Celeste Bateman & Associates

Amiri and Amina Baraka poets, authors and civil rights activists, founded and direct Kimako’s Blues People, a multimedia arts space, from a small theater in their home in Newark, NJ. Amiri founded the jazz/poetry ensemble Blue Ark, which has played at the Berlin Festival, and throughout the US. In 1964, Amiri’s play, Dutchman, won the OBIE award for Best American Play. His Jazz opera Money, with Swiss composer, George Gruntz was performed in part at the New York Jazz Festival in the early 90’s and Primitive World, with music by David Murray, was performed in New York and at the Black Drama Festival in Winston Salem, North Carolina. His Bumpy: A Bopera with music by Max Roach was performed in 1991 in Newark and San Diego. Amina and Amiri edited Confirmation: An Anthology of Afro American Women. They have been married for over 30 years and have five children. Their group, BlueArk: The Word Ship is available for performances worldwide. Amiri and Amina are available for performances, seminars and lectures on Art, Politics and Black Liberation. Read an excerpt from Amiri Baraka's latest book,Tales of the Out & the Gone at http://www.akashicbooks.com/talesoftheoutexcerpt.htm.

Donald Bogle, whose book Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography was published to glowing reviews, is one of the foremost authorities on American popular culture and the author of three prize-winning books on the subject. His book, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films (now in its fourth edition), is considered a classic study of African American movie images. His book, Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television examines African Americans on the primetime network scene. He adapted his book Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America’s Black Female Superstars into an acclaimed four-hour documentary for PBS. He is also well known for his distinguished work, Blacks in American Film and Television: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. His most recent book, Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood, looks at the African American film colony in Los Angeles from the early years of the 20th century to the mid 1960s. He is available for talks, workshops, panel discussions, book signings, and slide presentations on the history of Black movies from the early 20th century to the present; African Americans in television and Black Hollywood.

Sandra L. West, lecturer and writer, specializes in the Harlem Renaissance era. She has written many articles about the period, in addition to the well-received Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (2003) which she co-authored with Aberjhani. The book recently won the New Jersey Notable Book Award 1999-2005. West grew up in New Jersey and New York, with a residential stint in Harlem. She graduated from Rutgers University (English and African American Studies) and Goucher College (Nonfiction Writing). She teaches, writes, and lectures around the country. Since 1989, Professor West has taught Creative Writing, African American Literature, World Literature, and a course on the political poetry of Claude McKay and Langston Hughes - two Harlem Renaissance writers - at Seton Hall, Virginia Commonwealth and Rutgers Universities. She is currently working on a collection of inspirational sayings by the renowned author and poet Dr. Maya Angelou entitled The Grace & Wisdom of Maya Angelou. Ms. West is a personable, informative, and engaging storyteller of Harlem Renaissance sayings and doings. She is a journalist, poet, and editor for various publications and is particularly interested in helping college students “…peek through the keyhole of the Harlem Renaissance.”

Valerie Wilson Wesley is the author of three novels, the New Jersey-based Tamara Hayle Mysteries and the Willimena Rules! series for children. Her novels and mysteries are published in Germany, France and the UK, and her nonfiction has been published in magazines such as Family Circle and Essence. In 2000, she recieved the award for excellence in adult fiction from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Ms. Wesley served as artist-in-residence at Columbia College in Chicago for the spring semester of 2005. She is currently an adjunct at Ramapo College in New Jersey. Her most recent Tamara Hayle Mystery -- Of Blood and Sorrow was pubilshed in 2007

Ms. Antenor is a compelling motivational speaker. She calls upon her life experiences of dedication, discipline and drive to inspire women and young girls everywhere. Her speeches consistently tackle life’s most overbearing stumbling blocks including following your dreams when faced with tremendous opposition, surrounding yourself with positive people, self-love and the priceless value of mentors.

Ms. Antenor is also an experienced writer and journalist, who has enjoyed an impressive career which combines academia, print journalism, video and radio broadcasting. As a commentator, with WLIB-AM radio, Greenstone Media’s The Lisa Birnbach Show which focuses on women and Fox 5 Good Day Street Talk a public affairs program concentrating on today’s hot topics, Ms. Antenor is frequently asked to give focused opinions and new perspectives on a variety of issues. You can also listen to her on WBGO 88.3 FM radio where she focuses on women’s issues.

Throughout her journalism career, Mildred has written, edited, and developed stories for major national and international publications, including The New York Times, Black Enterprise Magazine and The Village Voice and many more. She has interviewed numerous people including former New Jersey governor, Christine Todd Whitman.

She also served as a co-creator and co-host on WLIB with a weekly radio call-in talk show entitled L’Ecole Sans Mur (School Without Walls). This program focused on public activists including political, economic and social issues facing immigrants in the community. Mildred’s other show topics included:

. Education in the Black Community. Is it Valued or Devalued?
. Domestic Violence Against Women
. Abortion Rights for Women
. The “N” Word

In addition, Ms. Antenor is a university professor calling on her expertise to educate college students in the nuance of the written word, the spoken word and Women’s Studies. She is known for her ability to connect with her students and for generating thought-provoking substantive discussions in her classroom. Her students applaud her for teaching them the skill for thinking outside of the box.

Mildred is a graduate of St. John’s University, holding a bachelor’s degree in communication arts and a master’s degree in liberal studies from Rutgers University. She holds memberships with New York Women in Communications, the MATRIX awards development committee; she is a board member and mentor with the Sandra and Glenn D. Cunningham Foundation and the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Program at Seton Hall University. She also speaks French.

Motivational Speaker, Writer & Style Host
Greetings:

The workshops that Caryl Lucas provides are not only informative and enlightening, but entertaining as well. She offers incredible insight into the trials and complexities of “girl-hood” and imparts her wisdom from first-hand experiences. Young people and teachers alike are delighted with her presentations which often bring audiences to their feet and leave them wanting more.
Celeste Bateman

Caryl Lucas is a sought after motivational speaker who empowers and inspires women from all walks of life to get rid of negative thought patterns and cultivate their inner beauty and authentic sense of style. Her high energy messages of self-love and self-respect have touched the hearts and souls of girls and young women at schools, teen conferences, churches, correctional facilities and colleges throughout New Jersey.

She is the founder of the “No More Drama Queen: Build Your Self-Esteem” and “Girl Power” workshops, which are designed to teach teenagers and women the power of positive thinking. Caryl utilizes her faith, life experiences, coaching skills and powerful affirmations to enrich lives and help others create new possibilities for their lives.

During her quest for personal development and self-discovery, Caryl was awakened by a divine calling to use her God-given talents to encourage others to overcome the same fears and adversities she has encountered over the years.

Today, this award-winning journalist has distinguished herself over the years as a media personality and motivational speaker. Known for her drive and devotion to the task at hand, Caryl spent the bulk of her 18-year journalism career as a reporter for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. She covered breaking news, fashion, urban issues, education and municipal government. Caryl also has worked as a freelance news reporter for WBGO – Jazz 88.3 FM

Bradford Hayes, a native of Petersburg, Virginia has been a force on the jazz scene in the northeastern U.S. for several years now. He has performed at a number of clubs, colleges and concert halls including Birdland, Tavern on the Green and the Beacon Theater in New York City. Bradford has performed with such jazz luminaries as Jimmy Heath, Al Grey, Cecil Payne, Rufus Reid, Ray Bryant, Winard Harper, Ben Riley, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Cecil Brooks III, Jerry Butler, and the R&B/doo-wop group, the Dells. Mr. Hayes has opened for Chico Freeman, Betty Carter, Joe Henderson, Max Roach, Marlena Shaw, Pieces of a Dream, and Hilton Ruiz among others. In addition to leading his own band, Bradford spent 15 years with Babatunde Olatunji’s Drums of Passion band, serving as musical director for the last three years, until Mr. Olatunji’s death in 2003. Bradford performed with Mr. Olatunji at Yankee Stadium during Nelson Mandela’s first historical trip to the United States after his release from a South African prison. Mr. Hayes holds a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Music Education from North Carolina AT&T State University. He has also studied privately with George Coleman and Charles Davis. Mr. Hayes has also been a successful music educator in the Newark, New Jersey Public Schools for 22 years. He also performs and tours with the Spirit of Life Ensemble. He is available for jazz performances with his band, workshops, school assemblies and panel discussions. Read a review of Bradford's latest CD, The Jazz Life at ://www.ejazznews.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=7723&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.

Silvana Magda - singer, dancer, composer, choreographer - launched her dance career in 1975 performing with the Loni Duro Bahia Dance Company. She toured with Viva Bahia Dance Company and Orquestra Afro Brasileria as a featured soloist throughout Europe, Canada, South and Central America, the Caribbean and the Orient. Silvana toured extensively with the Viva Brazil Dance Company which she formed in 1988. She has taught at Hunter College, Rutgers University and at various schools throughout the boroughs of New York. She formed her Katende Band in 1995 to work with her Viva Brazil Dance Company, combining her love of music and dance. She tours nationally and internationally with her nine-piece band and backup dancers presenting a heavy mixture of Brazilian, African, Caribbean, American funk and Latin rhythms. Her CD, Enzila (“Routes” in Bantu dialect) features funk, calypso, reggae, salsa and lambada rhythms and her most recent release, Sentindo (“Feeling” in Portuguese) features her rapturous lyrics and harmonic compositions.

Carter “Roc” Mangan II, studied piano at a young age but traded the keyboard in for a guitar by age 13. He studied guitar under jazz musician Geary Moore for several years. He was accepted into the Jazz for Teens program in 2005 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center where he honed his skills. As a student at the Technical Career Center in Newark, NJ, Roc studied music production under R&B artist CeCe Rogers. He recently graduated from the Institute for Audio Research in New York City where he studied music engineering and production. Roc produces original R&B and hip hop “beats” under Top of the Roc Entertainment. He is a producer/engineer at Cobblestone Records in Newark, NJ where he has had the opportunity to work with Fatal from Tupac Shakur's Outlaws; rapper/singer/songwriter Scarlet Fever and rapper Mysterious from Sean "Ditty" Comb's Making of the Band." Under the auspices of Cobblestone Records, he worked on the score for a CD on nonviolence as part of Newark's Ceasefire program.

Alva Nelson is a pianist and composer of note. His group, the Afrikan Khaneckshun (pronounced African Connection) is a large ensemble which features original music arranged for jazz band and Djembe (jem-bay) orchestra. The Djembe orchestra consists of three main drums: the Djembe, Songba and Djundjun (june-june) which is the standard ensemble that supports West African Dance. This group combines jazz and West African dance, both indigenous forms where rhythm dominates and improvisational elements are key. Afrikan Khaneckshun and Pyramyd! Dance Theatre, which Nelson also directs, are available for performances and workshops for all ages.

Joshua Nelson is a world-renowned Gospel vocalist. Highlights of Joshua’s brilliant career include recording “How I Got Over,” a Mahalia Jackson staple, at age 13; singing at the request of the Vaughan family at the funeral of legendary jazz diva, Sarah Vaughan at age 15; and singing at New York City’s Lincoln Center in the 1993 JVC Jazz Festival, thus maintaining his special link with Mahalia Jackson, whose appearance in the 1958 Newport Festival introduced Gospel music to a deeply appreciative audience. Joshua’s television credits include A+ for Kids on WWOR-TV with Savion Glover in their Great, Great Kids series; SingSation, a Gospel program taped in Chicago and broadcast nationally on CBS-TV (1995-1997); Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) Bobby Jones Gospel (1995-2000), and the Oprah Winfrey Show (2004). Joshua has conducted extensive research on Mahalia and other Gospel luminaries and has presented seminars for young people on the history of Gospel music. He is a proponent of preserving traditional Gospel music and travels worldwide performing the music in its original form. His cultural and religious background and extensive travels through Israel influenced him to create a new form of music, blending Jewish liturgical and African-American musical styles.

Newark Boys Chorus – Under the direction of Donald Morris, the Newark Boys Chorus (NBC) has been heard throughout the world with a diversified repertoire that includes traditional classical music, spirituals, folk music and jazz. In recent years, the boys have toured Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean, Finland, Latvia, Russia and the Czech Republic. The Newark Boys Chorus has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The Chorus has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, and recorded a Christmas special with the British Broadcasting Corporation. NBC school’s mission is to inspire a love for learning, a quest for excellence and a compassion for humanity. They are available for performances throughout the school year.

A Trinidad native, roycrosse began playing the steel drum and bass as a young man in Port of Spain with the Trinidad All Stars and the Star Lift Steel Orchestra. He immigrated to Toronto, Canada to study art and joined the Steel-Tones Orchestra, performing campus gigs and recording with the band for the Canadian Broadcasting Company Christmas show, In 1986, he came to the United States and worked with jazz and folks singers in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. As the roycrosse Trio, he performed the jazz café circuit and has been featured on gigs with saxophonist Oliver Lake and bassist Chris White. His quintet has performed at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Sound of the City, the East Orange Jazz Festival as well as concerts in Boston and Mexico City. His trio appeared regularly at the Priory Jazz Brunch series in Newark, NJ and he was featured on an hour-long live public radio broadcast in Allentown, PA in 2000. His current CD, A Touch of Latin, was produced with a five-piece ensemble that includes violin, guitar, bass, percussions and steel drum. He is available for solo performances or with his trio.

Spirit of Life Ensemble (SOLE) is a group rooted in jazz traditions and influenced by a myriad of musical styles from the African Diaspora. SOLE has performed nationally and internationally since 1975 and boasts performances and recordings with such jazz luminaries as Nancy Wilson, Charles Mingus, Horace Silver, Abbey Lincoln, Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach and numerous others. Their Music Appreciation Concerts feature jazz and world music for young people. Excellent for school assemblies, these “edu-tainment” performance workshops are interactive and include traditional and original compositions of Blues, Latin, African, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and Euro-Classical music for children of all ages. Spirit of Life Ensemble is available for concerts, workshops, seminars, master classes, assembly programs, lectures and residencies. The group performs as an eight to 18-piece band or smaller combo of five to seven pieces.

Wincey Terry is an accomplished singer and founder of Winceyco Inc., an organization that presents quality program for schools and community groups using professional performers. African Discovery Through Music, for example, is a series of live musical stage plays that educate the audience about the brilliance of African and African American culture through characters who overcome obstacles and ultimately change American society. She has performed on various recordings and television shows. Wincey Terry and Winceyco are available for various program formats including assemblies, workshops and artist residencies.

Click below to see a recent appearance by Sherry Winston and her band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeF6eaK3cB0/

Sherry Winston, a Grammy-nominated jazz flutist, has performed in many of the major concert halls throughout the U.S. including Carnegie Hall, Constitution Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She has performed at the White House for the President and Mrs. Clinton and for the former President George H. Bush in New York City. She has been featured in numerous publications including the New York Times and Ebony, Essence, Black Enterprise, Savoy and Odyssey Couleur magazines. Her fourth CD, Life is Love & Love Is You, charted in Billboard Magazine and features the late saxophonist Grover Washington Jr., flutist Najee, guitarist Norman Brown, keyboard wizard Bobby Lyle and vocalist Jon Lucien. Ms. Winston has shared the stage with such artists at comedian Sinbad, Ramsey Lewis, Chaka Kahn, Pieces of a Dream, Peabo Bryson, Regina Belle, Grover Washington, Jr., Diane Reeves, Nelson Rangel and Alex Bugnon.

Jamil A.C. Mangan is an actor, director, teaching artist and native of Newark, New Jersey. He received a BFA in Theatre Arts from the University of the Arts (UARTS) in Philadelphia. As a youngster, Jamil was a concert chorus member at the Newark Boys Chorus School. While a member, he toured the East Coast, Prague, Czechoslovakia, and performed for former President Bill Clinton’s 1992 Inauguration. Mr. Mangan attended Newark Arts High School, the oldest performing arts high school in the U.S After graduating from Arts High, Jamil studied theatre arts at the University of the Arts (UARTS), the first conservatory for the arts in the U.S. While at UARTS, he performed in several theatre productions including The Colored Museum as Junie, Piano Lesson as Boy Willie, and Mojo as Teddy. Mangan also studied musical theatre at Syracuse University, piano with the late jazz pianist, Duke Anderson, and was a member of the National Speech and Debate Forensics League.

Jamil began his professional acting career in Philadelphia in the role of Orpheus Fisher, Marian Anderson’s love interest in the bio-play My Lord What a Morning. At the C.E.C. Theatre in Philly, Mangan would take on the role of the flirtatious Sista Plenty in the Afro Greek tragedy Monsters by Mia X. Other notable performances include The Greeks at the Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and All That Jive at Newark Symphony Hall. Other works include We’ve Got The Victory, and Flat Black. Mr. Mangan recently toured the U.S. in My Soul is a Witness, a play by David Barr, III, and produced by the Jena Company; and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry based on the book by Mildred D. Taylor (Penguin Books, 1976). This production, geared primarily to young audiences, was produced by National Theater for Arts & Education based in Boca Raton, Florida. In Spring 2007, he toured in a production of Romeo and Juliet, in the role of Friar Lawrence. He is currently performing in the ensemble production of The Engagement at the Wings Theater NYC's Greenwich Village (June 2007).

Jamil has performed shadow puppetry for the 30-year running Shadow Box Theatre (Brooklyn), providing entertainment and life skills to young audiences. He made his directing debut at Newark Symphony Hall with the production of Gospel at Colonus. The Star-Ledger critic Peter Filichia said, “Jamil A.C. Mangan staged the show with precision.”

Marie Thomas is an actress, director and former Associate Professor, Theater Department, City College of New York. As an actress, she has numerous credits and awards to her name for her on- and off-Broadway performances. On television, she has appeared in The Cosby Mysteries, Amen, L.A. Law, Knots Landing and on the soap operas The Doctors, One Life to Live and As the World Turns. She is the founder and artistic director of Children’s Theater Workshop/The Peppermint Players. The Children’s Theater Workshop brings quality arts training to young people who are serious about the theater. Ms. Thomas is available for workshops, panel discussions, and performances with the semi-professional teen repertory company, The Peppermint Players.

Gladys Barker Grauer has been an exhibiting visual artist since 1946. Born in Cincinnati, she studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Loyola University and Rutgers, and came to Newark from Chicago in 1957. Her works are displayed in galleries around the country and in Senegal. In 2005, the Newark artist’s work came home to Newark’s Rutgers University campus. Grauer’s paintings, assemblages and mixed media works were shown at the Paul Robeson Art Gallery that fall, while an exhibition of her wearable art, crafts and dolls were displayed at the campus’s John Cotton Dana Library.

Grauer’s works are on permanent display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the National Museum of American Art; the Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville, NJ, The Newark Museum, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers-New Brunswick, and the Morris Museum, among others. She also has shown her work at numerous college galleries, libraries, and corporate art galleries of London, New York (MOMA), Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

After raising four children, she opened the first African American art gallery in Newark, NJ in 1971. She also taught art at the Essex County Vocational School until retiring.

At 80, Grauer remains an active artist. She now works with paint and mixed media, is a popular speaker on the arts and volunteers with community and youth organizations. She is both a guest artist and painting instructor at The Newark Museum, and is an artist-in-residence with the Arts Council of the Essex Area. Grauer also is a mentor with the City Without Walls gallery.

Ms. Grauer gives slide presentations for all ages on her unique work and workshops on various topics related to art.

Ben Jones is a painter and mixed media artist of international renown. He is currently a Professor of Art at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ. His credits as an artist, curator, and costume designer, and his national and international exhibitions are too numerous to name. He received his BA from William Patterson University, an MA from New York University and an MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He has been the subject of countless publications, articles, television programs and videos and has received numerous awards, grants and fellowships.

Janet Taylor Pickett has received many awards and has had numerous exhibitions around the state of New Jersey, nationally and internationally. She is the recipient of awards from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic State Arts Council, the Valpariso Foundation of Mojcar, Spain, as well as others. Her work is part of private and museum collections. Her most recent group exhibitions include Transcultural New Jersey: Diverse Artists Shaping Culture and Communities at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, The Monmouth Museum in Threaded Through the Fiber: Arts Culture and Memories, The Noyes Museum - Icons, Symbols & Altars; The Montclair Museum - Celebrating 90 Years; The Newark Museum Community Gallery – Art Explores Religion, and Growing Up – Childhood in Art at the Montclair Art Museum; and a solo exhibition at the University of Eastern New Mexico in 2004. Ms. Taylor-Pickett received her BFA and MFA from the University of Michigan School of Art and Design. She has also studied at New York’s Parsons School of Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Vermont Studio School. She recently retired, after 30+ years of teaching, from Essex County College in Newark, NJ where she was a full professor.

Gallman’s Newark Dance Theatre (GNDT), under the direction of founder Alfred Gallman, is an exciting company of 10 professional dancers whose repertoire incorporates ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and modern dance. Their high-energy performances consistently bring audiences (nationally and internationally) to their feet. GNDT has been a source of hope and inspiration to the metropolitan area since 1978. GNDT’s primary mission is to provide professional training to students who might not otherwise afford it. GNDT is available for performances with the professional and/or junior companies.

Pyramyd! Dance Theatre is an eclectic group of singers, dancers and musicians. Their performances are infused with authentic African instruments, costumes and language. The group represents the culture and art of Africa in performances, workshops and lecture demonstrations with special emphasis on West African dance and American jazz.

The Seventh Principle Drum & Dance Ensemble is a contemporary African dance company founded in 1992 by artistic director Candace M. Hundley-Kamate. The company combines traditional African, modern and contemporary movement in a dynamic, innovative approach to performance. Through dance, drumming and music, they connect past and present through the creative fusion of African traditions and American culture. Their repertoire includes African storytelling, spoken word, folklore, history and experiences from a Pan-African perspective. Their ensemble generally includes seven dancers and five musicians. The Umfundailai Technique (Swahili for “Essence”), is a workshop that combines African and Caribbean dance with modern dance technique in a training program for professional artists and choreographers. Seventh Principle is available for performances, workshops, lecture/demonstrations, assembly programs and African dance classes.