Black Nouveau

(bright upbeat music) (lively music) (lively music continues) - Hello, everyone, and welcome to the December edition of "Black Nouveau".

I'm Earl Arms.

Yes, the end of the year brings the holiday season, and much of this month's program we'll reflect on those holidays.

Clayborn Benson will tell us about the seven days and principles of Kwanzaa.

We'll meet the new Amplifier in Residence at the Marcus Center who will help elevate awareness of the Marcus Center's cultural programming and strengthening connections to the community.

And we'll visit the Milwaukee Fatherhood's 20th Annual Fatherhood Summit.

But we begin with the performance by the cast of "Black Nativity".

- Let's go.

- Oh, yeah.

Oh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-oh Oh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-oh What you gonna name that baby, Mary What you gonna name that pretty little baby boy What you gonna name that baby, Mary Glory be to the newborn King What you gonna name that baby, Mary What you gonna name that pretty little baby boy What you gonna name that baby, Mary Glory be to the newborn King Some call him one thing She's gonna call him Jesus Glory be to the newborn King Some call him one thing She's gonna call him Jesus Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Jesus She's gonna call him Emmanuel Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Jesus She's gonna call him Emmanuel Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Emmanuel She's gonna call him Wonderful Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Emmanuel She's gonna call him Wonderful Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Wonderful She's gonna call him Prince of Peace Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Prince of Peace She's gonna call him Emmanuel Glory be to the newborn King Some call him Emmanuel I'm gonna call him Jesus Some call him Prince of Peace She's gonna call him Jesus Glory be to the newborn King Oh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-oh Oh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-oh Glory be to the newborn King Hey, hey, all right, yeah Hey, hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey, hey, hah Hey, let's go, hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey, hey, woo, woo, woo, woo Hey, hut-hut-hut, all right, yeah, let's go Hah-ah-ah, woo, woo, hey, hey, let's go Hut-hut-hut, Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel Emmanuel, Emmanuel, hey, hey, hey (cast clapping) Emmanuel, amen - How many grandfathers in the house?

The grandfathers in the house, right?

Y'all already putting it into and taking and thinking about the future generations.

It's good to do it individually, but if and as we learn together like many other cultures do, it's just much more powerful, much more enduring.

We can share the load, share the knowledge, share the resources and organize the power.

Can I get an amen?

- [Audience] Amen.

- [Zay] Last month at Destiny Youth Plaza, the Milwaukee Office of African American Affairs held its 20th Fatherhood Summit.

Hundreds of dads and grandfathers attended.

The Summit offered a variety of vendors and workshops connecting local fathers to resources, helping them through the challenges of fatherhood.

The main workshops of the event were the ones that focused closely on fathers physical and mental health.

A big conversation surrounding men's health was the alarming, increasing rates of prostate cancer in Black men.

Dr.

Kevin Izard of the Prostate Health Equity Project held a workshop on prostate cancer awareness and proactive cancer screenings.

- The Prostate Health Equity Project is a project that's funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

And we're seeking partnerships with different organizations in the city that are, in particular, who are addressing minority health issues.

We're working with Black Men Moving Forward.

We're working with different establishments like Gee's Barber Shop or other different organizations and with the Medical College of Wisconsin to try to find creative ways to get the word out about prostate cancer.

- [Earl] In Dr.

Izard's workshop, he stated that Black fathers are at greater risk of being diagnosed with cancer.

There were a few fathers in attendance currently battling cancer.

- Hello, everybody.

My name is George Lawson.

I have prostate cancer.

I'm diagnosed at early stages right now.

And while we were watching this and Dr.

Izard asked, how did that make you feel?

And my brother says, "Scary."

But it's not scary if you take your health serious.

I've been going through my exams since the age of 40 and one of the things I want to recommend is take your health seriously.

Get your physicals every year.

And if you don't have a doctor that you think is listening to you, get you another doctor.

I told my two grandsons that are real close to me, they're 11 and eight and I'm like, "I want God to keep me on this planet until I see you grown men, 'cause I wanna see what type of men you grow into."

And so it's very important.

I'm not sure about Gary, but I have great grandchildren too.

And so it's very important me being a paw-paw or the head to have my family around me for that support and also for them.

Because you're not in this by yourself.

If you have a family, it affects everybody in your family.

- [Earl] One of the resources provided for the fathers at the Summit was a free cancer screening kiosk.

George Lawson's younger brother, Gary, was one of the many brave men to test for cancer.

- Knowing that my dad had it, my brother had it, I know that I'm probably at a very high percentage of having it also.

I mean there's only two years difference between us two.

And so I wanna be proactive, so I'm gonna be screened today.

I was telling people about this Black Summit, that Fatherhood Summit that we're at, people asked me, well, so what do you think about it?

I said, "Men stepping up, right?

Men stepping up.

Men being present."

But to be present, you gotta be there, right.

You gotta be there for your children to continue to set that example.

My children are my most precious commodity.

You know my children are the most important thing in my life and we are tasked to help them be better than we are and for us to do that we have to be there for them.

And so I wanna live a full life and I wanna, as he was saying, I'm looking toward the future and I'm like, well I wanna see my grandkids growing up.

You know I wanna see what my children grow up to be fully in life and I wanna see maybe some great grandchildren, also.

- [Zay] Along with the Cancer Awareness Workshop, there was also a mental wellness workshop educating fathers on the impact mental health has on their ability to parent.

Dr.

Lia Knox of Black Space Headquarters was there to connect fathers with better mental health awareness.

- Many times they go through so much they don't even realize that they are exhibiting these symptoms.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms is the number one thing we tend to do.

So there's irritability, tearfulness, the ability to not work at times, legal issues, domestic issues.

Much of that comes from past trauma whether it came from childhood, different traumatic incidences in their lives as adults, as well as partners.

And so then when they have children, it's generational that could be passed down and we're here to break that cycle, destigmatize mental wellness and make sure that people get the help they need but, once again, from a culturally intentional lens.

- Stability and mental health amongst men, because we can understand each other a little bit better.

And maybe not men, fathers, same thing but fathers having that understanding with each other because it's here, we can let down our machismo and we can actually talk.

And that's important to me because it's a safe environment for those things.

- [Zay] Although the day was information and resource based, there was still a number of wholesome moments displaying the joyfulness of fatherhood.

- It's not the best.

But she chose the font.

She was seven years old.

I just wanted to get something on my arm that, she actually brought it up, you don't have any tattoos.

My mom has tattoos.

My aunt has tattoos.

You don't have any tattoos.

I said, "Well, I don't wanna get any tattoos."

Well, you gotta get a tattoo with me.

Okay, and she convinced my girlfriend at the time that I needed to get a tattoo.

So we end up in a tattoo shop, she drew it out and we took it to them and we got it done.

However, no one told me tattoos hurt that much, okay.

And this is as far as I could go.

It was supposed to be like a whole big thing, but I tapped out right here and I shall not be judged for it.

We got the name and that's as far as I'm gonna go with that.

(laughs) (lively upbeat music) (lively violin music) (lively violin music continues) (lively violin music continues) (lively violin music fades) - That's a clip from Black Violin that performed at the Marcus Center last month and it was the kickoff experience or performance rather for Element Everest-Blanks, the Marcus Center's new Amplifier and she joins us now to talk more about that.

Element, thank you so much for being here on Black Nouveau.

- Thank you for having me.

- So talk about the role Amplifier.

What does that entail exactly?

- It allows me to do what I normally would do, which is attend these incredible shows at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, but I'm inviting our community to attend these shows with us.

One of the things I don't think people realize about the Marcus Center is that they are very intentional in spotlighting people that look like us in the community.

And if you view the Marcus Center as a place that's kind of far off in their ivory tower, you miss the opportunity to see some great artists like Black Violin.

Specifically Black Violin, my daughter went to see Black Violin.

She got their autograph.

She got to ask some questions before the show because she's a Black violinist.

And if we don't lean into our community in that way, in a very concrete way, then we miss these beautiful opportunities to connect with artists that travel the world and represent us.

- So you talk about these artists, these events, these experiences, we were talking about Summer of Soul earlier.

- Yes.

- Such a good time that was.

But talk about events like that and more about why they're important.

What do you see happening with the Marcus Center and your role in making that happen?

- Well as you know, for Summer of Soul I am the host for Summer of Soul and Marcus intentionally partnered with a community member who knows how to get people to come out and showcase great talent at the same time, Culture by Design.

And when I originally heard about the partnership, I was like this makes so much sense to just have this as an introductory period.

People usually drive by The Peck Pavilion, don't even really realize that it's there.

But when you get all of us together, all different cultures, tasting all different kind of foods, celebrating all different type of incredible soul music, it creates this community that people didn't know they needed right there on the space next to the Marcus Performing Arts Center.

So I'm taking them, ushering them from outside on the stage, bringing them indoors to show them what our city has to offer and Marcus does center us.

So our campaign is called Marcus Centers You and you are whoever you are whether you're a woman, whether you're a child who plays the violin and you're a little Black girl looking for a connection of somebody who's on stage.

Or if you are a member of the LGBTQ community, you might see yourself in some plays on that stage.

But you won't know unless someone like me amplifies Marcus and lets them know, lets the community know that you're represented on the stage as well.

- As someone that's in the community, someone that's in and out of the spaces every day, you mentioned the host.

You know you do the radio.

So talk about how you make this role uniquely yours.

- Well, the great thing about what I do is I'm in so many different spaces and places.

Prior to this interview, I was on a call as a mentor for the Recording Academy for the Grammy U team member that I have this year.

Prior to that I'm at my job at HYFIN.

And what we do at HYFIN is we amplify the Black experience.

Not just Black music, Black culture, food, community and those things are important.

They all tie into what I do at Marcus because I have some connects that they might not have directly with artists and labels and I'm able to exchange those to connect and make it happen.

Make that artist feel seen, not only on stages when they're here, but also on the radio, which is nice, right?

We can do that combination thing to make sure people feel seen and heard and respected when they walk into our city.

- You talked a little bit about it earlier, but talk about why that's so important to have that connection between the artists, between the people in the community and just having someone like you in that role to connect the dots.

- Because a lot of these artists are independent artists and as we know, the independent scene is changing a lot.

When you're talking about Summer of Soul, these artists are spending their money to tour and a lot of artists don't understand that the National Artists blueprint that we used to have, get signed to a label and then they'll pay for all those things, those times are gone.

So these independent artists are really leaning into their community, their listeners, their supporters to be able to tour and amplify themselves on the radio and make sure that their music is seen.

If it's not traditional music HYFIN, we amplify the full spectrum of Black music.

So you're gonna hear blues.

You're gonna hear jazz.

You're gonna hear hip-hop and R&B.

And Marcus does the exact same thing when they center us.

So it's a great partnership and it makes perfect sense for someone like me who has an in on the Recording Academy, on the radio station and Marcus to come and amplify these incredible artists coming to our city.

- So what's coming up at the Marcus?

What should we be on the lookout for?

- Oh, I am so excited to get to this part.

We have a huge HBCU-leaning event, which I'm excited about "DRUMline Live".

So if you are into HBCU culture, if you're into drums, if you're into drum lines, 'cause you know the competition's in the South, as we lean into those very heavy.

Texas A&M shout out to the champions down there.

And "Hamilton" is coming.

Super excited to see "Hamilton" with my family.

I'm excited to see, there's a couple of different things that are happening.

"The Wiz" and I don't know if you know very much about HYFIN's Anti-Gala, but the very first HYFIN Anti-Gala that I was a part of, that I got to be creative director for, our thing was "The Wiz".

So for me it really does harken back to what I do on a daily basis.

I'm not code-switching, I'm not being anybody that I'm not.

I get to do Element and be the culture plug in all spaces and places.

So it just makes perfect sense for me.

- Anything else we should know about the role or what you're doing at the Marcus Center?

- I'm enjoying it and I'm enjoying it because I can take everyone from my 7-year-old twin sons to my mother-in-law who's in her mother-in-law age.

I won't give her age away because she does not look her age.

But this is a family space.

This is space for people who look like me and people who don't look like me.

People who are from different cultures and different countries and speak different languages.

All of those people are centered on the stage at Marcus, which feels really good to be a part of something like that, especially during these days and times.

- I can tell you enjoy it.

Element Everest-Banks, thank you so much for joining us here on "Black Nouveau".

- Thank you so much for having me.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Earl] Kwanzaa is a celebration of African-American and Pan-African culture celebrated during the last week of the year.

Created by activist Maulana Karenga based on various African harvest traditions, it was first celebrated in Los Angeles in 1966.

Two years later, according to Clayborn Benson the Founder and Director of Wisconsin's Black Historical Society and Museum, Milwaukee became the second city to celebrate Kwanzaa when Karenga visited our city and held a Kwanzaa ceremony at the Panther's Den.

Kwanzaa celebrations became a staple of the museum in the 1980s and grew to accommodate hundreds of participants up until the pandemic.

Since then the number of attendees has been smaller, but it's picking back up.

We thought this would be a good time, though, to ask Clayborn Benson about Kwanzaa and its importance.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Narrator] "The Seven Principles of the Nguzo Saba".

Umoja, Unity - Umoja means family sticking together, identifying, knowing who you are, understanding your mission and your goal.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Narrator] Kujichagulia, self-determination.

- Kujichagulia.

Kujichagulia, Kujichagulia It means to self-determination.

When I say it, it's supposed to ring in my soul because it's the energy I need to get off my butt and do those things that I want to do.

(energetic lively music) - [Narrator] Ujima, collective work and responsibility, - Ujima, collective work and responsibility.

It takes all of us to do this.

Not just one person.

Not just a daddy or just a mama.

It takes the collective to make that movement occur in your life and every other, to learn, to keep the house together, to work the job.

Everybody's supposed to support each other.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Narrator] Ujamaa, cooperative economics.

- [Clayborn] Cooperative economics.

How do we spend our money?

How do we manage those dollars in a way in which they benefit, not just this moment in time, but long term through insurance, through education, through purchasing of a car.

All of the things in terms of how we manage our money.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Narrator] Nia, purpose.

- Nia, that vision.

That third eye.

That vision into tomorrow.

Are we planning?

Are we thinking about the future?

What is it we want to do?

How do we navigate our way to accomplish this goal?

Nia, that third eye.

That vision.

Oh, also to see beyond the present.

Somebody says Santa Claus is coming down the street.

(laughs) I know Santa Claus ain't coming down the street, but that Nia, that third eye gives me the vision to know the truth and not truth.

Nia, very important first.

Important, that vision to think about tomorrow.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Narrator] Kuumba, creativity.

- [Clayborn] Kuumba, oh my goodness.

Kuumba tells us that everybody has value.

Everybody is special.

Using the term creativity, but all of us are different.

Every one of us, not just in terms of art, but in our behavior, the way we walk, the way we talk.

All of us, even if you come from the same roots and the same beginning.

And it's important to recognize differences and love and embrace differences.

(gentle lively music) - [Narrator] Imani, faith.

- Imani, the last and the most important one.

Imani, to have faith.

There always is always.

Give your brothers and sisters grace and understand that we all make mistakes.

Let's not triple that mistake and make more mistakes.

Imani to have faith that this is gonna be okay whatever it is that you found yourself into, Imani.

Those are the Seven Principles of the Nguzo Saba and certainly it's tools to use to govern your life by 365 days out of the year.

(upbeat music swells) - There'll be a number of Kwanzaa celebrations throughout the state.

In fact, we've listed some of them on our website.

And as we leave you tonight with another selection from "Black Nativity", the entire Black Nouveau family wishes you and your family a safe and happy Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come Let Earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room Let heaven and nature sing Let heaven and nature sing Let heaven, let heaven and nature sing (cast rhythmically clapping) Joy to the world, the Lord has come Let Earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room Let heaven and nature sing Let heaven and nature sing Let heaven, let heaven and nature sing (cast clapping rhythmically) Joy to the world, the Lord has come Let Earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room Let heaven and nature sing Let heaven and nature sing Let heaven, let heaven and nature sing Hey, hey, come on Hey, hey, come on, ah, yeah Let's go, come on, yeah, hey Everybody clap your hands (all clapping hands) Everybody clap your hands (all clapping hands) Everybody clap your hands, yeah (all clapping hands) Everybody, come on, come on sing Joy to the world (all clapping hands) Hey, let's sing, come on Joy to the world (all clapping hands) Joy to the world Joy to the world, hey Hey, joy