A celebration of one of America’s most significant abolitionists!

The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc will host the Bright Star Children’s Theater production of Fredrick Douglass on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 10:30 AM at the Hayti Heritage Center. This presentation is one of the yearly Heritage Arts for Youth Program Series held for children K-12 as a supplemental cultural arts program. The program is open for public schools, private school, day school and charter school programs. Admission is $5.00 per child, teachers and chaperons admitted free with a group. Registration is suggested because space is limited. Call (919) 683-1709 ext. 21.

Join us in this empowering and accessible tribute to one of the most vocal supportes of
the Abolition Movement. Born a slave on a Maryland plantation, Mr. Douglass made a heroic and brave escape to the free North. Throughout his life Mr. Douglass made education a priority, teaching himself to read and write and always placing high value on where an education could take you. Mr. Douglass became a brilliant orator, writer, presidential advisor, famed abolitionist and even a vice-presidential candidate! He truly is one of America’s greatest heroes. Join our talented actors as they bring to life this great historic figure and bring into context the world in which he lived.

Heritage Arts For Youth
Geared for all ages (K-12), the residency program is offered as a resource to educate and inspire future artists and local youths. Carefully selected artists provide outreach in the community and “in-house” programming at the Hayti Heritage Center to children and adults with limited or no access to arts programming. The 45-60 minute mini presentations or concert are interactive, hands on, lively and full of dance, songs and music.

Bright Star Children’s Theatre is a nationally touring professional theatre company based in Asheville, NC. Bright Star will provide nearly 500 shows to audiences across America this year ranging in venues from the National Theatre in Washington DC to elementary schools in Hartsville SC.

This program is funded by the City of Durham, North Carolina Arts Council and Durham Arts Council United Art Fund. For mor information or tickts call (919) 683-1709 ext. 21.

The Jambalaya Soul Slam has a new initiative starting in 2010. In addition to our monthly poetry slams we will be conducting writing and performance workshops at the Hayti Heritage Center. At the Jambalaya Soul Slam Academy, experienced performance artists will help you bring your words from the page to the stage. In a peer to peer environment, participants will go through writing and performance exercises that will help them to be better performers by showing them how to bring life to their work. Whether you are new to performing, an experienced performer looking to slam, or someone who wants to feel more comfortable reading at the open mic…this is for you.

The series of workshops will be facilitated by Dasan Ahanu, artist-in-residence at the Hayti Heritage Center and Saint Augustine’s College. Dasan has conducted workshops across the state and has been a guest lecturer at a number of institutions on the topics of writing and literacy. He currently teaches creative writing at Saint Augustine’s College and edits the campus literary magazine. He has also been a member of the Slam Charlotte and Bull City Slam Team competing regionally and nationally for over 6 years.

The workshops will almost always take place on Saturday mornings before the next slam. This will give poets an opportunity to work on poems in progress and prepare for the coming slam. Each workshop may also feature a guest facilitator. Each guest will be an experienced touring performance artist or slam poet.

Workshop Schedule

Saturday, Feb. 20 – 11am

Saturday, Mar 20 – 10am

Saturday, Apr 17 – 10am

Saturday, May 15 – 10am

(Location: Hayti Heritage Center – 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham 27701)

In addition to workshops for adults, there will be youth workshops held as well. The youth workshops will be led by members of the Sacrificial Poets, the Triangle’s only International Youth Slam team.

For more information on each workshop go to http://www.bullcitypoetryslam.com

April 30, 2010
Falls Village Golf Club, Durham, NC

The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. will host its first Hayti Heritage Celebrity Golf Tournament on Friday, April 30, 2010 at Falls Village Golf Club, 115 Falls Village Dr., Durham. Our event matches amateur golfers and celebrities for a spring day filled with great camaraderie and fun for the sole purpose of raising funds for St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. and Hayti Heritage Center’s arts, education, and historic preservation programs.

“Noted celebrities have committed to support the Foundation in its efforts by appearing, playing, and lending their name to support our cause”, states Wendell Davis, Golf Tournament Committee Chair and Board Member. “This is a team effort with board members, corporate supporters, and volunteers all pitching in to raise funds for a worthy non-profit that provide valuable programs to Durham community.”

The Falls Village Golf Club is an 18-hole championship course carved through scenic Carolina pines and hardwood trees. The rolling terrain provides dramatic elevation changes. The peaceful setting offers an unforgettable and challenging golf experience for players of all abilities. Special contests include: Men’s and Ladies Longest Drive, Closest-to-the-Hole, Putting and Hole-in-One.

This event will attract over 100 golfers from more than thirty corporations throughout the Triangle area. The tournament includes a morning shotgun start (9:00 AM), awards ceremony featuring delicious North Carolina Bar-b-Que (pork & chicken), and the opportunity to mingle or play with a host of local and national celebrities.

Registration deadline for individual golfers is April 23rd, registration forms will be available soon. Sponsorship opportunities for the tournament are available, call Janella Sellars, Development Director at (919) 683-1709 ext. 28, jsellars@hayti.org.

The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation is pleased to announce The Providence Effect a full length documentary film that traces the transformation of Providence St. Mel, an all-black inner city school on Chicago’s crime-ridden West Side, from a poor and struggling parochial school to a first rank college preparatory system has been selected at the Community Day Film for the opening of the 16th annual Hayti Heritage Film Festival February 18, 2010 at 7:15 pm. Seen through the eyes of its students, teachers, and alumni, The Providence Effect, tells the story of how one act of positive change can affect an entire community, this screening is free and open to the public. The Durham Human Relations Department and Chapel Hill Carrboro Area Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. are coming on board as sponsors of this film day this year. A reception will precede the screening at 6pm and a panel discussion with Q & A will conclude the film.

At the helm of The Providence Effect is the school’s principal, Paul J. Adams III. After orchestrating a national and local fundraising campaign to keep Providence St. Mel open nearly 30 years ago, principal Adams’ sole purpose has been to make and to keep its African-American student body a force to be reckoned with. Under Adam’s administration, the school boasts a 100% graduation and college acceptance rate, with half of its graduates attending Ivy League colleges and universities. Providence St. Mel’s success continues to be prototype for a number of pre-K through-12 educational systems across the country.

The Providence Effect is an inspiring story of triumph, determination, faith, dedication, and of how hard work inside the classroom can add up to big rewards outside the classroom.

The film features interviews with Providence students and well-known community leaders who share the same commitment to academic and social excellence that they say Providence exhibits through its no-nonsense approach to teaching and learning.

The Hayti Heritage Film Festival runs February 18-21, 2010 at the Hayti Heritage Center and is presented by the St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc.

RESCHEDULED DATE: Saturday, February 6, 2010

The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc/ Hayti Heritage Center send our condolences to the people of Haiti. This catastrophe is beyond comprehension to a people who have been struggling to recovery from natural disasters over the last year. In an effort to act the Foundation along with 18 groups and over 100 artists from Durham and surrounding communities will come together to raise money at the DURHAM ARTISTS FOR HAITI RELIEF CONCERT, Saturday, January 30 in the St. Joseph’s Performance Hall at the Hayti Heritage Center beginning at 5:00 pm – 12 midnight. Suggested donation of $20 at the door and all proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross for Haiti Relief.

“I have been so saddened by the events in Haiti and after talking with others in the community just felt we need to do something to show our support as artists. So I begin to plan this concert last week and it has all come together with the support of so many people, businesses and volunteers. We (Hayti Heritage Center) have a unique connection to Haiti having been named after the first free and independence nation of the Diaspora. In addition to a link that many may not know that is seen daily on top of the steeple of the historic St. Joseph’s structure- a VeVe (the weathervane) which is the symbol of Erzulie, The Goddess of Love, which is a voodoo symbol worshiped in the Haitian culture”, states V. Dianne Pledger, President/CEO of St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation.

We are fortunate to have artists that are willing to give back to support worthy causes, and on Saturday night the public will have the opportunity to hear some jazz, gospel, R & B, comedy, spoken word, blues, a little bit of everything to raise money to support the efforts to restore the nation of Haiti.

Scheduled to appear: Prince Miah & The Girl ToyZ, The Marcus Anderson Group, Baron Tymas Trio, Jasme Kelly, The Rise Band, Bull City Slam Team, The William Darity Group, Jatovie McDuffie, Jennifer Evans Gospel, Brandi Q & PB Band, Darrell Stover, Cinnamon Davis, Dasun Ahanu, The Johnny White Band, The William McLaughlin Group, Ian Siler & True Prayze, Sacrificial Poets, Kurt Melges & Leslie Land and more.

We urge you to support the recovery of this nation with a financial contribution; our neighbors in Haiti are racing to confront the enormous devastation. It is at times such as this that our help is need most. If you are unable to attend the concert the Hayti Heritage Center has set up a fund which will be sent to the Red Cross for relief efforts. You may donate through our on line donation system and identify your contribution for Haitian Earthquake Relief, or drop by the Hayti Heritage Center. Our prayers are with the Haitian community throughout the world.

Additional relief efforts and contact information is as follows:
Donate

• Financial Donations
  • Donate $10 to the American Red Cross – charged to your cell phone bill – by texting “HAITI” to “90999.”
  • Contribute online to the Red Cross
• Find more ways to help through the Center for International Disaster Information.

The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. (SJHF) founded in 1975, is an African American cultural and educational institution deeply rooted in the historic Hayti community of Durham, North Carolina. SJHF is dedicated to advancing cultural understanding through diverse programs that examine the experiences of Americans of African descent – locally, nationally and globally. The Foundation is committed to preserving, restoring and developing the Hayti Heritage Center, the former St. Joseph’s AME Church, a National Historic Landmark, as a cultural and economic anchor to the greater Durham community. For more information call (919) 683-1709.