In Pursuit of Liberation MoCADA News July 2020
Table of Contents page 2 .................................... Letter to Reader page 4 ................................ Afrofuture Scopes page 7 ............................................... Editorials page 9 ................................................. Podcasts page 10 .................................................. Videos page 11 .............................. Adreinne Waheed page 17 .................................. Digital Galleries page 19 ............................... Blackbird Festival
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Front cover art: Adreinne Waheed
Le tter To Reader In an essay entitled, “The Negro Child – His Self-Image”, originally published in 1963 for The Saturday Review, beloved activist, writer and freedom fighter James Baldwin wrote: “You must understand that in the attempt to correct so many generations of bad faith and cruelty, when it is operating not only in the classroom but in society, you will meet the most fantastic, the most brutal, and the most determined resistance.”
Surely, that time is now....
Just look at the marches moving through our streets and the news shared across social media, and it should come as no surprise that Black Lives Matter may just be “the largest movement in US history” (New York Times), and possibly around the world. It is absolutely impossible to argue against this era of reckoning that the African diaspora is leading. Now, more than ever, we are determined and assured in our movement to defend and uplift Black lives through a variety of calls to action working in unison: Defend Black lives. Defund police. Invest in Black communities. Reparations now!
This “resistance”, through the lens of social justice, is the refusal to accept or comply with ways of operating that are, and have been, antithetical to the people’s right to be free. It can also be defined as the radical joy of being totally unmoved by the machinations that try to limit Black mobility and voices. And for our revolution to be successful in dismantling the systems and structures that keep us from thriving, we must unapologetically support both manifestations of the word.
More simply, protesting is an act of resistance. To experience Black joy, in its many forms, is an act of resistance, too. Let us keep this in mind as we honor one another and advance in pursuit of our liberation.
Victory is certain... Amy Andrieux
Afrofuture Scopes by Natalie Peart
O
n my birthday earlier this year (pre-rona) I planned to take acid for the first time. I did and it was perfect. One tab divided into two taken over a period of 5 hours. No fancy tripping followed, everything that I had already known and felt about my interior sat right at the surface. The only unusual thing was that I felt like I could not stop talking. A dear friend was with me as we sat at my kitchen table going over life past and present. She jokingly took notes in my reporter notebook about how I was doing. I’m so glad that she did. Lately, In addition to taking baths and giving myself pseudo-limpias, I have been reading her notes in an effort to keep my spirits up. Without fail, I start to laugh remembering that day. Laughter for me has always been the most potent tonic. Here are some notes from my version of a birthday acid trip: “2:36 P.M. Subject laughing hysterically,” “4:41 P.M. Subject talking about cosmic intelligence,” “6:05 P.M. Subject talking about toxic masculinity.” I do recall at some points that the hysterical laughter would melt into weeping, a boundaryless space for the emotions to play and to be purged. I sought acid hoping to have a heightened experience with divinity. I wanted to help along some sort of consciousness shift within me after all of the loss I experienced at the end of 2019 and maybe that help would come in the form of a trippy experience. Little did I know that the trip would come one month later in the form of the coronavirus and what appears to be a deeper understanding within the white psyche about the Black experience. One night last month, I was on one of my nightly walks when a group of (mostly) white cyclists pedaled by chanting “Black Lives Matter.” I remember the word “surreal” came to mind standing under a canopy of trees watching the cyclists pass as I waited to cross the street. I thought about surrealism and Neptune and the mystic attributes given to this planet. Neptune can overlay a surreal tint and it’s the planet that I am focusing on this month. I am writing about Neptune because of its mystery. The planet went retrograde on June 23rd in Pisces where it will stay retrograde until November 28th. Neptune joined the other retrograde planets (Mercury until July 12th, Saturn, until September 29th, and Pluto until October 4th). Neptune is associated with idealism, spirituality, intuition, drugs, fantasy, mysticism, less boundaries, surrealism, and universal love to name a few. Perhaps we should cultivate a position of comfort as things become more surreal and our individual and collective consciousness continue to undergo great shifts in understanding who we are, why we incarnated and the energies that need to be balanced. I would use this time to continue the work of fantasies and world building that are an expression of your highest self both for you and our collective. Our ancestors did it and so must we. Every revolt of the enslaved, every march, every time we were and are delirious in our joy, every life lost and born, and all of our tears shed is doing work both on the material and spiritual planes. Whether it’s continuing to imagine and labor for a world without police and prison --you can read Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s Golden Gulag, Jackie Wang’s Carceral Capitalism or check out #8toAbolition -- to understand the history behind the police, the oppressive economic motivations and the terror designed trap the spirit. Or the vision of taking care of our land which has always had great capacity to take care of us --read Farming While Black by Leah Penniman or Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We are in a consistent state of transforming our present realities into something more whole and less separate. Other celestial events this month: Venus went direct on June 25th. Be mindful of the Venus-Neptune square on July 27th. Any conversations about love (in all of its expressions) or money and resources should be approached with extra care. There is also a full moon lunar eclipse on July 5th in Capricorn and a new moon solar eclipse in Cancer on July 20th. Lastly, the beginning of July has us celebrating Cancer season until July 22nd. I admit I have some water sign envy in addition to admiration but that’s a post for another time. So, back to Cancers. I adore Cancers! Frida! Solange! Kwame (Stokley)! My father and great grandmother! I love that Cancer’s home space is la luna. Their water energy feels a bit to me like the gentle trickle of a small river or stream (sometimes full of crabs -- just playin’). Let us raise a toast of mocktails, cocktails, tea infusions, rum and Hennessey to the Cancers in our lives. If you have Cancer rising or you have planets in Cancer this toast is also for you.
Artwork on Left: Where’s Your Gold by Natalie Peart
CANCER You want to shine Cancer (the beginning of July is your month after all) and shine you will. There does seem to be some tension about how to do that in relation to others whether a romantic partnership, friendship, or romanceship or colleagues. Luckily Mercury goes direct on the 12th and has a nice boost from Neptune on July 30th. I would wait to have any energetic conversations until then. You may be turning over travel and continuing education or have an epiphany about which direction to go. Continue to do your research and explore. Lastly, if you are able, buy yourself the most beautiful plants or flowers to adorn yourself or your space. LEO Are you feeling forcibly cocooned? A wonderful kind of magic happens when we are being guided to turn inward. It’s time to alchemize your inner life into a high vibrational precious metal. You may be focused on restructuring your day to day including the way that you work. You may also be in a state of redefining everything. I would focus on how you want to feel (hopefully good). This may be one of your best transformations yet. VIRGO You are in deep review about the types of relationships you would like to have. All dynamics are undergoing your scrutiny. Be mindful about projections on relationships and maybe take a second and third look at your finances. Creative projects or points of pleasure may get a jumpstart and it may be with someone or folks from a different social group. LIBRA You may be exploring mysticism or say the divinatory arts in a substantive way? You may be interested in a more holistic approach to your day that may or may not involve substances. Whether it’s meditation, chanting or sound baths, I hope you revel and come across a nice concoction that works for you. Your home and career houses are activated this month. What are you leaving behind and what are you taking with you? SCORPIO Mmmmm. That’s what came to mind when I looked at your chart this month. You seemed to have struck an extra abundance of joy -- honey in an ancient tomb. This discovery may have you rethinking the boundaries you have set up and whether they are serving you, your projects or your children. Communication can be a good friend. Cards do not always need to be held to your chest. SAGITTARIUS You are in review about the spaces where you spend most of your time. You may want to tailor them so that all of your selves get the support that they need. Look into high vibrational sounds whether wind chimes or paying attention to the sound of the rain. Income and how you earn it and or share it may need some going over before a discussion. Neptune may be at its most mystic on the 27th of this month. Remember to be mindful when it comes to conversations. The less expectations the better the outcome.
CAPRICORN What is being reflected or shown to you about yourself through other people? Let them be teachers to you in how you express yourself and the potentially rigid structures you create. Meditate on softness. Sheets, animal friends or the fuzz on a leaf may be a good way to tap in. AQUARIUS I would start or end the day with a gratitude list. This is a good way to see what you value and what satisfies your needs. We do not always need to be in a state of want. Nurturing contentment so that it grows into satiation may be the nice cool drink you’re looking for this month. Work has become a little amorphous as you have made more time to just exist. Enjoy the inaction. PISCES Dissolution is in order and may in fact already be taking place. Dissolution is a part of renewal and luckily, Pisces, the cycles of death and rebirth may already exist in your celestial wheelhouse. Contemplate on how you experience the Divine. This month, divinity may show up through a select group of intimates or it may require a mostly solo endeavor. ARIES Drawing the curtains whether at home or someplace else may be useful to you. You are cultivating an interior sanctuary and taking some time from the public could be in order. How can you take that sanctuary -- that peace -- with you no matter where you are and who you are around? I recommend twilight time as your personal and effective witching and warlock hours. TAURUS People are requesting your attention Taurus and you may have some gifts or knowledge that you need to share with them. Do not shy away from being a teacher or a leader when the time calls for you to step forward. Review how you want to interact with the energy of others. You do not need to be anything but yourself and that requires first accepting who you have been and who you are. GEMINI Your ability to draw resources towards you is becoming more clear. You may need to or have already stepped back from any collaborations that were an impediment to that end. Do some creative visualization about how you want to be viewed in the work that you have chosen to do in this life. You may also be reviewing the work you have chosen or the work that has chosen you. What lessons can you draw from those spaces and how can you apply them to what your heart and soul are desiring to manifest?
EXPLORATIONS | These Three Words In this essay, writer Malcolm Ven able explores the code of silence often held in Black familie s. Starting in childhood and continuing in to adulthood, what a re the words that we forge t to express, and what are the feelings that we can’t seem to shake within ? Faith Ringgold + Marlon Riggs 1994
EDITORIALS
When we accept our Blackness in totality, what could that mean for the African diaspora and the liberation of Black bodies across the globe?
Alexis Peskine 2017
EXPLORATIONS | Black on Both Sides
EXPLORATIONS | The Eye: Notes to a Poet s Jones explore Writer Tracy journey to his personal w, ative and ho become a cre sly, he had to simultaneou . e white gaze recon with th ey through? Do you journ y it yond? Or pa Around? Be atsoever‌ no mind wh ts Sheena Beloved artis aymon, and Rose, Kiese L in. r also weigh Titus Kapha Chris Ofili 1998
EDITORIALS Respectability politics, which require Black folks to make ourselves as non-confrontational, palatable, and White as possible, pressing our hair, pulling up our pants, and speaking properly are a lasting remnant of the diligent work of Black women during the Jim Crow Era to ensure social uplift and Black survival. This project traces the history of Black women in the development of performative survival and highlights our position and the efficacy of code-switching today, primarily through the Flint Water Crisis. As Black Americans refuse to conform to White standards, becoming more and more proud of our Blackness and as innocent Black children continue to be murdered, the efficacy of respectability politics is becoming questionable.
Titus Kaphar 2020
DISSERTATION | They Will Only Stop Killing Us, If You Say Please
PODCASTS Audiophiles: Seattle-based Afrofuturist singer, songwriter, producer, SassyBlack, who’s traveled the world in performance, offers listeners an intergalactic journey through what she calls Psychedelic Funk and Hologram Funk in this installment of the Audiophiles podcast. In this mix, she highlights some of her favorite recording artists hailing from the West Coast.
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Our Videos section feat ures a curated selection of clips from artists we love and memebers of the comm unity who we want to highlight
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Black Joy and Resista by Adreinne Waheed
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Adreinne Waheed is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, NY and Berkeley, CA. Her work bears witness to and holds space for the beauty, brilliance and resilience of Black folks across the diaspora. Ms. Waheed is an accomplished photo editor who, during her 20 year career, has researched, produced and directed numerous shoots, for publications including Vibe, King and Essence magazines. Her photography has been published by The New York Times, National Geographic, Photo District News and The Fader. Adreinne’s work also appears in the inaugural issue of Mfon: A Journal of Women Photographers of the African Diaspora. She has exhibited at Rush Arts, Corridor Gallery, the Underground Museum, the Long Gallery and Betti Ono Gallery.
In 2010, she created the Waheed Photo Archive, a collection of found photographs of African-Americans from Civil War to the present. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) acquired the archive in 2015. Her self-published coffee table book, entitled Black Joy and Resistance, from which these photos first appeared, was released in December 2018 and is available now on Amazon.
To view the full story, click here
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THE COOKOUT: KINFOLK AND OTHER INTIMACIES
On View Until July 30 A virtual exhibition that celebrates African Diasporan traditions of gathering, particularly ways of togetherness that maintain history, culture, joy, and ritual through active participation. The cookout represents a myriad of these social experiences vital to our cultural continuity and collective survival. Curated by Maleke Glee and Amy Andrieux (Executive Director of MoCADA). Featuring the works of: Ndidi Emefiele, Evan Ifekoya, Jacolby Satterwhite, Shellyne Rodriguez, Larry Achiampong, Raelis Vasquez, Jessi Jumanji, Jamaal Peterman, E. Jane, Alexis Chivir-ter Tsegba, Zola Savage, Ken Nwadiogbu, Emmanuel Massillon, Melvin Nesbitt Jr., Nakeya Brown, and Lionel Frazier White III.
CLICK HERE to view the exhibition Artwork Above: Untitled (Dancing to wo!!) by Ndidi Emefiele, 2017-2018