The Ward 7 Arts Collaborative is debuting “The Legacy of Melvin Deal.” The documentary features the work of Deal, the founding director of the African Heritage Drummers and Dancers.

“We did a documentary on Melvin because he was here doing the crack epidemic and saved a lot of people, and he has done outstanding work in general in our community,” says Wanda Aikens of the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative. Deal, she says, has served the community for more than 53 years. The documentary is available on DVD and is available at no cost at the showing.

The showing is also free Saturday, June 12 from 3p to 6p and includes a performance by the African Heritage Drummers and Dancers at Kelly Miller School, 49th and Clay Streets, NE. There is plenty of free parking.

Port Of Harlem will be there with copies of the latest issue, accepting Snippets subscriptions and selling print issue subscriptions, too. For information about the performance call 202-399.1997.

 

Photo:  Melvin Deal on the drum with Ivy Hylton contributing the vocals. Photo by Bruce McNeil
202-257-4490.

Ruby Dee will be on hand when the US Postal Service issues its new Oscar Micheaux stamp Wednesday, June 23 in the Art Gallery, 2nd Floor of the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building, 163 West 125th Street (at 7th Avenue) in Harlem. Oscar Micheaux was a pioneering filmmaker, director and producer. He wrote, produced and directed 44 featured films between 1919 and 1948. In addition he authored seven novels, one was a bestseller.

Doors open to the public at 11:00a and the program begins at 12p. Admission is free. Call 206- 309-7895 or make an online reservation. You must have a photo ID to enter the Powell building.

Running from through Friday, July 23rd in the main gallery at Honfleur Gallery, the exhibition “Objectified” takes a look at works by four artists who translate concept to object, using philosophical approach and industrial or non-traditional crafting. Using disparate and non- traditional materials, the artists address questions of materiality of artwork touching on a “medium versus message” debate.

Honfleur Gallery, at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, Washington DC 20020, is a new contemporary art space located in Historic Anacostia and focuses on cutting edge contemporary exhibitions from the USA and abroad. It is a project of the ARCH Development Corporation, whose mission is to act as a catalyst for local cultural and economic revitalization.

Honfleur is the home of Port Of Harlem’s Build / Renovate Your Own Castle IV.To RESERVE 1 of 40 Seats for Build / Renovate IV, Click Here

Renovators of older homes often talk of adding insulation and replacing an old furnace or appliances to improve energy efficiency and comfort. It is surprising to many that insulating and upgrading equipment is only a part of making a home energy efficient. Ahmed Jabali-Nash of Housing Evaluation Plus explained, “If insulation is increased and the home s leakage areas are not corrected, little improvement will result.

Read more in “Save Energy. Save Earth. Save Money.” in the current issue of Port Of Harlem and participate in Nash’s 20-minute interactive discussion at Build / Renovate Your Own Castle IV where he will also share information about two cost saving speciality mortgages:

• Housing and Urban Development’s 203(k)
• Energy Efficient Mortgage

To RESERVE 1 of 40 Seats, Click Here

After 18 years of backing host Jay Leno on the "Tonight Show" bandleader Kevin Eubanks says he is moving on. "I don't think we've ever had an argument," Leno said, bidding Eubanks farewell on a recent show. "We've had a lot of fun."

Eubanks has been with Leno since Leno took over NBC's "Tonight" in 1992. Eubanks became musical director when Branford Marsalis left in 1995. Eubanks says he is simply seeking a career change.

Eubanks granted Port Of Harlem an exclusive interview in 2005 and appeared on the May - July 2005 cover.

Ron Sparks, the European-American Alabama agriculture commissioner, rolled Tuesday to a sweeping victory over African-American Artur Davis, capturing 62 percent of the vote and winning majorities in 61 of 67 counties.

Jesse Lewis, publisher of The Birmingham Times, a Black-oriented weekly, told Newsweek that most Blacks in the state would have liked nothing more than to see an African-American as chief executive but couldn’t warm up to a candidate who didn’t seem to have their interests at heart. Many critics saw Davis’s opposition to the president’s health-care legislation (as reported in a special Snippets) as a blatant attempt to pander to White voters.  (More than 1 in 4 Alabama residents are Black.)