NEWS BRIEFS
CHUCK DAVIS RECEIVES NATIONAL DANCE
AWARD
MAVERICK MOM RELEASES NEW BOOK
REVEALING STRATEGIES FOR RAISING
THUGLESS SONSPatricia cleverly sprinkles
Black boys.
humor throughout the book and provides
laughter to the role of parenting. The
book is a short, quick-read, which can be
read in a few hours. At the end of each
chapter, Patricia provides “Mom Tips,”
which are little nuggets of information,
for moms to reference long after reading
the book.
By Sherri Holmes
DURHAM, NC - Here in the Triangle, we
may feel that Chuck Davis belongs to us,
but his achievements in the world of dance
reach much further. In recognition of his
contributions, on October 20, 2014, Davis
received a Bessie Award for outstanding
service to the field of dance. He was
honored along with Arthur Mitchell, a
founder of the Dance Theater of Harlem,
who was given a lifetime achievement
award.
The awards ceremony was held at the
Apollo Theater in New York. Many
consider it to be the Academy Awards
equivalent for the dance community.
Chuck Davis says “It was an honor to be
nominated and even more amazing to have
won. I was humbled to be on the stage
with Arthur Mitchell, Jessye Norman and
other great artists.”
In the Triangle, Chuck is recognized as
the founder and director of the African
American Dance Ensemble. Throughout
the country, Chuck Davis is well known
as the Director of DanceAfrica which he
founded in 1977 at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music.
DanceAfrica presents African dance
festivals in cities across the country
including Washington, DC, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta
and Brooklyn. In addition, as part of
28
DanceAfrica, Davis conducts a teaching
program called Dancing Into the Future.
Chuck Davis is considered to be a
trailblazer in the world of dance. “(Chuck
Davis has) paved the way for countless
dancers, teachers and choreographers
who have and will come after them,”
Lucy Sexton, Director of the Bessie award
program, said in a statement.
Chuck Davis will be very busy in the
Triangle region this holiday season. He
is choreographing the Justice Theater
Project’s Black Nativity in Raleigh, NC
which opens December 11, 2014. On
December 20, 2014, Davis, along with the
African American Dance Ensemble will
perform at the Kwanzza Celebration in
Cary, NC. On December 26, 2014, he will
be featured at the Hayti Heritage Center’s
Kwanzza Celebration in Durham, NC.
And on January 1, 2015, which is also
Davis’ birthday, the African American
Dance Ensemble will host its own
Kwanzzafest at the Durham Armory.
When Chuck Davis received his Bessie
Award, he brought drummers and
dancers to the stage with him for a brief
performance. He had everyone in the
theater stand up and shout the chant that
is his signature around the world: “Peace!
Love! Respect for everybody!” Many of
the ceremony attendees were surprised
but here in the Triangle, Davis is known
for engaging an audience. When he takes
a stage, he typically greets everyone with
NATIONWIDE - Patricia Joseph’s new
book, Raising Black Boys to Men: A
Mother’s Guide to Raising Thugless
Sons was written to share a mother’s
successes, trials, and errors, in raising
her three boys, in a society that glorifies
thug-life.
Across America, in some city, some
neighborhood, some home, a mother
is crying over the loss of a son! A son
lost, to yet, another senseless crime, or
a penal institution. Joseph refused to be
one of those mothers!
Raising Black Boys to Men: A Mother’s
Guide to Raising Thugless Sons is a
candid book of one mother’s journey,
while raising her three sons. Author,
Patricia Joseph, who successfully
navigated the lives of her three sons,
through the ever so present negative
influences in society, felt compelled to
write about her experiences, trials, and
errors, on raising thugless sons. Patricia
credits much of her success to just
“good, old-fashion child rearing.”
In her book, Patricia provides simple
anecdotes and tips, to help mothers
faced with the challenges of raising
“Patricia Joseph’s motivational self-help
guide to parenting, Raising Black Boys
to Men: A Mother’s Guide to Raising
Thugless Sons, comes at a crucially
important time in our culture. Young
Black men are far more likely to be
harassed by those in authority and
blamed for crimes, whether they are at
fault or not.” “She takes from the 28
years of experience that she has gained
from raising her own sons and uses the
triumphs and failures fro H\