Please support the Grassroots Radio Conference and performance art at the same time this Saturday night at <a href="http://grassrootsradioconference.org/news/saturday-event-speak-cafe-featuring-acclaimed-poet-activist-hakim-bellamy" target="_blank">SPEAK Cafe</a>.<br>
<br>Please see the attached flyer &<a href="http://grassrootsradioconference.org/sites/2012.grassrootsradioconference.org/files/Hakim%20Bellamy%20-%20GRC%20press%20release.pdf" target="_blank"> Press Release</a> below for more details.<br>
<br>Connect with me at Twitter (@HakimBe) and on Facebook <a href="http://www.fb.com/hakimbe" target="_blank">www.fb.com/hakimbe</a><br><br>Thank you!<br><br>-hb<br><br><font size="4"><b>Acclaimed poet-activist Hakim Bellamy & the poets of Speak Café perform at Grassroots Radio Conference 2012</b></font><br>
<br><i>Contact: Austin McCann <a href="mailto:2012grc@gmail.com" target="_blank">2012grc@gmail.com</a> <a href="tel:217-344-8820" value="+12173448820" target="_blank">217-344-8820</a></i><br><br><b>Urbana, IL</b>—
Acclaimed poet-activist Hakim Bellamy & the poets of Speak Café
perform at Grassroots Radio Conference 2012 in Urbana on Saturday, July
28 at 8:00pm.<br>
Tickets are $15 ($7.50 low-income) at Brown Paper Tickets online or <a href="tel:800-838-3006" value="+18008383006" target="_blank">800-838-3006</a>. Visit <a href="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/257782" target="_blank">http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/257782</a>. This event is open to the public and free to Grassroots Radio Conference participants.<br>
<br>Hakim Bellamy is inaugural Poet Laureate of Albuquerque, NM, and is a
national and regional Poetry Slam Champion and holds three consecutive
collegiate poetry slam titles at the University of New Mexico. His
poetry has been published in Albuquerque inner-city buses and various
anthologies. Bellamy was recognized as an honorable mention for the
University of New Mexico Paul Bartlett Re Peace Prize for his work as a
community organizer and journalist and was recently bestowed the
populist honor of "Best Poet" by Local iQ ("Smart List" 2010, 2011 &
2012) and Alibi ("Best of Burque" 2010, 2011 & 2012). He is the
co-creator of the multimedia Hip Hop theater production Urban Verbs:
Hip-Hop Conservatory & Theater that has been staged throughout the
country. He facilitates youth writing workshops for schools and
community organizations in New Mexico and beyond. Hakim is currently
finishing his MA in Communications and Journalism Department at the
University of New Mexico. <br>
<br>SPEAK (Song, Poetry, Expression, Art and Knowledge) Café was founded
in Urbana-Champaign in 2005; it is both a space and a performance
opportunity. Speak Café events are filled with activists who
participated in actions and events including those such as the civil
rights and Black Power movements, project 500 at University of Illinois,
the annual Unity march, and the demonstrations for Troy Davis. It is
these movements, and the ideas and experiences related to the concepts
of Race, Roots and Resistance that inspired the creation of the Speak
Café in the first place. <br>
<br>Local poet & activist Aaron Ammons serves as the MC for Speak
Café. The first Speak Café was a project developed by students
participating in Professor William Patterson's class, Cash Rules
Everything Around Me (C.R.E.A.M.), in 2005. Patterson, who has lived in
North Champaign with his family for most of his life, challenged his
students to create a civic engagement project that engaged both the
Illinois Campus and CU Community. There aren't many avenues where the
oppressed can speak their truth to power and feel completely safe from
ridicule, ostracizing, and threat. Speak Café fills that void in
Champaign-Urbana, being a positive place where all people of all ages
can go, listen, rap, perform poetry, read, and just belong to a
community that informs and empowers. <br>
<br>The Grassroots Radio Conference is a national conference that offers
people from volunteer-powered, community radio stations a chance to
connect with each other, learn new skills, discuss issues, and party.
This conference is for everyone interested in shaping the future of
community radio and independent media. <br>
<br>Grassroots Radio Conference 2012 is focusing on the Future of
Community Radio. Hundreds of new community radio stations are being
built right now and 1000+ new stations will be going on air in the next
few years. With digital technology, local community radio stations have
the opportunity to engage global audiences, deploy mobile studios, share
community wireless internet, and become multi-media community centers.
Together we will chart a vision for community radio as a dynamic
community-building tool for decades to come!<br>
<br>The conference will feature a keynote address by New York Times
best-selling author Joseph Torres, who will be talking about race and
American media history. Tickets are $25 ($10 low-income) and are
available at <a href="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/256811" target="_blank">http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/256811</a>.<br>
<br>This year's conference partners include Free Press, Prometheus Radio
Project, Media Action Grassroots Network, the New America Foundation's
Open Technology Initiative, Brown paper Tickets, Radio Free Urbana
(104.5 LP-FM) WEFT 90.1 FM, Illinois Public Media, Urbana Public
Television, Volo Broadband, Makerspace Urbana, and Chambana.net. <br>
<br>Grassroots Radio Conference 2012 will take place in Urbana, IL, with
workshops & events from July 26-29. To register for the conference,
go to <a href="http://www.grassrootsradioconference.org" target="_blank">www.grassrootsradioconference.org</a>. <br>
<br><div style="text-align:center">##### <br></div><br><i>The
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center is a grassroots organization
committed to using media production and distribution as tools for
promoting social and economic justice in the Champaign County area. We
foster the creation and distribution of media, art, and narratives
emphasizing underrepresented voices and perspectives and promote
empowerment and expression through media and arts education.</i><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br clear="all">
<br>-- <br><i>Inaugural Poet Laureate of Albuquerque, New Mexico (2012-2014)<br>
<b><a href="http://www.hakimbe.com" target="_blank">www.hakimbe.com</a> <br></b></i></font></span><br><br clear="all">Thanks,<br><br>Alex Cline<br>Venue Coordinator<br>Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center<br><font size="1">202 S. Broadway #100<br>
Urbana IL, 61801<br><a href="http://www.ucimc.org" target="_blank">http://www.ucimc.org</a><br>o: 217.344.8820<br>m: 217.550.1472<br></font><br><img src="http://ubuntuone.com/0yBnUobEkN8nLnsXDiQc6b" height="65" width="65"> <img src="http://ubuntuone.com/2Re6bcKNFGUNownRUzQtPY" height="64" width="55"><br>
<br><br>
<br>