of Ayn Rand and James Baldwin; or in the transparent texts of Benjamin Franklin ($100) and Thomas Jefferson (5¢ ). It is not “correct” for our jaded ears to discriminate among John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra , Nina Simone, John Cage, Beyonce Knowles, Adele, Elton John, Curtis Mayfield, Esther Phillips and Roberta Flack as sonic thinkers. Our smoke-filled eyes should not discern the difference between a toilet stool and a genuine work of art. We are encouraged by a devolving world to be a docile congregation in the dumpsters of reality televangelism. Anti-intellectualism ascends. The American majority has spoken.

So what? So nothing. Our option is to now praise the private intellectual, the woman or the man or the person of rainbow gender who refuses to be a commodity or a spectacle. The private intellectual is not immune, however, to corruption, to the horrors that destroy many insecure public intellectuals. Sooner or later, the worm will invade privacy. There is no hiding place.

As an embattled group, private intellectuals think and write quietly, communicating nationally and internationally with others who scorn the trolls of ephemeral fame. Disciplined by choice, they insist that integrity has value and that poverty does have a few virtues ; they create works for a dubious future. They try to avoid whorish, niggardly egotism. Perhaps time will either redeem them or condemn them to permanent invisibility and silence. Only a future can make that decision. Whatever the case, private intellectuals are most often models for not wasting one’s life in vanity. They teach us something about the small advantages to be found in nanoseconds of creative happiness.

Jerry W. Ward, Jr.

We swirl like leaves in a hurricane. Chomsky is taken to task for what is alleged to be “simple sloppiness” in his “selective use of history” in Who Rules the World? (2016). In his review of this book, Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch (access https://www.hrw.org) does have the decency to say that “imperfect as the book is, we should understand it as a plea to end American hypocrisy” (NYRB, June 9, 2016, page 8). In this context, nothing is said of Chomsky’s lasting contributions to linguistic theory. Likewise, political condemnations of Cornel West, scapegoat #1 in neo-liberal imaginations, avoid the decency of saying West provided a noble contribution to contemporary thought in writing The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism (1989) before acclaim and fame led him into a lurid wilderness . Like William Blake’s invisible worm, fame has targeted Ta-Nehisi Coates and other young thinkers who steadfastly refuse to worship false gods.

pg. 30

June 4, 2016

Private

INTELLECTUAL

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pg. 34

Beginning and Partial Listing of Leaders Attending the National Black Political Leadership Conference June 3rd – June 4th 2016 – St. Louis, MO Delegates Outside of St. Louis Area Malik Zulu Shabazz – Chairman, National Black Lawyers for Justice – Washington, D.C. Omali Yeshiteli – Chairman, African Peoples Socialist Party – St. Petersburg, FL Amefika Geuka – National Co-Chair, One Million Conscious Black Voters – Palm Beach, FL Minister Akbar Muhammad – International Representative, Nation of Islam – Atlanta, GA Reverand Darrell Gray – Former State Senator/Kansas & Southern Christian Leadership Conference Civil Rights Activist – Atlanta, GA Reginald Peavy – Freedom Party Representative – New York, NY Judy McNeil – Freedom Party Representative – New York, NY Jose Evans – Chairman, Black and Latino Policy Institute – Indianapolis, IN Khalid Raheem – Founder/Chairman, New Afrikan Independence Party – Pittsburg, PA Robert White – Professor, Alabama State University – Tuskegee, AL Nycere Bey – Moorish Holy Temple of Science of the World – Austell, GA Bill Goodin – UAPO Representative – Baltimore, MD Shakur Bey – Senior Director of Community Consultant Coalition – Los Angeles, CA Apostle Dr. E. Earl Scott – Servant of the Creator to the Created – Los Angeles, CA Cherri Montgomery – CEO Joy Cable Station – Chicago, IL Dr. Gail Frazier – Chairperson, National Black Agenda Consortium – Chicago, IL Shaka Barak – President, Marcus Garvey Institute – Chicago, IL Lionel Nixon – Media, Political and Housing Specialist – Chicago, IL Monique Singh Bey –Candidate for United States Senate/Kansas – Kansas City, KS

St. Louis Delegates Cori Bush – Candidate for United States Senator/MO Bishop Eric Morrison – Candidate for Governor/MO Rev. Tommie Pierson – MO State Representative and Candidate for Lieutenant Governor/MO Yolanda Fountain Henderson – Mayor of Jennings, MO Patrick Green – Mayor of Normandy, MO Rachel Proudie – Candidate for Mayor of Ferguson, MO Rev. Clyde Crumpton – Cote Brilliante Church Minister Donald Muhammad – Mosque 28 Adolphus Pruitt – President, St. Louis Chapter/NAACP Reynaldo Anderson – Professor, Harris Stowe University Sherman George – Retired Chief Fire Chief & Commissioner of St. Louis City Jesse Todd – 18th Ward Committeeman & 72 State Representative District Candidate Anthony Bell – 3rd Ward Committeeman Bob Williams – Co-Founder, The People’s New Collaboration & UAPO Member Eric Vickers – Noted Civil Rights Attorney McArthur Moten – Noted Civil Rights Attorney Eddie Hasan – Congress of Racial Equality Jessie Lofton – Chairman, Congress of Racial Equality Roderick Bell – Photographer George Moore – UAPO Activist Victor Addison Rev. Elston K. McCowan – Star Grace MB Church & UAPO Member Amari Sneferu – Founder, Junior Black Chamber of Commerce & UAPO Member Gwendolyn Cogshell – UAPO Community Outreach Coordinator Benita Tops – CEO, Topps General Construction & UAPO Member

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NATIONAL BLACK POLITICAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

____Pre-registration $35.00 ____UAPO Members $25.00 ____ At Door $45.00 ____ Students $15.00 ____ Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend, but here is my donation of $_______ to support the cause Date _____/______/___________ Name ________________________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ City ________________________________________________ State __________ Phone (_________)__________-________________

Zip Code _____________________

E-mail ______________________________________________________

Mail To and Make Checks Payable to: UAPO, PO Box 9226, St. Louis, MO 63117 For More Information call (314) 833-4151

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The

COLORED

Museum

pg. 36

ONE

ONL T Y! NIGH

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 7:00 PM Free and open to the public.

The Black Rep and CAM celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the acclaimed play The Colored Museum—written by two-time Tony award-winning theater polymath George C. Wolfe—with a staged reading in CAM’s galleries. The performance is part of the sixth annual Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY event and will be presented in association with a variety of other theater companies, museums, and institutions throughout the US and abroad.

Told through a series of eleven consecutive vignettes, or “exhibits,” the Black Rep’s staged reading of The Colored Museum uses CAM’s current exhibitions as backdrops to the reading. Wolfe’s play uses satire and dark comedy to convey a journey of self-discovery, exploring both black history and the impact of African culture within America. The performance will feature a wide spectrum of St. Louis’s creative talents, including Debra Bass, Carol Daniel, Anita Jackson, Coco Soul, and actors and directors Kathryn Bentley, Jerome Davis, Tre’von Griffith, Fannie Lebby, Jacqueline Thompson, and Keith Tyrone Williams.

The event is free and open to the public. At the event, donations will be accepted toward scholarships for students in the Black Rep’s Summer Performing Arts Program.

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

Listen...

NEW Thread Podcast w/Kerri Miller

Kevin Powell Interview About "the woman writer that changed his life"

Minnesota Public Radio pg. 38

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

June 6th Women for Peace featuring DuEwa and other artists!

What else is going on?

Saturday, June 11 ­ DuEwa @ B Fest Teen Book Festival at Barnes & Noble Ladue Rd. 11am Thursday, June 16 ­ DuEwa @ POET TREE reading seriesfeaturing Dr. Michael Castro St. Louis Poet Laureate, Eugene B. Redmond, & Shirley LeFlore 14th Street Artists Community Gallery 1pm

pg. 40

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pg. 42

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

S.L .A .M.

St. Louis Art Museum

ART COLLECTIONS

EXHIBITS

EVENTS

Admission to the Museum is free every day.

Hours:

Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 am–5:00 pm

|

Friday, 10:00 am–9:00 pm

|

Closed Monday

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

pg. 44

Book of Poetry by Lenard D. Moore

th on 30 iti d Ed ite ry Lim ersa niv

An

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

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pg. 46

The BCG is about relieving yourself of your job, family and anything stress related and allowing yourself and your significant other the opportunity to LIVE the high life for a weekend.

We always have dynamic couples from all over the country and the BCG allows our couples to meet some great people in a welcoming and beautiful environment. A variety of networking opportunities is also inherent in the weekend programming as well.

The BCG is designed to rejuvenate the individual and the couple as a whole. Take advantage of the resorts rejuvenation services and the BCG’s revitalization programming.

The (BCG) offers a variety of attractions and entertainment for the couples relax and enjoy one another, enjoy the pools, beach, casino, golf, sports... it’s impossible to get bored!!

BOOK NOW Don’t miss out on this amazing event! You and your partner deserve to RELAX, RELATE and RECHARGE.

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ONLY A FEW S SIGN UP T

Southern Spain a Roots of Rememb July 17— $3595.00 double/$70

For registration f Email: senegalsisterciti

Appreciate the cultural riches, histo architectural treasures on this esco West Africa. You will be mesmerize Palace, an iconic symbol of Spain’s stronghold of the Moorish Kingdom be captivated by the House of Slave Door of No Return, a museum dedic atrocities of the Atlantic Slave Trad will have ample time to enjoy conte shop in markets, and feast in restau

Includes:

Roundtrip Transatlantic Airfa  4 nights in Spain— cities to in Granada  5 nights in Senegal — cities t and Thies  9 nights /3.5 star hotels  Daily breakfast with select lu This educational tour will include three pre-session meetings  Ground transportation & En to familiarize travelers with our destinations. Dr. Ruth Iyob, professor at the UMSL, will discuss the life of the Moors and  English speaking guides 

their travels from North Africa to Southern Spain. Dr. Iyob specializes in the study of nationalism, colonial citizenship, and remittance economies in the regions straddling the African Mediterranean and the Horn of Africa. When we arrive in Cordoba and Granada, we will experience historical and contemporary life related to the African diaspora.

pg. 48

Subject to change.

Organiz Consulate of the Rep Delta Life Developm Missouri-Senega

SEATS LEFT TODAY

and West Africa brance Travel Tour 27, 2016 00 single supplement

form, questions, ties2011@yahoo.com

orical legacies, and varied rted tour to Southern Spain and ed by the beauty of the Alhambra Moorish heritage and the m until 1492. In Senegal, you will es (Maison des Esclaves) with the cated to remembering the de. In addition to looking back, we emporary life — meet people, urants.

are from New York City nclude Madrid, Granada, and

to include Dakar, Saint– Louis,

unches and dinners ntrance fees included

zed by public Du Senegal ment Foundation al Sister Cities

We are delighted that Honorary Consul to Senegal, Dr. John A. Wright, educator and author, will accompany the group to Dakar and Saint Louis, Senegal (St. Louis Missouri's only African Sister City). Dr. Wright has led tours for educators and citizens to Senegal since 1984. He was one of the founding members of the St. Louis Missouri-Senegal Sister Cities Committee and organizer of the International African Sister Cities Conference in St. Louis in 2005. Dr. Wright coordinated the acclaimed "More in Common Than Just A Name" publication by students from St. Louis, Missouri and Saint Louis, Senegal, showcasing our two cities.

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pg. 50

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

June is MORE THAN Black Music Mont h -

T

he recent opening of the National Blues Museum in downtown St. Louis is noticeably attracting more Caucasians than AfricanAmericans but the number of Black people attending is increasing, but I must ask, are some AfricanAmericans ashamed of the Blues?

June is Black Music Month and while hip-hop and the music they now call R&B will be promoted, I must ask how do you feel about the blues? Do you love it? Do you care about it? Do you consider it ‘the Devil’s music? Do you care if this part of African-American history will vanish or cease to exist?

We as a people have a tendency to let others think for us, and do the work we should be doing for ourselves. We have lost so much.

We lost our neighborhoods to ‘urban renewal’, and we have lost most of our neighborhood schools.

We also have an inclination to do away with our traditions by trying to be like someone else. We have a yearning to look like, act like, eat like and dress like anyone the advertising agencies conjure up.

We don’t write the textbooks our children study, nor do we control the school boards in the districts our children attend. Someone other than us writes most of our history, and the account and an enormous portion of the history of the blues is kept in the school that had to have federal troops to allow

a black student to attend. We are now about to lose the true history of the blues.

This musical style was created in response to the hardships endured by generations of African American people. It originated in the rural Mississippi Delta region and is inseparable from the African American culture of the region itself. After World War II, the center of blues activity moved to cities such as St. Louis, Memphis and Chicago, where musicians such as Henry Townsend, Johnnie Johnson, Tommy Bankhead, Muddy Waters, Riley "B. B." King, and others strengthened and improved the sound.

During the 1950s white musicians such as Elvis Presley and Bill Haley adapted this style and often covered rhythm and blues hits. In the present day, most blues music is heard on college and community radio stations and the venues and audiences are predominantly white. If we as a people care anything at all about this cherished and esteemed part of our heritage, it must be preserved, and it should be conserved by us. We owe this legacy to future generations.

Most dedicated musicians’ work full time at this art form, devoting time and energy, combined with love and affection. Only a few reap the rewards of such a demanding but exalting career. In many instances, AfricanAmerican and white blues musicians are too poor to support themselves or

afford health insurance. Some cannot travel even moderate distances to perform because of low or moderate earnings for their acts. I hope the National Blues Museum will focus on these shortcomings and inequities and make things better for us all.

And what about Juneteenth? Are you familiar with the celebration? Will you consider commemorating the event by studying its origins? Have you heard about the connection to Juneteenth and the ending of slavery of Black people?

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865, almost two and a half years after, is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. The occasion is celebrated annually, on June 19, in more than 200 cities in the United States. It is a legal holiday in Texas and Oklahoma, but five other states have now passed Juneteenth holiday bills and ten others have issued holiday resolutions.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, promoted Negro history to work against the misrepresentation of African Americans in American society, thus giving credibility to the contributions of blacks.

Juneteenth has come to symbolize for many African-Americans what the fourth of July symbolizes for all Americans.

Freedom.

Blacks do celebrate the Fourth of July in honor of American Independence Day, but history reminds us that blacks were still

pg. 52

Are You Aware of

?

JUNE TEENTH

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BSAM 2016 cont.

enslaved when the United States obtained its independence. That is why I believe the Juneteenth celebrations are so important. It honors those African-American ancestors who survived the inhumane institution of bondage, as well as demonstrating pride in the marvelous legacy of resistance and determination they left us.

Locally, Curtis Faulkner and Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, is working overtime to have Juneteenth recognized by every state legislature and hopefully someday become a national holiday. They said the movement is not advocating for Juneteenth to become a paid state or federal holiday, but as a National Holiday Observance, similar to Flag Day. What do you think?

Bernie Hayes

pg. 54

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pg. 56

reAPPEARANCES June 18, 2016 with Susan Stang at the International Photography Hall of Fame

Come to hear Susan Hacker Stang speak about her new project and limited-edition book, reAPPEARANCES. reAPPEARANCES is a sequence of fifty-two photographs that takes the viewer on a journey through the uncanny coherence of the look of the world. The series includes photographs taken in a number of countries and cities, and this variety of locations makes even more apparent the serendipitous connections between different places and cultures.

Susan will speak about how the project began, grew and eventually became the sequence that comprises the book. A book signing will follow the talk.

More information at iphf.org Members Free/Non-Members $5 RSVP at info@iphf.org or 314-535-1999

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In the BEGINNING GOD Created Xochitl

The enclosed attachment is a poster for a concert entitled “In the Beginning, God created Xochitl/ En el principio creó Diós Xochitl” that I will be giving with my (sometimes) band the Spiritual Revolution Ensemble, which concert is dedicated to my daughter Xochitl and all children on planet Earth, on Saturday afternoon, 2 July, at the Tavern of the Fine Arts. (Please check out the attached poster, designed by Tony “Professor Lobotomy” Patti. It’s quite lovely.) Free admission, by the way.

My daughter Xochitl and her mother Margarita will be flying up to visit me later this month and of course will be attending the concert.

This concert will feature poems of the great (although not well-known outside of Nicaragua) poet Alfonso Cortés, set to music by myself. I am also very happy and honored that the poet Shirley LeFlore has agreed to read some children’s poems and “Illuminations” (her poem dedicated to Alice Coltrane), which I shall accompany on piano and I am most excited about. Shirley was a member of the historic Black Artists Group, as were Charles Bobo Shaw and Glenn Papa Wright, who will also be participating.

(By the way, Alfonso Cortés, 1893-1969, was born and lived most of his life in León, Nicaragua, and my daughter currently lives there not far from Alfonso Cortés’ neighborhood.)

The motivation for this concert is the love I have for my daughter Xochitl and the belief that all children born on this planet Earth deserve to be loved, cared for and have all their needs provided for. Such motivation is very important and inspiring, even if it results in sentences that end in prepositions.

This is a concert that is geared toward children. But adults shall find this to be an enjoyable afternoon as well. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Peace and creativity, David Scott Parker

pg. 58

the SpIrItual revolutIon ensemble

EN EL PRINCIPIO CREÓ DIOS XOCHITL IN THE BEGINNING, GOD CREATED XOCHITL

(a concert of poetry and music dedicated to my daughter Xochitl Parker and all children on planet Earth – DSP) David Scott Parker – piano, vocals, composer Shirley LeFlore – special guest poet Charles Bobo Shaw - percussion Glenn Papa Wright – karimba & percussion Dave Black, Kendra Mahr – guitars Aaron Strayhorn Parker, Ariel Kenyatta – flutes

SATURDAY, 2 JULY, 2:00 PM – FREE ADMISSION Tavern of Fine Arts, 313 Belt Ave. St. Louis, 63112 http://tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com/

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Click image to

WATCH NOW! pg. 60

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

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Featured

Artist

Submission

pg. 62

Ambrose

Wesley

Composition for Infinite Space and Time XX, 2011 68” x 51” – 149.6 cm x 112.2 cm 8,670.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Composition for Infinite Space and Time VII 72” x 72” – 158.4 cm x 158.4 cm 1,2960.00 pg. 64

Composition for Infinite Space and Time XI, no. 3 48” x 48” – 121.92 cm x 121.92 cm 6,000.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Composition for Infinite Blue Space and Time XXX, 2006 80” x 40” – 176.0 cm x 88.0 cm 8,000.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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pg. 68

Composition for Infinite Space and Time XV 84” x 40” – 184.8 cm x 88.0 cm 9,500.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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pg. 70

Composition for Brown Paper Bags I, “Homeless” 48” x 48” – 105.6 cm x 105.6 cm 6,300.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Composition for Brown Paper Bags XXXX, “Aged”, i,ii,iii,iiii 2” x 40” – 158.4 cm x 88.0 cm 8,400.00 If sold as one piece pg. 72

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pg. 74

Composition for Brown Paper Bags XI, “Life” 36” x 72” – 79.2 cm x 158.4 cm 6,480.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Composition for Brown Paper Bags VI, “Marching” 60” x 40” – 152.40 cm x 101.6 cm 5,500.00

Composition for Brown Paper Bags XXI, “Freedom” 80” x 30” – 203.2 cm x 78.20 cm 6,500.00 pg. 76

Composition for Brown Paper Bags XXX, “Survival” 47” x 60” – 103.4 cm x 132.2 cm 8,750.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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pg. 78

Composition for Brown Paper Bags XXXI, “Therapy” 60” x 43.5” – 262.40 cm x 110.49 cm 5,873.00 Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Painting With Experience Ambrose Wesley - A Synopsis

A primary purpose for me is to show everything is important to the artist. Inanimate objects, the senses of the bodies, and the awareness that we bring to our view of art are essential. I am concerned with improving communication between the artist and the viewer. If I as an artist will not put forth a superior effort in my work, then I cannot expect the viewer to get anything from my work.” (From the Book of Thoughts by Ambrose Wesley, August 16, 1986)

Wesley, who is described as a “Futuristic Surrealist”, described his style as an extension of reality in time and space. He begins with real life images and situations and attempts to bend and stretch his art to match his vision. The diversity of his studies and other influences has resulted in clean-cut geometric forms, rhythms, movement and grace, to exemplify the spirited evolution of his paintings. The large sizes of Wesley’s paintings and his use of optical illusions of space, time and dimensions are significant. “I invite people to not only look at my work, but to become an active participant by traveling the pathways, entering the doorways and peering into the connected windows, which will take you through space, time and dimensions beyond!” His artistic style works together toward mapping pathways, doorways, and connecting windows, which provide endless directions for the viewer.

sensitivities and perceptions of others…Beyond the Journey.

The Brown Paper Bags Series, that is part of Ambrose Wesley’s PostItalian works, is representational of specific social issues. His Paper Bag Series reflects upon issues of homelessness, family, community and everyday life. The messages in this series of paintings will hopefully make us aware of our changing society and our responsibility to that society. Hopefully, we will see in these paintings the battle is never won until everyone has a home, the opportunity to live equally in our community, in a family system, and a life with all its obstacles, rewarding.

In 1973, Ambrose Wesley attended and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art and Art History from St. Louis University. In 1982, he studied at the Institute of Arts and Restoration and Painting in Florence, Ambrose Wesley’s paintings make a statement of how we must meet Italy. He has been an art instructor and exhibitor for over forty years. the challenges before us and when these challenges are encountered . He is on the educational tapes African-American Artist – Past and asked the questions of ourselves, “What will we do?” and “How Present by Reading and O’Reilly, Wilton Programs. In 1997, he was will these challenges cause us to grow?” Growth is, in essence, an selected for the Cultural Arts Institute (CAT), sponsored by the Regional increase of self-awareness. Self-awareness is an appreciation of the Arts Commission and Webster University. As a CAT Fellows he has pg. 90

Photographer: David Kenney

held community art programs at Community Women Against Hardship, Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, PAIS, One Church – One Child and Neighborhood Housing. He has participated in local and national art exhibitions, as well as an international art exhibit in Brazil and Saint - Louis, Senegal, West Africa. In 2005 and 2008, he participated in an international exhibition that was held in Taiwan, Taipei and Japan. For the past forty years he has donated his artwork to charitable organizations, colleges and universities that addresses educational and social issues from St. Louis, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri to Tallahassee, Florida, Senegal, West Africa, the Vatican, South Africa, Brazil, Bolivia, and Romania.

“I have come to the conclusion my paintings will reflect a mental involvement of the As part of his commitment to community services Ambrose Wesley serves on numerous community boards and advisory committees. He has received viewer and a combination of several awards and certificates of recognition: The “Teen Pregnancy: It’s Everybody’s Baby” and award of appreciation from the Missouri Bootheel religious and humanitarian Healthy Start & SEMO AHEC April 12, 2002, Community Services Award, from the Trinity Mt. Carmel Church (1994) and the National Black direction. My paintings should Child Development Institute Award, Inc (1990) and the Minority Network Community Service Award (1990), for commitment to positive development be a statement about man, his of children and youth, the World of Difference Award for Cultural Development (1989), the 20 Year Recognition Award (1988), from Sigma life, sufferings, joys, pleasures, Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Zeta Sigma Chapter, and in 2001, Certificate of Achievement for strengthening the bridges of friendship and understanding between Saint Louis, Missouri and Saint - Louis, Senegal. He is a Viet Nam pains…” (From the Book of Thoughts by Ambrose Veteran and a Prince Hall Mason, an Honorary Fellow of the Phylaxis Society Wesley) - All rights reserved - 2008 and in March of 2014 received the Presidential Award for his commitment to the Phylaxis Society.

Ambrose Wesley’s life both inside and outside embodies a deep commitment to children and community. He was married to Mary LaRena Hite Wesley for over thirty years until her passing in 2013 and has one daughter, Rega Courtney Wesley-Stewart, son – in – law, Calvin Stewart, one grandson, Calvin Stewart III and one granddaughter, Evyn Rayne Stewart.

Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

Artwork can be viewed at the Regional Arts Commission on Delmar.

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pg. 92

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

A Town Hall to re-define public safety!

This will be a place for St. Louis citizens to talk about public safety and government accountability in a post-Ferguson world. We’ll engage in activities that challenge us to re-think how we can use our tax dollars to fight crime and to meet basic human needs. Let’s create a new public safety model for the City of St. Louis!

Thursday, June 23, 2016

(Doors open at 5:30 pm)

6:00 - 8:00 pm

Gateway Classic Sports Foundation 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive

Childcare available upon advance request.

Light refreshments served.

For more info, contact OBS at 314.367.5959 or email contactus@obs-stl.org

pg. 94

t e e w T t e e w T t e Twe t e e w T t e e w T t e Twe t e e w T t e e w T t e Twe t e e w T t e e w T t e e Tw t e e w T t e e w T t e e Tw Follow us Tweet t e e w T t Twee t e e w T t e e w T t e e Tw t e e w T t e e w T t e e Tw @ArtsTodayez

#artstodayEZ

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pg. 96

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Featured

Artist

Submission

pg. 98

Jeanette

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Landry

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

pg. 106

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NEW YORK SUMMER INTERNSHIP FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS!

The Jinah Parker Project is looking for both in-person and virtual interns to work in the worlds art and culture and sexual assault awareness, from early June thru early August 2016.

20 hours per week, for college credits only. Candidates must

have:

1) strong writing and overall communication skills 2) a deep love for all art forms, including dance, music, and theater 3) very good organizational and leadership skills 4) a warm and open spirit and simply be a good and kind human being, with two great references.

Responsibilities during the internship will include work on the on-going development of SHE—a multimedia suite on sexual violence, Sandra Bland, and healing (SHE premiered in New York City recently and will return in the Fall, as well as embark on a national college tour). TO APPLY IMMEDIATELY

please email jinah@jinahparker.com pg. 108

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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. 110

“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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Open to all youth in the metro area.

Facebook

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Games! Hotdogs! Prizes! Fun!

Open House

Sat. June 18, 2016 10 am - Noon Rowan Community Center, 1401 Rowan Avenue

Program runs Saturdays from June 25-July 20. $1 per child weekly Download program leaflet.

I

-Field Trips -Lunch -Black History -Science Projects -Arts & Crafts -And much more!

Copyright © 2016 Youth Council for Positive Development, All rights reserved.

You're receiving this email because you have supported the Youth Council with your time, energy, dollars and/or expertise.

Our mailing address is:

pg. 112

http://eepurl.com/b5ofZb

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If you have been thinking about leaving your job and starting a business, you need to attend this seminar! Before you spend time and lots of $$$ on a business idea, PLAN TO ATTEND THIS EVENT!!! #Entrepreneurship101

#Entrepreneurship101 #websterUNIVERSITY #april23 #2pm #3:30 pg. 118

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60 Lessons in 60 Minutes June 4th at 1:30pm with Michael Swaboda at the International Photography Hall of Fame Educator, digital imaging specialist, and graphic designer Michael

Swoboda will present an entertaining lecture on techniques, concepts, and strategies for creatively improving the visual qualities of photographs with an eye to commercial design sensibilities and to the value of photographic and fine-art traditions.

Members Free/Non­Members $5 RSVP at info@iphf.org or 314­535­1999

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Way

Black In Time Series

An animated black history web series for the whole family.

Season # 1 # 2, And # 3, DVD’s at: BlackArchaeologist.com https://www.facebook.com/BlackArchaeologist/videos/886767681406592/

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pg. 122

Attending college can be quite expensive for students and their families. Luckily, there are many college scholarships and contests available to help pay for a college education. Students should seek out and apply for scholarships in which they meet the eligibility requirements. Below are some of the 194 college scholarships and contests with deadlines in June 2016.

Only brief information about each scholarship is listed. Therefore, students are encouraged to visit the scholarship websites to get further details about eligibility and requirements.

“Aspiring Animation Professional” Scholarship Sponsor: Animation Career Review Amount: $1,000 Deadline: June 1, 2016 Description: Scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors who intend to purse an animation related field at an accredited post-secondary school or college.

180 Medical Scholarship Program Sponsor: 180 Medical Amount: $1,000 Deadline: June 1, 2016 Description: Scholarship is open to students attending a two-year, four-year, or graduate school program full-time in the fall. Applicant must be under a physician’s care for a spinal cord injury, spina bifida, transverse myelitis, neurogenic bladder, or ostomy.

2016 CURE – Cancer Support Scholarship Sponsor: Lep Foundation for Youth Education Amount: $5,000 Deadline: June 1, 2016 Description: Scholarship is open to students who were diagnosed with cancer in childhood and whose disease and related treatments placed a significant financial burden on them and their families.

Actuary of Tomorrow – Stuart A. Robertson Memorial Scholarship Sponsor: The Actuarial Foundation

Amount: $9,000 Deadline: June 1, 2016 Description: Scholarship is open to full-time students entering as a sophomore, junior or senior at a U.S. accredited education institution. Applicant must have successfully completed two actuarial exams.

Adam Greenman American Dream Scholarship Sponsor: Adam Greenman Law Amount: $1,000 Deadline: June 1, 2016 Description: Scholarship is open to incoming or current college students. Applicant must submit an essay describe the career they want to pursue and how their education can contribute to the American Dream.

American Ground Water Trust Annual Scholarships Sponsor: American Ground Water Trust Amount: Up to $2,000 Deadline: June 1, 2016 Description: Scholarships are open to high school seniors who are intending to pursue a career in a ground water related field.

Click Here for More Info!

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pg. 124

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MOSES PLAYING AT THE SIGHT & SOUND THEATRE

BRANSON, MO SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2016

DEPARTURE: SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 at 6:00 AM RETURN: SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 at 11:00 PM (Please indicate which category)

 Child (3-12): $90.00  Teens (13-18): $105.00  Adult (18-up): $120.00

TRIP INCLUDES:  Round Trip Transportation  Light Breakfast  Snacks  Shopping Experience  Ticket to “Moses”  Exciting Enviornement  Movie

We accept cash, credit card, check or money order payable to T. Barber / Jazzy Events Mail Payments to: Jazzy Events – Attention Twana Barber, P.O. Box 210962, St. Louis, MO 63121

Deposit due July 1, 2016: $40.00 2nd Payment due August 1, 2016: $40.00 Balance due September 1, 2016 **Complete the Reservation Form on the reverse side & Return it with your deposit** **Payments are non-refundable but transferable** For additional information: Contact Jazzy Events at (409) 571-9454 | jazzy75@me.com | pg. 126

MOSES PLAYING AT THE SIGHT & SOUND THEATRE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2016

PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN THIS FORM WITH YOUR DEPOSIT

NAME:

ADDRESS:

EMAIL ADDRESS:

PHONE #S: HOME: CELL: WORK (OPTIONAL): DATE:

 CHILD  TEEN  ADULT AMOUNT PAID:

Twana Barber | (314) 324-3626 | jazzy75@me.com Willie Mae Barber | (314) 856-2434 | cookiewm2@gmail.com | Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

Has College Lost Its Relevancy?

Has College Lost its Relevancy?

In 2008, the economy took a nosedive with an unprecedented and dizzying impact.

Volatility has been marked by the Wall Street meltdown, the housing crisis, labor unions worsening, stagnant wages, soaring college debt, globalization and offshoring, a whirlwind of technological changes and advances, fear of immigration and smaller government.

Also occurring is an increase of previously marginalized ethnic groups bolting into the mainstream economy, competing from the rank-in-file to the highest levels.

Therefore, if today’s workers don’t stay abreast of changes and adapt accordingly, it becomes near impossible to take it all in to survive and thrive.

A breaking point resulted in a workers’ rebellion, culminating in near-fanatical support for presidential candidates Donald Trump, a conservative, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist. This is backed by racial animus and hostility particularly on the hard-line political right. On the far left, Senator Sanders has been relentless in attacking the “sick greed of Wall Street,” pointing out, for example, that 90 percent of all new income goes to the top one percent. He also criticizes the way political campaigns are financed, for example, the rich like the Koch Brothers buying elections. This is also a searing indictment of the economy and government leaving so many behind.

Having an occupation – in the first place -- is to make a contribution to a chosen field and to improve quality of life. This is why young people in the 21st Century must juggle a number of constraints if they are to realize their potential after high school. Strangely, naysayers are challenging whether moving on to the hallowed halls of academia is really worth it anymore, disparaging the time-honored tradition of bestowing diplomas as not worth the proverbial sheepskin it’s written on. To be abundantly clear, higher education is still one of the best investments for one’s future.

pg. 128

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, African American educator and activist (1858-1964) said: “Education is the safest and richest investment possible. It pays the largest dividends and gives the grandest possible product to the world.”

Paradoxically, as the country is opening up more and more, perhaps the most culturally diverse in the world, critics are now proclaiming that college is no longer relevant. Do not listen to them. If not college, then it’s important for young people to pursue some sort of post-secondary education or training, such as preparing for a technical skill, in other words, working with tools, to be a plumber, chef, hairdresser, masseuse, electrician, carpenter, healthcare provider or a computer technician.

In 2009, President Obama said: I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option.

This is particularly important for people of color and women as they have been steered or segregated into certain occupations that typically pay lower wages.

For example of the 500 occupations in the U.S., women are concentrated in only 21.

Until lately, traditional women’s work such as social worker, teacher, waitress, administrative assistant (formerly secretary) or nurse has been the primary occupations foisted on young women’s career aspirations. The term housewife -- for all intents and purposes -- is obsolete. Even though the more updated terminology, stay-at-home mom, is part of the current lexicon, but rarely is a woman expected to never work outside the home. In fact, it’s said that men were influenced to let go of this archaic gender role (housewife) because they were tired of or incapable of being financial responsible for everything.

Barring Asian American men, who typically make the highest salaries, men of color also experience unequal pay. In addition, unskilled manual and factory laborers are all but gone. Since the 1950s, there have been substantial changes in farm work, with the advent of agribusinesses. Contrary to conventional notions, Latinos Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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HAS COLLEGE... cont.

represent less than 50 percent of farm workers. In the 1960s, Caesar Chavez led a hard won fight to unionize this type of work.

In Missouri, the current minimum wage is $7.65 per hour. Fourteen states have raised hourly rates as of January this year. In 2016, it’s $11.50 in Washington, D.C. and in California and Massachusetts, it’s $10; these states represent the highest minimum wages in the nation. Still, this isn’t enough for families to have a living wage, which is the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs, particularly in urban areas.

For 2015, the Federal poverty guideline for a

household of four people is $24,250 in the contiguous 48 states and D.C. A household of eight has a poverty guideline of $40,890. So, do the math.

Across ethnicity, men -- and to a lesser extent women -- have long had some protections and benefits if they worked in union shops. Unfortunately, unions are on the wane and wages are declining. History is fraught with big businesses engaging in huge fights to bring down unions. Moving manufacturing companies abroad where workers are paid much less has also contributed. The Economic Policy Institute said that unions historically have had a substantial influence on raising wages. The institute acknowledged: Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For example, a high school graduate whose workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more than similar workers in less unionized industries.

It added that pay is just one part of the equation; fringe benefits are another: The most sweeping advantage for unionized workers is in fringe benefits. Unionized workers are more likely than their nonunionized counterparts to receive paid leave, are approximately 18% to 28% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are 23% to 54% more likely to be in employer-provided pension plans.

By the same token, intellectual pursuits should not be trampled down. College students learn a breadth and depth of knowledge through liberal arts (general education), electives and their major (a students’ principle course of study, such as business, medicine, criminal justice, anthropology, etc.). They learn critical and pg. 130

independent thinking skills that train the mind how to think and acquire learnedness of life lessons. Philosophy and the classics give students a deeper understanding of history, politics, economics and culture.

Education bolsters a democracy and is a hedge against demagogues and tyranny. In other words, it prepares adults to be productive citizens, voting and serving in public office. The educated tends to be more active in communities, empowered and informed, making healthier and wiser choices and decisions. In fact, specialists contend that people with higher education tend to vote at higher rates.

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, a nonprofit organization founded in 1920, is considered one of the most effective of its type in the country. It states on its website that: “The Scholarship Foundation … is based upon the conviction that an educated citizenry is essential to a healthy democracy. The Foundation sees higher education as a catalyst for positive change, a force that can transform the lives of individuals and families and advance the economic and civic health of societies.

Universities or colleges can be viewed as “finishing schools,” to further socialize or acculturate men and women into their professions. Students from working class backgrounds may not be privy to the nuances and shades of meaning of another socio-economic group or subculture, yet to be familiar with professional codes of conduct and attitudes are essential for career success. Some refer to it as soft skills and protocols. Soft Skills represent personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects, which help to build social capital. Hard skills represent a person's skill set, talents and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity to build human capital.

Additionally, college students become more assimilated, understanding the importance of symbolic markers for social polish such as appropriate dress, speech patterns and body language. They acquire the necessary social capital to gain access to opportunities that most likely would be previously denied.

As they say:

“In Rome, do as the Romans.” The old saying of racial passing, which hopefully has Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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HAS COLLEGE... cont.

seen its better days, could well now morph into class passing, loosely put that is, moving from the working class to successful professional careers. Furthermore, students are exposed to cultural diversity as most institutions have incorporated it into their mission and vision statements, seeking to enroll a broad swath of different cultural and ethnic groups, including international students. Unfortunately, predominantly White institutions have lagged behind in hiring faculty of color and senior-level administrators. This makes HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) all the more attractive, particularly for African Americans.

As the world becomes more connected and smaller, it’s important to raise awareness, value and appreciation about the richness of American culture and cultures around the world. Moreover, university students are typically involved with service projects and internships at home and study abroad programs, which prepares them to be more culturally competent. Therefore, they’re generally encouraged to appreciate the strength of cultural diversity and internationalism and to eschew bigotry and hatred.

Dr. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was an extraordinary intellectual who went to the Sorbonne University in Paris, writing her dissertation flawlessly in French, graduating with her doctorate. She is best known for her book, A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South, called the “first feminist Black women’s text.” Her intense study helped her to see through the veils of racism, classism and sexism, examining the interlocking systems of race, class and gender oppression. Typically, only an academic of this caliber could be able to dive deep enough for these pearls of wisdom for us to have the privilege for future harvest, uplifting, illuminating and enlightening.

During this recent volatile period, lay-offs, downsizing, rightsizing, mergers and acquisitions, off-shoring or just shuttering a company or organization can leave employees in a lurch. Landing on one’s feet after losing employment can be gut wrenching. The luckless can sink into poverty, homelessness even mental illness.

Without education, retraining and retooling provided by schools, particularly pg. 132

community colleges, but also four-year institutions, many individuals and their families would experience terrible fates, slipping through the so-called safety net.

Non-traditional students are usually older; they delay education for various reasons, e.g., no interest at the time, marriage, children, lack of funds or other obligations.

However, if they lose their jobs, they can enroll or re-enroll part-time or full-time for retraining or to obtain a degree. To put it another way, these schools can level-set (reverse) an individual’s downward spiral, by offering practical career education skills for financial stability. We live in a “credentialed society” that requires some sort of document or certificate proving a person’s qualifications. This is becoming a sine qua non.

Prior to the 1960s, before integration as they say, it was common to hear Whites say Blacks were not qualified for better jobs. So taking heed, an increasing number went further in school. According to a 2012 BET report called, Graduation Rate of African American HS (High School) Students Increases, it said the rate for African Americans was 68 percent, up by nine percent. It also increased for Latinos. The overall 2012 high school graduation rate was 80 percent. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education noted: “More encouraging is the fact that over the past seven years (1998 to 2005) the black student graduation rate has improved at almost all of the nation's highest-ranked universities.” The report added that Black women are outpacing Black men. In fact as of 2016, Black women lead all groups in college enrollment.

Britni Danielle’s article, Did you Know Black Women Lead all Groups in College Enrollment? Watch This? She wrote: According to the data, 9.7 percent of Black women are enrolled in college. Asian women are second, with 8.7 percent working toward degrees, followed by Asian men at 8.4 percent, White women at 7.1 percent, Black men at 7.0 percent, Hispanic women at 6.6 percent, White men at 6.1 percent, and Hispanic men at 5.9 percent.

So this is not about being a nerd, although there is nothing wrong with having a high I.Q. In fact, it’s largely desired among most in this country and around the world.

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HAS COLLEGE... cont.

It should also be noted that Black women have the highest voting rate of any other group.

Yet, they experience one of the

Lastly, student debt notwithstanding, those with college degrees make more money over a lifetime than the less educated, more than a million dollars. A 2011 article in

largest wage gaps. But pay

Huffpost College said: “People with a bachelor’s degree

inequality would be worse if

make 84% more over a lifetime than high school

they weren’t as educated.

graduates. “

In this society, you can’t do much without money, that “lean, mean, mean green” as the O’Jays sang in their popular 1972 hit, For the Love of Money. The lyrics later say: “For a small piece of paper it carries a lot of weight.” Aside from professional athletes or performers like actors and singers, there are very few roads to honest money, hence, the most assured is post-secondary education.

Interestingly, in a sermon given by Frederick Lewis Donaldson in Westminster Abbey, London on March 20, 1925, the right honorable mentions money first, in the following:

The Seven Social Sins” Wealth without work.

Pleasure without conscience.

Knowledge without character.

Commerce without morality.

Science without humanity.

Worship without sacrifice.

Politics without principle.

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

pg. 134

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

Redefine the Life in Your Lifestyle I know that it’s been a while since I’ve e-mailed you, I truly hope that all is well!

I also hope that you’ve been able to stay up to date with all the happenings via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Between my recent trip to Mexico and the latest additions at the Meditation Lounge, there’s been way more to share than there is time, but I do the best I can!

Healing Spa is Back!

So I want to tell you quickly that right after Journey Meditation this Sunday, the Healing Spa starts at 5:15pm! I haven’t offered this experience since October so I know that many of you are super excited about this.

If you haven’t yet been, it’s a beautiful experience...

You will be in a group setting with soothing, healing music to help you relax while you focus your intentions on the clarity or healing you seek. I’ll spend 15-20 minutes per person laying hands and sharing the spiritual insight that I receive for you.

Please Register in Advance Our standard classes no longer require advance registration, however due to the nature of this experience, I’ll need to limit how many people attend so advance registration is required in order to attend.

You can sign up online HERE or call 314-441-6929 to get signed up over the phone.

www.selenaj.com

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

I’m looking forward to seeing you in classes this Sunday!

Peace, Love & Light, SJ

pg. 136

MUST- VIEW New Orleans and HURRICANE KATRINA:

10 Years Later

Click Here to WATCH NOW!

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

314-566-9125

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

pg. 138

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for more info visit us online

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KEVIN TAYLOR (314) 427-6550 office (314) 540-8618 cell (314) 423-9133 fax

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WE SELL VEHICLES FOR CASH. PRICES ARE NEGOTIABLE. 9201 ST. CHARLES ROCK RD. \ ST. LOUIS, MO. 63114

MAKE ME AN OFFER. www.Allstarmotorsinc.com

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Check out Blackarchaeologist on Pinterest

pg. 140

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pg. 142

Sister's Keeper Products

Natural Hair & Skin Care

We have created an all natural, emollient-rich, and affordable product line. Our products are created using the most effective ingredients to nourish, rebuild, repair and rejuvenate hair and skin. Some of the items we offer are: Dream Whip Body Butter Dip Hair & Body Moisturizer Exfoliating Brown Sugar Body Scrub Brahmi & Rhassoul Conditioning Masque Goats Milk Soap Whipped Soap Frosting Raw Organic African Black Soap Cocoa Honey Deep Conditioner Penetrating Hair & Body Glaze Sister's Keeper Sunburst Shampoo Bar Totally Twisted Styling Custard Happy Hair Leave-In Conditioner We also offer a bi-monthly subscription service.

Contact us Website: www.sisterskeeper.biz Email: customerservice@sisterskeeper.biz Find us on Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest @SistersKeeperProducts

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Twitter @sisterskeeper11

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

6 WAYS TO MAKE EXERCISE A

1 Get Started

HABIT

You already know that exercising will make you happier, healthier, and help you live longer. Sure that sounds great, and you’ve been thinking about exercising more, but you’re still not doing anything about it. You’re stuck thinking about exercising. The best thing you can do is to stop thinking and start doing. Start moving more, more often. Starting is the first step towards creating an exercise habit. Don’t worry about doing too much too soon. Creating a workout routine and sticking to it is easier than you think.

Here’s how to do it:

2 Be Selfish

Exercise, fitness and health are all personal things. You don’t have to do a workout routine just because it is popular. You don’t have to run just because your friends run. Fitness should be fun. Figure out what types of physical activity you enjoy and do that more often. It might be hiking or biking, strength training or yoga. You might enjoy all of those things, which is great. Now get out there and do them on a consistent basis.

Being healthy and active does not require a gym membership, expensive equipment, a personal trainer or nutritional supplements.

Don’t over complicate exercise, keep things simple instead. You can do body-weight exercises and yoga anywhere, any time. Going for a walk or jog doesn’t cost a thing. And if you did want some equipment, a set of dumbbells and a jump rope provide endless options for circuit training. If you don’t need a gym you’ll be able to eliminate the “I didn’t make it to the gym” excuse.

3 Stay Simple 4

Own It

Schedule a time to sit down with yourself, a friend or family member to chat about your exercise habits. Maybe it’s the first day of each month, or the last. “When” is not the important part as long as you make it happen. Come up with a checklist of questions: Have you been keeping up with your workouts? Are you making progress? How are you feeling? What could you do better or differently? What are you struggling with? This type of meeting will help keep you accountable. It will also help you assess your progress and keep you on the path towards achieving your goals.

5

Check-In

6 Live-It

Don’t think of exercise as a chore. Instead think of it as essential to your survival. You can’t live without food and you can’t live without exercise. It’s a necessity, one that will make your life better.

Once you accept that as fact, fitting fitness in will be a habit not a hassle.

You have to take control of your actions and decide to be healthy. If you don’t, you’re actively choosing to be unhealthy. No one wants that. So take responsibility for your health, nutrition and exercise habits. You have to own it.

If you struggle with your decision making or find yourself skipping out on workouts enlist the help of friends and family. Join a running group or workout with a training partner. Challenge the entire family to go healthy and overhaul the foods that are in the house.

Make the healthy choice an easy choice. Before you know it, healthy won’t be a choice, it will become part of your lifestyle. pg. 144

Joe Vennare FitDay.com

Health, Beauty

And

Fashion

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pg. 146

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 © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

“

LIVING THE

CREATIVE LIFE T

o be a “creator” means you have to take risks and put yourself out on a limb. It’s about having an idea and following through.

It’s all about trying something. Sometimes your ideas work… and sometimes they don’t. But that doesn’t matter. When you live a creative life, you take the successes with the failures. You get up and keep going. You have to have courage to live a creative life. Or as author Elizabeth Gilbert says, “…creative living is a path for the brave.”

Creativity is essential to crafting meaning in our lives. It’s the source of interesting, imaginative, and enriching work that makes life worthwhile.

Creativity makes life meaningful and exciting.

Creative people think differently. They are able to adapt to new situations and to make do with whatever they have available. They are intrinsically motivated, that is, their motivation comes from within. They can focus on a project and are energized by new ideas coming from their own imagination or from somewhere else. They are curious and adapt their ideas to new information.

They constantly look for ways to improve or to create something new.

Creative living involves looking for more than one answer to a question or the ability to generate a lot of ideas. Creative people can switch from one perspective to another and often create an original idea because they’re not looking for a “one-size fits all” solution to a problem. They can think of a few novel ideas then spend the rest of their lives stretching, elaborating, and applying those ideas.

work itself. It’s about producing something.

Creative people are also often humble because they know that their creativity comes from the knowledge, skills, and hard work that they’ve put into the work they make. The artistry is the result of study, practice, and long hours. They know that their ideas are the result of everything they have learned and put into practice.

Creative people are very passionate about their work and very objective about it as well.

The passion keeps them motivated to continue working on their ideas. Their objectivity enables them to look at their work with a critical eye and be open to others’ responses or criticism. Detachment enables them to separate themself from the work that they’ve produced. They can look at the work with a critical eye and judge its quality. Even though they may be able to detach themselves emotionally from their work, creative people can still be very sensitive to others’ criticism.

For some, a creative life is a life of artistic expression. To others, it means to live on your own terms and give little credence to others’ expectations or opinions. Anyone can live a creative life, if they choose, by being willing to ask questions and be open to divergent answers. Be open to the possibilities.

Creative people often have playful attitudes toward their work. They take the work seriously yet like a child they are willing to experiment and are willing to risk their ideas will not work. They will gladly spend hundreds of hours on the hard work it takes to bring their ideas to fruition and at the same time maintain a childlike wonder and curiosity about the world around them. The amount of time it takes to create is not as important as the

pg. 148

”

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

The Education of Kevin Powell A Boy's Journey into Manhood NEW! Audio Book

HEY EVERYONE! I am so excited to announce the AUDIOBOOK for my new book, The Education of Kevin Powell, A Boy's Journey into Manhood (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster), is on SALE TODAY at Audible @audible_com. It is my 12th book, this autobiography, but my very first time narrating an audiobook. It was long and hard to do, but so glad I did it. I especially want to thank the folks at Audible, sound engineer Ari Raskin, and

the great music provided by production team The Cultural Bastards, and also singer Hendii and guitarist Ron Jackson.

You can purchase the audiobook at this link and also listen to a free excerpt, HERE: http://tinyurl.com/gwoe5 qe

Have a blessed day!

Kevin

pg. 150

d

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

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

pg. 152

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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pg. 154

ART OF FOOD

Wrap

it UP

S

o this month we’re going to keep it super short + simple and Wrap It Up. When you’re constantly on the run, wanting and needing something on the go or just want a simple and delicious meal to go...let’s make some wraps.

Wraps are often lower in calories than sandwiches with the same filling. As long as you monitor and measure the amount of cheese and pre-made sauces, it can be a great healthy alternative. You can easily take your favorite salads and throw them inside a tortilla shell for a filling meal.

Instead of buying store bought spreads and dressings, try making them from scratch. They are typically simple to make, you’ll know exactly what is in it & you will able to pronounce every ingredient. Try websites like Pinterest (my favorite) for different variations of spreads. Summer is right around the corner, so grab some wraps for your picnic and enjoy the weather!

by Lena O.A. Jackson

Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad Wrap Spring Mix or Spinach & Arugula Mix Red Apple, sliced Green Apple, sliced Walnuts, roughly chopped Feta Cheese Dried Cranberries Poppy Seed Dressing or Vinaigrette (your choice)

Grilled Veggie Quinoa Wrap Red Onion, thinly sliced Red Pepper, thinly sliced Zucchini, sliced Garlic, minced Alfalfa Sprouts or Bean Sprouts Baby Spinach Quinoa, cooked Hummus Directions: Sauté red onions, peppers, zucchini & garlic until slightly

tender. Be sure not to overcook, you want the veggies to still have a slight crunchy bite to them. Let the hummus be the 1st ingredient inside your wrap, it will act as a spread. Feel free to swap out the hummus for any other spread or dressing.

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Greek Wrap Romaine, chopped Red Onion, thinly sliced Cucumber, sliced or chopped Kalamata Olives, pitted & halved Goat or Feta Cheese Greek Dressing Roma Tomatoes, halved

Grilled Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Wrap Grilled Chicken Grilled Pineapple Slice Romaine, chopped Red Onion, sliced Sesame Seeds Teriyaki Sauce

Caesar Salad Wrap Romaine, chopped Red Onion, thinly sliced Croutons, crumbled Roma Tomatoes, halved Red Onion, thinly sliced Grilled Chicken or Grilled Salmon

Bon Appétit, Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

Doré

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pg. 158

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Volume 3.4 June 17, 2016

Ranoush

Foodie Adventures |

Middle Eastern Flavor

Fine SyrianCuisine

In continuing our quest to try out restaurants that Missouri has to offer, we ducked into Ranoush one day while strolling the Delmar Loop. The red door-way stood out on the corner. When you first enter you notice the whole restaurant is dimly lit and is decorated with Middle Eastern objects, wall coverings, drapery and furniture. There is even a Hookah Bar behind one of the drapes.

This was our first time ever trying Syrian food. The names in the menu were a little intimidating, but with the help of the descriptions (and our waiter) we made great choices. I tried the Ranoush Chicken and Shrimp. This main course included shrimp, chicken, vegetables and pita bread. The chicken and shrimp were grilled perfectly, though the shrimp were much larger than I expected. The spices complimented the side salad that came with a creamy dressing that reminded me of the sauce put on gyros. The portions were also huge so be ready to take some home.

Enjoy the Mid-Eastern ambance by sitting inside listening to Mid-Eastern music while videos play on the big screen. Or continue to people watch in the loop by dining outside, either way you can’t go wrong. ~ Shontel @bdesignme @MsShontel

#trysomethingNew pg. 160

Ranoush Chicken and Shrimp

RANOUSH

Restaurant & Hookah 6501 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO Delmar Loop

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RICKKITA EDWARDS

CARDIO-CORE & MORE AT NORTH COUNTY REC. CENTER

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

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

(ALL CLASSES ARE FREE)

COMING SOON! WAIST-NOT FITNESS PERSONAL TRAINING #GETWAISTEDBYRICKKITA

pg. 162

Redefine Your Lifestyle

Selena J’s

www.meditationloungestl.com

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The

New African Paradigm Study Group (NAPSG)

is an organization dedicated to the empowerment and education of our community through book study and our lecture series. We have brought many African scholars to St. Louis to awaken our people and to get on one accord to face the challenges in our community.

The NAPSG is in need of your help so we are currently seeking new members to help us continue to be able to meet the demands of our lecture series and our study group.

Our study group meets every 3rd Sunday at Sabayet, 4000 Maffit, St. Louis, MO. at 4:00 p.m.

Please join us on our journey for knowledge of self, our gods, and our Ancestors.

Contact James Steward at (618) 977-8191 for more information.

Also, Like us on FaceBook.

pg. 164

Debra, Has issued a $100 challenge

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

VIEW CAMPAIGN

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ART OF HEALING

Your Ad or Article could be here!

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

pg. 166

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

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pg. 168

Ajuma Muhammad Author of 101 Proven and Effective Strategies for Empowering Black Boys

WATCH NOW!

1 0 Strategies

f o r E m p o w e r i n g B l a c k B oy s 1. Black boys should maintain a healthy relationship with God. 2. Black boys should honor and always respect their parents.

3. Black boys should embody greatness in everything they do.

4. Black boys should take pride in their history and culture.

5. Black boys should empower their community through leadership and service.

6. Black boys should be role models in their communities.

7. Black boys should honor, respect and protect the black woman.

8. Black boys should work to establish an economic foundation in their communities.

9. Black boys should travel internationally to better understand their place in the world.

10. Black boys should love themselves!

www.ajuma.org

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www.the-arts-today.com 17, 2016 Copyright © 2014 by AjumaJune Muhammad

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. 170

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

Click below to watch now!

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pg. 172

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FROM THE LAMBERT BROTHERS

Black Way

In Time Series The historical black history animated web series, Black Archaeologist will release a new episode in our WAY BLACK IN TIME SERIES, part # 9, next week.

You can purchase any or all three seasons on dvd at our website...

BlackArchaeologist.com pg. 174

watch now

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OPPORTUNITIES

pg. 178

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AD

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

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

PUT SOMETHING CLEAN ON YOUR TV! Copyright © 2016 - All rights reserved.

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pg. 180

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 pg. 182

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pg. 184

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