Indigo Days

blackfeminismlives:

Detail from Wishful Thinking Collage #16 for Tasha Johnson. Thank you for supporting my doula dream!

6 notes
Leave Note / Reblog

blackfeministfilmschool:

Mobile Homecoming presents Queer Black August retreat
ancestral presence and healing poetics for Queer People of Color

July 10, 2012            

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, mobilehomecoming@gmail.com
Mobile Homecoming

Durham, NC - Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D and Julia Wallace, M.Div. will host Queer Black August: Ancestral Presence & Healing Poetics a retreat for QPOC and local POC allies August 15-20, 2012 at The Stone House near Durham, NC. Julia says, “the thread running through the intergenerational Queer Black August (QBA) gathering is accessing power: using creative forms to heal ourselves while healing our ancestors and generations to come.” There are 2 components that participants may engage over the course of the 5 days: 1) African Spirituality – spiritual practices from the Ifa tradition of the Yoruba; and 2) Healing Poetics - arts and embodiment through dance, music, laughter and play.

Portions of the retreat will be documented and the local community will be invited to witness and participate in some of the creations that come out of the process of performative and play activities. This retreat is a collaboration with Black Feminist Film School (bffs) and an opportunity to build relationships and practices that will be the foundation for an episodic variety show which begins production in 2013.

Alexis says, “This retreat is exciting because we are gathering an intergenerational community of artists and healers, and gathering our ancestors to affirm the work we are doing on this planet. When we heal each other our ancestors rejoice.”

Julia adds, “we created QBA in the spirit of historical practices such as Black August which commemorates African liberation and revolution in the Americas and the Combahee River Collective Black Feminist Retreats which built alignment and institutions by and for black women.” Alexis says, “this is a continuation of the two years that I, with the support of my community, have hosted free week-long gatherings where people from all over the country participated in intergenerational gatherings for healing and transformation in Durham, NC using the resources of Black Feminism.”

In past retreats created by Alexis, the Durham community opened their homes and donated food, supplies and myriad skills to make it possible for 4 different retreats in the last 2 years to be free and accessible; first for queer people of color and allies at Combahee Survival Revival Week; women and genderqueer people of color and our children at Motherourselves Bootcamp; then queer black warrior healers at Indigo Days; and most recently community accountable anti-racist scholars at Juneteenth Freedom Academy.

Alexis and Julia have been recognized in the May issue of the The Advocate - the leading gay magazine in America - on the “top 40 under 40” list for their creation of the nationally known Mobile Homecoming project. Mobile Homecoming is an intergenerational experiential archive project that amplifies generations of Black LGBTQ brilliance. Alexis and Julia have also been featured on the cover of Durham Magazine - that celebrates the city’s style and creativity - for a feature story suggesting that Durham, NC is the lesbian haven of the south. Some other national press includes Gay & Lesbian Quarterly (GLQ) journal, BITCH magazine and Makeshift magazine.

The Advocate says of it’s honorees, “these budding powerhouses, leaders in media, politics… are facilitating our future.”

Next up for Mobile Homecoming is learning about sustainable building and living practices that will allow LGBTQ communities to take care of their elders as they age. They will also be launching a fundraising campaign to resurrect Sojourner their RV (revolutionary vehicle) by acquiring another vehicle with a veggie fuel engine to model their vision of sustainable mobile community and media making.

More information can be found at:
http://www.mobilehomecoming.org/queer-black-august/ and http://blackfeministfilmschool.wordpress.com/

10 notes
Leave Note / Reblog

mobilehomecoming:

Apply today for Queer Black August: Ancestral Presence and Healing Poetics…a Mobile Homecoming Retreat for Queer People of Color jumping of outside Durham, NC August 15-20th!  (There are limited spaces, but we’d love to see you there!)

21 notes
Leave Note / Reblog

8 notes
Leave Note / Reblog