March 4, 2010 Celebrate Women’s History Month

Let’s Celebrate All Women

Friday, March 5th, 10:00am~ Join the Parents and Providers’ Alliance for Child Care at the OSSE (Office of the State Superintendent of Education) Performance Oversight Hearing. Let’s Pack the Hearing Room. Tell Council: Child Care in DC Needs Funding!  Sign up to TESTIFY! (And bring the kids to pack the room!). This is your chance to tell the DC Council that $22 MILLION in cuts don’t go unnoticed! We need the money back to provide high quality child care and keep DC families employed! To testify, sign up with Aretha Latta at 202- 724-8196 or email alatta@dccouncil.us. Location: Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Room 412.

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Saturday, March 6th, Booksigning 11:30am- Luncheon 12:00pm~ Join Sisterspace and Books at The Oracle Set Book Club and Foundation, Inc.  The 43rd Annual Book and Author Luncheon featuring: Gwenn Iffil author of, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race In The Age Of Obama. Always engaging, Gwen Ifill prides herself on being above the sound bites, the spin and the hype, believing instead that reporting news of substance—stories that explore the rich truths of a changing world—are more rewarding. Bringing her natural wit and wisdom to some of the most complicated political issues of the day, Ifill serves as both moderator and managing editor of PBS’ Washington Week.  From her unique vantage point as a veteran journalist, Ifill ushers audiences into the very corridors of power—both in the U.S. and globally. A senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, she has served as national correspondent for NBC News, in addition to covering politics and government for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Evening Sun and the Boston Herald American. The Oracle Set Foundation is a 501(c) (3) organization and its proceeds support its Scholarship program. Please visit www.oraclesetfoundation.org for more information. Location: The Washington Navy Yard Conference Center, 6th and M. Streets S.E. (Sisterspace and Books will sell books at this event). This event is sold-out however, if you would like for Sisterspace and Books to get you a signed copy of Ms. Ifill’s book please call 202-829-0306.

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Saturday, March 6th, ~ Celebrate an African American woman-sister Nkenge Toure!!! Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday elder, daughter, sister, mother, activist, mentor, writer, friend and WPFW (89.3) host, Nkenge Toure!!! We are very, very, very proud of you and we look forward to laughing, crying and telling some great stories about you. Just for you, we invite the public to come and celebrate with us. Folks, bring a fruit basket, a healthy drink or two and come out and tell Nkenge why you appreciate her work and wish her Happy Birthday. Location: SSB

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Sunday, March 7th –Tuesday, March 9th ~Capturing fire is a Queer Spoken Word Summit and Slam! This slam will be the first of its kind, and open to all local and national GLBTQ performance artists. The mission of this event is to increase the visibility and exposure of GLBTQ performance artists. Capturingfire aims to bring more credibility and awareness to the specific and diverse experiences of queer artists. In a time where Prop 8 exists, what better time and place then to hold this summit in the Nation’s capital, as an act of celebration, resistance, and inspiration for change. The summit will culminate in a poetry slam, after two days of performance and writing workshops, panels and networking. For event detailsemail capturingfire@gmail.com Locations: The Fridge, Rear Alley, 516 8th St. SE, and the DC Center, 1810 14th St. N.W.

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Sunday, March 7th, 5:30-7:30pm~ Haiti Uprisin’: A Panel Discussion. Author Rodrigue Vital, WPFW radio journalist Yves Dayiti and Howard’s Student Association President Roberte Exantus will lead a discussion on U.S. influence in Haiti. Rodrigue Vital is the author of  The Years of Haiti in the Shade of the American Empire. He is a former Haitian journalist and educator,  frequent contributor of the New York based “The Haitian Times” and has written for ”Thegrio.com” an online news service associated with MSNBC. Yves Dayiti was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, in 1953. In 1975, after graduating high school Mr. Yves moved to the United States. Throughout the years Yves has provided a loud voice to the Haitian community through his radio show on WPFW (89.3fm) every Saturday night. Roberte Exantus grew up in Haiti and now attends Howard University. Ms. Exantus is a Political Studies and International Relations major as well as the appointed ambassador for Haition issues. Please join us in this very important discussion. Location: Sisterspace and Books, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. ( Georgia Ave. Petworth Station). For more information call 202-829-0306.  ($5.00 Donatition)

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Live performances and open mic immediately following the discussion (8:00pm-11:00pm). Location:  Dekka Art, Music and Fashion Store, 1338 U. Street N.W. (one block from U. Street Metro). MC Solsis will light up the mic while N’digo Rose will grace the keys with his magnificent funkadelic soul. An open mic portion will take place as well. $10 donation at the door/BYOB. Proceed will go to Yele Hatian Foundation www.undergroundtreelive.com ; www.sisterspacedc.com ; www.yele.org

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Monday, March, 8th, 6:00pm-9:00pm~ The Cuban Interests Section On the Occasion of the International Women’s Day has the pleasure to invite you to a Cocktail. RSVP is required. Please send an email to Patricia Pego at patriciapego@sicw.org with you name and/or organization. Location: 2630 16th Street N.W.

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Tuesday, March 9th, 6:00pm-8:00pm~ Poetry Reading and Discussion with Janet E. Aalfs, poet, martial artist, teacher, performer, and community activist, is dedicated to nurturing forums for people to express their creativity. She was the poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts, from 2003 to 2005. In 2008, Aalfs facilitated a Split This Rock Poetry Festival workshop, and will do so again this year, as well as be on an LGBTQ panel. She was a festival poet at the Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey, and taught and performed at Goddard’s “Power of the Word.” In 2009 she was part of a teaching/performing artist exchange in Cape Town, South Africa. Her poems have been published widely in journals and anthologies. Collections of her poetry include Reach; Red; Notes from the River; Silver Paper Boxes for Guan Yin; and Perfection of Light. A 7th degree black belt, she has been the director and head instructor since 1982 of Valley Women’s Martial Arts: Institute for Healing and Violence Prevention Strategies in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Location: SSB

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Wednesday, March 10th –Thursday, March 12th, 7:00pm (nightly) ~ Revival with Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright. Rev. Wright is our preacher, teacher, activist, and revivalist. After he preaches he will sign his new book, A Sankofa Moment: The History of Trinity United Church of Christ. He is the Pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago Illinois. Location: Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 5301 North Capitol Street N.E. (North Capitol and Missouri). For more information call 202-723-5330. Books and other items will be available for purchase in the Sanctuary. We also invite our president Barack Obama. Sisterspace and Books looks forward to seeing you there all three days.

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March 13th, 12:00pm-3:00pm~ One DC Outreach Day. Come and Join Us As We Bring More People Into The Once DC Movement Toward Justice, Fairness, and Equity in DC!!! Get In Where You Fit In: One DC members and supporters will be door knocking and phone banking to let more DC residents know how to organize for a better DC! If you can’t make this Outreach Day, please mark your calendar and join us for one of other Outreach Days scheduled to take place from 12-4pm on April 24; May 22; August 28! For more information call Rosemary Ndubuizu, Community Organizer at One DC: Organizing Neighborhood Equity, PO Box 26049, Washington, DC 20001, 202-232-2915 ext.106 (P), 202-6675196 (F). www.onedconline.org Raise money for ONE DC just by searching the Internet with GoodSearch.com (powered by Yahoo) or shopping online with GoodShop.com! Location:The Carriage House, 614 S. Street N.W.  (Please meet us here at 12:00pm).

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Saturday, March 13th, 3:00pm-5:00pm- Discussion: “Moving and Shaking Cooperative Economic Spaces: The Role of African American Women in the Cooperative Movement.” Cooperative ownership and democratic economic participation increase earning power and economic independence for women, particularly women of color in worker cooperatives. Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard will discuss the role of Black women in the cooperative movement in the US, their leadership and the cooperatives they have owned. The discussion will focus on, Ella Jo Baker and the Young Negroes’ Cooperative League, Fannie Lou Hamer and Freedom Farm Cooperative, as well as the cooperative program of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Examples of African American women’s leadership and independence in cooperatives is demonstrated particularly in modern low-income craft and worker-owned cooperatives such as Freedom Quilting Bee in Alberta, AL, Cooperative Home Care Associates in the South Bronx, NY, and the cooperatives created through Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security in Redwood City, CA where women establish and control their own cooperatives. Issues for women of color in general and immigrant women in particular in cooperatives will also be discussed. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Ph.D., Washington, DC, jgordonnembhard@gmail.com, Associate Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development Department of African American Studies John Jay College, City University of NY, 445 West 59th St.  Room 3217N, New York, NY 10019. 646-577-4658 direct; Dept. Fax: 212-237-8099; www.jjay.cuny.edu. Affiliate Scholar, Center on Race and Wealth, Howard University Department of Economics and Affiliate Scholar, Centre for the Study of Cooperatives, Univ. of Saskatchewan. Location: SSB

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Saturday, March 13th, 5:00pm-7:00pm~ Discussion and Booksigning ~ Sistah Vegan, edited by A. Breeze Harper. Join contributors Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo, Ma’at Sincere Earth, and Angelique Surya Shofar for this dynamic discussion and great food. Location: SSB

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Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo has been on the healthy living path for nearly 30 years: She went vegetarian in 1981, became a vegan in 1994 and a raw foodist in 2009. She is now beginning studies in Energy Medicine. She earned dual masters in Business Administration and Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. A former mainstream journalist with the Miami Herald, Morning Call in Allentown, Pa. and the Los Angeles Times, she is now one of several co-editors of the collectively produced online alternative economics newsletter Grassroots Economic Organizing.  Ajowa is the is founder of Beautiful World Cooperative & Business Services whose goals include helping communities of color in particular overcome internalized oppression and other obstacles to creating and sustaining economic self sufficiency. She is currently writing her memoir, Outside Child about growing up as the child, of the “other woman.” She can be reached at ajowa.ifateyo@gmail.com.

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Ma’at Sincere Earth was born under the Zodiac sign of Libra, I seek balance in everything, hence my name symbolizing supreme balance and truth. Head-wrapped before and after badu, I embrace the truth of Clarence X and see myself as earth. I’ve been Vegan for 10 years and I was a vegetarian for 8 yrs, not to save cows but to save black people. Sky-diving, World Traveling, Baltimore native who grew up believing that the food you consume can ultimately consume you! Currently with help is raising a blackman to be the next messiah. wisdom_17@hotmail.com

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Angelique Shofar (aka “Surya”) is a Creative Holistic Doctor with a dedication to the healing path of Sacred Loving, Relating & Sexuality. A new cross-generational African woman, she was born and raised in Monrovia, Liberia and has lived most of her life in the Diaspora. She is a Creative Mother, Certified Yoga & Dance teacher, Certified Massage Therapist, Multi-Media producer, Freelance writer, Sensual Artiste and World Traveler. As the Sex-Sensual Griot she shares ancient cultural wisdom, sexual secrets and sensual healing traditions through the written & spoken words, storytelling, therapeutic movements and sensual artistry. Former broadcaster of Pacifica Radio for more than 13 years. ashofar@gmail.com , 301-637-6739.

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Saturday, March 14th, 12:00pm-3:00pm~ This is My Story, This is My Song: Creating a Powerful Personal Story. (Re)-constructing Your Story: What is your Story? What about the story that you tell is empowering, life affirming and real? What about your story is disempowering, negative and false? How can we re-construct the stories that we tell about who we are and create a truer and more authentic story; one that communicates self-love, self-acceptance, value and purpose to the world and most importantly to ourselves?  Join Workshop facilitator, Aisha Karefa-Smart for an afternoon of reflection, empowerment and renewal. Fee: $10.00. No one will be turned away. Location: SSB

Saturday, February 27th, 6:00pm-8:00pm~Michelle Sewell will host an Open Mic Poetry Jam. Let’s celebrate Black History Month and the beginning of Women’s History Month by coming out and sharing your words on the mic at the new and improved Sisterspace and Books. If you are interested in reading please contact Michelle at  michelleinbold@aol.com or call 202-829-0306. See you at Sisterspace and Books! Fee: $5.00. Refreshments for sale. Location: SSB, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Avenue Petworth Station)

Sunday, February 28th, 3:00pm~Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C. Annual Black History Month Concert: Feel Like Goin’ On. Directed by Music Minister Shirli L. Hughes. Reverend Dwayne Johnson, Senior Pastor. Location: MCC-DC, 474 Ridge Street N.W. (Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center Yellow and Green Lines). For more information call 202-638-7373, email. churchoffice@mccdc.com, or visit www.mccdc.com

Saturday, February 27th, 3:00pm-5:00pm~ Herbal Medicine: The Basics and Beyond. Deb Friedman is a Clinical Herbalist with a master’s degree in herbal medicine and certification in nutritional counseling. The workshop will discuss herbal medicine, a holistic practice that deals with the causes of illness, not merely the symptoms. (Herbal medicine can also, in most cases, be used in conjunction with pharmaceutical drugs.) Bring your health questions and Deb will provide answers from the perspective of an alternative healthcare practitioner. (Community activists who come can also sign up for a free personal consultation with Deb, to be scheduled at a later time.) 240-593-6237. Location: SSB, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Avenue Petworth Station).

Saturday, February 27th, 11:00-2:00pm~ This is My Story, this is My Song: Creating a Powerful Personal Story. (Re)-constructing Your Story: What is your Story?  What about the story that you tell is empowering, life affirming and real? What about your story is disempowering, negative and false? How can we re-construct the stories that we tell about who we are and create a truer and more authentic story; one that communicates self-love, self-acceptance, value and purpose to the world and most importantly to ourselves?  Join Workshop facilitator, Aisha Karefa-Smart for an afternoon of reflection, empowerment and renewal. Fee: $10.00. No one will be turned away. Location: SSB, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Avenue Petworth Station)

Friday, February 26th, 7:00pm-9:00pm~ Spoken Word artist “Face” will lead us in a discussion on the “role of the artist in a capitalist society.” Spoken word will follow the discussion. Fee: $5.00; Refreshments for sale. Location: SSB, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Avenue Petworth Station)

Wednesday, February 24th, 6:30pm~DC Coalition Meeting. Agenda items include; Strategic Planning for organization, educating community about marriage equality, upcoming pride events, etc. All are welcome. Click here to join the DC Coalition FaceBook group and/or subscribe to DCCoalitionYahooGroup . For more information call 202-302-5550. Location: SSB, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Avenue Petworth Station)

Saturday, February 20th, 3:00pm-5:00pm
Discussion and Booksigning with Michelle Sewell

Michelle Sewell is the editor of  Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces. “A diverse collection of poems, essays, and short stories that document the transition from girl to woman, as told by the girls and women who know the journey best.” Michelle is also the editor of,  Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta!, a rough and tumble, sassy, kick-ass travelogue through the bumpy, powerful, action-packed world of GIRLS. A world where girls and women know how to pick themselves up and brush themselves off. These are the clever girls. The funny girls. The girls who know there is no sin being born one.  Other contributors will be present at the booksigning.

Location: Sisterspace and Books, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Ave. Petworth Station). For more information call 202-829-0306.

Michelle Sewell is an award-winning screenwriter, poet, and founder of GirlChild Press. Throughout her work as a poet and a social worker, she has maintained that there must be a place for women and girls to develop and express their truest selves. With that in mind she has created open mics, workshops, and writing circles to foster that “sacred space” environment for women.

PLEASE NOTE: Sister Souljah has cancelled her discussion and booksigning this Saturday due to inclement weather. We will notify the public as soon as she gives us a new date. We still need to see yall this weekend. We have another great author  Michelle Sewell, founder of GirlChild Press and several of the contributors.

Michelle Sewell interview: Friday, February 19th, 11:00am-12:00pm

Nkenje Toure interviews award-winning screenwriter, poet, and founder of GirlChild Press, Michelle Sewell on “In Our Voices”.

Tune in to “In Our Voices” on WPFW (89.3fm). Please call in at 202-588-9739.

Saturday, February 20th, 3:00pm-5:00pm
Discussion and Booksigning with Michelle Sewell

Michelle Sewell is the editor of  Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces. “A diverse collection of poems, essays, and short stories that document the transition from girl to woman, as told by the girls and women who know the journey best.” Michelle is also the editor of,  Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta!, a rough and tumble, sassy, kick-ass travelogue through the bumpy, powerful, action-packed world of GIRLS. A world where girls and women know how to pick themselves up and brush themselves off. These are the clever girls. The funny girls. The girls who know there is no sin being born one.  Other contributors will be present at the booksigning.

Location: Sisterspace and Books, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Ave. Petworth Station). For more information call 202-829-0306.

Michelle Sewell is an award-winning screenwriter, poet, and founder of GirlChild Press. Throughout her work as a poet and a social worker, she has maintained that there must be a place for women and girls to develop and express their truest selves. With that in mind she has created open mics, workshops, and writing circles to foster that “sacred space” environment for women.

The Jamaican-born artist/activist work has appeared on NPR, in Sinister Wisdom, Other Countries: Voices Rising, Campaign to End AIDS Anthology, Port of Harlem Magazine, and WPFW, 89.3fm. * To book Michelle for lectures, workshops, keynote addresses at your college, university, high school or conference please email girlchildpress@aol.com

3:00pm-6:00pm~ Celebrate Frederick Douglass’ Birthday with a Drum Jam facilitated by Takada Harris.

Come out and learn the basic of African Drumming or better yet release the rhythm that already resides within you.  Let’s channel the spirit of healing, love, and abundance on this day. We have so many reasons to drum. Let us drum for the people of Haiti, let us drum up accessible education, let us drum up adequate healthcare, let us drum out economic oppression, let us drum out violence in our community, let us drum in positive energy for Sisterspace and Books’ new location, and let us drum in positive energy for all the small businesses in Washington, DC that are struggling to maintain and survive. No prior drumming experience necessary. We will have a few drums for people to play, however if you have a drum or any type of instrument please bring it with you. We have Frederick Douglass Poster for sale for $6.00. Location: SSB, 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W. (Georgia Avenue Petworth Station)