New Exhibition Showcases a Journey of Artistic Diversity and Collaboration

The art exhibition “Filling in the Pieces in Black,” curated by June Sarpong and presented in collaboration with Maruani Mercier and Saatchi Gallery, has emerged as a pivotal moment in the art world, reflecting a profound commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Integral to the exhibition’s success is the partnership between June Sarpong and Maruani Mercier.

Laurent Mercier, since joining his partner Serge Maruani in 2013, has been on a mission to further diversify the gallery’s roster. His strategic decision to include artists like Lyle Ashton Harris and Hank Willis Thomas in the gallery’s lineup predates the Black Lives Matter movement, underscoring the gallery’s foresight and commitment to diversity. 

In a recent interview, Mercier revealed his process of involving June Sarpong in the project. 

“I was searching for influential personalities for whom diversity matters and stumbled upon June. Her immediate acceptance to curate her first show was a testament to her incredible personality – smart, well-connected, and very hands-on. Working with June was a seamless and collaborative experience. She’s someone you can’t refuse anything to, and that’s how we managed to bring together 32 participating artists.”

Mercier elaborated on the challenges and triumphs of organizing the show. 

“It was a 24/7 job for my team, coordinating artworks from 32 artists across 12 countries to two different locations on time. The logistical challenges were immense, especially with artists being late in responding and delivering. Mickalene Thomas’ work, for instance, cleared customs just hours before the opening.”

Sarpong, in her curator’s note, emphasized the importance of presenting a multifaceted representation of the Black experience.

 “Our human story is rich and intersecting… This ensemble of artists fills in where key components are often missing, aiming to fill in the vibrance, courage, dignity, sensuality, beauty, color, love, strength, humanity, grace, and joy,” explained Sarpong.

Sarpong said the show aimed to redefine the past narrative, refocus the present, and reshape the future of the Black experience, historically marred by colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade.

The London opening of the show was a particular highlight. 

“What was planned as a seated dinner in the galleries turned into a walking dinner due to the overwhelming turnout. It was an incredible success,” Mercier noted. 

He also mentioned a unique LED event organized by W1Creates on Oxford Street, where Flannels department store lit up with artworks from the exhibition, offering an immersive experience in their basement.

Among the featured artists, Nate Lewis, a formerly D.C.-based artist, stands out. His participation, along with other artists like Hank Willis Thomas, who attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts, adds depth to the dialogue the exhibition seeks to foster. 

Lewis, reflecting on the significance of the exhibition, remarked, “It’s really important that Black artists’ work is starting to be received now and that there’s a platform and audience for it. This serves as encouragement to other Black artists to know that their abilities and visions matter.” 

A star-studded opening in London co-hosted by figures like Roland Rudd, David Schwimmer, and Tine Tempah, was a testament to the show’s broad appeal. The event, sponsored by the London Stock Exchange Group, brought together change agents, thought leaders, and creatives. Guests dined at tables designed by Yinka Ilori and enjoyed dishes by award-winning chef Akwasi Brenya-Mensa, inspired by cuisines from the African Diaspora.

“Filling in the Pieces in Black” is not just an art exhibition; it is a vibrant, living conversation that invites viewers to engage with the rich tapestry of the Black experience. It stands as a powerful reminder of art’s ability to transcend boundaries and foster a deeper understanding of shared humanity.

The gallery is open in Belgium until Jan. 6.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Special night for The Rumble in the Jungle

THERE IS to be a very special edition of The Rumble in the Jungle production which features the boxing clash between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

The ‘Black Out’ night is described as the purposeful creation of an environment in which an all-Black-identifying audience can experience and discuss and event in the performing arts,  film, athletic, and cultural spaces – free from the white gaze.” 

The concept was originated by Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play, Daddy), the very first ‘Black Out’ took place in 2019, for a performance of Slave Play on Broadway in New York. This initiative was then brought to London for Daddy at The Almeida, and has had repeated success at Lyric Hammersmith for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play and at Stratford East for Tambo and Bones.  

The Rumble in the Jungle represented a hugely important moment in Black history. The fight was much more than a boxing match; it was one of the first major sporting events to be hosted in Africa, organised by Don King, with a record amount of prize money going to the two fighters, the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Foreman and Ali.  Ali’s outspokenness on issues of race and politics, and his subsequent win, became a triumph for Black people all across the globe. 

The 3-day music festival which accompanied the fight, Zaire ‘74, showcased incredible Black artists from across the globe. Among the legendary performers was Miriam Makeba who’s work as a civil rights activist is embedded in the history of South Africa’s abolishment of apartheid. 

The fight was held only 14 years after Congo’s independence from Belgium colonial rule, and was a time of pride and celebration, with the whole world’s eyes turned to watch this historic event in Kinshasa, becoming the world’s most-watched live television broadcast at the time. 

To continue the legacy of Ali and to celebrate the historical and cultural significance of the Rumble, Rematch will be hosting the ‘Black Out’ night of Rumble In The Jungle Rematch on Thursday 30th November. 

Whilst Rumble in the Jungle Rematch performances are already proud to welcome a diverse audience, this performance will be a special evening to welcome Black identifying audiences to experience the show. The intention is to create an opportunity for Black people to explore and discuss the themes and issues the show raises within a safe space – as well as celebrating Black excellence and culture. 

Although this one-off performance is intended for a Black audience, no one will be excluded from the show. However, Rematch do ask that non-Black identifying people respect the intention of this performance and consider attending a performance on another date. 

Fusing theatre, sport and technology – and taking immersive experiences in a whole new direction – Rumble in the Jungle Rematch launched in London in September and recently extended its run through to 9th December. 

Widely considered to be The Greatest Sporting event of the 20th Century’ the Ali v Foreman heavyweight championship boxing match is the stuff of legend, and this live immersive event recreates all the sights, sounds and festival atmosphere that surrounded this zeitgeist-capturing event. The event offers a fresh view from the Congolese perspective, as well as through the lens and scrutiny of  the Western media.

Following the footsteps of  Ali and Foreman, the cast of characters, including David Frost who reported on the match, legendary boxing promoter King (who was as much about show business as boxing), circulates amongst the audience as the story unfurls;  from the intense media attention and press conferences, to sparring sessions with the boxers and the actual fight itself.

There is a riot of music with the Zaire ‘74 festival, which saw the biggest global acts in black music including; James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, Sister Sledge, Miriam Makeba and Celia Cruz and a slew of Latin America’s best.

The second event by immersive event producers Rematch, following their recreation of the famous Borg v McEnroe Wimbledon final of 1980, Rumble in the Jungle Rematch, is a roller coaster experience that takes you into intimate dressing rooms and onto the global stage, from the pre-match trash talking to the step-by-step play-out of the fight, and everywhere in between. 

Rematch has developed the show together with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) in partnership with Lonnie Ali as trustee of the Muhammad Ali Family Trust’s (MAFT) own Muhammad Ali Enterprises.

Tickets from rumblerematch.com 

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Experiences of BIPOC students in performing arts reveal patterns of discrimination at Ithaca College

In Spring 2023, Ithaca College senior Seessa Kauffman left Sigma Alpha Iota’s Epsilon chapter — the college’s professional music fraternity — after he said he experienced racism, lack of inclusivity and dismissive behavior from his peers in the fraternity. In August, Kauffman put together a petition to hold the fraternity accountable for their racist actions and received over 400 signatures.

In his petition, Kauffman asked for an apology — which he said he received from most students involved in the fraternity but not all — and a refund of about $300 that he spent on initiation. Kauffman said he is still in the process of getting his dues refunded and is in touch with the national SAI chapter. 

The SAI Epsilon chapter at the college is currently working with the National Executive Board and said in a joint written statement by members that the fraternity is looking into the matter and actively working on diversity, equity and inclusion programming that will be mandatory for all members.

“Sigma Alpha Iota Epsilon Chapter over the ongoing months has been actively and thoroughly investigating all racist actions within our chapter especially as it pertains to the petition and its creator,” the statement said. “We do not accept this type of behavior and we expect better from past, present, and future members.”

Culture in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance

Kauffman is not alone in experiencing racism, microaggressions and exclusion at the Whalen Center for Music. This sense of a lack of belonging extends to the other departments in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance as well.

AnnaJo Lubasi ’23 was a musical theatre major at the college and said their experience as a Black student in the Department of Theatre was isolating.

“I think being one of the only people of color in my class, and being the only Black musical theater major and in a lot of those spaces, where it was just me being an island in that way … [was] both powerful and also super terrifying,” Lubasi said.

While there is no public data on ethnicity and race in specific schools at the college, Kauffman said he estimates that there are between 45 and 50 students of color in the Center for Music, according to the Musicians of Color Association’s (MOCA) email list. A total of 702 students are enrolled in the School of MTD for Fall 2023 and 364 in the Center for Music specifically, according to the Office of Analytics and Institutional Research. 

Lubasi said that when they were a first-year student in Fall 2019, students in the former Department of Theatre Arts posted the “Manifesto of Visibility across Dillingham Center. 

The manifesto was created and posted after a racially charged incident, which involved an interim lecturer asking her students to write racist slurs on the classroom whiteboard. The manifesto outlined students’ negative experiences through anecdotes and quotes. 

Senior Achille Vann Ricca said it was a monumental point in the Center of Theatre and Dance’s history. 

“It was a big watershed moment because the department … really ran on a culture of silence then,” Vann Ricca said. “The manifesto disrupted that pattern and was a big call out for a lot of the professors.”

Catherine Weidner, professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance Performance, was the chair of the department at the time the manifesto was posted. Weidner said via email that the department made changes to policies after the incident. 

“Important changes in casting practices and policies have been implemented including offering opt-ins, content advisories, and increased student participation in season selection and governance,” Weidner said.

In summer 2020, a series of Zoom meetings called Open Spaces followed to facilitate conversations around diversity and race. Steve TenEyck, associate dean in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, said via email that Open Spaces was not a direct response to the manifesto. 

Vann Ricca said he participated in some of these sessions that the Center for Theatre and Dance organized and noticed a pattern among faculty. 

“There’s a level of emotional childishness with a lot of these professors where when you come to them … it is white male fragility,” Vann Ricca said. “They tense up and then go on the attack.”

TenEyck said the sessions were programmed to create a safe space at a crucial time, especially after the murder of George Floyd and during COVID-19, when the theater industry was on a pause.

“We provided those spaces as a way to connect and support one another,” TenEyck said. “Response was positive and it provided a way for us to gather and unpack terminology, best practices, as well as unpacking how things work in theatre arts.”

In Fall 2020, the Ithaca College Department of Theatre Arts Black, Indigenous and People of Color (ICTA BIPOC), a student and alumni group, released a public letter that included actions and demands as a response to discriminatory and racist behavior and practices in the department.

As an immediate response to demands outlined in the letter, that semester, two Equity, Diversity and Inclusion facilitators were appointed to work with the department. Biweekly meetings between ICTA BIPOC and college leaders were held.

 TenEyck said a committee called IDEA — which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility — was created within the Center for Theatre and Dance in Fall 2021 to support antiracism by facilitating workshops and learning sessions. TenEyck said the work of this committee led to the creation of “Race and Theatre in the United States,” a required course for all theater students. TenEyck said there is also an IDEA-B committee for the School of MTD overall. 

Vann Ricca said that in addition to modifying pre-existing courses and adding new required courses, some faculty also incorporated diverse structures into their syllabi. However, Vann Ricca said he felt that issues still persist.

“The structures in place are still very, very racist and f— over Black students and all students of color in so many different ways,” Vann Ricca said. 

Molly Teska/The Ithacan

Resources available to students 

Kauffman said that in his case, he was strongly supported by the BIPOC Unity Center in the process of getting his dues back and received guidance. As of Nov. 10, two out of three members of the BIPOC Unity Center’s professional staff are no longer employed at the college. 

Other than the BIPOC Unity Center, there is no central resource for students of color in the School of MTD specifically to reach out to for counseling and resources. Lubasi said they wished something like that existed. 

“I almost wish there was like a class or like a forum where you could go and speak to people that are performing artists … that are of various denominations so that they can be like, ‘Hey, these are the hurdles and hoops and knives that are going to be thrown at you,’” Lubasi said. “They happen to everybody. This is not something wrong with you. But you have to know that is going to happen.”

Baruch Whitehead, associate professor in the Department of Music Education, said he is the only tenured Black faculty member in the Center for Music. Whitehead said he informally offers himself as a resource to students of color.

“I think our white counterparts don’t even know what that feels like,” Whitehead said. “What it feels like to be a person of color and always having to do the heavy lifting, always having to prove yourself.”

In Fall 2023, Whitehead said he hosted a session with students of color in the Class of 2027, who were enrolled in the School of MTD to familiarize them with the challenges of being at a predominantly white performance school. Whitehead said he hopes to include this kind of orientation programming across different schools at the college. 

In 2020–21, postsecondary institutions granted a total of 2,066,445 Bachelor’s degrees in all fields, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In the same academic year, only 7,548 Black students received a Bachelor’s degree in the visual and performing arts. 13,884 and 6,080 students who identified as Hispanic and Asian and Pacific Islander respectively received a degree in the same fields. 

Lubasi said that when they were at a low and lost faith that changes were actually going to be implemented, student organizations like Black Artists United served as a safe space for them. 

“We created Black Artists United … because there was nothing,” Lubasi said. “There was nowhere to go and there were a lot of issues that just kept perpetuating.”

Lubasi said BAU was originally called Black Femmes United and was formed in 2020 to forge solidarity among the few students of color in the Department of Theatre. Lubasi said Black Femmes United formed in 2020 and was changed to BAU to open up the student organization to a larger group of students who were also underrepresented. 

“I’m glad to have spaces like that,” Lubasi said. “The POC [in the] department have to forge this camaraderie because it’s like this unspoken understanding. And you’re going to have to deal with 50 to 85 times more bull— than every single one of your white classmates.”

Department initiatives and efforts

Vann Ricca, who is the current co-president of BAU, said there are many power structures and dynamics at play in the Center for Theatre and Dance. Vann Ricca said that as performance majors, students are required to act in a production and students can fill out forms that indicate their preferences for what roles they are cast in, but these preferences are often ignored. This leads to students being compelled to take whatever role is offered if they wish to graduate on time.

“Dillingham is very insular,” Vann Ricca said. “The professors control a lot of your opportunities to perform to study your craft.”

Weidner said current casting policies aim at giving students of color opportunities to participate in different performances, including those that do not have a specific racial or ethnic requirement.

“Plays are chosen with our student company in mind, so we won’t select a play or musical if it can’t be cast with more than two or three options from within the student body,” Weidner said. “Similar choices about repertoire (what we produce) are made with regard to vocal range or instrumentation in a score.” 

Vann Ricca said there were some issues with the implementation of these casting policies that were brought up at the time the manifesto was posted. 

“Another component of the manifesto was, you can’t swap students of color around for different roles,” Vann Ricca said. “One of my [student mentors] was Pakistani … and they made him Cuban. … And he was always like, ‘I’m not comfortable with this. I can’t do this.’”

The department currently follows an open casting policy, meaning directors can cast students in any major or year and of any age, ethnicity or gender. Weidner said the center is committed to diverse and inclusive casting while respecting the playwright’s creative intentions and licensing agreements.

TenEyck said the work of the IDEA committee also resulted in other changes, like land acknowledgments for performances — which are independently created by each performance company, usually in consultation with an indigenous staff member — and including more students in decision-making processes. 

“I think it is important to note that while there has been significant work done and awareness heightened, we know that we still have much work to do,” TenEyck said. “This is not something that we are proud of but a reality we must contend with. We are committed to doing the work, however painful and however long.”

In Spring 2023, the School of Music organized a concert in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. In the concert, “Don’t Look Away” premiered. “Don’t Look Away” was a requiem — a musical piece in remembrance of the dead. The piece was in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and invited white audiences to assess their privilege and biases without experiencing guilt. 

After the concert premiered, the campus community expressed mixed reactions about it. Senior Madison Almonte, vice president of MOCA, said some felt uncomfortable about the fact that the choir was mostly white but was singing about and chanting Black Lives Matter.

Almonte said the requiem was deliberately written about the Black Lives Matter movement from a white person’s perspective. Students of color worked with the librettist — who wrote the lyrics — to ensure that the piece was not offensive. Almonte said that including a white person’s perspective was intentional to facilitate further conversation. 

“We started with a … notion of this will be uncomfortable, but it’s supposed to make you uncomfortable because it was supposed to be followed with action and actual conversation,” Almonte said

Almonte said the requiem moved to practice very soon and students did not have enough opportunities to check in about the lyrics of the piece or be adequately involved in the entire process. Almonte said the incident demonstrated the Whalen administration’s willingness to educate the community but was poorly executed. 

“It just felt so rushed,” Almonte said. “That was so unfortunate considering how monumental this premiere was supposed to be.” 

Vann Ricca said he feels bleak about the culture of the Center for Theatre and Dance changing anytime soon because even when he has made efforts to educate the community and take action, it has been in vain. 

“There has not been any healing or any recourse or any actual accountability aside from ‘Oh, we should have a meeting,’” Vann Ricca said. “I appreciate that [TenEyck] did use the resources within his toolbox but they are limited because [the effort] needs to be top-down.”

Lubasi shared a similar feeling about the School of MTD as a whole making efforts to improve the situation, but not doing it successfully. 

“One thing about Ithaca is they will beat you down and make you feel like you owe something to them until the moment that you become successful independently,” Lubasi said. “It feels very self-serving. … Their hearts could be in the right place, but the labor is not going where it needs to go.”

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

The 25 Greatest Artists Who Only Released 2 Albums

An artist getting the opportunity to make even one album is a rare thing indeed. To get a shot at recording a follow-up? We’re into water-into-wine territory. The artists who made the cut for this list hopefully realized what a miracle it was that they were given the shot to reach that mountaintop twice, even if many of the people involved had produced plenty of music before and some are still cranking out great material to this day. Yet these little carve out from their careers feel double rainbow special. In the case of some, two albums was all they were able to complete before their untimely passing. For others, it was all they could manage before their willingness to put up with their bandmates brought about the end of the group. For a rare few on this list, there’s still a chance we will get a proper follow up to their second album, but we’re not holding our breath. No matter what the situation, these 25 artists held it together long enough to complete a pair of albums that still remain in heavy rotation on our personal stereos, giving us ample opportunities to share in their miracle of their brief but bright existences. — Associate Music Editor, Robert Ham


25. Sugar

Bob Mould has released a lot of great albums with Hüsker Dü and as a solo artist, but it was his first with Mercyland drummer David Barbe and Human Sexual Response drummer Malcolm Travis that may be my favorite. Sugar’s Copper Blue is full of power pop injected by the jangle of R.E.M. and the grunge of Nirvana, and if perfect can be used to describe a piece of art, you might as well use it here. That’s not to take anything away from the ironically titled noisier follow-up File Under Easy Listening. But for a short-lived band with just two full-length albums (along with an EP and a compilation), they left us with a masterpiece. —Josh Jackson

24. The Teardrop Explodes

This entry into the list may be a controversial one. Technically speaking, post-punk group The Teardrop Explodes did release a third LP, the unfortunately named Everybody Wants To Shag… The Teardrop Explodes, in 1990. That “album,” however, was a muddle, sticking pieces from the aborted sessions the group undertook in 1982 (which ended when the band’s leader Julian Cope dissolved the group permanently) next to tracks taken from non-album singles. In the considered opinion of this editor, it’s a compilation. And who would want to look beyond the perfection of the two LPs that this Liverpool group made during their hot and fast existence. Cope achieved the goal he set forth to Melody Maker in 1980: “What I’m trying to do is strike a balance between triteness and greatness.” As I read it, he was trying make wild and wildly romantic musical statements using, in his mind, the rather ephemeral rudiments of pop music. The group may have augmented their sound with horns and the influences of Afropop, dub and torch balladry, but their core was candyfloss psych bubblegum ideal for the side of a 45 single that will spend a few months in heavy rotation before being replaced by the next hot item. Maybe Cope both did and didn’t want their music to be built to last, but damn if it hasn’t remained a keystone for the next four decades of British pop and rock. —Robert Ham

23. Traveling Wilburys

Supergroups come and supergroups go, and they’ve been around for decades. From Cream to boygenius, the list of legends continues to grow—but few acts can claim as much greatness as the Traveling Wilburys could in 1987. Consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lyne, the band formed after sessions for Harrison’s Cloud Nine album concluded and consisted of, quite literally, five of the most important songwriters in the history of rock ‘n’ roll up until that point. Their first record, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, came out in 1988 and boasted all-time great tracks like “Handle with Care,” “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” and “End of the Line”—the former being one of the best rock openers of the 1980s altogether. Orbison would pass away soon after, but the Wilburys would continue on—skipping past volume two and releasing Vol. 3 as just a four-piece. Tunes like “She’s My Baby” and “Wilbury Twist” found the whole quartet singing and gallivanting about, while “Inside Out” and “New Blue Moon” leaned more into folk rock and doo-wop. The Wilburys would disband in 1991, and the only remaining living members are Dylan and Lynne. But, for three years, they were one of the greatest supergroups to ever exist. —Matt Mitchell

22. Burial

There was a delicious few years there when music fans had no idea about the identity of the artist known as Burial. The mysterious figure sneaked through the shadows, dropping little artistic missives in the hands of long-time label Hyperdub, which they dutifully released into the world. With each single, and then his two long-playing albums Burial from 2006 and Untrue from a year later, Burial burned a new pathway through garage, dubstep and 2-step that allowed for wobbling rhythms, dead space and lots and lots of crackle and static from vinyl records that might have been dragged behind a black cab navigating the streets of South London. And on his second album, he even dared to get a little soulful with the appearances of some guest vocalists. Of course, Burial couldn’t leave them well enough alone, warping and chopping the singer’s contributions to better fit the hiccuping patterns of the music. Of all the artists on this list, Burial is probably the one that will mostly likely surprise us with a new album, rendering his entry on this list null and void. I would be very pleased were that to happen, but like that feeling of wonder at not knowing exactly who was behind this music (turned out to be a gent named William Bevan), it makes me giddy to think that he’ll simply keep leading us on with the occasional single or EP and leave the full-lengths to the overachievers of the world. —RH

21. This Heat

Everyone’s favorite experimental, revolutionary, punk and post-punk, sound collaging, tape looping, English trio who only released two albums, This Heat exists truly in a class of their own. I know we throw some words around a lot here, even I’ve been guilty of describing one too many things as “singular.” But I mean it wholeheartedly when I say that there has never been anyone quite like This Heat. They started in the midst of the English punk scene, operating with influences reaching far out of their geographic and sonic boundaries. The group began working on their first album in a studio they called “Cold Storage” which was exactly what it sounds like it would be: a converted cold storage freezer room This Heat came in 1979, two years after the group received their first ever radio airplay by none other than the legendary John Peel.

The This Heat album was interested in the layering of sounds to create atmosphere, using techniques of tape looping, distortion and stereo microphones. It was thick and willful, paying no mind to the conventions of rock and punk song structure. Two years later, they released their second and final album Deceit which saw the group settling into some semblance of structure, all the while not sacrificing their signature qualities of performance and production. Tracks still featured layered screams under whirring feedback over the dissonance of the vocals the three members shared, but they also offer the listener some sort of refrain, or at least infectious melody to hold onto. Though neither of their albums were the most commercially successful at their release, This Heat is credited as being pioneers of numerous experimental and forward-thinking genres—post punk, post rock, industrial, the list goes on. Their two albums serve merely as a snapshot of the restlessness and innovation they all had within them. —Madelyn Dawson

20. Digable Planets

The explosion in growth that this Philly-by-way-of-Brooklyn trio underwent between albums #1 and #2 should be a case study in how an artist can truly capitalize after landing a hit right out of the gate. The first single by Digable Planets, the #15 hit “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” presaged a new blending of jazz and hip-hop as the group smoothly intoned over a tight flip of an Art Blakey tune. The rest of their debut album, 1993’s Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) fulfilled that song’s promise with tightly crafted productions that raided the jazz catalogs of various labels while Butterfly, Doodlebug and Ladybug maintained an Arctic cool on the mic. Jump ahead a year to the release of Blowout Comb and you’ll hear a group that refused to simply follow the template of their previous successes. Instead, they turned in an explosive collection of material that felt Cinemascope in tone and ambition. The productions were melancholic yet funky with the group pulling from crates of ’70s R&B / soul records for source material, and volumes on Black nationalism and the carceral state to inform their lyrics. —RH

19. Jellyfish

California psych-pop group Jellyfish likely did themselves few favors by choosing a wardrobe that was a direct reflection of their love of ’60s/’70s culture (lots of flared trousers, colorful prints and flowery fabrics). In some circles, it made it easier to write the band off as an exercise in kitsch. But underneath all the velvet and denim was some of the sharpest songcraft you are likely to hear. Debut album Bellybutton from 1990 sounds like a scroll of easily identifiable influences — 10cc, Todd Rundgren, Wings, Queen — that are all given a light tweaking and nose booping by some young men that haven’t let their romantic yearnings dull their childish sense of humor. Follow up 1993’s Spilt Milk is all that and more as the group encouraged their arena rock ambitions on brighter, brassier cuts like “New Mistake” and “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.” Their inability to actually gain enough commercial traction to fill a stadium, as well as ongoing intraband tensions, led to the group’s dissolution and the broken hearts of their many still-dedicated fans. —RH

18. Grinderman

You’ve not heard the last from Nick Cave on this list (see entry #14), but we’ve likely heard the last of this short-lived noise-rock side project featuring the lithe singer and three other members of his mighty backing band, the Bad Seeds (drummer Jim Sclavunos, multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis and bassist Martyn Casey). Heard in hindsight following the release of much new music by Cave, it would appear that this outfit was the last burst from an artist that came up through the post-punk scene spewing a ton of venom (again, entry #14) at the world. And for some fans, hearing Cave get good and nasty after a few albums that sounded like he was getting soft around the middle was a welcome reminder that his nasty side was still very much within reach. Both of the LPs this quartet squirted out feel covered in a sticky film of body fluids, booze and Marmite. There’s a touch of the romantic apparent on tunes like “Palaces of Montezuma” from 2010’s Grinderman 2 and “When My Love Comes Down” from the self-titled 2007 release. Otherwise, Cave’s sole concern is getting laid in some truly outrageous fashion, or lashing viciously out at the world because he isn’t getting any. All the while, the band roars along their support for their fearless and horny leader, thrashing out a blues-bending racket that could easily set off any seismometers nearby. —RH

17. Elastica

You forgot that Elastica made a second album, didn’t you? Or maybe you didn’t even know that 2000’s The Menace even existed. That wouldn’t be a shock considering how quickly that record was snowed over in the States by the rise of nü-metal and rap-rock. Not helping matters was the long wait that fans had to endure after the release of the group’s self-titled LP (five years!) and the lineup changes that went on along the way (the brilliant guitarist Donna Matthews took off in 1998 and bassist Annie Holland quit and then rejoined the fold). Bandleader Justine Frischmann also dared to try to move beyond the slashing guitars and motorik rhythms of their debut. In came funkier rhythms inspired by club music and moodier experiments like the droning “My Sex” and the Creatures-like “Image Change.” I’m not here to tell you that The Menace is as good or better than its predecessor. That would be impossible as Elastica is tightly wound Britpop perfection that doesn’t miss a single trick. But the follow-up is much better than most folks, including its creator, gives it credit for. It’s been 23 years already. Long past time for a reassessment of this album’s many strengths and thrills. —RH

16. N.W.A.

Nothing, not even the group’s own sophomore album, could ever truly match the electrifying impact of Straight Outta Compton, the debut album from L.A. rap collective N.W.A. It landed in the hip-hop community of 1988 like meteor, sending particles of influence across the globe and giving the L.A.P.D. and the F.B.I. reason to brand this group as dangerous and subversive. Were those slings and arrows deserved? Hard to say but it’s not like the group wasn’t knowingly courting controversy by daring to call out their oppressors on “Fuck Tha Police” and by fearlessly expressing the realities of being Black in South Central where gang wars raged and drugs were destroying lives. The departure of Ice Cube, the booming voice of authority throughout their earliest incarnation, led N.W.A. to lean way too hard on the misogyny that bubbled to the surface briefly on Compton and doing dumb shit like a faux-country song. If you can stomach that, you’ll at least be treated to some of Dr. Dre’s finest early production work, which set the stage for the forthcoming G-Funk era and the rapid growth of hip-hop as the greatest cultural force of our modern era. —RH

15. The Birthday Party

As promised, here is Nick Cave again (see entry #18). He’s look somehow even skinnier and sounding somehow even more bilious than he did on those Grinderman records and on those early LPs he made with the Bad Seeds. And what those two groups didn’t have that his early group the Birthday Party had were the wild cards of bassist Tracy Pew and guitarist Rowland S. Howard. Those two were the catalysts for all manner of nasty sonic business that curdled through the group’s pair of full-lengths Prayers on Fire and Junkyard. Dopesick and grasping tightly to their scuffed up copies of Bo Diddley and Pop Group albums, this Australian group left all pop pretense at the door. Their entire being was a confrontation against what they saw as a staid musical landscape and toward anyone that would dare slip into their crosshairs. Audience members, producers, each other… didn’t matter. Anyone was a target. That attitude allowed them to make some of the scurviest, scummiest music of all time and bring about the rise of noise rock, Goth and the next 40 years of Nick Cave’s still evolving career. — RH

14. Yazoo

After leaving Depeche Mode in 1981, keyboardist Vince Clarke formed Yazoo (or Yaz, as it was known to be in the States) with vocalist Alison Moyet. Despite only releasing two albums, Yaz became one of the most important and formative synth-pop bands in the sub-genre’s history. Their debut, Upstairs at Eric’s, is a brilliant, 11-track collection of accessible, proto-techno gems. A song like “Don’t Go” might be one of the most clear-eyed formulations of experimental pop, as it’s as accessible as it is eclectic. In 1983, Clarke and Moyet became estranged from each other and recorded their second album, You and Me Both, separately—announcing the band’s dissolution just days before the record’s release. Moyet would soon find success as a solo artist, while Clarke would go on form The Assembly and then, later, Erasure—the latter of which netting him about 28 million records sold worldwide across three decades. Yaz formed an enigmatic and unparalleled chemistry, and it’s a shame we didn’t get more from them. “Only You” might just be the greatest synth-pop ballad of all time. —MM

13. Karen Dalton

Though she was a folk troubadour in Greenwich Village at the same time as Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs, Karen Dalton’s talents went largely unsung while she was alive. In 1969, she released her debut album It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going to Love You the Best, and it remains one of the most auspicious and beautiful singer/songwriter LPs of its time. Incorporating elements of blues and Appalchian music, Dalton made Fred Neil’s “Little Bit of Rain” and Tim Hardin’s “How Did the Feeling Feel to You” sing in such rich, vivid ways. Backed by the pensive electric six-string of Kim King, Dalton’s arrangements were sublime and stirring. Two years later, she’d put out In My Own Time that was more refined and worn-in than her debut. Songs like “Something on Your Mind” and “In My Own Dream” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” were given effortlessly breathtaking acoustic makeovers, as Dalton’s penchant for injecting her own charm and flavor into the tracks she interpreted reached an apex on In My Own Time. The centerpiece of the album, her own original composition, “Katie Cruel,” has become definitive of her folk blueprint altogether. But Dalton wouldn’t get her full due until after passing away in 1993 at the age of 55. Overnight she went from an unsung hero to a titan of an era she helped create. You can hear Karen Dalton in the songwriting of everyone from Nick Cave to Joanna Sternberg, and future generations will continue to latch on to her style and genius. —MM

12. Fine Young Cannibals

Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a Fine Young Cannibals reunion. Formed by David Steele and Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat) and Akrylykz vocalist Roland Gift in 1984, the Birmingham pop trio made huge waves in such little time. Their 1985 self-titled debut album featured the Top 10 UK hit single “Johnny Come Home” and a towering cover of “Suspicious Minds” that gives Elvis’ rendition a run for its money. The record would only chart in Australia, but it set the stage for their breakout sophomore (and final) album, The Raw & the Cooked. The project’s success was built off the back of two #1 hits on the Hot 100—“She Drives Me Crazy” and “Good Thing”—and it wound up selling millions of copies, becoming certified platinum in the US, UK, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Germany. FYC would break up in 1992 and briefly reunite four years later to record a new song called “The Flame” for a greatest hits compilation. Steele, Gift and Cox perfectly blended elements of sophisti-pop, soul, ska and new wave, and their music became a big part of the heat seeking pop coda that bookended the 1980s. —MM

11. Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes let the world know that the musical soil of Muscle Shoals was as fertile as ever when they released Boys & Girls with it’s infectious, soulful single “Hold On.” Backed by a band that would have been at home in nearby FAME Studios, Brittany Howard sings with a gusto of a tornado on the plains throughout the debut. But for a band with only two albums (Howard’s first solo album was followed by a domestic violence conviction for drummer Steve Johnson), it’s remarkable how different they are. The Southern rock of the Allmans and the Swampers was replaced by something a little funkier and a little more experimental in the title track and first single, “Don’t Wanna Fight.” It was a direction Howard would continue to travel on Jaime with a new album What Now still in the works. —JJ

10. Fugees

Lauryn Hill didn’t just tease us with minimal music in her solo career—she only graced us with two albums in her time with Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean in the Fugees. However, it’s about quality, not quantity, and Blunted on Reality and The Score are chock full of musical value. Even though Blunted on Reality flopped upon release—although I’m convinced it was misunderstood—it was an energetic experiment of the Fugees finding their voice in the flood of ‘90s hip-hop. Their debut was an essential piece of culture and a discussion of racial injustice and violence, which was at the forefront of rap when it was released. However, The Score knocks Blunted on Reality out of the water with its seamless blend of the best parts of ‘90s hip-hop, soul and R&B. The trio’s final album had a little bit of everything—rock instrumentation, a Bob Marley cover and the soulful croons of Ms. Lauryn Hill. Add in one of the biggest hits of the decade, “Killing Me Softly,” and their short-lived time as a group still created one of the best hip-hop records of all time. —Olivia Abercrombie

9. Judee Sill

Judee Sill’s story is one that is both tragically familiar and painfully unique. Her early home life was characterized by its turmoil; she lost her mother, father and brother all before she turned 25. She was implicated in a series of robberies before she even graduated high school. In turn, she was sent to reform school, where she became a church organist and learned a great deal about the Christian and Gospel music that would later inform her career. That wasn’t her only run in with the law, though. In 1966, she was suffering with addiction and went to jail for her drug use and the checks she forged to support it. She was released after three months, clean and in possession of a newfound drive to focus intensely on her music career.

In 1971, she released her seminal self-titled record, after being signed to David Geffen’s Asylum Records. The album’s gentle, Americana sounds belied a deeper, more enchanting portrait of Sill herself. She used Christian iconography as a means of expressing longing, rapture, euphoria and love. Though Judee Sill was quite well received by critics, it was less than a commercial success, and for that she quickly set to work on her second record, Heart Food. Though once again mesmerizing, tightly produced and critically lauded, Heart Food did not sell as well as Sill had hoped. Her relationship with Geffen fell apart quickly thereafter, and she fell back into her addictions. She continued working on music until 1974, leaving behind a collection of unfinished demos until, in 1979, she died of an overdose at only 35 years old. As is often—tragically—the case, Sill did not live long enough to see the resurgence of her music and the ways it has influenced and continues to influence a gamut of artists, from Liz Phair to Laura Viers to Nick Lowe. As affecting today as they were decades ago, Sill’s perfectly gentle folk rock compositions still, in their own sweet ways, haunt us. —MD

8. Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse was pop’s most unapologetic bad girl before her untimely death at 27. Her legacy lives on through her teenage musings on Frank and the soulful honesty of Back to Black. Even through the corporate squeeze of the music industry—and a slew of songwriters for hire—Winehouse’s personality managed to shine on Frank with tracks like the satirical “Fuck Me Pumps” and the lament of her beloved bird on “October Song.” Although her debut had some fun moments, it couldn’t compete with the perfection of Back to Black. Her second and final record is the portrait of a relationship wrought with guilt, infidelity and heartbreak. Winehouse’s jazzy, R&B sound underlined hit after hit, with the legendary keys of “Back to Black,” the silky vocals of “Rehab” and the classic jazz ensemble of “Addicted.” Winehouse was ahead of her time with her unabashed sexuality and carefree attitude. We are lucky to have been gifted even just two albums of her artistic honesty about womanhood. —OA

7. Syd Barrett

The Pink Floyd co-founder only recorded one album with the legendary band before his tragic departure in 1968. He had been struggling with addiction and mental illness to the point where he was no longer able to function as a collaborator and part of the band, and embarked on a short solo career that spanned one year and two albums directly following it. Barrett’s tragedy has been mythologized; he’s been pigeonholed into the role of “mad genius,” existing as an idea more in the collective consciousness than he does as an artist. But Syd Barrett was an artist, and a man. He was deeply funny, eccentrically inventive, and the two albums that he did release have proven profoundly influential to generations. In January of 1970, he put out his debut, The Madcap Laughs. The album eschews easy definability. Gems included the utterly chaotic, whimsical “Octopus,” and the slow, gentle love tune “Terrapin.” It was November of that same year when he released his second and final album Barrett, which was met with somewhat less commercial success, but possessed the same signature feedback and delay looped into his distinctive sound. Though steeped in tragedy and misunderstanding, Barrett’s brief solo career offered the world a sound never heard before or again. —MD

6. The Stone Roses

Difficult second album? Understatement of the century. Manchester’s psych-pop heroes did everything right for so long, slowly building a fan base and swarms of press buzz with each single they put out and each performance they gave. Anticipation for their 1989 self-titled debut fired the album into the upper reaches of the U.K. album charts followed by a smaller wave of success here in the States. The record fulfilled all the promise of those early singles as the band proved adept at slow melting acid rock (“I Wanna Be Adored”), power pop (“She Bangs The Drums”), psychedelic sound experiments (“Don’t Stop”) and glitter stomp (“I Am The Resurrection”). Oh but did all that fame go their collective heads. They jumped ship to a major label and spent a dog’s age trying to write and record a follow-up. History has not been kind to 1995’s Second Coming, but it’s long overdue for a critical reappraisal. All the players involved showed off increased levels of skill and the band developed a meatier sound that called back to groups like Faces and Mott The Hoople while setting the stage for the eventual arrival of Oasis. —RH

5. Gram Parsons

By the time Gram Parsons released his debut solo album, GP, in 1973, he’d already been a central figure in Southern rock ‘n’ roll. He’d started the International Submarine Band, been a pivotal building block in the Byrds’ best album (Sweetheart of the Rodeo) and co-founded The Flying Burrito Brothers all between 1968 and 1970. Fast-forward three years and he, finally, made a record under his own name—and it’s a pretty damn terrific one. GP is 11 of the most soulful, poetic country rock songs this side of Sun Records. It introduced the world to the eternal greatness of Emmylou Harris while solidifying Parsons’ legacy altogether. “She” and “A Song for You” and “That’s All It Took” are reflective, compassionate and beautiful standouts, while “Streets of Baltimore” endures as a country staple. Parsons would pass away in late 1973 and his second and final album, Grievous Angel, would come out the next January—boasting instant classics like “Love Hurts” and “Return of the Grievous Angel.” Harris would sing vocals on all but one track, and the whole record’s haunted aura put a sorrow-filled end cap on Parson’s time here with the rest of us. Even having put out just two records, he became one of the most important figures in country rock history. In 2023, his impact is still being felt—perhaps more so than ever. —MM

4. Notorious B.I.G.

I don’t want this artist to be on this list. It’s painful to think about everything the hip-hop community has been robbed of in the past 30 years since the shooting death of the Notorious B.I.G., not to mention the countless other young Black artists who have been taken from this world long before their time. I want to simply be glad that we got what we did from these rappers and producers, but it’s not easy to stifle the frustration and thoughts of what could have been. That’s what plays in my head every time I play anything from Ready To Die or Life After Death, the two LPs that Biggie Smalls recorded in his much too short lifetime. With some help from the guiding hand of marketing guru Puff Daddy and an unbelievable cast of collaborators (RZA, DJ Premier, Jay Z and DMC, among them), Christopher Wallace was able to let loose in his signature laidback style, painting intricate portraits of street life in his native N.Y.C. and the complications and thrills that came as a result of his wildfire-like success. It feels like he barely had time to reap the rewards of his hard work and his skill set as he was gunned down mere days before the release of Life After Death. —RH

3. Slint

Is it ridiculous to say that Slint reinvented rock with Spiderland in 1991? Maybe, but I’m sticking with it. Slint may have released two albums, but unlike most of the artists on this list, they didn’t stay together long enough to make it through the release of their second, which gave them a mysterious allure that fit with the dark narrative of their music. Their debut Tweez is a forgotten experiment of bizarre sonics and was needed in order for them to hone their sound to create the post-rock masterpiece Spiderland. Their final album was a twistingly haunting score of just six songs, but the rumbling mystique of their somber presence was enough to inspire the likes of Mogwai. You know you have something special when you spawn dozens of imitators that could never quite capture the magic of the original grimy basement sound a group of 20-year-olds stumbled into. —OA

2. Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel’s cultish and still growing success can all be traced back to a garage in the late 1980s in Rouston, Louisiana. Frontman Jeff Mangum was making home tapes under the name Milk alongside musicians Robert Schneider, Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart. They branded their weird and wonderful tapes with the logo of a fake label, Elephant 6, a name that would come to loosely describe a collective of DIY-flavored indie musicians, led by none other than Schneider himself. But back to Mangum. His young adulthood was defined by impermanence; after dropping out of Louisiana State University and traipsing through the country with no one home, he released his first single in Seattle and, by 1995, was in Denver, recording what would become the group’s debut album On Avery Island. The record was an erratic and buzzing display of lo-fi indie rock goodness.

Alternative rock was in limbo. Kurt Cobain had died a year earlier, but the post-grunge cronies hadn’t yet started cranking out their slew of Cobain impressions that would categorize the decade’s latter half. It was three years after the blaze of Avery Island when the group would release their second and final album, now having solidified a lineup, put out a great record, and went on tour. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea came via Merge records in early 1998. In a way, the rest was history, but that’s not really how things went down. The folksy, melodic record was released to moderate success and generally positive reviews. But shows were violent, dangerous displays. Housing on the road was bleak. The members didn’t always have the money to put themselves up. Following the tour, they went on a sudden, indefinite hiatus.

In the years that followed, people became attached to the record and its visceral emotionality, genuine longing, unpretentious production. and unconventional instrumentation. Featuring horn sections, singing saws and uilleann pipes, Mangum sang on the record with such a pure expressiveness. It was impossible not to fall into his sweeping lyrics and compositions. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has now more than garnered its own battalion of cult followers, and it is widely regarded with the utmost critical praise as one of the best and most influential indie albums of all time. The group reunited in 2013, toured until 2015, and then announced its second, and likely ultimate, hiatus. —MD

1. Joy Division

Despite only being together for four years, Joy Division endure as one of the most important post-punk acts in the history of modern music. After forming in Salford in 1976 after going to a Sex Pistols concert, Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris would take a few years to find their footing and establish their sound. An EP called An Ideal for Living got them a label deal from Factory Records, and it torpedoed the quartet into Unknown Pleasures—a benchmark debut album both in the 1970s and all time. After recording Closer in early 1980, Curtis’ health began to deteriorate and his epilepsy became unbearable. He’d pass away from suicide in May and Joy Division would soon disband and then, later, reform as New Order. Had Curtis not been chronically ill, who knows how far he and his band would’ve gone, or if they would’ve pivoted towards the synth-pop gloss that New Order perfected. From “Disorder” to “Shadowplay” to “Isolation” to, at last, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Joy Division became titans of a rock ‘n’ roll sub-genre that’s still thriving today. They were torchbearers met by a quick ending, yet their music remains blissfully urgent and timeless. —MM

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One of pop’s greatest looks to be sold

Prince’s risqué, provocative point of difference and powerful image paid off and Prince became one of the first black artists – along with Michael Jackson – to land heavy play on MTV, a move that sealed his commercial success. “I don’t think any artist before had used that level of sex to get in the door and be accepted by the mainstream” wrote Questlove of The Roots, in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists tribute (Prince was ranked at 27). “I wonder what his mind state was in 1981, standing onstage in kiddie briefs, leg warmers and high heels without a number one hit. That was a risk.”

Less is more

Equally at ease in his birthday suit (as the sleeves for his eponymous second album and Lovesexy both attest) as in sequins, furs and multi-layered lace – his Purple Rain-era outfit for the 1985 American Music Awards would have found favour with Liberace – Prince didn’t do dull. And the same sartorial effort was expected of his band, The Revolution. “Prince was tired with the costumes I was coming up with. He sent his girlfriend down to the hotel room I was in, and she knocked on the door and she sweetly came in and dumped this bag of metallic, multi-coloured underwear on my bed – bra and panties, basically – and said, ‘Prince said wear this or you’re fired’,” recalled Gayle Chapman, keyboardist from 1978 to 1980.

Mixing virility and femininity, his bare chest often a centrepiece, Prince nonetheless radiated pheromones. “People say I’m wearing heels because I’m short,” said the pint-size (5ft 2in, 1.57m) performer. “I wear heels because the women like ’em.” A flip through his photo album sees an array of funky bell-bottoms, polka-dots galore, and a run of garish metallic body wrappings to rival a Quality Street tin. Silhouettes oscillated between crop tops and high-waisted bodycon trousers to elongate the body, showcasing his ever-trim physique, and long strong-shouldered power-dressing jackets creating the illusion of a bigger frame.

Top of the fops

As eclectic as his musical offerings, Prince’s wardrobe also included Freddie Mercury-style nipple-baring leotards, offset by blow-dried locks, an asymmetric hoop earring and a purple sequinned hooded cape that he wore to the Oscars in 1985 where he won the Academy Award for original song score for Purple Rain. (Never knowingly understated, Prince pulled up to the event in a purple limo escorted by some 20 uniformed security men on motorcycles, according to a report in People magazine.) And once seen, the bottom-baring yellow laser-cut suit worn for his performance of Gett Off at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1991 can never be forgotten – Lady Gaga, eat your heart out.

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Sufjan Stevens Dedicates New Album, Javelin, to Late Partner

Last month, Grammy and Oscar-nominated singer songwriter Sufjan Stevens released his new album, Javelin. In releasing his new album, Stevens took to social media to make his new work a heart-wrenching dedication to his late partner

In October, Stevens posted on his Tumblr, thanking his fans and opening up about his new album. Stevens wrote that “to the light of my life, my beloved partner and best friend Evans Richardson, who passed away in April.” The post is accompanied by photo of Richardson, relaxing in bed with an orange beanie and a lilac, Helado Negro T-Shirt. 

He went on to add that Richardson was “an absolute gem of a person, full of life, love, laughter, curiosity, integrity, and joy. He was one of those rare and beautiful ones you find only once in a lifetime—precious, impeccable, and absolutely exceptional in every way.” 

According his obituary, Richardson passed away on April 30th. A transplant to New York, Richardson worked as the chief-of-staff at Harlem’s Studio Museum, which is a dedicated showcase of the work of Black artists. Richardson had a long career in New York’s art scene, also working with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Art Museum. He went on to be elected chair of the American Alliance of Museums’ accreditation commission, focusing on diversity and access for communities.

Sufjan’s Instagram Tribute

Sufjan’s work has long been admired by queer listeners who found solace in his tender, and often cryptic lyrics alluding to love, god, and sensuality. Sufjan’s music was prominently featured in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, the queer coming-of-age romantic drama, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. In 2019, he shared two songs to celebrate and honor pride month. However, the album announcement marks the first time Stevens has publicly acknowledged his own sexuality, effectively coming out. 

Javelin, Sufjan Stevens’ tenth and newest album, grapples with love and loss, acting as a narrative for Stevens’ relationship with Richardson. Very little is known about the pair’s relationship as Stevens kept his romantic relationships private, although he often alluded to it in his music. Yet each song in Javelin conveys Stevens’ emotional state and looks back on his partner’s life. 

The first song on Javelin, “Goodbye Evergreen”, embodies Stevens grief over the loss of Richardson: “Goodbye, evergreen/ You Know I Love you/ But everything heaven sent/ Must burn out in the end”. Each song provides a brief glimpse into Stevens’ life, taking a step into deeply personal territory.

We know the year has been a hard one for Stevens, who announced in September that he has been undergoing treatment for Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder where your immune system targets your nervous system. Stevens made a statement that he wasn’t able to participate in in the press releases or promotion because of the disorder impacting his ability to walk.  

Stevens’ music has touched the lives of so many, both queer and straight, and we here at Out Front are sending him love and appreciation. 

Stevens concluded his homage to Richardson with this statement: “I know relationships can be very difficult sometimes, but it’s always worth it to put in the hard work and care for the ones you love, especially the beautiful ones, who are few and far between. If you happen to find that kind of love, hold it close, hold it tight, savor it, tend to it, and give it everything you’ve got, especially in times of trouble. Be kind, be strong, be patient, be forgiving, be vigorous, be wise, and be yourself. Live every day as if it is your last, with fullness and grace, with reverence and love, with gratitude and joy. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

You can listen to Javelin on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music or anywhere else you can stream music.

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How Jocelyn Bioh and Nana Mensah Brought Hair Braiding to Broadway

Jocelyn Bioh

Nana Mensah, left, and Jocelyn Bioh, photographed by Rebecca J Michelson.

At the end of 2021, the actor Nana Mensah took part in a live reading of the play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, which was still in its infancy. “At the end of that reading,” she recalls, “we got a standing ovation. I’d never seen people stand and clap at a reading with music stands.” Moments later, producers from the Manhattan Theater Club, most if not all of which had never stepped foot inside an African hair braiding salon, pulled the playwright, Jocelyn Bioh, aside, and told her they wanted to take the show straight to Broadway. Fast forward about two years and Jaja’s, a sly and affecting story of immigrant grit dressed up as a side-splitting workplace comedy, is in its last week on Broadway, during which performances will be live-streamed for out-of-towners. One person who did get a chance to see the show in person was the comedian and Insecure actor Yvonne Orji, who joined Bioh and Mensah earlier this week for what she called “a beautiful amalgamation of Africans on a Tuesday afternoon.” As Jaja’s comes to a close, the three discussed diaspora narratives, the fallacy of thinking of Black audiences as “niche,” and the “full-day extravaganza” that is a visit to the hair salon.

———

YVONNE ORJI: Well, hello ladies. This is a beautiful amalgamation of Africans on a Tuesday afternoon, because why not?

JOCELYN BIOH: Yes. Are you in L.A.?

ORJI: I am in L.A. I’m, yes. Your brick background is giving New York.

BIOH: I’m in New York, giving bookshelf with a little bit of Christmas decorations.

NANA MENSAH: This one is insane about Christmas decorations.

ORJI: You’re Mariah Carey and we haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving.

MENSAH: That’s right.

BIOH: I don’t care. It’s giving “boo” on Halloween and “ho-ho-ho” the next day.

ORJI: You know what? I’m not knocking it. Anyway, I’m just going to just get right into it. So, when people hear about Dreamers, they immediately assume the Latinx community or an othering of sorts. But what the play does so brilliantly is shine a light on the other immigrant groups that are not talked about in that conversation. You shined a light on Africans. Obviously, as Africans, we know those stories, we know the history, we know the aunties who are so intelligent and they would’ve been engineers, doctors, lawyers. So I would love to just hear your take on why, why now, and the genesis of the play.

BIOH: Thank you for that because, when I started writing the play, it was top of 2019. We were edging towards a year that we didn’t expect and the end of an administration that seemed like it was never going to end. So a lot of the rhetoric that was being spewed during that administration was all about building a wall, shutting down borders, and making it seem like the immigrant experience only belonged to one group of people. And the reality is, that is not the case. And the whole time I was going to get my hair braided, as I always have, many of these women in the shop would have were alarmed by everything that was being said. And anytime a cop car rolled by, they were really scared. And I thought, “God, what has this world come to?” You have people actually running scared when they’re just trying to make a living and pursue what we all believe is the American dream. So I wanted to write a play about it and look, I’m a comedic writer, I hope, but—

ORJI: As a standup comic, it was funny, girl. It was funny. Don’t you worry.

BIOH: Okay, thank you. I knew that I could find a kind of “spoonful of sugar mentality” with the play, but also shine a light on all aspects of immigration. How expensive it is to get DACA, which is why our character in the show can’t just sign up and get it. The different ways in which people have attained their citizenship, whether they were born into it, got married, all those things are addressed. Those are all stories from my own life, my family’s life. And what a great way to put all that in one blender, set it in a hair braiding shop, which in and of itself is also a rich kind of melting pot of Africanness.

MENSAH: It’s a great equalizer. Black people of every stretch from every corner all end up there.

BIOH: 100%. And of different countries, too. That’s kind of why they’re all in the play. The shop I go to, most of them are from Senegal, so they all speak Wolof for the most part, or some version of French. I wanted to really mix it up and show how diverse the continent of Africa is. There’s still people who believe it to be a country, bless them.

ORJI: And some people who believe it to be a ish hole country, which we know is not correct. I think some of the comedic genius is how you use humor. It’s one thing to just write humor, but then it’s another thing to make humor the environment, tring humor into the fullness of the experience. And I think did so massively with the dance interlude, with the men we know that come into every braid gallery trying to sell you some stuff you don’t want.

MENSAH: I think there’s something really wonderful about being in a place where you have to be for many, many hours, and being in community with people, right? Because that doesn’t happen anymore, which is why I love plays set in the workplace, because you are all trapped there and you’ve just kind of got to get along. Whenever you have people who, for whatever reason, can’t leave and are forced to endure hours and hours and hours together, their real personalities start spurting up, I just think it’s so ripe for comedy, for drama, for everything. When she mentioned she was working on this, I was like, “What is that? I need to be a part of that.” It sells itself. Knowing how formidable she is as a writer, and taking that setting, I was like, “you’re the only person who can do this, and you’re going to do it masterfully.” Building the community for us as braiders was really amazing. Whitney White, our director, was so intentional about putting us through braiding bootcamp.

ORJI: You were actually braiding-

MENSAH: Yes, yes, yes. And all of us actors were coming to braiding with different levels of skill. was on the lower end.

BIOH: The first week of rehearsal, we were just trading war stories of our hair braiding shop experiences, good and bad. And everybody had one or the other.

ORJI: It feels like such a fight when you go in there. It is like, “What do you want?” And it’s like—

BIOH: It’s my hair. I’m paying you.

ORJI: Or it’s too tight. “Are you sensitive?” I’m like, “What if I am. You know what? Can you be less tough?” You’re getting my money.

BIOH: That part.

Jocelyn Bioh

ORJI: I love the timed lapse. It’s not Nigeria or Ghana where there can be 18 people on the head at the same time and micro braids can be done in five minutes. This is a full-day extravaganza.

BIOH: That’s the way it goes in my shop.

ORJI: So, theater and Broadway specifically has been the gatekeeper for some time about what kind of shows theatergoers “want” to see. It’s called the Great White Way. Jaja has a very, very lively audience that makes for almost a black church experience, if you will, in the call and response. We were dancing. Nana, what is it like working under those conditions? Good or bad?

MENSAH: It’s a fine line. On one hand, it feels so good when you know. And honestly, you can tell early on in the show, when she comes in and asks for micro braids. If the audience goes ham, I’m like, “Oh, okay. We’re performing for our people tonight.” There are certain jokes where I’m like, “Okay, I know what kind of show we’re going to have.” There are times where it is glorious. There are times where it crosses the line. Without spoiling anything, it does take a bit of a turn. And when it takes a turn and people are still kind of giving that participatory energy, it’s like, “no, no, no.” Now, you are outside of the thing. But I love that the audience feels in on the joke.

ORJI: Yeah, we knew your man was trash. 

MENSAH: I was about to get to that. That scene between Aminata and James is one of the places where it really hits an inflection point. People are so angry. They are so mad at me. And sometimes we have to hold.

ORJI: You can tell who’s doing their trauma work.

BIOH: Exactly. To me, the people who are yelling and hollering are the ones who actually have given the man the money and are feeling some type of way and don’t want you to make the same mistake.

MENSAH: It comes from a place of love.

ORJI: Jocelyn, did you write with the idea that the audience would be a character in this way? Or were you just like, “I know my people, I think my people are going to be here, and so I’m writing what I know about them”?

BIOH: I would say the latter. I am the writer who annoys the marketing team, the press team, the publicist. I’m shooting for the stars and pushing, pushing, pushing for everything to be right. So I always knew my people were going to come. I always knew the people who connect to this play were going to come see the play. And that’s part of the conceit of it and why people feel so involved. Because with the design of the set, you feel like you’re in the shop. You’ve come in, you’ve asked for micros, and now you’re here all day.

MENSAH: Buckle up.

BIOH: I always want my work to feel like it’s inviting people in, not shining a light and turning it off and telling you to go away. I want people to feel like they’ve been involved and like they’re friends with these people, so that way when they’re walking out of the theater, they’re thinking about their own implicit biases about immigration, about the African lady they passed on the street when they were moving into their overpriced, gentrified apartment in Harlem. How are you now going to interact with this African woman you see on the corner who might be soliciting you to get braids? You will think about her differently after you’ve seen this play. And I think that that’s a big win.

MENSAH: I want to circle back to what you said about marketing because we know that there have been incredible shows on Broadway that had to end runs prematurely because they couldn’t find their audience. Or rather, Broadway didn’t know how to bring them their audience. I want to know how Jaja has been successful in that regard? Just let this be a masterclass for future productions. Can you speak to how you were able to stick to your vision of who you wanted there, and also make sure the traditional Broadway audience came?

BIOH: Yeah, thank you for saying that. A lot of shows by black and POC artists in the last few years, especially post-COVID, have been in and out in a minute. Or you only heard about the show when it was about to close and there was a massive campaign to try to keep it open. I feel like we have to educate theater audiences on two things. One is, don’t wait until opening night after reviews come out to wait for people to come. We have to start from day one. And two, the reason why we have to start from day one is because most times, ticket prices before the show opens are cheaper than they are after the show opens. If you get to an audience with discount codes, promo codes, tell them, “You need to come starting today, first preview,” they’re essentially part of the rehearsal of how we’re figuring the show out but they’re still excited to experience the show before anybody else does. And a third part is the marketing. Sometimes people don’t realize that images are seared into your brain for a reason. You see it and you’re like, “What is that? I need to know what that is.” Or you see it and you’re like, “I know that that thing is speaking to me.” And that Black girl getting her hair braided with that pile of braids, looking up at her hair braider, presumably optimistically, like, “Are you done?” That is an image that spoke so iconically. And we got a Black artist to come on and do that. We enlisted a Black artist who’s already ensconced in Black art and there was already such a shorthand there. That scene, Yvonne, of you and Issa, when she is in your lap. I got that framed and gave it to one of my best friends as a gift once because that image is so iconic to me of sisterhood, friendship. It really speaks to what that show is about, what that show meant to so many of us. You have to think about what is going to speak to an audience. Between the art, the word of mouth, encouraging affordable tickets. Thanks to that, once everyone’s heard about it, they may want to pay extra anyway.

ORJI: It’s knowing your audience. It’s the multicultural marketing. It’s the specificity. And I love it because it shows. Some would say that you are catering to a quote-unquote niche audience, but we know that there’s nothing niche about the African continent or its people.

BIOH: All three of us can speak to this, but we have a very unique perspective being first generation. We come from parents who came to America with their American dream, but we grew up as Black women in America. We have a very unique perspective. There’s been so much conversation in recent years, the diaspora wars and everything like that, that’s been unlocked. We’re all descendants of each other. We’re all connected. Not to get super spiritual, but it’s true. We are really all connected. There was a massive campaign for many, many years. It was like, “Don’t go to Africa. There’s nothing there except war and AIDS.” And then in another way it was like, “Don’t go to America.” Those two narratives can’t exist peacefully. It can’t be that Africa is a place you avoid, it’s barren, but you’re also pillaging it for all of its minerals, all of its diamonds, all of its gold and oil. And it also can’t be that America’s this beautiful, incredible, amazing place that participated in the recreational terrorism of Black people for 400 years. So we have to now understand the whole truth of it all and bring the culture together. I think this play really does that very specifically, because any and all kinds of Black people are in it. It feels very exciting and thrilling.

ORJI: Do you feel like these plays that you create help bridge the gap and the divide between Africans and African-Americans across the diaspora? And secondly, do you feel like you have a responsibility to do that?

BIOH: I do feel a responsibility. I feel like it’s an incredible privilege to be somebody who is talking about the newness of Africa. I think people have an old idea and narrative of what the continent is. And I’m speaking to the new narratives, the people who are coming with a new ideology and a new way of life. The first time I went back to Ghana as an adult to experience it was in 2018. I actually stayed with Nana and we were out at the club. We were going everywhere. We were living lives. We’re mothers now and it’s so different.

ORJI: You a mother?

BIOH: I’m a whole mother, okay? It was so invigorating to be there. I never imagined being at a marketplace buying my shea butters and whatever. There was somebody from Louisiana right next to me asking me, “Oh, what are you going to get? It’s a beautiful and amazing thing.

ORJI: I want you ladies to know you’re ushering in not only new stories, but new hope and new belief for creatives, for audience members. The world is so backwards right now. We needed those minutes of laughter. We needed those minutes of reprieve, even though there was some pain and drama that came with it, but at least we were experiencing it together and then we could collectively exhale. But was there anything in the show that the producers didn’t understand that you guys had to fight for?

BIOH: Oh, I mean everything. And not necessarily fight. The Manhattan Theater Club, the theater that’s responsible for producing it along with our producers—LaChanze, Taraji [P. Henson], and Madison Wells Live—they loved the play. But LaChanze and Taraji were probably the only people who’d ever actually been in a hair braiding salon. So there was a lot of education on what a shop looks like, what it feels like, who frequents it, what the vibe is. But I was willing to hold their hand through it, because, look, a part of holding people accountable is patience, and educating them on how to successfully produce it.

MENSAH: We did a reading of this play at the end of 2021 and it was a stage reading, with music stands, whatever. At the end of that reading, we got a standing ovation. And this has never happened to me before.  I’ve never seen people stand and clap at a reading with music stands. And so it was so clear to everyone, including Lynne Meadow, the head of Manhattan Theater Club, who’s seen a lot of plays. She’s been running this company for 50 years. And then right after that she was like, “I’m committing.”

BIOH: 15 minutes later she pulled me into her office and was like, “We want to do it on Broadway.” And I was like, “What?”

MENSAH: She was like, “I know what I’m seeing. I know how this can affect people. It’s affected me. S no out of town tryout, we’re going straight to Broadway with this.” So even though Lynne Meadow and the top brass at MTC have never been inside an African hair braiding salon, that does not mean that they can’t help you exact your vision. And I think that that’s really great that you met them with patients and a bit of handholding to get there.

ORJI: Well, I’ll throw my name in the hat if you need to produce it for the next thing, girl. We got some Hollywood dollars up in here. I act as well. I do accents. You said that you have my picture, you gave it to a friend. So I’ll bring you jollof rice with vegetables, if that’s what you want.

MENSAH: Wow. Wow.

BIOH: You know what? I’ll take it. I’m not going to turn away rice. Okay. Controversial opinion. They’re both good.

ORJI: People say I have trust issues. I add stew to my jollof. Yeah, I do.. Because I like saucy things. I’m a saucy chick.

MENSAH: I love saucy things. A cousin of mine was like, “I don’t like wet food.” And I was like, “Yo, we can’t talk.” Sauce is life. Sauce is everything.

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Harlem Fine Arts Show Unveils HFAS16 In February 2024

Harlem Fine Arts Show Unveils HFAS16 In February 2024 – African American News Today – EIN Presswire

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Jimmy Kimmel set to host Oscars for fourth time in 2024, joined by Molly McNearney as executive producer

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA: Jimmy Kimmel has been chosen to host the 2024 Academy Awards! The talk show host will be making a comeback following his demonstration of talent and captivating personality, which greatly impressed the network.

Having previously hosted the award ceremony three times, the 56-year-old will once again take the stage on March 10, 2024.

Also Read: How did Thelda Williams die? Ex-Phoenix Mayor served on City Council for over 20 years

Molly McNearney also roped in for The Oscars 2024

Molly McNearney, the co-head writer of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on ABC, has been appointed to take on the role of executive producer.

The event’s viewership experienced a significant decline due to a lack of representation from black artists but has shown fluctuations between formats in recent years, witnessing occasional rebounds.

Last year, the academy featured three hosts (Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer). Interestingly, from 2019 to 2021, they chose not to have a host.

However, they are now bringing back their most trusted figure, Kimmel, who previously fulfilled the role diligently in 2017 and 2018.

“I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” stated Kimmel in a released statement.

McNearney expressed her honor, mentioning, “I am particularly privileged to be part of the Oscars team this year.”

Also Read: Princess returns: Stolen pomeranian reunites with Arizona family after vanishing during brunch more than 5 years ago

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President lauds Kimmel

Also Read: Arizona ‘Thanksgiving grandma’ Wanda Dench joins Airbnb to host strangers for festive holiday dinner

“We are thrilled about Jimmy returning to host and Molly [McNearney] returning as executive producer for the Oscars,” stated Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang.

“They share our love of movies and our commitment to producing a dynamic and entertaining show for our global audience. We are deeply grateful to Jimmy, Molly and their teams for their incredible creativity and partnership and for going on this ride with us again.”

“After his triumphant return to the Oscars stage last year, we are honored to have Jimmy back to guide us through one of the most beloved celebrations in entertainment,” said Craig Erwich, who is the president of ABC Entertainment, Hulu, and Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals, as per Variety.

“He is such a valuable member of our Disney family, and we could not be more appreciative of him and his entire team.”

Some fans enthusiastically supported Kimmel’s return as the host of The Oscars 2024, while others remained skeptical or unconvinced about the decision.

“Is it just me or did he lose his humor? I don’t find him as funny as before,” one fan wrote.

Another fan stated, “Why do they keep bringing this failure to the front and expect people to like it?”

One more fan said, “We should get Ricky Gervais back 🤣🤣”

A user commented, “He’s not that funny imo maybe he will be this time 🤷🏻‍♀️”

The other Ricky’s fan weighed, “Ricky Gervais is the only person that could get me to tune into that nonsense.”



 



 



 



 



 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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Afro Charities celebrates 60th anniversary

The founding of Afro Charities, Inc., 1963 (L to R) John H Murphy III, President; James D. Williams; Moses J. Newsom; Cliff W. Mackey; and Mrs. Elizabeth M. Phillips, Secretary and Treasurer.

By Helen Bezuneh,
Special to the AFRO

November 15 marked the 60th anniversary of Afro Charities, a nonprofit partner to the AFRO American Newspapers. Afro Charities is dedicated to stewarding the AFRO’s archives and driving charitable initiatives to benefit local Black communities. Founded in 1963 as a charitable organization by members of the AFRO’s board of directors, Afro Charities recently expanded their mission to assume joint care of the archives, now working to make the materials more accessible to the public.

Savannah Wood, executive director of Afro Charities

“There’s been a big expansion in the work that Afro Charities is doing and this expansion will really shape the next 60 years of the organization, focusing on getting these historical materials out to the public,” said Savannah Wood, executive director of Afro Charities. “I think Afro Charities is bridging this really rich history of the early Black press with the present, finding innovative ways to bring this distinct and unique perspective on history to the public.” 

“The AFRO archives are a rich and unique cultural asset,” she added. “Very few organizations have access to that kind of material. We’re in a unique position to share that with students, artists, scholars and to shape the way that people understand U.S. history through those materials.”

Members of the AFRO initially founded Afro Charities to more efficiently direct the AFRO’s already existing charitable programs, such as Mrs. Santa, an annual holiday gift drive, and Afro Clean Block, a grassroots initiative that has worked to keep local Black neighborhoods clean. 

Though their mission has expanded to care for the AFRO’s archives, Afro Charities remains committed to their mission of charity, whether that’s in the form of gifted clothing or engaging the community with educational experiences in the archives.

The archives feature unique materials that cannot be found elsewhere, carrying a profound weight of African American history that Afro Charities is dedicated to preserving everyday.

Deyane Moses, curator of archives at Afro Charities

Deyane Moses, curator of archives at Afro Charities spoke on the materials on hand.

“The collection is rich,” she said. “It doesn’t only focus on events that are notable in African American history, but it also focuses on everyday people and their accomplishments. One of the things that the AFRO had a slogan for was ‘sharing good news.’ A lot of the times in the media that we don’t control, the news that we hear about ourselves or our communities can be negative –– downright just wrong and distasteful. The AFRO has always talked from our perspective, lifted up our community and shared things from our voice.”

The Afro Charities team has put a lot of energy into preserving the archives, organizing the materials so they’re ready for the public.

“So much of the work that we have been doing with the AFRO archives has necessarily been behind the scenes just because of the sites that we’re working out of and the type of archival work that we’re doing,” said Wood. “What I’m really looking forward to also is being able to share that labor with the public so people understand what we’ve been doing behind the scenes. I’m really looking forward to 2024, when we’ll have many more opportunities for the public to engage in the work that we’ve been doing quietly behind the scenes over the past few years.”

Afro Charities has also been piloting an artist commissioning project, which gives artists the opportunity to conduct research in the archives and create new work inspired by the materials. In 2020, for example, the organization opened “Close Read,” a group exhibition featuring work from artists who spent time conducting research in the AFRO’s archives. The art was projected onto the windows of Baltimore’s Connect + Collect gallery to facilitate social distancing.

In addition, Afro Charities directs a journalism and multimedia high school fellowship where youth have the opportunity to conduct extensive archival research and create new work in response to their discoveries. 

Members of Afro Charities’ team at the Maryland State Archives, 2023.

“With archives across the country, typically you have to have pretty strong credentials— a Ph.D., et cetera, to be able to access them,” said Wood. “Through our programming, we’re opening this collection up to what I’ve been calling ‘non-traditional scholars,’ people who you don’t necessarily think of as scholars initially, to have access to the collection.”

The organization aims to relocate its archives to the Upton Mansion, where they also intend to establish offices for AFRO staff. They plan for the space to be a welcoming “state of the art” facility, Moses said, a place where local community members can engage with the organization and the archival collection. The projected house design would include a rooftop area for visitors, a library and more, said Moses.

“The Upton mansion was a private home before, it was also a radio station and a school for students with special needs,” said Moses. “So it has a rich history of educating and serving the community and it’s still gonna continue with that purpose in the future. We’re gonna make it into a community space, AFRO staff will also live there as well as the archives, there will be a gallery space, it will be very functional for the community and welcoming the community to come in.”

“Upton is located in a historically Black neighborhood, a historic Black church is nearby, the Black arts district is nearby,” she added. “There have been numerous African Americans who have lived in that neighborhood who are notable in civil rights and the civil rights movement. So it’s perfect and in a key location.”

While they await their purchase of the mansion, the archives are being housed at a Maryland State Archives facility. In the past, they’ve been housed at Bowie State University and Morgan State University, said Moses. While they’re in the final steps of making the mansion their home, they still have some funds to raise before making the purchase. 

“We’re close to reaching our goal but still need some support, so we’re actively soliciting support from folks who want to help us get this done,” said Wood. “Once we have all of the financing in place, we’ll be able to put shovels in the ground, so our goal is to be able to do that by the first quarter of next year.”

Once they secure the mansion, they hope to train an intergenerational cohort of people to digitize the photographs in the archival collection.

“In some ways it’s an opportunity to learn about archival work and it’s also an opportunity to learn about Baltimore and world history through the AFRO archives,” said Wood. “And doing this in an intergenerational way means that there are connections happening across generations that wouldn’t have been fostered otherwise.”

As they go forward, Moses and Wood envision a promising future for Afro Charities, having recently expanded their team by welcoming new members.

“Afro Charities’ future is so bright I don’t even know if I can see it, I don’t even know if I can predict what’s happening,” said Moses. “It’s growing and growing and growing at an exponential rate. I really do see us being innovators and groundbreakers. We’re about to shake this sh–t up, we’re going to change this whole perspective of librarianship archives with the collection that we have here.”

“Sixty years is a long time,” said Wood. “I’m looking forward to honoring all the work that’s been done in the past and sharing our vision for the future with the public so people really understand the direction that we’re moving in going forward.”

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