Over the summer I’m building my understanding of identity and community, so I thought it might be fun to post a few blasts from the past. In Fall of 2005 I wrote an article for Wax Poetics on The East, a cultural center and “intentional community” in the Bed-Stuy district of Brooklyn. I was keenly interested in a similar tangent as today: how creative energies and collaboration lead to community, here vis-a-vis physical space and music as an African-American art form.
For more reading:
- Interview with Jitu Weusi on Open Sky Jazz (part 1 / part 2)
- The defining book on the politics behind its creation, flourishing, and decline is called Truth Crushed to the Earth Will Rise Again, by Kwasi Konadu. It closely examines political pressures, particularly in the educational system, that were critical to the East.
Hi, I’m doing research on The East and I’d love to read your Wax Poetics piece. I clicked on the PDF link and it said the download is no longer available. Would it be possible for you to make it available again? Thanks!
Jennifer, thanks for the note. I’ll email you a copy of the article. I hope it’s helpful in your research, and feel free to email me with any questions. -Andrew