#bsamstl2017

When shit gets REAL, lololol. She was notttttt for the play.play, lolol. Best. Panel. Everrrrrr!! The CREPTO DEFENSE workshop, invite only. #BSAMstl2017. #hackers #activist #surveillance #stl #stlouis #rebellion (at Harris-Stowe State University)

In TWO WEEKS, we return to where it all started!! Get your tickets today! BSAM St Louis 2017 #BSAMstl2017 Harris-Stowe State University March 17-18, 2017 BSAMstl2017.eventbrite.com BSAM St Louis 2017 #BSAMstl2017:: UNIFIED RESISTANCE *** Official Schedule *** Friday, March 17 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER 10am YOUTH COMICS Workshop- Tim Fielder 10am YOUTH POETRY Workshop- InnerGy 10am SOCIAL JUSTICE- Amber Johnson, Attorney Amy Breihan 11am CREATIVE WRITING Workshop- Gregory S. Carr, Jason Vassar 11am COMICS AND LITERACY- Sharnez Givens & Guests Lunch and Networking at 12-1pm 1pm ART GRANTS Workshop - Jason Vassar 1pm-2:30pm DISPATCHES OVER FLY OVER COUNTRY, The Legacy of Darren Seals, and the Purple Revolution- Sarah Kendzior, Reynaldo Anderson, Andrew Rollins, Nyota Uhura moderated by Sudarsen Kant @Emerson Theatre 3 pm- SUBVERSIVE ACTS: FREEDOM & RESISTANCE w/ Sheree Renée Thomas, Stacey Robinson, Stanford W. Carpenter 3pm MECCAcon Film Festival 6-8pm EMERSON PERFORMANCE CENTER CONSCIOUS CONVERSATION- Gabbi Burks LIVE ARTS EXHIBITION- InnerGy Saturday, March 18 EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER 11am New Afrikan ECONOMICS AND THE DEEP STATE- Andrew Rollins, Johnson Lancaster 11am LABOR, ARTS, AND ACTIVISM- NEA, Greg Carr 12pm Poetry Writing Workshop- Dr. Joy Davis and Bryce Davis Lunch and Networking at 12-1pm 1pm Beyonce “Lemonade” workshop w/ Kinitra Brooks 1pm Digital Humanities w/ Toneisha Taylor 1pm African Drumming Class- NGOMA 2pm The Artrepreneur: Starting your own Biz- Volunteer lawyers and Accts. For the Arts 2pm Back2Black Panel- Damian Duffy, Tim Fielder, Stacey Robinson, Sharnez Givens, moderated by Maia Crown Williams 3-4pm Drawing My African Voice w/ Sarah Blair 3pm-4pm Afrofuturism the 2nd Wave: The Black Speculative Arts Movement w/ Reynaldo Anderson, Amber Johnson, Kinitra Brooks, Toneisha Taylor) 3pm MECCAcon Film Festival 7pm EMERSON PERFORMANCE CENTER Play: Aunt Jo Mama- Greg Carr WORD UP poetry Concert (TBD) For more info, please contact co-founder, Maia Crown Williams at [email protected], 3134510297.

#BACK2BLACK: Accuracy vs ACCEPTANCE is yet another panel NOT TO BE MISSED at @BSAMconvention's #BSAMfuturismo2017!! BSAMfuturismo2017.eventbrite.com In the past year, we’ve seen a resurgence and hunger for representation in comic books, however, the challenge of crafting culturally accurate narratives for characters can be a daunting task for black comic book writers, artists, and editors to shoulder. How does one remain true to the core of his/her characters while making attempts to balance the demands of comic book fans and achieve cultural competency? Navigating the waters of mainstream and independent comic books, Gil Ashby, Eric Battle, Kwanza Osajyefo, Micheline Hess, Jason Scott Jones, and moderator Tony Patrick candidly discuss the impact black superheroes have on society, and the process of crafting original, empowering narratives which can enlighten and inspire readers. #BACK2BLACK delves into the hot button issue of racial representation in comics, how it can quickly go off-the-rails, and how we can get it back-on-track. This is a short, round-table discussion about: the obstacles of creating culturally accurate characters/narratives, the trials of both getting published and self-publishing, navigating black comic book fans’ expectations, black female representation in comics, black superheroes in tv and film, how the current political climate and daily Black American life experience impacts the writing and artistic process, past comics which would inspire our panelists to create their own characters and comics, and a glimpse of what’s next for the future of black comics. Co-created by Tony Patrick and Maia "Crown" Williams (Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts - MECCA, Black Speculative Arts Movement), this a space for constuctive debate and fostering black heroism, hope, and artistry at its best. Get your tickets to #BSAMstl2017 today! (at Bronx Museum of the Arts)

Writer, director, and producer, Korstiaan Vandiver, will be a featured guest at BSAM L.A. 2017 #BSAMla2017! BSAMla2017.eventbrite.com June 25, Leimert Park Village! Korstiaan “Kors” Vandiver hails from Atlanta where he took a serious interest in directing after he served as an apprentice and eventually received some serious mentoring advice from Director Spike Lee. Kors started Blue Angel Entertainment then took a leap of faith to Los Angeles where, within less than two months, he got a paid gig to write a script based on the life of singer John Legend. Kors’ action/drama film, Run Cholo Run, was shown in the Vice & Folly screening in Park City, Utah in 2012. Since then, Kors has garnered interest from organizations such as Sony/Columbia, Veralux Media, and Fox. As a Director, he was nominated for his film Entropy in the 2012, 168 Film Festival. His film LU, starring Nate Parker, was a 168 film finalist with 11 nominations including ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’; ‘Best Screenplay’, winning four awards and was an HBO/BET Urbanworld Official Selection. LU also took one award in the International One Lens Festival and screened at a special Sundance board member event in 2014. As screenwriter/filmmaker, Kors has captured the interest of the “Big 3” agencies, ICM, CAA & WME as well as his screenwriting which has garnered interest from Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way. Kors, is currently producing his first feature film along with the help of his wife and closest producer partner Kimberly Vandiver. The husband and wife team are always working toward creating meaningful projects that will have worldwide impact. Get your tickets today! MECCAcon.wordpress.com/IndieFilmFest BSAM St Louis 2017 #BSAMstl2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement #BSAMfuturismo2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement #BSAMoakland2017 BSAM L.A. 2017 #BSAMla2017 MECCAcon 2017 #MECCAcon2017

#MECCAconIFF2017 Official Selection: STAGES, by James Bland!! Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts - MECCA From the creator that brought you Issa Rae Presents newest series, Giants, watch one man's intense struggle to cope with the aftermath of a breakup. A graduate of Florida A&M University's School of Business and Industry, James Bland is a multi-hyphenated content creator who began his career absorbing the Hollywood studio system working under producers and creative executives at Sony Screen Gems on films such as Takers, Death at a Funeral, and Burlesque. In a short two year span, James was promoted from a producer's intern to the assistant desk of one of the studio's top executives. While navigating the studio world, James directed numerous award winning independent short films including the BET Lens on Talent finalist Cocoa Love and the Cannes Short Film Corner select Thula. Upon leaving the studio system, James set his sights on creating original content for the digital space. He launched a handful of original scripted web series including the hit romance drama First for Issa Rae's YouTube channel. Simultaneously, James worked as a Digital Producer for the TV Land shows The Soul Man and Younger, as well as Nickelodeon's docu-series All in With Cam Newton. Currently, James is working on season 2 of his original drama series on Issa Rae's network titled Giants, in which he created, wrote, directed and stars, while continuing to develop projects for his production company James Bland Films. Get your tickets today! MECCAcon.wordpress.com/IndieFilmFest BSAM St Louis 2017 #BSAMstl2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement #BSAMfuturismo2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement #BSAMoakland2017 BSAM L.A. 2017 #BSAMla2017 MECCAcon 2017 #MECCAcon2017

#MECCAconIFF2017 Official Selection: Òrun Àiyé, by Cintia Maria​, Jamille Coelho!! Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts - MECCA The grandfather Bira tells his granddaughter Luna as the African gods Olodumaré, Orunmilá, Oduduwa, Oxalá, Nanã and Exú interact To create the Earth and human beings. Through the African deserts, the mission of Oxalá encounters challenges and brings us accounts of how African legends portray the creation of humans, nature and the world through the voice of Grandpa Bira. "A new honored griôt will lead some children from a candomblé terreiro to the discoveries of this living library that is the African continent. Now told the story of the "Waters of Oxalá", one of the most beautiful tales of the candomblé, where Oxalufã, decides to visit the king of Oyó, Xango. But before leaving on this long and difficult journey, he consults the Ifá with a babalawo who warns him about the dangers he will face, aware of the challenges that are about to come, Oxalufã departs on this incredible journey." TRAILER:: https://vimeo.com/143838081 Get your tickets today! MECCAcon.wordpress.com/IndieFilmFest BSAM St Louis 2017 #BSAMstl2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement #BSAMfuturismo2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement #BSAMoakland2017 BSAM L.A. 2017 #BSAMla2017 MECCAcon 2017 #MECCAcon2017

Author, editor, and poet, Sheree Renée Thomas​, will be a featured guest at both BSAM #BSAMstl2017​ AND #BSAMfuturismo2017​!! Get your tickets TODAY! She is PROLIFIC!! <3 Sheree Renée Thomas is a 2016 Tennessee Arts Fellow and was honored as the 2015 Lucille Geier Lakes Writer-in-Residence at Smith College. Her book, Shotgun Lullabies: Stories & Poems (Aqueduct Press, Conversation Pieces Vol. 28), was described by novelist Arthur Flowers as "a wondrous work like Jean Toomer's Cane." A fiction writer, editor, and poet based in Memphis, Sheree was also honored as a Cave Canem Poetry Fellow and a New York Foundation of the Arts Fiction Fellow. Her work is published in Callaloo, Smith College's Meridians, Mythic Delirium, Obsidian: Literature of the African Diaspora, StorySouth, Harvard's Transition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and in anthologies such as Nikky Finney's The Ringing Ear (University of Georgia Press), Nalo Hopkinson's Mojo: Conjure Stories (Warner/Hachette), Memphis Noir (Akashic Press), Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany (Rosarium Publishing), Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam (Crown Books), Circe's Lament (Accents Publishing), The Moment of Change: Feminist Speculative Poetry (Aqueduct Press), 80! Memories & Recollections of Ursula K. Le Guin (Aqueduct Press), and So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy (Consortium Publishing). Sheree edited the groundbreaking anthologies, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones (Warner/Hachette, 2001 & 2005 World Fantasy Awards). A Clarion West '99 grad, Sheree's writing received Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror (vol. 16-17), and was nominated for two Pushcart Prizes, and two Rhysling Awards. Read her new work forthcoming in the anthologies, An Alphabet of Embers (Stone Bird Press) and Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology (University of Georgia Press). Purchase her book, SLEEPING UNDER THE TREE OF LIFE here: http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/978-1-61976-111-7.php For more info, please contact co-founder, Maia Crown Williams​ at [email protected] 3134510297 (at Bronx Museum of the Arts)