Urban Arts' Cultural Discovery -
that we might be a blessing to others
Most of us can identity a spccial
talent or skill we may have early in
life. There is an old saying which we
apply to one very special outreach
program produced by Urban Arts.
Through Cultural Discovery, we
attempt to share very special skills
and talents with those who may be
unable to participate in activities tar
geting mainstream society. "We are
blessed, that we might by a blessing
to others." Cultural Discovery, based
on the premise that the arts are for
everyone, use the arts to provide a
unique forum for persons with special
need's to' allow them to express their
creativity, feelings, and to identify
positive self esteem. The program
brings the" arts to special "members of
our population including handi
capped, convalescent, the homeless,
and older adults.
Standing alone as the only arts
program which addresses the needs of
these populations, Cultural Discovery
serves over ten centers and schools in
the Forsyth County area which pro
vide carc for these special populations
have been identified as being handi
capped in more ways that one. The
homeless may be handicapped by
society; many convalescent and older
adults arc often handicapped by dis
eases such as Parkinson's or
Alzheimer's; handicapped adults and
children may be emotionally, physi
cally or hearing or visually impaired;
and, there are the mentally impaired
with problems ranging from educable
or trainable to autistic or profoundly
mentally impaired. Yet, all of these
special members of our community
share one handicap. That is, they are
overlooked by the mainstream of
society.
Cultural Discweryls the com-~
muniry^ouireach arts program which
reaches this overlooked populace by
providing arts activities specifically
designed to meet the special needs of
its participants. Each site is given a
different arts activity each visit. Pro
gramming includes performances, art
therapy, field trips, visual arts pro
jects, creative music and drama aciiv- those less fortunate then ihemselves.
ities and projects. - These activities The Cultural Discovery program has
ArtsReach
By REGGIE JOHNSON
provide a noncomp^ip^ fnrmn fnr
children, youth and adults with spe
cial needs which allows them to
develop artistic expression and cre
ative problem-solving skills._The out
? come is that these populations devel
op skills which can be useful in other
aspects of their lives. The challenge
presented to both participants and
those leading the activities also deliv
ers many rewards. Volunteers,
instructors and performers who may
teach self-esteem through the arts
receive gratification through helping
TTTawn interest from any qualified
individuals throughout the communi
ty, but also has received support from
local arts organizations whjch assist
in coordinating special activities as a
pari of the program.- This year's pro
gram once again is seeking individu
als who wish to volunteer as perform
ers, teaching artists, craftspeople who
are interested in being a part of such a
rewarding activity. Anyone interested
in sharing their "blessing" should
contact Sandra Toney at Urban Arts'
offices, 722-5293 for further informa
'Growing UP' highlights
youth in public housing
Most of us over the age of 31 arc
mighty glad that we don't have to
grow up in the nineties. I can't tell
you the number of times I have heard
older folk say, "I sure am glad I don't
have to try and raise my children dur
ing these trying times." Its enough to
drive you crazy.
That was the backdrop for Satur
day night's special program entitled
"Growing up in the Nineties," hosted
by WXII news anchor Denise
Fran^TinT"
The half-hour program presented
- an insightful look into some of the
difficulties and challenges faced not
only by the children today butalso by
^theirjiarcmfc "*"*
Well obviously, you can't cover
all that in a half-hour but you can give
the audience something to think
about. And that's what Growing Tj p"
- ? did. ?
Although the program did pre
sent a few of the well known negative
statistics affecting the life and health
of the citizens of North Carolina,
"Growing up in the Nineties" was not
about despair. It was really about
small victories with the promise of
greater rewards.
Saturday's program presented ,a
very positive, hopeful, and promising
look at youngsters and their parents
who are coping and thriving -- even
in the midst of some pretty tough
everybody there carry a gun?
Well, give credit to reporter
Anthony Wilson who took a deeper
look to find a young man who may
one day turn out to be a modem day
limes.
A lot has been written and said
about a place called Happy Hill Gar
~~lieTtfr--esBgcial)y lately. I don't know
the people who live there and frankly *
the only thing that I, like so many
others have ever heard about the
pi ace , ls~rhat"ti"t^"^ij ru^Trrrf csreii ,
-rcrime-ridden^ and violent-public
housing area.
But 1 will tell you that I have
always felt that there must be people
there who, still, despite the pressures,
are trying to do the right thing.
* Course, that's always been the case.
But where are they? Why aren't they
being shown or written about? Docs
Horaiio Alger; a youngster named
Rico Sutherland, an aspiring busi
nessman.
Sure, as "Growing Up" pointed
? out, there are young people who live
in that area who are having to pay the
price for succumbing to peer pres
sures ?-fur making thc^wrong xieci
? sions, ? ?
But for every one of them, there
were many more like Rico Suther
land, standing just as tall as they
could, maintaining their own sense of
dignity, pride and self-deterfhination.
Growing up also focused on
some of the young people who didn't
do the right thing, what they had to
say and ihe way they "said it was~
revealing -- indeed if young viewers
saw or heard anything, I hope that
they heard the comments of Donald
Snow who offered this one bit of
advice; "If you can't read, write and
spell,, there ain't much you are going
to he able to do in this world. Stay in
school and off the streets!"
There were other heroes like 13
year-old D.J. Chisolm who attends
Cook Middle School and, for five,
?tfoy-s-ft-weck. volunteers in a chil
dren's center working with handi
capped children. He was wonderful.
And how about the young cheer
leader, Katy Fry, who presented a true
profile of courage, and the diligence
of two students who scored perfect
marks on the SAT exams.
Local media, both electronic and
print, tend to focus on what a -good
cent club" " that perennial group of
individuals who no matter what,
always manage to find a way to make
life miserable for the rest of us.
It was good to see the local folks
at WX1I take the time to focus on the
other 98 percent of us!
Columnist gets dose of rap
group's mouth disease
Why is the 2 Live Crew contro- negative references to women are
versy more an issue of censorship damaging. (Why denigrate women ^t
and/or racism as opposed to respect? all?)
Wett I don't think I was prepared for More disturbing is that it is more
? the answer I got (half of which I can't and more acceptable. So much so, that
Behind The Scenes
By LISA COLLINS
print) when I posed the question to
Luther Campbell backstage at the
recent MTV Music Video Awards. My
colleague, Lee Bailey (of Radio
Scope) whispered "maybe he got so
upset because the question was com
ing from a black woman." Fact is, the
room applauded Campbell's departure,
which was preceded by a whole slew
of curse words, as he charged, "where
were the sisters before 2 Live Crew
came around? They walked by all
those porno flicks and magazines to
grab one f ? ing 2 Live Crew tape out
of the whole rack, with Dice Clay and
fcddie Murphy, and say okay we're
gonna f-k with them because that's a
black ass company. And what they do
is ridicule us and use us for some s-t
that's been burning in the back woods
all their lives. F--k this."
Campbell's actions show that this
whole controversy is really getting to
him. People like Spike Lee arc calling
him ignorant, and Minister Far
rakhan reportedly called him "a dis
grace to the black community" while
addressing a Miami crowd (with
Campbell present). Fact is, Campbell's
an all new girls rap group "Bitches
With Problems" is being primed to
debut on CBS Records. And get this,
the title of their song is "Two Minute
" (Guess what goes in the blank.)
Another group has just produced a rap
tunc called "We want to Wake
Your Daughter Up."
So why single out Campbell?
Because rappers like BBD, who fall
just short of the like in their lyrics,
know better than to project it as their
image. This is Campbell's biggest mis
take. The tragedy, as witnessed back
stage. is he can't help it. It's what he's
all about. Fact is, controversy, not tal
ent, got Campbell where he is. As to
his defense of voluntarily stickering
his own albums, stickers didn't stop
our youth from hearing his "Me So
Horny" smash which received a great
deal of radio airplay. And it wasn't
adults singing these tunes, but kids,
most of them young girls, who didn't
fully understand the implications.
As to where were the sisters, the
history of black women in America
has been riddled with rape (both phys
ically and psychologically), and hclp
6
lessncss. First by slaveowners, and
then by horny white men (who. while
_ seeing them in much the same manner
Luther projects in his music), had their
way with them, as their men stood
helplessly by. Today, much like black
on black crime, it's black on black psy
chological assault. (As to the ludicrous
cries of racism0 C'mon Luther, those
arc the healthy cries of appalled citi
zens.) And we must remember that
when a race of people demeans its
own women (perpetuating the cycle of
broken families), history has shown
that that race will not stand.
What's even sadder is those who
don't even see the parallels. Like fel
low rapper Queen Latifah, who,
while supporting Campbell in his fight
against censorship, added that there
were some women who fit Campbell
references. Of course, this gets back to
Harry White's key issue of black
women respecting each other... Per
haps Flavor Flav (of Public Enemy
fame) couldn't have put it better when
he said "there's a big point people arc
missing with all this dissin', instead of
fighting each other, we should be kiss- ?
ing"... Besides, we get dangerously off
course when we make Luther Camp
bell the whole problem. He is, rather, a
symptom. The real problem is the way
wc see ourselves... By the way: Flavor
Flav has a solo album coming out next
spring. It's called "Lifestyles of the
Rich and<flav".? Next week: It's back
to the lighter side of reporting behind
the scenes.
Lisa Collins is a free-lance writ
er and syndicated columnist based in
Los Angeles. She has written more
than 200 articles on a variety of
issues for a number of national publi
cations from Essence to Design mag
azines. Her background in the field of
entertainment reporting is extensive,
featuring cover stories and interviews
with the likes of Richard Pryor,
Michael Jackson, and Prince.
fBfcABrvMR"
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tion and scheduling.
It is time to mention a few
upcoming events. Holiday Expo, the
art exhibition for minority and grass
roots artists is gearing up to put plans
in motion. Any artist who qualifies in
the Triad area is invited to apply in a
timely manner in order to be included
in this year's exhibition. Traditionally
held from December through January
and held in the Milton Rhodes
Gallery of the Sawtooth Building,
Holiday Expo is an opportunity for
local artists to compete for awards
and share their talent with the general
public. Please contact our offices as
soon as possible, the deadline is near.
Appearing in the 1989 Black
Theater Festival, and brought back by
popular demand in last February's
presentation of "Do Lord Remember
Me", Jomandi Productions will again
return on February 2, 1991 presented
by Urban Arts of the Arts Council
Inc. in "Queenie". Mark your calen
dar now, and watch this column for
more details. Last year's production
of "Do Lord" was a sellout. Don't
miss this one!
And the fabulous Betty Carter
will be appearing in our very own
Stevens Center on April 27 as part of
the 1990-91 season. Presented by
Urban Arts, Ms. Carter has been rec
ognized as one of the best female jazz
vocalists of our time. She has been
compared to artists as the great Ella
Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Carmen
McRae. Following her worldwide
appearances with the Lionel Hampton
Band, she went on to greater heights
developing her career as a soloist.
Consistently receiving critical
acclaim, Betty Carter will render an
evening of jazz vocalization to be
remembered for a long time to come.
Tickets are $12 for adults, and
$10 for students and seniors. This
one, too, will go fast!
) ?
Reggie Johnson is the executive
director for Urban Arts of the Arts
Council Inc.
TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 722-8624
?
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ASTRO-DESTINY
Mar. St - Apr. II
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