And Now, A word from the West Coast

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"

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.

Pray for our sister Miriam and support the Haitian Relief Effort

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.

Va, Parle `a Michelle!

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” Contributor Sharon Holley To Receive Zora Neale Hurston Award

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)

A SUMMIT of SISTERS!

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)

From Berkley with Love, Contributors Speak About their letters

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.

Meet the Contributors to Go, Tell Michelle

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