Butterfly Magazine - Issue 34 - 16th April 2021

Ash Sarkar’s Alternative Race Report

the world of Isaac Julien Vol. 2 Issue 34, 16th – 22nd April 2021

“Let Our

Desires

Coincide With God’s Will...”

DMX

1 8 th D e c e m b e r 1 9 7 0 – 9 th A p r i l 2 0 2 1

in conjunction with

Credit: code.likeagirl.io

From the

Editor’s desk

Credit: India Today

Ash covered much of the Caribbean’s largest island nation of St. Vincent, and the stench of sulphur filled the air after a series of eruptions from a volcano that had been dormant for decades. Tune in for devastating visuals from the site.

It is heartening that SVG’s neighbours, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, the cruise lines in the area, and others are lending the necessary support.

Here in the UK, a concerted community effort responded to the disaster with breathtaking speed. Supplies were shipped out on Wednesday last. Comedian White Yardie put out an emotional appeal for help, and the response was overwhelming.

Credit: CDEMA

A

fter living in Jamaica for 20+ years and going through Hurricane Gilbert’s trauma in 1988, I fully understand the other side of living in paradise. Hurricanes are frightening, no doubt about it, but you get warnings, and you can prepare. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are just that, sudden coming out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. So, our prayers go out to our Caribbean brothers and sisters on St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As I write this, they have endured five days of constant eruptions. To make matters worse, they are now running out of clean water, as the hot ash has contaminated the local supply.

Executive Director (ag) of CDEMA Elizabeth Riley updates Barbados on the agency’s work to assist St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the Explosive Eruption of the La Soufrière volcano.

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White Yardie

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This Is England: Ash Sarkar’s Alternative Race Report

The difference Between British People and Britainians Transform your viewing...

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Cover

DMX

Story

18 th D ec e m b e r 1 97 0 – 9 t h Apri l 2 02 1

“Let Our

Desires

Coincide With God’s Will...”

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged”. Matt. 7 v1 NIV Nobody’s perfect 4 Transform your viewing...

The rap artist - real name Earl Simmons - died after going into cardiac arrest earlier this month. The rapper’s family confirmed his passing in a statement to People: “We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, DMX, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50 years old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days.”

Credit: MovieGasm.com

Credit:ABC

Fast and Fierce: Death Race

Credit: GabeMirkin/Villages -News.com

Eddie Works for DMX Fresh Off The Boat DMX was destroyed by his childhood

Credit: J88J

How to Love Others from DMX

Aaliyah Miss You Video Transform your viewing...

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Freedom

Is Mine

By FAYIDA JAILLER

Puerto Rico

O

ne of the first recorded people of African descent to arrive in Puerto Rico was Juan Garrido, who came in 1509, and was among the entourage of the Spanish conquistador, Juan Ponce de Leon. The Spanish began trafficking large numbers of West Africans to the island to work in gold mines and on ginger and sugar plantations. Slavery was eventually abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873.

Formerly a Spanish colonial territory, following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the island came under the control of the United States.

Afro-Puerto Rican politician and attorney Pedro Albizu Campos was one of many Puerto Rican leaders who participated in the nationalist, pro-independence movement. He was at one time leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and worked tirelessly to denounce the American Imperial presence on the island, inspired in part by the racist treatment he had received as a soldier in an African-American unit of the US Army. Campos spent a total of twenty-six years in prison for attempting to overthrow the US Government in Puerto Rico, and today there are schools, streets and community centres named after him, both in Puerto Rico and the US.

Pedro Albizu Campos 6 Transform your viewing...

By far one of the best-known Afro-Puerto Ricans in history is Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, AKA ‘the Father of Black History’. Born in 1874 to parents of African and German descent, Schomburg was a historian, writer and activist who was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. As a child in Puerto Rico, one of Schomburg’s teachers claimed that black people had no history, no heroes and no accomplishments. Determined to prove his teacher wrong, Schomburg resolved to document the accomplishments of Africans and the African diaspora.

He migrated to New York in 1891 and settled in Harlem. By the 1920s Schomburg had collated an invaluable collection of art, books and artefacts relating the black history worldwide.

The New York Public Library purchased the collection in 1926 and Schomburg was appointed curator. The collection was named The Schomburg Center for Reasearch in Black culture in his honour.

Puerto Rico women dancing Bomba

by Spreadofknowledge

Arturo Schomburg

Juan Garrido

by La Florida

An enduring bastion of Afro-Puerto Rican culture is Loíza, a coastal town close to the capital San Juan with a high Afrodescendant population.

The town is synonymous with Afro-Puerto Rican culture, in particular for the genres of music and dance called Plena and Bomba. Bomba in particular dates back to the times of slavery, when slaves would use music and dance not only as a way to entertain themselves, but also to communicate with one another, as they spoke different languages Transform your viewing...

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Cinema/Video

W

n o s ’ t a h

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e h

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The Secret Princess Princess Sade Story

Set in traditional times where male children were considered more important than females, a king seeking an heir to his throne is obsessed with having a male child. Consequently, his third wife (his two previous wives had six daughters between and were all sent away) switches her daughter with a poor farmers’ son in secret. The king unaware that the boy isn’t his raises the child as Prince Akin who lives a life of prestige and luxury. While Sade the daughter who was switched to be with the farmer and his wife lives the life of a poor farmer’s daughter helping with the farm.

When her father disappears and her mother is accused by the villagers of being a witch, both run off into the jungle for their lives. But they are not alone. Talking animals including the parrot who knew about the switch and spread the news, come together to help the mother and daughter who now live in a hut alone in the jungle hiding from those who might harm them. When Prince Akin finally meets Sade and they fall in love, the real challenge and adventure begin as they realize they will have to fight to be together.

Credit: TransTales Entertainment Transform your viewing...

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WIND

Pixar Animation Studios and the SparkShorts filmmakers of WIND are in solidarity with the Asian and Asian American communities against Anti-Asian hate in all its forms. We are proud of the onscreen representation in this short and have decided to make it widely available, in celebration of what stories that feature Asian characters can do to promote inclusion everywhere. Credit: Pixar 10 Transform your viewing...

Daddy’s Little Girls Credit:Tyler Perry/Netflix

Transform your viewing...

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The Father Clements Story (1987) | Lou Gossett Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Inspired by a true story, “The I Father Clements Story” is about a black Chicago priest who fights the local Church hierarchy for the right to adopt a son. Confronted with the growing problem of homeless black children, Father George Clements (LOUIS GOSSETT, JR.) asks his parishioners to consider adoption.

Meeting only apathy, Clements angrily claims he will adopt a child himself. The statement draws the attention of the local media and Cardinal Cody (CARROLL O’CONNOR), Clements’ superior and adversary.

Cody forbids Clements to adopt, claiming it is a violation of Catholic Church law. But the Vatican approves of Clements’ actions, and he begins proceedings to adopt Joey (MALCOLM-JAMAL WARNER), a rebellious and difficult teenager. Joey’s former involvement with a local gang tests their relationship as they try to become father and son under the scrutiny of the Church and the community. Credit: Reelblack 12 Transform your viewing...

Mr. and Mrs. Loving (1996) | Lela Rochon Timothy Hutton Ruby Dee Cdedit Reelblack

Transform your viewing...

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Thunderforce

In a world where supervillains are commonplace, two estranged childhood best friends reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city. Credit: Netflix

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His House

After making a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, a young refugee couple struggle to adjust to their new life in a small English town that has an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface.

Credit Netflix Transform your viewing...

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Coded Bias

This documentary investigates the bias in algorithms after M I T Media lab researcher Joy Buolamwini uncovered flaws in facial recognition technology. Credit:MIFF 16 Transform your viewing...

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TRANSFORM YOUR VIEWING

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Butterfly Magazine Continually Introduces The Groundbreaking Work of Black Creatives to a Global Audience

MEDIA KIT 2021 BUTTERFLY TELEVISION & FILM MAGAZINE

Black Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Arts

Isaac Julien CBE 18 Transform your viewing...

This week we delve into the world of Isaac Julien.

By Efosa Osaghae

H

e is probably the most renowned video artist on our list, by some distance.

Julien introduced himself into the art scene via his 1989 lyrical docudrama Looking for Langston. The film detailed the exploration of Langston Hughes and a rejuvenated Harlem.

While Steve McQueen has entered the upper echelons of cinema, no other black filmmaker can boast the artistic pedigree of Julien.

His works posit a poetic and lyrical verve with arresting visuals detailing the black and/or queer experience. Whilst not a typical multi-disciplinary artist, his work traverses several artistic disciplines such as painting, sculpture, dance and performance.

Hailing from East London in the ’60s, Julien is an example of the widespread St Lucian migration to London.

He is arguably as well renowned for this fluid filmmaking as he is innovative installation art. A

key aim of his work is malleability. Julien’s work aims to pierce the boundaries of what art can be through his interdisciplinary approach.

In turn, this breaking of barriers allows audiences to question the boundaries of blackness, queer identity and its relationship with art. He illustrates this through his film installations that offer differing perspectives of the same schema.

Playtime (2014) is his most mainstream work and stands as a strong marker of his integral style.

Featuring a cast of James Franco and Colin Salmon, Playtime is a rare art film with an A-list cast. It only serves as another example of Julien’s artistic statue in his ability to garner the best acting talent.

Julien is the first artist from our expose that has an exhibition in play. Lessons from the Hour is currently on show at McEvoy Foundation for the Arts in San Francisco

Isaac Julien PLAYTIME, 2014 (teaser)

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iChurch

Shake It Off Christine Caine has a heart for reaching the lost, strengthening leadership, and championing the cause of justice. Together with her husband, Nick, she founded the anti-human trafficking organization, The A21 Campaign. They also founded Propel Women, an organization designed to celebrate every woman’s passion, purpose, and potential. Christine and Nick make their home in Southern California with their daughters, Catherine and Sophia. Credit: Transformation Church, Tulsa.

Our Mission is

to End Slavery

20 Transform your viewing...

Laughter

A Little Water

Only in Jamaica!

You are using my money???

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Credit: MaasoTV/Maaso Bossbabe

Last Word

Peace Be Still

…DMX