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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006

CONTACT: Denee McCloud or Rahwa Habte
PHONE: 206-323-4032

The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas presents American Heritage Series: Who is African-American?

Seattle, WA – The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas presents the second American Heritage Series program this season, Who is African-American? on Thursday, April 13, 2006 at 7pm at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17^th Ave. S. and Yesler Way, Seattle, WA.

American Heritage Series is an ongoing series of lectures and discussions that offer new perspectives on the role of African-Americans in American history. This installment will address African-American identity in the face of changing demographics. “Twice as many sub-Saharan Africans - about one million - have migrated to the United States in the last 30 years as during the entire era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade” (“Black Migration, Both Slave and Free”, By Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, February 2, 2005). The shifting demographics of the black population in America have prompted the question, who is African-American?

The term African-American has been defined in many different ways. Some believe it includes black immigrants and others think it only identifies descendents of slaves brought to the United States. Its meaning has become more ambiguous in a nation of many diverse people of African decent. However, this issue is more than about a term, it’s about an ongoing discourse on identity, labels, and the unspoken differences and similarities between people. Join the CD Forum and moderator Silja J. A. Talvi, Independent Journalist/Essayist and panelists Mergitu Argo, Family Advocate - Refugee Women’s Alliance, L. Negesti Abebech, writer and teacher, Sheley Secrest, President – NAACP Seattle Chapter and teacher Eduardo Mendonça as we discuss the broader view of African-American identity. (Bios Attached)

Additional Information: For more information on African-American identity in the face of changing demographics in America, read The New York Times article ‘African-American’ Becomes a Term for Debate, August 29, 2004.

Ticket Information: Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $5 for CD Forum members/students/seniors. Tickets can be purchased in advance through Brown Paper Tickets at www.cdforum.org or call 1-800-838-3006.

The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization that advocates and promotes greater awareness of African-Americans in the arts, humanities and public affairs. We offer a glimpse into the lives and accomplishments of African-Americans contributing to the vibrancy of contemporary American thought and culture.

For more information, contact Denee McCloud or Rahwa Habte at 206-323-4032 or via email at info@cdforum.org.

Arts Coalition Member |www.takepartinart.org
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The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas presents American Heritage Series: Who is African-American?

Participant Bios

Moderator

Silja J.A. Talvi is an investigative journalist, essayist and Senior Editor for the monthly progressive magazine, In These times. Her work has appeared in numerous book anthologies, including Body Outlaws (Seal Press, 3rd edition, 2004), and Prison Nation (2003, Routledge. She was recently awarded her second national PASS award for magazine journalism from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and has received 11 Society of Professional Journalists awards for her work with ColorsNW Magazine, now celebrating its 5th anniversary. Talvi lives in the Central District of Seattle, and has been in the city since 1998. She is currently working on a book on females and incarceration (Seal Press, 2007).

Panelists

L. Negesti Abebech

As a writer, Negesti stands to define herself and the world as she sees it. She is involved in the community around her as a writer, teacher, artist and community activist. Negesti enjoys traveling and her travels have included a visit to Ghana and into the slave dungeons of Cape Coast Castle and El Mina, an experience that she will never forget. Negesti is the author of Liberation Love Poems and often uses her writing to speak out about important issues. Her poem Pity the Soldier can be found on the Poets Against the War website and she was a featured poet at the annual Burning Word Festival in April 2005.

Mergitu Argo is a family advocate for East African families and a project coordinator for the Family, Friend and Neighbor Care and March of Dimes projects at Refugee Women’s Alliance. Mergitu speaks Amharic and Oromiffa and is a parenting education educator. Mergitu is a board member for African Community Network in Washington State and a committee member for East African Youth Advocacy Group. She has lived in the U.S. for the pass 13 years and has worked for Refugee Women’s Alliance for 8 years.

Eduardo Mendonça is a recording artist, vocalist, composer, percussionist, guitarist, and musical arranger and was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Eduardo has performed as a featured musician in many venues in Bahia - Brazil, including command performances for Brazilian President João Baptista Figueiredo and for Pope John Paul II. Eduardo had the honor to play for the former South Africa President Nelson Mandela (Seattle, WA - USA - 1999). In 1991, Mendonça was featured in Paul Simon’s documentary music video, “Born at the Right Time.” Eduardo is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (Grammy), has been nominated for the Best Brazilian Male Singer in the U.S. in the 2005 Brazilian International Press Awards, and he is winner of Aspasia Phoutrides Pulakis Memorial Award 2005 for his significant contributions to the Brazilian Community and the community at-large of the Northwest.

Sheley Secrest is the President of the Seattle Branch of NAACP and attorney with The Defender Association in Seattle. She is a Washington native who has served on the NAACP’s executive committee for three years. She earned her law degree in 2003 from Seattle University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in 1998 from The Evergreen State College. She sits on the board of the Seattle Office of Professional Accountability, formed in 1999 to provide citizen review of the Seattle Police Department’s disciplinary system, and most recently served as a law clerk with U.S. District Judge Frank Burgess.