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Los Angeles Students, Among Others, Offered Free Admission to Watch "Selma"

By goodblacknews on January 19, 2015
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David Oyelowo portrays Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oscar-nominated film “Selma.”

Los Angeles students will now be able to watch the Oscar-nominated film “Selma” for free.
Local business leaders have pitched in funds to allow students to watch the historical film, which has been nominated for best picture and best original song, at no cost.

Los Angeles is among 25 cities nationwide where the community has contributed money to their local initiative.
“It’s important that the civil rights struggle depicted in ‘Selma’ reach as many young people as possible so that the enduring lessons of the civil rights movement can be harnessed to inspire them to transform their lives and communities,” said T. Warren Jackson, who helped organize the efforts in Los Angeles.
The efforts began in New York City, where 27 black business leaders put together a fund for 27,000 of the city’s middle school students. The tickets sold out the first weekend and the program was expanded to 75,000 tickets.
Students who present a current student identification or report card at a participating box office will receive free admission while tickets last.
Eight movie theaters in Southern California are participating:

  • AMC Burbank 16 – Burbank
  • AMC Del Amo 18 – Torrance
  • Cinemark 18 – Westchester
  • Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 & Xtreme – Los Angeles
  • Edwards Long Beach Stadium 26 & IMAX – Long Beach
  • Pacific Lakewood 16 – Lakewood
  • Pacific Winnetka 21 – Chatsworth
  • Regal LA Live Stadium 14 – Los Angeles

For more information, visit SelmaMovie.com/studenttickets.
article via abc7.com

Ball State Students Work to Transform City Bus into Traveling Civil Rights Museum

By goodblacknews on January 19, 2015

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MUNCIE, Indiana — A team of Ball State University students is advancing the dreams of local leaders to turn a retired Muncie city bus into a mobile museum exploring the history of civil rights in east central Indiana. When completed in early 2016, the Freedom Bus will be ready to roll out for local Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
The bus has been an educational project 10 years in the making. “So much of the work and fundraising so far has focused on getting the bus back out on the road,” said Beth Messner, an associate professor of Communications at Ball State and member of Muncie’s non-profit Martin Luther King Dream Team.

Vivian Conley
Vivian Conley

This fall, Messner and 14 students participating in an immersive learning course turned their attention to the inside of the bus, creating prototypes for exhibits showcasing the histories of central Indiana residents active in the civil rights movement. For example, visitors will learn about Muncie resident Vivian Conley, involved with the 1950s campaign to desegregate the city’s public pool, and Anderson sports legend Johnny Wilson, who played a key role in breaking down the color barrier in college basketball.
Jumpin' Johnny Wilson
Jumpin’ Johnny Wilson

This year, work continues on the bus as Ball State students test out a curriculum for its exhibits and Messner seeks grant funding for professional fabrication of the prototypes inside.
Asked what she hopes grade-school students who someday tour it will take away from the bus, junior history major Meghan Waddle said, “I hope it helps them make a more personal connection to history.” Adds junior telecommunications major Casey Marrero, “I want them to learn from it, get to know their community better, and leave feeling inspired.”
Sponsors for The Freedom Bus project include Ball State, Muncie’s Martin Luther King Dream Team, the Muncie Human Rights Commission, Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS), the city of Muncie, and the university’s Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Regina Wilson Chosen as 1st Female President of 75 Year-Old Vulcan Society of Black Firefighters

By goodblacknews on January 18, 2015

FDNY firefighter Regina Wilson has been elected as the first female president of the Vulcan Society of Black Firefighters.
FDNY firefighter Regina Wilson has been elected as the first female president of the Vulcan Society of Black Firefighters.

For the first time in its 75-year history, the Vulcan Society of Black Firefighters has elected a female president.  Regina Wilson’s new role is the latest achievement for the pioneering firefighter from Brooklyn who joined the FDNY in 1999.  “Being named president of such a wonderful organization is somewhat surreal,” Wilson, 45, told the Daily News on Friday.
A graduate of Tilden High School, Wilson joined the department as only its 12th African-American woman.  It was a job she never imagined holding.
Wilson was working as an accountant at a utility company when she attended a job fair at the Javits Center. It was there that members of the Vulcan Society recruited her to join the FDNY.  “I didn’t even think it was something that I could do,” Wilson said.
She’s now based out of Engine 219 in Park Slope and also works as an instructor at the Fire Academy on Randalls Island.  “It’s a full circle experience for me,” said Wilson, of Crown Heights.

“I have the opportunity to help and to mold and nurture people that are trying to be firefighters.”

Wilson, seen with fellow graduates at Brooklyn College, was the only woman in her class and the 12th African-American woman to join the FDNY when she entered the department in 1999. (DAVID HANDSCHUH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Wilson, seen with fellow graduates at Brooklyn College, was the only woman in her class and the 12th African-American woman to join the FDNY when she entered the department in 1999. (DAVID HANDSCHUH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

After 16 years in the department, Wilson said she’s finally seeing a concerted push to make it more inclusive.
“With the new administration, I, for the first time, feel hopeful,” Wilson said.
The FDNY, which was successfully sued by the Vulcan Society for discrimination last year, still has a long way to go.
Wilson remains one of only 10 African-African women on a force of more than 10,000 firefighters and officers, according to the Vulcan Society.
Former Vulcan Society President John Coombs hailed Wilson’s election as a historic moment for an organization dedicated to promoting diversity.  “We stand for what we fight for, which is inclusion and diversity in the FDNY,” Coombs said.
article by Rich Schapiro via nydailynews.com

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum to Host FREE Admission Day with Special Events in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By goodblacknews on January 18, 2015

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, OH is hosting its 14th annual FREE admission day in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 19, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Museum will offer a day filled with live performances, education programs and family activities that will highlight how people use music to find their voice and create a sense of community.
Visitors are invited to experience the Rock Hall’s many exhibits that showcase how Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and other artists have used popular music to communicate ideas to a wide audience and bring about social change.  The day of events is sponsored by KeyBank.
In addition to free admission, visitors will be able to enter for a chance to win a Museum membership, as five Family Roller memberships will be raffled off during the day.  For a list of current exhibits and for more information about this and other Rock Hall events, visit http://www.rockhall.com.
Klipsch Audio stage entertainment lineup:
Jason Walker of Sounds of Entertainment will emcee the events.
The Antioch Spiritual Arts Choir, an acclaimed co-ed choir from Antioch Baptist Church who focus on spirituals, folk and gospel music.
West Side Community House’s Summer of Sisterhood program began in 2010 under the leadership of Ali McClain, youth services director.  The program teaches girls ages 10-18 how the power of creative expression can positively change their community and even the world.  The girls work intensively for eight week with professional teaching artists to create original songs, music videos, and live performances of their work.
The Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word, a powerful performance arts and spoken word group comprised of adolescent males (age 12-19) from various inner city Cleveland communities.
Inspire *1* One, a band comprised of former students from Cleveland School of the Arts.
Lake Erie Ink, a writing space for youth is a non-profit that provides creative expression opportunities and academic support to youth in the greater Cleveland community.  LEI works with youth from different socio-economic, cultural and academic backgrounds, using creative writing to increase literacy and social engagement. The organization offers creative expression workshops onsite and off, to youth of all ages, including an after school program, weekly evening workshops for teens, and monthly weekend workshops and open mics.
Foster Theater Programming:
Programming will be taught by the Rock Hall’s award-winning education staff.  Seating is limited. Attendance will be on a first-come first-served basis.
Special Presentation:  “Rock and Roll and the Civil Rights Movement”
This program will explore how a range of artists, from Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke to Berry Gordy at Motown and rock and roll pioneer Fats Domino created a popular music that empowered African Americans to take their rightful place in American society. Young people of all races flocked to their performances and embraced their music, which helped to break down the walls and barriers that the Civil Rights movement was fighting against.
Album Spotlight: Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On
This special presentation will focus on the making and impact of Marvin Gaye’s landmark 1971 album, which still resonates for listeners today. The full album will be played, with no interruption, with discussion to follow.

Lee Daniels Wants "Empire" to Expose and Help Transform Homophobia in Black America

By goodblacknews on January 18, 2015
Director Lee Daniels, actress Taraji P. Henson and actor Jussie Smollett of Fox TV's Empire pose at the Fox Winter TCA All-Star Party at the Langham Huntington Hotel on January 17, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Director Lee Daniels, actress Taraji P. Henson and actor Jussie Smollett of Fox TV’s Empire pose at the Fox Winter TCA All-Star Party at the Langham Huntington Hotel on January 17, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

PASADENA, California (AP) — The creator of Fox’s prime-time soap “Empire” said he wants to “blow the lid off homophobia” in the African-American community with a depiction of the show’s lead character’s hostile relationship with his gay son.
Lee Daniels, who was also behind the movies “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and “Precious,” said that his own father’s hostility toward gays frightened him and he knows the same attitudes are being passed on from one generation to another in households around the world.
“What we’re trying to do is to give people the opportunity to see that what they’re doing is painful,” Daniels said at a television conference on Saturday.
“Empire,” the story of a strong-willed music family whose patriarch, Lucious Lyon, is portrayed by actor Terrence Howard, has gotten off to a strong start this month at the ratings-challenged Fox network. The series had the unusual feat of growing in viewership from its premiere week to its second, compelling Fox to quickly give the go-ahead to a second season.
During the show’s first episode, Lyon learns he has a fatal disease and is battling with his just-released-from-jail wife over which of their three sons will take over their music empire. Lyon is openly hostile to his gay son Jamal. During a flashback, Lyon is shown stuffing Jamal into a garbage can when he sees the boy trying on his mother’s high heels.
“I’m glad that I can show the African-American community that this is what you’re doing to your son, this is what you’re doing to your nephew, this is what you’re doing to the kid down the street,” Howard said.
Daniels said that he believes if his father were alive today, he would have evolved in his thinking.
Jussie Smollett, the actor who portrays Jamal, said he’s been overwhelmed by the response to the story line that he has seen in social media.
If there are viewers who can see themselves in Jamal, “that’s incredibly dope and I embrace that,” Smollett said.
At a time the movie industry is under fire for its commitment to diversity — only white actors received nominations when last week’s Oscar contenders were announced — “Empire” is seen as making strides in that area.
Taraji P. Henson, the actress who plays Lucious’ wife Cookie, said entertainment executives take notice when shows dominated by minority cast members make money.
Viewers want to see people who look like them on television, Smollett said. They’re also interested in people that don’t look like them, he said.
“Right now we’re seeing people enjoy the culture of America, the culture of the world,” Daniels said. “We’re showing real life now.”
article by David Bauder, AP via thegrio.com

Jamal Rutledge, 17, To Be Honored for Saving Life Of Arresting Officer

By goodblacknews on January 15, 2015
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Jamal Rutledge (pictured center) will be honored by the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida police department for helping to save the life of Officer Franklin Foulks, who arrested him last September.  Thanks to the 17-year-old boy’s quick thinking, Foulks is alive today, according to CBS News.
While Foulks was processing Rutledge’s arrest for violating juvenile probation, he suddenly fell ill and collapsed. Without waiting one precious minute, Rutledge, who was handcuffed, began kicking the security fence while yelling out to anyone within hearing reach that Foulks needed immediate help.
Three officers who were nearby just happened to hear Rutledge’s ruckus and responded.  The trio administered CPR and used a defibrillator in order to electronically jump start Foulks’ heart.

According to Ft. Lauderdale police, the medical personnel that tended to Foulks noted that had it not been for Rutledge’s quick thinking and the officers’ actions, Foulks might not have survived the heart-related incident he suffered on the job.

Rutledge and the three officers will be honored at a ceremony that will take place on January 20.
article by Ruth Manuel-Logan via newsone.com

Obama Fights Again to Get Paid Sick and Family Leave for More Workers

By goodblacknews on January 15, 2015

President Barack Obama
BALTIMORE (AP) — President Barack Obama launched a fresh push Thursday to bring paid sick and family leave to working parents and other private-sector employees as the White House unveiled proposals that could benefit tens of millions of people. Most require action by the Republican-controlled Congress.
“Forty-three million Americans do not get paid sick leave,” Obama said after a lunchtime discussion about juggling work and family with a group of women at a Baltimore cafe that offers paid sick leave to its small workforce. “It’s a pretty astonishing statistic.”
Obama said the issue transcends demographics and geography, but “the good news is that we can really do something about it.”
The White House said Obama will push the issue anew in the State of the Union address he delivers Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress.
Obama wants Congress, states and cities to pass measures to let workers earn up to a week of paid sick time a year. He’ll also ask for more than $2 billion to encourage states to create paid family and medical leave programs.
Obama also will propose that Congress pass legislation giving federal workers an additional six weeks of paid parental leave.
Before traveling to Maryland, he directed federal agencies to advance six weeks of paid sick leave that federal workers could use as paid family leave. The leave would have to be paid back over time.
The White House said details on how Obama would raise the $2 billion will be released next month.

21st Annual African-American Film Marketplace and S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase to Feature Gina Prince-Bythewood & Michael Schultz

By goodblacknews on January 14, 2015

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(Hollywood, CA) – The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC) hosts its 21st Annual African American Film Marketplace and S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase January 16-18, 2015 at Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California 90038.
Presenting 52 short films, youth films, documentaries and animated shorts, featuring over 45 Filmmakers from all over the country, Q&A after selected blocks of films, and an evening with famed director Michael Schultz and special surprise guest filmmakers.
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On Friday, January 16, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the Opening Night Reception, BHERC will host a conversation with Schultz as it presents the best BHERC independent short filmmakers of 2014.
Schultz, an alumni of Princeton University, the Negro Ensemble Company, and an inductee into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, is best known for his direction of “Cooley High,” “Car Wash” and “Which Way Is Up?”, and most recently “Woman Thou Art Loosed.”  Some of his episodic television direction includes “Arrow,” “Single Ladies” and “Black-ish” to name a few.
Gina Prince-Bythewood (Writer/Producer/Director) wrote and directed the widely-acclaimed feature film “Love & Basketball,”  which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Prince-Bythewood won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and a Humanitas Prize for her work on the film.
She followed that success with the HBO film “Disappearing Acts.”  In 2008, she wrote and directed the celebrated adaptation of the best-selling novel, “The Secret Life of Bees.” The all-star cast included Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Hudson, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys. The film won two People’s Choice Awards and two NAACP Image Awards.gina prince-bythewood
Her third feature, “Beyond the Lights,” was released on Nov. 14, 2014. The love story set in the music world, stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver and Danny Glover. It received rave reviews and landed on a number of top critics Best of 2014 lists.
Prince-Bythewood studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynolds Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate.  Upon her graduation, she was hired as a writer on the television series “A Different World.”  She continued to write and produce for network television on series such as “Felicity,” “South Central,” and “Sweet Justice”  before making the transition to directing.

Gamers Unite To Raise Money For Eric Garner’s Family With #Spawn4Good Event on January 17 & 18

By goodblacknews on January 13, 2015
Protest Continue Across Country In Wake Of NY Grand Jury Verdict In Chokehold Death Case
Ever since the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice—all unarmed Black men killed by the hands of police— have swept social consciousness, there has been a sense of growing helplessness and frustration in the Black community. This frustration was ignited with the refusals of grand juries to indict police officers that led to a wave of protests around the globe. Social media and technology played a large role as users adopted the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #icantbreathe as their rallying cry. Even the hacker group Anonymous took up banners in search of justice. Now gamers are making their voices heard with #Spawn4Good, gaming charity event against police brutality.
The #Spawn4Good event— taking place January 17 and 18— invites gamers all over the world to stream on Twitch in an unprecedented act of solidarity to reflect and take a stand against the unequal treatment of people of color at the hands of law enforcement.  The initiative will also raise funds through CrowdRise with the donations being distributed to the Eric Garner Fund, and The New York Lawyers Guild.
#Spawn4Good is the brain child of Kahlief Adams, Owner and Editor in Chief of SpawnPointBlog.  Along with the podcast Spawn On Me, the site spotlights people of color in the gaming industry. When asked why he chose gaming as a platform, Adams said, “Gaming is and has been a part of our lives since we were very little, and it only feels natural to help in this way. We’ve seen the awful reshaping of what the term “gamer” has been over the past year with the #GamerGate & #NotYourShield debacles and felt like this was a way push back against the consistent apathetic feelings we see in our own gaming communities when it comes to issues of racial disparity and injustice.”
“There was a bigger uproar over the last Destiny update than there was over any of the issues facing gamers of color and their communities and we feel like that needs addressing.”
Adams joins a growing movement of people accepting the evolving notion of gaming as more than just a male teenager’s pastime. With 59% of Americans playing video games and the average age being 31 according to the Entertainment Software Association, the look of the gamer is changing and driving change not only in pocketbooks but in social issues. Engaged gamers have been motivated to donate more than 101 billion grains of rice through the World Food Programs online game FreeRice, the annual Awesome Games Done Quick Event raised over $1,000,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation in a live streaming event and there are organizations like the annual Games for Change Festival that showcase games developed for education, activism and that effect social or environmental change.
For those interested in taking part you can donate via CrowdRise, watch the Twitch stream on (SOM) & (SOM2) or can spread the word at @spawnonme on Twitter and by using the tag #Spawn4Good.
article by Ian Freeman via theurbandaily.com

New York City Settles Three Brothers’ Wrongful Conviction Cases for $17 Million

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2015
Alvena Jennette, right, and Robert Hill left court in Brooklyn after being exonerated in May. A third half brother, Darryl Austin, died in prison. (Credit: Michael Appleton for The New York Times)

The New York City comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, has agreed to pay $17 million to settle three more claims based on wrongful criminal convictions, his office said on Sunday, part of an emerging strategy to resolve civil rights cases before they are formally filed as lawsuits in court.

The settlements were reached with three defendants whose cases involved Louis Scarcella, the retired homicide detective whose investigative tactics have come under question and whose cases are being reviewed by the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.

The men, Robert Hill, Alvena Jennette and Darryl Austin, who are half brothers, spent a combined total of 60 years in prison — one died there — before their convictions, made in the 1980s, were vacated by a judge in May. The office of Kenneth P. Thompson, the Brooklyn district attorney, is examining 130 convictions, including 70 cases in which Mr. Scarcella played a key role. Most of the cases under review date to the crime-plagued 1980s and 1990s.