GTM Sisterhood Network

Ooops,

2011-03-20T08:59:00.002-04:00

Made a little mistake and made the first video too large so that it appears a bit fuzzy. This one should look better, I hope so. Anyhow, thanks for bearing with me.

Barbara arriving in Baltimore, backstage

2011-03-20T08:49:00.002-04:00

Barbara has just arrived and is very "hungry." We are glad to see her and we are getting ready for the rehearsal.

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady in Baltimore

2011-03-20T08:15:00.005-04:00

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady in Baltimore

2011-03-20T07:32:00.003-04:00

On March 18, 2011, Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady were performed at the Coppin State University, James Weldon Johnson Theater in Baltimore. The performance was hosted by the Morning Star Baptist Church, one of the oldest churches in the region. The theater was nearly filled, with an audience of great diversity. One of the most exciting things for me was that a return to Baltimore was a return to my home town where I lived for three decades. Some of my relatives came out to see the play and a great number of friends. At least two contributors to the book also came. Joanne Gabbin came from Virginia and Janice Lovon Harris who contributed to the audio book was also in the audience. The most exciting thing about Joanne Gabbin was that a few days before we had a lengthy phone conversation and during that conversation we discovered that we had grown up around the corner from one another. Further, we discovered that her aunt, Mary James, had been my mother's (Margaret Brooks) best friend. We were thrilled to make this discovery. Joanne contacted her "Aunt Mae" and brought her to the play. It was a wonderful reunion. The audience loved the play and we were so excited to play before such a large audience. We took some photos and made a few videos which we will share with you online in several venues including Facebook, Twitter, the blog and our new webpage at www.uncrownedcommunitybuilders.com Another thing we tried which we had not tried before was to ask contributors to submit a video that we could use show on a big screen in the theater before the play began. Several people responded most begged off citing lack of knowledge of how to shoot a video for YouTube and then send it by email. This is something we can all work on together so that we can continue to stay in touch with the latest in technology. Anyhow, a wonderful time was had by all. Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch and giving us your support. I should also add that we heard from the First Lady in sort of a round about way. We had requested that she "skype" a message to the audience at the theater. After a long way, her scheduling office said that she would not be available but that she send her well wishes for success and she hopes we will continue our work in supporting the community. We are continuing to send messages about our efforts with this book. So, we will keep you posted with more info. Other inquiries have come in for the performance of the play and we are excited about this and we will keep you posted.

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady in Baltimore

2011-03-20T07:32:00.000-04:00

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady

2011-03-14T19:43:00.002-04:00

Go, Tell Michelle: Letters to the First Lady is opening in Baltimore this Friday, March 18, 2011. The play will be performed at the James Weldon Johnson Theater at Coppin State University. Cast members are Peggy Brooks-Bertram, Barbara Seals Nevergold and international storyteller Karima amin. We are thrilled. The ticket sales are going great and we wish you could all join us. We are fortunate that some of the contributors to the book will be there and that will be great. We also sent out a call to contributors to provide a video clip of a message that we could use to greet the audience with. Some responded and that should be fun. Further, we finally heard from the White House. While Ms. Obama could not "skype" a message to us, her scheduling staff reported that she sends us well wishes and hope that we continue our work for our community and the country. Lord knows we have done all we know to get a response, so we will take what we can get at this time. Anyway, we are all stoked for the performance and wish you could be with us. We will be sure to take some videos so that we can put them on line. Also, I had the most wonderful experience today. Joanne Gabbin, a contributor and I talked at length today and the longer we talked the more it became evident that we had grow up together around the corner from one another. Her Aunt Mae was my mother's best girlfriend in all the world and lived directly across the street from me! That was so exciting. She will be coming to the play and will bring her Aunt Mae with her. I just cannot wait to see her again. Anyhow, that is enough for now. Love, Peggy

African American women in Europe are invited to Go, Tell Michelle

2011-02-14T15:08:00.001-05:00

GTM Sisterhood Network is proud to be connected with our African American sisters living and working in Europe and thank them for supporting our work and "Go, Tell Michelle Book 2".

We encourage our Network to support Black Women In Europe as they organize to support Black women around the world! Please consider making a contribution to support this work and visit their website, linked below to learn more about this important movement.

African American women in Europe are invited to Go, Tell Michelle

YouTube - uncrownedqueens's Channel#p/u/4/B30BCXDABbE

2011-02-12T13:38:00.002-05:00

On February 8, 2011, "Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women speak to the New First Lady", a dramatic reading adapted by Robert Knopf in collaboration with Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram was performed at the 10th Street Theatre in San Diego. Seema Sueko, artistic director of Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company, directed this production. Seema comments on the play and its origin, "Go, Tell Michelle", the book.

YouTube - uncrownedqueens's Channel#p/u/4/B30BCXDABbE

New Letters and Survey, Go, Tell Michelle

2011-02-10T19:15:00.002-05:00

The mid-term election of 2010 has raised our concerns about the up-coming presidential election and is also the mid-point of the Obama administration. It is an opportune time for Black women to, once again, express their thoughts, feelings, concerns to Michelle Obama. The deadline for letters to Michelle, book 2 has been extended to March 1, 2011. We are also asking that you complete a survey, regardless of whether you intend to submit a letter. More information and the survey are available at our webpage: Go, Tell Michelle, Book 2

What Women Wrote To Michelle Obama | KPBS.org

2011-02-10T19:14:00.000-05:00

What Women Wrote To Michelle Obama KPBS.org

Writing To Michelle Obama | KPBS.org

2011-02-08T14:37:00.002-05:00

Writing To Michelle Obama KPBS.org

We are in sunny San Diego today, getting ready for the performance of "Go, Tell Michelle" by Mo'Olelo Performing Arts Company and the Women's Museum of California this evening. This morning we had a great interview with Maureen Cavanaugh of KPBS Radio. Listen to our conversation, hot off the airwaves! Many thanks to Maureen, Angela and Seema. Here we are with Maureen, in studio.

More to come, see video on YouTube.

San Diego Weather

2011-02-08T08:38:00.002-05:00

The weather is lovely here in San Diego. You can sleep with the windows open--and hope nothing flies in--and it is cool and comfortable. The days are lovely and sunny with just a slight breeze. We hope that any of the sisters from the Go, Tell Michelle Sisterhood Network who are in California and who can make it to the theatre tonight will have a chance to come. That would be doubly exciting. Peggy

San Diego Gets Ready for "Go, Tell Michelle"

2011-01-30T16:58:00.003-05:00

One night only at 10th Avenue Theatre

The Women's Museum of California & Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company
Invite you to join us for an evening of wine, cheese and words with a staged reading of
"Go, Tell Michelle:
African-American Women Speak to the First Lady"Based on the book
Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
5:15 PM Reception & Mingle with the Authors
Barbara A. Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram 6:00 PM Reading of Go, Tell Michelle
Directed by Seema Sueko*
The 10th Avenue Theatre
930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
Reservations: Space is limited.
Email: tickets@moolelo.net or call 619-342-7395 or 619-342-7395

Admission: Bring something to drink (bottle of wine, soda, whatever you fancy), food to share (cheese & crackers, hors d'oeuvre, or some other munchie),
or make a $10 donation at the door

Deadline Extended for GTM - Book Two

2011-01-26T15:55:00.005-05:00

The deadline for submission of letters to us for GTM- Book 2 has been extended to March 1, 2011. We have received many calls & e-mails asking for extended time and have decided to add the additional month to the original deadline. We are also asking that you complete the online SURVEY whether you decide to submit a letter or not. Tell us how you think Michelle, the girls and her mother have been treated by the media and the public. Please share the survey with your network. We want to hear from African American women all over this nation.

This photo was taken in the summer of 2009 at the National Association of Black Journalists Conference in Tampa, FL. Gwen Ifill, Michele Norris, Peggy and Barbara

After San Diego, Baltimore!

2011-01-19T20:52:00.003-05:00

The February 8th performance of "Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Speak to the New First Lady" is the first performance of this play by professional actors. However, on March 18th, Peggy, Karima and I have an opportunity to reprise our roles in the play in a performance in Baltimore at Coppin State College. Our premiere of the play on January 19th and 20th 2010 was to a packed house of nearly 200 people. The audience was enthusiatic and complementary. A year later, the script has been slightly revised and the three of us are looking forward to this performance.

Details are provided on the accompanying flyer. so if you're in the Baltimore area, we'd love to see you for our performance.

GTM Play Goes to San Diego

2011-01-17T22:38:00.001-05:00

The Women's Museum of California &
Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company

Invite you to join us for an evening of wine, cheese and words with
a staged reading of

“Go, Tell Michelle:
African-American Women Speak to the First Lady”

Adapted by Robert Knopf in collaboration with
Barbara A. Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram based on their book
Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

5:15 PM Reception & Mingle with the Authors
Barbara A. Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram

6:00 PM Reading of Go, Tell Michelle
Featuring Lorene Chesley*, Diona Reasonover, & Sylvia M'Lafi Thompson*
Directed by Seema Sueko*

The 10th Avenue Theatre
930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

Reservations: Space is limited.
Email: tickets@moolelo.net or call 619-342-7395

GTM Survey Now Online

2010-12-05T17:48:00.010-05:00

A few weeks ago when we sent out the letter calling for submissions to "Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Respond to the 2010 Mid-Term Elections", we noted that we also were working on a survey. The survey is now complete and accessible by clicking here. We are asking you to share this information with your networks. Whether women choose to submit a letter or not, we are asking them to take a few minutes and complete this survey. The results will be reported in the upcoming book.

Go, Tell Michelle: The Play_Next Performance, San Diego!

2010-12-01T15:38:00.003-05:00

Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company recently announced that it is very excited to present the first professional reading of the play you adapted, Go, Tell Michelle: African-American Women Speak to the First Lady. Our reading will take place on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 6:00 pm at the 10th Avenue Theatre in downtown San Diego. The Company continues by saying: “Our reading will be presented in partnership with the Women's History Museum and Education Center in San Diego, a small nonprofit organization. We are particularly excited because this reading will fall just two weeks before Mo`olelo's production of Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond, and we feel these two pieces will speak to each other in profound ways. Go, Tell Michelle marks a landmark moment in American history with the first African American President and First Lady in the White House; and Stick Fly provides a peek into the lesser-understood lives of African American elite.”

Co-authors, Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram plan to attend this premier performance in February and will participate in a “talk-back” following the performance. Local GTM contributors are also invited to attend this performance.

Go, Tell Michelle: Call For Submissions to New Book

2010-11-12T14:55:00.003-05:00

November 10, 2010

“Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women’s Response to the 2010 Mid-Term Elections” (working title)

Dear Sisters:
Much has happened in the last 24 months! Two years ago this month, we celebrated the historic vote for Barack Obama as this country’s First African American President. We were excited, enthusiastic and hopeful that this election represented a sea change in race relations in this country. Our high expectations were tempered, however, by the tenor and tone of the campaign during which both President and Mrs. Obama were attacked through the use of stereotypic and racist imagery. So on November 18, 2008, we wrote an open letter to African American women requesting their submission of letters and poems that expressed their esteem, regard and support of Michelle Obama, as she embarked on an uncertain journey as this country’s first African American First Lady.

The response was over-whelming. In the short span of three weeks we received hundreds of letters. The messages expressed a wide-range of issues that African American women wanted to share with the First Lady as well as their well-wishes and support. For example, many of you used your personal histories and experiences as the backdrop to underscore the important impact you believed that Mrs. Obama would have on the image of Black women – as mothers, career women, accomplished leaders. You told her that you thought she would help to dispel the myths and misconceptions about Black women. You juxtaposed this election against the history of Black people in this country to emphasize its ground-breaking significance. You implored the First Lady to adopt your causes, e.g. health care, education, military families, as her causes. You paid homage to our ancestors, who would have rejoiced “to see this day!”

From the many letters we received, one hundred were accepted for the volume we entitled: “Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady”. Since its publication, “Go, Tell Michelle” has received rave reviews and a major book award. It has been used as a classroom text, a model for college women’s self-awareness discussion groups and adapted into a play. It is the only book that provided a platform for the voices of a diverse group of African and African American women to have their say about this historic event in American political/social history. In short, the messages sent to Mrs. Obama spoke not only for the writer but for our sisters around the world.

In the wake of the mid-term elections, we look back over the previous two years of the Obama presidency. During this period, the President and Mrs. Obama have faced unprecedented attacks that have included the “birther” debate, questioning President Obama’s citizenship and thus his legitimacy as the 44th US President. The question of his religion has become another “straw argument” in the on-going campaign to discredit the President’s authenticity and recent polls show that a sizable segment of the American population believe that he is a Muslim not a Christian. While still a topic that the President personally eschews, the issue of racism is increasingly identified as being the crux of the personal animosity toward him and his family.

While the First Lady appears to enjoy a higher approval rating than the President, she has not escaped criticism, which has been biased, mean-spirited and not befitting the office of First Lady. Many of the projects she’s advanced to combat child hood obesity, aid military families, promote education, for example, have been met with derision and ridicule. Even her personal appearance has been fodder for political opponents and right wing pundits. Most recently, reminiscent of the questions about who paid for Mrs. Robinson’s move to the White House, disparaging comments were leveled at the First Lady for a trip to Spain that combined official business with a mini-vacation for her and her daughter. Mrs. Obama and her children have also been the subjects of stereotypic and racist comments. When the perpetrators were called on these, they tried to cloak their offensive remarks in the thin vale of humor.

Given the foregoing and the recent mid-term election results, we think that this is the time to revisit, “Go, Tell Michelle” and for African American women once more to go on record. We are actively working on a sequel to volume one because the outcome of the Mid-Term Election is equally historic, not just because of the resurgence of the Republican Party and the rise of the Tea Party and the so-called “Grizzly Mommas” but for the implications it has for the 2011 Election. While the first two years of Mrs. Obama’s tenure as First Lady have presented successes, the challenges also remain, some of which we anticipated and some we did not. We are returning to you and others asking that you submit another letter to Michelle expressing your sentiments around these issues and your concerns for this young family.

We also have a Survey that we are asking you to respond to. We will send this questionnaire under separate cover. Whether you decide to write a letter or not, please take some time to respond to the Survey and return it to us. Once again, we are asking African and African American women around the world to raise their voices and send their messages to Mrs. Obama. We cannot afford to be silent in these tumultuous times. We are asking for your response by December 20th.

Please feel free to share this “Call” with others.

Best,

Barbara Peggy

Barbara/Peggy
Attachment: Consent Form

McNair Scholars: "Go, Tell" __________

2010-07-19T14:38:00.003-04:00

While we have not been as active on this Blog recently as we were last year and earlier this year, we have continued to actively tell the story of "Go, Tell Michelle's" inception, its contributors, it's importance as an historic document and the responses we've gotten to this work from people all over the world. On July 17th, we had the pleasure to speak to a group of over 400 undergraduate and graduate students in the Ronald McNair Scholar's Program. These young people were attending the 16th Annual McNair Scholars Conference, hosted by the University at Buffalo. The McNair Conference is a forum for McNair Scholars and other undergraduates to network, prepare for graduate school, and present research projects before faculty, staff & peers! Students came from all over the country: Mississippi, Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Maryland, New York State, Connecticut, just to name a few.

We were the key note luncheon speakers on Saturday and the audience was attentive and inquisitive as they asked many thought provoking questions following the presentation. We also did something different with the students to engage them in the process of letter writing. We asked them to write a letter to a person in their lives to whom they would want to send a special message. We received responses from about 10% of the students who attended the conference. As we've done with the letters to Michelle, we read the letters to identify the themes of the messages that these young people wrote. This is what we found:

As was anticipated, they wrote letters to the significant people in their lives; e.g. parents, grand parents, siblings, peers, professors, mentors and other family members. In their letters/poems they recognized and thanked these individuals for their love, encouragement, support, sacrifices and even admonishments. Their messages communicated that they were more mature, more self-assured, self-confident and self-directed then they were just a few years ago. They were honest and intro-spective, examining their own limitations and strengths, their aspirations and capabilities. And they declared their determination to not waste the opportunities given to them. They acknowledged the lessons they'd learned from the joyful, painful, sorrowful, spiritual, meaningful as well as meaningless experiences that have shaped who they are today. In all, these young people confirmed in poetic verse and prose that letter writing can be a powerful and meaning mechanism for personal insight and self-expression.

We thank all who had an opportunity to write and for their willingness to share these letters/poems with us. We think that this activity is worth repeating in high schools as well as college programs and look forward to working with other young people as they "go, tell ________" people in their lives.

Send us a message to this blog or to my e-mail address: bnevergo@buffalo.edu if you have used the model of "Go, Tell Michelle" in a similar way and what the outcomes were.

Dennison Bertram, son of Peggy Brooks-Bertram

2010-06-29T14:05:00.002-04:00

Hello My sisters on the Network. I am writing to you again to ask for your votes for my son Dennison in the international photo contest at www.pdnthelook.com He is now in first place but still needs votes to hold on until tomorrow night, June 30th at midnight. I know I have written to you quite a bit recently and I sincerely thank all of you who have voted and who will vote. If you have not yet voted, however, I am just sending this reminder. If you need more information from me, you can find me on Facebook. Thanks again and have a great day.

And Now, A word from the West Coast

2010-05-10T12:06:00.005-04:00

We recently received an e-mail from LaRhonda Crosby-Johnson and Dera Williams, who live in the Golden Gate area and who we met last year at our wonderful book signing at Rebecca's Books. LaRhonda writes of her and Dera's presentation on "Go, Tell Michelle" to a college class at Diablo Valley College. LaRhonda writes:

"Greetings Barbara and Peggy,

Just wanted to let you know that Dera and I represented the Bay Area GTM authors yesterday in an enjoyable reading and discussion with students at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA.

Instructor, Carmen McNeil, had already assigned 5 readings from the book and the class was in the midst of listening to GTM on Stage when we entered. They will be following our discussion with a paper.

It was a mutual inspiration fest. Dera and I receiving as much as we shared. Students asked questions about racism, politics and what the Obama administration meant to us personally. What struck me most was how much they enjoyed the telling of the stories that talked about times/events before they were born.

It was exciting to see the young people inspired by the book and glad to have been a part of their first movement.

Our thanks again to Carmen for the invitation! and Continued success to you Queens.
Peace & Power, La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson CEO BARUTI Enterprises "

We also send thanks to Professor McNeil. Her students response to "Go,Tell Michelle" confirms our belief that this book is an appropriate and valuable text to evoke inquiry, critical thinking, self-reflection and appreciation of the African woman's experience.

We look forward to hearing from other professors who have used this text in their classes.

Photo: LaRhonda and Dera

Blog Radio Airs "Go, Tell Michelle"

2010-04-12T10:45:00.003-04:00

Just when we thought this little book had no more to give, we received an alert from Google that Blog Radio was carrying excerpts from our audio book as a Women's History Month salute to Michelle Obama. In actuality it's a salute to all the Black women, contributors and non-contributors to the book, who are the essence of Women's History Month - 24-7 and 12 months during the year.

A Word from President Davis of Empire State College

2010-03-25T14:35:00.004-04:00

March is Women’s History month, and our college has hosted a number of related events. In addition, there have been many other articles, conferences and seminars generated across the state.
At our annual Women’s Studies Residency in Saratoga Springs on March 11, we experienced an amazing presentation by Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram, the co-founders of the Uncrowned Queen’s Institute for Research and Education on Women Inc., at the University at Buffalo.
They are the editors of an extraordinary collection of poems, essays and letters titled “Go, Tell Michelle”, which was complied and published in record time between the election of Barack Obama and the inauguration in January, 2009.
(Kudos by the way to the State University of New York Press for getting this collection published so quickly and so well.)
These writings to the new First Lady from African American women from throughout the Unites States celebrate the joy of women everywhere for this historic moment. They talk about their mothers and their grandmothers, about their own personal struggles, and their hopes and fears for the future.
Powerful stuff, and presented to a crowd of women and men of all colors by the two editors with grace, dignity and humor, and especially with a generosity of spirit towards those of us who have benefited from various forms of privilege.
Then, on March 16, we had the good fortune to hear from former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Tarr-Whelan, who gave the college’s Richard H. Mattox Public Policy Lecture to a diverse and enthusiastic audience at the New York State Museum in Albany.
Ambassador Tarr-Whelan’s new book, “Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up to Leadership and Changing the World,” shares strategies women can use to leverage their unique leadership style that emphasizes communication, collaboration and consensus. She made her point by referring to the recent Oscars. It was wonderful that, for the first time in its 82-year history, a woman won the award for best director, while at every key level in the movie industry, representation by women hasn’t changed in the last 40 or so years. So, yes, let’s celebrate and cheer loudly, create individual role models and champions, but do not take individual achievements as an indication of deep change.
Ambassador Tarr-Whelan advocates working towards a “tipping point” which she says happens when just 30 percent of an organization’s decision-makers are women, a goal she hopes the U.S. will make serious effort to move forward on. She explained that “with only 17 percent of Congressional seats and 14 percent of Fortune 500 board seats held by women, the leaders defining the landscape of priorities and solutions continue to look and act much the same as generations ago.”
This is also why “Go, Tell Michelle” is such a powerful book: it celebrates the first First Lady for her heritage, her own talents and her accomplishments, but also encourages, challenges and reminds us of the work yet to be done, and that we have to be vigilant.
On a daily basis we (well, me anyway as a white male) need to think about how we may unintentionally reinforce or create barriers to full participation in our society of everyone. I see it when others are guilty (and all too often!) but I hope I am big enough to accept criticism when I miss the point too.
A dear friend of mine, when we were once engrossed in a discussion of political correctness versus authentic equality, generously offered her summary: “It’s a struggle: the point is to keep struggling, and not conclude that these problems are either hopeless, or somehow solved.”

Reprinted from President Davis' Blog

GTM – On the Road Celebrating Women’s History Month -2010 “Women on the Move: Activism, Revolution, Transformation”

2010-03-15T00:52:00.003-04:00

This month we’ve had the pleasure of addressing several large groups of students, faculty and community members at Buffalo State College, Geneseo State College and Empire State College’s Women’s Studies Residency. We want to thank Dr. Jenn Hunt at Buffalo State College and Fatima Johnson at Geneseo State College for their invitations to speak late in February and earlier this month.

Also a very special thank you to Dr. MaryNell Morgan, Dr. Karen Garner and the planning committee at Empire State College for the invitation to share the messages of “Go, Tell Michelle” at the Women’s Studies Residency. On March 11^th, we had the pleasure of being the keynote speakers for the Residency, which was sponsored by Empire State College in Saratoga, New York. Appropriately named, “Women on the Move: Activism, Revolution, Transformation”, this conference kicked off with our keynote address on “Go, Tell Michelle” and continued with a series of workshops on the theme. We spoke to a large diverse audience, including Empire State President Alan Davis and his wife; the Deans of the Northeast Center and the Center for Distance Learning, administrators, faculty, students and members of the Saratoga Springs and surrounding communities.

We were greeted by such a warm, enthusiastic group! And had a great time on Thursday night! A book signing that followed the presentation was a complete sell out. We met so many wonderful women and men and regret that we did not have time to talk to everyone at length. But one special gentleman that we met, along with his wife – Mr. & Mrs. William Hill- shared with us that he’d heard our interview with Michele Norris on NPR in January 2009. After listening to the interview, he said that he went out immediately and purchased numerous copies of the book for young women in his family. And he intended to share the book with others, via the book itself, Facebook and word of mouth, especially now that he’s had the chance to attend our lecture.

Thanks William; not only for your support of this work, but for understanding its significance and for making the trip to meet us and share your story. We look forward to meeting you and your lovely wife again in the near future.

Photos: Barbara and President Davis; Peggy and Mr. & Mrs. William Hill; Barbara, Peggy and MaryNell

Go, Tell Michelle and “Writing Women Back into History”

2010-03-15T00:44:00.003-04:00

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Women’s History Project. In recognition of this milestone and to underscore the necessity of continuing the work to document the contributions of women to this nation’s history, the Project’s 2010 Women’s History Month Theme is “Writing Women Back into History”. In elaborating on the theme, the Project states that: “It often seems that the history of women is written in invisible ink. Even when recognized in their own times, women are frequently left out of the history books.” And when we apply this statement to the identification, documentation and preservation of the history of women of color its implication is even more significant.

Over the last three decades it’s not surprising that the body of research and the publications on women have increased substantially as women have assumed the responsibility for writing our own history in indelible ink. For women of color, while strides have been made in documenting our achievements and contributions in every aspect of human endeavor, we still find that our history is often over-looked, trivialized, ignored, distorted or marginalized. Since the publication of “Go, Tell Michelle”, Peggy and I have addressed numerous audiences across this country. We’ve made a point of explaining the significant contribution that “Go, Tell Michelle” makes to the history of Black women. this book documents, in their own words, the responses of black women to the historic election of the first African American President of the United States and the First African American First Lady of the United States- Michelle Obama.

Far from “neatsy, cutesy” social letters sending best wishes to Michelle Obama, the one hundred women who wrote to Mrs. Obama addressed numerous subjects that are of concern to them. The themes expressed in these letters are indicative of individual and as well as universal issues. Within the letters, the women used mechanisms such as poems, family stories and anecdotes, and references to historic events and individuals. Several major themes emerge from the letters; they talk about the negative stereotypic image of Black women and how Michelle has begun to dispel these myths; they admire and applaud her stance as Mom-in-Chief and her decision to have her mother move to the White House with the family; they encourage her to adopt certain causes – health care, military families, mental health and education; they offer prayers for her and President Obama and remind her that “our mothers prayed for you”. The themes of these letters reflect the genuine and thoughtful messages these women wanted to share with Mrs. Obama. I only offer a few here as we look for feedback from readers.

“Go, Tell Michelle” offers a unique opportunity for educators, in secondary and post-secondary schools to use the only book of its kind – a contemporary compilation of the responses of a diverse group of black women to an extraordinary moment in our nation’s history. In fact we have received information from a number of schools that have used the book in Black Women’s Studies; Psychology of Black Women, Black Women’s Leadership Forum. These include: Bennett College, Geneseo College, Los Angeles Southwest Community College, and Diablo Valley College, CA. Also, one doctoral student cited “Go, Tell Michelle” extensively in the Epilogue of her dissertation.

So, if you know of any educator who is using GTM as a text in a course or for a special assignment, we ask that you let us know how the book is being used and the response of the students.

Photo: Peggy and Barbara with Gwen Ifill and Michele Norris at NABJ Conference - August 2009

Go, Tell Michelle Inspires Students to Write Letters of Personal Reflection

2010-03-04T10:42:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, we went to Geneseo State College about 60 miles from Buffalo. The College is noted as one of the State University of New York schools which is consistently ranked high for academic excellence. We were invited to participate in the College's Women's Expo, a day-long series of workshops and presentations on various issues important to women. The event is sponsored by the Women in Leadership Program; a collaboration of several campus organizations. Special thanks to Fatima Johnson, Director of the Multicultural Programs & Services for the invitation.

Our presentation which we entitled "Having Their Say: Documenting Black women's responses to the historic advent of America's First African American First Lady" was attended by a diverse audience of students, faculty and staff. We talked about the deep reservoir of issues reflected in our contributor’s letters to the First Lady; the importance of this book in documenting the responses of African American and African women to this historic event in our Nation's history; and the impact that our experiences in writing this book, meeting other contributors, meeting and receiving communications from our readers have had on us personally.

Throughout 2009 and now into 2010, our experiences with this "little" book of letters continue to surprise us, uplift us, dramatically demonstrate the power of letter writing as a tool of self-expression, and provide examples of the creativity and innovation of individuals in response to this work. Which brings me back to yesterday’s visit to Geneseo and some amazing young women, who we met -- starting with their counselor, Patricia Gonzalez, who mentors a women’s leadership group for the women of color on campus.

As it turns out, Patricia or Trish attended a presentation that we did last March at the Tri-State Consortium of Opportunity Program’s annual conference in New Jersey. I recall that we had a very large audience at our session. We had a book signing after the presentation and that a number of the participants asked about getting us to come to their campuses to talk about the book. After getting her copy of the book, however, Trish took it back to her students and after sharing the letters with them suggested that they write letters to themselves. The letters could be to their “old” self or to their “future” self. The exercise required honest and sometimes painful reflection and trust as the students were asked to read their letters aloud to members of their group.

Several of the students who came to our presentation yesterday participated in Trish’s group. They brought their letters and read them to us and the other members of the audience. What a special treat! As I said the letters were very personal and demonstrated the considerable thought, candid personal assessment and guide posts for future accomplishment that these young women saw for themselves. What an awesome experience! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Trish and your students for sharing with us. That was the highlight of our trip! We hope to hear from you. Hope you’ll respond to this blog and wish you continued success. In you we see our future and we are in good hands!

Go, Tell It! Students Perform their own version of “Go, Tell Michelle”

2010-02-14T18:14:00.003-05:00

Peggy and I often talk about “unintended consequences” related to the Uncrowned Queens Institute. Unintended consequences are those seemingly random and un-anticipated outcomes which result from a project in addition to the “intended” outcomes. As an example, a decade ago when we designed the Uncrowned Queens Project, we expected that we would gather, document and preserve the histories of many “unheralded” African American community builders. We anticipated that our website, which makes this archive of Uncrowned Queens’ histories accessible to the World Wide Web, would create a dynamic, first-of-its kind “techno-pedia” for enrichment of educational curriculum, historical research, oral history research, for example. It has done that and much more. But, we could not have guessed, ten years ago, that thanks to the website, we would also become an “information referral service” uniting long lost relatives or connecting academics; or an informational source for those constructing obituaries, testimonials or personal dossiers and curriculum vitae.

I offer this backdrop to preface my assertion that we’ve learned a few things over the last decade about the creativity and inventiveness of people that usually prepares us (or so we think) for the “unintended consequences” that accompany the work we’ve been engaged in for so long. Over the last year, we have certainly explored, discussed and written about the diverse and powerful lessons that can be found in “Go, Tell Michelle”. We have not been alone in our assessment that the letters in “Go, Tell Michelle” capture and define the historic response of African American women to the election of our first African American President accompanied by our First African American First Lady. Several colleges and professors have incorporated the book into courses that explore issues that impact the lives of Black women and about which we feel passionately. But we also believe that there are other venues by which these issues can be taught, debated and related to current and historic themes.

We took the first step, we think, of collaborating on the creation of a dramatic vehicle (an unintended consequence) so that we could expand the limits of discourse about the significance of “Go, Tell Michelle”. We are just at the beginning of that endeavor but can envision the potential for another exciting educational vehicle as an accompaniment to the text. In fact, this past Friday this belief was re-enforced by a group of high school students, who surprised the hell out of us, took our breath away and “one-upped” us by putting some of our words to music! (another unintended consequence) In a short production they called, “Go, Tell It”, students from the Canisius College Talent Search Program reflected on the lessons of “Go, Tell Michelle” and kept their peers, approximately 125 male and female, spellbound by their performance. The 50 adults in the room were also captivated by the talent and creativity of these junior and senior high school students.

Peggy and I are delighted that these students are reading and finding a way to interpret the messages from “Go, Tell Michelle” in a way that has meaning for them. Peggy and I will be following up with the staff to set up some discussion group sessions as we believe that when a door is open, one should go through it. This group may not be the only group of high school students who have developed a unique way to learn from “Go, Tell Michelle”. If you know of other adaptations of the book, please let us know. We’re interested in adding to list of outcomes for “Go, Tell Michelle” – intended and unintended!

The Little Book That Could! The Odyssey of “Go, Tell Michelle”

2010-02-09T11:52:00.009-05:00

A year after the publication of “Go, Tell Michelle” and travels that took us and it across this nation and the world, for that matter, we continue to find new opportunities to share the messages from African American women to our First Lady, Michelle Obama. On Friday, the 6th of February, Cornel West paid a visit to our fair city to lecture at the University of Buffalo. I was honored to receive an invitation to a reception that Dr. West was scheduled to attend. Always mindful of “seizing the moment”, I carried a copy of “Go, Tell Michelle” with me in my handbag. Not knowing if I’d have the opportunity to do more than greet Dr. West and not wanting to mess up my book, I carefully wrapped it in tissue paper and placed it inside a plastic supermarket bag before placing it in my handbag.

The reception was great. There were many individuals there, who I already knew and some that I didn’t. They introduced themselves saying that they’d heard of/read the book or seen the play, which they enjoyed immensely! Of course I was very pleased to get this feedback but as time got closer for the lecture and no Cornel West, my hopes of being able to present my copy of the book to him began to dim. And then, almost as if by magic, he appeared. I found myself face to face with Dr. Cornel West!

Dressed in his traditional black suit, a broad smile on his face, brimming with congeniality, he grabbed my hand and greeted me warmly. With no time to waste, I immediately introduced myself as co-editor of “Go, Tell Michelle”, to which he replied, “Oh, that was published just this year.” Well, “No”, I replied, “last year, but we have just turned it into a play.” I pushed on to explain that I’d brought him a copy of the book and mindful that he probably did not want to carry around a book, packaged in a supermarket plastic bag, I asked him if he had an assistant who could carry it for him. He did and if you look closely in the photo at the gentleman in the middle between Dr. West and me, you'll notice the plastic bag. It's my hope that he'll read it and let us know what he thinks. Hope springs eternal!

What’s next? Let’s see who's scheduled to visit Buffalo soon. Considering that we have not lived up to our reputation this year as a snow capital of the country, there might be quite a few who’d love to venture to our “neck of the woods”. Beats going to D.C., Maryland, Virginia and a lot of other places that are experiencing “snow-maggedon” this month.

Louisiana State University Libraries Puts Spotlight on "Go, Tell Michelle"

2010-01-31T15:05:00.003-05:00

In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 18, 2010 and Black History Month during February 2010, LSU Libraries offers you a recommended reading list of current publications relating to the African American identity. As always, unless they have been checked out, these books are all available to you via LSU Libraries. Special thanks to Linda Smith Griffin, LSU Libraries Liaison to the African and African American Studies Program, and Alice Daugherty, for compiling this list of books and authors.

Thus far, the list has been viewed by 168 World Cat users.

Go, Tell Michelle_A Montage of Voices

2010-01-21T15:13:00.006-05:00

Go, Tell Michelle_The Play was performed on January 19th at the University of Buffalo's Allen Hall Theater. An encore performance marking the first anniversary of President Obama's inauguration was given on the 20th the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Public Library. Both performances had standing room audiences. You can listen to this exciting performance. (CLICK ON THE WORD PERFORMANCE)

Go, Tell Michelle Performed to Packed House

2010-01-20T10:26:00.000-05:00

Pray for our sister Miriam and support the Haitian Relief Effort

2010-01-16T00:35:00.003-05:00

Miriam Guichard, a member of the GTM Sisterhood Network, is in Haiti. She arrived there a day before the earth quake. We have heard from her and know that she is safe but we continue to pray for her safety and that of her family. We can all help the relief effort with our donations. Every amount helps, no matter how small. Join us, keep Miriam in your prayers and donate to Haitian relief.

Thoughts on Michelle : Gusto Magazine: The Buffalo News

2010-01-15T16:02:00.002-05:00

The Buzz....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz has started regarding the play. We hope that the entire country will be talking about "Go, Tell Michelle: the Play" just liked they did about the book! See the latest from our hometown newspaper, The Buffalo News.

Thoughts on Michelle : Gusto : The Buffalo News

Go, Tell Michelle Comes to the Stage

2010-01-11T17:10:00.002-05:00

On January 19th, we will make history when the dramatic adaptation of "Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady" comes to the stage at Allen Hall Theater at the University at Buffalo. Adapted and directed by Robert Knopf, chair of the University's Theater and Dance Department, "Go, Tell Michelle: the Play" will feature three readers; Karima Amin, Peggy Brooks-Bertram and Barbara Seals Nevergold.

Brooks-Bertram, Seals Nevergold and Knopf were interviewed by local NPR station, WBFO-FM reporter, Eileen Buckley on January 11th. Listen to their interview by clicking on the link below:

WBFO: Uncrowned Queens First Lady book hits the stage (2010-01-11)

Book TV Re-airs "Go, Tell Michelle" Program in 2010

2010-01-04T19:49:00.004-05:00

Book TV re-aired our appearance at Bus Boys & Poets Bookstore in Washington, DC. The program kicked off the New Year by airing on January 1st and 2nd. If you missed the Go, Tell Michelle Presentation on Book TV, you can view the video at this link. Please let us know what you think of this program, which features Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram, co editors of "Go, Tell Michelle" along with contributors: Betty Falato, Lori Polin Jones, Miriam Guichard, Regan Botts Ruiz and Donna Aza Smith.

LINK: Book TV - "Go, Tell Michelle"

Va, Parle `a Michelle!

2010-01-01T20:29:00.006-05:00

Several months ago, thanks to our contributor, Miriam Guichard, we were introduced to AMINA, a French magazine for African women. Peggy and I, along with several other contributors were interviewed and those interviews were translated into French for the magazine. We are indebted to Marie Leontine Bilombo Tsibinda who conducted the interviews and translated our responses and to Miriam who worked on the translation as well.

Miriam just wrote to update us on the publication of the first of these interviews in AMINA. We don't have a copy of the actual magazine at this time, but I was able to go on line and download a copy of the cover. The magazine is not available on-line but Miriam is trying to get copies for us.

We are continually gratified by the ways in which this sisterhood network has built relationships that have national and international reach! Nous vous remercions! (Thank you) Sisters Miriam and Marie for your support and belief in the importance of this project!

Go, Tell Michelle: You’ve Read the Book, Now See the Play

2010-01-01T16:31:00.004-05:00

“Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady” (SUNY Press, 2009) the award winning volume of 100 letters to Michelle Obama written shortly after the 2008 election of President Barack Obama has been adapted as a dramatic production. Drs. Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram, co-authors and editors of the book, have been working with Dr. Robert Knopf, chair of UB’s Drama Department on this dramatization. The outcome of this collaboration is Dr. Knopf’s adaptation, a one hour play that features three readers.

Dr. Knopf describes “GO, TELL MICHELLE: the Play” as more than a dramatic reading: “It is a montage of lost voices, personal stories, and heartfelt emotions unleashed by the tide of history that has swept the nation.” The play will debut on January 19th at UB’s Allen Hall on the South Campus on the eve of the first anniversary of President Obama’s historic inauguration.

Under Dr. Knopf’s direction, storyteller Karima Amin, Brooks-Bertram and Seals Nevergold will give voice to the stories and poems in this dramatic adaptation. The play will debut on January 19th at UB’s Allen Hall on the South Campus. Performance time is 7:00pm and the production is free and open to the public. Jericka Duncan, reporter from WIVB-TV will act as Emcee.

A second performance will take place at the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Library on January 20th. As with Tuesday’s program, this performance will be free and open to the public. The Uncrowned Queens Institute and the University at Buffalo’s Department of Theatre and Dance are co-sponsors of this production. The Buffalo Teacher’s Federation is also a key sponsor.

In December 2009, “Go, Tell Michelle” was named by book and movie critic Kam Williams as one of the 10 Best Black Books of 2009.

The program is free and open to the public. Information can be obtained by calling (716) 829-6047.

Coming Soon -- GTM, the PLAY!

2009-12-17T14:43:00.003-05:00

Now you know why we have been quiet these last few weeks as we have been working with Dr. Robert Knopf, Chair of the University at Buffalo's Drama Department on a dramatic adaptation of Go, Tell Michelle for the stage!!!!! And we have just completed a read-through of the script and proposed changes for Dr. Knopf to incorporate in the finished piece. Thanks to contributors Karima Amin, Sharon Amos and Sharon Holley for their assistance. We are working with Dr. Knopf and SUNY Press to have an inaugural performance on the 19th of January just in time for the anniversary of President's Obama's Inauguration. We are working very hard to have this come off and will keep you informed of our progress from here on.

GTM Named One of Top Ten Black Books of 2009

2009-12-17T14:25:00.006-05:00

We'd taken a hiatus for a few weeks, but we're back with great news -- first the latest from "Inside Black Hollywood Magazine" - a story that cites "Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write the New First Lady" as number six on the list of the top ten Black Books for 2009. This list was compiled by critic Kam Williams. Williams was the first critic to write a review of "Go, Tell Michelle" in January 2009. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, Rotten Tomatoes, the African-American Film Critics Association, and the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee.

To quote the author of the list, Williams says "This opus is a collection of letters of support for Michelle Obama designed as a way “to send her a special message, grounded in our common ancestry and in the belief that our daughters have not only been inspired by her accomplishments but empowered by her example.” The assorted missives amount to a quite evocative collage of heartfelt correspondence in poetry and prose ranging from the intimate to the light and lyrical."

You can check out the list of the Top Ten yourself by going to the website. Please pass this news on to friends and family!

Virginia DeBerry's Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey -- A Call to Action!

2009-11-24T10:30:00.009-05:00

Dear Sisters, I received this e-mail from our friend, native Buffalonian and fellow author, Virginia DeBerry. Peggy and I have had the pleasure of meeting up with Virginia and her author partner, Donna Grant several times this year at book signings/readings in New York City, Washington, DC and San Francisco. Virginia has written an eloquent and hard-hitting letter on a subject that we have often talked about and is, in fact, an age-old problem that we address every day via our Uncrowned Queens/Kings Websites. That is, how to raise awareness about the folks that are not the "super stars" but who go about community building, historical and cultural preservation EVERY SINGLE DAY without recognition, support or acknowledgment.

We applaud Virginia for raising the question publicly. We have also tried to get Oprah's attention, Tavis' attention, Roland's attention, Tom's attention and quite frankly a whole host of folk's attention for the only publication by Black women that documents our response to the most significant political event in the history of this nation. All we've gotten back is silence! or worse yet, empty promises!

Thank you Virginia for putting into words, an issue that should concern all of us whether we are authors or not. If we can't support each other, who can we expect to support us? Read Virginia's letter then write your own, respond to us, respond to her, send her letter on to others, but don't do nothing!

"Dear Oprah:We don't sing karaoke or dance with the stars, we have been contributing to the cultural landscape long before Jon & Kate, Britney,Rhianna and Chris or Stephanie Meyer and most of America, including you have probably never even heard of us.

We have railed against Kanye's proud pronouncement upon the publication of his 52 page book: Thank You and You're Welcome, that "I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph." Huh?

We are writers and we are in trouble. Big trouble.I would never have imagined myself writing this with the hundreds of thousands of emails and letters the show receives, I know the chances of this one actually getting through are somewhere between slim and non-existent. But one of the mantras my best friend/business partner and I lived by in the early days, was "It's only postage." Now it's not even that. So I could not find a reason not to write and hit 'send'. Like I said--we are in trouble. Everyone knows that Oprah is a champion of reading, that books are one of her favorite things and it is precisely because of that passion that I send this note.

I'm sure you are aware that publishing, like so many industries today-especially those centered around the arts, is struggling to keep up and figure their way through the maze of new media. What I'm not sure you know is how that struggle is affecting, or more accurately disaffecting an entire segment of writers--black novelists. Not the few who live in the rarefied literary echelons-Toni Morrison, Stephen Carter, Edwidge Dandicat etc. are doing fine-they enjoy the support of the media and the "wider" (whiter) population. These struggling authors also don't include those who now make up the largest growing segment of Af-Am writers-urban/erotica authors whose books are acquired by publishers at little expense and sold at great profit. A quick look at the Af-Am displays in bookstores will make this trend abundantly clear.

The literary marginalization that is taking place largely affects those of us in the middle-much like the economy today. There are many of us who have/had careers courtesy of Terry McMillan, we came along right after the success of Waiting to Exhale and found a warm welcome and an open door for a career we had longed for but so often found beyond our reach. Terry proved, what we had always known, that black folks read, and would buy books featuring characters they personally identify with. Not that we would stop reading all the non-black authors we supported, we would just enjoy a wider choice. Members of our 'class' include among others, Tina McElroy Ansa, Bernice McFadden and Connie Briscoe. Carleen Brice, a newcomer to writing fiction-though she has written non-fiction, last year started "December is National Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give it to Someone Not Black Month." She also created a blog and pretty funny video welcoming white people to the AA section of the book store.

For the past 20 years, Donna Grant, my writing partner, and I have been writing novels,7 in total. No Pulitzer or Nobel winners, but well crafted stories that have enlightened and entertained tens of thousands of readers. Our first "big book" Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made was published in 1997, has never been out of print, is in its fifth edition and sold over 750,000 copies, without any major advertising or endorsements. But that was then. This is now. And we, along with many of our "classmates" find our careers in jeopardy. (After 20 years, and at the age of 60, I personally am on the verge of throwing in towel and looking for a "real" job.) This precarious position is not because we write bad books, but because we all fall in the came category "African American Fiction" and we just aren't selling as well as our "street-lit" sisters and brothers. What we write is women's fiction with Af-Am characters--stories of struggle and triumph, loss, coping, love, and life, learning. But we are labeled, handicapped, before we're out of the gate. Those who are expecting urban lit are disappointed, and those (white folks) who might enjoy our work because the theme might be relevant to their life (like What Doesn't Kill You, our last book about a woman who loses her job after 25 yrs), don't ever see it because it's in "that" section and they aren't going "there."

We wrote a blog about this subject a few years ago and repost it every year--because, sadly, it's still relevant. (Nov 20 entry-Writing White. http://bit.ly/3isaSI) We do our best with our craft, but get "editorial" requests to add "more grit" or "more sex" and when we don't, can find ourselves without a publisher. This tactic has already cost us the final payment of a very lucrative contract---and a publisher. And despite exuberant praise from our editor about our new book (March 2010) "I kissed the manuscript when I finished..." we find ourselves wondering if we will get a deal for another book. We certainly know that if we were starting out in today's climate, it is unlikely we would have ever been given a chance.

I am going to resist the urge to be pejorative about urban fiction, but it is well known that most of these books are "under-written and under-edited" and are viewed strictly as profit centers. I do question what it means when books about pimps, hos and thugs, are fast becoming the predominant image we have on display in bookstores-a kind of anti-Obama if you will. What will happen when our young people find their choices limited like they were only a couple of decades ago? I will not ask that Oprah select a book by one of us mid-list Afican American authors for her book club. I will not ask her to condemn the proliferation of badly written urban lit which would likely instigate another rap/hip-hop debacle. (While I do liken it to the crack epidemic in our communities in the '80's.)

But I will ask for her attention. A word or two on this subject from Oprah, Champion of Things Literary, would I believe, make a world of difference in our plight. It might even mean that we keep encouraging young writers and continue to get emails like this one we received 2 weeks ago:

"Hi,My name is Carlie and I am a writer. I have loved books my entire life but have never been as inspired to write a full novel myself, until I met you when I was in high school. Up until then, I had dreams of becoming a published author, but was afraid to step put and do more than just a collection of short stories and poetry. Not that writing those don't require equal talent, but I have found that there is something about the dedication it takes to write a full length novel that I admire. I believe it was my sophomore year when you two came to my high school (Lanier High School in Austin, TX). You did a reading of Trying... and then handed out copies that you autographed for us. I have read my copy over and over again over the years and I fall in love with the characters every time as if for the first time. I was so excited when the second book came out because it felt like a chance for me to catch up with old friends lol. I have been working on a novel and have almost completed the first manuscript. I know I still have a lot of revision ahead of me but I thought it would be nice to get some advice from someone who has inspired me on how to begin my journey into the world of publishing. I would really appreciate it if you have a few minutes to share some of your words of wisdom and advice. Thank you so much for continuing to do what you do because you give women like me hope for my own future success."

Love, Carlie Dempsey

Thanks for letting me rant, Virginia DeBerryhttp://deberryandgrant.com/"

Photo (Peggy Brooks-Bertram, Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant, Barbara Seals Nevergold)

MAUMBUSOMA: Sisters Reading Book Club

2009-11-17T11:28:00.006-05:00

I don’t know if they’re the oldest continuously operating book club in Western New York and the country but after 17 years of monthly meetings to discuss books authored by Black women, I have to believe that they are one of the oldest. The Maumbusoma Sisters Reading Club met on Sunday, November 08, 2009 to commemorate this milestone and invited us to discuss “Go, Tell Michelle”: their featured book selection for this event. Held in a building aptly named “Our Healing Center”, we felt like we’d been wrapped in a soft, warm comfortable blanket of sisterly positive regard and support. What a great feeling! This was one of the few times we’ve had an opportunity to speak to a group who’d already read the book. This freed us to talk more about the wonderful, poignant and funny, experiences we’ve had on this journey with “Go, Tell Michelle”. This book has created so many opportunities to network, develop friendships and expand sister-connectedness (okay, maybe that’s not a word, but you know what I mean!) with other women across this nation. This presentation was the last formal reading and book-signing on our schedule this year and was a wonderful climax to what has been an extraordinary experience. We are looking forward to next year and more exciting news about “Go, Tell Michelle” as we work on a dramatic adaptation of the book for the stage. Stay tuned!

Above: Dr. Sharon Amos introducing the authors.

“Go, Tell Michelle” Contributor Sharon Holley To Receive Zora Neale Hurston Award

2009-11-03T10:03:00.004-05:00

Storyteller, Sharon Jordan Holley will receive the Zora Neale Hurston Award at the “In the tradition…” 27th Annual Black Storytelling Festival & Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 11-15, 2009. The Zora Neale Hurston Award is the highest honor given by the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. (NABS) to an individual who has contributed significantly to the preservation and perpetuation of African American Folklore.

Sharon who hails from High Springs, Florida is a retired librarian from the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. She is a founding and performing member of Spin-A-Story Tellers of Western New York and co-founder of Tradition Keepers: Black Storytellers of Western New York. She is also a member of the National Storytelling Network and the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. Her storytelling experience has taken her throughout Western New York and in many other areas of the country, where she has performed at libraries, schools, community events, colleges and other venues. Sharon also performs stories and plays percussion with Daughters of Creative Sound: an African American women’s drum and percussion group in Buffalo, New York. Storytelling members of Daughters of Creative Sound will also be featured tellers at the 27th Annual Black Storytelling Festival & Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In addition to storytelling, Sharon serves on the Board of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier and the Michigan Street Preservation Corp. She is a member of the Buffalo Genealogical Society of the African Diaspora and works with the Juneteenth Committee and the Kwanzaa Committee of Buffalo. Sharon has received numerous awards for service to the community and has been recognized as an “Uncrowned Queen” by the Uncrowned Queens Institute. She is a member of Agape A.M.E. Church. Sharon is married to Kenneth Holley and they are the parents of three daughters and three grandchildren.

(Daughters of Creative Sound - Sharon Holley, 4th from left)

Uncrowned Queens Celebrates Karima Amin

2009-10-27T12:26:00.010-04:00

Our sister, Uncrowned Queen and member of the Go, Tell Michelle Sisterhood Network Karima Amin is doing extraordinary work with her long standing Buffalo project, Prisoners are People Too. She is to be commended for this work to give voice to those incarcerated humans behind bars who have few if any to speak for them. We are so proud of Karima and extend our support as we feature her work on the www.GTMsisterhoodnetwork.blogspot.com

"Prisoners Are People Too!" is a monthly documentary film and speakers series that meets on selected dates at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street, Buffalo, NY 14204. For more information call: 716-834-8438 or karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org.

Originally created in 2005 to enhance the general public's awareness of prison issues, the program has grown to include networking, referrals, community building, action organizing, and camaraderie as well as community education. Through films, guest speakers and follow-up discussions, the program promotes the growth of the community's knowledge and understanding
of the Prison Industrial Complex, the plight of prisoners and prison families, and the challenges of re-entry.

The program operates on the premise that, "Prisoners are people too; to deny their humanity is to deny our own."Monthly programs are sponsored by The Circle ofSupporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng.

I remember almost five years ago on June 23, 2005 when I received an email from Karima with the following paragraph:

“last night I held my first "prisoners are people too!"
event...it was a BIG success! ...even my 88 yr.old dad
came out to support me and my daughter, sabriyah, was
a lifesaver.....i am conducting a monthly documentary
film and speaker series which i hope will open up the
minds and the hearts of the general public to the
plight of the incarcerated....50 people showed up last
night!.......i was delighted!........
the film was moving and my two speakers were
incredible!

Since then, Karima has held meetings each Monday night without fail. To inform the public she has had speakers from around New York State and the country present; she stages informational/educational forums; she searches out and features outstanding films depicting the plight of our prisoners; she participates with a prison ministry so that the incarcerated will remember that they are not forgotten and she has single-handedly taken on the plight of Baba Eng who hopes to be released on parole shortly.

Meeting are held at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street in Buffalo from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. The program is sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng.

A SUMMIT of SISTERS!

2009-10-26T21:51:00.005-04:00

Kudos and much appreciation to Dr. Arlette Miller-Smith, St. John Fisher professor and “Go, Tell Michelle” contributor for organizing an extraordinary program last Wednesday evening (October 21^st) entitled, “SUMMIT of SISTERS”. This special symposium, an extension of her Women and Gender Studies Senior Seminar – Assumed Positions: Re/dis/uncovering Resistance & Resilience in the Black Female Body – brought community members and students together to identify and analyze the issues, challenges, achievements, experiences and resistance strategies used by herstorical (sic) and contemporary African American women. Nearly 85 women and men attended the program and I was particularly pleased and impressed by the 15 young women and their advisor, who drove two hours from SUNY Courtland to attend the symposium. Mrs. Donald E. Bain, wife of St. John Fisher College’s President as well as the official Monroe County Historian also attended this special event.

Dr. Miller-Smith set the stage by offering the background for the course. Dr. Margie Lovett-Scott and Rev. Iris Banister, guest presenters, addressed the issues of health and the significance of religion in the lives of Black women. Dr. Miller-Smith’s students presented the outcomes of their oral history interviews with three “community torch bearers”. We would call them “Uncrowned Queens” and in fact, the biographies of these women will be submitted to the Uncrowned Queens Institute for our digital archive. Again, I want to acknowledge the importance of these students’ research and to thank them and Dr. Miller-Smith for designing this course, which has such a positive impact on the community as well as the students. Through their oral history interviews and papers, the students are preserving the biographical histories of women, who might not otherwise have their histories documented.

I’m pleased and proud to have been invited to participate in this major educational presentation as a guest speaker also. The topic of my presentation was the Phyllis Wheatley Club, Buffalo’s oldest affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. Founded in 1899, the members of the Club exemplified the strategic resistance, representation and resilience approaches that have sustained Black women in this country. Together, with the other presenters, I think we fulfilled the goals and objectives of this symposium. Although the program was slated to end at 8:30pm, people did not want to leave and we continued the discussion for at least a half hour past the official end of the symposium.

It was a full evening! Prior to the symposium, a reading from “Go, Tell Michelle” was held from 5:30 to 6:30pm. Dr. Miller-Smith and I were joined by fellow contributors, Janeen Ceparano Wilkins and Dr. Sharon Amos, who also drove to Rochester from Buffalo. Over sixty women attended the reading and although we had little time to chat following this session, a number of women purchased the book and said how excited they were to hear us read the letters and to learn about the history of this publication.

(artwork - courtesy of Cheryl Olney)

Thank You, ABWH!

2009-10-20T22:24:00.004-04:00

On October 3rd, we received the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award for edited volumes from the Association of Black Women Historians. We want to thank the ABWH for honoring our work on "Go, Tell Michelle" with the coveted recognition. Special thanks to Dr. Ida Jones and Dr. Elizabeth Clark Lewis. An earlier post provides a detailed description of this award and the ABWH. (Pictured at left, Dr. Jones and Dr. Nevergold)

A New Poem from Shirley A. J. Hanshaw

2009-10-12T19:46:00.007-04:00

On October 3rd I had the pleasure of meeting two GTM contributors, Shirley A. J. Hanshaw and Adah Ward Randolph (pictured at left with me) . We shared a great panel discussion on Go, Tell Michelle at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in Cincinnati. About 25 individuals attended the session which I moderated and shared the "back story" of the book's inception and the experiences that Peggy and I have had as we've talked to audiences throughout the country. Both Adah and Shirley offered the context for their letters and read their contributions. Adah's anecdote of the Mother's Day situation that inspired her letter brought many of us to tears and was a graphic illustration of the deep well spring of experiences that Black women confront on a daily basis. Shirley read another poem that she'd authored that was too late for the original publication. She asked that it be shared on this blog and we are pleased to have the honor!

The Time Has Come, and I Can’t Wait

Lines written in anticipation of the Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama and

First Lady Michelle Obama, 11/08

The time has come for

A new chapter to be written in American his-/herstory

For bells to be rung and

Songs to be sung

Heralding the fruition of

Hopes and dreams.

The time has come, and

I can’t wait for the Presidential Inauguration,

Bearing witness to the celebration of our

First Black First Lady

Strolling arm in arm and bumping fists with our

First Black President;

Our Bronzeville King and Queen, beaming to the

Screaming of the crowd.

I can’t wait for

President Barack Hussein Obama to be

Sworn in with the oath of office,

Taking his rightful place,

Perched on the precipice of time;

On the 55^th anniversary of Brown v. Board

On the 100^th anniversary of the NAACP

On the 200^th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birth.

I can’t wait for your two little Black princesses,

Malia and Sasha, to inhabit their castle, with

Sleepovers and ice cream socials,

Scampering around the White House grounds with their promised puppy,

Playing make-believe in a real Dream House.

Like you, Michelle,

I am proud, for the first time, to be an American

Fulfilling the dreams of our fathers, mothers, and

“Other mothers”—sisters, babysitters, grandmothers, aunts, friends, neighborhood women—

Who cared for our children while we

Pursued careers, became co-breadwinners and breadwinners,

Walking in the proud ancestral footsteps of

All the nameless sheroes whose indomitable strength, hard work and

Belief in God brought us “thus far on the way.”

I can’t wait, Michelle, to see you and Barack

Striding, hand in hand, into

Our futures;

While the world gazes in wonderment

At your beauty and intellect;

Resplendent, radiant,

Reassuring the world that it is now in good hands.

I can’t wait, Michelle,

I can’t wait,

The time has come

THE TIME HAS FINALLY COME,

AND I CAN’T WAIT!

A funny thing happened on the way to the Convention Center

2009-10-07T00:24:00.005-04:00

Taxi cab drivers are an interesting group. We often talk to cabbies we meet in the course of our travels. On September 24th, we were in Washington, DC on our way to the Walter Washington Convention Center for the Congressional Black Caucus' Author's Pavilion. Our driver asked what we were doing in DC and we jokingly replied that we were authors and that we had written "Go, Tell Michelle". Oh, he replied, I've heard of that. I have to admit that we were somewhat skeptical, so we asked him what he'd heard. "Oh, I know all about it", he replied. "A group of women sent Michelle Obama letters of advice." Hey, we replied, how did you know that? "I heard you all on NPR.", our cab driver responded. He added, "it was a great program. I enjoyed listening to you."

Well, we have learned our lesson. Never underestimate the man who is driving you around in his cab. Not only was our driver an NPR listener, but he was a musician, who had played with some of the greats including Coltrane and Miles Davis. Like I said, taxi cab drivers are some of the most interesting people.

GTM Sisters: A Model in Networking

2009-10-06T23:58:00.012-04:00

On September 23^rd, we returned to Baltimore and Washington, DC for two events: a reading and signing at the Robbye Apperson Home Gallery and a book signing at the Author’s Pavilion at the Congressional Black Caucus. We first met Robbye via a telephone conversation. She called to say that she loved “Go, Tell Michelle” and to ask if we would consider doing a book signing/reading in Baltimore at her Gallery. Over several months after her initial call, we e-mailed and worked out the details for our visit to Baltimore. Robbye enlisted the help of a friend, Cash Hester, who took over the planning and making the arrangements for this event. When we got to the Apperson Gallery, we could hardly believe the beautiful artwork that is tastefully arranged on the walls and floors of the three story Apperson home. The first two floors are used for the art displays and the third floor is used by the Appersons for their living quarters. Together, Robbye, Cash and Michelle, Cash’s assistant, put together a wonderful reception, attended by about 25 guests. We had a great reading and conversation with the guests; a diverse group of women and men. To say that Robbye is the “hostess with the mostess” is an understatement! The food was great, the ambience was great, and the company was great! We extend our sincere thanks to Robbye, who is another example of the extraordinary women that we have met in our journey with GTM.

As we recount the experiences that we’ve had and are having as a result of the readings/book signings and interviews since Go, Tell Michelle was published nine months ago, it might seem to some that these events are merely nice, social/sociable activities. They are, in fact, much more than social events, much more than promotional events and much more than mere book signings. In our travels from city to city; coast to coast, we are witnessing and participating in the development and expansion of the GTM Sisterhood Network – emphasis on sisterhood and network. The sisters we are meeting are kind, generous, supportive, encouraging and giving. They have extended themselves to help us expand our outreach to others and by extension to expand our network. They have shared their resources, their ideas and their contacts. They have organized programs for GTM readings; spread the word about GTM via e-mail, snail mail, telephone, word-of-mouth and other communication vehicles. They have modeled, in every definition of the expressions, what it means to be sisters and to network with each other.

In short, they believe that what we’ve done and are doing is important and resonates with their values and beliefs; identify common threads that unite us and strengthens us individually as well as collectively; focus their energies to bolster each other; encourage agency; make a significant statement about issues that Black women note as important in the 21^st century and offer a leadership model that is unique yet exemplary.

Since the publication of Go, Tell Michelle, we have now personally met nearly 50 of the 100 contributors. With each meeting we are confirmed in our assessment of the network and the women who are contributing to it. In addition, we have met women like Robbye Apperson and Cash Hester in Baltimore, Mary Ann Braithwaite and Sigrid Williams in Berkeley, Sandra Finley in Chicago, Jennifer Parker of Buffalo, for example, who have joined and enriched our network. Thanks to these women the GTM Sisterhood Network stands as a dynamic example of a vibrant network!

(Photos: Barbara at the Gallery; Peggy, Cash and Michelle outside Apperson's; inside the Gallery)

GTM on Paul Lawrence Vann Blog-Radio Program

2009-09-22T23:09:00.005-04:00

This morning we met a very special gentleman and had a great conversation with him. Paul Lawrence Vann, host of the Wealthy Speaker Show on Blog-Talk radio interviewed Barbara and Peggy about Go, Tell Michelle. Listen to the program here (Note: the download may take some time - please be patient)

From Berkley with Love, Contributors Speak About their letters

2009-09-20T22:41:00.006-04:00

We recorded the West coast members of the GTM Sisterhood Network joining us for the reading and book signing at Rebecca's Books in Berkeley. This is Opal Adisa Palmer. Others will be posted in the coming weeks.

GTM Adopted as Text by another college professor

2009-09-20T19:16:00.006-04:00

We’ve just learned that Professor Carmen McNeil, M.A. recently assigned “Go, Tell Michelle” to her students in a Psychology of Women course, for extra credit. Professor McNeil teaches at Diablo Valley College (DVC) in Pleasant Hill, California. Professor McNeil attended the reading and book signing at Rebecca’s on September 11^th and we had the pleasure to meet her to speak to her briefly about use of GTM in her class. La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson just contacted us to inform us that Professor McNeil will be teaching Psychology of African Americans in the Spring 2010 semester and will adopt “Go, Tell Michelle” as a required text!

I just checked Amazon.com books and find that we are ranked 26,684 in books and that we are ranked 11^th in Best sellers in Letters & Correspondence , 70^th in Best sellers in Criminology and 82^nd in Best sellers in African American Studies! Again, we see the depth and substance of this book in recognized on many levels.

(photo: GTM contributor, Jackie Frazier and friends at Rebecca's Books)

UB Today Features Nevergold and Bertram

2009-09-17T21:53:00.005-04:00

Peggy and I were profiled in the University at Buffalo's alumni magazine, "UB Today". The story focuses on our work with "Go, Tell Michelle".

California Book Club Summit

2009-09-16T16:21:00.007-04:00

And then, as if the GTM reading and signing at Rebecca's wasn't enough excitement, the next day we spoke at the breakfast meeting of the California Book Club Summit. We were joined by Opal Adisa Palmer, arabella grayson and Andrea Barnwell. This is the inaugural year for the California Summit as well as our first time attending a conference where the majority of the authors were fiction writers. What a treat to see and hear one of my favorite authors, J. California Cooper! It was so interesting to hear writers like Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant describe how they "tag-team" write their novels, and how authors like Tina McElroy Ansa, ReShonda Tate Billingsly, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes get their inspiration. Not surprisingly, these authors are having a very difficult time because of the impact that our economic crisis has had on the publishing industry. All those who love to read, please buy a book and encourage friends to support Black authors.

There was an especially moving tribute to the late author E. Lynn Harris by several of his closest friends and admirers . Special acknowledgment to Rev. Barnes, who also spoke during the breakfast on Saturday. He provided support and prayer at a time when it was most needed.

The woman, who gave birth to the idea of the California Book Club Summit and certainly experienced all the labor pains to make it a reality is Sigrid Williams. The Summit was such a great conference and we enjoyed it enormously. Thank you Sigrid for inviting us to participate in the Summit. We look forward to next year!

(photo: sitting - Opal, Andrea and arabella; standing - Barbara, Sigrid and Peggy)

A Message to Mrs. Obama from Berkeley With Love

2009-09-15T23:48:00.006-04:00

On September 11, 2009, Rebecca's Book Store in Berkeley, California hosted the GTM Sisterhood Network for a reading and book signing. An over-flow audience sent this message about Go, Tell Michelle to Mrs. Obama. Send us your comments about this book (uqi@buffalo.edu ) and we'll post them on this blog.

GTM Members Respond!

2009-09-15T14:22:00.010-04:00

We received the following messages from La Rhonda

and Dera and share them with our readers. Thanks for the feedback, ladies!

Peggy and Barbara,By now you

are safe and sound back at home after a tiring, but I'm sure a fulfilling literary weekend. Friday night was such a blessing, such a

monumental occasion. I kept seeing the

pictures and hearing about all the fun you all

were having on the East Coast with GTM and consider it an honor that you brought some of that joy and enthusiasm to share with the West Coast sisters. I am still on a high and everyone is talking about what a

great

presentation and good time they had. I cannot thank you enough. I just sent the pictures from the event; hope they came through.

Love and Blessings,
Dera Williams

Greetings Peggy and Barbara,

As the Dells said, "Oh What A Night"!!!!! Thank you again so much for including my letter to Michelle in the award-winning anthology, "Go, Tell Michelle" and for making Friday night such a wonderful time for all. My guests

are still talking about it. The Bay Area has to do it again, so

I will be on the lookout for more opportunities. Continued success.

P.S. I'm already looking for my outfit for our meeting at The White House with Michelle (smile).

Peace & Power, La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson

The GTM Sisterhood Network Meets in Berkeley, California

2009-09-14T23:53:00.007-04:00

It took one full day to get there and another full day to get back! But the two days we spent in the Bay area last week end were filled with fantastic experiences that were well worth the travel time.

We had the pleasure of meeting seven more contributors and had an extraordinary reading and signing at Rebecca’s Book Store on Adeline

Street in Berkeley. An over-flow audience came to hear Peggy, Barbara and GTM Sisterhood Network members, arabella grayson, Andrea Barnwell, Jacqueline Frazier, Attica Georges, LaRhonda Crosby-Johnson, Opal Adisa Palmer and Dera Williams. Andrea drove ten hours from her home in San Diego to join us and Jacqueline flew in from Los Angeles. It was truly an evening for camaraderie, lots of laughter and an opportunity to get to know the ladies of the GTM sisterhood, each of who shared their excitement about being included in the book.

Special thanks to Mary Ann Braithwaite, owner of Rebecca’s for opening up her store and embracing GTM. We want to express special appreciation to arabella, who set up this event, printed palm cards to advertise the book and to give to each author to autograph so that we could have commemorative book marks. She even arranged for the GTM to have dinner together after the book signing. We took lots of photographs and some video, so look for some video in the next few days.

(photo 1 -Jackie, arabella, Andrea, Opal, Attica, Dera and Mary Ann; photo 2 - LaRhonda and Dera)

The Association of Black Women Historians Names GTM One of its 2009 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award Winners

2009-09-02T16:14:00.016-04:00

We just received the following from Dr. Ida Jones:

"It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that your book Go, Tell Michelle African American Women Write the New First Lady is one of the 2009 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award winners in the category of edited volume. Once again, congratulations to Dr. Brooks-Bertram and Dr. Nevergold and Ms. Keneston /SUNY Press for producing a invaluable collection of voices speaking to an historic and monumental period of American history.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ida Jones

Founded in 1979, the Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) is a dynamic network of scholars representing every region of the country. The organization's goals are to support black women in the historical profession, disseminate information by, for and about black women and promote scholarship by and about black women. The newsletter, Truth, informs members and numerous awards provide financial resources and recognition.

When we were informed of this great honor by Awards Committee Chairperson, Dr. Ida Jones, Dr. Jones also forwarded the comments from the committee, who had the following to say about “Go, Tell Michelle”:

This work is significant documentation of African women’s voices throughout the Diaspora. Orchestrated by two African American women and shared with working class, professional, young and old these voices resonate with the emotions attached to the witnessing a world power position a visibly brown skinned woman as the first lady. Knowing the history and vitriol hurled throughout time, these women share the hopes, fears, dreams and courage of ancestor voices for them speak and to those yet born girls and women of the future. A sociological bridge captured in print and establishing a paradigm for the 21st century, that we can communicate, capture and celebrate in our own voice. One contributor notes “At the end of the day, when the world outside is gone, Please always know, that so much of the woman you are, I am. And I am here sending you love.” The last letter by implores Michelle to “hold your head up high...women who have sustained this country are going to White House with you. So, Michelle... Hold Your Head up High. We Are Going with You.” Wow, what a legacy to start the 21st century African woman. Amazing story. It is fitting to honor this woman.

Meet the Contributors to Go, Tell Michelle

2009-09-01T19:25:00.006-04:00

We are starting a feature today that will introduce you to all of the 110 (including audio book) contributors to "Go, Tell Michelle".

Barbara Glover - has owned and operated her own dance studio in Buffalo for thirty-five years and is certified to teach by Dance Masters of America, Inc. She is founder and president of the Miss Young, Gifted, and Black Pageant that is devoted to promoting the wholesome growth and character development of young African American women.Ms. Glover was born in Buffalo and educated in Buffalo Public Schools, Niagara County Community College, Bryant and Stratton Business Institute, and Medaille College. She is a 1979 graduate of John Robert Powers Career School.

Carol L. Evans, the oldest of five children, was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. Throughout the 60s, and early 70s, she worked as a fundraiser and was the co-founder of the largest and most successful funding program within her grassroots community.

She moved to Oakland, California in 1971 and was employed by Mills College in administration until retiring in 1994. She also received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Mills. During those years before retiring, she developed a love for community service. Ms. Evans became a substance abuse counselor for women, and also began honing her fundraising skills. Ms. Evans chaired many benefit and award ceremonies, attracting celebrities like Danny Glover and Terry McMillan.

We will continue to profile each of the contributors on this blog, however, you can read the full biographies of many of the contributors at the Uncrowned Queens Webpage

"Michelle Obama Watch" Blog Questions Use of Go, Tell Michelle in College Courses

2009-09-01T14:31:00.005-04:00

If anyone thought that Black women were a monolithic group, marching in lock step, with one idea and purpose, they need only look at the blog, “Michelle Obama Watch”. While we can and have taken criticism and quietly risen above the negativity, there are times when a response is just in order.

The decision to use “Go, Tell Michelle” as a text at Bennett College is used as the context for comments that are neither warranted nor accurate. First of all, to say that “Go, Tell Michelle” “returns” presupposes that the book went out of print or has been retired somehow. In fact you can often find it on the Best Seller list of books in letters and correspondence on Amazon.com and requests for presentations and book signings fill our schedule. As for the statement attributed to Peggy; Brooks-Bertram has never said that this was a book particularly for dark-skinned women as women of all hues have letters in the book.

It’s interesting (trying to find a better word) that someone who describes “Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady” as “creepy” and “other Black women’s hustle” should do so on a blog that she entitles, “Michelle Obama Watch”. Further in the earlier review, quoted in her post, which she says “panned” the book soon after its release, she admits to not having read the entire volume and has cherry picked a few of the letters. This new post seems to share the same limited analysis and the “projection” of which she accuses the Go, Tell Michelle contributors of having.

I won’t go into a long treatise on the messages that “Go, Tell Michelle” seeks to impart to its readers. I don’t think that the author of the “Michelle Obama Watch” is looking for a healthy discussion as evidenced by the fact that she has already labeled the messages as “bizarre” and states that she doesn’t “know if I want young impressionable undergraduate women engaging in unhealthy projection”. But it is that healthy discussion that I know the young women at Bennett will/are having in their course on Black women’s issues. In fact, I am sure that other students throughout the country are having these same discussions and we are all better off for it.

Book TV Re-airs "Go, Tell Michelle" Program

2009-08-31T20:37:00.005-04:00

Book TV orginially aired the "Go, Tell Michelle" presentation at Washington's Bus Boys and Poets Book Store on May 25th at 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. Since the initial air date, this program has been re-broadcast twice, on June 25th at midnight and again on August 24th at 8:00 pm in prime time. In the event that you've not had an opportunity to see this program, we link to it here.

Bennett College for Women Adopts "Go, Tell Michelle"

2009-08-25T17:24:00.005-04:00

We are reposting this article which was first posted in June 2009, but given the Essence Magazine mention of the adoption of GTM by Bennett College for Women, we thought we'd re-post the article as it's timely. We also heard from Dr. Johnson, via our friend Marissa Jennings, that her class Survey of Women's Issues has about 30 students enrolled -- a big class for this course. Dr. Johnson will begin her course with Go, Tell Michelle and the students will be required to write their own letters. More will be forthcoming as Dr. Johnson progresses through the semester.

We believe that “Go, Tell Michelle” offers instructors, at various educational levels and in various disciplines, a rich source of contemporary issues related to the historic election of Barack Obama as the First African American President and the installation of Michelle Obama as the First African American First Lady of the United States, which Black women have identified as compelling and of pivotal importance to them. And that these issues have been presented through the creative and interesting (and seldom used) mechanism of letter writing.

Thanks to the work of our dear friend and publicist, Marissa Jennings, a Bennett College alumnus, we have our first adoption of “Go, Tell Michelle” by a college – and we are so proud and pleased to announce that it’s an Historically Black College ( HBCU), Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina. We just received the following e-mail from Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson, Ph.D. , Mott Distinguished Professor of Women's Studies and Director of the Africana Women's Studies Program at Bennett College for Women.

Dr. Johnson stated: “I wanted to let you know that the book looks great. It is already on order for my class in the Fall, and I will be using it this summer as I teach in a Teen Writers Camp. We begin tomorrow (June 17th). I plan to read a couple of letters to the students as examples of expository writing in letter form. I will encourage the students (rising 9th-12th graders) to get a copy of the book and read it on their own.”

Dr. Johnson’s program Africana Women’s Studies was founded in 2004 under the direction of Dr. Irma McLaurin. Africana Women‛s Studies focuses on the experiences, socio-cultural conditions, and histories of women in the African Diaspora as well as issues generally important in the field of women‛s studies. We are excited about Dr. Johnson’s selection of “Go, Tell Michelle” as an academic text for the Africana Women’s Studies Program and look forward to hearing about the student’s response to this amazing resource.

Special thanks to Marissa for her support and contribution to achieving this goal. We strongly encourage others, who know professors/teachers or are professors/teachers to consider using “Go, Tell Michelle” in the curriculum that you teach. And please contact us and let us know your and your student’s experiences with this extraordinary resource.

Go, Tell Michelle Makes Essence Blog for Second Time

2009-08-25T17:12:00.012-04:00

For the second time this year, Essence Magazine's Blog, "The Michelle Obama Daily Diary" features a story on Go, Tell Michelle. This time the story is about the adoption of GTM by Bennett College for Women as a text book in its Women's Studies program. More about that in another article on this site.

Actually, there are two posts on the Essence Blog - visit both! Look at Story 2

Barbara Profiled by Alma Mater

2009-08-18T22:02:00.020-04:00

The SUNY Press recently cited an article in my undergrad College's newsletter that highlighted my work on Go, Tell Michelle and my contributions to the College.

In September, both Peggy and I will be featured in an article in the UB (University at Buffalo) Today Magazine.

The following is excerpted from the SUNY Blog article:

"Barbara Seals Nevergold has had an amazing year with the success of "Go, Tell Michelle", which she co-edited with Peggy Brooks-Bertram. Barbara is a graduate of Buffalo State College: French Education, '66.

Buffalo State Insider recently ran a wonderful profile on Barbara that explores where she's come from and what she's accomplished."

Thanks Buffalo State College Foundation Office and SUNY Press

Meeting Another Member of the Sisterhood

2009-08-18T19:52:00.008-04:00

Among the numerous people that we met at the NABJ Convention, we were most pleased to meet Cynthia Bond Hopson, one of the GTM contributors. Cynthia, who hails from Lebanon, Tennessee in the Nashville area was also a featured author at the Author's Showcase at NABJ. Too Many Irons in the Fire and They’re All Smoking!, Cynthia's most recent book was released in 2008. We encourage you to check out this lady, she has other books you'd love to read.

On Sept. 1, 2005, Cynthia assumed duties as the Assistant General Secretary for the Black College Fund and Ethnic Concerns with the United Methodist Church's General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville. What a treat to meet this beautiful sister - in physical appearance as well as spiritual contenance. Thanks Cynthia for your continued good thoughts and well wishes.

Cynthia encourages us all to think positively about an invitation to the White House! She says that its coming!

NABJ, Peggy's Post,

2009-08-09T07:32:00.012-04:00

More news from the NABJ Conference in Tampa, Florida.

This is a continuing note on the outstanding trip to the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Tampa, Florida. It was simply magical being among the top African American journalists in the country. The entire conference sparkled with wonderful personalities who were down to earth, pleasant and more than approachable. Some of the journalists we met included Suzanne Malveaux, White House Correspondent for CNN. She was a delight to talk with at the CNN Booth at the Convention.

Valerie Jarrett, Special Assistant to President Barack Obama was keynote speaker at the NABJ's Hall of Fame Luncheon.We were fortunate to be able to speak with her about Go, Tell Michelle and to grab a quick photo. She indicated that she had seen the book and we presented her with her own copy!
Fantastic journalists were everywhere. We ran into Michele Norris and Gwen Ifill--Gwen is between Barbara and me and Michele is on the right side-- on the elevator between the fourth floor and the lobby. Michelle Norris identified us immediately as the editors of the Go, Tell Michelle book. She told Gwen Ifill about her experiences working with us to tape the NPR show, "All Things Considered" and urged Gwen to get the book and read it! She invited us to keep her posted on upcoming events associated with the book that she could consider as updates on the book. Gwen Ifilll was just her usual cool self. Naturally, we snapped a photo.

The excitement continued with other accomplished journalists including T.J. Holmes and others. (More photos to come.) Members, Associate Members of NABJ as well as major sponsors were equally as warm and hospitable. A sponsor that we spent some time with was Greg G. Cunningham, Group Manager, Marketing, Planning for Target. This was the first time that Target was a sponsor at the NABJ and it was a blast. In meeting him, he stated that he had not only heard about the book but that he had purchased a book for his wife. After a brief conversation, he indicated that he would like to partner with the Uncrowned Queens Institute to help market the book, possibly in Target stores. Naturally, we will be following up on this opportunity to partner with Target in the sale of Go, Tell Michelle.

We found out about the conference from Gwen Osborne, a woman that we met at the Book Expo in New York City a few months ago. Since that time, Gwen has served as a premier "networker." Not only did she inform us of the conference, she kept us abreast of all of the big "happenings" at the conference. She made sure that we were in the "right place" at the "right time" and talking to the "right people." It was such a pleasure sharing space and chatting with all of her contacts. Many kudos to Gwen. There is much more to write and photos to share and we will keep you posted.

Tremendous Time in Tampa! “GTM” Goes to the National Association of Black Journalists Convention

2009-08-07T22:43:00.004-04:00

We are winding up our trip to Tampa and what a trip it has been! We arrived here on Wednesday, August 5^th for the 2009 NABJ Annual Convention & Career Fair. We were invited to participate in the Author’s Showcase, which included Robin Roberts, Leonard Pitts and Gwen Ifill. While the book signing was great, we have had the most incredible networking experiences these past three days. We had the opportunity (I use this word lightly as Peggy and I worked hard to network with these folks; it wasn’t easy) to meet and share our story and copies of “Go, Tell Michelle” with Robin Roberts, Roland Martin, Toure, T.J. Holmes, Suzanne Malveaux and Valerie Jarrett and that’s not all, but we’ll write about the other exciting contacts we made in later posts.

Here we are at the opening reception with Roland Martin. Roland told us that he had gotten a copy of our book and invited us to e-mail him to follow up on a possible radio interview. We have to say that Mr. Martin was the epitome of graciousness and approachability. As with so many of the other personalities that we met at the Convention and will write about later, Roland is a delight and we were so pleased to meet him. We're encouraged and know that our book and our message will have broader coverage as a result of the people we spoke to during this trip.

GTM Sisters Write Another Letter to Michelle

2009-08-03T22:01:00.009-04:00

Over the last two weeks members of the GTM Sisterhood Network penned new letters to First Lady Michelle Obama. This time we asked the First Lady to invite the members of the Network to the White House for a personal meeting and book signing. Yes, we have the "audacity to hope" that Michelle Obama will meet with us and sign our books! Now that's optimism!

Our letters were in response to the White House quiry about what we were requesting of the First Lady. They asked that we put our request in writing and 43 of the GTM Sisterhood responded to that request. The letters were mailed to the White House today and we look forward to receiving a response in the near future.

The following excerpts are from two of the letters:

"I am a contributor to the book, Go Tell Michelle, which was published earlier this year. This book contains the personal letters of African and African-American women who supported the President in his efforts to gain office last year, and who felt compelled to also express their fulfilled hopes, dreams and support for you in a published form. Therefore, I would like to request the opportunity for me and the other contributing writers of this work to meet you at the Whitehouse to have you acknowledge and sign our book.

Having grown up in a neighborhood like so many of us, you know all too well how difficult it is for black women to access positive images in the world today. As we continue to struggle in our own neighborhoods, in our careers and in our roles as wives and mother’s, we are up against devastating and long prevailing biases about what we represent, with far too few positive examples of who we are or who we can become. In contributing to Go Tell Michelle, it was my hope that black women who are struggling might pick up this book or hear our stories, stories from women that came from neighborhoods like theirs, and learn that they aren’t alone. That perhaps there is hope. That they might be motivated to work a bit harder to achieve beyond what they have been taught to believe about themselves. That they could fulfill a higher potential than they may have dreamed of before." N.D.

"I am one of the contributing women who wrote you a letter in the book "Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady". I know that I along with the other 99 women would love to be able to meet you and have you sign our books. I am sure you are very busy 'running' the White House and raising your girls, but it would be such an honor, privilege and a piece of history for me to pass on to my daughter to be able to meet the First Lady of the United States. The first African-American First Lady!" A.M.

We look forward to the receipt of these letters by the First Lady and await a response from her office.

Thank you to the GTM Sisterhood for, once again, demonstrating that there is strenght in networking and being supportive of one another. We are especially pleased that a number of the younger contributors responded to this request giving us an opportunity to mentor these young women and provide an opportunity for them to exercise their advocacy skills, practice their writing skills and express the tremendous impact of this election on their lives.

Conversation with two New York supporters of Go, tell Michelle

2009-07-30T19:15:00.006-04:00

While attending the NAACP Centennial Convention, we were pleased to meet Sandra and Jasmine, who were the first persons we met at the Author's Pavilion. They said that when they saw we were on the Author's Pavilion schedule, they made a plan to stop by to see us before going to their own exhibit. They are volunteers with the African American Burial Ground in Manhattan. The following is from their website:

"GSA’s African Burial Ground project began in 1991, when, during excavation work for a new federal office building, workers discovered the skeletal remains of the first of more than 400 men, women and children. Further investigation revealed that during the 17th and 18th centuries, free and enslaved Africans were buried in a 6.6 acre burial ground in lower Manhattan outside the boundaries of the settlement of New Amsterdam, which would become New York. Over the decades, the unmarked cemetery was covered over by development and landfill.

Managed by GSA, the overall project is a testimonial to a positive and collaborative partnership between many parties, including the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Howard University, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the African American community.

Today the site is a National Monument featuring a distinctive memorial that commemorates and communicates the story of the African Burial Ground—the single-most important, historic urban archaeological project undertaken in the United States."

Jasmine, Sandra, Peggy and I (we are off camera) had an interesting conversation about Go, Tell Michelle, family history and preservation of African American historic sites. We are a little late in getting this post up, so I hope that Sandra and Jasmine get an opportunity to see this and send us a message with their contact information so that we can write or call them.

A Father Reads "Go, Tell Michelle" to his daughter

2009-07-26T18:00:00.009-04:00

As noted, we have met some very dear and interesting people in our travels with "Go, Tell Michelle". Sometimes, as in the case with David Whetstone, we've been privileged to meet some individuals more than once. We first met David in Washington, D.C. in March at the People's Congregational United Church of Christ. At that time he told us how much he enjoyed our book and offered his assistance in promoting the book. We did contact David after we returned to Buffalo, but as life gets hectic we lost touch with him. So imagine our surprise and pleasure to run into David again at the NAACP Centennial Convention. He was there working on an article he's writing but when he saw we were in the Author's Pavilion he made time to come up to see us.

During our conversation David told us how he is reading "Go, Tell Michelle" to his young 11 year old daughter. Each night he reads two or three letters to her before she goes to bed. David explained that the letters have become, in a way, daily mediations that he shares with his child. What a special and novel way to share the messages in the letters with a child and what a special Dad David is to use this time with his daughter to teach her about Black women: our history, our aspirations, our spirituality, our bonds of sisterhood, our dreams for our children and ourselves, our esteem for the First Lady and much, much more.

We tried to capture David's story with a short video. You may have to turn up the sound on your computer as the quality of the video is low, but we wanted you to see this extraordinary African American man for yourselves.

GTM Sisters Take Pen in Hand AGAIN

2009-07-25T01:13:00.006-04:00

In the months since the January 2009 release of “Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady”, the editors, Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram have traveled throughout the country on a book signing tour. Everywhere we’ve visited, from thriving metropolitan areas like D.C., Baltimore, New York City and Chicago to small rural communities like Franklinville, New York, we encounter women and men who have read the book, are moved by the letters and poems and relate to their messages. During this time, we have also given countless radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews. “Go, Tell Michelle” has been adopted as a college text and at least one doctoral dissertation has used our book as a major reference. SUNY Press has also received requests to adapt the book for dramatic presentations. In short, this “impressive compendium of eloquent messages” continues to evoke positive responses from readers that have exceeded our expectations. Yet there is still one major goal that we have not accomplished. We have the audacity to hope that our contributors will be invited to the White House for a meeting with the First Lady and a book signing.

Although we have sent numerous copies of the book to Mrs. Obama and her staff we have yet to hear from her. Now, seven months after the publication of “Go, Tell Michelle” contributors to this ground-breaking anthology once again have penned letters to First Lady Michelle Obama. Whether we are successful or not, Peggy and I are so pleased to know that the GTM Sisterhood Network continues to demonstrate the power of a sisterhood that is focused, supportive, communicative, skilled and literate. Thank you, GTM Sisters!

Casting the Net(work) Far and Wide: the GTM Sisterhood Network Progresses

2009-06-30T17:03:00.007-04:00

Members of the GTM Sisterhood Network continue to work - over-time - to get out the message about our phenonmenal book. E. Rashun Williams shares her latest adventure as she returned to her Alma Mater, Alverno College in Wisconsin to lead a writer's workshop. Rashun currently teaches at Hinds Community College in Mississippi, so she traveled no small distance to Alverno for this workshop experience and it appears that the participants enthusiastically embraced her and our publication. Read what Rashun has to say about her trip.

"Hello, GTM sisters!!

I wanted to write a brief note about my reading at Alverno on June 27, 2009. It was smashing!!! There were 70 plus in the writer's workshop audience. They were great!! The book store had been informed of the expected number of participants; I checked periodically; I purchased a couple of them for my friends. When I left the building, I saw 4 on the table. -- I was told that many were inspired to write or continue to write, and I hope that they will communicate that to you; I gave a number of them my email address/phone number, so that I could help them to get in touch with you.--

As we know, I drove there 13 hours one way; Ooooh, I had a black, shiney, fast a-- Mustang. It was a great drive, of course, until I got to Dan Ryan in Chicago, and we know that story. I returned Sunday night, 9:30, crashed, and was back at work for my second session class Monday at 7:30 a.m. So, I'm still tired, but I'll recover over the weekend." Rashun

Rashun, We're glad to hear from you; pleased that you had a safe and productive trip; hope that you get a little rest in the next few days! Your sisters

On the Road with Go, Tell Michelle

2009-06-24T10:54:00.001-04:00

We are continuing our book tour this summer and have added two very exciting venues just recently. On July 15th, we will be one of the featured authors at the NAACP’s Author’s Pavilion. (Check out their website at http://www.naacpauthorpavilion.com/ for our photos) The NAACP is observing its 100th Anniversary and this year’s convention promises to be another historic milestone in that organization’s century of service. President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the Convention on its final day, July 16th. We plan to be in the audience with a book or two!

In August, we will travel to Tampa, Florida to attend the National Association of Black Journalist’s Conference and participate in their Author’s Show Case. The Author’s Show Case is scheduled during the conference which will be held from August 5th to 9th.

NABJ is an association of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services year-round to benefit black journalists worldwide. We don’t know the exact date for our signing yet, but will update you when we are informed.

Both of these venues offer exciting new opportunities to spread the word about Go, Tell Michelle to broader audiences, who can connect to our message. We are encouraged by the access to these new platforms to spread that message.

We want to extend a special thanks to Gwendolyn Osborne, a very special lady we just recently met at the Book Expo in New York City in May. Gwendolyn, in the true spirit of sisters helping sisters, reached out to us and gave us the assistance we needed to connect to the NABJ and NAACP. We’ll have more to say about sister networks later, but we rank Gwendolyn up at the top as a sister network all by herself!

“Go, Tell Michelle” Contributor, Deborah Seals, Tells It to Ed Schultz on the “Ed Show”

2009-06-18T21:23:00.005-04:00

On Saturday, June 13^th, Ed Schultz, “star” of the Ed Show on MSNBC brought his program, town show style, to Buffalo, New York. Deborah Seals, a GTM contributor, attended the taping and stepped up to the mike to address the issue of health care reform. After the program, Deborah had an opportunity to talk to Ed. Copy of our book in hand, Deborah told Ed that CNN’s American Morning, CSPAN and NPR along with local and other national media had aired interviews about “Go, Tell Michelle”. She then asked him what about the Ed Show? Ed took the book and said he’d check it out (hopefully by that he meant that he'd read it). So, GTM Sisterhood Network, let’s give Deborah some support by contacting the Ed Show about “Go, Tell Michelle”. Ed can be reached at: the show’s producer: james@edschultzshow.com, 701-200-9134. Let’s flood the Ed Show with e-mails about “Go, Tell Michelle” and ask Ed to follow up on his “promise” to Debbie.

By the way, if you watch the Ed Show, the episode that Deborah was on aired on Monday, June 15^th. Thanks Deborah, great job!

Go, Tell Michelle Adopted by Africana Women’s Studies Program at Bennett College For Women

2009-06-16T20:23:00.004-04:00

Some members of the GTM Sisterhood Network know that we have been working to propose that our book be used as a text by college professors(or high school teachers)in the disciplines of “Women’s Studies”, “African –American Studies”, “Gender Studies”, “Creative and Expository Writing”, “Sociology”, etc. We believe that “Go, Tell Michelle” offers instructors, at various educational levels and in various disciplines, a rich source of contemporary issues related to the historic election of Barack Obama as the First African American President and the installation of Michelle Obama as the First African American First Lady of the United States, which Black women have identified as compelling and of pivotal importance to them. And that these issues have been presented through the creative and interesting (and seldom used) mechanism of letter writing.

Thanks to the work of our dear friend and publicist, Marissa Jennings, a Bennett College alumnus, we have our first adoption of “Go, Tell Michelle” by a college – and we are so proud and pleased to announce that it’s an Historically Black College ( HBCU), Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina. We just received the following e-mail from Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson, Ph.D. , Mott Distinguished Professor of Women's Studies and Director of the Africana Women's Studies Program at Bennett College for Women. Dr. Johnson stated:

“I wanted to let you know that the book looks great. It is already on order for my class in the Fall, and I will be using it this summer as I teach in a Teen Writers Camp. We begin tomorrow (June 17th). I plan to read a couple of letters to the students as examples of expository writing in letter form. I will encourage the students (rising 9th-12th graders) to get a copy of the book and read it on their own.”

Dr. Johnson’s program Africana Women’s Studies was founded in 2004 under the direction of Dr. Irma McLaurin. Africana Women‛s Studies focuses on the experiences, socio-cultural conditions, and histories of women in the African Diaspora as well as issues generally important in the field of women‛s studies.

We are excited about Dr. Johnson’s selection of “Go, Tell Michelle” as an academic text for the Africana Women’s Studies Program and look forward to hearing about the student’s response to this amazing resource.

Special thanks to Marissa for her support and contribution to achieving this goal. We strongly encourage others, who know professors/teachers or are professors/teachers to consider using “Go, Tell Michelle” in the curriculum that you teach. And please contact us and let us know your and your student’s experiences with this extraordinary resource.

Another Book Review, Roy St. Clair

2009-06-14T11:10:00.004-04:00

This book review was submitted to the Buffalo Challenger, a local African American newspaper here in Buffalo, New York.

"Go, Tell Michelle, is an extraordinary book of writings by women of African descent, to the First Lady of the United States. The power of the words in the letters and poems are unprecedented in American literature. You actually can feel and hear the writings, it is descriptive writing at the higher level.

The women who have contributed to this timeless piece of literature have traveled may world-wide roads and yet are a mirror image of Michelle Obama.

The First Lady is the reflection of all the sisters that wrote the poems and letters, because they are First Ladies in their families.

Dr. Peggy Brooks-Bertram and Dr. Barbara Nevergold of Buffalo, brain-stormed this brilliant historical idea to fruition. This collection of writings should be submitted to the Pulitzer Prize Committee for outstanding literary achievement for the year of 2009.

Go, Tell Michelle, should be in every American home library. www.sunypress.edu Roy St. Clair." Submitted by Peggy Brooks-Bertram

Another Scene from the BookExpo

2009-06-10T14:21:00.002-04:00

What a treat to meet up with fellow authors and fellow Buffalonian (Virginia), Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant. Among the numerous publications of these best-selling authors: "Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made" and "Gotta Keep on Tryin'". They told us that they're working on a new book, scheduled to come out later this year. We wish you the best, Donna and Virginia.

Gracies Awards Luncheon

2009-06-08T16:26:00.013-04:00

Last Thursday (June 4th), we traveled back to New York City again. This time, we went straight to Central Park to the Tavern on the Green for the 2009 Gracies Award Luncheon. A partnership with Buffalo's WNED Broadcasting Corporation and the Uncrowned Queens with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York and Rich Products (another Western New York corporation) resulted in the radio series: "Uncrowned Queens: Voices of African American Women".

Based on the Uncrowned Queens Institute's concept of recognizing the little-known African American community builders of our community, the radio program featured a series of three interviews with these Uncrowned Queens. Peggy and I provided commentaries for several of the programs. Each program is introduced by Phlycia Rashad and hosted by Lorna Hill. Sonya Williams, Howard University professor and chair of the University's Communications Department was the executive producer.

Peggy and I were instrumental in the orignial conceptulization of the program idea, pitching it to CPB and identifying the interviewees for the final programs. We acted as executive consultants for the series.

We were very excited that "Uncrowned Queens: Voices of African American Women" series was selected to receive a coveted Gracies Award for as “Outstanding Documentary - Mid-Length Format” in the “Public” market category. For 34 years, the Gracies® have recognized exemplary media programming created for women, by women and about women, as well as individual accomplishments in the industry. The awards program also encourages the realistic and multifaceted portrayal of women.

The feedback that we have received from individuals in the community is that the series captured the stories of the women and profiled their accomplishements and contributions in compelling and interesting interviews. The Uncrowned Queens Institute has copies of the complete, unedited interviews for future research and educational projects.

The photos on this page include: Lorna Hill, Sonya Williams and Stratton Rawson, WNED's executive producer of the series.

Meeting New Friends, Graham DeGroot, Book Expo America with Suny Press

2009-06-05T10:24:00.003-04:00

Since the publication of Go, Tell Michelle, we have had myriad beautiful experiences, many of them through meeting people from diverse backgrounds. One of the most interesting people we met at the BEA was Graham DeGroot and I sure hope we have his name spelled correctly as he wanted to make sure that we pronounced it correctly. We were signing books at the SUNY Press autographing tables at the Expo when we spotted a pair of very bright and exciting eyes peering at us from behind eye glasses perched ever so carefully on a serious little nose below a mane of light brown hair. It was Graham DeGroot who never took his eyes off of us while he waited to get a signed copy of Go, Tell Michelle. He was getting the book for his mother. We told him we hoped he would read it first to see if he would recommend it to his mother. He pondered for only a second before he said that he would be the first reader. That’s where the fun began. He seemed so excited about the book that we invited him to take a photo with us. We assured him that we would post it on the GTM Sisterhood Network blog. He agreed as he came around the table to join us. We gave him our blog address and asked him to visit and leave comments about the book. We are not sure of his age but we think he is about 11-12 years old. He left the line and took with him a real bright spot in the autographing experience. But we were enchanted again. Graham had returned. This time he stood holding his little red camera in the air to show us that he had returned to document this experience for himself.

It was a great treat to see him again and in so short a time. Again, when he got up to the signing table we told him how important it was that he read the book and understand what African American women had to say to the First Lady of the United States. He was even more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We told him to tell his friends and we encouraged him to set up his own blog and to link it with the GTM Sisterhood Network blog so that we can stay in contact. We look forward to this connection. He nodded in agreement. This was an exciting time for us because we also want young people to be able to read this book and to have a chance to see and understand what African American women have to say about this historic moment in our history. So, when we return to Buffalo and update the blog we will be waiting with baited breath to hear from Graham and we will keep you posted. P.S. Graham if you have a better photo, please send it to up so that we can replace this one. Peggy Brooks-Bertram

An Interview on EBRU-TV

2009-06-03T10:59:00.007-04:00

We did not have a lot of "down time" during our recent New York City visit. On Thursday, following our first book signing event at BookExpo, we also had the opportunity to tape an interview for "Footnote", a program on EBRU-TV that focuses on new non-fiction. Molly Pesce, host of the program, was both engaging and insightful. Her questions demonstrated that she had a grasp of the significant issues that our book addresses and the significance of this historic text. The interview was fast-paced, fun and informative.

The program does not yet have an air date, but we were told that it will be part of the show's September or October line-up.

Book TV- What an Experience!

2009-05-26T16:06:00.005-04:00

We hope that you were able to tune in to see our debut on CSPAN's Book TV on May 26th at either 8:30 am or 8:30 pm. From the telephone calls, e-mails and Facebook posts we've received quite a few people saw the program and thought it was great. We've made a lot of new Facebook friends thanks to Book-TV and our rank on Amazon.com went up considerably. We were ranked as the #1 book on "letters and correspondence"; #3 on "African American Studies" and #7 on "Women's Studies" thanks to all who went on-line to order a copy of the book.

Also many thanks to our hosts for the presentation and book-signing, BUS BOYS & POETS Bookstore. The next time you're in Washington, D.C. and want a unique dining experience, accompanied by unique book signings or not, we encourage you to visit this independent book store.

Again, appreciation to our contributors; Betty Falato, Miriam Guichard, Regan Botts-Ruiz, Lori Polin Jones and Donna Aza Smith for joining us and adding their wisdom and grace to the program.

Join Us and SUNY Press at the BookExpo of America in NYC

2009-05-21T15:13:00.004-04:00

We are packing our bags for another trip to New York City. This time we are going to Manhattan, the Javits Center, for the largest gathering of publishers, book dealers, authors, and book lovers in the country!

We will be joining SUNY Press staff members at booth #4840 for a number of book sessions, to meet and greet and to network, network, network. We're told that the Expo attracts as many as 80,000 people from all over the world! Here's our itinerary as set up by the Press:

Barbara A. Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram
GO, TELL MICHELLE
Friday, May 29 12:30-1:30 PM
African American, Table 2

We will also be having a book signing in the SUNY Press booth, #4840, on
Sunday, May 31.
GO, TELL MICHELLE
9:30-10:30 AM

Thanks Gary Dunham, Fran Keneston and Dan Flynn for your assistance in setting up these opportunities. For more information on BookExpo, check the following link:

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookexpoamerica.com%2F&ust=1242936729850000&usg=AFQjCNHqS-0v5NyIm5WIcfGbBS0A24g54g

Stay Tuned: An Interview with Sybil Wilkes of the Tom Joyner Show Coming Up!

2009-05-20T16:18:00.005-04:00

TONY ROSE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-CO-FOUNDER PRESENTS

THE 2009 6th Annual AFRICAN AMERICAN PAVILION AT BOOKEXPO AMERICA

Thanks to Tony Rose, Executive Director-Co-Founder of the African American Pavilion at BookExpo America, we have an interview scheduled with Sybil Wilkes of the Tom Joyner Show.

The African American Pavilion features exhibitors, seminars, booksignings, speakers and book giveaways. Sponsored by Amber Communications Group, Inc.; Amber Books; Adrienne Ingrum, LLC; The Tom Joyner Foundation; Lift Every Voice Books; BlackNews.com/Diversity City Media, Inc.; QBR The Black Book Review/QBR.com; Disilgold.com and the Tushe Group.The African American Pavilion is in its 6th year.

Our interview with Sybil is scheduled for May 30th at noon in the Javit's Center, headquarters for the BookExpo. If you've ever listened to the Tom Joyner Show, you know that Sybil has a book club, so we're excited to talk to her about Go, Tell Michelle. We also have two book signings scheduled in the "Celebrity Author Booksignings Booth #2249" on May 29th from noon to 1pm and again on May 30th from noon to 12:30. If you're in town, stop by and see us!

If you would like to take a look at last year's exciting book fair, log onto the video below.

Video Tube

GTM on CSPAN Book TV

2009-05-18T23:07:00.008-04:00

We have some exciting news to share with our readers. On March 28th, CSPAN's Book TV filmed our talk and book signing at Bus Boys & Poets Book Store in Washington, DC. The tape of that program is now scheduled to air on Book TV on May 25th at 8:30am and repeat at 8:30pm. Please tune in for the program. If you can't watch at either time, please tape it! We were joined by several contributors, who read from their submissions: Betty Falato, Miriam Guichard, Lori Polin Jones, Donna Aza Smith, and Regan Botts Ruiz.

vonetta t. rhodes_GTM Contributor Speaks

2009-05-18T17:23:00.007-04:00

vonetta is a Buffalonian who answered the call for letters and poems to "Go, Tell Michelle". During our May 9th book signing I talked to vonetta about her contribution, "adoration" and she shared with me what inspired her to write this poem.

Bed Time Stories with the League of Black Women

2009-05-18T11:29:00.002-04:00

It’s 8:30 p.m. May 15, 2009 and the women attendees of the League of Black Women Sixth Annual Conference, led by Sandra Finley, President and CEO, are gathering in the Grand Ballroom for the League’s Bedtime Stories Presentation. The keynote presenters are co-editors of Go, Tell Michelle, Drs. Peggy Brooks-Bertram and Barbara Seals Nevergold. The Grand Ballroom is on the 16th Floor of the Trump International Hotel in Chicago. One full side of the room is glass and overlooks canal systems running through the city against the backdrop of the beautiful Chicago skyline. The view was at our back and was breathtaking. Nearly one hundred women arrived in fluffy white robes provided by the Trump International Hotel. Many were in lovely pajamas and fluffy slippers to match. Some women sat at tables and others lined the floor propped up against fluffy silk pillows. With a late evening snack of caramel popcorn, chocolate covered popcorn, special cookies, decadent brownies shaped like miniature sandwiches and distilled water, the stage was set for a wonderful evening. Everyone was relaxing and getting ready to receive their guests. All of the women came with their Go, Tell Michelle books purchased by the League and presented to them for this special presentation. And what an occasion it was! Barbara and I were thrilled to speak before this wonderful group of managers, corporate execs, CEO’s, organization builders, educators and others. The beautiful setting was definitely an added bonus. With the lights dimmed and everyone comfortable, we talked about the origins of the Uncrowned Queens Institute and our efforts to continue building this one of a kind national model. We talked about our hopes and dreams for the Institute and we discussed our major source of support and our partnership with the University at Buffalo.

We turned our attention to the Go, Tell Michelle book of letters to the First Lady Obama published by SUNY Press. These women read along with us as we read passages from the book. They recalled stories of their own mothers and grandmothers and father and grandfathers. Some huddled together and wept while comforting one another. All shared their exhilaration at Michelle Obama becoming the First Lady of the United States of America. They thanked us profusely for taking the time to gather letters for this book. The major question of the night was: “Has Michelle Obama received this book? Has Michelle Obama agreed to meet with the contributors of the book? What can we do to get the book to the attention of the White House? And, “when is the second book being published” as many wanted to write their own letters. Overall, everyone wanted to make sure that we were doing everything possible to get this book to the attention of the First Lady. Many offered suggestions. At the conclusion of the presentation, Sandra Finley, who has a letter in the audio book of Go, Tell Michelle, asked each of the women for a brief statement that they would share with the First Lady. Their responses were electric and we hope we captured their essence in the accompanying video.

In the end, these women gave us incredible emotional buoyancy. They not only came with their books for signing, but also insisted that we embrace them and take photos with them. There was so much love and passion in that room and we felt it. We continue to feel it as we document the experience because it was truly extraordinary to see another group of African American women use the occasion of discussing the Go, Tell Michelle book to send their own special message to First Lady Michelle Obama.

A New Career

2009-05-13T11:34:00.007-04:00

Well Dear Friends, you are witnessing, first hand, the launch of yet another "job" experience for me. Never in my life would I have imagined that at this time (a friend casually termed it the 4th quartile of our lives) I would be embarking on learning and using a new technology. But here I am. Just call me a videographer want-a-be (or maybe novice videographer, that sounds better). I recorded the interview with Candace, but forgot to turn the camera off after the formal interview ended. Hence, the video of my jacket, my hand, the floor, her feet and my good friend, Delores Coleman - upside down! (sorry about that Delores).

There is hope however, as they say practice makes perfect. And I am my father's daughter! Dad (Rev. W.B. Seals) was a photographer at a time when photographs were not only taken but processed and printed by the photographer. He even oil painted many photos before color film became affordable. So, please bear with me, dear readers, and I promise the videos will get better.

Interview with Candace Jackson

2009-05-12T19:40:00.006-04:00

Candace is one of the young women who submitted a letter for inclusion in the Go, Tell Michelle publication. Candace is a student at the University at Buffalo's Law School and is graduating this month on May 23rd. Congratulations Candace and thank you for being a member of the GTM Sisterhood Network. Candace was interviewed at the Talking Leaves Book Store in Buffalo following our book signing there on May 9th. This event was sponsored by Xi Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Conversation: Barbara and Peggy Part 1

2009-05-12T10:32:00.004-04:00

Peggy and Barbara begin their conversation about the origins of Go, Tell Michelle.

GTM Sisterhood Network: Closing a letter with Style, Lovely Valedictions

2009-05-11T13:38:00.000-04:00

Like the rest of the world, I too, have been pondering over Michelle Obama’s first one hundred days as First Lady of the United States of America. I have also been combing through my mind and examining my thoughts for the one hundredth time about the themes in the letters and poems in Go, Tell Michelle. I thought about the individual poems and letters and I even memorized excerpts from some of them because I was so struck with their beauty and wisdom, like Lillian Bertram’s use of Cornelius Eady’s poem Gratitude to describe the journey of African American male writers where he writes, “for those who expected you to drown out there…well, you didn’t. ” I thought about Lillian Davis Wilson’s poem called A New Garden. I thought repeatedly about a letter by Janice Harris, not in the original book but in the audio book and still weep at her words. I reminisced on the lines in the letter from the African sister, Teta Banks from Liberia saying that “Liberia opens up its arms to Michelle Obama.” I thought a lot about what I might have missed in these women’s words and so I went back over them. When I got stuck on a particular meaning, I called some of the authors to find out what they meant by certain phrases, like Tracey Swinton Bailey. I asked her about the North Santee where she and Michelle Obama, transported from another time , another day, stood shoulder to shoulder watching dark men with strong backs and quick wit and mothers with clouds of wooly hair…” Arlette Miller Smith described Michelle Obama’s choice as First Lady as lifting historic burdens from the shoulders of great Black foremothers and she called the names of women I had not known like Jarena Lee and her spiritual awakening. I wanted to know of Jarena at least. I combed over the letters to see what they said about Barak Obama and his love of his wife Michelle. I was enthused all over again.

More than just the content of these writings, I became interested in both their greetings but especially the valedictions or closing of each letter to see if I could extract from them some additional meaning that would be relevant for the first one hundred days. As it turned out, while some writers thought they had no more to say, the valedictions themselves remain a testament to each contributor’s timeless dialogue. I have included only a few of these gems. Together they conjure the images of a garden of beautiful closings yet beautiful openings. And though they are their last words they are really first in the beginning of hope, love, well wishes and continued optimism for a hundred one hundred days for Michelle Obama.

Lillian Bertram: In Peace and Strength,
Karima Amin: Peace and love, hope and strength,
Arabella Grayson: Blessings of peace and prayers of serenity,
Doris Green: God Bless and Keep the Obama Family,
Faith Childs Davis: Living the Dream,
Amira Davis: Remember, Our Mothers Prayed,
Nicole Day: With Love,
Priscilla Hill: Peace and Love,
Donna Aza Smith: Sending You Love,
Dera R. Williams : God Bless You and Your Family,
Anita Arnold : Bustin’ with Pride in Oklahoma,
LaRhonda Crosby-Johnson: Thank you. Thank you. Dear Michelle,
Ellen Grant: God’s Peace,

Book Review: by Gary Earl Ross

2009-05-11T12:51:00.000-04:00

Gary Earl Ross, a Buffalo English professor, novelist and playwright recently wrote the following review of our book. He has sent an excerpt to Essence, which is posted on their blog

The election of the first African-American president will be recorded as a signal event in the history of 21st Century America, a giant leap for a nation attempting to shed its troubled past on the road to the fulfillment of its creed. But the elevation of Barack Obama's wife Michelle to the role of First Lady will be remembered as nothing less than inspirational. Her presence on the international stage makes tangible for the world the strength of the African-American woman, a strength that has long been the foundation upon which communities of color are built. Go, Tell Michelle, African-American Women Write to the New First Lady is a deft, complex, heartfelt celebration of that strength. Compiled and edited by Barbara A. Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram, the book is a many-faceted love letter laden with history, herstory, empathy, and hope.

Inspired by the dignity and accomplishments of the new First Lady-to-be, Nevergold and Brooks-Bertram, founders of the Uncrowned Queens Institute for Research and Education on Women, located at the University at Buffalo, issued a call for writing from Black women addressed directly to Michelle Obama. The response was overwhelming and international, with letters and poems coming in from all over the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The resulting book has the words of contributors from all walks of life: writers, professors, nurses, administrators, artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, social workers, consultants, mental health professionals, engineers. They are mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, aunts--all sisters, all bound by memories of the past and visions of the future. Their writings are laced with kinship, pride, concern, affection, advice, encouragement, faith, hope, gratitude, and joy. Most of the entries begin with "Dear Michelle," revealing the sense of personal connection felt by so many writers. That several begin with "Dearest Michelle" underscores how heartfelt the pieces are.

Still, the letters reveal much more about their authors than they do about
Michelle Obama. Individual stories are remarkable. Faith Childs-Davis recalls the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., on her ninth birthday. Cynthia A. Bond Hopson describes her home in Tennessee as the site of the 1960-61 Tent City, for African-Americans driven out of their houses for having voted. Jacqueline Frazier writes of a grandmother who narrowly escaped being lynched in 1931. After sharing the hope and support of the poor women of her native Niger, Zeinabou Hadari writes, "I childishly dream of getting an autograph from you." Shirley A. James
Hanshaw even includes a recipe for pecan pie!

Go, Tell Michelle is a wonderful linking of women's arms in nurturing celebration of the new First Lady. It sings to her--and to all of us--"You will not be alone." It is a fine way to close the first decade of the 21st Century.
May 7, 2009

Welcome to the GTM Sisterhood Network

2009-05-11T12:05:00.002-04:00

Dear readers of Go, Tell Michelle, welcome to our new Blog. Beginning today (may 11) you will be able to find updated information about our presentations, new reviews and comments about the book, feedback from our contributors and readers. The Blog will also contain the musings of Peggy and myself and any other information about our journey with the "People's Book". We encourage our readers and contributors to send photos, audio and video about your own journey with the GTM Sisterhood Network.

You can still visit the gotellmichelle blog at gotellmichelle.blogspot.com (SUNY Press) which archives all of our earlier posts and commentary.