Category Archives: North American African Perspective

Ralph Ellison’s Song

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

slain by ink again & again made invisible unseen conjured on the 11 o’clock news new mau mau’s jeans low wild threats to civility written on like a wall like an epitaph suffering on the margin blues after notes air … Continue reading →

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Nambie

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

you know nothing of my life neither the contours or its jagged torn edges not its superfluity nor me in my sublimity the salient sweet funk radiating out of my unborn thought dressed in melanin the saving grace of the diagnosed … Continue reading →

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suicide note to frantz fanon

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

& when i did become this pale non-reflection of myself when did i slip into the suit you brought with you discarding myself to fit inside not be left on the margin bleeding and dying like the naked savages you … Continue reading →

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BAM: The Movement That Moved the World

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

The sixties, a time of social upheaval punctuated by the struggle of North American Africans to create Black political and social institutions, that advanced Black values, and promoted Black collective interest birthed, an affirmation, “Black is Beautiful”. It was a … Continue reading →

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Sedi Bo: A West Oakland Tale of Art and Transformation

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

Sedi Bo’s image is memorialized in a mural on the corner of 14th and Campbell. Sedi’s name was Cedric, people also called him Country. He was a musical artist. He grew up in West Oakland. His sister’s runs a hair … Continue reading →

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Two Trains Running: Lower Bottom Playaz Next Stop

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

Season 14 for the Lower Bottom Playaz starts with Two Trains Running by August Wilson. Wilson is one of America’s finest playwrights, his work The American Century Cycle is his signature writ large on the American theaterscape. His unduplicated accomplishment … Continue reading →

Posted in August Wilson, Black Arts, Craft, non fiction essay, North American African Perspective, Performing Arts, Tales of Iron and Water, Theater, work in progress | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Last Laureate of Newark

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

The Last Laureate of Newark: Oakland Local Article- Remembering Amiri Baraka.  The Last Laureate of Newark (A Love Supreme) There is no laureate poet in Newark as he ascended to jam with the out and gone went to where the lore … Continue reading →

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God as a Wild Woman with Stars in Her Hair

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

god as a wild woman with stars in her hair they told me god was a wild woman with stars in her hair i have seen such women sun glowing in their eyes wind pouring from calloused finger tips still soft … Continue reading →

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Gentrification: No Resting Place, Pt. 3

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

West Oakland: Gentrified “West Oakland is situated on the Bay side of Highway 980 and is easily accessible by public transportation including BART and buses. If you are an urban pioneer who is looking to buy somewhere before it really booms, look … Continue reading →

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Crows

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

In conversation with Crows ancient obsidian sentries of the gate between worlds they remind me to stand in my integrity to know what I know and stay the path WolfHawkJaguar told me “Don’t give up before the miracle happens” I … Continue reading →

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