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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.

New Yorker Magazine Cover Depicts Martin Luther King Jr., Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin & Mike Brown

By goodblacknews on January 17, 2015
Cartoonist and illustrator Barry Blitt is best known for his work with The New Yorker, and his latest cover for the magazine depicts Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a re-imagining of images seen in photos from the Selma-To-Montgomery march events. In the illustration, Rev. King is seen walking —  arms locked — with slain Staten Island, N.Y., resident Eric Garner and fallen NYPD officer Wenjian Liuwith, slain Black teenagers Trayvon Martin and Michael “Mike” Brown in the background.
The image is enhanced due to the inclusion of the American flag behind the marchers, and the serene look on the faces of the figures invites a moment of reflection of what was lost. Blitt was inspired to draw the cover for the New Yorker’s upcoming cover story, “The Dream Of Reconciliation,” because of the Selma marches. With King’s birthday on Jan. 15th, and the upcoming recognition of the civil rights leader this coming Monday, the timeliness of the illustration is noteworthy.
From Blitt and the New Yorker:

“It struck me that King’s vision was both the empowerment of African Americans, the insistence on civil rights, but also the reconciliation of people who seemed so hard to reconcile,” he said. “In New York and elsewhere, the tension between the police and the policed is at the center of things. Like Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, Martin Luther King was taken way too early. It is hard to believe things would have got as bad as they are if he was still around today.”

As the nation continues to grapple with the loss of Martin, Garner, Brown, Liu and his partner Officer Rafael Ramos, there is a collective outpouring of grief and questions that are still yet unanswered. Blitt, in his words, seems to recognize the weight of his art and the inquiries it will surely spark in the days to come.
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com

President Obama to Host "Selma" Screening at White House

By goodblacknews on January 16, 2015
Selma Trailer
 
The movie “Selma” may have scored only two Oscar nominations, but today it will attain  a special distinction as it is screened at the White House in an event hosted by President Obama.
“Selma” will become the latest in a line of Oscar contenders such as last year’s “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and 2012’s “Lincoln” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” to be shown in the White House.
Cast and crew from the movie “Selma” are expected to attend.
On Thursday, “Selma” was nominated for picture and for song, but the failure of the movie to draw nominations in other categories generated strong reactions on Twitter, where critics blasted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for an all-white list of acting nominees.
A White House screening can add a certain prestige value to a movie, perhaps even elevating its attention in the eyes of Academy voters, but the decision rests with Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on whether to publicly reveal their film choices.
They have tended to do so when the projects have strong social or historical themes, as will be the case with the “Selma” screening just before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday. In cases with movies like “Lincoln,” the White House has released photos from the event, and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was screened to high school students at the White House, followed by a film workshop featuring cast and crew.
Many of the Obamas’ movie choices, however, are not disclosed, as the 40-seat White House Family Theater is considered part of their private family quarters.
Presidential movie choices through the years have been tinged with controversy and curiosity. The first movie screened at the White House was in 1915, when Woodrow Wilson hosted a showing of “Birth of a Nation.” Richard Nixon was so obsessed with “Patton” that he had to deny years later that the movie affected his decisionmaking. An X-rated movie has even screened there — “Midnight Cowboy,” screened by Jimmy Carter.
The Obamas also have screened “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Julie & Julia” and “He’s Just Not That Into You.”
article by Ted Johnson via Variety.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.

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

California Attorney General Kamala Harris to Announce Bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2015
“She’s not testing the waters. She’s charting the course. She’s in with both feet,” said the source who requested anonymity while discussing Harris’ plans.
The move comes as California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he would not run for the seat, averting an ugly battle between two Democrats who share many of the same supporters, have national profiles, are both from the Bay Area and are popular with the liberal wing of the party.
Harris, 50, who is in her second term as attorney general, previously served as the district attorney of San Francisco. She is the first candidate to officially declare. Boxer announced last week that she would not seek reelection in 2016, setting off a scramble among Democrats who have not seen an open U.S. Senate seat since 1992.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer are seriously considering bids, as are several members of Congress.
article by Seema Mehta via latimes.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.

NYPD To Reform Stop And Frisk In NYC Public Housing

By goodblacknews on January 10, 2015

nypd-to-reform-stop-frisk-in-nycha-housing
New York City has agreed to reform stop and frisk police procedures in NYCHA public housing, the New York Daily News reports.
The agreement stems from Davis v. City Of New York, a class action lawsuit that NYCHA residents filed against the city over questionable stops and arrests in housing projects by NYPD officers five years ago.
Per the decision, a court-appointed federal monitor will supervise a training manual and procedure overhaul for cops patrolling public housing.
Now, officers who stop people in NYCHA properties must files reports documenting and justifying the encounter. However, the agreement does not discuss whether officers can use their weapons during the stop.
The ruling comes less than a month after a rookie cop accidentally shot and killed Akai Gurley in East New York’s Pink Houses. Officer Peter Liang was patrolling a dark stairwell in the area when he claims Gurley startled him coming down.
It also rides the heels of a 2013 ruling in Floyd v. City Of New York. In that case, Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled stop and frisk unconstitutional.  Coincidentally, the Davis case will also require Scheindlin’s approval. The city seems to support the NYCHA ruling, however.
“This settlement appropriately balances the need to maximize public safety while respecting the constitutional rights of NYCHA residents and their guests,” a city Law Department spokesman said.
article by Hannington Dia via newsone.com

Congressional Black Caucus Swears In Largest Group Of Black Lawmakers

By goodblacknews on January 9, 2015

cbc swearing in
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Chairman participate in a ceremonial swearing-in, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. on Capitol Hill in Washington, as the 114th Congress began . (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

Hundreds gathered in the nation’s capital Tuesday morning for the Congressional Black Caucus’ (CBC) swearing-in ceremony for both newly elected and current members of the 114th Congress. Forty-six African-American men and women took oath during the ceremony, making it the largest group of representatives to be sworn in to the CBC. One of the 46 was Republican Rep. Mia Love, who became the first Black female Republican in Congress.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield will lead the CBC as chairman. He plans on tackling poverty and other issues that have plagued the African-American community. “As we stand here now on the dawn of a new Congress, the 114th Congress, we must tell the full story — for many Black Americans, they are not even close to realizing the American dream. Depending on where they live, an economic depression hangs over their head, and it is burdening their potential and the potential of their children.
Black America is in a state of emergency today as it was at the turn of the century,” he said during the ceremony. “There will be times when I will encourage the CBC to reach across the aisle and try to reach some bipartisan deals that will not make us feel good, but will move the needle in our communities and communities of color.”
To see video coverage of this event, click here.
article via newsone.com