RezaRitesRi.com

KINGSTON, RI - For those who haven’t yet experienced the music of “DJ Reza Wreckage,” join me on Wednesday, September 30 from 7:00-10:00 pm at URI’s Memorial Union Ballroom as I spin and perform at their annual Diversity Week Open Mic. Read more about it below:

URI INVITES YOU TO COME AND HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD! This is not for the “professional” (although you all are welcome too;), it is for those who just need to speak their truth! Throughout history art has been the the catalyst for the awakening of the soul and the biggest social movements. So come through people! Poets, Musicians, Spoken word artists, short story tellers- And ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO BE HEARD! We want you THE MOST! All genres! All Ages! Please come and bless us with your truth!

Feel free to come and sign up before the event or rsvp a slot by emailing me as (they will be limited). Each person has about 5-7 minutes to perform, and the event will be hosted by hip hop emcee and poet, Kalyana Champlain.

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - Sexual harassment on the streets? Or poorly delivered greetings? A lack of consideration? Or consideration for your presence? These are the questions that may come to mind when you watch a recently produced “experimental” film - shot in Brooklyn and Philadelphia - “about women ritually facing street harassment as they walk home.” A mix of 16 mm film, video, poetry and music, the piece was directed by Providence, RI native, Nuala Cabral, in what she and her collaborators call “an effort to honor and reclaim our humanity in the public sphere.” It is, they say, “for the walkers, talkers and those who say nothing.”

The film, “Walking Home” is a Third World Newsreel Workshop Production in collaboration with Messages in Motion. It was directed by Nuala Cabral, a Providence, RI native who now lives in Philadelphia.

Cabral and her featured subjects are not the only ones to recently address this topic. In a piece called “Oh You Can’t Speak To A Brotha?” which appeared on the website Racialicious.com, Guest Contributor Ndidi Oriji writes a letter to a transportation employee who repeatedly dodges her inquiry for assistance in favor of (not as smoothly as he thinks) asking for her phone number. See a portion of the post below.

Dear MTA Employee,

I am the woman who requested your help Wednesday morning at approximately 9:40am. I came to the station agent’s window and told you that I swiped my metro card and the display read “See Agent”. You told me to swipe it at the window. When I did, the display read “See Agent” once again. You looked at me and you said, “It says we should go out to dinner.” I responded “What?” and you repeated what you said. I asked you to help me because I didn’t want to miss the train. You repeated, “It says we should go out to dinner, you should give me your number…” I walked away angry, while you yelled after me, “Miss! Miss!” and pushed the button to let me in. I ignored you, used a new metro card to let myself in and went on my way. I’m writing this letter to explain my anger and in the hopes of preventing this type of interaction in the future.

You don’t know me. I am 32 years old. I am a lawyer. I have a mother and a father, two brothers, two sisters, one grandmother still living and a lot of cousins, aunts and uncles.

Click here to link to the full article on Racialicious.com and here to see what people are saying about Cabral’s new film. Click here to see a different film project produced by Cabral: a music video for the song, “We Don’t Vote.”

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But Beautiful or Three Chords of Longing
by Indigo Bethea

She told me love is beautiful,
Elusive to the the hold.

She told me it’s a heartache
Waiting for this beautiful to unfold.

She didn’t tell me anything that wasn’t already known.

It could have been me at that microphone
Singing out some kind of blue.

It could have been me at those drums,
Playing my notes for you.

She told me that love is beautiful,
Too beautiful to hold.

But tell my heartache something new,
Better yet tell my soul.

Tell it why months of silence erupt
With a seductive touch

And now my pen writes writes without end
And the feeling is too much
This agony over wanting you.

She told me that love is beautiful
And difficult to hold.

She cried “It’s a heartache waiting for the unfold!”

Telling my tears what they long already known.

Oh it could have been me honey,
Working that bass till my heart could
Weep no more.

Yeah! It could have been me baby,
Pushing those ivories till they gave up their store
Of those emotions that go hand in hand with a beautiful kind of love.

Frustration, desperation

Longing-ation

Irritation, damn it!

One touch, and I can’t stop thinking of you?

Vexation!

One touch and I am ready to change for you!

Exasperation!

Why aren’t you suffering as I do?

Jack ass!

She told me that love is beautiful
Merciless to the hold.

And I told her, “Honey chile…I know.”

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Indigo Bethea is a Cultural Anthropologist and adjunct professor at several colleges and universities in New England. She is also an artist and poet whose work is consistently honest, probing, intense, spiritually grounded, whimsical, at times, and “drawn from the bedrock of African Diasporic traditions.” Poems by Bethea were featured on RezaRitesRi.com and VenusSings.com during the month of September in anticipation of two forthcoming publications she is currently finalizing: “But Beautiful—Reflections on Love and Loss,” a poetic volume, and “The Story of Frizzy Hair”; a children’s book. She lives in Providence, RI, where she also dances, paints, and performs her poetry.

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PROVIDENCE, RI - Where do you go for news and tips about health? Where do you go to learn more about chronic diseases and health disparities impacting your community? How do you find out about resources, events, or services that may benefit you and your family’s health?

If you have not seen the commercials airing on Cox Cable in Rhode Island or seen the articles in The Providence American newspaper, there is a new destination to “Join the Discussions and Create the Solutions:” www.UrbanHealthWatch.net.

The blog Urban Health Watch (UrbanHealthWatch.net) is part of the Rhode Island Prevention Block Grant, a program funded by Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like other initiatives under HEALTH’s Prevention Block Grant, Urban Health Watch is focused on achieving health equity by identifying the chronic diseases, environmental health issues, and social determinants that impact health care disparities and influence conditions for health. The blog is also charged with developing and distributing health information with an emphasis on reaching racially and ethnically diverse groups and implementing health education and risk reduction activities to improve the quality of life for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable populations, communities of color and urban families.

To do this, Urban Heath Watch is:
- Bringing health education into the community and delivering culturally appropriate messages on how to prevent and manage chronic diseases.

- Analyzing, packaging, and disseminating public health and medical information through collaborations with traditional centers of influence that are considered trusted environments and provide accessibility to target populations.

- Building the capacity of neighborhood organizations, churches and leaders to initiate health promotion and disease prevention activities.

- Translating medical research and findings about health promotion and disease prevention into actionable steps people can use everyday in life.

- Disseminating medical research findings and best practices through other media sources to raise the visibility and credibility of an expanded view of health.

To date, posts on the Urban Health Watch blog include ones that address prostate cancer and where to get free screenings for it; ones that provide insider updates on the important New England Regional Minority Health Conference that is coming in October to Providence, RI; and ones that highlight resources for community members receiving food stamps, for those needing breast cancer screenings, and for those fighting addiction.

Yet Urban Health Watch is not a one-way street. Readers, health groups, and community organizations have all begun sending events and engaging the blog. But the publishers are looking for more. Tell your family and friends; tell your clients and neighbors; and make a personal note of your own – Join the Discussions, Create the Solutions: UrbanHealthWatch.net.

For more information about Urban Health Watch or to share your event, story, or opinion, visit www.UrbanHealthWatch.net or contact the blog’s editor, two-time Metcalf Diversity in the Media recipient, Reza Clifton, by emailing urbanhealthri@gmail.com or calling 401-497-5246.

Originally sent as a RezaRitesRi.com e-newsletter on Friday, September 18, 2009.

Take 5 with Reza Rites
by Reza Corinne Clifton

PROVIDENCE, RI – Does personal hardship yield better artwork? Or can you be a happy person and a talented creator? Do you work better under pressure and stress? Or have you found personal balance and an ability to be productive and efficient? As I lay the final touches on this week’s Take 5, and reflect on conversations I’ve recently had or heard, I wonder where you stand on the possession and application of joy, pain, worry, and tranquility.

Sunshine and laughter,
Reza Rites

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Take 5

Surprise: Venus Sings Radio 2nd Week in A Row – September 19

Flamenco Dancing and the Work of Federico Garcia Lorca – September 19

Charted and Improvised: A Poem by Indigo Bethea

Before They Were Four: Photos of 2 ‘Thieves’ from the RRR Archives

The Reza Rites Interview on Nobidade TV

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5 More

Famed African Writer Chinua Achebe Joins the Brown Faculty

Media Fellowships, New York Arts Summit: Updates from the Association of Independents in Radio

Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival and other Boston Arts Events – September 18 and More

Envisioning Our Media Future in Black Boston – September 23

Half the Sky: A Book And Writing Contest to Turn Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

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KINGSTON, RI - Thanks to a slight change in scheduling, the next edition of Venus Sings Radio is happening tomorrow, Saturday September 19. The show should be interesting, as I’ve had only a day to consider the tunes. On the other hand, I have tons of albums with which I’m only partially familiar, and a growing list of songs that I keep forgetting to play. In short: Surprise!!!

Tune in from 9-11 am (EST) on 90.3 FM in and around RI (and as far away as Long Island) and online at www.wriu.org.

Peace,
DJ Reza Wreckage

PROVIDENCE, RI - Earlier in September, I was invited to a taping of Nobidade TV, a mulitmedia program that airs on public television and online, with pieces also shared on radio. The host and producer of Nobidade TV is Luis Lopes, the co-founder and executive producer of The Cape Verdean-Afrobeat show on WRIU, 90.3 FM. His goal was to interview me about my media work, in general, and in relation to my recent travels to Spain. Catch the interview below, to hear our conversation about Cape Verdeans in RI, cultural nuances and realities about Rhode Islanders, and the power of being multilingual.

Peace,
Reza Rites

P.S. Thanks to everyone who has shown me love after seeing it on TV.

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Two ‘thieves,’ Andrew Moon Bain and Angel Quiñonez, pose near ‘Moon’s artwork in 2006. The two artists, alongside Anna Shapiro and Monica Shinn, are part of a new exhibit called “4 Thieves,” for which there is an opening event on Saturday September 19, 2009 from 7-10pm at Firehouse 13 in Providence, RI. Live entertainment follows from 10pm - 2am.

PROVIDENCE, RI - Yesterday, Thursday, September 17, marked the first official day of a new art exhibit called ‘4 Thieves: New Work by Monica Shinn, Andrew Moon Bain, Anna Shapiro and Angel Quiñonez.’ Gallery hours for the show are Tuesday - Friday, 1-6 PM, and the exhibit will be up till September 29 at Firehouse no. 13, which is located at 41 Central St in Providence. But what can you expect to see?

Almost 2 years ago, in November 2006, I had an opportunity to view other works done and displayed by Bain and Quiñonez. Take a look at these photos from the RezaRitesRi.com archives, to catch a glimpse of the kind of work you might see, or, more likely, from whence these artists have grown.

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From left to right, Angel and Moon pose by their respective art pieces.

Artist Angel Quinonez poses near his artwork alongside his father.

Artist Angel Quinonez poses near his artwork.

The artwork of Angel Quinonez.

Moon poses near his artwork

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And if you want to mix music and art, check out their opening, happening Saturday September 19, 7-10pm. Music will be provided by DC Roots, while additional entertainment can be enjoyed with a $5 cover from 10pm-2am with the following performers: Butcherings, Atlantic Thrills, DJ Micah Jackson.
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Charted and Improvised
by Indigo Bethea

(Photo from the RezaRitesRi.com photo archives. Captured is Sonny Andrews of the reggae band, The Zioniers.)

I want you to listen to my music,
I’m playin my finest for you.

Listen to the rise, fall, flow of my heart as I double this,
Quarter that and give, give, give

Nothing less than rhapsody
Nothing less than reverie
And speed, baby speed.

Changing tempo right, here

Suddenly a modulation

Then a change of key

Starting slow, ending low
But in between, oh, in between

That’s where we play

Patterns that climax and sigh
Harmonies that blush in surprise
At being so bold.

Daring you, lost soul, to find your way back to me.

Follow the bread crumbs of a Mile’s Kind of Blue
Bend at that curve of Coltrane for Lovers

A path lit by jazz notes, charted and improvised.

Nothin less than rhapsody
Nothin less than reverie and…
Speed, Baby, Speed

This give, give, give bartering your take, take, take
All in the syncopated rhythm we call…life

In between those silhouettes of sound
I want you to hear my calls for you
Trombone wailing on high winds
Bass throbbing on the lowness of night

Music sheets, bedroom sheets
Maybe it’s a different space
But it’s all the same pace, all the rhythm

Hear this trumpet sultry and wide
Tremble with this treble from a generous saxophone

Cause it’s all jazz baby, it’s all love Papa
Whatever the sheets, we’ll call it heaven

Charted and improvised

Just stay in that in between, a little longer let’s just play
The best of you meeting the best in me
All in the exchange of the give, give, take.

Whatever the sound
No matter the space
We’ll know it’s heaven Papa,

Charted and improvised.

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To read more by Indigo Bethea, click here. To read her bio, click here.
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by Reza Corinne Clifton

Greetings, friend. I know it’s late on this Friday afternoon (for those on East Coast time), but I’m still here with you. I promised a weekly update, and I’m not going to let you - or myself - down. There are other folks I’m trying to avoid disappointing as well, like my friend Andrew “Moon” Bain, who, besides answering my call for film-worthy music, has been working on an art exhibit he’ll be premiering alongside three other artists from the New England Region.

And then there’s Indigo Bethea, the poet, academic, and free-spirited artist. Indigo is working on two new books and the start to a semester of teaching she’ll do at a number of different colleges and universities in the region. Still, she made time to share select pieces of the sometimes playful, always intimate work she is compiling into an upcoming poetry volume. And if she can make time, I can make time. Can you take 5 to check her out?

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Introducing the Poetry of Indigo Bethea

Deadlines, Updates and Freebies from Regional Minority Health Conference

Check Me Out on WRIU - Venus Sings Radio – Sept 12

Free Gallery Night and Artist Preview- Moon and More – Sept. 15

Learn More about Proposed Utility Hikes, March for Jobs, and Weekly Vigils for Healthcare

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Sunshine and laughter,
Reza Rites

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