SANKOFA Reading Group is an auxiliary of Women For Progress of Mississippi, Inc.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Margaret Walker Center Sponsored Creative Arts Festival at Jackson State University
The theme of the conference was the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students made presentations on topics of their choice in one of four fields:
1. spoken word (5 to 7 minute original presentations in storytelling, oratory, and poetry)
2. visual arts (up to 3 pieces of artwork in any media with a 5 to 7 minute presentation)
3. written (8 to 10 page essays with a 15 to 20 minute presentations)
4. performing arts (5 to 7 minute dance, musical, and theatrical presentations)
The best essay by a JSU student received the $1,000 annual Margaret Walker Award, and selected essays will have the opportunity to be published in either the BLACK MAGNOLIAS Literary Journal or the JSU RESEARCHER. The winning essay was:
Jackson State University
"Essay on Skin, Race, and Pride"
Jarrett Claiborne,
The highlight of the Creative Arts Festival for me was the Friday night Poetry reading event held at the Africa Book Cafe. The venue was packed with engaged listeners and participants and the poetry readings by Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Charlie Braxton and C. Liegh McInnis were awesome! The poetry reading was an intergenerational dialogue that was both inspiring and educational. The venue gave individuals the opportunity to support a small African American owned business in Jackson, Mississippi.
Hello Again!
It has been awhile since I posted a new blog entry because April has turned out to be as busy March. So far this month we have had the Creative Arts Festival, the Robert Clark Symposium, Fannie Lou Hamer Fifth Annual Humanitarian Awards and a lecture series presentation on the declining presence of African American men in colleges and universities. Women For Progress launched its revised, updated cookbook this month and we will have a general meeting of Women For Progress and SANKOFA Reading Group this April. Tomorrow, Wednesday April 20, 2011 there will be a panel discussion at Jim Hill High School on Youth Power in the Freedom Rides and later that afternoon at 3:00 pm a Meet & Greet Reception to honor Jackson's Freedom Riders at the COFO Civil Rights Education Complex. On Thursday, April 21, 2011 there will be a panel discussion commemorating the 1961 Freedom Rides.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Georgia Douglas Johnson
In honor of National Poetry Month, SANKOFA Reading Group would like to spotlight a lesser known poet, Georgia Douglas Johnson
She was a musician, playwright, fiction writer, mother, wife, friend, mentor, intellectual and gracious host, and a creative woman of her time. One of the most loved and cherished participants of the Harlem Renaissance period, Georgia Douglas Johnson was the nurturer who gave to others not just her cadenced words, but much of her heart. While acknowledging the oppressed position of women in her lifetime and documenting how this stiffled the creative spirit, she nevertheless proudly wore the mantle of the woman poet and fully embodied this restriction for herself.
Georgia Douglas Johnson is remembered for her considerable energy in fostering community among writers, and her deep commitment to honoring writing. The various workshops (such as the Sterling Brown one which meets in Brown's last home), and literary organizations (such as Hurston-Wright Foundation) and even gathering places (such as Sisterspace & Books), that continue to nurture community among Black writers, artists and intellectuals in the Washington, DC area all have their roots in the Saturday Nighters. Douglas Johnson set the blueprint for how intellectual and creative talent could be nurtured and supported and her legacy here continues. Georgia Douglas Johnson died in her home at 1461 S Street NW on May 14, 1966.
Some poems I recommend include:
"Your World"
"I Want to Die While You Love Me"
"The Heart of A Woman"
Source: http://washingtonart.com/beltway/gdjohnson.html
She was a musician, playwright, fiction writer, mother, wife, friend, mentor, intellectual and gracious host, and a creative woman of her time. One of the most loved and cherished participants of the Harlem Renaissance period, Georgia Douglas Johnson was the nurturer who gave to others not just her cadenced words, but much of her heart. While acknowledging the oppressed position of women in her lifetime and documenting how this stiffled the creative spirit, she nevertheless proudly wore the mantle of the woman poet and fully embodied this restriction for herself.
Georgia Douglas Johnson is remembered for her considerable energy in fostering community among writers, and her deep commitment to honoring writing. The various workshops (such as the Sterling Brown one which meets in Brown's last home), and literary organizations (such as Hurston-Wright Foundation) and even gathering places (such as Sisterspace & Books), that continue to nurture community among Black writers, artists and intellectuals in the Washington, DC area all have their roots in the Saturday Nighters. Douglas Johnson set the blueprint for how intellectual and creative talent could be nurtured and supported and her legacy here continues. Georgia Douglas Johnson died in her home at 1461 S Street NW on May 14, 1966.
Some poems I recommend include:
"Your World"
"I Want to Die While You Love Me"
"The Heart of A Woman"
Source: http://washingtonart.com/beltway/gdjohnson.html
National Poetry Month
Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.
What are the goals of National Poetry Month? The goals of National Poetry Month are to:
What are the goals of National Poetry Month? The goals of National Poetry Month are to:
- Highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets
- Introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry
- Bring poets and poetry to the public in immediate and innovative ways
- Make poetry a more important part of the school curriculum
- Increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media
- Encourage increased publication, distribution, and sales of poetry books
- Increase public and private philanthropic support for poets and poetry
SANKOFA Reading Group UPDATE
March 2011 was a wildly busy month! The Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement hosted their 6th annual conference at Jackson State University, March 23-26, 2011. The weekend began with a very interesting discussion on Women in the Civil Rights Movement held in Woodworth Chapel on Tougaloo College's historic campus. Speakers focused on the experience of Mrs. Annie Devine, Mrs. Victoria Gray Adams and Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer during the the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. How do we encourage and promote in young women today the energy, determinism and activism of the above-mentioned women. The conference began in earnest on Thursday morning with plenary sessions and workshops. Participants from across the globe came to participate in the Conference. Numerous writers on the Civil Rights movement were featured at the conference. A huge shout out and words of commendation go to Ms. Cynthia Palmer, conference coordinator and Mr. Owen Brooks, Executive Director of the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. Speakers this year included Kathleen Cleaver, Charles Payne, Haki Madhabuti, Louis Farrakhan, Myrlie Evers-Williams & Shirley Sherrod. The most important questions are where do we go from here and how do we encourage, progress, interracial, intergenerational, and interfaith dialogue. What should be our agenda moving forward? How do we improve the American public education system for ALL children?
This only one of several events that occurred in March. The Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church sponsored "The Parchman Hour", a dramatic presentation on the experiences of the Freedom Riders in Mississippi in 1961. Young people mostly from North Carolina through the performing arts helped the audience understand and empathize with the Freedom Riders.
Northminister Baptist Church sponsored a interfaith panel discussion on the three major monotheistic religions, Islam, Judaism & Christianity.
The Old Capitol Museum was the site for the Richard Wright Mississippi Hall of Fame portrait unveiling.
The Margaret Walker Center launched the Margaret Walker digital archive.
The Piney Woods School celebrated the legacy of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm in Washington, DC.
The Rabbi Perry Nussbaum Lecture Series honored Freedom Rider, Hank Thomas among other honorees.
This only one of several events that occurred in March. The Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church sponsored "The Parchman Hour", a dramatic presentation on the experiences of the Freedom Riders in Mississippi in 1961. Young people mostly from North Carolina through the performing arts helped the audience understand and empathize with the Freedom Riders.
Northminister Baptist Church sponsored a interfaith panel discussion on the three major monotheistic religions, Islam, Judaism & Christianity.
The Old Capitol Museum was the site for the Richard Wright Mississippi Hall of Fame portrait unveiling.
The Margaret Walker Center launched the Margaret Walker digital archive.
The Piney Woods School celebrated the legacy of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm in Washington, DC.
The Rabbi Perry Nussbaum Lecture Series honored Freedom Rider, Hank Thomas among other honorees.
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