I was invited by the one and only Joi Sears, Executive Director of the Theatre for the Free People (TFFP), to attend the Black on White Fundraiser in NYC. All proceeds from the event went to support the Theatre’s International Arts Exchange Program in Ghana. It was absolutely awesome and inspiring to be in the midst of New York’s finest, social justice oriented artists and activists! The performers and activists were as diverse as the hairstyles they were sporting, but their causes were all linked by the same strand…the need to help people. Although the event is over, it’s not too late to give. You can make your generous donations here.

There were too many amazing performances to name them all, but The Movement Theatre Company‘s members definitely showed up and showed out! Chanel Carrol and her partner (row 3, column 3, right)  rocked it in a Rihanna and Chris Brown inspired piece that forced the audience to answer the question, “Would you hit your Mother,” Mother Earth? Mychael Chinn delivered a hauntingly good monologue about an abandoned youth that finds homosexual love, despite the fact that he doesn’t identify himself as gay.

Marjuan Canady absolutely astounded in her one-woman show, “Girls! Girls. Girls? It’s a Black Woman’s Thang”. She absolutely blew me away with her timely, poignant and insightful critique on misogynistic attitudes in Hip Hop and the shaping of the modern Black Woman’s Identity in America.  Her diverse and hilarious characters included, but were not limited to, a Trinidadian Call Center Specialist (with a dead on accent), an overly zealous Brazilian dance instructor, and of course, 40 Ounce himself,  the number one rapper straight out of Gutta Money Records, on the search for the star of his next music video, a.k.a. the next PUSS* Rims Chick! Yes, you read that right! The play itself is reminiscent of all things Anna Deavere Smith and George C. Wolfe’s “The Colored Museum”. However, it definitely has a unique voice that speaks for and to today’s young black woman, in all her many forms. This graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and NYU’s Arts and Public Policy Master’s Program did DC proud!

Other notable attendees included the hilariously funny Christen T.J. McCollem, Tunisia Riley of Under the Microscope, Christina, aka Chrissy Art, of Wings of Art, Zoravar Dhaliwal of Community Lab, the one and only organic beauty vixen, Sherrell Dorsey, Temar France of Temar France Photography, and representatives from Bykids.org. Ms. Ebony Noelle Golden, Founder of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative and frequent collaborator with TFFP, is a DIVA and a half. Not only does she know her stuff when it comes to the Black Arts Scene, she’s a HILARIOUS sister. Should you ever be lucky enough to get the chance to share a cab ride home with her, take it! Last, but not least, I met Aisha Turman, the visionary educator, activist, filmmaker and speaker that founded the Black Girl Project. If you’ve ever met her, you’ll know that her commitment to exposing the real lives and voices of young black girls is so sincere; it’s infectious. I can’t wait to see her next projects unfold. In addition to the amazing performances and great company, the fashion was on point thanks to Coco & Creme Magazine‘s Geneva Thomas (Fashion Director) and its featured designers and models.

This amazing event and the wonderful artists that came are a testament to Joi Sears’ and the Theatre for the Free People’s reach. If you ever find yourself at the intersection of social justice and performance art, you’ve reached the address of the Theatre for the Free People. Walk on in and introduce yourself! And give a little for the amazing work their doing while you’re there!

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