OM Mission

ShaZah is the duo of Shanta Nurullah and Zahra Baker. This partnership draws upon the talents that Zahra and Shanta share as storytellers, actors, musicians, writers and teaching artists. They create and perform work that draws heavily from African and African-American folkloric, storytelling and musical traditions for adult and youth audiences. Recent performances include the Gwendolyn Brooks Centennial, the Logan Square Apple Fest, Hothouse Anniversary, and Wiggleworms at Navy Pier. ShaZah has opened for international artists The Comet is Coming and the Junius Paul Quartet. They have also adapted to presenting their work on virtual platforms, including Hothouse Global and Ronapalooza. Zahra has worked in the past with AFT as a performer and teaching artist.

KICKBACK Happy Hour

Friday, Dec 18, 2020 @ 5:30pm

How have Black Lesbians been made invisible, overlooked or omitted? How does supporting Black Lesbians create an environment that is safe and inclusive for all?

Join KICKBACK director Mikael Burke, Pride Action Tank (PAT) Executive Director Kim Hunt, and featured artists ShaZah for a special event discussing their piece, “OM Mission.” This new work from the KICKBACK festival pays tribute to the loud and out blues women of the Harlem Renaissance and contemporary Black Lesbians from Chicago. Watch the show in advance and share questions in the chat or just tune in for a lively happy hour discussion.

We were first inspired by the orientation video tour conducted by Julie Yost of the Stony Island Arts Bank. We were struck by her statement that the University of Chicago’s Art History glass slide collection was most significant to Black history “by omission”.

One of the glass slides in that collection was of two female circus performers.

As two female performers, (often on display), we started brainstorming ideas of what it feels like to walk in the world as women loving women. When we arrived at the Arts Bank, we sought out Johnson Publishing archives and library in search of a presence of Black Lesbians. The main Ebony article (August 1952) that we found was written by Gladys Bentley, a former Harlem Renaissance “cross dressing” blues singer who emphatically denounced her prior life and headlined her article “I’m a Woman Again”.

Upon further research, we found that Gladys Bentley had lost most of her work as American trends swayed toward conservatism. She had financial responsibilities and an ailing Mother. Apparently, she felt compelled to remake her public image. We were saddened that she had to take such extreme measures but wondered how many of us have felt that only a portion of our “self” was welcome in the room.

We have chosen to explore the questions of inclusion and acceptance inside of the black community. Why is positive Black lesbian representation important? How have we been made invisible and how have our positive stories been overlooked or omitted?

Our show features original music, photos,video and audio clips. We have written a tribute to the loud and out blues women of the 20’s and 30’s, interviewed and extracted excerpts from 6-8 Black Lesbians, and created a heart meditation.

Om Mission seeks to expand the heart to see and respond to the best in each other. By highlighting the stories of Black Lesbians, our desire is to explore the possibility of an environment that is safe, supportive and inclusive for all.