#University of North Carolina School of the Arts

[hillhouseneighbor]

In early 2021, a comment posted in an alumni Facebook group by a former UNCSA Dance instructor — who later became a defendant former administrator in the high school alumni lawsuit — fueled anger among a handful of former students. The alumni approached the attorney Gloria Allred, whose firm agreed to take their case with the assistance of the Lanier Law Group, which is based in North Carolina. Unbeknownst to the soon-to-be plaintiffs, both a college alumnae lawsuit and a Title IX complaint involving the director of the high school drama program were filed the same month that their online confrontation with their former instructor occurred. In tandem, these three episodes instigated UNCSA’s first public reckoning with its accurate history in almost 30 years.

(My latest piece for An Injustice! on the abuse crisis in fine arts education.)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Emotions (Sadness)

Sadness can manifest differently in different people. Here are some notes on writing sad characters in your stories/poetry.

Sadness: Other Words to Use

HIGH grieved, crushed, gloomy, hopeless, heartbroken, devastated, despairing, distraught, heavy hearted, miserable MODERATE dejected, dismayed, hurt, hurting, disillusioned, downcast, forlorn, glum, cheerless, melancholy LOW down, disappointed, blue, discouraged, low, somber, sorry, unhappy

Sadness: Some Phrases to Use

A wave of sadness

Irremediable sorrow (impossible to cure/put right)

A sob rose in my throat

A pining melancholy

A plaintive cry (mournful)

A great pang gripped his heart

Her eyes were prickling with tears

Aching with sympathy

His eyes misted over

There were tracks of tears on her face

Her face contorted as though she was struggling not to cry

Sadness flitted across her face

Shaking with grief

His voice cracks, thick with grief

A lump formed in her throat

Sadness: Show, Don't Tell

Eyebrows may be lower and pulled closer together

The inner corners of the eyebrows may be angled up

The corners of the mouth may be drawn downwards

The lips may be either drawn in tightly or pouting outwards

Crying: A Sign of Sadness

Tears may first pool in the eyes before they streak down a person’s cheeks.

Tears distort vision, so if you’re writing in the first person, don’t forget that your character’s vision will be blurry.

Crying usually isn’t a pretty sight, so don’t be afraid to show that the character’s face is red or that their nose is running.

Sadness: Other Notes & Tips

There are many different ways that sadness can be felt and expressed depending on the intensity of the emotion, and there are many different things that can trigger a sad response in a character.

When a character is truly heartbroken, their expression may change to be more numb: their mouth may hang open loosely, their eyes may remain closed, and the rest of their body may become limp and heavy.

Complexity also means that sadness is often experienced in tandem with another emotion, such as anger, happiness, or disgust.

Show your reader the sad (a) behaviours, (b) facial expressions, (c) actions, (d) speech and (e) inner thoughts of your character.

The arts, humanities, give us the space and freedom and consolation to share our sadness.

Sadness can be one of the best things to happen to us, because it shows we still feel and want to strive for a better life.

We usually associate rain with sadness BUT Bad weather is better than good weather at sustaining people’s attention and maintaining productivity, according to a study by Jooa Julia Lee of Harvard University, Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School, and Bradley R. Staats of the University of North Carolina. In a study of Japanese bank workers whose windows gave them a view of the weather, a 1-inch increase in daily rainfall was related to a 1.3% decrease in worker completion time for data-entry tasks. When the weather is bad, workers are less distracted by thoughts of outdoor activities.

Tap into your own emotionality. It’s important to remember that emotion is inside of you—you just need to access it and put it on the page. In fiction writing, you might achieve this by doing some writing exercises or prompts that help you tap into your own emotions and then translating those feelings to your characters’ emotional states. Or, you might find yourself getting deep into your characters’ heads and using their backstories to connect to your characters’ emotions.

Know the difference between sentimentality and truth. To successfully write an essay or novel with weight or substance, you have to understand the difference between sentimentality and truth. Sentimentality is manipulative and unsurprising. It’s the easy words that have always been used to signify certain emotions without actually moving someone into feeling them. Oscar Wilde said, “A sentimentalist is simply one who desires to have the luxury of emotion without paying for it.” In a similar vein, James Joyce said, “Sentimentality is unearned emotion.” The sadness can’t be forced or formulaic, but it’s important to always look for a way to move people, to add meaning, with more than laughter. You provoke tears or deep emotion when you open a genuine window into who you are or who someone else is. Sadness has to be authentic, so you need to maintain that authenticity in your framing of the emotional moment. Resist the impulse to overplay it. It’s not a soap opera; if your subject is experiencing real pain, they’re doing all of the work for you.

Leave room to be surprised by specific detail. That is how you will create natural emotion, which will resonate with your readers, especially if you show and don’t tell. Often something small can trigger reader emotions better than big, dramatic events or descriptions, especially if they’re already familiar with your characters’ backstories.

Pair strong emotions with ordinary ones. When working with heightened emotion, think of ways to pair it with an ordinary, everyday moment. This can help emotional writing sound less melodramatic and make intense feelings stand out.

Use backstories to add weight. If you show your character’s history, that can help build up to an emotional reaction to minor-seeming actions, language, or even body language. Foreshadowing a sad event with a backstory can make the climax feel more intense.

Use sad moments to further character development. Remember as you’re writing that your characters are on a journey. You are rendering only a small slice of that journey on the page. Nonetheless, your characters will need to grow and change. Difficult emotional experiences can shape your characters, so make sure intense emotional scenes fit into the whole story in a way that feels authentic to your characters and plot.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

If these writing notes helped with your poem/story, please tag me. Or leave a link in the replies. I'd love to read them!

[liberalsarecool]

25 years of 'thoughts and prayers'.

Thurston High School

Columbine High School

Heritage High School

Deming Middle School

Fort Gibson Middle School

Buell Elementary School

Lake Worth Middle School

University of Arkansas

Junipero Serra High School

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Martin Luther King, Jr High School

Appalachian School of Law

Washington High School

Conception Abbey

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University of Arizona

Lincoln High School

John McDonogh High School

Red Lion Area Junior High School

Case Western Reserve University

Rocori High School

Ballou High School

Randallstown High School

Bowen High School

Red Lake Senior High School

Harlan Community Academy High School

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Milwee Middle School

Roseburg High School

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West Nickel Mines School

Joplin Memorial Middle School

Henry Foss High School

Compton Centennial High School

Virginia Tech

Success Tech Academy

Miami Carol City Senior High School

Hamilton High School

Louisiana Technical College

Mitchell High School

EO Green Junior High School

Northern Illinois University

Lakota Middle School

Knoxville Central High School

Willoughby South High School

Henry Ford High School

University of Central Arkansas

Dillard High School

Dunbar High School

Hampton University

Harvard College

Larose-Cut Off Middle School

International Studies Academy

Skyline College

Discovery Middle School

University of Alabama

DeKalb School

Deer Creek Middle School

Ohio State University

Mumford High School

University of Texas

Kelly Elementary School

Marinette High School

Aurora Central High School

Millard South High School

Martinsville West Middle School

Worthing High School

Millard South High School

Highlands Intermediate School

Cape Fear High School

Chardon High School

Episcopal School of Jacksonville

Oikos University

Hamilton High School

Perry Hall School

Normal Community High School

University of South Alabama

Banner Academy South

University of Southern California

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Apostolic Revival Center Christian School

Taft Union High School

Osborn High School

Stevens Institute of Business and Arts

Hazard Community and Technical College

Chicago State University

Lone Star College-North

Cesar Chavez High School

Price Middle School

University of Central Florida

New River Community College

Grambling State University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School

Ronald E McNair Discovery Academy

North Panola High School

Carver High School

Agape Christian Academy

Sparks Middle School

North Carolina A&T State University

Stephenson High School

Brashear High School

West Orange High School

Arapahoe High School

Edison High School

Liberty Technology Magnet High School

Hillhouse High School

Berrendo Middle School

Purdue University

South Carolina State University

Los Angeles Valley College

Charles F Brush High School

University of Southern California

Georgia Regents University

Academy of Knowledge Preschool

Benjamin Banneker High School

D H Conley High School

East English Village Preparatory Academy

Paine College

Georgia Gwinnett College

John F Kennedy High School

Seattle Pacific University

Reynolds High School

Indiana State University

Albemarle High School

Fern Creek Traditional High School

Langston Hughes High School

Marysville Pilchuck High School

Florida State University

Miami Carol City High School

Rogers State University

Rosemary Anderson High School

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Frederick High School

Tenaya Middle School

Bethune-Cookman University

Pershing Elementary School

Wayne Community College

JB Martin Middle School

Southwestern Classical Academy

Savannah State University

Harrisburg High School

Umpqua Community College

Northern Arizona University

Texas Southern University

Tennessee State University

Winston-Salem State University

Mojave High School

Lawrence Central High School

Franklin High School

Muskegon Heights High School

Independence High School

Madison High School

Antigo High School

University of California-Los Angeles

Jeremiah Burke High School

Alpine High School

Townville Elementary School

Vigor High School

Linden McKinley STEM Academy

June Jordan High School for Equity

Union Middle School

Mueller Park Junior High School

West Liberty-Salem High School

University of Washington

King City High School

North Park Elementary School

North Lake College

Freeman High School

Mattoon High School

Rancho Tehama Elementary School

Aztec High School

Wake Forest University

Italy High School

NET Charter High School

Marshall County High School

Sal Castro Middle School

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Great Mills High School

Central Michigan University

Huffman High School

Frederick Douglass High School

Forest High School

Highland High School

Dixon High School

Santa Fe High School

Noblesville West Middle School

University of North Carolina Charlotte

STEM School Highlands Ranch

Edgewood High School

Palm Beach Central High School

Providence Career & Technical Academy

Fairley High School (school bus)

Canyon Springs High School

Dennis Intermediate School

Florida International University

Central Elementary School

Cascade Middle School

Davidson High School

Prairie View A & M University

Altascocita High School

Central Academy of Excellence

Cleveland High School

Robert E Lee High School

Cheyenne South High School

Grambling State University

Blountsville Elementary School

Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)

Prescott High School

College of the Mainland

Wynbrooke Elementary School

UNC Charlotte

Riverview Florida (school bus)

Second Chance High School

Carman-Ainsworth High School

Williwaw Elementary School

Monroe Clark Middle School

Central Catholic High School

Jeanette High School

Eastern Hills High School

DeAnza High School

Ridgway High School

Reginald F Lewis High School

Saugus High School

Pleasantville High School

Waukesha South High School

Oshkosh High School

Catholic Academy of New Haven

Bellaire High School

North Crowley High School

McAuliffe Elementary School

South Oak Cliff High School

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Sonora High School

Western Illinois University

Oxford High School

Robb Elementary SchoolThurston High School

Columbine High School

Heritage High School

Deming Middle School

Fort Gibson Middle School

Buell Elementary School

Lake Worth Middle School

University of Arkansas

Junipero Serra High School

Santana High School

Bishop Neumann High School

Pacific Lutheran University

Granite Hills High School

Lew Wallace High School

Martin Luther King, Jr High School

Appalachian School of Law

Washington High School

Conception Abbey

Benjamin Tasker Middle School

University of Arizona

Lincoln High School

John McDonogh High School

Red Lion Area Junior High School

Case Western Reserve University

Rocori High School

Ballou High School

Randallstown High School

Bowen High School

Red Lake Senior High School

Harlan Community Academy High School

Campbell County High School

Milwee Middle School

Roseburg High School

Pine Middle School

Essex Elementary School

Duquesne University

Platte Canyon High School

Weston High School

West Nickel Mines School

Joplin Memorial Middle School

Henry Foss High School

Compton Centennial High School

Virginia Tech

Success Tech Academy

Miami Carol City Senior High School

Hamilton High School

Louisiana Technical College

Mitchell High School

EO Green Junior High School

Northern Illinois University

Lakota Middle School

Knoxville Central High School

Willoughby South High School

Henry Ford High School

University of Central Arkansas

Dillard High School

Dunbar High School

Hampton University

Harvard College

Larose-Cut Off Middle School

International Studies Academy

Skyline College

Discovery Middle School

University of Alabama

DeKalb School

Deer Creek Middle School

Ohio State University

Mumford High School

University of Texas

Kelly Elementary School

Marinette High School

Aurora Central High School

Millard South High School

Martinsville West Middle School

Worthing High School

Millard South High School

Highlands Intermediate School

Cape Fear High School

Chardon High School

Episcopal School of Jacksonville

Oikos University

Hamilton High School

Perry Hall School

Normal Community High School

University of South Alabama

Banner Academy South

University of Southern California

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Apostolic Revival Center Christian School

Taft Union High School

Osborn High School

Stevens Institute of Business and Arts

Hazard Community and Technical College

Chicago State University

Lone Star College-North

Cesar Chavez High School

Price Middle School

University of Central Florida

New River Community College

Grambling State University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School

Ronald E McNair Discovery Academy

North Panola High School

Carver High School

Agape Christian Academy

Sparks Middle School

North Carolina A&T State University

Stephenson High School

Brashear High School

West Orange High School

Arapahoe High School

Edison High School

Liberty Technology Magnet High School

Hillhouse High School

Berrendo Middle School

Purdue University

South Carolina State University

Los Angeles Valley College

Charles F Brush High School

University of Southern California

Georgia Regents University

Academy of Knowledge Preschool

Benjamin Banneker High School

D H Conley High School

East English Village Preparatory Academy

Paine College

Georgia Gwinnett College

John F Kennedy High School

Seattle Pacific University

Reynolds High School

Indiana State University

Albemarle High School

Fern Creek Traditional High School

Langston Hughes High School

Marysville Pilchuck High School

Florida State University

Miami Carol City High School

Rogers State University

Rosemary Anderson High School

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Frederick High School

Tenaya Middle School

Bethune-Cookman University

Pershing Elementary School

Wayne Community College

JB Martin Middle School

Southwestern Classical Academy

Savannah State University

Harrisburg High School

Umpqua Community College

Northern Arizona University

Texas Southern University

Tennessee State University

Winston-Salem State University

Mojave High School

Lawrence Central High School

Franklin High School

Muskegon Heights High School

Independence High School

Madison High School

Antigo High School

University of California-Los Angeles

Jeremiah Burke High School

Alpine High School

Townville Elementary School

Vigor High School

Linden McKinley STEM Academy

June Jordan High School for Equity

Union Middle School

Mueller Park Junior High School

West Liberty-Salem High School

University of Washington

King City High School

North Park Elementary School

North Lake College

Freeman High School

Mattoon High School

Rancho Tehama Elementary School

Aztec High School

Wake Forest University

Italy High School

NET Charter High School

Marshall County High School

Sal Castro Middle School

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Great Mills High School

Central Michigan University

Huffman High School

Frederick Douglass High School

Forest High School

Highland High School

Dixon High School

Santa Fe High School

Noblesville West Middle School

University of North Carolina Charlotte

STEM School Highlands Ranch

Edgewood High School

Palm Beach Central High School

Providence Career & Technical Academy

Fairley High School (school bus)

Canyon Springs High School

Dennis Intermediate School

Florida International University

Central Elementary School

Cascade Middle School

Davidson High School

Prairie View A & M University

Altascocita High School

Central Academy of Excellence

Cleveland High School

Robert E Lee High School

Cheyenne South High School

Grambling State University

Blountsville Elementary School

Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)

Prescott High School

College of the Mainland

Wynbrooke Elementary School

UNC Charlotte

Riverview Florida (school bus)

Second Chance High School

Carman-Ainsworth High School

Williwaw Elementary School

Monroe Clark Middle School

Central Catholic High School

Jeanette High School

Eastern Hills High School

DeAnza High School

Ridgway High School

Reginald F Lewis High School

Saugus High School

Pleasantville High School

Waukesha South High School

Oshkosh High School

Catholic Academy of New Haven

Bellaire High School

North Crowley High School

McAuliffe Elementary School

South Oak Cliff High School

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Sonora High School

Western Illinois University

Oxford High School

Bridgewater University

Robb Elementary School

Michigan State University

Covenant Christian School

.

TBA

***feel free to copy and paste, then share ****

[kemetic-dreams]

Carol Diann Johnson was born in the Bronx, New York City, on July 17, 1935, to John Johnson, a subway conductor, and Mabel (Faulk), a nurse. While Carroll was still an infant, the family moved to Harlem, where she grew up except for a brief period in which her parents had left her with an aunt in North Carolina. She attended Music and Art High School, and was a classmate of Billy Dee Williams. In many interviews about her childhood, Carroll recalls her parents' support, and their enrolling her in dance, singing, and modeling classes. By the time Carroll was 15, she was modeling for Ebony. "She also began entering television contests, including Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, under the name Diahann Carroll." After graduating from high school, she attended New York University, where she majored in sociology, "but she left before graduating to pursue a show-business career, promising her family that if the career did not materialize after two years, she would return to college.

Carroll's big break came at the age of 18, when she appeared as a contestant on the DuMont Television Network program, Chance of a Lifetime, hosted by Dennis James. On the show, which aired January 8, 1954, she took the $1,000 top prize for a rendition of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein song, "Why Was I Born?" She went on to win the following four weeks. Engagements at Manhattan's Café Society and Latin Quarter, nightclubs soon followed.

Carroll's film debut was a supporting role in Carmen Jones (1954), as a friend to the sultry lead character played by Dorothy Dandridge. That same year, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in the Broadway musical, House of Flowers. A few years later, she played Clara in the film version of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1959), but her character's singing parts were dubbed by opera singer Loulie Jean Norman. The following year, Carroll made a guest appearance in the series Peter Gunn, in the episode "Sing a Song of Murder" (1960). In the next two years, she starred with Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward in the film Paris Blues (1961) and won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (the first time for a Black woman) for portraying Barbara Woodruff in the Samuel A. Taylor and Richard Rodgers musical No Strings. Twelve years later, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role alongside James Earl Jones in the film Claudine (1974), which part had been written specifically for actress Diana Sands (who had made guest appearances on Julia as Carroll's cousin Sara), but shortly before filming was to begin, Sands learned she was terminally ill with cancer. Sands attempted to carry on with the role, but as filming began, she became too ill to continue and recommended her friend Carroll take over the role. Sands died in September 1973, before the film's release in April 1974.

Carroll is known for her titular role in the television series Julia (1968-71), which made her the first African-American actress to star in her own television series who did not play a domestic worker. That role won her the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Female for its first year, and a nomination for an Primetime Emmy Award in 1969. Some of Carroll's earlier work also included appearances on shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Judy Garland, Merv Griffin, Jack Paar, and Ed Sullivan, and on The Hollywood Palace variety show. In 1984, Carroll joined the nighttime soap opera Dynasty at the end of its fourth season as the mixed-race jet set diva Dominique Deveraux, Blake Carrington's half-sister. Her high-profile role on Dynasty also reunited her with her schoolmate Billy Dee Williams, who briefly played her onscreen husband Brady Lloyd. Carroll remained on the show and made several appearances on its short-lived spin-off, The Colbys until she departed at the end of the seventh season in 1987. In 1989, she began the recurring role of Marion Gilbert in A Different World, for which she received her third Emmy nomination that same year.

In 1991, Carroll portrayed Eleanor Potter, the doting, concerned, and protective wife of Jimmy Potter (portrayed by Chuck Patterson), in the musical drama film The Five Heartbeats (1991), also featuring actor and musician Robert Townsend and Michael Wright. She reunited with Billy Dee Williams again in 1995, portraying his character's wife Mrs. Greyson in Lonesome Dove: The Series. The following year, Carroll starred as the self-loving and deluded silent movie star Norma Desmond in the Canadian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of the film Sunset Boulevard. In 2001, Carroll made her animation debut in The Legend of Tarzan, in which she voiced Queen La, ruler of the ancient city of Opar.

In 2006, Carroll appeared in several episodes the television medical drama Grey's Anatomy as Jane Burke, the demanding mother of Dr. Preston Burke. From 2008 to 2014, she appeared on USA Network's series White Collar in the recurring role of June, the savvy widow who rents out her guest room to Neal Caffrey. In 2010, Carroll was featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docudrama titled 1 a Minute and appeared as Nana in two Lifetime movie adaptations of Patricia Cornwell’s novels: At Risk and The Front.

In 2013, Carroll was present on stage at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards to briefly speak about being the first African-American nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She was quoted as saying about Kerry Washington, nominated for Scandal, "She better get this award."

Carroll was a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer group of celebrity women who served the women's outreach of the Los Angeles Mission, working with women in rehabilitation from problems with alcohol, drugs, or prostitution. She helped to form the group along with other female television personalities including Mary Frann, Linda Gray, Donna Mills, and Joan Van Ark.

Carroll was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She said the diagnosis "stunned" her, because there was no family history of breast cancer, and she had always led a healthy lifestyle. She underwent nine weeks of radiation therapy and had been clear for years after the diagnosis. She frequently spoke of the need for early detection and prevention of the disease. She died from cancer at her home in West Hollywood, California, on October 4, 2019, at the age of 84. Carroll also had dementia at the time of her death, though actor Marc Copage, who played her character's son on Julia, said that she did not appear to show serious signs of cognitive decline as late as 2017. A memorial service was held in November 24, 2019, at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York City.

[aff1uent]

                 blasting   𝒍𝒂   𝒗𝒊𝒆   𝒆𝒏   𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆   𝒃𝒚   𝒆́𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒉   𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒇   through   their   airpods   is   𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐚   𝐝𝐮𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞   .   oh   ,   you   don’t   know   them   ?   they’re   the   𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚   -   𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏   year   old   𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫   who   just   went   viral   for   𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈   𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅   𝒇𝒐𝒓   𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈   $𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎   𝒂   𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌   𝒐𝒏   𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒔   .   yup   ,   the   one   that   drives   a   𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬   𝐬𝐥𝐫   .   i   hear   they’re   pretty   𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔   ,   but   others   have   claimed   that   they’re   quite   𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥   .   that   makes   sense   ,   considering   they’re   often   labeled   as   𝒕𝒉𝒆   𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒚   .

───    visage    ⋆    interactions    ⋆    pinterest    .

⊹   𝙶𝙴𝙽𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙻   .

        ·   full   name   ⸝⸝   ahunna   noele   duquette   .         ·   nicknames   ⸝⸝   none   .         ·   date   of   birth   ⸝⸝   january   2nd   ,   1997   .         ·   age   ⸝⸝   twenty - seven   .         ·   place   of   birth   ⸝⸝   marseille   ,   france   .         ·   gender   ⸝⸝   cis   woman   .         ·   pronouns   ⸝⸝   she   /   her   .         ·   orientation   ⸝⸝   bisexual   and   biromantic   .         ·   nationality   ⸝⸝   french   .         ·   ethnicity   ⸝⸝   nigerian   ,   german   and   scottish   .         ·   education   ⸝⸝   bachelor   of   arts   degree   from   university   of   north   carolina   school   .         ·   occupation   ⸝⸝   principal   dancer   at   the   american   ballet   theater   .         ·   lingo   ⸝⸝   english   ,   french   .

⊹   𝚁𝙴𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂   .

        ·   father   ⸝⸝   alexandre   duquette   ,   a   hardworking   bookworm   who   owns   and   operates   a   library   in   cooperstown   ,   new   york   .         ·   mother   ⸝⸝   unknown   .   alexandre   refuses   to   discuss   who   she   was   and   ahunna   doesn’t   pry   .         ·   siblings   ⸝⸝   none   .         ·   children   ⸝⸝   none   .         ·   pets   ⸝⸝   none   .

⊹   𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝚃𝚈   .

        ·   zodiac   ⸝⸝   capricorn   .         ·   alignment   ⸝⸝   chaotic   neutral   .         ·   mbti   type   ⸝⸝   intj   .         ·   positive   traits   ⸝⸝   vigorous   ,   independent   ,   clever   ,   observant   .         ·   negative   traits   ⸝⸝   spiteful   ,   cunning   ,   dishonest   ,   egocentric   .         ·   tropes   ⸝⸝   the   prodigy   ,   determinator   ,   sanity   slippage   ,   girly   girl   with   a   tomboy   streak   .         ·   hobbies   ⸝⸝   reading   ,   wine   tasting   ,   dancing   in   the   rain   ,   candle   making   ,   hiking   ,   ice   skating   ,   taekwondo   .         ·   character   inspiration   ⸝⸝   alex   mahone   (   prison   break   )   ,   rosalie   hale   (   twilight   .   )

⊹   𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙶𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳   .

        ·   ahunna’s   earliest   memories   are   flashed   back   to   when   she’s   six   years   old   ,   watching   her   mother   pack   her   luggage   as   she   and   her   father   scream   about   who’s   wrong   and   who’s   right   .   eventually   ,   her   mother   declares   her   a   tearful   goodbye   and   leaves   ,   picked   up   by   a   new   lover   in   his   shiny   corvette   .   ever   since   then   ,   it’s   always   been   just   ahunna   and   her   father   .         ·   all   she   was   told   growing   up   was   to   study   ,   work   hard   ,   and   pursue   your   dreams   .   her   father   constantly   encouraged   her   to   go   after   the   life   she   wants   ,   and   sometime   after   moving   to   new   york   and   attending   a   recital   at   the   american   ballet   theater   when   she   was   nine   years   old   ,   ahunna   knew   then   that   she   wanted   to   become   a   dancer   .   the   very   next   day   ,   her   father   enrolled   her   into   ballet   studio   .   ahunna’s   life   has   revolved   around   ballet   since   .         ·   though   she   could   have   continued   dancing   without   going   to   school   ,   as   talented   as   she   was   ,   she   knew   her   father   wanted   her   to   obtain   some   sort   of   degree   —   and   her   number   one   wish   is   to   make   him   proud   .   she   attended   college   ,   gained   the   greatest   experience   and   knowledge   to   become   who   she   is   today   ;   though   of   course   ,   some   students   may   stray   along   a   dark   path   during   their   journey   .   ahunna   was   no   different   .   **   drug   mention   **   while   rehearsing   for   a   recital   ,   she   spotted   an   acquaintance   popping   a   few   pills   and   questioned   her   .   their   response   ,   this   is   how   i   get   through   the   day   when   i   really   just   want   to   go   to   bed   .   it   striked   her   curiosity   ,   accepting   two   pills   from   the   other   to   experience   for   the   very   first   time   that   night   when   she   was   attending   a   house   party   .   an   event   she   wasn’t   interested   in   but   encouraged   to   ,   to   make   friends   .   the   pills   worked   ,   brightening   ahunna’s   personality   and   extending   her   social   battery   .   then   ,   she   tried   it   again   just   before   a   recital   —   and   she   has   not   known   how   to   stay   sober   since   .   this   habit   is   something   she   refuses   to   acknowledge   as   a   problem   ,   as   she   sees   it   as   a   coping   mechanism   to   relieve   stress   .   without   some   sort   of   substance   ,   she’s   a   strained   workaholic   who   is   unable   to   stay   still   ,   with   her   mind   racing   constantly   .   **   end   drug   mention   **         ·   after   gaining   her   degree   ,   ahunna   returned   to   new   york   and   was   immediately   accepted   into   the   american   ballet   theater   .   her   exceptional   talent   kicked   off   her   career   after   seven   months   at   the   company   ,   granting   her   brand   deals   and   campaigns   as   a   star   .   with   the   wealth   she’d   received   ,   she   gave   it   to   her   father   for   him   to   pursue   his   own   dream   —   to   build   a   library   in   their   village   and   watch   as   people   find   happiness   in   books   .   his   joy   has   become   hers   .         ·   when   she’s   not   working   in   new   york   ,   she’s   working   in   los   angeles   .   beverly   park   is   her   home   away   from   home   ,   and   she’s   lived   here   for   the   past   three   years   .

⊹   𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚈   .

        ·   ahunna   doesn’t   have   many   close   friends   ,   mainly   because   work   >   socializing   .   but   ,   she   is   friendly   .   as   in   ,   she’ll   sit   and   have   a   conversation   with   you   —   but   won’t   remember   the   conversation   the   next   day   ,   and   likely   doesn’t   have   your   phone   number   saved   .         ·   she   is   a   major   workaholic   .   ballet   is   her   passion   ,   her   life   ,   her   everything   .   it   comes   before   anything   ,   excluding   her   father   .         ·   she’ll   rarely   admit   it   ,   but   she   loves   the   spotlight   .   as   much   as   she   loves   her   isolation   and   peace   ,   she   simultaneously   loves   being   adored   ;   there’s   no   in   between   with   her   .   to   her   ,   it   has   proven   that   her   talent   is  ��recognized   by   the   rest   of   the   world   .         ·   she’ll   do   whatever   that   is   necessary   to   stay   at   the   top   .   including   ,   backstabbing   and   lying   .   if   you   are   not   dear   to   her   heart   (   which   she   keeps   guarded   ,   because   emotions   only   cause   self   destruction   )   ,   she’ll   merely   blink   when   you   are   struggling   .

[liminalweirdo]

“I’m appalled by the proposed North Carolina mask ban. I’m afraid that it won’t just stop in NC. As a performing artist and on-campus graduate student, my respirators are often the only thing standing between me and a debilitating and deadly disease. Losing the ability to protect myself and my community is unacceptable. NC is a vibrant center of academics and art. Banning masks means hosting institutions like the American Dance Festival, UNC School of the Arts, and the Research Triangle consisting of Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, and NC State University, would lose out on so much disabled, immunocompromised, and otherwise marginalized talent and voices, in addition to just making NC overall unlivable for the general population.”   Behind the 3m Aura + a wellbeforehq KN95 is PhD student Karina doing ballet on a stage.   “People who don’t mask consistently make our communities more hostile to masking. I’ve been unable to get critical dental care and medical imaging because of a lack of COVlD precautions. I’ve been excluded from certain artistic and academic spaces because group “bonding” takes place over meals and drinks. I’ve also had bus drivers accelerating supersonically fast as soon as they see me board, and outright refusing to honor my stop requests. Because I was wearing masks.”   Discrimination is intolerable. America’s culture of pushing through sickness, mindless about mitigation fuels the health crisis. COVlD is preventable but remains prevalent. So far this year, over 280K Americans were hospitalized. Over 29K people lost their lives. 22M people are negatively impacted by Long COVlD.   “My school and workplaces have a culture of presenteeism (both implicitly and with explicit attendance policies that don’t have exceptions for sickness), so whenever I go out in public, there will almost always be at least one contagiously ill person whose aerosols are still in the air. That’s why I wear N95s, even if I’m the only one doing it.”

[jules-has-notes]

2018 VoicePlay fall activities — maintenance, music, and merriment

Heading into the end of the year, VoicePlay gradually ramped up their schedule until they were running at a decent clip for the holiday season.

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Say cheese!

It had been nearly two years since they'd taken their previous set of promo photos, and enough had changed — Earl's lush beard, Geoff's longer hair — that the boys decided it was time for some new ones.

.

On the following Saturday, J.None and his Paradigm pals teamed up with the Push Love Productions folks (including a future familiar face) for a "Come Out with Pride" event at Lake Eola Park. They performed both before and after the parade.

.

The next week the SoJam A Cappella Festival released a promo video for their upcoming event featuring VoicePlay.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SoJam A Cappella Festival (@sojamfestival)

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Over the weekend, J.None performed at a "night of spoken word and comedy" for the Pipol Angels Foundation, which provides funding for arts and education both locally and overseas. (Previous projects had provided new backpacks and school uniforms to students in the Orlando area, and helped a school in Trinidad build an additional classroom for its growing student population.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pipiol Angels Foundation Inc. (@pipiolangelsfoundation)

J.None rehearsing "No Role Modelz" by J. Cole with the band a few days before the fundraiser

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Ready for their close-ups

A few days after that, VoicePlay convened at a local studio to film their laid back video for "Thinkin Bout You".

When you show up for book club, but a slow jam breaks out.

.

As the end of the month approached, Layne and Tony gathered a cadre of lovely ladies for the first episode of their new Princess Academy series.

.

Sing for me!

The first weekend of November took VoicePlay to North Carolina for the SoJam A Cappella Festival. The attendees consisted of high school and collegiate groups, including two young groups from Winter Park, and three groups from the University of Central Florida (Layne and Eli's alma mater) who swept the top spots in the competition portion.

The guys spent Saturday afternoon leading a workshop on the business of singing for a living, and a masterclass for some of the competitors. Then they headlined the evening concert, with local openers Transit Vocal Band.

In addition to performing and doing educational outreach, VoicePlay also got to see some old friends. Alfredo Austin from The Exchange was doing coaching sessions. Max Herskovitz, who had subbed for Layne several times, was leading workshops for the kids. Singer and sound engineer Tony Huerta was running the show in his role as CASA president.

.

When they got back home, the boys headed to the studio for their next music video, a dramatic medley of Queen songs.

Then they spent a couple weeks finishing off projects in progress, working on upcoming ones, and polishing their setlist for their Warm Up holiday tour.

.

Holiday ro-o-o-o-oad

Since the Disney World residency for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party had passed to their pals in The Edge Effect, VoicePlay was free to embark on a slightly more relaxed holiday tour for the final month of the year. They traded a location close to home and four sets per night for just nine longer shows at a variety of venues across the country.

The first leg of their travels was a jaunt out west to Alto, New Mexico (via El Paso, Texas). As the name of the town suggests, it's quite high in the mountains, which can present a challenge when your job involves moving lots of air in and out of your lungs. Earl noted on Twitter that "7200ft above sea level was a real thing!"

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When they got home, they continued the holiday spirit by filming their video for "This Christmas". It was the last remaining track on the "Warm Up" EP to get the visual treatment.

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The next weekend the tour continued with a loop through the Midwest. The boys started in Findlay, Ohio, scooted up to Traverse City, Michigan, then hopped over to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Back at home, they got into a bit of a pickle for a festive Mission Impossible tie-in video. (Luckily, they didn't get blown up this time.)

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The following week's tour dates were slightly more spread out. Saturday took the guys to Kilmarnock, Virginia. The next day, they scooted down to Newnan, Georgia, where they got to see their artist pal Leon King, who had drawn their adorable avatars for the pre-show spiel.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leon King 🦁 (@leekiings)

meet and greet in Newnan, GA — photos by Dawn Ortiz

Then they took a leisurely drive up to Waleska, Georgia before heading home. (Eli made some similarly hatted friends on the flight.)

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Once they were back in Florida, they headed over to Kissimmee for a show at the Gaylord Palms resort. Because they were so close to home, some of their families came along.

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They capped off their travels with a quick trip to a suburb of Chicago.

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And to all a good night

Once they were finished spreading holiday cheer to others, the guys took some time at home with their own loved ones.

Then Earl got a head start on his New Year's resolutions by hitting the gym for a leg day workout.

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With a couple weeks to rest, the guys prepared to hit the ground running in the new year. But that's a tale for another post.

[lboogie1906]

Attorney King Virgil Cheek Jr. (May 26, 1937) is a lifelong educator, lawyer, and author.

He was born in Weldon, North Carolina to Lee Ella Williams Cheek and King V. Cheek Sr. The family moved to Greensboro, where he graduated from James B. Dudley High School.

He attended Bates College, majoring in economics, and received a BA. He went to the University of Chicago, receiving his MA and his JD from the University of Chicago Law School. He passed the Illinois State Bar and the North Carolina State Bar. He became active in the civil rights movement and participated in the March on Washington.

He served as professor, dean, and vice president before being appointed as president of Shaw at the age of thirty-two. He followed his older brother, James Edward Cheek, who had served as president of Shaw University. He became the eighth president of Morgan State University. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Delaware State College.

He married Annette Walker (1968) and the couple had four children. He is a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

He became a professor of social sciences and dean of graduate studies at the New York Institute of Technology. He served as vice president and president of the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, and he co-founded the Center for Leadership and Career Development in DC. He resumed his position as dean of graduate studies at the New York Institute of Technology. He was chancellor of the New York College of Health Professionals. He has written several articles, pamphlets, and books, including I See A New America: It Ain’t Like The One I Used To Know and The Quadrangle.

He served as the economic development consultant to the chief minister of Turks and Caicos Islands, director of the Senior Executive Development Program, Government of Bermuda, member of the board of directors of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Baltimore Urban League, and member of the board of the North Carolina Association of Colleges and the Association of Eastern North Carolina Colleges. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #sigmaphiphi

[undescribed1mage]

Every May — August 2023 RTC production that I know about !! (If you see any of these, please get a recording of some kind!)

Abingdon Community Theater, Bel Air, Maryland — May 6th — May 7th

Stone Soup Theatre, Durham, North Carolina — June 8th – 11th & June 23rd — 25th

Santa Barbara High school, Santa Barbara, California — June 1st — 4th

Tribble School For The Performing Arts, Houston, Texas — June 1st — 4th

Mini Mirage Theatre, Kendall, Florida — June 2nd — June 11th

Oddfellows Youth Theatre Playhouse, Middletown, Connecticut — June 16th — June 17th

Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas — June 22nd — June 25th

Skiing Squirrel Productions, Clinton, New York — July 7th — July 8th

Forest Theater Guild, Carmel, California — June 16th — July 9th

Trinity Theatre Company, San Diego, California — July 21st — August 12th

Opera Wyoming, Casper, Wyoming — August 4th — 13th (with a preview on the 2nd)

Brown Cow Collective, Alberta, Canada — August 11th — 26th

[spnmusicalbang]

SPN Musical Theater Bang Masterlist

As the curtain falls on this year's Musical Theater Bang, let's have one more ovation for the amazing writers and artists who contributed! You can revisit their original cast recordings below.

Truth, Beauty, Free Will, Love by @Tossukka with art by @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes Summary: Dean is a courtesan and the star of a nightclub longing for a normal life and a chance to find his brother again. Castiel is an angel living in the shadow of his siblings, wanting a chance to make his own choices for once. One night their paths cross. This story is about truth, beauty, freedom but above all things, this story is about love.

Phantom of Midsommer's Nightmare by @Kyra_Kiara_Elizabeth_Mai with art by @zybynarx Summary: During some downtime at the bunker: Cas is worried about Dean it has only been a few months since Dean was cured, the mark is draining him everyone can see it, and desperation leads him to a long shot. Sam is using this time for research, his own personal interest. Until Donna calls him with a conundrum. Dean is trying to lay low, relax, and not let everyones worry get to him.

Sugar, Butter, Flour by @raimykeller with art by @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes Summary: Dean works in a diner in a small North Carolina town and is a genius at creating unique pie recipes. Without any family of his own, he has carved a space for himself in a little group of loving misfits who work with him at the diner. When fellow waitress – and Dean’s best friend – Kelly finds out she is pregnant by her deadbeat husband, and their diner loses one of their line cooks, Dean’s quiet, but boring life is changed instantly. Join Dean as he falls in love, protects his found family, and bakes a lot of pie.

As One In Love of Chess by @Raven_Fuchs with art by @lotrspnfangirl Summary: Drama student Dean Winchester has a lot riding on the university’s annual big musical. Not only is his graduate thesis tied up in the production but if he’s cast as one of the leads it will be his graduate showcase as well. The choice to produce selections from the musical “Chess” means that there really are only two male lead roles up for grabs. He never could have imagined how his life could change when he meets a blue-eyed music grad student. While the characters on stage are unlucky in love, can the actors avoid a similar fate?

Oh He's a Curious Cat by @preetkiran1016 with art by @hexentaenzerin Summary: It’s Dean’s last year at Juilliard’s school for the performing arts. He’s almost done, ready to jump into the acting world- when Professor Balthazar takes a year sabbatical. Castiel Novak filling in as his substitute makes surviving the year a hell of a lot more difficult, Dean’ll tell you that much. Between learning to dance in a lycra cat suit, dealing with his friends and their constant teasing, and Novak staring daggers at him every second- Dean’s not sure he’ll make it.

Three Little Pigs by @hectatess with art by @lotrspnfangirl Summary: What happens when the fairytale ends? When the curtains are closed, what becomes of the characters? Well, those that survive lead their lives. And sometimes those lives collide again. Like with one little pig and a big, well, only slightly larger than average, but still bad wolf. And their offspring…

Oh, Lover (I'll Cover You) by @lotrspnfangirl with art by @deancodedcastielenby Summary: Nearing Christmas, when the city was frozen, a group of friends found the warmth they were missing. 

My Unfortunate Protuberance by @whaddyameanno with art by @aleriya-darling Summary: Dean and Cas have been in a long-distance relationship for two years, and Cas always goes to Dean’s opening nights, knowing just how important it is to his boyfriend. When plans fall through and he isn’t able to go anymore, Dean gets upset. Will this spell the end of their relationship? Or will Cas find a way to make it to the show and make it up to Dean?

[mybeingthere]

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum

Born 1980, Mochudi, Botswana.

The Botswanan-Canadian artist is rapidly building an international reputation for her evocative Afrocentric paintings of mythic characters in landscapes.

She was born in Botswana, but the family also lived in Sudan, Sri Lanka, Malawi and South Africa, and moved back to Ottawa during Sunstrum’s middle school years. She was back in Botswana for high school and then attended university in the United States, assuming she was premed during her studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Still, “I had always been a step child of the art department,” she recalls. She abandoned any idea of becoming a doctor after a successful artist’s residency in Panama, where she spent two months in the jungle building an earthwork sculpture as a monument to a Nigerian woman sentenced to be stoned for adultery.

“Then and now, I was reading a lot of poetry and fiction and was moved by narratives that involved these condemned female characters, tragic characters,” she said. In earlier work she invented a fictional alter ego named Asme who travelled with a Canada goose; today her characters and her figures are more varied and ambiguous, although mainly female even if the photographs from which she sometimes works may originally show men. For example, one work-in-progress sitting in the small light-filled studio at the back of her Ottawa house, shows a female soldier, partly modern warrior in a combat helmet, partly a lady in a skirt: The source image was of a man in a Scottish regiment wearing a kilt.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/.../article-ottawa.../

[send-me-a-puffalope]

Elizabeth Lail has had an eventful first five years in Hollywood. After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in the spring of 2014, Lail quickly landed the role of Anna (based on the Frozen character) on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. From there, Lail wasted no time as she became a finalist to play Kara Danvers/Supergirl on CBS’ Supergirl.

-Hollywood Reporter

HELLOOO??/?/?//// EXCUSE ME?/??/?/

YOU MEAN SHE COULDVE BEEN THE ONE TO HAVE INTENSE HOMOEROTIC “FRIENDSHIP” WITH KATIE MCGRATH’S LENA LESBIAN LUTHOR??/?////// but also like, if you ignore the insane ship that is Supercorp. Supergirl kinda like. Sucked. 💀💀💀 which is tragic because why the hell were Melissa Benoist and Katie McGrath staring at each other as if they wanted to collide faces every time they were in the same room.

two hyperfixations colliding in the most unexpected way possible

[kemetic-dreams]

Traditionally, the people now known as Cherokee refer to themselves as Aniyunwiya (ah nee yun wee yah), a name usually translated as "the Real People," sometimes "the Original People."

▪The Cherokee never had princesses. This is a concept based on European folktales and has no reality in Cherokee history and culture. In fact, Cherokee women were very powerful. They owned all the houses and fields, and they could marry and divorce as they pleased. Kinship was determined through the mother's line.

Clan mothers administered justice in many matters. Beloved women were very special women chosen for their outstanding qualities. As in other aspects of Cherokee culture, there was a balance of power between men and women. Although they had different roles, they both were valued.

▪The Cherokee never lived in tipis. Only the nomadic Plains tribes did. The Cherokee were southeastern woodland natives, and in the winter they lived in houses made of woven saplings, plastered with mud and roofed with poplar bark. In the summer they lived in open-air dwellings roofed with bark.

▪The Cherokee have never worn feathered headdresses except to please tourists. These long headdresses were worn by Plains Natives and were made popular through Wild West shows and Hollywood movies. Cherokee men traditionally wore a feather or two tied at the crown of the head. In the early 18th century, Cherokee men wore cotton trade shirts, loincloths, leggings, front-seam moccasins, finger-woven or beaded belts, multiple pierced earrings around the rim of the ear, and a blanket over one shoulder. At that time, Cherokee women wore mantles of leather or feathers, skirts of leather or woven mulberry bark, front-seam moccasins, and earrings pierced through the earlobe only. By the end of the 18th century, Cherokee men were dressing much like their white neighbors. Men were wearing shirts, pants, and trade coats, with a distinctly Cherokee turban. Women were wearing calico skirts, blouses, and shawls. Today Cherokee people dress like other Americans, except for special occasions, when the men wear ribbon shirts with jeans and moccasins, and the women wear tear dresses with corn beads, woven belts, and moccasins.

▪The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) are descended from Cherokee people who had taken land under the Treaty of 1819 and were allowed to remain in North Carolina; from those who hid in the woods and mountains until the U.S. Army left; and from those who turned around and walked back from Oklahoma. By 1850 they numbered almost a thousand. Today the Eastern Band includes about 11,000 members, while the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma claims more than 100,000 members, making the Cherokee the largest tribe in the United States.

▪Cherokee arts and crafts are still practiced: basket-weaving, pottery, carving, finger-weaving, and beadwork.

▪The Cherokee language is spoken as a first language by fewer than a thousand people and has declined rapidly because of the policies of federally operated schools. However, since the tribe has begun operation of their own schools, Cherokee language is being systematically taught in the schools.

▪Traditional Cherokee medicine, religion, and dance are practiced privately.

▪There have never been Cherokee shamans. Shamanism is a foreign concept to North America. The Cherokee have medicine men and women.

▪"aho" is not a Cherokee word and Cherokee speakers never use it. Most are actually offended by the misuse of this word. It's not some kind of universal Native word used by all tribes, as many believe. Each individual tribe have their own languages. We can respect these languages by using them correctly or not at all.

▪In order to belong to one of the seven Cherokee clans, your mother had to have been/be Cherokee and her clan is passed on to you. If the maternal line has been broken by a non Cherokee or someone had all sons, you have no clan, which is the case with many today.

▪There is only one Cherokee tribe that consist of three bands. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, United Keetoowah Band of Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. All others who claim a different band than one of the three above are not considered Cherokee and are a direct threat to Cherokee tribal sovereignty. In fact, to be Cherokee, one must be registered with the tribe, as Cherokee is a citizenship granted through documentation. One can have Native DNA but is not considered Cherokee until they are a registered tribal citizen.

Via N. Bear

Cherokee man

North Carolina

[petervintonjr]

"It is very inspiring to release a figure from a piece of stone or wood. Very often, I look at (the) stone or wood for a year or longer. I will have completed the piece mentally before attacking the material."

You, or someone nearby to you, are very likely carrying around a Selma Hortense Burke sculpture in your pocket at this very moment.

Born in 1900 in Mooresville, North Carolina into a family of ten, Burke attended what would eventually be known as Winston-Salem University, where she unleashed her passion for art but decided that nursing was the more practical path to follow, and became an RN in Philadelphia in 1924 at the prestigious St. Agnes School of Nursing. It might be argued that this was correct choice at the time --certainly the career of a nurse provided much greater financial stability during the Great Depression-- but ultimately Selma's interests swung back to art and in 1935 she moved to New York.

It wasn't long before the Harlem Artists' Guild found its new star sculptor and teacher, and in very short order Selma was travelling throughout Europe --not only honing her skills, but also teaching and lecturing. In 1933 she received the Harmon Foundation award, cementing her role as one of the most influential artists of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1940 she secured an M.A. (Fine Arts) from Columbia and founded the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New York City. During World War II Selma enlisted in the U.S. Navy --one of the very first Black women to do so. While she saw no overseas action, she worked on base at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and it was while there she learned of a New Deal art competition to depict a likeness of then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in celebration of the "four freedoms." Burke worked for two years on a bronze relief portrait, which not only won the competition (and to this day hangs in the Recorder Of Deeds Building), but in 1946 would become the basis for a specific denomination of U.S.-issued currency.

In other words, Burke's artwork is on the U.S. dime.*

Burke's career certainly didn't stop there; in 1968 she founded the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, which continued her mission of introducing art opportunities to disadvantaged inner-city youth. Amongst her many subjects have included likenesses of Duke Ellington, Mary McLeod Bethune (Lesson #49 in this series), and A. Philip Randolph (Lesson #68). Her work is on display at the Smithsonian, in Charlotte (significantly a nine-foot statue of Martin Luther King, which she completed in her eighties), at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, and at her beloved Winston-Salem State University. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter presented Burke with a lifetime achievement award from the Women's Caucus for Art. She died in 1995 at the impressive age of 95.

* - No, it wasn't John Sinnock --even the U.S. Mint now acknowledges this plagiarism. Credit-stealing was and is still a thing, with Black artists.

[claraverdun]

✦ full name. clara elise verdun ✦ age. twenty-seven ✦ date of birth. july 10, 1996 ✦ place of birth. wilmington, north carolina ✦ gender. cis-female ✦ pronouns. she/her ✦ sexual orientation. bisexual ✦ occupation. art curator ✦ neighbourhood. midtown ✦ faceclaim. anya taylor-joy

⸺   ONE   ,     LINKS .

docs

connections

plot ideas

pinterest

playlist

musings

visage

⸺   TWO   ,     INFORMATION .

Trigger Warnings: death, illness, car accident, abandonment

Clara, born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to an upper-middle-class family, embodied a mix of light and shadow. As a child, she balanced innocence and mischief, her spirit wild yet vulnerable.

When Clara was seven, her life took a sudden turn when her parents left her with her two aunts for what was supposed to be just a week. She felt a mix of anxiety and dread, particularly about her strict Aunt Eve, although Aunt Nora's nurturing presence offered some solace.

As the days passed, the tension between Clara and Aunt Eve escalated, leading to a heated confrontation. Distressed, Clara called her parents, pleading for their return. Moved by her distress, they decided to come back to Wilmington immediately. Tragically, hours later, a phone call brought the devastating news that they had been in an accident and had passed away. Consumed by rage and grief, Aunt Eve cruelly blamed Clara for their deaths.

After losing her parents, Clara was raised mainly by her strict Aunt Eve. The town gossiped about her aunts, labeling them as "the witches" due to their unmarried status and reclusive habits. Clara's life was marked by solitude and strict rules, with rare outings from her all-girls school. Despite the luxurious surroundings, Clara felt suffocated, yearning for a normal life, which clashed with Aunt Eve's control. Aunt Nora occasionally provided moments of relief, but Aunt Eve remained a formidable obstacle to Clara's desires for a conventional life.

Shortly before turning 18, Aunt Nora's health deteriorated, prompting her to reveal a shocking truth to Clara: Clara wasn't just her niece but her own daughter, conceived in a youthful affair. Nora had been pressured by Aunt Eve to give Clara to their brother and his wife who could not conceive. However, the reality was darker: Eve orchestrated the separation to keep Nora from her lover, deceiving Nora and Clara's father about each other's intentions, thus hiding Clara's existence from him. To this day no one in town knows about this secret.

After Aunt Nora's passing, Clara came under the guardianship of Aunt Eve. However, fueled by grief and newfound determination, Clara refused to remain under Eve's control. Embracing independence, she left for California on a scholarship, despite Eve's objections. Four years later, armed with an Art History degree, Clara pursued an internship in London.

Feeling a pull to uncover her father's identity, she conducted a search and eventually connected with him in Argentina, his hometown. There, he was a well-known author and a university professor. He welcomed him with open arms and Clara decided to relocate to Buenos Aires.

Clara's life changed a year ago when she received a phone call about Aunt Eve's illness. Despite their strained relationship, Clara cared for Eve until her recent passing.

Now faced with unexpected wealth and the family's legacy, Clara finds herself at a crossroads. She contemplates the future, torn between selling the house and starting anew or staying in Wilmington.

⸺   THREE  ,     PERSONALITY

Despite appearing delicate, she possesses a quiet strength developed through facing loss and solitude in her childhood.

Formerly burdened by guilt and sorrow, she has worked on it and now considers herself very compassionate.

Clara empathizes deeply with others but guards her heart due to past betrayals, leading to a tendency to isolate herself.

While independent, this trait sometimes keeps her from forming the connections she secretly desires.

She approaches life with cautious hope and enduring courage, finding beauty in the world while staying practical.

Clara embodies contradictions: soft yet strong, open-hearted yet guarded.

Despite being sheltered for most of her life, she maintains a sense of optimism and a thirst for exploration.

Curiosity is Clara's driving force. She's endlessly fascinated by the world around her, constantly asking questions and seeking answers.

In moments of vulnerability, her true essence shines—a mosaic of strength and weakness, sorrow and joy.

⸺   FOUR  ,     HEADCANONS

She's a very good student. Her aunt Eve was very adamant that she studied another language and she chose French which she speaks fluently. After moving with her father to Argentina, she also learned the language although she still feels she needs more practice.

Clara started painting when she was ten years old, and many teachers throughout her life offered her to showcase her work but her aunt never allowed it. It wasn't until she was in university that she showed some of her work.

Her favourite painters are Caravaggio and Monet.

Hopeless romantic although she probably would never say it out loud.

Graduated summa cum laude from Stanford University with a degree in Art History. She did a year internship at the National Gallery in London.

Loves Karaoke but she still hasn't found her ideal song. She usually sings Feeling Good by Nina Simone or anything jazz or easy-listening as that was the type of music her aunt allowed to be played.

She also loves classic movies, her favourite film is Roman Holiday.

An avid reader, her favorite book is Wuthering Heights.

⸺   FIVE  ,     WANTED CONNECTIONS

Childhood Friend: They became best friends when they were seven, maybe they were neighbours. Her aunt Eve never approved of this friendship because maybe she believed this person was a bad influence on her niece. They grew apart when Clara left for college.

First Love: Clara's heart stumbled upon him unexpectedly, igniting a crush that silently bloomed from the very beginning. Despite her feelings, she remained reticent, stealing moments for conversation whenever her aunt's vigilance waned. Over time, their bond deepened, yet the prospect of a formal relationship remained elusive. Clara pondered the idea of staying in Wilmington to be with him, but in the end, she opted for university. Since parting ways, they haven't exchanged words, but thoughts of him linger in Clara's mind.

Local Art Scene in Wilmington: Upon returning to Wilmington to care for Aunt Eve, Clara might become involved in the local art scene, attending exhibitions, collaborating with other artists, or even teaching art classes as a way to reconnect with her passion and build new connections in her hometown.

Rivalry: Their interactions crackled with an unspoken animosity, each encounter a battleground of subtle snubs and veiled jabs.

Date gone wrong: Maybe they met on a dating app, and agreed to go out but it was a disaster. It could have been because there was no chemistry or because everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

Confidant: This person listens without judgment, offers valuable insights and advice, and stands by Clara through life's challenges. They create a safe space for Clara to share her deepest fears, regrets, and aspirations, helping her navigate her past traumas and present struggles with resilience and courage.

Real Estate Agent: They are helping her with the family house as she is debating whether to sell or maybe buy another place.

[dankusner]

OBIT — Robert L. Ross

Professor, academic scholar, Dallas Voice writer Robert Ross dies at 70

Robert L. Ross built a prodigious career studying and teaching the English language.

As a journalist, author and lecturer, he was an apostle for the literary world.

On May 25, Ross died at the Oak Lawn home he shared with his loving wife and best friend, Anita, and their two cats, Furphy and Duffy.

Ross was 70.

In the early part of April 2005, he was diagnosed with an advanced case of lung cancer.

Ross remained a busy freelance writer for the Life+Style section of Dallas Voice.

His final assignment, an interview with modern dance visionary Desmond Richardson, ran in the May 5th edition.

Raised on the coastal town of Florence, Ore., and the son of a logger, Ross’ appreciation for the written word was shaped by a high school English teacher.

His first crack at professional writing was during a summer break for the county newspaper in Siuslaw Ore.

At the University of Oregon, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in English.

Escaping the chill of the Pacific Northwest, Ross fell in love with North Texas’ blistering heat while earning a masters in English at Texas Christian University in 1964 and a doctorate in English, at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1978.

Over the years, he helped shape others who pursued language arts — teaching composition and literature at Southern Methodist University, Clemson University in South Carolina, Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

Ross was an academic globetrotter: a guest professor who taught postcolonial literature at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, Australia, Essen University in Essen, Germany and the University of Calgary in Calgary, Canada.

He also lectured at universities in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia.

Publishing an extensive number of essays that appeared in academic books and journals, Ross also wrote and/or edited five books: “Colonial and Postcolonial Fiction, An Anthology,” (Taylor & Francis, 1999), “Australia, A Traveler’s Literary Companion,” (Whereabouts Press, 1998), “Border Lines, Contemporary Poems in English,” (Copp Clark, 1995), “International Literature in English: Essays on the Major Writers,” (Garland Publishing, 1991), “Australian Literary Criticism: 1945-1988” (Garland Publishing, 1989).

Helping build a worldwide network of literary and cultural enthusiasts, Ross was the first president of the American Association of Australian Literary Studies and the founding editor of Antipodes, the organization’s journal.

With such sterling reputation, Ross was a rare and supremely qualified Life+Style contributor.

He began a prolific freelancing career at Dallas Voice in May 2000 and took on a myriad of assignments.

While his forte was covering fine arts (theater, literature, photography, documentaries and anything connected to European or exotic cultures), Ross especially enjoyed profiling GLBT North Texans who exposed him to new adventures: leather aficionados, transgender activists, a lesbian auto mechanic and a proudly corpulent dancer who performs during half-time shows at professional basketball games.

Regardless of age or stripe, Ross touched many lives.

In December 2004, twentysomething reclusive author J.T LeRoy — a former teenage sex-worker and arguably the J.D. Salinger of the 21st century — sent a letter to the Dallas Voice offices praising Ross’ review of the novella “Harold’s End.”

LeRoy said he was struck by Ross’ gorgeous and insightful prose.

Always polite, erudite and extremely dignified, Robert Ross was an asset to Dallas Voice.

We will miss him very much.

— Daniel A. Kusner