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What’s Wrong With Excellence? DOE attacks Medgar Evers College Prep

Editor, Our Time Press
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What’s Wrong With Excellence? DOE attacks Medgar Evers College Prep

By Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) has recently made the decision to alter Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College Preparatory School’s (MECPS) admissions process and academic program, much   to the dismay of the families, school faculty, community members and local elected officials.

The DOE has taken the position that the instructional program and curriculum at Medgar Evers College Prep should be realigned in an effort to serve low performing students, students with disability and students of incarcerated parents. While the DOE’s effort to service the needs of all children should be applauded, the decisions to change the focus of this well-established, highly successful institution, without meaningful input from the community, are both misguided and flawed.

For the past 16 years, MECPS students have excelled academically with 84% of their middle grade students meeting state proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and 78% in math, far surpassing the majority of NYC schools where less than 38% of students meet state proficiency in ELA and math. These success rates particularly standout when you take into account the fact that 65% of these students qualify for free lunch and are children of color, debunking the theory that poor children of color do not excel academically.

After years of proven success, the DOE believes it is best to change MECPS admissions policy, removing the school from city-wide access to district-wide status, denying New York City parents a choice in their child’s education. These actions from the DOE will not only cut off the diverse pool of applicants across various economic, racial, ethnic and geographic backgrounds, but will perpetuate the unwelcome trends of segregation that have plagued our City for far too long.

Based on a 2014 study from the Civil Rights Project, New York City was found to have the most segregated school system in the entire country. The findings of the report showed that Black and Latino students not only had the highest concentration in segregated public schools and the most uneven distribution of white students across schools city-wide, but also had the most exposure to low-income students as well.

The quality of education our children receive is directly correlated with their economic mobility, making the importance of de-segregation imperative to improving the lives of our children, their educational experience, and for the continued growth of our local economies as well. Therefore, it is incomprehensible that the DOE would want to transform a successful Brooklyn school such as MECPS by limiting student body diversity and concentrating on low-income, minority students in a school that already has a large population of both.

One element to the extraordinary achievements of MECPS is their integration of the middle school into the high school, which is vital in making it a unique early college institution. For many children who grow up in neighborhoods with low-performing middle schools, the pipeline to high schools with low graduation rates and even lower college-readiness rates is far too common. It is crucial then, that we demand the DOE reverse their decision to alter the MECPS admission policy, in an effort to support one of the few middle schools that is excelling in preparing our young students for the future.

Moreover, the same standards that are given to preparatory schools such as Mark Twain I.S. 239 for the Gifted and Talented, and Bay Ridge Prep should be given to MECPS, regardless of where their students comes from, or the economic background of their families. If the DOE plans to move forward with policy changes at MECPS, then these same changes must applied across the board to  other  preparatory schools as well.

For over a decade MECPS has used an effective admission policy and outstanding educational curriculum that has led to students’ excellence both academically, socially and economically. As one of the top performing middle schools in the city, MECPS is an institution my family and I would be proud to send our son as he nears the age of middle school eligibility.

I urge the DOE to forge strong community partnerships with MECSP, and work with the parents, faculty, staff and elected officials in an effort to serve children in need, without disassembling such a highly successful and proven program. MECPS nurtures and supports the best and the brightest students, and programs such as theirs should be replicated, not dismantled from within, because that is what these recommendations from the DOE are going to do.

WHAT’S GOING ON

Victoria Horsford
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The NY Times story, THE WORLD ONCE LAUGHED AT NORTH KOREAN CYBERPOWER–NO MORE is a scary revelation about North Korea’s cyber attack program, which is scarier than the Trump Presidency. NK cyberpower can “steal millions of dollars and is wreaking global havoc”.   North Korea’s reach is planetary, in India, New Zealand, Nepal, Kenya and Mozambique.   It has the ability to steal war plans. It can stall and put a monkey wrench into international programs which ridicule or malign NK. It was responsible for hacking the Sony Pictures computer system in 2014.   It is a must-read for anyone concerned about life on Earth. If NK can do this, then there is no doubt in my mind that the Russians manipulated the 2016 United States elections.

The Trump quest to erode the Barack Obama legacy. Last week, through an executive order, Trump put the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, to sleep or, at best, on life support. Days later, he says that he will pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement if Congress does not heed his appeal to toughen the accords.   The best response to foregoing Trump actions was written by NY Times writer Charles Blow in his op-ed TRUMP, CHIEFTAIN OF SPITE, which begins, “It must be cold and miserable standing in the shadow of someone greater and smarter, more loved and more admired”. Blow continues, “It must be infuriating to have risen on the wings of your derision of that person’s every decision and even his very existence and yet not to be able to measure up – in either stratagem or efficacy – when you sit where that person once sat.”

NY ELECTION SCENE

NYC is a place like no other on the planet. Our city boasts a population of   8.5 million people with an $85 billion dollar budget, larger than the GNP of many UN member nations. When there is a NYC Mayoral Debate everybody listens, for a minute, as was the case last week when NY1 TV hosted the Mayoral Debate with his two top rivals, GOP Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis and NYC businessman and former NYPD detective Bo Dietl, who played Donald Trump’s 2016 role during the 2016 debates: nonstop screaming, lying and comic relief.

Alyah Sidberry, Chirlane McCray,_Brian Benjamin

The First Lady of NYC, Chirlane McCray, was the center of attention at a Harlem-based Bill de Blasio reelection fundraiser, held at Alyah Sidberry’s Cove Lounge on October 16. The event was hosted by the Harlem Democratic establishment, including Senator Brian Benjamin, Keith Wright, William Allen, Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, Keith Lilly, Stanley Gleaton, Beverly Alston, Hazel Dukes, Londel Davis and attorney Michael Hardy. The FLONYC really won over the crowd when she said that she felt comfortable in Harlem and thought of her grandmother who spent so much time there when she attended the Marcus Garvey meetings. Local business elites were well-represented at the fundraiser like Mrs. Basil Paterson, Daniel Paterson, attorney Kendall Reid, Yvonne Stafford, Nina Saxon, Robert Horsford, Geoff Eaton, Russell Grey, Vy Higginsen, Yinka Stanford and Patreinnah Acosta-Pelle. There were enough CB10 denizens to call a quorum like attorney Cicely Harris, Board Chair; attorney John Lynch, 1st Vice Chair; and Deneane Brown Blackmon.

Friends of NYC Civil Court Judge Verna Saunders will co-host a Sip and Chat fundraiser to support her candidacy for the NYS Supreme Court on October 28 at the Cove Lounge, 325 Lenox Avenue. She will be on the November 7 ballots. A Harlem-born and bred Gen-Xer, Verna Saunders attended NYC public schools, including Brooklyn Tech and graduated from the CUNY School of Law. A Delta Sigma Theta, she was elected to the Civil Court in 2012. [RSVP: Alyah@covelounge.com]

BUSINESS AFFAIRS

The NY Carib News’ 22nd Annual Caribbean Multinational Business Conference, originally scheduled to convene November 9-12 in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, relocates to New York City. The Category 5 hurricane which touched down on St. Croix necessitated venue change. The conference’s revised theme is: “Rebuilding the Caribbean Region Together Post-Disaster.”

[Visit nycaribnews.com]

FALL CULTURE CLUB

Nikole Hannah Jones

The prestigious annual MacArthur Genius Awards which includes a cash prize of $625,000, were announced last week.   Six of the 24 MacArthur 2017 fellows are Black Americans, including novelist Jesmyn Ward; Dawoud Bey, photographer; Nigerian-born painter Njideka Akunyili Crosby; Rhiannon Giddens, musician/vocalist; Nikole Hannan Jones, journalist; and Tyshawn Sorey, composer/musician.

 

THEATER: Vy Higginsen’s Mama Foundation for the Arts begins its 2017/2018 season with the acclaimed musical ALIVE 55+ and KICKIN’, back by popular demand, which opened on 10/14 with a new work, WE ARE THE MUSIC, starring the Sing Harlem Choir, a spin-off of the Gospel for Teens Academy, which opens on 10/21. Both musicals will be housed at the Dempsey Theater, located at 127 West 127th Street, Harlem. Playdates for both are Saturdays; ALIVE until 11/18, WE ARE until 12/9. [Visit mamafoundation.org]

Janie Lee Weatherspoon

FILM: The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival and Lecture draws to a close in Harlem at the Magic Johnson Theater on Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 124th Street on Sunday, October 22nd at 1 pm. The documentary and feature films which will unspool that day, focuses on women’s community activism, empowerment and spirituality.   One of the standout films in the lineup is a short documentary, “AND CALL HER BLESSED: A PORTRAIT OF JANIE”, a glimpse into the life of the late Brooklynite Jane Lee Witherspoon Green, the social firebrand mother of 16 children whose political activism influenced the community in ways large and small. A self-empowerment advocate, an anti- poverty activist, JANIE founded the Eleanor Roosevelt Education Outreach Program, who served on the boards of Brooklyn CORE(Congress of Racial Equality) and the Bed-Stuy Youth in Action Program. She was also a member of Community Board 3. AND CALL HER BLESSED was lovingly conceived, written and directed by her daughter Bernice Green, who co-produced with her husband David Greaves. They are Our Time Press co-publishers. [Visit www.reelsisters.org]

NEWSMAKERS

Janet Bell celebrated her fiftysomething birthday in grand “café society” style last month. She entertained about 80 friends at Chez Josephine’s on W. 42nd Street, Manhattan, complete with pianist and clarinetist, a four-star, three-course meal. It was a grand affair with dozens of A-listers like June Jackson Christmas, MD; Harriette and Dr. Edgar Mandeville, Lindbert Porter, Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Bert Pogrebin, Tony Thompson & Kim Taylor-Thompson, Catherine Chadwick and Lola West. Many of the guests displayed their vocalist prowess like Columbia Law Professor Kendall Thomas, who’s quite a stylist when he sang, “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby”. The Wiz choreographer George Faison sang, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. The musicians borrowed music from the American theater and film scores. Faison and Dr. Bell danced to, “I’ll See You in My Dreams”. It was a birthday party to remember.  The widow of legal scholar Derrick Bell, Dr. Janet Bell is a social justice advocate, communications strategist and a management consultant.

A Harlem-based management consultant, Victoria Horsford can be reached at Victoria.horsford@gmail.com.

View From Here: 20th Anniversary of the Million Woman March

David Mark Greaves
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View From Here: 20th Anniversary of the Million Woman March

On this 20th anniversary of the Million Woman March it is a time to pause to look at and see the very special kind of hell the black woman endured during slavery by the revealed behavior of Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and all the others. These are the kind of men that African women were at the mercy of when they were “called up to the big house” as my great-aunt Vivian used to say it, speaking about a forebear in the Golden Age of White Supremacy, when there was no “No” and black men had to stand helpless.

Understanding that history, makes the misogynist lyrics by too many rap artists a twisted and self-hatred-filled updating of that time. And then these angry lyrics derived from pain and loss and set to an infectious beat, is played all over the world and drilled repeatedly and rhythmically into the heads of girls and boys and consumers of all ages, women-hating poison disguised as entertainment. No other group of people or businesses other than pornographers, would tolerate this ongoing assault on their own women.

Neither the artists or the businesses they run or the ones that run them, mind profiting from and glorifying the degradation of black women and the liberal use of the “N” word. And what makes them all happiest, is when “crossover” is achieved and they give all races the idea that this is how black men treat their women and think about themselves and no connection is made to both the transgenerational trauma caused by the terror of slavery and the century after, and the racist DNA in the nation’s institution, to America’s original sin.

It comes to this: What others think will be guided by what we do. Psychologist Dr. Amos Wilson said “We waste a lot of time trying to transform them, when by transforming ourselves, they will be transformed automatically.”  This transformation can be measured by the number of African-American women opening small businesses in the years after the march. In the same way that Our Time Press grew out of the Million Man March in 1995, many women took home the 1997 message of self-empowerment, introspection and healing that was promised has taken place leading to the surge of risk takers and dream catchers as are documented in the National Women’s Business Council report, “An Analysis of Growth Trends of African American Women-owned Businesses.” They write:

“African American women-owned businesses have grown at a rate that is 2.5 times that of women-owned businesses in the United States. Between 2007 and 2012, women-owned businesses grew by 27%, which is, in itself, a huge accomplishment. A closer look at where the growth is happening reveals that African-American women-owned businesses grew an astonishing 67% in the same five-year time period. Go back a little bit more, to 2002, and African-American women-owned businesses have grown 178%, making them the fastest growing group of women business owners.”

The report also notes a downside saying that “The growth in number is not replicated in revenues,” but that will come, along with stories of learning to work a business in a mother’s or grandmother’s shop or office.

And Still This President

The misogynist and self-hate purveyors are a minority of the entertainment universe, but like the minority of voters who support Donald Trump, they have an outsized influence on the culture and we all suffer. The Trump followers power stems from two sources: the Republican gerrymandering of voting districts, shaping them to ensure a Republican victory, and the Electoral College, also rooted in slavery, where the Electoral College let each southern state count its nonvoting slaves as three-fifths of a person in computing the College votes.

As Time Magazine reported in the November 2016 issue, “Virginia emerged as the big winner—the California of the Founding era—with 12 out of a total of 91 electoral votes allocated by the Philadelphia Constitution, more than a quarter of the 46 needed to win an election in the first round. If the system’s pro-slavery tilt was not overwhelmingly obvious when the Constitution was ratified, it quickly became so. For 32 of the Constitution’s first 36 years, a white slaveholding Virginian occupied the presidency.”

The Electoral College, with its algorithm rooted in slavery, continues its work on behalf of slaveholding states, to depress the value of the popular vote. So even if all of New York and California voted in mass for the Democratic candidate, the race would still come down to breathless reporting on Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan ending with some version of this BBC reporting on the last election, “Nationally, Donald Trump won 47% of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s 48% – yet this translated into 306 electoral college votes for the Republicans and 232 for the Democrats,” and there are suggestions being made Trump could win 400 electoral votes in 2020. It sounds preposterous and yet so is the hard reality of President Trump. And do be afraid because with the electoral college, born to accommodate slaveholders, combined with voter suppression of black and brown people, anything is possible.

And now the Russians and the FBI Again?

If dealing with all of the above is not enough to make you say “Damn.” Then surely the duel revelations that the Russians were actively trying to use the black struggle to divide and provoke, combined with the news that the FBI has created a new category of domestic terrorism, the Black Identity Extremist (BIE), has got to open your eyes to the claws of white supremacy use some kind epithet to express the outrage.

 

 

 

 

The Thinker’s Notebook: Learning Community through Tragedy

Marlon Rice
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The Thinker’s Notebook: Learning Community through Tragedy

I am currently training to run the NYC Marathon on November 5th. As part of my training, I often run down Bedford Avenue, tracing the actual marathon route into and through Williamsburg. A large portion of the southern end of Williamsburg is home to a very large Hasidic community. On a run I took a couple of weeks ago, while running down Bedford in that community, I witnessed a car accident between two Hasidic men. A white sedan ran the red light heading east, and as he crossed Bedford Avenue, he T-boned a metallic blue minivan. The minivan went into a spin and crashed into the light pole on the corner. It was around 7am. The block was quiet, and I was less than half a block away when the crash happened, so I reached the crash site first. When I approached, the man in the white sedan was already slowly getting out of his vehicle. The minivan’s air bags had deployed. The driver in the minivan was dazed, trying to move the air bag aside to reach the door. I grabbed at the door and pulled it. It was unlocked, so it opened without problem. The guy sort of rolled out of the minivan and onto the ground. He seemed shaken by the crash but he didn’t have any visible injuries.

Instinctively, I asked, “Are you okay?” He didn’t answer, but realizing that he was on the ground, he reached at me with his hand, motioning for me to help him up. Once on his feet, the man went to surveying his minivan. It was totaled. Wanting to help, but not really knowing how, I asked, “Do you want me to call the police?” He turned to me, and the only thing he said to me was, “Thank you but I don’t need you to call the police. We will take care of this ourselves”.

The guy that was in the sedan came over to the man I helped out of the minivan. He apologized profusely to the man in English, and then they began to talk in their native tongue, both seeming to ignore my offer of assistance. Resigned with the notion that they were okay, I continued my run.

The conversation though, or rather the lack thereof, stuck with me for my entire run. Two men have an accident in their community. The aggressor admits fault. The victim refuses to contact police and the two of them discuss the issue rationally and without violence. A dialogue like that has to come from a place of mutual respect, some internal connection to one another that belies a mutual responsibility for one another. Albeit a terrible accident that could’ve been worse for both men, their sense of community was admirable.

Last Wednesday, a group of men invaded the home of Waldiman Thompson and his wife Ethlin at 160 Decatur Street in Bed-Stuy. The invasion happened in the middle of the afternoon as kids traveled home from school. The men tied the Thompsons up, threw sheets over their heads and ransacked their home. Ethlin eventually freed herself once the men left and she was able to contact the authorities. However, her husband tragically passed away as a result of this heinous crime. It was a horrible thing, an elderly couple known throughout our community robbed of so much more than whatever material things were stolen. They lost their precious time with one another, a thing that cannot be replaced. This was wrong.

The neighborhood though, they responded immediately. Every neighbor who had any information at all made it known to the authorities. Every small business in the neighborhood with security cameras made their footage available for review. People traded stories, tried to find common links and discussed ways to make their block more secure. I walked through that block on the day after the tragedy and I witnessed it with my own eyes, neighbors talking with each other, working together to find sense in the chaos, hoping that someone may say something that will lead to the capture of the treacherous men responsible for taking Mr. Thompson from his wife and community.

It reminded me of that car accident that I witnessed, neighbors exhibiting a mutual responsibility for one another, coming together to rally around a tragedy instead of simply doing nothing. When we all feel accountability, we all take ownership and we work together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That is the definition of community.

We will find the ones responsible for the tragedy on Decatur Street because we are looking. All of us.

 

 

THE REAL SISTER BEHIND “REEL SISTERS”

Bernice Elizabeth Green
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THE REAL SISTER BEHIND “REEL SISTERS”

This weekend, the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival concludes with a two-day line-up of films and documentaries. It’s highlighted by the festival’s first-ever Family Day of screenings on Saturday, October 21 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Downtown Brooklyn. There’s also a two-day lineup at the AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9: on Saturday (21),Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe makes her directorial debut (A Tale of Four) and director Tracy Heather Strain’s documentary on Lorraine Hansberry (Sighted Eyes, Feeling Heart) will be featured, among other films.  Sunday, October 22, a documentary short (A Portrait of Janie) by Our Time Press publishers followed by a post-screening discussion moderated by ImageNation Founder, Moikgantsi Kgama opens the Festival’s closing day. 

Keeping it Reel: Brooklyn’s Carolyn Butts, Founder, “Reel Sisters” now celebrating its 20th year, bridges the divide between the establishment film industry and women of color in film striving to tell their stories, their way. Photo credit: Sheila Prevost.

 For 20 years, Reel Sisters founder Carolyn Butts has given emerging filmmakers a chance to have their visions screened by the public, and she has created opportunities for established filmmakers to reach out and touch their audiences. Her acclaimed award-winning annual “Reel Sisters” Festivals have presented more than 2,700 films to the public, produced, directed and written by women of color.  The multi-faceted Ms. Butts is also the founder of the renowned African Voices, the quarterly magazine that gives writers and poets a glossy, upscale format to showcase prose, poetry and journalism, now in its 25th year.

 

 So, applause and snaps for Ms. Butts’ pioneering work.  In fact, “Reel Sister’s” weekend themes aptly describe her: she’s concerned with how image impacts families and children of color — thus this Saturday’s Family Day (Oct. 21) in Brooklyn.  She’s also an activist and a journeywoman, which are among the themes covered in Harlem’s two-day series (Oct. 21 – 22).

 For women of color on all levels of the industry this Brooklyn-based reel sister – who also is developing jobs for women behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera – this reel sister is a very real sister. For more information: www.reelsisters.org

  THE REAL SISTER BEHIND “REEL SISTERS”

A Q&A with Carolyn Butts

 OTP: How many women filmmakers — established and emerging — has “Reel Sisters” impacted over the last two decades?

We take great pride on being one of the first film festivals to join a movement to illuminate the importance of hiring women behind the camera in positions of power and create opportunities for women of color to have their films distributed.

Last year, Centric/BET TV offered first look deals to Soul City and the web series Everything I Did Wrong In My 20s. The National Black Programming Consortium picked up Pangaea, a short film on the impact of Hurricane Katrina, in its AfroPoP series. The film is now available with a study guide for schools and other community groups to share.

Veteran film producer/director Nicole
Franklin was honored with the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival ‘s first Lifetime Achievement Award this week for her outstanding contributions to cinema. Ms. Franklin’s career spans 25 years in the industry. The tribute took place on October 17 at the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem where Ms. Franklin’s first feature narrative Title VII was screened. Photo: Francesca Andre.

Reel Sisters has presented over 2,700 films produced, directed and written by women of color over the past 20 years. We have also distributed more than $25,000 in scholarship money since our inception. We have helped other organizations establish film festivals devoted to women of color and influenced many other festivals with similar missions. Reel Sisters curated The Links’ Women of African Descent Film Festival for the first three years — the festival still operates at Long Island University, the founding partner for Reel Sisters.

 OTP: What two behind-the-scenes success stories illustrate Reel Sister’s influence on the greater film industry?

It is hard to pinpoint one moment but we helped spark a movement to push for equity for women in the film industry and have provided a space for audiences to enjoy our stories.

 OTP: Do you see yourself as a game changer?

When women lead, the world wins. This is our answer to Trump. The images we see in film, television and media are important now more than ever given the climate we live in.

I think we are all game changers if we choose to be. We can’t depend on Hollywood or mainstream outlets. Most of the stories and films African Voices/Reel Sisters presents are centered on our history, culture and community and based on the concept of self-empowerment.

OTP: How can women of color develop power to have a stronger presence in the industry and Hollywood?

This year’s week-long “Reel Sisters” festival celebrated great women behind and in front of the camera, including actress Vinie Burrows (image, top) and, from far left, actress Nicole Beharie (looking at Ms. Burrows). Filmmaker Kasi Lemmons presents Reel Sisters’ Trailblazer honoree Tamara Tunie with her award.

We have to use our own personal power outside of Hollywood to create job opportunities for African-American, African, Caribbean, Asian and other women of color. We must ban together to support film festivals and organizations like Reel Sisters to transform the industry.

One of the amazing examples happened at the top of 2017 with Hidden Figures. Families, sororities and fraternities came out in droves to ensure this exceptional Hollywood film about Black women’s role in NASA was a box office hit. What if we mobilized in the same way to purchase tickets to film festivals and organizations that showcase our films? It would be revolutionary because now we are creating cash flow for our filmmakers and the organizations that struggle to create platforms for our stories to be told.

Giving Hollywood our collective dollars for the small number of films that employ Black directors, actors and other cast has done little to address diversity in the industry.

Yet, Hollywood goes where the dollars are — if we use today’s technology and the film festival circuit to create an industry centered on our storytellers, we will begin seeing industry changes.

 OTP: Did African Voices inspire the birth of Reel Sisters? And who were some of the artists and writers who supported your muse in the early stages of labor?

Yes, thanks for asking this question. My concept for Reel Sisters was directly inspired by African Voices. Our early muses and supporters included many writers and artists from the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s including Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Layding Kaliba, Louis Reyes Rivera and Ruby Dee.

African Voices is a continuum and still builds on the rich foundation left by the generations preceding us.

OTP: If you were to turn the cameras on your life, what experiences, people, places, or stories would you share? And why?

My grandfather Rev. David Butts who built a church and community in Norfolk, Virginia is one of my deepest inspirations. He was one of the church leaders who marched with The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the south and he purchased and transferred dozens of lots of land in Chesapeake Bay to family and friends. I have recently been doing family research and realizing the rich legacy in my family and claiming it.

My fondest memory of my grandfather was him taking me to the spot where his church would be built and seeing just a heap of dirt and the stones that would be the foundation for his church. I was 10 and when I returned around 14 his church was built. I was amazed and realized years later the power of faith, creating foundations and building community.

I think that is what I have been doing for the last 25 years with African Voices and, for 20, with Reel Sisters: creating a foundation that will benefit a community of artists.

OTP: Why is technology the wave of NOW, and what other tools can they use to help them grow their work and themselves.

My vision is to have Reel Sisters travel the festival and have women from around the world to connect with each other.

We’re also working on providing distribution and income to filmmakers via streaming opportunities. Netflix and other streaming services are giving filmmakers greater access to not having to depend on Hollywood as the only model for creating a successful career in film and television.

I also can see Reel Sisters having our films accessible to an audience online where people from across the globe can enjoy our stories.

For more information on Carolyn Butts and this weekend’s full line-up at Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, visit www.reelsisters.org.

 

 

 

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