RED CARPET PREMIERE SCREENING of the documentary film: Against All Odds: A Story of Courage, Community and Spirit in East St Louis, Illinois The film tells the important story of East St Louis – past and present. It brings new hope and a new kind of image to a misunderstood city. Two important screening dates…
I first met Dr. Eugene Redmond at one of Freida Wheaton’s salons at Studio 51, her at-home art gallery. Eugene is one of the major figures of the Black Renaissance. His papers will be featured in a collection at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Since that first meeting I’ve come to admire Eugene each time…
The Kwansaba came into being as a praise song. Drumvoices Revue has used the Kwansaba form to praise Richar Wright (2008), Maya Angelou and Quincy Troupe (2007), Jayne Cortex (2006), Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez (2005), Katherine Dunham (2004), Miles Davis (2003). Outside of haiku and the blues, the Kwansaba is one of the most…
The current issue of DRUMVOICES REVUE commemorates the 50th anniversary of the publication of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart.” I taught his novel as a Peace Corps teacher in Ghana and Botswana. I meant a lot to me then and I still consider it one of the world’s masterpieces. Eugene Redmond, Poet Laureate of East…