Resist & Restore. Lavi Miyò, A Work in Progress – by Jessica Tong, Programs and Outreach

This An n’ Pale took place on Friday, January 29th, 2016 at FiveMyles Gallery and was moderated by Jessica St. Vil & Shalomisrael Diggs of Kanu Dance Theater.

Section I. Birth/Naissance “Everything has a beginning.  Everything must begin somewhere.  In vodou, life begins anew when a person engages in serious self-reflection ultimately leading them to devoting themselves to others, to prayer, to charity, to community, and to defending all of those things”

Section II. Life/Vie “Everyday we face the trials and tribulations and through movement we each tell our individual stories.  The beauty is that there are commonalities in our struggle and the processes through which we achieve potential success.  That is the definition of community resistance.”

Section III. Death/Mort “Although afro-traditions provide us with many beautiful things, they too are affected by the institutions that target the lives of black people daily.  Resistance and Resilience are not synonymous for being at PEACE.”

Section IV. Life-After/Au-delà “Despite the things that exist to knock us down, we will live as long as living is possible.  Afro-traditions will remain relevant as long as there is a god, people to keep faith, and something to be liberated from.”

Click here to view photos from the event!

False Prophets, a poem – by Olivier Joseph

False prophets you are a paradox: Preach harmonies but sing chaos Promote peace but bring catastrophe

You, false prophets, make it so damn hard to be black in America. But to carry Haiti’s story is no simple task but a privilege we gladly accept

You, false prophets, make it so damn hard to be black in America. But to carry Haiti’s story is no simple task but a privilege we gladly accept

Things are changing. Haiti is alive and fighting.

Fighting to open doors to reconnect with the broken history we left in 1804. Because as beautiful as life is it is not without flaw. So resist and restore to make our presence known, even if the world thinks us gone

Its fighting because we are the new generation of life reborn (here) to right your wrong.

Performers include: Naomi Faith Fields Olivier Joseph Laurel O’Conner Marla Robertson Lenl Russel

Photo’s taken by: Richard Louissaint Keylah Mellon Tequila Minsky Claire J. Saintil-Van Goodman