Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement Poets Choir and Arkestra Rock Oakland's Malcolm X Jazz Festival

Coming soon to Oakland's Paramount Theatre: Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement Poets Choir and Arkestra. Stay tuned to the Black Bird Press News for date and time. After the performance of Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement Poets Choir & Arkestra at University of California, Merced earlier this year, a young brother told Marvin X, "The tickets should be $400.00 to attend this BAM concert."

FYI, we are still waiting for more pics (if you have pics, please send ASAP). This was hardly a one man show. Other performers included Choreographer Linda Johnson and her dancers--Linda opened the show and stole the show with the beauty of her movement. There was harpist and vocalist Destiny Muhammad; violinist Tarika Lewis with her young students (awesome); vocalist Mechelle LaChaux, actress/poet Ayodele Nzinga; poets Genny Lim, Toreada Mikell, Paradise Jah Love, Kalamu Chache', Aries Jordan, and actor Geoffery Grier, percussionist Tacuma King, drummer Val Serrant, Zena Allen on the Kora, singer Rashidah Sabreen, et al. 

Marvin X reading Amiri Baraka's classic poem DOPE, accompanied by Arkestra members:  percussionist Tacuma King, left, drummer Val Serrant, center, and sax living legend David Murray, right. David endorsed and will participate in Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour. David said he can definitely help take the BAM tour internationally. David lives in Paris, France.
photo Frank Phillips

 Marvin X reading Amiri Baraka's DOPE, accompanied by sax man David Murray and Earl Davis on trumpet. Earl Davis is an original member of Marvin X's Black Arts West Theatre, San Francisco, 1966. photo Harrison Chastang

 photo Harrison Chastang

photo Harrison Chastang

Maisha introducing Marvin X and the BAM poets choir and arkestra.

photo Frank Phillips

Mechelle LaChaux rocked the house with her holy ghost church version of I Don't Know What You Came to Do, accompanied by Destiny Muhammad on harp and Tarika Lewis on violin, along with one her students, BAM baby 3.0

BAM Poets Choir members Geoffery Grier, Rashidah Sabreen, Toreada Mikell, Kalamu Chache', Genny Lim. They were powerful and eloquent as poet/actors and as chorus in their call and response.
photo credit Daniela Kantorova

 Choreographer Linda Johnson opened the BAM myth-ritual with her dancers. They were so beautiful some people cried tears of joy. Her two African drummers were bad too. photo credit Daniela Kantorova

Several of Linda's students came from the audience to join her on stage.

BAM Asian Poet Genny Lim reading a poem in praise of Amiri Baraka
photo credit Daniela Kantorova

 Poet Paradise Jah Love reading his classic They Love Everything About You But You!
photo credit Daniela Kantorova

Poet/actress/director/producer Dr. Ayodel Nzinga performing Marvin X's Parable of Woman on the cell  phone. The woman is in her coffin describing her funeral to her girlfriend.
photo Daniela Kantorova

 Marvin X, percussionist Tacuma King and Zena Allen on Kora
(sound man in b.g. thank you Mr. Sound Man, good job!)

Marvin X and Umar Bin Hasan of the Last Poets
The Last Poets are part of the BAM 27 City Tour

Dear friends,

On behalf of the Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour in honor of our beloved ancestor Amiri Baraka and all those BAM workers throughout America and the world, we seek support for the National BAM Tour:

Financial Sponsors – financially support of single city and/or multiple cities to cover production costs, honorariums and travel for participants.

Event Partners – event partners to assist with production, promotion, logistics, accommodations, meals, transportation, etc.

Host Venues – venues to host panels, exhibitions and performances

Presenter/Participants – local and national artists and scholars to present

Production Team –  team support local and national event production and promotion in each city

If you can help us in any way, please let us hear from you at the earliest. Call 510-200-4164; 

jmarvinx @yahoo.com.  Below is the Abstract for our tour.

Sincerely,

Marvin X, M.A.

Project Director

Associate Producer:

muhammida el muhajir

sun in leo, inc.

718.496.2305

w: suninleo.com

f: sun in leo

t: @suninleonyc

http://about.me/muhammida

ABSTRACT FOR THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT 27 CITY TOUR

The mission of the Black Arts Movement’s 27 City Tour is to continue the cultural revolution we initiated during the 1960s.  This cultural revolution is still needed because for a variety of reasons the Black Arts Movement was aborted due to the radical nature of our task which was the liberation of our people in harmony with the political movement.  Today, the need to address the political condition is critical, yes, even with the election of a non-white president, though this president has done little to address non-white issues, especially the high unemployment of youth, the high incarceration rate of 2.4 million  and the deportation rate of two million so called illegal immigrants since President Obama took office.

But more than the political and economic situation is the cultural condition, the reactionary values in hip hop culture, especially unconscious rap poetry, and even the socalled conscious poetry is, in the words of my daughter, an expression of the pseudo conscious, for words are not followed by the right action. As we know, talk is cheap!

But most important is the overall lack of mental health wellness in our community nationwide, to say nothing of physical wellness. The high rate of homicide among young North American African men is symptomatic of a lack of manhood training or the infusion of traditional values that inspire and motivate people to be the best they can be, to give honor and respect to their elders and ancestors. 

The 50%  or more drop out rate of students in our schools is partly the result of our dire mental health condition. Alas, it is said not only is there a critical need for a positive curriculum and teachers with an undying love for our children, but the mental health condition of our children requires mental health counselors with radical  values of wellness  based on a holistic approach to solving our myriad psychosocial and economic issues.  We are dumbfounded to learn the USA  (Bush and Obama) promised the young men in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere (except in the USA) three items if they stop their violence and pledge allegiance to the constitution of their lands: education, jobs and housing. Why not offer education, jobs and housing for the boyz and girls ,  in the hood? The BAM tour will address some of these issues through the medium of art, i.e. poetry, drama, dance, music, graphics.

While art therapy has been used in traditional cultures, and was utilized in the Black Arts Movement, there must be a concerted effort to make use of art in the healing of our people. Throughout the years, we have seen the power of art in changing destructive personalities. We recall the production we did of Amiri Baraka’s play Dutchman in Fresno CA. The local pimp loaned us  a wig for the female character Lula. When he viewed the play and saw her stab the young North American African male, Clay, this rocked the pimp’s world and he threw in his pimping towel, joined the Nation of Islam and eventually became an imam and made his haj or pilgrimage to Mecca. Thus we see the power of art to heal broken, self destructive and economically damaged personalities.

Many times we heard Amiri Baraka speak about the need to reach our people in the 27 major cities we inhabit—to reach out and touch them with healing Black Art that can restore our mental and physical wellness.  In honor of ancestor Amiri Baraka, we propose to conduct a 27 city tour with concerts and wellness workshops to aid in the recovery of ourselves. Our special focus shall be on young Black men, although we cannot  and will not ignore young black women, nor will we avoid adult and parental responsibility.

We estimate the overall budget for this project will be 2.7 million dollars at $100,000 per city, including  artist fees, promotion, advertisement, rental of venues, insurance, security, lodging, food and transportation. Since many of the Black Arts Movement workers are elders, the timeline would be at least three years to complete this project,  including planning and production.

BAM workers in each community will be recruited to participate and we would like to establish a BAM center in each city, no matter if it is a 50 seat theatre as Amiri Baraka suggested.  A staff of educators,  and mental and physical health workers must be a part of this project so that we more effectively deal with our wellness in a holistic manner.

Sincerely,

Marvin X, Project Director

The Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour

Philadelphia PA

4/23/14

510-200-4164

National Advisory Board Members (invited by Marvin X)

Mrs. Amina Baraka

Sonia Sanchez

Askia Toure

Umar Bin Hassan

Abiodun 

Haki Madhubuti

Mae Jackson

Rudolph Lewis

Maurice Henderson

Emory Douglas

Elena Seranno

Greg Morozumi

Woody King

Ted Wilson

Troy Johnson

Kalamu Ya Salaam

Eugene Redman

Kim McMillan

Ayodele Nzinga

Geoffery Grier

Nefertiti Jackmon

Muhammida El Muhajir

Jessica Care Moore

Paul Cobb

Conway Jones

John Burris

James Sweeney

Fahizah Alim

Nisa Ra

Aries Jordan

Sam Anderson

Greg Corbin

Valerie Gay

Jerry Vernado

Warren Foster

Cities where North American Africans are in large numbers

Rank	City	African-American Population Size (2010 Census)[1]	Percentage African-American
1	New York, New York MSA	3,362,616	17.8
2	Atlanta, Georgia MSA	1,772,569	33.6
3	Chicago, Illinois MSA	1,721,578	18.2
4	Washington, District of Columbia (DC-MD-VA-WV) PMSA	1,438,436	25.8
5	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania PMSA	1,241,780	20.8
6	Miami, Florida PMSA	1,169,185	21.0
7	Detroit, Michigan PMSA	980,451	22.8
8	Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas PMSA	961,871	15.1
9	Houston, Texas PMSA	935,371	15.9
10	Los Angeles- Long Beach, California PMSA	907,618	7.1
11	Baltimore, Maryland PMSA	778,879	28.7
12	Memphis, Tennessee (TN-AR-MS) MSA	601,043	45.7
13	Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Virginia MSA	522,409	31.3
14	St. Louis, Missouri (MO-IL) MSA	516,446	18.4
15	Charlotte, North Carolina PMSA	421,105	24.0
16	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, Ohio PMSA	416,528	20.1
17	New Orleans, Louisiana PMSA	397,095	34.0
18	Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia MSA	375,427	29.8
19	San Francisco, California - Oakland - San JosePMSA	363,905	8.4
20	Orlando, Florida MSA	344,820	16.2
21	Boston, Massachusetts (MA-NH) NECMA	331,292	7.3
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida MSA	329,334	11.8
23	Riverside-San Bernardino, California PMSA	322,405	7.6
24	Birmingham, Alabama MSA	318,373	28.2
25	Jacksonville, Florida MSA	292,881	21.8
26	Baton Rouge, Louisiana MSA	285,911	35.6
27	Columbus, Ohio MSA	273,560	14.9
28	Indianapolis, Indiana MSA	263,376	15.0
30	Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin PMSA	261,010	16.8
29	Nassau-Suffolk County, New York PMSA	260 273	10.88
30	Jackson, Mississippi MSA	257,021	47.7
30	Cincinnati, Ohio (OH-KY-IN) PMSA	255,905	12.0
31	Columbia, South Carolina MSA	255,104	33.2
32	Kansas City, Missouri (MO-KS) MSA	254,509	12.5
33	Minneapolis-Saint Paul MSA	243,414	7.4
34	Nashville, Tennessee MSA	242,264	15.2
35	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina MSA	228,268	20.2
36	Phoenix, Arizona MSA	207,734	5.0
37	Las Vegas, Nevada MSA	204,379	10.5
38	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania MSA	196,755	8.4
39	Seattle, Washington MSA	191,967	5.6
40	Greensboro-High Point, NC MSA	184,730	25.5
41	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California PMSA	158,213	5.1

Amiri Baraka - Dope

Destiny Muhammad, Harpist from the Hood, at the Malcolm X Jazz Festival this Saturday in Oakland. She appears as a member of Marvin X's Black Arts Movement 27 City Tour in honor of poet and BAM godfather Amiri Baraka. Jazz Trio: 'Summertime'

Sonia Sanchez and Angela Davis, A Conversation, Sat., May 24, 5:30, Oakland Marriott, Room 208

Da Mayor Ras Baraka, Newark NJ

By Ted Sherman and Naomi Nix/The Star-Ledger
NEWARK — Ras Baraka, a councilman and fiery community activist who campaigned on the vow to "take back Newark" from outsiders, was elected mayor of New Jersey’s largest city in decisive fashion Tuesday night, declaring victory before the votes were even fully counted.
"We are the mayor!" he proclaimed, echoing his own campaign slogan.
With 150 of 162 precincts reporting, Baraka was swept into office, capturing 54 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan election — the first since Cory Booker decamped the city and set off for Washington. His opponent, Shavar Jeffries, who grew up in Newark after his teenage mother was murdered when he was just 10, followed with 46 percent.
In the contentious, high-stakes race marked by millions in independent expenditures that poured in from special interests pushing the agendas of both candidates, turnout was high on an election day that was remarkably free of rancor after weeks of angry street confrontations, mudslinging TV ads and the torching of a campaign bus.

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MORE NEWARK ELECTIONS: Run-off races to be held in Central and West wards

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It ended not long after the polls closed. At a celebration at the Robert Treat Hotel near the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the mayor-elect took to the stage amid clusters of red, white and blue balloons, and a huge banner proclaiming "When I become mayor, we become mayor."
Flashing his fingers in a "V" for victory, Baraka shouted out, "We are the winners!"
The crowd cheered and clapped.

Bedlam erupts on the floor of the Tri-State Ballroom at the Robert Treat in downtown Newark as Ras Baraka flashes the crowd a victory sign after he beat Shavar Jeffries in today's mayoral election in Newark.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger 

He also gave tribute to his father, the late poet Amiri Baraka. "I know his spirit is in this room," he said, also thanking his mother, along with supporters, including Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex), as he congratulated Jeffries for what he called a "hard-fought" race.
"When everybody didn’t believe, you believed," he said to the crowd. "Today is the day we say goodbye to the bosses."
Jeffries took the stage at the Golden Dome Athletic Center on the Rutgers-Newark campus at 10:20 tonight to concede the election.
"The time is now for us to move forward as one city, to move forward together." he said. "We ran a very spirited campaign."
Baraka, 45, a single father of three, will replace Mayor Luis Quintana, a city councilman who was temporarily handed the keys to the city after Booker — whose celebrity seemed to define Newark for more than a decade — won a special election last year to fill the seat of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and left for Washington.
Left behind are mounting problems for the new mayor that include a $93 million budget deficit that has led to threats of a financial takeover by the state, the city’s highest murder rate since 1990, and protests over the continued state control of Newark’s still-failing school system.
A major focal point of the election was the debate over the schools and state-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson’s controversial "One Newark" school reorganization plan — which calls for the relocation and consolidation of one-quarter of the city’s schools and turning over some neighborhood schools to charter operators.

Jeffries, 39, a law professor, former assistant attorney general and school board member who helped found a charter school, had been backed by charter school interests, along with the Essex County Democratic machine.

"When everybody didn't believe, you believed. Today is the day we say goodbye to the bosses."

Baraka, the principal of Central High School and a sharp critic of Anderson’s plan, was supported by the teachers’ unions.
The race between two men, however, was often less about issues than over who was the "authentic" Newarker. While both live in the city’s South Ward, less than two miles from each other and know each other well, both launched personal attacks against each other throughout the campaign.

Ras Baraka wins Newark mayoral race, thanks his father late poet Amiri BarakaRas Baraka declares victory over opponent, Shavar Jeffries, in the Newark mayoral race. 05/13/14 (Video by Naomi Nix/The Star-Ledger)

Baraka, a high-octane member of the council and long-time critic of Booker, sought to define Jeffries as a tool of the party "bosses" and moneyed interests, while touting himself as the progressive candidate of the people. At one point, Jeffries complained that thousands of dollars had been spent on advertisements by the Working Families Organization, a group backing Baraka, which accused him of being aligned with Gov. Chris Christie and suggesting he was a puppet of "scary white people."
Baraka said the Jeffries campaign had portrayed him as a thug and a gang member after trying to broker a gang truce in 2004,
"They say I’m a thug, why did they burn my bus?" referring to two Jeffries campaign workers who were charged with setting a fire on Baraka’s campaign bus.
Much of the money spent on the mayoral campaign was not raised by the candidates, but rather by groups making independent expenditures on their behalf. According to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, $2.6 million was spent on campaign ads, mailings and other support by seven groups that targeted the Newark election — the most independent spending every reported in a state local election. More than $1.7 million of that went to bolster Jeffries, with $945,000 spent in support of Baraka.
Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University, said the outside groups — which do not all disclose where their money comes from — contributed to the no-holds barred nature of the Newark election.
"I’m not saying candidate-based advertising doesn’t get down-and-dirty. But when outside groups get involved — with their high level of anonymity —it takes off the constraints."

Ras Baraka on takes the stage at the Robert Treat Hotel moments after declaring victory in today's Newark mayoral election.Naomi Nix/The Star-Ledger 

Baraka had more name recognition going into the race and led in internal polls heading into the election. A poet in his own right who appeared on hip hop artist Lauryn Hill’s debut album, he is a graduate of Howard University and holds a master’s degree from St. Peter’s University.
Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, who had supported Jeffries, said people didn’t know Shavar.
"They got to know him over the past two months, it was just not enough," he said.
During the final hours of the election today, both campaigns aggressively pushed to get their base out and to the polls. Blaring sound trucks that slowly cruise the streets of Newark every election day, played hip-hop, salsa and rap soundtracks, while the amplified messages of the candidates echoed off buildings.
Throughout the city’s five wards, Jeffries’ fliers were handed out on street corners, brandished at busy intersections, and left on car windshields. Baraka’s get-out-the-vote crews were camped out at the busiest intersections, holding up signs and banners.
Both were active on social media, urging supporters to bolster the numbers.
Signs for both candidates plastered nearby poles and fences, while cars decorated with ballot position numbers honked as they drove by. Campaigns workers stood outside a school with fliers hoping to give their candidate the edge.
On West Market Street, Clarissa Andrade and Angelica Sanabria held their big orange Jeffries signs out to morning traffic — surrounded by a sea of blue Baraka workers.
Noemi Rodriguez said she decided to vote for Baraka after canvassers came to her home earlier this year. She complained to them about a tree near her home that was dangerous and falling apart. The next week it was fixed.
"There you just got my vote," she said.
State Troopers assigned were assigned to patrol the city throughout the day today, along with state monitors from the Attorney General’s office to deal with any voting-related legal issues, officials said.
About 30 deputy attorneys general were deployed to polling locations throughout the city, but they observed "nothing out of the ordinary," said spokesman Paul Loriquet.
Star-Ledger staff writers Seth Augenstein, Bill Wichert and Tom Wright-Piersanti contributed to this report.

Ras Baraka and the Mayor of Newark NJ race today

Newark voters head to the polls in a steady stream

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By Seth Augenstein/The Star-Ledger 
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on May 13, 2014 at 2:45 PM, updated May 13, 2014 at 3:42 PM

NEWARK — The contest between a high school principal and an attorney, two men from the city's South Ward, has apparently sparked enough interest to draw out more voters than most recent local elections.
But this is not a "street fight," exactly.
"During the James-Booker race they came out more then than they are now," said Henrietta Myrick, a longtime poll worker at West Side High School.
"It's more than usual," said Elaine Neves, a poll worker at East Side High School. "But it's not droves. It's steady."
There was elevated interest at the polls beginning at 6 a.m. — when they opened, said several poll workers at South Ward polling locations.
But the turnout still fell short of presidential-election levels — and also of the 2002 Newark race that pitted a young councilman named Cory Booker against longtime incumbent Mayor Sharpe James, which came to be refered to as a "street fight" after a documentary captured the incendiary race, said others.
"It's not that heavy, and it's been pretty quiet," said Martha Rodriguez, a poll worker at the Robert Treat Academy.
Both campaigns aggressively pushed to get their base out during the day. Throughout the city's five wards, Jeffries' fliers were handed out on street corners, brandished at busy intersections, and left on car windshields.
Baraka's camp was also present at the busiest intersections, holding up signs and banners. Both were active on social media, urging supporters to bolster the numbers.
Voters weighed in on the issues — crime, schools, economic development — but in different ways. For instance, Vernon Pinkney and Noble Milton were concerned about crime. For Pinkney, that meant a Baraka vote. It meant the opposite for Milton.
"Once you address crime, everything will follow that," said Milton.
"Schools are the most important," Pinkney said. "If we're not cultivating the youth, then these kids are going to be running these streets."
The voters also had different opinions on the contentious campaign, which fueled weeks of headlines. Tonya March, a Central Ward voter, said the battle actually would bring out the best in a potential leader.
"It doesn't matter. If you're a leader, you go through this small stuff," March said.
For some, the issues are secondary to the candidate himself.
"It was about picking the right man," said M. Santos, an East Ward voter, as he left his polling site with his wife.
Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, has studied Newark politics and written about it ever since the 2002 race when she was a Yale graduate student watching Booker's failed campaign. This year, Jeffries' blitz of TV ads in recent days has pulled the race tighter than it has ever been, she said.
Today's effort to get voters to the polls will mean everything to tonight's results, Gillespie said.
"It's the GOTV (Get Out The Vote) that wins," Gillespie said. "It's the mobilizing of the vote on Election Day that will make the difference."