Welcome To Opening Night At The Schomburg!
Join us for our 20th Anniversary Retrospective 3-Day Conference Annual Fundraiser and immerse yourself in Everything ETHOH! Tonight we Kick-Off our Conference at the Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture where you are in for a treat! Perhaps more than any other day of our 3-Day Conference you will experience the totality of all that Entering the Holy of Holies, An Institute of Learning and Healing, Inc. has to offer.
Allow us to take you on one woman’s journey that began in her living room in Brooklyn, NY and lead her to the temples of ancient Kemet (Egypt), a six week intense course of study in a Gurukula (school of the Guru) in an ashram in Ganeshpuri, India and to the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City, where she was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2007. And every step of the way she was dancing, teaching, choreographing and building community to the beat of the Old Malian Empire and traditional West African dance, music and folklore that has become her life’s work ~ right here in Harlem!
And get ready to celebrate the Life and Legacy of the Honorable Inez E. Dickens as never before as we prepare the path for her Rite of Passage into her New Life after serving the Village of Harlem for 50 years!
With Great Respect and Love We Welcome You to Our Conference! May your heart overflow with the Love, Light, Peace and Joy that you are about to experience here tonight!
FRIDAY EVENING PROGRAM
| 7:00PM – Welcome/Mistress of Ceremonies Ominira Chiquita Payne  Ominira Camille has been a part of Entering the Holy of Holies, Inc. for 17 years! She has participated in The Teachings, Seasonal Cleanses and Meditations offered by the organization. She always says, “ETHOH takes care of your body AND your spirit!” Ominira Camille is a former member of Abdel Salaam’s illustrious Forces of Nature Dance Theater. She is an actress and author of the award-winning children’s book, “JUST BECAUSE.” Her latest role as the resident Mistress of Ceremonies for Entering the Holy of Holies, is a job she enjoys doing and calls, “my new happy place!” |
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| 7:10PM – Pouring of the Libation Dr. Angela Fatou Gittens, Ph.D.  Angela Fatou Gittens is an Educator, Scholar, Performer, Mother, Wife, and is a daughter of the Gullah dust, raised in the U.S. South but anchored in Senegal, West Africa. Dr. Fatou crafts and highlights African traditions retained within the languages of African artistic expressions in Diaspora. By acknowledging the contributions of the Creator and ancestors, she brings communities together by giving thanks for our place in the universe and all that is both local and global. She gives thanks for sharing space with Entering the Holy of Holies, Inc. (ETHOH) which is yet another full circle moment. |
| 7:20PM – The Wadleigh Days Edwin T. Scott, Sr. and Wendell E. Ramsey  Edwin T. Scott, Sr. was The Valley, Inc.’s Deputy Director of Programs, Chief Program Officer and eventually, Chief Operating Officer. At the Beacon program located at the Wadleigh Secondary School he met Reverend Nafisa Sharriff and her West African dance class program. Mr. Scott now serves as Managing Director of Beacons and Cornerstones for Phipps Neighborhoods, a non-profit community-based agency in the South Bronx.
Wendell E. Ramsey was The Valley, Inc.’s Director of the Beacon School in Wadleigh High School from 1994-2000. Currently, he serves as Senior Director of School, and Community Partnerships at The Leadership Program where he works to provide educational institutions with youth development activities, professional development workshops, and curricula that helps schools expand and enrich their academic communities. |
| 7:40PM – Entering the Holy of Holies Meets Countee Cullen Salahadeen Betts  Salahadeen Betts is the grandson of Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan (Dr. Ben), anthropologist, archaeologist, historian and scholar. It was while he was the Program Director of the Countee Cullen Community Center Beacon, a Harlem Children’s Zone program, that Mr. Betts met Reverend Nafisa Sharriff who named her organization, Entering the Holy of Holies after immersing herself in the teachings of Dr. Ben. Currently, Salahadeen Betts is the Communications Director of Content Production at Harlem Children’s Zone. |
| 7:50PM – Video: Entering the Holy of Holies: Recreating Lives In Love! Angela Harmon  Angela Harmon, affectionately known as “Angelina,” is an Emmy-nominated, Oscar-short-listed producer, storyteller, and creative. She is also on the Board of Directors for Entering the Holy of Holies, Inc., serving in the capacity of Board Secretary. Angelina’s influence and mastery can be seen at every production level with our 20th Anniversary Retrospective 3-Day Conference. She is the creative genius and producer behind our video: Recreating Lives In Love and looks forward to producing other documentaries in the near future. |
8:15PM – Reverend Nafisa Sharriff/Founder & CEO Reverend Nafisa Sharriff, Founder & CEO of Entering the Holy of Holies, An Institute of Learning and Healing, Inc. will offer her Opening Remarks and once again welcome everyone to our 20th Anniversary, Retrospective 3-Day Conference. |
| 8:25PM – Commemorating the Life and Legacy of Assembly Member The Honorable Inez E. Dickens  After 50 years of tireless and passionate service the Honorable Inez E. Dickens will be stepping down from the NYS Assembly in December 2024. Join us as we celebrate this magnificent moment with music, song and dance from the Old Malian Empire as we prepare the path into her New Life after serving the Village of Harlem for so many years! |
9:00PM – Retrospective Photo Gallery and Reception Enjoy the myriad of memories we’ve created over the past 20 years as we celebrate the Love, Friendship, and Joy of our community while feasting on delicious food that will fill your belly and make you smile! |
| 9:50PM – Closing Remarks Reverend Nafisa Sharriff  Reverend Nafisa Sharriff will give the Closing Remarks for the evening and invite everyone to continue enjoying the conference on Saturday, October 26th for All Day Dance Classes and the Vendor Village, and Sunday, October 27th, the culminating day of the Conference, for a day of Meditating, Healing and Dancing! |
*All Prices Include A PayPal Service Fee
If you are unable to join us please make a tax-deductible donation to Entering the Holy of Holies, Inc. and help us raise $20,000 in honor of our 20th Anniversary. No donation is too small and all donations are greatly appreciated.
