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Posts tagged as “Civil Rights”

Florida Youth in Manatee County Work to Keep Martin Luther King Legacy Alive

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2013

Bre’Yahna Thompson, 15, of Bradenton, foreground, calls herself a “positive rapper,” and is very tuned in to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Behind Bre’Yahna is her father, Rodney Thompson. RICHARD DYMOND/Bradenton Herald
PALMETTO — Like other communities getting set to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 21, Manatee County’s religious leaders wonder if Dr. King’s message of brotherhood, nonviolence and persistence is getting through to the younger generation.  One way that is working, say local pastors, is the recently completed Dr. Martin Luther King Speech and Essay Contest in Manatee County, which involved more than 300 young people writing essays and researching King’s life and work.
Another way is through church, where pastors say a moment of silence and some discussion will be the hallmark of services on Jan. 20 and where a local Jewish temple is holding an interfaith Shabbat service honoring the civil rights leader.
But one talented young local African-American woman is trying another way to share King’s ideals.  She wants to use music to reach her generation.  Bre’Yahna Thompson, 15, a Bradenton home-schooler who writes poetry, plays the violin and cello, and calls herself a “positive rapper,” is working on a rap song about King that she calls, “The Story of a Leader.”

Smithsonian Exhibit Parallels Emancipation, Civil rights

By goodblacknews on December 18, 2012
Smithsonian parallels Emancipation, Civil Rights

Smithsonian parallels Emancipation, Civil Rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington for Civil Rights were 100 years apart, but both changed the nation and expanded freedoms.

Beginning Friday, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is presenting a walk back in time through two eras. A new exhibit, “Changing America,” parallels the 1863 emancipation of slaves with the 1963 March on Washington.

Artist Charlotta Janssen Creates Exhibit of Freedom Riders' Mugshots and Documents

By goodblacknews on August 24, 2012


Far off from the public eye, the Brooklyn Navy Yard looms over the Brooklyn waterfront, quiet and unassuming as a warehouse.  From its outside, you’d never guess this industrial landmass serves as a safe haven for businesspeople, photographers, media, and artists alike.
On a cool August morning, someone from the latter category stands right before the entrance. Clad in a green worksuit with blue and white splotches, Charlotta Janssen looks more like a hired house painter than a creative one. That perception changes once you enter her studio on the 8thfloor and give your head the 360 degree treatment.  To your immediate left hangs pictures of a naked couple presumably after sexual intercourse, to the right, a man with a half-smile, half-scowl on his face.
The main part of the room, however, is where your eyes stay focused: A picture of young Black children at a 1920s Harlem pool lines the upper right (in tribute to Harlem Renaissance man James Van Der Zee). A side painting of Trinidadian activist  Stokely Carmichael lies mere feet away. Civil rights staples Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks sit nearby with stern looks at the camera.
These three paintings make up part of Jennsen’s “Freedom Riders” exhibit. Currently on display at Philadelphia’s African-American Museum through September 30th, the collection of oil canvas mugshots of those who participated in the 20th century Freedom Bus Rides for integrated public transit is juxtaposed with ID cards, secretly handwritten notes, and any other written documents Janssen could find.

Artist Charlotta Janssen Creates Exhibit of Freedom Riders’ Mugshots and Documents

By goodblacknews on August 24, 2012

Far off from the public eye, the Brooklyn Navy Yard looms over the Brooklyn waterfront, quiet and unassuming as a warehouse.  From its outside, you’d never guess this industrial landmass serves as a safe haven for businesspeople, photographers, media, and artists alike.

On a cool August morning, someone from the latter category stands right before the entrance. Clad in a green worksuit with blue and white splotches, Charlotta Janssen looks more like a hired house painter than a creative one. That perception changes once you enter her studio on the 8thfloor and give your head the 360 degree treatment.  To your immediate left hangs pictures of a naked couple presumably after sexual intercourse, to the right, a man with a half-smile, half-scowl on his face.

The main part of the room, however, is where your eyes stay focused: A picture of young Black children at a 1920s Harlem pool lines the upper right (in tribute to Harlem Renaissance man James Van Der Zee). A side painting of Trinidadian activist  Stokely Carmichael lies mere feet away. Civil rights staples Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks sit nearby with stern looks at the camera.

These three paintings make up part of Jennsen’s “Freedom Riders” exhibit. Currently on display at Philadelphia’s African-American Museum through September 30th, the collection of oil canvas mugshots of those who participated in the 20th century Freedom Bus Rides for integrated public transit is juxtaposed with ID cards, secretly handwritten notes, and any other written documents Janssen could find.

New Martin Luther King, Jr. Audio Found

By goodblacknews on August 22, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — A U.S. man says he has discovered the audio tape of a forgotten interview with civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that was never published.
Stephon Tull says he recently found the nearly pristine reel-to-reel recording in his father’s attic in Tennessee. His father interviewed King in 1960 for a never-written memoir.
The tape captures King talking about the civil rights movement and relations with Africa. New York collector Keya Morgan authenticated the tape and is arranging a private sale.
Raymond Winbush of the Institute for Urban Research says there are few recordings of King speaking about the civil rights movement’s global impact.
On tape, King says of the struggle, “… historians will have to record this movement as one of the greatest epics of our heritage.”
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
via New Martin Luther King Jr audio found | theGrio.

Today In History: President Lyndon Johnson Signs The 1965 Voting Rights Act

By goodblacknews on August 6, 2012

 

Today in history: President Lyndon Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act | theGrio.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on July 27, 2012

“Whether you have a Ph.D., or a D.D. or no D., we’re in this together. Whether you’re from Morehouse or No house, we’re in this bag together.”
–Fannie Lou Hamer, civil and voting rights activist

Maya Angelou and John Lewis Named 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees

By goodblacknews on November 19, 2010
Images

Poet Maya Angelou and civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga, are among the 2010 winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.  President Barack Obama will present the awards to them and the other thirteen honorees early next year, the White House announced Wednesday.  Other winners include President H.W. Bush, investor Warren Buffett, plus St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan “The Man” Musial, Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.  Obama’s bipartisan gesture in picking the first President Bush for the honor is not unprecedented. Former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, awarded a Medal of Freedom to former Republican President Gerald Ford.
“These outstanding honorees come from a broad range of backgrounds and they’ve excelled in a broad range of fields, but all of them have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us, enriched our culture, and made our country and our world a better place,” Obama said. “I look forward to awarding them this honor.”  The medal is presented to people who have made notable contributions to U.S. interests, from cultural achievements to security matters.  The full list of winners:
–George H.W. Bush was America’s 41st president, and previously vice president and CIA director. He also worked with Clinton to raise money for victims Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.
–Merkel is the first woman and first East German to serve as chancellor of a unified Germany.
–Musial is a Hall of Fame first baseman who played 22 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals.
–Russell is the former captain of the Boston Celtics and first black man to become an NBA head coach.
–Yo-Yo Ma is a world renowned cellist who has won 16 Grammy awards and is known for his interpretations of Bach and Beethoven. He played at Obama’s inauguration.
–Lewis served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and helped organize the first lunch-counter sit-in. In 1965 he led the Selma-to-Montgomery, Ala., march for voting rights and was brutally beaten along with others in what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
–Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, is a famed investor known as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his prescient business sense. He is also a generous philanthropist.
–Angelou is a prominent poet, educator, filmmaker, producer and civil rights activist.
— Jasper Johns, an American artist whose work has dealt with themes of perception and identity. He is considered a major influence on pop, minimal and conceptual art.
–Gerda Weissmann Klein, a Jewish Holocaust survivor who founded Citizenship Counts, an organization that teaches students to cherish the value of their American citizenship.
–Dr. Tom Little, an optometrist murdered last August by the Taliban in Afghanistan as he and nine others returned from a mission to provide eye care in the Parun valley of Nuristan. The award is being given posthumously to Little.
–Sylvia Mendez, a civil rights activist of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
–Jean Kennedy Smith, a Kennedy family member who served as U.S. ambassador to Ireland and is the founder of VSA, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts that promotes the artistic talents of children and adults with disabilities.
–John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president from 1995-2009.
–John H. Adams, who in 1970 co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council, a prominent environmental advocacy group.
article content via Associated Press and businessweek.com

Syracuse University Law School Team Works Cold Cases From Civil Rights Era

By goodblacknews on April 25, 2010

Never Too Late For Justice:  Syracuse University Law School Professor Paula Johnson and her team work with families to solve cold cases from the Civil Rights era!  Watch the story on CNN by clicking here.

President Obama Speaks Out For Fair Immigration Reform

By goodblacknews on April 23, 2010

President Barack Obama calls Arizona’s recent immigration policies “misguided”, calls for protection of civil rights and federal legislation on immigration.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P_3UOHzIj0]