UPDATE: The Soulfully Speaking Scavenger Hunt – Annapolis has been rescheduled for May 15 due to weather!

JUST THE FACTS

WHAT: Scavenger Hunt Annapolis
WHEN: SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2010
TIME: Meet at 12:30 PM – teams to be dismissed at 1:00 pm
WHERE: Meet in front of the Maryland State House (State Circle between Francis Street & East Street, Downtown Annapolis)
WHO: Teams of 2 adults (children also welcome on teams)
COST: $30 per team (in advance; $40 day of the Hunt)
BRING: Comfortable shoes, digital camera with memory card, umbrella
PROVIDED: Maps and list of clues will be given to all teams the day of the Hunt
DIRECTIONS & PARKING: Map of State Circle, City of Annapolis Parking
CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Cipriana – cipriana@soulfullyspeaking.com or 202-297-2660

—————————————————————————————-

Looking for something different to do for the weekend?

Come out and join us in our third Scavenger Hunt – this time in Maryland’s capital city of Annapolis! Spend your Saturday afternoon exploring downtown Annapolis and discovering all the historic city has to offer.

 

WHO?

Teams of two adults (children also welcome) will set out on foot and have about 3 hours to find and photograph clues and perform tasks across downtown Annapolis. It’s all about the strategy – the team with the most points at the end of the allotted time will be the winner and awarded a cash prize!!

 

REGISTRATION?

Registration is $30 per team in advance and $40 the day of the Hunt. Advance registration is encouraged to ensure that enough materials are available. After you have completed your registration payment, I will confirm your receipt and email you a copy of the Scavenger Hunt rules.

 

WHY?

In a continuing effort that is the brown girl study, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to another organization that services this population.

If you cannot attend, but would like to make a donation, it would be greatly appreciated. Direct donations will go to the chosen organization.

Still unsure about participating? See all of the fun the teams have had during the previous Scavenger Hunts:

Scavenger Hunt Blogs

Scavenger Hunt Photos

Please feel free to contact me with any questions! See you at the Hunt!

Scavenger Hunt Annapolis!

Soulfully Speaking’s 3rd Scavenger Hunt kicked off in Annapolis on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  Annapolis, unfamiliar to most participants, was the perfect place for a Scavenger Hunt – plenty of history, friendly streets and people…not to mention all the Midshipmen walking around!

As usual, it all started with strategic planning:

And then they were off!  Scrambling along the quaint streets of Annapolis…from the State House…

…to the Naval Academy and St. John’s College…

…to the Alex Haley/Kunta Kinte Memorial on the City Dock.

For more points, the hunters were also on the lookout for Ravens and Redskins fans, tour guides dressed in period clothing…and of course…Midshipmen!  :)

The teams were given extra points for finding us at a specific location at a specific time!

And after a few hours of hunting around beautiful downtown Annapolis…the winning team was:

We tried to get a group picture of all the teams…but half of them were on Main Street eating!

Sounded like a good idea, so we headed down to Buddy’s for an early dinner and I figured…why let the teams have all the fun??

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Scavenger Hunt and to all those who made donations!  A portion of the proceeds will go to the Center for Minority Studies.  It was a great day.  Thanks Annapolis!

If you missed this one, be sure to catch the next Scavenger Hunt in spring 2010!

Scavenger Hunt: ANNAPOLIS! – September 19

JUST THE FACTS

WHAT: Scavenger Hunt Annapolis
WHEN: Saturday, September 19, 2009
TIME: Meet at 12:30 PM – teams to be dismissed at 1:00 pm
WHERE: Meet in front of the Maryland State House (State Circle between Francis Street & East Street, Downtown Annapolis)
WHO: Teams of 2 adults (children also welcome on teams)
COST: $30 per team (in advance; $40 day of the Hunt)
BRING: Comfortable shoes, digital camera with memory card, umbrella
PROVIDED: Maps and list of clues will be given to all teams the day of the Hunt
DIRECTIONS & PARKING: Map of State Circle, City of Annapolis Parking
CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Cipriana – cipriana@soulfullyspeaking.com or 202-297-2660

—————————————————————————————-

Looking for something different to do for the weekend?

Come out and join us in our third Scavenger Hunt – this time in Maryland’s capital city of Annapolis! Spend your Saturday afternoon exploring downtown Annapolis and discovering all the historic city has to offer.

WHO?

Teams of two adults (children also welcome) will set out on foot and have about 3 hours to find and photograph clues and perform tasks across downtown Annapolis. It’s all about the strategy – the team with the most points at the end of the allotted time will be the winner and awarded a cash prize!!

REGISTRATION?

Registration is $30 per team in advance and $40 the day of the Hunt. Advance registration is encouraged to ensure that enough materials are available.  After you have completed your registration payment, I will confirm your receipt and email you a copy of the Scavenger Hunt rules.

WHY?

In a continuing effort that is the brown girl study, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to another organization that services this population.  The Center for Minority Studies is a non-profit organization that promotes health literacy and awareness by providing quality health-related support services to underpriviledged, disadvantaged, low socioeconomic status clients in Washington, DC and its surrounding metropolitan area.

If you cannot attend, but would like to make a donation, it would be greatly appreciated.  Direct donations will go to CMS.

Still unsure about participating?  See all of the fun the teams have had during the previous Scavenger Hunts:

Scavenger Hunt Blogs

Scavenger Hunt Photos

Please feel free to contact me with any questions!  See you at the Hunt!

The Great DC Scavenger Hunt!

The second DC Scavenger Hunt, sponsored by Soulfully Speaking, began at high noon on April 18th.  After receiving the clues and rules, the teams were ready to go!  They set out into the city to find clues of artistic, historic and interesting value.  The Hunt took the teams to a variety of locations including the National Museum of American History, Georgetown, the FDR Memorial, Chatman’s D’Vine Bakery & Cafe and the African-American Civil War Memorial, to name a few.  A portion of the proceeds from this Hunt are to be donated to the Family Crisis Center of Prince George’s County, whose mission is to promote and facilitate the elimination of violence in intimate relationships by providing counseling, education and support services for women, children, and men.

Teams were also given a chance to pick up extra points by tracking down police officers, firefighters, mannequins and random passers-by in Obama or McCain t-shirts! 

Also, new to this hunt was the specific effort to support a Black Business.  The teams were directed to Chatman’s D’Vine Bakery & Cafe – owned by Debra Chatman, who formerly served in the United States Air Force.  The Bakery, located at 1239 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, serves one of the best sweet potato pies you’ll taste!   Chatman’s also has an assortment of cakes, cupcakes, pies and some lunch items.  All of the teams that made it to Chatman’s traded in a coupon for a free Key Lime cupcake.

The teams had 3 hours to find as many clues as they could.  When the teams came running back into Union Station, the points were tallied and only 40 points separated first from third!  Coming in 3rd was:

In second place:

And…in first place…upholding their title:

Congratulations to Kendra and Lemar for winning the hunt, again!  Perhaps it has something to do with that military training!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Hunt and made donations!  Stay tuned for the next one!

For more Scavenger Hunt pictures, please visit Soulfully Speaking Photography.

It’s time for the 2nd DC Scavenger Hunt!

It’s that time again!  Soulfully Speaking Productions will be sponsoring its second DC Scavenger Hunt!  Scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm, it promises to be even more fun and exciting than the last one!  If you didn’t make it to the first one, see what you missed:  1st DC Scavenger Hunt.

Whether you grew up in this area or are new to the DC Metropolitan area, this is a great opportunity for you to get to know the city a little better.  Each team of two adults (kids can also participate) will be given a set of clues to find throughout the city.  The teams will set out to find the most clues in the least amount of time.  This is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!  All of the teams from the first hunt had a lot of fun and learned a lot all at the same time.

In keeping with my ongoing personal project, the brown girl study, a donation from a portion of the proceeds of the first hunt was made to the Center for Minority Studies – a non-profit organization that helps to address one of several of the major issues affecting our brown girls and women – HIV and Aids.  A portion of the proceeds of this hunt will be donated to another organization whose existence also serves a prevelant and relevant issue for us, domestic violence.  The Family Crisis Center of Prince George’s County aims not only to provide safe, emergency shelter for battered women and their children, but also to provide these families with comprehensive services.  Please take the time to visit the site and consider donating some of the much needed items listed on the Family Crisis Center’s “Wish List“.

The fight against domestic violence

With an ever-increasing presence in the news, domestic violence continues to plague our families and our communities. Whether a popular couple in the media’s eye or the couple that lives across the street, domestic violence knows no demographic or social boundaries.

In light of this, the organization receiving a donation from the proceeds of the next scavenger hunt will be the Family Crisis Center for Prince George’s County.

I wanted to re-share and re-post a poem I wrote some years ago and the inspiration behind it.
————-
*June 2005

Ladies,

As usual, I hope this message finds you doing very well!

I wanted to share something with you all. I, along with another lady, witnessed an act of domestic violence this past weekend. It’s one of those things that prior to it happening, you always feel like you know exactly what you should do at that exact moment. I was caught completely off guard by the incident and all of that pre-rationale was gone. At any rate, we never know what is going on in another woman’s life, in another woman’s home. I just want to say that, although we’ve all heard it many times, NO man is worth the abuse of our minds, our bodies or our spirits. And unless the Bible or Webster’s dictionary has redefined love, it certainly does not equate with a man putting his hands on a woman. I will refrain from going into a complete speech about it all, but just want us to all know that we deserve more and should never settle for a male (he is not a man) who would display his ‘love’ in any kind of harmful way. So, with all that said, I wrote something called ‘Behind Closed Doors.’ I hope you read it when you get a chance. (*Stepping down off my soapbox now….*)

Take care and be safe.

Behind Closed Doors

unsuspecting eyes bore witness
to the unfolding at their doors
misunderstandings and miscommunications
appeared to be the reasons for their argument
hell-bent on his position
her opposition meant nothing
and his belief that he was right
self-justified each slight of hand
upon her face
his coiled hands
repeatedly found a place in her side
and with each connection
the perception of the
hidden eyes implied
that this could not be
the First time
unsure whether to open up
their lines
to make an emergency call
his arm around her neck
causing her to fall
further horrified the hidden stares
she got up
unaware
that her son had just appeared
on the top stair
not understanding
that this vision
of her degradation
had now been
planted
and with continued fertilization
could grow to produce
another hand
that fell upon
another woman’s face
but that man-child’s eyes
held No surprise
giving rise to the fear that
what was happening here
was no where near
the blows that landed behind closed
doors
sending her child away
she stayed
perhaps in an attempt to
diffuse the situation
but he refused any further contemplation
leaving her with a bruised rib and swollen eye
but she gave chase
and raced after him
leaving the secret onlookers
with a dimming view of her damaged
spirit
and just because
they could no longer hear it
didn’t mean it wasn’t still
going on
and just because
they could no longer see it
didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen
Again
but when she came back in alone
an offer of help was declined
saying she was just fine
she climbed the stairs
prepared to continue her night
and for her
the fight that had taken place
at the doors of her neighbors
was brushed aside
like the blush she used to hide
the bruise on her face
leaving the only trace to be found
in her eyes
that she kept as protected
as the hidden stares
that watched her
and maybe just like them
she just didn’t know what to do
so instead
she just went back inside
closed her door
and did
Nothing.

-cdt, 6/7/05

Worth the Wait

Happy Wednesday! If you haven’t had a chance to take the brown girl survey yet, please take a few moments to do so. I’ll be providing an update on the responses thus far, soon. The survey link is:

the brown girl survey

Anyway, here’s my latest writing entitled, Worth the Wait:

No one told her that
she
was worth the wait
so
she never did
skipping right past kid
to womanly ways
she had no reason for hesitation
when it was time to lay down
no one ever telling her
that a crown
sits better on one who
stands
up/right
never wanting to be up-tight
she let loose
making no excuses
because she didn’t know
there was a reason
to excuse her behavior
sex became
savior
just like she imagined
the father she never knew would have been
but none of this psycho-analysis
entered her head when
she found herself in the beds
of those from whom she
subconsciously sought
approval
albeit temporarily
for at least
momentarily
love
was hers
and since
no one ever told her
she deserved more
she didn’t expect it
and since
she didn’t know
her temple was divine
she never demanded
they respect it
and since
young minds typically
do what young minds see
think about
whose self-image
she reflected
please know
we
are
All
connected
economics
isn’t the only thing
that trickles down
this young girl’s
same perspective
can be found in grown
women
grown women
who extend their bodies
to men who want nothing more than
their bodies
grown women
who then believe
that their sole value
exists in sex
so unless they
are laying down
they walk around feeling
worthless
so please understand
how this works is
a young girl
who doesn’t know her worth is
going to become
a grown woman
who doesn’t know
the same
and we’re all to blame
because we never told her or showed her
differently
so let me put this
simply
her perception of
her self-value
directly relates
to what she
accepts
from her mates
and so the question
blaringly awaits
if she never
Knew
how much she was worth
how would she
Know
she was
worth
the
wait?

-(c) cdt 2008

Introducing: the brown girl project

 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…

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/.

pretty girl

For all the pretty girls who may not know it…

pretty girl

she had to be about 12 or 13
but her eyes put her a little closer to 30
telling me that her soul had already seen far too much pain in her world
I smiled and said…hey pretty girl
and asked her how she was feeling
but
when she looked back at me
there was no concealing the confusion and surprise
that clouded her young-old eyes
as she seemingly struggled in digesting
what I thought was just a simple question
she

paused

and asked simply
Who told you I was pretty?
caught completely off guard
I looked at her
and blinked
and all I could think to say was
Who told you that you weren’t?
she sat and stared
and before I could get prepared
for the answer
she replied without hesitation
Everyone.
Every-one?
I didn’t want to believe it
but she proceeded
with
well…
the music videos all tell me
that my skin is too dark to be considered
and I remember how all the images I see on tv
hint that my nose is too broad and my lips too full
and the lady that does my hair always pulls and presses
mumbling about long straight tresses and weaves
and all the boys at school leave me alone
cause I’m not stacked and not thick enough in the back
and the black women I know always talk about
how they want to go change the way they look
but never talk about how beautiful they are
and if I look just like them
then I can’t be far from the disappointment
they see in themselves
and well…
how much more
would you like me to tell you?
and when she refocused her eyes on me
they were clear and dry
but
I had started to cry
and didn’t know where to begin
so I said
pretty girl…they’re all
just lies

See
Your pretty is in that beautiful brown skin
it’s in those full lips and those hips
whether they’re thick or they’re thin
Your pretty is in those inquistive brown eyes
it’s in that naturally curly hair and in that cute nose
regardless of the size
Your pretty is in that wonderfully resilient spirit
it’s in that brilliant smile and genuine laugh
that brings me joy every time I hear it…

So pretty girl
please don’t believe any of the lies you’ve heard
I need you to listen
to the certainty in my words
and know
that even when the rest of the world
doesn’t get it
You
have to
and as I tried to speak this truth into her wide eyes
they mirrored my own reflection
forcing me to recognize
that I sometimes
get caught up in those
very same lies
and I suddenly realized that
this pretty
wasn’t just about
her
it was also about
me
so as I
adamantly
convinced her
to see all
these pretty things in herself
I tried to convince myself
to see those same pretty things
in me
just
getting
that maybe when I
finally
could look in the mirror
and truly see
my Pretty
so
finally
would
she.

–cdt – 6/4/08