“I acknowledge immense debt to the griots of Africa, where today it is rightly said when a griot dies, it is as if a library has burned to the ground. The griots symbolize how all human ancestry goes back to some place and some time, where there was no writing. Then the memories and the mouths of ancient elders was the only way that early histories of mankind got passed  along . . . for all of us today to know who we are.” Alex Haley

“The Afro-American artist is simular to the Necromancer.  He is a conjuror who works juju upon his oppressors; a witch doctor who frees his fellow victims from the psychic attack launched by demon of the outer and inner world.” Ishmael Reed 19 Necromancers From Now.

The above quotes define our title as well as the role and power of the Black literary  artist… our historians …telling and preserving our story  Connecting our past, present, and future. Subtlety transforming  our collective unconsciousness.

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Telling Our Story from Mental Slavery to Mastership.  The rivercity Griot presents

No effective organizing can occur among Black people as long as we are programed to ‘see’ ourselves through the eyes of others. Carter G. Woodson told us how Black minds were placed under control. Professor T’Shaka tells us how to break the shackles of mental control.
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OBA. T’Shaka is an activist, author, scholar,, leader, organizer, renowned public speaker and visionary of exceptional influence. He addresses audiences in the United States, Britain, France and Africa. His versatile strength as a speaker combines forty-nine years as a scholar activists who led the largest and most effective northern Civil Rights Movements.

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An Afternoon With John King

As a pioneer and strong advocate for the arts and a civil rights activist, John King has a lot of insights to share about the tumultuous social and political upheaval that shook Sacramento and the nation in the 1960s and 1970s. John was present for the historic march from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in the heart of downtown Montgomery to Alabama’s State Capitol. He was a member of the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) that worked closely with Black citizens throughout the South.  Here in Sacramento, he participated  in the birth of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and is a  loyal member of the oldest black institution on the west coast… Saint Andrews African Methodist Church.  It was a focal point of political and social activities.  It played a vital role in the development of the local Black community as well as Northern California.

As a young artist in the late 60’s, John was witness to how the volatile political atmosphere being felt throughout the nation was impacting and reorienting the arts as well.  John joined Sacramento artists, Bob Burge, Alex Miller, Allen Gordon and Don Price, to form a gallery called The Black Affair. The gallery’s programs introduced our young children to ceramics, drawing and painting, sculpture, weaving, and all aspects of arts and crafts. The five artists gained their popularity through their work in the gallery. In time they scattered, each going his own way to hone skills and gain experiences. Don continued as the gallery’s operator and worked in graphic design. Allen was a professor of art at CSUS and an art critic; Bob worked as a painter and artist; Alex as an artist and filmmaker; and John continued teaching and exhibiting art.  Later, John would participate in the birth of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.

Sunday April 25, 2010 (2:30 – 5:00)

The KUUMBA Gallery

1001 Del Paso Boulevard

Sacramento, California

rivercitygriot@sbcglobal.net

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The word Griot is an archetypal polyglot out of which many symbols emerge. It symbolizes Black thought, Black communication, Black education, and Black religion. It symbolizes that part of our mind which contains all of the accumulated knowledge of our ancestor’s, past, present and future… bridging time and space… connecting the ancient Twa people, the Homo Erectus (who originated in the Great Lake region of Africa at the head of the Nile Valley) and us today. Embodied in the word Griot is the philosophical concept of the oneness of ALL, and the ability to identify with and tap into any fraction of that oneness. To meditate on the word Griot is to begin to unearth its obvious and not so obvious meaning. This turning in process will connect us with our ancient African roots along the Nile valley. This self-definng step helps to reconcile and reunite the opposites within our psyche.

The ultimate purpose of the rivercityGriot is to activate this self realizing process by projecting more light.

The Sankofa” Bird’ is sometimes called the bird of passage and transformation. Its underlying message represents our need to go back to our roots inorder to move forward. The need to reach back and gather the best of us. What has been lost, forgotten or has been striped from us can be reclaimed, preserved and perpetuated.

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When we are not actively aware of our place in the hieharchy of life, we are as fish out of water.

When we do not value, claim or document our collective contributions to civilization, then others who recognize its value and worth will claim it as their own.

Each generation inherits its own cross. When I compare my cross to that of my ancestors, I am overwhelmed by a great sense of humility and indebtedness. I feel a personal connection with these unsung heroes. It is through their courageous perseverance and insightfulness that I am a living benefactor of the African American continuum.

I understand what Toni Morrison means when she says, “The price has been paid.”

Extracted from my daily journal 2001

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I am thinking in three months or so, I will be back to normal. It wasn’t until I entered my fourth year of Post Herpetic Neuralgia that I began to realize that I was dealing with a force that didn’t want to turn me loose. I tried everything to get rid of the pain: Yoga. Meditation three times a day. Road my bike. Joined the gym. And worked in my flower garden. I specifically remember one morning while working in my flower garden thinking about all the good things I was going to do when the pain went away. In response to the internal conversation I was having with myself, the question came, “But, Grace, what if the pain never goes away? Are you going to put your life on hold waiting for a prescribed condition that might never occur? Well that was my walk-up-call. I still have the pain. But today it is no longer the enemy. I have come to see it as the messenger. However, I am still trying to decode the message. ###

OVER THE PAST DECADE my constant companion has been pain. This relationship with pain has taken me through many lairs and episodes of deep contemplation. Eventually my search for solace materialized as my appreciation for the sacred creative legacy of the African American continuum evolved and continued to grow… especially in the areas of music and literature. My greatest comfort came from the wisdom of my ancestors… the hero’s with an African face.

Bishop Enoch Amey, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Thelous Monk, John Coletrane, Dexter Garden, Mary Louise Williams, Ida B. Wells, Jame Balwin, Fannie Lou Hammer, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Anna Cooper, Drusilla Dunjee Houston, Chancellor Williams, Marcus Garvey, Du Bois, Malcolm, Rev Martin Luther King, Dr. John Henry Clark, Dr. Alfred Ligon, Sonia Shancez, Toni Morrison, Bernace Reagan Johnson, Joshua Redman, and yes, my less than perfect mother and father. They were and are my sources of my “good news.”

They whisper in my ear, light my fire, give me direction, let me know every thing’s gonna to be all right. These Black messengers… best feed my soul and inspire my moment by moment experiences. For me, they demonistrate the best examples of the grandest state a human being can achieve. They challenge me to be my sacred self.

Grace Carter-Douglas
Extracted from my daily journal dated 1 January 2003

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When I refer to the Black infrastructure am talking about those brothers and sisters who gets up each morning conscientiously pursuing their dream. Refusing to take NO for an answer. And questions the status quo by ignoring the limitations it places upon them. They consciously pursue avenues that will make a difference in their family and neighborhood.

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