A Little Art For A Change

Art patron views my piece Envisioning Freedom at the ART214 Exhibit, where the reception was held this past Sunday.

It's been a minute since I've actually blogged, for several reasons, some personal, and on some occasions it just felt as if the timing wasn't right.

For example I wanted so bad to discuss these plethora of marches that are going on, especially in the U.S.A, especially doing a close-up on my opinion of one David Hogg, and the March For Our Lives event that took place last March, but other things got in the way, and after trying to discuss this issue with people, it seems as if  I needed to gather my thoughts before I go full blast on what I see as a serious failure to connect going on in America, which concludes in all of these marches and rallies going on in this country.

Trust me. I haven't left, nor forgotten, because I just have a funny feeling things will come back around, and this situation will be discussed at length again. Why do I feel this way?

Simple, we haven't learned our lesson yet. So we're doomed to repeat it in some form or fashion.

But in the meantime and in between time, I wanted to show a couple of pics from the ART214 exhibit going on right now in Dallas, Texas, where 4 different cultural centers celebrated this occasion by selecting artists residing in the Greater Dallas area, the Bath House, Latino, South Dallas, and Oak Cliff Cultural Centers.




My piece entitled "Envisioning Freedom" was selected to be displayed at the Bath House Cultural Center, located at White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas.




Envisioning Freedom is simply a token gesture at paying homage to those previous generations who strove for freedom and justice against great odds being  levied against them. Regardless of whether I agree with some of their stances and tactics, they must be given their due respects, and their histories fully narrated and analyzed, whether  the outcome was successful or not, in order to continue the struggle, and claim victory in the end.

Envisioning Freedom, created by the artist, is now on exhibit at the Bath House Cultural Center from March 24th to April 21st, 2018.

This is not the first time I've done such a piece, I did a piece for Staff Sgt. Homer Hogues in 2013, and presented it to him at a tribute for his contributions to the Tuskegee Airmen. It was a great event, and the piece was well received by him and the family, as well as the community of Highland Hills, who finally got a chance to pay tribute to a legendary figure, who lived in the area. 

Doing pieces like these has taught me a great lesson in telling stories, regardless of my personal opinions. 

I'm now waiting to hear word from an upcoming exhibit, Art and Activism, slated to be held at the South Dallas Cultural Center from May 5th to July 29th, 2018. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted....

Until next time....

B. A. D for America

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

The Holy Bible: Exodus Chapter 20 Verse 16

O you who believe, stand firm for Allah(God) as witnesses of Truth, and do not let the hatred of a people cause you to be unjust. Be just, that is closer to God-consciousness. And 

fear Allah, verily Allah is Well-Aware of all that you do. Allah has promised those who

believe and do righteous deeds for them there is forgiveness and a great reward.

The Holy Qur'an: Surah Al - Maidah, verses 8-9

In the 90's I used to deliver cleaning equipment and mats around the greater DFW area. One stop in Ft.Worth there was an older White man who worked in the back of an Albertson's grocery store, who I met on a weekly basis. Shortly after becoming a Muslim in 1992, I started wear a particular hat, a black kufi, trimmed with silver threading throughout. Once this man saw that kufi, he started asking me about Islam, but then he started mentioning about a Black controversial politician by the name of John Wiley Price. Those who know Mr. Price are familiar with a lot of his antics, but for the sake of brevity I won't delve into that subject.

But suffice to say that whenever Mr. Price made the local news, I had to field questions about  

statements and actions from this man, as if I knew this Mr. Price personally, and I supported EVERY action he took. For some strange reason he drew parallels of Mr. Price's confrontations with Islam and Black people in general. I grew tired of these encounters, and one week I really got to him. He came to me ranting about the police needing to arrest Mr. Price following certain altercations, to which I replied that it doesn't matter to me if they arrest him, but just be consistent. Do the same with unions and other people or groups who commit the same offenses. He didn't like that by any regard. It seems some Whites are quick to lump all people of a different race or belief into a monolithic entity, but don't hold that standard to themselves.

I recall that anecdote whenever situations pop up, even to this very day, because it seems nothing has changed in the American climate of hatred and bigotry. Every time a Black person, or a Muslim is accused of something in America, either certain organizations or the whole collective community is accused of sanctioning such action, and the whole collective community, beit Black or Muslim, has to bear the brunt of such scorn. 

We've seen this too many times in the past, and we see it now, where marginalized people are blamed for the decay in this country, and steps are taken to justify and consent to the removal, slaughter, or incarceration of collective groups of people in America, all because of somebody's bigotry. Very little truth, if any, is broadcast about such groups, and the masses of America become inundated with distorted news articles, soundbytes, and cut and paste video, all claiming to be accurate and non-partial information. And now with Youtube, the madness knows no end.

We've seen this too many times happening with the Black Lives Matter Movement, as well as ISIS/ISIL/IS, whatever the heck they want to refer themselves to. In many cases, it's the same media using the same tactics regarding both collectives. Blacks and Muslims for the most part find themselves having to field questions about such collective groups, to alleviate White people's fear and anxiety.  

Then we find such collective groups and/or certain organizations holding press conferences to publicly denounce and condemn actions that were neither sanctioned by the groups, or explain if such group has any affiliation or relationship to the accused at all. This is especially for Muslims, who we find are always having to fend off accusations o f terrorism and/or affiliation with such "radical Muslims", whatever the hell that is.

If I have not stated before I will state now I do not support the Black Lives Matter Movement, due to ideological differences regarding Black feminism, whereas a false premise has been created where Black men are accused of systematically suppressing Black women from all socio- economic and political endeavors in America, as if Black men were enjoying these privileges themselves to begin with. I also oppose this notion of intolerance behind the LGBT community as well, which BLM states, creating buzz words ( and hard to mention buzz words at that) such as heteropatriarchy and heteronormativity to use as some form of victimization from Black men in America. 

But with all of that being said, I also disagree with associating acts of violence with Black Lives Matter, such as the recent social media incident involving four Black youth and a "mentally challenged" White youth in Chicago, Illinois,  or with the shooting last year in Dallas, Texas,  whereas an alleged lone gunman opened fire, killing 5 police officers, at a rally following the deaths of two unarmed Black men by police, Philandro Castille and Alton Sterling. Those who remember can recall many newscasts labeled the rally a "Black Lives Matter" protest, when the reality is the rally was organized by the New Generation Action Network, along with others. 

In addition I am a Muslim, and I am familiar with Salafi movement, and have fundamental disagreements with them as well, however I also disagree with associating terrorism with such a group as well, and the labelling of Wahhabi, which is actually one the Names of Allah, Al-Wahhab, meaning The Bestower, and not this conjured up concept by bigots who hate the Islamic Way of Life by manufacturing lies about a group of people, claiming they are hell bent of forcing the whole world to believe in what they believe, employing young women, and in one case employing a young "feebleminded" teenage girl to perform a suicide bombing in Nigeria as reported, or random acts of killing people without true evidence, such as the Orlando, Florida incident last year as well.

My disliking and/or disagreement of an individual or group does not give me license to distort, lie, defame, vilify such person/s or movements. Truth will always come out in the end, and only then will factual evidence, and not tabloid journalism and witch hunts bring about any removal of wrongdoing and injustices. Marginalized people should not be made to feel anxiety whenever an incident flashes across the screen, leaving them to offer prayers that the alleged resembles or represents one of them, for fear of unjust reprisals.

America's fall or degradation cannot be attributed to any of these incidents, for the statistics about murder, crime, the impoverished, and other forms of social decay either show major contradictions, or outright lies made about Blacks and Muslims in America. But rather America's bigotry, or intolerance of other races and beliefs, accompanied with racism and a lack of truly understanding diversity, and not their twisted definition of diversity, and worst of all DENIAL of intolerance, bigotry and racism will be America's downfall.

Today Was A Good Day...Well Sorta (PART ONE)

Last week was a momentous week for certain residents of Highland Hills, a small community located in Southeastern Dallas. For the past 8 YEARS the area lacked among other basic necessities a grocery store. Imagine 8 YEARS without a grocery store. Imagine having to go to another city to get food. Imagine having to ride the bus to go to another sector of Dallas, to go to a store and get fresh food. Imagine having to walk as much as 45 minutes to an hour to and from an adequate supermarket to get food. Imagine having to bring backpacks on your journey to load up with groceries to take back to your home. Imagine having to hop on the bus or walk with a couple of bags of chicken, a 15 pound bag of potatoes, a gallon of milk, bread, veggies among other things. I did all of that, and wore out numerous pairs of shoes in the process.

The previous local store, E-Zee Shop, which existed even before my parents arrived here in 1972, had become a shell of a supermarket until it closed around '07/'08. The atmosphere was dreary to say the least, and most of all meat, fruits and veggies were not up to par, the refrigerator equipment had become well outdated, causing meat and fruits/veggies to lose their freshness. Bread was rumored to have mold and droppings in them. I say rumors because I didn't witness it myself, but I clearly remember seeing Flour Weevils in a couple of cake mixes I purchased. When I went to the owner/operator to tell them what happened, they informed me of a switch in warehouses, mostly likely an older warehouse, as the reason for the change in the quality of food. 

Plus the people there were not always the best when it came to customer service. Some people had run ins with them. The old man who owned the building was somewhat cool, but after his death, it was off the hook. The story as some folks tell it was they closed up because they were robbed at gunpoint. Typical hood story, yeah I know.

However a neighboring tenant who ran her own tax service stated they were not only mean to customers, but also to her as well, and cited that mistreatment among local citizens may have actually caused the robbery, as an act of retaliation and not just some attempt to get money.

I can agree with that analysis, because after closing shop for several months, the same people came back as another so-called grocery store, this time they called themselves Value Giant, promising to open up as a totally different store, even promising to open a deli, and allow customers to rent DVDs. Doesn't sound to me like the robbery attempt affected them that much. 

Within days, maybe less than a week or two, Value Giant had to close down, selling off their meat at prices like 25 cents a pound. Did another robbery cause this to happen? Not at all. What happened was Value Giant was using E-Zee Shop's old outdated equipment (since they were the same people anyway), including the refrigerator, causing the meat to become brown and aged, and ultimately they could not operate any longer. My question is simply why would you try to re-open a store using the same antiquated, broken down, substandard equipment anyway? What does that say about your perception of the community you claim to serve?

Well you know how it is in the hood right? It's never their fault as to why these areas become targets of urban neglect, right? It's not the city's fault as to why a prison was built in the surrounding area before the crime actually came, right? It's all these damn criminals around here, right? Even if crime was not a problem at all, even when Highland Hills was considered a lower-middle class neighborhood designed and built especially for African-Americans who were looking to move their growing families into actual homes they could afford to buy, before the crack and drug era, before the proliferation of street gangs, but hey, let's not blame them, and definitely do not bring up the subject of racism. Racism and Dallas, Texas does not go together at all, even if in 2010 they allowed a casino named after a Native American tribe to post an offensive giant size advertisement in the middle of Downtown Dallas.

It's always the citizens' fault, and we blindly jump right on the bandwagon, with our self-hating, one -bad-apple-spoils-the-whole-bunch, believe everything they say about us, selves. Can you believe local ex and current politicians actually believed that developers refused to assist in "revitalizing" and investing in the area because of a few young Black men who wore baggy pants, and the supposed crime in the area? 

During a talk about art in 2013 one ex-politician tried to challenge me on not believing such an idea, leaving me to present the flyer that the city of Dallas was sending out in 2010, encouraging local residents to vote yes to allowing liquor and beer to be sold in local stores, claiming the money accumulated would help build roads, parks, and aid in the police force.

For more information on this please read my blog "Sobriety Is The New Enemy." Here is the link: http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2010/10/sobriety-is-new-enemy.html

So imagine this community being persuaded to allow a store that we don't have, because nobody wants to invest in such a "crime-ridden" area (code word for "a place filled with niggers") to sell a DRUG which contributes to up to 20,000 road deaths ANNUALLY, but not good enough to actually put a STORE with FRESH, QUALITY, AND REASONABLY PRICED FOOD in a neighborhood to aid and assist its citizens? And don't tell me nothing about paying taxes...We all know about taxation without representation...

Now that's gangsta nigga....

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Still At It....

12 x 16 Pastel painting entitled Safe and Sound. 

Just when I got into the groove of blogging, other things pop up, and blogging takes a back seat. I'm preparing for a showcase coming up in which yours truly will exhibit my work to my local community, something I haven't done in 5 years, and it's been long overdue. This one here promises to be somewhat different than the previous showcase, due to changes in certain areas, especially in the rebuilding of the local library. This is a big plus for me, because not only do I get to exhibit my work, I can also access classrooms with projectors and screens, and trust me, I do have something planned for that as well. I don't want to spill all of the beans right now, but just to inform those who started getting into the habit of reading my blog regularly that I would be off the social topics for a while, but only on this platform.

 I know I had not finished the blog concerning Leslie Jones and Milo Yiannopolous, but in this age of fast food information and hot gossip, it's become passe' anyway, not that it's no longer important to discuss the issue, but one with much insight will see this issue pop up in another way shape or form, and the Leslie vs. Milo incident can be used as a reference point. But that's for people who value critical thinking and reasoning, which is not what our world is concerned with. 

Anyway an extra special thanks to those who take the time to read my lil' ol' blog, it is greatly appreciated. Not to get too involved with stats and metrics, which brings me back to my old customer service rep ways (UGGGH!) but last month set personal records for my blog in terms of views and readership. It's only fitting that I show gratitude in some form for those who take the time out of their busy schedule to come and See What I See (CWATIC). 

Until next time, take care and hang tight, we're only getting started here. 

Peace. 

The Nerve of It All...

Peace All,

Kinda thought I'd condense all of the past week's events into one blog, and call it the Bad and the Good, that way I can spill out the whole shabang about Q's News...lol

Anyway let's hit up THE BAD first shall we? You all remember last week when I put out a blog about whether or not I should voice my opinion about the continuing demise of my area and show how the public transit system is contributing to this process. Well at first I felt I may have been too hasty in thinking they would not listen to our opinions and such and take feedback in good faith, but once I saw the "DART representatives" from our area and heard the reasons for removing the 155 express bus from our area, let's just say as the Joker told Batman in The Dark Knight..."You didn't disappoint."



These people had the nerve to say the reason they want to get rid of the service is because "DART is not in the business in repeating its' routes" and the riders can catch the local rail station and get downtown in the same fashion. Excuse me, but the DART rail is far from ANYTHING EXPRESS!!! Not to mention they plan to open express busing in the West Plano area...The nerve of people to think that you can tell some people anything and expect them to believe it. I tell you, Thomas Jefferson was a bold man...



Anyway, then they proceeded to give convoluted information about the ridership of the express bus in saying that at a particular stop there are only an average of 6 people on the bus, which is besides the point. The fact is that the bus is FULL on its way to Downtown Dallas, so again, the insults to the people's intelligence rages on, all in a meager attempt to slash costs' and concentrate on people that they feel are "worthy" of patronage. Anyone with a keen sense and a critical eye can see that very little effort is being made to keep a quality standard of life here in the Southern sector of Dallas, and rather than tend to the needs of the actual Dallas citizens, these people are trying to expand and connect in areas outside of Dallas, along with spending money in the soon to be gentrified Trinity River area on an unneeded trolley system, it's clear to see what's going on here. I guess they really look at those who use public transportation from the inner cities as "undesirables".

So on that note, I abruptly left the meeting because 1)the two women there were only present to receive the barbs and the complaints from the people. They really don't have any input in the final decision making here, so why waste time, breath and energy on them? 2) The citizens of Dallas will not have a final say in what happens here, the "Board" will vote and "consider" all of the comments in March, which pretty much means if the 155 express continues by the summer, Q will be surprised to say the least.

Only God(Allah)knows the future, but I ain't optimistic in the least...Such are the Lifestyles of the Ignored



Then on top of that some fool hacked into my email account...The nerve of these fools...


CWATIC @ HTTP://WWW.REALQUWWA.COM. Click here to enter.

Peace....I'll tell you the good later, God Willing...

NEXT UP ON THE MENU!!!!

Peace all,

I've been hard at work(well sorta)putting the final pieces together, trying to come up with a theme for the exhibition at the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Library, hopefully I will be able to set up the display this weekend.

This library was one of the few in the southern Dallas sector that I targeted for the See What I See(CWATiC) exhibit, but other things came in the way, and with the exhibition that I'm working on for February 2012 entitled Back And Forth so close, I've kinda put CWATiC over to the side. However I received an email a few days ago requesting some of my artwork to be displayed there. When I received the picture I was like "OK, great" and began to look for some smaller scale paintings to display there, more in the 8x10 to 9x12 range, however when I arrived there personally to take a look, I was amazed at the amount of space that I saw, and from there the ideas just started flowing...



Basically I plan to mix it up a bit, showing works from both the Lifestyles of the Ignored series and a couple of works from the CWATiC exhibit, especially the bottles I worked on for The New Gold Rush and maybe a couple of new twists in store. So it looks as if the CWATiC exhibit will continue, but in a different fashion this time around...I hope I can capture a few shots for a promo video of some sorts, ya know?

Also the same weekend I'm planning to attend this function held by renowned artist Frank Frazier Jr, who also lives in the southern Dallas area as well. I attended an exhibit he held a few years back and recently we became Facebook friends. So this looks to be an exciting and educational weekend ahead for me, and I hope to take full advantage of the opportunity...



Take care all, hope to be back soon with another blog....Peace!

CWATIC @ http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

All Aboard the 554

Peace All!!!

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!! THE CWATIC Exhibit!!! Featuring the revised Lifestyles of the Ignored Exhibit, along with the new exhibit held in my hometown entitled Aboard the 554. Just click HERE to enter the website.



I am also in the process of working on prints and posters!!!! I should be out with those in the upcoming days!(IA)...

I hope to be back next week with another blog, but for now, enjoy, and CWATIC @ www.realquwwa.com....Peace!!!

Mind Blowin!!!

Peace all,

Working on this exhibit coming up in the next two weeks, and things are suddenly going top speed for me, I need my ice cream to slow down the pace... LOL

Anyway, the See What I See Art Exhibit is set and I am pumped to say the least. I would never thought that I would be actually promoting my own art exhibit, I usually keep events about myself on the hush hush, one for fear of ...oh many things...confidence is not on my list of strong points, that is until I've become comfortable with the situation. I think I've settled down from the excitement now.

At least that was until yesterday when the librarian posted the flyer she created on the entrance doors and the walls of the library...Then it really hit me when I saw my name on the flyer...Then I really started bugging...not egotistical rapper like, but buggin'...It was a little too much for me.

Then while surfing through the net I ran into one of my Facebook friends who lives not too far from me, who wants to contribute some sounds for the exhibit, to mix with some of the messages I wish to relay to the audience. That really geeked me up.

Then, in an act I can only say was God's Decree, I happened to come back to the library, only to find a gentlemen who noticed my constant presence in the library using the internet and such. Well we spoke about constructing websites, and I showed him my site and explained what my agenda is, which somehow, again saying it was the Decree of Allah, we happened to share the same vision. Well, needless to say, we exchanged numbers and he called me with details that I can give away, but this thing can go a looooong way, God Willing.

Then I received a reply from my good friend Tania Maria Xavier of ColoredPeople.Net and DaughterNature.Com, approving the exhibiting of one the paintings on her beautiful gallery. I try my best to never forget those who Allah put in my path, and she along with others play a huge role in Quwwa. All I can say is thanks to all who contributed, will contribute in any fashion. I am grateful for every effort, and can only pray this gets better.

All Praise is Due only to Allah, and the mistakes are mine. PEACE





Love Ya....It's just keeps getting better. Come See What I See @ http://www.realquwwa.com

...Dreaming of a White Super Bowl

Peace all! Hope you had a very Merry Super Bowl! I wish you all nothing but the best this holiday season! LOL

This holiday season was somewhat even more special, being that the festivities took place in Dallas, Tx, my hometown! That meant the city had to be decorated from head to toe in the latest holiday decorations!








A lot of money was thrown into making the visitors get that good ol' Southern Hospitality...Where they got it I don't know, I can't even get a receipt from my local library showing the return date on items I've checked out due to cutbacks in the city!



Even building that were not completed construction-wise took part in the festivities!





Then we had a nice little winter storm which almost made it a White Super Bowl...I can hear Bing Crosby singing now...I'm Dream-ing of a Whiiiiiite Super...oops wrong lyrics.

The winter storm caught everyone by surprise, even the electric company, who issued a winter emergency on Wednesday, asking mainly residents to shut down their electricity for a few hours! Wouldn't have been much of a problem, but I seriously doubt Downtown Dallas with all of its top dollar paying visitors were affected by this strategic move...

Unlike most winter holidays this holiday does not have a food drive, but people are driven to a food frenzy by all of the advertisements to party up and stock up...Friday evening was torture just trying to get some basic necessities for being bombarded with the chips-and-dippers and the beer guzzlers and wine suckers all scurrying about, in addition to the rough traffic from all of the snow and ice. I just wanted to get enough food to last through the next week...LOL

When it was all over the the buzz was filled with complaints about people not getting their seats, the failure of the transit system among other things, giving Jerry Jones reason to issue a public apology. Poor thing, he's had to apologize a lot this season, especially for the sadistic pay of a team he'd hope would be the home team in this year's Super Bowl. In the end, he'll make out big, just like the NFL, just like every bar in grill in town who overpublicized the event, and just like all of those corporations who wasted up to 3 million a pop for a 30 second slot just to show an ecstasy induced rapper advertising a car, an old cut-up face woman advertising a web hosting shop with a name that reeks of pornography, the never ending potato chip commercialism, among the other jokes that make up this feast called the Super Bowl, event in the first place.

The only ones who don't benefit are the citizens of the host city, who watch these corporate monsters claim local pride, only to move the stadiums to out of the area to the suburbs in the next 20 years, only after they've booted residents out and bought up the area to build stadiums with corporate kiss-ass suites.

In closing I think back to last years' Super Bowl between New Orleans and Indianapolis. One was sure that the Katrina tragedy would be a storyline used to show how the city of New Orleans "overcame" adversity, but in the end Katrina was hardly mentioned, if it ever was mentioned at all. No memorial for the victims, no mentioning of the many residents still living in FEMA trailers being threatened to leave the trailers. Just "WHO DAT?"

Do these teams really represent the cities?



Happy Holidays Y'all...

The Aftermath....Snow in Dallas 2

Peace all.... Got a new blog coming up, but I have to take care of the priorities first, that being looking for transportation and cleaning up this mess from the winter blast last week. Everyone can agree to some extent of the quiet that snowstorms seem to bring, and I got some good pics from this snowstorm, although my memories will be of removing a huge branch from my car(tee hee hee) that few minutes that I had of peace and quiet was remarkable... But all good things on earth come to an end, and this is what remained.








Looks like it's gonna BE FUN!!! YIPPPPEEEE!!!! But at least I have my memories...




That's all you need sometimes...right? Well, time to cut the wood.....Anybody wanna help? Please, pretty please, with sugar on it?...LOL




Take care all......Love ya, God Bless...

Say it Ain't So!

Peace all,



You know just when you think there's nothing that can cheer you up, something happens and BAM you're proven wrong again. Snow has this effect of calming things down and slowing up things, especially living in a fast paced society. The idea of kids making snowmen and snowfights really cheer you up even when you see it in areas like the hood for example. That does not mean everytime it snows there is good in it for everyone, for many are homeless and have no resources. But I'm just saying in my case it was welcomed. We had 12 and a half inches of snow in Dallas, Texas a record. There's something peaceful about the snow, maybe it's because all of the loud and obnoxious people are still inside...lol. If this is the case then let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Now I did wake up to a surprise, seeing that a large branch from the old tree had fallen and landed on my car, but that's ok, it didn't work anyway....lol



we'll I had the crew to help me move it, but it took a lot out of my body, I hadn't worked out like that in months! My upper body will be sore for a while now. I may take some more pics before the snow melts, it doesn't last that long down here, so I'll enjoy it while I can....In the meantime take care all!