Eisa Davis & Angela’s Mixtape – April 6 to May 2 at the Ohio Theatre April 18, 2009
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Women who change the world.Tags: Angela's Mixtape, beauty, civil rights, HONEST, music, RACE, Vibrant
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Playwright and actor Eisa Davis gently reminds us of the challenges of growing up while confronted with issues of identity, race, history and family. Especially challenging when you are the niece of activist Angela Davis and her namesake. “Am I living up to my name” Eisa asks? Here is how she discovers the answer. Angela’s Mixtape is an inspiring combination of music and a history this country prefers to ignore – the years following the civil rights movement. Eisa’s honest and vibrant sense of humor, rattles our memories of house bombings, unjust killings and the fight against oppression, neglect and ignorance. This autobiographical evening (Eisa’s full name is Angela Eisa Davis) is perfectly balanced with moments when the laughter in the theater is contagious. The cast includes Linda Powell, Kim Brockington, Denise Burse, and Ayesha Ngaujah. Liesl Tommy is the director. Performed in the intimate Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street, Angela’s Mixtape reminds us about growing up and becoming exactly who we’re supposed to be. Tickets are $20.00.
Modern Day Slavery March 26, 2009
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Uncategorized.Tags: Camodia's slave industry, grace, heartbreak, Jennifer Macfarlane, peace, sponsor, women, Women who change the world
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Modern day slavery is a life that most Americans cannot begin to imagine. For women in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, modern day slavery defines every moment of their lives. Cambodia, is known for its epidemic sex trade industry. 
Cambodian girls, as young as six years old are sold into prostitution, often by their parents for as little as $10.00. The poverty rate in Cambodia reaches toward one million people; most families exist on less than 50 cents a day. Selling children is a means of survival. In addition, girls are also lured into prostitution because they have nowhere else to turn or they are kidnapped. To ensure their cooperation, they remain drugged or are controlled through threats of physical abuse. Their lives are defined by harsh living conditions, discipline by rape and constant humiliation. The psychological damage is devastating. Their world, created in brothels and bars is defined by pimps, male and female. The hope of escape is impossible; the promise of more than 15 sexual partners each day is a reality.
Documentary photographer Jennifer Macfarlane has visited the brothels of Cambodia and captures the lives of women in the sex trade. She is a passionate advocate on behalf women living in Cambodia’s sex trade industry and is committed telling their stories. Jennifer’s photos reveal the despair that exists within this urgent situation. To help raise awareness, her photos will be shown in an evening of photography and music at the Chelsea Art Museum, in New York City on Thursday, March 26. The event, Dance for Freedom is sponsored by Janera.com and begins at 9:00 p.m. All proceeds will go to the Somaly Mam Foundation, an organization committed to ending slavery and preventing human trafficking. acs
March 16, 2009
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in About This Blog, Urban flight and an everyday girl.Tags: 2009, beautiful, change, grace, heartbreak, love, peace, recession survival skills, true
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RECESSION SURVIVAL SKILLS …AND THE THINGS MY GODMOTHER ALWAYS TOLD ME
Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, “grow, grow.” -the Talmud.
My godmother’s antique lamps. Imagine twin lamps, with hand painted roses, gold trim and the original paper lampshades, made in 1940 and still radiating exquisite light. With this light, my godmother taught me to read and write at age three. Just the basics, she made sure I could spell my name, recite my phone number, the alphabet and count – from one to ten. Sleep over nights at her house were spent reading Dick and Jane books, lit by her beautiful lamps. (more…)
March 3, 2009
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Uncategorized.add a comment
Where clean water is a pipedream
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website
For nearly one billion people, clean drinking water is still a mirage
If you want a graphic demonstration of the health impacts of poor drinking water, look no further than Zimbabwe. Three thousand people dead, at least 60,000 ill – all from a disease that is almost completely preventable.
In general, with very few exceptions, people simply do not get cholera when the water supply works. It is almost unknown in the west for that single, simple reason. As the World Health Organization (WHO) puts it: “Measures for the prevention of cholera have not changed much in recent decades, (more…)
Heartbreak and the War in the Democratic Republic of Congo February 5, 2009
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Uncategorized.Tags: beautiful, grace, heartbreak, love, Women who change the world
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photo credit Lynsey Addario: Congo/Women Portraits of War
In a current exhibit: Congo/Women Portraits of War: The Democratic Republic of Congo, the legacy of war and violence against women is portrayed through a visual, spacial and audio approach. The exhibit featuring photography by Lynsey Addario, Marcus Bleasdale, Ron Haviv and James Nachtwey exposes the experience of women in the DRC through larger than life and emotionally charged photos. Each deeply affecting image informs viewers about the difficult, heartbreaking and most vulnerable moments in the lives of these women and the legacy of Africa’s worst war. Included in the exhibit is poetry created from interviews with the women and read by Chicago actor, Cheryl Lynn Bruce. The exhibit opens on Thursday January 5th, 2009 at Columbia College Chicago. The exhibit tour moves to Washington, D.C. and the James Cohan Gallery in New York in March, 2009. The exhibit is also scheduled to open in the United Nations Lobby in the Fall of 2009. Congo/Women Portraits of War is curated by Leslie Thomas, curator of the Darfur/ Darfur Project.
…all things are possible. january 20th, 2009 January 7, 2009
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Uncategorized.Tags: 2009, allison sciplin, American Dream, Family, forever, grace, interpretation, love, online viewing, true, Tuesday January 20
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From President-elect Obama’s November 4th acceptance speech. “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep”. We may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful that we will get there”. In three days we will have a new President, First Lady and first family. After the inauguration on January 20th, there will be many promises for our new President to keep. It’s an impossible task. A new economy. Tax reductions. More jobs. Relief. Hope. Change. Everyone says “it’s all going to get worse before it gets better”. This is probably true. But if we gain anything over the next four years, I hope it includes the presence of quiet and calm while we interpret our new lives and a true definition of family, the American Dream and love. Cause the old ways of thinking are raggedy and breathless. I love this photo…and from this interpretation it all begins. Here is information about the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. The swearing in ceremony begins at 11:30am est. For online viewing information visit this blog:NewTeeVee.com. acs
Women for Women International November 21, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Women who change the world.Tags: change, dream, forever, organization, peace, sponsor, stability, support
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Women for Women International helps women in war torn countries to change their lives by providing financial and emotional support. This humanitarian organization founded in 1993 advances women from being victims to attaining stability as survivors and active citizens in their communities. Since its founding in 1993, Women for Women International has served more than 120,000 women and distributed approximately $33 million in direct aid and microcredit loans. Women for Women International now serves women in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan and builds one-to-one connections with more than 23,000 sponsors in all 50 states of the U.S. and 55 other countries. Encourage change. You can join this organization by sponsoring a woman or by contributing today. Here is more information .
Toni Morrison’s “A Mercy” November 13, 2008
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“Bonds That Seem Cruel Can Be Kind”
NEW YORK TIMES By MICHIKO KAKUTANI Published: November 3, 2008
A horrifying act stood at the center of Toni Morrison’s 1987 masterwork, “Beloved”: a runaway slave, caught in her effort to escape, cuts the throat of her baby daughter with a handsaw, determined to spare the girl the fate she herself has suffered as a slave. A similarly indelible act stands at the center of Ms. Morrison’s remarkable new novella, “A Mercy,” a small, plangent gem of a story that is, at once, a kind of prelude to “Beloved” and a variation on that earlier book’s exploration of the personal costs of slavery — a system that moves men and women and children around “like checkers” and casts a looming shadow over both parental and romantic love. (more…)
What are you willing to sacrifice? November 8, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Urban flight and an everyday girl, Women who change the world.Tags: Add new tag, American Dream, change, forever, life, love, vote, Women who change the world
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It’s over. Done. Whether you voted for President Barack Obama or Senator John McCain; there are still decisions to make. Big decisions. What if we admit that the American Dream may never exist in the way we imagined four months ago? 10.1 million people have lost their jobs. The unemployment rate is 6.5%. What will it take to find our way again? What are you willing to sacrifice to make this work? We can’t depend on the government. Our change is going to take a long long time. With this in mind, how creative and resourceful are you willing to be (to help) ensure change? acs
The rain does not recognize anyone as a friend; it drenches all equally. Ibo Proverb
November 7, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Uncategorized.Tags: change, forever, imagination, landscape, vote
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happy friday October 31, 2008
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Mom Bett and the Little Ones A-Glowing, an African American fairy tale. Mom Bett and her son, Jody, lived in a house at the edge of the fields where the woods began. the garden was shaded by a high, old tree. Mom Bett often said the tree had taken a leap out of the woods right into her heart. Jody said Mom Bett loved the tree mor than him. She laughed and teased back: “I love you both the same!” Every ‘fore dayclean, Mom Bett was there (more…)
October 30, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Uncategorized.Tags: Add new tag, grace, politics, women
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October 29, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in About This Blog, Women who change the world.Tags: allison sciplin, friendship, grace, love, women, yoga
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Bindu Wiles, Reaching Beyond Perception
What happens when our perceptions about life are dramatically challenged? The people, routines and connections that we depend on everyday suddenly become distorted or beyond reach. Change that shakes us deeply and emotionally. How do we re-establish ourselves or change just enough to start again. Bindu Wiles, a yoga instructor based in New York City offers a unique way to encourage change that may be unrecognizable. Yoga, acknowledged for its physical benefits is often underestimated for its ability to tend to our emotional and intellectual needs. In class, Bindu offers the possibility that change or renewed perception requires a momentary shift in balance, a stronger stance, more breath or a simple turn of the head. Opening to something new often feels strange and different; it’s an incredibly daunting task. But it only takes a moment to see life differently. Bindu guides students beyond the familiar sense of self, while wringing out bodies with yoga postures that renew a sense of discipline, ferocity and grace. Dedicated practitioners who seem to defy gravity and embody a combination of physical and emotional risk taking and gentleness energize the class. During class each posture (explored) is an expansive experience, like opening window blinds slowly and surely. Consider moving from mountain pose with hands in prayer into tree pose as the arms and heart lift up and the hands open wide. What if we remain open to our challenges and lean into change? Bindu encourages students to draw upon their strength and compassion while pushing through the crap of life. A steady breath, open heart and willingness to change might just be the lifeline that attracts what seems beyond our reach. acs
Katerina October 9, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in About This Blog, Women who change the world.Tags: allison sciplin, friendship, grace, love, women
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One morning over a breakfast of cheese omlettes, olives, bread and red wine, a group of friends and I tossed around our dreams and wishes. One dream came to life and nine years later still remains. Katerina’s. A candlelit haunt offering a combination of Mediterranean fare, music and the arts. Katerina’s is the kind of place that teases you with the possibility of romance, and an intimacy that encourages you to – if you have the guts – bear you soul over a few glasses of wine. I asked my friend Katerina to share an early unforgettable (Katerina’s) moment with me. acs
“In the summer of my first year in business, one of my dearest moments took place. It was a sweltering Monday night. Jodie, a humble older man- whose grand music traveled from his fingertips to the piano in grace that was romance personified – was that evening’s headliner. I was thirty-seven at the time. My place was a dry address and patrons brought their own wine in if they liked. There were, at most, seven or eight individuals in attendance, all older men. They, one by one, approached me at the bar and, one by one, ordered a bourbon or a scotch. Of course, neither was available. Coffee!!?!!, each exclaimed with grave disgust. Each respectively walking away from the bar and taking a seat – solo, at separate tables. My heart sank as I realized I wouldn’t make a penny that night. Then Jodie played the piano and one by one, each man picked up a trumpet or saxophone and joined in the music from their respective tables. I had the entrance door propped open and rain fell hard on the pavement outside of Katerina’s Street of Dreams. I ran outside with my hands up in the air hailing cars driving by, exclaiming, you have no idea what you are missing!”.
Me: Muir Woods, California 2005 September 30, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Urban flight and an everyday girl, Wanderlust: Places I've Lived, Slept or Traveled To.add a comment
I was not prepared to climb an eight foot chain link fence. I was ready for a long walk in search of awesome Chinese food o
r a hike through the forest. But climbing a fence (at age 45) was not in the plan. It had been a long time since I climbed any fence. Growing up, I was a tomboy kind of girl. I shot hoops with the guys on the basketball team, climbed trees and rode my bike with the twisted banana seat, all day. Now, this fence and no turning back. It was an hour back to the car. Thank goodness, I wasn’t wearing a dress.
Reverend Rosemary Bray McNatt September 27, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Women who change the world.Tags: allison sciplin, friendship, grace, religion, women
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Rosemary and I have had several conversations about faith, loss, and friendship. For me each discussion redefines my overall definition of hope. I’ve asked Rosemary many times (in different ways) about our “reliance” on faith. It is my greatest fear. Her response helps me sort it all out.
“Here is what I believe: when I am preaching, I am in a three part conversation. The Holy and I have been talking, and struggling (mostly) with my own life, and I am talking about what I am learning (because even while I’m in the pulpit, I’m still learning for myself). All of you in the congregation are part of the conversation, too, only it’s going on privately, with each of you, and the Holy and me. I have come to believe that I am saying what someone needs to hear, but I never know who that is, or which part of what I’m saying is the necessary part. I just pray and do my best.
Jennifer MacFarlane, documentary photographer September 17, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in About This Blog, Urban flight and an everyday girl, Women who change the world.Tags: allison sciplin, documentary photography, friendship, religion, women
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Jennifer is a Brooklyn based photographer, humanitarian, meditation teacher, and aspiring Bollywood dancer. She has spent many years documenting life throughout the world with her camera. She hopes that her subjects stories told through her photographs can begin to break down the boundaries between self and other countries and cultures.
acs: You’ve traveled all over the world. What is familiar regardless of the country you’re in?
jmcf: The thing that is the dominating factor, people are good and smart. It’s important to be on the same level with everyone and to find the ways we are all connected.
acs: Explain. What do you mean?
jmcf: There are so many atrocities in the world and this is true? Observe it and meditate on it. But everyone has a desire to be happy. Most people are genuinely compassionate. I’ve met a lot of compassionate people and it’s very humbling. It makes me realize that I have so much: clean air and food and water. In Cuba, there are ration cards for food. I’ve learned that food is rare. Regardless, people there will invite you inside for a meal.
September 9, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Urban flight and an everyday girl, Wanderlust: Places I've Lived, Slept or Traveled To.comments closed
Mt. Tremper, New York, 2008
Tania September 5, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in Women who change the world.Tags: friendship, love, women
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Tania and I have been friends since college. Our friendship has survived the college to life transition, moves from city to city, boyfriends, marriage, more life transitions and creating families. We’ve been very 
lucky. We still gab on the phone, and trade emails often. Tania’s consistent and amazing love is a much cherished part of my life.
acs: What secrets will you tell your daughter about love and friendship?
t: I’ll tell her the secret to friendships with other women. I will tell her to celebrate other women every chance she gets. I believe that when you celebrate other woman’s beauty, success and joy you celebrate yourself. I will tell my daughter that when you are jealous or negative towards other women you diminish yourself.
Dear Julia, how do you define love? Dear Allison, love is a binding element September 3, 2008
Posted by graceloveandpolitics in About This Blog, Women who change the world.Tags: allison sciplin, beautiful, forever, friendship, grace, love, love song, music
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Julia Frodahl is the songwriter, pianist/chanteuse and inspiration behind Edison Woods. She deciphers language from its purest forms of breath, light and dreams and translates them into beautiful music. Julia muses and rests in Brooklyn, NY. The Edison Woods video (above) is from a 2004 concert in Spain. The song, “The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace”. It is, I imagine, a love song. acs
