Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I'm feeling -like a dream

A Message from LPC5 Parent

"An Open Letter To The Continuum Project

It is now two months since my daughter took part in the Continuum Project’s Legacy Program Cycle 5. In many ways it seems as though the whole thing was a dream, but I do have a few thoughts about the experience I would like to share with you.

What is History? Most of us grow up thinking of history as a finished story. Even when we study events closely and realize that the story could have been different if one action had been altered, we still think of history as something outside of ourselves…separate and complete. Rarely do we understand that history is never a finished story. Events unfold today because of actions taken by others long before we were here.

In a similar way we rarely personalize history. Even when we have the benefit of knowing our elders, we usually take their presence for granted. When listening to their stories, it is unusual to put them within the broader scope of historical events.

Maeve decided to personify my Paternal Grandmother during the Legacy Production. This simple exercise taught her a very powerful lesson, one that I do not think she fully understands yet. She learned for the first time that history is living right now, and that her personal story is part of a much larger whole. Her monologue had a few factual errors, but what she got so right was how my Grandmother must have felt while she was on the ship coming to America…her trepidation and determination, as well as the enormity of the change that was about to take place in her life. For a few seconds Maeve became my Grandmother, and for a moment I understood my Grandmother better than I ever had before. Maeve wrote her piece without any input from me…and she imagined her Great Grandmother on her own. It was an incredible experience and I will never forget it.

There was another moment that first night I will always cherish. Maeve and I discussed her knowledge of African Geography shortly after you posted the initial film of them on your website. No student had been able to name very many countries and she was a little embarrassed. I often quiz her and her brother on geography, and they always groan when I do. But this experience made her want to learn as many countries in Africa as she could and she set her mind on memorizing them all. I split the continent into regions and she learned them in a way that allowed her to know where on the continent each country is located.

When the results of her DNA test were announced and she heard that she had ancestry in Sierre Leone and Guinea Bissau, I saw the flash of recognition in her eyes. She KNEW exactly where those countries are located and drew a direct personal connection to them. It was a precious moment, and I was able to share it with her from across the room.

These are just a few observations, and they do not even address the overall experience Maeve had in Cycle 5. I have not talked about the sense of accomplishment she felt in being part of a production team, the sense of camaraderie she experienced, her elation from working hard and seeing results. She said to us as we were leaving school that first night “My mouth hurts from smiling so much.” It feels like a dream now, but I know it will resonate for a long time to come. We all appreciate the chance to have been part of your program, and are very grateful to everyone at The Continuum Project for making it all possible.

Peace & Love, Michael Connolly"

Thursday, September 29, 2011

I'm feeling -missing you

A Message from LPC3 Alumni: Sydney Clarke

"Hey Ms. Nikkole! I miss you and Mr. Glenn!! What days does Project go on because I was planning to stop by and help out. Plus my friend is in it so I want to support...! I miss you both so much and this program has been an IMMENSE impact on my life and how I act around my friends. Dedicated Continuum Project Alumni, Sydney Clarke"

Friday, December 3, 2010

I'm feeling -excited

A Message from Supporter Veronica Street:

"I had the great opportunity to watch my niece and nephew discover there roots at Alexander Middle School 51 and I would like to help keep this project going strong. I would like to get info on how to bring this to my son's school- Promise Academy I in Harlem. Please let me know what steps I can take to be a part of your next cycle!"

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I'm feeling -elated

A Message from Supporter Connie Salter:

"I love the program, I'm excited about the website, I wish I was young enough to participate....one day I will be a volunteer!!!!"

Friday, June 4, 2010

I'm feeling -reflective

A Message from LPC1 Parent Steven Reiser:

"As a descendant of European Jewry I have always been curious about my family genealogy. And as a father of a biracial son (African Jamaican & European Jewish) I have encouraged him to discover how his Jamaican and Jewish ancestors have played a role in shaping who he is. Often biracial children are treated as "others" in American society, and I think it's very important to have strong connections to all of the pieces that make up who one is. Too often, biracial children are "forced" to make a choice of one root over another. The Legacy Program has given my son an opportunity through his love of theater to embrace his African heritage with love and respect. It has given him a real connection that will accompany him through his entire life. Even though he has graduated from Cycle One, both he and I keep returning to see other students perform. It's great theater and quite emotional for the players and the families at the end of the performance to discover their family origins. It's wonderful to return to see other families celebrate their legacy. Here's to Cycle Four! Can't wait!"

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I'm feeling -thankful

A Message from LPC3 Parent Stephen Scott Gross:

"I wanted to thank you for putting such an incredible performance and powerful experience together. Wow! ... It truly was something that will shape his identity and his sense of himself for the rest of his life."

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I'm feeling -fonaminale(?)

A Message from LPC3 Participant Sydney Clarke:

"Last night was fonaminale!! (bad spelling). I want to thank you [Nikkole] and Mr. Glenn for all of the advice and support you have given me."

Thrusday, May 27, 2010

I'm feeling -thankful

A Message from LPC3 Parent Ruth Stanislaus:

"Thanks Nikkole! I was truly in awe yesterday. Although I saw last years's it meant so much more knowing where my husband is from. I am interested in participating in this for my side through my mom, and perhaps having my dad do the same. Thank you for helping us find our back!"

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I'm feeling -missing you

A Message from LPC1 Participant Siddiq Saunderson:

"Hey Nikkole, hope all is well! Well, in my honors global class today we started learning about a new topic. So when i get to my class i sit down un-pack and read the aim on the chalk board. When i look up i read "Why is African culture important?" as soon as i saw that i thought of you, Glenn and all of the rest of my African brothers, and sisters LOL! I thought of you guys and realized how much I learned and gained from that experience, how much fun i had with you guys, and just basically how much i miss EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF YOU GUYS !♥ I was wondering, maybe if possible all of us can get together sometime, and just catch up on life, cus' i feel like it was yesterday when i hit that stage with Ohgie, Zurah, Zakiyah, Avery, Jumaane, Evan, Nyle, and Indigo, but Nope it was almost two years ago:/ well get back to me ASAP cus' i would really love to see you again! Peace and Love -Siddiql"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

I'm feeling -missing you

A Message from LPC2 Participant Yacine Ndaw:

"I miss the Continuum Project [Legacy Program], it brought me close to everyone and I miss those memories. My dad is still wondering how the heck he could be from Guinea Bissau, and my family is now calling me the Balanta girl. I hope that the next Continuum Project [Legacy Program] people will do the same [thing] that we have done. Hope to see you guys soon. And thank you for the experience of a lifetime. Oh yeah and [thank you] for an online b-day card. Love, Yacine the Balanta girl"

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I'm feeling -ecstatic!

A Message from Exec. Dir. Salter:

I am so excited that the panel assembled to review the grant proposal we submitted to the Brooklyn Arts council back in September found the Legacy Program worthy to be funded! How exciting! Not only does it feel good to be supported by a community agency, but it feels good to know that our kids will have all of their tests paid for! So exciting!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I'm feeling -amazed & thankful

A Message from LPC2 Parent Claudette Pages:

"Thank you again for a wonderful program and presentation. I have not stopped speaking about our discovery, the program or sending out emails with the link to both organizations [The Continuum Project, Inc. and African Ancestry]. Simply amazing work you do. [My child] was beyond thrilled to have participated."

Thursday, September 10, 2009

I'm feeling -thankful

A Message from LPC1 Parent Tirinda Hixon:

"We want to thank you and your partner immensely, for allowing [our son] to become a part of your phenomenal program last year. We wish you much success with LP cycles 2 and 3, because a program like yours is essential to our culture and community."

Monday, August 24, 2009

I'm feeling - ready to rock & roll

A Message from Exec. Dir. Salter:

The Continuum Project, Inc. was an idea in my imagination - an idea I had to create a place where great art exists as the direct outpouring of community connection and service; an artistic home which esteemed art is an integral part of a functioning, healthy community, not only for the elite (or artistic), but for everyone.

We launched the Residency, the community service component of the Legacy Program which seeks to help the African American community by countering negative inheritance paradigms, attitudes of self-underestimation and victimization caused by Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome*, by using theatre to promote taking ownership of the perceptions we harbor about ourselves and our community. That was a tall order, we know, but we created a curriculum that did it.

And now that we've proven our capacity for success in LPC1, and have been joyfully invited to continue our work at MS 51 for LPC2, it is imperative that we launch phase two of the program - The Reflection. The Reflection is the part of the Legacy Program where professional theatre practitioners take the unearthed self and communal discoveries from the Residency, and transform them into a cohesive piece of professional theatre to share with the community. The Reflection is as important to us because it holds the key to the second part of the CP vision - sharing the transformational power of excellent art. There is nothing like seeing yourself, your family, your community, your story on stage. It provides a point of celebration, reflection, exaltation and preservation. It reminds us all that books, movies, plays aren't just supposed to only be points of access into the humanity of others, but they can actually be points of access into the humanity of ourselves. It reminds us that we are responsible for our stories, and that we must tell them. That's yet another very tall order. We know. We're ready.

As we move forward, The Continuum Project blossoms into the fullness of the vision. We invite you all to share the experience with us, and we hope to see you at the LPC2 Residency Showcase and the Reflection! Peace & Blessings.

Tuesday, May 6, 2009

I'm feeling - blessed & recuperated

A Message from Exec. Dir. Salter:

We did it. I'm sitting looking at all of the video footage that was taken of LP Cycle (1) One, all of the photos, and I am thinking, "My God, we did it!" It's amazing to have an idea and to look back on how that idea was manifested into reality. A year ago, I had an idea, and now I have a non-profit organization and a thriving arts program!

What's even more amazing is how many added benefits came with pursuing the endeavor of The Continuum Project and the Legacy Program. I didn't realize how far reaching our programming would go into the extended families and the community at large. During the Ancestral Revelation Ceremony, many of the LP - Cycle (1) One participants received their ancestry results with their grand parents and great grand parents - people who never thought it would ever be POSSIBLE to reconnect with their African roots were able to through their grand and great grand CHILDREN. I am amazed at the boldness of the young people we worked with. They were willing - looking forward even - to tackling identity issues that many adults haven't even entertained. I am so very proud of them, and hope that this experience has helped to shape an honest and positive sense of self that will inform all that they do.

Now, The Legacy Program has been invited to return to MS 51 and to submit a proposal for an opportunity to take the Legacy Program to a charter high school in Washington, DC. I am thrilled that the opportunities are pouring in, and scared at the same time. Despite my fear, I am confident that we've built a strong enough foundation to tackle the added responsibility of expansion. I cannot wait to see what's in store for The Legacy Program in the fall. Here's to the Legacy Program in Brooklyn and D.C.!

Friday, April 24, 2009

I'm feeling - excited

A Message from Exec. Dir. Salter:

Today is the big field trip to see a production of Eisa Davis' ANGELA'S MIXTAPE. It's the first Legacy Program field trip and I'm excited to see how what the young people learned and experienced together has transformed their vision. I am so proud that we have gotten to this moment. I have just received the African Ancestry test results in the mail, the results that tell the maternal ancestry of all of the students, and I have to almost sit on my hands to keep from calling everyone and spilling the beans! It will have to wait until the Ancestry Revelation Ceremony after the culmination performance next Wednesday. Only one more week, and Cycle (1) One will be complete!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I'm feeling - proud

A Message from Connie Salter:

This [video clip of The Legacy Program - Cycle (1) One] is amazing....I pray your program [The Legacy Program] goes on forever.....

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I'm feeling - inspired & frightened

A Message from Exec. Dir. Salter:

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I wondered if this blog would be a good idea... if it would expose too much about me and other people in the CP. I wondered if the inner workings of my thoughts would be incriminating in the eyes of donors and sponsors and funders and supporters. In order to "make it" it seems one has to hide as many flaws as possible... as many shortcomings... as many insecurities and as many fears. No one ever tells you how to girdle them, you just know that they must never make obvious bulges underneath your fashion forward outfits, so despite their bitter taste, you chew and swallow hoping that they'll just come out on the other end without leaving any fatty deposits around your middle. Yuck! So in hiding them, you actually digest them, and some of their essence becomes a part of you, it feeds you, and the aroma of their desperation steeps in your sweat, seeps through your pores, and drips down the nape of your neck at your next business pitch. The fear never goes away completely. It reinvents itself. And all of its derivatives stink. What do I do with it all? I try to live with it. Welcome it even. Say, "Hey there self-doubt, and procrastination. I knew you'd be coming! Please have a seat, we have work to do," and keep it moving.

I've also pondered this: the reason I've been warned not to blog also comes from the concept that not too many people should have access to me (like I'm Obama or something). I was advised that I should be inaccessible not because I'm so important, but because I wanted to be so important -- and the air of importance that comes from being beyond the reach of people is intriguing. People are attracted and simultaneously disgusted by exclusivity, thus creating the illusion of importance. Personally, I think that this strategy is putting the cart before the horse. If something makes me legitimately busy, I become inaccessible because I'm working, not because I want people to think I'm working, or wanted. However, people cultivate this false exclusivity and use it to fertilize 'successful' careers, all the time. But, as much as I want to be 'successful', I just don't have it in me to execute this straegy. It's freeing to be able to let out what's going on inside me. I don't want to swallow the bitterness of my thoughts. So, at the risk of being too accessible, too available, this is where I'll let some of it out -- after all, I don't wanna scare anyone off (LOL)!

If you've read this far, you probably weren't repelled by the audacity of my vulnerability, so, I'll tell you how I'm feeling right now about The Continuum Project. I'm feeling inspired and frightened. We are so blessed. In all of my business planning and market research, in all of my networking and soliciting, I never imagined our first partnership would come the way that it has, or with such grace and ease. Patience truly is a virtue worth its salt.

In one meeting with Mr. John McEneny and Ms. Nance Speth of MS 51, the CP obtained everything we wanted, needed or desired in a partnership for The Legacy Program: wonderful young people who are enthusiastic about theatre and about the program, a space that honors the work we are creating as stage-worthy, production elements, performance, field trips, active parents the works! But the most important element that was bestowed upon us was their belief that The Legacy Program's was capable of positively shaping young African American identities, constructing and honoring our true legacies, and healing the wounds of broken connection in the African American community one generation at a time. With The Legacy Program, I truly believe we will be facilitating an experience that will leave an indelibly affirmative imprint on each and every person participating and each and every person who stands witness. What an opportunity!

We begin in March (check our calendar), but before then there is much to do. We're looking to raise about $5,000 for the program's costs, there's our 501(c)3 application, and there's a host of other 'to-do's". It's overwhelming. But it's doable, and it's worth it.

Peace & Many Blessings,

Nikkole

Monday, October 6, 2008

I'm feeling - exhausted

A Message from Exec. Dir. Salter:

Welcome everyone!!! I am so elated that I have finished the website!

Don't get me wrong, I am very aware that I am not a web designer. But when organizations are fledgling, it's imperative that the leadership step up and do EVERYTHING that needs to be done, even if it means stepping into realms of expertise where we don't belong! (LOL) I am looking forward to the day when the Continuum Project is both so active and so well funded that we will need and be able to afford a full-time web administrator. Nonetheless, I sincerely hope that my work here has been satisfactory in providing you with aesthetically pleasing access to the information you need so that you feel you are a part of the Continuum.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to teach myself how to write CGI scripts yet (if you can, please call!), so none of the forms on the site are operative, but don't let that stop you from keeping in touch. Feel free to use my personal e-mail at nikkolesalter@yahoo.com for any correspondence. Whether it be blogging, complaining, a note of gratitude or one of critique feel free to send all of your input our way.

I'd like to give a special shout-out to the Dep. Dir., Mr. Gordon, and our Advisory Board - Tia, Will, Roz and LaNora - you all R-O-C-K!

Stay tuned for more to come!

Peace & Many Blessings,

Nikkole