Black August 08.01.07-08.05.07
Black August, Black August, Black August….what can be said?? Can u say Malcolm X birth grounds, can u say grassroots, can u say peace, music, can u say that u will be there next year????
I attended Black August in Omaha Nebraska, where Malcolm was born, where Mondo and Ed have been incarcerated for the last 38 years, where Black people are, where poets are, where hip hop is, where it went down. I was invited to perform by the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, and that will always be an honor; I will always attend. The event was one thing; lovely, lovely, lovely; but it was bigger than the concert. Just like Dead Prez speaks …. it's bigger than hip-hop, this event was bigger than the concert.
I am at a lost for words the way the event affected me; to say the absolute least— it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Big shout out to Sharif Liwaru, the president of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, Liza, who worked her tail off with the coordination, big shout out to Willie, who was on the ground, as well as other organizers Charles Parks, Vicki Parks, C3PO who handled the audio coordination for the event, and Kenny Nkrumah Walker whose energy in the heat rivaled the sun as he hosted the event. Special gratitude and recognition goes out to Mutula (M1) of Dead Prez, Robert Fountain, the Aframerican Book Store, Joanna Leflore, and Tesnim Hassan, who coordinated the artists. Allow me to thank the artists for coming out and giving of themselves, Shardel Barnes, Devel Crisp, who helped me with the trash, Freedom Life Fighters, Tomas C, and the Latin American community, Calvin Keys, Asha Raj, Slime Shop, and all the other artist who blazed their craft under the hot burning sun. The camaraderie between the artists was amazing; there is nothing more special than Omaha artist supporting one another, in an upliftment for the community. A big up goes to Troy Nkrumah, who is from Oakland, CA; he brought awareness about the National Hip-Hop Political Convention in Las Vegas for 2008. Also special recognition be placed upon the shoulders of Brother Kwabena Sagidi, nephew of Geronimo ji Jaga (formerly Geronimo Pratt), who came out and addressed the crowd with information and inspiration. Give thanks for the vendors and the sponsors; OPS, and the OPS African American Achievement Council, the Nebraska Arts Council, Wal-Mart, First National Bank, the National Hip Hop Political Convention, UNO-A.A.O, the Mid-America Arts Alliance as well as all the other sponsors and vendors and people who made Black August a success!!
Now let me tell you, about the trip as a whole. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful….that is all I can say. I did a reading on Thursday, at the PSC Collective with the "Provoke Poets." These are another group of community poets who are wonderful people first and excellent writers/performers as well. I was finally able to hook back up with phenomenal photographer and poet Jack Hubbell. Jack is a helluva guy. This brotha collaborated with photographer Frances Skyelar Hawkins to create a photography/poetry book entitled "Two Glass Eyes." This book is filled with amazing pictures and mind-blowing poetry. They were able to tap into Omaha's community of writers and get some wonderful work from some of the most talented people I've been graced to meet. And I'm not just saying this because I'm in the book tooJ But Jack, Skyelar, you two did a marvelous job with the book, and the poets, well…let's just say you did the damn thang as always! So re-connecting with this group was wonderful; being able to sit down and listen to people like Melissa and Chris and Ross, and all these people is pure peace.
Friday was a day of work. Realizing that Black August is a grassroots effort, I didn't have to, but I rolled up my sleeves and lended a hand. Remember people, we may be writers, and poets, and all that, but before any of that, we make up the collective; therefore, if each one will do a little part, then everything will be a success. So I was fortunate enough, to arrive early enough to lend a hand in the preparations. And I really feel that this was one of the most important parts of my trip. Understand that I am only a part of the whole, and when I do my part, then We all can succeed; it is a wake up call that I hope we all can arise to at least once in life. See, grassroots organizations is what I love; its people working hand in hand to reach a common goal. I learned and enjoyed myself through bagging ice, moving metal bins for ice, setting up tables, cleaning trash, and doing things that needed to get done. This is what's it's about, not the concert, not getting on stage and blazing it, but working together to do something positive for the community—and we all know that EVERY COMMUNITY HAS TO HAVE THIS!! So on that end I am very proud of my community; like I said, it's where Malcolm was born, it's where Mondo and Ed are STILL incarcerated, it's where Black people are, it's where hip hop lives, it's where poetry happens, it's where I'm from—recognize!
Saturday was the concert, Saturday was bananas, Saturday my sister came out with my niece and nephew, Saturday children had fun in the bouncy inflatables, Saturday was magic, Saturday no one fought, Saturday Malcolm was recognized, Saturday poetry represented, Saturday hip hop lived, Saturday was joy, Saturday was peace….I was wore the hell out by the end of Saturday, but it was good, bump that, Saturday was beauty personified! Can u dig how Saturday was….I hope so.
Sunday…..almost done, one more venue to do. I rested on Sunday, somewhat. I spent time with my family, I visited with my mother again, I packed, I spent time with young artist who have the gift of words and beats and music and rhyme and singing. I went down to the old Cleo's, the old Cartier's…sorry, I'm still tryin' to catch the new name, but ya'll know what I mean. The Last Few were performing with poets and singers and hip hop artist and we had a damn good time. I can't remember the names of any of the people who performed, but you know who you are, and when you come across this blog, leave a comment to let the people know….YOU ARE A ARTIST, YOU HAVE A MESSAGE, AND YOU DID THE DAMN THANG ON SUNDAY. Sunday was wonderful, I got a chance to perform with Liza for a second time in a wonderful weekend, I got a chance to connect with young energy, I got a chance to live one more time in Omaha….
that's it fam, if you're a bit worn out from reading this long ass blog, then you now have a taste of what my weekend was like, but if you're tired, and feeling good, then you have another taste of what my weekend was like. i love you all, thank you Omaha for the opportunity to share my poetry, thank you Omaha for providing a platform for positive artist, thank you Malcolm X Memorial Foundation for all that you did, and will CONTINUE to do, thank you for supporting me, thank you for embracing community, looking forward to next year….thank you, i'm out.
Black August, Black August, Black August….what can be said?? Can u say Malcolm X birth grounds, can u say grassroots, can u say peace, music, can u say that u will be there next year????
I attended Black August in Omaha Nebraska, where Malcolm was born, where Mondo and Ed have been incarcerated for the last 38 years, where Black people are, where poets are, where hip hop is, where it went down. I was invited to perform by the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, and that will always be an honor; I will always attend. The event was one thing; lovely, lovely, lovely; but it was bigger than the concert. Just like Dead Prez speaks …. it's bigger than hip-hop, this event was bigger than the concert.
I am at a lost for words the way the event affected me; to say the absolute least— it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Big shout out to Sharif Liwaru, the president of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, Liza, who worked her tail off with the coordination, big shout out to Willie, who was on the ground, as well as other organizers Charles Parks, Vicki Parks, C3PO who handled the audio coordination for the event, and Kenny Nkrumah Walker whose energy in the heat rivaled the sun as he hosted the event. Special gratitude and recognition goes out to Mutula (M1) of Dead Prez, Robert Fountain, the Aframerican Book Store, Joanna Leflore, and Tesnim Hassan, who coordinated the artists. Allow me to thank the artists for coming out and giving of themselves, Shardel Barnes, Devel Crisp, who helped me with the trash, Freedom Life Fighters, Tomas C, and the Latin American community, Calvin Keys, Asha Raj, Slime Shop, and all the other artist who blazed their craft under the hot burning sun. The camaraderie between the artists was amazing; there is nothing more special than Omaha artist supporting one another, in an upliftment for the community. A big up goes to Troy Nkrumah, who is from Oakland, CA; he brought awareness about the National Hip-Hop Political Convention in Las Vegas for 2008. Also special recognition be placed upon the shoulders of Brother Kwabena Sagidi, nephew of Geronimo ji Jaga (formerly Geronimo Pratt), who came out and addressed the crowd with information and inspiration. Give thanks for the vendors and the sponsors; OPS, and the OPS African American Achievement Council, the Nebraska Arts Council, Wal-Mart, First National Bank, the National Hip Hop Political Convention, UNO-A.A.O, the Mid-America Arts Alliance as well as all the other sponsors and vendors and people who made Black August a success!!
Now let me tell you, about the trip as a whole. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful….that is all I can say. I did a reading on Thursday, at the PSC Collective with the "Provoke Poets." These are another group of community poets who are wonderful people first and excellent writers/performers as well. I was finally able to hook back up with phenomenal photographer and poet Jack Hubbell. Jack is a helluva guy. This brotha collaborated with photographer Frances Skyelar Hawkins to create a photography/poetry book entitled "Two Glass Eyes." This book is filled with amazing pictures and mind-blowing poetry. They were able to tap into Omaha's community of writers and get some wonderful work from some of the most talented people I've been graced to meet. And I'm not just saying this because I'm in the book tooJ But Jack, Skyelar, you two did a marvelous job with the book, and the poets, well…let's just say you did the damn thang as always! So re-connecting with this group was wonderful; being able to sit down and listen to people like Melissa and Chris and Ross, and all these people is pure peace.
Friday was a day of work. Realizing that Black August is a grassroots effort, I didn't have to, but I rolled up my sleeves and lended a hand. Remember people, we may be writers, and poets, and all that, but before any of that, we make up the collective; therefore, if each one will do a little part, then everything will be a success. So I was fortunate enough, to arrive early enough to lend a hand in the preparations. And I really feel that this was one of the most important parts of my trip. Understand that I am only a part of the whole, and when I do my part, then We all can succeed; it is a wake up call that I hope we all can arise to at least once in life. See, grassroots organizations is what I love; its people working hand in hand to reach a common goal. I learned and enjoyed myself through bagging ice, moving metal bins for ice, setting up tables, cleaning trash, and doing things that needed to get done. This is what's it's about, not the concert, not getting on stage and blazing it, but working together to do something positive for the community—and we all know that EVERY COMMUNITY HAS TO HAVE THIS!! So on that end I am very proud of my community; like I said, it's where Malcolm was born, it's where Mondo and Ed are STILL incarcerated, it's where Black people are, it's where hip hop lives, it's where poetry happens, it's where I'm from—recognize!
Saturday was the concert, Saturday was bananas, Saturday my sister came out with my niece and nephew, Saturday children had fun in the bouncy inflatables, Saturday was magic, Saturday no one fought, Saturday Malcolm was recognized, Saturday poetry represented, Saturday hip hop lived, Saturday was joy, Saturday was peace….I was wore the hell out by the end of Saturday, but it was good, bump that, Saturday was beauty personified! Can u dig how Saturday was….I hope so.
Sunday…..almost done, one more venue to do. I rested on Sunday, somewhat. I spent time with my family, I visited with my mother again, I packed, I spent time with young artist who have the gift of words and beats and music and rhyme and singing. I went down to the old Cleo's, the old Cartier's…sorry, I'm still tryin' to catch the new name, but ya'll know what I mean. The Last Few were performing with poets and singers and hip hop artist and we had a damn good time. I can't remember the names of any of the people who performed, but you know who you are, and when you come across this blog, leave a comment to let the people know….YOU ARE A ARTIST, YOU HAVE A MESSAGE, AND YOU DID THE DAMN THANG ON SUNDAY. Sunday was wonderful, I got a chance to perform with Liza for a second time in a wonderful weekend, I got a chance to connect with young energy, I got a chance to live one more time in Omaha….
that's it fam, if you're a bit worn out from reading this long ass blog, then you now have a taste of what my weekend was like, but if you're tired, and feeling good, then you have another taste of what my weekend was like. i love you all, thank you Omaha for the opportunity to share my poetry, thank you Omaha for providing a platform for positive artist, thank you Malcolm X Memorial Foundation for all that you did, and will CONTINUE to do, thank you for supporting me, thank you for embracing community, looking forward to next year….thank you, i'm out.
posted by 'Bras' Blog | 2:09 PM
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