We are honored that performance poet, author, and instructor Jeannette Curtis-Rideau has provided a learning experience for our Girl Scouts to help them discover the art of African-American Poetry. A former Girl Scout herself, Ms. Curtis-Rideau shares her wisdom and insights in this engaging video that will help girls earn their Black History Month patch by meeting one of the virtual challenge objectives:
• Read a story or poem written by poets like Langston Hughes, Nicki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, and Amanda Gorman and create your own story or poem.
A contemporary of Nicki Giovanni and Maya Angelou, Ms. Curtis -Rideau offers girls a unique perspective on their work, as well as performs works of her own.
For more information about GSNNJ’s Black History Month activities: www.gsnnj.org/BlackHistoryMonth
About the Presenter
Jeannette Curtis-Rideau is a founding/charter member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. Bergen/Passaic Chapter, who has been actively involved with the youth of this community for several years.
Ms. Curtis-Rideau has served as instructor, to Curriculum Director and to Executive Director of the historical, but now defunct Afro-American Educational Center of Teaneck, NJ. She has also served on the board of YOUSA (Youth Organizations USA ), the Carter Woodson Foundation in Newark NJ, is a former member of the Newark Writers Collective, serves as a selection panelist for the county’s Poetry Out Loud Competitions (a county-wide school poetry competition), served on the board of the Fort Lee Film Commission, served on the board of the Bergen County Museum of Arts and Sciences, served as a selection panelist for the Film Makers of Tomorrow (a county-wide high school film making competition), and has facilitated a poetry writing workshop for youngsters at the Defining Moments day camp in Englewood, NJ.
She is also the Chair of the Board of African Voices, a literary magazine in New York, is the author of two poetry books, and is a performance poet. She has the distinction of being chosen to read with Niki Giovanni in a salute to outstanding New Jersey female poets and has performed at the Cape May Jazz Festival, as well as with several nationally recognized jazz musicians. Ms. Curtis-Rideau has been published in several newspapers’ anthologies, Essence Magazine, and African Voices Magazine. She has performed at museums, libraries, galleries and colleges from Boston to Washington DC. She has received many awards for her community service, which includes a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York, a Certificate of Recognition for her contribution to the arts from Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, a Certificate of Commendation honoring her as a Woman of Distinction from the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders, an award for her outstanding service to the Jazz Community in Bergen County from UUCP, the Professional Award from the Teaneck/Englewood National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women, Inc., and was twice nominated for the Woman of the Year Award from Douglass College, Rutgers New Jersey. She is extremely proud to have served and continues to serve as the artist consultant on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument Project Committee, as well as being a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Committee. She also serves on the Teaneck International Film Festival Committee and is on the Board of Trustees of the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, NJ. Her poem, Souls of Gethsemane, was chosen to be installed at the Historic African-American Burial Ground discovered in Little Ferry, NJ.
Ms. Curtis-Rideau is a retired Clinical Speech/Language Pathologist who has worked in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and on school child study teams. She is presently in private practice and continuing her love of performance poetry, writing, and our youth. She is presently in the process of publishing two new books of poetry for children.
