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MUSIC MONDAY: An MLK Day 2021 Celebration Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: An MLK Day 2021 Celebration Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on January 18, 2021

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

More than 50 years after his death, I can only wonder what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would think of the upheaval of 2020; of the push back on the sentiment that “Black Lives Matter,” and a white supremacist insurgency in our nation’s capital.

Would-be nazis and neo-confederates beating and murdering police on their way into storming the people’s house. We have come far as a nation, and yet what Brotha Ta-Nehisi Coates calls the “beautiful struggle” continues unabated.

As well all celebrate, serve, and/or reflect on this special of American holidays, here’s a collection of music for your mind, heart, and soul. (And in some cases, dat booty too.)

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:6i4lJaCQX6aes5CpV1judl”]

Many are classics that inspired the Freedom Riders during the civil rights movement, and others were written in the wake of George Floyd‘s murder and the protests that followed.

For my money 2020 was a good year for films by and Black people, as well as the sounds from them. One Night In Miami, Sylvie’s Love, Soul, and the Small Axe series to name but a few. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods both featured posthumous performances by the great Chadwick Boseman.

Here’s more than 17 hours of music to help steel you for the days, weeks, and months 2021 is certain to bring.

I plan to be back with more next week, y’all. Stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
Confederate General Robert E. Lee Statue Removed From U.S. Capitol Building

Confederate General Robert E. Lee Statue Removed From U.S. Capitol Building

By goodblacknews on December 22, 2020

[Photo: Workers removing a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington. | Jack Mayer/Office of Governor of Virginia]

According to huffpost.com, the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol early Monday morning.

The statue has been one of two representing Virginia (every state gets two; Virginia’s second is of George Washington) in the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall since 1909.

There is already a movement to replace Lee’s statue with one of Black civil rights activist Barbara Johns, who led an all-Black student walkout to protest school segregation in 1951.

To quote from the huffpost.com article:

In July, the Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol ― an eight-member commission tasked with deciding whether to recommend the removal of Lee’s statue from the Capitol ― unanimously voted to have the monument removed.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who had testified before the commission in favor of the removal, called the moment an “important step forward for our Commonwealth and our country” in a statement on Monday.

“The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion,” he said.

Earlier in December, the eight-member commission voted to replace Lee’s statue with one of Johns, whose organizing and ultimate court case later became one of the five cases reviewed in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The statue of Johns must be approved by the state’s General Assembly, according to Gov. Northam’s office.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/robert-e-lee-statue-us-capitol-removed_n_5fe0af61c5b6e5158fa8f910

MUSIC MONDAY: “One Nation Under a Groove” – Celebrating the Sounds George Clinton (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “One Nation Under a Groove” – Celebrating the Sounds George Clinton (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on December 7, 2020
by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

George Clinton, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, is one of the foremost innovators of funk music. And the originator of P-Funk, “uncut funk, the bomb!”

The Parliament-Funkadelic collective he lead championed an influential and eclectic form of funk music drawing on science fiction, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor. This work, Clinton’s solo career, and artists he’s championed have impacted, been sampled, and covered by funk, rock, and hip-hop artists.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:2yGmtPLCmANIVOTdw7B7LL”/]

George Clinton officially retired from touring in 2019 and has shown up on recordings in 2020. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Starting in the 1960s as a staff songwriter for Motown, Clinton eventually developed a sound once called “The Temptations on acid.” Just listen to Funkadelic’s “I”ll Bet You” and that comparison will be clear.

George Clinton has produced a diverse discography, with over 40 R&B hit singles (including three number ones) and three platinum albums.

Here are Clinton’s best songs and those of many of his protégés. I’ve also included covers of his tunes, tracks that sample his work, and tracks he has produced for other artists. Please enjoy.

Next week I’ll offer my Afroclectic Christmas collection. Until then, stay safe, sane and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
Campaign Zero Activist Organization Launches National Campaign to Ban ‘No-Knock’ Police Raids

Campaign Zero Activist Organization Launches National Campaign to Ban ‘No-Knock’ Police Raids

By goodblacknews on December 5, 2020

According to colorlines.com, data-driven, activist-led organization Campaign Zero recently launched their ‘End All No-Knocks’ campaign with the goal of transforming the way police search warrants are executed across the nation.

To quote colorlines.com:

Police raids disproportionately impact Black communities, according to research conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). No-knock warrants allow officers to legally force their way into private residences without announcing themselves or their purpose. “These raids, often carried out for low-level drug offenses, are executed at night by forcible entry, which commonly involves breaking through doors with battering rams, military-grade weapons and flash-bang explosives,” Campaign Zero said in its statement. Such practices endanger the community and can severely traumatize (or kill) children in the process—and in the case of Breonna Taylor, these warrants can also tragically lead to death.

“Simply banning No-Knock warrants isn’t going to make us safer and hold police accountable,” stressed Katie Ryan of Campaign Zero in an emailed statement. “In practice, knock-and-announce warrants can be executed like a No-Knock warrant so we must couple banning No-Knock warrants with heavy restrictions on the issuance and execution of all search warrants.”

DeRay McKesson, co-founder of Campaign Zero, said in a statement, “The trauma, injuries, and many deaths of innocent people make the practice of military-style warrant executions unsafe and barbaric.”

To read more: https://www.colorlines.com/articles/activists-launch-national-campaign-ban-no-knock-police-raids

Georgia’s U.S. Senate Run-Off Races in January 2021: List of Links to Donation, Volunteer and Voting Options

Georgia’s U.S. Senate Run-Off Races in January 2021: List of Links to Donation, Volunteer and Voting Options

By goodblacknews on November 28, 2020

[Photos: Jon Ossoff (l) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (r) via commons.wikipedia.org]

On January 5, 2021, Georgia will hold a special election with two run-off races for the two U.S. Senate seats held by that state.

Democratic candidates for Senate Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will face off against their Republican opponents that will determine the crucial balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

As it stands today, there are 50 Republican senators to 48 Democratic and/or Independent senators (Independent Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine caucus with the Democrats).

If Warnock and Ossoff win, the Democratic Party will gain control of the Senate, as Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris is by law the deciding vote in the event any 50-50 tie happens in that legislative chamber.

To get Mitch McConnell out of the Majority Leader position, it is crucial that both Democratic candidates from Georgia win their difficult run-off races.

People who want to see the above result but don’t live or vote in Georgia, there are still plenty of ways to help!

Good Black News offers sincere thanks to Georgia residents Julie Fishman and Amy Holmes-Chavez for compiling and letting us share the relevant links, resources and information listed below, as well as a this shareable Google Docs link with the same and more:

DONATIONS:

  • Fair Fight https://fairfight.com/ – Stacey Abrams’ organization that has registered nearly ½ million new voters in GA) will split your vote 3 ways between Fair Fight, Reverend Warnock’s campaign, and Jon Ossoff’s campaign.  
  • Vote Save America Donate – Vote Save America – Has links to 2 funds; one is the same one as the Fair Fight link above. The second supports 12 organizations working on turning out the vote on the ground.
  • Raphael Warnock – https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
  • Jon Ossoff – https://electjon.com/

PHONE BANKING/TEXT BANKING/POSTCARD WRITING:

The American Medical Association Declares Racism a Public Health Threat in New Policy

The American Medical Association Declares Racism a Public Health Threat in New Policy

By goodblacknews on November 20, 2020

New policy adopted by physicians at the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Special Meeting of its House of Delegates (HOD) recognizes racism as a public health threat and commits to actively work on dismantling racist policies and practices across all of health care.

In June 2020, the AMA Board of Trustees acknowledged the health consequences of violent police interactions and denounced racism as an urgent threat to public health, pledging action to confront systemic racism, racial injustice and police brutality.

The new policy approved by the AMA, representing physicians and medical students from every state and medical specialty, opposes all forms of racism as a threat to public health and calls on AMA to take prescribed steps to combat racism, including: (1) acknowledging the harm caused by racism and unconscious bias within medical research and health care; (2) identifying tactics to counter racism and mitigate its health effects; (3) encouraging medical education curricula to promote a greater understanding of the topic; (4) supporting external policy development and funding for researching racism’s health risks and damages; and (5) working to prevent influences of racism and bias in health technology innovation.

“The AMA recognizes that racism negatively impacts and exacerbates health inequities among historically marginalized communities. Without systemic and structural-level change, health inequities will continue to exist, and the overall health of the nation will suffer,” said AMA Board Member Willarda V. Edwards, M.D., M.B.A.

“As physicians and leaders in medicine, we are committed to optimal health for all, and are working to ensure all people and communities reach their full health potential. Declaring racism as an urgent public health threat is a step in the right direction toward advancing equity in medicine and public health, while creating pathways for truth, healing, and reconciliation.”

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Elected to Presidency and Vice Presidency of United States of America

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Elected to Presidency and Vice Presidency of United States of America

By goodblacknews on November 7, 2020

By now, you’ve all heard. All the major news outlets have called the 2020 election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.

Good Black News is sharing this momentous piece of news as well, and of course the biggest part of it from our perspective is that the first Black person and the first Black woman ever has been chosen by the majority of voters of America to be their Vice President.

It is a historic and momentous occasion and will today and always be honored as such. Tomorrow, even harder work begins, but today, we sit in this moment, celebrate and rejoice!

What We Can Celebrate Today: Cori Bush Elected as Missouri’s 1st Black Woman in Congress

What We Can Celebrate Today: Cori Bush Elected as Missouri’s 1st Black Woman in Congress

By goodblacknews on November 4, 2020

Nurse and activist Cori Bush, garnered a commanding 84 percent of the vote in Missouri’s 1st District to become the state’s first Black woman representative in the United States Congress.

“This is definitely a night to remember,” Bush told supporters during her acceptance speech.“This has been a historic day from the beginning to the end.”

To quote the New York Post:

Bush had the backing of the Justice Democrats — who helped propel Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to her first upset victory over 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley.

In her August Democratic primary, Bush had her own upset victory, defeating longtime incumbent, Missouri Rep. William Lacy Clay.

Bush got involved with the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014, when Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson.

She joined the protests that erupted in the wake of the shooting and soon began leading the protests in her Missouri district.

Bush has remained engaged in protest work ever since, getting heavily involved in the recent protests surrounding the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

To read more: https://www.vox.com/2020/11/4/21538719/cori-bush-ritchie-torres-jamaal-bowman-election-results

ELECTION DAY: Change Is Gonna Come… If We Vote!

By goodblacknews on November 2, 2020
GBN Co-Editor Lesa Lakin and Editor-in-Chief Lori Lakin Hutcherson voting in 2020

We have been living through the 2020 pandemic, protests, economic crisis and all too real and recent attempts at voter suppression happening across the U.S.

And the last thing anyone needs right now is another long article on the importance of voting. So here it is as succinctly as we can put it:

VOTING the one thing we can do to help ourselves and to help others.

To create the opportunity for change that embraces and includes instead of divides and excludes.

GBN supports the Biden/Harris ticket, because they are about embracing, including, bettering.

The other is not.

So if you haven’t already, please, get to a voting center… and help! (IWillVote.com can tell you where if you don’t know)

Onward and upward,

The Good Black News Editorial Staff

 

Virginia Military Institute Votes to Remove Confederate General Stonewall Jackson Statue from Campus

Virginia Military Institute Votes to Remove Confederate General Stonewall Jackson Statue from Campus

By goodblacknews on October 29, 2020

According to the Washington Post, Virginia Military Institute’s Board of Visitors voted Thursday to remove the prominent statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from the state-supported military school grounds in efforts to address continuous incidents and allegations of racism there.

 To quote the Washington Post article:

After reading descriptions by Black cadets of what they endure at VMI, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) ordered an independent investigation into the school’s culture. VMI’s superintendent, retired General J.H. Binford Peay III, resigned Monday in the wake of the controversy.

It is unclear where the statue of Jackson — an enslaver of six people who taught at the school before helping to lead the Confederate Army — will go.

To read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vmi-stonewall-jackson-statue-racism/2020/10/29/fc3b9490-1a05-11eb-aeec-b93bcc29a01b_story.html