Author and award-winning journalist Farai Chideya has created and will host Our Body Politic, a weekly podcast debuting this weekend that is “unapologetically centered on reporting not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those issues.”
Farai Chideya (photo: Twitter)
Our Body Politic will focus on women of color as a super-demographic in American politics and ask how we can save and improve our own lives and that of our nation. Episodes will feature in-depth conversations about the economy, healthcare, politics, the environment and education every Friday. To listen to the trailer below:
The podcast will be available through a host of sponsor stations including KCRW, KPCC, KQED and WITF among others. You can also subscribe by clicking here.
For anyone who want to call in with questions or to tell the show what’s on your mind, you can leave a message at the number Chideya is posting on Twitter: 929-353-7006.
(The Emotions, September 1977 Pamela Hutchinson, center: Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Pamela Hutchinson, singer from the famed R&B group The Emotions, has died at the age of 61, according to a post on the band’s official Facebook page Sunday.
The Emotions were comprised of Hutchinson and her sisters, Wanda Hutchinson-Vaughn, Jeanette Hutchinson-Hawes and Sheila Hutchinson-Witt. The family act got its start in Chicago, IL as the gospel group the Hutchinson Sunbeams before transitioning to disco/R&B.
“Pam succumbed to health challenges that she’d been battling for several years,” the post said. “Now our beautiful sister will sing amongst the angels in heaven in perfect peace.”
The Emotions’ two biggest hits were the R&B/disco classics “Best of My Love” and “Boogie Wonderland,” the latter of which they collaborated with Earth, Wind & Fire. Other hit singles include “Don’t Ask My Neighbors,” “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love,” “You’re the Best” and “Turn it Out.”
The term “Afro-Latin” is used to describe types of music from Latin American countries that were influenced by the Black population that came from Africa and established themselves mostly in major port cities.
When these Africans were brought over, the only thing they really could bring with them was culture. Whether it was music, dance, or religious beliefs, they attempted to preserve as much of their rich cultural heritage as possible in their new country.
I could probably do several playlists, but this one as features cumbia, bachata, bossa nova, merengue, rumba, salsa, samba, and tango. Afro-Latin artists have influenced many styles by the music of the United States giving rise to genres such as Latin pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, and reggaeton.
Please enjoy this freewheeling collection of music from Latin America and the US.
On Monday, Netflix will debut A Love Song For Latasha, a short film by first-time filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison that explores what life could have been like for 15 year-old Latasha Harlins had she not been fatally shot by a Korean convenience store owner in Los Angeles in 1991.
Harlins was shot in the back of the head by Soon Ja Du, then a 51-year-old Korean woman who suspected Latasha was trying to steal a $1.79 bottle of orange juice. Security footage later confirmed that Latasha had money in her hand and intended to pay for the beverage and Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
Though the jury recommended a 16-year prison stint, Du was sentenced to time served, five years probation, community service, funeral expenses and $500 restitution. Harlins’ killing and the trial outcome were factors that served as a catalyst for the unrest that erupted in Los Angeles in 1992 after the police who brutalized Rodney King were acquitted.
A Love Song For Latasha explores the teenager’s life and dreams through accounts from her family and friends. Watch the trailer below:
“As an LA native, I’m really interested in what it means to interrogate and conjure and excavate stories of the community and stories of Black women and Black girls,” Allison told theGrio exclusively.
“Being a young girl during the riots, Latasha wasn’t a name I often heard. It was always Rodney King. It’s still a story people don’t talk about and her name is often forgotten. She played such an important and devastating role in that shift that happened in South Central and I wanted to see her story live in its fullness.”
Tupac Shakur immortalized Latasha’s story in several of his hits, including “Keep Ya Head Up,” which he dedicated to the slain teen. He referenced her in other tracks like “Something 2 Die 4,” “Thugz Mansion,” and “I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto” and Ice Cube included a song about her on his album, Death Certificate, entitled ”Black Korea.”
“Latasha could have been a family member, or one of my friends. Latasha could have been me,” said Allison. “I wanted to make sure this archive, this story, and this memory existed for Latasha and that there was this evidence of her outside of just the trauma. Her story needed to exist beyond what we have seen.”
Director and Academy Award-winning writer John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) also devoted a section of his 2017 documentary Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 to Harlins, her tragic killing and the relative lack of justice her killer faced. Let It Fall can also be found on Netflix.
San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, in partnership with Expecting Justice, announced this week the launch of the Abundant Birth Project, a pilot program that provides targeted basic income to women during pregnancy and after giving birth.
The pilot will provide an unconditional monthly income supplement of $1,000 to approximately 150 Black and Pacific Islander women in San Francisco for the duration of their pregnancy and for the first six months of their baby’s life, with a goal of eventually providing a supplement for up to two years post-pregnancy.
Expecting Justice, a collective impact initiative led by Dr. Zea Malawa at the San Francisco Department of Public Health and supported by the Hellman Foundation and the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative, will study the resulting health impacts of the pilot program, which is the first of its kind in the United States.
The Abundant Birth Project is a simple, yet novel, approach to achieving better maternal health and birthing outcomes: provide pregnant Black and Pacific Islander women a monthly income supplement for the duration of their pregnancy and during the postpartum period as an economic and reproductive health intervention.
Prematurity is a leading cause of infant mortality and has been linked to lifelong conditions, such as behavioral development issues, learning difficulties, and chronic disease. In San Francisco, Black infants are almost twice as likely to be born prematurely compared with White infants (13.8% versus 7.3%, from 2012-2016) and Pacific Islander infants have the second-highest preterm birth rate (10.4%).
Furthermore, Black families account for half of the maternal deaths and over 15% of infant deaths, despite representing only 4% of all births. Pacific Islander families face similar disparities.
We know where you were last night. Millions of fans of a certain age were enjoying the stay-at-home celebration dubbed by the internet as “AuntieChella,” as Gladys Knight and Patti Labelle ‘battled’ it out on Instagram/Apple Music‘s “Verzuz” series.
Verzuz was created a few months ago by hitmaking producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz as a way for music fans to honor their greats while relaxing at home during these quarantine times.
For those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, the sessions are not truly a ‘battle’ – but rather an occasion for two legends to get together (whether in real life like last night, or virtually) and banter about their careers while having a listening party of the greatest hits of each artist.
The battle was epic, with both ladies, now in their late ’70s, decked out in stylish pantsuits, and sharing their love for each other amidst career stories, lots of live singing, and plenty of chair grooving.
Michelle Obama, Oprah, and Queen Latifah were tuned in to hear such hits as “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Over the Rainbow,” “You Are My Friend” and ‘The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.”
Gladys honored all phases of her career, delving back into her early doo-wop hit “Every Beat of My Heart,” her Motown Pips years with “Friendship Train,” her ’80s hits like “Love Overboard” and the Bond theme “License to Kill.”
Patti focused on her material from her solo years, mixing ballad favorites like “Somebody Loves You Baby” and “If Only You Knew” with uptempo hits like “The Right Kinda Lover” and “Feels Like Another One.”
The evening was capped off when Dionne Warwick surprised the audience with a special appearance to end the show, as they joined her to sing “That’s What Friends Are For” and their hit version of “Superwoman.”
The three of them had previously worked together on a special called “Sisters in the Name of Love” that Gladys had produced for HBO in the late ’80s (there are some fan posts of it on YouTube that offer some thrilling harmonies).
Gladys, Dionne, Patti
Of course with these vets, even a couple of hours of hits doesn’t come close to diving into their full careers. So in case you were ready for more, we’ve done that work for you – pairing up additional Patti and Gladys hits and deep tracks from the rest of their six decade careers for GBN’s latest playlist: “Gladys Knight Verzuz Patti Labelle – The Best of the Rest.”
We’ve gone beyond the biggest hits, and focused solely on extensive additional material they did not cover during last night’s show.
While Patti and Gladys both hit the charts for the first time in the very early ’60s – their careers have actually taken very divergent paths before, in more recent years, they’ve ended up as favorite Aunties to the Black community.
Mara Brock Akil, the creator and writer/producer behind such hit series as Being Mary Jane, Black Lightning, Girlfriends and The Game and has signed a multi-year overall deal with Netflix to create new original content, according to Deadline.com.
The deal was announced the same week that Akil’s beloved comedy Girlfriends debuted on Netflix, marking the series’ 20th anniversary. All eight seasons of the sitcom starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White and Jill Marie Jones join The Game on the platform.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mara Brock Akil to Netflix,” said Channing Dungey, VP Original Series, Netflix. “Her signature storytelling, authentic perspective and captivating characters have long entertained audiences and proven to be relevant, timely and endlessly engaging. We look forward to bringing her distinct voice, vision and passion to our global members.”
Akil becomes the latest showrunner to sign with Netflix and joins a roster of powerhouse content creators that includes Shonda Rhimes, Kenya Barris and Ryan Murphy, among several others.
This September 11th also marked the passing of one of the fathers of reggae music: Toots Hibbert.
Starting out with the rock steady pioneer Clement “Coxcome” Dodd, The Maytals emerged as one of the earliest reggae hit-makers. Hibbert holds a firm spot in Jamaica’s musical pantheon as the first artist to use the word reggae on a record, “Do The Reggay,” and to bring the music to the world at large.
Many likely first heard his songs covered by The Clash, The Specials, and other punk and ska artists. This collection features the Toots & The Maytals versions of “Monkey Man” and “Pressure Drop.”
I have also included some of his many covers including “Country Road” and collaborations with Willie Nelson, UB40, The Easy Star All-Stars, Los Pericos and others.
Hope you all enjoy this tribute to one reggae and ska music’s most enduring founders. Have a great week, and see you next Monday.
Yesterday, city workers in Charlottesville, VA brought down a Confederate statue near the site of a violent white nationalist rally three years ago, where dozens were injured and one woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a self-avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of people protesting the rally.
The removal of the bronze figure of a Confederate soldier known as “At Ready,” is what is being seen in Charlottesville as a milestone in eliminating oppressive symbols of the Civil War from public properties shared by all taxpayers.
According to the Washington Post, Albemarle County supervisors voted earlier this summer to take down “At Ready,” even though the statue was not the focal point of the 2017 rally, but a block away from the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups said they were defending in the clash.
Naomi Osaka came through in all ways during her journey to today’s victory in the women’s singles title match of the 2020 U.S. Open.
Not only did now two-time U.S. Open winner Osaka rally to beat challenger Victoria Azarenka (who bested six-time U.S. Open champion Serena Williams in the semi-final in three sets with the mirrored score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-3), she did so while making powerful protest statements before every match.
Osaka wore seven different masks with seven different names of Black individuals who have died violently, unnecessarily, and mostly at the hands of police officers: Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Elijah McLain, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castile and today, before her final match, Tamir Rice.
