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

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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

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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,

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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,

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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

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Tassels and Transgressions on the Third Rail: Shaking It Up for Social Justice through Burlesque

Article by S.T. Shimi | October 7, 2015 Editor’s Note: We’re thrilled to publish this article by one of our Barbeque, Burlesque, and Bourbon headliners and longtime members, S.T. Shimi aka Black Orchid. Come on out to see Black Orchid,

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“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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Artability Artist Spotlight: Samuel Valdez

This is the second of our four-part Artability Artist Spotlight series that highlights differently-abled artists and runs throughout Alternate ROOTS’ Artability campaign. Artability provides scholarships for artists with disabilities to attend ROOTS Week. To read the first spotlight, featuring Camille

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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

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LOVEbaltiMORE

Article by Ashley Minner, ExComm Member (Baltimore, MD) Photos by Sean Scheidt (Baltimore, MD) Baltimore is always the center of my world, but over the past few days it seems like it’s become the center of the world. We have seen

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In Solidarity with Baltimore

By Carlton Turner, Alternate ROOTS Executive Director (Utica, MS) “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” –Frederick Douglass This quote has been on my mind today as I think about the uprising that is

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Selma: A Bittersweet Celebration

Article & Photos by Katina Parker (Durham, NC) Saturday, March 7th. Selma, Alabama. Tens of thousands from around the world packed the streets leading to and from the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the

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Progress and Healing

Article by Rebekah Stevens Progress Theatre is currently on tour, performing in New Orleans March 12-14 and in Dallas April 10-11. In late February, Progress Theatre (PT) kicked off 2015 with our first residency of The Burnin’ at the University

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Shifting Narratives through Art and Culture

Article by Kiyoko McCrae (New Orleans, LA) On January 20th and 21st, Alternate ROOTS held a meeting for the 2014 Partners in Action cohort. During the two-day meeting, a theme emerged: How can art help to shift narratives? Robert Martin

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#SpotlightonFerguson

Article & Photos by Katina Parker (Durham, NC) Since August, Katina Parker has been traveling to Ferguson, documenting and organizing against police brutality. Here, she shares a series of photo essays and her written, first-person account of the #Blacklivesmatter movement in Ferguson. 

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The Sweetness and the Spoil: Durham Stories of Resistance

Article by Nia Wilson (Durham, NC) and Rodrigo Dorfman (Durham, NC); Photographs by Rodrigo Dorfman Reflections: Building towards “Mother to Mother” Nia: August 10th 2014: I heard about the premature deaths of two young Black men — John Crawford in Ohio

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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.