SIDEWAYS EIGHT PROJECTS

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Monday, June 19th, 2023 – 6:30PM – Shim’s

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INSPIRATIONAL / INFORMATIVE QUOTES

“I catch the pattern

Of your silence

Before you speak.

I do not need

To hear a word

In your silence

Every tone I seek

Is heard.”

— Langston Hughes, “Silence”

“If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem.”

— Coretta Scott King



“Words of Emancipation didn’t arrive until the middle of June so they called it Juneteenth. So that was it, the night of Juneteenth celebration, his mind went on. The celebration of a gaudy illusion.”

— Ralph Ellison, Juneteenth

“Emancipation wasn’t a gift bestowed on the slaves; it was something they took for themselves, the culmination of their long struggle for freedom, which began as soon as chattel slavery was established in the 17th century, and gained even greater steam with the Revolution and the birth of a country committed, at least rhetorically, to freedom and equality. In fighting that struggle, black Americans would open up new vistas of democratic possibility for the entire country.”

— Jamelle Bouie

“Studying the blueprints of liberation, one can map out the ways we as The Global African Diaspora have continued to resist and exist under regimes of antiBlack terror. Since the development of racial capitalism, the use of African peoples as capital, our ancestors have always fought for freedom. Our history doesn’t begin with slavery, but our future depends on us ending the mechanisms of it. Juneteenth is an extension of that abolitionist spirit where we march forth in reflection of the struggle.” — Brandon Gonzalez

“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”

— Toni Morrison

“You must never, ever give out. We must keep the faith because we are one people. We are brothers and sisters. We all live in the same house: The American house.”

— John Lewis

“What I love about #Juneteenth is that even in that extended wait, we still find something to celebrate. Even though the story has never been tidy, and Black folks have had to march and fight for every inch of our freedom, our story is nonetheless one of progress.”

— Michelle Obama



“If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle, then damn it, you don’t deserve to win.” — Fred Hampton

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

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10 Best Poems to Read on Juneteenth

https://poemanalysis.com/best-poems/juneteenth/

Best Poems to Read for Juneteenth

• 1 Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

• 2 I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

• 3 Primer For Blacks by Gwendolyn Brooks

• 4 won’t you celebrate with me by Lucille Clifton

• 5 Rosa Parks by Nikki Giovanni

• 6 Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

• 7 Lineage by Margaret Walker

• 8 Harriet Beecher Stowe by Paul Laurence Dunbar

• 9 Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall

• 10 C.R.E.A.M. by Danez Smith

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FOR ADDITIONAL READING / VIEWING

Juneteenth History

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

Why all Americans should honor Juneteenth

Juneteenth is now a National holiday

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/juneteenth-is-now-a-national-holiday-how-did-it-come-to-pass

Kevin Garnett Hoop It Up Tournament

https://bnc.tv/kevin-garnett-hoop-it-up-juneteenth-tournament/?fbclid=IwAR3yW2uU3wK7u_KO-a8Ynv_sitFT13W8DV0MILWIPXCk6qcunYf9neCuCGA

Juneteenth : Celebration of Resilience

https://nmaahc.si.edu/events/juneteenth

Celebrating Juneteenth

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/16/1007047511/rising-sun-music-project-reveals-the-legacy-of-americas-black-concert-music

Gregory Pardio – A letter to Juneteenth

Gregory Pardlo: A Letter to Juneteenth

A Brief History of Juneteenth

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth

Juneteenth Worldwide Celebration

Home

A Native American Perspective on Juneteenth

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2020/06/a-native-american-perspective-on-juneteenth.html

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Pieces to share by JJZ

106 Miles

Jubilee

Friction versus Freedom

Rudy Francisco – Scars/To the new boyfriend

Rudy Francisco – Chameleon

Rudy Francisco – Your God

Rudy Francisco – My Honest Poem

Rudy Francisco – A lot like you

“SIX” QUOTES

“It is said that the gods play games with the lives of men. But what games, and why, and the identities of the actual pawns, and what the game is, and what the rules are – who knows?

Best not to speculate.

Thunder rolled…

It rolled a six.”

— Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch, #1)

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

— Oscar Wilde

“Whether you stay six weeks, six months or six years, always leave it better than you found it.”

— Jim Rohn

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

— Abraham Lincoln

“I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again.”

— Joan Rivers


“Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.”

— Andy Rooney


“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

— Lewis Carroll

“Show me a man or a woman alone and I’ll show you a saint. Give me two and they’ll fall in love. Give me three and they’ll invent the charming thing we call ‘society’. Give me four and they’ll build a pyramid. Give me five and they’ll make one an outcast. Give me six and they’ll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they’ll reinvent warfare. Man may have been made in the image of God, but human society was made in the image of His opposite number, and is always trying to get back home.”

— Stephen King


“With knot of one, the spell’s begun. With knot of two, the spell be true. With knot of three, the spell is free. With knot of four, the power is stored. With knot of five, the spell with thrive. With knot of six, this spell I fix.”

— Deborah Harkness


“One who doesn’t throw the dice can never expect to score a six.”

—Navjot Singh Sidhu


“I see my large nose, like half an avocado. I broke it falling downstairs when I was six, and it now resembles a large blob of play-dough.”

— Arthur Smith

“Peace begins when you let go of the

inner pain from deep within”

— Roger Lee

MISOPHONIA

A strong reaction to specific sounds.

Misophonia may cause a reaction to sounds such as dripping water, chewing, snapping gum, or repetitive noises, such as pencil tapping.

https://www.neurologylive.com/view/misophonia-triggers-management#

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/misophonia-sounds-really-make-crazy-2017042111534

MEMORIAL DAY

Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day[1]) is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.[2] From 1868 to 1970, it was observed on May 30.[3] Since 1970, it is observed on the last Monday of May.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day#:~:text=Memorial%20Day%20(originally%20known%20as,the%20last%20Monday%20of%20May.

Writing Exercise: A Sense of Color

https://www.designpoolpatterns.com/learn-about-color/

4 Quick and Creative Color Theory Activities

https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/community-building/

1. What did I do in preparation for this evening? 2. What will I do in preparation for tomorrow’s tasks and activities?

3. What elements would I feature in my own BIO? 4. What aspects of me as an individual are unique?

5. What do I bring to the table in a community?

6. What am I looking to get from the table in community?

Introduction

Caught up in facts and figure’s commenting on carrying a new brand to peak,

the preorder for a lesser known band you find unique,

or a philosophy prof’s understanding of the meek,

I know for some it’s only Monday night

but it’s already been a demanding week.

The overwhelmingly world sometimes makes it too difficult stand and speak when heavy hearts and hands are weak.

Leave your worries on west third and be present for Brandon Leake

BIOGRAPHY

Brandon Leake is an Award-Winning Spoken Word Poet, Artistic Educator, and Motivational Speaker from Stockton, Ca. His creative mixture of art, charisma, and passion tailored to his own unique personal narrative has taken him across the world as a speaker and performer. Performing in locations such as New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and 36 states around the country for his, “Dark Side Tour” which promotes his first ever published poetry chapbook and his then crown jewel “Deficiencies: A Tale From My Dark Side” an album rooted in transparency and healing (2018)

Brandon is also the founder and CEO of Called To Move – CTM an artistry organization with the pursuit of aiding youth in self-actualizing and personally developing through the art of poetry. This pursuit has led to Brandon leading workshops around the world with several curriculums he has developed himself, and in particular teaching youth in his hometown of Stockton, Ca.

Leake’s Family Affair aired as a CW special featuring several original spoken word poems about his family, including tributes to his mother and his late sister. The poet submitted his work for Grammy consideration.

“This album is a hallmark seal on one of Spoken Word Poetry’s most defining moments, the first nationally televised solo spoken word special,” Leake wrote. “This album is a commemoration of this iconic moment and just how far spoken word not only has come but still has to go.”

Leake’s previous album with Black Chakra, titled Level, was under consideration for a grammy the year before as well.

Brandon Leake was nominated for a Emmy for his 2:12 long spoken word piece commemorating the Golden State Warriors 75th anniversary as a basketball franchise in the NBA

Oh, and yes he is also the season 15 winner of America’s Got Talent.

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Golden State Warriors – 75th Anniversary

Spoken Word Piece (2:12)

Blowing Smoke Podcast

Season 10 Episode 3 (1hr. 30min.)

Brandon Leake | Emmy Nominated, America’s Got Talent Winner, Poetic Genius Speaks Volumes | S10E03

America’s Got Talent

Season 15 Winner – Brandon Leake

All Performances (24min. 30sec.)

Brandon Leake

Performance on Ellen DeGeneres

Tribute to Breonna Taylor (

https://fb.watch/kfV4BGf_Iw/?mibextid=l2pjGR

Brandon Leake

Performance on Ellen DeGeneres

“The Secret life of Teachers”

https://fb.watch/kfUVXUXFtk/?mibextid=l2pjGR

Collective Breath – Poetry Book Club

March 6th, 2023

March Spotlight on Steven Antoine Willis

Bio From:

https://www.stevenwillispoetry.com/bio

BORN AND RAISED IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS…

STORYTELLER STEVEN ANTOINE WILLIS USES HIS POETIC AND THEATRICAL BACKGROUND TO EMBARK ON THE DAUNTING TASK OF CREATIVELY ARTICULATING AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE.WITH ART HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY URBAN LIFE AND RELIGION, STEVEN MIXES ELEMENTS OF HIP HOP POETICS AND THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE WITH FORMAL TEACHINGS OF ANTHROPOLOGY, AND POLITICAL THEROY TO HELP EXPRESS HIS ECLECTIC PERSONAL NARRATIVE. WILLIS IS A CONTRIBUTING WRITER TO THE BREAKBEAT POETS ANTHOLOGY, NYU’S NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TEACHER OF ENGLISH JOURNAL, IS A 3 TIME INDIVIDUAL WORLD POETRY SLAM FINALIST AND FORMER RESIDENT POET OF THE NUYORICAN POETS CAFE. WILLIS RECEIVED HIS MFA IN ACTING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA IN 2021. HE CURRENTLY ATTENDS IOWA WRITERS WORKSHOP FOR POETRY.HIS FIRST FULL POETRY COLLECTION APECULIAR PEOPLE WAS REALSED WITH BUTTON POETRY IN 2022

Selected Videos:

Steven Willis – “Ode to the Boys Who Die to Make Hip Hop Happen”

https://fb.watch/j52FSpgDHB/?mibextid=v7YzmG

Steven Willis – “The First Time a Man Attempts to Fight His Father”

https://fb.watch/j53r5PhqPd/?mibextid=v7YzmG

Exodus 20:12 KJV by Steven Willis

https://www.pw.org/content/exodus_2012_kjv_by_steven_willis