A CALL TO ACTION: Now that Trump is President, What Will You Do?

#CharlitUprising. Photo: Katina Parker Katina Parker (Durham, NC) | November 16, 2016 Election night. I’m stationed in Charlotte, producing coverage for Al Jazeera. I’ve been dispatched with a gas mask, helmet, bullet proof vest, and personal body guard. Without an

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

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)

Tagged with: , , , ,

The Voices Pour Down: Our Theater ROOTS during the 40th Reunion

Founding members of Alternate ROOTS. Photo by: Melisa Cardona By Ashley Sparks | September 19, 2016 The late seventies and early 80s were seminal for U.S. theater history – especially southern theater history. In June 1976, a dynamic mix of

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Pursuit of an Art with Consequences: Panel Discussion with Five ROOTS’ Founders

Transcribed & Edited by Jan Cohen-Cruz | July 29, 2016 This past July, when two more young black men were killed wantonly by white police, and then a black man killed five police, long time ROOTer Dudley Cocke wrote, “While

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Archival Revival | A Call for Cultural Development

By Dudley Cocke and Ruby Lerner Originally published: 1989 | Republished: April 11, 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

Tagged with: , , , , ,

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

Tagged with: , , , ,

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,

Tagged with: , , ,

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

Tagged with: , , ,

The Places We Call Home: ROOTS Weekend at Zora Fest

(L-R) Ausettua AmorAmenkum and Jarrell Hamilton perform in Junebug Productions’ Gomela/to return: Movement of Our Mother Tongue. Photo credit: Melisa Cardona, 2014. Article by Tamiko Ambrose Murray (Asheville, NC) | January 4, 2016 Interested in attending ROOTS Weekend-Eatonville? Click here

Tagged with: , , ,

Investing In Culture: 50 Years of the NEA

ROOTS’ Executive Director, Carlton Turner was invited to the NEA’s 50th anniversary concert at the White House, in which New Orleans’ Trombone Shorty performed.    Article by Carlton Turner, Alternate ROOTS Executive Director (Utica, MS) | January 5, 2016 On October

Tagged with: , ,

Resistance as Legacy

David Montana, Big Chief of the Ouachita Nation Mardi Gras Indians. Photo: Rebecca Mwase, 2015. Article by Rebecca Mwase (New Orleans, LA) | October 2, 2015 New Orleans is ten years post-Katrina. The landscape of the city has been ravaged

Tagged with: , , , ,

“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

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Using Art to Undo Imperialism

Dora Arreola in “Telares (o el Olvido),” with Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro at ROOTS Week. Photo: Melisa Cardona, 2015.   Article by Anu Yadav (Washington D.C.) A woman silently gestures to me in the cafeteria, her face partially obscured by

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

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:

Symbols of Struggle: Black Lives Matter

Chen Lo in Soundtrack ’63 by Soul Science Lab. Originally commissioned and produced by 651 ARTS, Soundtrack ’63 will be presented by Junebug Productions and Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans in January 2016. Photo: Xy-Fy Fotography.   Article by Kiyoko

Tagged with: , , , , ,

Indigenous Artists Gathering 2015 – Minneapolis, Minnesota

Lumhe “Micco” Sampson presenting his workshop, “Hoop Dance Teaching: Indigenous Circles of Leadership” at the Indigenous Artists Gathering. Photo: Ashley Minner, 2015.  Article by: Ashley Minner, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Alternate ROOTS Executive Committee Member (Baltimore, MD) Way back

Tagged with: , ,

Artability Artist Spotlight: Nikki Brown

This is the third of our four-part Artability Artist Spotlight series that highlights artists who are differently-abled, and runs throughout Alternate ROOTS’ Artability campaign. Artability provides scholarships for artists with disabilities to attend ROOTS Week. You can read the first

Tagged with: ,

The Risk of Hopelessness

On June 2, 2015, Alternate ROOTS Executive Director, Carlton Turner, presented the following as a keynote address at the Grantmakers in the Arts Racial Equity Forum in Atlanta, Georgia.  Introduction: Georgia Men “Black people did not come back from Georgia.” “A man

Tagged with: , ,

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

Tagged with: ,

Artability Artist Spotlight: Camille Shafer

Article by Nicole Gurgel, Alternate ROOTS Content Developer (Albuquerque, NM) This is the first in a four-part series that highlights differently-abled artists and runs throughout Alternate ROOTS’ Artability campaign, which provides scholarships for artists with disabilities to attend ROOTS Week.

Tagged with: , , ,
Alternate ROOTS supports the creation and presentation of original art that is rooted in communities of place, tradition or spirit. We are a group of artists and cultural organizers based in the South creating a better world together. As Alternate ROOTS, we call for social and economic justice and are working to dismantle all forms of oppression—everywhere.