Kevin Powell wants your help in crafting his Caribbean policy

Kevin Powell happened to announce his run for Congressman of C.D. 10 where I live two blocks from my house at the FiveSpot last Sunday and I wanted to let you know that he is looking for your input on what his policy towards the Caribbean should be. Peppered with Spanish and Haitian Creole, his speech showed a desire to serve all interests and groups in the district and he specifically mentioned looking for perspectives on Haiti. So if you live in or around Congressional District 10 and have strong ideas about what his Caribbean policy should be, make sure to send him an email, call or go see him.

Just so you know, he is running for the Congressional seat that Ed Towns has now held for about 26 years! It'll be interesting to see if he is indeed able to unseat him but he hopes to try by energizing more voters than just the 2% who traditionally vote in congressional elections in the district. In the primary in New York, he endorsed Barack Obama while Ed Towns endorsed Hillary Clinton.
Technorati Tags: kevinpowell, congressionaldistrict10, edolphustowns, edtowns, fivespot, election, democraticprimary

Put to sleep by Angela Davis. Sort of.

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Graffiti artist Alan Ket, Angela Davis and moderator.

Can Angela Davis put you to sleep and bore you to tears? Yes. Sort of. And this happened at a panel entitled Urban Artists and the Politics of Visibility that took place at Pratt Institute in Fort Greene, Brooklyn yesterday. (Yes right in my neighborhood.)


By Hank Willis Thomas.

But two of Davis' (younger) co-panelists saved the day. The first is Hank Willis Thomas whose work uses the aesthetics and certain themes of advertising to make very non-commercial points. He is interested in how advertising manipulates perceptions of reality.


Mural by Groundswell.

And then there was Amy Sananman, founder and Executive Director of the Groundswell Community Mural Project. Sananman conceived of the project in 1996 with the mission to bring together professional artists, grassroots organizations and communities to create high quality murals in under-represented neighborhoods.

Dread Scott is known for his controversial use of the American flag in art he hopes "propels history forward". Alan Ket has ben painting graffiti on the New York subway since he was a teenager growing up in Brooklyn.


By Dread Scott

I took pictures of the various co-panelists's slides which might tell you more about what they had to say.

The irony of it all is that Ms. Davis spoke last, as if to provide context to what the artists were showing. I sat through great presentations expecting she'd be the icing on the cake only to find out this panel was not saving the best for last.

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Technorati Tags: dreadscott, hankwillisthomas, angeladavis, amysannanman, brooklyn, clintonhill, prattinstitute, alanket

Christmas, Mexican Punch, Jambalaya!

I skipped the traditional Haitian meal this year and instead got treated to some Mexican and Louisianian traditions at my neighbor Michelle's.

Her friend Carmen made my day with the traditional Mexican punch of her childhood which in her words, "smells like Christmas". A feast of cinnamon, green apple and tropical apple, guava, orange, sugar cane, sorrel and tamarind. Carmen skipped the ginger for fear it might overshadow the other flavors.



After a simmering boil, the vivid tea-like infusion invited splashes of rum or could be savored sweet and warm.

Michelle's jambalaya, equal parts hot and tomatoey, was a nice complement:



Thanks to Carmen, I also got to taste home made tamales for the first time. Carmen (who had rolled 150 of those the night before with her nieces and nephews!) had them nicely color-coded: green for cheese and mole, red for cumin and pork, pineapple beek for the sweet ones.

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Technorati: mexican punch - jambalaya - tamales

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Sausage Making in Fort Greene

As with all writer's block, I constantly thought about this blog and its readers during the time I was away. And I meticulously documented events I imagined sharing here. Over the next few posts, I'll fill you in on some of the most remarkable moments.

Like this sausage making party I attended back in May at my good friend JP's house. JP is a long time friend and Williamsburgh refugee who came to the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill area when she got married and got tired of loft/communal living in Willyburgh. She essentially left a real loft shared with a bunch of people for a two bedroom in brownstone land with a backyard.

The pictures should tell you the stories for themselves but in a nutshell sausage making and barbecuing quickly gave way to hoola hooping. Makes sense, right? Okay, maybe not.



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