Category: In the News

Remembering St. Nick’s Pub

It was Friday morning about a week ago  and while in the middle of getting the word out about “48Hours in… EL BRONX”, that I receive a text from a friend,

“St Nick’s pub burnt down”.

I respond as only one does…

wtf!!!

I immediately text another friend, a musician who lives in the neighborhood and had the same affinity for the pub as I did.

She didn’t know yet, but made a call and within minutes confirmed the news, following up with photos of the building


“A firefighter died”

This was all just too much for me to take in.

Weeks before, I’d been in the neighborhood and noticed the pub opened.  It had been years since I’d seen the inside.  Reports were there was a movie being shot inside.  It was nice to see life in the tiny space again, even if it was just a few PAs and production equipment.  A flood of memories came to me.

My memories of the pub were many, especially when I lived on 148th and Broadway, during the beginning years of my MFA.

I’d also gone to St. Nick’s pub before I officially lived in the city, met a friend’s brother for drinks and had fallen in love with what Harlem was then.  I had no idea I’d live so close, but when I did turn out to be 3 blocks away, St. Nick’s became the only place at the time that I would tell friends to meet me.  This was years before Tsion or Harlem Public…

I drew my friends north by emphasizing how accessible St. Nick’s was from the ABCD and of course… the music… the reason you went to St. Nick’s pub…. The reason I went to St. Nick’s pub.

It was uptown, it was jazz and food on some nights… it was a home.  You saw people from the community and students from all over.  They knew the place to come for inexpensive drinks and good music.  I could have gone alone and found friends, (not only because I find friends wherever I go), but because St. Nick’s was that type of environment.

This story is of course developing.  The film was Edward Norton’s “Motherless Brooklyn”.  The firefighter who died, Lt. Michael Davison, was the father of 4 children.  I was not a mother when I frequented the pub, but I am a mother now.  I cannot imagine my children losing their parents in such a way.  I cannot imagine my children losing their parents period.  It’s not something you wish on anyone. (There’s a gofundme page for the firefighter’s family if you click on his name above).

Regarding the cause of the fire, I don’t know how it happened, but I know how I feel… sad.

Another piece of Harlem history is gone.

The next and most devastating phase following the fire was watching the building being torn down.  I watched on instagram and was grateful for once to be far from my old neighborhood instead of blocks away.  I don’t think I could bear passing the spot day after day.  I cringe at the thought of a luxury building going in the place where the 123 year old townhouse once stood.

For now, St. Nick’s website is still up, and it’s nice to see what they were – the schedule.. how busy it was… videos and more photos.  If nothing, it’s a nice place that serves as a sort of memorial.

Screen grab of www.stnicksjazzpub.net

I’m sharing my photos from January 18, 2009.  I was there with my dear friend from high school… my sister.  The photos below are of the atmosphere.

Take it in.

We were two young women on a Saturday night in Harlem.  There was music 7 days a week at St. Nick’s and Saturday starting around midnight was AFRICA NIGHT.  Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure was performing the night I took these photos.  I remember the woman getting up and just dancing.  She was free.  I remember photographing a friend I’d made from Harlem School of the Arts downtown the street.  St. Nick’s was for everyone and you felt that walking down those old cement stairs and through the old front door.

I want people to know what this space meant to others.  My story is of a graduate student making her way in the city… finding comfort in the nooks and crannies of her new neighborhood in the late 2000’s – her adopted home.

What’s yours?

 

 

 

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Remembering Sarah Baartman and the Rented Negro

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On June 6th, 3 Black women stood in New York’s Union Square holding signs that read,” You can touch my hair.” The photos were posted across social media and debated in the days to follow. (#youcantouchmyhair)

In 1810, Sarah Baartman stood on display while her buttocks and other parts of her barely covered body, were examined in a sideshow. Europeans flocked to marvel at her exhibition, pointing and staring at her exotic parts.

Sarah Baartman had little to no choice and was persuaded to make a “living” being on display until her death in 1816. She was posthumously on display and dissected in France until her remains were finally sent back to South Africa in 2002.

While it is clear from the articles and discussions in the past week that “Un-ruly’s” exhibition was meant as a social experiment and as a way of examining the “tactile fascination”, as they described it, with black hair – I was still (as many black women were and are), a little bit…disturbed.

Upon seeing the discussion on twitter and then viewing the photos on Instagram, I immediately thought of Sarah Baartman.

Black. Woman. On Display.

Voluntary or involuntary, they were being examined, just as Sarah was. They were being looked at and rented, as Damali Ayo might have put it.

You see, the other place my mind went after learning about this “phenomenon” was the bottom of a dresser drawer, where lay a t-shirt that read, “touch your own hair“.20130620-055438.jpg

Pretty simple.

I bought this particular shirt during my Afro days, my “say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud” days when I needed everyone to know how Black I was. I purchased it from “rent-a-negro.com“, Damali Ayo‘s web-art-performance that allowed people to apply for rental Negroes. The site is now “out of business”, but the shirts are still available, as well as the book version of the site.

In another time (pre-motherhood), I might have stood alongside the women with my t-shirt juxtaposing their signs and behavior.

The best I could do as a response was to post a photo of the shirt.

Looking beyond race, how age appropriate is it for adults to run around touching each others hair. You don’t see 9-5 professionals groping each other at the office, in fact, there are rules against that.

My response to un-ruly might not be congratulatory, but I’m not furious at their exhibition. It did what I believe it was supposed to do. Spark Discussion. Most people might be shy to openly discuss Black hair when asked, so if an exhibit is in a public space and everyone else seems to be doing it. It must be ok…right?

In a time where Kim Khardashian’s baby is at the top of our lists, it was at least refreshing to see a more intellectual debate trying to surface for longer than a week.

Black people throughout the Diaspora are no longer for sale or rent. These days of putting ourselves on display should be coming to an end. I believe discussions of race in this country need to continue and maybe factor in other things, like economic status.

I believe the few non-Blacks that showed interest in touching Black hair were genuinely curious, but …curiosity killed the cat, and if you want to touch my hair, like I said – become a hair stylist.

Remembering Sarah Baartman and the Rented Negro

On June 6th, 3 Black women stood in New York’s Union Square holding signs that read,” You can touch my hair.” The photos were posted across social media and debated in the days to follow. (#youcantouchmyhair)
In 1810, Sarah Baartman stood on display while her buttocks and other parts of her barely covered body, were examined in a sideshow. Europeans flocked to marvel at her exhibition, pointing and staring at her exotic parts.
Sarah Baartman had little to no choice and was persuaded to make a “living” being on display until her death in 1816. She was posthumously on display and dissected in France until her remains were finally sent back to South Africa in 2002.
While it is clear from the articles and discussions in the past week that “Un-ruly’s” exhibition was meant as a social experiment and as a way of examining the “tactile fascination”, as they described it, with black hair – I was still (as many black women were and are), a little bit…disturbed.
Upon seeing the discussion on twitter and then viewing the photos on Instagram, I immediately thought of Sarah Baartman.
Black. Woman. On Display.
Voluntary or involuntary, they were being examined, just as Sarah was. They were being looked at and rented, as Damali Ayo might have put it.

You see, the other place my mind went after learning about this “phenomenon” was the bottom of a dresser drawer, where lay a t-shirt that read, “touch your own hair“.20130620-055438.jpg

Pretty simple.
I bought this particular shirt during my Afro days, my “say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud” days when I needed everyone to know how Black I was. I purchased it from “rent-a-negro.com“, Damali Ayo‘s web-art-performance that allowed people to apply for rental Negroes. The site is now “out of business”, but the shirts are still available, as well as the book version of the site.
In another time (pre-motherhood), I might have stood alongside the women with my t-shirt juxtaposing their signs and behavior.
The best I could do as a response was to post a photo of the shirt.
Looking beyond race, how age appropriate is it for adults to run around touching each others hair. You don’t see 9-5 professionals groping each other at the office, in fact, there are rules against that.
My response to un-ruly might not be congratulatory, but I’m not furious at their exhibition. It did what I believe it was supposed to do. Spark Discussion. Most people might be shy to openly discuss Black hair when asked, so if an exhibit is in a public space and everyone else seems to be doing it. It must be ok…right?
In a time where Kim Khardashian’s baby is at the top of our lists, it was at least refreshing to see a more intellectual debate trying to surface for longer than a week.
Black people throughout the Diaspora are no longer for sale or rent. These days of putting ourselves on display should be coming to an end. I believe discussions of race in this country need to continue and maybe factor in other things, like economic status.
I believe the few non-Blacks that showed interest in touching Black hair were genuinely curious, but …curiosity killed the cat, and if you want to touch my hair, like I said – become a hair stylist.

RE: Charles Isherwood and the Sputtering Starlet (NyTimes Artsbeat – Theater Talkback)

The craft of acting is to be taken seriously for those who can only dream of one thorough role a year, or every couple years – it is the difference, for example, between the original Millennium Series in Swedish and the Hollywood re-make.

It is talent and stamina. Mind and body – putting one’s energy into an exhausting role for that one “take” versus putting yourself into that one role over and over for weeks and months (even years) on end.

A “starlet” on Broadway is like reality television – except we don’t often spend an ungodly amount to watch those train wrecks.

Imagine for a (very) brief, unrealistic moment that Kim Khardashian decided to call herself an actor and found herself thrust upon a stage to do whatever it is that she does. Ticket sales would likely be through the roof if not sold out – but for how long before she and the audience wanted out.  I don’t mean to diminish the actual work of Hollywood actors who have attempted to make a way for themselves among the greats of Broadway, but it might seem as ill a match as the above mentioned Ms.(...er Mrs… er…) Khardashian on the stage.

Hollywood doesn’t fit well in a place as honest as New York – where you can see imperfection on the stage – we like flaws here.  New York also likes perfection… over and over again, something you only have to do in Hollywood once.

Elaine Stritch said it well on her “retirement”, “I’m just sick of the competition in New York, the feeling that I always have to rehearse to keep up my performance. […]” (Patrick Healey).

The starlets who flock here are maybe looking for a notch in their belt. The runs are usually limited because neither their stamina nor their persona could handle it for more than a few weeks. That “perfection” that Ms. Stritch spoke of achieving and being expected to achieve on a more than regular basis.

Unfortunately, Broadway is often about making money – New Yorker’s know that.  While it may often be the tourists’ playground, as the box offices from many of the shows Isherwood mentioned demonstrated, even they tire of the letdown of seeing their favorite movie heroine up close and personal in a play they only came to see because he or she was in it.

I think casting Starlets or Hollywood actors is common because of the money the theatre community hopes to make. Plays are only so popular these days when everyone’s attention span is less than a macro-second.  The theatre is not what it was and stars bring a boost.   If we see a boost in “big names”, it might signal that the “money people” are looking to make a few more dollars or are low in the first place.  Either way, it’s a money problem.
On the other hand, what Isherwood (and many of the comments) have shown is that this boost is only temporary because no one is really fooled and the shows close (even before originally being scheduled to end).

So Hollywood – Back to The Hill and “The Method” you go!

_________________________

In Response to Theater Talkback: The Season of the Sputtering Starlet ~Charles Isherwood~ NYTimes Theatre Arts Beat – March 21, 2013

RE: Charles Isherwood and the Sputtering Starlet (NyTimes Artsbeat – Theater Talkback)

The craft of acting is to be taken seriously for those who can only dream of one thorough role a year, or every couple years – it is the difference, for example, between the original Millennium Series in Swedish and the Hollywood re-make.

It is talent and stamina. Mind and body – putting one’s energy into an exhausting role for that one “take” versus putting yourself into that one role over and over for weeks and months (even years) on end.

A “starlet” on Broadway is like reality television – except we don’t often spend an ungodly amount to watch those train wrecks.

Imagine for a (very) brief, unrealistic moment that Kim Khardashian decided to call herself an actor and found herself thrust upon a stage to do whatever it is that she does. Ticket sales would likely be through the roof if not sold out – but for how long before she and the audience wanted out.  I don’t mean to diminish the actual work of Hollywood actors who have attempted to make a way for themselves among the greats of Broadway, but it might seem as ill a match as the above mentioned Ms.(...er Mrs… er…) Khardashian on the stage.

Hollywood doesn’t fit well in a place as honest as New York – where you can see imperfection on the stage – we like flaws here.  New York also likes perfection… over and over again, something you only have to do in Hollywood once.

Elaine Stritch said it well on her “retirement”, “I’m just sick of the competition in New York, the feeling that I always have to rehearse to keep up my performance. […]” (Patrick Healey).

The starlets who flock here are maybe looking for a notch in their belt. The runs are usually limited because neither their stamina nor their persona could handle it for more than a few weeks. That “perfection” that Ms. Stritch spoke of achieving and being expected to achieve on a more than regular basis.

Unfortunately, Broadway is often about making money – New Yorker’s know that.  While it may often be the tourists’ playground, as the box offices from many of the shows Isherwood mentioned demonstrated, even they tire of the letdown of seeing their favorite movie heroine up close and personal in a play they only came to see because he or she was in it.

I think casting Starlets or Hollywood actors is common because of the money the theatre community hopes to make. Plays are only so popular these days when everyone’s attention span is less than a macro-second.  The theatre is not what it was and stars bring a boost.   If we see a boost in “big names”, it might signal that the “money people” are looking to make a few more dollars or are low in the first place.  Either way, it’s a money problem.
On the other hand, what Isherwood (and many of the comments) have shown is that this boost is only temporary because no one is really fooled and the shows close (even before originally being scheduled to end).

So Hollywood – Back to The Hill and “The Method” you go!

_________________________

In Response to Theater Talkback: The Season of the Sputtering Starlet ~Charles Isherwood~ NYTimes Theatre Arts Beat – March 21, 2013

The Artist-Parent-Parent-Artist Balance…

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parent-artistbalanceIn a January blog for The Public Theatre, J.Julian Christopher touched on his experience as an artist making ends meet through freelance work and then balancing his creative life once attaining a position in Academia (a wish for many artists not wanting a “9 to 5”).

He wrote about his regimen for maintaining that “work-creative life” balance that so many artists struggle with. At the end of his post, he stated that a relationship would only make that more difficult… I chuckled when I read that as it rang more than true! (especially as I sit here in the dark finishing this blog on my phone).

Where does your creativity come in when one’s life is both parent and artist…. wait … did I just say that? Being a parent is one of the most creative things to happen to a person – if you are already an artist, it only adds to your creativity…in my opinion. BUT – Where does one find TIME to be creative as a parent balancing “life” when your livelihood cannot always be determined by your art.

The Washington Post published an article last week about work-life balance for single people – and feeling guilty for having to find pet care vs. childcare, for example.  Balance affects everyone. It’s real.

Personally, I often feel like my mind is going to explode from thinking before being able to accomplish anything (Procrastination / Over-thought). I lie awake lost in the minutia of motherhood and wife-dom, writing bits of dialogue / monologues on my iPhone. I am habitually nocturnal (… perhaps genes have something to do with it as well) and struggle between going to bed and getting up early or staying up late… (and still getting up early-ish).

Long gone are the days of wallowing in one’s own problems before others…my own little family puts things in perspective. When someone is tugging at your trousers /skirt while your cooking, it’s hard to think about the lunch date I should make with friends.

My husband’s more structured IT background has led him to marvel at the often inconsistent manner in which I behave. There are days I know exactly what to do first and other days … Not so much. Being a mother and wife is my first priority and it only helps my creativity, but knowing where creativity comes in is the challenge.

I tend to do some of my best thinking in the middle of the night!  I have wild dreams of red carpets and magazine articles (I can’t even believe I’m telling you this).  I’ve finished multiple plays and am writing in Paris (I would elaborate on Paris – but that is an entirely different blog post / novel… but let’s just say… no… I can’t… LATER).  By now, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that I’m either scattered, unorganized, or just plain ol’messy.  I would venture to say that I’m a little scattered – but that it aids in my creativity…

Getting back on track and away from my tangent…

  • I work in the middle of the night because everyone is asleep.  The house is silent and I can focus.

  • The iPhone has some great apps that I purchased early on because I knew in the beginning I wouldn’t be able to sit at my computer a lot (especially while nursing).  I use “Write2” and things upload to my dropbox, so it make is very easy.  I also have, for example, the wordpress app for my blogs (yes – I have two others…).

  • I do the shopping I can on-line… Soap.com / Diapers.com have apps that are more than helpful and they ship the next day.

With that said, I would definitely recommend using the technology around you to aid in your creative / parent life.  I know there are more apps out there and if I discover them, I will share!

So has any of this helped me…yes, a little…  I produce with a group – Harlem9 – we have an annual 48 Hour Play festival in Harlem, I still run my reading series for Black Playwrights “Blackboard Reading Series” at the cell, where I worked before having my daughter and am now still involved through the series and as a resident artist…., I had a short play in a play festival in November “The Decision Fest” and was part of an online film festival encouraging people to vote (and I won one of the prizes).

ok… so maybe I’m being a little hard on myself… but since I have this image of where I want to be and where I am, I still work hard on the balance.  I can’t JUST write or work all day… there’s a baby to take care of, a husband, a house… I’m balancing, I am… the artist in me wants to sit, do yoga and write; the mother in me want to go to every mom and me-class available; the wife in me, wants to make the best french cuisine possible in a dress, apron and full make-up…  they’re all extremes… so the thing about balance is doing a little bit of each extreme in order to fulfill those parts of one’s life.

And then one day, you’re kids will have all grown up and you’ll have this other life to figure out…  🙂

But I can’t even think about that now!

Harlem WHA!… 21st Century Blackface

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All this talk of Yahoo and Mommy-life, I completely missed the “Harlem Shake” business over the last few weeks.

I actually ignored a suggestion from YouTube that I watch a Harlem Shake Video… It looked pretty silly to me.

But after running across a Melissa Harris-Perry link, I checked it out…

(beat)

Seriously…

(clearing throat)

My guess is that I’m not supposed to be offended by this and that it’s all in “good fun”… right?

Shouldn’t I just lighten up?

That’s what one side of my brain is telling me – while the other side is … appalled – offended – maybe even horrified.

I’m apologizing for being on a soap-box (Catholic Guilt again….), I don’t want to be the person who rants all the time…. on the other hand, this “Harlem Shake” business looks absolutely ridiculous.
I’m just going to pretend that the Producers of the “Today Show” and every other news channel and show that spent airtime promoting this nonsensical display of 21st Century Blackface were the ones who forced their anchors to behave in such a manner.

To the college students on the airplane that made it on ABC news… I might have to just brush it off as college student behavior…

But to watch professional adults shake their bodies in a manner that seems to be mocking the real dancers of Harlem / Urban areas, I just can’t watch. It’s too much…

Looks like Blackface to me…

cropped-the-day-poster-20042.jpg

Even if there are white dancers in Harlem doing this dance, they surely embody it’s spirit, whereas the non-urban and predominantly white versions (except for the Miami Heat version YouTube promoted) seemed like jerky versions of the original. It was awkward and as bad as when I let people call me an OREO…

I can’t dignify this with more space on my blog… time to go read a board-book!

Harlem WHA!… 21st Century Blackface

All this talk of Yahoo and Mommy-life, I completely missed the “Harlem Shake” business over the last few weeks.

I actually ignored a suggestion from YouTube that I watch a Harlem Shake Video… It looked pretty silly to me.

But after running across a Melissa Harris-Perry link, I checked it out…

(beat)

Seriously…

(clearing throat)

My guess is that I’m not supposed to be offended by this and that it’s all in “good fun”… right?

Shouldn’t I just lighten up?

That’s what one side of my brain is telling me – while the other side is … appalled – offended – maybe even horrified.

I’m apologizing for being on a soap-box (Catholic Guilt again….), I don’t want to be the person who rants all the time…. on the other hand, this “Harlem Shake” business looks absolutely ridiculous.
I’m just going to pretend that the Producers of the “Today Show” and every other news channel and show that spent airtime promoting this nonsensical display of 21st Century Blackface were the ones who forced their anchors to behave in such a manner.

To the college students on the airplane that made it on ABC news… I might have to just brush it off as college student behavior…

But to watch professional adults shake their bodies in a manner that seems to be mocking the real dancers of Harlem / Urban areas, I just can’t watch. It’s too much…

Looks like Blackface to me…

cropped-the-day-poster-20042.jpg

Even if there are white dancers in Harlem doing this dance, they surely embody it’s spirit, whereas the non-urban and predominantly white versions (except for the Miami Heat version YouTube promoted) seemed like jerky versions of the original. It was awkward and as bad as when I let people call me an OREO…

I can’t dignify this with more space on my blog… time to go read a board-book!