Monday, September 24, 2012

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Needs Your Support...Give To Grow The Movement!

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."
~Malcolm X

"The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press." ~Ida B. Wells-Barnett

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."~Dr. Martin Luther King

Dear Family:

Ask Not What W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For W.E. A.L.L. B.E.!!!

First and foremost let me thank everyone for supporting this idea known as W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News, Radio & TV...This baby is approaching her fifth year anniversary and like any proud parent I would like to brag about my beautiful baby or let me rephrase it our beautiful baby...For it takes a village, online and off, to raise a child...

This journey of W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News, Radio & TV has been any and everything, but predictable...April 2006 was the birth month and year of this curious wunderkind, but its arrival has been many years in the making...2010 will mark another phase in the development of this child...Just like everyone else W.E. A.L.L. B.E. looking for change in this new Age of Obama...

And you can count on W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News, Radio & TV being a part of the spearhead  of the vanguard leading the charge...As a matter of fact we want you all to join us in the charge up the hill into the stratosphere of infinite possibilities and hope...

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio has grown exponentially and phenomenally over these four short years...The news blog has over 400,000 plus unique visitors and the internet radio has just passed the 300,000 download mark and we are quickly on our way to 500,000 and beyond...Gandhi once said we must 'be the change that we want to see in the world'...I wanted to share what was in my head with the rest of the world...And so for better or worse, here W.E. A.L.L. B.E. now...

Frederick Douglass once said that "it is easier to raise strong children than it is to repair broken men"...Help me raise our child into maturity...Do What You Can, When You Can, Where You Can, How You Can And If You Can.

How Can We Help W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Be All That It Can Be You May Ask???

The following are suggestions not commandments:

1.) Donate your 'spare change for change' as well as make out checks and money orders and send to our mailing address:

Attn: Ron Herd II/R2C2H2 Tha Artivist
The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 752062
Memphis, TN 38175
(Note: Make Your Checks & Money Orders Out Ron Herd II, Donations Not Tax Deductible)

***

2.) We Also Accept Contributions Via PayPal Online:




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3.) $ Buy Ad Space On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News, Radio & TV $
E-mail us @ r2c2h2@gmail.com and/or call us @ 901-299-4355 so we can show you how you can share your success and wealth with W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News, Radio & TV...

***

4.) Hire W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Founder & C.E.A. (Chief Executive Artivist) R2C2H2 Tha Artivist
A True Public Intellectual With The Interest And Welfare @ Heart Of 'We The People', Tha Artivist will not only ‘edutain’, but will also impart priceless knowledge at affordable prices...Click the link for more info:

5.) Have you or your organization host a fundraiser event for W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News, Radio & TV...
Please Contact us through e-mail r2c2h2@gmail.com or phone 901-299-4355 for more info...

***

6.) Buy W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Art & Gear:


Thank You Fam For Your Love & Consideration...In The Words Of The Great Marcus Garvey "Look For Me In The Whirlwind"...

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Sincerely Yours,

Tha Artivist MBA
Founder Of The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group, Inc.
Ph- 901-299-4355

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W.E. A.L.L. B.E.'S Purpose

 Copyright 2006 Image is Property of R2C2H2/Ronald Herd II


"All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree."
--Albert Einstein

“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
--Robert Kennedy

"I know that there is a spark in every person which will respond and glow to the touch of beauty. Because I know this, I am going to continue presenting beauty to the world until I ignite that spark in people's hearts."
"My mission is to teach the world how to love beautiful things."
"Space is the Place."
---Sun Ra

Welcome to the news action and education forum known as W.E. A.L.L. B.E!!!

W. E. A.L.L. B.E. MEANS:

W. ORLD
E. NRICHING

A. CTIVATING
L. IBERATING
L. OVE

B. EAUTIFICATION
E. XPERIENCE

The purpose of W.E. A.L.L. B.E. is to engage people of all walks of life in a constructive, creative and productive dialogue on the issues of our day whether it be the arts, race, religion, class, sexuality, economics, education, entertainment, environment etc.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. knows the only way we are going to get to the point where we all can learn to embrace and love one another is that we all must first learn how to embrace and love ourselves (KNOWLEDGE OF SELF)...IGNORANCE ISN'T BLISS IT'S DANGEROUS...True knowledge is empowerment and empowerment is created from speaking truth to power by taking action...True power is manifested from our soul and imagination.

The purpose of W.E. A.L.L. B.E. is to teach people to love (at least tolerate and/or better understand) and respect the diversity of all people regardless of point of view, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status etc.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. believes that in order to eradicate ignorance and mis-education that we all must play a part in educating each other about ourselves, hence "each one teach one." Another one of W.E. A.L.L. B.E.'s purposes is to present many sides of the issue and let the individual not society decide where he/she should stand on a issue by providing as much creditable information as possible.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. is a news-action (not action-news) organization meaning that it is a news forum that's dedicated to creating our own news by actively pursuing and letting all voices be heard on any of the issues of our day.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. believes that we all can solve our problems by extending the dialogue beyond the newspaper headlines and scroller at the bottom of cable news network channels…KNOWLEDGE IS VERY EMPOWERING IF YOU KNOW HOW TO APPLY IT TO BETTER NOT ONLY YOURSELF, BUT ALSO THE CONDITIONS AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. believes that ALL SPECTATORS MUST BECOME PARTICIPANTS IN ENSURING THE GROWTH OF THIS ALTERNATIVE NEWS OUTLET BY SUPPLYING W.E. A.L.L. B.E WITH THE FOOD FOR THOUGHT OR CONTENT FOR FURTHER GROWTH, STRENGTH, AND SURVIVAL.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. SHOULD BE LOOK AT AS BEING A LIVING BREATHING ORGANISM MEANING THAT ITS LIFE'S EXISTENCE IS DEPENDED UPON THE PEOPLE'S KINDNESS AND NURTUREMENT…IT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO TAKE A VIRTUAL AND LITERAL VILLAGE TO RAISE THIS CHILD!!! THIS MEANS THAT IF YOU ARE A POET, VISUAL ARTIST, MUSICIAN, FILMMAKER, A PERSON WITH SOME NEWS TO SHARE OR A PERSON WITH A LOT ON THEIR MIND AND BELIEVES IN THE HEALING POWER OF PUTTING PEN OR PENCIL TO PAPER OR FINGERS TO KEYBOARD THEN FEEL FREE TO FORWARD ALL CONTENT ALONG WITH CONTACT INFORMATION AND A SHORT BIO TO r2c2h2@gmail.com

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. is looking forward to hearing from you all soon!!!

Remember The Revolution Won't Be Televised But It Will Be Blogged, Podcasted & Now Broadcasted Online!!!

Artastically, Communally & Revolutionarily Yours,
Tha Artivist
W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Founder and Minister of Information

~~~~~~
To see or rather "hear" how far W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio has come please listen to the first broadcast, Jan. 7, 2007:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/01/07/tha-artivist-presents

Also check out how good we were in "2008 a.k.a. The Year Of Citizen Radio":
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/01/we-all-be-news-radio-made-2008-year-of.html

~~~~~~
*Support W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio!!!*

The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Needing Funds Drive For W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Begins...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/12/we-all-be-needing-funds-drive-for-we.html





W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Supporting W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio: Buy Art & Gear For 'The Cause' Today!!!
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/12/we-all-be-supporting-we-all-be-news.html
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: He Was Not Afraid: Dr. Akinyele Umoja On Alfred 'Skip' Robinson

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: He Was Not Afraid: Dr. Akinyele Umoja On Alfred 'Skip' Robinson

***About Dr. Akinyele Umoja***
R2C2H2 Tha Artivist & Dr. Akinyele Umoja

 Associate Professor and department chair in the Department of African-American Studies at Georgia
State University (GSU). At GSU, Umoja is responsible for teaching courses related to the history of people of African descent in Georgia, the Civil Rights Movement and other Black political and social movements, courses on the enslavement of African people in the New World, African religion and philosophy, and 19th and 20th century Black political and social movements.

Dr. Umoja was instrumental in bringing Alfred 'Skip' Robinson to California and also worked with him via his organization the United League of Mississippi on several campaigns in Mississippi...

About Alfred 'Skip' Robinson

“Robinson, who serves as president of the organization he founded, establishes local chapters of the United League upon request by local citizens. In a community requesting help, Robinson holds workshop meetings in each black neighborhood, where problems and needs are identified and strategies planned for addressing them. An ongoing community organization continues to meet after Robinson leaves to guide blacks of the community in resolving problems and meeting needs. Where the Klan is active and discrimination is practiced, the United League advocates demonstrations, business boycotts, and armed self-defense. The policy of armed self-defense has been particularly effective in countering Klan violence against blacks. In those communities where blacks have met Klan force with armed self-defense, the Klan has backed down.”
~Jet May 25, 1978

Tha Artivist Writes:
What do you get when you mix Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Robert F. Williams together??? The answer is Alfred ‘Skip’ Robinson…

So how can a gun-toting, handsome, charismatic and dynamic leader with a silver tongue who led a 70,000 member organization (the United League of Mississippi) which effectively took on the Ku Klux Klan and the White Power System in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in the 1970s and 80s be forgotten about by history and by those who he tried to liberate from oppression? How can a person who was an in demand orator and whose courageous exploits (which included shootouts with the KKK, protesting police brutality and effectively boycotting White owned businesses that discriminated against Black folks)  headlined major newspapers and who was the subject of dozens of mainstream media interviews and profiles and who won a prestigious internationally recognized award (the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award) for his innovative revolutionary work seemingly vanish from the annals of American Civil Rights Movement and Black Liberation History???

Some 25 plus years after his questionable death by ‘car accident’ (he allegedly ran into the back of a semi-truck on Dec. 18, 1986, on Highway 78 near Holly Springs, MS),  W.E. A.L.L. B.E. seeks to answer that as well as resurrect the legacy of this extraordinary human being via his own words and by the words of those who actually worked with him…We are going to revisit his legacy of grassroots activism via his incredible United League of Mississippi and include his prophetic address from the Distinguished Visitors Program lecture at UMass on Nov. 2, 1978, where he accurately addressed concerns that have already come to pass and that we as a people are currently dealing with…

I wasn’t aware of Alfred ‘Skip’ Robinson until July 2011 when I visited the Ida B. Wells Museum in his old stomping grounds of Holly Springs, MS, where I was informed by the volunteer tour guide, Charles Richmond, of this unsung legend…But since that day I could never forget him and neither will you…

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Needs Your Support...Give To Grow The Movement!


Or You Can Mail Us A Money Order:

Attn: Ronald Herd II

The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group Inc.

P.O. Box 752062

Memphis,TN 38175
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W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: In His Own Words: The Prophecy Of Alfred 'Skip' Robinson

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: In His Own Words: The Prophecy Of Alfred 'Skip' Robinson

About Alfred 'Skip' Robinson

“Robinson, who serves as president of the organization he founded, establishes local chapters of the United League upon request by local citizens. In a community requesting help, Robinson holds workshop meetings in each black neighborhood, where problems and needs are identified and strategies planned for addressing them. An ongoing community organization continues to meet after Robinson leaves to guide blacks of the community in resolving problems and meeting needs. Where the Klan is active and discrimination is practiced, the United League advocates demonstrations, business boycotts, and armed self-defense. The policy of armed self-defense has been particularly effective in countering Klan violence against blacks. In those communities where blacks have met Klan force with armed self-defense, the Klan has backed down.”
~Jet May 25, 1978

Tha Artivist Writes:
What do you get when you mix Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Robert F. Williams together??? The answer is Alfred ‘Skip’ Robinson…
So how can a gun-toting, handsome, charismatic and dynamic leader with a silver tongue who led a 70,000 member organization (the United League of Mississippi) which effectively took on the Ku Klux Klan and the White Power System in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in the 1970s and 80s be forgotten about by history and by those who he tried to liberate from oppression? How can a person who was an in demand orator and whose courageous exploits (which included shootouts with the KKK, protesting police brutality and effectively boycotting White owned businesses that discriminated against Black folks) headlined major newspapers and who was the subject of dozens of mainstream media interviews and profiles and who won a prestigious internationally recognized award (the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award) for his innovative revolutionary work seemingly vanish from the annals of American Civil Rights Movement and Black Liberation History???

Some 25 plus years after his questionable death by ‘car accident’ (he allegedly ran into the back of a semi-truck on Dec. 18, 1986, on Highway 78 near Holly Springs, MS), W.E. A.L.L. B.E. seeks to answer that as well as resurrect the legacy of this extraordinary human being via his own words and by the words of those who actually worked with him…We are going to revisit his legacy of grassroots activism via his incredible United League of Mississippi and include his prophetic address from the Distinguished Visitors Program lecture at UMass on Nov. 2, 1978, where he accurately addressed concerns that have already come to pass and that we as a people are currently dealing with…
I wasn’t aware of Alfred ‘Skip’ Robinson until July 2011 when I visited the Ida B. Wells Museum in his old stomping grounds of Holly Springs, MS, where I was informed by the volunteer tour guide, Charles Richmond, of this unsung legend…But since that day I could never forget him and neither will you…
W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Needs Your Support...Give To Grow The Movement!


Or You Can Mail Us A Money Order:

Attn: Ronald Herd II

The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group Inc.

P.O. Box 752062

Memphis,TN 38175
Posted by tha artivist at 9:12 AM 0 comments Links to this post
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Somebody: Prof. Kathryn Bentley & Du Theatre


Artist Scholars: r2c2h2 tha artivist & Prof. Kathryn Bentley

Video: W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Somebody: Prof. Kathryn Bentley & The Du Theatre Tradition 
 “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
~Zora Neale Hurston (Brainy Quote, 2011)





Kathryn Bentley’s title is associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE). She is also the director of SIUE’s Black Theatre Workshop. She has taught at SIUE for 6 years under her current title and 2 years before as an adjunct professor. Whereas Prof. Bentley is an academic practicing her craft in a traditional accredited institute of higher learning, I am more of a grassroots educational maverick, operating my projects under an incorporated umbrella entity, The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group Inc., where I operate as a consultant and community advocate within as well as outside the traditional educational paradigm. 
 Dr. Aminata Cairo & Prof. Kathryn Bentley

Prof. Bentley has been interested for awhile in exploring the history and tradition of the enslaved African theatre in North America. However, most recently she started research that focuses on a form of theatre done in Suriname, South America, called “Du Theatre” which was originated by slaves. She was introduced to her current research project by Dr. Aminata Cairo. She met Dr. Cairo a few years ago at a mixer for new black faculty.  Dr. Cairo’s family is from Suriname, but she was born and raised in the Netherlands. Suriname is a former Dutch colony and was formerly known as Dutch Guyana. She saw this as a golden opportunity because Dr. Cairo told her that there was nothing written in English about the Du Theatre tradition.  “I became very interested because I am very interested in the slavery theatre of North America just never thought about the possibility of looking at theatre created by enslaved Africans in South America so last summer (2010) I traveled with her to Suriname and stayed for a few weeks where I was able to do some initial interviews with some of the purveyors of the theatre tradition and I taught some acting classes to some young people” (Cinch, 2011).
 
After her initial visit, Prof. Bentley took her students to Suriname the next summer. “Over the last 2 years I have been heavily researching this form of theatre and incorporating it into working with my students. This summer I was able to take students with me to Suriname to conduct research and they actually became research assistants and also helped me to bring the research to life by putting on an actual performance of this traditional art form” (Cinch, 2011).       
Prof. Bentley with her students

Prof. Bentley realizes that her research and community advocacy approach is rather unorthodox to the traditional function of an academic theatre arts program but she adamantly feels that it is important for her students to not only see themselves as performing artists but also as scholars/intellectuals and community advocates. “I am an artist first that’s my training that’s my background…Fortunately, I was able to discover that I also was a scholar…Typically in liberal arts theatre programs research is not the focus, usually we are training young people to hone their craft to be able to go out and audition to have a career in arts that is more performance based…Because of my background with the arts and having realized through my artistic career there is so many ways to use my artistry as a community artist helping to develop curriculum and also to use it to teach just about anything, I wanted to make sure that I expose my students to the possibilities of using research in their craft and being able to utilize that to find out about different cultures and incorporating that into what they do as artists…I am hopefully opening up my students to a whole other way to look at a degree in theatre” (Cinch, 2011).
Kindred Spirits: Katherine Dunham & Zora Neale Hurston

However, she is following a very unique tradition within the African American culture canon that has visible roots and origins in the Harlem Renaissance Movement of the first half of the 20th Century…Combining her passion for the performing arts with her appreciation for the empirical scientific process has allowed her to share intellectual and aesthetic kinship with literary genius Zora Neale Hurston and dance genius Katherine Dunham, both of whom had extensive academic pedigrees in the anthropology field of which they used the research methodologies and knowledge gathered from the latter to create and inform their unique individual arts legacies. 
Prof. Bentley considers herself as a trendsetter because her research work is contributing to what is now known as multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is the view that the various cultures in a society merit equal respect and scholarly interest (Dictionary.com, 2011).  However, working in an area of a country that is prone to insularity and cultural conservatism can have its challenges because people are less prone to venture outside their comfort zone or worldview. However, according to Prof. Bentley the philosophy and ideals of multiculturalism in esoteric terms is wholly different from its actual application (or lack of) in our shared reality. She often asks her students who pretty much see themselves as open-minded and inclusive human beings “when was the last time you actually sat at a different table at lunch with somebody that was not in your ethnic group or your group of friends???”(Cinch, 2011) When she starts “questioning them on that, they start to realize that maybe I am not as cosmopolitan as I thought” (Cinch, 2011).

In conclusion, Prof. Bentley plans to continue her research on the Du Theatre in Suriname and also in the Netherlands where some of the purveyors of this theatre tradition are also located. She plans to present her research at conferences as well as publish a book on her findings after a few years of further research. Through her connections she was able to bring a Du Theatre artist from Suriname as an artist-in-residence for a semester to expose her students even further to the culture of that particular form of theatrical expression. She is also looking forward to bringing theatre students from Suriname to the U.S. to do theatre projects with her students at SIUE.

References
Brainy Quote. (2011). Zora Neale Hurston. Last page update unknown. Last retrieved
10/16/2011 from

Cinch. (2011). WE ALL BE Somebody: Prof. Kathryn Bentley Interview. Last Page Update
10/16/2011. Last retrieved 10/16/2011 from http://cinch.fm/r2c2h2/my-stuff/297765.

Dictionary.com. (2011). Multiculturalism. Last page update unknown. Last retrieved 10/16/2011    
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