Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa!

If you are spending the holidays in New York there are some wonderful events to help us celebrate the our achievement this year. So be inspired and enjoy.

Misty Copeland,  principle ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre has faced many obstacles since  starting her dance career at the late age  of thirteen. As a young girl living with a single mother and sometimes being homeless she found her calling in dance.  She is now performing in the holiday favorite, The Nutcracker.  Misty exemplifies the spirit of  Kujichagulia (koo-jee-chah-goo-LEE-ah)  - Self-Determination.  Kujichagulia means  to be responsible for ourselves and to create your own destiny. Find her story in her memoir, Life in Motion, My Story of Adversity and Grace, an unlikely ballerina.

Catch Kiki Palmer and Nene Leakes performing on Broadway in Rodgers and Hamerstein's   Cinderella. Kiki Palmer plays Cinderella and Nene Leakes plays the Wicked Queen at  Broadway Theatre - 1641 Broadway at 53 rd St.

                                          Jazzed! The Changing Beat of 125th Street

Young people get jazzed at The Children’s Museum of Manhattan! Find your own beat as you tap, snap, clap and stomp your way through. Live music, hands-on art workshops and an immersive environment celebrates the rich history and lasting legacy of jazz in America. This interactive exhibition and program series features rarely seen images, archival footage, and original jazz artifacts. Visit the Children's Museum of Manhattan - The Tisch Building, 212 West 83rd Street, New York, NY 10024. Call 212-721-1223. Catch the exhibit before it closes on December 31, 2014. 

                                       Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art

Many of us remember when the only few positive images of African American people came from the pages of Ebony and Jet. Now a younger generation can discover the history and social role these publications played in African American lives. Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art explores the ways contemporary artists use Ebony as a resource and as inspiration in their practices.  The first exhibition devoted to this topic, Speaking of People features over thirty works by a multi-generational, interdisciplinary group of sixteen artists.  The Studio Museum in Harlem is located in Manhattan at 144 West 125th Street between Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard (7th Avenue).