FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Publication Date:
April 20, 2009
Contact: Carrie Dieringer
Soft Skull/Counterpoint
510.704.0230 x214
carrie.dieringer@...

Narratives by a racially and economically diverse group of Generation X
and Hip-Hop Generation women exploring traditionally undiscussed
perspectives on motherhood

“A wide-ranging collection . . . mostly written from non-traditional
perspectives. . . . This anthology will offer welcome asylum to those that
have no yet taken sides in the literary mommy wars.”
—Bust Magazine
“The collection . . . aims to broaden the traditional notion of motherhood
and make visible those stories that are so often left out of the
conversation.”
—Washington Post’s The Root.com
Unlike other “motherhood” books that focus exclusively on the experiences
of affluent, married White women, Who’s Your Mama? The Unsung Voices of
Women and Mothers centers on the perspectives of a cross-section of
American women who are actively engaged in crafting identities and family
structures (including remaining single and/or childless) that speak
practically to their personal beliefs, intimate relationships, and
socioeconomic realities.
While most books about motherhood concentrate on the conflict between
mothers who work and those who stay at home, Who’s Your Mama? focuses on
the voices, experiences, and complexities of women that are most often
left out of this dialogue. From the adoption process for a gay couple, a
feminist juggling the roles of activist and mother to a mother’s
celebration of her own vibrant sexuality, the book explores the
intersection between motherhood and the facets of the authors’ lives,
which include race, class, sexuality, politics and personal tragedy. This
collection of personal narratives will illuminate the female experience of
parenting in our society and humanize a variety of social and economic
issues that affect millions of American women and their families.
Lori Tharps, author of Kinky Gazpacho talks about raising bi-racial
children. Marla Tevolia breaks down the traditional image of the
stay-at-home mom; Amy Kalisher tackles the considerably less publicized
but equally nerve-wracking task of becoming a stepmother; Kelly Jeske
chronicles the long journey of open adoption that she chose to undertake
with her gay partner; Sonali S. Balajee goes through with an unplanned
pregnancy despite the wishes of her conservative and traditional South
Asian parents; Liz Prato defends her decision to remain childless; and
many other talented writers contribute their invaluable perspectives.
About Editor Yvonne Bynoe:

Yvonne Bynoe is the author of the forthcoming book, Feminism and Hip Hop(Seal Press, 2010); 
Stand & Deliver: Political Activism,Leadership and Hip Hop Culture and the Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop

hi hiphopfeminism,

Let's connect on Goodreads so we can share book recommendations.

- Moya

(moyazb@...)

Goodreads is a community for book lovers. It's a great way to get book recommendations from your friends and others. You can keep a list of books to read, join book clubs, and even take the never-ending book trivia quiz.

To opt-out of future invites to Goodreads please click here.

This email was sent by request to hiphopfeminism@yahoogroups.com.

> The next "Life is
> Living..." meeting is on May 14th  at 6:30
> pm The location of the meeting is
> Alternatives on Sheridon and Leland.Anyone
> interested in making a living contribution to the planning
> of this festival is welcome.
> We are using Hip Hop to De-Corporatize the Green
> Movement.  We gotta go brown before we go
> green.
>
> This is a community meeting to discuss the
> Uptown Summer Festival featuring Life is Living...
> and Eco Equity Campaign:  happening in Chicago on
> July 18th in Clarendon Park.  The purpose of the
> meeting is for the partners to come together in fellowship
> and plan the local initiatives associated with the event,
>  We will be a coalition of organizations with multiple
> goals, the ultimate of which being the celebration and
> restoration of Life and Living in the park.  
> Please see the attached website for more
> information about our contribution to this Festival, in
> addition to the 400 plus young people from all over the
> world who we will be hosting at this event.  We are
> including this event as a part of the 12th Annual Uptown
> Summer Festival, The 12th Annual Brave New Voices
> International Youth Poetry Slam Festival, happening July
> 14th - 19th 2009, and as a part of HIp Hop Heritage Month in
> the city of Chicago.
>
>  www.lifeisliving.orgwww.bravenewvoices.org
> HDHodari B. Davis
> National Program
> Director
> Youth Speaks
> Inc.Youth Speaks / Brave New Voices / Living Word
> Project
> 290 Division St.
> Suite 302San Francisco, Ca 94103(p)
> 415 255 9035 x16 (f) 415 255
> 9065 
> www.youthspeaks.orgwww.bravenewvoices.orgwww.lifeisliving.org
> "We might know
> the future but for our chronic tendency to turn to age
> rather than to youth for the forecast. And when youth
> speaks, the future listens, however the present may shut its
> ears. - Alain Locke  1925  "Youth
> Speaks"
>
>
>
>

Hi all,

Thanks for accepting my request to join the list. I look forward to
chatting with you all. Here is a CFP for a book I am co-editing with a
colleague.

Best,
Shana

‑‑‑‑‑
Please distribute widely...

Mothering and Hip‑Hop Culture

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR EDITED VOLUME

Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection by Maki
Motapanyane and Shana Calixte to be published in 2011.

Motherhood is an experience that has been ever‑present yet invisible
in
the global music genre of Hip‑Hop. Yet this aspect of women's
experiences within the movement has garnered little or no interest from
journalists, writers and scholars of Hip‑Hop culture. Nor do we have
any
understanding of how mothers who remain Hip‑Hop enthusiasts negotiate
their relationship to the culture of Hip‑Hop and its music with their
children. What are the spaces that motherhood occupies in Hip‑Hop? Are
there ways of understanding mothering in Hip‑Hop along a historical
continuum? What are some of the ways that motherhood complicates the
very masculinist discourses around hip hop? How can we create an
empowered and feminist Hip‑Hop mothering, what would it look like and
how would it challenge the status quo? How are mothers engaging with
Hip‑Hop, both locally and globally?

<>The aim of this collection is to give motherhood within Hip‑Hop
culture an intellectual point of entry into an existing field of
academic debates. Themes that submitted proposals engage may include:

      * Hip‑Hop histories
      * Masculinity
      * Misogyny and violence
      * Consumerism and capitalism
      * The globalization and/or transnationality of Hip‑Hop
      * Cultural appropriation
      * Political subversion
      * Cultural diversity
      * Feminist mothering
      * Heterosexualities
      * Queer identities and sexuality
      * Aesthetic continuity and change
      * Representation and the marketing of identities
      * Other themes not mentioned here

We seek both creative and academic submissions that tackle the complex
ways in which motherhood and Hip‑Hop frame these and other
discussions.
Abstracts are welcome from a variety of academic disciplines and
perspectives.

<>SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
<>Abstracts: 250 words in length.
Deadline for Abstracts: August 1, 2009
Papers: 15‑18 pages
Deadline for Papers: January 7, 2010

Please submit proposals to: Maki Motapanyane at maki@...
<mailto:maki@...> and Shana Calixte at scalixte@...
<mailto:scalixte@...>.

‑‑
Association for Research on Mothering (ARM)
Demeter Press
726 Atkinson, York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON,
Canada, M3J 1P3
416‑736‑2100 x60366 (fax) 416‑736‑5766
arm@...
www.yorku.ca/arm

Don't Call Me Sassy!

celebrating girlhood,womonhood, surviving

and being healthy sexual beings

bring yourself and bring your daughters and sisters

performance & community discussion    

Thursday, April 30
7-9pm
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
@ The University of Illinois at Chicago
800 S. Halsted
$5 suggested donation
(Note: no one will be turned away for lack of funds)

Name calling:
feisty, assertive, unladylike,
abrasive, fast, aggressive, wild and sassy!
For Black girls and womyn these words often have a negative connotation.

How are Black girls and womyn tracked, alienated and stigmatized with these names?

Panelists:
Keisha Farmer-Smith- manager of Girl World, Alternative Inc.
Renisha Campbell- public health community organizer
Sharon Powell- sex health educator
Mariame Kaba- program officer for education and youth development at the
Steans Family Foundation
Moderator: Amina- femcee and hip-hop activist  

Don't Call Me Sassy performance:
Written and Directed by AquaMoon

Performed by Rebecca Cotter, Shanara
Fornett, Carmen Jones and Tierra Winston.   

April 30 is Poem in Your Pocket Day. Attendees are

encouraged to bring poems celebrating womyn surviving all
forms of violence and being healthy sexual beings.    

Please RSVP at

DontCallMeSassy@...

Co-Sponsors Campus Advocacy Network (CAN), Student

Outreach Services (SOS) & Men Against Sexual 

Violence (MASV)

For more information visit:

http://spokenexistence.com/DontCallMeSassy.html

Calling all sistas to the cipher!

Join AquaMoon for
~ strategizing in the round ~

Saturday

May 9, 2009

9am

212 West Superior, Suite 300

We're all mothers...

 birthing and nurturing nations, movements, art, poems, activism, feminism, womonism,

social-justice, gardens, relationships and/or babies.

Strategies to save and heal our communities through Healthcare Reform

To Discuss:

Healthcare as a human right

Quality, affordable and assessable healthcare for all

Comprehensive Sex Education in schools

Prevention education

Alternative/complimentary/integrative/homeopathy medicine

Midwifery

Healthcare for womyn  in prison

HIV/AIDS funding

 `Pre-existing' conditions

Womyn with disabilities

Substance Abuse Treatment

in the round is cipher– an intergenerational gathering of sistas in a circle to hone our knowledge of self, each

other, and the various communities, trains of thoughts and lived experiences, from which we come. there is

no hierarchy in the cipher, we are all the same level, equal ground. in the round, we give ourselves

permission to heal, change, create, lead and to let our voices be heard.
Space is limited so please rsvp to intheround@...

            For more info visit: http://spokenexistence.com/intheround.html

WORLD LEADERS ARE MEETING TO DISCUSS HOW TO COMBAT RACISM AND THE UNITED STATES REFUSES TO OFFICIALLY PARTICIPATE!! WHY?

FORUM ON DURBAN II (WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM) AND HOW THE FIGHT AGAINST RACISM AND THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL ARE LINKED

Grace Place, 637 S. Dearborn,

Thursday, April 9th at 6:00 p.m.

SPEAKERS:

Standish Willis, civil and human rights lawyer, leader of National Conference of Black Lawyers, and attendee at the Durban I conference in 2001

David Stovall, Assistant Professor of Education at UIC and long-time community activist, volunteer teach at Little Village/Lawndale H.S. for Social Justice

Ali Abunimah, writer and commentator on Middle East and Arab-American affairs and founder of Electronic Intifada. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Lebanon's Daily Star and Ha'aretz. He is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli Palestinian Impasse

Lynette Jackson, Professor of African History and Gender and Women's Studies at UIC, Advocate for refugee and human rights in Africa who has visited refugee camps in Sudan and Kenya, Moderator

The United States' refusal to officially participate in the World Conference Against Racism (Durban II) gathering in Geneva at the end of April is an outrage given the long and bloody history of racism in this country and worldwide.  We understand that the reluctance to fully affirm Palestinian human rights is at the core of the U.S. refusal as well as a desire to suppress demands about reparations by African Americans and others. Please join us on April 9 to learn more about these issues and sign a petition demanding the U.S. reverse its decision: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/YES2DURBANII?e

African Americans for Peace and Justice in Israel and Palestine

In collaboration with Arab and Jewish Partnership for Peace & Justice in the Middle East

www.arabjewishpartnership.org

http://africanamericans4palestine.blogspot.com/

Hey all,
Can't believe I didn't think to send this out sooner.

I hope to see you there!

http://aspen.conncoll.edu/news/5193.cfm

  "Rap Sessions: Community Dialogue on Gender and Hip-Hop," at Connecticut
College, April 9 from 4:30 p.m.to 6:30 p.m. in room 014 of the F.W. Olin Science
Center.  Free and open to the public.

Featured panelists are:

- Hip-hop journalist Joan Morgan, author of "When Chickenheads Come Home to
Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist"
- Filmmaker Byron Hurt, director of "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes," a film
about misogyny and hip-hop
- Professor Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, director of African American and Diaspora
Studies at Vanderbuilt University and author of "Pimps Up, Hos Down: Hip Hop and
the New Gender Politics"
- Professor Raquel Z. Rivera, sociology professor at Tufts University and author
of "New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone"

The panel will be moderated by Bakari Kitwana, a journalist, activist and
political analyst and author of "The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the
Crisis in African American Cultures," which has been adopted as a course book in
classrooms at more than 100 colleges and universities.

For more information about Rap Sessions, visit http://rapsessions.org.

Please, please, please let the conference be interactive and hands on.
Embody what hip-hop is...it aint sitting in a seat for hours over 3-4
days listening to people pontificate (sp) or flex their knowlege on what
hip hop is or is not. So flip it....kill all the negative about womyn in
hip hop and it's many cultures....have this conference present ALL the
positive of womyn in hip hop and to remove the focus from the mainstream
images....b/c what you see, hear and taste on television and billboards
is that (y)our hip hop? Also, please keep in mind that people learn and
process information differently, so think outside of the box on how
workshops are presented. Think of the conference as an interactive
museum.

just my two-cents.

veronica

Moon of AquaMoon






--- In hiphopfeminism@yahoogroups.com, Tonika Morgan <tonika.morgan@...>
wrote:
>
> Hey All,
>
> Firstly, shouts to Heather for reaching out about the Sister Cities
project.
> There is work happening on the ground that will unite young girls and
women
> on both sides of the border.
>
> Speaking of which, I just wanted to share with everyone that Toronto
will
> host a Hip Hop Feminism conference in the fall. The details are still
being
> ironed out. However, if you have any suggestions about format, guest
> speakers, performers or topics to discuss I'd love to hear them. A
site will
> be up later this spring, outlining the details of the event.
>
> This event will be co-produced by the University of Toronto and the
Medina
> Collective.
>
> Peace all,
> Tonika
> Co-Director
> The Medina Collective
>

See below for info. on a great new book by a former professor, friend and great
journalist scholar on B-Boys and B-Girls

From: Christie Z-Pabon <toolsofwar@...>
Date: Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Subject: Just Released! FOUNDATION: B-Boys, B-Girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New
York by Joseph G. Schloss
To: sherealcool@...





FOUNDATION
b-boys, b-girls, and
hip hop culture in new york
by joseph schloss
In the late 1970s and early 80s, B-Boying (mistakenly known as breakdancing)
along with DJ'ing, rapping, and graffiti art, soared to national recognition and
popularity. While the latter three have gone on to varying degrees of success
and lasting impact, b-boying has largely been dismissed as just another I Love
the '80s fad, along with the Rubik's Cube and Wham! Now, for the first time, the
Hip-Hop staple, which has flourished in the underground scene for more than
thirty years, receives some due credit.

In his new book FOUNDATION: B-Boys, B-Girls, and Hip-Hop Culture in New York
author Joseph Schloss has researched the art of the b-boy, and the b-girl, from
the ground level. Based on interviews with many significant figures in the
dance's movement, Schloss examines the genre's afterlife in underground venues
in New York and around the world. From African tradition to professional
gymnastics; from the Incredible Bongo Band's 1973 dance hit "Apache" to the
iconic martial artist Bruce Lee, FOUNDATION illustrates the unique history and
influences of the b-boy, and b-girl, culture.

FOUNDATION:  B-Boys, B-Girls, and Hip-Hop Culture in New York by Joseph Schloss
: A paperback original, by Oxford University Press 2009 (oup.com)
$19.95 | 192 pages | ISBN: 9780195334067


Buy your copy at your local bookstore or online retailer such as Amazon.com
bn.com or powells.com!

Interviewees Include

Alien Ness
Amigo Rock
Character
Phantom
B-Girl Emiko
BOM5
Buz
Anthony Colon
DJ DV-One
GeoMatrix
Michael Holman
Kaotic Blaze
King Uprock
Eddie Luna
PJay 7
DJ Mr. Supreme
Pop Master Fabel
B-Boy Ru
Break Easy
B-Girl SeoulSonyk
Ken Swift
Tiny Love
Trac 2
Waaak One

About the Author

Joseph Schloss is a Visiting Scholar and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at
New York University. He is the author of Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based
Hip-Hop , which won the 2005 Book Award from the International Association for
the Study of Popular Music. His writing has appeared in URB, Vibe, The Seattle
Weekly, The Flavor , and the anthologies Classic Material and Total Chaos .
Good Words!

"Joe Schloss doesn't just talk the talk, he rocks the rock. In the rapidly
expanding field of hip-hop studies, he is without peer--a careful observer, a
committed floor-rocker, a brilliant historian, a scholar's scholar, and a true
b-boy. Foundation is his first masterpiece. "
--Jeff Chang, author Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of The Hip-Hop Generation

"Joseph Schloss documents the path of the B-boy with the precision of a
swordsman and the love of shaman. It took a great deal of courage and patience
to make a book on Hip-Hop as inspirational as it is accurate. After reading it I
made Foundation required reading for our organization."
--Adisa Banjoko, CEO, Hip-Hop Chess Federation

"There is no richer example of tradition in Hip-Hop culture, than the legacy of
B-Boys and B-Girls. Foundation gives voice to these often forgotten actors in
hip-hop history, giving us all a clue about the genius that literally sits at
the Foundation of Hip-Hop. Joe Schloss cannot be dismissed as some disconnected
Ivory-Tower critic and with Foundation he simply ups the ante on hip-hop
scholarship in a major way." --Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of Black Popular
Culture at Duke University

in the round is cipher- the gathering of sistas in a circle to hone our knowledge of self, each other, and the various communities, trains of thoughts and lived experiences from which we come. there is no hierarchy in the cipher, we are all on the same level. in the round, we give ourselves permission to heal, change, create, lead and to let our voices be heard.

we invite you to the next phase of in the round-- the on-line experience. refer below on how you can join this movement.

we will meet in-person quarterly-- our next meeting is May, details forthcoming. in the meantime, we will continue to commune via cyberland-- blogging and twitter.

Blogging and Twitter: Online Gathering
Blog: http://intheroundsistacipher. blogspot. com/

Twitter: https://twitter. com/AquaMoon69

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?  But how can we use it and how have `movements' used it?

Why blogging and twitter?

-We all have busy lives and schedules so physically meeting is not always possible.
-To get sistas around the world on the internet, to promote our issues, and not be afraid of technology or left behind as technology advances.
-To unite in solidarity, our voices and create a safe space for sistas to discuss the issues that move us and to encourage and advocate for social justice policies that benefit women and families.

1.) Visit the blog. Make sure you click on 'older posts' so that you see ALL of the posts that were added based upon the things discussed at our first cipher, February 24.
http://intheroundsistacipher. blogspot. com/
2.) Start posting comments to the blogs.
3.) Send us questions and topics you want to be posted on the blog. Email us at intheround@...
(We will post your 'chosen name' with your topics/questions unless you tell us you're submitting them anonymously.)
4.) Start preparing yourself mentally if you will be joining us for 7-Days of Healthier Eating. For inspiration and a preview visit our site at http://spokenexistence. com/7DaysHealthierEating. html.
5.) Link us on your websites, blogs, myspace, facebook, nings etc.

the (r)evolution has begun,
AquaMoon
http://www. spokenexistence. com/aqua_moon. html

Join Kuumba Lynx social network

kuumbalynx.ning.com

Calling all sistas...Come join us in the round....February 24, 7pm.

The historic inauguration of the 44th president of the United States
just occurred. StoryCorps, a national oral history project, wants to
hear your thoughts.

A wealth of ideas about who we are as Americans and individuals lay in
this election and inauguration's wake. Why not share some of them on
CD? StoryCorps invites you to have a conversation with someone in your
life - a friend, colleague, acquaintance, neighbor, or anyone else -
about the inauguration and the recent campaign season, no matter who
you voted for (or whether you voted at all!) .

Come to our recording booth in Foley Square Park and we will record a
40-minute interview between you and your conversation partner. One
copy of the interview will go home with you on a CD, and a second copy
will be archived, with your permission, at the American Folklife
Center at the Library of Congress.

Reflect back on the campaign an inauguration, look ahead towards the
future, say whatever you want. There is no template.

We are open every day except Monday and our interview appointments are
scheduled on the half hour. The entire process takes only one hour. We
are located in Foley Square Park, just north of City Hall in Lower
Manhattan.

StoryCorps was created by award-winning radio documentary producer and
MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Dave Isay to honor and celebrate
the lives of everyday Americans through the simple act of listening.
To date, StoryCorps has recorded more than 20,000 audio interviews
with 40,000 participants.  Excerpts of select stories are broadcast
weekly on NPR's Morning Edition.

Contact me (jBurrell@... or jalylah@...) with any
questions or to schedule an appointment. You can also make a
reservation yourself on our web site:
http://www.storycorps.net/record-your-story/locations/new-york-ny


--
Jalylah Burrell
StoryCorps
80 Hanson Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
http://www.storycorps.net

"Listening Is an Act of Love" now available in paperback
www.listeningisanactoflove.org