Happy Birthday, Malcolm !

Happy Birthday, Malcolm.  The following is a link to one of my favorite parts of Spike Lee's Malcolm X movie.   It's of Malcolm's Letter From Mecca.  Enjoy. Learn. Remember.

Philly's French Connection Continues- PA Ballet and Le Bec-Fin Present Evenings of French Elegance

Sorry for the long silence. I have been creating DNA models and writinng comparative essays on  Macbeth.

Our city just concluded its first Philadelphia International Arts Festival and many of its events were French-themed. Philadelphia and France have a long history and this relationship has only grown. Here are a few of my favorite places with a French Connection:



1. Avril 50 is a very quaint, very European shop where you can buy newspapers and magazines from around the world. I buy my French language magazines from here, particularly those with a focus on Africa.

Avril50
3406 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-222-6108


2. When I first returned to Philadelphia from Cote d’Ivoire, I took French classes at Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie to maintain my French. It was so much fun and my instructor was from Cameroon. She was vey familiar with where I had come from and she was so helpful with my transition to my new home. Alliance Francaise has maintained its presence in Philadelphia since 1903 and offers a wide range of courses from conversational classes to specialized French courses in literature and history to name a few. They also plan fun events for Bastille Day. And its cost is so affordable!


Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie
1420 Walnut Street #700
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 735-5283


3. Also, when I first relocated to Philadelphia, my mother tried to get me and my brother into the French International School of Philadelphia. She really wanted us to maintain our French, but our going there wasn’t in the cards. You know me by now,I am always partial to any place where languages flourish.


The French International School
150 North Highland Avenue
Lower Merion, PA 19066
(610) 667-1284

I am in a French kind of mood, too, because the Pennsylvania Ballet will present as its season finale La Fille Mal Gardée. Not only can you see a great ballet, but you can participate in a package deal where you begin the evening eating a four-course meal at the legendary French restaurant Le Bec-Fin. I have always wanted to eat there, but it was a bit too pricey for my family’s budget. Not now. This package deal is doable and a fun treat us girls, our moms and aunties. This artsy combo is only available for the June 2nd and June 10th performances. For more information about planning your evening of French fun call 215-587-6921 or email abackman@paballet.org
Bon Appétit !

For more information about the Pennsylvania Ballet's production of La Fille Mal Gardée, visit http://www.paballet.org/program_V_1011.html

A Shout Out To My Mom-Where My Birthmark Dances by Octavia McBride-Ahebee

Hanging Terrance Hayes' Carp Poem

This is my mom hanging up one of our poetry butterflies



I am large. I contain multitudes.  Walt Whitman looks magnificent.



Our butterflies before hanging.



Last Friday, I went to the Paul Robeson House for a poetry event.  While I was there, I saw the son of a local poet-KWW.  This boy was about 10 and very commanding.  He was video-recording the event. I have literally observed his growth from the time he was about 2, until now, and always in the company of poets.  I was thinking, though I was five years older than he, how so similar we are and how blessed we are to have been dragged to bookstores, art galleries, playhouses, open houses, backyards, parks and every conceivable venue by our mothers to hear their poetic voices and those of their peers.  I’ve learned first hand, with a front-row seat how wordsmithing saves lives, keeps insanity at bay and gives you a life mission. I grew up, to paraphrase a Ntozake  Shange poem, in the company of people whose poetry added some humanity to our world.

Above are photos of me and my mother, Octavia McBride-Ahebee, hanging the poetry butterflies in our cherry trees that we made yesterday to celebrate Poetry Month.  The butterflies are filled with poems by Terrance Hayes, Nikki Givonnai, Derek Walcott and Walt Whitman to name a few. We sat on the patio, wearing our afghans, and watched for the reactions from our community members to our poetry butterflies. We watched a woman pushing what looked liked two weeks of laundry, followed by her crew of babies, stop and laugh before one of our butterflies. She laughed because she remembered Nikki and Ego Tripping and she stood there and read to her children, with attitude and all.  That alone has made our year and given us enough magic to be so generous.

My mom’s second collection of poetry, Where My Birthmark Dances, is coming out in July and will be published by Finishing Line Press.   I am so proud to share that I did the artwork for the cover.  I know every poem in this book.  I have imagined the frustration of a Haitian father selling his body to buy food for his family.  I have imagined the urgency of  Opportune, a child, whose mother has left her to work as a nanny in the US and  Opportune’s  plea to the wealthy children now being cared for by her mother that they love this mother in her absence.  I know the haughtiness of a young Ivorian girl bragging to her new American classmates about the combs she had, in Abidjan, with names and stories that prepared you for the day.

Where My Birthmark Dances is an emotional trip and one that will carry you to a place where you will think and act.  Order the book today.  It comes out July 23, but ordering now determines the number of books printed during its pressrun. Simply click on the link below the photo of my mom and the book  and then scroll down and order.

Here’s a poem from the collection that I find so haunting.

Deliver Me From The Hands of Strange Children

By Octavia McBride-Ahebee

On the Day of the Dead,

On the day we plead on their behalf,

he *naked me,

stripped my body

in front of carved saints, elegantly stoic

cloistered in their own uselessness

he naked me

in front of bands of soldier boys, spellbound and spoiled,

wearing their sisters' dresses and their mothers' wigs

their necks encased in feather boas and forest paint

their waists jeweled with the feces of Cold War arsenals

in a church garden wild with perfume

under a bush plum tree

the kind we make our Christmas pudding from

he naked me

he naked me

as I quietly pleaded to the holy queen

as he told me her ears were stuffed with cassava leaves

and her son's many failures

as he pissed his discontent in my face

he laid me beneath a neighboring mango tree

magnificent in its promise to shield

and he used a bayonet like a crochet hook

pushing through my vagina

in search of hidden bounty

in search of buried cell phones and soiled cash

pulling from its walls only prayer beads

christened by frightened menses

for such a gross disappointment

he placed mary's head

machete-sharpened and faceless

in there instead

       -end-

*Naked, used as a verb, is a Liberian description of the military tactic employed by boy soldiers in which they stripped civilians, particularly women, of their clothing as a means of humiliation.



http://www.finishinglinepress.com/NewReleasesandForthcomingTitles.htm



A Shining Moment; The Freedom Riders



Painting By Charlotta Jansen

I was just about to kick myself because I missed the January deadline to be able to participate and follow the route, both physically and emotionally, of the Freedom Riders. But you had to be a college student to be considered and I'm still in high school. As part of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders, PBS is doing something big and meaningful. This is what its program American Experience is doing: “In May 2011, forty college students will embark on a journey retracing the route of the original 1961 Freedom Rides and beginning an important national conversation about the role of civic engagement today. The ten-day, all-expenses-paid trip is a unique opportunity for college students who are committed to learning from history and to applying those lessons today.” American Experience selected college students with a broad range of backgrounds– lending diverse voices to the journey. Students will share their experiences and learn from their peers, from pioneers in the civil rights movement, and from today’s civic leaders. "

Who were the Freedom Riders? Get ready to learn some Constitutional Law. "Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 (1960) was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The case overturned a judgment convicting an African American law student for trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal which was "whites only." It held that racial segregation in public transportation was illegal because such segregation violated the Interstate Commerce Act, which broadly forbade discrimination in interstate passenger transportation. It moreover held that bus transportation was sufficiently related to interstate commerce to allow the United States Federal government to regulate it to forbid racial discrimination in the industry. The majority opinion was written by Justice Hugo Black.

The significance of Boynton was not so much in its holding — it managed to avoid deciding any Constitutional questions in its decision, and its expansive reading of Federal powers regarding interstate commerce was also well established by the time of the decision — but the outlawing of racial segregation in public transportation led to a movement called the Freedom Rides, in which African Americans and whites together rode various forms of public transportation in the South to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation." ( Source Wikipedia).

So look out for events celebrating this movement and honoring these brave and conscientious YOUNG Americans.

Here's the link to follow this amazing project.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/index.php/tag/media/348

An American in Paris-Mona R. Washington

My aunt, Mona R. Washington, is an amazing playwright. If any of you are in Paris this weekend, then you can catch a presentation of her one-act play- Woolite. Here’s the info:

Sunday-March 27th 2011
7:30 p.m.
Carr’s Pub and Restaurant
1 rue du Mont Thabor
75001 Paris
Metro: Tuileries

This past fall, Tantie Mona had a residency at the Jack Kerouac House in Florida. The above drawings are by Thomas Thorspecken who drew her while she was working and during one of her readings. Here’s an interview to learn more about my aunt. I am so proud!!

http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blogs/five-questions-formona?xg_source=facebook

*Give the gift of history-Sages from the Past Greeting Cards. You can buy them online or just have a look at http://www.zazzle.com/28pokou4*


My Sages from the Past greeting cards are also available at

1. VIX Emporium
5009 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143 - (215) 471-7700
Open Tue-Thu 12pm-7pm; Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 11am-6pm

2. National Liberty Museum
321 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-2800

Scholarships for College

As you know, last week I made my annual trek to Bright Hope Baptist Church to see and hear the amazing Morehouse College Glee Club. Not only were they fabulous, but they always provide a tangible example of successful young people in college. If you are a senior in high school and planning on attending college here are some local(Philadelphia)scholarships you can apply for. Make your dream happen!!!

http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/RR/jp/RRjpCBECyOpxfrppko5dtQ/Local-Scholarships-1.pdf

Vintage Photo: 1921 Graduating Class of Straight

College in New Orleans

Ikenna Azuike and What's Up Africa

I’m a fan now. Check out Ikenna Azuike and his weekly radio blog What’s Up Africa. He’s young, he’s tongue and cheek, he’s irreverent and you’re going to love his style of reporting. Click the link and have a great day. Spring break starts tomorrow. Hooray!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/IkennaAzuike

Sussan Deyhim Will Sing at the Kimmel Center

If you are a regular reader, you how much I enjoy learning about Iranian culture and history. After reading Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, I was hooked and open to learning even more about Iran in particular and Middle Eastern cultures in general. I just learned that the Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim will be performing in one of the programs sponsored by the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, which runs from April 7-May 1, 2011.

Ms. Deyhim, who has lived in the States since 1980, is an activist, composer and vocalist whose voice belongs to the heavens. Billboard Magazine describes Deyhim as "an overpowering presence...[whose] wordless incantations are amplified in harmonized layers and recycled into sampled loops, beckoning you into this virtual desert ritual" and the New York Times said that her "thrilling music...sounds in the ear long after you've left the show." Just listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtiGPUFVqD8&NR=1

She will appear at the Kimmel Center on April 24, 2011. Here’s a link to more information about this event..
http://kimmelcenter.org/events/?id=3765

And here’s a link to the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts’ performance schedule.

http://kimmelcenter.org/events/pifa-kcp.php

Photos-Larry Barns

A Wish for Peace- Cote d'Ivoire

My father was driving in Abidjan very late one night and ran a red light. A policeman saw him go through the light and followed my father and indicated he should stop. My father apologized and asked the police officer to give him a break. This was during a politically charged time in Cote d’Ivoire. At this time, in 2000, Alassane Ouattara, a Muslim, was trying to get on the ballot to run for President of Cote d’Ivoire. Many people opposed this for a variety of reasons. My father, who was Christian and Baoule- the ethnic group that had dominated Ivorian politics since independence and many of its members had opposed Mr. Ouattara’ candidacy. My father gave the police officer his driver’s license and other requested paperwork.

This police officer, who was Muslim, and most likely a supporter of Mr. Ouattara, recognized immediately from my father’s name that he was Baoule and commented on this fact. The police officer said he would give my father a break and not give him a ticket if he answered this question correctly, “Who should be our next president?” My father said the person who should be our next president is one who would make him and the police officer remember that they were brothers. The police officer laughed and said, “ Brother go on.”

I wish Cote d’Ivoire peace as my father did. Give a listen to one of Cote d’Ivoire’s greatest musicians and my former neighbor -Alpha Blondy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lx4Wsw_VxU&feature=related

Morehouse College Glee Club Comes to Philly;Happy 100th Anniversary

Bottom Photo-Morehouse Glee Club/1911

I am so lucky or should I say blessed to have some many Morehouse men in my life. Their example continues to serve me well. If you want to be wowed , and I mean wowed, by the splendor, by the talent , by the awesome image of so many Black brothers singing their hearts out, them come tomorrow-Thursday, March 17th- for the Morehouse College Glee Club’s annual concert in Philadelphia. Plus, this year marks the 100th anniversary of this singing group. This is an event not to be missed. The Morehouse College Glee Club is Morehouse’s number one recruiting tool. You go and invite some other young people.

The glee club's musical repertoire includes Negro Spirituals, traditional hymns, classical pieces, but the song that always brings the house down is Betelemu which is a Nigerian song and the Morehouse Glee Club sings it in Yoruba, accompanied by drums. Below is a video of the choir singing this very song. Click on the link, but remember this video doesn’t compare to hearing and seeing them in person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOMPfb4uyX0&feature=related

This concert is sponsored by the Morehouse College Alumni Association/Philadelphia Chapter.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

7:00 P.M.
Morehouse College Glee Club
Bright Hope Baptist Church
1601 North 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122

For more information, contact Sid Holmes at : sidholmes@hotmail.com
Tickets can be bought at the door. Adults-$20.00 Children-$10.00



Don’t forget to check out my greeting card line-Sages From the Past. Give the gift of history! You can buy them online at http://www.zazzle.com/28pokou4*

My Sages from the Past greeting cards are also available at :

1. VIX Emporium
5009 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143 - (215) 471-7700
Open Tue-Thu 12pm-7pm; Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 11am-6pm

2. National Liberty Museum
321 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-2800