Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful - Black History Month 2014

It's February again.  Time to have "the talk."

While some will argue that we've come a long way from 1926 when Carter G. Woodson created "Negro History Week," a fraternity in Arizona still found it okay to host Martin Luther King events just last month, which were so offensive in nature, that I won't get into details.  

However, their "celebration" and continued misconceptions, falsehoods, stereotypes and biases (remember Barney's New York?) prove that we're still not where we should be in 2014.

I applaud corporations who still consider African Americans to be a part of the "diversity" category and  even host company-sponsored Black History Month events.  As long as they keep it classy.

And to those who stand around the water cooler and complain that there's no "White History Month," I say "Read your history.  Study the facts.  Take time to learn something you didn't know.  Enjoy the music, literature, dance.  Celebrate the contributions that Black Americans made to this country and the world.  They are many and varied."

Black History is rich, unique, welcoming and fun.

All you nay-sayers, sit back and enjoy the ride.  Lucky for you it's the shortest month of the year.

In the infamous words of the "Godfather of Soul," "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud!"

Dr. Charley Hames, Jr. Announces the Board of Directors of The Oakland Chapter of National Action Network, Jazz Sunday and Launch Party (Special Guest the Reverend Al Sharpton)

To be held at the Private Residence of Carl Hackney
(Address Given Upon RSVP-Valet Parking Available)

Advance reservations are required!

Tickets are available for purchase today at:

 www.NANOakland.EventBrite.com 

Space is limited. 

Join the Oakland Chapter of NAN TODAY. 

You may go online to apply for membership:

 www.NANOakland.org

Membership questions,
please contact membership Chair Cathy D. Adams

cdaconsultingroup@gmail.com

ALLEN TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH - BLACK HISTORY JAZZ FUNDRAISER, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2014 - 7:00 p.m.

Allen Temple Health and Social Services Ministries (ATHSSM), Inc. 

will host a live concert featuring five popular, 

local artists to support the vision and work of ATHSSM.  

Greg Ballad
Misa Malone
Cydney White
Lisa Blue 

Honee Parkks 

will collaborate to present 

an evening of memorable music 
as part of 

Allen Temple’'s Annual Black History Concert Series. 

The event will benefit community programs such as: 

Domestic Violence, Teen Anger Management, 

Parenting, HIV-AIDS Education, 

and Active Duty Military/Veteran's Services.
 

 Friday, February 21, 2014 | 7:00 pm 

Allen Temple Baptist Church Family Life Center

8501 International Blvd., Oakland, CA

 ($20 donation | complimentary beverages & hors d'oeuvres | doors open @ 6:00 pm)

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/553879

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN DIASPORA SAN FRANCISCO (MOAD) FREE ADMISSION FOR MLK DAY, Monday, January 20, 2014

FREE ADMISSION | Martin Luther King National Day of Service

Monday January 20, 2014

11:00 am - 5:00 pm

MOAD 685 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 358-7200

MoAD will celebrate the national observance of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a Day of Service, providingFREE admission to the museum and programs throughout the day.





MLK Day Schedule
Sidewalk
1-3pm Sidewalk chalk art with Jamie Treacy


Second Floor:

11:30-1:30pm  Film Screening | Brooklyn Castle, an inner-city middle school captures a national chess championship, PBS's POV

2:00-3:00pm  Performance | Young, Gifted and Black, Oakland youth teach African American history through poetry and spoken word

3:30-4:30pm  Presentation | Bay Area Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement tell Freedom Stories through photography, poetry and song

11-5pm  Film Screening | Nelson Mandela & the End of Apartheid screens in the Freedom Theatre at the top of every hour
Third Floor:

11-4pm Art Project

11-5pm Scavenger hunt in Gallery

11-4pm Films on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Wells Fargo Heritage Center

Free Admission
This day is made possible by a generous donation from Lennar Urban

Amiri Baraka - Another Warrior Has Gone Home

Amiri Baraka (born Everett LeRoi Jones; 
October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014)

When I heard that Amiri Baraka was in intensive care a couple of weeks ago, I got really sentimental and sad.  

Then when I heard he passed away a couple of days ago, I thought, "I want to post about his passing, but what if the younger people who read blogs don't even know who Amiri Baraka was?"  

And then I thought, "If they don't know who Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) was, should they even be reading my blog?  Probably not.  Would they be reading my blog?  Doubtful."

It also made me very sad to think how many of our young people who consider themselves "spoken word artists," and "rappers," have no clue who the people were who paved the way for their free speech.  

Amiri Baraka was a true literary revolutionary.  

One of the men who used the term "Can I rap to you?" when it didn't mean, "Can I curse you out?"

I think now is a good time to go back and re-read some of his greatest poems and speeches.

Happy Birthday, Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston (Born:  January 7, 1891 - Died:  January 28, 1960)

EVENT CANCELLED!! Jonathan Demme's "New Home Movies from the Lower Ninth Ward" (A Benefit for the Oxbow School), January 18th in Napa, California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Filmmaker Jonathan Demme and Author Daniel Wolff have spent the last eight years documenting post-Katrina New Orleans and will screen New Home Movies from the Lower Ninth Ward at The Theater at 500 First Street in Napa on Saturday, January 18 2014 to support The Oxbow School.

 Jonathan Demme is among Hollywood’s first rank of filmmakers, with credits
that include Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, Beloved, The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won an Oscar, and a trilogy of Neil Young documentaries. Tackling challenging and controversial subjects, he’s directed eight different actors in Oscar-nominated performances. Demme is also an activist, whose concern is reflected in such projects as Artists for Democracy in Haiti, the documentary New Home Movies from the Lower Ninth Ward on post-Katrina residents of New Orleans and its follow-up, the portrait documentary I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful.

Daniel Wolff is an accomplished talent as an author, poet and filmmaker. His writing has appeared in numerous diverse publications, ranging from Vogue to Education Weekly, and his non-fiction books include How Lincoln Learned to Read and an award-winning and best-selling biography of crooner Sam Cooke. He’s also received credits on such documentaries as The Agronomist, about slain Haitian civil rights leader Jean Dominique, and several projects on post-Katrina New Orleans, including I’m Carolyn Parker—the catalyst for his look at the lives of everyday American heroes in his text, The Fight for Home.

Funds raised support Oxbow’s scholarship fund whose goal is to build a community of economically, geographically, racially and ethnically diverse young people from across the country interested in visual arts. Since the school opened its doors thirteen years ago, two-thirds of the students have received financial support.

The January 18th event begins at 5 p.m.  Admission tickets are $125 for cocktails and screening with Jonathan and Daniel or $500 for dinner with Jonathan and Daniel. Dinner includes, cocktails and screening. For tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-home-movies-from-the-lower-ninth-ward-jonathan-demme-daniel-wolff-tickets-8043557497 . For more information contact Phoebe Brookbank at (707) 252-5427.

The Oxbow School:  The Oxbow School is a unique, interdisciplinary semester program for high school students that combines innovative academic courses with rigorous studio art practice. The School’s mission is to strengthen student abilities in critical as well as creative visual thinking, verbal articulation and collaborative problem solving.  The School works to develop a stronger sense of identity, self-worth and confidence in students while encouraging them to embrace responsibility for their own learning and lives.