NUBIAN KNIGHTS NETWORK

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

Sunday, April 18, 2010

THPAC's 34th Season
SOULS OF OUR FEET:
PEOPLE OF COLOR DANCE FESTIVAL
June 22, 23rd, 24th, 2010 @ 7:30PM
Kumble Theater in Bklyn (NYC)

Official Website:
Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center

Click To Enlarge

THELMA HILL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

In Association with Kumble Theater

The 34th Season (2010)

SOULS OF OUR FEET:
PEOPLE OF COLOR DANCE FESTIVAL

SAVE THESE DATES!!!

June 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 2010
7:30PM

Featuring

Asase Yaa
Kyle Abraham
INSPIRIT
Danse4Nia
Nicholas Leichter
Purelements An Evolution in Dance
Renegade Performance Group

AND

Special Premiere of
A RAMP TO PARADISE
A new choreogrphic work chronicling
the life & times of the legendary
Paradise Garage

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!!!

All performances at
Kumble Theater at LIU
downtown Brooklyn Campus
@ Flatbush Ave/between DeKalb Ave. & Willoughby St.
Ticket prices:
$15 General Admission / $12 Seniors & Students
Kumble Theater Box Office:
718/488-1624 or www.kumbletheater.org

For info:
Call 718/875-9710 or www.thelmahill.com

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
ALEX SMITH, JR

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ANDREA E. WOODS

LIGHTING DESIGN
NICK HUNG

Major Funders:
New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs;
Mertz Gilmore;
Brooklyn Arts Council;
Office of Sen. V. Montgomery;
Council-member Letitia James

THPAC’s Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance Festival program is vital to the dance community, as well as to Brooklyn and New York City. The 2010 festival will support artistic growth of seven emerging New York City-based choreographers of color, The 2010 season features three back-to-back evenings of dance performances on June 22, 23, and 24 at the Kumble Theater Brooklyn, NY. The featured artist/groups are: Nicholas Leichter, INSPIRIT, Renegade Performance Group, Asase Yaa, Danse4Nia, and Purelements. The centerpiece for this years' festival will be the premiere of a new work to be produced by THPAC on the evening of June 24. This work is a dance narrative and will be choreographed by Kyle Abraham. The work, which is entitled "A Ramp to Paradise", will chronicle the life and times of the famed and predominately Black gay/SGL New York City underground club The Paradise Garage. The Paradise Garage was famed for its DJ Larry Lavan; accompanying sound system and music from the late 70's through 1987.

PEEKS-This on-going, year-round program presents five works-in-progress by emerging, New York City-based choreographers and dance companies of color; SGL, gay and lesbian choreographers and women of color choreographers, some of which are presented in one of the dance programs that make up the annual Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance Festival program. PEEKS performances are free, for all age groups, and devoted to providing the artists an opportunity to hone their talents and developing THPAC's and artists’ audiences.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

About Alex Smith

Alex Smith was appointed Executive Director by the THPAC board in 1995 and later Executive Chairman. Under his tutelage and passionate commitment over 150 artists have been presented in performance including Ron Brown, Valerie Winborne, George Faison, Louis Johnson, Marlies Yearby, and Fred Benjamin, seven new programming formats have been added, and THPAC’s annual Life Time Achievement Awards, whose recipients include Louis Johnson, George Faison, Ella Thompson Moore, Dianne McIntrye, Fred Benjamin, and Kathy Grant and Dudley Williams, were established. During the coming summer 2010 season Smith will present, A Ramp to Paradise, a commissioned choreographed work by Kyle Abraham designed to pay homage to New York City’s ultimate dance experience, the legendary underground dance club Paradise Garage.

About Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center

THPAC, www.thelmahill.com, an independent non-profit organization, was formed in 1976 to forge and temper creative talent. Over 34 years the organization has attracted both emerging and established artists of color who developed a perpetual evolutionary cycle in which more than 300 alumni have gone on to successful careers as dancers and choreographers in the U.S. and abroad. The mission of THPAC is to build bridges of understanding through the presentation and celebration of choreographic works by artists of color. From fostering grassroots involvement at home to expanding awareness of the arts abroad, THPAC facilitates artistic collaborations, such as performances, workshops, seminars and community projects. Through these efforts, new channels of creative dialogue inspire free-flowing dynamic cultural expressions.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
An Affirmations To All The SGL Gatekeepers Of The Universe Out There...

As a current member (and once part of the leadership) of the Black Men's Xchange-New York (BMX-NY) throughout my 7 years (since February 2003 to be exact), I had the honor of witnessing one of the more POWERFUL dialogue sessions on Friday, April 16th, 2010. The topic in question was:

"LOVING SAME GENDER LOVE:
Fighting for Our Right to Be"

In conjunction with that I had the honor of escorting two beautiful young bruthaz (friends of mine) who are same gender loving partners for 8 years strong who were visiting New York City from Chicago. I was quite giddy that night because I was so happy to see them after not seeing them for 6 years (since a Black Pride event in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, New York), and I was able to bring them to BMX for their first time where they witnessed the hospitality and the deep critical thinking and cultural affirmation (CTCA) model work that we do there which always has a frame-work around unlearning "anti-Black" and "anti-homosexual" perspectives via societal conditioning...

As the night wound down Friday evening, the BMX gathering ended climatically with the following quotes (in green) below which are excerpts from a room full of POWERFUL and ENLIGHTENING Black same gender loving men when the last question was asked over and over and over...

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?

That It’s Life – It’s Beautiful –
Like A Seed Sprouting – Watch It Grow.
It’s Amazing.

Copyright © 2009 ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Affirmation Of It –
Who It Was Created By And Who It Was Created For.
When I Was Gay Identified, I Acted Out...

I Also Like The Connection To My African History.
All The Beautiful Contributions Of Our People.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
It’s Light – Consciousness –

The Collective Brilliance Of It,

All The Sacred Secrets That We Talk About -
It Preserves Me, And It Preserves The Next Generation.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Love The Freedom Of It;
The Passion, The Solace Of Being With Another Man.
It’s Healing. It Creates Community.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Don't Know; I'm Still Finding Out

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Total Connection -
Body, Mind & Soul, And The Versatility.
If We Don’t Love Ourselves, How Can We Heal Our Community?

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
Indescribable...
I Guess There’s A Lot Less Judgment –
[It’s] A Lot More Peaceful

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
It's Ancient...

The Tenderness...

African Men Are The Most Sensitive
Human Beings On The Planet
And When You Are Able To Experience That,
It Is The Most Wonderful Delight

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Physicality Of The Black... Male... Body...
The Mental: Someone Who Can Understand My Daily Struggles
As A Black Man Living In Amerikkka)

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Love A Kiss – A Deep Kiss…

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
You Have My Experiences, My Oppression

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
You Are My Mirror

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
I Feel I Love The Variety.
We Don’t Have To Be A One-Size-Fits-All Community

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Independence It Gives You
[When You Declare Who You Are, Or What You Like]
That’s Something No One Can Take Away From You

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
It’s Something I Desire,
Therefore, It’s Beautiful – Unique –
Has The Creative Potential Of Finding Its Own Form.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
[We Are] Gatekeepers...
Giving Directions And Marching Orders
To Protect And Do What We Need To Do
[For Community]

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
Personal, Private, Public

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
A Rhythm

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
As A Man,
You’re Expected To Be Strong
And Go Out There Everyday…
It’s Nice That I Can Be Strong Sometimes
And He Can Be Strong Sometimes.
I Don’t Have To Be Strong All The Time.
And He Can Squeeze Me, And Hold Me Tight.

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
If God Made Anything More Beautiful Than A Black Male,
He Must Have Kept It For Himself

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Duality Which Is A Mystique And Familiarity
Which Has A Special Shape And Texture

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
The Limitless Beauty And Power
And Creativity That Flows Through Us;
That Gives Us The Capacity To Heal Ourselves,
Each Other, Our Family, And The Capacity To Love
Even As We Are Told We Have No Right

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?

Wil and Lamonte On Their 8-Year Relationship

What's Beautiful About SAME GENDER LOVE?
Carrying Wounds And Scars [As We Are],
There Is Filial (Paternal) Love,
There Is Agape (Selfless) Love –
Sometimes They Come Together –
To Embrace That And Get It Right With Each Other,
There’s A Melting Of The Soul That’s Just...
Butter

A SPECIAL THANKS to Mr. John-Martin Green for lending me his transcribed notes for some of the above quotes.

As these quotes were read back and REFLECTED to all of us, the Black same gender loving men in the room, it truly shows our capacity and capable light as GATEKEEPERS...

Thursday, April 15, 2010

OSHUN: A Yoruba Dance Drama
At National Black Theatre (Harlem, NYC)
Running From April 17th, - May 9th, 2010

Click Here To Purchase Tickets

Don't Miss
OSHUN: A Yaruba Dance Drama

Previews April 15th & 16th at 8pm.
Play starts April 17th and runs to May 9th at the
National Black Theater
2031 Fifth Avenue
(Between 125th & 126th Street)
GOOGLE MAP

For tickets visit
www.nationalblacktheare.org
or call (212) 722-380

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre is proud to announce the celebration of its 42nd season. The season opens with an original work written by David D. Wright, entitled OSHUN. A Yoruba Dance Drama "OSHUN" represents the pinnacle of feminine power through drama, dance, song and music. The production is a biographical, and historical account of the often underestimated and misunderstood female orisa.

OSHUN promises to usher in the spirit of theatre founder, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, through layers of color, folklore and healing power (all of which the "Pearl of Harlem" was known to add to the Harlem community). By dramatically revealing the rich legacy of Yoruba mythology, OSHUN's director Roderick Giles explores the many manifestations of Oshun and makes it relevant to audiences young and old. The show kicks off a pivotal season for the NBT as it continues the legacy of Dr. Barbara Ann Teer with a commitment to excellence and healing of our communities of which we serve.

OSHUN (OSUN) will be running from April 17th thru May 9th, 2010. Show times are Friday, and Saturday at 8:00pm, and Sunday at 4:00pm. Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre is located at 2031-33 Fifth Avenue (125th & 126th Street). For the limited run, all tickets are $35 for general admission and group sales are available. To purchase your tickets using your credit card call Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006 or visit our online box office at www.brownpapertickets.com. For reservations and information about group sales please call 212-722-3800.

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre holds the largest New Sacred Yoruba Art Collection in the Western Hemisphere. National Black Theatre's (NBT) Institute of Action Arts offers three programs: Communication Arts, Theatre Arts and Entrepreneurial Arts. NBT represents a collective creative energy that offers alternative learning in an institution that represents a global cultural perspective.

Osun (Oshun The Yoruba Dance Drama), is a historical account of the female Orisa. It is a story of power, love, betrayal, lust, and greed, . OSHUN the Orisa of sweet waters,represents all aspects of emotion as it relates to the human condition.

Click Here To Purchase Tickets

PBS FRONTLINE Presents
The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan
Frontline Goes Under To Expose The Ritual Sexual Abuse Of Boys In Afghanistan

Private Dancer: The Practice Of Bacha Bazi ('Boy For Play')
Is Growing In Afghanistan.
Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan
Premieres On FRONTLINE
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 On PBS
(NYC @ 9PM On Channel 13;
Check Local Listings In Your Associated City)

In Afghanistan today, in the midst of war and endemic poverty, an ancient tradition--banned when the Taliban were in power--has re-emerged across the country. It's called Bacha Bazi, translated literally as "boy play." Hundreds of boys, some as young as eleven, street orphans or boys bought from poor families by former warlords and powerful businessmen, are dressed in woman's clothes, taught to sing and dance for the entertainment of male audiences, and then sold to the highest bidder or traded among the men for sex. With remarkable access inside a Bacha Bazi ring operating in Northern Afghanistan, Najibullah Quraishi, an Afghan journalist, investigates this practice, still illegal under Afghan law, talking with the boys, their families, and their masters, exposing the sexual abuse and even murders of the boys, and documenting how Afghan authorities responsible for stopping these crimes are sometimes themselves complicit in the practice.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

SGL Africans Tortured Even After Death;
ROD: MY DEEPEST SYMPATHIES TO THE AFRICAN SGL SISTAHS AND BRUTHAZ WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO REST EASY

The Associated Press reports on the widespread homophobia across the continent of Africa that has reached an all time high with some Africans committing unconscionable crimes against gay men even after death.

The Associated Press reports:

Senegal- Madieye Diallo's body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the mob descended on the weedy cemetery with shovels. They yanked out the corpse, spit on its torso, dragged it away and dumped it in front of the home of his elderly parents.

A wave of intense homophobia is washing across Africa, where homosexuality is already illegal in at least 37 countries.

In the last year alone, gay men have been arrested in Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. In Uganda, lawmakers are considering a bill that would sentence homosexuals to life in prison and include capital punishment for 'repeat offenders.' And in South Africa, the only country that recognizes gay rights, gangs have carried out so-called "corrective" rapes on lesbians.

Diallo was an activist and a leader of a gay organization called And Ligay, meaning "Working together," which he ran out of his parents' house.

He was HIV-positive and on medication.

When the tabloid published the photograph, Diallo went into hiding, according to a close friend who asked not to be named because he too is gay. Unable to go to the doctor, Diallo stopped taking his anti-retrovirals. By the spring of 2009, he was so ill that his family checked him into St. Jean de Dieu, a Catholic hospital in downtown Thies, says the friend.

He was in a coma when he died at 5:50 a.m. on May 2, 2009, according to the hospital's records. Although the hospital has a unit dedicated to treating HIV patients, the young man's family never disclosed his illness, according to the doctor in charge.

Several gay friends tried to see Diallo in the hospital but were told to stay away by his family, says the friend.

When the AP tried to speak to Diallo's elderly father at his shop on the main thoroughfare in Thies, his other children demanded the reporter leave. One sister covered her face and sobbed. Another said, "There are no homosexuals here."

Hours after he died, his family took Diallo's body to a nearby mosque, where custom holds the corpse should be bathed and wrapped in a white cloth. Before the family could bathe him, news reached the mosque that Diallo was gay and they were chased out, says the dead man's friend. His relatives hastily wrapped him in a sheet and headed to the cemetery, where they carried him past the home of Babacar Sene.

"A man that's known as being a homosexual can't be buried in a cemetery. His body needs to be thrown away like trash," says Sene. "His parents knew that he was gay and they did nothing about it. So when he died we wanted to make sure he was punished."

Sunday, April 11, 2010

La MISSION Indepedent Film Debut
Friday, April 9th, 2010 @ OutFest, Los Angeles, New York And Nationally Around The Country (U.S.)

Official Website: lamissionthemovie.com

New York Locations:

AMC Empire 25
234 West 42nd Street
(Near 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10036
1-888-AMC-4FUN
Showtimes Here

Clearview's Chelsea
260 West 23rd Street
(Near 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 777-FILM
Showtimes Here

Statement from the filmmakers,
Peter and Benjamin Bratt

Dear Friends,

It is with great pride in the efforts of literally hundreds of people that we write to tell you that our film La MISSION will have its national theatrical release beginning April 9th.

La MISSION pays homage to the neighborhood and people we grew up around, and captures the vibrancy, cultural pride, flavor and sound of this ever-evolving barrio. At the center of the story is Che, an old school reformed bad boy and single father who has dedicated his life to raising his 18 year-old son. Jess is a UCLA-bound honors student who is hiding a deeply-held secret from his macho father: he's gay.

La MISSION doesn't pull any punches. It takes a hard look at some of the prevailing attitudes that still thrive and do damage within our communities. But La MISSION also celebrates the humor, the sense of pride, and the passion for life that exists alongside the everyday struggles.

Opening weekend attendance is critical. The box office totals determine the life expectancy of the film, including its afterlife on DVD. If you, as we do, want to see more films that are authentically representative of our experiences and our communities, we urge you to support independent filmmaking by showing up at the theaters and buying tickets. It's the only message exhibitors understand--they only run films that will bring in large crowds.

Please check our website (www.lamissionthemovie.com) and also become a fan of La Mission on Facebook. There you will find details on what cities and theaters we are playing in, plus photos and information on the film and its crew.

Thanks for supporting independent cinema, and a heartfelt thanks from us for your support of La MISSION.

Power to the people!

Peter and Benjamin

Official Website: lamissionthemovie.com

ROD's Comments:

Special THANKS to Ralph Emerson of GBMNews.com for giving me a heads up and notifying me about this film.

I watched the trailer and the film looks pretty good and the cinematography looks nice as well, especially the LUSH night time scene I saw.

Part of Nubian Knights Network's mission is to promote positive stories and images about the African Diaspora (as well as other people of color Diasporas). So, with that said, it's a blessing to be able to post information about this film.

HOWEVER, my caveat or ONLY complaint upon seeing the trailer (haven't seen the film yet and just got word that it is NOW playing in New York City in two theaters) is the BULLSHIT once again with the trend of showing a person of color (in this case a young Latino male) with a white european LOVER/boyfriend interest. This continues to reinforce the notion (that I know is NOT true) that a person of color (African, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, Natve American, Indian, etc.) cannot have a successful, fruitful and loving relationship unless the person is white.

La Mission is written by Peter Bratt who is Latino (and from San Francisco which is overwhelmingly white in poulation), so I don't know if his thinking in having a white lover as a character was a personal and subjective idea or choice of how he sees what a "gay" (not talking same gender loving here) couple would look like, or perhaps he was playing politics by casting a white actor to draw and appeal to the white (gay) audience.

All speculation on my part in reference to this film, but this continuous trend is something that I have had numerous conversations with other Black SGL bruthaz from time to time ,and I am NOT the ONLY one who thinks this. This pattern of a Black/white or Latino/white lover couple has been seen in such projects as the HBO series Six Feet Under, the Indy film Brother To Brother (2004) (as much as I LOVE this film I gotta still call it out), the 1976 film Norman... Is That You?, Punks (2000) (bruthaz chasing after white boys in the clubs), Looking For Langston (1988), Young Soul Rebels (1991) and most recently the new Black comedy Death At A Funeral (2010) where we discover in the trailer that the Black male person who passed away (despite being married) was on the "DL" (down low) and had a white male lover on the side.

What's troubling is that some of these film and tv projects are made by Black filmmakers as much as white filmmakers. So... what does this say about the larger Black community and how they perceive us, the Black SGL community (which by the way, we are largely INVISIBLE when it comes to any public or political standings; and when we are seen in the media, we are usually paired up with someone white such as the "gay" marriage agenda).

I know how I see myself with cultural affirmation and self-determination of the African Diaspora which includes, but not limited to my sexual identity (same gender loving), but also... how does these images make us (Black SGL folks) perceive ourselves?

Just sayin' ...

In any event, this is not to take away from supporting and seein' La Mission. My friend Jair, The Literary Masturbator, saw it last year and thought it was well done. I'll check it out when it hits NYC.

ROD

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Stand With Us In Support Of The Schomburg Center

Dear Friends of the Schomburg,

The story is now legend.

As a young boy, when told that Black people had no history, Arturo Scho

mburg began amassing the irrefutable evidence… books, manuscripts, art, photos, film, music and more… that formed the foundation of the Schomburg Center.

In his quest, he understood that he couldn’t do this essential work alone. He called on his friends in Harlem -- Langston Hughes, Aaron Douglas, Zora Neale Hurston, and many more -- to help him. As a result, the Schomburg Center has become not only the preeminent intellectual center of the African Diaspora, but also one of the premier research libraries of The New York Public Library.

Like Mr. Schomburg, we are calling on friends like you to stand with us in support of the Schomburg Center, particularly now during one of the most fiscally dire times in the history of the Center.

Recent and proposed budget cuts have threatened critical key elements of the Schomburg's activities. These include our award-winning public programs —films, exhibitions, lecture series, symposia, and more. When our programs are cut, our ability to share stories of the African Diaspora in an authentic voice with audiences of all ages and races is put at risk.

You’ve been an active participant in the life of the Center, either online or at our locations in Harlem, and we deeply appreciate your involvement. Now we’re hoping you’ll increase your commitment to the Center during this time of need and become a member of The Schomburg Society today. Join with the many other people from across the country who have come to understand that protecting and preserving the legacy of Africana history and culture is simply too important to be left to others. I hope we can count on you to join with us. Thank you.

Warmly,

Howard Dodson
Chief

P.S.> Not only will your membership in The Schomburg Society afford you a variety of benefits, but you will also have the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to the sustenance of this remarkable institution. Thank you again.