FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
SpokenExistence, Inc.
C/O AquaMoon
6167 N. Broadway #202
Chicago, IL 60660
E-mail: aquamoon@spokenexistence.com
Don’t Call Me Sassy!
A community forum on Black womyn and the names we call them
CHICAGO (April 9, 2009) — In commemoration of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National
Poetry Month, AquaMoon presents, “Don’t Call Me Sassy: Celebrating Surviving and Being
Healthy Sexual Beings,” Thursday, April 30, 2009. This performance and community discussion will
be held at Jane Addams Hull House-House Museum at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC),
800 S. Halsted, 7-9pm. A $5 donation is suggested (Note: No one will be turned away for lack o
funds).
Feisty. Assertive. Unladylike. Abrasive. Fast. Aggressive. Sassy. Although books tout that “men
love b*****s” (Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov, Adams Media © 2002) and urban radio would
have the world believe a diva is a female version of a hustler (“Diva” by Beyonce, Sony © 2008)
and not an extraordinary opera singer such a Leontyne Price, such name calling for Black girls
and womyn often has a negative connotation. “Don’t Call Me Sassy” addresses how Black girls
and womyn are tracked, alienated and stigmatized by these names.
“The title of this program negates such name-calling and shows how problematic labeling and
name-calling is for African American girls and womyn,” says veronica “Moon” bohanan, one-half
of artistic duo AquaMoon and longtime youth and womyn advocate.
Popular Web site, www.MichelleObamaWatch.com (MOW), recently took the Huffington Post to
task for its repeated references to Sasha Obama as “sassy” (http://michelleobamawatch.com/why-
does-the-huffington-post-have-such-animus-for-sasha-obama). “She’s being what’s called “pre-
tracked” for being a normal child her age,” write the moderators of MOW.
In the same post, MOW cites a Ohio University study that shows “teachers tend to view the
behavior of black girls as not "ladylike" and therefore focus disciplinary action on encouraging
behaviors like passivity, deference, and bodily control at the expense of curiosity,
outspokenness, and assertiveness” (http://www.gpac.org/archive/news/index.html?
cmd=view&archive=news&msgnum=0680).
“Don’t Call Me Sassy” assembles a panel of community activists, including Keisha Farmer-Smith
(manager of Girl World at Alternatives Inc.), Renisha Campbell (public health community
organizer), Mariame Kaba (program officer for education and youth development at the Steans
Family Foundation) and Sharon Powell (sex health educator). Dr. Stephanie Brown (health
educator). The panel and discussion will be moderated by hip-hop activist and femcee, Amina.
The program will also feature a special performance written and directed by AquaMoon and
performed by Rebecca Cotter, Shanara Fornett, Carmen Jones and Tierra Winston.
Please RSVP at DontCallMeSassy@spokenexistence.com.
April 30 is Poem in Your Pocket Day. Attendees are encouraged to bring poems celebrating
womyn surviving all forms of violence and being healthy sexual beings.
Cosponsors of this event are University of Illinois at Chicago’ Office of Women’s Affairs-- Campus
Advocacy Network (CAN), Student Outreach Services (SOS) & Men Against Sexual Violence (MASV)
AquaMoon
AquaMoon is the Chicago-based youth and womyn-centered writing, performance, and activist-
artist duo that bridge the gap between the streets, hip-hop feminism, performance activism and
academia. For more information please visit www.spokenenexistence.com/aqua_moon.
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Press Release drafted by Sandria Washington of Writeous Media