Community Voices

SCP Talks to Moazen Jewelry, Charlotte’s Local Jewelry Makers

March 27, 2013
By
SCP Talks to Moazen Jewelry, Charlotte’s Local Jewelry Makers

Whenever I visit sisters Faith and Hope I always feel like I have been transported to a whimsical world filled with beautiful trinkets and what nots.   What makes it magical is the “I Can Do It” spirit that permeates the atmosphere.  This place of business is an asset to the local Charlotte community.  Moazen Jewelry is owned by two young African American women who are committed to inspiring young girls and women to control their destinies and pursue their dreams. Hope shares in our SCP Talks to the Community Series, the dual mission of Moazen Jewelry and what...

Read more »

More Than Skimming The Surface: Interview with artist Tommie Robinson

March 2, 2013
By
watercolor by Tommie Robinson

medium from SCP Streetcornerprophet.com on Vimeo. Tommie Robinson has been painting Charlotte’s history and the West Corridor for over thirty years. Robinson is known for his murals and as one of the best water colorists in the Southeast. He is the only African-American artist commissioned to create work for Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.  Robinson has a collection of work that has been privately and publicly commissioned in the Carolina region and across the world. I recently visited Robinson at the site of his latest commission to talk about his work, the job of an artist, the Beatties-Ford corridor...

Read more »

The Digital Literacy Project

February 28, 2013
By
The Digital Literacy Project

SCP has collaborated with local bloggers, journalists, educators, and volunteers to bring you Community Voices: Digital Literacy Project.  Thirteen years into the 21st century we must consider what is the most influential use of technology today.  Is it tweeting, posting, pinning, blogging, application development or is it something much more primal?  We believe our stories are the single most powerful piece of ourselves we have and the ability to tell and share those stories is very important. Larry Irving, a former member of the Clinton Administration’s technology team coined the phrase “digital divide” in 1995.  Irving initiated and co-authored a...

Read more »

Maybe The Onion Never Read Ntozake Shange

February 25, 2013
By
Maybe The Onion Never Read Ntozake Shange

Maybe the Onion who tweeted the words “cunt” to describe a 9 year old black female child never read Ntozake Shange.  Maybe in the world they live in little girls are not abused physically, verbally, mentally, emotionally and so it is alright to say such trash and then hide behind the guise of so called intellectual humor (satire) for the sake of doing what–I have to ask.  So I will share a poem by Ntozake Shange, a woman whose name means “she who comes with her own things” and she “who walks like a lion” because little black girls have...

Read more »

In Tribute To 1 Billion Rising; Combatting Violence Against Women

February 14, 2013
By
In Tribute To 1 Billion Rising; Combatting Violence Against Women

This is my story.  Sometimes it is hard to talk about, let alone share with others but we must face our fears boldly.  Together my mother and I, we are mending and in time we will heal. The Night We Escaped the Sound I lay in the bed blinking, dimmed moonlight cast soft shadows on the wall in our room.   My sister lay asleep and I awake.   I felt like I was left with the task of night watchman.   My parents were out that evening and unsure of their return I would close my eyes only...

Read more »

Why I Still Listen to Hip Hop Part 2: Peripheral Perimeters

February 11, 2013
By
Why I Still Listen to Hip Hop Part 2: Peripheral Perimeters

This poem describes what I think about the Northwest Streetcar Expansion Project in Charlotte, NC. Why I Still Listen to Hip Hop Part 2: Peripheral Perimeters And welcome to the Terrordome -Public Enemy Like the tribes lost in the wilderness, they will push us to the edges of the perimeters of center cities, claiming core lay of the land for themselves. Skyline views of concrete idols they worship. Creating inflated cost of living and prime land consumption, Which were once slums and ghettos for black and poor people. Chocolate City! Shut’ em down, shut’ em, shut’ em down Here’s...

Read more »

Why I Still Listen to Hip Hop!

February 1, 2013
By
Why I Still Listen to Hip Hop!

Kick in the door waving the four-four.   It is one of the few art forms, that brings new meaning to reciprocity. Explicit lyrics ignite black neighborhoods like kindling.   Was told in shootouts, stay low, and keep firing. Keep extra clips for extra shit.   This goes out to Hadiya Pendelton. Only in a black world can a black girl perform for the president and a week later be fatally shot for meandering.   Kick in the door waving the four-four.   When will we understand the spiritual law of speaking and living? We pray for peace but...

Read more »

The Street Corner Shines Bright

January 30, 2013
By
The Street Corner Shines Bright

As I look out from the street corner and the sun shines with beauty and a unfailing resilience, I am reminded where to keep my focus. Like the zoom of a lens the object of my affection is greater than the sum of her parts.   When I look at the cherub cheeks of my baby girl I can’t help but think of the street urchins dodging ghetto land mines. Land mines that materialize into street pushers and pimps, exploiting the weak and the innocent.   Sex slave, sex worker, prostitute, hooker, and whore. I ask is there seemingly...

Read more »

152 Full Moons, Poem

December 31, 2012
By
152 Full Moons, Poem

If you had 152 full moons left on earth, What view would you choose? The waxing and waning of each cycle shifts the unknown to acceptance. If you had 152 full moons left on earth, What would reflect the light in your heart? Nights held captive by the stars upon which you make a solemn wish? When we love fiercely only then are we prepared to loose.

Read more »

Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe, One of the Few

December 12, 2012
By
Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe, One of the Few

Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe, A Creative Urban Space from SCP Streetcornerprophet.com on Vimeo. Uptown on Brevard Court sits a courtyard with locally known restaurants like the French Quarter in Charlotte, North Carolina but there is also a new and upcoming little gem of a book store.   Poor Richard’s Book Shoppe is a black owned bookstore, which features spoken word events, live music, and visual arts entertainment.  I paid them a visit, unannounced of course.  They were in the middle of a small expansion project.  ”We are adding an additional room and a bar,” says co-owner Sheri Borges.  She...

Read more »