Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library
"Sadie Peterson Delaney: Pioneer African American Bibliotherapist"
The African Roots Library Website and the Women's Groups, other Functions of the Library
Greetings all,
I first would like to apologize that I was not able to make the meeting on the 14th, nor was I able to write this piece until today. My son, who many of you know, is very ill and has been in and out of hospital for over a year. This month has been a particularly hard one as we are trying to transition him to a new living situation, with new people, new community and change is not easy for this child. In any event, I want to send this to each of you, because it is important to understand the tremendous benefit this Library has been to me, to my family and to our community family.
The Library was introduced to me, by Lord Just Allah. He happened to notice my Afrocentric/Activist bumper stickers on the back of my car. Although they represented my feelings about injustice, discrimination and the changes that needed to be made throughout the world, he made it clear to me that bumper stickers 'about' change were nice, but what would be nicer would be for me to get involved with him, and another person, Odell Winfield. When I met Odell, I knew that this Library was a priceless asset in my community, that I did not even know existed. It was a place for my children to strengthen their academic skills, and to learn about their heritage, to be proud and confident. Best of all, the Library would teach my children what it means to petition for change. They have become the 'squeaky wheel' for justice, for change in their schools and their community.
The Website was born out of the need for our Volunteers and Community to keep in touch with one another, and to have a means to inform our Community about programs, projects, celebrations, and charity that the Library offers throughout the year. When I saw that the Library did not have its own distinct site, I decided to act, and created the site. Since that time we have updated and we now have a fully interactive site that has the ability to have real time chat and space to make each member to have a profile of themselves. I hope you all become members of the website as it is quite easy to do, and so worthwhile. The site is run by all of us. Since there are spaces for blogging, spaces for discussions, and room to place informative videos, music and the like, this website is very valuable. It is a vehicle for communication. Thanks to Odell Winfield, Lord Just Allah and Brian Ruddel's encouragement, I was (despite my own commitments to my family) able to finish this site, and would like each one of you to visit it at: http://africanrootslibrary.ning.com/
Again, I encourage each one of you to 'join' us on the website, it's easy...just sign up with your email and a password and create your profile from there...and if you have any questions about how to work it, do not hesitate to email me at kaya9886@yahoo.com or the Library email africanrootslibrary@gmail.com
I would like to also mention our Women's Group that I-JahQueen Gizel and I worked on developing for the Library. JahQueen and I wanted a place for our city area women to be able to meet, share strengths and experiences while learning, and healing through the process. It was our feeling that if we encouraged women who were economically, and socially disadvantaged, we would create a healed community ready for activism and work!!
We never realized just what great potential WE ALL had!!! We named our Group The Nzingha Women's: Doorway to Healing.
Through this group meeting at our Library several nights per week, we learned how to care for ourselves first. We learned techniques and had classes offered by experts. These classes, normally quite costly, and usually only affordable by those with the financial means, and not usually the inner city community. The Nzingha Women asked for these classes, to be taught these techniques and philosophies, by experts who would be willing to teach for free, or for very little financial compensation.
The Women's Group Nzingha Women: Doorway to Healing's Mission/Vision statement reads: The Nzingha Women's Doorway to Healing teaches Self Reliance through Support, Education, Advocacy and Cultural Awareness. Our Workshops reduce Stress and promote Healing as well as teach Women to Empower themselves and others. As Empowered Nzingha Women, we will set foundations for our families and become Positive Contributors to our Communities.
Our collective sought to empower women to heal naturally, to achieve the means necessary to heal ourselves, our families and our neighborhood. Personally, I found this group crucial for my own development. I can tell you many personal stories but let it suffice to say that this group and the Library made me believe in myself. It made me know that I could make a difference. Even if by myself, I learned that I can do so many things to change my circumstance. Thankfully I learned that before my son got very sick. Because of the Library and its empowerment through the Women's Group, I fought and became a strong advocate for my son, whose treatment would have been substandard had I not had that confidence, and the empowered strength to take my son's situation all the way up to the Governor of the State of New York. I was heard and I made a change for my son.
The Library has such potential. We would like to revive and strengthen the Nzingha Women's Group again, to serve the population and newer generation coming up, so that good things for my sisters in Poughkeepsie will happen for them. We also would like to have as a part of our program, a Saturday School. This school could supplement and be a free tutoring service for the area youth. I welcome you to contact me through the Library Website or by email here. We have such potential and the Library has offered us so much.
I hope that you will take the time to think about Poughkeepsie. Think about all the areas that our people have had to suffer through. The poverty, especially now with the economy and folks, we in Poughkeepsie have been crying about the 'economy' for our people long before the need for bailouts for big companies began. We have been suffering a long time. I want you to think about the many youth here in Poughkeepsie, without a thing to do, after school, on the weekends...there are no programs, there are no real activities our youths can do, and as you know, without funds we stay stagnant. Once you realize that it will benefit all of us, to strengthen our Library, you will begin to see the immediate benefit to the community.
I would like to Highlight some of the programs/projects that the Library has been involved in, just to give you an example of what we have achieved and what our plans for the future can include:
African Roots Library
Educational Workshops
Lectures
Cultural Awareness Workshops, Seminars, and Events
Spiritual Workshops
Sacred Space
Women's Rites of Passage
Healing Circles
Empowerment
Artistic Expression-Gatherings
Healing Arts (Ancient and Contemporary)
Holistic Counseling
Yoga
African Dance
African Drumming
Community Gardening
Free Holistic Health Workshops
Reiki Seminars
Acupressure and Ancient Chinese Medicine Techniques
African Healing Herbs Workshops/Classes
Community Advocacy/Referral Services
Natural Birthing (Doula) Services
Diversity and Tolerance Training
These are just SOME of the exciting things our Library does!! I took this next portion from the Library site and would like you to read over:
The Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library is now officially a fixture in this Community. The programs, the books, the creative events and the determination and persistence of the staff have made this endeavor such a success. We have had such a variety of events and classes, and have hosted so many exciting educational workshops that the Community often calls us, requesting what they would like to see offered. This is exactly what we think should be happening and we are glad it is.
The Library is unique because of this. The Library board and the Friends of the Library are made up of the community. We have Activists, and Philanthropists, Professors, Homemakers, Rastafarians, Christians, Moslems, and Buddhists contributing regularly and adding to our diversity.
One of our goals is that we provide the place for the community to come,. to learn, to socialize, to receive help, and to grow. So far our goal has been realized and we are hopeful to continue to help Community Members.
We want to encourage YOU. We know that ones can get caught up in the daily pace of life, moving quickly from home to work to home to work again...but, I promise if you sacrifice even one hour each week, you will be surprised by how good you will feel. Why not attend a meeting or just drop by any afternoon Monday through Friday.
Thank You all for believing in our Programs, our Library. It is you who have made the difference in so many lives. I personally would like to thank those who have given of their time and their expertise, as volunteers. They are so numerous to name, so to the Libray Staff, Educators, Workshop Presenters, Volunteers and Friends of the Library...A heartfelt thank you.
Sis Kaya IsesaJah
Library Volunteer Staff
Women's Group Cofounder
I first would like to apologize that I was not able to make the meeting on the 14th, nor was I able to write this piece until today. My son, who many of you know, is very ill and has been in and out of hospital for over a year. This month has been a particularly hard one as we are trying to transition him to a new living situation, with new people, new community and change is not easy for this child. In any event, I want to send this to each of you, because it is important to understand the tremendous benefit this Library has been to me, to my family and to our community family.
The Library was introduced to me, by Lord Just Allah. He happened to notice my Afrocentric/Activist bumper stickers on the back of my car. Although they represented my feelings about injustice, discrimination and the changes that needed to be made throughout the world, he made it clear to me that bumper stickers 'about' change were nice, but what would be nicer would be for me to get involved with him, and another person, Odell Winfield. When I met Odell, I knew that this Library was a priceless asset in my community, that I did not even know existed. It was a place for my children to strengthen their academic skills, and to learn about their heritage, to be proud and confident. Best of all, the Library would teach my children what it means to petition for change. They have become the 'squeaky wheel' for justice, for change in their schools and their community.
The Website was born out of the need for our Volunteers and Community to keep in touch with one another, and to have a means to inform our Community about programs, projects, celebrations, and charity that the Library offers throughout the year. When I saw that the Library did not have its own distinct site, I decided to act, and created the site. Since that time we have updated and we now have a fully interactive site that has the ability to have real time chat and space to make each member to have a profile of themselves. I hope you all become members of the website as it is quite easy to do, and so worthwhile. The site is run by all of us. Since there are spaces for blogging, spaces for discussions, and room to place informative videos, music and the like, this website is very valuable. It is a vehicle for communication. Thanks to Odell Winfield, Lord Just Allah and Brian Ruddel's encouragement, I was (despite my own commitments to my family) able to finish this site, and would like each one of you to visit it at: http://africanrootslibrary.ning.com/
Again, I encourage each one of you to 'join' us on the website, it's easy...just sign up with your email and a password and create your profile from there...and if you have any questions about how to work it, do not hesitate to email me at kaya9886@yahoo.com or the Library email africanrootslibrary@gmail.com
I would like to also mention our Women's Group that I-JahQueen Gizel and I worked on developing for the Library. JahQueen and I wanted a place for our city area women to be able to meet, share strengths and experiences while learning, and healing through the process. It was our feeling that if we encouraged women who were economically, and socially disadvantaged, we would create a healed community ready for activism and work!!
We never realized just what great potential WE ALL had!!! We named our Group The Nzingha Women's: Doorway to Healing.
Through this group meeting at our Library several nights per week, we learned how to care for ourselves first. We learned techniques and had classes offered by experts. These classes, normally quite costly, and usually only affordable by those with the financial means, and not usually the inner city community. The Nzingha Women asked for these classes, to be taught these techniques and philosophies, by experts who would be willing to teach for free, or for very little financial compensation.
The Women's Group Nzingha Women: Doorway to Healing's Mission/Vision statement reads: The Nzingha Women's Doorway to Healing teaches Self Reliance through Support, Education, Advocacy and Cultural Awareness. Our Workshops reduce Stress and promote Healing as well as teach Women to Empower themselves and others. As Empowered Nzingha Women, we will set foundations for our families and become Positive Contributors to our Communities.
Our collective sought to empower women to heal naturally, to achieve the means necessary to heal ourselves, our families and our neighborhood. Personally, I found this group crucial for my own development. I can tell you many personal stories but let it suffice to say that this group and the Library made me believe in myself. It made me know that I could make a difference. Even if by myself, I learned that I can do so many things to change my circumstance. Thankfully I learned that before my son got very sick. Because of the Library and its empowerment through the Women's Group, I fought and became a strong advocate for my son, whose treatment would have been substandard had I not had that confidence, and the empowered strength to take my son's situation all the way up to the Governor of the State of New York. I was heard and I made a change for my son.
The Library has such potential. We would like to revive and strengthen the Nzingha Women's Group again, to serve the population and newer generation coming up, so that good things for my sisters in Poughkeepsie will happen for them. We also would like to have as a part of our program, a Saturday School. This school could supplement and be a free tutoring service for the area youth. I welcome you to contact me through the Library Website or by email here. We have such potential and the Library has offered us so much.
I hope that you will take the time to think about Poughkeepsie. Think about all the areas that our people have had to suffer through. The poverty, especially now with the economy and folks, we in Poughkeepsie have been crying about the 'economy' for our people long before the need for bailouts for big companies began. We have been suffering a long time. I want you to think about the many youth here in Poughkeepsie, without a thing to do, after school, on the weekends...there are no programs, there are no real activities our youths can do, and as you know, without funds we stay stagnant. Once you realize that it will benefit all of us, to strengthen our Library, you will begin to see the immediate benefit to the community.
I would like to Highlight some of the programs/projects that the Library has been involved in, just to give you an example of what we have achieved and what our plans for the future can include:
African Roots Library
Educational Workshops
Lectures
Cultural Awareness Workshops, Seminars, and Events
Spiritual Workshops
Sacred Space
Women's Rites of Passage
Healing Circles
Empowerment
Artistic Expression-Gatherings
Healing Arts (Ancient and Contemporary)
Holistic Counseling
Yoga
African Dance
African Drumming
Community Gardening
Free Holistic Health Workshops
Reiki Seminars
Acupressure and Ancient Chinese Medicine Techniques
African Healing Herbs Workshops/Classes
Community Advocacy/Referral Services
Natural Birthing (Doula) Services
Diversity and Tolerance Training
These are just SOME of the exciting things our Library does!! I took this next portion from the Library site and would like you to read over:
The Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library is now officially a fixture in this Community. The programs, the books, the creative events and the determination and persistence of the staff have made this endeavor such a success. We have had such a variety of events and classes, and have hosted so many exciting educational workshops that the Community often calls us, requesting what they would like to see offered. This is exactly what we think should be happening and we are glad it is.
The Library is unique because of this. The Library board and the Friends of the Library are made up of the community. We have Activists, and Philanthropists, Professors, Homemakers, Rastafarians, Christians, Moslems, and Buddhists contributing regularly and adding to our diversity.
One of our goals is that we provide the place for the community to come,. to learn, to socialize, to receive help, and to grow. So far our goal has been realized and we are hopeful to continue to help Community Members.
We want to encourage YOU. We know that ones can get caught up in the daily pace of life, moving quickly from home to work to home to work again...but, I promise if you sacrifice even one hour each week, you will be surprised by how good you will feel. Why not attend a meeting or just drop by any afternoon Monday through Friday.
Thank You all for believing in our Programs, our Library. It is you who have made the difference in so many lives. I personally would like to thank those who have given of their time and their expertise, as volunteers. They are so numerous to name, so to the Libray Staff, Educators, Workshop Presenters, Volunteers and Friends of the Library...A heartfelt thank you.
Sis Kaya IsesaJah
Library Volunteer Staff
Women's Group Cofounder
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