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Posts published in “Adults”

New Series Of Print Posters, ‘Crowns of Color,’ Created to Celebrate Natural Hair

By goodblacknews on December 22, 2012
A black woman with natural hair

A black woman with natural hair. © Lvnel – Fotolia.com

From Clutch Magazine:

To say the least, black hair seems to have remained one of the most debated topics this year amongst women of color. It has remained a topic of cultural anguish, with tales of tampered coils and unruly strands ruling online forums and video blogs. The essence of black hair has rarely been adored simply for its beauty and uniqueness. One Black woman, however, is seeking to bend the conversation by doing just that through her artwork.

Andrea Pippins, a Baltimore-based graphic designer,released a four-poster series of prints titled “Crowns of Color” last week as answer for her need of diverse affordable art a light-hearted celebration of black women’s hair. In an interview with Colorlines Magazine, Pippins describes how she hopes to steer the black hair conversation in a different direction:

“With all due respect, I am personally tired of the natural hair conversation in regards to one having to defend the choice to go natural, encouraging someone to go natural, or speaking to it from a place of political debate.”

Read the rest of this story on Clutch Magazine.

Meet Twenty-Two People Exonerated in 2012

By goodblacknews on December 21, 2012

Exonerated: James Harden, Jonathan Barr, Michael Saunders, Robert Taylor, Vincent Thames, Harold Richardson, Terrill Swift (CBS)

For the fourth year in a row, the Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions as well as making substantive reforms to the criminal-justice system, has released an annual report of people who were exonerated this year after spending time behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

This year’s roundup includes 22 people — 13 of whom are black — who, combined, served more than 279 years because of problems like eyewitness misidentification, faulty forensics and false confessions before they were freed. The Innocence Project says that nearly half of its cases involved innocence proved by new developments in DNA technology.

Innocent Brooklyn Man Freed After Year in Prison

By goodblacknews on December 18, 2012
RonaldBozeman
Ronald Bozeman

Ronald Bozeman was in good spirits according to the New York Post after being released from prison last week. Bozeman, 65, had spent over a year in jail for a crime he did not commit.

Bozeman was cleared of all charges related to a $9,000 robbery that occurred in downtown Brooklyn last year. Two witnesses had asserted to a grand jury that Bozeman was the gunman. Court records show these witnesses subsequently named another man, George Johnson, as the gunman during a second grand jury.

Prosecutors have moved forward in the case against Johnson. A spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said in a statement: “Based on a faulty ID procedure which we discovered and alerted the defense attorney to, we moved to have the charges against Bozeman dismissed.” Johnson has pleaded guilty to participation in the robbery.

Bozeman, who was held without bail and faced life in prison, was freed last Wednesday. “I feel relieved and not as bitter as I thought I would be,” he told the press. “The first thing I’m going to do is go get something to eat with my family.”

This mishap is being compared to the case of Jabbar Collins, an innocent man who went to prison for 15 years after being prosecuted by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Collins is now suing for $150 million in damages amid accusations that Michael Vecchione, who prosecuted this case, threatened a witness and withheld evidence for over a decade that could have exonerated Collins. Vecchione is now a top aide to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

article by Alexis Garrett Stodghill via thegrio.com

Trumpet Awards 2013 Honorees Announced

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2012

*The Trumpet Awards Foundation announced the 2013 Trumpet Awards honorees at a press conference in Atlanta.

The Trumpet Awards Ceremony is one of the most respected televised award shows saluting African American achievement in the world.  The following Trumpet Award honorees will attend and receive their award at the ceremony on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 4pm.

Chaka Khan – Legend Award
Debra Martin Chase – Entertainment Award
Michael McMillan – Community Service Award
Alonzo & Tracy Mourning – Humanitarian Award
Mayor Kasim Reed – Public Service Award
Charlie Wilson – Lifetime Achievement Award
Edward Welburn – Corporate Award

Activists Peacefully Advocate for Change; Plead With Obama For Gun Control Action

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2012
White House Vigil Gun Control

Gun control advocates and past victims of gun violence gathered outside the White House on Friday evening urging President Barack Obama to address gun laws. (Photo credit: Jennifer Bendery)

WASHINGTON — Friday’s shooting in Newtown, Conn., put the spotlight on President Barack Obama politically and, for many people, it was personal, as dozens turned up outside the White House gates begging him to take action on gun control.  Activists, sympathetic parents, and those affected by gun violence in the past gathered to collectively grieve at the impromptu vigil. They chanted, lit candles handed out by advocacy groups, and pleaded for political action in the wake of the latest episode of gun violence to afflict the nation.

T.I. to Launch New ‘Give Like a King’ Campaign to Support Homeless Veterans

By goodblacknews on December 13, 2012
Recording Artist/Host T.I. at AKOO's 2nd Annual 'A King Of Oneself Brunch' Hosted By T.I. at Ocean Prime on September 30, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for AKOO Clothing)

Recording Artist/Host T.I. at AKOO’s 2nd Annual ‘A King Of Oneself Brunch’ Hosted By T.I. at Ocean Prime on September 30, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for AKOO Clothing)

Rapper T.I. will announce the launch of his global “Give Like a King” campaign this Friday.  The rapper, actor and reality TV star is returning to his Bankhead neighborhood in Georgia to unveil his new campaign.

According to BCG, he is joining efforts with Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia (VEO) to help support homeless veterans.  VEO is an organization that brings food, shelter, and services to veterans in need.

Jersey City Renames Street to Honor Former Tuskegee Airman and Local Entrepreneur

By goodblacknews on December 11, 2012
James 'Zimp' Smith street renaming ceremony on Dec. 8, 2012

James ‘Zimp’ Smith smiles as he greets his nephew, LeRoy Minnatee, after the street-renaming ceremony honoring Smith on Dec. 8, 2012 at the southeaster corner of Ocean and Dwight in Jersey City. (Alyssa Ki/The Jersey Journal)

A former Tuskegee Airman who became a prominent local African-American entrepreneur was honored today by town residents and local civic leaders during a street naming ceremony held in Jersey City this afternoon.

Roughly a hundred people gathered at the southeastern corner of Ocean Avenue and Dwight Street around 12 p.m. to celebrate the achievements of James “Zimp” Smith, the first successful African-American businessman to own his own franchise in Hudson County during an era when minority owned businesses were rare.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker Assists at Scene of Auto Accident

By goodblacknews on December 9, 2012

Cory Booker appears onstage at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012 in New York.

CHARLES SYKES/INVISION/AP Mayor Booker’s latest heroic exploits came to light when a constituent asked him on Twitter if that was him assisting at the scene of an auto accident on Newark’s Clinton Ave. Despite his “hunger pains,” he admitted to being on the scene to help.

 His hunger and caffeine withdrawal haven’t dulled his superhero reflexes.  Already famous for carrying a neighbor out of a raging kitchen fire in April, Newark Mayor Cory Booker snapped into action at the scene of an injury car accident on Thursday, a witness told the Daily News.
 
The hometown heroics came just minutes after the 43-year-old Democrat recorded a video blog about the difficulty of his weeklong, $4-per-day food stamp challenge, which has him subsisting on beans, rice, vegetables — and no coffee.
 “I heard a crashing sound outside. I looked out my window and there were two sedans that collided. Within a few minutes, a big black car stopped near the site and two men got out. I recognized the mayor’s posture,” a 36-year-old witness who gave her name as Dydy told The News.

Pan African Designs Adorn Leatherworker Shaka Camera’s Hand-Tooled Bags at the KPFA Crafts Fair

By goodblacknews on December 2, 2012

Shaka Camera of Oakland has been a leather worker for over 43 years, specializing in hand stitched and hand tooled leather bags. His designs are earthy with a sophisticated touch – his bags practical yet unusual. Shaka’s pouches, purses, bags, even computer cases are embellished with beads, shells, silver and bronze acquired from his multiple trips to Africa.

Radiating from Burkina Faso in West Africa, where he has family, he collects beautiful objects for his finished work from the Baoule, Tuareg and Dogon people. The Tuareg of the Saharan interior of North Africa are well known for their fine silver jewelry.

Shaka may incorporate Tuareg crosses and cowry shells with other adornments in what he calls a “mixed Pan-African” esthetic. The Tuareg cross translates into a protective symbol and cowry shells, which were used for centuries as a currency in Africa, represent wealth, new growth and abundance. Carrying a bag with such adornments may have value beyond its beauty!

Shaka, whose company is Bogolani Designs, will show his work at the 42nd annual KPFA Crafts Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8 and 9, at the Concourse in San Francisco. His wife of 12 years, Amatula, will share his booth with her original clothing designs made with hand-woven fibers.

Read more at: Pan African designs adorn leatherworker Shaka Camera’s hand tooled bags at the KPFA Crafts Fair | San Francisco Bay View.

Haiti’s Rony Delgarde Forms Charity To Collect Paint for Third World Projects

By goodblacknews on December 2, 2012
Rony Delgarde, Founder of Global Paint For Charity
Rony Delgarde, Founder of Global Paint For Charity

Rony Delgarde immigrated to the United States from Haiti with only $5 and a Bible. The first thing he saw when he landed at Miami International Airport were all the colorfully-painted buildings.  “People paint their house yellow, white, red, blue and I said, ‘Wow, there’s so much paint in this country!'” Delgarde says.” I said, ‘When I get money in this country, I’m going to buy paint and take paint back home.'”

From that idea, Global Paint for Charity was born. Delgarde, who is 38 and works as a health care consultant, states the mission: “to recycle leftover paint from businesses and residents, processes it and then donate it to vulnerable families in developing countries all around the world.”