AT HOME Summer: From Brooklyn to Bali …Part One

It was Taaeba Fattah’s account of her March trip to Bali with her mother, Nadia, and friends Sheila Szklanny and Leslie Wilks that turned us on to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love bestseller that’s enjoying a new surge of interest due to the Columbia Pictures film of the same title starring Julia Roberts and premiering Friday (13). 
Images of the Fattahs and friends grace these pages, and the personal experience they told us about their visit impressed us.
Yesterday, I plodded through Gilbert’s (partially funded) year-long sojourn to three countries in search of mind, heart and body (not necessarily in that order) refreshment.  She finds nourishment eating through Italy and praying through India, but she really scores in Bali, as much for finding a love-mate as for reconnecting with a soul mate, the elderly healer and reader Ketut Liyer.
Unlike the miles of women across the world who have begun to retrace Ms. Gilbert’s footsteps in hopes of finding self and an orgasmic happy ending, Taaeba, an equal opportunity employment specialist; Nadia, an arts consultant, and educators Sheila and Leslie are inveterate travelers; for them, the happy ending is the travel: they’re not getting away from something or in a state of seeking something – although they love to shop.  
“I love learning about other cultures, enjoying changing landscapes,” says Nadia.   Which is exactly what they were doing when the Fattah ladies first met Sheila and Leslie several years ago on an Egypt-bound cruise ship.   It turned out that Sheila and the Fattahs live within blocks of each other in Brooklyn, the place they call comfort zone.  It’s been “Have Passports, Will Travel Together” ever since.  (Leslie lives in North Carolina.)
Since then, the Friends have racked up a combined hundreds of thousands of miles on train, bus and plane, traveling roundtrip to Morocco, Tunisia, Costa Rica, Rome, Florence, the Phillipines and Hong Kong.  Last year, they all visited Senegal – just after Taaeba and Nadia returned from Cartagena.
Next year, Nadia is pitching for a group trip to Bahia, where she’s visited at least five times. “It’s multisensual, great people, good food, nice breezes, wonderful to wake up to.”   A graduate of Pratt Institute, Nadia reveals she has traveled since her early teens.  She now visits galleries in different countries and is a collector of fabrics from different locales.
The ladies arrived in Bali, March 28,and  stayed 8 glorious days, before departing for Taiwan.
When the ladies arrived, they wanted to go into the villages – away from the tourists – where the people live, the food is homecooked and the culture is active and real. Taaeba told Our Time Press that when she and the ladies are traveling with a tour group, they always separate themselves, create their own itinerary and go off on their own personal tour for a different experience.  The results: they wind up seeing more places, having more exciting adventures and meeting different people, unfettered and unencumbered.  In Bali, they were part of a group of more than 100 people – but not for long.
The tour guide happened to mention that Julia Roberts had just filmed Eat Pray Love days before, and there was a medicine man she met in Ubud. It dawned on the women they could obtain their own personal readings from Bali healer Ketut Liyer, central to Gilbert’s true-life story. They hired a livery and without any prearrangements or an appointment to meet with Ketut, they set out for his residence, determined to get their readings. 
Once they arrived, an hospitable and gracious Ketut made himself available. Yet, at the time, no one could foresee that Ketut would receive a special reading, too.  From Taaeba.
“It was meant to be – the trip to Bali and the visit to Ketut,” said Taaeba, adding,”My grandmother loved ladybugs and a very rare deep-orange colored one, positioned itself outside the rear window of the cab, passenger side,where my mother (Nadia) sat, and accompanied us all the way from the hotel to Ketut’s abode. We saw it as a lucky charm; my grandmother was with us.
“We entered Ketut’s sanctuary through an ornate brick gate, and walked past structures, statues and an altar, then through a mini-botanic garden of lush plants and trees,” recalled Nadia. “At first we did not see him.  He was sitting on the porch partially obscured by the sweep of tree fronds on the porch of his villa.  He sat to the left, and smiled as though he knew us.
“Since there were two or three others ahead of us, we wandered around, and saw all the spaces in his house. There were exotic birds and monkeys throughout his compound.”
After the reading, Ketut asked Taaeba, through his broken English, if she could read passages from Gilbert’s book in which his name appeared.  He explained that Eat Pray Love had not been translated to Balinese, so he hadn’t read the book.  So she opened it to a page that featured him prominently, and began reading to him.  She says he looked shocked – pleasantly so. “I spoke slowly and noticed that he smiled broadly whenever I mentioned his name.  It was quite an engaging moment.”
Taaeba asked if he would sign her paperback book.  “I thought it would be fascinating to have his autograph on one of the pages that fascinated him. He signed his name on Chapter 75 in the book, which begins “So this is how it comes to pass” — where Gilbert starts her Bali journey in earnest. 
“He did not have a concept of ‘giving an autograph.’  It appeared he had no idea just how immensely famous he is, although he says business has picked up since the filming.”
Just before Taaeba commenced to read passages, she beckoned to her mother to take still pictures. Nadia actually videotaped it.  In a future issue, Nadia’s images of the Bali landscape and the Liyers’ home will be featured along with Taaeba’s recommendations as to where one can go in Brooklyn for a gloriously inexpensive and rich Bali experience. 
Taaeba sees Gilbert’s book as having relevance to everyone.   And, like Gilbert, she assesses that home ultimately is something carried inside of us.  “I saw real beauty in the people there. They fascinated us, and they were fascinated by us.  They are used to seeing the stereotypes presented by television and videos. We did not fit those images.
“And there was something else.  My perception of poverty has changed because of this trip.  What is poor? And who is really poor?  I know there are some who are suffering, although we did not see this in Bali. 
“On the whole, these people are very rich – in their culture and in their values.  All of the children smiled regardless of their situation.  They are not a material people; there’s no real technology.  Everything is natural. They go to markets for their food.  They daily eat fresh fruit and vegetables.  Nothing canned or frozen. They are wealthy, no one starves.
“Something happens when we tourists arrive with our ‘culture.’  We create a want for things the host country or village does not need.  Sometimes . not all the time . with tourism comes greed, violence, transfer of diseases, illnesses.  Sometimes, we disrupt perfectly natural cultural foundations.
“In some ways, Bali is ahead of us.  Soon the world will go back to basics – which is where Bali is, right now. For the short time I was there I see Bali offers us a way of ordering our lives.  We certainly can learn something from the people there, the least of which is how to make sense of where we are in the world.
“Ketut, they say, is between 90 and 100.  He is ageless, and he has such a beautiful handwriting. He is not weak.  He is a thinker.  He has good humor. We learned so much from him, and I do believe he learned from us, too.”

This Week: “Eat, Pray Love” From Brooklyn to Bali

Our Time Press visits Bali through the adventures of our outreach specialist Nadia Fattah, and her daughter Taaeba. The Fattah women travelled to the beautiful Indonesia locale just days after Sony Pictures wrapped location filming for Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts opening nationwide, this Friday.

Brooklyn's Taaeba Fattah met Bali medicine man Ketut Liyer earlier this year. Ketut is the transitional center of the film based on the best-selling book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s autobiographical bestseller on which the film is based reveals how the author finds herself through a soul-searching journey to three different places in the world, unique in what they offer her. In Our Time Press, the Brooklyn-based Fattah women, inveterate world travellers, offers a universal message for our readers and the world.

Images of the home of the “medicine man” around which the Bali section of the film centers, will be featured, and later in the month, through the photographs of Barry L. Mason and Hiroki Kobayashi the stunning and stylish Taaeba will show readers where to go — within blocks and a few miles of home — to get the Bali-look. Through Home Shopping Network, OTP reveals, you may not need to leave your home at all. So, here’s to life’s basics: eating, praying and loving.

On The Road …with a Long-Distance Biker

    Malik Rahim’s Journey for Bike for Peace

Rahim is en route to the capital to confront legislators to take action in the Gulf oil spill and to bring awareness to the masses of such simple efforts as biking as a way to decrease the carbon footprint, and bring peace to the world. We caught up with him yesterday – on the 13

“My message is not one of finding a message,” he told us. “In part, I want people to think about how we can preserve life as we know it. My grandmother did not give us sodas for dinner; we had lemonade from rainwater. My children and grandchildren will never taste the sweetness of it. When she first heard about the toxins in streams during the early 1950’s, she purchased Ozone water.

“I come from Algiers, Louisiana. At one time among our people the emphasis was on acquiring land and property before purchasing a vehicle. Our mode of transportation was the cheapest: walking and biking.

“You might not have afforded to purchase a car or maintain it if you could, but you could pump a bike and patch a tire. And for gas, there was strictly your leg motion. You had you.”

During Rahim’s 25-year involvement in environmental justice movements, he ran for City Councilman and then for Congress as a Green Party candidate. Today, he is running for something else: in solidarity with political activist Cynthia McKinney, who is biking from California to Washington with other Bikers for Peace.

Rahim decided to start his course from the Gulf area when the BP disaster erupted. During rest stops in various towns, villages and cities, he conducted media interviews and meetings with environmental organizations. If all goes on schedule today (29

As part of its Greenprint for Change continuing series, Our Time Press is following Malik Rahim’s Journey with periodic updates and a full story and profile to appear in our upcoming issues covering the 5

“Everything becomes mute, if we do not care for the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat and how we live,” Rahim told us. “If we lose life as we know it because of our inability or refusal to save it, I want one thing to be said: ‘He was a crazy old man with dreds and a bike who tried to save the world,” More on www.ourtimepress.com.

th day of his journey which ends in the capital September 22nd — as he stood on the balcony of the Meg Perry Center for Environmental Peace and Justice in New Orleans enjoying the sounds of birds. th), he is meeting with Sea Grant, Mobile Bay and the Mississippi/Alabama Estuary Project. His goal: to bring awareness of the full impact of the latest disaster in the Gulf; the U.S. is losing not only its soul, but also its wetlands. “Since 1932, we’ve lost enough wetlands to fill the state of Delaware.”the Anniversary of the Katrina hurricane tragedy. Of the 1.1 billion bikers in the world, Malik Rahim, 62, co-founder of Common Ground, is the only one pedaling a “regular old seven-speeder” through the Deep South heading east on a 1500-mile trek to Washington, D.C. while carrying a 20-lb tent with a singular mission: to save the world from itself and its excesses.

Parks Commish Jack Linn Halts Soil Dump In Charlie’s Place Court as Area Residents Play Hardball Against Unsanctioned “Green” Effort

“You’re telling me, someone came to our community, took a pile of dirt, didn’t bother to come to us, and just dumped it on a playground’s handball court?” that was the question local architect Michael McCaw raised at a meeting called by CB3 chair Henry Butler, yesterday at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration community room. “Are they crazy?”
The site is the handball court at Charlie’s Place playground on Hopkins Avenue, between Tompkins and Throop. The player is a wealthy funding organization that has a long history of good works in and intentions for the area, the Parks Department and the Department of Education.
There’s CB3 and very vocal residents of the North Brooklyn neighborhood, occupants of houses and apartments near and around the park. The CBO and the enclave were left out of the picture. One day, the handball court was there, as it always has been since the playground’s naming, in 1957, after Charles Lubin, founder of Sara Lee company. The next day the handball court was under ground, beneath a generous attempt to create a small farm or garden in the space.
This green initiative elicited big groans that increased in intensity yesterday when the residents – mostly strong, focused and able young men – and CB3 officers met with Parks Assistant Commissioner/Senior Counselor Jack T. Linn and a Mr. Hunte, representing the greening agency “to design a plan relative to the community’s needs.”
“Not enough,” said a community member buoyed by CB3 member Beatrice P. Jones’ remarks. She said, to applause: “We’re not opposed to gardens. We love gardens. We love fruit, vegetables and flowers.
“But the community will not allow a garden to be established in that handball court. So I think we need to take our shovels and remove it. I need manure for my garden, anyway. Somebody in your agency . maybe not you, but someone, made a big mistake. Our young people are here trying to resolve this. Give them back their handball court. If you don’t have the manpower, we will get it.”
Butler, staunch community advocate, stated that the Community Board should have been approached about the project or plans for potential projects before they even come into the neighborhood. “Not informed of what already has been done.”
And although a few residents were willing to compromise on a half court; half garden arrangement, most everyone came to the conclusion – with Butler and Linn in agreement -the process had to start all over and done the correct way.
So, Next steps: The community has called for a tour of Charlie’s Place, Wednesday, July 7 at 6pm to find a more appropriate site for the garden, other than on the 50-plus year old handball court.
Meanwhile, Linn stated that in the interests of the community, “Mr. Hunte will stop work; a decision will be made on where he should move the work; and on how it will be moved.” With the involvement of the Board and the community at every decision-making level.
CB3′s Parks, Arts & culture chair Marion Little assured residents the park is being is placed at the top of the Board’s priority list, and he will be working with Mr. Butler to have some Board meetings in the North Bedford Stuyvesant area. He said, “That the handball court, used daily, is shut down at the start of summer.. now that’s a big problem.”
Manager Charlene Phillips, CB3 District Manager, closed with a reminder to everyone in the room: “Anyone who pays taxes should be kept informed of what’s going on where they pay taxes, and they should have a say in where those taxes go. You have rights, you need to exercise them.”
Ultimately, “it’s about respect,” said both Nilo Jordan and Rafael Dominguez who frequent the park, and exercise there.
Jordan, Dominguez and Anthony Mercado strongly urge the public to come out and see community empowerment in action and to wrap their thoughts around, yet, another Charlie’s Place pressing situation they’re tackling: the parking lot and people who should not be parking there- mostly teachers and hospital personnel. Stay tuned.

Our Time Press will follow this story. – BGreen

Backstage Notes on the Concert & Benefit of the Year

The performances were electric, the awards presentations poignant, the huge crowd ecstatic at last Friday’s  Benefit Concert starring Stephanie Mills; in tribute to Hon. Assemblywoman Annette M. Robinson; and designed to support efforts to complete construction of an in-the-community banquet hall. 

Cornerstone choir. Superstar Mills, who once lived on Greene, bet. Throop and Marcus Garvey Blvd. (then Sumner Avenue), in her gfirlhood years attended Cornerstone, where her parents were deacons for 25 years. (Photo by Olivia Cousins)

Even the beloved ancestor Chief Charles Joshua, who led the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council and spearheaded a movement years ago that directly links to the  Central Brooklyn Community Services Corp., sponsoring agency of the Friday, May 21 fundraiser and benefit, had a place of honor at the table.  The assemblywoman remembered him in her remarks of appreciation.   (Proceeds from the concert benefit the work of CBCSC’s construction of a conference center/catering hall in the neighborhood.)

The evening also celebrated Bedford Stuyvesant as a great “home”  through the wonderful music of Stephanie Mills, 53, whose voice is stronger and more vibrant than ever.
And “stars” were born:  They included violinist Joya Bravo; the Voices of Cornerstone led by Natasha Quiller and the revelation of The Rev. Robert M. Waterman’s gifts as a master emcee.
There were other reminders of Bed-Stuy’s status as a bona fide village, too.  When event organizer Wayne Devonish sent a call out two weeks ago for support of his huge endeavor, soldiers lined up around him.  They included: Lorrie Ayers, Phyllis Hurd, Our Time Press intern Jessica Harris, and event coordinator/stage manager Sandra Coello.  Also, the Herbert Von King Park Friends; the Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford Stuyvesant’s Board of Directors, of which Devonish is a member; Bridge Street Development Corporation staff; and dozens of  community and faith leaders, including the the security ministry of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church (Vinessa Toyer, Elizabeth Hill, Faye Baker, Patrice Webb, Brian Springer, Tommy White, Charles Crooms and Darryl McNeil) joined by the great ushers of historic Bridge Street AWME Church, all resplendent in white.
The community’s VIPS came out in full force, including the omnipresent and ever-supportive Dr. Marcia Maxwell, The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Anthony, Barbara Sidbury and her scores of classy sweetheart friends who not only supported the event with their dollars but also with their extreme patience and class.   Dinner was served late as guests along with caterers Lemuel and Charlotte Mial,  awaited the arrival of a local company charged with delivering tablecloths, napkins, dinnerware and silverware, but delayed by extreme circumstances.

Class Act: Stephanie Mills (foreground) took time for a photo op for the Bed-Stuy Archives with Bed-Stuy leaders, from left, community activist Sharonnie Perry, Community Board #3 President Henry Butler, CBCSS PresidentBill Wrenn of Central Brooklyn Community Services and Councilman Al Vann. (Photo by Olivia Cousins)

Responding to Mr. Devonish’s requests, post-concert, Ms. Mills greeted community leaders and the Voices of Cornerstone Baptist Church where she first started performing and both parents were deacons for 25 years.  Images of Miss Mills with community leaders can be seen on these pages of Our Time Press and, thanks to Lem Peterkin and other local photojournalists, in other  community papers, including The Amsterdam News, The Beacon and The Daily Challenge.
Wayne Devonish, Bill Wren, president of CBCSC and their staff, including the efficient Susan Bishop, Devonish’s assistant, have extended a special thanks to the entire Central Brooklyn family.  Said Mr. Wren, “It takes a village to get things done, and it always will.”

ON DAY CARE CENTERS AND TREES … If Trees Grow In Brooklyn, Why Can’t Children?

                        
Who will be the leaders of tomorrow if the day care centers are closed today?, came the cry to us from Bedford-Stuyvesant’s  Alonzo Daughtry Day Care Center #3  about the push to close 15 day care centers (11 in Brooklyn including Alonzo) by the end of June.   
“If Mayor Bloomberg knew what actually occurs in our child care centers he would reconsider this hasty decision,” one teacher told us.

The parents, teachers and administrators of the highly praised Duffield Children’s Center -- one of 15 day care schools in the City reportedly slated for closure in a few months -- see buildings going up just a few feet from their Fleet Place school in Downtown Brooklyn. Center Director Betty Stromberg says, “Our children should be given a chance to grow up and stand tall in this city.” Like Kaylah, at left, whose mom Saundra Washington enrolled her on Monday.

We wondered if America’s Sustainability Mayor had visited any of the centers he plans to close, and if he talked to the parents, the teachers and observed the students.   We wondered if visits to each of the centers on the chopping block would inspire a reprieve strategy, one as effective as his brilliant master plan for increasing the number of trees in New York City, one whose marketing outreach revs full blast this April Earth Month and most likely will compete with the roar of people like the Daughtry lady who tearfully told us on the steps of Borough Hall last Monday afternoon, “These day care centers can’t be closed.  They grow leaders!”
Earlier in the day, we visited the Duffield Children’s Center located where Fleet Place and Fair Place form a cul-de-sac, one block north of the old, sturdy Department of Health building. 

Just a few feet from Duffield’s doors, backhoe loaders and bulldozer excavation machines were hard at work preparing for yet even more tall skyscrapers – and an esplanade – to join the family of steel and glass residential towers near and around Flatbush Avenue and Myrtle. 
Though the sound of engines splitting and trucks pushing dirt drowns out humanity, inside Duffield there’s something  – probably and hopefully multiplied by 15 throughout the city – that New York can be proud of.  It’s an oasis of great educational programs, creative arts, excellent science and earth programs.  Betty Stromberg, center director, took us on a tour of the site and introduced us to its students and teachers.
It’s bright, “green” and student-friendly, something so in need of being sustained, it’s hard to understand why the concept would be on the cutting board in the first place.  The school’s happy faces tell a story of why the city should take another look at how it cares for its children.  And the message it sends to families and children.
Says Norma H. Martin, Assistant Executive Director, Brooklyn Bureau of Community Services, the nonprofit that administers the center, “Duffield Children’s Center provides quality early childhood education services.
“It serves 140 children every day, not only in ACS-funded preschool but also in Head Start and After-School programs.  We use the nationally recognized, evidence-based Creative Curriculum to be sure our children are prepared for success in school.  Parents support our program and they are here with us today to say so!
Closing Duffield would mean returning half a millions dollars to the federal government every year in direct Federal funding for the Head Start program. “And it would mean turning back to private donors about $30,000 in funding every year for our literacy initiative,” she adds.
“The city may think that there is little to no need for publicly funded child care in the Fort Greene area.  But about a third of the families and children served at Duffield live there, within walking distance of the center.  They are all income-eligible for publicly funded child care.  It won’t be easy for those parents to find alternate child care services, since the City plans to close five centers in the neighborhood.  And we provide after-school services to about 40 children every day.  There is no Out of School Time program in any of the public schools in our end of Fort Greene.  There’s no other option for our children.”
She also noted that other parents choose Duffield not only because of its high-quality program, but also because it’s convenient to their employment in downtown Brooklyn. 
Douglas Brooks, BBSC Director of Children & Family Services, spoke compassionately on behalf of Duffield.  “It dispels every myth or stereotype that poor children and children with disabilities can not learn and are destined to an unhappy life.  We have the data showing our children are well-prepared.  Children do so much better in a literacy-rich environment where creative curriculum is utilized. Our mission is to strengthen families and help all children-poor, rich – reach their full potential.”
On the Borough Hall steps, Monday (12), the Daughtry and Duffield Center parents, teachers, administrators and teachers rallied for their children and all of the sites and spoke to news crews and print reporters. 
Brooks said, “We understand the city is in crisis, and some centers may need to close down.  But why close the ones that work?”   Maybe it’s a case of  not seeing the trees for the forest.

“AFRICAN RENAISSANCE MONUMENT” UNVEILED IN SENEGAL

AFRICA EMERGING BY ITS OWN DESIGN: Students perform below the “African Renaissance Monument” to mark Senegal’s 50 years of independence during its inauguration ceremony in Dakar, Senegal April 3, 2010. Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal, called for the creation of a United States of Africa, unveiling the bronze masterpiece which at 50 metres (164 feet) stands four metres taller than the Statue of Liberty and depicts a couple and child rising from the top of a mountain. (Credit Image: © EPA/ZUMApress.com)

Designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby, it overlooks the Atlantic Ocean in the Ouakam suburb.  Construction began in April 2006, and was completed earlier this year. The payment, reportedly, was made in kind, with 30-40 hectares of land that will be sponsored by a Senegalese businessman.

Under the auspices of President Abdoulaye Wade, the events focused on the future of Africa and place particular emphasis on how all African states can work together to foster and support the economic, cultural, social and political well-being of the entire continent.? At the heart of this vision is the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which offer a platform for progress in ending poverty and hunger, reaching universal education and gender equality, improving child and maternal health, ensuring environmental sustainability, and creating a global partnership for development -all by 2015.
“I am sure that the historic visit by this prestigious American delegation will strengthen ties between the United States and Africa, and reinforce African efforts for sustainable human development, bearing in mind the efforts of UNAIDS and its partners in working to reverse the AIDS epidemic,” said Dr. Djibril Diallo, Chair of the U.S. Leadership Committee for the World Festival of Black Arts (FESMAN) 2010, which organized the U.S. delegation, and Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS).
The commemoration began for the American delegation on April 2nd with a visit to Gor?e Island.  On Saturday, April 3 a colloquium of African writers and intellectuals examined and debated the enormous promise of the African Renaissance.? The event was organized by Professor Iba Der Thiam, one of the authors of the UNESCO History of Africa project, and highlighted the role of art and cultural in promoting human development.
Later in the day, the African Renaissance Monument was inaugurated in an event focusing upon the theme of a United States of Africa, an objective supported by President Wade and endorsed by the African Union for realization in 2017.
Sunday, April 4 was devoted to commemorations of Senegal’s 50th year of independence, and highlighted by the appearance of heads of state, prime ministers and guests from around the worldattending parades, cultural events, and festive public ceremonies.
The ideals expressed in the independence celebrations will also be reflected in the World Festival of Black Arts 2010 (FESMAN 2010) scheduled for December in Senegal.
The arts are a vibrant manifestation of Africa’s enormous potential, and musicians, performers, artists, historians will come from Africa and all corners of the world to take part.

Women’s Herstory Month

Thursday March 19 through Sunday, March 21: The Women’s Project: NOT A FAIRY TALE workshop production to be presented at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church by Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, Senior Pastor. The production runs three performances only – Friday, March 19 at 7pm; Saturday, March 20 at 3pm, Sunday, March 21 at 3pm. in Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church Spann-Jones Fellowship Hall, 760 DeKalb Avenue at the corner of Tompkins Ave. Brooklyn.. Suggested donation: $20. For tickets and more information: 718.388.3900, ext. 20, www.womenproject.com.  Directed by Jesse Wooden Jr., the production is based on the true stories of three women coming to terms with the scars of their past and triumphantly facing the future. The script combines the adapted words and experiences of the women with spoken word by Nuyorican Slam poet and project ensemble member Jennifer Falu; and contemporary and gospel music. Three young women, who were also lifelong friends, approached Rev. Youngblood and revealed that they were survivors of some form of abuse; sexual or physical and they wanted to share their stories. The pastor suggested that they go beyond testifying in front of the congregation and allow themselves to be vehicles of healing in a bigger way. He decided that the bigger vehicle was the theater. The three women, along with several other women who are actors, poets or dancers by profession and had also experienced some form of abuse, came together to form an ensemble. The ensemble and the creative team participated in an intense four-day workshop with Shawnee Benton-Gibson, a psychodrama therapist, to develop the framework for their stories and to begin their healing.
The ensemble members are Brigette Barfield, Maya Bishop, Naeemah Brown, Soyini Crenshaw, Jennifer Falu, Demitrachs Hawkins, Jasmine Mejias, Katrina Pegues and Deirdre Simmons. The production’s creative team includes Temishia Johnson (lighting design), Patrice Davidson (set design), Hopie Lyn Burrows (Costume design), Rev. Ina Alisa Anderson (musical director), Naeemah Brown (choreographer), Nykolla Sweeney (production stage manager), Mary Brooks (assistant to the director) and Denise S. Gray (associate producer and CEO/SeasonWalk Productions).
A question and answer session will follow each performance. Members of the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church healing ministry will be present to offer support to anyone affected by the production.

GREAT VIBES: Last Sunday, The Internationally-Acclaimed Spelman College Jazz Ensemble jammed, for the fourth year, at Brooklyn’s famed Jazz 966 as part of the Friday night jazz spot’s Women’s Herstory Month concerts. The Ensemble’s 14 gifted vocalists and instrumentalists wowed the packed house. Organized in 1983 under the direction of Professor Joe Jennings, the Ensemble has toured throughout the nation. Jazz lovers can look for more Sunday Jazz Specials and regular Friday night live concerts as Jazz 966 approaches 20 swinging years of showcasing great live performances in an atmosphere that’s warm, fine and mellow. Hosts are Harold “Keeper of the Secrets” Valle and Sam Pinn. Visit: www.jazz966.com, Telephone: 718.638.6910, or Email: spinn@fortgreenecouncil.org. Location: 966 Fulton Street, nr. Grand. Photo: Watermark Management, Inc.

Thursday, March 19: 8:00a-10:00a, “Herstory” Induction Ceremony and Celebration at Borough Hall Courtroom and Rotunda hosted by Borough President Marty Markowitz honors contributions of Brooklyn women to the arts, sciences and business and public service. 209 Joralemon St., Downtown Brooklyn.  This year’s honorees include: Barbara Winslow, Ph.D, associate professor, Brooklyn College School of Education and Women’s Studies programs, and founder and director of the Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women’s Activism: 1945 to the Present. (Lucy Burns Activist Award); Elwanda Young, CEO, United Way of NYC (Shirley Chisholm Award); Betty Kahn, board member, Brooklyn Public Library and Reel Works (Emily Roebling Stewardship Award; Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D., English Professor at Medgar Evers College and executive director of the college’s Center for Black Literature (Betty Smith Arts Award); Elizabeth Streb, founder, Streb S.L.A.M. 9Lab for the Mechanics (Lady Deborah Moody Founders Award); Iris Jimenez-Hernandez, svp, North Brooklyn Healthcare Network (Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Humanitarian Award; and Tracie Williams, President, Junior League of Brooklyn (Jr. League of Brooklyn Centennial Award).

Saturday, March 20, 1p-4p: 2nd Women of Distinction Scholarship Luncheon at Boys & Girls H.S.  The luncheon salutes distinguished women for their unwavering support of and service to the community and Boys & Girls High School and supports a great scholarship- creation opportunity for some of New York’s best and brightest graduating students. Money raised through ticket sales, a Silent Auction and donations at the event go to the scholarships.  As we see it, the Women of Distinction Awards refers to both the students and the distinguished honorees, who include Pamela Green, Weeksville Heritage Center; Crystal Bobb-Semple, ounder and owner, Brownstone Books; educator Dr. Renee Young; guidance counselor Dorothy Harper (celebrating 43 years in the education field); Miss Kelly Roberts, school safety agent; Dr. Sheila Evans-Tranumn, retired associate commissioner for the NYS Education Department; and Ms. Nebert Jackson, retired educator who taught for some 30 years at Boys & Girls H.S.  The Boys & Girls H.S. graduating seniors who worked hard throughout the school year to raise funds for college needs include:  Alicia Rogers, Areya Cortes, Shatiqua Watson, Brittany George, Adana David, Melissa DeVore, Amandla McMillan, Shardei Lewis and Deborah Akinbowale. The event is the culminating activity of the year-long campaign and anyone wanting to support the effort can donate items or services for the silent auction; food for the March 20 luncheon;and/or contributions to the students’ scholarship fund. Contact:  Miss Andrea Toussaint of The Sisterhood.Tickets: $25. 718-467-1700.  (See Centerfold photo.)

Saturday, March 21, 3:00p-7p: BOOK FAIR hosted by the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority:  Theme: Reading is Chicken Soup for the Mind.  At Boys & Girls H.S., 1700 Fulton Street, Brooklyn.  For everyone.

Friday, March 26: Tribute to “The Creative Power of Women” sponsored by NYS Sen. Bill Perkins and the Caribbean Cultural Center of the African Diaspora Institute will honor such women as Wilhelmina Obatola Grant for their work in the arts and the cultural community. Adam Clayton Power Jr. State Office Building, 163 West 125th St., 8th Fl. A reception will follow the program.  RSVP 212-222-7315
Friday, March 26-31: Opening of MUSLIM VOICES: THE FEMALE PERSPECTIVE at BAM. Seven feature films that explore women’s lives in Muslim countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran and Lebanon.  For details visit: www.BAM.org or call 718-636-4100.  

Sunday, March 28: HARRIET’S PLACE: Underground Railroad and Beyond. New exhibition of photographs capturing the essence of Harriet Tubman, the woman, by educator/artist/historian/preservationist Dr. Olivia Cousins, opens today at Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford-Stuyvesant.  Admission Free. Details to be announced. Contact: Andrea Brathwaite at 718-387-2116.

Sunday, March 28: 12:00p-4:00p, One-Day Only! CARIBBEAN-AMERICAN WOMEN ARTISTS Exhibition. St. Francis College, 182 Remsen St.  Reception: 2:30pm. Admission  Free.
Monday, March 29: At the YMCA today Congressman Ed Towns salutes community activists Vivian Bright and Sharonnie Perry; Dr. Emma Jordan Simpson, Executive Director, Childrens Defense Fund-New York; Jeannette Turner, Retired Health Care Professional; Kim William Clark, Dean, Institutional Advancement and Student Affairs, LIU; Entrepreneur Tremaine Wright; Deborah Clark-Johnson, Principal of P.S. 56; Lena Gates, Principal of P.S. 5; Sharlene Brown and Kay Wilson-Stallings of the Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA staff.

 Monday, March 29: Herbert Von King Park’s Third Phenomenal Women Awards Brunch: Culinary and Drama Teens at the Park, and Parks Administrator Lemuel Mial with volunteer instructor-wife Charlotte Mial, and community friends will honor community media women.
-Bernice Elizabeth Green

Call Them Phenomenal, THESE DAUGHTERS of TUBMAN

“Freedom or die a slave!,” declared  Harriet Tubman (1819/20-1913) who freed herself and 300 others from enslavement in the mid-19th century.  Tubman’s legacy resounds today in the lives of heirs who move unrestricted and make choices with few constraints. 
Call them daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, aunts, educators, nurses, doctors, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, bakers, filmmakers, artists, chefs, librarians, homemakers, landowners, students, realtors, musicians, even First Ladies – in roles nonexistent for women of color in America at the time of Harriet Tubman’s birth.
Call them liberators, revolutionaries, strategists, rainmakers and deep thinkers (as Tubman was), qualities considered “uncharacteristic” for Black women even a little more than a century ago at the time of her death in Auburn, NY in 1913.

The bronze Harriet Tubman sculpture by Alison Saar stands 10-feet-tall in Harlem on 122nd St and St. Nicholas as a symbol for freedom-taking.

Mrs. Tubman was this nation’s first nationally known woman leader, soldier, strategist, counselor, social worker. And beginning March 10, the 97th anniversary of her death, New Yorkers will join other groups throughout the nation in celebrating Tubman by honoring women of conviction.
 Dr. Olivia Cousins, the artist/photographer/educator, comments:  “In celebrating Harriet, we carry forth her legacy in the day-to-day work that we do to protect, nurture, advocate and uplift our people.”  Following are March events that honor our journey and the Tubman legacy. See page 6.
Tuesday, March 9 at 7pm: The Spelman College Glee Club performs at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 279 Lafayette Ave. (corner of St. James Place).  Concert is free and open to the public!!! Note to parents and guardians of young women:  The Spelman College Glee Club has maintained a formal reputation of choral excellence since its inception in 1925. Its repertoire consists of secular choral literature for women’s voices with special emphasis on traditional spirituals, music by African-American composers, music from different cultures and other commissioned works. The Spelman legacy of song is inextricably entwined in the institution’s history. The founders of Spelman College, Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles, sought to establish and teach a curriculum that ensured a well-rounded educational experience. The beginnings of the Spelman College Glee Club can be traced back to 1882, just one year after the college opened.

Wednesday, March 10, 9:00am – 11:30am: The 7th Annual Harriet Tubman Day Celebration, In

, Brooklyn, hosted by Councilman Al Vann at Boys & Girls H.S., presents comments from Pauline Copes-Johnson of Auburn, NY and her sister, Geraldine Daniels of Rochester, NY, the great-great-grandnieces of “Aunt Harriet.” Brooklyn Public Library chief Dionne Mack-Harvin will keynote.
Wednesday, March 10, 10:00am: Wreath Laying in the Harriet Tubman Memorial Park at the base of the only statue in New York City of Harriet Tubman, a two-ton 10-foot-tall bronze sculpture designed by Alison Saar, at the intersection of Frederick Douglass Boulevard (formerly Eighth Avenue), St. Nicholas Avenue and 122nd Street.  The event will include the participation of schoolchildren, City Government officials and the New York City Parks Department. Adrianne Riddick of Harlem, Ms. Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece, will speak at the wreath-laying event.  The statue is the brainchild of former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.  Omoye Cooper of Albany, NY and Elizabeth Fulcher-Rankin of Brooklyn are co-chairs of the Black Women’s Leadership Caucus, Inc. (BWLC) host organization which was formed in 1999 during a meeting at the Tubman Homestead in Auburn, NY of women and men involved in the history of the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman.  Currently, the group is producing a short documentary about Harriet Tubman, featuring interviews with  descendants, historians and and distinguished educators, including  Adelaide Sanfor, former Vice Chancellor, NYS Board of Regents. Open to the public.
Thursday, March 11, 11a-2p: Network Journal’s  “Influential Women in Business Awards” Publisher/CEO Aziz Adetimirin and editor Rosalind McLymont will honor business leaders at the “Twelfth Annual 25 Influential Black Women in Business Awards” luncheon at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, 1535 Broadway (between 45th & 46th streets). Among the honorees: Jackie Carter, Vice President & Publisher, Nonfiction Books, Scholastic, Inc.; Susan E. Chapman, Global Head of Operations, Citi, Realty Service, Citi Inc.; Chrysa Chin, Vice President, Player Development, National Basketball Association (NBA); Denise Coley, Director, Global Supplier Diversity Business Development, Cisco Systems, Inc.; Michelle Drayton, President & Publisher, Today’s Child Communications; Angela E. Guy, Senior Vice President, General Manager, SoftSheen-Carson; Gale Stevens-Haynes, Esq., Provost, Long Island University, Bklyn Campus; Vy Higginsen, Executive Director, Mama Foundation for the Arts; Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., Associate Dean, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons;  and Mavis T. Thompson, Esq., President, National Bar Association; and others.
 Saturday, March 20, 1p-4p: 2nd Women of Distinction Scholarship Luncheon at Boys & Girls H.S.  The luncheon salutes distinguished women for their unwavering support of and service to the community and Boys & Girls High School and supports a great scholarship- creation opportunity for some of New York’s best and brightest graduating students. Money raised through ticket sales, a Silent Auction adn donations at the event go to the scholarships.  As we see it, The Women of Distnction Awards refers to both the students and the distinguished honorees, who include Pamela Green, Weeksville Heritage Center; Crystal Bobb-Semple, founder and owner, Brownstone Books; educator Dr. Renee Young; guidance counselor Dorothy Harper, (celebrating 43 years in the education field); Miss Kelly Roberts, school safety agent; Dr. Sheila Evans-Tranumn, retired associate commissioner for the NYS Education Department; and Ms. Nebert Jackson, retired educator who taught for some 30 years at Boys & Girls H.S.  The Boys & Girls H.S. graduating seniors who worked hard throughout the school year to raise funds for college needs, include:  Alicia Rogers, Areya Cortes, Shatiqua Watson, Brittany George, Adana David, Melissa DeVore, Amandla McMillan, Shardei Lewis and Deborah Akinbowale. The event is the culminating activity of the year-long campaign, and anyone wanting to support the effort can donate items or services for the silent auction; food for the March 20 luncheon;and/or contributions to the students’ scholarship fund. Contact:  Miss Andrea Toussaint of The Sisterhood.Tickets: $25. 718-467-1700.
  

Sunday, March 28: “Harriet’s Place: Underground Railroad and Beyond” at Magnolia – New exhibition of photographs capturing the essence of Harriet Tubman, the woman, by educator/artist/historian/preservationist Dr. Olivia Cousins, opens today at Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford Stuyvesant.  Details to be announced. Contact: Andrea Brathwaite at 718-387-2116 or Bernice Elizabeth Green at 718-599-6828.  (See Cover)
Monday, March 29: Herbert Von King Park’s Third Phenomenal Women Awards Brunch: Culinary and Drama Teens at the Park, and Parks Administrator Lemuel Mial with volunteer instructor-wife Charlotte Mial, with community friends DBG Media and Legacy Ventures, at a closed, invitation-only event, will honor media women, the communicators, whose on-going good works keep positive stories and information about our communities at the forefront. Among the honorees:  Mrs. Esther Jackson, Founder and Publisher, Freedomways; Nayaba Arinde, Editor, NY Amsterdam News; Freelance Journalist and Media Consultants Victoria Horsford and Fern Gillespie; Dr. Brenda Greene, Founder, National Black Writers Conference; Medgar Evers College, CUNY; Aminisha Black, columnist, Our Time Press; author-entrepreneur Monique Greenwood, now celebrating her  popular Akwaaba Inns’ 15th year; writer Susan McHenry; Janel Gross, The Challenge Group; Jeanne Parnell, anchor, WHCR; Dr. Teresa Taylor-Williams, publisher, Trend Newspaper; and Gayle DeWees of the NY Daily News, also the former employer of the late Joyce Shelby, the adored journalist to whom this event is dedicated.
Mrs. Jackson  and Tupper Thomas, head of the Prospect Park Alliance, will receive the Hattie Carthan Awards.
  -Bernice Elizabeth Green

Cheikh Anta Diop Celebrated

THE GREAT AFRICAN SCHOLARS DR. YOSEF BEN JOCHANNAN (“DR. BEN”), SISTER KHEPRA, DR. LEONARD JEFFRIES, DR. RANDY WESTON URGE GLOBAL FAMILIES OF COLOR TO RECONNECT WITH OUR PAST IN ORDER TO “RESURRECT OUR PEOPLE”

World-Class Scholars Gathered to Remember the Life and Legacy of “Pharoah” Cheikh Anta Diop at Le Grand Dakar Restaurant in Brooklyn on 24th Anniversary of His Transition

On Sunday, February 7, 2010, history was made at Pierre Thiam’s Le Grand Dakar Restaurant in Brooklyn. At a gathering of The Wise, hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Randy Weston, and attended by special guests Dr.Yosef Ben-Jochannan (“Dr. Ben”); Sister Khepra, co-founder of New York City’s first CommUniversity (The First World Alliance) in Harlem; Professor Leonard Jeffries, Yaa-Lengi Meema Ngemi, Mamadou Ndiang and others, Black History Month was210 never mentioned. The perspective was much different. Longer, sharper and through a many-thousand-year-old prism.

Sister Khepra, co-founder of the First World Alliance knowledge-exchange center, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Professor at City College, center, and Dr. Ben, noted historian of the Civilizations of the Nile Valley brought The Knowledge to the people.

The scholars drew together to celebrate the life of one of the greatest thought-leaders of all time — Cheikh Anta Diop who passed at 63 in 1986. Usually, there is a pilgrimage to Senegal for this occasion, but this year, a small cafe-restaurant was the site.
And it felt good being there, being in the valley and the heavens of knowledge, where even the Kora music asked the question: So what are you doing with this history, how are you making it your own? — Far away from the banality of black-history-month trivialities of self-congratulations for corporate “diversity” and discount sales. Bernice Elizabeth Green
See Notes From Dakar

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