N.A.I. Magazine_Arts & Humanities_Oct.-Dec. 2022

N.A.I. Magazine

Arts & Humanities

Welcome to the DMV

Honoring Our Vets

Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash

“The willingness of America’s Veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” ~ Jeff Miller N.A.I. Magazine is GRATEFUL & THANKFUL to those who have served and sacrificed for our freedom.

DeclarationsofFaithAccordingtoPsalm91

Greetings!

We are at the tail end of the pandemic. In many places now wearing a mask is optional. These are still challenging times ahead. The term 'normal' has been redefined.

How we go through tough times is based on our perspective. With that being said, let me give you the perspective that although things are not the way we would want them to be at the moment, we are still around to experience the moment.

Let's stay encouraged, connected, and Psalm 91 equipped as we go through these new and interesting times.

PSALM 91:

I DECLARE I will dwell in the shelter of the Most High God.

I DECLARE I will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I DECLARE that God is my Refuge and my Fortress.

I DECLARE that you are my God (Hallelujah) in whom I trust and with great confidence and whom I will rely.

I DECLARE that God will rescue me from every trap and protect me from every disease.

I DECLARE I am covered and protected by His outstretched arms.

I DECLARE that God's faithful promises are my armor and my protection.

I DECLARE I will not be afraid of the terrors of the night nor of the arrows that fly in the day.

I DECLARE I will not dread any disease that stalks in the darkness nor any disaster that strikes at midday.

I DECLARE that because God is my Refuge and the Almighty the God of my home no evil can befall me and no plague can come near my dwelling.

I DECLARE that God has ordered His angels to guard, defend and protect me and my house.

I DECLARE that God's armies of Heaven will keep me from falling. I will walk unharmed and kick anything that's evil from my path.

I DECLARE that because of God's love for me, I'll call on Him. He'll set me above all my troubles. He will deliver me from all my fears and He will honor me with His presence and power.

I DECLARE He will reward me with long life and He will show me His Salvation. **The above declarations are an excerpt of the message, 'Confessions and Bringing Order to Your Life', from Dr. Creflo Dollar, Jr., Founder and Senior Pastor of World Changers Church International (WCCI) in College Park, Georgia**

Founder& Publisher, Editor,Creative Officer DanielleN.Pope

ContributingWriters:

Karim Author, Community Leader, Mentor, Poet, Speaker

Barnes Muralist, Painter, and Upcycle artist

About N.A.I. Magazine

WelcometoNew&Inspiring(N.A.I.) Magazine.N.A.I.wascreatedto introducenewcomerstothe Washington,D.C.,Maryland,and Virginia(DMV)areaandtotheirnew neighborsandnewcommunity.

PleaseallowN.A.I.tobeoneofyour 'goto'resourcesasyounavigateyour newsurroundings.Relax,putyourfeet up,haveyourfavoritefoodand beverageandenjoyasyouperusethis issueofN.A.I.Magazine.

N.A.I.Magazinewasestablishedby andoperatesunderChristianprinciples andintegrity.

Sonja Joy Oakcrum Educator, Poet, Songstress

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Khalid

Tammy

Talk of Town

Author, Community Leader, Mentor, Poet, Speaker Page 10 Community News

Khalid Karim

Pages 12-13

Page 14 The Reading Room

~ Charles Darwin

"It's not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change."

Arts & Humanities

Featuring Local DMV Creatives

Poem: Single Mom

by Khalid Karim

She cries because she feels the earth shake or maybe it's the pains from the searing ache that makes her body quake either way, she cries, and maybe it's because he's not there, though he said he would be so her tears fall freely I'm wiped, because she's so lonely. She cries because she has to push, to welcome her gift, and the best part of his lie still causes her spirits to lift. And though she still cries falling tears begin to flow, so embraces the gift that will hav press on, and whispered oath love and commitment has n been sworn. And now she cr because she's no longer alone has a reason to press on An though she's still single Th greatest company fills her ho

I was inspired to write this poem because one day while walking the prison yard with an associate of mine, I had asked him had he heard from his daughter, something I'd always done. He began to go into how his daughter grew distant with him and how, like her mother, she was materialistic and that he was tired of reaching out to receive no response. I told him I could understand that, but also to consider that we wanted women from the "hood”, and

alI though we'd matured some in prison, many of them hadn't. And then I reminded him that we left them out there because of the street life we had chosen. Later, that night, I thought about the single mothers and wrote this poem.

BIO: My name is Khalid Karim and I'm a Washington DC native, though I've briefly lived in a few of the surrounding areas, including a year's stay in St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. My parents divorced when I was young, and my father remarried. Years later I would have 5 brothers and a sister. There was some stability for a time. Though we moved a lot, we always managed to have family close by However, after returning from the Virgin Islands, the crack cocaine epidemic was in full swing, destroying homes and communities and mine was no different. Living with all 3 of my parents at one time or another caused great frustration in me, and I began to turn to the streets which landed me in juvenile detention a couple of times and finally, prison, with a Life plus 10-year sentence. I served 25 years of that. But I didn't waste time, I earned my GED and HVAC certifications, and completed several programs and facilitated them later.

Khalid Karim: Author, Community Leader, Mentor, Speaker, Founder of nonprofit Lessons Learned by Khalid

Painter Upcycle Artist

Muralist Tammy Barnes

As educators reimagined the return to in-person classes during the spring of 2021 for the new school year in the fall, the art teacher at Neval Thomas Elementary in Washington, DC’s Ward 7 envisioned a classroom and hallway corridor covered with murals from local artists. Ms. Miche Goode, then the art teacher at Neval Thomas, released a call on social media for local artists to donate a mural to ensure the students’ return to school was exciting and uplifting. The first mural in her arts classroom painted by artist Moses "MoSart" Rivera featured the message of “Stronger Together,” and the mural movement grew from there. Nearly twenty murals along the hallways and staircases leading to her secondfloor, corner classroom, and the outside playground had themes of black empowerment, messages of love and respect, and images of DC culture.

I answered the call for artists on social media and volunteered with Ms. Goode for the next three months to bring in more area artists, connecting with regional art collectives, and ultimately culminating the effort into a pilot project called Good Art Fam. Painting a mural was always a bucket list dream of mine, but I had no idea where to start; my education was in psychology and political science, not fine art.

However, Good Art Fam gave me the opportunity to design and paint a mural for youth, some who had never attended school in person before, due to the pandemic.

During the pilot project, I painted three murals in the school, two in the arts classroom and one in the main office. My first mural’s theme “Keep Rising” was built from the “Stronger Together” mural on an accompanying wall. The design incorporates a floating 3D Washington, DC, including a map dot for Neval Thomas Elementary so the youth can learn what their state looks like and where their school is located. Soft white clouds and brightly colored hot air balloons swirl around the mural, bringing a sense of movement and whimsy to the central message “Keep Rising.” When the mural was complete, window decals of hot air balloons were added to the bank of windows directly above the mural to give the sense hot air balloons in the painting were rising up, out of the wall, free moving and unconstrained.

Painted by Artist Moses "MoSart" Rivera

“Keep Rising,” a theme I drew from my own childhood experience, is meant to be understood on both micro and macro levels. It aims at encouraging youth to keep rising, or to rise above the circumstances that can disrupt their path. On the micro level, for example, this could be seen as rising above a disagreement and choosing to walk away as to not escalate to a fight not letting an exchange of words define your worth. On the macro-level, this could look like rising to the occasion of being the first in their family to attend college or a trade school having the bravery to attempt an extraordinary future. The youth in DC deserve a fair chance to rise and thrive.

The pilot project Good Art Fam is now a public arts company by the same name and continues to connect local muralists with area schools in need of beautification, among other arts related work. One year after the mural project was completed at Neval Thomas, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the school to mark the Administration’s commitment to schools. Vice President Harris spoke with students in the arts classroom, surrounded by the murals from the Good Art Fam project.

Photo credit to Instagram@vp

Painting murals for Neval Thomas Elementary was the start of a new career path. My most recent mural was a community interactive artwork at an annual music festival in DC called Down in the Reeds. The festival’s first ever art activation of this kind, I spent the festival day co creating with festival goers, a 5’6” x 7’11” mural that connected the festival’s theme of percussion instruments with the DC culture. In addition to pursuing mural opportunities, I teach art to youth in the greater Baltimore area at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park, MD. I was recently accepted into a cohort of teaching artists for a professional development training program, called Create and Thrive!, cosponsored by the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities and Arts for the Aging, to learn the skills needed to teach the arts to older adults.

Tammy Barnes is a muralist, painter, and upcycle artist who lives and works in Washington, DC Tammy teaches art to children and youth in the greater Baltimore, MD area at the Chesapeake Arts Center. She is the in-house chalkboard artist for a locally owned and operated bakery in Washington, DC, Bread Furst.

Her mural work is featured inside Neval Thomas Elementary in DC's Ward 7, and in DC area restaurants owned and operated by Tryst Trading Company. She is Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Artbae Foundation and is a member of several regional artist societies. Tammy is passionate about creating art that has meaning and empowers or helps people in need. She actively seeks opportunities to create murals and public art that have a mental health awareness focus. Follow her on Instagram @tbarnescreates and visit her website at www.tbarnescreates.com.

Welcome To The DMV N.A.I. Magazine Marketplace

King's

Poem: “From Genesis to Revelation”

A revolution starts with a revelation

A revolution starts with a revelation

And this poetic revelation is about a love revolution

For without revelation

All we have is religion

A useless hindrance to the Authenticity of the true essence of God in Christ in me

It’s like buying the counterfeit Gucci bag on the street corner No receipt, no manufacturer's number, no proof of authenticity

And you’d think that because it looks like the real thing, it’s the real thing

Now, I’m not knockin’ the knock-offs If you like them, knock yourself out! But hear this,

There’s no returning a failed product When it fails to perform, when the appearance fades out, When it loses the novelty of the idea of being like the real thing It’s exposed for what it really is…

The question is… do you seek another counterfeit or do you dare to invest your time, your resources, your commitment –

By Sonja Joy Oakcrum

all that you’ve got –to leave the old, fake, faded things behind and pursue the real thing?

Atleastwith the real thing you have a certificate of purchase In fact, you get stamped (in red)withone You have The Guarantee (Holy Spirit)as proof

You see, with a guarantee you can take your problems to the Maker, the Originator who’llmake all things new

So, let’sbegin arevolution with this love revelation Let’s stop this religious, highfalutin’ Worship-polluting Fakeness Get down tothe basics Reduce it on down to its purist, geneticform: I AM

You see, GENESIS is origin That is, the original Originatorofall things All things came from theOriginator whois the GENE-S-ISof allthings

The GENE in I AM ISglory The GENE is I AM, whois glory I AM glory, says Abba

The essence of I AM is glory

Therefore, the essence of I AM in me is glory

So, if the essence of I AM in me is glory then I am I AM’s glory

Since I was in I AM Before I was Then I was in I AM glory

So the GENESIS of glory starts and ends with Him But since I am in Him

From beginning to the end Then the revelation of His glory starts with me

Check it –It takes a spiritual cryptologist to demystify the knowledgeofthis—

You see, the GENE in I AM IS glory And where there’s glory, there’s worship…

Since I was in I AM Before I was

Then I was in I AM worship

Since I am in Him From beginning to the end Then the revelation of His glory starts with me…

In worship–filled intimacy Head-over-heels, topsy-turvy, Love-jones-making Love to the Savior Stripped buck-naked of pride As I cry, ABBA!

I feel the crown-to-sole love of His presence Ooze down from my head to my toes

Hot like lava-fire

A dose of heaven’s overload and Every cell of my being melts as a dance of worship ensues

Copyright @ Sonja J Oakcrum, 2013

In Him…In me

From Him…To me

To Him…from Me Now you…now me…

So, let’s get back to basics… Let’s get a revelation Let’s start a revolution because

A revolution starts with a revelation And a revelation starts a revolution

And this poetic revelation is about a love revolution

For without revelation All we have is religion A useless hindrance to the Authenticity of the true essence of God-in Christ-in me

2013

SONJAJOY isthe King's Daughter! With a sound described byadmiring listenersas “jazzy soul,” Sonja Joy writes music that conveys a passion about the powerful andlife-transformingmessageof God’s love. Drawnto acoustic sounds that vary from contemporary pop tosoulfulworship, Sonja’sunique brand of original “love songs” invite listeners into an intimate encounter with God’s love in a way that personalizes who He is.

Sonja serves asa worship leader at her localchurch, Victory Christian Ministries Internationalin Suitland, MD. In the past, she has been featured in TheVocal JazzWorkshop Showcasesatthe

Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club in Bethesda, MD, the Carlyle Clubin Alexandria,VA,and as a guest vocalist for “Mr. Henry’s New Voices ConcertSeries” inWashington,DC.Sonja has also showcased her original music through King’sDaughter Music HouseConcerts,which has created a growing, loyal following in the localDMVarea.

Visit her website: King's Daughter Music to stayabreast ofwhat's happening with King’s Daughter Music!

Copyright @ Sonja J. Oakcrum,

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