Category: Blog

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]I am excited that Yari Yari Ntoaso, an international conference focusing on African women writers is coming to Ghana from the 16th-19th May. Our very own Ama Ata Aidoo is one of the founding members of this initiative and the conference will bring together numerous inspirational women writers of African descent. Women like Angela Davis and Carole Boyce Davis who helped shape my thinking around the intersection of race and gender. Nnedi Okorafor, whose book is currently in the pile of ‘books to read’ on my bedside table. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf who started the Cassava Republic Press, and who I had the privilege of interviewing for ‘Women Leading Africa‘.

I am honoured that I have been invited to speak on a panel about ‘Writing Sexuality’. The entire Yari Yari programme is FREE and the general public are invited to attend, participate and learn from all the resource people who will be there.

Click links below for the full programme and press release

YYN DRAFT Schedule YYN GHANAPress Release[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Je suis heureuse que Yari Yari Ntoaso, une conférence internationale axée sur les femmes écrivains africaines se tienne au Ghana du 16 au 19 mai. Notre chère Ama Ata Aidoo est l’un des membres fondateurs de cette initiative et la conférence rassemblera de nombreuses femmes écrivains inspirantes d’origine africaine. Des femmes comme Angela Davis et Carole Boyce Davis, qui ont contribué à façonner ma pensée autour de l’intersection de la race et du sexe. Nnedi Okorafor, dont le livre est actuellement dans la pile des «livres à lire» sur ma table de chevet. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, qui a commencé la Cassava Republic Press, et que j’ai eu le privilège d’interviewer pour ‘Women Leading Africa‘.

Je suis honorée d’avoir été invitée à prendre la parole lors d’une discussion sur “Ecrire la Sexualité”. L’ensemble du programme Yari Yari est libre et le grand public est invité à y assister, à participer et apprendre de toutes les personnes ressources qui seront là.

Cliquez ci-dessous pour le liens programme complet et communiqué de presse

YYN DRAFT Schedule YYN GHANAPress Release[/tp]

 

 

 

 

Last Saturday, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo celebrated her birthday. This occasion reminded me of how overjoyed I was when I first met her . The year was 2008, I had recently started working for the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), and one day Ama Ata Aidoo (as she is popularly called) dropped by the office. I was beyond excited. I mean, Ama Ata Aidoo is the rockstar of African women writers. I had read ‘Anowa’ in secondary school, acted the role of the slave girl in ‘Dilemma of a Ghost’ whilst in college, and my first degree dissertation had been on ‘The concept of home in the novels of Ama Ata Aidoo and Buchi Emecheta’. Ama Ata Aidoo’s influence on my life went beyond my education. When my friend Alberta Stevens and I started ‘Southern Narrative’, a global dimensions education project in London, we named our first project ‘The Anowa Project’ to pay homage to the inspiring African women we had trained to run workshops in schools in South London dealing with the very challenging issues of identity, race and diversity. So after all these years of reading Ama Ata Aidoo’s novels you can imagine that I was in groupie heaven when I meet her at my place of work.

The best thing about meeting Ama Ata Aidoo has been that she is as inspiring in real life as she is in her books. I recall interviewing the Professor at Mbaasem (Mbaasem translates from Akan as Women’s Affairs), the foundation she established to promote African women writers and we chatted for 2 hours. She was full of insights about African women writers, social development and shared insights on the challenges of combining writing with social change work. This interview was featured in ‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women‘.

I asked a number of friends and colleagues to share their thoughts about the good Professor.

Amina Doherty, coordinator of FRIDA, painter and HE(ART)IST said:

“I love Ama Ata Aidoo! Not simply because she reminded me when I needed to hear it that I too, could be a girl who could, but because she was responsible for introducing me to “love'” in African literature. She took this idea of ‘the revolutionary power of love’ out of critical theory and feminist academia and put it into short stories and tales that I could relate to. In the introduction to the collection: ‘African Love Stories‘ she says: “If we insist, as some of us do, that love is about the human condition, then there is hardly any aspect of women’s loves which [love] stories do not touch…the human heart is all out there in these stories: beleaguered and bleeding, or bold and occassionaly triumphant.” Aidoo’s words and her effort to highlight love as a central aspect of our lives reminds me of how important it is to document African love stories as a means of better understanding who we are, and how we live – as Africans, as people. She highlights the fact that the stories we often hear and read about Africa are the ones deemed to be ‘more important’ because they are of social and political significance, but that all of those ‘very important things’ must be based in love. Our Space is indeed ‘Love‘. “

Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom, Grants Manager of AWDF had this to share:

“I read Ama Ata Aidoo’s ‘Dilemma of a Ghost’ in round about 1981 but the lessons from the story has stayed with me all these years. I still remember
the determination, independence, hopefulness, and assertiveness of Eulalie. I remember the ghost who did not know whether to go to Elmina or to go to
Cape coast a situation that most of us very often get into and are not too good at making the right choices. I remember Ama Ata Aidoo’s dexterity in
“brofulising” English words. My favourite proverb from that book which has stayed with me all these years is “The corn that will burn shall burn whether roasted or boiled” and my thoughts have always been that if God does give me the care or custody of a corn that is destined to burn, I strongly believe that I have the power to turn its fortunes around and force it to realign its destiny for the betterment of society. It is possible to do that.

I also like the short stories “The Girl Who Can and Other Stories” which I read in 2010 I think. I like the assertiveness and independence of most of the women characters, I like the fact that most of them were “no nonsense” characters and I like the general liberal atmosphere most of the women find themselves in those stories.

All in all I will read Ama Ata Aidoo any day. I think she is a marvelous writer, very witty and is able to bring our culture to bear in her writings
to such an extent that even people who are not familiar with the culture are able to appreciate it.

I think I will go back and read all these books again so I can savour them all over again. I still have all those books from my days in school.

Auntie Ama you have adequately paid your dues”

Minna Salami, the award winning writer and blogger behind Ms Afropolian had this to say:

“There’s an interview in Meridians where Aidoo speaks about something I seldom see addressed, namely creating spaces (clubs, she calls it) for women who ‘just want to sit, have a drink, nibble at something and talk about nothing to other women’, a club where we can ‘refuse to be nothing or to be everything’.
Among the many contributions of hers that make my world that bit more enriched, those particular words remind me of how independent and gracious her mind is.”

What are your memories of Ama Ata Aidoo? What does her writing mean to you? Share your thoughts and indeed your well wishes for her via the comments box below

 

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Communications Specialist, AWDF

 

 

 

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Franka Maria Andoh wrote a special piece entitled ‘I’ve got Time’ for the International Women’s Day book slam organised by the African Women’s Development (AWDF) and Alliance Francaise (Accra. Her shot story had the audience in hysterics. Watch the footage of Franka’s reading below.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Franka Maria Andoh a écrit une pièce spéciale intitulée «J’ai le Temps» pour l’International Women’s Day book slam organisé par le Fonds Africain de Développement de la Femmes (AWDF) et l’Alliance Française Accra. Son histoire avait déclenché l’hystérie dans le public. Regardez les images de la lecture de Franka ci-dessous.[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Franka is an entrepreneur, editor, writer and the owner of a popular coffee shop, Josie’s Cuppa Cappuccino in Accra, Ghana.

After a long period of not writing, Franka got back into the writing groove after being selected to partake in the British Council’s Crossing Borders programme for African writers. Her short story Mansa has been published in the Caine Prize for African Writing 2009 edition. In 2011 her two children’s stories Koku the Cockerel and Dokono the Donkey; two exciting tales set in Accra were well received both locally and abroad. Franka is the founder and Editor in Chief of an annual magazine for women entrepreneurs called AWE.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Franka est une entrepreneuse, éditrice, écrivaine et la propriétaire d’un café populaire, Josie’s Cuppa Cappuccino à Accra, au Ghana.

Après une longue période sans écrire, Franka est rentré dans le mouvement de l’écriture après avoir été sélectionnée pour participer au programme Crossing Borders du British Council pour les écrivains africains. Sa courte histoire Mansa a été publiée pour le Prix Caine pour l’édition africaine d’écriture 2009. En 2011, les histoires de ses deux enfants Koku le coq et l’âne Dokono; deux histoires passionnantes se déroulant à Accra ont été bien accueillies à la fois localement et à l’étranger. Franka est le fondateur et rédacteur en chef d’un magazine annuel pour les femmes entrepreneurs appelés AWE.[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]I was pleased when I heard that AWDF had been nominated in the category of ‘best organisational blog’ for Ghana’s very first social media awards which took place on Saturday 23rd March at the Kofi Annan Centre in Accra. AWDF was one of 3 blogs shortlisted in the category. Ahead of the presentation, representatives of the blog awards organising committee stated that there were 1,128 nominations spread over 13 categories with an average of 87 nominations per category. Its indeed commendable that in the face of such fierce competition AWDF made the shortlist. Congratulations to the Accra[dot]Alt team that won in the category of ‘best organisational blog’.

The ‘overall best blog’ and ‘best activist blog’ awards went to ‘Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women‘ which is curated by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, a member of AWDF ‘s staff.

It was also really good to see a number of women bloggers pick up awards including double award winner Ganyobi Naa , Jemila Abdulai with Kinna Likimani picking up an honorary award on behalf of the ‘Ghana Decides’ team which did a phenomenal job of utilising the power of social media to mobilise Ghanaians during Ghana’s recent Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Kinna also did an amazing summary of #BlogCamp13 on her site which I recommend you read to get a sense of the event.

Congratulations to all winners at #BlogCamp13

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]J’ai été heureuse d’entendre qu’AWDF avait été nominé dans la catégorie du «meilleur blog organisationnel» pour le tout premier prix des médias sociaux du Ghana qui a eu lieu le samedi 23 Mars au Centre Kofi Annan à Accra. AWDF était l’un des 3 blogs finalistes dans la catégorie. Avant la présentation, les représentants du comité d’organisation des récompenses a déclaré qu’il y avait 1128 candidatures réparties sur 13 catégories, avec une moyenne de 87 candidatures par catégorie.C’est louable que face à une telle concurrence qu’AWDF ait fait partie de la liste. Félicitations à l’équipe d’Accra[dot]Alt qui a remporté le prix dans la catégorie de «meilleur blog organisationnel».

Le «meilleur blog global» et prix du «meilleur blog militant» sont allés à «Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women» qui est organisée par Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, un membre du personnel d’AWDF.

Il était aussi très bon de voir un certain nombre de femmes blogueuses recevoir des prix, dont le double vainqueur du prix Ganyobi Naa, Jemila Abdulai avec Kinna Likimani recevoir un prix honorifique au nom de “Ghana Decides” dont l’équipe a fait un travail phénoménal de l’utilisation de la puissance des médias sociaux pour mobiliser les Ghanéens lors des élections présidentielles et parlementaires récentes du Ghana. Kinna a également fait un résumé incroyable de #BlogCamp13 sur son site que je vous recommande de lire pour avoir une idée de l’événement.

Félicitations à tous les gagnants de # BlogCamp13[/tp]

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Nana Nyarko Boateng is a Writer, Poet, and a Social Entrepreneur. She writes and works to celebrate the human spirit and to promote our bottomless capacity for change. She has worked in Media as a Broadcast Journalist and a Newspaper Editor. She has also served in the Creative Arts and the Publishing industry as a Consultant, a Programs Executive, a Publishing Assistant and a Freelance Writer. She studied English and Political Science at the University of Ghana. Nana currently manages the Gird Center, a Resource and Publication Center based in Accra. She believes in breeding and spending beauty. Some of her writing and poetry has appeared in: Reflections: An Anthology; Lynne Rienner Publishers, United States, January 2013. Summoning The Rain, Anthology; Femrite, Uganda, May 2012. Look where you have come to sit, Anthology; Wolei Publishers, Ghana, March 2011. Defiled sacredness Anthology; Mensa Press, UK, September 2010. We are one from one place Anthology; Mensa Press, UK, September 2010.

See footage below of Nana Nyarko’s recital, reading and narration at the book slam held on International Women’s Day.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Nana Boateng Nyarko est une écrivaine, poète, et un entrepreneur social. Elle écrit et travaille pour célébrer l’esprit humain et promouvoir notre capacité au changement de fond. Elle a travaillé dans les médias comme journaliste de radiotélévision et directeur de journal. Elle a également servi dans les arts créatifs et l’industrie de l’édition en tant que consultante, programmeur exécutif, assistante d’édition et rédacteur pigiste. Elle a étudié l’anglais et les sciences politiques à l’Université du Ghana. Nana gère actuellement le Centre Gird, un centre de ressources et de publication basée à Accra. Elle croit dans le développement et la diffusion de la beauté. Certains de ses écrits et de sa poésie sont parus dans: Reflexions: An Anthology; Lynne Rienner Publishers, États-Unis, Janvier 2013. Summoning The Rain, Anthology; Femrite, Ouganda, mai 2012. Look where you have come to sit, Anthology; Wolei Publishers, Ghana, Mars 2011. Defiled sacredness Anthology; Mensa Press, Royaume-Uni, Septembre 2010. We are one from one place Anthology; Mensa Press, Royaume-Uni, Septembre de 2010.

Voir ci-dessous des images du récit de Nana Nyarko, la lecture et la narration au ‘book slam’ se sont tenues lors de la Journée internationale des femmes.[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Between the 18th and 21st of February, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and Alliance Francaise (Accra), organised a photography workshop for women led by Fatoumata Diabate, the award winning Malian photographer.

Feedback from participants who attended the workshop included:

“My skills are definitely improved in terms of knowing what makes a good photo” Onyinyechi Okechukwu, Nigeria

“Learnt a lot about the historic background of photography, need to be more attentive on surroundings before taking pictures. Be careful with cropping and over editing, always keep an original copy.” Sena Dede Ahadji, Ghana

“I learnt about history of photography and pioneering photographers” Roxanne Scott, United States.

Enjoy the visual representation of the workshop below. All photographs by Fatoumata Diabate.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Entre le 18 et le 21 Février, le Fonds africain de développement de la femme (AWDF) et l’Alliance Française (Accra), ont organisé un atelier de photographie pour les femmes dirigé par Fatoumata Diabaté, photographe malienne primée.

Les commentaires des participants qui ont assisté à l’atelier ont inclus:

“Mes compétences sont certainement améliorées en termes de savoir ce qui fait une bonne photo” Onyinyechi Okechukwu, Nigeria

“J’ai appris beaucoup sur le contexte historique de la photographie, j’ai besoin d’être plus attentive sur les alentours avant de prendre des photos. Soyez prudent avec les recadrages et sur l’édition, toujours garder une copie originale.” Sena Dede Ahadji, Ghana

“J’ai appris l’histoire de la photographie et les photographes pionniers” Roxanne Scott, États-Unis.

Profitez de la représentation visuelle de l’atelier ci-dessous. Toutes les photographies de Fatoumata Diabaté.[/tp]

 

Nana Akosua’s fierce poetry performance during the International Women’s Day book slam organised by the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and Alliance Francaise (AF) inspired the following tweet from from a member of the audience:

“Nana Akosua’s handle please. She won my oscar. Great job with the show tonight. Kudos!”

On the occasion of World Poetry Day we celebrate Nana Akosua Hanson and all the inspiring poets who move us with their words, and delight us with their performances. Enjoy one of the pieces performed to keyboards by the very talented Nana Akosua on International Women’s Day.

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]”The King is dead! The Queen is King…does she have a blog/published book? I’d love to read her material” was one of the tweets I got in response to Famia’s incredible performance at AWDF and Alliance Francaise’s recent International Women’s Day celebrations.

So just who is Famia Nkansa?

 

Famia Nkansa is a writer, poet, blogger and social commentator who is still trying to scatter her words like pebbles and write her way back home. She is currently is in the final stages of completing a novel and a book of short stories. In the meantime Famia has been generous enough to share her piece below with us. Enjoy.

The Soundtrack to an Ovary

The American children of Asian immigrants choke on popcorn and live lives with subtitles, never sure what is asked of them; whether it is from their mothers, or ethnographers asking about their mothers.

–Takeo Rivera[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]«Le roi est mort! La Reine est roi … At-elle un blog / livre publié? Je serais ravie de lire ses productions» était l’un des tweets que j’ai reçu en réponse à une performance incroyable de Famia à AWDF et l’Alliance Française lors des récentes célébrations de la Journée internationale de la femme.

Qui donc au juste est Famia Nkansa?

Famia Nkansa est écrivaine, poète, blogueuse et commentateur social qui est encore en train de disperser ses mots comme des cailloux et de leur écrire le chemin du retour. Elle est actuellement dans les dernières étapes de l’élaboration d’un roman et d’un livre d’histoires courtes. En attendant Famia a été assez généreuse pour partager cette pièce ci-dessous avec nous. Profitez.

La Bande-originale d’un ovaire

Les enfants américains d’immigrants asiatiques s’étouffent avec du pop-corn et vivent leurs vies avec des sous-titres, jamais sûr de ce qui leur est demandé; que ce soit de la part de leurs mères, ou d’ethnographes qui leur pose des questions sur leurs mères.

-Takeo Rivera[/tp]

 

The women-children of African people choke on popcorn

and live lives with subtitles.

 

Never sure what is asked of them—whether it is from their mothers,

or the ethnographers asking about their mothers.

 

They marry up; they marry men; they learn to be the treasurers of society’s decrees.

And early on, they perfect the art of cleaning dust from gramophone records.

 

Sound is the soundtrack to an ovary. Women walking, always,

hand in hand with voices. The voices say how to behave.

 

The voices say when you have failed. The voices say,

“to be female and Ghanaian is to be doubly African.”

 

To be doubly African is to be even more defined by journalists and history books.

To live with having footnotes the world shows no interest in learning to read.

 

In the dreams these women have—where they are here, not halved but whole—

they wear mascara on their labia instead of lipstick, study economics instead of

 

teaching, study sculpting instead of econ and proclaim things that make no sense.

They teach their children how to use a new broom the first five times.

 

Collect the twigs on paper. To clean their teeth

with charcoal to make them pearly white.

 

But out of their dreams, when they are here, they hear,

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

 

And come to recognize a sound

that always only means two things:

 

The food is burning, so lower the fire.

You’re being heard, so lower your voice.

 

Recently I was invited to participate in the ‘The Forum‘, a BBC World Service programme. When I got the initial query from the producer I thought, “why not?”, and then checked details of the programme online…

“What? The programme is described as an ‘ideas discussion show which tackles the big questions of our age with some of the world’s most eminent minds.’?

Ha! I thought, I’m not sure I have one of the world’s most eminent minds but I definitely have a mind and thoughts to share so yes, lets do this. I had the opportunity to meet some lovely inspiring women on the programme. Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist who would like to retire to Mars one day in the future. I don’t even like to fly in planes and Maggie wants to go to space? More power to her. Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a prodigy in my opinion, she started playing the piano at the age of 4, is a classically trained musician and this year has set herself the goal of writing 100 songs. Yes, 100 songs o…let that inspire you to write one song, one blog post or one poem. Since I met her I’ve had her album ‘Truthfully’ on replay. Check out her rendition of ‘Ain’t I a Woman’ inspired by Sojourner Truth below.

Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze is widely recognised as the first woman reggae dub poet in the U.K. Her story is another inspiring one. She was initially diagnosed with schizophrenia and today has published several books of poetry, and received an MBE for her contributions to the field of poetry.

And then there was lil ol me 🙂 I was given the opportunity to share a 60 second idea which could change the world…my idea was inspired by my Grand Aunt whom we call M’aam ‘Fri (short for Maame Ofiri. Ofiri means an albino but somehow in the context we use it has never been seen as an insult more as a descriptor). M’aam ‘Fri is about 95 years old according to her reckoning. She is the matriarch of my maternal family. She inspires me because she has lived a long full life, been a ‘market queen’, survived the tyranny of coup makers, run her own business, raised her children and other people’s children, chose a second husband of her choice… M’aam ‘Fri never had the benefit of an education. Her brother Koffi Addo, my maternal grandfather did, and when he died just over a year ago left 2 published books, several manuscripts, letters and documents of his life. His writings are an immense historical treasure, he writes about his experiences of the colonial administration, his experiences working with Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President; and discusses openly his life and personal relationships. M’aam ‘Fri hasn’t had the opportunity to do the same, yet in my conversations with her she has told me about her Dad (my great grandfather) who was a wealthy cocoa farmer and ‘traded’ with the whites, marrying her first husband because he was her brother’s choice of a husband for her and later choosing another husband of her choice, she’s shared with me about being a Market Queen ( a leader of market traders), travelling via a truck to the Northern regions of Ghana to purchase items to sell in the South, the atrocities of coup makers who beat market women up because they would not become members of their parties, and accused these same women of being ‘prostitutes’ when they saw their choice of underwear when they raised their dresses to lash them with a cane. These are powerful stories, and stories that I know other women will share. These stories will die if we do not capture the herstories of our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, fetish priestesses, healers who hold powerful accounts within them. Will you join me in capturing the stories of women?

You can listen to my 60 second idea below:

The forum60sec 16th March

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Mama C was greatly influenced in her early years by the jazz, blues and gospel that Kansas City is famous for and integrates elements of that experience in both her music and the rhythm of her poetry along with the African beats and hip hop vibe of her spirit.
She explores the reality of her life as a Diaspora born African who has lived most of her years in Tanzania in many of her poems, one of the most famous being “I Almost Lost Myself”.
“As a member of the Black Panther Party I was taught the importance of building international solidarity among all people while honoring my Ancestral roots. That philosophy has never changed and many of my poems and songs reflect this burning desire and mission to spread peace, love and unity through my art”, Mama C reflects. “The spontaneous release of love that comes from poetry and music and art, in general… that thing that binds us all together and builds solidarity and understanding among all people no matter where they are from or what language they speak, is like magic!”

Her song writing and performing talents have been showcased on stage, television and radio in many cities in Africa and in America during the annual UAACC Heal the Community Tour. She launched her book of poetry, Warrior Woman of Peace in 2008 and plans to launch her second book of poetry titled Life Slices…a Taste of My Heaven, in 2013. Mama C debuted several of her newest poems during the Poetry Africa Tour 2010 to Cape Town, South Africa; Harare, Zimbabwe and Blantyre, Malawi and the 14^th Annual Poetry Africa Festival in Durban, all sponsored by the Creative Arts Center at University of kwaZulu Natal.

Mama C is Co Director along with George Kyomoshulu, of the newly established Arusha Poetry Club in Arusha, Tanzania which serves as a platform for East African poets and artists around the planet. She recently completed her 4^th music/spoken word album produced at Peace Power Productions studio at UAACC and she has directed and appeared in several music videos featuring East African artists.
http://soundcloud.com/mamac2011
YouTube channel: mamacharlotteuaacc

Mama C and Pete O’Neal are the subjects of two award winning documentaries about their lives and activism including American Exile narrated by Hollywood actress Alfre Woodard and the PBS documentary, A Panther in Africa by Aaron Matthews and she is one of the featured artists along with M1 of deadprez in a newly released documentary on art and activism by Michael Wanguhu titled Ni Wakati. http://www.pbs.org/itvs/globalvoices/pantherinafrica.html

http://www.niwakatithefilm.com/[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Mama C a été grandement influencée dans ses premières années par le jazz, le blues et le gospel pour lesquelq Kansas City est célèbre et intègre des éléments de cette expérience à la fois dans sa musique et le rythme de sa poésie avec les rythmes africains et hip hop dans l’ambiance de son esprit.
Elle explore la réalité de sa vie comme une membre de la diaspora africaine qui a vécu la plupart de ses années en Tanzanie dans plusieurs de ses poèmes, l’un des plus célèbre étant “Je me suis presque perdue».
“Etre membre du Black Panther Party m’a enseigné l’importance de renforcer la solidarité internationale entre toutes les personnes, tout en respectant mes racines ancestrales. Cette philosophie n’a jamais changé et beaucoup de mes poèmes et des chansons reflétent ce désir ardent et la mission de répandre la paix, l’amour et l’unité à travers mon art “, Reflète Mama C. “La libération spontanée de l’amour qui vient de la poésie et de la musique et de l’art, en général … cette chose qui nous lie tous ensemble et construit la solidarité et la compréhension entre toutes les personnes, peu importe d’où ils viennent ou quelle langue ils parlent, est comme par magie!”

Son don d’écriture de chansons et ses talents scéniques ont été présentés sur scène, à la télévision et à la radio dans de nombreuses villes en Afrique et en Amérique pendant la tournée annuelle ‘UAACC Heal the Community ‘. Elle a lancé son livre de poésie, Warrior Woman of Peace en 2008 et prévoit de lancer son deuxième recueil de poésie Life Slices…a Taste of My Heaven, en 2013. Mama C a débuté plusieurs de ses poèmes les plus récents lors de l’Africa Poetry Tour en 2010 au Cap, Afrique du Sud; Harare, Zimbabwe et Blantyre, Malawi et lors du 14ème Festival Poésie annuel d’Afrique à Durban, tous parrainés par le Centre des arts créatifs de l’Université du KwaZulu Natal.

Mama C est codirectrice avec George Kyomoshulu, du nouvellement créé Arusha Poetry Club à Arusha, en Tanzanie, qui sert de plate-forme pour les poètes et les artistes africains de l’Est autour de la planète. Elle a récemment terminé son 4e album de musique / slam produit par Peace Power Productions studio a UAACC et elle a dirigé et joué dans plusieurs vidéos de musique mettant en vedette des artistes d’Afrique orientale.
http://soundcloud.com/mamac2011
YouTube channel: mamacharlotteuaacc

Mama C et Pete O’Neal sont les sujets de deux documentaires primés sur leur vie et leur activisme dont leur American Exile narré par l’actrice hollywoodienne Alfre Woodard et le documentaire de PBS, une panthère en Afrique par Aaron Matthews et elle est l’un des artistes présentés avec M1 avec deadprez dans un documentaire récemment publié sur l’art et l’activisme par Michael Wanguhu intitulé Ni Wakati

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/globalvoices/pantherinafrica.htmlhttp:/

/www.niwakatithefilm.com/[/tp]