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Location:

Zeitgeist

(Film Screening)

 

 

Greetings from The Brotherhood of ADODI

 

We invite all same-gender loving men of African heritage to join us in the gathering for our 25th annual summer retreat:

 

The ADODI Promise:

Claiming the Legacy, Living The Legend

 

If, as Joseph Beam postulated in 1986, "Black men loving Black men is the revolutionary act..:" then the ADODI Brotherhood is surely revolutionary. It lies with each of us to ensure that this life affirming movement does not become simply an historical moment.

 

We gather together in July 2011 to conjure the legendary qualities of the ADODI Brotherhood. We journey forth to hold one another and affirm the fearless vision and life-saving, life-giving mission of black men loving black men. We congregate to appreciate the lives - both past and present - that define our tribe of caring, compassionate community among same-gender-loving (SGL) men of African descent. This summer we join together and share our commitment, knowledge, skill, passion and evolving aspirations of freedom, so that our beloved tribe may thrive 25 years more!

 

For this special 25th summer gathering we invoke the idea of

"legends" to honor the values, traditions, ancestors and historical significance of the ADODI Brotherhood. We call forth the notion of "legacy" to center our spirits on the seemingly modest gifts turned into grand treasures - our inheritance of loving intent and beloved community called ADODI. As trustees and beneficiaries of this legacy, we have our own bequests to the future to consider. This year's Retreat is dedicated to celebrating that legacy, and envisioning the future. As we benefit from the fruits grown by those who have gone before us, so the future of the brotherhood rests on our shoulders.

    



ADODI Summer Retreat (2011) Registration Form (PDF)

  

Registration for the 25th Annual ADODI Summer Retreat is now available online, too!!!

 

Visit www.ADODIonline.com and click on The Adodi Annual

Summer Retreat on the banner to be taken to the Retreat info.

page.

 

You will need to create a login to ADODInline.com to register for the Retreat. Above the Retreat information tabs is where you click to create your free account to access the ADODIonline community.

 

You may register online now and mail your payment(s) in later, or you can register and using a credit card via PayPal. (if you pay using a credit card, a $15.00 service fee is added onto your registration price).

  
Registration Fee Information 

If paid in full by April 30, '11........... $630.00

If paid in full by May 31, '11 ............ $700.00

After May 31, '11............................... $800.00

 

 

Round trip coach bus transportation will be provided from the  

Adam Clayton Powell Jr State Office Building 

163 West 125th Street

(between Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Blvd and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd)

Harlem, New York City 10027

 

GOOGLE MAP

 

 

  

Official Website: TheNewBlackfest.org

 

 

   

THE NEW BLACK FEST is A THEATER FESTIVAL.

 

THE NEW BLACK FEST  

with guest curators Judy Tate and Godfrey Simmons  

in association with  

651 ARTS

 

presents

 

 

THE AMERICAN SLAVERY PROJECT

 

In recognition of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War (now through 2015), The New Black Fest with Guest Curators Judy Tate and Godfrey Simmons, launch the American Slavery Project Series, a monthly reading series that celebrates the work of African American playwrights who boldly and refreshingly explore slavery and/or the Civil War. The purpose behind the American Slavery Project is to initiate new conversations around theater's role in counteracting the increasing revisionism in our political/social discourse about the Civil War and slavery. More importantly, the American Slavery Project aims to promote a generation of African-American voices who are telling the diverse and rich stories from an era that most adversely affected us. The series runs from mid-March through Juneteenth.

 

Schedule of Events

 

Monday, March 7, 2011 at 7 p.m.

 

Fast Blood by Judy Tate

 

It's 1845.  Ham and Effie, an enslaved couple, stumble across the body of a hanging man who's miraculously still alive.  It is their connection to this mysterious and seductive stranger that tests their faith, love and ultimately, their own notions of slavery.

 

Location:  CAP 21 - 18 W. 18th Street, 6th Floor, NYC

 

Post Show Conversation:  The Human Face of Slavery

 

Kick-Off Wine and Cheese Reception will follow.

 

Co-presented by CAP 21

 

 

 

Monday, April 4, 2011 at 7 p.m.

 

Sweet Maladies by Zakiyyah Alexander

 

It's been two years since slavery was abolished and three recently freed slavegirls, stuck in 'the big house', play the only game they know: history.  But what happens when the game turns sticky sweet and deadly?

 

Location:  Mark Morris Dance Center - 3 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn

 

Post Show Conversation:  Tiny Rebellions

 

 

 

Monday, May 2, 2011 at 7 p.m.

 

Living in the Wind by Michael Bradford

 

Georgia. 1876. Isaiah, a former plantation stud, steps into Sarah's front yard after a twelve-year absence. Married as slaves and separated by their owner on the night of their marriage, Sarah and Isaiah attempt to salvage a relationship.  However, difficulties arise as new lovers, past conquests, and the deadly reminder of slavery stand before them.

 

Location:  The Drilling Company - 236 W. 78th Street, NYC

 

Post Show Conversation:  Slavery's Impact on Male Sexual Identity

 

Co-presented by The Drilling Company

 

 

 

Monday, June 6, 2011 at 7 p.m.

 

Voices from Harpers Ferry by Dominic Taylor

 

In 1859, twenty-one men, including five free Black men, attacked the arsenal at Harpers Ferry along with the legendary John Brown.  This exciting new play probes into the lives of the five Black men who fought alongside Brown, and more importantly, Osborne P. Anderson, the only Black man who survived to tell the tale of Harpers Ferry.

 

Location:  Audubon Ballroom - 3940 Broadway, btw 165th & 166th Streets, NYC 

 

Post Show Conversation:  John Brown and Civil War Uprisings

 

Co-Presented by The Classical Theatre of Harlem

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 7 p.m.

 

Safe House by Keith Josef Adkins

 

1843.  Kentucky.  Addison Pedigrew is a free man of color who has big dreams of opening a shoe business.  His family also secretly helps fugitives flee to Liberia.  When a young woman knocks on his door seeking refuge, Addison's loyalty to race and family finally clashes with his unrelenting desire for success.

 

Location:  Audubon Ballroom - 3940 Broadway, btw 165th & 166th Streets, NYC 

 

Post Show Conversation:  Free People of Color and the Trek to Liberia

 

Co-Presented by The Classical Theatre of Harlem

 

 

 

Please check back for updates:  TheNewBlackfest.org

 

THE NEW BLACK FEST is URGENT.

 

The New Black Fest is a movement. It's a call to action inspired by the state of Black theater in the 21st century. It is a bold step motivated by a growing need within the Black theater community for serious change and boundless opportunity.

 

THE NEW BLACK FEST is A COMMUNITY.

 

The New Black Fest is a gathering of artists, thinkers, activists and audiences who are dedicated to stretching, interrogating and uplifting the Black aesthetic.

 

THE NEW BLACK FEST is VISIONARY.

 

The New Black Fest is a commitment to celebrate, advocate and showcase diverse and provocative work in a festival of Black theater artists from throughout the Diaspora.  It is a convening of visionaries who are determined to reintroduce the way black theater is perceived, who are ready to chart out resolutions and promote action through panel discussions, workshops, and putting both artists and community members on the hot seat.

 

THE NEW BLACK FEST is FOR EVERYONE.

 

The New Black Fest is for everyone and anyone who supports elevating and celebrating Black theater around the world, in a fresh way.

 

THE NEW BLACK IS NOW.

 

WE ARE THE NEW BLACK.

 

For reservations, e-mail reservations@thenewblackfest.org

The New Black Fest couldn't do this work without your support! A donation of any size will help! You can make your tax-deductible donation here. 
 
  

The New Black Fest  

is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of The New Black Fest must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The New Black Fest

Keith Josef Adkins & J. Holtham

Co-Artistic Directors

 

 

Bessie Smith began her professional career in 1912 by singing in the same show as Ma Rainey, and subsequently performed in various touring minstrel shows and cabarets. By the 1920s, she was a leading artist in black shows on the TOBA circuit and at the 81 Theatre in Atlanta. After further tours she was sought out by Clarence Williams to record in New York. Her first recording, Down-Hearted Blues, established her as the most successful black performing artist of her time. She recorded regularly until 1928 with important early jazz instrumentalists such as Williams, James P. Johnson, and various members of Fletcher Henderson's band, including Louis Armstrong, Charlie Green, Joe Smith, and Tommy Ladnier. During this period she also toured throughout the South and North, performing to large audiences. In 1929, she appeared in the film St. Louis Blues. By then, however, alcoholism had severely damaged her career, as did the Depression, which affected the recording and entertainment industries. A recording session, her last, was arranged in 1933 by John Hammond for the increasing European jazz audience; it featured among others Jack Teagarden and Benny Goodman. By 1936, Smith was again performing in shows and clubs, but she died, following an automobile accident, before her next recording session had been arranged. 

 

 

 

 

Smith was unquestionably the greatest of the vaudeville blues singers and brought the emotional intensity, personal involvement, and expression of blues singing into the jazz repertory with unexcelled artistry. Baby Doll and After You've Gone, both made with Joe Smith, and Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out, with Ed Allen on cornet, illustrate her capacity for sensitive interpretation of popular songs. Her broad phrasing, fine intonation, blue-note inflections, and wide, expressive range made hers the measure of jazz-blues singing in the 1920s. She made almost 200 recordings, of which her remarkable duets with Armstrong are among her best. Although she excelled in the performance of slow blues, she also recorded vigorous versions of jazz standards. Joe Smith was her preferred accompanist, but possibly her finest recording (and certainly the best known in her day) was Back Water Blues, with James P. Johnson. Her voice had coarsened by the time of her last session, but few jazz artists have been as consistently outstanding as she.   

  

 THE BLACK MEN'S XCHANGE - NEW YORK (BMX-NY) was founded in Harlem in 2002 and is a gathering for same gender loving (SGL) and bisexual Black men to powerfully and respectfully address issues that impact their lives, and to connect with one another in a positive, affirming, nurturing and transformational environment. Ages 18 and up.

BMXNY.org 

 

THE BLACK MEN'S XCHANGE (BMX) was founded in 1989 by activist, writer and behavioral health expert Cleo Manago, as an instrument of healing and empowerment for same gender loving (SGL) and bisexual African descended men. The mission of the Black Men's Xchange (BMX) is to affirm, heal, educate, unify and promote well-being and critical thinking among Black people - 18 and up - diverse in sexuality, class, culture and philosophy.  Black Men's Xchange (BMX) conducts activities that promote healthy self-concept, sexual health, constructive decision making, and cultural affirmation among same-gender-loving (SGL), bisexual and heterosexual Black populations. BMX affirms and educates Black men (and the community at-large) while providing tools for self-determination, community responsibility, self-actualization and the prevention of health threats (e.g. HIV, isolation, substance and other addictions, and mental instability). BMX creates an environment that advances black culture and involves identifying and unlearning ingrained anti-homosexual and anti-black male and female conditioning,

 

BMX is built on a philosophy that embraces same gender loving experience as intrinsic to everyday Black life.  Integral to BMX's approach is the understanding that, in order to decrease internal and external anti-homosexual thinking, and demystify differences around diverse ways of living and loving Black people must engage in supportive dialogue with each other and the community.

 

At BMX we believe that self-determination is crucial in achieving success toward healing and empowerment.  We understand that our cultural and experiential uniqueness requires a uniquely focused and precise approach.  Affirming strategies born out of our own experience is powerful; hence, the adoption of the terms, Black, African American and Same Gender Loving (SGL).

  

 

 
The term Same Gender Loving (SGL) emerged in the early '90s to offer Black women who love women and Black men who love men (and other people of color) a way of identifying that resonated with the uniqueness of Black life and culture.  Before this many African descended people, knowing little of our history regarding homosexuality and bi-sexuality, took on European symbols and identifications as a means of embracing our sexualities, including: Greek lambdas, German pink triangles, and the white-gay-originated rainbow flag, in addition to the terms gay, and lesbian.

The term gay, coined as an identification by White male homosexuals in the '50s, was cultivated in an exclusive White male environment.  By the '60s, the growing Gay Liberation movement developed in a climate largely excluding Blacks and women.  In response to this discrimination, White women coined the identification lesbian, a word derived from the Greek island, Lesbos. The Lesbian movement, in turn, helped define a majority White movement, called feminism.  In response to the racism experienced by women of color from White feminists, celebrated author, Alice Walker introduced the term womanist.

The term womanist identified women of color concerned with both the sexual and racial oppression of women.  In this spirit of self-naming and ethnic-sexual pride, the term same gender loving(SGL) was introduced to enhance the lives and amplify the voices of homosexual and bi-sexual people of color, to provide a powerful identification not marginalized by racism in the gay community or by "homophobic" attitudes in society at large.

As gay culture grew and established enclaves in San Francisco, Chelsea, Provincetown, Key West and other territories, Blacks especially, were carded and rejected from many establishments.  Even today Blacks, Latinos and Asians often appear in gay publications and other media solely as potential sexual objects.  Ironically, gay rights activism was modeled on the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements initiated by African Americans.

In the years since the advent of the Gay Rights movement many Black SGLs have found scant space for the voices, experiences and empowerment of Black people.  Additionally, the rigid influence of the Black church's traditionally anti-homosexual stance has contributed to attitudes that repress and stigmatize Black SGLs.  The lack of acknowledgment and support in the Black community has shunted multitudes of same gender loving African descended people to the White community to endure racism, isolation from their own communities, and cultural insensitivity.

The high visibility of the white gay community along with the absence of illumination on same gender loving experience contributes to the tendency in Black communities to overlook and ridicule same gender loving relationships as alien or aberrant.  The SGL movement has inspired national dialogue on diverse ways of loving in the Black community.  The term same gender loving explicitly acknowledges loving within same-sex relationships, while encouraging self-love.

The designation, same gender loving has served as a wake up call for Blacks to acknowledge diverse ways of loving and being, and has provided an opportunity for Blacks and other people of color to claim, nurture and honor their significance within their families and communities.

BMXNational.com

 


Click The
 "Bawabisi" AFRICAN SGL SYMBOL Above To See The
BMX-NY Gatekeepers
e-Newsletter Archive Homepage