Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre

_____________________________________________________________ National Black Theatre Newsletter       Volume 3                                                       # 1       _____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________    featuring  Chesney Snow* Nick Moyer & Varuni Tiruchelvam *appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association   Official Website: http://lyricsfromlockdown.com/  Tickets available at SMARTTIX __________________________________________  FERTILE GROUND:  AN ORIGINAL ARIST SHOWCASE EVERY SECOND THURSDAY JOIN US FEBRUARY 14, 2013 8PM     SAVE THE DATE:  JUNE 18, 2013 FOUNDER'S DAY - TEER SPIRIT AWARDS _____________________________________________________________    Shop online through Giveback.org   (and select National Black Theatre Workshop Inc.)   to donate a portion of purchases to NBT.     In 2010, Stephen Paletta launched the Give Back Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity created to help people give back.  The Give Back Foundation (EIN 26-2449481) was established to allow any person to join GiveBack and set up their personal foundation acco unt. The funds that accumulate in that account are part of the Give Back Foundation. Each member has the ability to direct the funds from their account to any charity in good standing with the United States Internal Revenue Service. Together, all of the members' accounts are gathered under one Give Back Foundation account awaiting the direction of each member. The members can give their money away whenever they choose, either as a single donation or as part of a group of people coming together to support a cause. 100% of the money that is directed to a charity is sent to the charity. The Give Back Foundation doesn't charge you or the charity anything for the transaction. Any money that a member adds directly into their GiveBack account is immediately tax deductible to the full extent allowed. Any additional money that may be added, either by our corporate sponsors or other individuals, is not deductible by the member. At year end the Give Back Foundation will issue every member a consolidated giving statement that may be used as an IRS tax receipt.   MAKE YOUR VOICE COUNT!  Help   National Black Theatre  Join the discussion:       'Keep Soul Alive'! A movement to support Arts and Cultural Institutions in America      Keep posted on our programs and progress:      212-722-3800 Make a DONATION  today & invest in NBT's future longevity! Shop at GiveBack.org to donate to NBT   Fertile Ground (Blog)   "Art is growth... come grow with us!"       -New Music & Art Series every 2nd Thursday of the Month-     Fertile Ground: Artist Follow-Spot 1-2 - Olamide | Interview at the National Black Theatre "It is our stand to create in urban communities where indigenous people work, live and serve; a culturally conscious leadership of entrepreneurial artists whose commitment is to ownership, self empowerment, self determination and full creative self expression. NBT is an example for artists to aspire to own and produce art forms that encourage building theatre environments that instill dignity, respect and self love."   - Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. NBT Founder & Visionary NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE SHOWS 2011 Shaneequa Chronicles  Accept, 'Except'  Do Wop Love  Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale  The National Black Theatre is funded in part by:  Council Member Inez E. Dickens, 9th C.D., Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Council, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and your individual contributions.   National Black Theatre Inc · 2033 Fifth Ave · Harlem, NY 10035 · 212-722-3800

Negro General heads U.S. Forces in Africa

Kip's Folly A Black Commander for U.S. Forces in Africa By Mark P. Fancher Army General William E. "Kip" Ward stands tall as imperialism's shining black prince. He has been anointed to head Africom, a rapidly unfolding plan to establish an expanded western military presence in Africa for the purpose of securing domination of the continent's oil and other natural resources. (Okay, okay - so they claim Africom is designed to quell internal strife and fight terrorism. But none of us believe that.) Although Africom has triggered a wave of grumbling across the breadth of the African continent and into many corners of the African Diaspora, it's a pretty good bet that from the oil company executive suites, to the oval office, to the Pentagon, and on down to the fellas who hang out in the officer's club at the local Army base, General Ward is the man of the hour. Even his nickname has been made to order. Can't you hear the comments? "That Kip is a credit to his country, the armed forces and his race." "Why can't they all be more like Kip?" With degrees from Morgan State University and Pennsylvania State University followed by 36 years of military service in Korea, Egypt, Somalia, Bosnia, Israel, Germany, Alaska and Hawaii, how can you beat this guy? He certainly must have been the kind of person retired generals had in mind when, during the last big affirmative action case to come before the Supreme Court the generals said: ''... the military cannot achieve an officer corps that is both highly qualified and racially diverse'' without race-conscious remedies. And if the military can't do that, whose black faces can be used to give credibility to U.S. military operations in Africa? It is certainly possible that General Ward is a dedicated career military man who, with great sincerity, welcomes the opportunity to cap his long career with service to the continent of his ancestral origins. If so, that is precisely the problem. He and so many Africans born in America who have distinguished themselves professionally within corporate and government structures either naively miss, or deliberately ignore, their drift into roles that require them to work against the interests of their people. In the case of Africom, this project is not divorced from a long history of efforts by Africa's people to wrest control of unquantifiable natural wealth, first from western governments that colonized the continent and more recently from multi-national corporations that exploit Africa with the assistance of black neo-colonial heads of African states. It has been necessary for many of these people's struggles to be carried out with arms in places like Angola, Guinea Bissau, Congo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Given the determination of exploiters to maintain their iron grip on valuable natural resources, even while Africa's people suffer and starve, it is certainly likely that armed struggle by genuine revolutionaries will occur again in other parts of the continent. When that happens, we can safely bet that the Pentagon will label the African freedom fighters as terrorists and order good ole Kip to "suppress the restless natives." General Ward is not alone in his willingness to play the role of imperialist lackey. Barack Obama enthusiastically embraces the Africom concept. He uttered the following nonsense: "There will be situations that require the United States to work with its partners in Africa to fight terrorism with lethal force. Having a unified command operating in Africa will facilitate this action." If Ward and Obama were to rationalize their compromises with the tired excuse that Africom can't be stopped and "at least it will be under the control of a brother," we would be compelled to respond that our people's history shows that it doesn't have to be that way. At the dawn of the 20th Century, when Buffalo Soldiers were directed by racist white commanders to suppress a rebellion by brown-skinned Filipinos, conscience prevented a number of these Africans from following those orders. During the Vietnam War, some of the brothers in the U.S. military did the same thing. In fact, Muhammad Ali, while at the peak of his career, was moved by conscience to bravely refuse to fight in Vietnam. He lost almost everything as a consequence. We must remember the 43 brothers stationed at Fort Hood, Texas who were prosecuted for refusing to attack anti-war protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. This tradition of refusing to participate in unconscionable U.S. military missions is alive even today. Consider that until the year 2000, U.S.-born Africans accounted for nearly 25 percent of Army personnel. By 2004, less than 16 percent of Army recruits were Africans. That percentage continues to decline. An Army study concluded that the attitudes of black youth were significantly shaped by their community, and the widespread opposition to the Iraq War in that community led to a rejection of military service. According to a Gallup Poll, 78 percent of whites supported the Iraq war, and 72 percent of blacks opposed it in 2003. Is it fair to demand that Ward commit career suicide by opposing Africom, or at least refusing to lead it? The short answer is yes. Since our arrival on U.S. shores, Africans have never had the convenient option of declining heroism. Unlike the majority demographic in this country whose individual decisions often have implications only for the individuals who make them, whenever we Africans take the easy road paved by an oppressive system, large numbers of our people are injured or killed as a consequence. Contemplate for only a moment the incredible number of lives of oppressed people and people of color that have been ruined or lost because of the opportunistic, self-centered careers of Clarence Thomas, Condoleezza Rice, and other lesser-known individuals of that ilk. General Ward stands poised to preside over an operation that possibly poses the most lethal threat to Africa and African people in the modern era. If on the question of whether to go forward as Africom's commander, Ward is to be guided by morality and his people's history, he has but one clear choice. Mark P. Fancher is a human rights lawyer, essayist and activist. He can be contacted at mfancher@comcast.net Source: BlackAgendaReport *   *   *   *   * Africom: The new US military command for Africa—A series of consultations with the governments of a number of African countries—including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti, Kenya—following the announcement of Africom found than none of them were willing to commit to hosting the new command. As a result, the Pentagon has been forced to reconsider its plans and in June 2007 Ryan Henry, the Principal Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy told reporters that the Bush administration now intended to establish what he called “a distributed command” that would be “networked” in several countries in different regions of the continent. Under questioning before the Senate Africa Subcommittee on 1 August 2007, Assistant Secretary Whelan said that Liberia, Botswana, Senegal, and Djibouti were among the countries that had expressed support for Africom—although only Liberia has publicly expressed a willingness to play host to Africom personnel—which clearly suggests that these countries are likely to accommodate elements of Africom’s headquarters staff when they eventually establish a presence on the continent sometime after October 2008.Pambazuka *   *   *   *   * Say No to Africom—With little scrutiny from Democrats in Congress and nary a whimper of protest from the liberal establishment, the United States will soon establish permanent military bases in sub-Saharan Africa. An alarming step forward in the militarization of the African continent, the US Africa Command (Africom) will oversee all US military and security interests throughout the region, excluding Egypt. Africom is set to launch by September 2008 and the Senate recently confirmed Gen. William "Kip" Ward as its first commander. Danny Glover & Nicole Lee. The Nation  / posted 17 November 2007 source: Chickenbones.com

Parable of the Parrot by Marvin X

Parable of the Parrot Marvin X The king wanted parrots around him. He wants all his ministers to wear parrot masks. He said he had to do the same for the previous king. He only said what the king wanted to hear, nothing more, so he advised his ministers to do the same. In fact, they must encourage the people to become parrots. Yes, he wanted a nation of parrots. Don't say anything the kings does not want to hear. Everything said should be music to his ears. And don't worry, he will tell you exactly what he wants to hear in his regular meetings and public addresses to the nation. Everyone will be kept informed what parrot song to sing. No one must be allowed to disagree with the king. This would be sacrilegious and punishable by death. The king must be allowed to carry out the dreams that come to his head. No one else should dream, only the king. In this manner, according to the king, the people can make real progress. There shall always be ups and downs, but have faith in the king and everything will be all right. Now everyone sing the national anthem, the king told the people. There must be a chorus of parrots, a choir, mass choir singing in perfect unity. Let there be parrots on every corner of the kingdom, in every branch and tree. Let all the boys sing like parrots in the beer halls. Let the preacher lead the congregation in parrot songs. Let the teachers train students to sound like parrots. Let the university professors give good grades to those who best imitate parrot sounds. Let the journalists allow no stories over the airwaves and in print if they do not have the parrot sound. The king was happy when the entire nation put on their parrot masks. Those who refused suffered greatly until they agreed to join in. The state academics and intellectuals joined loudly in parroting the king's every wish. Thank God the masses do not hear them pontificate or read their books. After all, these intellectual and academic parrots are well paid, tenured and eat much parrot seed. Their magic song impresses the bourgeoisie who have a vested interest in keeping the song of the parrot alive. Deep down in the hood, in the bush, the parrot song is seldom heard, only the sound of the hawk gliding through the air in stone silence looking for a parrot to eat. President Davis and Reginald James, students of Marvin X's Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland. President is now at Howard University, Wash. DC, Reginald is a student at UC Berkeley. In this photo they are at Sankofa Books, Washington, DC. 5 April 2010 Source: blackbirdpressnews from The Wisdom of Plato Negro, parables/fables, Marvin X, Black Bird Press, Berkekey, 2012

Last Rites for Jayne Cortez

THE FAMILY OF JAYNE CORTEZ
INVITES YOU TO A CELEBRATION OF HER LIFE
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013 2:00 pm
THE GREAT HALL
in the
COOPER UNION FOUNDATION BUILDING
7 East 7th Street
New York, New York
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE SEND A NOTE TO: jaynecortezcelebration@gmail.com
WE ARE TRYING TO REACH OUT TO ALL OF JAYNE'S FRIENDS
SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS NOTE

 

Jayne Cortez — poet, activist, muse of the avant garde — dies, age 76

December 30, 2012 by Howard Mandel

Jayne Cortez

Jayne Cortez, a no-nonsense poet who often declaimed her incisive lines of vivid imagery tying fierce social criticism to imperatives of personal responsibility with backing by her band the Firespitters, died Dec. 28 at age 76 (according to NYT obit, age 78). Her deep appreciation of American blues and jazz was another of her constant themes; her son Denardo Coleman played drums in the Firespitters, with whom she recorded six albums.

one of the “Lynch Fragments”

An activist in the Civil Rights movement, organizer of Watts writing and drama workshops, founder of the Watts Repertory Theater, Bola Press and co-founder of the Organization of Women Writers of Africa, Ms. Cortez was also taught at Rutgers, Howard, Wesleyan and Eastern Michigan universities, Dartmouth and Queens colleges and was a muse to the avant garde. Her husband sculptor Melvin Edwards is well known for his series “Lynch Fragments” and “Rockers.” When Ms. Cortez was a teenager in California, musicians including Don Cherry hung out at her family’s home because she had (as Cherry said) “the best record collection,” and through them she met Ornette Coleman, to whom she was married from 1954 to ’64 and with whom she kept in contact. Members of the Firespitters such as guitarist Bern Nix and bassist Jamaaldeen Tacuma, besides Denardo, played in Ornette’s electrically amplified band Prime Time.

Born in Arizon, raised in Los Angeles, Ms. Cortez was drawn to the arts at an early age. She painted and played cello besides keeping journals, graduated from an arts high school but was unable to go to college due to financial problems. She is sometimes said to have inspired Coleman’s composition “Lonely Woman,” originally titled “Angry Woman” — but the adjectives that seem (in my limited experience) to best describe Jayne Cortez are independent, inquisitive, precise and determined. Rhythm, repetition and pointed rhetoric characterize her poetry, as when she asked, “If the drum is a woman/Why do you beat your woman?”

If the drum is a woman
then understand your drum
. . . your drum is not invisible
your drum is not inferior to you
your drum is a woman
so don’t reject your drum
don’t try to dominate your drum
. . . don’t be forced into the position
as an oppressor of drums
and make a drum tragedy of drums
if your drum is a woman
don’t abuse your drum.

In 2000, I was honored to be invited by Jayne Cortez to sit on a panel for an international symposium she was helping to organize at New York University titled “Slave Routes: The Long Memory.” Sometime later, while writing Miles Ornette Cecil – Jazz Beyond Jazz, I ran into her coming out a Manhattan drug store and we chatted briefly. I mentioned that my topic was the avant-garde, and she immediately responded that “the avant-garde is that in art which didn’t exist before. It’s always hard to introduce, because the avant-garde has to make a place for itself where there wasn’t one, where there wasn’t anything.”

Deeper, deeper, deeper/Higher, higher, higher. Always reaching and urging us to, too, intending encouragement as much as challenge. Thanks, Jayne Cortez, for ideas, spirit, words and music.

Let's Play Happy

Let me love you tonight
do not fear me
I come in the name of love
I will speak in silence
and not confuse you with language
let silence be love
let silence be truth
hold me
let me touch you
massage me
I massage you
do for me
I do for you
such is love
unconditional
reciprocal
yes
I am willing now
after so long
somewhere beyond Maat
suffering the patriarchal
love me now
hold me
squeeeze me
kiss me
let me kiss you
hold you
massage you
make you come
beyond joy
scream
beyond joy
let juices flow
let's play happy!

--Marvin X