NUBIAN KNIGHTS NETWORK: Washington DC

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

Monday, October 3, 2011

30 AMERICANS
Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
October 1st, 2011 - February 12th, 2012; Featuring Kehinde Wiley, Basquiat, more...

Sleep by Kehinde Wiley

Official Exhibit Website: corcoran.org/30americans

30 AMERICANS
October 1st, 2011 through February 12th, 2012
Washington, DC

30 Americans showcases works by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades. This provocative exhibition focuses on issues of racial, sexual, and historical identity in contemporary culture while exploring the powerful influence of artistic legacy and community across generations.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

30 Americans is a wide-ranging survey of work by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades. Selected from the Rubell Family Collection, the exhibition brings together seminal figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and David Hammons with younger and emerging artists such as Kehinde Wiley and Shinique Smith. Often provocative and challenging, 30 Americans focuses on issues of racial, sexual, and historical identity in contemporary culture. It explores how each artist reckons with the notion of black identity in America, navigating such concerns as the struggle for civil rights, popular culture, and media imagery. At the same time, it highlights artistic legacy and influence, tracing subject matter and formal strategies across generations.

P.S.>> Kehinde Wiley, who is one of my favorite African-American artists (and same gender loving [SGL]), is one of the 30 featured artists.

Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design
500 Seventeenth Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Gallery Ph: (202) 639-1700
GOOGLE MAPS

The main entrance is located on Seventeenth Street between New York Avenue and E Street NW.

Hours
Wednesday 10AM – 5PM
Thursday 10AM – 9PM
Friday 10AM – 5PM
Saturday 10AM – 5PM
Sunday 10AM – 5PM

CLOSED Monday & Tuesday

Admission Pricing
Tickets for 30 Americans are now on sale.
Adults $10
Seniors (62+) / Students (with valid ID) $8
Children under 12 FREE
Members FREE

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

DC Black Pride 2010 (20th Annual Celebration)
A 5-Part Pictorial
From May, 29th - 31st, 2010

Hey African Family,

I apologize for being so late with DC Black Pride pictures. I just had so many pictures from other events to shoot and go through as well as my own life drama and depressions.

So, there are a LOTTA, LOTTA pics broken up into 5 parts.

Have FUN looking...

All Photography

DC Black Pride 2010 (20th Annual)
Part I:
Remembering Our African Soldiers & Ancestors

This Monument Is Really Beautiful
And Located At The Metro Train Stop
U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo

As We Were Leaving After Observing The Civil War Monument
My Friend Ernest Pointed Out
How Beautiful The Spiritual Head
At The Top Of The Monument Was...

... I Looked Back And Realized
I Had Taken So Many Picture Angles Of The Monument
And I Just Didn't See The Spiritual Head.
And I've Visited This Monument More Than Once,
And It Amazes Me How I Simply Just Didn't Look UP...

Peaceful... And Beautifully Sculptured.
I'd Like To Meet The Person
Who Brain-stormed And Sculptured.
It Really, Really Speaks To Me Intrinsically In A
Peaceful Enchanted Way

DC Black Pride 2010 (20th Annual)
Part II:
The FlavaMen Pool Party
(@ The Washington Plaza Hotel)

A had mixed emotions about this party, because my friends and I got there, we asked these two bruthaz their impressions and it was a basic "okay, I guess" answer, "but upstairs is really nice".

It was strange because we saw white folks with their kids on one side of the pool, and then you had this sea of chocolate Black men on the other side of the pool. LOL! And YES, it looked very segregated and the unspoken "uncomfort" was there.

See, basically, the concept of a pool party was a great one, but FlavaMen (the promoters) shouldn't have had the party at a hotel which theoretically is a public establishment. There was no way the hotel management could tell paying hotel customers they couldn't use the pool which s one of the perks of the hotel.

Anyway, FlavaMen did rent out this big room which was just one spiral staircase floor away from where the pool was. This was the saving grace of the pool party. There were cute ass boyz everywhere and bangin' music inside (hip-hop, though I'm not big on it) and there was a ca$h bar inside. We got treated to a body contest, and of course, New York won! LOL! LOL!

As the late afternoon to evening went on, it got less white by the ppol and more Black, but there wasn't too many bruthaz in the ppol at all. Mostly bruthaz were chattin' and stayin' cool under the giant umbrellas, chillin' on the balcony or inside the room dancin' to tunes and gettin' their drink on.

It was a decent if uneven experience...

Flavamen's DeAngelo Jackson

Da Body Contest

A Rapper Giving A Performance

Flavamen's DeAngelo Jackson Was Qool People
And Let Me Take His Picture...
This Brutha Is So Phuckin' Phyne!!!

DC Black Pride 2010 (20th Annual)
Part III:
Fashion & Entertainment Extravaganza
(@ The Sphinx)

And Now Your Fashion Show Host... Rayceen Pendarvis! LOL!

Pictured Left To Right:
Fashion Show Co-Hosts Buttafly Soul And Rayceen Pendarvis

Very Sexy Brutha!
Has A Brooklyn (aka "BK") Homey Look To Him

This Brutha Was Workin' The Show.
I'd Sure LOVE to Meet Him.
Anyone Know His Name?
(A Year Later He Contacted Me! LOL!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I INtorduce You To:
Model Jorge Lander) Smiley Teeth.gif

This Brutha (Model Jorge Lander)
Was Hands Down My Favorite Model At This Event.
He Gave You A Sense oF Masculinity In One Moment
And Then Some Femininity The Next Moment.
Really Cute & Phyne Ass Brutha...
Reminds Me Of Usher A Little Bit
[Click Jorge's Name Above To See His
Webpage Portfolio And Show Your Love]

Priceless...!

This Brutha Was Sexy...
And Yet Ultra-Freaky In a Bad (Not A Good Way).
Nice Body But The Outfit (Head Gear) Gave Me The Creeps...

...Still... Worthy Of Photographing...

...I Guess Darth Vader Would Be Proud

Awwwwwwwww....

...Now That's Same Gender Love (SGL)!!!

Givin' Out Da Dolla Bill$...

I LOVE IT!

So Romantic...

...Same Gender Love (SGL)!

DC Black Pride 2010 (20th Annual)
Part IV:
A Day Of FUN Around Washington, DC

The Spot That I Always Like To Go To
When I Come To Washington, DC...

Eastern Market!!

My Friend Ernest Trying On A Pair Of Shades
At Eastern Market

Ernest, My Hang Out Buddy,
And I Wound Up On The Other Side Of Town.
We Read About FlavaMen's Other Event,
The Rooftop Barbecue/Pool Party
On The Rooftop Of The Onyx Condominium Building.
Unfortunately That Event Got Canceled,
So FlavaMen's Track Record With Pool Parties
Leaves a Lot To Be Desired...

So Down The Block Was The Baseball Stadium
So We Went By To See The Outside Of It

The Washington Convention Center
Where Vendors And Various Entertainment Went On.
There Was Even An Inflatable Play Thingy For Kids, Too!

I LOVE Painted Art Murals Of The African Experience
So I Took Some Pictures.
(I Did The Same Thing Just 2 Weeks Prior In Philadelphia, Too!)

On Monday We Stopped Off At
Bus Boys And Poets At 14th Street & V Street.
Man, I LOVE The Mojitos There!
I Haven't Had One Here in 3 Years!

The Art On The Walls Are Always Amazing To Look At.

Bus Boys And Poets As Well As Eatonville
Which Is Across The Street
Are Both Owned By This Black Brutha
Who We Got To Meet At Eatonville
When We Had Dinner The Night Before.

DC Black Pride 2010 (20th Annual)
Part V:
Us Helping Us
Presents
Picnic In The Park
(@ Fort Dupont Park)

A Got To Play A Little Volleyball Myself
And Then Took These Pics Later On

I Kept Calling This Brutha "Diesel"
For Obvious Reasons! LOL!

Brutha Antoine Agreed To Let Me Take His Picture

Sexy Undies... I Have a Fetish For Men's Undies!

Thanks For The Pics, Antoine!

Kids Playing And Having FUN At Da Park!

This Sistah Was Too Much!
She Was Funny And Qool People!

Your Host Rayceen Pendarvis
Was Good With The Kids And Acknowledging Them
At Da Park!

A Group Of Bruthaz Chillin' Together

This Sistah Carried It Pretty FIERCELY!!

She's Too FIERCE!!

Standin' With His Man...
So Affirming!

Nice To See A Comfort Of LOVE

Brutha Is Nice!

A Very Nice Turn Out For Us Helping Us'
First Time Picnic Event For DC Black Pride

The Picnic Coming To A Close...

Host Rayceen Pendarvis Is FUNNY And Off Da Chain...

...A Light And Funny Moment As She Travels Around
In A Police Car On The Loud Speaker
Letting Folks Know We Have To Exit The Park
At 7:00PM And That No Know Should Be In The Bushes
Doin' You Know What... LOL!