Black History Month @ MDC, North Campus

North Campus 2012 Black History Month

 

Artifact and Literature Library Exhibit: 

A showcase of contributions by Black Women artist and writers

Roving Display: 

Famous Black Women in American History

Art Display by Arts & Philosophy Students, Lehman Theater Lobby

 

Wednesday, February 1^st

Dark Girls, directed & produced by Bill Dukes Documentary & Discussion: Has anything really changed since the days of American slavery when dark-skinned Blacks were made to suffer even greater indignities than their lighter skinned counterparts? Ask today’s dark Black woman.

9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m., Room 2151 Contact: Gener Romeo, gromeo@mdc.edu

 

Monday, February 6^th

African American Read-In

This event offers readings from the works of African American writers with the goal of making literacy a significant part of Black History Month and the life of every African American.

10:00 a.m. -Noon, Lehman Theater Contact: Jaime Anzalotta, janzalot@mdc.edu

 

Wednesday, February 8^th

Arts & Philosophy (visiting artist series): -Rene Toledo, Afro-Cuban and traditional jazz

Special performance by Grammy Award Winning Guitarist & Producer, Rene Toledo

12 p.m., 2:00 -3:30pm, 7:00 p.m., Lehman Theater Contact: Arts & Philosophy Dept.

 

Tuesday, February 14^th

Love Doesn’t Have to Hurt

Panel Discussion on what role our culture plays on the prevalence of verbal, physical and mental abuse in relationships and the accepted use of disrespectful verbiage including use of the “N” and “B” word in our youthful generation.

10:00 a.m. -11:00 p.m. Lehman Theater Contact: Carlton Daley, cdaley@mdc.edu

Black History Month in Jamaica

Source: http://www.yardedge.net/happening-on-the-edge-2012/february-is-black-history-month

"Buxton Lady Under Lock Down" by Cynthia James

Buxton Lady Under Lock Down

 

we would sit in the elephant ear of a marble queen, 
icing dusting the skylight, listening to the wattle 
wheezing through the atrium, the karaoke 
tinkle of Ol’Virginny, Ol’ Kentucky Home inside


warm apple cider drunk, she’d say, “Those songs 
we learnt in school, is only when I come I understand. 
But I is from Kaywana stock; this place make you 
more black. You must bring me some cocoa butter 


when you coming next time,” rubbing Buxton spice;
we watched cars swish, slip, slurping past grey fingered trees
“Was a day like this that send me here; white, no headlights; 
I didn’t see, nobody see, nobody say, nobody talk for me; he


burn like crisp; if wasn’t for my Buxton pride I dead already.”
but summer she was different; then we went out on Wheel-Trans. 
“Look,” she says, “Imagine me who make with nail, tinin and 
hammer, grater from scratch, buying coconut in frozen 


quarter pound square pack. You know bout metamgee?  
conkie? A tumbler of swank, Man, down the hatch!”
Then we would join the ladies for some checkers, bingo, 
even take in the fashion show. “Is a man you know! 


Wait till she start to strip. We ask the recreation people 
for her every year.” And she shouting loud, “Go more! 
Take off the shirt!” And bad talk Victor, her one and only son,
full of guile who just so, she-say-he-say, “Let’s go for a drive ...”


but she going back for her gold ring on the bureau
the Deceased Egbert give her. Now that was man!
“I could teach you the computer; you’ll like Facebook,”
“Unh-unh,” she said, “is a long long way to Tipperary.
 Dawg a lay down, ashes cold.”

©Cynthia James 2012




 
About Cynthia James

 
Cynthia James is a Trinidadian, living for the past 3 years in Toronto. She writes poetry and fiction and her work can be found in publications such as Callaloo, Caribbean Writer and The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.
 

***

Miss Lou Reading Festival Celebrates Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary

The fifth annual Louise Bennett-Coverley Reading Festival, an evening of rich cultural performances, will be staged on Saturday, February 11, 2012, at the South Regional Broward College Library in Pembroke Pines.


​The show titled “Fifty years A We Kulcha – Pantomime to Ring-Ding” will celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence and observe February as Black History Month along with several other activities planned at the Library. 


​Under the patronage of Jamaica’s Consul General, Sandra Grant Griffiths, the milestone event will feature special guest, the eminent Marjorie Whylie, an ethnomusicologist, and musical director of the National Dance Theatre Company.  Oftentimes described as a "national treasure," Ms. Whylie, is also known for her long and close association as performer and student with the late Hon. Louise Bennett Coverley.
​ 
The annual Reading Festival was started in 2007 by Mrs. Norma Darby, former Executive Director of the Jamaica Folk Revue, following the death of the Hon. Louise Bennett Coverley, O.J. who passed away at age 86 years old in Toronto, Canada.  Ms. Lou was buried at the Jamaica’s National Heroes Park in Kingston.


According to Mrs. Darby, “As we celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence, here in the Diaspora, the performers at the Festival will interpret significant works of our esteemed Miss Lou through acts of song, dance and drama.”   The Reading Festival, over the years, has explored and addressed the immense influence the works of the late Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley has had on Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora.


​The event is free to the public and will also include performances from a selection of notable Jamaican artists from the South Florida Diasporic community who had worked with the Jamaican cultural icon and international renowned folklorist, comedienne, author, and social commentator during her long and expansive career.  They are Dr. Ivy Armstrong, poet and public speaker; Dr. Susan Davis, actress, poet and educator; Geoffrey Philp, author and educator, and Malachi Smith, dub poet.  Other performers expected to participate will also include the Jamaica Folk Revue, Tallawah Mento Band, and Body Nation Dance Theatre.


​Proceeds from sales of Miss Lou’s works – books, CDs, and other memorabilia will continue to support of the Louise Bennett Coverley Scholarship at the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston.  The scholarship was named, posthumously, in honor of Jamaica’s cultural ambassador and is awarded to a student at the college pursuing studies in the performing arts.  To date, six students have been recipients of the scholarship at the Schools of Drama and Dance, and Music.


​Ms. Valrie Simpson, Regional Library Manager at Broward’s South Regional –Broward College campus has said that the Friends of the Library and the Broward College are pleased to partner in the annual Cultural Tribute saluting the legacy of Jamaica’s cultural ambassador and that Nation’s significant milestone of Independence.   Other supporting organizations include the Broward College, Friends of the Broward Library, the Jamaican Folk Revue and the Jamaica Tourist Board.

Marcus and the Amazons: Black History Month @ MDPLS

The community is invited to join in the Black History Month celebration at Miami-Dade Public Libraries. Meet author Geoffrey Philp who will read from his story – Marcus & the Amazons.


Readings take place on Thursday, January 26, 11 a.m. at the Kendall Branch; on Saturday, January 28, 3 p.m. at the Edison Branch; and on Tuesday, January 31 at the Opa-locka Branch. 


For information about these and all other events, call 305.375.BOOK (2665).


MEDIA CONTACT: 
Victoria Galan - Public Affairs Officer
Tel. 305.375.5180, galanv@mdpls.org


Source: http://www.mdpls.org/news/press/pr/2012/BlackHistoryMonth.asp

Book Launch: Near Open Water by Keith Jardim

 

January 27, 2012 

8:00 pm 

Books & Books

265 Aragon Avenue,

Coral Gables,

Florida 33134-5008 

Disturbing in its honesty, this anthology by Keith Jardim, Near Open Water: Stories (Peepal Tree Press Ltd, $18.95) focuses a sharp yet intimate eye upon the people of the Caribbean. The characters face problems of freedom, history, race, class, violence, entrapment, and morality. Theirs is a region in constant flux, trying to break away from its dehumanizing past while uncertain of how to manage the present and plan for the future. Unflinching in its portrayal of the realities of Caribbean life, these dark short stories also find solace in the natural beauty of the region.

***

Friday Links: Lectures, Conferences, and Workshops

Cropper Foundation

13th International Conference of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars

The 31st West Indian Literature Conference

Publishing in Caribbean Studies:
A Workshop with Cathie Brettschneider
Humanities Editor at the University of Virginia Press

Book Launch

Caribbean Literature and the Public Sphere: From the Plantation to the Postcolonial
Dr. Raphael Dalleo


Sex and the Citizen: Interrogating the Caribbean
Edited by Dr. Faith Smith

Saturday January 28, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Books & Books, 
265 Aragon Ave. Coral Gables

Reception prior to launch at 6:00 p.m.

New E-Book:Bob Marley: Memories of Jah People By Emmanuel Parata

Bob Marley: Memories of Jah People
By Emmanuel Parata

Emmanuel Parata is a French reggae lover. Since his childhood, he was lulled by the music of Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller, Third World and many other reggae legends...

But one artist in particular stood out: Bob Marley

The music of Bob and his universal message permeates Emmanuel life and that is why he decided to become a collector of memorabilia.

Ten years ago, Emmanuel launched his investigative work. Motivated by his passion for reggae, he began extensive research for rare videos, concerts audios, interviews, unpublished photographs and newspaper clippings of Bob Marley & the Wailers.

Wanting to share his passion with fans around the world, he decided to create his website in 2010 BobMarleyArchive.com, and to open its archives of audio clips, interviews, rare photos, and a section called "Memories." These have now been assembled into an eBook, Bob Marley: Memories of Jah People.

"I thought there were many fans of Bob Marley, but many of these fans have never met or even seen Bob in concert, so I created Memories Of Jah People so that they can live the moment as if they were there," said Emmanuel. "About a year ago, I collected unpublished stories, real stories of people who met Bob Marley in professional settings, in person, or just at a concert. I have assembled these stories in an interactive book, and the reaction of the fans and feedback have been mostly positive."

"My new project is to write a book with a lot of stories, illustrated with original photos from my personal collection. It may take a long time, but I want the best for the fans. And I hope my dream will come true..."

It is still a work in progress. Stay tuned...Emmanuel

Site: http://bobmarleyarchive.com/

Memories of Jah People: http://bobmarleyarchive.com/Memoriesofjahpeople.html

PS: I am always looking for even more stories...

***

If you are searching for posts about Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey, Rastafari, or Dennis Scott, please check the archives.

Happy Birthday, Dr. King !

To say that Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" haunted me for most of my adult life would be an understatement. So, when I sat down to write Marcus and the Amazons, I knew I had to find a way to include a few of the lessons that I had learned from reading and teaching Dr. King's letter to my undergraduate students at Miami Dade College:

• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."

• You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling, for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to so dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. 

• We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

"Letter from Birmingham Jail," one of the great moral texts of the twentieth century, should be required reading in the training of young minds. 

Happy Birthday, Dr. King!

Related Article:

Martin Luther King in the Era of Occupy 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visits Jamaica

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story003.html

Bad Friday Florida Premier

Friday the 13^th

Of January will be "Bad Friday" in South Florida

With the premier full length screening

Of the brand new cutting edge documentary film

Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens

 

With special guests

Film producer/director Deborah Thomas

& Coral Gardens committee chairman Ras Iyah-V

Screening and discussion at

Academic Building #1, Room 194, FIU North Campus,

3000 NE 151^st Street, North Miami Beach, Florida

Starting at 7:00 pm

Entry: Free

 

DVDs & Rastafari Memorabilia on Sale

 

Presented by

The Rootz Foundation, Inc,

In association with

The Global and Socio-cultural Students Club of FIU

 

Sponsored by

The Rootz Magazine, Talawah Roots Tonic, Whiz Communications, Lovelight Promotions, and WDNA 88.9 FM

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog: Finalist @ Jamaica Blog Awards

We've made it to the finals, so once more I will need your vote & support:

http://www.jablogawards.com/best-overseas-jamaica-blog-0

Vote early, vote often & tell your friends on Twitter & FB.

Happy New Year!