New Mexico Black Leadership Council

Category: EQ Online

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Drive-Thru Clinic + Target Gift Cards

    COVID-19 Vaccine Drive-Thru Clinic + Target Gift Cards

    Get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the New Mexico Black Leadership Council office and receive a Target gift card.

    The Albuquerque branch of the NAACP has partnered with Presbyterian, the New Mexico Black Leadership Council (NMBLC), Vizionz Sankofa, and KWH Law Center to hold a COVID-19 vaccine drive through clinic in the International District of Albuquerque. The vaccine event is on Saturday, June 26, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. It’s happening at the NMBLC office location of 1258 Ortiz SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108. No insurance is needed. Vaccines are FREE. Just bring a form of identification and your mask. After you get your vaccine, receive your Target gift card!

    Pamelya Herndon, Vice President of the Albuquerque NAACP, is spearheading the vaccine event. She encourages everyone to get vaccinated. New Mexico is inching towards a 60% vaccination rate, the goal set by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to fully reopen the state on July 1st. The higher the vaccination rate, the lower the COVID-19 spread rate and the closer our community gets to herd immunity. Herd immunity means that enough of the population is immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. 

    The health of all our communities depends on everyone getting vaccinated.

    —Pamelya Herndon, VP, NAACP ABQ

    Keep scrolling to find out everything you need to know to get vaccinated this Saturday.

    COVID-19 Vaccine Event – What to Know Before You Go

    • No appointment is required. Drive-ins are accepted.
    • If you’d like to make an appointment for a certain time, call (505) 923-2696 and use the event code ORTIZ.  If you need to cancel, call the same number to let them know.
    • Vaccines are FREE. 
    • No insurance is required. 
    • The vaccine you’ll be given is Pfizer. The Pfizer vaccine requires a booster shot in a few weeks (more details below).                                                                                                                                                                              
    • Bring a form of identification.
    • Wear your mask.
    • Recipients age 12–17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

    COVID-19 Vaccine Event – What to Expect

    • The vaccine event is on Saturday, June 26, 2021, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. 
    • The clinic location is at the NMBLC Office, 1258 Ortiz SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108. Drive into the parking lot. Shots will be administered by Presbyterian staff while you are in your car. 
    • After your shot, wait 15–30 minutes in the dirt lot across the street from the NMBLC offices. Drinks and light snacks will be available.
    • Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth at all times.
    • Target gift cards will be handed out to those who get the vaccine!

    COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

    The vaccine you’ll be given at the drive-thru clinic is Pfizer and requires a booster shot. Get your Pfizer booster shot on Saturday, July 24, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at the same location.

    Enter the Vax 2 the Max Sweepstakes

    To encourage vaccination, the New Mexico Department of Health launched the Vax 2 the Max Sweepstakes program. Sign up at https://www.vax2themaxnm.org/ for your chance to be entered to win the weekly drawing of $250,000 or a grand prize of $5 million in August! 

    Enter the Vax 2 the Max Sweepstakes here: https://www.vax2themaxnm.org/sweepstakes/ 

    You’ll also be given a chance to sign up after you get your first shot at the vaccine clinic.

    Have questions about the free COVID-19 vaccine clinic? Contact Pamelya Herndon at (505) 385-1173 or abqcommunityservices@gmail.com.

  • Juneteenth is a Celebration of Freedom for All

    Juneteenth is a Celebration of Freedom for All

    NMBLC breaks down what Juneteenth is about and lists Juneteenth 2021 celebrations happening this weekend.

    What is Juneteenth?

    Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. The first death blow to slavery was dealt with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In actuality, the practice of slavery did not end until over two years later. On June 19, 1865, the last of the enslaved people in Galveston Texas were informed by Union troops that slavery had been abolished. “Juneteenth” is a conjugation of “June” and “nineteenth.” The first official Juneteenth celebration took place the following year in Texas. As Black people migrated from Texas to other parts of the country, the Juneteenth tradition spread.

    Today, 47 states, including New Mexico, recognize or observe Juneteenth. The push to make it a national holiday now has a chance for success. On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, a bill to make Juneteenth a US holiday passed unanimously in the Senate. UPDATED: On Wednesday, June 16, 2021, the House passed the bill 415-14. On Thursday, June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law .

    Rising Awareness of Juneteenth

    “I didn’t know about Juneteenth until I was nineteen years old.”

    —Laurence Fishburne, actor, Black-ish

    It’s not uncommon, even among Black people, to not really know what Juneteenth is. I didn’t hear about it until well into adulthood. I took even longer to know what it was about. 

    “I knew about Juneteenth but never fully understood it.”

    —Marsai Martin, actor, Black-ish

    It was this lack of national awareness that inspired the famous “Juneteenth” episode of the sitcom Black-ish. In the episode, Anthony Anderson’s character grapples with the fact that he and his family don’t celebrate the holiday and possibly don’t want to, since it’s a reminder of the enslavement of African and African American people in the U.S. This real day conflict is interspersed with musical numbers explaining slavery, emancipation, and the oppression that followed. Even now it feels incredible that the episode aired on mainstream television.

    “Having this moment on prime time television, to say this is not only something that we as Black people should be able to celebrate loudly and proudly, but this is something that we should expect everybody to know.”

    — Yara Shahidi, Black-ish

    Celebrate Juneteenth 2021 in New Mexico at one of these events  

    How will you celebrate Juneteenth this year? Whether it’s firing up the grill, watching your favorite Black shows, or just taking a moment to be thankful, Juneteenth 2021 is a chance to celebrate freedom. With the state opening up this summer, there are opportunities to share this joy in person. Scroll down for some Juneteenth 2021 events happening this weekend.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0ikqpoYNU

    New Mexico Juneteenth 2021: “To A Higher Ground”

    Friday, June 18– Sunday, June 20, 2021
    Civic Plaza, Downtown Albuquerque

    Spend a weekend celebrating the deep rooted Black culture in New Mexico. This festival is for the community and put on by members of the community.

    New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative (NMBVC) will have a booth at this Juneteenth event and is hosting a meet and greet with New Mexico legislators on Saturday, June 19th from 6PM to 7PM. Elected officials joining NMBVC are Representative Melanie Stansbury, State Senator Harold Pope, Jr., and Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur. 

    For the event details, click here.

    For the Facebook event, click here.

    Must RSVP for this free event. To RSVP, click here.

    The People’s Juneteenth 2021

    Saturday, June 19, 2021 4:30PM -9:30PM
    Dennis Chavez Community Center, Southeast Albuquerque

    A Hood by Hood Block by Block Event.

    United in continuing to bring the Black/African community here in Albuquerque.

    For the event details, click here.

    Celebrate Juneteenth Love and Happiness Get Down

    Saturday, June 19, 2021 6:00PM–10:00PM
    Historic Santa Fe Plaza, Santa Fe

    Come celebrate LOVE & HAPPINESS  with A Soul, Funk, Motown + Latin Get Down!

    For the event details, click here.

    Juneteenth Jazz Festival at the Branigan Cultural Center Virtual Event

    Friday, June 18 – Saturday, June 19, 2021
    Online, courtesy of the City of Las Cruces

    Experience the power of jazz, history, and Black Movements with this celebration of Juneteenth and jazz!

    For the event details, click here.

    The events will take place fully online and can be accessed at the link: https://rebrand.ly/JuneteenthJazz

    Juneteenth Celebration 2021

    Saturday, June 19, 2021, 6:00PM
    NMSU Presley Askew Baseball Field, Las Cruces

    Black Student Association, ASNMSU, and Black Programs at New Mexico State University (NMSU) invite you to educate, liberate, and commemorate.

    For the event details, click here.

    Juneteenth New Mexico NJOF 2021 Espanola

    Saturday, June 19—Sunday, June 19, 2021
    Plaza de Española Mision Museum and Education Center, Northern New Mexico College, Ranchitos Park

    New Mexico National Juneteenth Observance Foundation is organizing its first Juneteenth celebration in Espanola.

    For the event details, click here.


  • Afrofuturism Lecture Series by NMBLC is Now Available Online

    Afrofuturism Lecture Series by NMBLC is Now Available Online

    All three Afrofuturism lectures, centered around Lovecraft County, HBO’s Watchmen, and Janelle Monae’s “Dirty Computer” video, can be viewed on YouTube. 

    One of the most highly anticipated events of the 2021 New Mexico Black History Festival was the lecture series “Afrofuturism: From Our Screens to Reality.” The New Mexico Black Leadership Council produced a three-part lecture series exploring aspects of Afrofuturism through the prism of current pop culture. Our esteemed presenters utilized Afrofuturism to spotlight a new generation of Black women superheroes.

    Afrofuturism: “An open-ended genre combining science fiction, fantasy, and history, to imagine a liberated future through a Black lens.”

    — NPR’s Throughline

    Now you can rewatch, or watch for the first time, all three of these popular videos from NMBLC’s YouTube channel. Keep scrolling for more info on the Afrofuturism Lecture Series videos.

    Seeing Africa in Afrofuturism: Hippolyta, Naming, and Lovecraft Country

    Presented by Dr. Belinda Deenen Wallace, University of New Mexico

    Explore the role of Hippolyta as an anti-racist/anti-imperialist/anti-colonialist superhero who, through the process of naming, unleashes her superpower and contests institutional racism that seeks to define Black bodies as threatening and unbelonging.

    “What happens when Black women use their superpowers to save themselves rather than the world?”

    — Dr. Belinda Deenen Wallace

    “I’ve got a nose for white supremacy and he smells like bleach”: Regina King, Subversive Masking, and the Making of Sister Night​

    Presented by Dr. Kimberly Nichele Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University

    Examine how HBO’s Watchmen uses masks to demonstrate the easy slippage between police and vigilante justice and to explore the dynamics of race and power in regards to issues of surveillance and policing.

    “Her superpower is fighting white supremacy.”

    — Dr. Kimberly Nichele Brown

    Unbought and Unbossed: Janelle Monae’s Productive Performances at the Intersections of Black Political Consciousness, Black Materiality, and Afrofuturism

    Presented by Dr. Andrea L. Mays, Ph.D., University of New Mexico

    View Janelle Monáe’s ‘Emotion Picture’ Dirty Computer (2018) with an eye towards situating her cultural and political significance as an artist, activist, and performer enacting Aspirational Futures in the Black Diaspora.

    “Dirty computer referenced within the context of this video . . . those things, those elements of imperfection that humans have outside of what social normativity and political normativity are.”

    — Dr. Andrea L. Mays

    “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.”

    —Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

    Want to take a deeper dive into Afrofuturism? Here are some recommendations.

    Afropunk . .  the Other Black Experience – https://afropunk.com/

    Janelle Monae: “Dirty Computer [Emotion Picture]” video

    “Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬” podcast episode from NPR’s Throughline via It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders – https://www.npr.org/2021/02/22/970148701/octavia-butler-visionary-fiction

    https://www.npr.org/2021/02/16/968498810/how-octavia-butlers-sci-fi-dystopia-became-a-constant-in-a-mans-evolution

    “On Black Panther, Afrofuturism, and Astroblackness: A Conversation with Reynaldo Anderson” via The Black Scholar – https://www.theblackscholar.org/on-black-panther-afrofuturism-and-astroblackness-a-conversation-with-reynaldo-anderson/

    “Afrofuturism takes flight: from Sun Ra to Janelle Monáe” via The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/24/space-is-the-place-flying-lotus-janelle-monae-afrofuturism

    Welcome to the latest New Mexico Black owned businesses to join our online directory.

    The Ladyship’s Bazaar, offering global vintage apparel and accessories. Visit their website at http://www.theladyshipsbazaar.com

    L&M Clean Cans & More, specializing in pressure washing, trash and recycle bin cleaning. Visit their website at https://www.lmcleancans.com

    Are you a New Mexico Black owned business? Join our online directory by filling out the form below: 

  • True New Mexico Artwalk Photo Gallery

    True New Mexico Artwalk Photo Gallery

    Black and AAPI Youth dismantle the tricultural myth at the ABQ Artwalk.

    The New Mexico Black Leadership Council and New Mexico Asian Family Center were in force at the First Friday ABQ Artwalk on May 7th. We installed the True New Mexico Photovoice popup in the parking lot of the B Ruppe Drugstore gallery, along with several other artists and artisans sharing this collective space. A bright, sunny day in the wake of the state’s gradual reopening proved the perfect backdrop for bringing the message of these young artists to the greater community. 

    “In the form of cubism and collage, I create pieces that reflect my Tibetan-American experience and the abundant issues and joys the Asian American Pacific Islander community faces.”

    — True NM Artist Sowang Kundeling, She/Her/Hers, AAPI (Tibetan)

    The collection of self-portraits from young Black & AAPI New Mexicans dismantle the tricultural myth and answer the question “What’s YOUR TRUE NEW MEXICAN story?”

    “I photograph my form as if to say,

    “I am.”

    “I am.”

    “I am.”

    —True NM Artist Donald Roberts, They/Them/Theirs, Jamaican

    Check out our photo gallery from the True NM ABQ Artwalk Popup below.

    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Ruppe Sign
    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Attendees
    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Table Crew
    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Panel
    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Shirts
    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Panel 2
    • True New Mexico Artwalk Popup Panel 3
    True New Mexico Popup at ABQArtwalk, May 7, 2021. Photos taken by Shannon Moreau and Shanny Schmidt.

    Watch the powerful video for the original song “Why Not Me” by True New Mexico Artist Kai Warrior:

    To learn more about the artists and view their projects, click here.

  • Black History in New Mexico Is Year Round: Upcoming 2021 Events

    Black History in New Mexico Is Year Round: Upcoming 2021 Events

    Celebrate Black history in New Mexico with events in health and wellness, cultural vibrancy, and positive youth development.

    Here at the New Mexico Black Leadership Council, we believe Black history is not something that happens just once a year in February and then goes away. In New Mexico, we celebrate Black history all year with ongoing events designed to inspire and enlighten. From the Black health and wellness townhall through the visionary Roots Summer Leadership Academy, we build partnerships and band the community. 

    One of the new projects NMBLC is most excited to share this year is the True New Mexico photo exhibit. This is a collaboration with the New Mexico Asian Family Center (NMAFC) and is part of this organization’s ongoing mission to bust the tricultural myth. If you missed the online event, check out the gallery here: https://truenm.com/gallery

    Mark your calendar for the upcoming ABQ Artwalk Pop-up on May 7th. Read on to make your plans for the year round New Mexico Black History Festival.

    Invisibility Syndrome Workshop 

    Invisibility Syndrome Workshop Graphic

    Invisibility Syndrome: A psychological experience where a person feels that their personal identity and ability are undermined by racism

    Tuesday, April 27, 2021

    The New Mexico Black Leadership Council is proud to have hosted the Invisibility Syndrome Workshop, presented by the concept’s creator, Dr. Anderson J. Franklin. “Invisibility Syndrome” is defined by Dr. Franklin as a psychological experience where a person feels that their personal identity and ability are undermined by racism in ways big and small. 

    “This was a very valuable presentation, really appreciated the breakout sessions to hear everyone’s thoughts as well. NM is a multicultural state!”

    — Invisibility Syndrome Workshop Attendee

    Two tracks were offered: one for mental health providers, with CEUs available, and the other for the community.

    The programming was supported by NM Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiatives, Behavioral Health Training and Education Services Grant.

    We are excited to bring more innovative workshops centered on mental health in the future.

    “Before determining what that person is like find out first hand who they are.”

    — Invisibility Syndrome Workshop Attendee

    True New Mexico Artwalk Pop-up  

    Friday, May 7, 2021, 5-9PM

    True New Mexico Logo

    A collection of self-portraits from young Black & AAPI New Mexicans

    The True NM collaboration between the New Mexico Black Leadership Council (NMBLC) and the New Mexico Asian Family Center (NMAFC) brings together a collection of self-portraits from young Black & AAPI New Mexicans looking to dismantle the tricultural myth. The tricultural myth is the idea that Hispanics, Indigenous, and LatinX people live together in harmony. This false belief erases the reality of oppression that many New Mexicans still experience, and ignores the existence of Black and Asian American/Pacific Islander people in the state.

    “Combating erasure can feel like an uphill battle, but it starts with teaching our history. It also starts with all marginalized New Mexicans being loudly and unapologetically ourselves. It starts with us learning about our culture, our history, and having conversations like these. We can only teach history if we learn it and care about it ourselves.” 

    — Raine F. (They/Them/Theirs), TRUE NM Artist

    This evocative Photovoice project gives youth from the groups often overlooked as an integral part of the New Mexico citizenry a chance to speak up about their experiences. The digital exhibit was held on April 25th. In case you missed it, you can view photos of the artwork here: https://truenm.com/gallery

    Meet the young artists in person and support their amazing work on May 7th at the pop-up happening as part of ABQ Artwalk. Stop by any time between 5-9PM at the Secret Gallery located at B Ruppe Drugstore on 807 4th Street SW. 

    Racial Reckoning: True Equity in Mental Health

    Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 9AM – Noon

    Take part in an opportunity to build a better and more inclusive mental health system in New Mexico and the United States. The New Mexico Black Leadership Council, with support from the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiative, presents the “Racial Reckoning: True Equity in Mental Health Townhall” virtual event. We’re spearheading this convening about mental health in New Mexico from the Black and Indigenous People of Color perspective. Dr. Jamal Martin of the University of New Mexico will discuss current epidemiology and Dr. Michael Lindsey, NYU and editor of “Ring The Alarm: The Crisis of Black Suicide in America,” will be the Keynote Speaker.  Participants will have the chance to delve deeper into this topic in panel discussions, as well as qualify for Continuing Education Credits (CEUs).

    Keep up with the updates for the Racial Reckoning here: https://nmblackhistory.nmblc.org/

    Roots Summer Leadership Academy

    Sunday, July 11 — Friday, July 30, 2021

    The Roots Summer Leadership Academy (RSLA) is NMBLC’s flagship 3-week summer learning program that uses the performing / visual arts and math integrated curriculum to engage youth during out of school time. In 2020, we created a hybrid online and in-person COVID-19 safe camp experience for 25 young people. We plan to do even bigger and better this year. RSLA recently expanded to an after-school program. In a partnership with Explora, Emerson Elementary students registered with the Boys & Girls Club can take part in the Roots Explorers Project (R.E.P.) for four weeks during the 2021 spring term.

    Roots Summer Leadership Academy Nishati 2021 Banner

    This July, RSLA returns for the summer camp program. Registration begins May 4, 2021. To learn more about RSLA and to register, click here: https://nmblc.org/roots-summer-leadership-academy.

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