Call for Contributions: Every Heart Beat a Podcast for Whitney Houston

this is how i know

that skin is thin and bright and precious

that song can be broke

love slice the veins

that beauty is a call

and we are all responsible

-excerpt from Almost Bop for Whitney Houston by Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Falling in love is so bittersweet. The life and death of Whitney Houston offer an emotional, spiritual and political challenge to black feminism. How do we balance the brilliance of her voice and offer up optimism for her spirit transition while also taking seriously the issues of addiction, relationship violence and the exploitation of black women that continue to harm our communities? How do we feel about R. Kelly having space at the altar at her funeral? Is her long time aide and companion Robyn being written out of the story in a way that hides the complexity and depth of black women's love?

There are many conversations to have and a lot of healing still to do. The upcoming Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind Podcast Every Heart Beat seeks to honor the complexity of a black feminist relationship to Whitney Houston's life, brilliance and struggles.

Please send your:

• written letters/poems and statements for Whitney
• recorded messages of healing for all of us who face addiction, interpersonal violence and exploitation (send recordings as mp3 files if possible)
  
• and song requeststo brokenbeautifulpress@gmail.com by Feb. 27th at 5pm to be included in the podcast.

With love,

Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Remastered Tools 101 Webinar: Applications Due March 1

The Remastered Tools 101 Webinar is a month-long course for visionary under-represented graduate students and emerging community accountable scholars inspired by the brilliance of Audre Lorde. See alexispauline.com/

brillianceremastered for more details.

Remastered Tools 101 is an opportunity to examine our relationship to knowledge and our theories of change as they relate to the work we do as scholars and the work we empower with our scholarship. We will investigate how dependence on systems that are NOT community accountable are cultivated even in the most seemingly radical fields and support each other in creating visions for our own community accountability.

Remastered Tools will run on Wednesday evenings March 7-28

Required Reading: Audre Lorde's The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House

The Remastered Tools 101 Webinar includes:

• a workbook based on Audre Lorde's The Master's Tools
• 4 live webinar discussion sessions facilitated by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and attended by aligned visionary underrepresented scholars
• inclusion in an ongoing networking google-group for webinar graduates
• group theme songs to rock to while you smash the system :)

Rate: $25-50 per participant per session ($100-200 for the whole course) or FREE for one-on-one coaching clients.

To apply for the Remastered Tools 101 Webinar email brillianceremastered@gmail.com with your responses to the following questions:

Contact information: (phone, email)

Who are you and what are you up to?

Why do you want to take this webinar?

LoveOverflow: Support Unstoppable Mother/Daughter Relationships!

"When you first realize your blood has come, smile an honest smile, for you are about to have an intense union with your magic." -from Marvelous Menstruating Moments (as told by Indigo to her dolls...) in Ntozake Shange's Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo

On March 3rd 2012 my mother and I (also known as the Thicker Than Whatever Unstoppable Mother/Daughter Team) will be be co-facilitating a special love-filled workshop for kids who might be about to menstruate or who have started recently and for their mamas/main supporters called Love Overflow: Marvelous Menstruating Moment. This will be a daylong intergenerational workshop at the new Eternal Summer space (aka the Greenhouse...where we grow!) with play, affirmation, storysharing and special spaces just for mamas and just for young folks to process their relationship to the physical, spiritual and social transformations going on at the ever-exciting time of puberty.

My mom is traveling from Atlanta in Durham to be my partner in this endeavor and we are so excited! We wanted to invite our entire community to support this project!!!!

We especially invite those of you (of any gender or identification) who have ever had an experience menstruating to add to our wisdom overflow by sharing a piece of wisdom you learned from your own experience menstruating as a note with your paypal donation below. Or just email your wisdom to me at brokenbeautifulpress@gmail.com!

Love,
Lex (and Pauline)

Propose a Session for AMC2012

 

 

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Propose a Session for AMC2012

via Shawty Got Skillz on 2/6/12

**

[image: savethedate]

There are many exciting things afoot in the land of Allied Media Projects!

*We have a new website.* http://alliedmedia.org/ serves as a portal to
AMP's core programs: the AMC, Detroit Future, and our online resources
AMPTalk and Allied365. We built the new website with our web design and
development partners The Work
Department.
If you are a Drupal developer intrigued by what you see, and want to get
involved, consider applying for this
job
.

*AMC2012 is coming to life*. Read about the 21 Tracks, Network Gatherings,
and Practice Spaces.
The
coordinators of these content hubs met in Detroit in January for an
incredible three
daysof
planning and skill-sharing. Thank you to everyone who contributed
their
voices to this planning process through the AMC2012 survey!

*It's time to propose sessions for AMC2012*. We are looking for sessions
that can be hosted within AMC Practice Spaces or Tracks, or that stand
alone in their awesomeness. Read the AMC2012 session proposals
FAQs
and
then submit your proposal at
AMPTalk.
The deadline to propose a session is *March 14*.

Let the session proposing begin!

&;AMP Staff

*Save the Date:* the 14th annual Allied Media Conference is June 28 - July
1 in Detroit, MI.»»»

 

 

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Sins Invalid Fudraiser!

Sins Invalid incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and queer and gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized.  For the last five years, our performance work has explored themes of sexuality, embodiment, and the disabled body to sold-out audiences. Sins Invalid is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here is the new wonderful news!  For the last two years we have been also working on a documentary on Sins Invalid, and we're proud to say that in conjunction with the Aepoch Fund we've almost finished making a 41-minute film that reflects our groundbreaking performance work and weaves interviews of artists and co/founders alongside unreleased performance footage to serve as an entryway into the absurdly taboo topic of sexuality and disability.   This is where our community comes in!   We're in the final stages of production.  We are committed to completing the film – so committed in fact that we are donating personal resources to move it forward.  You know how artists stretch a dollar to make $100 worth of creativity happen.  We're stretching but your partnership will premiere this film!   We are raising $15,000 through the online platform Kickstarter.  It will help us reach out to new communities – but there's a catch.  Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform – so we will receive the funds only if we raise the entire amount.   Your contribution will help lead us through the end stages of film production – sound editing and creating music, correcting the color, adjusting the titles, beginning the distribution launch.   Please share in the truth that beauty always recognizes itself.  Be a part of completing a groundbreaking film on disability and sexuality. Visit us at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dancersgroup/sins-invalid-an-unshamed-claim-to-beauty. Our hearts are always with you and we hope you can help bring a piece of our hearts to the screen.   Much Love, Leroy F Moore Jr. Community Director of Sins Invalid www.sinsinvalid.org

Interpret My Maladies, Or What I Learned from the Super Bowl

 

 

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Interpret My Maladies, Or What I Learned from the Super Bowl

via Black Youth Project by Summer M. on 2/6/12

Last week, CFC member, Moya wrote a very compelling piece about the way that women of color neglect themselves while they continue to give most–if not all–of their energy to others. Although I have never explicitly identified as an activist or a feminist–crunk or not–I could not help but nod in agreement as I read [...]

 

 

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Today I Remember

 

 

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Today I Remember

via The Crunk Feminist Collective by sheridf on 2/6/12

First I want to congratulate the New York Giants for winning the Super Bowl and both teams giving us a good game, particularly in terms of defense.  I also want to shout out Madonna for putting so many women of color dancers to work last night and featuring two very different female emcees.  I must say I wasn't very surprised by all the crotch shots, particularly after having watched a Nicki Minaj video marathon, but I was shocked by M.I.A's "da Brat moment."  I'm assuming she was giving the U.S. the finger because she was previously banned from entering the country.  Either way, good times, good food, good beer, a good end to the weekend.

The beginning of the weekend was not so good.  I went to the memorial service for childhood peer, Stacey English, the beautiful Atlanta woman who was missing for nearly a month. 

Her body was found in the woods.  She was my age.  She had been in my class in elementary school.  I attended the service with my mother, who attended church with Stacey and is close friends with Stacey's godmother. The entire time I simply wanted to leave the room where her closed casket was placed.  I did not know what to say to her parents.  I knew if I allowed my feelings to rise to the surface I would lose control and all of the fears and anxieties I hold daily would spill over.  So I stayed quiet and comforted my mother.

For a while I thought this was the first time someone close to me had been murdered.  It amazes me how much the brain can suppress until triggered.  Well Stacey's death was certainly a trigger because I remember now.  I remember the last memorial service I attended for Jason Bowser, a high school student who was shot in his car.  I remember Johnny Johnson, a senior in high school who committed suicide thinking he might be sent to prison for stealing a pair of sneakers.  I remember Brandon Williams, a senior in high school who was shot at a high school football game.  I remember Sharon Davis, my stepmother who was shot during my father's basketball game when I was eight years old.

I often think how blessed or privileged I am that I have not suffered as I believe others do.  Upon reflection I think I do not allow myself to suffer, which means that when it is time to feel I do everything possible to avoid it.  This is not self-care this is denial.  Last week I cried because I saw a powerful connection in my work, but it was not tears of joys, it was just uncontrollable tears.  I know tears are for healing, but I rarely feel I have time for my own tears.  Today I choose to cry.  Today I choose to heal.  Today I remember.

 

 

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blackamazon:This is my Keynote section done in my bed , with...

 

 

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blackamazon: This is my Keynote section done in my bed , with...

via Shawty Got Skillz by crunkfeministcollective on 2/3/12

blackamazon:

This is my Keynote section done in my bed , with my face . Hi everybody!

 

 

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