
When Chadwick Boseman returned to his alma mater, Howard University, to give the 2018 commencement speech, he was already fighting for his life, which lends new weight to his encouragement to find purpose and hold on to integrity.
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Author: developer
8/31/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Pie Pie Blackbird (1932) | Eubie Blake Nina Mae McKinney Nicholas Brothers


Pie Pie Blackbird, like a lot of classic shorts from the time is nothing more than an excuse to spotlight some great music from the period. Continue reading
8/31/20 O&A NYC THE MORNING FUNNIES: Fake Christian of the Week: Jerry Falwell, Jr.

Ms. Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christain brings us her “Fake Christian Of The Week” the one and only serial watcher Jerry Falwell Jr. I bet his father Jerry Falwell Sr. is spitting fire in his eternal mansion on Hades Drive. Continue reading
8/30/20 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND: Grilled Split Lobster

Grilled Split Lobster cooked entirely on the grill ensures that no water gets inside the shell, which means you’ll get more concentrated lobster flavor. This recipe requires little preparation and is quick and easy, but has a real wow factor. Continue reading
8/28/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Creative Outlet Offers Free Outdoor Classes
By Walter Rutledge

The bright late morning sun was still drying the dew off the grass, but Fort Green Park was already bustling with energy. As I climbed the white marble stairs the sound of music greeted me halfway up. Patiently waiting at the base of the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument was Jamel Gaines, a tall man sporting a retro curly “fro”.
Soon the large plaza in front of the monument begin to fill with dancers of all ages, shapes and sizes. Gaines, the founder of Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, has spent the more than 25 years building and cultivating the performing arts in Brooklyn. Long before Starbucks, trendy bars and little ugly dogs found Brooklyn’s urban landscape; Gaines had established an artistic foothold in the Fort Green section at 138 S Oxford Street.

If you have ever visited the Creative Outlet school, it has a feeling of a community/village. Parents monitor classes and assist with moving younger students between classrooms, there is a lunch concession that offers affordable hot meals and healthy snacks to the participants and family members. The focused classes resembled the most disciplined arts academy; the biggest difference of was the amount of melanin.
The pandemic put an end to the communal learning approach, and the use of traditional performing venues. Creative Outlet was forced to close its studios, but not suspend activities. Staying true to form Gaines began teaching free classes outdoors at Fort Green Park three days a week.
Creative Outlet Free Dance Class
On Thursday and Friday at 6pm and on Saturday at 11am Creative Outlet offers free classes dubbed as, “Culturally Healing and Movement Classes”. There are classes for all ages including a fun jazz-based movement class for children on Saturday morning. One of the most reassuring elements about these classes is that Gaines has brought Creative Outlet’s feeling of community with him. The first outdoor class had only six attendees; now there are over forty artists of all ages.
In addition to dance classes the Creative Outlet Queens, an interdisciplinary and multi-generational performing ensemble that also rehearses at Fort Green Park. The “Queens” will perform at Peace One Love a Black Lives Matter celebration on Saturday August 29th from 2-5pm at the Black Lives Matter Mural at Restoration Plaza (Fulton Street between New York Ave. and Brooklyn Ave). Although this is an outdoor event please practice social distancing whenever possible and please wear a mask.
8/25/20 O&A NYC THE MORNING FUNNIES: Barack & Michelle Obama Sing November

Sing and dance along with Michelle and Barack Obama from now until that big, beautiful Blue Wave crests on November 3rd, ushering in a new era of love, peace and prosperity! Yes, it IS possible if we come together and support Joe Biden and others who stand for truth and justice. VOTE — and thank you in advance for the landslide. Continue reading
8/24/20 O&A NYC DANCE… AND MORE: Peace One Love- Bringing Brooklyn Together

By Walter Rutledge
Dance has always been a catalyst for change. In 1936 Martha Graham created her masterwork Chronicles as a weapon against the rising menace of fascism in Germany. In 1959 Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder evoked the hopelessness and inequality of Black men on a southern prison chain gang. On Saturday August 29 Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn (also known as Creative Outlet or just C.O.) will also use the power of dance to heal a community with Peace One Love, an afternoon of the arts celebrating the spirit of the now internationally recognized Black Lives Matter movement. Continue reading
8/24/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: In the Heat of the Night- Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger
Sidney Poitier, in one of his most-celebrated roles, appears as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia homicide detective who, while visiting a small Mississippi town, will find himself falsely arrested for a murder and then, in a strained collaboration with the town’s sheriff (Rod Steiger), stays on to help solve the murder. Continue reading
8/24/20 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY: The Ojays’ Love Train- Virtual Biden-Harris Remix

The R&B legends The O’Jays bring some well needs summer soul to the upcoming politic season with this Virtual Biden Harris Election Remix of their 1972 classic Love Train. Continue reading
8/23/20 O&A NYC LOCKDOWN LEARNING: A History Of Oshun
Oshun is commonly called the River Orisha, or goddess, in the Yoruba religion and is typically associated with water, purity, fertility, love, and sensuality. Continue reading





