Back of Book Scripts #8
A List of Scripts, of the Inspiring Sort.
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Song of Harlem, happy Tuesday!
Today the moon is Full and is also known as the Long Night Moon or Cold Moon. We're sharing below a few events happening this season of Kwanzaa.
- Tomorrow, there will a Harlem Kwanzaa Peace Walk starting at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Building in Harlem from 11AM to 1PM.
- The Nguzo Saba Collective will hold a Kwanzaa on Wednesday, December 27th at M.S. 35 at 272 MacDonough Street in Brooklyn from 2 to 7 pm. Vendors welcome - please contact 516 830 8766.
- Additionally, on Thursday, December 28th please join NAMA for a Kwanzaa at their space also in Harlem. The event will include a puppet show and workshop and will begin at 4pm at 107 W. 130th Street.
- And then, this Saturday the 30th of December, Forces of Nature Dance Company will take reign at the Apollo Stage for a Kwanzaa Regeneration Celebration. You can find tickets for that here.
- Save the date for a performance at the Blue Note by Kojo Odu Roney. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wishing you a peaceful end of year,
N
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the body remembers
The body remembers what the mind forgets.
The body holds on to stress.
Tammy is a character on a reality-tv show called 1000-lb Sisters. In the show we watch Tammy go through various steps to reduce weight all the while relating to her family.
This is what Gia, a poet, shared with me
the other day as we left a museum in Queens.
In a recent episode Tammy has come home from a rehab of sorts, and her family is bickering about something and another member makes a joke that hurts one of Tammy's sisters. A fight ensues and no one really celebrates the fact that Tammy has made it home, had her trach taken out and so forth.
My body remembers the slink of handcuffs,
The pressure of the officer on my neck.
Looking at the camera, Tammy says I thought I was going to conquer the world, but I didn't know that the world was going to fall apart. She’s referring to her world - this town and family in Kentucky.
My body remembers her; another patient,
crying like me, wondering what happened,
what did we do?
This is the world that she had hoped to conquer, to succeed in, find happiness and peace. It struck me, her words, because I grew up, like many, with this imprint that one day I too would change the world (will change the world). I will say that for me this change would mean shaping a world that better resembled an inclusive, justice oriented politic.
My body remembers riding the backseat,
Tears streaming down my face.
And so, I see here that as Tammy refers to the world she means those six or seven family members. But what if you truly see your locus of control as far as Pakistan, Palestine, as far as Gaza.
The body holds pain in places unseen.
The mind forgets.
How do we change a world so close, and far from us at the same time? Part of it is yes, beginning with inspiring molecules of change in ourselves. I think of a late auntie, Mama Ayanna, who was also a master midwife. She was very committed to being a better steward of the earth and she focused a lot of energy on recycling paper, from pieces of scrap to heavier cardboard.
I think of what it might mean to pray
peace into my body, affirm love into my mind.
Mama Ayanna taught those around her to shape ourselves as agents of change, conspirators of revolution. She taught us to do a very small thing towards conservation, a very real thing towards preservation. In doing so she changed the world, her world and me in it.
May peace reign in our body, our selves, families and communities.
May we pray justice into our lands, pray health into our earth, affirm love
into our communities. This, I wish for you as we turn to a new year:
peace, justice, health & love.
Let's get into it.
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shopTWIN
Purchase a jar of Body Butter here. This batch includes new flavors, neroli, lavender, and natural, yo! It is the business!
Our selected writing from 2022/2023 are also available. This is a great keepsake, a sweet compilation of our most recent writings, poems. Filled with inspiration, photos, verve & more.
With best wishes,
N