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GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Garrett Morgan – Inventor of the Gas Mask Prototype (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Wednesday, February 9 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022, about early 20th-century inventor Garrett Morgan who, along with the tri-color traffic light, created the “safety hood” — a prototype for the mask American soldiers wore in World War I to protect them from toxic gas.

(Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Wednesday, February 9th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing. It’s in the category for Black Inventors we call “You Know We Did That, Right?”

You may have learned at some point that Garrett Morgan is the name of the person who invented the tricolored traffic light.

What may not ring a bell is that in 1914 Morgan patented a “safety hood” breathing device to filter out harmful smoke and pollutants.

When marketing this creation proved difficult for him, he hired a white actor to play “the inventor” of the device while he played “Big Chief Mason,” the inventor’s sidekick and guinea pig.

The charade totally worked—sales were brisk—and Morgan’s device became the prototype for masks used to protect American soldiers from toxic gas in World War I.

To learn more about Garrett Morgan’s life and work, check out the links provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Classical and Opera Singer Marian Anderson – “The Voice of Freedom” (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast expands on the Tuesday, February 8 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022, which offers an inspirational quote from famous contralto Marian Anderson.

I include that, as well as a bit more historical context and links to sources, which can be found in the show’s transcript below.

(Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Today, on #OperaDay, we offer an inspirational quote from famous contralto Marian Anderson, the first Black performer to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.

In addition to her commanding voice, Anderson is widely known for singing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in 1939 after the Daughters of the American Revolution enforced their segregationist beliefs and denied Anderson the opportunity to sing to an integrated audience at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and President Roosevelt supported Anderson, and over 75,000 people showed up to watch her outdoor concert.  To quote Anderson:

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.”

To learn more about Anderson, you can check out her 1956 autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, the book about her landmark performance called The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America by Raymond Arsenault or the 2011 award-winning children’s book The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman.

You can also watch Voice of Freedom, the 2021 PBS documentary about Anderson. Links to these sources provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022, published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

(paid links)

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Ethel Payne – “The First Lady of the Black Press” (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Although I have posted about the fabulous, fierce reporter and White House correspondent Ethel Payne on GBN before (link here), today I’m posting GBN’s Daily Drop podcast much shorter audio version based on the Monday, February 7th entry I wrote in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 on “The First Lady of the Black Press.”

(BTW GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar is now 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, February 7th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Extra! Extra! Read all about Ethel Payne, the “First Lady of the Black Press.” After her Pullman porter father died from an infection when she was fourteen, Chicago-born Payne scrambled to get an education and eventually found work at the Chicago Defender, which in its day was one of the largest African American newspapers with its informal national distribution carried out by tacit agreements with the Pullman Porters.

Payne’s reporting at the Defender was hugely popular, and she later became the paper’s White House correspondent, famously challenging every president from Eisenhower to Nixon on topics important to her Black readership.

In 1972, she became the first African American woman commentator on a national network (CBS).

If you’re interested in learning even more about Ethel Payne, which I recommend you do because frankly her life and her words are fascinating, check out the extended companion episode on Payne that I’ll be posting within the week as a bonus.

That bonus episode will be based on the longer article I researched and wrote about Payne on Good Black News, and that link will be provided along with links to other sources about Ethel Payne in today’s show notes.

Lori’s Good Black News article on Payne: https://goodblacknews.org/2019/02/03/bhm-extra-extra-read-all-about-ethel-payne-first-lady-of-the-black-press/

More sources:

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com (50% off with code:CAL50 until 2/28/22), Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: February 5th – #OnThisDay in Black History (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Here is GBN’s Daily Drop for Saturday, February 5th, a bonus episode sharing some of the historical events #onthisday in Black History.

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

Bob Douglas, the “father of Black professional basketball”

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of GoodBlackNews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Saturday, February 5th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Today I’m taking a look at some of the historical events in Black History that happened on this day. Because honestly, pick a day, any day, and I can tell you some good Black facts about it. And right now it’s February 5th, so were going to do that.

On February 5, 1972, Bob Douglas, owner and coach of the New York Renaissance who was known as “The Father of Black Professional Basketball”, became the first Black person elected and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Then seventeen years later on the same date, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the first NBA player to score 38,000 points and to this day the former Lakers center remains the all-time leading scorer in the league with 38,387 points.

On February 5th, 1994, the white supremacist murderer of Mississippi NAACP field secretary and civil rights leader Medgar Evers was finally convicted and sentenced to life some thirty years after he perpetrated his hate crime.

We’d also like to mention some Aquarians born on this day – Major League Baseball homerun king Henry “Hank” Aaron, Saturday Night Live and Ladies Man comedian Tim Meadows, New Edition and “My Prerogative” singer Bobby Brown and Barrett Strong, singer of Motown’s very first hit single “Money (That’s What I Want).” Strong turns 81 years young today – Happy Birthday to one and all.

Today also would have been the 27th birthday of Trayvon Martin, who was unjustly murdered almost ten years ago. May he forever rest in peace and never be forgotten.

This has been a bonus daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com [50% off until 2/28/22 with code:CAL50], Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Professor John Henrik Clarke, Pioneer of Pan African Studies (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Here is GBN’s Daily Drop for Friday, February 4th on John Henrik Clarke, professor and advocate of Pan African Studies.

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of GoodBlackNews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Friday, February 4th, 2022, based on the A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar published by Workman Publishing.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Drs. Joanna and Elmer Martin and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Here is GBN’s Daily Drop for Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, about the creation of The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, MD, the first all African-American wax museum in the U.S.

(Also available for streaming and download at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed.)

Transcript below:

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of GoodBlackNews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing. It’s in the category for Black Museums and Landmarks we call “Get the Knowledge”:

Sociologist Dr. Elmer Martin and his wife, Dr. Joanna Martin, wanted to teach Black history in a way that would grab kids’ attention—so they did it with wax. The Martins had wax heads made in the likenesses of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Nat Turner, then used department store mannequins for the bodies.

They originally presented the figures at schools and community centers in Baltimore, Maryland but after garnering donations and grants, the figures were upgraded, expanded in number, and permanently installed at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in 1983.

Just over two decades later, in 2004, the Great Blacks in Wax Museum was recognized by the United States Congress and designated The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum. If you want to learn more about the Martins and the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, check out the links provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Carter G. Woodson – “The Father of Black History” (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Here is GBN’s Daily Drop for Wednesday, February 2nd on Carter G. Woodson, “The Father of Black History” (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of GoodBlackNews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News based on the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day Calendar published by Workman Publishing. This is Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022.

Known as “The Father of Black History,” author and historian Carter G. Woodson was born in 1875 to formerly enslaved parents who were never taught to read and write. To make ends meet, Woodson often had to forgo school for farm or mining work, but he was encouraged to learn independently and eventually earned advanced degrees from the University of Chicago and Harvard.

In 1915 he helped found the Journal of Negro History, then in 1926, he began promoting the second week of February as Negro History Week. This holiday led to the month of February officially becoming Black History Month in 1976.

Additionally, Woodson wrote and published The Mis-Education of the Negro in 1933, which is now available for free download in the public domain. This collection of articles and speeches became a classic touchstone for educators, as Woodson advocated for excellence in the education of Black students and demanded that school systems across America eliminate curricula designed deliberately to “mis-educate” Black children and promote the fallacy of white supremacy.

To learn more about Carter G. Woodson, check out articles on him at history.com and biography.com, or pick up the full-length biography published in 2014 called, Carter G. Woodson in Washington, D.C.: The Father of Black History. Links to all of these sources are provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

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Follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website.

MUSIC MONDAY: MLK DAY – The Ultimate Civil Rights Soundtrack (LISTEN)

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Hello on this MLK Day Monday! Hope this missive finds you all well. I put together this collection of tracks to celebrate this day. I’ve included songs that speak directly to the struggle for Civil Rights.

Some of these tracks were favorite songs of Dr. King’s and other leaders of the movement. While other tracks both classic and new are inspired by their efforts and sacrifice.

I have also included a few excerpts for the great man’s speeches as well. Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke, Gil Scott-Heron, and Nina Simone are all present. Though so are Common, Steel Pulse, Killer Mike, and others that came in their wake.

Hope you enjoy the collection of soul, jazz, gospel, reggae, and hip-hop track to celebrate the King Holiday.

As always, stay safe sane, and kind. “See” ya soon!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

R.I.P. Sidney Poitier, 94, Legendary Actor, Director, Author and Ambassador

Sidney Poitier, whose portrayal of self-possessed, unapologetic and dignified characters in films such as To Sir With Love, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner established him as Hollywood’s first Black box-office star and Academy Award winner for Best Actor (for Lilies in the Field), has died at 94.

Though born in Miami, FL ,Poitier grew up primarily in the Bahamas. As an adolescent he returned to the U.S., eventually making his way to New York, washing dishes as he struggled to become an actor. He soon landed theatre roles but broke through as an emerging talent primarily in film.

Breakout movie dramas like No Way OutBlackboard Jungle and The Defiant Ones set the stage for Poitier’s superstardom. In 1959, Poitier returned to New York theater to star in the Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry‘s A Raisin in the Sun and its 1961 film adaptation.

Movies especially beloved starring Poitier were the ones he also directed, such as the action comedies Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s Do It Again, and A Piece of the Action. Poitier also scored a massive hit as director of the classic Richard Pryor 1980 comedy Stir Crazy.

To see Poitier’s extensive filmography, click here. And to see one of the most iconic film moments ever delivered by Poitier, check out the clip from In The Heat of the Night below:

In April 1997, Poitier was appointed ambassador from the Bahamas to Japan, a position he held for a decade, until 2007.He was also the author of his highly-regarded 2000 autobiography, The Measure of a Man, 2009’s Life Beyond Measure: Letters to my Great-Granddaughter and his 2013 fiction foray Montaro Caine: A Novel.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/movies/sidney-poitier-dead.html

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/07/entertainment/sidney-poitier-death/index.html

(paid links)

Happy New Year and Congratulations to January Winners of “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day® Calendar 2022!

First and foremost, Happy New Year 2022! Congratulations on the perseverance it has taken to make it to another year during such challenging times.

Secondly, we’d like to congratulate the January winners of our “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day® Calendar for 2022!  As a thank you for your readership and support, GBN has selected not one, not two, but five winners for December!

Congratulations to Sheila Collins, Fenesha Hubbard, William Walters, Charlotte White and Carla Brown! We will be contacting you each shortly via email to arrange delivery of your free calendars.

Thank you to everyone who entered the GBN Page-A-Day® calendar giveaway, and we hope our upcoming giveaways in the coming months will inspire you to do so again.

A Year of Good Black News for 2022 is filled with facts, history, bios, quotes, jokes and trivia in easy-to-read entries delivered on the daily, and if you still want to buy it for yourself, your family, children, friends, teachers or loved ones, use code: YAY21 at Workman.com to receive 25% OFF until January 3.

Or, if you prefer, you can also order from the retailers below:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523514299?tag=goodblacknews-20

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9781523514298

Books-A-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781523514298

Bookshop: https://www.bookshop.org/a/368/9781523514298

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781523514298?aff=workmanpub

Because interest in the calendar was high but not all who want it can win or by it, GBN is offering it in audio form day by day as Good Black News: The Daily Drop:

Good Black News: The Daily Drop is on SpotifyApple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Soundcloud, Google Podcasts and rss.com. Or you can subscribe by the rss feed via any platform you like.

Onward and upward… and thank you for your support!

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