Cousin Leny’s wedding to Steve on August 1, 1998, in Los Angeles was the last trip B.Michael and John would make together as a couple before separating later that month.
B.Michael (left) is rocking a Barong Tagalog and John reprised his uncle’s pink seersucker jacket pairing it with a tri-color bow tie that, if memory serves, he learned to knot for the occasion.
In classic Bert + John fashion, here is how they collaborated on the message to accompany the gift:
Bert was a life-long learner who enjoyed being in the classroom as a student perhaps as much as a teacher. He was also keen on exposing himself to innovative ways to work with his urban high schoolers around social studies, US History, the law, and related topics, hence his participation in a graduate course at The New School for Social Research.
As a community activist and law school graduate, B.Michael felt a deep commitment to raising awareness around the ongoing campaigns for justice for political prisoners like Mumia Abu-Jamal.
On 27 March 1998 in Washington DC, B.Michael accompanied a small group of his students from City-As-School for Jericho ’98. The purpose of the National Jericho Movement is amnesty and freedom for all political prisoners in the U.S. These photos (erroneously date-stamped on the 28th) were taken by B.Michael’s camera.
Were you present at this demonstration? Were you one of B.Michael’s students? Please let us hear from you!
One of B.Michael’s all-time favorite musical-cultural performance groups. As described in the program below, “Sweet Honey is a Grammy award-winning, African American, female, a cappella ensemble with deep musical roots in the sacred music of the black church — spiritual, hymns, and gospel — as well as jazz and blues.”
Proud teacher B.Michael is listed as a guest on page 28. Did you attend this event? What would you tell Bert about your life since 2001?
A glimpse of how the sausage was made! Minutes (scribed by *Brother* Lidell Jackson) from a meeting on 8/14/97 that Bert was in attendance.
B.Michael was enthralled with maps, globes, atlases — anything that helped locate himself/ourselves in space, and imagine where else he/we could be. He also thought beyond our planet, and found boundless fascination and joy at one of his favorite places on Earth, New York’s American Museum of Natural History and, in particular, the Hayden Planetarium.
In May of 1997, he made his love affair with this heavenly institution official, the life-long learner-teacher that he was, by enrolling in an astronomy course. His certificate below is signed by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who, like B.Michael, was born in Manhattan in 1958.
What, pray tell, would B.Michael say about the images from the James Webb Space Telescope?!?
B.Michael would also appreciate Nikita Gill‘s poetry: “We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names.”
Bert participated in an interactive teaching seminar sponsored by the Center for Media and Learning at the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY. During this April 1997 session, his offering was to demonstrate “how he concludes his unit on the Civil Rights Movement with blues and jazz music and lyrics.”
Concurrently teaching at City-As-School, Bert operationalized his learning from the seminar in real time. Fortunately, we have one way to appreciate how innovative and impactful his teaching of high school US history was. Below are observations of his American Social History Project classes conducted by his administrative supervisors on two separate occasions — one during the spring semester that he was engaged in the above seminar, the other later that fall.
It was a priority for Bert to be present with and for Ummi, his beloved sistah-friend-colleague; he would not have missed the dedication ceremony of her child, his beloved goddaughter, Adunni.
Here, on the day of the Baby Dedication, Adunni is held by forever Godmom/Auntie Beverly Smith and Auntie Camilla Brizan. Photo: Ummi Modeste or forever Godmom Kmur Hardeman.
B.Michael was a staunch supporter of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. On December 1, 1996, B.Michael and six other brothers, organized the first Brothers for Sisters fundraising event in New York City. In the above photo, (L-R) Michael Seltzer (standing), Don Kao, Mitchell Karp, B.Michael, Lidell Jackson, Ralph Tachuk, John Manzon-Santos (standing).
Artists G. Winston James and What I Miss? contributor Jacquie Bishop generously donated their time as special guests.
Below is the same post-event scene as above, snapped a millisecond later, enough time for B.Michael to cock his head slightly; also B.Michael with Steven Birnbaum, one of the evening’s guests, a new contact brought in by Don Kao.
