Ms. Afrika Abney - Consultant

  UNFINISHED BUSINESS, UNTOLD STORIES: A Look Beyond the Immediate Horizon at The Future of Children’s Literature Written by African American Authors is one of the panel discussions that is a part of the  African Americans and Children's Literature: A Symposium and Exhibition which is scheduled to take place on March 2, 2024 at 3pm. The presenters include Kwame Alexander, Tricia Elam Walker, David Miller, Tiffany Mitchell Patterson, Leroy Nesbitt and Joy Jones. " Kwame Alexander has written 38 books, three of them in a chair next to a fireplace at his neighborhood Panera Bread. He now writes in a penthouse in London, where he lives. But, he misses the writing studio he built in Virginia a few years ago. It has huge windows, a large painting of John Coltrane, 3000 books, heated floors, a blue couch, and a loft which was Randy’s idea. When he’s not writing, Kwame’s playing Softball with his soon-to-be six feet tall middle school daughter, walking around London listening to au

  TRUNKS, SATCHELS AND THE US POSTAL SERVICE: Book Distributors and Store Owners Tell Their Stories About Getting Black Books into the World By Any and All Means Necessary is one of the panel discussions that is a part of the  African Americans and Children's Literature: A Symposium and Exhibition which is scheduled to take place on March 2, 2024 at 2pm. The presenters include Courtland Cox, Paul Coates, Vanessa Williams,  Shirikiana Gerima,  and Kojo Nnamdi.   " Courtland Cox is President of CCAP Consulting, LLC, which was incorporated in the District of Columbia in July 2011. Presently, Mr. Cox is part of the DCPEP team that works with the Department of General Services (DGS) of the District of Columbia Government. As part of the DCPEP team, Mr. Cox is responsible for making sure that there is compliance with federal and District law pertaining to CBE and workforce participation on all DGS projects. In 2009, Courtland Cox served as a Consultant to the Office of Public Educ

  SEEING OURSELVES IN THE RIVER, IN THE MIRROR, IN THE WORLD is one of the panel discussions that is a part of the  African Americans and Children's Literature: A Symposium and Exhibition which is scheduled to take place on March 2, 2024 at 12:45pm at Trinity Washington University. The presenters include Jennifer Lawson, Justin Johnson, Keesha Ceran and Joy Jones " Jennifer Lawson  first marched for civil rights in 1963 as a 16-year-old in what became known as the Children’s Crusade, in support of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who had been jailed in Birmingham, AL.  She attended Tuskegee University and eventually left to work full-time with SNCC in Lowndes County, Alabama where she drew billboards, comics, booklets, and leaflets in support of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, publicizing the work of the people of Lowndes County and their political party's symbol, the black panther.  She is featured in an award-winning 2022 film about this subject,  Lowndes County and

    REMOVING THE MASK, AMPLIFYING OUR VOICES is one of the panel discussions that is a part of the  African Americans and Children's Literature: A Symposium and Exhibition which is scheduled to take place on March 2, 2024 at 9:30am at Trinity Washington University. The presenters include Carolivia Herron, Wynn Yarbrough, and Bernard Demczuk " Car­o­livia Her­ron  is a retired pro­fes­sor of com­par­a­tive lit­er­a­ture who directs the Epic­Cen­ter­ing the Nation­al Mall cre­ative writ­ing pro­gram for at risk youth. She is best known as the author of the chil­dren’s book Nap­py Hair.  She is a speak­er with the Pen Faulkn­er Writ­ers in Schools pro­gram, an African Amer­i­can Jew, and an active mem­ber of Tifer­eth Israel of Wash­ing­ton, DC." " Wynn Yarbrough  teaches Creative Writing and Children's Literature at the University of the District of Columbia. He is the author of two books: a volume of poetry,  A Boy's Dream  (Pessoa Press, 2011) and a nonfictio

  Me, Myself and Our Story: A Creative Writing Institute in Poetry,Short Story and Memoir Writing   Feb 10, 2024, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST 901 G St. NW, Washington, DC -Room 401-E Esther Productions Inc. is presenting a professional creative writing institute providing instruction in poetry, fiction and memoir writing. Course of study will provide six weeks of focus and instruction on each topic. That is six weeks of poetry, six weeks of fiction and six weeks of memoir writing.  The Institute is for young ladies 15-19 years old who have an interest in creative writing. The first session will be in poetry. Students should be prepared to attend all six sessions. Registration is required; seating is limited. So register now!  - www.estherproductionsinc.com/events-1/me-myself-and-our-story-a-creative-writing-institute-in-poetry-short-story-and-memoir-writing For more information: write to estherproductionsinc@gmail.com Please note these workshops are only for young ladies aged 15-19.

A frican Americans and Children's Literature: A Symposium and Exhibition Mar 02, 2024, 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM EST 125 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017, USA COME LEARN THE STORY AND LEGACY OF WASHINGTON, DC’S AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTHORS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE—Past and Present, including May Miller Sullivan, Sterling Brown, Maxine Clair, Gwendolyn Brooks, Daphne Muse, Lucille Clifton, Eloise Greenfield, Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, Jennifer Lawson, Courtland Cox, Adjoa Burrowes, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carolivia Herron, Aisha Rice, Tricia Elam Walker, jonetta rose barras, Sheila Crider, David Miller, Michelle Meadows, Leah Henderson , Michelle Green, Lakia Wilson and others.  This event is curated by award-winning author and public scholar jonetta rose barras in partnership with humanities scholar Bernard Demczuk Ph.D. ,The Black Student Fund, The Institute for African American Writing, Teaching for Change, Social Justice Books, Buck Wild Media, and Lesa Warrick. Major funding has be

    “When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it.” - Jacob Lawrence  “All artists are constantly looking for something and they don't always know what.” - Jacob Lawrence  “You bring to a painting your own experience.” - Jacob Lawrence “I would describe my work as expressionist. The expressionist point of view is stressing your own feelings about something. “ - Jacob Lawrence "Humanism" is to be human, to think, to analyze, and to probe. To respond and to be stimulated by all living things - beasts, fowl, and fishes. To respond through touch, sight, smell, and sound to all things in nature - both organic and inorganic-to colors, shapes, and textures - to not only look at a blade of grass but to really see a blade of grass. These things, to me, are what life and living are all about. I would call it "Humanism." - Jacob Lawrence “My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life - if he has

    "A stretched canvas is simply a canvas that has been stretched over a timber frame with mitred joints. A canvas panel is a canvas wrapped board. Canvas panels are much flatter, they can be framed and are a great option for quick projects, while canvases are larger in dimension and don't need to be framed. Canvas panels are the perfect solution if you like the weave of a canvas but not the 'bounce' that you get when canvas is stretched on a stretcher bar frame. You can enjoy painting on a rigid surface that has the texture of your favourite primed or unprimed canvas by fixing it onto a wooden panel." I have created many paintings on both. 

   In 2023, I provided services for the following events. Among them include Kaleidoscope: Women of Color Reflection on Life;Membership Announcement: KALEIDOSCOPE WOMEN’S WRITING COLLECTIVE; Women Blossoming: A Traditional Tea & Celebration to Inspire and Empower;THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK: FOR SELF & FAMILY 2023;Me, Myself and Our Story: The Art of the Personal Essay, A Writing Workshop for Girls; 5th Annual Discovering Me Essay Contest; and The Discovery Summit & Scholarship Awards Ceremony. Additionally, I have exhibited several of my abstract paintings during the virtual art exhibition and poetry reading which took place on February 19, 2023. ​ Also, Esther Productions, Inc purchased one of my abstract paintings on June 23, 2023 and on December 3, 2023, Esther Productions, Inc purchased two of my abstract paintings. Untitled. 5". Acrylic on canvas board. March 4, 2023. $25.00. Afrika Abney When I created this painting, I was thinking about how I feel about th