Photo: Katina Parker By Katina Parker (Durham, NC) | March 20, 2017 8:40am, Saturday, January 21. The day after the Inauguration. I was hustling through the streets of DC trying to make the beginning of the Women’s March Rally. Pink…
Returning to the Love: Building Self and Community At and After ROOTS Weekend-Dallas
Photo: Melisa Cardona Leticia Contreras | December 14, 2016 The seeds that we have planted have come to harvest. As the brisk air of North Texas reminded us that a new season has come, we celebrated and harvested our creative…
Hollerin’ into the Space: Reflections on ROOTS Week 2016
The Hollerin’ Space Installation by Muthi Reed and Angela Davis Johnson. Photo by: Melisa Cardona By Ron Ragin | September 27, 2016 I’ve always leaned into the retreat element of ROOTS Week. Gathering with this extended family is (perhaps ironically)…
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Arts: It Is Possible
By Keryl McCord, Operations Director, Alternate ROOTS | June 17, 2016 A few weeks ago Alternate ROOTS published my article, and its follow-up piece, Why We Must Have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Arts: A Response to the National…
Tagged with: ArtSpot Productions, Azule, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Junebug Productions, Mondo Bizarro, ROOTS Culture, Transformation
Archival Revival | Cheerleader for the Revolution: Thoughts on Carpetbag Theater Company
By Ann Kilkelly Originally published: November 2002 | Republished: March 7, 2016 The Archival Revival Series looks back at articles by ROOTers, about ROOTS, in celebration of our 40th anniversary. This series and the field of arts activism, owes an…
Community Artist Partnership: Building Community Power, A Conversation with Linda Parris-Bailey and Cristal Chanelle Truscott
Progress Theatre performs The Burnin’ at ROOTS Week 2014. Photo: Melisa Cardona. By Joe Tolbert This article is an edited transcript of a conversation that was facilitated by Joe Tolbert on February 8, 2016 with Linda Parris-Bailey, Executive/Artistic Director of…
“We Don’t Do Drive-Bys”: A Conversation with Don Harrell, ROOTS Meets Zora
Artists and Cultural Organizers gather at ROOTS Weekend-Eatonville. L-R: Don Harrell, King Shakur, Jan Cohen-Cruz, Sonia Baez-Hernandez, Monique Davis. Photo: Ariston Jacks. By Jan Cohen-Cruz I sat down with Don Harrell, liaison for the second ROOTS Weekend, in Eatonville, FL,…
From Script to Screen: Documenting the Free Southern Theater
Early Free Southern Theater promotional image, circa 1970. Jason Foster & Kiyoko McCrae (New Orleans, LA) | February 2, 2016 “Through theater, we think to open a new area of protest. One that permits the development of playwrights and actors,…
ROOTS 40th Year: A Call to Action – Emergent Organizing
Members of Carpetbag Theatre perform Red Summer at the 1992 Annual Meeting, at Table Rock, NC. From L-R: Vida Werner, Bert Tanner, Adora Dupree, and Linda Parris-Bailey. Article by ROOTS Staff | January 6, 2016 In 1976, at the Highlander…
My 1968 in South Carolina 2015
Article and Photos by Omari Fox (Orangeburg, SC) | December 7, 2015 With official and ‘on the fly,’ #BlackLivesMatter chapters sprouting up everywhere in the country after non-indictments of law enforcement officers in late 2014, South Carolina’s two key cities,…
The Future of “The Future is on the Table #4” is on the Web: Documentation for Activation
Article by Nicole Gurgel (Albuquerque, NM) | November 3, 2015 From fall 2012 through spring 2013, multi-media artists Gwylene Gallimard and Jean-Marie Mauclet, facilitated an art-with-community project in Jackson, MS, sponsored by the Mississippi Museum of Art. The artists, who…
“Lord knows we’ll never be the same again, but at least we started telling the truth.”* A Report Back from Environment & Economy Day at ROOTS Week 2015
Land, Water, Food, Story altar installed by Clear Creek folks, created from copies of deeds to the land and rusty farm implements found on the land over the years. Photo: Nicole Garneau, 2015. Article by Nicole Garneau (Chicago, IL) Editor’s Note: This…
ROOTS Week 2015: A Preview
We are pleased, proud, and excited to announce the incredible artists, culture-bearers, organizers, activists, and scholars who will share their work with us at ROOTS Week under the banner, A Call to Action: Transformation. Within this theme, we’ll be focusing…
Tagged with: ROOTS Week
Teatro Sin Fronteras: Shifting Narratives to Include Latina/os in the Rebirth of Post-Katrina New Orleans
A packed house at Teatro Sin Fronteras #3 at Old Marquer Theatre. Photo: Craig Morse, June 2015. Article by José Torres-Tama (New Orleans, LA) “The workers and families who helped rebuild New Orleans live in terror today … If they leave their…
In Solidarity with Charleston
Alternate ROOTS stands in solidarity with the community of Charleston, SC in the wake of this act of terrorism committed against the African American community. “It’s a tough one but it’s not unexpected in a culture like Charleston. This city…
The Land Man & A Love For
Article by Carrie Brunk, Clear Creek Creative (Clear Creek, Rockcastle County, KY) Photos by Melisa Cardona (New Orleans, LA) Clear Creek Creative is a member of Alternate ROOTS’ 2014-15 Partners in Action cohort. It’s a bold move to drive off a rural…
Art, Ability, & Access: A Dialogue
Nikki Brown, facilitating at the Community Organizing Learning Exchange. Photo: Rodrigo Dorfman, 2014. Article by Nikki Brown, Alternate ROOTS ExComm Member (Durham, NC) From June 8-July 3, 2015, Alternate ROOTS will launch our first-ever Artability campaign on Indiegogo, raising…
Next Gen: At the Intersection of Past, Present, and Future
Article by Nicole Gurgel, Alternate ROOTS Content Developer (Albuquerque, NM) Next is a futuristic conversation. It’s talking about the psychic space of the future. Next is a stepping stone, a progression– it’s thinking about legacy. Next is a conversation with…
Tagged with: Next Gen
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: ROOTS WEEK VISUAL ARTS COORDINATOR
Alternate ROOTS seeks a dynamic and visionary Visual Arts Coordinator for ROOTS Week. Thanks to continued support from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, ROOTS is able to dedicate time and energy to the cultivation of service to its visual arts members…
Breathing Room for Something Unstoppable
“Wholehearted.” Collage for June Jordan by Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Article by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D. (Durham, NC) A. Opening Prayer (take deep breaths in the stanza breaks) C(h)ant. Breathe. Dedicated to Eric Garner* And to…