Author: Jasmine Mallory

Jasmine Mallory (aka) Butterfly Beauty, is an author, poet, writer, freelance model, public speaker, blogger, and entrepreneur. She is constantly finding ways to share, educate, and bring light to her community. Whether conducting public speaking workshops for young students, highlighting African American heroes through her blog, or performing spoken-word poetry for diverse audiences, she is an ambassador for the art of vocal expression. A reminder to never underestimate the power of your voice. You can follow her on social media: Facebook: Jasmine Y. Mallory Instagram: jasminewilliams8295 Twitter: buttrflybeauty1 Visit her website at www.imagemaker1.webs.com.
Artis E. Hinson (1944 – ) Herbalist, Natural Healer, Master Astrologer, Author, Living Legend & Owner of Body Ecology Life Sciences Attunement Center

Artis E. Hinson (1944 – ) Herbalist, Natural Healer, Master Astrologer, Author, Living Legend & Owner of Body Ecology Life Sciences Attunement Center

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“Let the electric energy of life, flow through thee, in miraculous attunement to thy almighty creator, thy higher self” -a powerful declaration by living foods chef, scientist, alchemist, master astrologer, natural healer and living legend Artis Hinson, who is the owner of Body Ecology Life Sciences Attunement Center and the author of “Dogma To Light.”

Artis is a raw vegan, consuming only living (whole) foods for over 45 years. His love of humanity and world travels and expansive study of world religions and cultures, excited his desire to effect change, by promoting life in a world of “dead nutrition “. Artis began studying the impersonal aspect of energy after he was introduced to the ancient sciences of life, numerology, and astrology. Utilizing his mastery of astrology, he combines the sciences of life to effect greater healing in his clients on many energetic levels of their being with live water, live foods and live herbal remedies.

Born on October 29, 1944 in High Point, NC, Artis grow up in the small town until the age of 10 before moving to the city of Greensboro. He found himself often questioning the stories of the Bible he had been taught at that time, would eventually spark the path leading up to his life’s purpose. He excelled in public schools and graduated with honors while serving as Vice Chairman of the Greensboro Chapter of C.O.R.E.

In 1965, he graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC. It was his personal quest which led to the vision and the creation and evolution of what would become his highly successful business, Body Ecology. His trips to Central America, Europe, Asia, and Africa during the late 60’s and early 70’s in addition to visits to Germany and Italy in the late 90’s fueled his fire. During his world travels he studied diets, ancient healing remedies, family structures , personal balance, herbs, healing clays, essential oils, and religious practices. Also even visited the cave system monastery in Elephanta.

In 1975, Body Ecology was officially established in Washington DC, promoting internal wellness through practice. As a raw vegan, life foodist- eating only whole foods and instructing classes for meal preparation to encourage healthier families for ascension from lower frequencies. The Body Ecology stores were mobile as well as stationary.

In 1985, he relocated the business to downtown Greensboro where it continued to flourish, bringing healing balance to thousands of people. Unfortunately the store caught fire and burned down, causing Artis to relocate and rebuild.

As a master astologer with over 40 years of experience, he has used his expertise to help individuals discover the their purpose and personal power. He has also applied his unique gift towards developing several astrology and numerology apps, which are downloadable. His latest app is entitled “Whyquhirpz,”  which helps individuals reveal their unique power days for success in business, travel and love.

Today, Artis continues to confidently serve humanity, with the power of natures design. He instructs life food preparation, self discovery and wholistic wellness seminars for many individuals and organizations. He is well known as a pillar of the higher conscious for the communities he has served. Daily he enjoys his yoga, meditation and work of healing. At age 76, he looks forward to many more years and continuing his journey of rejuvenation at his, 200 acre Spa Therapy Center in southern Virginia.

To learn more about the services of Artis Hinson and Body Ecology, please contact him at 336-273-7406 or visit http://bodyecol.webs.com/.

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Bill Withers (1938 – 2020) Singer, Songwriter & Guitarist

Bill Withers (1938 – 2020) Singer, Songwriter & Guitarist

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“I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you,” poetic words spoken by the legendary icon Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a host of soulful songs in the 1970’s that have stood the test of time, including “Lean On Me” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” His songs are often used on the big screen and covered by multiple artists ranging from Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Dianna Ross, to Barbara Streisand and many others. The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in 1985, wrote some of the most memorable and extraordinary songs of our lifetime.

Born on July 4, 1938, in the small town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, Bill was the youngest of six children. He was raised in nearby Beckley, in coal mining country where his father, William Withers was a miner and his mother Mattie (Galloway) Withers was a maid. His father died when Bill was only 13 years old.  

After graduating from high school, Bill enlisted in the U.S, Navy. He saw it as his ticket out of coal mining and the Jim Crow South where he experienced racism at an early age. He served for nine years in the Navy, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs.

In 1967, he moved to Los Angeles and self-financed his demos while working as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford. He went around performing in clubs at night. He refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry. Ironically, he was laid off from his factory job a few months before “Just as I Am” came out. After the album’s release, he recalled, he received two letters on the same day. One was from his workplace asking him to return to work. The other was from “The Tonight Show,” where he appeared in November 1971. “Ain’t No Sunshine” became a major hit off that album unexpectedly.

After leaving the Sussex label and joining Columbia Records, Bill often found himself clashing with label executives who called him difficult due to creative differences. Bill felt they were trying to change him into someone he was not. In 1985, after the release of “Watching You Watching Me” he was done with the music business. It was much later when he performed at the inaugurations of both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

On March 30, 2020, he died from heart complications in Los Angeles, at age 81.

NOTABLE WORKS:

  • Ain’t No Sunshine (1971, song)
  • Grandma’s Hands (1971, song)
  • Just as I Am (1971, album)
  • Use Me (1972, song)
  • Lean on Me (1972, song)
  • Still Bill (1972, album)
  • +Justments (1974, album)
  • Making Music (1975, album)
  • Naked & Warm (1976, album)
  • Lovely Day (1977. song)
  • Menagerie (1977, album)
  • Bout Love (1978, album)
  • Just the Two of Us (1981, song)
  • Watching You Watching Me (1985, album)

AWARDS & HONORS:

  • Three Grammy Awards
  • Rock In Roll Hall of Fame
  • Grammy Hall of Fame
  • ASCAP Rhythm & Soul – Heritage Award
  • Songwriters Hall of Fame
  • West Virginia Music Hall of Fame
  • Rhythm & Blues Foundation – Pioneer Award
  • Honorary Doctorate, West Virginia University
  • Middleburg
  • Rock In Roll Hall of Fame
  • Grammy Hall of Fame
  • ASCAP Rhythm & Soul – Heritage Award
  • Songwriters Hall of Fame
  • West Virginia Music Hall of Fame
  • Rhythm & Blues Foundation – Pioneer Award
  • Two  NAACP Image Awards
  • Honorary Doctorate, West Virginia University
  • Honorary Doctorate, Middleburg College

QUOTES:

  • I write and sing about whatever I am able to understand and feel.
  • And, I’ll paint your pretty picture with a song. 
  • I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.
  • When you have a talent you know it when you’re five years old– it’s just getting around to it.

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Gil Scott-Heron (1949 – 2011) Poet, Author, Jazz Musician, Songwriter & Composer

Gil Scott-Heron (1949 – 2011) Poet, Author, Jazz Musician, Songwriter & Composer

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“The first revolution is when you change your mind,” a prolific statement by poet, novelist, musician, and songwriter Gil Scott-Heron. Best known for his signature spoken word piece, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Gil has released more than 20 albums and hundreds of compelling compositions that addressed profound social issues as well as the love, happiness and pain of the human condition. He arrived on the international stage simultaneously with various Black Arts Movement poets, including Amiri Baraka, Haki Madhubuti, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni. He shared their conviction that art must be functional and, therefore, as an artist and communal leader, he must embrace his role as a significant political voice inevitably committed to the liberation of black people.

Gil was born on April 1, 1949 in Chicago Illinois to parents Bobbie Scott Heron, a librarian, and Giles (Gil) Heron, a Jamaican professional soccer player. When he was 18 months old, he went to live with his grandmother, Lily Scott, in Jackson, TN. He grew up in Tennessee and in the Bronx, New York.

By age 13, Gil had written his first collection of poems. While attending DeWitt Clinton high school in the Bronx, his precocious writing talent was recognised by an English teacher, and he was recommended for a place at the prestigious Fieldston school.  In 1966, he attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and received an M.S. in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University.

In 1968, he published his first novel, The Vulture, a murder mystery whose central themes included the devastating effects of drugs on urban black life set in the ghetto. Encouraged to begin recording by legendary jazz producer Bob Thiele, who had worked with every major jazz great from Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane, Gil released his debut album, Small Talk at 125th and Lennox (1970), inspired by a volume of poetry of the same name. After recording for Thiele’s Flying Dutchman Records until the mid-’70s. Following a dispute with the label, he moved on to record Winter in America (1974) for Strata East, then moved to Clive Davis’s Arista Records. He was the first artist signed by the newly formed company.

As one of America’s most unique and inspiring voices, Gil’s work has influenced writers, academics and musicians, from indie rockers to hip-hop artists. His work was the template for subsequent African-American music genres, such as hip-hop, neo-soul, and nu-soul. He has been described by music writers as “The Godfather Of Rap”.

On May 27, 2011, Gil Scott-Heron died in a Manhattan hospital.  He was 62.

QUOTES:

“A good poet feels what his community feels. Like if you stub your toe, the rest of your body hurts.”
“I am a black man dedicated to expression; expression of the joy and pride of blackness. I consider myself neither poet, composer, or musician. These are merely tools used by sensitive men to carve out a piece of beauty or truth that they hope may lead to peace and salvation.”
“All the dreams you show up in are not your own.”
“Colour is not the issue in America; class is.”
“Man is a complex being: he makes deserts bloom – and lakes die.”
“You have to learn and keep learning.”
“The first revolution is when you change your mind”
“The way you get to know yourself is by the expression on other people’s faces.”
“You should be able to do anything you can afford as an adult.”
“As for money – when I have it, it’s great. When I don’t, I go get some. I’ve been a dishwasher, a gardener, a cleaner.”
“I am honestly not sure how capable I am of love. And I’m not sure why.”
“I learned early on that your audience take the songs in the way they want to rather than the way you might want them too.”
“My songs were always about the tone of voice rather than the words.”

NOTABLE WORKS:

Small Talk at 125th and Lennox (1970. album)
The Vulture (1970, book)
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970, book)
Pieces of a Man (1971, album)
The Nigger Factory (1972, book)
Free Will (1972, album)
Winter in America (1974, album)
The First Minute of a New Day (1975, album)
From South Africa to South Carolina (1975, album)
It’s Your World (1976, album)
The Baron (1977, film)
Bridges (1977, album)
Secrets (1978, album)
1980 (1980, album)
Real Eyes (1980, album)
Reflections (1981, album)
Moving Target (1982, album)
So Far, So Good (1990, book)
Spirits (1994, album)
Now and Then: The Poems of Gil Scott-Heron (2001, book)
I’m New Here (2010, album)
The Last Holiday (2012, book)

AWARDS & HONORS:

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2012)
Grammy Hall of Fame (2014)

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The NEW 2021 ReCreate Calendar coming soon!!!

Zora Neale Hurston (1891 – 1960) Author, Playwright Poet & Filmaker

Zora Neale Hurston (1891 – 1960) Author, Playwright Poet & Filmaker

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“I do not weep at the world I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife,” profound words spoken by the lengendary author, poet, playwright and filmaker, Zora Neale Hurston. Her literary works often portrayed the racial struggles in the early-1900s rooted in the deep south. In addition, she was a pioneer researcher on the subject Hoodoo. She is best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, which was published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, and essays.

Born on Jan. 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama, to John Hurston and Lucy Ann Hurston. She was the fifth of eight children. She moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida, when she was still a toddler.

Eatonville was one of the first all-black incorporated cities in the U.S. which was established in 1887 after being settled by former slaves almost two decades post Civil War. Growing up in Eatonville allowed Zora to see the evidence of black excellence all around her. She could look to town hall meetings and see black men leading, including her father, formulating the laws that governed Eatonville. She could look to the Sunday Schools of the town’s two churches and see black women, including her mother, directing the Christian curriculum. She could look to the village store and see black men and women passing worlds through their mouths in the form of engaging stories.

In 1917, she moved to Baltimore. During this time she was 26 years old and still hadn’t finished high school. Needing to present herself as a teenager to qualify for free public school, she embellished her age, passing as a 16 year old. She attended Morgan Academy in Baltimore, completing the high school requirements.

In 1925, she arrived in New York City during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. She soon became one of the writers at its center. Her short story “Spunk” was selected for The New Negro, a landmark anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays focusing on African and African-American art and literature. In 1926, she joined a group of young black writers including Langston Hughes, and Wallace Thurman, calling themselves the Niggerati. Together they produced a literary magazine called Fire!!, that featured many of the young artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

In 1935, Zora graduated from Barnard College and published several short stories and articles, as well as a novel (Jonah’s Gourd Vine) and a well-received collection of black Southern folklore (Mules and Men). But the late 1930s and early ’40s marked the real zenith of her career. She published her masterwork, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in 1937; Tell My Horse, her study of Caribbean Voodoo practices, in 1938; and another masterful novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, in 1939. When her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, was published in 1942, Zora finally received the well-earned acclaim that had long eluded her. That year, she was profiled in Who’s Who in America, Current Biography and Twentieth Century Authors. She went on to publish another novel, Seraph on the Suwanee, in 1948.

She died on January 28, 1960, in the St. Lucie County Welfare Home of “hypertensive heart disease’ and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Garden of Heavenly Rest, Fort Pierce. However, in 1973 Alice Walker discovered and marked Zora’s grave.

QUOTES:

  • There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
  • Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.
  • I do not weep at the world I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.
  • Research is formalized curiosity.
  • It is poking and prying with a purpose.
  • I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots.
  • Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and sword in my hands.
  • An envious heart makes a treacherous ear.
  • No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you.
  • Gods always behave like the people who make them.
  • Those that don’t got it, can’t show it. Those that got it, can’t hide it.
  • I did not just fall

NOTABLE WORKS:

  • “Journey’s End” (Negro World, 1922), poetry
  • “Night” (Negro World, 1922), poetry
  • “Passion” (Negro World, 1922), poetry
  • Color Struck (Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life, 1925), play
  • Muttsy (Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life) 1926, short story
  • “Sweat” (1926), short story
  • “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” (1928), essay
  • “Hoodoo in America” (1931) in The Journal of American Folklore
  • “The Gilded Six-Bits” (1933), short story
  • “The Fiery Chariot” (1933)
  • Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934), novel
  • “The Fire and the Cloud” (the Challenge, 1934)
  • Mules and Men (1935), non-fiction
  • In 1935 and 1936, Zora Neale Hurston shot documentary footage as part of her fieldwork in Florida and Haiti. Included are rare ethnographic evidence of the Hoodoo and Vodou religion in the U.S. and Haiti.
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), novel
  • Tell My Horse (1938), non-fiction
  • Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939, novel)
  • “Cock Robin, Beale Street” (Southern Literary Messenger, 1941)
  • Dust Tracks on a Road (1942), autobiography
  •  “Story in Harlem Slang” (American Mercury, 1942)
  • “The ‘Pet Negro’ Syndrome” (American Mercury, 1943)
  • Seraph on the Suwanee (1948), novel
  • “What White Publishers Won’t Print” (Negro Digest, 1950)

AWARDS & HONORS:

  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Howard University
  • The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Musical
  • Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts
  • Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction a

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Chadwick Boseman (1976 – 2020) Actor, Director, Writer, Producer & Playwright

Chadwick Boseman (1976 – 2020) Actor, Director, Writer, Producer & Playwright

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“As an African-American actor, a lot of our stories haven’t been told,” words by the great actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his role as T’Challa in Marvel’s mega hit movie “Black Panther.” He also played groundbreaking figures like James Brown, Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall, becoming one of the most sought-after leading men in film.

Born on Novemeber 29, 1976 in Anderson, South Carolina, Chadwick was the youngest of three sons born to Carolyn and Leroy Boseman. In high school, he was a skillful basketball player. He later turned to acting after a friend and teammate was shot and killed. He enrolled at Howard University with the dream of becoming a director.

While taking an acting class with award-winning actress and director Phylicia Rashad, Chadwick was accepted to the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. Ms Rashad helped finance his education with assistance from a friend and colleague Denzel Washington.

Chadwick sought to use his celebrity to advance a greater, moral cause. During this summer’s wave of protests against systemic racism and police brutality, he expressed support for the Black Lives Matter Movement and joined other Black entertainers and executives. Onscreen and off, he was fueled by a commitment to leave nothing on the table.

On August 28, 2020, Chadwick died after a four year battle of colon cancer.

NOTABLE WORK:

  • The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008, film)
  • 42: Jackie Robinson (2013, film)
  • Get on Up: James Brown (2014, film)
  • Marshall (2017, film)
  • Captain America: Civil War (2017, film)
  • Black Panther (2018, film)
  • 21 Bridges (2019, film)
  • Avengers: Endgame (2019, film)
  • Da 5 Bloods (2020, film)
  • Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020. film)
  • All My Children (2003, television)
  • Law & Order (2004, television)
  • Cold Case (2008, television)
  • Lincoln Heights (2008, television)
  • Persons Unknown (2010, television)
  • Fringe (2011, television)
  • Saturday Night Live (2018, television)
  • Crossroads (1993, playwright)
  • Rhyme Deferred (1997, co-writer)
  • Hieroglyphic Graffiti (2002, playwright)
  • Deep Azure (2005, playwright)

AWARDS & HONORS:

  • NAACP Image Award Recipients (including 6 nominations)
  • Boston Society of Film Critics Award Winner
  • New York Film Critics Circle Award Winner
  • Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Winner
  • People’s Choice Award Winner
  • Honorary Degree Recipient (2018), Howard University

SOURCES:

  • IMDb.com
  • nytimes.com
  • Biography.com
  • Wikipedia.com

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