Wk. 8, Book 8: Black History Month Box Book Part IV

Here's the final book in the Black History Month series, which I've titled simply "Black."  It is a tribute to the Black Arts era, the Black Power Movement, and all fabulous artists and leaders whose contributions to humankind and all posterity are as legendary as they are eternal. 

This box book is 4" x 4" x 4" and is made with poster board, paper, ribbon, beads, and metal. The crow card is from the Animal Medicine card deck by Jamie Sams. It was totally magical how the pieces of this box book came together in such a way to define the thematic focus. The silver ribbon handle makes it easy to carry the history, literally and figuratively. The black beads, brown paper and ribbon are affirmations that black is indeed beautiful in all its tones and hues. The silver metal pieces, silver paper strips, and beads all represent strength.  

I liked last week's accordion signature pages so much, that I used it again for this box book. But instead of adding text on each page, I left the pages blank to symbolize the history that is yet to be made and ending with the statement, "To be continued into infinity and beyond . . ."

This series was fun and challenging to create. I think Part II and Part IV will be in my upcoming show for sure. Maybe. I'm beginning to learn something about editing my selections. I'm beginning to learn. Thanks for your interest, and please FOLLOW this blog!

Wk. 7, Book 7: Black History Month Box Book Part III

My apologies for this late, drive-by post. I'm still getting caught up after the vow renewal ceremony. Anyway, here are the details.

This one is titled "Royalty: When We Were Kings, Queens, Emperors & Dukes" to pay homage to the African American greats of all ilks, professions, and expressions. The book is 4" H x 4" W x 3.90" D and is made of poster board and paper. The pics around the outside (covers) are postcards and original photos.

I created a long accordion fold signature to hold the text, that is, all the names of the "Royalty" I could think of.

Someone asked me if I make the boxes from scratch. Yes, I do. Now, on to the final book in this series.

Wk., 6, Book 6: Black History Month Box Book, Part II

i'm getting this book out late this week on account of my ongoing vow renewal ceremony, which the husband and i began on Sunday, Feb. 12th. so, this will be brief.

the second box book in the 2017 black history month series, titled "The Nadir," is 3 7/8" h x 4 1/4" w x 4 1/4"d. this book represents what many black historians refer to as the lowest point of the African American experience from approximately 1877 (after the reconstruction era) through the early 1900s--although that's arguable when we consider the last 17 years of the twenty-first century. the book is made of poster board, paper, leather, cowry shell, and bells. the bells are symbols of alarm and as well as reminders of what black people endured, experienced and embraced after enslavement. Those reminders are written around the outside covers of the book, including the Emancipation Proclamation; the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments; the rise of the KKK and other white supremacy organizations; lynchings; Jim Crow;  Plessy vs. Ferguson; Booker T. Washington; W. E. B. DuBois; Ida B. Wells; Madam C. J. Walker; the Great Migration; Marcus Garvey; race riots; and the 1919 Red Summer of Hate. When you lift the lid on this book, the text inside says it all.     

till next week, much love.

Wk. 5, Book 5: Black History Month Box Book, Part I

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My wise, old grandfather once said, "If they were teaching the truth in schools, we wouldn't need a Black History Month." True that, but until the history books are totally changed, it is up to parents, grandparents, guardians, conscious teachers, et al. to teach truth to the youth--and each other. 

For us Native, African, Latino, Asian, and European descendant citizens, this means we must go back to the genesis of this experiment called America and not only retell those stories we know so well, but do the work of uncovering stories and truths we have not wanted to face/know/explore for fear of the pain they hold. The Sankofa wisdom teaching tells us, however, that we MUST go back and reclaim our past so that we can consciously go forward. We must find the emotional courage to step into the fire of all that trauma and heal individually and collectively. Or, we will be destined to live "the fire next time" again and again.


This week's book provides a vehicle for us to reclaim bits and pieces of our homeland, the Middle Passage experience, and the inception of the transatlantic slave trade aka the African holocaust. It is the first in a series titled Black History Month Box Books.
The Part I box book is 4.25" x 3.90" x 4" and is made of poster board, paper, fabric, original photos, and an illustrated Raven from Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson. 

I found an old prayer card from the OT book of Ecclesiastes 3:1. As hard as it may be to accept, perhaps there is a divine purpose to the season of enslavement our ancestors endured.



I remember standing at the threshold of a door of no return in a slave dungeon in Ghana and realizing our ancestors had not a clue of what they were coming to. Some of them had no concept of an ocean and certainly no concept of slavery as was practiced throughout the Caribbean and the antebellum south. There I stood, returned home after centuries of displacement, descendant of an ancestor who survived the Middle Passage, whose name I do not know but whose blood runs through my veins. That's a lot to reclaim--and forgive.

This is why I chose to place Raven atop the box, on its lid, because she is a messenger from the Spirit world; she brings healing energy, the "medicine of magic," and takes our prayers up on high. According to Jamie Sams and David Carson, ". . . realize that you will fear Raven only if you need to learn about your inner fears . . .". Her medicine is so necessary now for the healing of America. It is the key to the door of a room where all must come together, speak truth, cry, rage, accept our parts in the story, and gain the integrity required to move us all forward.

So what else do we need to reclaim? I put some prayer cards into this box as a reminder of how essential prayer was to the ancestors and how central prayer is to our healing process. I will continue to add those reclaimed pieces of our his/herstory to this box, for, like our individual and collective healing, this is a work in progress. I'd love to hear what you think/feel we need to add to his box.