Harvey and Jennifer Peyton are donating a series of paintings to the Art Museum of West Virginia University that deal with racial injustice in the 1930s to the 1960s.
Among the works donated is “Confrontation at the Bridge,” a painting by Jacob Lawrence of marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on Bloody Sunday in March 1965. Other works include “Waiting Room, South” by Rosalee Berkowitz, ” Lynching (Self-Portrait With Rope)” by Louis Lozowick, and “Bessie Smith, Queen of the Blues” by Margaret Burroughs.
Harvey Peyton holds bachelor’s and law degrees from West Virginia University. He stated that “Jen and I have dedicated our collecting to the idea that visual art and the concept of social justice should go hand in hand. We hope these works, and other we have given and intend to give to the Art Museum of WVU, will enrich the idea of both art and community at the university long after we are gone.” article via jbhe.com
Grammy Winning Producer DJ Premier to supervise music on upcoming VH1 movie “The Breaks” (Photo: xxlmag.com)
According to Deadline.com, VH1 has announced production of The Breaks, an original movie about the Hip-Hop business set in New York City during the early 90s, that will serve as a backdoor pilot for a potential series. Christopher Edward Martin, better known as DJ Premier, multiple Grammy-award winning member of the seminal rap group Gang Starr, will serve as executive music producer and compose the score. The Breaks is based on Dan Charnas’ non-fiction book The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop, which covers the rap from its infancy in the 1970s house party and park scene through the staggering financial and cultural milestones of the early 2000s. Set in 1990, the series will follow three friends from different backgrounds attempting to break into the business just as the art form became part of the pop music mainstream.
Given the setting, which happens to mark the middle point of the golden age of hip hop, the rise of gangsta rap, and the height of New Jack Swing, Texas native DJ Premier’s involvement is a huge advantage. In addition to his work with Gang Starr, Premier has been involved with some of the most influential and successful rap and R&B albums of all time, including works by KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Snoop Dogg, Compton’s Most Wanted, Nas, D’Angelo, The Notorious B.I.G., and Jay Z. The Breaks follows VH1’s previous TV films, 2013’s CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, and 2014’s Drumline: A New Beat, both of which saw great ratings for the network. Single Ladies, an original series which ran for three seasons on VH1and is now enjoying a fourth on Centric, started as a two-hour back door pilot. If successful, The Breaks could similarly spawn a full series aimed at the audience of other shows with soundtracks overseen by music titans, like Fox’s Empire, with music production by Timbaland, and ABC’s Nashville, which saw T-Bone Burnett as music producer during its first season. The Breaks will be written, directed and executive produced by Seith Mann, whose previous credits include episodes of The Wire, Fringe, The Riches, Entourage, and Homeland. In addition to his production work, DJ Premier is also the host of a weekly show on Sirius XM’s Hip-Hop Nation. Filming for The Breaks will begin in June, and the film is scheduled to air sometime in late fall 2015. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
Loretta Lynch confirmed by Senate as new U.S. Attorney General (Photo via eurweb.com) Loretta Lynch was confirmed Thursday as attorney general, the first black woman in American history to hold the country’s top law enforcement post.
The Senate approved Lynch, a federal prosecutor from New York, on a 56-43 vote after an unusually lengthy confirmation delay. President Barack Obama nominated Lynch as the successor to Eric Holder in November.
Lynch’s path to becoming the first African American woman to serve as attorney general was fraught with partisan bickering — fighting that continued on Thursday. Obama said the Justice Department would benefit from Lynch’s experience as a “a tough, independent, and well-respected prosecutor.”
“Loretta has spent her life fighting for the fair and equal justice that is the foundation of our democracy,” the president said in a statement on Thursday. “As head of the Justice Department, she will oversee a vast portfolio of cases, including counterterrorism and voting rights; public corruption and white-collar crime; judicial recommendations and policy reviews – all of which matter to the lives of every American, and shape the story of our country.”
Holder said he was pleased the Senate recognized “her clear qualifications.”
“I have known and worked closely with Loretta for many years, and I know that she will continue the vital work that this Administration has set in motion and leave her own innovative mark on the Department in which we have both been privileged to serve,” Holder said in a statement. “I am confident that Loretta will be an outstanding Attorney General, a dedicated guardian of the Constitution, and a devoted champion of all those whom the law protects and empowers.”
Sony has officially announced a sequel to the Denzel Washington thriller “The Equalizer.” Rumors of an “Equalizer” follow-up began months before the movie opened in September, but it was the film’s strong box office results and home entertainment sales that ultimately pulled the trigger on the second installment.
Washington is expected to reprise his role as vigilante Robert McCall in “Equalizer 2.” Chloe Moretz and Marton Csokas co-starred in the original. Based on the 1980s TV series, “The Equalizer” earned over $192 million at the global box office last year. It was co-financed by Village Roadshow and debuted at the Toronto Film Festival. Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) directed the first “Equalizer.” It’s unknown whether he’ll return for the sequel. He and Washington are next re-teaming on MGM’s remake of “Magnificent Seven,” which reunites the duo with “Training Day” actor Ethan Hawke. article via Variety.com
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (515 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY, 10037 (Photo: nypl.org)
The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research center of the New York Public Library, as one of 10 recipients of this year’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community. For 21 years, the award has celebrated institutions that present extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service to make a difference for individuals, families, and communities. The award will be presented at an event in Washington, D.C., on May 18.
The Schomburg Center, located in Harlem, NY, is one of the world’s leading research facilities devoted to the preservation of materials on the global African and African diasporan experiences. A focal point of Harlem’s cultural life, the Center also functions as the national research library in the field, providing free access to its wide-ranging noncirculating collections. It also sponsors programs and events that illuminate and illustrate the richness of black history and culture. The Schomburg Center contains over 10 million items and provides services and programs for constituents from the United States and abroad. In 2015, the Schomburg Center will be celebrating its 90th anniversary year.
“These National Medal recipients have demonstrated a genuine understanding of their communities and are committed to addressing community needs,” said Maura Marx, acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “IMLS believes museums and libraries are vital community anchors that enhance civic engagement, cultural and educational opportunities, and economic vitality. The remarkable community contributions these institutions have made are proof positive of this.”
“The Schomburg Center is honored to be the recipient of this year’s IMLS Award,” says Schomburg director Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad. “Since 1925, the Schomburg Center has been home to many of the world’s greatest writers, historians, and artists, from James Baldwin to Maya Angelou to Harry Belafonte, and thousands in between. As we celebrate our 90th year and in recognition of the National Medal, we are strengthening our foundation so as to be an indispensable resource for the next generation of storytellers, history-makers, and world-changers.”
U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D- Mich., is pictured during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. On Wednesday, Conyers and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., re-introduced the End Racial Profiling Act in Congress. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
Democratic lawmakers are making yet another attempt to pass legislation against racial profiling in local law enforcement. On Wednesday, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Sen.Ben Cardin, D-Md., announced they would re-introduce the End Racial Profiling Act for at least the third time in the last three sessions of Congress. Previous bills have failed to get hearings or clear the Senate and House committees with law enforcement oversight.
The latest measure, coming as tensions rise between police and communities of color amid a wave of police killings of black men, would stop police officers from racially profiling African-Americans and Latinos, as well as Muslims, Sikhs and other minority groups that have long complained of targeting by law enforcement. Last year, the Department of Justice expanded policies that protect racial and religious minorities from profiling by federal law enforcement agencies.
The DOJ rules don’t apply to state, county and local law enforcement; the proposed law would expand on them by requiring states to certify their compliance with policies discouraging racial profiling. The announcement by Cardin and Conyers was welcomed Wednesday by civil rights leaders and activists.
“Racial profiling robs people of their dignity, undermines the integrity of our criminal justice system and instills fear and distrust among members of targeted communities,” Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement. Studies have shown how generally ineffective and counter-productive racial profiling has been as a law enforcement tool, Henderson said. Officers can become overly distracted by racial stereotypes and overlook individuals posing serious threats to public security, he said. But despite the evidence of its ineffectiveness, racial profiling expanded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., in the guise of counterterrorism and immigration enforcement.
Senate and House versions of the law were introduced one day after the “March 2 Justice,” a group of activists against racial profiling and police brutality who walked 250 miles from New York to the U.S. Capitol, arrived in Washington. The group met Wednesday with members of Congress to urge passage of the racial profiling ban. article by Aaron Morrison via ibtimes.com
Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet Gregory Pardlo (Photo: poetry foundation.org)
“Digest” by Gregory Pardlo has won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. The judges cited Pardlo’s “clear-voiced poems that bring readers the news from 21st Century America, rich with thought, ideas and histories public and private.” Pardlo was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey. Currently, he is an associate editor for the literary journal Callaloo and a contributing editor for Painted Bride Quarterly. Pardlo’s poems, reviews, and translations have been widely published and are noted for “language simultaneously urban and highbrow… snapshots of a life that is so specific it becomes universal.” He lives in Brooklyn.
To learn more about Pardlo and his work, click here. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is creating a unit dedicated to examining wrongful-conviction claims, joining a small but growing number of prosecutorial agencies around the country that are devoting resources to identify innocent prisoners. Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey
Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey is asking county supervisors for nearly $1 million to fund the new team, which would include three prosecutors, an investigator and a paralegal.
In seeking the funds, Lacey’s office said it wanted to keep up with an increasing number of wrongful-conviction claims that have followed the advent of similar units around the country as well as a growing number of innocence projects and increased publicity of innocence claims, said county spokesman Dave Sommers.
“This is exactly what should happen in every district attorney’s office in America,” said Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project at the California Western School of Law in San Diego. “We all have the same goal: to make sure the right people are in prison.”
While such units are still rare, Los Angeles would join more than 15 district attorney offices around the country that have adopted similar teams, including Santa Clara County, Dallas County, Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well as the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles’ proposal remained largely under wraps until last week, when Lacey addressed a group of attorneys and students at Loyola Law School on Friday and mentioned she had been promised funding for a conviction review unit. She gave no details and did not return calls for comment.
A district attorney’s spokeswoman declined to discuss the plan until after the Board of Supervisors formally approves the funding in the coming weeks. The county’s recommended budget includes money for the unit for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.
“The Adventures of Moxie Girl” writer Natalie McGriff
Seven-year-old Natalie McGriff earned $16,423.69 in prize money for creating her comic book “The Adventures of Moxie Girl” at Jacksonville, FL’s One Spark, touted as the world’s largest crowdfunding festival.
McGriff’s comic book revolves around the life of a little Black girl who hated her hair texture. After using some magical shampoo, the little girl’s afro-puffs are activated with super powers that helped save the Jacksonville Public Libraries from being eaten by monsters.
McGriff’s mother, Angie Nixon, helped her daughter write her comic book “because she was having self-esteem issues regarding her hair and she hated to read.”
“She now realizes how powerful and awesome her hair is and that in order for her to write a cool book, she needs to read more books and learn different words,” she continued.
Over 530 projects competed for One Spark 2015, and 300,000 people attended the festival. McGriff was the winner of the Education category; there were 117,169 votes cast by attendees. One Spark is a five-day festival and one-day Speaker Summit. Creators from six categories (Art, Education, Health & Science, Music, Social Good and Technology) explain their projects to a crowd of over 250,000 people and are able to experience the crowdfunding for their project in person. The attendees contribute to crowdfunding campaigns and vote to distribute $150,000 of the guaranteed $350,000 in awards. article by Lauren R.D. Fox via madamenoire.com
Floyd Dent Thanks Prosecutors for Bringing Charges Against Michigan Police Officer
A suburban Detroit police officer who was seen on dash-cam video dragging a black man from his car before kicking and punching him repeatedly will be charged with two felony counts, a county prosecutor said Monday.
A drug possession charge against the man, Floyd Dent, 57, will be dropped, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. Dent’s treatment by Inkster police during a Jan. 28 traffic stop sparked outrage after the video was released by NBC affiliate WDIV.
“We cannot turn our heads when the law enforcer becomes the law breaker,” Worthy said during a news conference Monday. “The alleged police brutality in this case cannot and will not be tolerated.”
William Melendez, who allegedly punched Dent 16 times while keeping him in a chokehold during an arrest, will be charged with one count of mistreatment of a prisoner and one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, Worthy said.
WDIV had also later released a video that showed officers stripping Dent to his underwear and searching him while he was being held in jail.
If convicted, Melendez could face up to 15 years in prison.
Inkster City Manager Richard Marsh said in a statement that Melendez had been fired from the Inkster Police Department on April 15, “which I and others believe was in the best interest of our community.” Marsh said he wouldn’t comment further on the charges “in order to preserve the integrity of both the criminal and the civil actions surrounding Officer Melendez’s employment.”
Melendez is working part-time at the Highland Park Police department, according to WDIV. The department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.
The case was independently investigated by the Michigan State Police and separately by the Wayne County Prosecutors Office.
Charges against Dent of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer were dropped after the video was released nearly two months after the incident occurred. A count of possession of cocaine remained, but Dent claimed the drugs were planted in his car. The drug charge against Dent was dropped “in the best interest of justice,” Worthy said. article by Elisha Fieldstadt via msnbc.com
