Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Black History Month”

Puma Creates BHM Sneakers in Honor of Iconic Olympic Sprinter Tommie Smith

Puma Creates BHM Sneakers in Honor of Iconic Olympic Sprinter Tommie Smith

By goodblacknews on February 27, 2016
Image #: 13530908 American athletes Tommie Smith (middle, gold medal) and John Carlos (right, bronze medal) at the Award Ceremony for the 200m race at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, October 16, 1968. The Olympics Black Power salute was a notable black power protest and one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympic Games. DPA/LANDOV
American athletes Tommie Smith (middle) and John Carlos (right) at the Award Ceremony for the 200m race at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, October 16, 1968. (Photo: DPA/LANDOV)

The image above is a powerful one. This black power salute is embedded in our history. In 1968 Olympics athletes Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) made history during the Olympic games in Mexico City. With the world watching the sprinters stood on the medal podium and raised their black-gloved fists in the air in silent protest for human rights and for black Americans to stand in solidarity.
It’s that powerful image that was the inspiration for Puma’s capsule collection honoring Tommie Smith and Black History Month. What I didn’t realize is that gold medalist Tommie Smith removed his suede Pumas right before he stepped onto the podium shoeless in black socks, to represent poverty and slavery.  After that subtle statement, he then raised his fist.  With that unmistakable gesture, Tommie Smith altered the course of history and dedicated his life to change. Emblazoned with Tommie Smith’s silhouette, with fist raised, the Black History Month Pack honors a legacy on the track and off. I must applaud Puma for honoring this hero.
Yara Shalhidi and Tommie Smith at the Puma and Sheikh Shoes Launch Celebration at Mastro’s Beverly Hills
Yara Shalhidi and Tommie Smith at the Puma and Sheikh Shoes Launch Celebration at Mastro’s Beverly Hills (Photo credit: Charles Jim-George)

puma

Check out Puma’s Black History Month Collection here:
http://us.puma.com/en_US/men/featured/black-history-month
Sheikh Shoes:
http://www.shiekhshoes.com/m-9-puma.aspx
For more about the 1968 Olympic Black Power Salute:
http://time.com/3880999/black-power-salute-tommie-smith-and-john-carlos-at- the-1968-olympics/
Lesa Lakin GBN Lifestyle
Lesa Lakin, GBN Lifestyle

Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative Receives $1,000,000 Grant from Google

By goodblacknews on February 27, 2016
bryan_stevensongoogle
Bryan Stevenson at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Feb. 26, 2016. (photo via theroot.com)
article by Angela Bronner Helm via theroot.com
Tech giant Google announced on Friday that its philanthropic arm would be donating $1 million to Bryan Stevenson’s Alabama-based non-profit, Equal Justice Initiative.
The Harvard-educated Stevenson is a lawyer who has for decades fought the good fight—winning major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent prisoners on death row, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill and aiding children prosecuted as adults in a deeply flawed American criminal justice system.
EJI has also created the nation’s first lynching memorial and fastidiously marked lynching sites throughout the South.
Justin Steele, a principal with Google.org and the Bay Area and racial justice giving lead told USA Today, “I think what’s exciting about what EJI is doing is that at a national level it is really trying to tell the untold history around race in this country and help people develop a deeper understanding for the narrative around race and how we have gotten to where we are.”
Google.org made the announcement during a Black History Month celebration at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters where Stevenson gave a speech on how the Google grant will help further his work.
USA Today reports that the racial justice grants were born out of a growing consensus inside Google that it must respond to the police slayings of African Americans and the fatal shooting of nine black citizens inside a Charleston, S.C., church last summer.
In November, Google.org made its first racial justice grants, giving $2.35 million to community organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. This week, Google.org made four more grants, totaling $3 million.
Keeping in line with the activist mantra of organizing locally and thinking globally, the Equal Justice Initiative grant was the only grant gifted to a national non-profit—all other money was given to local organizations in the Bay Area working to eliminate racial disparities in education.
To see video of Bryan Stevenson’s Google talk, click here.
Read more at USA Today.

BUSINESS: Ernst and Young LLP Hosts Free Black History Month Executive Roundtable in Los Angeles

By goodblacknews on February 24, 2016

header_LA
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
In celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth, Ernst and Young LLP will be hosting a Black History Month Executive Roundtable event in Los Angeles tonight that focuses on stories of cultivating and leveraging diverse teams and achievements of successful black professionals.
Ernst and Young partner Gracelyn Hodge will be moderating the panel. Panelists will be Dr. Robert Cherry, Chief Medical and Quality Officer at UCLA Health, Cookie Johnson, President of CJ by Cookie Johnson, Beverly Kuykendall, President of American Medical Depot and Guy Primus, CEO and Co-Founder of The Virtual Reality Company.

WHEN:
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. |  Reception/Networking
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. |  Program/Panel Discussion/Q&A

WHERE:
The L.A. Hotel Downtown, 333 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
RSVP:
http://bit.ly/1S6PKDi 

Janelle Monae, Jesse Williams, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler to Headline #JUSTICEFORFLINT Benefit on Feb. 28

By goodblacknews on February 23, 2016
Ava DuVernay and Ryan Coogler in Hollywood on Dec. 14, 2015. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Disney)

article by Jaimie Etkin via buzzfeed.com
On Feb. 28, comedian Hannibal Buress, Creed director and co-writer Ryan Coogler, singer Janelle Monae, Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams, Selma director Ava DuVernay, and other entertainment notables will be joining forces onstage for a free event in Flint, Michigan, BuzzFeed News can exclusively reveal. The Buress-hosted gathering, dubbed #JUSTICEFORFLINT, is open to the public and presented by Blackout for Human Rights, an activist collective founded by Coogler which is devoted to addressing human rights violations in the U.S.
For almost two years, Flint’s residents — many of whom are black and impoverished — have been subjected to massive lead and bacterial contamination in Genesee County’s water supply, and forced to avoid tap water.
#JUSTICEFORFLINT will take place at the Whiting Auditorium (1241 E. Kearsley St.) on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m. ET to raise both awareness and funds for those affected by the water crisis. It will also be live-streamed via revolt.tv, and donations will be collected at the event and via text. Along with all the star power, organizers have also invited members of the Flint community to share their stories with the audience.
“With the #JUSTICEFORFLINT benefit event we will give a voice to the members of the community who were the victims of the choices of people in power who are paid to protect them, as well as provide them with a night of entertainment, unity, and emotional healing,” Ryan Coogler told BuzzFeed News in a statement. “Through the live stream we will also give a chance for people around the world to participate, and to donate funds to programs for Flint’s youth.”
Though the event does coincide with the Academy Awards — which largely snubbed Creed in nominations and did the same with DuVernay’s Selma last year — Coogler said Feb. 28 was chosen because it fell on the final weekend of Black History Month, and that the date overlap was a coincidence.
The idea for #JUSTICEFORFLINT emerged at Blackout’s last event #MLKNOW held on Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 28), which took place at Riverside Church in Harlem and drew more than 2,200 attendees and nearly half a million views online.
To read the full article, go to: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jaimieetkin/ryan-coogler-justice-for-flint-event?utm_term=.yt20eLa7#.wo7RP0QW

President Obama to Meet With Leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement At The White House

By goodblacknews on February 18, 2016

US-POLITICS-OBAMA-ECONOMY
President Barack Obama (Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty)

article by Zon D’Amour via hellobeautiful.com
The Obamas are adding to their epic legacy by powerfully celebrating Black History Month. First, Michelle Obama held African dance classes at The White House and now President Obama is set to meet with leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The President and The First Lady will host a Black History Month reception with two generations of activists as leaders from the Civil Rights Movement will also be present.
In this space, there will be an open dialogue, “…to discuss a range of issues including the Administration’s efforts on criminal justice reform, building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and the president’s priorities during his final year in office” according to an email from a senior administration official obtained by Buzzfeed.
Here is a list of the attendees, per the White House:
• Aislinn Pulley, Co-Founder and Lead Organizer with Black Lives Matter Chicago
• Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network
• Ben Crump, President of the National Bar Association
• Brittany Packnett, Member of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Co-Founder of We The Protestors and Campaign Zero
• C.T. Vivian, Civil Rights Leader and Author
• Carlos Clanton, President of the National Urban League Young Professionals
• Cornell Brooks, President of the NAACP
• Deray Mckesson, Co-Founder of We the Protestors and Campaign Zero
• Deshaunya Ware, Student Leader of Concerned Student 1950 at University of Missouri
• John Lewis, United States Representative (D-GA)
• Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League
• Mary Patricia Hector, National Youth Director of the National Action Network
• Melanie Campbell, President of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
• Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of Color of Change
• Sherrilyn Ifill, President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
• Stephen Green, National Director of the NAACP Youth and College Division
• Wade Henderson, President of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
To read more, go to: http://hellobeautiful.com/2016/02/18/president-obama-black-lives-matter-black-history-month/

Ten Museums in the U.S. Focused on African American History

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2016


article by JoAnna Niles via huffingtonpost.com
Black History Month is a celebration of African American history in the U.S.  Though most of it was done involuntarily, our blood, sweat, tears and lives literally built this country. Of course there is more to Blacks in America than slavery and Jim Crow; we’re inventors, writers, award winners, record breakers, politicians, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, musicians and so much more. I love learning about the history and culture through my travels, but there is nothing like learning something new about my own.
If you’re generally interested in history, want to know more about blacks in America or want to share more about black history with a child in your life, here are ten museums within the United States focused on African American History:

African American Museum in Philadelphia

The African American Museum in Philadelphia is the first institution built by a major United States city to showcase the life and work of African Americans. In addition to sharing stories on how African Americans contributed to America’s founding, it includes a hands-on exhibit for children to explore the daily lives of children in Philadelphia during the slavery and reconstruction era. Visit AAMPmuseum.org for more information.

National Civil Rights Museum

Located at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN, the National Civil Rights Museum is built around the site of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. Permanent exhibits include topics on slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow events during the Civil Rights movement that lead to change within America. Learn more at CivilRightsMuseum.org.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Located in Kansas City, MO, The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum showcases story of the founding of the Negro Leagues Baseball during the times of segregation and features more than Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige and Hank Aaron. Take a tour to see artifacts, photos and statues of Negro League players dating from the late 1800s to the 1960s. Learn more at NLBM.com.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute

The National Voting Rights Museum is located in Selma, AL, a pivotal site in Voting Rights Movement. Located at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the museum includes exhibits that remind visitors, old and young the struggle people went through to obtain voting rights almost 100 years after the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote. For current visiting hours and costs, visit NVRMI.com.

New Orleans African American Museum

I really wish I knew about this when I visited New Orleans, but I guess it’s an excuse to go back. The New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History focuses on the cultural history of blacks within New Orleans, particularly in Tremé community. The museum is currently under construction, but you can visit NOAAM.org or their Facebook Page for updates on re-opening.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located in Cincinnati, OH and focuses on accomplishments of the men, women and children involved in the assistance of freeing thousands of slaves. It also includes awareness of modern-day slavery and human trafficking within American. For more information about special and permanent exhibits, visit Freedomcenter.org

National Great Blacks In Wax Museum

Located in Baltimore, MD, the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum was the first wax museum of African American history in the United States. It displays exhibits we all know and learn of in school, but also includes little known facts, encouraging visitors to gain an interest in African American history. Learn more at Greatblacksinwax.org
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum

Northwest African American Museum

The Northwest African American Museum’s mission is to “…spread knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the histories, arts and cultures of people of African descent for the enrichment of all.” Located in Seattle Washington, the museum features programs and exhibits of African Americans within the Northwest through the arts and writing. Learn more at NAAMNW.org

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Located in midtown Detroit, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the world’s largest institution dedicated to the African American experience. The museum was founded a guide to educate visitors the achievements of African Americans throughout the years and overall celebration of black culture. For more information, visit TheWright.org
To read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-niles/10-museums-in-the-us-focused_b_9203258.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000051
 

Black History Month: Then and Now in Education with Charlotte Grimké and John B. King Jr.

By goodblacknews on February 10, 2016

Charlotte Forten Grimké (Image: Wikipedia.org)

article by Robin White Goode via blackenterprise.com
For Black History Month, we are honoring pioneers and their heirs apparent.
There are so many black pioneers in the arena of education, but one who stands out is Charlotte Forten Grimké, who was born into an affluent family that had fought for racial equality for generations.
THEN
Charlotte Forten Grimké   (1837-1914)
Charlotte Forten Grimké was the first northern African American schoolteacher to go south to teach former slaves.
Grimké was born in Philadelphia in 1837 into an influential and affluent family. Her grandfather had been an enormously successful businessman and significant voice in the abolitionist movement. The family moved in the same circles as William Lloyd Garrison and John Greenleaf Whittier: intellectual and political activity were part of the air Charlotte Forten Grimké  breathed.
She attended Normal School in Salem, Massachusetts, and began her teaching career in the Salem schools, the first African American ever hired. But she longed to be part of a larger cause, and with the coming of the Civil War Grimké found a way to act on her deepest beliefs. In 1862, she arrived on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, where she worked with Laura Towne.
As she began teaching, she found that many of her pupils spoke only Gullah and were unfamiliar with the routines of school. Though she yearned to feel a bond with the islanders, her temperament, upbringing and education set her apart, and she found she had more in common with the white abolitionists there. Under physical and emotional stress, Grimke, who was always frail, grew ill and left St. Helena after two years.
Today, Grimké is best remembered for her diaries. From 1854-64 and 1885-92, she recorded the life of an intelligent, cultured, romantic woman who read and wrote poetry, attended lectures, worked, and took part in the largest social movement of her time. She was determined to embody the intellectual potential of all black people. She set a course of philosophical exploration, social sophistication, cultural achievement and spiritual improvement. She was, above all, dedicated to social justice.
NOW

John B. King Jr.

John B. King Jr. (Image: Wikipedia.org)

John B. King Jr., (1975–)
John King Jr. is the first person of African American and Hispanic descent to be appointed Acting Secretary of the Department of Education. Previously he was Acting Deputy Secretary, and before that, the first African American and first Puerto Rican to be appointed Commissioner of Education of the State of New York.
Before King assumed these high-profile leadership roles, he was an award-winning teacher, receiving the James Madison Memorial Fellowship for secondary-level teaching of American history, American government, and social studies. He also co-founded a high-performing charter school in Boston, the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School.
King received a B.A. in government from Harvard, a Juris Doctor from Yale, and a Ph.D. in educational administrative practice from Columbia University Teachers College.
Although King was born into a well-educated and accomplished family (his father was the first black principal in Brooklyn, New York; he later became executive deputy superintendent of schools; his grandfather had attended New York University Law School), he experienced devastating loss and instability as a youngster, losing both his parents by the time he was 12. Seeing school and teachers as an anchor, he himself became a teacher and education leader, perhaps living out the potential that Charlotte Forten Grimké foresaw for all people of African descent more than a hundred years earlier.

Lionel Richie Inducted into L.A. Hall of Fame During African American Heritage Month Celebration

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2016
Singer/Songwriter Lionel Richie is honored with the Living Legend Award at Los Angeles City Hall on February 3, 2016, Photo: Getty/Earl Gibson III
Singer/Songwriter Lionel Richie is honored with the Living Legend Award at Los Angeles City Hall on February 3, 2016 (Photo: Getty/Earl Gibson III)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Four-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lionel Richie was honored on Feb. 3 with the City of Los Angeles’s Hall of Fame Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Education” at its kick off of African American Heritage month in the city.  Richie was also honored during the celebration with the “Living Legend Award.”

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who provided opening remarks for the ceremony that took place in council chambers, said the celebration not only recognizes the countless contributions of the awardees and all African Americans in the city, but the “collective history” of all Angelenos.

“We are honoring a musician, a philanthropist, a leader in education, a brilliant legal mind, and an outstanding official. And every single one of them is an Angeleno,” said Garcetti. “These people represent the best of who we are. They are angels here in the city, visionaries who follow their own paths, but are devoted to a common goal.”

(LtoR) Recording artist Lionel Richie, California Court of Appeal Justice Audrey Collins, DOE Chair Jerome Horton, and CSUDH President Willie J. Hagan. (photo via csudhnews.com)
(LtoR) Recording artist Lionel Richie, California Court of Appeal Justice Audrey Collins, DOE Chair Jerome Horton, and CSUDH President Willie J. Hagan. (photo via csudhnews.com)

Other inductees into the Hall of Fame were California State University, Dominguez Hills’ (CSUDH) President Willie J. Hagan, California Board of Equalization Chairman and CSUDH alumnus Jerome Horton (’79, B.S., business administration), and California Court of Appeal Justice Audrey Collins.

Garcetti, who introduced Richie, not only praised him as a distinguished musician, but as a philanthropist who is low-key about his giving, which is often done “when no one’s around, and no one’s looking.”

Richie, who has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, joined the Commodores in 1968, which became one of Motown’s most successful groups. He launched his solo career in 1981 and wrote some of the most “beloved” songs in the world, such as “All Night Long,” “Hello,” and “Endless Love,” a ballad he wrote and sang with Diana Ross.

“Who knew the power of how far one Afro can go,” Richie joked. “There was one great point of view that was prominent [throughout my college career], and that was that failure is not an option. … I was raised by a fabulous village, and one thing that I have carried throughout my life is that we have to give back. Around the world I tell kids, gang members—you name it—that parenting is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world. And if you don’t have a full set of parents, find someone who you can fall in love with and mirror.”

Google Doodle Kicks Off Black History Month Honoring Frederick Douglass

By goodblacknews on February 1, 2016

caixlekwcaay9fc
Google Doodle honoring Frederick Douglass (photo via google.com)

article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com:

If you happen to use Google today, you’ll notice the artwork of Richie Pope and his illustration honoring Frederick Douglass to commemorate the first day of Black History Month, as well as Douglass’ birthday. Pope’s drawing shows Douglass in front of a newspaper background inspired by the North Star, the newspaper which Douglass published from 1847 to 1851.
Throughout social media, people have been honoring Douglass and the contributions he made during his lifetime:
Douglass, who was considered the most important black American leader of the 19th century, not only was an outstanding orator, writer, supporter of women’s rights and abolitionist, but was also the first black man to be nominated to become vice president of the United States.
To read more, go to: http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2016/02/google_doodle_kicks_off_black_history_month_honoring_frederick_douglass.html

Ava DuVernay, Melissa Harris-Perry, Black Lives Matter & More to be Honored at Revolution Awards for Black History Month

By goodblacknews on January 27, 2016

2015-02-03-06-24-27.jpgHarlem-based cinema foundation ImageNation will honor the brightest entertainers and advocates who exude “Black Excellence” during the annual Revolution Awards, set to take place in New York next month.
The awards’ theme, eloquently titled Cocktails, Cinema & Revolution, will honor famed director Ava DuVernay, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, Black Lives Matter, and actor Hill Harper on Feb. 10.
ImageNation founder Moikgantsi Kgama shared her thoughts about how this year’s show will tie into Black History Month.
The Revolution Awards came to fruition in 2003, honoring the accomplishments of activists, actors, and artists who step outside the box to help improve Black and Latino communities. Past honorees and participants include Spike Lee, Congressman John Lewis, Erykah Badu, Lee Daniels, Talib Kweli, and the late Ruby Dee.
“History is being made everyday. This event celebrates Black History Month by recognizing our most inspiring change agents while highlighting ImageNation’s newest monthly film program Cocktails & Cinema. I am looking forward to the Revolution Awards returning to an epic evening of honoring those who make a difference,” said Kgama.
In addition to the awards, the film 1982, starring Hill Harper, Sharon Leal, Wayne Brady, Troi Zee, La La Anthony and Ruby Dee, will be screened. The movie stars Harper as a father protecting his daughter from his wife’s battle with drug addiction.  Harper will also engage in a discussion of the film with director Tommy Oliver, image activist Michaela Angela Davis, and noted psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere.
The event is open to the public. To find out how you can be part of the magic during Black History Month, get a ticket here and find out more about ImageNation’s 20-year legacy here.
article by Desire Thompson via newsone.com