Introducing: the brown girl project October 15, 2008

 A few years ago, I saw a short film directed by Kiri Davis entitled, “A Girl Like Me.”  In part, the film began to tackle the issue of brown girls and self image and how the media and community influence them.  Davis, a teenager at the time, interviewed other young girls who did a great job of expressing their own experiences with skin tone, self esteem and how both family, and those they don’t know, affected how they viewed themselves.  Around that time, I had several discussions with others about the implications of us not thinking we are beautiful because of the depth of our tone, among other things.  It is unfortunate that our little girls think their brown skin is ugly.  And even more unfortunate, those little girls become grown women who feel the same way.  We have to be the ones to tell our little girls that they are beautiful, inside and out, so that they grow confidently knowing that they are.

From then to now, I’ve written a handful of poems specifically about brown girls and women.  And somewhere along the line I decided that my third book would be all about us – a whole series of poems devoted to addressing the joys and struggles of being a brown woman.  But, I wanted to write more than my own perspective and observations.  I wanted to reach further than my circle.  So, for and beyond the book, I am doing several things: 

 

1.      Conducting a survey to gather a wide range of opinions about the issues facing brown girls and women.  Please participate in the survey here:

 

the brown girl survey

 

2.      Hosting a series of small discussion groups to expound on the experiences and thoughts of different girls and women and providing a forum to share with and learn from each other.

 

3.      Planning a variety of events that allow money to be raised and donated to organizations that provide services in the areas important to brown girls and women.

 

4.      Write, write, write!

 

So, that’s the long and short of the brown girl project.  I hope you’ll join me on the journey.  Check back for regular updates on the project.

Ode to the Scavenger Hunters… October 13, 2008

It all began on a warm and sunny October afternoon…we met at Union Station at high noon.  There were 12 teams who all believed they had what it took to be the winners of this, the DC Scavenger Hunt.   The teams of 2 to 3 people sized each other up, trying to assess the other’s strengths and weaknesses…lol…just kidding.

Twelve enthusiastic teams showed up ready to venture out into DC and find  a miscellany of clues that I had picked out and riddled up over the past weeks.  Armed with their digital cameras and clues, they were off for a 3 hour hunt.  They traveled to all four quadrants of the city to snap pictures in all sorts of locations from the Zoo to the National Air & Space Museum to Nationals Park to the Frederick Douglass Museum to the Willard Hotel.  Take a look:

The Freedom Bell in front of Union Station                                      At the National Zoo

World War II Memorial                                                   The US Botanical Gardens

The Air & Space Museum                                             The Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

The National Museum of African Art                            The Doorman at the Willard Hotel

Silver Statue on the Mall                                     Albert Einstein Statue

And while the Lone Sailor Statue/Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets was on the list of clues…one team went a step further to find live military men/sailors to snap pictures with…lol…the best non-clue picture award goes to:  Team Renegades!

Anyway, after three hours of searching, the teams returned to Union Station with memory cards full of pictures.  And after my sister and I crunched the numbers, the highest scores went to:

3rd Place – (tie) with 220 points each:

The Crusaders A Serious Matter

2nd Place – with 265 points:

The S & S Superstars

And coming in 1st place, with 280 points, the winning team was….

Team Uncle Sugar!

The first place team received a cash prize.  And a donation will be made to the Center for Minority Studies.

Thanks to all who participated in this event and to those that made donations.  Stay tuned for the next Scavenger Hunt! 

To view additional pictures from the Scavenger Hunt visit the photo gallery: http://www.soulfullyspeakingphotography.com/.

Yay! October 3, 2008

If you’re reading this, then that must mean my website has been relaunched and you have already visited it!    Thanks!  I’ve been thinking about and working on this for some time.  I’m thankful for my friends who have put up with me asking them to review and edit and provide feedback on every single thing…lol.  I especially want to thank…my sister, my mom & dad, Jonathan, Trina, Nana, Precious, Salama, Toni, Tavon, Shawn, Cammie, Alita, Age, Scott, Eb, Kaya…hopefully, I didn’t forget anyone…whether you proofed and discussed the survey, gave me feedback on the site, help formulate the scavenger hunt idea, etc., I greatly appreciate you.  And don’t worry…there will be more involuntary work for you to do in the future…lol. 

I’m excited about both the look and content of the redesigned site.  The biggest addition to the site is my latest project…the brown girl project.  This idea has grown from a conversation with a girlfriend into this evolving project.  I had been writing some pieces dealing specifically with brown girls/women and I thought about dedicating a whole book to the subject.  From there, I began to wonder how I could talk to other women (including those outside of my own circle) and find out what their experiences had been in order to write poems from a more broadened perspective…with the intention of reaching more girls and women and empowering them through their own circumstances.  Lofty goal?  Perhaps, but I figure everything is worth a try!  So…out of this was born the brown girl survey.  This online survey will ask a whole range of questions about the experiences of brown girls and women, as well as questions of those who don’t fit into that demographic.  I’m excited and hopeful that women from all backgrounds and perspectives will take a few minutes and answer these questions.  I’m extremely interested to read the responses.  If you’re interested, please take the survey here:

the brown girl survey

Based on the results of this survey, I will begin to craft small discussion groups to talk more in depth about some of the topics.  But, more to come on that later on.

 

Shifting gears…for those in the DC Metro area, I will be hosting a DC Scavenger Hunt on October 11th from 12:00 PM until about 4:00 PM.  I know there are those of you who secretly wish you could be on The Amazing Race…lol.  Well, here’s your chance to do something on a smaller scale that doesn’t take as much time!  Teams of two will be given a set of clues to find throughout the city (most within several blocks of metro stations).  The teams will find these clues/locations, snap their picture in front of it and get points for each clue found.  They will have a certain amount of time to capture as many clues as they can and then race back to the meeting spot (Union Station) to see who wins.  And if that’s not exciting enough…(insert drum roll here…lol)…there will be a cash prize for first place!  Registration is $20 in advance (before October 11th). 

So…are you up to the challenge???  If so, register online on the site: 

Scavenger Hunt Registration (click on the Events tab)

 

For any events like this that I host, I will be aiming to generate funds to donate to an organization that in some way, services the needs of brown girls and women.  For this event, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Center for Minority Studies…a non-profit organization who services, among others, brown women by helping to meet their educational health needs.  Check them out:

 

Okay…I guess that’s all I have for right now.  Feel free to subscribe to the blog so you’ll know when I post something new.  I’ll blog about how the survey’s going, what’s new with the project and to share new poems.

Hope you like the new site!