REFLECTION: 21st Annual Tribute To Our Ancestors From Saturday, June 12th, 2010 Coney Island, Brooklyn (NYC)

Hey African Family,

I just finished editing a load of pics from the 21st Annual Tribute To Our Ancestors celebration in my own neighborhood of Coney Island, Brooklyn (New York City).

This year was really phenomenal and my second year in a row of actually getting my feet wet (literally) in the water. I was actually in the water with my sneakers on and camera in-hand to get some exciting pictures.

Last year was special because I participated with my good friend Delmar and Zanthony and there's nothing like being in the experience itself.

This year, I was more in the voyeurism (photography) mode though I did experience and was part of a community circle dance at one point on the boardwalk.

So, here we go...

All Photography
Copyright © 2010 ROD PATRICK RISBROOK
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Click On Any Pic To Enlarge

A Daddy WIth His Young Boyz.
So Rare (And Unfortunate) To See
Unless It's More Or Less These Types of Cultural Events

Brutha Man Cleansing Everyone With Sage

Emotional Moment

Always Qool To See The Kids Having FUN!!

Beautiful and Priceless Moments

Spirit

Spirit

Cultural Affirmation

Cultural Pride

Feeding And Honoring The Ancestors

Spirit And Praise To Yemaya

What Beautiful Sculptured Drum!
I'd Really Like To Own One Like just Like That

African Pride

All Photography
Copyright © 2010 ROD PATRICK RISBROOK

A Letter From Huey Newton To The Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters About The Women’s Liberation And SGL Liberation Movements

The following essay by co-founder and Black Panther Party member Huey P. Newton was brought to my attention while I was having dinner with my friend Steve. At home, I finally got a chance to sit down and read Huey's piece, and it is quite a remarkable, powerful and revolutionary act in and of itself to have the sorts of convictions he professes around the women and same gender loving (he says "gay") liberation movement. Even Huey admitting his own insecurities around homosexuality is refreshingly authentic and bold!

This essay is reprinted around the Internet and so I wanted to share it as well. It's INCREDIBLY POWERFUL...

A Letter From Huey Newton
To The Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters
About The Women’s Liberation And SGL Liberation
Movements

During the past few years strong movements have developed among women and among homosexuals seeking their liberation. There has been some uncertainty about how to relate to these movements.

We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude that the White racists use against our people because they are Black and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover something that he does not have. So you're some kind of a threat to him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established norm.

Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say that we recognize the women's right to be free. We have not said much about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the most oppressed people in the society.

And what made them homosexual? Perhaps it's a phenomenon that I don't understand entirely. Some people say that it is the decadence of capitalism. I don't know if that is the case; I rather doubt it. But whatever the case is, we know that homosexuality is a fact that exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: that is, a person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants.

That is not endorsing things in homosexuality that we wouldn't view as revolutionary. But there is nothing to say that a homosexual cannot also be a revolutionary. And maybe I'm now injecting some of my prejudice by saying that "even a homosexual can be a revolutionary." Quite the contrary, maybe a homosexual could be the most revolutionary.

When we have revolutionary conferences, rallies, and demonstrations, there should be full participation of the gay liberation movement and the women's liberation movement. Some groups might be more revolutionary than others. We should not use the actions of a few to say that they are all reactionary or counterrevolutionary, because they are not.




We should deal with the factions just as we deal with any other group or party that claims to be revolutionary. We should try to judge, somehow, whether they are operating in a sincere revolutionary fashion and from a really oppressed situation. (And we will grant that if they are women they are probably oppressed.) If they do things that are unrevolutionary or counterrevolutionary, then criticize that action. If we feel that the group in spirit means to be revolutionary in practice, but they make mistakes in interpretation of the revolutionary philosophy, or they do not understand the dialectics of the social forces in operation, we should criticize that and not criticize them because they are women trying to be free. And the same is true for homosexuals. We should never say a whole movement is dishonest when in fact they are trying to be honest. They are just making honest mistakes. Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women's liberation front and gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies, and we need as many allies as possible.


We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have about homosexuality. When I say "insecurities," I mean the fear that they are some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this fear. Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity in the American male, homosexuality might produce certain hang-ups in us. I have hang-ups myself about male homosexuality. But on the other hand, I have no hang-up about female homosexuality. And that is a phenomenon in itself. I think it is probably because male homosexuality is a threat to me and female homosexuality is not.

We should be careful about using those terms that might turn our friends off. The terms "faggot" and "punk" should be deleted from our vocabulary, and especially we should not attach names normally designed for homosexuals to men who are enemies of the people, such as Nixon or Mitchell. Homosexuals are not enemies of the people.




We should try to form a working coalition with the gay liberation and women's liberation groups. We must always handle social forces in the most appropriate manner.

CASTING CALL FOR MODELS/ACTORS FOR SEXUALITY/EROTIC EDUCATIONAL DVD

CASTING CALL FOR MODELS/ACTORS
FOR SEXUALITY/EROTIC EDUCATIONAL DVD

The Kyle Phoenix ShowTM, as subsidiary of The Omni Group Inc. is a cable show on Time Warner, RCN and Comcast in New York is seeking men:

1. Between the ages of 25 to 50 (ID will be checked/age confirmed by Driver’s License, Birth Certificate, Passport, etc.)
2. Particularly Men Of Color (Black, Latin, Asian, Bi-Racial, etc.)
3. Good to reasonably good shape/work out regularly
4. You should be between 150lbs to 250lbs;
5. Comfortable with being nude on camera
6. Comfortable with erotic massage techniques being applied to you by a teacher
7. Available for a full day 6 to 8 hour filming schedule
8. Without tattoos (or able to be concealed with make-up)
9. Able to provide several pictures, headshots, etc. with a bio for consideration
10. Comfortable with being in an educational DVD dealing with issues of sexuality and physicality for primarily men that will be distributed nationally and internationally.

You will be provided with a guide/illustration of the scenes that are to occur for the training video being produced to gauge your comfort level before any agreements are signed/pay for services and given a reasonable time frame to decide whether this is the right project for you.

You will be made aware of the hourly/filming day rate based upon how many models are needed for the final project, alerted when distribution online and in stores is to occur and sent a complimentary copy of the final product.

All scenes are of an educational intent and will in no way constitute, be construed as, or distributed as pornography and all labeling on packages will be specific about the works intent. This product is intended for individuals/couples of varying sexualities who want more information on their bodies and sexuality.

To be considered for the DVD you must email your interest including name, telephone number, photos/directions to a website (no more than three photos that display basic physicality) and email address to the KylePhoenixShow[at]aol.com with “Model/Actor” in the Subject Line. You will receive back general questions, an application and request for pictures/resume (if necessary).

Your contact information should be current and applicable for at least 1 year as various filming is occurring around this and other projects and also to insure we can contact you if you are hired and product is to be sent to you.

The Kyle Phoenix ShowTM focuses on issues around sexuality, identity, motivation, parenting, finances, race and health for LGBT folk (particularly men of color) and is looking for YOU to help us educate men on how to care for their bodies and have more pleasurable, intense and satisfying intimate relationships. It has been on YouTube since 2008 and cable television since 2009 and is branching out to including worldwide DVD/downloadable distribution in 2010/2011.

Thank you,
Kyle Phoenix
The Kyle Phoenix Show
KylePhoenixShow[at]aol.com


•Location: New York City
•It's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
•Compensation: You will be made aware of the hourly/filming day rate (1 time flat rate for filming schedule of 6 to 8 hours) based upon how many models are needed for the final project, alerted when distribution online and in stores is to occur and sent a complimentary copy of the final product.

Same Gender Loving & Heterosexual Black MenNeeded For Cable Television Show

Same Gender Loving & Heterosexual Black Men
Needed For Cable Television Show

The Kyle Phoenix ShowTM, a cable show on Time Warner, RCN and Comcast is seeking men, particularly Men Of Color (Black, Latin, Asian, etc.) and those who love them, men who are willing to be interviewed on camera (either full face or shadowed) about their sexuality, their experiences, their thoughts, their goals. There will be a small $$$honorarium$$$ paid to each chosen participant.

To be considered for the show(s) you must email to the KylePhoenixShow[at]aol.com with “Interview” in the Subject Line. You will receive back some questions and/or surveys to be returned for consideration. The interviews will last/be taped for approximately 2-3 hours and you will be notified of the air dates if your interview segments are used.


The Kyle Phoenix ShowTM focuses on issues around sexuality, identity, motivation, parenting, finances, race and health for LGBTQ folk (particularly men of color) and is looking for YOU to help us educate men on how to care for their bodies and have more pleasurable, intense and satisfying intimate relationships. It has been on YouTube since 2008 and cable television since 2009 and is branching out to including worldwide DVD/downloadable distribution in 2010/2011.

Thank you,
Kyle Phoenix
The Kyle Phoenix Show
KylePhoenixShow[at]aol.com

•It's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
•Compensation: There will be a small $$$honorarium$$$ paid to each chosen participant.

Rare Photo Of Slave Children Found In Attic

Excerpt From:







Rare Photo of Slave Children Found in Attic
Posted by Chauncey DeVega at 12:20 pm
June 11, 2010

A haunting 150-year-old photo found in a North Carolina attic shows a young black child named John, barefoot and wearing ragged clothes, perched on a barrel next to another unidentified young boy.

Art historians believe it’s an extremely rare Civil War-era photograph of children who were either slaves at the time or recently emancipated.

The photo, which may have been taken in the early 1860s, was a testament to a dark part of American history, said Will Stapp, a photographic historian and founding curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s photographs department at the Smithsonian Institution.

“It’s a very difficult and poignant piece of American history,” he said. “What you are looking at when you look at this photo are two boys who were victims of that history.”

In April, the photo was found at a moving sale in Charlotte, accompanied by a document detailing the sale of John for $1,150, not a small sum in 1854.

New York collector Keya Morgan said he paid $30,000 for the photo album including the photo of the young boys and several family pictures and $20,000 for the sale document. Morgan said the deceased owner of the home where the photo was found was thought to be a descendant of John.

A portrait of slave children is rare, Morgan said.

“I buy stuff all the time, but this shocked me,” he said.

What makes the picture an even more compelling find is that several art experts said it was created by the photography studio of Mathew Brady, a famous 19th-century photographer known for his portraits of historical figures such as President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Stapp said the photo was probably not taken by Brady himself but by Timothy O’Sullivan, one of Brady’s apprentices. O’Sullivan took a multitude of photos depicting the carnage of the Civil War.

In 1862, O’Sullivan famously photographed a group of some of the first slaves liberated after Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Such photos were circulated in the North by abolitionists to garner support for the Union during the Civil War, said Harold Holzer, an author of several books about Lincoln. Holzer works as an administrator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Most of the photos depicted adult slaves who had been beaten or whipped, he said.

The photo of the two boys is more subtle, Holzer said, which may be why it wasn’t widely circulated and remained unpublished for so long.

“To me, it’s such a moving and astonishing picture,” he said.

Ron Soodalter, an author and member of the board of directors at the Abraham Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C., said the photo depicts the reality of slavery.

“I think this picture shows that the institution of slavery didn’t pick or choose,” said Soodalter, who has written several books on historic and modern slavery. “This was a generic horror. It victimized the old, the young.”

For now, Morgan said, he is keeping the photo in his personal collection, but he said he has had an inquiry to sell the photo to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He said he is considering participating in the creation of a video documentary about John.

“This kid was abused and mistreated and people forgot about him,” Morgan said. “He doesn’t even exist in history. And to know that there were a million children who were like him. I’ve never seen another photo like that that speaks so much for children.”

Image of an 1854 document, provided by Keya Morgan,
detailing the sale of a slave named "John"
provides some insight into the horrors of the slave trade,
says collector Keya Morgan.
The document was found with some photos
at a moving sale in Charlotte, N.C.
(AP Photo/Courtesy of Keya Morgan, LincolnImages.com)