Color Theory for the 21st Century: Readings by Writers of Color

Beyond the Pure: Color Theory
The Givens Black Writers Collaborative Retreat Showcase

hosted by The Givens Foundation for African American Literature
April 24, 2012

All readings begin at 7PM
$10 Suggested Donation Supports the Series!

PERFORMERS
RAMLA BILE
WILLIE CARLTON
WILT HODGES
STEPHANIE JONES
AMOKE KUBAT
WISDOM MAWUSI
SHERINE CROOMS-ONUKWUWE
SHEILA WILLIAMS
CLARENCE WHITE

FEATURED ARTISTS

Ramla currently serves as a Staff Writer at The Minneapolis Foundation. She is a former producer for the KFAI collaborative project, Muslims in Minnesota, and has written extensively for Mshale and Hiraan Online, with much of her reporting focused on the Somali community in the Twin Cities. Ramla received her B.A. in Global Studies and Political Science with a minor in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota.

Sherine Crooms-Onukwuwe's passion for writing blossomed after falling in love with the 1970's hit film musical, The Wiz. Later realizing that the story was An adaptation initially written for white characters, she began to explore writing as resistance to a Eurocentric context imagining Black experiences. She began exploring Black venacular, thought and expression from the perspective of Black people. She is currently a screenwriter, filmmaker, film critic and wanna-be novelist who strives to conquer the artists inner S self-sabotage.

Wilt Hodges is an emerging writer, born in Indiana and raised in Minnesota; he’s been dazed and confused ever since....His work seeks to explore the personal and intricate spaces between myth, fact and fiction in various untapped voices in the African-American community. He looks forward to moving to New York in the fall to attend Columbia University.

Stephanie Hodges: As young girl growing up the written word was her closest friend. As an adult, it is essential in helping her to maintain her sanity. Stephanie mainly writes poetry and aspires to write a novel in the near future.

Ms. Amoké Kubat, M.Ed has been actively involved in empowering children, youth and families as an educator and artist in North Minneapolis since 1989. Missing Mama: A Trilogy of Loss, Sorrow and Healing, Kubat’s personal memoir, was published by Respondability Inc. in February 2012.Amoké currently lives and teaches in North Minneapolis. She is the founder of YO MAMA: The Mothering Mothers Institute. She is working on a novel titled, “LaLa London.”

Clarence White was a finalist for mnartists.org miniStories flash fiction competition in 2008. He is the principal writer for The Clarence White Blog. He is former bookseller at the Hungry Mind Bookstore. He lives in St. Paul and has an MBA which gets used less frequently than his writing and the love of baseball he shares with his son.

Sheila A. Williams is the author of the book: Diet Poems of a Hungry Black Woman..Other published works include poems in the book entitled: Seeing the World Through the Eyes of Women, an international book of poems written by women from all over the world. Sheila has performed readings all over the Twin Cities area. Currently Sheila is working on her second book entitled: Childhood Stolen. She lives in Minneapolis MN.

Wisdom Young is a writer that is an educator and mother. She holds a Bachelor’s degreein Sociology, LCD and a minor in African/ African American Studies from the University of MN. She currently resides in Minneapolis with her two beautiful children. Wisdom is inspired by God, her people and the power of words. She loves poetry and music. She gets part of her word fix through her literature club, Sista Do-WOP (Sista Do Words of Power). Her favorite poet is Langston Hughes, who said so much with so few words.

Color Theory for the 21st Century is a part of the Beyond the Pure Reading Series, dedicated to showcasing and providing a platform for voices that too often go unheard.