Press enter after choosing selection
Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Hilarity at the Heidelberg: Tony Klee's Something to Do Comedy Night at Club Above

by christopherporter

Something to Do Comedy night at Heidelberg's Club Above

I found out about Something to Do Comedy Night at the Heidelberg's Club Above when its organizer, Tony Klee, bought me a shot of tequila last summer and I joked about doing the show one day.

Recently, Klee put out a call for comics, especially women comics, and when I asked him if I could go up, he said yes.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

"Silencer" Spring: Ann Arbor native and poet Marcus Wicker at AADL

by christopherporter

Poet Marcus Wicker reads at AADL

On April 20, Ann Arbor native, Marcus Wicker came to AADL to talk about his latest poetry collection, Silencer.

And if it weren’t for Kehinde Wiley, the prolific black painter most recently in the news for his portrait of President Barack Obama, there’s a chance that this event wouldn’t have happened.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Discomfort Food: Chef Tunde Wey turns up the heat on racial inequities

by christopherporter

Tunde Wey by Deji Osinulu

Tunde Wey by Deji Osinulu.

“I was eager to be successful. I still am.”

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

"Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?" is a film about threats -- racial and otherwise

by christopherporter

“Trust me when I tell you this isn’t a white savior story. This is a white nightmare story.”
--Travis Wilkerson

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Diaspora Dimensions: The films in URe:AD TV grapple with black representation

by christopherporter

“The diaspora is a cultural continuum. An ever-evolving consideration of Blackness is its vehicle.”
--Ashley Stull Meyers

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Ephraim Asili’s "Diaspora Suite" explores the influence of African culture throughout the world

by christopherporter

Ephraim Asili The first time that I really thought about the African diaspora was in college. During a Caribbean literature class, the concept of diaspora was ever present. Despite having taken several American history classes, considering the Caribbean diaspora is what led me to attempt to understand myself as a part of the African diaspora. 

Ephraim Asili’s Diaspora Suite -- shown March 22 at the Michigan Theater as part of the Ann Arbor Film Festival -- presented an excellent opportunity to examine someone else’s take on the topic. This collection of five films explores the interaction of past, present, and place it relates to the African diaspora. The films were shot in a variety of locations, among them Ethiopia, Harlem, Ghana, Philadelphia, Brazil, and Detroit. 

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Exist & Resist: U-M's Yoni Ki Baat group encouraged women of color with "Resistance"

by christopherporter

Kyla Cano, a member of U-M organization Yoni Ki Baat

Kyla Cano, a junior at U-M majoring in screen arts and cultures and communication studies, was one of the speakers at Resistance. Photo by Hannah Qin from Yoni Ki Baat's Facebook page.

On March 9 and March 10, Yoni Ki Baat, an organization that seeks to educate the campus about the issues pertaining to South Asian women and all women of color, produced Resistance, a show inspired by Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Gaining Experience: A2SO's "Music From Harry Potter"

by christopherporter

Sherlonya Turner and her son at the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra's performance of the Music From Harry Potter

“I’m going to have to make you a wand. You can’t be out with me without a wand.” --My son

On more than one occasion, my son has pointed out to me that I’m lucky that he, a teenager, still wants to hang out with me, you know, a mom. With that in mind, as soon as he mentioned that the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra would be at Michigan Theater playing songs from Harry Potter, I pulled out my debit card and secured tickets for the Sunday, March 4, afternoon matinee performance.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Fulfilling Promises: Sherri Winston discussed her writing process at AADL

by christopherporter

Sherri Winston

“You’re like family now because the weather has conspired against us.” --Sherri Winston

If you want to attend an intimate author event, attend one during a snow (slush?) storm that follows an unseasonably warm day. On Thursday, March 1, middle-grade author Sherri Winston talked about her latest projects and her process at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Asking to Be Written: Robin Coste Lewis at UMMA

by christopherporter

Robin Coste Lewis

When the first poem in a book is titled “Plantation,” you should probably just go ahead, pour yourself a drink, sit somewhere quiet, and prepare to be transported.

I suppose you should expect to be transported, too, by a book called Voyage of the Sable Venus, especially since it won the National Book Award for Poetry.