October, 2013
Volume XX Issue VIII Circulation... Plenty!
Happy October!!!
Happy Breast Cancer Awareness and
Domestic Violence Awareness Month!
This Month, Pledge to: Know your body! Report Domestic Violence! Maintain a Healthy Diet! Value Yourself and Your Children! Seek Help If You Need It! Get regular Check-ups! Avoid Toxicity in Your Food, Environment and Relationships! Love and Forgive! Be a Part of the Solution!
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This edition of The Crystal News is dedicated to
my dear brother in the struggle, Nathaniel Perkins-Ali, Co-Founder of
the National Association of Brothers & Sisters In & Out for
being a tireless soldier in the fight to address the inequities in the
justice system, reduce recidivism rates, and improve the community. I
will miss him greatly and will attempt to continue his good works.
Happy Birthday to Me!This year, I will once again spend my birthday in service to others. On October 13, 2013, my birthday, I will participate in AIDS Walk LA, which is part of my plan to champion three of my favorite causes: health, education and the arts. To this end, I am asking my family, friends and fans to celebrate with me by giving just $5 to one or more of the following: AIDS Walk LA (Feel free to join the walk as well); the Nia Imani Academy of Excellence (NIA) (Nia Imani Academy of Excellence 101 Catalpa Drive, Unit 104, LaPlata, MD 20646, (301) 392-1848 - Include 'Keymáh request' in the comment box or the memo line of your check); The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Scholarship at Meharry Medical College (Indicate in the comment box that you want your donation to go to The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Scholarship); The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Endowed Theater Scholarship at Florida A & M University (Under the 'Please direct my donation to' drop down menu, choose 'College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities,' then, under the 'Funds' drop down menu, choose "T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Endowed Scholarship (1328)"); CHARM Outreach and Mentoring Services (CHARM, 3108 State Route 59 Suite 124-177, Naperville, IL 60564 - Include 'Keymáh request' in the comment box or the memo line of your check); The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Fine Arts Room at St. Sabina Academy (Indicate in the memo box that you want your donation to go to the T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Fine Arts Room); and / or The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. Why just $5? Because times are hard, but every little bit helps. If you want to give more, or to more than one I won't complain... I am so grateful to everyone who helped me pull of the benefit I did in Chicago last for St. Sabina Academy. An Evening with T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh & Friends was a show featuring more than a dozen performers including Tim P.M., T.C. Carson, Cynda Williams, Regge Reg, and members of the Najwa Dance Corps, followed by dinner and dancing. People are still talking about it. I am hoping that my family, friends and fans will be as supportive this year. Birthday's remind me to reflect on my life's purpose, the things I have accomplished and those left to be done. Celebrating my birthday in service to others is a great way to start my new year. To help me celebrate my birthday, please donate $5 in my name to one (or more) of the organizations listed above. Thank you so much!
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Frat House is a big Winner at ABTF!
On Saturday, October 5, 2013, Darryl Reuben Hall's Frat House took home two Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (ABTF) awards! Making its national premiere at the festival, Frat House
was first produced at Hall's Stage Aurora Theatrical Company in
Jacksonville, FL. During the festival gala honoring legendary author and
playwright Pearl Cleage, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh
won "Favorite Performance in a Supporting Role" for her portrayal of
the spunky, funky cop with heart, Officer Brendetta. Broadway performer
Darryl Reuben Hall won "Favorite Script" for
his lively, comical and inspiring modern retelling of the parable of the
prodigal son, in a story of a pastor’s son who joins a college
fraternity against his father’s advice. Performances took place on the
main stage of The Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center in Decatur,
GA, on Friday October 4 and Saturday October 5. Hall and Tony Award winner Melba Moore were also featured in the production which starred newcomer Borge Etienne as the pastor's son, Thomas Waller. Keymáh previously performed in Stage Aurora's productions of Black to My Roots and Miss Evers’ Boys.
A regular at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem NC,
which she Co-Chaired in 2011, Keymáh performed at the Atlanta festival
for the first time. "The award was such a lovely, wonderful surprise! I
thought my night couldn't get any better after seeing the young people
perform and hearing Pearl Cleage's absolutely awesome speech. I am
quite impressed with this festival and can't wait to go back next year!"
http://www.stageaurora.org/
WHERE THE ACTION IS: Formerly "T'Keyah Fights City Hall" which was formerly the "Do Something" and sometimes the "T'Keyah's Two Cents" columns of this newsletter, this is what the action should be...
University
of Southern California and Occidental College are among the list of
schools that recently admitted having woefully under reported the
incidence of rape on their campuses. In addition to discouraging rape
victims to report and press charges against their attackers, schools
across the country have been downplaying sexual attacks and not
reporting the crimes to the government as required. Rape is bad business
for colleges and universities, but instead of addressing the problem,
they are further abusing victims and leaving their campuses more
unsafe. According to Title IX legislation sexual discrimination on
college campuses is illegal, so these schools are actually breaking the
law, in order to pretend that rape is not as prevalent as it is. For
more information on Title IX, visit KnowYour IX.org. Know what going on
at your school or Alma Mater, and if there is a problem, be a part of
the solution. For support filing a complain, contact student volunteers
at EndRapeOnCampus.org. For advice on helping to combat rape on your campus (or at your Alma Mater), contact studentcoalitionagainstrape.org There is a petition on ForceChange.org asking the president of Occidental College to support rape victims. To join me in signing this petition, Click here! There is also a petition on change.org, asking the Office Student Affairs at the University of Southern California to take nine steps to create a safer campus. To join me in signing this petition, Click here! This is where the action is...
On Friday, September 27, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh joined more than one hundred fellow HistoryMakers across the country for the fourth annual Back-to-School with the HistoryMakers. Vice-Principal Jeremy McDavis welcomed Keymáh and journalist / best selling author Sylvester Monroe to
Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. The HistoryMakers’ theme again this
year is ‘Commit.’ Both speakers talked about their Chicago roots,
those that inspired them and their commitment to succeed in their chosen
fields. In 2010, Keymáh participated in the HistoryMakers’ inaugural
back-to-school program at Pearl Cohn High School in Nashville. In 2011,
she spoke at her alma mater, St. Sabina Academy in Chicago, and last
year at Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy during a
trip to Atlanta for her induction into the National Black College Alumni
Hall of Fame.
Bean Soup Times
is a new media marketing and public relations company that creates
opportunities for businesses, non profit organizations and artists to
get the message out about their product, service or message. For
consumers, we are the place where humor, politics and culture meet. For
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FAMU GRADS COME HOME
October 13-19, 2013 Florida A & M University celebrates its annual Homecoming. Alumni from across the country and around the world will return to the city of seven hills to renew ties and support thier alma mater. T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh will be among the alumni enjoying and participating in the festivities. There to commemorate her 30th year as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she will join her 'Transient 26, Spring 1983' line sisters for many of the weeks activities. On Thursday, October 17, she will also speak to two classes in the School of Business & Industry (SBI), and a combined class of Theater students. Keymáh first attended FAMU on an SBI scholarship, then switched to the Theater department, and has remained in touch with both programs. She enjoys speaking with student groups and has that the young people inspire her as much as they say she inspires them. She encourages other alumni to support FAMU, (Interim) President Larry Robinson, the individual school(s) from which they graduated, and, of course, The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Endowed Theater Scholarship at Florida A & M University!
October 13-19, 2013 Florida A & M University celebrates its annual Homecoming. Alumni from across the country and around the world will return to the city of seven hills to renew ties and support thier alma mater. T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh will be among the alumni enjoying and participating in the festivities. There to commemorate her 30th year as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she will join her 'Transient 26, Spring 1983' line sisters for many of the weeks activities. On Thursday, October 17, she will also speak to two classes in the School of Business & Industry (SBI), and a combined class of Theater students. Keymáh first attended FAMU on an SBI scholarship, then switched to the Theater department, and has remained in touch with both programs. She enjoys speaking with student groups and has that the young people inspire her as much as they say she inspires them. She encourages other alumni to support FAMU, (Interim) President Larry Robinson, the individual school(s) from which they graduated, and, of course, The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Endowed Theater Scholarship at Florida A & M University!
CHARM "Blossoming Beauties" Workshop Series Every 1st and 3rd Saturdays
10/5/13-3/15/14
10:00am-12:00pm
Join us at the iCan Dream Center on Saturday 10/19 for a dynamic workshop on "Confidence," the second offering from our fall/winter workshop series, "Blossoming Beauties."
The "Blossoming Beauties" Workshop Series was created to uncover the realistic truths of beauty beyond physical attributes in an effort to mold young women of substance. The series runs every 1st and 3rd Saturday from 10/5/13-3/15/14. Each session features a different guest speaker on topics such as Body Image, The Power of Influence, Reputation & Respect, Vision, Goal-Setting & Self-Efficacy and more!
Registration for the series is a one-time investment of $10. Payment can be made online or at the next session.
Please contact Aaja Corinne Carr with questions via e-mail at girlexpo@mycharm.org, or by phone, (877) 54-CHARM (24276), Option 5.
The iCan Dream Center is located at 17508 Carriageway, Unit AD, Hazel Crest, IL 60429. For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.mycharm.org/fall-program.html
Missed the "Blossoming Beauties" launch at the iCan Dream Center and want to enroll your teen girl from the beginning of the series or prefer a location closer to you? Our Park Forest "Blossoming Beauties" sessions begin 10/19, 9:30am-11:30am! Contact Eva Robinson at erobinson@mycharm.org for more information.
10/5/13-3/15/14
10:00am-12:00pm
Join us at the iCan Dream Center on Saturday 10/19 for a dynamic workshop on "Confidence," the second offering from our fall/winter workshop series, "Blossoming Beauties."
The "Blossoming Beauties" Workshop Series was created to uncover the realistic truths of beauty beyond physical attributes in an effort to mold young women of substance. The series runs every 1st and 3rd Saturday from 10/5/13-3/15/14. Each session features a different guest speaker on topics such as Body Image, The Power of Influence, Reputation & Respect, Vision, Goal-Setting & Self-Efficacy and more!
Registration for the series is a one-time investment of $10. Payment can be made online or at the next session.
Please contact Aaja Corinne Carr with questions via e-mail at girlexpo@mycharm.org, or by phone, (877) 54-CHARM (24276), Option 5.
The iCan Dream Center is located at 17508 Carriageway, Unit AD, Hazel Crest, IL 60429. For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.mycharm.org/fall-program.html
Missed the "Blossoming Beauties" launch at the iCan Dream Center and want to enroll your teen girl from the beginning of the series or prefer a location closer to you? Our Park Forest "Blossoming Beauties" sessions begin 10/19, 9:30am-11:30am! Contact Eva Robinson at erobinson@mycharm.org for more information.
A Negro Speaks of Rivers
October 20, 2013, 8 PM
October 20, 2013, 8 PM
Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles
A personal narrative set against the back drop of raging urban arson fires and the grass roots revitalization of the Los Angeles River, "A Negro Speaks of Rivers" is a theatrical piece, written and performed by Margaret Laurena Kemp. Through spoken word, movement, original sound, cante singing and video the under-heard voices of community, myth and natural world come to life to dramatize the intersections between race and land and water in the urban United States. A Negro Speaks of Rivers entertains while posing important questions about how we want to treat our human and other natural resources in our present and future.
Directed by Mark Lindberg
General Admission: Pay What You Can $10.00 minimum, Student & Senior Admission $6 Id Required At Check In
http://www.eventbrite.com/invite-friends?eid=8075430831
A personal narrative set against the back drop of raging urban arson fires and the grass roots revitalization of the Los Angeles River, "A Negro Speaks of Rivers" is a theatrical piece, written and performed by Margaret Laurena Kemp. Through spoken word, movement, original sound, cante singing and video the under-heard voices of community, myth and natural world come to life to dramatize the intersections between race and land and water in the urban United States. A Negro Speaks of Rivers entertains while posing important questions about how we want to treat our human and other natural resources in our present and future.
Directed by Mark Lindberg
General Admission: Pay What You Can $10.00 minimum, Student & Senior Admission $6 Id Required At Check In
http://www.eventbrite.com/invite-friends?eid=8075430831
WHERE THE ACTION IS: Oppose Government Shutdown
APLA writes, "Please call 888.659.9562
to be connected to your Representative and tell them to end this
dangerous government shutdown.We need your immediate assistance to
change the stalemate in Congress. Please use the toll free number to
call your Representative today (10/10) or Friday (10/11) and ask them
to:- Act now to end the government shutdown
- Act now to prevent economic catastrophe from a government default
- Call toll-free to: 1.888.659.9562.
- Once connected please enter your 5 digit zip code and you will be automatically connected to your Congress member. If your zip code has two Congress members you will be given both names to choose from. You can also hit 0 to be connected to an operator for help. If you don't know the name of your Representative, visit the House of Representatives website.
- Suggested message when you call:
- "As your constituent, I want you to act NOW to end the government shutdown and prevent the economic catastrophe of a government default. Congress should focus its efforts on ending the senseless cuts through sequestration and ensure all of our nation's public health agencies and programs are adequately funded. Please vote to restore funding for all of the services that people living with HIV count on and to protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps."
Nia Imani Academy of Excellence (NIA)
A Pre-K - 5, Christian school
101 Catalpa Drive, # 104 in LaPlata, MD.
301-392-1848
niaimaniacademyofexcellence@gmail.com
ourniaacademy.com
Rev. Amina Fola-Rose, Head of School
Donate - News on NIA - Take a Tour of NIA
WHERE THE ACTION IS: Help Restore Voting Rights...
Immediately
following the United States Supreme Court's, 5 to 4 decision to rule
Section 4 of the landmark Voting Rights Acts of 1965 (VRA)
unconstitutional, many states went to work on ways to discriminate
against some voters. Just in case you were thinking that this decision
was a wise one... clearly it was not. The protective laws enacted in
1965 by our Congress and most recently updated in 2006 truly are still
needed today. Join me in urging Congress to enact through legislation, a
law to protect the rights of all Americans, by contacting your Senate
and Congress representatives to restore a newer, stronger Section 4 of
the VRA. For more information on contacting your United States House of
Representative visit: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/. For more information on contacting your United States Senator visit: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm This is where the action is...
Recently,
I attended the performance of a friend and sitting in front of me was a
woman with gorgeous gray locs. I sat admiring her thinking how cool it
is to see women of all ages embracing their natural beauty. I wondered
how long she had worn her hair naturally and what inspired her to do
so. During the intermission, the woman turned and saw me looking at her
hair. She leaned back toward me and, as if she'd been reading my mind,
proudly stated, "You're the reason I starting wearing my hair
naturally. Thank you." Well how cool is this?! 
Congratulations to Shonte Ward CHARM's 2013 GEMS
Grand Prize Scholarship Winner!!!
CHARM Outreach And Mentoring Services Is A 501c3 Non Profit Organization Created By Women Exclusively For Women With The Goal Of Transforming Lives. We Exist To Assist Women Of All Ages Build Self-Esteem; To Empower, Encourage, And Inspire Them To Passionately Pursue The Highest Purpose For Their Lives.
Donate - Learn More
www.mycharm.org
WHERE THE ACTION IS: My Black Year...
As you have read in previous 2013 issues of The Crystal News, Maggie's Anderson's
book, "Our Black Year" inspired me to up my own support of Black
business, and I decided to find and champion at least one business per
month. Recent months' businesses: The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, NC, www.nbtf.org.
I first attended the unrivaled biannual celebration of Black theater
(film, literature and art) in 1999 and haven't missed a festival since.
The festival itself is a prime example Black business structure and
diverse coalition building. Plenty of Black businesses support the festival like Body and Soul Cultural Boutique, 545 N Trade St, Ste 12, Winston-Salem, NC (336) 723-7685, bodyandsoulnc.com,
and there is no end to the vendors that carry whatever you're looking
to buy. For me, it wouldn't be a trip to Winston-Salem without a couple
of stops at Sweet Potatoes Restaurant, 529 N Trade St, Winston-Salem, NC (336) 727-4844, sweetpotatoes-arestaurant.com.
There's always a line during the festival, but the service is great and
the food is worth the wait... This was my first time attending the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival, http://atlantablacktheatrefestival.org/
but I am certainly looking forward to going back next year. They were
also supported by Black businesses and though its a smaller festival,
their vendors were great as well... I can't believe that I was in
Atlanta for almost a week and couldn't get to Soul Vegetarian, 879 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Atlanta, GA 30310 (404) 752-5194, but I was able to find the delightful Bole Ethiopian Restaurant, 1640 Virginia Ave., College Park, GA 30337 (404) 549-9111 in walking distance from my hotel. Bole is
a quiet place with impeccable service and reasonably priced food so
healthy and delicious that they are one more reason I love Atlanta! The
lentils and salad were so, so yummy and their homemade juice is a
five-layer wonder that energized me beyond my lack of sleep... I
didn't need to trek back to Hooper Shell, 11913 Compton Ave, Los Angeles, CA. (323) 566-1667,
because I'm still using the gas cards I bought the last time I was
there! And since its been a year now, I'll take this last time to brag
that my 2012 St. Sabina Birthday Benefit was sponsored entirely by Black
businesses! This is where the action is... * * * * * *
The Walker Group, LLC
TWG - 1431 Huntington Drive Calumet City, IL 60409
The Walker Group, LLC (TWG) is a Certified Public Account & Consulting firm concentrated primarily in performing audits for not-for-profit organizations, local governments and municipalities, and entities regulated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our professionals take a risk-based approach to each engagement, insuring performance and operating efficiency. We go beyond traditional fundamentals to add tangible value and elevate the audit to an even more strategic and productive role in today’s corporate governance environment.
*Auditing *Accounting
*Management Consulting
*Business Information Systems
twg@thewalkergrpllc.com rwalker@thewalkergrpllc.com
(708) 868-2545
(708) 868-2545
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Cast Your Vote for
Daughter of Fortune 
I'm so proud of USC graduate and brilliant filmmaker Dawn Kamoche, for her short film Daughter of Fortune. It's getting rave reviews, its been accepted in a number of festivals and it was selected by the Huffington Post as one of the top 10 films in Black Voices Breakthrough Theatre sponsored by Toyota Avalon. You can click here to see the film and vote! The film is only 20 minutes long and I think you will enjoy it. Please check it out and vote for Daughter of Fortune!!! Thank you! -tck
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WHERE THE ACTION IS: Don't Forget About Congo...
Their
bones project is completed but African Great Lakes Action Network
(AGLAN) is still committed to keeping us aware and involved in the
struggle in Congo, "We remain deeply concerned about the
ongoing violence in Congo. We urge the U.S. government as well as other
global governments and the U.N. to hold perpetrators including the
Rwanda and Ugandan governments accountable for crimes committed in
Congo. We recommend among other things:1. Sanction implicated top military leaders
2. Withhold military aid from implicated governments"
For more information or to read their Congo Primer, click here. To check out Friends of the Congo, click here. This is where the action is...
Thank you!!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Thank you to: My line sister Carla Knight for helping me pack after the Delta convention; everyone who supported the NIA Imani Academy of Excellence fundraiser, especially Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II and his wife; everyone who supported the CHARM GEMS Gala fundraiser, especially Katrina Allen, Kimberly Allen-Brown, Elliott Powell, Natalie Scruggs and her children, William Zeno, Lisa Russell, Marcia Berry and her niece, Nancy Payne, Dena Ratliff, and Carneil Carter, Jr.; everyone who supported the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival performances of Darryl Reuben Hall’s Frat House, especially my line sister Sherri James and her husband Bennie, my line sister Tina Guess and her daughter Leah, my Playmaker brother Kevin Bronson and his wife Sevilla and son, my M&M sister Angela Robinson Whitehurst (who is so wonderful on Tyler Perry's The Haves and Have Nots) her husband Scott Whitehurst, and my dear friend Andre Minkins; everyone who has or will help me celebrate my birthday by raising funds for AIDS Walk LA, NIA Imani Academy, The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Scholarship at Meharry Medical College, The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Endowed Theater Scholarship at Florida A & M University, CHARM Outreach and Mentoring Services and / or The T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Fine Arts Room at St. Sabina Academy; and finally, my 2012 St. Sabina Birthday Benefit sponsors:
Florida A&M University, Orbert Davis’s Chicago Jazz Philharmonic,
Nubian Heritage, Vincent E. Walker Photography (312) 719-6830, The
Walker Group, LLC, CHRIS CURSE & Co, Pierce Pediatric Association,
Southside Community Credit Union, Alpha Nu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta's Inseparable Nine and Human Resources Development Institute, Inc. MUAH! And I mean it!!!!
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Kudos
Congratulations to: My line sister Diedre Knight and her son Brandin Knight on their first children's book, "The Wash Cloth and the Turtle," a book
about hygiene and super heroes which will encourage children to
make bath time a fun time, while promoting reading for children ages 4
to 12; Community activist and leader Conrad Worrill, on being honored with a street naming at Oakwood and Langley in Chicago, near the Center for Inner City Studies, which Dr. Worrill has lead for many years; my soror Shelle Coleman for her terrific performance in "She Who Finds a Husband"; Taurean Blacque for his Atlanta Black Theatre Festival “Favorite Performance in a Leading Role” award for his work in Mary McCallum’s Hunger in Paradise; Paris Barclay on being elected DGA President; and Founder / Executive Director Toni Simmons Henson on the success of the 2nd annual Atlanta Black Theatre Festival http://www.atlantablacktheatrefestival.org, go on woman!
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The Crystal News respectfully acknowledges the life and transition of:
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Karen Black, Eileen Brennan, Elaine Brown, Elizabeth Sybil Brown, Lois DeBerry, George Duke, Dennis Farina, T-Model Ford, Eydie Gormé, William H. Gray, GiGi Hines, Jenea James, Saul Landau, Arnold,
Lazarus, Ken Norton, Nathanial Perkins-Ali, Carline Ray, Tikki Moore
Smith, George Tall Chief, Helen Thomas, Lee Thompson Young, Randy
Tillman, Edward Butch Warren, and too many beautiful children (lost on the streets of Chicago and other places) to name...
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We are blessed to have known their warm heart, bright smiles and good works.
We are inspired to follow their brave and noble examples. |
Have You Hugged Someone You Love Today?
Stay Tuned... Natural Woman / Natural Hair II - 2014Have you hugged someone you love today?
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