Misty Copeland and Saul Williams Dazzle in 'Duet' for Under Armour

Mural Arts Philadelphia - Art Ignites Change

Mural Arts Philadelphia is one of the city's bright lights!

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge; Author to Appear in Philadelphia

The Library Company of Philadelphia, as part of its

Juneteenth Freedom Seminar will present Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge,

on Thursday, June 15, 2017 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm  Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1300 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19107. Registration is required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2017-juneteenth-freedom-seminar-tickets-33344739012

Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar

"Never Caught is the powerful narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave, who risked everything to reach freedom. Though she lived a life of relative comfort, this was nothing compared to freedom, a glimpse of which she encountered first-hand in Philadelphia. So, when the opportunity presented itself, Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. Yet freedom would not come without its costs. At just twenty-two years old, Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt led by George Washington, who used his political and personal contacts to recapture his property."

* Source -Library Company of Philadelphia

Poet Derek Walcott; The Caribbean's Grand Literary Voice Has Died

Poet Derek Walcott- Photo Black Kudos

Love after Love

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

-Derek Walcott, 1930-2017

The 52nd Anniversary of the Assassination of Malcolm X- Bullet Cry by Poet Louis Reyes Rivera

Give a listen to the late, phenomenal poet Louis Reyes Rivera and his poem Bullet Cry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM--q8EMuew

American Masters - Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise

The Incomparable Maya Angelou



 The first feature documentary about her life, American Masters – Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, premieres nationwide Tuesday, February 21 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) during Black History Month as part of the 31st season of THIRTEEN’s American Masters series. PBS Distribution will release the film on DVD the same day, with additional bonus features, and on Digital HD February 22.

Rigorous Magazines' Inaugural Issue - Octavia McBride-Ahebee

David Nakabayashi-Land of the Free


Two of my poems, concerning the Ebola crisis, was recently published in Rigorous :
http://www.rigorous-mag.com/v1i1/v1i1-index.html

My Name Is George Junius Stinney Jr; A Powerful Animation Project About the Youngest Person Executed in the U.S.

   George Junius Stinney Jr. (born October 21, 1929, died June 16, 1944) was, at age 14, the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century.

Painter Beauford Delaney Returns to the Scene Thanks to People like Monique Wells

Delaney in his Paris studio in 1967. His style ranged from simple urban scenes and portraits to the abstract.Credit  Estate of Beauford Delaney.

Thursday's New York Times featured an article about Monique Wells and her herculean efforts to raise awareness about the singular talents of African-American artist Beauford Delaney. Like Delaney, who is now deceased, Wells is an African-American expatriate who has lived in France for more than 20 years.

I am so proud to say that this is the woman who my daughter, Sojourner Ahébée, has been working with as an intern this summer, in Paris. Do read about Ms. Well's project and support it!!!

Here is the link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/arts/international/beauford-delaney-returns-to-the-scene.html?_r=1

The Time of Your Life,” 1945, by Beauford Delaney, whose life and work are the subject of revival efforts in Knoxville, Tennessee and Paris. CreditCourtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York            


                    

Close to the Window- Project 1324 and Sundance Institute's Short Film Challenge

Poet Sojourner Ahebee and Filmmaker Kira Bursky- Check out their collaborative film project and vote to send Kira to Sundance 

Filmmaker Kira Bursky featured in Seventeen Magazine

This is an important feminist project. Sojourner’s poetry urges girls and women to name those 
things we historically keep silent about and Kira’s insights and filmmaker’s artistry poignantly 
delivers this message.  Sojourner stated that, “the film is in part about depression, but also about 
Black, female existence in the world and all the challenges that accompany being a Black girl. We 
worked really hard on this project, took risks, opened up, and the result was a really funky documentary/moving poem.” 

Please view this short film and VOTE for it and offer a COMMENT. Every vote puts these young 
women closer to becoming finalists in the 2016 Sundance Ignite Fellow Program!
 Let’s support them!!! Here is the link to do just this:
https://sundanceignite2016.com/#/projects/237Z5?share=facebook&_k=bom6t0