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Civil Rights Lawyer Michelle Alexander Speaks Against Mass Incarceration: the "New Jim Crow"

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2013
At a Monday talk, civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander condemned mass incarceration of African-Americans as a form of legalized discrimination.

Monday at Yale University, civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander condemned mass incarceration of African-Americans as a form of legalized discrimination. (Photo/Maria Zepeda)
Michelle Alexander, a civil rights lawyer who gained national renown after publishing the book “The New Jim Crow,” spoke to students and faculty at the Yale Divinity School Monday afternoon about the phenomenon of mass incarceration in the United States, which she described as a legalized form of racial discrimination. Because African-Americans make up a large percentage of America’s prison population, Alexander said millions of African-Americans nationwide are deprived of basic human rights to housing and employment, adding that the prisoners have fallen victim to the kind of racial discrimination that existed at the time of Jim Crow.
“We have not ended racial caste in America, we have merely redesigned it,” she said. “This is a system that has literally turned back the clock on racial progress in the U.S.”
Alexander said a series of American government campaigns to curb the illegal drug trade, commonly referred to as the war on drugs, is causing an unprecedented number of incarcerations, especially of people of color. More than 45 million people have been “swept into the system” for drug offenses, Alexander said, adding that the number of people currently incarcerated for drug offenses surpasses the number of people incarcerated for any one reason in 1980.

R.I.P. Former Temptations Member Otis "Damon" Harris

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013
The Temptations in 1972 (L to R): Richard Street, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards and Damon Harris. (Photo: Getty Images)
Otis “Damon” Harris, a former member of the Temptations, died at age 62 on Monday (February 18), according to the Baltimore Sun. The singer passed away at Baltimore’s Joseph Richey Hospice following a 14-year battle with prostate cancer which a family spokeman told the Sun had greatly worsened last summer.

Born in 1950, Harris joined Motown hitmakers The Temptations at age 21 in 1971 after a stint in a Temptations cover band called the Young Tempts with high school friends. The young musician, who sang lead on the Temptations’ Grammy-winning Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” in 1972, was in the group until 1975.
Harris went on to release two albums with his childhood friends in the group Impact, which produced the singles “Happy Man” and “Give A Broken Heart A Break.” Harris followed his time in Impact with a solo album, 1978’s “Silk,” before choosing to leave the music industry.   
During his later years, he was an activist for the group Stand Up to Cancer and his own Damon Harris Cancer Foundation, encouraging men to receive regular cancer screenings, as he himself had delayed in seeing a doctor prior to his cancer diagnosis.
article by Chris Payne via billboard.com

49 Years Ago Today: Muhammad Ali Wins 1st World Heavyweight Championship (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013

Ali Sonny Liston
Considered the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali (pictured left) possessed formidable ability coupled with a personality that gained him both fans and detractors. With his tall stature and unorthodox fighting style, Ali dazzled audiences and frustrated opponents with a seemingly limitless vault of skills. On this day and at the age of 22, Ali would defeat reigning champion Sonny Liston (pictured) to capture his first world title.
Ali went by his birth name Cassius Clay during the time of the bout, and the Louisville native was not favored to win after Liston handily defeated former champion Floyd Patterson twice by this point.
Leading up to the bout at the Convention Hall at Miami Beach, Ali uttered one of his many famous phrases and promised to “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” during the clash. Liston was feared for his imposing build and punching power but, as Ali artfully stated, the leaner and younger opponent picked apart his lumbering foe with ease.
While Liston finally did get going, Ali used his speed and athleticism to pepper his opponent’s head with jabs and big shots.
Ali Sonny Liston
While Ali predicted he would win by knockout in the eighth round, he ended upneeding less time than he thought.
After reportedly injuring his shoulder after missing several huge blows, Liston would not answer the bell for the start of the seventh round.
While in the ring, the animated Ali made another famous reference during an interview shortly after the bout. “I shook up the world,” shouted Ali at the top of his lungs. “I must be the greatest!”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OezriPEepZs&w=420&h=315]
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com

"Negro" Will No Longer Be Used on US Census Surveys

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013
This handout image obtained by The Associated Press shows question 9: "What is Person 1's race", on the first page of the 2010 Census form, with options for White: Black, African Am., or Negro. After more than a century, the Census Bureau is dropping use of the word "Negro" to describe black Americans in its surveys. Instead of the term popularized during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, census forms will use the more modern-day labels, “black” or “African-American”. (AP Photo)

This handout image obtained by The Associated Press shows question 9: “What is Person 1’s race”, on the first page of the 2010 Census form, with options for White: Black, African Am., or Negro. After more than a century, the Census Bureau is dropping use of the word “Negro” to describe black Americans in its surveys. Instead of the term popularized during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, census forms will use the more modern-day labels, “black” or “African-American”. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — After more than a century, the Census Bureau is dropping its use of the word “Negro” to describe black Americans in surveys.  Instead of the term that came into use during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, census forms will use the more modern labels “black” or “African-American.”
The change will take effect next year when the Census Bureau distributes its annual American Community Survey to more than 3.5 million U.S. households, Nicholas Jones, chief of the bureau’s racial statistics branch, said in an interview.  He pointed to months of public feedback and census research that concluded few black Americans still identify with being Negro and many view the term as “offensive and outdated.”

Hiram Rhoades Revels Sworn in as 1st Black Senator 143 Years Ago Today

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013

rhoades revel

The First Colored Senator and Representatives, in the 41st and 42nd Congress of the US. Top standing left to right: Robert C. De Large, M.C. of S. Carolina; and Jefferson H. Long, M.C. of Georgia. Seated, left to right: U.S. Senator H.R. Revels of Mississippi; Benj. S. Turner, M.C. of Alabama; Josiah T. Walls, M.C. of Florida; Joseph H. Rainy, M.C. of S. Carolina; and R. Brown Elliot, M.C. of S. Carolina. Lithograph by Currier and Ives, 1872.

On February 25, 1870, exactly 143 years ago today, Hiram Rhoades Revels was sworn into the U.S. Senate, making him the first black person to ever sit in Congress.  After the Reconstruction Act of 1867 was passed by a majority-Republican Congress, the South was divided into five military districts and all men, regardless of race were granted voting rights. Revels was elected by the Mississippi legislature, and seven black representatives were later elected for states like Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia thanks, in large part, to the support of African American voters.
Revels and some 15 other black men served in Congress during Reconstruction, and more than 600 served in state legislatures, while hundreds held local offices.
article via huffingtonpost.com

Whitney Young Documentary On PBS Tells Story Of Unsung Civil Rights Leader

By goodblacknews on February 24, 2013

 Whitney Young Documentary

WASHINGTON — Just before the March on Washington in 1963, President John F. Kennedy summoned six top civil rights leaders to the White House to talk about his fears that civil rights legislation he was moving through Congress might be undermined if the march turned violent.
Whitney Young Jr. cut through the president’s uncertainty with three questions: “President Kennedy, which side are you on? Are you on the side of George Wallace of Alabama? Or are you on the side of justice?”  One of those leaders, John Lewis, later a longtime congressman from Georgia, tells the story of Young’s boldness in “The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights,” a documentary airing during Black History Month on the PBS series “Independent Lens” and shown in some community theaters.

Gordon Parks Honored by Macy's

By goodblacknews on February 23, 2013

gordon-parks001NEW YORK – From one icon to another, this February Macy’s, an American retail institution, salutes American cultural hero Gordon Parks in celebration of Black History Month. 
Via special events and exhibits at select stores across the country, Macy’s will honor the legacy of this artistic master who chronicled and defined a generation and whose work continues to inspire artists today.
A humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice, Gordon Parks was one of the seminal figures of twentieth-century photography.
From the early 1940s until his death in 2006, Parks created a body of work that documents many of the most important aspects of American culture, with a focus on race relations, poverty, Civil Rights and urban life.
In addition, Parks was a celebrated composer, author and filmmaker who interacted with many of the most prominent people of his era — from politicians and artists to celebrities and athletes. In 1969 he became the first African-American to write and direct a Hollywood feature film based on his bestselling novel “The Learning Tree.” This was followed in 1971 by the hugely successful motion picture “Shaft.”

"Middle Of Nowhere" Wins John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000) At Spirit Awards

By goodblacknews on February 23, 2013

 The 2013 Spirit Awards celebration is still ongoing at this very moment, as winners are revealed.   Announced just minutes ago, Ava DuVernay’s Middle Of Nowhere won the John Cassavetes Award – which is given to the best feature length film with a budget of under $500,000.
The film’s competition included Breakfast with Curtis, Mosquita y Mari, Starlet and The Color Wheel.
On the full list of nominess are titles and names that you’ll be familiar with like Beasts Of The Southern Wild (in several categories), Gimme the Loot (for Best First Feature), Rashida Jones (and Will McCormack) for Best First Screenplay (for Celeste and Jesse Forever), Wendell Pierce for Best Male Lead (for his performance in Four), The Central Park Five and The Waiting Room for Best Documentary, War Witch(Rebelle) for Best International Film, and Stones in the Sun (for the Piaget Producers Award). 
article by Courtney via indiewire.com

Michelle Obama, Jimmy Fallon Promote Fitness with "Mom Dancing"

By goodblacknews on February 22, 2013
jimmy-fallon-michelle-obama-dance

NEW YORK — In honor of her “Let’s Move!” fitness campaign, First Lady Michelle Obama showed off her dance moves on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” Friday.
The first lady and the comedian appeared in a skit called “The Evolution of Mom Dancing.” In it, Fallon, disguised as a pink and green-clad suburban “mom” — was joined by Mrs. Obama in showing off dances like the “Go Shopping, Get Groceries,” the “Just the Hands Part of ‘Single Ladies,’” the “Where’s Your Father” (Get Him Back Here!),” the “Driving the Station Wagon” and the “Out of Sync Electric Slide.” But it was the first lady who wound up getting the better of Fallon’s hip swinging suburbanite when she launched into what has become one of her signature moves: “The Dougie.”
The skit was part of an appearance on the show in which the First Lady also challenged Fallon to a series of physical exercises, all designed to demonstrate the importance of keeping fit. The two even tweeted their pre-workout rivalry before the show, which was taped Friday afternoon in New York. Watch the dance skit below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq-URl9F17Y&w=560&h=315]

Johnathan Lee Iverson: Ringling Bros. First Black Ringmaster

By goodblacknews on February 22, 2013

Johnathan Lee Iverson is Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' youngest and first black ringmaster. (PHOTO CREDIT: EOS Marketing/Feld Entertainment)

Johnathan Lee Iverson is Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ youngest and first black ringmaster. (PHOTO CREDIT: EOS Marketing/Feld Entertainment)

Johnathan Lee Iverson is the luckiest man in show business. For 48 weeks a year, he is in a different U.S. city in front of bright spotlights, wearing a radiant smile underneath a top hat, entertaining alongside a diverse cast in lively costumes and doing what he loves most – singing.  “I’m a fierce advocate for living out the best life you possibly can. There’s no glory in living beneath yourself,” says Iverson.

And rightfully so. The 6-foot-5 performer is the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ youngest and first black ringmaster.  The New York City native’s stellar voice – since the 129th edition – has been a staple in the 143-year-old Greatest Show on Earth’s celebratory, mystic and family-friendly production.