February 26, 2021....today is the end of an era. This is the date when I am shutting down my networking organization the Universal Africana Literary Arts Movement. From it's beginning in 2008 as a mere literary arts festival, to the end of The Movement this year of 2021, it was 13 years of altruistic love & support for my people in the field and industry of literature.
After 13 years of operation, I've decided to shut the organization down. I'd been mulling the decision over for some time now, but with the coming of the COVID-19 coronavirus last year, it basically helped me to solidify my decision. I can't serve 2 different masters; my own writing career, and my activism & advocacy for the literary arts.
It all started back in 2007 after I'd relocated to the south, moving to Richmond, VA. Things were drastically different there, as opposed to what I had available to me, while living in NYC. I had access to a plethora of Black media and literary resources; Black newspapers (not just AA), book vendors on the streets, access to Black bookstores, etc. None of that really existed in Richmond, and there was pretty much an intellectual & literary void. Not to mention...the so-called 'activists' that I'd met and communed with out there, had the attention span of a mf nat. I needed a way to pass on the information that I had onto others; trying to organize road trips was out of the question, as none of these fake ass 'activists' ever wanted to organize shit, or go anywhere that didn't inflate their bullshit ass egos. Enter the first incarnation, and genesis for what became the movement, the Black CapaCity Literary Arts Festival.
Btw...the word is pronounced 'capacity'. Not 'Capa City". Ain't no space, ain't no goddamn hyphen. It's one fucking word!!!!
Anyway....
The festival was first held in April of 2008. It was actually quite successful; we had between 150-200 people attend the event. From there, it snowballed into a movement. I reached out to the people on the Mailing List that I'd created, thanked those who attended, and for those that hadn't...provided them with a listing of events that I knew were going on. It grew from there...
Enter...The Movement...
A year later in 2009, primarily because I had a major falling out with those fake ass people that I was in an organization with, we went from being known as the Black CapaCity Literary Arts Festival/Movement, to our current incarnation as the Universal Africana Literary Arts Movement. We grew from there. I reached out to many people within the literary arts; indie authors, poets, comic book artists, graphic artists, magazine publishers, book publishers, book clubs, Black bookstores, and cultural youth organizations. I represented for indie Black & Latino literary artists, providing them with opportunities to help them promote their work; from cultural festivals, to book fairs, to comic cons, Black expos, to writing contests, and even promoting their latest releases to the bookstores & other groups & organizations within the Mailing List. I created the SoE/Schedule of Events list to distribute to the members, and let them know (quarterly) about the different events going on...eventually throughout the African Diaspora, and around the world.
Alas....the past 13 years had been a very solitary 13 years. The Movement was held down and maintained by one man...ME. I never got the help that I felt I deserved, for the type of work that I was trying to do. I never cared to profit off of the services that I was providing; anybody on the Mailing List could have easily done the same research that I'd done/been doing, on their own. I would have loved to have some help with the research, creating a website, finally being able to hold our real-world event the Universal Africana Literary Arts Expo, etc. Hell, I would've loved to have had help with the merchandising aspect of the Movement (developing apparel like t-shirts, & hats). But, I never got that type of help. People loooved the fact that I was providing them information...for FREE!! But...actually helping me to do all of this work...? Naaaah. People didn't have the stomach for that.
There are no heirs to the Movement. There is no one for me to pass the torch to. I've had inquiries for taking over the Mailing List, but on a much limited scale. At the same time, I'm not willing to chase anyone down to do the work. People like the service that I provide, but ain't trying to hear putting in the level of work that I put into it. The Movement was NEVER about me, or making a profit. It was about representing for our people in the literary field & industry. ESPECIALLY at the time that I was doing it, when people were complaining about the severe lack of Black/Brown/POC voices in the literary industry. Then again...I was severely grassroots with my work, so nobody was really trying to hear wtf I was doing. But yet...folks wanna be all over social media, hashtagging shit like #WeNeedMoreDiverseBooks, but wasn't really trying to holla at any of us indie authors.
Oh well....
Here is to the members of the Universal Africana Literary Arts Movement. This is for the true believers in what I was trying to do. Will the Movement ever be resurrected again...? Who knows. Shout out to all of those out there who were inspirations to me, who laid the foundation for what became the Movement: Turtel Onli, Ron Kavanaugh, Khadijah Ali-Coleman, Dr. Yumy Odom, E. Wayne McDonald, Maia "Crown" Williams, and so many others that laid the foundation. Shout out to all of those that had supported & benefited form the Movement, and became dear personal friends of mine.
The Facebook page will remain active, but I will NO LONGER be sending out the emails.
Always on our literary grind,
Kevin Sabio
"Knowledge As Supreme"
Founder/organizer
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