MXMF Programs

History Exhibit & Spoken Word

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:19:33 -0500

Malcolm X Memorial Foundation and Nebraska Arts Council Sponsor Two-Day Visit by Black History 101 Mobile Museum and “Mental Liberation Poetry Jam” featuring Amir Sulaiman Sept. 2-3

The Malcolm X Memorial Foundation (MXMF), with the support of the Nebraska Arts Council, will host its first “Mental Liberation Poetry Jam,” headlined by acclaimed Spoken Word Poet Amir Sulaiman, Saturday, Sept. 3, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Malcolm X Center, 3448 Evans Street.
The Malcolm X Center also will host Nebraska’s SECOND visit by the renowned Black History 101 Mobile Museum with curator Khalid El-Hakim. The museum displays will be open to the public on Friday, Sept. 2, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be no admission charge to visit the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, but a free will donation is encouraged.
The performance by Amir Sulaiman will be $10 adults ($15 at the door), and $5 for youth under 18 and elders (senior citizens). This program will include guest appearances by Omaha spoken word artists and Hip Hop performers Prototype XX (Y’Shall Tarlon and J’Reed Maat).
“This is going to be one of the most informative, entertaining and inspiring Labor Day weekend events in Nebraska,” said Walter Brooks, Administrative Director of the MXMF. “We truly encourage all of Omaha to come out and experience this unique traveling Black History exhibit and the extraordinary mind and voice of Amir Sulaiman.”
Sulaiman intensely radiates the stories of life. From the silent cries of the battered wife to the painful resignation of the orphaned child in Malawi, the ailments of humanity are channeled through him into the eyes, ears, and hearts of the listeners. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he speaks of change, of growth, of reviving life.
Twice featured on HBO’s Def Jam Poetry show, Sulaiman has four albums to date. His writings were significantly influenced by the Black Arts Movement, the literary and artistic extension of the Black Power Movement of the '60s and '70s, and one of its cardinal figures, Amiri Baraka. While attending North Carolina A&T State University, Sulaiman built his reputation at spoken word forums on college campuses, coffeehouses, and bookstores. During his sophomore year, he released his first book of poetry, “Words of Love, Life and Death.”
Sulaiman self-released his first spoken word album, “Cornerstore Folklore,” in 2001. In 2004, he received his first national showcase on HBO’s Def Poetry show. He released two more albums in 2004 and 2006, “Dead Man Walking” and “Broad Daylight,” respectively.
Brooklyn MC/actor Mos Def, former host of HBO’s Def Poetry show, took Sulaiman on tour as his opening performer in 2005 and 2006. Then in 2007, Sulaiman released his critically acclaimed fourth album, “Like a Thief in the Night.” This album features appearances from Mos Def, Dead Prez's M-1, and the Last Poets, the acknowledged “godfathers” of African American spoken word poetry.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Black History 101 Mobile Museum, an innovative traveling table top exhibit depicting Black memorabilia spanning from slavery to Hip Hop. Led by Founder/ Director Khalid el-Hakim, this museum has acquired over 3,000 original artifacts and includes pivotal displays on the Black Power Movement, Nation Of Islam, Civil Rights Movement, as well as sports, literature and music. The Black History 101 Mobile Museum travels to colleges, universities, K-12 schools, conferences, and cultural events across the country.
The museum’s treasures include original documents from historic Black figures whose contributions helped shape the United States. Artifacts in this unparalleled mobile collection represent items from the categories of slavery, Jim Crow era, music, sports, the Civil Rights and Black Power era, and popular culture. A few prominent pieces in the collection's archives include a rare slave bill of sale and documents signed by Booker T. Washington, Ralph Bunche, Rosa Parks, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Shirley Chisholm, Dr. Dorothy Height, Alex Haley, Ice T and others.
Khalid el-Hakim said, "History is important, because for years we've been told lies, we've been told a history of omission. People leave out parts of history. It's my purpose and mission, as a teacher, to go out and fill in the voids that history has left out. My mission is to raise the consciousness of the human family by sharing artifacts that celebrate the contributions, achievements, and experiences of African Americans. I want people to walk away as inspired as I've been as a collector and student of this history."
For more information, or tickets, contact Walter Brooks at 402-517-6459 or email walter@malcolmxfoundation.org. Tickets are also on sale at the Aframerican Bookstore, 3226 Lake St., 402-455-9200.

Play: “The Meeting”

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:59:45 -0500

Malcolm X Center to Host Performance of
Critically Acclaimed Play “The Meeting” on May 19

OMAHA, Neb. - The Malcolm X Memorial Foundation is proud to
that there will be a performance of “The Meeting” – a play by Jeff
Malcolm X Center, 3448 Evans St., on Thursday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m.

“The Meeting” is a powerfully performed play which depicts a
meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Two
initially, diametrically opposed, find that they are closer in
have imagined. “The Meeting” deals with issues of race, culture,
economics; how they affected that generation and how they are
society today.

“The Meeting” is performed by VL Alston Productions, and
Lee Alston as Malcolm X; Arthur Phillips as Dr. Martin Luther
Williams as Rashad, the body guard of Malcolm X. The play will
Paterson, Professor of Dramatic Arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

This play has been performed locally on several occasions, most
first play ever performed at the John Beasley Theater and it also
special tribute to the Martin Luther King Holiday by the
Medical Center in 2005.

The May 19 performance is especially meaningful because it is the
date of Malcolm X and the first time the play will be performed at
home of Malcolm X.

The production is co-sponsored by the Nebraska Arts Council,
American Achievement Council and OPS Title One. Ticket prices
youth and senior citizens. On the day of the play, adult tickets will
and senior citizen tickets will remain the same.

There will be a short ceremony before the play to present a large
books for the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation Library; to
Malcolm X Center Book Donation Drive, starting May 19 and
the birth date of President Barack Obama; and to unveil donated
Beveridge Middle School students.

Refreshments will be served. In addition, there will be a limited
reading materials distributed to the audience members, including
Myers and children’s books.

For more information on tickets or how to donate books, contact
402-517-6459 or email walter@malcolmxfoundation.org. Advanced
be obtained at Aframerican Bookstore, 3326 Lake Street, Monday -
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Kwanzaa Program

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:07:54 -0600

Kwanzaa Program
presented by
The Malcolm X Memorial Foundation
and
Community Talk Radio.com
Your Voice in the community, listen to it!
At the

Malcolm X Center
3448 Evans
Monday, December 27, 2010
6:30 pm to 8 pm

Featuring

Walter Vincent Brooks
host of the Brooks Reports
on Community Talk Radio.com
Every other Tuesday night 7 pm to 8:30 pm

Reviewing his manuscript
"Trust No Shadows after Dark, African-American Genocide in the United States of America"

"I am not coming to the Malcolm X Center to explain what is wrong with the African American community. You already know that.Trust No Shadows after Dark is dedicated to understanding the tools of the system that has worked us over for 400 years (with emphasis on the last 60 years) without satisfaction or reparation. And now, as my research shows in detail, is preparing to wipe us off the face of the earth. I stan before you on Dec. 27, in the spirit of Malcolm X who said, 'If you don't know how you got into something, you cannot possibly know how to get out of it.' Listen to my explanation of how we got where we are today and what it will mean if we don't redirect ourselves and our people."
-Walter V.Brooks

Kwanzaa candle lighting, libations, presentation and Q & A after the presentation.

Refreshments will be served.

Free and open to the public

Camp Akili Cultural Program

Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:09:17 -0500

The Omowale Language and Culture program will offer various enriching opportunities including Camp Akili, an Omaha summer leadership camp that focuses on community leadership and service. They will also offer quarterly sessions that will focus on the Kiswahili language as well as the Wolof & Mandinka languages of the Senegalese & Gambian countries. Students will learn African language & culture as a supplement to their mandated school lessons. They will correspond with students from our partner countries abroad to nurture and perfect their new language skills and will work to create an international entrepreneurship project with the African students that can be implemented in both countries. Students will raise funds to travel to Senegal/Gambia for cultural exchange, rights of passage and to work together to implement their entrepreneur project. They will share the many things that they learn abroad with the local community. In addition, the Omowale program includes opportunities for incarcerated youth. Youth who are in the correctional facilities can start the language and culture program at the institution and continue immediately with the community based rendition of the program. The program also provides an opportunity for youth of from any ethnic background who possess an interest in African language and culture to study and experience it. Poor education, poverty, and violence are realities that do not have to be. North Omaha youth are often lacking in positive cultural identity and deprived of a view of the world beyond the boundaries of the challenges they face right outside of their doors every day. Positive self identity results in positive actions which, in turn, cultivate safer and more cooperative neighborhoods.

Shabazz CommUnity Gardens

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 08:12:34 -0600

In response to the expressed interest of many community members, the foundation CommUNITY garden project is currently organizing. In doing so, we are dedicating several lots of property to the project.
We are looking for interested, dedicated community members to take voluntary positions in the gardening club to develop and manage the project.
This project will help empower our community by encouraging healthy eating, collective work and responsibility, aesthetic improvements of our surroundings, increasing self esteem, sharing of knowledge between elders & youth, etc.
We will begin garden design and layout in April. Volunteers are needed!
for more information please contact us at (800) 645-9287