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HARLEM COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Resolving Conflict through Sacred Listening - Celebrating the Work of La-Verna Fountain

By Marisol Rodríguez

While many of us do everything in our power to avoid conflict, La-Verna Fountain has made it her life’s mission to lean into conflict with curiosity, compassion and a resolve to solve it.

“I’ve learned for myself that my purpose in life is to help be a bridge that would bring people together,” said Fountain. “My goal has always been to see another perspective, to understand, respect and value a voice that was not my own, and help share that so we as human beings can understand that there is a value and worth in another perspective.”

After years of developing her interpersonal and conflict-resolution talents, Fountain founded her own communications consulting firm Meaningful Communications Matters in November 2018. She has recently been involved in facilitating poignant and painful conversations related to the senseless killings of Black and Brown people at the hands of police.

Fountain brings a unique and sensitive viewpoint when engaging with those whose actions reflect racist beliefs: “I have always looked below the initial. I need to understand why you just did that. I am very grateful my first inclination is not to get angry, my first inclination is to feel sorry for you. What happened to this individual to cause them to hate me because of the way I look?”

One of Fountain’s current clients Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) was put in a predicament when it was discovered that one of their residential development sites in Inwood is also consecrated land where the native Lenape tribe held sacred ceremonies and enslaved Africans were buried.

Fountain has taken the lead on holding space for conversations she calls “sacred listening sessions” to unpack this predicament. “We need to respect and honor the people who were disrespected here, we can’t ignore them,” said Fountain. “To me it’s very powerful for BRC to say we aren’t going to move ahead until we listen. Sometimes it’s painful and people are afraid to speak up because people don’t want to be seen a certain way, which is why I try to create safe spaces.”

Another part of Fountain’s current consulting work includes assisting a client in creating a curriculum on holistic wellness (emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual) for individuals who are struggling with substance abuse and their family members.

Around 2006 Fountain began working at Columbia University, where she earned a Master’s degree in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. She served as Vice President for Strategic Communications and Construction Business Initiatives at Columbia for many years and taught the graduate-level Introductory to Negotiations class.

A main goal of Fountian’s work as Vice President had to do with building connections between the university and the Harlem community it’s located in. Some of the partnerships she is grateful for are with the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and Harlem Business Alliance.

Fountain has also collaborated over the years with Harlem Community Newspapers and admires it’s Editor-in-chief Pat Stevenson for her important contribution to uplifting the community. “When I talk to Pat I get so much positivity, that I had no choice, but to support her,” said Fountain. “I met someone who believes in the goodness of people, who believes in the power of the community, who wants very much for people to feel good about themselves and to see the positive.”

Prior to working at Columbia, Fountain was Senior Advisor at the global NGO Save the Children. One of her accomplishments as Senior Advisor was organizing a summit that brought together young people from impoverished areas all over the country including Appalachia, Mississippi Delta and Brooklyn, N.Y. to share their life story with each other. “To me what was eye opening in listening was how similar their story was regardless of where they came from,” said Fountain. “Each of the stories was about power coming in and doing things to communities without recognizing the value of the people who are in those communities.”

As an entrepreneur and author of two books, Fountain is an example of a hard working and inspiring female leader. Not only has she learned the value of mentorship and femininity as power, but also the importance of self-care. “Traditional old school values say my first responsibility is not myself as a woman, my first responsibility is my family, except not realizing the best thing I can do for my family is to take care of me, that’s a little bit of a mind twist sometimes,” she said.

Fountain lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with her husband of 38 years James Fountain and their German Shepard. Her son Andrew Fountain is a filmmaker. Fountain identifies as an introvert, having to spend time alone to regain energy. She also deeply values her friendships: “I make sure that I have very healthy, positive, loving relationships with other women. I call them my Phenomenal Women.”

WOW! Women of the World gather for 5th bi-annual festival

Posted by Audrey J. Bernard

The Apollo Theater’s fifth bi-annual WOW (Women of the World) Festival will take place online this year kicking off Saturday, March 20, and ending Sunday, March 21, 2021, via apollotheater. org. The popular international festival elevates the voices, experiences, and truth of women spanning all ages and will feature more than 80 thought leaders, scholars, artists and performers. Women are essential!

The two-day all digital festival sets the tone with this year’s theme Black Women Transcending! and will provide global access to an array of music, film, workshops, conversations, panels and performances featuring participants including HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” award-winning actress Aunjanue Ellis; New York Times best-selling author and co-host of CBS’ “The Talk” Elaine Welteroth; poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni; host of SiriusXM’s “Bevelations,” media personality and author Bevy Smith; motivational speaker, editor, and author Harriette Cole; and political and women’s rights activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu with performances by Adeline, Dionne Farris, and many more to be announced.

As part of the festival, the Apollo will feature a Live Wire conversation, Hazel Scott: The Darling of Café Society, part of the Apollo’s popular series that honors iconic individuals who have impacted the Theater’s history. Karen Chilton, author of “Hazel Scott: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist,” will lead this celebration of Scott with special guests, Damien Sneed and Camille Harriette Cole Aunjanue Ellis

Thurman.

WOW: Teen Summit will return to the festival and will dissect gender politics and how it impacts girls and young women of color. Through performances from singer, songwriter and spoken-word artist Brianna Knight and singer Alyssa Martinez and a panel discussion moderated by reporter and producer Kay Angrum with community activists Akia S. Callum, Malaysia Freeman, and Hebh Jamal, audience members will be encouraged as a collective to take action towards their goals.

The Festival will close with Apollo Film Presents: ImageNation’s Cocktails & Sol Cinema, featuring short films by women from around the world in speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy and folklore. Additional details and a complete WOW Festival line-up will be announced at a later date. WOW Apollo is presented in partnership with The WOW Foundation.

The Apollo Theater’s Fifth Bi-annual WOW (Women of the World Festival) presented in partnership with The WOW Foundation: Black Women Transcending! features more than 80 thought leaders, scholars, artists, and performers. Tickets for WOW (Women of the World), the live, virtual, two-day event start at $15 (through March 13), $20 for the week of the event (March 14-21) and are available now via www.apollotheater.org About The Apollo Theater

The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.

With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Master Artist-in-Residence Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals; large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival; as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations. For more information about the Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

About The Wow Foundation Dionne Farris Nikki Giovanni, Elaine Welteroth

WOW – Women of the World Festival is a global movement launched by Jude Kelly, CBE at Southbank Centre London in 2010. To date, The WOW Foundation has reached over 2 million people worldwide with its groundbreaking programs for change, including the WOW Festival. The WOW Foundation produces WOW festivals across the world to celebrate women and girls, take a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, and raise awareness globally of the issues they face while focusing on possible solutions. It is the biggest, most comprehensive, and most significant festival dedicated to presenting work by women and promoting equality for women and girls. https://www.thewowfoundation.com/ Support Apollo WOW 2021 is made possible by leadership support from Coca-Cola, Citi, Sherman Fairchild Foundation, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jerome L. Greene Arts Access Bevy Smith Fund in the New York Community Trust, HBO, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Public support for the Apollo Theater is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Leadership support for the Apollo New Works initiative provided by the Ford

Foundation.

BROOKLYN UPCOMING EVENTS

Now Until

December 2021

Classic Films at BAM

Presenting classic films, premieres, festivals, and retrospectives, with appearances by filmmakers, actors, and critics. Watch films like “Happy Together”, “In the Mood for Love”, “Chungking Express” and more at bam.org $12 each.

Saturdays Until June 5 2021 11:00-12:00pm

FREE Family Culture Fest

The Billie Presents the FREE Family Culture Fest 2020, an interactive weekly series created to get the entire family up and moving. You and your family will have the opportunity to learn from world-class instructors in the fields of mediation, yoga, dance, and African drumming from your own home. View online at thebillieholiday.org

Thursdays Until

July 15 7:15-8:15pm

Arts Academy

Speak The Speech

Students will explore Acting techniques through various texts from African-American Authors. For ages 9-18. Join online at thebillieholiday.org $10

Now Until April 11

Arrivals + Departures

During a period of incredible loss, as we enter a more hopeful spring, this public art installation pays tribute to people—both those entering the world and leaving it. Taking the recognizable form of a train station or airport arrivals and departures board, the public are invited to share names of people to the boards as a way of celebrating a birth (arrivals), honoring someone living, or commemorating a death (departures). Brooklyn Borough Hall. 209 Joralemon St. FREE.

March 18 12:30-1:30pm

The 1 Train

Join Museum Educator Kate Lanceley for a digital discussion to explore the history of the 1 train line. Discover details about the line including its unique architectural features, various construction challenges, and interesting facts about the decommissioned South Ferry loop station. Nytransitmuseum.org FREE.

March 18 6:00-7:30pm

Virtual Roundtable:

We Are Here

Celebrate the release of We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World, which profiles fifty influential artists and art entrepreneurs who are transforming the art world in New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. Three of the artists arrivals + departures (until apr 11)

Latinx Artists in the art world (Mar 24)

and changemakers featured in the book—Mohammed Fayaz, Lola Flash, and KT Pe Benito—join Director of Public Programs Lauren Argentina Zelaya to discuss the ways they imagine and create more radically inclusive worlds through their artistic practice. Online at brooklynmuseum.org Pay as you wish.

March 20-21 1:00-3:00pm

Seeds of Hope and Healing: A Virtual Making Brooklyn Bloom Event

Combining pre recorded presentations with live, interactive Q&As, Making Brooklyn Bloom 2021 is a FREE, two-day virtual event. The conference’s virtual workshops and talks will highlight the meaning, healing, and connection that plants provide us. By centering stories of seeds and the often difficult histories they contain and reveal, you’ll explore the question: Can sowing the seeds of our pasts help us heal our collective future? Online at bbg.org

March 20 11:00-11:45am

Immigrant Architect: Rafael Gustavino and Subway Style

Join for this special program with authors Berta de Miguel and Kent Diebolt, who will read sections of their beautiful children’s book Immigrant Architect: Rafael Guastavino and the American Dream while illustrator Virginia Lorente shares her drawing process live on screen. Be inspired by the Guastavinos’ and their big dream in this program for anyone ages 5 to 105! Nytransitmuseum.org FREE.

March 20 7:00-8:30pm

Film Screening for #StopLine3

Extinction Rebellion NYC hosts an outdoor screening of the documentary Necessity: Oil, Water, and Climate Resistance (Jan Haaken and Sam Praus, 2020) in conjunction with the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition. The film follows the Indigenous-led struggle to protect land and demand climate justice in Minnesota, where leaders are calling on the public to support their fight against the “Line 3” expansion of oil pipelines that carry highly toxic tar sands oil through Native lands and essential waterways. Brooklyn Museum Plaza. 200 Eastern Pkwy. FREE.

March 23 6:00pm

Brooklyn Resists, Act One: Suffrage, Abolition, and the Untold Stories of Black Women Leaders

Act One shines a spotstopline3 (Mar 20)

brooklyn resists act one (Mar 23)

light on both well-known and lesser known Black women leaders who fought for gender and racial equity during the decades surrounding the Civil War. From suffragists and abolitionists Maritcha Reymond Lyons, Elizabeth A. Gloucester, Susan Smith McKinney Steward, and Sarah Garnet, to anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells, experts and historians highlight the often hidden stories of women who effected change. Brooklynhistory.org FREE.

March 24 7:00pm

Latinx Artists in the Art World: Marketplaces and Museums

Join noted scholar Arlene Dávila, NYU Professor and author of the acclaimed Latinx Art: Artists, Markets, and Politics (Duke University Press, 2020) in a discussion about the strategies Latinx artists have pursued to create platforms for their work. Artists Glendalys Medina, Mary Valverde, and Sarah Zapata from the Latinx Abstract exhibition will join Dávila in the discussion. Online at bricsartmedia.org FREE.