Black History month is over. Women's History month, which began March 1, is in full gear. But many African American women feel overlooked by both categories. |For that reason, New York-based Imagenation has put together a month of programs highlighting Black women in film, poetry, and song.

The Diaspora Daughters Represent Annual Herstory Month Showcase was a great success at the New York club S.O.B.'s Tuesday night, March 21, featuring performances from up-and-coming vocalists the JazzyFatNastees and the female rap trio Official, also known as OFI. The program was centered around special premiere screenings of Virtue of Authority, a documentary chronicling OFI's struggle as female rappers in a male-dominated industry, and Kiss It Up to God, an award-wining Cannes Film Festival nominee depicting the struggles of a maturing Black woman. Hosted by Chenoa Maxwell, star of Hav Plenty, and including performances by poetess Ihsan Muhammad and vocalists Imani uzari, Vinia Mojica and Denise Raspberry of the Kiss It Up To God soundtrack, the showcase aims to emphasize the importance of building a community for African American artists, and to disseminate the images of the African Diaspora.

Imagenation's yearlong film festival, held monthly at various New York clubs, helps advance these goals throughout the year. And Imagenation founder and creator Moikgantsi Kgama, who used to be on the art end herself, manages the production. "We African Americans always seem to be the artists or the creators, but we're never on the business end of making decisions and actually dispersing the work."

You've still got time to check out the work Kgama's helping to disperse during Women's History Month. The showcase continues through the week of March 27, at New York's Void club. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Kristin Cleary