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FRUIT OF LABOR special tribute to our mentor/teacher and legendary fellow freedom fighter Sister Bernice Reagon of SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK! We met with her on occasions at the "GREAT LABOR ARTS EXCHANGE" in DC, as well as, at the New Market, TN. "HIGHLANDER CENTER FOR RESEARCH/ORGANIZING"
(where ML King & Rosa Parks were trained). Our beloved sister taught us so much about "why we must be and nurture freedom singers/musicians" in our peoples' social justice movements and not just another greedy music industry tool for their and our self profit. Remember what she told us all at the GREAT LABOR ART EXCHANGE in D.C. and the HIGH LANDER CENTER FOR ORGANIZING/RESEARCH in New Market, TN about "GET & KEEP grounded like working people in a regular job, nurture your self-sustenance and peoples' institutions and DON'T count on the capitalist music titans/profit making music industry to live and promote who we are and our needed human values to create a better world and society".
Bernice Johnson Reagon, a Founder of the Freedom Singers
and Sweet Honey in the Rock, Has Died
Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
July 17, 2024
National Public Radio
It is impossible to separate liberation struggles from song. And in the 1960s — at marches, and in jailhouses — the voice leading those songs was often Bernice Johnson Reagon. She died Tuesday at the age of 81.
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Bernice Johnson Reagon (1942-2024), founder of The Freedom Singers and Sweet Honey In The Rock, directed the Program in Black American Culture for the Division of Performing Arts at the Smithsonian., Photo credit: Dana Penland. Smithsonian Institution Archives Record Unit 371 Box 4 Folder January 1982, (No restrictions)
Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist who co-founded The Freedom Singers and later started the African American vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, died Tuesday at the age of 81.
Her daughter, the acclaimed musician Toshi Reagon, shared the news of her mother's passing Wednesday night in a public Facebook post.
I was here before I came and when I die, I am not leaving…
- Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, a multi-award-winning force and cultural voice for freedom, transitioned on July 16, 2024. As a scholar, singer, composer, organizer and activist, Dr. Reagon spent over half a century speaking out against racism and systemic inequities in the U.S. and globally. Born in Dougherty County outside of Albany, Georgia on the 4th of October 1942, she was field secretary of SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and a founding member of the original SNCC Freedom Singers, formed in 1962. In 1966, she was a founding member of the Atlanta-based Harambee Singers. In 1973, while a graduate student of history at Howard University and vocal director of the D.C. Black Repertory Company, Dr. Reagon founded the internationally renowned African American women’s a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey In The Rock, leading the group until her retirement in 2003. In 1974, Dr. Reagon began her leadership role at the Smithsonian Institution, which included curating the African Diaspora Program, creating the Program in Black American Culture, and producing and performing on numerous Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. For a decade, beginning in 1993, she served as Distinguished Professor in History at American University (AU) in Washington D.C. Dr. Reagon was named Professor Emerita of History at AU and Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian. She is the author of numerous publications, compositions and recordings. Read more here.
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25 years! Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center
Slide Presentation 1999-2024
The Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center's vision was initiated by some of the original organizer members of the "FRUIT OF LABOR Singing Ensemble", On " Black Freedom/Black Nation Day" Juneteenth June 19, 1999, they convened cultural workers and activists as the "Freedom & Justice Cultural Commission".
The Commission's 14 artists, musicians, poets, singers, actors, organizers and activist cultural workers deliberated and united our collective thinking on our mission of using the 4200 Lake Ridge Drive as our "Center" for socially conscious culture and social justice movement building.
Click here to see the historical presentation of our community cultural center. It shows how we as a community built this vision, and describes its work.
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Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center
Receiving the 2024 Raleigh Medal of Arts!
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Celebrate the City's highest honor in the arts at the 2024 Raleigh Medal of Arts Awards on October 8, hosted by Grammy-nominated country artist Rissi Palmer!
Selected by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, the awards show will feature presentations and performances honoring extraordinary achievements in the arts by:
- Paris Alexander
- Elizabeth Beilman and Jimmy Gilmore
- Ragen Carlile
- Creative Mornings Raleigh
- Roy C. Dicks
- Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center
- Yvette Holder
- Timothy Locklear
- Rob Maddrey and Mark Tulbert
- Ilse Mann
- Raleigh Drum Circle
Learn more about the event and awardees: 2024 Raleigh Medal of Arts.
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SEPTEMBER 2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS | |
Saturday, September 14; 10:00-11:30 AM; "Strong Coffee, Spicey Cake and POWERFUL CONVERSATION" at the FOL World Cultural Cafe; This 2024 electoral battlefront is an opportunity to build our own protracted progressive movement that is truly organized to take this fascist movement and its’ Project 2025 on! Let’s share your thoughts on the next steps to mobilizing working/oppressed people in our organizational BASE to continue building our own resistance and MOVEMENT! Call (919) 876-7187 to RSVP.
Saturday, September 14; 12:00-1:00 PM; Financial Health Workshop Session #2; Understanding the US Capitalist System. We will use the book “5 Laws of Credit” to buy your home or make basic family investments during hard times. Email fruitoflaborwcc@netscape.com or call (919) 876-7187 to RSVP.
Wednesday, September 18; 6:00 PM; BWFJ Wake/Durham/Triangle Chapter Meeting
Sunday, September 22; 5:00-8:00 PM; Only on Sunday Jazz Sessions featuring Jazz Builds the 919; live music, food, community updates, speak-out, networking, trivia, and fun. $15 donation. Email fruitoflaborwcc@netscape.com or call (919) 876-7187 to RSVP.
Tuesday, September 24; Long March for Unity & Justice in Durham & Raleigh
Wednesday, September 25; 7:00 PM; Workers Speak Out at the FOL World Cultural Center. Food and childcare will be provided if you call (919) 876-7187 to RSVP by September 14.
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Friday, September 27; 6:30–8:30 PM; FOL World Cultural Cinema presents our Monthly Friday Night Film & Discussion
Saturday, September 28; 11:00 AM-12:00 PM; Mommie/Daddy & Me Outdoor Family Fitness Class taught by Donnae Ward. Free to the public, but donations are appreciated. It’s a fitness party for both adults and youth. We’re keeping everyone moving and promoting a lifetime habit of good health, particularly in Black and Brown communities, to help prevent illness! Call (919) 876-7187 to RSVP.
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Need MEDIA Impact Campaign Support? |
Apply Now to Impact Kickstart!
Applications are now open for Impact Kickstart 2025! Impact Kickstart offers partnership and strategy development, 1:1 mentorship support, and $60,000 in impact campaign funding to underrepresented filmmakers with feature-length films that hold great promise to catalyze action and address critical issues of our time.
Now in its seventh year, Impact Kickstart has helped underrepresented filmmakers create strategic goals for impact and specific plans to engage future partners, funders, and audiences in meaningful ways. This year, two film teams will receive an Impact Kickstart from Working Films.
Apply here by Thursday, September 26th at 11:59pm EST.
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FOLWCC Rentals
Need a special place for your special event?
The newly renovated Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center and the World Cultural Café are your place. The 2,000 sq. ft. World Cultural Center, with a big screen and surround sound theater, is the ideal intimate setting for:
- Graduation Parties & Game Nights
- Organizational & Business Meetings
- Classes, Seminars & Workshops
- Conferences
- Religious & Family Gatherings/ Reunions
- Bridal & Baby Showers
- Movie Screenings
- Receptions
- Gatherings for Watching Sports and Other Events
- Art Shows
- Small Concerts & Fundraisers
Rental form on the website.
| Labor Notes Trouble Makers School in Alabama, October 19 | |
Join labor activists from around Alabama—and the whole region—to strategize, share skills, and learn ways to organize to win.
Troublemakers Schools are day-long mini-conferences that cover organizing skills and highlight real-world examples of taking on the boss, and winning!
Whether you're new to union activism or are an experienced union activist, there's something there for you!
WORKSHOPS WILL INCLUDE:
- Beating Apathy
- Turning An Issue Into A Campaign
- Organizing In A "Right-To-Work" State
- ...and more!
Registration fee (covers event registration and lunch):
$45 - Registration plus a HALF OFF subscription to Labor Notes ($15)
$30 - Regular registration
$15 - Hardship rate registration (choose if you need)
https://labornotes.org/events/2024/alabama-troublemakers-school-2024
To register, select your registration option from the dropdown box and click "Add to Cart." Then, click the shopping cart at the top of the page and follow the checkout instructions.
To register multiple people: follow the instructions above, and then change the "Quantity" in the shopping cart.
Questions? Ideas? Email our staff organizers Courtney Smith at courtney@labornotes.org and Keith Brower Brown at keith@labornotes.org.
If you have problems signing up, please email our Communications Organizer Sindhu Sundar at sindhu@labornotes.org.
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Contact Elder Angaza Laughinghouse, Southern Workers Assembly at
(919) 876-7187 - leave a message.
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AVAILABLE NOW!
Music and songs that inspire, engage, and liberate our spirit!
Enjoy Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble’s Album: State of Emergency
The album is available on
Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music, iHeart Radio
and many more streaming services and retailers.
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If I Can Change The World | |
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If someday I sit on the top of this world,
Bring on changes with a single word,
Throw away hatred; spread only love,
Turn a vulture into a peaceful dove,
Make a beauty out of the beast,
That won’t be the last or the least,
I’ll delete discrimination,
Human humiliation,
Make rivalry people shaking hands,
Apologize for their shameful demands,
Open the gates of this big prison,
Let there be light; based on reason,
Money just a way to buy our needs,
Not a motive for bloody deeds,
Nations hailing through borders,
No barbed-wires for keeping orders,
And water for all to drink,
No poverty; lots of milk,
Food for Africa,
Justice to America,
Terror out of Arabia,
Stability to Somalia,
Solidarity to Lebanon,
My beloved country; suffered nation…
Jimmy Zepp
Sunday, July 24, 2011
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