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

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.

Deadline Extended for GTM - Book Two

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

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

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.

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.

Thoughts on Michelle : Gusto Magazine: The Buffalo News

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

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)

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: You’ve Read the Book, Now See the Play

“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.

“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)

Thank You, ABWH!

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

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!

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.

GTM Adopted as Text by another college professor

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

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".

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

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

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

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.

Barbara Profiled by Alma Mater

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