contributors

“I was born in Maputo, Mozambique during the independence war.  My mother’s side of the family resides the Zambezia region of Mozambique. My father, an American, met my mother in Maputo, while he volunteered to do relief work during the time of war. We later moved to Indonesia, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and eventually New York.

New York for me was the embodiment of my creativity. That’s where I was introduced to art in all aspects musically and visually. I was introduced to veganism at age 15 through the hardcore scene I was involved in.  I molded my lifestyle to become vegan straightedge and further developed my beliefs in animal liberation.  A lot of these beliefs, ideas of compassion, and similar value systems I related to because it was already instilled in me as a child.

I left New York at the age of 16 and moved back to Africa, Benin West Africa specifically, and my culture shock there became my inspiration.  Benin, being the home of traditional religion, on Sundays I remember going to the market and women would ask for blessings from my sister & I (being that twins have a high place in Voodoo.)  Before I left Benin I documented the Togolese people that had sought refuge in Benin. I wanted to challenge the stereotype that Benin people had against the Togolese. So I took a trip to visit the refugee camps with my father’s non-profit organization.   After my pictures were later published in English & French newspapers & I presented the film to my schoolmates with no cuts or edits. That was my first real encounter with lens work.

After Benin my family and I moved to Uganda. That was when I learned from a retired photo journalist. I worked with a manual Nikon FM-10 camera. That summer I visited New York and assisted celebrity photographer, Johnny Nunez. At age 19 I decided the best thing for me was to travel. I found myself in Grenada/Caricou Island. What inspired my work was love in the form of paradise. From there I went back to Africa, and explored Rwanda, Congo, Zanzibar/Tanzania, Uganda, and revisited Mozambique.

In Mozambique I learned the term “Saudades,” a term which I found became the heart of my inspiration, because of my disconnection, which made me challenge my art and made me cherish my memories.  My somewhat nomadic life has molded my creativity. Saudades in my culture is longing for someone or some memory or place in time hoping to reconnect with that person or time.  I can see that in my life the only constant is change, and my permanent feeling is Saudades.”

Cassi currently works at The Fader magazine while contributing to her own photo blog Saudades as well as The Gold Coast Trading Company online culture magazine

Danielle Thompson grew up in the Midwest on the shores of Lake Michigan, which really feels more like an ocean than a lake. She studied political science and philosophy at the University of Wisconsin (in Milwaukee, not Madison) and animal and environmental law at Lewis and Clark Law School.  She has worked for human rights with Amnesty International and Food Not Bombs, promoted veganism with Vegan Outreach, booked rabble-rousers with Evil Twin Booking Agency, helped inform people about cruel and toxic dolphin meat in Japan with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and worked to protect wild animals with The Humane Society of the United States .   She is currently working to promote a plant-based (vegan) diet and humane research with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Research.  Danielle is most inspired by wilderness; she prefers to spend her time outdoors rather than in and to this day is uneasy when she’s not living near water.

Born in ‘84 out on the gorgeous North Shore of Long Island in the town of Huntington, Alexander Ferzan spent the majority of his youth both on Long Island and in Manhattan, immersing himself in the local music scenes. After giving up on trying to find the perfect people to write music with, Alex made a playful pact with a friend. They agreed to manage each other’s careers, jovially taking a dig at the ever present “Fanager” of the music industry. Six months later Alex had Lux Courageous signed to Triple Crown Records as the first band to be a part of the EastWest incubator system with WMG.

After Lux Courageous had disbanded and other bands Alex was working with at the time had either broken up or changed routes, he found himself focused on getting his degree finished. A diploma from the New School and 2 years in Fashion Production later, Alex returned to Artist Development and Management, where he currently resides.

Alex currently lives in DUMBO, Brooklyn and works out of his home office for Ferzan Artist Management, a company he started that is built around the idea of Brand Development and Culture Marketing in the ever-changing industries of music, art and entertainment.

When asked to mention the issues he cares about, a lot of things came to his mind. ”Darfur, ONE, Animal Rights, National Healthcare, Higher Education, and the list goes on. I really racked my brain trying to figure out which meant the most to me. I’ve decided no one issue is more valuable than the other and truly the most enveloping way to put it is…I simply care about Human Rights. All else follows suit.”

Alex is currently working on | www.ferzanartistmanagement.com

Gracy Obuchowicz, is a professional photographer and freelance writer who has spent the past five years working and traveling in Peru.  In 2005, she assisted journalism colleague, Rebecca Rivas, with her Fulbright-funded documentary by photographing Peruvian women during pregnancy in Cusco, Peru.  From 2005-07, Gracy served as a Youth Development volunteer in Peru with the Peace Corps, living and working in a rural Andean community in Ancash, Peru. This year she returned to Peru to serve as the photographer and a field producer for “Spirit Songs,” a documentary about the songs and medicines of the indigenous healers in Madre de Dios and Loreto, Peru. Gracy earned her degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and currently runs her own portrait photography business in Washington, DC.  In addition to Rimaniku, Gracy created and writes for The Lover’s Manifesto and The Menagerie.

The Sparrow Project is excited to welcome Malik Akil Ohmari to their family of blog contributors.  Malik’s handwritten essays from his prison cell offer a unique perspective that each of us can gain so much from.  We not only encourage you to read his contributions, but we also encourage you to drop a letter in the mail to him or contribute to his amazon wish list.  Prison can be a isolating and disparaging place.  Letters can serve as a lifeline for a prisoner.  Malik’s prison address can be found below.  The following bio is in Malik’s own words…

Today there are approximately 1 million Afrikan (descents/born in) Americans in prison.  I am but one of them.  My name is Malik A. Ohmari.  I am a father, friend and a comrade to those to who resist oppression and fight for change.  But more important than all of those is that I am forever a “Student.”  A student of character, a student of discipline, a student of principle, a student of struggle, a student of liberation, and a student of independence.

I would like to say that I’ve always been this way, but there are “steps, stages and degrees” in growth. The only thing in “life” (motion) that is consistent is “Change.”  Just as I was born a “male,” became a “boy,” and grew into the mind of a “man.”  Life is a process. Which is why I believe I have been given this opportunity.

I have been in Federal Prison since 1993.  No, I don’t claim to be the “Voice” for the masses of Black People incarcerated.  I only speak from my experience –which if it happens to coincide with others, is purely coincidental – and from what I gather to be “undeniable truths” based on the visions from the minds of black men and women who I’ve had the opportunity to be students of.

My personal path on how I came to be in prison is not unique.  You will not see my story on “American Gangsta.”  I am just a man with the conviction to side with “principle” rather than “popularity.”

My views, perceptions, and outlook of “Rebuilding” the Black family, and Black Community by taking a progressive “do for self” approach is rooted in my teachers who weren’t afraid to challenge me in my “Self-Hate” and “Nihilism.”  First, they “deprogrammed” me, then “reprogrammed” me with “Self Love, Race Pride and a true awareness of my culture,” then challenged me to the task of un-doing the destruction and rebuilding the place where “I, We and Our People” live, work, go to school and play.  If “I” or “We” won’t do it than “who will?”

This is who I am daily; in my “thought, speech, and actions.”  This is who I will be when I am released.

Your Brother in the Struggle,

Malik A. Ohmari

To write to Malik please use this address.  Please keep in mind that all letters are read by prison officials so don’t say anything in your letters that you would not say in front of a cop.

Malik LaMarr /

ANTHONY JACQUEZ LAMARR

04099-084

BUTNER MED II FCI

P.O. Box 1500

Butner, N.C. 27509

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