Morphological Confetti

This past Saturday I took a trip to Richmond, Virginia with family and friends. Specifically, we took this trip to see the August Wilson's play, " Joe Turner's Come and Gone ." It was playing at the Dogwood Dell Ampitheater starring Carl Gordon from the tv show, "Roc". The play was excellent! Before the play, we had a chance to see the town a bit. I was excited about seeing the Bill "Bojangles" Robinson statue. As a matter of fact, I was so excited that I decided to challenge Mr. Robinson in a "Tap off!" Well, as you can see Mr. Robinson beat me without even moving. Overall, I had a great time. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878–1949) Challenge!!! Check me out...I should change my name to Savion Bess! Air Bess!! Sources: Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica Photo credit: Camille (Mack's lady)

African American photographer, James Augustus Joseph Van Der Zee was born June 29, 1886 in Lenox, Massachusetts. It’s difficult for me to think of the history of black America without thinking of the photography of Mr. Van Der Zee. You certainly cannot think of Harlem, NY without thinking of him because that’s where he captured some of his most memorable photographs. His main interest was the people of the famed 125th Street. That is where he opened his studio in 1916 called the Guarantee Photo Studio . He would capture the faces and lifestyles of the Harlem Renaissance as well as the everyday people who populated the brownstones and tenements that Harlem is famous for. Van Der Zee also served as the official photographer to Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Associate (UNIA). James Van Der Zee would chronicle the styles and people of Harlem for over 40 years. Howev er, business eventually slowed down as the years past. People began to buy their own cameras and less opted ...

Untitled Colored pencil and graphite drawing Today, I want to share some of my art collection with you all. The featured artist is African American sketch artist, Sam Fuller Jr. I met Mr. Fuller in the Fall of 2005 at DuPont Circle Park here in DC. It was autumn, so the weather was still fairly warm. I took daily walks during my lunch hour near Dupont Circle; one afternoon, I observed Mr. Fuller in the park selling his art. I didn't bother him that day, but I noticed him the next day as well, so I decided to approach him to take a closer look at his work. He sat quietly on the park bench while sketching one of his upcoming pieces. As I walked closer, I noticed that he wore jeans and a starched white shirt that appeared very bright in the sunlight. I introduced myself and asked if I could take a look at some of his artwork. He showed me his work and also shared works in progress. I visited with him the rest of the week at the park during my lunch hour. We talked about his career as...

I had the pleasure of attending a book signing event over the weekend. First, I should mention that Vertigo Books celebrated its 15th Anniversary; the event was hosted by Bridget Warren. Bridget is a very nice lady and works very hard to bring to us renowned and not so known authors from around the world. I especially love Vertigo’s title selection, which focuses on African, African American, Caribbean, and Latino literature. I first visited the store in 1996 when it was located in downtown Washington, D.C. (DuPont Circle). The stores present location is in College Park, adjacent to the University of Maryland campus. Now, the highlight of this event was a visit from poet, activist, and Professor Sonia Sanchez . Your boy Stephen Bess was in the front row! Smile. I had to get there early. I have admired this woman for years since my college days in Savannah where I first learned of her work. She didn’t wait for her introduction upon arriving and immediately started chatting with the cro...