Image still from the video-poem Notes for an Elegy in the Key of Michael . “It’s very important to keep the historical context in mind as you contemplate the nature of love and service required in the 21st century.” –Cornel West, Hope on a Tightrope To what extent might the phenomenal entertainer and humanitarian Michael Joseph Jackson have been the target of an extended guerrilla decontextualization campaign throughout the second half of his life? Hardcore devotees to Jackson’s music and altruistic humanitarian vision would say there can be no question that he was targeted in such a manner. Hardcore doubters might say maybe he was the one doing the guerrilla decontextualizing through the evolving manipulations of his public profile as a performance artist. They point to his chameleon-like shift from a distinctly afrocentric appearance in one decade to androgynously multi-ethnic in the next, and in his final years to an almost ethereal projection––a figure solidly in

All writers to one extent or another owe a debt of gratitude to writers in general because so much of what of we produce as authors represents a response to what we first experience as readers. Call it the yin and yang of a literary persuasion stemming from a precipitation of language and meaning that storms into our lives and then evolves to become part of the creative cycle itself.  For the complete post please click the link : Bright Skylark Literary Productions - Literary Persuasions: Book Reviews by Aberjhani

"Interpretation of Harlem Jazz" a.k.a. "Drawing in Two Colors" art by German artist of the Harlem Renaissance Winold Reiss. (circa 1917, public domain) “Life calls the tune, we dance.”   ―   John Galsworthy , from Five Tales It was almost enough for me to simply join PEN American Center and set up a profile page without doing much else to qualify its existence. Such a page alone could allow me to relax inside the satisfaction of knowing I had remained true enough to my literary calling to place my name beside that of authors whose lives and craftsmanship had so often empowered my own. That idea, of course, faded very quickly as I further allowed myself to acknowledge something I have long known: you do not claim rights to an honored tradition just because a few books allowed you to bring them into the world or because you managed to cough up the obligatory dues. One claims a right to such traditions very much the way runners on a winning Olympic relay

Family of Trayvon Martin sitting front row: Tracy Martin (second from left) next to Sybrina Fulton and Jahvaris Fulton. The Rev. Al Sharpton is behind them and family attorney Benjamin Crump seated far left. (AP photo by Evan Vucci) Florida State Attorney Angela Corey’s announcement on April 11 that George Zimmerman had been arrested on charges of second-degree murder for the shooting of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, brought some sense of relief to Martin’s family but has not quelled the concern of many that Martin’s death represents only one incident within a pervasive pattern. Appearing on the NBC’s  Today Show  Thursday, Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton expressed her belief that the shooting was an “accident” resulting from circumstances that “got out of control.” She later clarified her statement on MSNBC by pointing out that,  “The 'accident' I was referring to was the fact that George Zimmerman and my son ever crossed paths. .. My son was profiled, fol

In addition to kicking off the beginning of Black History Month 2012, February 1 also marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Langston Hughes, one of America’s most acclaimed authors. Although widely celebrated for his poetry, plays, and short stories, the phenomenally prolific Hughes was also an author of celebrated memoirs, novels, works of history and translations, as well as an editor of anthologies. In honor of Hughes’ lasting legacy, actor Danny Glover has presented dramatized recitals of his work for at least a decade and is currently on tour portraying the author in An Evening with Martin and Langston . Fellow actor and director Felix Justice portrays Martin Luther King Jr. in the production. Performances are currently scheduled to take place February 8 at the Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York ; and on February 9 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. For the entire Langston Hughes celebration please click this link : Notebook on Black Histo

President Barack Obama greeting military personnel at Pensacola base in 2010 . (White House photo) Prior to leaving Washington D.C. on December 23 to join his family on Christmas vacation in Hawaii, President Barack Obama spent the week advocating for passage of the Payroll Tax Cut Extension, finally achieving a last-minute victory in the kind of intense political tug of war that characterized much his presidency in 2011. His endurance in his third year as the “leader of the free world” and the often-debated advances he has achieved on behalf of the U.S. in the face of economic and political upheavals that shook the world place him at number 2 in the current countdown . To read more of the article by Aberjhani please click this link : Countdown of 10 amazing moments from the year 2011: No. 2 President Obama - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

A poet named Adonis. ( photo courtesy of Mideast Post ) Considering that Sweden has hosted the Nobel Prize Awards for more than a century and until Thursday had not presented one of its own authors with the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1974 (to Eyvind Johnson), the world can hardly blame the awards committee for presenting this year’s prize to poet Tomas Transtromer. Along with the Syrian poet Adonis, Transtromer was among the top ten authors favored by Britain’s Ladbrokes betting agency as a likely win. Transtromer, according to the agency, was an 8-1 favorite while Adonis was favored 4-1. The poets are also close in age, with the Swede born 1931 and the Syrian in 1930. However, Transtromer became the 104th recipient of the award by virtue of what the prize committee recognized as the following: “ through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality." Transtromer has published volumes of acclaimed works in both his native tongue and in translat

(Protesters express solidarity with Troy Anthony Davis) The chorus of protests against the imprisonment of Troy Anthony Davis that have risen repeatedly over the past two decades received a crushing rebuttal September 6 when a Chatham County (Georgia) County Superior Court judge signed a warrant for the inmate’s execution. As it stands, Davis’s execution is now reportedly set to take place at 7 p.m., September 21, 2011. The order to execute was issued despite a virtually non-stop hue and cry presented by such organizations as the NAACP, Amnesty International, and the European Parliament. It represents the fourth time Davis has been scheduled for execution. His battle to save his life began when he was convicted for the 1989 slaying of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail . Since that time, the case has evolved into one of the most controversial, politically charged, and highly debated in recent history. A press advisory issued by the office of Sam Olens, Georgia state attorney gen

"Man in the Music" by Joseph Vogel S ome philosophies claim that the eyes symbolize such qualities as the gift of prophecy, intelligence, and conscious awareness. In her book Chakra Bible , Patricia Mercier describes the eye “chakras,” or centers of spiritual energy, as those which “feed the brain but can develop to detect extra-sensory information or send healing to others.” That’s a pretty heavy thought. But as heavy as it is, it’s not all that difficult to entertain such luminous possibilities when considering the life and legacy of Michael Joseph Jackson . Why? Because the life he challenged himself to live turned so many dreamed theories––both his own and that of others–– into material reality. It happened while he lived until his death on June 25, 2009 and it is happening now in the year of what would have been his fifty-third birthday. To continue reading please click the following link: Looking at the world through Michael Jackson's left eye (part 1

History-making photograph of President Barack Obama with Vice President Joe Biden and other members of the national security team in the White House Situation Room. ( Photo by Pete Souza ) Just before I logged on to check my email and found a request from the Red Room website asking authors to blog about leadership, something interesting happened. I came across a scrap of paper I did not recognize and on which the following quote was typed: Please Continue reading on Examiner.com : President Barack Obama and the message beyond the photograph - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

( Photo of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama by George Burns and Harpo Studios ) Until late Sunday evening on May 1, 2011, the big news in discussions focused on President Barack Obama throughout the weekend was that he and First Lady Michelle Obama were scheduled to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show on May 2. Then TV journalists interrupted regular television broadcasts at approximately 10:45 p.m. with the news that al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden had been killed and President Obama himself came on the air about an hour later to confirm the news and provide details on the end of a quest for justice that has taken nearly a full decade to achieve since September 11, 2001. Delivering an address that evoked the unhealed “gaping hole” left in the heart of Americans following 9/11 along with the heightened sense of patriotic unity that followed, Obama made his purpose for being on television at such an odd hour clear from the beginning: “Tonight I can report to the American people and to t

Troy Anthony Davis image as part of "Making the Invisible Visible" campaign sponsored by Amnesty International and the Germany art collective known as Mentalgassi . Having attempted to obtain his freedom for more than twenty years, Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis may have lost his final chance when on March 28, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it would neither review Davis’s requested appeal itself nor order the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta to do so. Davis and supporters have been battling for his freedom since he was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark Alan MacPhail in Savannah. He has been scheduled to be put to death three times but each time obtained a stay of execution pending further investigation into his case. Davis had long contended that a review of new evidence would establish his innocence, and when seven out of nine witnesses recanted their testimonies against him, it appeared the legal tide

Disastrous results of earthquake and tsunami in Japan. (photo by Getty Images) For the article with commentary and poem by Aberjhani please click the following link: Nuclear snow in Japanese springtime: An editorial poem-commentary - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

(photo of Sharpeville Massacre commemoration courtesy of the United Nations) Monday, March 21, 2011, will mark the 45th anniversary of the United Nations’ (UN) observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In observance of the day, the UN has previously hosted such events as webcasts that address ways people can help end racism and encouraged the composition of essays, photo projects, and the publication of articles that promote the issue. To continue reading please click this link: Report on 2011 International Year part 6: Day to Eliminate Racism - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Please click the following link to read the new article series on Flannery O'Connor by Aberjhani : Events, books highlight Flannery O’Connor legacy (part 1): St. Patrick’s Day - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

( Getty Image by Juan Barreto ) Throughout Black History Month 2011, websites and newspapers based in countries across the globe have featured stories on the United Nations’ and the Organization of American States’ passage of Resolution 64/169, which declared January 1 as the start of the 2011 International Year for People of African Descent. Continue reading please by clicking the following link: Report on 2011 International Year part 5: Haiti’s Poetics of Pain and Resilience - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

( photo by Getty Images ) Out of the 250,000 deaths caused by natural disasters in 2010, the overwhelming bulk of them occurred when the massive 7-point earthquake struck Haiti on January 12 and took some 230,000 lives, prompting concerted relief efforts that are going on to this day. A major part of those efforts has been maintaining awareness about Haiti’s continuing recovery needs and U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon has teamed up with the Grammy Award-winning group Linkin Park to do exactly that via an online town hall meeting called “Haiti Today, Haiti Tomorrow” on February 22 at 6 p.m. (EST). Please Continue reading on Examiner.com: Report on 2011 International Year part 4: Haiti's Hope Now and Tomorrow - National African-American Art | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/african-american-art-in-national/report-on-2011-international-international-year-part-4-haiti-now-and-tomorrow#ixzz1EdZPS2Q0 By Aberjhani

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton There’s no question that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s hands are more than full these days with the war in Afghanistan, military tension between the two Koreas, relationship-building with China, and of course the revolution in Egypt. Nevertheless: Secretary Clinton took time out of her demanding schedule earlier this week to post a video message in support of the 2011 International Year for People of African Descent and Black History Month celebrations. In her message, Clinton described this milestone event as “an opportunity for all of us around the globe to celebrate the diversity of our societies and to honor the contributions that our fellow citizens of African descent make every day to the economic, social and political fabrics of our communities.” As it apparently did many others, the United Nations and the Organization of American States’ Resolution 64/169 proclaiming the year 2011 as the International Year for People of Af

Nkechi Madubuko photo by Bodo Ganswidt With the International Year for People of African Descent getting underway in January and Black History Month 2011 launching this week, Afro-descendants throughout the Global Village are assessing, celebrating, and documenting their experiences in diverse communities. Please click the link below to continue reading: Report on 2011 International Year part 3: In the land of Afro-Germans - National African-American Art | Examiner.com