By Sally Deering

“Iâ€ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling thatâ€s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” – Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah epitomizes the achievements one woman can make after facing extreme personal and professional challenges; and here in Hudson, many women follow in Oprahâ€s successful footsteps.

March is Womenâ€s History Month, and to celebrate, the Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs and Art House Productions in Jersey City are planning two events that pay tribute to women and their achievements.

The National Women’s History Project celebrates its 35^th anniversary with WEAVING THE STORIES OF WOMENâ€S LIVES, a theme taken on locally by the Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise, the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Office of Cultural Affairs.

On Wed, Mar. 25 at 6 pm, DeGise and Committee Chairwoman and Freeholder Caridad Rodriguez will honor local women making a difference in their communities in an awards ceremony at the majestic Theodore Conrad Rotunda on the first floor of the Justice William Brennan Court House in Jersey City.

That same week, on Thurs, Sat and Sun, Mar. 26, 28 and 29, Art House Productions and 68 Productions in Jersey City team up for IN FULL COLOR, A Night of Theater Celebrating Womenâ€s History Month with monologues, poetry and music by 13 writers and actresses who offer a glimpse into their lives as women of color. A portion of ticket proceeds will be donated to the local non-profit WomenRising.

“This night of theater will show people there is this whole spectrum of talented actresses and writers who have hilarious, witty, touching, and inspiring things to say and who are really good at saying them,” director Summer Dawn Hortillosa says.

Hortillosa and Liliane Wolf founded the non-profit theater company 68 Productions to produce works by and for ethnically diverse people. Art House Productions, also a non-profit in Jersey City is committed to the development and presentation of performing and visual arts programs in Jersey City, and presents original theater, music events, visual arts, experimental performance, classes, video/new media and the quarterly citywide arts festival, JC Fridays.

WOMEN OF COLOR SHARE A PEEK INTO THEIR LIVES

IN FULL COLOR presents 13 women of color sharing their stories like dealing with curly hair; men with “yellow fever”; and being mistaken for a terrorist. Writers and actors include Jennifer Cendaña Armas, Karen Eilbacher, Samille Ganges (reading a piece by Alicia Wright), Inés García, Yvonne Hernandez, Amanda Levie, Nicole Miranda (reading a piece by Grisel Acosta), wendelin, Nerissa Tutiven, Shirin Terhune Vazir and Hortillosa, the showâ€s director.

“Summer Dawn Hortillosa has curated a vibrant evening of stories from women we are proud to celebrate,” Art House Productions†Executive Director Christine Goodman says. “IN FULL COLOR gives voice to women of diverse backgrounds and covers topics from the hilarious to the inspiring.”

A sampling from the show includes Shirin Terhune Vazir of Jersey Cityâ€s APPLE PIE & BAKLAVA; Samille Ganges†performance of Alicia Wrightâ€s piece MY CURLY HAIR – Wright is a founding member of Art House Productions†Board of Trustees. Yvonne Hernandez of Newark, who recently performed her one-woman show on romance at Symphony Hall in New York City will perform an excerpt from her piece, MY PUERTO RICAN MOTHER.

“My mother was a comedian who didnâ€t know it,” Hernandez says. “Itâ€s a tribute to her as a Puerto Rican woman who came here at the age of 18 and went through a lot. She had four children and she raised her children on her own because she was a widow. Everything she had to go through, people will get a glimpse into that. Shows like this are a good way for women to get their stories out.”

 Inés Garciaâ€s THE INTERVIEW and THE EXCEPTION by Hortillosa are also on the program with THAT MORNING by wendelin; HARDCORE LATINA PUNK BIRTH FRAGMENTS by Grisel Y. Acosta, performed by Nicole Miranda; and UNTITLED by Amanda Levie of Jersey City who is founder of No Peeking LLC, a blind live arts company.

Actress and director Karen Eilbacher of Brooklyn who holds a BFA with honors from New York Universityâ€s Tisch School of the Arts, will perform her piece HOWLS. Eilbacherâ€s credits include the Academy Award winning short film CURFEW where she was a dancer in a bowling alley. Eilbacher, whose piece HOWLS is about the changing relationship between a young woman and her ailing grandmother, says events like IN FULL COLOR, and the audience feedback they provide can be helpful to her as a writer.

“This show will help me get my work out there and give me the chance to see how people react to it,” Eilbacher says. “It could also help me find new avenues for my full-length script.”

Seeing performances by these women may inspire projects and opportunities for these women, Hortillosa says, both in New York and here in Jersey City.

“Weâ€re in the most diverse city in America,” Hortillosa says. “I think itâ€s really important for people to understand the people of other cultures around them. Cultures exist in different shades. I hope this show encourages tolerance, understanding and interest.”

CELEBRATING HUDSON WOMEN

2015 marks the 35th anniversary of the National Women’s History Project and Hudson Countyâ€s tribute on Wed, March 25^th, WEAVING THE STORIES OF WOMENâ€S LIVES, follows the national model. Previous themes were Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment in 2014; Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in 2013; and womenâ€s Art, Womenâ€s Vision in 2008.

“We will be honoring women from Hudson County, in a variety of categories, whose courage, strength and spirit in their respective fields and endeavors are special,” Cultural Affairs†Program Development Specialist Meredith Lippman says.

Lippman, along with William La Rosa, Administrator for the Hudson County Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism department and the rest of the cultural affairs staff curate and sponsor the annual event along with the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise.

“This event is a celebration of the outstanding achievements of women in our community,” County Executive DeGise says. “We are honored to have the opportunity each year to tell their stories, each one of them a vital thread within the tapestry of our shared local history.”

The women to be honored at the Mar. 25^th tribute all have a sense of commitment to community, Lippman says. (At press time, the honorees were still to be confirmed. Go to www.riverviewobserver.net for the complete list.)

At the ceremony, DeGise and Chairwoman Rodriguez will give out medals and certificates to the honorees. There will also be performances by vocalists from St. Dominic Academyâ€s choir and a poetry reading by Alia Oliver, a winner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts†Poetry-Out-Loud contest.

“We want to support our younger women,” Lippman says.

If you go:

 Wed, Mar. 25, 6 pm

WEAVING THE STORIES OF WOMENâ€S LIVES

Hudson Countyâ€s Tribute to Women in the Arts

Justice William Brennan Court House/Theodore Conrad Rotunda

583 Newark Ave, JC

Admission:  Free

For more info:  (201) 459-2070

www.visithudson.org

  Thurs, and Sat, Mar. 26, 28 at 8 pm; Sun, Mar. 29 at 3 p.m.

IN FULL COLOR: A Night of Theater Celebrating Womenâ€s History Month

Art House Productions

136 Magnolia, JC

(201) 915-9911

Tix: $8 in advance at www.InFullColor.brownpapertickets.com; $10 at the door.

For more info: www.arthouseproductions.org, or www.summerization.com.

The post March is Women’s History Month Local Hudson County Events Spotlight Women’s Voices first appeared on River View Observer.

 Michael Eric Dyson, the renowned social analyst, best-selling author, ordained minister and University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, who is considered one of the finest thinkers in the United States, will speak at Hudson County Community College’s Lecture Series. Dr. Dyson’s appearance is scheduled for Thursday, February 11 at 6 p.m. in the Scott Ring Room of the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City – just two blocks from the Grove Street PATH station.

A prolific author whose writings have explored the lives of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., singer Marvin Gaye and entertainer Bill Cosby, Dr. Dyson has also written about the cultural significance of rap in Between God and Gangsta Rap, on Hurricane Katrina in Come Hell or High Water, and on matters of race in America in Debating Race.

Dr. Dyson has taught at some of this nation’s most prestigious universities (including Brown, UNC at Chapel Hill, Columbia and University of Pennsylvania), and the Chronicle of Higher Education once wrote that his fiery and fearless oratory “can rock classroom and chapel alike.”

Born in Detroit in 1958, Dyson grew up in a comfortable middle class family. As a child, he developed his oratorical skills by delivering speeches to the members of his Baptist church. While attending a prestigious boarding school, he encountered his first personal experiences with racism and returned to public high school. By the time he was to graduate high school he was a teenage father-to-be, living on welfare, and known on the streets as a hustler. Throughout everything, he continued to attend the Baptist church, and by the time he was 21, he had studied and become an ordained minister.

Dr. Dyson pursued his love of learning and journalism through his studies at Knoxville College and Carson-Newman College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree with honors. He then went on to earn a master’s degree and doctoral degree from Princeton University. He is a much sought-after social commentator who has appeared on a wide variety of television and radio programs, and he has hosted his own nationally syndicated radio show, “The Michael Eric Dyson Show.”

“The theme of this year’s lecture series is ‘Reaching New Heights,’ and Dr. Dyson has devoted his life to doing just that,” said HCCC President Dr. Glen Gabert. “It is an honor to have Dr. Dyson appear here at Hudson County Community College. We are certain that everyone will find his lecture engrossing, enlightening and inspiring,” Dr. Gabert stated.

There are a limited number of free tickets available through the College’s Office of Student Activities for Dr. Dyson’s appearance. More information and tickets are available by phoning (201) 360-4195.

Dr. Gabert reminded that the third and final installment of the 2009-2010 Lecture Series is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17 when Rita Moreno – one of the few performers who has won all four of the nation’s top entertainment awards – will appear.

The post Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, One of America’s Most Inspiring and Influential Authors and Scholars,to Speak at Hudson County Community College first appeared on River View Observer.