The Blaque Awareness Network
P.O. Box 2172 Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania 19608
610-906-2224 Contact Us
Founder and CEO
Dr. Ellesia Ann Blaque Professor
of Ethnic Literature, History, and Culture
Welcome!
The Blaque Awareness Network (The Network) is an Afrocentric forum where new knowledge can be both acquired and applied. It is a practical, inter-related cluster of programs targeting the minority community, but made accessible to anyone willing to both learn and teach. BAN is influenced by Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism, resulting in a focus on ethnic minority communities, businesses, and social service agencies. We offer workshops, seminars, retreats, and conferences to both members and guests for nominal fees/donations. Although each program is geared toward a specific audience with a specific learning outcome, each works toward a single goal: to better the lives and communities from which participants come. However, BAN goes much farther than the average non-profit agency in that The Network's activities connect people, cultures, and communities goals to one another, thereby expanding The Network. In addition, BAN also serves as the cohesive entity for all agencies and companies organized under the BlaqueAdemics™ banner.
The Workshops
Our workshops are designed with history in mind and offer opportunities to learn and apply specific knowledge for the target audience. BAN has begun building these workshops by offering what we believe are the two most important: the Family Workshops and the Teen Workshops.
Black Health Workshop
History tells us that African Americans, 13% of the total American population (U.S. Census 2000), make up an overwhelming 49% of all the HIV/AIDS population. This is a health emergency often minimized in and by the black community. Therefore, the most important of the three workshops on black health offered by The Network is that concerning the level of HIV/AIDS contraction in the black community. While the workshop offers the standard components-knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment-our participants are further engaged using a learning module exclusive to BAN. In it the socio-psychoanalytical concerns about the disease and how they serve as the catalysts to the 'why' of minimization in the black community are addressed, including homosexuality and MSMs, fear of testing results as avoidance from testing, and the fear based social stigma suffered by those having contracted the disease. This additional component is critical to the eradication of HIV/AIDS in the black community, as the knowledge of HIV/AIDS is not properly applied. The Network's HIV/AIDS workshop is designed to fill that void. As we continue to grow, there will be workshops on Sarcoidosis, Diabetes, Heart Attack and Stroke.
To be placed on the mailing list for more information and to express your interest in upcoming workshops, please send your contact information and mailing address via our Comments link.
Teen Workshops
These workshops target troubled teenagers and serve as an alternative to State programs. It is the understanding, and therefore the practice of The Network, that parents who are willing to turn look to the government for resolutions to problems in their families are, without doubt, making a mistake. We must approach our circumstance differently and access the known history, which reminds us that the same institutions to which we turn to for temporary care, juvenile detention/prisons, boot camps, and group homes-are not concerned with the improvement of our families, but rather the long term capital gain earned from housing people.
In the 1980s, prison financing changed drastically, opening up ownership to the private sector, which resulted in profit earnings and sharing. Since then, "the 204 new facilities built between 1995 and 2000, 154 or three quarters were privately owned, as prisons are now an industry, and as such, minorities and the poor must take that knowledge and apply it to our lifestyles. In other words, knowing that the any industry exists to generate wealth, that wealth can only be acquired through capital gain, which requires product generation, and African Americans, other minorities, and the poor are the industry's product to be generated in American prisons, it would be wise to apply that knowledge by keeping our children and young adults out of the system.
The idea that families can solve their own problems must be supported in order to take control of their communities, which begins by addressing issues within the family as a family. This is particularly important to minority and poor teens, who have traditionally been mistreated by governmental agents and their agencies, such as police and parole officers, juvenile judges, penal codes, systems of incarceration, group homes, and foster homes. The Network believes that with the right guidance, families can not only resolve their own issues, but contribute to the care of children who have been abandoned to the system. Critical attention must be paid to the ways in which State programs treat children when shuffled off to state institutions for help.
The Network's teen workshops offer an alternative to such measures and are facilitated by leaders, educators, and professionals in the local community who not only support BAN's methodology, but who also have a stake in the results of what we do. It is important that we assure our youth are critical thinkers about all that they contemplate; that they can differentiate between the images in the latest music video, which are commodifications of our experiences, and the application of knowing the
historical truth about who they actually.
To achieve our learning and application outcomes The Network uses history, literature, music lyrics, critical essays, poetry and spoken word, role playing, and autobiographical presentations to share information, gain new knowledge, and make concrete life plans-the application of that knowledge. Our goals is to send participants home with a practical 10 year life plan that is not only achievable, but worthy of achievement. Most importantly, we do not preach to them, but rather demonstrae to them the tools they need and how to apply them to reach their respective
goals.
The Teen Workshops are organized in two ways: the 3x2 and the 6x1. The 3x2 workshop has three two hour sessions over the course of three days, usually Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The 6x1 workshop has three sessions during a single day. Regardless of which organizational type is chosen, Session II always takes place on Saturday, which brings two groups of teens together for the networking portion of their workshop. Each workshop provides 6 total hours of interactive sessions between participant, speakers, and facilitators. Session I engaes participants in issues surrounding higher education, including SAT preparation, university admission, and how students can increase their academic standing and achievement. Session II, during which lunch is provided, is time for participants to get to know each other, make friends and connections, and come together to reach similar goals. Session III focuses on financial planning and freedom for youth, including a lecture concerning the value of money, a colloquial about why young people should save now, how to do it practically, and how to turn their hobies into small businesses.
All materials used by participants are included in the registration fee, which are due at the time of registration. Learn more here. Retreats
Over the next several years, The Network will be rolling out five different three day retreats:
Sister Circle
Brothers n' Synch
The Black Family Retreat
For Students Only
Lovers 4 Life
Each retreat is like a edutainment get-away that combines working breakout sessions, food, fun, and entertainment. Still in development, The Retreats will begin rolling out in January 2011.
BlaqueAdemics Annual Conference (2010)
In late 2010 The Network will begin hosting BlaqueAdemics™ Annual Conference, a fundraising event sponsored by our founder and facilitated by volunteer scholars. The Conference is one of our most important annual events. The Conference is about the distribution and application of information, but is also localized. In other words, it is organized to fulfill the needs apparent in the local community: the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The conference is also a fundraiser for The Network, and the acquition of The Center.
The venue has not yet been determined, as the event is over a year away; however, it will be in the Philadelphia area. The Conference will have five events, including a casual Meet and Greet on Friday night, Panel Discussions and various workshops will be held on Saturday morning and afternoon, the Formal Banquet takes place on Saturday evening, followed by four Breakout Workshops on Sunday morning, and a departing luncheon on that afternoon. In addition, Banned Books & Company will be hosting a book sale, present author readings, and all authors will have an opportunity to submit their manuscripts for review and possible publication by BB& C. More information will be forthcoming as we continue planning the event.
