Local poets to perform at Affirmations for Black History Month

Poets Eboni Hogan and Natasha "T" Miller, plus performance artist Billione, will step onto the stage at Affirmations this month as part of the center's ongoing celebration of Black History Month.
Miller's poetry interrogates what it means to be American in the age of Obama, while Hogan is quirkier, offering candid and often lurid tales of her many misadventures in the Big Apple. Native Detroiter Billione promises to provide a grounding voice – sometimes spoken, sometimes sung – as he ponders the meaning of love and life. All three performers are coming to Ferndale's LGBT community center at 8 p.m. Feb. 20 for a Spoken Word Performance. The show is free to the public with a brief open mic slot as the performers warm up.
Natasha "T" Miller is a 24-year-old spoken word artist and slam poet raised on the west side of Detroit. In 2007, only a year after first hitting the stage as a performance poet, she was crowned the Detroit Poetry Slam's Grand Slam Champion. Since then, she has been on three national teams and been a two-time Women of World Poetry Slam finalist.
Eboni Hogan is the voice of rebels wearing hand-me-down clothes, any girl with a few extra kinks in her hair or one too many words in her mouth and not enough ways to say them. The 24-year-old Bronx native studies theatre at New York University and has performed in over 30 U.S. cities. In 2006, she took part in a five-month artist residency as a part of NYU's Hip Hop Theatre Initiative in Ghana, West Africa.
A Detroit native, Billione is a versatile writer whose writings have appeared in newspapers, literary magazines and publications including Cellar Roots and the Michigan Citizen. A singer/songwriter, poet and social activist, his performances have raised funds for numerous organizations that support literacy, HIV/AIDS awareness and human rights. In 2007, Billione published his first chapbook of poetry entitled "Love: In Hindsight" and plans to publish his third book, "360," in May. Billione states his influences as include Langston Hughes, Adaora Bandele, the Last Poets, Nina Simone and Michael Jackson.
The Spoken Word Performance is part of an array of February events celebrating Black History Month at Affirmations. The month of activities rounds out with a youth performance entitled "Trouble of the World" on Feb. 24 that features Affirmations' youth program members performing literary works by historic African American authors. In addition, books by noted black authors are on display throughout Affirmations' building and African-American movies are featured in both men's and women's film groups.
For more information about these and other events, call the center at 248-398-7105 or visit them online at http://www.goaffirmations.org.