Black Arts/Black Power Babies 2.0: Muhammida El Muhajir

 Muhammida El Muhajir, producer of Black Arts/Black Power Babies Discussion; filmmaker: Hip Hop--the New World Order

From producing major events in both the US and internationally, filming a world-wide hip-hop documentary, and working on marketing for major brands, Muhammida has a vast and diverse portfolio of work.  Her ability to juggle it all along with motherhood makes it all the more inspiring. Always looking forward to the next project and her ability to remain ahead of the tide in her projects, is what makes her a hip, modern, and motivated individual.

 Mother Nisa Ra, Muhammida, father Marvin X (El Muhajir)

Muhammida’s parents were entrepreneurs so she innately had a business mind, since about 5 or 6 years of age.  Although she attended Howard University to study Microbiology, with the intent on going to medical school, she always had an interest in entertainment, even minoring in Radio, TV and Film.  After taking a year off before the MCAT’s, she worked on some film projects and found herself in NYC.  Her first real industry job was at the William Morris Agency, which was a great opportunity to learn about the business of entertainment- learning names, faces, and how to deal with celebrities.  Meeting great contacts and learning the importance of creating a network and being consistent with staying in contact, whether it’s through a note or a short phone call, is something else that would hold true through the rest of her career.  Later going on to have her own music video casting company, and doing talent management representing models and actors all happened because of the networks previously created.

 An international event planner, Muhammida produced Keyshia Cole Day in Oakland. She hired her father to open with a poem for Keyshia.

Using a notebook to jot down ideas that sometimes seemed far-fetched ended up manifesting into Muhammida producing a documentary about hip hop all over the world.  Just a girl with a vision, Muhammida ended up travelling to Japan, London, Paris, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, and Rio de Janeiro, using her network of sometimes one person to tap into the who’s who of the underground rap world in these cities.  This goes to show that everything you do really plays a role and paves a path for your future.  One of the funnier stories that El Muhajir recounts while travelling is her “fashionista filmmaker story”.  Being so exhausted from carrying a heavy suitcase full of shoes on the Euro rail, she only had enough energy to make a visit to the Gucci store in Milan and not do any interviews, so there is no Italian section in the film.  The things we women do for fashion!

As funny as she is, El-Muhajir is serious about her commitment to service.  She has done pro bono work with the GEMS organization and spent time teaching the girls film and reading.  Additionally, Muhammida regularly mentors young people as well as does motivational/public speaking at high schools, universities, and community organizations.   She feels that doing public service is essential to success.  When you give (time energy resources), it always comes back double, if not more.
This is great advice for women at any stage in life and all the more reason why Muhammida El Muhajir is a true hip, modern and motivated woman.

Parable of the A Students

Muhammida El Muhajir and Samantha Akwei in Ghana, West Africa. Muhammida is the daughter of Nisa Ra and Marvin X. Samantha met Marvin X at his Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland. She works in Oakland but when she told Marvin X, aka, the Chancellor, she would be visiting relatives in Ghana for the holidays, the Chancellor told her to connect with Muhammida. Muhammida is a graduate of Howard University working in Ghana ; Samantha is a Spelman graduate.

Parable of the A Students

Parable of the A Students

There was a group of students who were good in school. They did everything their teacher told them, attended classed without fail, did homework to the T, went on field trips to the various hot spots in town, even stayed out late to make sure they learn all the subject matter at the spot.

When the teacher told them to do bad things, they followed instructions to a T. They especially liked to do the opposite when the teacher told them good things. He told them this was called reverse psychology, so they loved to practice reverse psychology. If he told them to love, they hated. If he told them to appreciate life, they tried all in their power to self-destruct. If he told them to strive to be successful, they prayed to fail, or shoot themselves in the foot.

They truly enjoyed turning positive into negative, and they mastered the game of failure rather than success. The teacher couldn't pay them to succeed. If he told them to practice safe sex or even to restrain from sex for awhile, they did the opposite. They would have sex without a condom and would get infected with various STDs, including HIV/AIDS. And some of the girls who did the opposite of what the teacher said got pregnant.

Again, the teacher was using reverse psychology because he intended for them to fail. He had his plans for them to be failures. He was only following instructions from his boss so the youth would end up destroyed, and especially the boys who were programmed for the department of corrections so they could help the guards and other prison industry workers live the good life, buy nice homes, cars, boats, go on ship cruises, put their children through college. The teachers and other workers prayed together at church that the children would be A students in doing the opposite of what they taught them, and the children were true to the game played on them. Yes, they were A students. They failed at school, failed to discover their life mission, failed at having positive relationships with their boyfriends and girlfriends, and later their marriage partners, failed at raising their children. Yes, this group of students were a failure, and yet they carried the teacher's program out to a T. They got A's on their report cards.

--Marvin X

from The Wisdom of Plato Negro, parables/fables by Marvin X, Black Bird Press, Berkeley.

The Black Arts Movement attends City of Oakland's Inauguration Ceremony

Black Arts Movement Wellness Director, Empress Diamond, Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf and BAM co-founder Marvin X, aka the Chancellor

 West Oakland Councilwoman, Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Empress Diamond, Marvin X

Empress Diamond, East Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks, Marvin X

While attending the City of Oakland's Inauguration Ceremony at the elegant Paramount Theatre, Marvin X whispered to BAM Wellness Director, Empress Diamond, "As a poet, can't get too close to politicians, but since they have reached out to touch me, I can return the favor." Indeed, Oakland's new Mayor, Libby Shaaf and Councilwomen Brooks and McElhaney have endorsed the Black Arts Movement's 50th Anniversary Celebration, scheduled for Laney College, February 7, as well as the declaration of 14th Street, downtown Oakland, as the Black Arts Movement District. The BAM District is historic and puts Oakland on the map in recognizing the importance of the Black Arts Movement as the most radical artistic and literary movement in American history. Marvin X envisions the BAM District as a renaissance of West Oakland's 7th Street, Harlem of the West. "If we put certain buildings under a land trust, we can ensure a Black cultural district will have a long life, not subject to gentrification or "Negro removal," as happened in West Oakland and throughout America. Marvin attended the Lower Bottom Playaz production of August Wilson's Jitney this past weekend that dealt with urban renewal in the 1970s. Downtown Oakland has 1st Fridays, so why not Last Fridays or Black Fridays along the 14th Street corridor that will extend from 14th and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way to Alice Street. Councilwoman Lynette McElhaney will introduce legislation to make the BAM District a reality. For information about the Laney College BAM celebration, Feb. 7, email Marvin X at jmarvinx@yahoo.com or call 510-200-4164.

Sponsors: Laney College, Post News Group, Black Caucus of California Community Colleges, YMCA, HP/Bayview; Black Think Tank, Black Bird Press, KPOO Radio, Davey D and Greg Bridges of KPFA Radio, lajones associates, BWOPA/TILE, It's About Time (the Black Panther Party Archives Project).


If you are willing to donate $100 --$500 or  any amount, please call Marvin X, 510-200-4164. BAM must be a community supported project. The original Black Arts Repertory Theatre failed in Harlem when grant funds were cut off. BAM must be independent although we will accept funds but will not compromise our revolutionary values and goals, the freedom of our people.

Here’s an update for you from the ‘Black Arts Movement 27 City National Tour’ team:

1 new Announcement:

If you are willing to donate any amount, please call Marvin X, 510-200-4164. BAM must be a community supported project. The original Black Arts Repertory Theatre failed in Harlem when grant funds were cut off. We need funds for food at the Laney College gala; we need money for artists and speakers, sound equipment, transportation,book give away,  costumes, speaker fees. Thanking you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Marvin X, Project Director

BAM 27 City Tour

Visit the ‘Black Arts Movement 27 City National Tour’ campaign.

Comment on or view this announcement here.

Respond directly to the campaign owner here.

Help spread the word about the campaign!

Note: To stop receiving updates from Black Arts Movement 27 City National Tour, click here.

You can also unsubscribe from all recurring Indiegogo emails in your account settings.

Sincerely,
The Indiegogo Team

The Black Arts Movement needs 100 People to donate $100.00 to $500.00 so we can make the BAM Celebration happen at Laney College, Feb. 7, 2015

BAM Poet Nikki Giovanni is sending a donation to help the Black Arts Movement Celebration at Oakland's Laney College, February 7, 2015. Marvin X wants to produce a concert at the Paramount Theatre featuring Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Askia Toure, Danny Glover, Marvin X and the Last Poets. It will be a benefit for the Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour. Nikki says her first published poem appeared in the West Coast Bible of BAM, The Journal of Black Poetry, published by Jose Goncalves. Other key BAM journals were published in the Bay Area: Black Dialogue, Soulbook and the Black Scholar Magazine.

Paul Cobb has donated $100.00 for the BAM Fest. He suggests 100 people donate between $100.00 and $500.00 for BAM so we can do for self. He will put the pic of all who donate in the Oakland Post. We are looking for 99 people of good will who believe in BAM. FYI, Paul Cobb is a Garveyite, his father and grandfather were Garveyites. I am a Garveyite! As they say in Houston, TX, "You better ax somebody!"
Marvin X

Laney College President, Dr. Elnora T. Webb donated $100.00 and made Laney facilities available for the BAM Celebration.

If you are willing to donate any amount, please call Marvin X, 510-200-4164. BAM must be a community supported project. The original Black Arts Repertory Theatre failed in Harlem when grant funds were cut off. BAM must be independent although we will accept funds but will not compromise our revolutionary values and goals, the freedom of our people.

Here’s an update for you from the ‘Black Arts Movement 27 City National Tour’ team: 1 new Announcement: If you are willing to donate any amount, please call Marvin X, 510-200-4164. BAM must be a community supported project. The original Black Arts Repertory Theatre failed in Harlem when grant funds were cut off. We need funds for food at the Laney College gala; we need money for artists, sound equipment, transportation,book give away,  costumes, speaker fees. Thanking you in advance for your support. Sincerely, Marvin X, Project Director BAM 27 City Tour Visit the ‘Black Arts Movement 27 City National Tour’ campaign. Comment on or view this announcement here. Respond directly to the campaign owner here. Help spread the word about the campaign! Note: To stop receiving updates from Black Arts Movement 27 City National Tour, click here. You can also unsubscribe from all recurring Indiegogo emails in your account settings. Sincerely, The Indiegogo Team

 Black Arts Movement chief architect LeRoi Jones, aka Amiri Baraka, on the set of his play The Toilet

Amiri and Maya, RIP

The Black Arts Movement Arkestra and Poet's Choir will perform at Laney College, Feb. 7, 2015

photo Adam Turner

Marvin X and Empress Diamond attend 90th Birthday Celebration for Bay Area Media Diva Jerri Lange

 Marvin X and Empress Diamond show their love for Queen Mother Jerri Lange

I want to be like Jerri

live to 90

proud strong

dancing at my b day party

champagne glass in hand

with my children around me

showing much love and respect

I want to be like Jerri

healthy and wealthy with love

speaking my mind straight no chaser

We love you Jerri

wise woman in our midst.

--Marvin X

1/5/15

Long before Oprah, Jerri Lange was the first African American to host a nationally syndicated talk show, broadcast to 148 markets throughout the country. Today she celebrated her 90th birthday with son Michael, actor, writer and producer to my right who turns 66. Seated with his wife Mary, is Ted Lange Jerri's other son who played Isaac the bartender in the long running series "The Love Boat."

Marvin X and Empress Diamond, BAM Wellness Director, attended the 90th Birthday Celebration of Bay Area Media Diva, Jerri Lange, mother of Love Boat's Ted Lange, actor/director Michael Lange and James Lange.
photo Johnnie Burrell

 

 photographer Johnnie Burrell with Media Diva Jerri Lange

Historian John Hope Franklin--From Slavery to Freedom

Ons

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Hope Franklin, Historian and Author, was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma January 2, 1915.
John H. Franklin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Fisk University in 1935 and his Master of Arts degree and Ph. D. in History from Harvard University in 1936 and 1941, respectively.

In the early 1950s, he served on the NAACP Legal Defense Fund team that helped develop the sociological case for Brown v. Board of Education.

John H. Franklin’s teaching career began at Fisk University. From 1947 to 1956, he taught at Howard University and from 1956 to 1964 served as chair of the history department at Brooklyn College, the first person of color to head a major history department. From 1964 to 1968, Franklin was a Professor of History at the University of Chicago and chair of the department from 1967 to 1970. In 1983, he was appointed the James B. Duke Professor of History at Duke University.

John H. Franklin published his autobiography, “Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin,” in 2005. In it he said “My challenge was to weave into the fabric of American history enough of the presence of Blacks so that the story of the United States could be told adequately and fairly.”

John H. Franklin authored numerous other books, including “The Free Negro in North Carolina, 1790-1860” (1943) and “Racial Equality in America” (1976). In 1976, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected Franklin for the Jefferson Lecture, the federal government’s highest honor for achievement in the humanities.

On September 29, 1995, Franklin was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President William Clinton.

Other honors and awards include the Charles Frankel Prize in 1993, the NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1995, and the John W. Kluge Prize in 2006 for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity.
John Hope Franklin began his transition March 25, 2009.
Source:
The Wright Museum Blog
http://thewright.org/…/…/entry/today-in-black-history-122014
(Accessed on 01/02/2015)
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Black Bird Press News & Review: Letter from Assata Shakur, Black Liberation Army Warrior Woman

Black Bird Press News & Review: Letter from Assata Shakur, Black Liberation Army Warrior Woman

Comrade Paul Cobb Makes A Good Point: Who is an Artist?

 Post News Group Publisher Paul Cobb and Poet/producer, playwright, essayist, educator, philosopher, activist Marvin X go back to childhood in West Oakland; they were probably in Cub Scouts together. Marvin X's Mom was a Den Mother and co-partner with her husband Owendell Jackmon I in their florist shop at 7th and Campbell. Marvin X's first writings were published in the Children's Section of the Oakland Tribune, Aunt Elsie's Section. His first and most famous play is the BAM classic Flowers for the Trashman, published in Black Fire and SOS--Calling all Black People! In this pic he is across the street from his Academy of da Corner, a multipurpose space for the broken hearted, tramautized and those suffering unresolved grief and suffering. Ironically, Marvin X has observed Paul Cobb doing the same work in his office at the Post Newspaper, 14th and Franklin, downtown Oakland. Amiri Baraka said, be careful, you so patient with the patients you become a patient!

Post News Group Publisher Paul Cobb said, "Why not just a Black Arts Movement District? Do we need to say Business and Cultural District, ain't Black Arts Movement District enough?"  He said, "Ain't the restaurant worker an artist? Ain't the florist an artist? Ain't the shoe shine man an artist?" 

Indeed, Bob Watson, a Master Printer in San Francisco, who mentored many of the Bay Area's Black printers, including Dennis Jeffery at Oakland's Print Shop. was quoted by Marvin X saying, "Bob Watson printed several of my books; he told me about the coming era of digital color printing. But most of all, Bob Watson said, 'Marvin X, you ain't the only artist! I'm an artist too. About your book Love and War, let me think about it, let me think about the ink color and the paper texture.'"

 

Imagine, I played basketball against Tommy Smith, for Lemoore High, an all white school down in the Central Valley. I was on Edison High's team from Fresno. We beat Tommy's team, white boys, he the only Negro. Love you Tommy and John Carlos. --Marvin X

Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement Poet's Choir & Arkestra will appear at Laney College for the 50th Anniversary of the Black Arts Movement, of which Marvin X is a co-founder, one of the movers and shakers.