this is where i've been. aac films is now based in seattle, wa.

Join us on the 40th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. This historic event will celebrate his extraordinary life and present positive solutions from today's generation of visionary leaders. A bullet killed the dreamer, but not the dream. Together, we will create ecological solutions to heal the earth while bringing jobs, justice, wealth and health to all our communities...

in the summer, there's the 10th annual allied media conference, june 20-22 @ wayne state university in detroit, mi. aac films will definitely be there, and you should too.

check out this recap video of last year's amc by diana nucera.

i have since gotten to know alixa and naima, and love them dearly. you should get to know them too, especially when they come through your city this year during their "hurricane season: the hidden messages in water" tour.

here's an introduction to who they are:

this is an old video, but it's new to me.

they're leveraging the reach of myspace to not only educate, uplift, and support black women, but challenge all who disrespect us by either regarding us as bitches, tricks and hos, or allowing others to do it.

this is their pledge:

1. I promise to always love and honor myself and my people as the beautiful, intelligent, and regal individuals that we are

2. I promise to never sell my self-respect for any amount

3. I promise to stand up and demand my respect from any and everyone that is foolish enough to compromise it

4. I promise to treat others as I would like to be treated

5. I promise to be a leader and never a follower - even if it means losing friends

6. I promise to never let the entertainment industry decide what is acceptable and what isn't - I make the decisions as the consumer

7. I promise to lead by example and show our youth the right path

8. I promise to NEVER disrespect the mothers of civilization

we do have plans to document our move and our exploration of new orleans, so stay tuned!

"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak." —Audre Lorde

October 31, 2007, Be Bold, Be Red, Stop the violence against women of color.

Simple Ways to Participate on October 31,2007

If it is DIFFICULT to HOST or to attend a Red RALLY/GATHERING,PLEASE WEAR RED, GET WITH YOUR FRIENDS and at 8:00 pm CENTRAL READ in Unison the "OUT OF SILENCE LITANY" BECAUSE PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE NATION WILL BE DOING THE same thing. Please take Pictures and/or Video and EMAIL us at beboldbered[AT]gmail.com, so that we can upload them on the website.

After October 31, 2007, we want to flood the web with pictures and video of Red!!!

• Wear RED


• Read "Out of Silence" Litany at 8:00 pm/central time


• Take Pictures and/or video and email them to beboldbered[AT]gmail.com (After October 31, 2007, we want to "flood" the web with pictures and video of RED)
  For more information about wearing Red and local events in your area, please visit Document the Silence

If you have questions, please email us at beboldbered[AT]gmail.com.

"be bold be brave be red stop the violence"

Recent events in the United States have moved us to action. Violence against women is sadly, not a new phenomenon in our country or in the world, however, in the last year women of color have experienced brutal forms of violence, torture, rape and injustice which have gone unnoticed, received little to no media coverage, or a limited community response. We are responding to:

• The brutal and inhumane rape, torture, and kidnapping of Megan Williams in Logan, West Virginia who was held by six assailants for a month.


• Rape survivors in the Dunbar Housing Projects in West Palm Beach, Florida one of whom was forced to perform sexual acts on her own child.


• A 13 year old native American girl was beaten by two white women and has since been harassed by several men yelling "white power" outside of her home.


• Seven black lesbian girls attempted to stop an attacker and were latter charged with aggravated assault and are facing up to 11 year prison sentences.

Be Bold Be Red Stop the Violence Against Women of Color

first, my friend's original bulletin post:

---------------------------------------
I know it's a big joke in Chicago, but in a way, this small hot-dog stand on the north side is very much a microcosm of Chicago in that it represents how "hyper-segregated" Chicago is. Fucked up shit. Delicious when covered in mustard, but fucked up:

Discuss...
---------------------------------------

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

this year, i had my video camera with me, but i didn't actually film anything beyond some footage that will only be useful as b-roll footage on some future project. what i learned at the 2006 amc was that it's almost impossible to truly be present and document at the same time, and i was there to participate, not document.

i did remember to use my crappy camera phone as often as possible, which wasn't very often. in other words, i have a handful of crappy photos of a very small part of detroit. enjoy?

all photos were taken with a crappy palm treo 600 cell phone.

i came across this video series called people are a trip. it's a simple idea, juliana luecking asks people questions, that range from "what is one thing you know to be true?" to "why do nations go to war?" and they answer her on camera.

this one is my favorite so far. check out madigan's music too.

juliana encourages you, yes YOU, to send her your answers in video, or in the case of this segment, a hand made zine.

simply awesome.

this was my third year attending the conference, and much like last year, i took so much away from it, that i have a hard time describing it or putting it into words.

a caveat: this year was the first year i wasn't at the amc solely as a free agent. i was there largely representing a non-profit organization, where i've freelanced as a teaching artist for the past 2 years. that being said, i was partially responsible for the chaperonage of 2 youth, which meant a lot less freedom than i'm used to. i've also been struggling a lot with activism and youth work, so even though i was present, i wasn't as present as i would have liked to be, but i knew that would be the case several months prior. to make matters worse, there was a lot of tension in my group for most of the weekend. in the end, an very important lesson on how i attend/participate in conferences has been learned on my part.