Black Women Rock

Black Women Rock! Debuts in Detroit at the Charles H. Wright Museum


DETROIT – February 23, 2010 – Renowned poet, writer and performer jessica Care moore and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History present Black Women Rock! A Tribute to Betty Davis, a multi-media live music concert, dialogue and master class to take place the weekend of March 27th and 28th.

In 2005, Care moore produced Black Women Rock! A Tribute to Rock Icon Betty Davis in conjunction with The National Black Arts Festival to showcase young, independent women artists of color who made a living as composers, guitarists, vocalists, producers and arts educators in the genre of Rock and Roll. These contemporary artists defy the stereotype of what a rock and roll artist looks and sounds like, and are the spiritual descendents of Betty Davis, Tina Turner, Nona Hendrix, Patti Labelle Maxanne, and Janis Joplin. These trailblazing pioneers have spent their careers fighting biases and breaking down barriers of image, politics and sexuality in the music industry.


“This event will celebrate their music and inspire young women to not just be a “part” of the music industry, but to build an institution around their work,” says Care moore.


On Saturday, March 27th at 8 pm, Black Women Rock! premieres in Detroit at the Charles H. Wright Museum with full band performances by Imani Uzuri, Tamar Kali, Steffanie Christi'an, and jessica Care moore. On Sunday, March 28th at 1 pm, Care moore and Piper Carter will lead an intimate conversation with local greats such as Monica Blaire for aspiring female musicians who write, play or sing music. As curator, jessica Care moore is excited to introduce these strong, feminine voices to the city of Detroit.

“I’ve known these artists for years. Imani Uzuri is our Nina Simone, our Bessie Smith and she’s performed all over the world. Steffanie Christi’an is a powerhouse vocalist who still lives here! It’s important for young girls to know these women exist, and to teach them how they can have successful music careers and write their own terms; in effect, define their destiny in life.”


The night will also feature a collection of women in history from The Black History 101 Mobile Museum, the Museums rotunda will display an original art exhibition created by NY based painter, Renaldo Davidson who will also be in attendance. Chicago’s Marcia Jones and Detroit artist, Sabrina Nelson will provide live art both days. Sounds provided by DJ Chaka Rae. The event will be live streamed around the world courtesy of Mind Mobile Mafia.


Both events are FREE and open to the public. For more information, please call (313) 494-5800 or jessica Care moore: direct: 313 974 5111 or detroitbutterfly@gmail.com.












Who is Betty Davis?
A wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals three decades after her debut, Betty Davis combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futuristic fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis, her husband for a year. It's easy to imagine the snickers when a 23-year-old model married a famous musician twice her age, but Davis was no gold digger; she turned Miles onto Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, providing the spark that led to his musical reinvention on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, then proved her own talents with a trio of sizzling mid-'70s solo LPs.

jessica Care moore
An internationally renowned poet, publisher, literary activist, performance artist, playwright and actor, jessica is a five-time Showtime at the Apollo winner. She was featured on hip-hop mega-star, Nas' "Nastradamus" album, and is a returning star of Russell Simmons’ HBO Series, Def Poetry Jam. jessica has been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Blaze, Source, and Vibe.

Imani Uzuri
Frequently compared to artists like Grace Jones and Nina Simone, vocalist/composer/performer Imani Uzuri has collaborated with Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Talib Kweli, and Sly and Robbie; performed on "David Letterman" with Peter Gabriel; and appeared at venues such as Central Park Summerstage, Barbican Center and ICA (London), Le Lieu Unique (France), World Festival of Sacred Music (Japan), The United Nations, Apollo Theater, Kazan Live Festival (Russia/Tatarstan) and Festival d’Essaouira (Morocco).

Steffanie Christi’an
Fusing the musical influence of such greats as Janis Joplin, Prince, Bob Marley and Tori Amos, Christi’an’s talents have been noticed by Eminem, Erykah Badu and Amp Fiddler. Steffanie is currently touring as a background vocalist and percussionist with Jocaine & 75 North, who have appeared with artists such as Uncle Kracker, Ty Herndon, Brett Micheals, Tantric, SheDaisy and country legend David Allen Coe.

Tamar-kali
Whether channeling Billie Holiday or Bad Brains, Brooklyn native and resident hardcore-soul queen Tamar-kali wields her pen and guitar with equal ferocity. This fiercely independent performer has graced the stages of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Lincoln Center.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MEDIA CONTACT:

April Woodard

Focal Point Media Group

(313) 623-3694

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Artist Imo Imeh in NYC

A good friend and big brother of mine, artist Imo Nse Imeh is being displayed in New York City. I met him during an open mic here in Detroit when the feature was another mutual friend of ours poet David Ragland. He was impressed with some of my poetry and I was invited to recite while at his art exhibit for the University of Toledo. Now he's in the display "Wearing Spirit". "Wearing Spirit" is a group show curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis in NYC, running March 11 - May 21, 2010. He is one of 25 artists featured in the show. His contribution was a large painting titled "Mechanisms in Uyai" (48 x 96 Inches, Mixed Media on Canvas). His work discusses the Ibibio philosophical and aesthetic traditions of seclusion and ritual fattening by way of the mbopo sorority. It describes the newfound post-seclusion identity of the "fattened bride" as icon.

Female-Artist-Scholar-Activist? What is That?

President's Dining Room, 7 p.m.-9:p.m.
The UDM Women and Gender Studies Program
presents : "Female-Artist-Scholar-Activist"? What is that?

Are academic culture and social activism incompatible? What motivates minority women artists and educators to spend their lives working for social justice? Why is there so little research available on the lives of such women? What strategies and inspirations can todays artists, activists, and educators draw from their experiences?

Aurora Harris will discuss these and other intriguing questions in a presentation drawn from her thesis, A Multicultural Exploration of Female Scholar-Activist Artists In Detroit, Michigan. This interview-based study examines the consciousness-shaping experiences and lives of Ms. Michele Gibbs (Russell), Ms. Lolita Hernandez, Dr. Gloria House, and Ms. Emily Lawsin--four minority women artists and educators deeply engaged in our local, national, and international struggles over race, gender, and class.

Ms. Harris's talk will be followed by a panel discussion with Ms. Hernandez, Dr. House, and Ms. Lawsin and an audience question-and-answer session. This event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. For more information contact Rosemary Weatherston, Co-Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program (weatherr@udmercy.edu / 313.993.1083).

About the Speaker:

Aurora Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan and is of African American Filipina heritage. She received a M.A. in Social Foundations of Education with a concentration in Cultural Studies from Eastern Michigan University and a B.A. in Sociology from Wayne State University. Ms Harris is an award winning, internationally known published poet, educator, mentor, and community worker. Her poetry regarding women, labor, jazz, African American and Filipino life appears in several poetry anthologies. Ms Harris serves as a Board member for Broadside Press and is the hostess of the Broadside Press Poets Theater at the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Journal Notes from meeting Ambassador to African Union

Back last May I had the pleasure of meeting the Ambassador to the African Union alongside my mentor. She was impressed because I was quite frankly the least qualified to be there,in a room of business representatives when we went around and introduced ourselves all I could say was I was a student and spoken word poet willing to do whatever possible to help our brothers from the homeland. I took notes of the whole speech and information she had for those present in my journal.I planned on writing about it and I haven't yet but I still plan to one day.I now share this journal entry of mine with you all here, and hopefully we can still find a way to help.

May 21st,2009

Several financial systems effect trade.
Immigration decision-Harmonize moving toward creating a federation,at least 19 members,creating a parliament,similar to a United States of Africa

goal-an African government,estabilishing trade partners,aquiring one united capital to move and facilitate trade

youth-high percentage of youth,the only continent with more youths than adults,presents employment challenges for the greatest asset young people,need sources and centers of excellence to aid them in modernizing Africa

Challenges-25% of the worlds global illness cases occur here,many children are orphaned by those killed by AIDS and Malaria,most live in rural areas whereas only the rich and city dwellers have the access everyone needs to healthcare facilities

Health Insurance and Social Security do not exist within the continent,but the African Union wants to change this

Life expectancy in the continent as a whole is 50 years of age,in America it is in the high 70's

Now is the time for Africa to enter global affairs as equal partner,not charity case,openess to both Eastern and Western ideas and nations

There are 192 countries in the world,54 of which are in Africa,only 4 are board members within the 67 that meet with the U.N.

350 million of the 850 million people on the continent are young and uneducated.

Welcome

Welcome to the Blog site of Deonte Osayande.I'm an athlete at my university,a performance poet and writer. Alongside regular life balancing these and other responsibilities gets really difficult but I hope to at least share the poet side here and relieve some of the weight. At least weekly I'll post websites and news articles I find important, people trying to do positively not only in my Detroit environment but in the world and new poems i'll be working on that i'll probably choose not to submit anywhere,not to mention where i'll be performing,writing prompts,personal stories and any new publications.I'm still relatively new to this so bare with me here. :)

Support Troubadour 21

This is some of my poems published online by troubadour 21,mostly experimental and love pieces.They are in the transition of acquiring non-profit organization status.If you can help than please do.

http://www.troubadour21.com/author/deonteosayande/

Support Slam Idol and the voices of the people

Here is a link to a video reading of one of my older poems,the Seventh Dance. It was recently in an online slam with slam idol aired from England.It's about young suicides,remember to take care of your loved ones and support them.

http://slamidol.com/?6c6d56c0