blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

thank you public enemy, and the forever telling truth-sayer, Chuck Dee. 

A's film list, vesterbro, copenhagen

My mom just informed me that Dr. Tony Martin has passed away. You can click on the link if you want to know about him and his professional life. He was a controversial figure. I'll share with you my personal story with him. Dr. Tony Martin is originally from Trinidad and was a Garvey-enthusiast. He made it is his life purpose to keep the ideas of Marcus Garvey alive. I was only about 13 when I received my first copy of the biography he had written on Garvey and also a reprint (that Dr. Martin made available) of Marcus Garvey's teachings. This work really made an impact on me. First of all, let me tell  you that when I was 10 years old and went to live in Trinidad and Tobago with my grandparents, I was able to witness something that many of my Black friends in Brooklyn wouldn't get to witness for another 35 years or so. See, in Trinidad, we had a Black Prime Minister. When I saw, with my own two eyes, that there were people of color, around the world, leading cou...

it's a wonderful affair when you realize that the life that you wish for, is indeed the life that you have. enjoy your day spiritual soldiers...

make art with what you got--bandit queen press One of the missions that Bandit Queen Press has always held is that of giving young people a space to publish. Publishing to me has always been about having a dialogue between difference. The whole beauty of picking up a book is to be transported to another place, another experience, which is why the way in which modern publishing is set up really gets to me. The reason publishing looks the way it does, is because we have allowed it to reflect a power structure that, well, let's face it, isn't working. Anyway, books can be portals to compassion. A way of putting yourself in other's shoes and empathizing with that person/character. Literature can be powerful, revolutionary even, in this way. When I started teaching at my current job, there were a few students who caught my attention. One was D. D has always been this kid with an old soul. I distinctly remember when he started at that school. I was a substitute there a...

I'm an avid knitter and crocheter. I had always wanted to learn how to knit and crochet, but never made the time and was never blessed to come across anyone to teach me, until I met my son's grandmother. Learning to knit and crochet definitely has increased the quality of my life. It is the best therapy and allows me to channel my creative energy whenever I'm at home, at work, or even on the metro. Every year I teach my grade 5 classes how to knit and it is something, like gardening, that the girls and the boys both enjoy. One of the delights I have had the pleasure to indulge in is having hand-knit socks from my son's Great Grandmother. My intention is learn how to knit my own socks this year. But anyway, one of the skills I believe we will all have to get more acquainted with is doing things ourselves. One of the skills that come in handy is knowing how to darn your own socks. This post is for all you Do-it-yourselfers or soon to be DIY'er. These are new tim...

passed on from  Sustainable Queens

RIP Lucille Hardison, August 31st, 1942-January 2, 2013 A Going Home Song  &   a Poem for Priscilla    (In celebration of Lucille Hardison and the Spirit of the African American Woman) By Lesley-Ann Brown We survive Because of  You. Knowing how to Make ends meet From nothing … To Something. That is the magic That is you. When did your Journey begin? Was it with the Coming of Ancestors, Across the Atlantic The panic The sorrow thick like Syrup in Blood.? Or was it In fields South Where Memories   Erased-- Fate?   Ancestors whispered In your Ear-- Ancestors Is why we are Here. Your spirit Fought And protected-- A Legacy Always Respected. Teaching children love By being there. (Your soul Navigated a System, Not Designed   For Black women.) But still your Rose up And so, We Rise Up. Women, m...

I was really thrilled to receive my copy of Slouching Towards Sirte: NATO's War on Libya and Africa by Maximilian Forte (which I will review upon my completion of reading it). It's definitely the stuff that does not make it on the news.  More on this book later.

city bird eats french fry while city awakes, the lab cph, dk 2010 the bird says: what a scent,  what a sun,  spring has arrived and i long for my mate. then, like a message away flew the bird from the window ledge. the bird was little.  the bird didn't think.  the bird didn't read newspapers.  the bird wasn't in debt.  the bird didn't know people.  it just flew in the air at the height of bliss way above traffic lights experiencing blue moments  passionately.  the bird, ah, was just a bird.  forugh farokhzad translated by h. habibian 

One of my favourite underground publications is back! Check it out. Ultraviolet Underground has been manifesting positive thought for quite some time now.   Open publication - Free publishing - More 2012