Sorry everyone for not posting last week, but I was working on an essay for the Afrofuturism 2.0 (and falling in love with The Walking Dead hehe). But below are some things that are happening or will happen in the near future:
*A friend of mine sent me this project from photographer, Ijeoma D. Iheanacho, called the reImagining. Inspired by Audre Lorde’s quote “It is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others-for their use and to our detriment,” the purpose of the project is “to give Black women the right to determine for themselves the images they want representing them, and thus establish and distribute their own identities. The photography created for this show will be the opportunity for 100 Black women to reclaim their identities not just from the world, but for themselves.” Iheanacho wants to shed light on the “everyday Black women” who are either ignored or misrepresented. The 300 photographs will be part of an exhibition, gallery tours and outreach programs for organizations. After reading the article about ending stereotypes of Black women, this project is definitely feels necessary.I volunteered to be part of the project, so I will be working on that in the future. Iheanacho is still looking for models, so if you want to join or donate, contact her here.
*On October 25 and 26 at BAM theatre in Brooklyn, New York, The Roots drummer Questlove will be part of Electronium: The Future Was Then. The event will celebrate the pioneering of electronic music. Below is more descriptions of the event:
“R&B singer-producer Tom Krell (How to Dress Well), avant-R&B outfit Sonnymoon, beatboxer Rahzel, guitarist Kirk Douglas (The Roots), DJ-composer Jeremy Ellis, and conductor Andrew Cyr & Metropolis Ensemble join Grammy Award winner Questlove to sample and deconstruct seminal recordings by everyone from Robert Moog and Raymond Scott to Stevie Wonder and George Clinton into a feverishly modern new playlist. Old-school blips and beeps, sine waves, and analog synth solos mix with live vocals and contemporary electronics in this ecstatic riff on the analog revolution that paved the way for our music today.”
*Walidah Imarisha, the editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements will be releasing her first book of poetry, Scars/Stars later this month. Below is her description of the book:
“In her book Beloved, Toni Morrison describes the whip scars on a former slave’s back as a tree sprouting from her flesh. Walidah Imarisha’s first poetic collection invokes this same process of alchemy, transforming both individual and collective scars into North Stars, guideposts that center us and keep us moving in the right direction. Scars/Stars reminds us that even in ravaged earth, something beautiful can still grow.”
*Nikyatu Jusu is fundraising for her latest film, Free the Town, about three people whose lives cross in Freetown, Sierra Leone during witch hunts in the country. To donate, click to go to the Indiegogo page.
* Music duo THEESatisfaction released their latest album, and that’s your time,
*The filmmakers for Ancestral Voices are filming the sequel film for the project. Featuring interviews from “scholars and practitioners, such as high Sanusi, Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa in South Africa, Prof James Smallin the USA and Vodou high priest (Houngan), Max Beauvior and Bayyinah Bello (Historian) of Haiti.” They will be going into more depth about philosophies and rituals of the African diaspora. To donate, click on their kickstarter page.
Sherese Francis: Futuristically Ancient 