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…
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: CharlitUprising, Charlotte, Keith Lamont Scott, Police Brutality, Protest, Trump, White supremacy
In Solidarity with the Water Protectors at Standing Rock
November 16, 2016 This letter is in response to the Standing Rock Sioux’s call for statements of support. We encourage our members and partner organizations to write your own letters, sign a petition addressed to President Obama to permanently halt…
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…
GRASP This!: Girls Rock Charleston’s After School Program Re-routes the School-To-Prison Pipeline
GRASP Showcase Karla Barrios & Marie Attelier | June 7, 2016 Girls Rock Charleston is a member of Alternate ROOTS’ 2015-16 Partners in Action cohort and will be attending and sharing their work at ROOTS Weekend-New Market/Knoxville this weekend! Girls…
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…
How Can We Create A World Where No Youth Are Locked Up? Bringing Incarcerated Youth to the Forefront of the Movement for Youth Justice
Trey Hartt, (Richmond, VA) | February 3, 2016 Performing Statistics is part of Alternate ROOTS’ 2015-16 Partners in Action cohort. “If you were me you would know that I love my family; that I’m a respectful person; that I have the…
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…
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…
Expanding ROOTS’ Circle through 3BQ
Article by Keryl McCord, Alternate ROOTS Operations Director | November 3, 2015 On Saturday, October 24, Alternate ROOTS held our first-ever Un-Gala, Burlesque, Barbeque, and Bourbon, or 3BQ. 3BQ was designed to not be your typical fundraiser. We didn’t want…
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…
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,…
“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…
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…
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
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…
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…
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…
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…