damali ayo • gazing through big black eyes

I’m Back!
damali returns to the stage to stir things up about racism once again.

I am writing today to announce that after a few months off the racism-lecture circuit, I am returning to the stage to continue this much needed dialogue.

This year, I hit a wall of intense burn-out. There were many factors involved in my decision in April to take my leave from the battle to fight racism, but over the last six months, I’ve watched where our country is going in the new-found “age of Obama.” What I’ve seen and experienced has been profound. This conversation is needed now more than ever. This is an incredible opportunity to examine the way racism works in our country.

Earlier this month as I was photographing some of the Panhandling for Reparations performers a nearby woman, who could not stop laughing, kept saying “things are changing...one of them is about to be president.” This summed up the situation so clearly. Yes one of “them” is about to be president, so soon, none of “them” will need to be listened to any longer.

But then, what made the the timber of this time so clear to me was a simple gesture that occurred while I was walking my dog in my neighborhood one afternoon.

A man yelled “nigger” at me.

And it was here that I realized the dual level of what we will be dealing with in this new “changed” time.

I need to be with you in this conversation continuing the work I do to help people find the tools to advance their understanding of race, and to connect and learn from each other.

Let’s do this together by bringing me to your community or school to present the tools of the I Can Fix It conversation, to talk about my experience as an artist and racism educator, and to help generate dialogue in your world. In appreciation for your welcoming me back, I would like to connect personally with anyone who brings me to talk. If you help to organize my visit to your community, I would include in that visit a personal chat over coffee with you and a group of your friends.

You might be asking, “what happened to CROW Clothing?” Well, the economy happened to CROW. Sadly we launched just as things started going downhill and we were not able to get the backing we needed to continue past our proof-of-concept phase. We were not alone, two other eco-clothing companies in Portland alone closed this summer as well. It was a wonderful effort, and brilliant experiment and all of us who were involved can leave saying that we created a “first” in the world- the first sliding-scale clothing company. For this we are proud.


If you would like to bring me to your school or community, drop a line to damali@damaliayo.com. I look forward to seeing you all once again.

Yours always,

damali

Please also JOIN THE NEW BLOG at http://damaliayo.blogspot.com

Hello Portland Folks,

It is an honor to invite you to a rare talk I am giving next week at PSU.

Kick off to:
Bitch Magazine’s “Feminist Perspectives in Pop Culture” lecture series

http://www.wrc.pdx.edu/shesheet/wordpress/?p=242

This will be a candid look at my life as a social change artist. I will share my motivations, my journey, childhood photos and talk about where I’ve been, where I’m going and how I think others can continue the work I’m doing. I would really love to see you there, at this special occasion and a wonderful open-hearted conversation.

September 30th Tuesday, 7pm
Portland State University
Smith Memorial Ballroom 1825 SW Broadway
the cost is $10 at the door, all proceeds going to bitch magazine, the sponsor.

Feel free to blog and cross-post this event.

Please also visit: http://fixracism.com for info on an exciting training I’m holding in October. I would love to have you be a part of it.

damali

Please Join Us in this Exciting Event!

This powerful and effective presentation gets people to challenge racism on a very plain and basic level that they cannot avoid. Sometimes controversial, always entertaining, this guide and the presentation has been used in communities around the globe. Now you can disseminate this guide yourself.

damali trains new speakers to give her talk on 10 practical solutions for how to create healthier, more productive racial interactions. The training will be in in Portland, Oregon. Friday, participants get to enjoy damali’s humor and style as they see her give the presentation in it’s full glory. Saturday we work together to insert our own stories and experiences into the presentation to make it your own. The following Saturday we reconvene after trying the presentation in the world, and discuss challenges, further questions, and receive certification. Facilitation and presentation skills will be covered. PowerPoint slides, audio and visuals will be given as part of the training. Participants will be given a certificate of completion and encouraged to bring the talk to schools and communities.

Dates (The training takes place over three sessions):
October 17, 6-9pm
October 18, 8am -1pm
October 25, 8am -1pm

Location: Portland, OR
If you would like to bring this training to your area and have an group of 10-20 people, we would love to come to you!

Cost: $250
Participants will be certified to give the I Can Fix It! presentation and can charge for this service. Scholarship are available.

Bring:
Your sense of humor, your stories and your heart.

Further information and APPLICATION available here:
Website:
http://fixracism.com/

Blog:
http://fixracism.blogspot.com/

Email:
speakercorps@fixracism.com

This was a really really nice note sent to me by a member of my list.
Thank you Tom!
You keep me inspired to keep looking for ways to get things moving in this world.

damali

-----


Dear damali, I have something beautiful to share with you.

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=148028

This is a clip of the Colbert Report from January, when the writers
strike was happening, and Colbert invited Andrew Young on the show to
talk about how Young and Colbert’s father settled a strike in the 60’s
in Charleston. It’s a beautiful example of mutual respect and
admiration to achieve resolution of a conflict, and if you’ve not seen
it, please do watch.

I sent it to you because I respect and admire you very much, for all
you’ve done in the past with art and activism. You’re an example to me
that one person can and does make a difference for positive change!

Congratulations on CROW, I know it is going to grow and flourish under
your guidance to become another reason for Americans to hope that
together we can and will fix what’s wrong with this nation. You totally
rock.

Sincerely,
Tom in Sheboygan

We’ve seen in the last primary cycle some ugly tactics used to created doubt in the mind of the American public. I actually saw an interview on 60 minutes where one man said “i heard that Obama doesn’t know the National Anthem, won’t put his hand on a bible and is a Musilm.”

The tactics and rumors are absolutely absurd and patently racist. The saddest part is that Americans are particularly prone to falling for that kind of deception.

The interviewer just looked at the man and said “You know that none of that is correct, right?” When asked about it, Obama had the same response....”Did you correct him?” His approach, though it may fail ultimately, is to opt for the honest truth and the real story. He refuses to play these spin-games and his supporters admire him deeply for it. The thing that scares me the most is that these are the leaders we have systematically destroyed over the course of our history. (I just watched an amazing documentary of Bobby Kennedy in action during the Universty of Alabama desegregation).

One of the things i found really interesting in the last week was an interview i saw on Charlie Rose with three British journalists. their comment on the “Obama in Muslim dress” picture was “We wished there were pictures of more American presidents like this.” They really saw it as a wonderful and diplomatic gesture worthy of a world leader.

They also said that Europe has “Obama Fever!” that he represents everything they love about america.

If only our own citizens were as smart......

Here are two new essays on the election by my favorite white anti-racist, Tim Wise:

Tim writes:
They are my two latest essays: the first addresses white support for Barack Obama and what it does (and, importantly, doesn’t) mean about race in the U.S. The second looks at, and responds to, the increasingly common refrain I’m hearing from many whites, to the effect that black support for Obama is reverse racism (I know, I know, sigh...). It also addresses more generally the difference between black and brown solidarity and white racial solidarity, for example, which is actually an important issue above and beyond this election, and which lots of white folks seem to have trouble with.

Anyway, thanks and pass ‘em around!


Uh-Obama: Racism, White Voters and the Myth of Color-Blindness
http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/Obama.html

Another Batch of White Whine: Obama, Black Voters and the Myth of Reverse Racism
http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/Obama2.html

Thanks Tim.
Your work makes my work so much easier some days.
and thank you to the white people who have stepped up to their responsibilities and risen to fight racism. I look forward to wholly passing this particular torch to you one day.

best,

damali

Hello all!

i was on the road last week for my birthday and sent this to my email list. now that i am back, i’m able to post it on my blog.....

the one birthday present i ask from you is that if i’ve made a difference in your life, let me know. Sometimes the good news doesn’t get through as much as the challenges and criticisms.

cheers!
damali

--------

February 26, 2008


Today is my birthday and as you know, I like to send you an offering of one kind or another on this day. Today’s offering is pretty simple as I’m sick in bed (although not my own bed, I’m giving two talks this week) and finding ways to keep change going even through the muscle aches.

I gave Rent-a-Negro.com a bit of a facelift. It needed it! So with some nips and tucks, I’ve brought it current. I added some pictures from the book and fixed the broken rental form link. It’s up and running again with a fresh new attitude. Check it out at http://rent-a-negro.com. Remember to refresh your browser or clear your cookies so you see the new version.

Also, I asked my genius assistants, Heather and Grant to assemble some cross-issue links that I could send out to the list. Though I’ve been fighting racism since I was 4, my true passion is connecting races across groups and social change across issues. We have to work together and work for each other if we are going to make any real progress in this world. So here is a *start* on getting our knowledge and support cross-polinated:

They aren’t in any specific order- since our issues are all connected and overlapping, so are these links.
If any of the links fail to work when you click them- google the title and you’ll find them! Thanks!!

NewsMap : A visual Look at the news http://www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm

Blackademics http://blackademics.org/

Reappropriate - political and pop culture criticism blog focusing on race and especially Asian and Pacific Islander issues http://www.reappropriate.com/index.php

Expanding the news lens through ethnic media http://news.ncmonline.com/news/

Every year, with the publication of its “Top Ten” Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories, Doctors Without Borders spotlights 10 humanitarian crisis that have received little or no attention from the media. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/topten/index.cfm

Latino Pundit http://www.latinopundit.com/

Human Rights Campaign: http://www.hrc.org/ Essential LGBT resource

Rant Collective: anti-oppression principles and practices. http://www.rantcollective.net/article.php?id=17

So you think you’re an anti-racist? 6 critical paradigm shifts for well-intentioned white folks. http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/resources/paradigmshifts_race.html

10 codes of ethnics for white people in hip-hop. http://www.daveyd.com/commentarywhitelikeme.html

Going Green:A Guide to Eco-living and Activism from an African American Perspective http://blackandn2green.blogspot.com/2008/01/eco.html

Hip Hop Caucus: http://www.hiphopcaucus.org/ Good resource that has information about all of our causes

Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org/ Great resource on racism and immigration injustice, including info on current civil rights litigation and news stories about racial injustice

Sustainable South Bronx: http://www.ssbx.org/ Kick ass project in the south bronx that combines environmental justice and anti-racism

Ella Baker Center for Human Rights: http://ellabakercenter.org/ Combines racial justice with environmentalism.

1 Sky: http://www.1sky.org/ Provides info on environmental issues but also gives people ways to mobilize and participate

Of course, there are tons of more issues to include, so please don’t consider this a comprehensive list. Heather, Grant and I expand it daily. This i’s just a beginning of expanding the tree that we are all growing together. Consider it....inspiration! I’m sure you have plenty of links to add, so send them our way and we’ll keep a good list compiled. I”ll add them to my web site in a few weeks.

I hope you have a wonderful day and find a special way to pamper yourself today- give yourself a gift on my birthday!

warmly,

damali

A Community Funded Computer....Is it Possible?

Goal: An Artist’s Salary
Pressing Need: Replace Broken
Mac Powerbook with Macbook Pro
Donations to date $1211.00
Funding needed: $969.00
(says the store where the computer is on layaway)
Donate now at http://damaliayo.com

These folks have contributed to this cause!
Will you?
Heather Day • Karen Bralove • Meta Valentic • Stacey Hart • Heatherlynn Pennington • Angie Reed Garner • Jean Chiang • Greg Nigh • Reed English • Rennie Washburn • Richard Huber • Dmae Roberts • Dwayne McDuffie • Jennifer McZier • Reed English • Annin Barrett • James Walling • Al Bradbury • Tina • Pete Forsyth • Kristen Wolf • Beth Gates • Jim Murphy • Jonathan Kern • Brandy Randall • Linton Harrington • Diane Jacobs • Rev. Sue Gaeta • Aura Solomon • Marilee Kinsella
Thank you!

Hello everyone!
I’m hoping this is the last email I write you to request donations to my first funding drive. With your participation we can raise the remaining money this week! I’m very excited to soon be creating art on a community-funded computer. As I travel around the country giving talks about fighting racism, I’ll be sure to brag about the amazing network of supporters I have that knows the value of art and social change in their world, and in the world in general. I’ll be sure to let each audience know that there are many people who have made my presentations possible. Donate now at http://damaliayo.com

This week I was doing some math (something I generally try to avoid) and realized that if each person on this network gave $2 a month, that small amount would support all I do. Imagine that, supporting an artist for only $24 a year! Do you think my work has been worth $2 a month for you? If so, then please consider making that contribution now. If not, then please let me know what more I can do to earn your two dollars! Donate now at http://damaliayo.com

I am also pleased to give you this quick update on the Now Artists that you have supported.

Angela Mobley is moving forward on the “Truth Cards” that artists have created and several of you have signed on to participate in putting these cards into the stores. They should be send to you very soon. Send your documentation to Angela for the full experience. There will soon also be a website where everyone can take a look at the cards and the project.

Laura Parker has partnered with her Now Art mentor April Baer to create a limited series “Meet-a-Stranger” Podcast. Soon you can read, see and listen to Laura’s amazing stories of the people she meets in the world, making our world even more accessible to you. I love how Laura’s work brings our world together.

Tania Ketenjian, unfortunately, was unable to commence her grant project in the agreed upon time frame, so her funds have been passed on to the next artist in line for funding. I take this program and your contributions very seriously, and after a lot of deliberation she and I came to this understanding together.

Which leads me to introduce you to Eric Gottesman, who is bringing his amazing talent and brilliance to this network by creating a book project about a young Ethiopian woman he’s met and known for many years. The book will contain your words in reaction to her story and be sold as a fundrasier to get her permanently out of a dire living situation. More on this project soon.

And finally, I will be choosing three new Now Artists for the coming year. I will post these artists on my web site and you will be able to choose whom to support with your funds. This will bring the Now Art Grant program even closer to you and I hope will result in more funding for artists around the world who generate social change. I can’t wait to introduce these new artists to you, they are truly inspirational.

I wish you all the happiest of many holidays as the year wraps up and a new one begins. December is a great time to look back on all you have accomplished and all you hope to bring into fruition. That’s what I’m doing, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you!

Keep those donations coming in....$969.00 to go. Can we do it in one week? Of course we can.
Donate now at http://damaliayo.com

damali

Friends, colleagues, fans and fellow artists and activists-

This November brings the first semi-annual pledge drive at damaliayo.com. This is the first time I’ve launched a concerted effort to bolster the work I do with financial contributions from those of you who enjoy and benefit from the things I create and offer to you free of charge.

You can visit http://damaliayo.com now to make a contribution. 

What does your contribution support?

Here’s a reminder of the projects I’ve brought you during this past year:

January kicked off the year with the release of the free Now Art document “I Can Fix It: Racism,” a collection of over 2000 people’s solutions for ending racism. This project has become an invaluable tool for individuals and organizations working to combat racism. At my talks this year, I’ve distributed over 2500 free copies of this document. YWCA anti-racism trainers, independent diversity trainers, classes and non-violence educators across the country are all using the “I Can Fix It” solutions in their trainings. It’s even been translated into Dutch for use in Holland. We’re getting very close to developing a wide-based language and approach to improving our society. The more this document is disseminated, the more people will be working from the same playbook and we’ll make progress in a more concerted way.

In February I launched “Now Art Grants” which through our donations, to date has distributed $1500 to artists creating social change work. These artists are busy creating work that both challenges and entertains. This work is accessible on a grassroots level and often delivered right to your email in-box.

In May I recognized Allison Jackson with the first Liba Nelson Vital Voice Award for one student whose story touches me deeply. It’s so critical to support the voice of young people so that they can lead this fight with the vibrancy, passion, and heart that only youth have. This award will be given annually.

This Summer I created <http://blackbrowngreen.com>Black. Brown. Green. a web-portal dedicated to combining environmental sustainability with social justice. I’ve brought on Matt Nelson to be senior editor of this project which is a powerful black-brown connection and expands the damaliayo.com network into exciting new ground.

This year I also released damali ayo LIVE a cd of my book reading at Seattle’s Elliot Bay bookstore. This cd, available for digital download on iTunes, Amie Street and other outlets, (thus creating no environmental waste) is an entertaining way to engage a conversation about race and racism. The Q and A section shows us how we can dialogue as a community as you hear white folks answering a black audience member’s question “Why would white people want to end racism?”

Dose of Reality was launched, revamped and relaunched to bring you conversations about everything from race, to health care, to gentrification. This show gets people talking to each other.

I started this blog where I have regular columns about race, current events, five-things, Barack Obama, sustainable living, and patriotism. This is a place for you to dialogue with me and other readers about issues that affect our lives on a daily basis.

I created a eco-living page to introduce you to over 50 simple ways you can improve your life and decrease your footprint on this earth.

October 10 was the first annual National Day of Panhandling for Reparations where I coordinated 70 people in 21 states and 3 countries to take to the streets and join in creating a dialogue about reparations in this country modeled after my street performance “Living Flag.”

This year I’ve spoken to over 15 schools to challenge them to take racism on as their personal issue, get off their butts and get to work.

I’ve been on numerous radio and newspaper interviews getting people to think differently about race in this country, and trying to add a diversity of voices to the mix of the conversation about race. This year I was asked to comment on any number of racial issues including Don Imus, the n-word, the b-word, reparations, diversity in the workplace, the “read a book” video, and a wide range of race-related news stories. I’ve become a regular guest on Weekend America’s segment “Good News, Bad News or No News” adding a new voice to the public discourse about current events.

And of course, I write you on a regular basis to let you know what I’m up to, what other artists to check out, and to dialogue about race issues in our collective community.

Wow. That sounds like a lot of work to me, and it was! If it sounds like a lot of work to you, visit http://damaliayo.com now to make a contribution. 

But here’s the reality. Even though I work packed hours on all of these projects, I am paid for very few of them. My lecture work is the single source of real income resulting from my anti-racist and art work. Though I feel so fortunate to be paid for my talks, it will take more than that for me to continue this work. It will take the regular support from this community.

There’s a sad misconception that artists sleep late, drink a lot and walk around with our eyes to the stars dreaming about a fantasy world that could be. I’m working hard to demonstrate that artists are everything but that. I and the artists I support work hard days and long nights to inspire our world to change and live the visions we hold dear. A typical week of my work includes five 8-10 hour days working on projects, ideas, and concepts that force people to look honestly at racism challenge our collective society to get out of their comfort zones and start taking action to end racism. When I’m not working hard on these projects, I am visiting schools and universities presenting “I Can Fix It” where I challenge white people to take responsibility for ending racism and remind people of color to both take care of ourselves and bond together into a larger community. This year alone, I’ve visited 15 campuses and distributed over 2500 copies of the “I Can Fix It” document.

When you donate to damaliayo.com and my work, you can be confident that your contribution quickly becomes action. I work hard to get things accomplished and deliver that accomplishment to you.

Each month I personally make a donation to RAINN (the Rape Abuse Incest National Network), each quarter I contribute to Barak Obama’s campaign, and I regularly support women’s businesses around the world through contributions to Kiva, a micro-finance organization. I know how important it is to me to support the organizations that work on the issues that affect my life, and I know that supporting innovative, challenging, hard-hitting and accessible anti-racism work is just as important to you.

I ask you to make a contribution to this work so that I can continue to be your artist, working for the change we all want to see and experience.

I remain hopeful that we can change this deeply racist culture, I’ve re-committed to my passion for making that change and with your support I know that I will continue to push hard to make that change a reality.

Please visit http://damaliayo.com now to make a contribution. 

Thank you for reading this, for your time and for your contribution to damaliayo.com

damali

I’ve made it to the hallowed halls of Wikipedia. I think this means that I officially exist.
Check out the Wikipedia entry on yours truly.

Catch damali on the Road!
(please contact the school if the venue is not listed)
Don’t see your Town? Request a Lecture.

2007

September
4 Hampshire College, Amherst, MA Robert Crown Center 7pm "I Can Fix It" lecture
13-14 Connecticut College, New London, CT
19 College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 3pm living flag on campus 5:30 dinner 8pm  "I Can Fix It" lecture

October
10 National Day of Panhandling for Reparations Join the Performance!
18 Suffolk County Community College
19 North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 7pm  "I Can Fix It" lecture
30 Bradley University, Peoria IL 7pm  "I Can Fix It" lecture

November
6 American International College Springfield MA 7pm "I Can Fix It" lecture
 reception and book signing to follow
8 Hudson Valley Community College, Troy NY
14 U of Wisconsin/River Falls 8pm  "I Can Fix It" lecture


2008

February
Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, WA 11:30 am  "I Can Fix It" lecture
 with lunch and book signing after