January 2016

DreamWeek continues in San Antonio leading up to the Martin Luther King Jr. March on Monday, Jan. 18. East Side leaders gathered Monday morning to kick off a new revitalization effort for the community that hosts the march.
The City calls the San Antonio march the largest in the country.

“We just take that prize in terms of pride in our parade,” said Mike Etienne, executive director of East Point. It’s a city program that has been working to revitalize the area with improvements in education, economic development, public safety, jobs and housing.

Etienne said crime is down on the East Side, and they’re working to get kids involved in caring for their community. “That is one of the challenges that we face. That is, how do we engage the youth?” he said.

Councilman Alan Warrick said the team this year brought in $400,000 for scholarships, more than 10 times last year’s total. “This year we have raised over $200,000 but then we also got full scholarship commitments,” Warrick said. “So one scholarship to UTSA, Texas A&M San Antonio, Our Lady of the Lake, Northeast Lakeview. And we’re still going after the other ones, too, so we’re going for 12 scholarships but we have seven so far.” The MLK Commission designed a new branding program for DreamWeek and for Monday’s MLK March, with banners that mark the route and bring pride to the neighborhoods. Warrick hopes to see DreamWeek grow to equal First Fridays in Southtown, with events to get all members of the community to participate in the East Side revitalization. “Show them that it’s safe, show them that it’s vibrant, and show them the opportunities that are down here,” Warrick said. The group has procured several new street signs for the Martin Luther King march route, installed a mural to celebrate DreamWeek and has plans next year to extend Martin Luther King Boulevard all the way to Loop 410. DreamWeek continues all week until Monday’s march, with arts and education events, yoga classes, jazz concerts, and a free showing of the movie, “Selma” tonight at the Carver Cultural Center. For more DreamWeek events check here.

An East Side artist studio is showcasing one of the modern world’s oldest art forms and celebrating a citywide event at the same time.

Glass blowing artists can rent space at Caliente Hot Glass Studio anytime, but this week they’ve teamed up with the city to help with Dream Week San Antonio.

Sunday, they held a free public demonstration featuring pieces that showed off collaboration, patience, and diversity, something that aligns the ideas of Dream Week.

“Glass blowing is difficult to do alone, so there’s a lot of teamwork. There’s a lot of balance, and not necessarily compromise — but knowing and understanding and patience,” said Ruth Bushman of Caliente Hot Glass Studio.

Caliente holds a public demonstration the second Sunday of every month.

Dream Week San Antonio runs through January 19th.

“1005 Faces,” a photo project by Sarah Brooke Lyons, made its book debut this Sunday at Pearl Studio.

Lyons’ main purpose behind the project was to explore San Antonio’s cultural diversity and recognize how our individual identities create a collective consciousness. In doing so, Lyons took portraits of 1005 San Antonio people, each holding a whiteboard sign with a phrase or slogan meaningful to them.

The project started in 2013 and premiered in March 2014 at the Southwest School of Art.

“It took me two years to put the book together,” Lyons said. “It’s a culmination of the work of the heart. I’m excited to share these moments of the history of San Antonio.”
sarah brooke lyons book signing_credit Don mathis

Sarah Brooke Lyons signs a copy of her book. Photo by Don Mathis.

Lyons captured many movers and shakers in the San Antonio community including solar power pioneer Bill Sinkin, poet laureate Carmen Tafolla, and Cordero Maldonado, better known as Spurs Jesus. However, the majority of the faces are unsung people doing their day-to-day jobs; people that make San Antonio unique.

At the book release, many of the 1005 faces were eager to share the meaning of their messages on their signs.

Lydia Panvini, #4, is a college buddy of Lyons and a teacher in the Judson Independent School District. Her sign, “Happy, Joyous, and Free,” matches her personality. “I live a life today that God has blessed,” she said, “so I get to wake up every day happy, joyous, and free.”

B. Kay Richter, #265, is a local freelance journalist. “Look for a window,” was her message. “In 2010, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and I was confined to a small room during my treatment,” she said. “I was forbidden to have visitors during my cancer treatment, so the window became my lifeline to the outside world.”

Lori Hall, #1000, a San Antonio Housing Authority employee, was photographed near the end of the project. “I wrote ‘On the fringe’ because that’s how I always felt about living in San Antonio,” she said.

In 2014, Milton Fagin, #993, a candidate for the 45th District Court, wrote “Equality for All” on his placard. He’s running for the 408th District Court this year. “Equality goes along with the goals of Martin Luther King,” Fagin said. “As a lawyer, equality is what we strive for in the courts.”

Robinbird Lyons, #777, is the mother of Sarah Brooke Lyons and co-owner with her husband of a fire equipment business. “I wrote, ‘God is living on the inside, roaring like a lion,’ because God is everything to me,” she said.
Three of 525 faces so far in the 1005 Faces project. Photos by Sarah Brooke Lyons.

Three of the 1,005 faces featured in the project. Photos by Sarah Brooke Lyons.

The message of Joseph Schuetze, #517, says ‘I love her’ with an arrow pointing towards his wife, Stacey Schuetze, #518. Her sign reads, “Once a mermaid, always a mermaid.” “I was a mermaid at Aquarena Springs when I was going to college in San Marcos,” she said. “Now I’m a stay-at-home mom and I love it.”

Their kids Caleb, #823, and Sadie, #824, hold signs that read, “Jesus is my soccer coach” and “Jesus is in my heart,” respectively. The kids go to Community Bible Church on Loop 1604. “My favorite Bible story is about Noah,” Caleb said.

The sign held by Jenee Margo Gonzales, #783, contains lyrics of a song by the Five Stairsteps, “Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier, ooh-oo child, things’ll get brighter.” She is a development officer for the local Marianists. “Everyone should have a theme song for their life,” she said. “This one’s mine.”

Melanie Cawthon, #91, almost always wears a scarf and hat in her job as a vice-president at Reaching Maximum Independence, an organization that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities work and live as independently as possible. Her sign is emblazoned, “Philanthropist Advocate – Scarf and Hat a Must!” “I like giving back to the community,” she said. “Advocating for individuals with disabilities has its own rewards.”

Because the book launch was on the DreamWeek calendar of events, Shokare Nikori Nakpodia, #111, DreamVoice LLC San Antonio president was there. “Dream Big!” is written in big letters below his smiling face. “I think we tend to let negative issues affect us,” he said. “Each individual can only impact the world in the manner in which we dream.”
Photo by Don Mathis.

Shokare Nakpodia stands next to DreamWeek San Antonio sign at the book release. Photo by Don Mathis.

And in the case of Sarah Brooke Lyons, her dream of 1005 Faces has a very large impact. The first edition has a very limited run. Contact Lyons on Facebook to reserve a copy.

*Top image: Sarah Brooke Lyons poses with her book, “1005 Faces” at its release celebration. Photo by Don Mathis.

SAN ANTONIO – Friday morning’s opening ceremonies of DreamWeek San Antonio were highlighted with a speech by Martin Luther King III, the son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“As my father once said, ‘We have to be together before we can learn how to live together,'” King III said.

“We are at a difficult junction, and part of it is politically motivated,” King III said. “Some in our political space have chosen to focus on the worst fears of Americans instead of the best of who Americans are.”

King III’s speech was part of the fourth annual DreamWeek.

Various events will be held throughout the next week to celebrate diversity, equality and tolerance.

“Our mission is really to make sure we get enough people in San Antonio to venture and try new things, hear new ideas and actually support each others ideas,” DreamVoice President Shokare Nakpodia said.

The Alamo City has become a premier destination to honor MLK and holds one of the largest marches in the nation.

As San Antonio continues to push forward to motivate and inspire, it will also continue to honor the legacy of King Jr.

“It’s certainly wonderful, for us, as members of the King family, but it’s a reflection of what America is. This is really the best of America,” King III said.

The San Antonio MLK March will take place the morning of Jan. 18. The 2 1/2 mile march will start at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy and end at Pittman-Sullivan Park.

Click here for the DreamWeek schedule of events.

DreamWeek kicked off with a keynote address by Martin Luther King, III at the Opening Ceremony Breakfast at the Jack Guenther Pavilion. The summit runs from January 8-19 in downtown San Antonio. All event schedules are available on dreamweek.org.

Martin Luther King III, the son of the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a rousing speech that captivated attendees into moral refections with sobering scenarios and bouts of humor on Friday morning during the DreamWeek San Antonio opening breakfast. The 12-day DreamWeek summit takes place throughout the city’s urban core seeks to inspire multicultural community dialogue while honoring the teachings of MLK.

King touched on controversial topics such as gun violence, police brutality, diversity in state government, equality, voting rights, and even marijuana.

Shouts of affirmation rippled through the audience as King asked the attendees how society could ever achieve greatness as long as the people operating within that society are obsessed with guns.

“For those of us who purport to be Christians, I am not sure how you can allow Christ and fear to exist at the same time,” King said. “Either God works or God doesn’t work. Which one are you going to depend on, the gun or God? I speak from a perspective different from most – my daddy was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee when I was 10 years old by a white man.

In 1974, my grandmother was gunned down in a church while playing the lord’s prayer by black man,” he added. “So legitimately, I could hate all of y’all.”

The audience erupted with nervous laughter.

“But I chose to embrace love,” he said.

Martin Luther King III gives a speech during the opening day of DreamWeek 2016. Photo by Scott Ball.Martin Luther King III gives a speech during the opening day of DreamWeek 2016. Photo by Scott Ball.
King also called for more diversity in state and local legislatures in terms of both race and sexuality.

“Let us not rest until our political institutions reflect the demographic realities of our country,” he said.

He went on to advocate for the end of voter suppression through the implementation of automatic voter registration in all 50 states, the availability of online voting to all citizens, and the allowance of incarcerated citizens to be granted the right to vote after they have served their sentence. Not allowing incarcerated citizens the right to vote following their sentence is “taxation without representation,” King said.

As for police brutality, he believes incidents of police brutality are just as prevalent today as they were when his father was alive 60 years ago – the only difference being that today, people have smartphones to document it.

King continued touching on political hot topics, commenting that he is “one of the few people” who has never experimented with marijuana. That being said, he also has not made up his mind on how he stands on the issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The audience chuckled as King struggled to find the right words.

“My higher point is … ” he said, to even more laughter before he brought his speech back on topic.

He questions whether sending people to jail on marijuana charges is a good use of tax dollars.

“It’s illegal now, so you shouldn’t do it…at least in Texas,” King joked. “You can go to Colorado…”

King spoke after guests enjoyed breakfast at The Briscoe Western Art Museum, which was very well attended by community leadership including City Manager Sheryl Sculley, several City Council members, and a who’s-who of the African-American community.

The DreamWeek calendar has grown from a 30 events during its inaugural year in 2013 to a more than 130-event celebration across over 80 locations. The goal of DreamWeek is to create spaces that inspire dialogues that promote tolerance, equality and diversity. The summit culminates with the Martin Luther King Jr. March on Monday, Jan. 18.

B Michelle hugs a friend during the opening day of DreamWeek. Photo by Scott Ball. Michelle hugs a friend during the opening day of DreamWeek. Photo by Scott Ball.
Shokare Nakpodia, the president of DreamVoice LLC, which produces DreamWeek, gave a brief overview of the summit and its many events and thanked several of the people who were instrumental in its creation and growth.

Mayor Ivy Taylor also spoke about the social milestones San Antonio has achieved in recent years.

Less than 10% of the city’s population is African-American, but San Antonio is home to one of the largest Martin Luther King Jr. marches in the country, with an estimated 150,000 attendees in recent years. Taylor cited her election as an African-American woman as a clear sign the city is becoming more progressive.

Taj Matthews, the grandson of local civil rights activist Claude Black and a longtime friend to Martin Luther King III, introduced the speaker to the crowd.

“What do you think your father would think, in a city where we are less than 10% of the population, that we would elect a dynamic figure to head our city, a woman of color?” Matthews said. “That was his dream.”

A guest flips through a book given out by DreamWeek. Photo by Scott Ball. A guest flips through a book given out by DreamWeek. Photo by Scott Ball.
King concluded his speech with a story about his father. He said he remembers traveling with his father and hearing him tell people that the measure of a human being is not in terms of where they stand in times of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy.

He challenged the crowd to take positions that are “neither safe, nor popular nor political” in an effort to “make the world a little better than it was when you arrived.”

*Top Image: Martin Luther King III applauds after the National Anthem was sung. Photo by Scott Ball.

SAN ANTONIO – A 12-day summit celebrating diversity and tolerance kicks off today in San Antonio.

The 4th annual Dream Week began with a breakfast ceremony Downtown. The keynote speaker at the breakfast was Martin Luther King, III, the son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dream Week continues until Tuesday, January 19 and will include panel discussions and speaking engagements.

Some of the topics to be addressed include civil and immigration rights, LGBT equality and domestic violence initiatives.

For a complete list of Dream Week events, click here.

There’s a new art studio on South Flores in the SMART Art Project Space: Flax Studio.

The space — opened by Trinity University graduate and marketing and development manager at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Katy Silva, and University of Texas at San Antonio graduate Andrei Renteria — seeks to encourage the development of San Antonio and South Texas’ emerging artists.

The word flax suits the space perfectly, as Silva and Renteria are painters and flax is an ingredient in oil paint and canvas.

“Andrei and I have seen the incredible growth of San Antonio’s art scene,” Silva says in a press release. “Flax was born out of our passion for painting and for the future success of the creative community.”

The studio’s grand opening is on January 9, Second Saturday, and will feature Sarah Sauer, a ceramic and paper products artist.

“Flax is honored to host Sarah,” Silva says. “She crafts brilliant ceramic and paper pieces that embody the simple union of innovation and good taste. Visitors to the studio are in for something truly unique.”

The opening coincides with DreamWeek San Antonio, which works to advance voices of tolerance, diversity and equality.

You can also catch the Second Saturday Art Walk and listen to Michael Cirlos, the visual journalist behind Humans of San Antonio will talk about tolerance and diversity, central tenants to DreamWeek.

SAN ANTONIO – A 12-day summit celebrating diversity and tolerance kicks off today in San Antonio.

The 4th annual Dream Week began with a breakfast ceremony Downtown. The keynote speaker at the breakfast was Martin Luther King, III, the son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dream Week continues until Tuesday, January 19 and will include panel discussions and speaking engagements.

Some of the topics to be addressed include civil and immigration rights, LGBT equality and domestic violence initiatives.

For a complete list of Dream Week events, click here.

SAN ANTONIO — DreamWeek is almost here. It’s a time to start a dialogue on diversity and social change here in San Antonio.

Martin Luther King, III, the son of the late Dr. King, and Shakore Nakpodia, the president of Dreamvoice stopped by News 4 San Antonio’s Evening Break with why you should get involved in DreamWeek.

For more information, CLICK HERE.