The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities: Black History Month 2014

The Universal Negro Improvement Association, in association with the Baltimore City Community College History Club,

Presents....

The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities
Lecture, Panel Discussion, & Book Signing

An educational and politically cultural event, The Consortium aims to highlight, promote, and expose the African roots and heritage of Latino people and culture.  The event will comprise of a Powerpoint lecture, brief panel discussion, and a book signing by participating authors.  Part of the UNIA's Centennial celebrations (1914-2014), this event is meant to help bridge the gap between the two communities, and get us to work and interact with our diasporic brothers and sisters.

The event will be held on Friday, February 7th, from 6pm to 8pm.  It is FREE and OPEN to the public, and is accessible by public transportation.

Baltimore City Community College-Liberty Campus
Gaare Auditorium, Nursing Building
2901 Liberty Heights Avenue

Cuban Revolution Anniversary/Free the Cuban 5/Free Oscar Lopez event!!!!

January 4, 2014
Casa de las Americas
182 East 111 Street (East Harlem)
6pm reception, 7pm Cultural program

BE THERE!!!!

Rant Session: Punks Jump Up To Get BEAT DOWN!!

Okay...it's bad enough that I've been aggravated as of late because of issues with publishing my latest book.  I really didn't need any additional aggravation, as my fuse is already short as it is...

My organization (the UNIA) was invited to participate in a Kwanzaa event last night (Dec 6th) that was organized by this local community college that we've been working with as of late.  We were invited as guests to the festivities, and were allowed to have a vendor's table there to display our organization.  Considering that I have a day job, I had to come straight home, shower and change, and bring the remainder of the materials that my organization needed for our table.  That left me a little tired, so that didn't help this situation much...

We get to the building where the college is holding the event.  The other members of my organization finally show up, and we set up our table.  All is actually going well, and we're enjoying the event.  What pissed me off was seeing this mestizo mutherfucker that I know at the event.  He's a student at that college, and I met him a few months earlier this year, when we held the winter version of The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities on the campus during Black History Month.  He was initially impressed with me for organizing such an event, but then his opinion of me soured when I revealed that I didn't speak much Spanish.  He caught an attitude, and had been copping one with me ever since.

Apparently, he was a student volunteer for the Kwanzaa event.  He was walking around, and had passed by our table.  We made eye contact with each other, and I was in the process of nodding at him in acknowledgement, when this baboso had the nerve to attitudinaly turn his head, and roll his eyes, walking away.  It took every fiber of my being NOT to get up, and punch his ass in the nose.

#1- Do you REALLY want to fuck with me like that?! Do you REALLY want to go pound for pound, matching resumes'?  I've been doing this shit for 23+ years; you're a fucking snot-nose that's probably JUST in your twenties, IF that.  I'm out in the streets/community organizing; you're a punk-ass college kid who has done...what exactly?

#2- Just because I don't speak my enslaver/colonizer/oppressor's language DOES NOT make me less of a Latino that your hybrid ass.  My first language is English; that's how I was raised.  As it is, if ANY language is suppose to be my primary or first language, it would be GARIFUNA...NOT Spanish!  I am a lost son of AFRICA; mi tierra madre, mi pais.  I proudly proclaim my African roots.  As it is, you would NEVER have known my Latino background had I not worn my colors (the Honduran flag) at my event.

#3- Your disrespectful attitude showed me that you learned NOTHING from what I was trying to do with The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities, with your college uneducated ass.  The event was about highlighting, promoting, and exposing our African roots and heritage as a Latino people.  I DON'T want/need your approval/acceptance, or the approval/acceptance of so-called mainstream Latino society.  You haven't acknowledged/approved/accepted us in over 500+ years, WHAT THE FUCK makes you think I want your approval now?!?!?!

#4- I consider myself a conscious brother, but my ass WILL go fucking ghetto on you if you fuck with me.  You WILL catch a Brooklyn beat down if I catch you on the streets.  The campus is neutral ground; the streets are a WHOLE 'nother beast.  I probably know more about YOUR history and culture that you do, while all your pendejo ass can do is speak the language and maybe dance a little salsa. I know other scholars and activists that I've studied under, and a few that I'VE brought to the campus.  Again...WHAT have you done...?

That experience completely irritated me, and soured my disposition for the rest of the night.  The little bit of glee that I got was when the organizers were getting the volunteer students together to do the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa before the karamu (feast).  That mestizo payaso was one of the presenters, and his dumb ass couldn't even pronounce the principle that he was supposed to do (Ujamaa).  Really, dude?  You're participating in a Black cultural event, doing a presentation in front of an audience...and you CAN'T even pronounce the fucking principle?!  REALLY?!?!?!  But you wanna look your snot nose down on ME because of my limited command of my enslaver/colonizer/oppressor's language...?!?!?!

GTFOHWTBS!!!!!!!!

I had to get this off my chest.  It's kind of indicative to what I face on a consistent basis when I deal with the Latino community in my activism, specifically here in the south.  Their level of knowledge of self is revolting, specifically when it comes to Afro Latino issues and identity.

Raise Your Brown Black Fist: Holiday sales

Looking for the perfect gift to give someone this holiday season?  Give them the gift of learning and wisdom!  Support your independent authors!  Purchase a copy of "Raise Your Brown Black Fist", Book 1 and Book 2!

http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000405316/Raise-Your-Brown-Black-Fist.aspx

"Much rhetoric has been said about the schism between the Black and Brown communities, with accusatory fingers being pointed from both sides.  This collection of online essays intends to bridge the gap between these two communities, and show that we're not all that different form each other.  Whether breaking it down in layman's terms, or spittin' in a Hip Hop vernacular, Raise Your Brown Black Fist seeks to deal with these issues from a different perspective."

Book 1 available in soft cover, hardback, and e-book form.

http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432783549

"Once again...IT'S ON!!  back with a fresh set of essays and verses, this second volume of RAISE YOUR BROWN BLACK FIST continues to help bridge the gap between the Black and Brown communities, and gives voice to the little known "Third Root" of Latino culture.  Extending the "Black Thoughts" article series into one complete volume, a new perspective is now given.  Whether still breaking it down in layman's terms, or still spittin' it in a Hip Hop vernacular, this second volume continues to deal wit these issues from a different perspective.  Keep the fist raised!" 

Book 2 available as soft cover.

Click on the links to purchase your copies right now!

Una pelicula Afropuertorriquena: "El Cimarron"

http://www.cinemovida.net/largometrajes/el_cimarron

I remembered hearing about this movie "El Cimarron" on the independent black film circuit, specifically from the African Diaspora International Film Festival.  I didn't even realize that it was available until someone posted this on social media!

The film focuses on the Maroons of Puerto Rico, and their fight for freedom during the Slave Trade, and enslavement in the 'New World' in general.  I'm hoping to purchase a copy of the film myself!

SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

AfroLatino Festival of New York: Winter Fundraising Party!!!

**Representing for my sisters Tania Molina & Mai-Elka Prado, founders of the AfroLatino Festival of New York!!  PLEASE come out and support their upcoming event!!!!**

Buenas  Tardes Amigos!

This is a call to all participants, attendees, guests & friends of the 

 I Afrolatino Festival of New York.

We need your support on  Saturday, December 7, 2013 @ Breukelen Coffee Shop in Brooklyn 9:00pm-2:00 am. This is one party you should not miss!! Invite all of your  friends! For more information, please visit our Facebook Page!

 Come and join us !!

We'll have great music, drinks and dancing!

What:  Celebrate the Holidays Fundraising Event

When: Saturday, December 7, 2013 /9-2am

Where: Breukelen Coffee Shop

764 Franklin Ave, New York, NY 11238

(718) 789-7070

Music: DJ Inspire

Genres: Reggae, Salsa, Calypso, Merengue, Afrobeat, Bullerengue,  Live performances.

How much: $10 Donation

* We will be  collecting school/ Art supplies for a  Public School in Bastimentos Island, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Please feel free to bring whatever  you can to  support this cause.

Los esperamos!

Tania y Mai-Elka

Organizadoras/ Afrolatino Fest.

Rant Session

Okay....

When I started this blog, I wanted to use it mainly as a way to promote my books and other projects, as well as sharing some of my activism.  I never wanted to use it as personal diary where I air out my own personal dirty laundry, and spread my business to the webiverse.  But sometimes....you get taken there.....

I'm working on my latest literary project (basically, my third book), which I was hoping to publish soon.  The plan was originally to publish this project before the summer was out; that quite obviously didn't happen.  I wasn't able to gather the money that I needed to publish this project.  I've come out of pocket before when I published my first two works, and I was in the process of doing so again for this one.  I wasn't able to get the funds together to publish the book until after the summer ended, practically starting this fall.  This book was to be different from the first two; it was to be a memoir based on some Facebook Notes that I had written a few years ago.

The project initially went off smoothly.  I decided to stay with my second publisher to do my third book, considering the ease and painlessness in which I was able to publish my last book with them.  I logged in to my account, paid the fee for the Publishing Package that I wanted, and uploaded my files to their site.  All was smooth sailing at this point, until it came time to deal with my book cover...

I designed my cover myself.  I have some graphic arts skills, and that has helped me in the past.  As it is, I designed the cover for my first two books.  Being independently self-published, that helps you out a lot; that's less money out of your pocket to get someone to do some of these tasks for you.  ESPECIALLY dealing with these P.O.D companies, they will charge you an arm and a leg extra to get tasks like these done, aside from paying the Pub Package fee.  Considering that this is my THIRD book, I already know the games that they'll try to play with you to get you to cough up more money, and already did all the work.

End result...?  Book #3 is on hold INDEFINITELY!!!  These motherfuckers have PISSED ME OFF!!!!  They keep telling me that the image size for my cover is the wrong size (which is absolute BULLSHIT).  The program that I used to design my book cover in the first place LETS YOU create files in the size needed (300 DPI or 'dots per inch').  The publisher kept telling me that the file size is too small, and kept trying to get me to upgrade my package.  NO...FUCKING...WAY!!!

For all of the print-on-demand publishers out there....STOP trying to ruin peoples dreams with your greed! Investing in your publishing packages is economically draining enough, DON'T try to cheat people by squeezing more money out of them for a service they don't need.  People have scrapped, scrimped, and saved to see their dreams of being a published author come to reality; stop doing this trifling ass shit to get more money out of them!

On the real, stupid shit like this is why my FIRST publisher lost the ability to publish my SECOND book.  People have a choice, and I made mine; you're NOT the only game in town.  I'm just mad that I didn't get my money back from my first publisher; they made a bullshit ass claim that they had already created my proofs (which was a bold faced LIE).  I should have sued the shit out of them, but didn't feel like shelling out the money for a lawyer.  Now my SECOND publisher is doing the same shit!

Listen, if an author makes a decision to stick with you for a next project, you should be going out of your way to please them....NOT try to squeeze more money out of them.  I'm not some fucking new jack just trying to get put on; we obviously have a past together, and that should have been respected.

Instead of wasting my money paying these assholes for their publishing packages, what I SHOULD be doing is pooling my money together to purchase THE EQUIPMENT that THEY use, and print the book out MYSELF!!!  COMPLETELY self-publishing your project is also a risk, but its getting to the point where that'll be the ONLY way you can get your literary project out without getting ripped off by these companies.

I just needed to get this off my chest.  I'll keep you guys updated on how it turns out.