Cinema Purgatorio: Special Screening of "Hair: Let the Sun Shine In" TODAY at Manhattan’s KGB / Kraine Complex at 4:30 PM

Click image to read Cinema Purgatorio / Google Groups message dated Sunday, 29 March 2009.

Cherry Blossom Festival 2009 Student Poster Art Exhibit at Union Station / WDC

When travelers, commuters, shoppers and locals pass through the West Hall of Union Station at 50 Massachusetts Avenue in NE Washington DC during the 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival season all eyes will be on the 2009 Student Poster Art Contest Exhibit.

Featuring works by DC public and charter school students from grades 1 - 12 the winning contest entries will be recogonized and on display at the Opening Ceremony & Family Day celebration at the National Building Museum on Saturday, 28 March 2009.

Click above image to view my National Cherry Blossom Festival 2009 Student Poster Art Contest Exhibit at Union Station / WDC photo album.

A video compilation will be added later.

NMAAHC Six Design Competition Finalists On View Only One Week

Click image to read Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) E-Update dated Friday, 27 March 2009.

Dalila Kriheli of RockStarPix Captures ANVIL at 25 March 2009 NYC's Apple Soho Q&A

Read RockStarPix E-News dated Thursday, 26 March 2009 regarding Dalila Kriheli's capture of ANVIL's 25 March 2009 Q&A at NYC's Apple / Soho on Prince Street.

27 March 2009 Friday's Photo of the Week

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Eastern National Bookstore / National Cherry Blossom Festival

Target Cultural Performances Stage . Jefferson Memorial

Tidal Basin . SW Washington DC . 1 April 2008

Order "The Cherry Blossom Festival Book"

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2009 Fridays' Photos of the Week

Arts District Hyattsville 'MGBW' Model Home Furnishing Sale!

Click flyer to read Eya / Arts District Hyattsville E-Newsletter dated Thursday, 26 March 2009.

The State of Black America 2009

When over the holiday season that I attempted to have an honest discussion with a brother and other family members regarding the impact that institutionalized racism has on my life as a black male who, over the years practiced integration, it bothered me that they, again, brushed off my concerns by trying to convince me that I should look on the bright side and rejoice in the fact that Obama's win signaled change. And HOPE!

I turned to my brother and asked "What kind of n----- do you think I am?".

Explaining further, I spoke of the fact that for more 30 years the US Government had targeted me, and other black men. And, that each individual along the way who got close to me (of any and all colors and ethnicities), as well as each employer that I worked for, and business entity that I associated with ... engaged in institutiionalized racism against me so much so that 30 years later, no amount of hope nor action on my part will ever regain what had been taken away from me.

I said, "Man, these were people that I not only worked and socialized with but also slept and shared homes with. And, many cases, shared body fluids with!".

I looked my brother, dead in the eye, and said, as a member of the law enforcement community, your experiences, apparently, have been different than mine. And while I can respect you and your experience, you do not now nor have ever respected mine.

I have always been one to look forward and be hopeful but with each step along the way, there were Government agents, maligning themselves with me, secretly negating me. And my every move!

While I am very supportive and hopeful of Obama and believe that he is the right man for the times, as a 55 year old black man, of Native American descent, I must be very careful about FALSE HOPE!

If after more than 30 years ... the disparities that now exist between my white counter part and I have any connection to the relationships that were maligned with ... there is no wondering why the social and economic gaps between whites and blacks still persist in the America in 2009.

In my case, it has been staged, orchestrated and choreographed by the US Government!

Click the above image to learn more about the State of Black America 2009 report.

Blossom Update - 2009 Festival Starts in Two Days

Click image to read the National Cherry Blossom Festival BLOSSOM UPDATE dated Thursday, 26 March 2009.

My ArtExplosion '09 Visual Arts Exhibit Video Compilation

Featuring an excerpt from my 12 February 2009 I FEEL LOVE trance / gay circuit music mix as background music, I've just completed my Art Explosion '09 VISUAL ARTS EXHIBIT video compilation of footage shot during my Monday, 16 February 2009 visit to the exhibit at the ArtServe Gallery at the Fort Lauderdale Library in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Click the image to view the video. Here is the photo album.

Memorial for John Cephas at Baird Auditorium on Sunday, 29 March 2009

Click image to read AEBHF E-News dated Monday, 23 March 2009.

DIY City Mag: Slip Into Something Funky - Muir Hughes

Click image to read DIY City Mag E-Newsletter dated Monday, 23 March 2009.

My SunTrust 4th National Marathon SW DC Documentation

As the SunTrust 4th National Marathon traversed through the various neighborhoods of Washington DC on Saturday morning, 21 March 2009, I made sure to capture the race in the Southwest DC area along Maine Avenue between 6th and 7th Street, followed by the 6th Street stretch to Water Street and then at the traffic circle at the intersection of Water Street and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, across from the DC Police Harbor Patrol Station.

Though still under construction, click image to view my SunTrust 4th National Marathon / WDC - 21 March 2009 album at Ipernity. And here is the video compilation.

As resident of SWDC, my documentation of the 2nd Annual National Marathon in 2007 focused on 7th Street, Maine Avenue and M Street in SW DC.

Rafael Gallardo Invitation to his Barcelona Art Studio

With a studio and residence in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of NW Washington DC, click the above image to read Rafael Gallardo's e-invitation dated Sunday, 22 March 2009 to his art studio in Barcelona, Spain.