A Turkey and Some Mistletoe
Updated: Dec 14, 2023
Everybody gather 'round
As tales of Santa come to town
And songs of merry holiday cheer
Are sung from very far to near
The holidays are lovely and bright
Christmas trees and colored lights
Shiny presents, egg nogg drinks
In crystal glasses as they clink
Family and friends laugh and eat
Thankful again they get to meet
To celebrate and bring joy
To every girl and every boy
A new year comes, we begin anew
A better me, a better you
Happy holidays to all of our readers and supporters. This year has been an amazing learning experience, and we grew so much! We truly appreciate all of you for believing in us and sticking by us, that's what community does and ya'll DID THAT!!!
Below is a list of events, calls for actions, jobs, a good word and more, that are in and around the triangle. Please look through and support the cause that grabs you.
Give Black Raleigh Her Flowers Catalogue
GBRHF Catalogues are out and circulating!! We have been getting so much feedback from everyone! We would love to hear what you like most! Go comment on this post to let us know!
Thank you for all your support putting out these stories. Click the link below to purchase your copy today!
If you haven't received yours, no worries! It is on its way to you! If you have any questions, comments or concerns about your order, please feel free to contact us at Blackoaksociety@gmail.com
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM!
Call for Submissions!
Are your ready for BOS Zine Volume 7? We definitely are. Here is our official call for submissions. We are calling for completed unpublished work. For more information about submission categories, guidelines and how to submit, check out our blog that details all you need to know in the link below!
A Good Word...
As self-conscious as we are about our imperfections, having the courage to celebrate those imperfections makes us super- powerful.
Phillip Loken with Gee's Bend
*click the slider to enlarge photos*
Photographer, Phillip Loken, has devoted his time to his first documentary film, "Gee's Bend: Welcome To The Hole". They are currently accepting donations for their next largest expense, the sizzle reel, and have set a goal of $5,000 to fund that reel.
Below is the log line for the film:
Gee’s Bend, Alabama, also known as Boykin, is an African-American majority community in the rural American South most notably known for its rich, intergenerational legacy of quilting. “Gee’s Bend: Welcome To The Hole” gives an insider’s perspective on the nuances that have shaped this region and the lives of those living in it.
A full pitch deck (including a synopsis, budget, reasons why this film is different from other films with similar subject matter, our impact strategy, and much more) is available upon request.
If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation, we would prefer a check or wire transfer (donation forms available upon request) for larger amounts, but we can also accept one-time, monthly, and/or annual donations through this PayPal link:
Contact Information: Phillip Loken (Director, Producer, & Co-Director of Photography): Contact@KingPhill.us
Check out their website for more information:
A Call to Action
Here are a few causes that need your immediate attention. Please consider sharing and supporting.
Triangle Events
Fill up your November calendar with these amazing events from people in your community.
Feed Durham
Get Your Tickets today! For $50, the 21c Museum Hotel Benefit to support Feed Durham is offering MULTIPLE meal courses, all kinds of wines and beers plus a silent art auction.
On Wednesday, December 13th, 7:00 pm, join 21c Museum Hotel for an evening of food, art and activism, in support of Feed Durham. The evening will feature a chef tasting with food from Counting House, Boricua Soul and Cocoa Cinnamon; a wine tasting led by Cam of LouElla's; and a Silent Art Auction including work from sculptor/muralist/illustrator Dare Coulter, a copy of Emergent Strategies (signed by author/organizer adrienne maree brown; photographer Cornell Watson, Photographer Samantha Everette aka The Shooting Beauty, and photographer/Feed Durham founder Katina Parker.
Beer and wine provided by Full Steam Brewery, Ponysaurus Brewing, Graphic Vine Distributors and more
Tickets are $50 and available for purchase now through Eventbrite: tinyurl.com/4wfx4eh2
Each ticket includes admission, multiple meal courses, and an open bar. All proceeds go directly to Feed Durham.
WAYS TO HELP
• Buy a ticket
• Send/invite your friends
• Repost
• Donate
• Volunteer on 12/13 to help host.
To volunteer on 12/13, DM us.
ABOUT FEED DURHAM Feed Durham is a scrappy mutual aid collective that came together in response to mounting hunger in the Durham area, due to COVID. Since 2020, we've fed 158,000+ neighbors in need through our sprawling no-contact cookouts, where we lovingly prepare meals for 500 people per day, and offer grocery give-aways. Through dozens of community partnerships, we feed elders, people living in cars and on the streets, widows, unsupported LGBTQ+ folks, undocumented families, the homebound and chronically ill, elementary students and their families.
Most of our volunteers are community organizers, teachers, artists, farmers, parents, and everyday folks. We are a multi-faith, multi-racial, intergenerational collective. We believe that we are only as safe as our least hungry neighbor. We serve more than just food. We serve hope.
DONATE
CashApp: $BullCityEats
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/feeddurhamnc
Monthly Pledge: patreon.com/feeddurhamnc
Check out their instagram page HERE for more information.
Darkness Rising Project
Join Darkness Rising Project for Shop for a Cause Holiday Market!
Come shop with local small businesses. Get unique holiday gifts from RDU shops in one place.
Follow their instagram to learn more about Darkness Rising Project and mental health.
See their website : HERE
DATE: Saturday 12/16
TIME: 12-4pm
PLACE: RUMAH
415 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC
The Oak House
Join The Oak House on December 27th, 2023, from 6:30pm-9:00pm for their last installment of the Open Mic Series. There will be a fully stock bar and cafe menu ☕️
All forms of expression welcome. Bring your instruments and warm vibez 💫
FREE Entry
FREE VENDOR SPACE AVAILABLE
126 W Main St
DURHAM NC 27701
For more information, check out the instagram HERE
Kwanzaa Fest
Join the African American Dance Ensemble on January 1, 2024, for their 38th annual Kwanzaa celebration. Observing the principle Imani, which means Faith. To believe with all our hearts in our people and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Kwanzaa is a time to honor African American culture and values, including unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. It’s also a time for reflection and celebration, with communal feasts and gatherings that bring together family and friends.
The doors will open to the public at noon, and the performances will begin at 2:00 pm at the historic Durham Armory. Kwanzaa Fest is Free and open to the public. Kwanzaa appeals to a diverse audience, as AADE seeks to preserve and promote the fine traditions of African and African American dance and music to the broad community.
In honor of Baba Chuck Davis donated canned foods and toiletry items will be donated to the Urban Ministries of Durham.
Performances by:
Psalmist Danyelle Sanders @danyellesanders74
Greater is He Mime @greaterishemime
Evin Gibson @evingibson
Harambee Collective Mime Team
African American Dance Ensemble
Akoma de Gado Dance & Drum Performance Ensemble @akomadegado
For more information, check out their instagram HERE
Classes, Sign-Ups & Calls
Want to learn a new skill? Want to hone an already existing hobby? Want to grow your knowlegde about a particular subject? Do you have a need to show your community your talent? This list of classes, sign-ups and calls is just what you have been searching for.
YouthSpeakDurm
Student U Durham is thrilled to announce that applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are now open until December 18, 2023.
They look forward to welcoming and nurturing the potential of young, aspiring students entering grades 6 through 11 for the 2024-2025 academic year. Children that demonstrate promise but require support, qualify for free/reduced lunch, and aspire to pursue higher education, are provided the assistance they need to excel academically. The program offers academic growth, invaluable guidance on the path to higher education, a nurturing and supportive community, and a solid commitment to diversity and inclusion.
🔗More information: www.studentudurham.org/enroll 🔗
Check out their instagram to keep up with the latestest ongoings :
Midnight & Indigo Literary
Midnight & Indio Literary are offering online Zoom writing classes starting soon. Registration is open - space is limited! Payment plans are available.
For more information check out their instagram. Sign up on the link listed below.
❤️ Jan. 20th - Vision Boarding for Black women writers taught by Shari Walker
❤️ Feb. 15th - You've Been Prompted! A Workshop for writers taught by tina scott lassiter
❤️ Feb. 17th - The Black Woman Writer’s Toolbox taught by Muli Amaye
❤️ Feb. 25th - How to Write a Reported Essay taught by Sean Collins
❤️ Feb. 25th - Narrative Essay Writing for Healing & Liberation taught by Natasha Elle Thomas
❤️ Feb. 26th - Grief, Grace & Gratitude: A Healing Workshop for Black women writers taught by Chántelle Adanna Agbro
❤️ Mar. 3rd - The Future is Female...& African: Coming To & Writing Through Nnedi Okorafor's novel "Who Fears Death"r taught by Denise R. Ervin
❤️ Mar. 9th - Your Memory Is Fiction: A Truth Telling Workshop for Black women writers taught by Amuna Wagner
Triangle Atrworks
If you are an artist of any kind in NC looking for new opportunities then you have come to the right place! Triangle ArtWorks provides an ongoing list of Artist Calls all year round. Bookmark our Calls for Artists page and check back throughout the year to find great opportunities!
Follow their instagram HERE for more information.
VAE Raleigh
From February - April 2024, VAE will be exhibiting the work of contemporary Muslim artists in an exhibition that will center, support, and uplift Muslim artists in the Triangle.
Through VAE’s open source and collaborative working model they seek to create an exhibition that not only brings awareness to the historical circumstances related to Muslim identity, but also celebrates the rich and diverse identities of Muslim people.
Call for art open until January 13th!
Check the link in their website for more information.
At this time they are only seeking submissions for artists based in North Carolina.
VAE Raleigh is supported by the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County.
Follow their instagram HERE.
Cheeni Raleigh
THEY’RE BACK.
Cheeni is offering three cooking classes in January, including a highly coveted class covering some of our most popular dishes at our newly opened @cheenidurham space. Go to the link below to purcghase tickets!
Classes & Events | Cheeni Indian Food Emporium in Raleigh, NC
Cooking classes with @preetiwaas make the perfect holiday gift, so act fast! A limited quantity of tickets is available per class.
Be Connected Durham
Sign up for Be Connected Durham's info session at the link listed below. FOllow their instagram HERE for more information.
Blackfuturism
"Blackfuturism: a full color spectrum of blackness" is a group art show curated by TJ Mundy, the 2023 Eno Arts Mill BIPOC Artist in Residence, that will feature art from them and local Black artists of all ages and skills. The show will run the full month of February at Eno Arts Mill, with an opening reception on February 2 from 6-9pm.
❤️🔥 Theme: This group show will be a showcase of art made solely by local* Black artists. If you are not Black, please do not submit. It is intended to celebrate and look ahead on our future as Black people. Art submitted should be colorful, vibrant, bold, and portray your ideas about the future of Blackness: success, innovation, celebration, excellence, or what comes to mind for you. *Must reside within 30 miles of Hillsborough, NC.
⭐️ Types of Art: 2D, any medium, no longer than 48" in either dimension
~
✨typefaces by black designers✨
• Trickster by Jean-Baptiste Morizot. Distributed by velvetyne.fr.
• BackOut by Frank Adebiaye, with the contribution of Ariel Martín Pérez. Distributed by velvetyne.fr
Check out their Instagram HERE for more information.
SUBMISSION INK IS BELOW!:
Blackfuturism: a full color spectrum of blackness (google.com)
Job Board
Looking for a new environment or career? Check out our job board below for oppoortunities in the Triangle.
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Come join our team in 2024! 🤩
They currently have multiple open positions available. To discover more about our open opportunities and learn how you can become a part of Team SCSJ, click the link below to learn more and apply!
Careers & Internships - Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Follow their instagram HERE to get up to date job opportunites.
Community of Literary Magazines and Presses
Don’t miss your chance to apply for reader, programs, and staff writing positions at StoSo Ink, @parisreview, @poetswritersinc, and @chestnutreview! Their Jobs with Publishers page is listed below!
Jobs with Publishers - Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (clmp.org)
Follow their instagram HERE for more information.
Third Wave Fund
WE’RE HIRING 📣 Join our team as the next Director of Programs (DoP)! The DoP will be responsible for leading Third Wave in researching, building, implementing, and maintaining innovative systems and processes to support our grantmaking and capacity-building programs. This includes grantmaking systems, grants data, evaluations and learning, program work plan alignment, program team training, and other programmatic strategy setting and execution across all six of our funds. The DoP will report to the Co-Directors, and would be a new member of Third Wave’s leadership team, involved in a wide range of strategic planning and programmatic initiatives.
🌱 Remote work, U.S. based
🌱 Full-time (32 hours/week)
🌱 Starting Salary is $97,000
🌱 Benefits package
🌱 Deadline to apply is January 16, 2024
🔗 Link listed below for all job details, qualifications, and how to apply. Have questions about this job posting or your application? Please send an email to info@thirdwavefund.org.
Follow their instagram HERE for more information.
"Speak out and be Blessed!"
Courtney Napier
(She/Her)
Founder/ Editor
Black Oak Society
Aerial Sanders
Creative Director
Black Oak Society
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