Race Riot! Tour Recap: Bloomington! @ Rachael's Cafe on Oct 2, 2012

Race Riot! Tour Recap: Bloomington! @ Rachael’s Cafe on Oct 2, 2012

It began to rain during our drive through Indiana. The van grew quiet as Mariam expertly navigated all the blocked roads. It felt like we were meant to stay for a while, or at least being encouraged to enjoy the scenery for just a little longer.

Living in the moment.

We watched the fields of corn, stoic cows and farm equipment fly by in a series of colorful blurs as we raced to make our event at Rachael’s Cafe in Bloomington, IN, organized by Sparky Taylor.

After a series of detours, we made it several minutes late to Rachael’s Cafe, where a sizable crowd already congregated with their coffee and lively chatter.

Doing our thing with very little time to prepare is something we are now experts at. We hooked up our projector, set up the Race Riot! mall and got things started.

First up was Bella, a guest reader who is a writer from Bloomington. I don’t have a picture of her, sorry!

After that, Osa read from her new Shotgun Seamstress compilation book, out now on Mend My Dress Press.

- The photo above this caption is by L. Garrett. Thanks!

Osa in motion

Anna Vo went next:

- The photo above this caption is by L. Garrett.

Part of the audience last night at Rachael’s Cafe. It was packed!

Mariam Bastani holds (l to r) Slander, Shotgun Seamstress and Fix My Head

Mimi Thi Nguyen listens intently to Anna Vo during her reading. Osa, behind her, does the same.

Mariam tests the audience’s racist symbols knowledge.

Osa and Anna watch Mariam in action.

Mariam calls out white supremacy in her on point, in-your-face style:

- The photo above this caption is by L. Garrett.

Mimi breaks it down.

- The photo above this caption is by L. Garrett.

Daniela shares examples of how poc and allies can collaborate in small but significant ways to create change.

- The photo above this caption is by L. Garrett.

Cristy was the last reader for the night.

- The photo above this caption is by L. Garrett.

Eric, of the Liberation Frequency Media Collective based out of Louisville, Kentucky, is presently on a filming tour and will be in NYC very soon. Here he is with Mimi:

Sparky Taylor shows Mimi her cat tattoo. Thanks for being such a great host and organizer, Sparky! <3

Race Riot! attendees at Rachael’s Cafe discuss collaborating after the show.

Tonight we have a show at Skylab Gallery in Columbus, OH! In addition to our multimedia readings, there will be music by Nerve Wracking and collage style experimental shorts by Alexis McCrimmon.

If you’re in the area, come through and please help us signal boost. <3 Thanks fam.

1) We’re doing a zine about this tour, so if you were part of any of the events, let us know if you want to contribute.

2) We’re doing a national conference in 2014.

3) We love you.

ABOUT POC ZINE PROJECT

POC Zine Project’s mission is to make zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share - community and activism through materiality. We are touring through 12 cities from Sept 24 - Oct 7.

STAY INFORMED

poczineproject.tumblr.com

facebook.com/poczineproject

twitter.com/poczineproject

All tour dates: http://bit.ly/PeEgaR

TOUR RECAPS ARCHIVE

Oct 7: Death By Audio - Brooklyn

Oct 6: University of Maryland + Brickhaus - College Park and Baltimore

Oct 5: St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church - Washington, D.C.

Oct 4: University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh

Oct 3: Skylab - Columbus

Oct 2: Rachael’s Cafe - Bloomington