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Letter of Gift of Photos
On a visit in the 1980s to the family home of
Yictove, a new Orleans poet, his Malvina Turk shared with me the
photos in this Selassie Collection. I thought them wonderful and
she was kind enough to make copies for me. That was over
fourteen years ago. I have not seen her since. I do not know
whether she lives or not.
Without her however, this exhibit would not be
possible. I now thank her for her kindness and her
thoughtfulness in placing these photos in my hands. I believe I
do the right thing in freely sharing her gift with the world.
Below is the text of the letter that accompanied the photos.
| 1/25/87
Hi Rudy
I had these [photos] done
at Walgreens
Hope they serve
a good purpose
Good Luck
Malvina Turk
Snapped here in N.O.
date unknown |
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From the one book of his
I have, a
Blue Print,
of a life seemingly quickly lived but deeply
felt. Yictove became a coordinator of
readings at the Knitting Factory and at the
East Orange Public Library.
Soft spoken, introverted
it would seem, appearing, disappearing, yet
leaving his trace, singular, but like all of
us, leaving traces, prints of our blues our
blues lives. Now the brother follows the 9th
Ward of his native Big Easy, deeply
appreciated but now part of the legend of
what we took for granted some of the things
that made us happy, now gone gone gone.—Amiri
Baraka 8/1/07
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I will always remember the artistic genius that lived in
my brother. The way that he made words have new life
from the written to the spoken word was something of an
art in and of itself. As he spoke his voice boomed and
oozed giving words new meaning. The Knitting Factory and
the Library (East Orange Public Library) gave him the
opportunity to help others grow and cultivate in the
arts he so loved. He was a gentle teacher and had a gift
with people of all walks of life. Not long ago he was in
New Orleans and performed with Kid Jordan’s band an
impromptu jam session where he read When the Dewdrop
Drops. Though the performance was not rehearsed
it was amazing in every sense, exemplifying the artist
he truly was.
—Consuello
Battin: Sister
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This "Brother/Man" from New Orleans
who has touched spirits on one shore and the next has come touch
base with ours.
He speaks of the conditions that are within
our control, and the necessity for some changes of the urgency
in the need to learn to learn how to truly love ourselves in
order to be free enough to open up and learn to love each other.
Offering no panacea, he speaks of the reality of the hard work
intrinsic in the finding of solutions. He is a believer in the
wondrous results of honest attempts at communications with our
lovers, families and friends--a direct path to broader
communications with our people--A.H. Reynolds
Yictove has produced/hosted a poetry series on
cable in Newark, New Jersey, performed as a poet in the schools
courtesy of the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, worked as a creative
writing instructor in the Safe Haven Program/YMCA in East
Orange, New Jersey, and directed as poetry series in New York
City's Knitting Factory.
Source: D.J. Soliloquy
(Thrown Stone Press, 1988)
Cover art:
Lorraine Williams
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Malcolm X
A Life of Reinvention
By
Manning Marable
Years
in the making-the definitive biography of
the legendary black activist.
Of the great figure in twentieth-century
American history perhaps none is more
complex and controversial than Malcolm X.
Constantly rewriting his own story, he
became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and
an icon, all before being felled by
assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine.
Through his tireless work and countless
speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands
of black Americans to create better lives
and stronger communities while establishing
the template for the self-actualized,
independent African American man. In death
he became a broad symbol of both resistance
and reconciliation for millions around the
world. |
Manning Marable's
new biography of Malcolm is a stunning achievement.
Filled with new information and shocking revelations
that go beyond the Autobiography, Malcolm X unfolds a
sweeping story of race and class in America, from the
rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux Klan to the
struggles of the civil rights movement in the fifties
and sixties.
Reaching into
Malcolm's troubled youth, it traces a path from his
parents' activism through his own engagement with the
Nation of Islam, charting his astronomical rise in the
world of Black Nationalism and culminating in the
never-before-told true story of his assassination.
Malcolm X will stand as the definitive work on one of
the most singular forces for social change, capturing
with revelatory clarity a man who constantly strove, in
the great American tradition, to remake himself anew.
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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update 29 June 2008
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