~ AN AFROCENTRIC GATEKEEPERS PALACE FOR INFORMATION ~


Otta Benga, Formerly Enslaved
The Epitome of a Nubian Knight

Otta Benga, Formerly Enslaved<br>The Epitome of a Nubian Knight

Followers of Nubian Knights Network
"Thanks For The Support Everybody!!!"

QUOTATIONS OF "BLACK"

"Whenever I use BLACK it relates to some history of Africans in that particular place. It’s the idea of the color BLACK as a metaphor, or as a representation of African-Americans. It’s the notion of BLACK- BLACKNESS - and all its other meanings in relation to the history of race..."

- Fred Wilson



"Most of my fortitude to continue doing the work comes from the moral outrage I feel about the injustices that Black people endure disproportionately daily."

- N. Abdul-Wakil



"In the end, what matters is not skin shade but pan-African consciousness. Loving your complexion, your nose, lips, hair length and texture, no matter what the politics or trends decide, and simply be. That's the problem with us (African folks). We're still learning how to love ourselves. So used to glorifying others and putting others first..."

- Dredlocks Tree

The REEL Black Same Gender Loving Filmography Resource (A 24/7 ONLINE FILM DATABASE)

The REEL Black Same Gender Loving Filmography Resource (A 24/7 ONLINE FILM DATABASE)
Click The Pic To Access The Film Library Database! (166 Films)
LAST UPDATE: Monday, December 3rd, 2012

Sunday, August 29, 2010

THE EVENT Full Length Trailer
New NBC TV Series Starring Blair Underwood As U.S. President Elias Martinez Premiering Monday, September 20th, 2010





THE EVENT, a new NBC tv series premiering September 20th, 2010 looks rather interesting - I like tv dramas. And because I like Blair Underwood going all the way back to the young, hip (always dressed to the max in double-breasted suits) and professional Black lawyer on the NBC tv series L.A. Law, this new THE EVENT series peaked my interest. What's especially compelling about this show for me is that Blair Underwood plays the president of the United States and he's of Afro-Cuban descent from Florida.


Other supporting actors worth mentioning are Lisa Vidal, who plays the 1st lady and worked with Blair Underwood on the incredibly well-written ABC TV series crime/drama cop show High Incident (1996-1997); then there's venerable African-American actor Tony Todd playing one of the President's advisors - he's so qool; and lastly there's actor Zeljko Ivanek (Governor James Devlin from HBO's "Oz" and he recurred on Homicide: Life On The Street). This guy is a great character actor and fits THE EVENT show so well with its intricate conspiracy plots.




Also, this show looks pretty ambitious with a meticulous storyline and plot. It's a really welcomed addition since similar shows like "24" just finished a successful 8-year run is now off the air; and and last season's most excellent ABC show "FlashForward" got canceled after one season and wasn't allowed to get its legs under itself and find an audience.

Below is the 4 minutes trailer plus some real life and fictitious biographies of Blair Underwood/Elias Martinez...






President Alias Martinez (Character Bio):
Moral and idealistic. Hugely popular with the American people and around the world, President Martinez wants to be a new kind of President, working toward a new America. He's committed to honesty and runs the first truly bipartisan administration in recent history, with Vice President Raymond Jarvis at his side. Two parties, one purpose. Before becoming President, Born to Cuban refugees in Miami, Florida, President Martinez is very proud of his Afro-Cuban roots. He is a graduate of Yale University.

The now happily married Elias and Christina have a seven-year-old son named David.

President Martinez is immersed in the typical duties befitting the President of the United States, when he is handed a top secret file that will change the course of his presidency from that moment on.

A secret informant has recently led him to discover that 97 detainees...



Blair Underwood (Biography):
Blair Underwood stars as President Elias Martinez, the recently elected President of the United States, who's stunned to learn that his own government is keeping secrets from him in NBC's new high-octane conspiracy thriller The Event. As he tries to do right by the public, he soon finds himself in the midst of a huge cover-up, and the target of a spectacular assassination attempt.

Underwood has distinguished himself as an award-winning actor/director/producer, who continues to showcase his multitude of talents in the world of film, television, theater and literature.

In 2008, Underwood was seen in three high-profile television projects: he was a Golden Globe nominee for his performance as a Navy fighter pilot in HBO's critically acclaimed "In Treatment"; he starred in the hit drama "Dirty Sexy Money"; and he reprised his recurring role of Mr. Harris in "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Underwood's past television credits include TV series and movies such as, "Sex and the City," "LAX," "City of Angels," "Mama Flora's Family," "Murder in Mississippi," "Soul of the Game," "The Wishing Tree," and "Heat Wave."

Underwood's feature film credits include "Something New," "Madea's Family Reunion," "Malibu's Most Wanted," "Full Frontal," "Rules of Engagement," "Gattaca," "Asunder," "Deep Impact," "Just Cause," "Set It Off" and "Posse." In 2007, Underwood made his feature directorial debut in the independent drama "Bridge to Nowhere." He recently completed production on the independent drama "Homework," opposite Emma Roberts and Freddy Highmore.

Underwood produced the TLC series "Million Dollar Christmas" with his producing partner Tommy Morgan Jr. for their Intrepid Inc. production company. The first order of the series followed a group of lottery winners in St. Louis, Missouri. Intrepid Inc. has several projects in development, including a documentary on the history of African-Americans in entertainment for Associated Television International.

Underwood is also an established author, having penned several works including the non-fiction book "Before I Got Here," the Tennyson Hardwick detective series "Casanegra," "In the Night of the Heat," and most recently "From Cape Town with Love" with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes (all published by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.). He also starred in and directed a series of video vignettes from the pages of "From Cape Town with Love" for Vook.com as a visual book.

In 2009, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the United States' largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider held the grand opening of its first AIDS treatment center in Washington, D.C. - named after Underwood in recognition of his longtime advocacy. The AHF Blair Underwood Clinic includes a state-of-the-art, full-service HIV/AIDS treatment clinic as well as an on-site AHF Pharmacy. Underwood is also co-founder of Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA).

Monday, August 23, 2010

Brooklyn Bruthaz Chillin' In Park Slope!!


Just A Qool Pic I Wanted To Post

Pictured Left To Right:
Joe, ME (BIG ROD), Grey, Steve W, Bryan and George
In Park Slope, BK (Brooklyn), Baby!! [7-29-2010]

-
Chillin' After Dinner And Some Latte Drinks, Etc. At A Café

Saturday, August 21, 2010

I STILL THINK ABOUT YOU... I STILL MISS YOU...

Darius Chris Weston
SUNRISE: 1972 To SUNSET: 2001
... I STILL LOVE U!



Darius Chris Weston
Sunrise: March 18th, 1972 To Sunset: 2001
-
Remember When I Took This Picture Of You
With Your Beautiful Smile, Babe
-
An SGL House Party In
Rego Park, Queens (NYC)
(October 2000)




(GMHC's AIDS Walk ---> Circa: May 2002 or May 2003)
WOW! This Picture Seems And Feels Like Eons Ago...
Pictured Left To Right:
ME (BIG ROD) With Lox (Not My Best Look, LOL! ),
? (Green Hat), Stephen W. (Shades On),
Chester (Blue Hoodie/Pink Cap)
And ? (Cutie With Dark Blue Shirt)





My Handmade Banner That I Made Back In May 2002
To Honor The Memory Of My Friend Darius
-
I Walked With The Banner At GMHC's AIDS Walk
On May 19th, 2002.
The Outpouring Of LOVE I Received From People
Was Amazing



It's been almost 10 years now, Darius, and so while I have Nubian Knights Network I honor you, Babe, with...



THE WHITE FALL
by
ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

{Feb./March ‘98}

Bundled like black polar bears
We trench through the perfectly
Untouched sea of snow
The sun’s gaze beams down
Onto the shiny glazed surface
Unmolested for quite some time
The retina interprets this part of nature
As a shiny piece of mirrored
Almost so reflective that we feel
I’ll eyes might get scorched

As we huffle through the pretty flakes
We look back and see our two pairs of footprints
They extend and trickle off into the distance
As far as the eye can see

IT'S COLD!

With my attention diverted
You run ahead
But not making much headway
As the thickness of the pile is restrictive
I turn and give chase
My long legs that I've been blessed me with
Gives me the advantage of taking
Double the amount of steps that you could ever take
You do a double take
And furiously try to hasten away
It is only a matter of time
I’m closing in
You then swirl like a car out of control
The brakes non-functional
You’re evasive to the left …then to the right…
Again to the left

My hands extend out like a vice-grip
About to apply pressure
You scream out with a high pitched tone
Knowing the inevitable as the
Wind chill carries the echoes
Of your plaint far and beyond

Running, our breaths hit the frigid air
And morphs and dissipates into a fog
Like a smokestack’s expenditure
Your last swirl goes for naught
As I jump and hit your back
We both fall and cascade
Into the white tundra
Displacing it like a huge meteor from a millennia ago
Striking and creavising the earth’s crust
We both wrestle, fighting for the advantage
As our bodies roll over and over
On top of each other
We collect snow on ourselves
Like a snowball amassing down a steep hill

We stop and face each other
And then blowing any snow in our mouths outward
The whole course of our bodies and nerve endings
Begin to freeze and drop like mercury on a temperature scale
Our chocolate brown faces covered in snow
Only our Nubian eyes piercing through
As our arms prompt each of us up in a sit up position
Laughter ensues at how ridiculous we both look
Our hard laughter permeating through the swirling winds
And carries our voices across the nearby ocean bay

One could almost swear our voices created ripples
In the water of the nearby patchy frozen bay

We then listen to “Old Man Winter”
Overwhelm our echoed voices
We stare at each other for a moment
Which seems to have frozen time
Our heads slowly move closer to each other
Brown eyes gaze into a like reflection of one another
As if on cue
Mother nature releases snow fall on us from her sky

This was our moment
Two pairs of lips kiss in unison

Suddenly warmth billows between us
Like mercury rising on a temperature scale
All the snow, the wind chill and “Old Man Winter”
Seemed irrelevant at this passionate moment
The passion continued as we caressed each other’s face
The cold air around our lips
Seemed not to want anything to do with us
We created our own hot air pocket

Our little time together
Our little place together
Our little love together

“Old Man Winter” started kicking up the snow
And like a flock of geese
Or an abstract painting
We could have sworn
The snow metamorphosed into a smiling face

Yes, this was our moment
And we are truly blessed

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The New (Black) Aqualad

Artist David Finch's INCREDIBLE interpretation of the new (Black) Aqualad is so qool I had to post it.

Nice costume and LOVE the hair and everything...


Click To Enlarge

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

SAME GENDER LOVE Via The Subway/Train :-)
Sweet Southern Style PDA (Public Display of Affection) In Atlanta, Georgia

The picture below of the two bruthaz (in Atlanta) from what I read was posted on TwitPic (whatever that is on Twitter) with 15,000 views as a sign of "hate". It was then re-posted by my friend Colin on Facebook as a sign of "LOVE".

I, TOO, AM RE-POSTING IT ON
Nubian Knights Network (N3) AS A SIGN OF LOVE!!


IT'S JUST A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE...
SIMPLY SWEET...
SAME GENDER LOVE



Sweet Southern Style
PDA (Public Display of Affection)



CANDLE OF LOVE
by
ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

{April ‘99}


As I light this candle
And the flame takes on multiple shapes…
In the form of your spirituality
My heart illuminates feelings inside me
Beyond the Nth degree of comprehension

The lux of light casts a warm shadow on the walls
And that is my reassurance
That your spirit is with me
And in my heart which comforts me

Images of your “so phine self”
In the coffee shop, sitting on the sofa {on Christopher Street}
Is projected in my “Id”, you know, the “mind’s eye”
Damn, you are one “phine” brotha!
The way your personality, your very persona,
Resonates itself onto the fabric of my being
Like a piece of woven tapestry or
Painting me like I was a nubian canvas
These brush strokes filling me with
Unlimited energy and shades of color rarely felt in life

Sometimes it’s hard to say what we feel verbally
But words on a page act as a conduit for me
Easily flowing like a stream of water
From my loving heart and hopefully to yours
If you even feel a fraction of what I feel
Then that is enough for me

Just like the moon in its lunar orbit
Sitting in its beautiful black sea with the stars twilighting
I hope that you too
Can become a constant in my life
In whatever capacity that may be
For you have made a definite impact on me
Like the sweet smell of honey{suck}le
Flowers in a forest meadow
Where beautiful green landscaping
Stretches off into the silhouette hills of infinity
The birds offering their chirps of pleasure
As their wings glide the currents of
Country fresh-like filled air
The ducks submerging their bodies
In the nearby translucent lake
And poking their elongated necks
Through the surface like a periscope, admiring the tranquility
And the rabbits expressing tumbles of joy by repeatedly
Leaping like jumping jacks through patches of thick green lawn
Accented with lavender Morning Glory flowers
Made natural by the photosynthesis
Of the spectrum of the sun’s rays

This is such a place
A peayceful meadow of land
In which we’ll hopefully meet, my brotha,
For the candle of light… of LOVE
Emanating from the nearby Egyptian pyramid
Transcends and harmonizes
Both our SPIRITS… and our very SOULS

Monday, August 16, 2010

Fashion REVOLUTION
The 20th Annual House of Latex Ball
Roseland Ballroom (NYC)
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
7:00PM - 4:00AM







ROSELAND BALLROOM

239 West 52nd Street
(Between 7th & 8th Avenues)
New York, NY 10019
GOOGLE MAP

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21st, 2010
7:00PM - 4:00AM


PRESENTED BY


ADVANCED Tickets: $20.00 | General DOOR Tickets: $20.00

Music By: DJ Vjuan Allure
Commentators: Jack Mizrahi, Selvin Khan & Dashaun Evisu


ADVANCED TICKETS are now available for purchase at GMHC on Wednesdays,Thursdays, and Fridays from 12:00pm-7:00pm UNTIL August 19, 2010. CASH ONLY.

GMHC
119 West 24th Street
(Between 6th & 7th Avenues)
7th FLOOR - Community Health

New York, NY 10011
GOOGLE MAP

*******************

BENEFITS OF BUYING YOUR TICKET IN ADVANCE:

1. Guarantee your admission into the 20th annual Latex Ball. TICKETS WILL SALE OUT!

2. Receive PRIORITY entrance into the Ball, ahead of those who need to buy tickets at door.

*******************

Tickets can also be purchased at the Roseland Ballroom the night of the ball UNTIL capacity is reached.


NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Derrick L. Briggs at 212-367-1572 or
Luna Luis Ortiz at 212-367-1017 / LunaO[at]gmhc.org


PRESS INQUIRIES?
Krishna Stone at 212-367-1016 / KrishnaS[at]gmhc.org




The Fashion Revolution Latex Ball
Order of Categories

OTA BEST DRESSED: 2 Trophies Fashion Revolutionary

BUTCH FACE: 1 Trophy Fashion Rocks!!!

OTA OLDWAY VS NEWWAY: 2 Trophies Print It Out $

FEMALE FIGURE RUNWAY: 3 Trophies A Model’s Nightmare

TRANS MAN REALNESS: 1 Trophy GQ Man of the Year $

OTA ICON & LEGENDARY FACE: 2 Trophies

FEM QUEEN SEX SIREN: 1 Trophies La Perla of Hollywood $

DRAGS REALNESS REALNESS: 1 Trophy Anna Wintour’s Bitch $

WOMEN’S FACE: 1 Trophy Sadistic Beauty $

TWISTERS VS SISTERS: 2 Trophies Diamonds and Pearls $

BQ TEAM BODY & SEX SIREN: 2 Trophies The Poster Boys $

FEMALE FIGURE HEAD TO TOE BIG GIRL OVAHNESS: 1 Trophy The Size Issue

Grand Prize Designer’s Delight: The Fashion Show $$

OTA ICON & LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE: 2 Trophies

FEM QUEEN FACE: 1 Trophy The Ultimate Supermodel $

OTA BIZARRE: 1 Trophy A Tribute to a Creative Genius $

BQ RUNWAY: 4 Trophies The All American Couture $

OTA LABELS: 2 Trophies The Trunk Show (The Artistry of Peeling) $

MALE FIGURE TEAM REALNESS: 3 Trophies ‘The Realest Triple Threat’

FEMALE FIGURE PERFORMANCE: 3 Trophies Fashion Takeover Pop Stars $

BQ MODEL MAGAZINE FACE: 1 Trophy Explore the World of Vogue $

TRANS MAN SEX SIREN: 1 Trophy The Trans Modeling Agency $

DRAGS FACE: 1 Trophy Inside Pat McGrath’s Universe $

FEM QUEEN REALNESS: 1 Trophy Elle’s Sunday Brunch $

WOMAN’S BODY: 1 Trophy Sports Illustrated ‘The Couture Issue’



I LOVE THESE KIDS!
THEY ARE SO PHUCKIN' PHIERCE!!

SO MUCH SO THEY CAN
BURN PARIS DOWN TO THE PHUCKIN' GROUND!
LOL!

|
|
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V







Friday, August 13, 2010

A Tribute To Ado Tony Hughes
U Now Transition To The Ancestors As Ibaye
SUNRISE: November 8th, 1969
SUNSET: August 10th, 2010

Tony Hughes


Tony... since your transition to the African ancestors... Ibaye... I was thinkin' how I could honor what you meant to me. I was looking through a few Black SGL books for poems or quotes - didn't find anything adequate. I then got the idea to look at some of my own poetry/prose.

I haven't had my poetry/prose published online since waaaaaaaaaaayyy back in the days (2001) of my Cast of Chocolate Warriors Yahoo Geocities website.

You have awakened the written word in me to share yet again...


EYE CRIED
by
ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

{August ‘99}


Eye laid in bed thinking about you one night
Eye envisioned us making passionate love together
We were both naked and bare
We were embraced for a moment
The warmth kindling of our spirits
You stood back to take in my image
My left eye cried as a tear rolled down my face
You were startled and asked why eye was sad
Eye was not sad
But my body was rejoicing in happiness
Happiness in knowing you
Embracing you
Loving you

Eye’m thinking we could be potential soul mates
Yes, eye know it’s too early to say
And time will only tell
But if you are the one
Fate could not have granted me a better lover to love


Eye lit a candle last night
To awaken the spirit of you within me
The flame was a light of protection
Watching over me as Eye fell asleep like a baby
Eye awakened and you were still there
The flame ever luminescent
Still guarding and nurturing my being
You have been in my thoughts ever since we first met
Your image captured like a film negative exposed to my inner eye
My inner eye weeping with passion
Eye think eye have the potential for loving you
For love has no bounds
No limits for where…
Our spirits can fly
Like doves in a new found paradise gone by


Monday, August 9, 2010

Candice Boyce: Pioneer, Leader & Veteran Organizer of the Black Lesbian Movement
SUNSRISE: May 18, 1943
SUNSET: August 2, 2010




In Loving Memory of CANDICE BOYCE
Sunrise May 18th, 1943
Sunset August 2nd, 2010

A sister is Gone
A sister is gone
in body but not spirit,
she lingers in our minds, our hearts, our souls
A sister is gone
but not her words
they run deep, heavy in our heads
they persist fiercely on our lips
a legacy waiting to be told
A sister is gone
but not her voice
the empowerment of it rings in our ears
offering us strength to carry on
A sister is gone
a sister who bestowed
the gift of love, hope and reaffirmation
of sisterhood among black lesbians
A sister is gone
remembered but missed
A sister is gone
we sisters mourn
Cause
A sister is gone

-Laura Irene Wayne




LOVING PARTNERS Candice (with Gil's Puppy) and Linda - 2009




Linda & Candice




Candice Boyce

Candice Boyce (May 18, 1943 - August 2, 2010) was co-founder of Salsa Soul Sisters, co-founder of Third World Wimmin Inc. aka African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change. It is insufficient to say that she was dominant force in the Black Lesbian community in NY for close to forty years. She was a gift to LGBT movement for People of Color from the Beyond. This is an enormous loss. She touched so many women's lives! Her peerless leadership, personal bravery, ability to dissect complex issues with immaculate articulation and willingness to share her broad vision with sisters of all ages will be sorely missed.

16th Commemoration of THE MAAFA
Featuring The MAAFA Suite... A Healing Journey
September 13th-25th, 2010
Brooklyn, NYC


Official Website: www.themaafa.com



ST. PAUL COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH
859 Hendrix Street
(Between Linden Blvd & Stanley Avenue)
Brooklyn, New York 11207
GOOGLE MAP


TRAIN TRAVEL:
#3 Train To Van Siclen Avenue


Presents

The 16th Commemoration (2010)
of
THE MAAFA

SAVE THESE DATES:
SEPTEMBER 13th - 25th ,2010


Rev. David K. Brawley, Senior Pastor Rev.
Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, MAAFA Founder

Kim D. Jones, Administrative Coordinator
Yvonne L. Hildmon, Fiscal Coordinator


Events:
Baby Dedication
MAAFA Museum Tours* (School Tours Sept. 13 -17)
Meditative Moments
Oceanside Ceremony


The MAAFA Suite...A Healing Journey
Directed by Michele Hawkins-Jones
Performances:
September 19th at 6:00 P.M.
*
September 20th, 23rd and 24th at 7:00 P.M.*

Ticket Prices (Tentative):
Orchestra Sanctuary Seating: $50.00
Mezzanine Sanctuary Seating: $30.00


Featured Presenters:
Dr. Edward M. Bostick,
Quiltmaker and Historian, Brooklyn, New York


Tom Burrel
l,
Author, Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Scott Christianson,
Writer and Human Rights Activist Albany, New York

Dr. Ron Daniels,
Institute of the Black World 21st Cer)tury, East Elmhurst, New York


Karen Hunter,
Joumalist Author and Publisher, South Orange, New Jersey


Dr. Edwin Nichols,
Clinical Industrial Psychologist, Washington, DC

Rev. Dr. Lewis T. Tait, Jr.,
Imani Christian Center, Stone Mountain, Georgia

Dr. Jonathan L. Walton,
Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge"Massachusetts


Time Wise,
Author and Anti-Racist Activist Nashville, Tennessee


*For ticket prices and additional information contact the
MAAFA Resource Center
(718) 257-2884 or (718) 257-1300 exts. 178 or 174
Email us at maafa[at]spcbc.com

Visit our websites at
www.themaafa.com or www.spcbc.com



Official Website: www.themaafa.com

MAAFA is a Kiswahai term which refers to the catastrophic experience formerly known as the TransAtiantic Slave Trade which resulted in the kidnap, torture, and enslavement of millions of African people.

















The Paths To Which Africans Were Brought To The Americas
(Click The Picture To Enlarge The Map)

Men, Ritual, & Community
Malidoma Patrice Somé with Reid Baer



Excerpt From:
E-Village News: Responding to the Call of the Ancestors
MEN'S SPECIAL ISSUE (August 2010)

In memory of Grandfather Bakhyé and Papa Elie



Men, Ritual, & Community
Malidoma Patrice Somé
with Reid Baer
Excerpts from Man Overboard Column Archive, 2005
Menstuff: The National Resource Website

"Ritual is the most functional means by which archetypal energies are dealt with," Malidoma began. "Indigenous people have been aware of that for eons. In the modern era, we focus too much on psychological counseling. There is a tendency for people to linger endlessly in therapy without receiving significant help. The shadow parts of our lives keep coming back." Malidoma believes that dealing with "the things we cannot escape" is best accomplished within the sacred space of ritual.

"Ritual facilitates and provides us with a unique channel to access higher power," he said. "Certain issues don't want to be resolved mechanistically. We don't have to know how the power works; we just have to show up and let the higher forces deal with the issues. The trap we feel inside ourselves is removed once we enter into sacred space. The energies know how to push obstacles out."

Malidoma suggested that men should learn to trust their own ability to create sacred space, where they can be "vulnerable in a sacred fashion" and allow themselves to be dismantled so that the rebuilding can produce a lasting result. The sacred space to initiate men is not necessarily a physical place, but an energetic place.

"It's very hard to do this as an individual thing" he said. "This kind of healing requires community - men with men. The healing begins with the destabilization of a man's energy. When he starts to feel unstable, it is best put in that place where other men or humans are. And eventually he will let go."

"Men usually fool themselves into serving the big dragon," Malidoma stated. However, with the help of other men observing from the outside, an initiate will begin to see his own dragon. The collapse of the traditional internal structure can then begin, and the "great opportunity of rebuilding the self occurs."

"That idea is a hard-sell in this culture because men like to stay in control," he continued. "Men have no room for a place of risk. In the business of healing, more often than not, we paint over the problems. This danger place that we are obligated to move into is a sacred danger because it endangers the very problems we deal with; and when it endangers them, we feel it endangers us too."

Modern men identify too closely with their problems, he added, "and we become the problems, not the solutions."

Malidoma said he believes men use the need for "safety as a condition of healing" as an excuse not to deal with the problem.



"We must endanger the problem by confronting it," Malidoma instructed. "It is to be dug out of its hiding and exposed to the air. It cannot breathe oxygen. The light of day is lethal to it. That's why the dragon tells us that we should be safe, because the dragon wants to be safe. We end up actually serving the very thing we want to be rid of."

The creative process is essential in coping with dragons, the Elder noted. "In talking about expression, we have to visualize it as more than speaking English," he said. "Creativity includes non-verbal expression and the ability to use the entire body as a means of discourse."

Malidoma said the dragon wants us to be introverted.

"Expression rips open the hidden cages and blind boxes, thereby releasing all the information hiding in there unbeknownst to us and others," he said. "To speak constantly into sacred space is to give oneself the opportunity of transcending ... taking our lethal pain and diluting it into the ether."

"Ritual or initiation provides a safe place for the soul and body to affirm life over death," he declared, "to affirm continuity over discontinuity."

Men don't need a "sophisticated construction" to participate in ritual. Malidoma recommends we "look up at a tree" or "go to a creek and see the flow of water."

"There may be some powerful genie dwelling in the water," he said. "Talk to him like we talk to each other."

The response may not be the loudest one we hear, but if we're willing to listen carefully, we can hear the "big noise or echo" of nature tell us that "we're right and to go on and walk proudly."

In Malidoma's village, the men are the spiritual leaders.

Why? "Because this is the kind of power and is the responsibility every male is born with, and when assumed properly, it becomes authentic," he said. "Women and children find themselves reassured by the men's true power. It is when we pretend to assume the power that in fact we are derogatory and chaos is created. True male power is very healing for everybody. And so, if a man is not a self-centered control freak, he is one that will be serving, protecting, and holding the sacred space .... holding the space for everything and everybody to live."

So, what keeps Western modern man from being the spiritual leaders in their own homes? "Men get caught up in the socio-economic nightmare of giving away most of their time in order to survive," he answered. "We didn't come into this world to give all our energy to stay alive, we came here to live. The biggest dragon is the one that tells us we have to work eight hours a day ... and we end up being so tired that the very thing our soul is yearning for we don't have time for. We have to tell each other to take time, and we need to hold hands with each other. Men have to be willing to come together to express what they feel to each other as the first step toward moving into that sacred space so they can heal enough to assume true responsibility in their own household. If we find a little moment to get together to pound on this problem, then we can go back to our respective homes and our partners and children ... and they can see us shining in our true glory."

Community is a strong recurring theme in much of Malidoma's work. He defines it as, "a bunch of people willing to come together in a circle in which they are conscious enough to invoke the sacred, the divine ... to be with each other so they can express their authentic self to one another. If men are willing to come together and be with each other, knowing they need supervision of the divine in order that their being together is not limited to talking about current events and drinking beer, then they have become a community."

The community is strengthened by "invoking the sacred," he added, but not by making themselves exclusive.

"Once we start attacking and excluding other communities then we have become a club," Malidoma explained, "and then we have taken the ideas of society into our club, and the dragon prospers in us as a community."

Malidoma expresses his own sense of community and his personal spiritual creative process this way, "I draw from bone energy and the memories that come from the bone. I allow myself to surrender to the higher forces with the clear intention that I want to be as clear and precise as possible. What comes out is something almost independent of me. There's something quite militant in it, because when I express myself, and not after heavy duty preparation, I know that spirit is speaking through me. When I feel that intensity coming out, when I feel it, I know someone else will feel it. Every time I have attached my own emotion or capacity, I have to stand back and get out of my way so higher forces can speak. That has been transforming. I like to call that spirit. Spirit expresses itself in a way we cannot map, cannot tell ahead of time, and has its own plan - a plan not known to us. To know it, we have to surrender to it. It's a risky thing. And risk-taking in the business of feeling, is worth doing."

© 2005 Reid Baer

Just A Few Pics From Riis Beach
The UNOFFICIAL Black Pride NYC Beach Party
Sunday, August 8th, 2010



Hey African FAM,

I literally only have a few pics to share of Riis Beach in Queens (border of Brooklyn) yesterday. I wasn't too much in a photography mood, but I had to make a special exception and get pics of brutha Lorenzo. He had at least 4 different outfits he changed into at the beach.

I also got a few general group pics of the beautiful bruthaz mingling on the beach.

I'm pretty sure another blogger will have full coverage with many more pics!

I call this the UNOFFICIAL Black Pride NYC Beach Party because it's been a few years now since POCC went under and doesn't sponsor the beach party anymore.

However, what's really momentous is that bruthaz and sistahs STILL come out to the beach in celebration of Black Pride despite there being no official programming. It's been 10+ years now of these beach parties and a testament to our tenacity... though I do wish that tenacity would translate from not just showing up for parties and having a good time, but also to our rising up to claim our own political power as Black same gender loving folks (gatekeeprs) with a host of issues we have to resolve to maintain healthier lives.

Anyway, it goes to to show that sometimes all we need is EACH OTHER'S COMPANY to have a FUN-FILLED day (and for some an evening behind the bushes and in the abandoned building ! Nuff said! )

Be qool y'all

ROD



Lorenzo