Moon Mami Writes

There has been a lot of death this week. Earlier this week, a metro subway train here in the DC area crashed into another train, killing nine people and injuring dozens more. This tragedy was the first of its kind to reach our area in decades. Celebrity wise, Ed McMahon and Farah Fawcett died as well. But, nothing celebrity-wise hit me like the death of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson's music is the soundtrack of my childhood. My five year-old found Micheal Jackson while at her grandparents' house two years ago and ever since, she and I will watch youtube videos together, dancing and singng along to hits like "ABC", "You Can't Win" from the Wiz, "Billie Jean" and her favorite "Beat It". "Thriller" and "Remember the Time" scare the hell out of her. She has met Michael Jackson and his rainbow of skin complexions. His skin issues and issues with self have been great teachable moments about loving the skin you'r...

I'm looking forward to performing with the Saartjie Project this summer in the Capital Fringe Fest. Tickets are on sale now. You can visit http://www.thesaartjieproject.org/ to purchase your tickets and get the dates. The photo shoot to create the photo above was fun as I got to participate with my kids. My photo is deconstructing the myth of the "perfect" mother when today's mom is usually working hard for the money and lucky to see her kids as often as likes.

The book is finally available for purchase at http://www.outskirtspress.com/LiberatedMuse Muse We had so many great things happen this past weekend. How fitting that our celebrations for the book kicked off on June 19-- known as Juneteenth! A book about freedom kicking off on Juneteenth. Deep. Check out some of the photos and video from this past weekend. Special thanks to all o f the artists who performed: Gary Young, Quineice Clarkson, Anonamas and Infinite Soul Music, Dee Stone and Teisha Marie. Props to the writers from the book who performed their pieces: Farah Lawal, Margaux Delotte-Bennett and Maureen Mulima. You were smashing! None of the weekend's festivities would have been possible without our volunteers who worked as servers during our gig at the Potter's House in DC: Susan, Le'Nia, Stephan and Lindsey! We appreciate you immensley! Below is some footage, but more is to come: Gary Young and Quineice Clarkson @ the Artomatic show Our wonderful audience @ the Ar...

A big thank you to writer Hadassah Ayodele (formerly known as Deidre Gantt) for the wonderful piece she wrote about arts east of the river in DC. She included word about Liberated Muse Productions and our work with the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest and she included a quote from me. Check out the article at http://www.capitalcommunitynews.com/publications/eotr/2009_June/34-35_EOR_0609.pdf

I particpated in really refreshing conversation with Ananda Leeke and guest Moya Bailey on Ananda's show BAP Living Radio found HERE on June 7. The topic was Black Women Online Community Builders and this show was one in a series on Black Women and Social Media. I was honored to be asked again to be interviewed on this show-- first appearing on the show last year around the same time. Moya is creator of Quirky Black Girls, a wonderful safe space for those who don't so easily fit into a box and she also oversees an ezine and events that further expand the community borne from the site. Check out the site here: http://quirkyblackgirls.ning.com/ Ananda Leeke is a dear friend and creative mentor and her show is a wonderful treat. BAP Living Radio is a monthly Internet program that airs on the first Sunday of each month from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (eastern standard time).

Anthology featuring writings by Farah Lawal, Serena Wills, Margaux Dellote-Bennett, Randy Gross, Amy Blondell, Omar Akbar, Tichaona Munhamo Chinyelu, Anthony Spires and more. Cover art by Sharon Burton and internal art by famed artist Turtel Onli and others. Book edited by Khadijah "Moon" Ali-Coleman. Visit www.LiberatedMuse.com to get updates on book's release.Music produced by MYST Media Solutions, LLC ( http://www.myststudios.com/ ) Vocals, video and writing interpretations by Moon Make sure to catch performances of writings from the book during our Liberated Muse weekend June 19-20. First show @ the Potter's House in Adams Morgan in Washington DC. The next day, join us for a performance in the Artomatic festival. Visit HERE for details.