 My name is Stephanie McKee, and I'm the artistic director of To The Love Productions, and I am really humbled and very proud to sit here as we bring this performance to you today. I'm Javelin Zoller, founding artistic director of Bourbon-Vichrony, and we are here in full circle at the Contemporary Arts Center. In 1989, there was a vision of Bourbon-Vichron being here for long-term residency for three months, and that vision was dreamed up with Urban-Vichrony and the artistic director, the founding artistic director of To The Love Productions, John O'Neill, and his man Jim Carver at Time James Borner, and M.K. Whiteman, who was at the CAC, and they made it happen. So in 1992, Urban-Vichron had scripted a three-month year moving from this idea of outreach to community engagement. And during that time, they forged this partnership that continues today, and I'm really proud to say that I'm continuing a second generation of partnership with Urban-Vichrony. It's going back, and lots of ladies and co, for going back to before and remembering this civil rights movement, and remembering those signs that people held saying, I am a man. It's the same thing with us as we move forward in this Black Lives Matter movement, because what we know is the same song being sung in, that is being sung now, and that is, see me, I am here, I am human, and I am at it, yeah? Thank you, we are so honored to be here with all of you here. And it's good. Ancestor, wreck, bridge, carry us over to multitudes time. You can hear an answer with quick remedy ready before we ask. You who can speak through tons of trees, and fire, and water, earth cannot hold you. We pound the ground, and you appear, or ancient ones. You who can make lightning strike with the flick of a skirt. You who can make tornado turn with the spin and span of hips take us there, to the place of glowing, to the hall that leads to the doorway of you, or holy ones. You are the first light. You who know the potential of possibility, pulsing in the dark, deliver us unto our gifts. You who have sunlight in your fingertips, touch our drums, make us hear the rising, make us move, us steady stump, acquire our voices so majestic, heaven hides us in a tapestry of light, we have stars, blankets of wonder, sky bright eyes, seeing the invisible, visible. You who have returned, you have turned our faces so that we see ourselves, and we found you again, in places we would have never imagined. You make our limits infinitely long, our visions clearer with eyes closed, and even there, you still stand in full color, vibrant, and eager to serve. Old man, oh, he plays the drums on, he works out at. He says that he loves me, even though it's not his baby. Said he's gonna raise him up like he would his own son. He gave me the serenity that's been worn by his mother. He changed me out dancing head red, sadder than me. Now that I think about you, each time I pass the feeling strange from you, calls are all the keys you used to wear in your day. And I still got that record, little Anthony at the Imperials. Somebody stole my record player. Charlie, I almost went crazy, and Mario got busted. And I moved back to Omaha to live with my folks. Because everyone, everyone, everyone I used to know is either dead or in prison. Came back to New Orleans. This time, I think I won't stay here. Now that I think about you, first time since my accident. And I wish I had all the money we used to spend on dough. I'd be a used car, but I wouldn't sell any of them. I'd just drive a different car every day. It's been worn, but God says, Charlie, if you want a little treat, I don't have me no husband. He don't play, no trumpet. And I need, I need, I need to borrow money. Hey, hey, hey, hey. The pay. Here's your lawyer. I'll be holding you for four and three. All right? No, no, don't touch that. And I need, I need, I need to borrow money. Charlie, hey, hey, hey. Here's your lawyer. I'll be holding you for four and three. around times they may come back to be proud of you. They may always be coming to class now, but you may be a trustee. That means I get to move around you here, and get to work. I like your hair, but then you always look so skinny, you look so sharp. I like that. Baby, honey, that's why they made mama's trustee. They don't let them send me anywhere in this jail. It beats to be that damn baby, but all of it is us in town and smoking. Pretty soon, somebody's gonna be fighting. I'm glad you're here. If you don't teach them nothing else, they're gonna have a lot of self-respect. They're gonna have to walk their fucking butts in my hand. Some of them are so young that they don't even have a chance to attend class. I haven't had a jail since 1965. I ain't never seen it as bad as this thing. Young women coming and going this day and time, they ain't got no sense of themselves. I got three daughters. I mean, my oldest girl, she was born deaf and dumb, and she leaves in the middle of the jail in her first place. I am a dancer, so I know her from this company, but I took that money. I took that money so I could pay for my daughter's education. The education I can see for me to take care of myself despite my community gap. Now these girls, they need somebody to understand that you ain't got to be in and out of jail to feel important. So they got to find a reason to come here and get rid of these men that's gonna tempt them for a car. I love it cold and more drugs. Look at them, most of them ain't 25 years old yet and have the nerve to be afraid to pick up in here. Like I told you, I got three daughters. And I'd rather see these girls thrush their babies down the toilet than run in the road and shoot them. Oh honey, the way they'll least a dope man won't hop, they'll least a baby to the dope man for a rock. Hey mama, hey Britney, Britney, don't be crying. Mommy's gonna be home soon. Mama, what was the son that said I'd like to get out of here? The latter on my butt, he and the white police gonna say, well, let me make your baby a felon too. I'll say your mama's a felon too. And then the black police, he gonna call me a dope man's bitch. Mama, you know I don't do no dope. So I said, you do dope. And you can kiss this bitch's butt, that's what I said too. And then, and then they, and then they tried to snatch me out of the car. And the next thing I know, Lily was all over him. So now we got to hit you, Britney, don't you cry. Mommy's coming home real soon. Hey, play your little brother, did my job call? This morning, I stood down, shit. I was gonna lose my job behind this mess. And I wasn't doing nothing. Now mama said, you got to tell Miss Ryan, mama listen to me. You got to tell Miss Ryan that I got to reschedule my GED test. Mama listened to me, Britney, don't you cry. You're a big girl, mommy want you bigger. That's a big grandma. I got to reschedule my GED test. And mama, listen to me, I'm a real worried son. He's from the public defender's office. He gonna do one thing for me and something else for them. Mama, but don't, mama please don't start crying. Please don't start crying. Mama, how are you feeling? Listen to me mama, you got to tell that Olsi that she got to go down to social services. And she got to tell, mama listen to me, you're a big girl. Mama listen, you got to tell that Olsi that she got to go to social services. And she got to tell them people that she gonna take care of my kids while you in the hospital. Mama listen to me, Britney, mommy love you. Love you little brother too, mama. See, I ain't seen no criminal activity, mama. Until so many people decided they gonna take my kids and put them in a foster home. Mommy love you, Britney. Mommy love you, and I love you little brother too. And I love you too, mama, mama don't worry. Listen to me. It's gonna be all you know soon. I love you, mama. I'm Britney. You're the girl. Bye mama. Bye. Bye. Bye girl talk. It's shit today. She going to South America with Bob. That's what I say yesterday. Regina, Regina don't be changing it. I was watching that. I was watching it now. It was a fuck about the days of our lives. Why can't you have respect for the people of South America? Now all my children is coming on next. And I'm fully into watching it. I need something to calm my nerves at all the excitement we have had around every small thing. Yeah you do. Mama bearer, did that lady really kill a baby? Mama said, I just don't understand it. She gave it a try. Mama bearer, that man of hers. Yeah. They sitting up there getting high on their minds on cocaine. When he decides that he's still waiting for her. Mama bearer, she don't make money. She don't fit with a hundred dollars all the time. Check this shit out. This is what I heard happening. This shit was too real. This is too real. I know this is what happened. Check this shit out. Bitch. Oh baby, we through. You're finished. Your ass is on you. You're nothing but a drug addict. A dope fiend. And all I want out of this motherfucker is my baby. Because she's through. You're till the curb. They call it all want you. You're nothing but a dope fiend. Now she's the dope fiend. I have to be great at this stuff in house. First place. You mean they was tweeted? They said it all. They sitting up there getting high on cocaine. I want you to love that man. With a hundred dollars. Deborah ain't no stupid woman y'all. I'm a house for the devil. Deborah, when you're birthly. She got a degree. They was happy. They was living good. Until they started messing with that shit. See, that's all I'm gonna do. They don't mean it. I'll make you do something that's my kids. But I will look down on this. They don't even know what I'm talking about. What do I do? You keep your eyes on me. You keep on looking at me. Yeah, he goes, I don't see some motherfuckers. This is strange shit. In the name of love. What the fuck love? I feel love is a motherfucker. Come on, man. Come on, man. I won't lie to them TV. The fear of y'all. See, she ain't this shit I've ever had before. Who? And what? What do they do to you? To you. She bears my mother's things. My sister's things. My daughter's things. If I could believe statistics, it would be my mother's things. She's our mama. She's your love. My mom's the woman who's going to carry your child. And I am her best teacher. The granddaughter of Flossie. The mother of Sandra Lee. The granddaughter of Chad. And the grand peace of one living thing. My aunt was alive. Everybody, all right? Can you speed away? Yeah. Dream it or what? Dream it or what? We're going to rewind. We're going to go back to Georgia in the 1920s. You see, my family is from Georgia. Georgia is a beautiful state. Beautiful pine trees, peach blossoms. But all my blood is soaked. I feel like I'm over something about Georgia. Well, Tori has it that my grandfather, Thomas Walden, worked on the Southern Pacific Railway. And he was apprehended one night by the paddlers. Now, if you look at those, I'll get yourself to a dictionary. Get me the hard disk here of this plan. Okay? The paddlers. They gave him up because apparently some two young white women had complained that a black man was looking in the window of their farmhouse, their bedroom on this dark lonely road. And my grandfather being the only black man walking this road that weren't too black in the morning. Coming home from his job as a racer. They took him out. And they tell him that if he fears in his life, he will leave the state of Georgia right there and there. No, he didn't get to say goodbye to his wife and his eight children. So my mother and her family had to do just a trip. That name was gone. Now, it's a beautiful day. It's all about my Aunt Willie May. It was about 15. She's walking through Cardiwood. She's on her way to Ms. Cannon's house. Ms. Cannon, whose family still owns my mother's family in the 20s, the Cannon's plantation. But Aunt Willie is walking through the forest. She's singing. We'll fly flying. We'll find spelling words. They've done gone by. But we're still together. Oh, who's with you inside? Oh, I'll be with you. I'll know you forever. She arrives at Ms. Cannon's house. Good morning, Ms. Cannon. Now, she's better, right? You know, now she's 15. She's got to be happy with her mother. Arnie's on her way. Come on. All right? So, she's getting us up together, right? There's an animal, and there's two bushels of clothes. And she's on flat trees. Come on. And there's Ms. Cannon. Willie May. I'm so disappointed in you. You have got to. Please, the bathroom's give is right. And how am I supposed to have my spring card in here? Yes, ma'am. And you're going to have to do all the windows again. They are just a mess. Yes, ma'am. And then you've got to go in the kitchen, and you've got to clean up mom. Mama doesn't have a break. She knows she always makes a mess. You've got to clean up the kitchen. Then you've got to set mom on the floor. You have to clean her up, too. Ms. Cannon. Ms. Cannon, I've got two bushels of clothes in here. I can't do all this work by myself. I don't feel good. I'm going home. So she goes home. Pretty soon, Mr. Cannon and his boys will have to come down here and tell you that their daughter of yours, Willie May, comes up to the house this morning with a regular B in her body. Yes, she did. And proceeded to give them a wife, the dog, the cat, my mother-in-law, a piece of her mind. And then she says she don't feel good. And she goes home. Well, you and the boys. We decided we're going to have to chastise them down to sit you down with your tongue. Right, boys? Oh, yeah, right. We're going to have to chastise them down to sit you down. You know what she's going to say? We're going to sing out for you. We're going to sing out. No, Mr. Cannon, please. No, Mr. Cannon, please. I mean, Mr. Cannon. No, sir. I mean, please, Mr. Cannon. Willie May. I can't believe she did such a thing. Mr. Cannon. Let me look at you, sir. Let me look at you. Let me look at myself. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't look that bad for talking back to such good white folks here. Please, sir. Just let me look at you. Please, Mr. Cannon. Please, sir. Let me look at you, sir. Please. But me and the boys, we're going to stand right here and watch you with that gown. A baby pun, sir. I want to take that in the house. I want a stupid gown. It wouldn't be right for some rustic, dusty color gown. Maybe I'm going to make it in front of all you white men. So, I'm going to take that in the house. I'm going to take that in the house. Okay, okay. All right, you can take it in the house. It is lightning. My grandmother takes all of her children into the house, closes all the rooms, and she locks the door, and she orders my aunt. And she picks up a piece of leather, and she proceeds to well the hell out of that dead body. Wham! Wham! Talking to Mr. Cannon. Like, are you crazy? Are you crazy? Mr. Cannon is good white folks out here. I want to do it more. Please, Mama. Don't kill me. I'll kill you. I'm talking to Mr. Cannon. Please, Mama. You won't kill her. You won't kill her. Mama, you're killing me. I will kill you. I will kill you. Mr. Cannon. Mr. Cannon. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Ah! With a son, you'll never shine. And I shouldn't go home alone. My daddy, he was a real road man. He was a man from here. Oh, he said it was found under the driver's wheel. Along his body, they never opened back. But despite this datasets, they never open back. I never live there.ени the land worked with my daughter. Some people with my umbilical cord and my daughter brought her to my apartment today. She said, Mom, this girl was giving a hell in the back. She was reminding them of Roddy's, that there was this thing as two. She said, my goodness, how you saying it again? And somebody told her, you're wrong. You're wrong for giving her a lot. God bless her soul. God bless her soul. Before I go, I just wanted to... I worked with women. I worked with women after 30 years. And I just wanted us to... To call her the name of the woman that we have in the back. When we disappeared, as a way to... We didn't even want to close these years, my goodness. My hand really made herself a pleasure. Let me hear you all. Another woman here. Another woman. Another woman. Another woman. Another woman. Another woman. Another woman. Another woman. Another woman. And before I go, I'd like to be shared with you in the feminist prayer. Thank you. A feminist prayer goes like this. Judy Braun wrote this, but we're going to use it tonight. It is... Our mother who art in heaven. Our mother who art in heaven. Sister shall be thy name. Our washing's done. Our washing's done. Our kitchen's clean. Our kitchen's clean. And it is in heaven. Give us this day our disparagements. Give us this day our disparagements. As we forgive those who disparage against us. As we forgive those who disparage against us. As we do not into home economics. As we do not into home economics. But deliver us. But deliver us. Into politics. For there is the money. For there is the money. One thing that I always note is that it's so powerful and magical to me. Is the breathing that happens. And the exchange of breathing that happens. And these kinds of spaces. And so... Would it be possible if we just give a little bit of attention to our breathing? Uh oh. Is it possible? And let's push it out with the audible exhalation. In any way that you like your audible exhalation. Sound good? All right. Here we go. Inhale. Don't be shy. You felt hot. You felt hot. What else? Tension. Steady. Strong. Strong. Release. What else? Gravity. Anything else? Time for the audible exhalation. Vibration. What else? Breathe. Put it out there. Breathe. Breathe. Pleasure. Bonation. Bonation. Yes. What else? Connecting. Anything else? Catharsis. Yeah. So to the center. We talked about gravity. We talked about strength. We talked about lifting. We talked about being sprouted. Let's think about our breathing force. Again. And think about that as being significant. And let's think about it coming from the bottom and then reaching all the way up and out and down. Slightly back down the bottom. Coming up. Coming up. Thinking about that strength, gravity, groundedness. Lift. We're going to go ahead and just push your arms down. You just know this is really good. And notice your body. And let's just take one more inhalation and audible exhalation. And that can be whatever you're feeling right now in your home. And we'll keep breathing together and sharing it together. Thank you. Iyama Jones, Timothy Russell, Latanya Hatterton, Margaret LaBrun Mitchell, Tyisha Miller, Jordan Davis, Shantel Davis, Jonathan Barrow, Katherine Johnston, Darnisha Harris, John Fokker III, Akai Gurley, Jermaine Newman, Charles Amherst, Glenn Ford, Kendra Chapman, Eric German, Fred Gray, Sandra Blaine. Reed! Reed! Reed! Reed! Reed! Reed! Reed! Reed! Reed! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Five, six, seven, eight. for life, though death rests comfortably beside us at night, their mornings are louder. They come to visit the gods at the gate, and they stay until morning, torturing their guilt-bridden insides. The silent cries of the keepers are louder than the boons that come from the guns they use to occupy the space. And we know this place. For we have seen more times than we'd like to imagine, bloated cadavers, flowing through waters of a city gone savage, foraging the land for what can be salvaged, but what can be saved when all is lost? It happened in August, 29 days in. We are now five days out of the only place we lose a car house and home. A few things are certain. One, we have no food. Two, there are more bodies lying at the roadside than habits being distributed, or first aid being administered, or recognition as a citizen, 14th Amendment, and refugee change. We know this place. It's ever changing, yet forever the same. Money and power and greed that came, they suck and devour the souls of the slain. Or what feast for the beast at their table of shame? With knackens round next to catch the blood that drains from the flesh they chew. Oh, it's held again, and we know this place. I'm all too well. Dang with the smell of death and doom and smothers. It hovers, no growth, no tomb, no pretty. The hoax, and it died too soon. Just junking, just jiving, just living. Oh, we just fools. And we know this place. With debt in all its array and splendor. Golden streets with good intentions. Catch our attention, their gadgets and inventions. Pistachize the food supply. Food like symptoms, diabetic condition, a cancer in the system, health on hold. It's a pistol to the temple. Go run to your churches. Tell Robin it's simple. Good works and good deeds is what equals redemption. But tell me, please. Jesus never mentioned how the churchmen get extensions on freedom while children are being traveled from the outer to the streets. Then back to the sanctuaries, always kind of scary handed to know that both the prophet and the priest practice deceit. Then come to the people and claim peace, peace. Then come to the people and claim love, love. And to return, but oh, here we are. Back in the desert, dry mouth and thirsty for waters from heaven. But come, come, children, rally around. And maybe together we can make a sound that'll shake the trees or rattle the pl. It's right now. So light refreshments right over inside the cafe and for a couple of drinks. Maybe even get a chance to talk to some of the dancers. Thank you so much for coming this evening. Woo-hoo!