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Posts tagged as “Lori Lakin Hutcherson”

GBN’s Daily Drop: Learn About Designer and Hip Hop Style Icon Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Thursday, February 17 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 about designer and hip-hop style innovator and icon Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day.

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Thursday, February 17th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

In the wake of New York Fashion Week, today we take a look at designer Daniel Day, best known as “Dapper Dan.”

Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day made his mark in the 1980s by reworking luxury label products with a hip-hop aesthetic and a signature style.

Known first for his jackets and coats, the self-taught tailor dressed artists such as LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Eric B. & Rakim and Salt-N-Pepa and athletes such as boxing champions Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather.

After legal trouble with several designer brands, Dan made a comeback in 2017 by partnering with Gucci to create a new menswear line. Dan and Gucci built on that success and in 2018 opened the first luxury fashion house in his home neighborhood called Dapper Dan’s of Harlem.

To learn more about Dapper Dan, you can read his 2019 New York Times Bestseller Dapper Dan Made In Harlem: A Memoir, check out his CBS Sunday Morning interview, his appearance on The Breakfast Club, Dan’s own webpage and a compilation post of some of Dan’s classic, iconic designs.

Links to these and other sources on Dapper Dan are provided in today’s show notes and also in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

Sources:

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

(paid link)

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Ann Lowe – Fashion Designer for Harlem, Hollywood and the White House (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Wednesday, February 16 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 about haute couture designer and entrepreneur Ann Lowe.

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Wednesday, February 16th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

As New York’s Fashion Week for 2022 concludes, today we take a look at esteemed designer and dressmaker Ann Lowe.

In 1914, when Ann Lowe was sixteen years old, her mother, who was a seamstress, died suddenly. Though grieving, Lowe finished her mother’s last job—creating four ball gowns for the First Lady of Alabama and launching her career as a designer of haute couture.

Years later, although she received no credit for either, Lowe made both actress Olivia de Havilland’s distinctive flower-covered dress for the 1946 Academy Awards and Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic wedding dress in 1953.

Her store, Ann Lowe’s Gowns, opened in Harlem in 1950, and in 1968, when she opened a second location, Lowe became the first Black woman to own a boutique on Madison Avenue.

To learn more about Ann Lowe’s life and career, read Something To Prove: A Biography of Ann Lowe America’s Forgotten Designer by Julia Faye Smith, check out her designs on the Fashion Institute of Technology’s website, the National First Ladies Library lecture on Lowe that’s on YouTube, as well as links to other sources provided in today’s show notes as well as in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

Other sources for Lowe:

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

(paid links)

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Director and Playwright George C. Wolfe Quote on the Source of Style (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Tuesday, February 15 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 and helps celebrate New York Fashion Week with a fun quote from Tony Award-winning director, filmmaker and playwright George C. Wolfe:

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, February 15th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

As New York’s Fashion Week for 2022 continues, today we offer a quote from George C. Wolfe, the Tony Award-winning director of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Bring In ‘Da Noise/Bring in ‘Da Funk. He’s also the former artistic director of New York’s Public Theater and he also wrote 1986’s acclaimed off-Broadway play The Colored Museum. Here’s the quote:

“God created Black people, and Black people created style.”

To learn more about American Theater Hall of Fame inductee George C. Wolfe, check out the 2018 Oprah Winfrey/Rose Byrne film adaptation of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on HBO or Hulu, which Wolfe wrote and directed based on the book of the same name, of head to Netflix for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom which was his 2020 film starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.

Or you can watch his TIFF Originals Master Class on YouTube, and read more about Wolfe on the Internet Broadway Database, thehistorymakers.org and theundefeated.com. Links to these sources are provided in today’s show notes as well as in the episode’s full transcript on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22

(paid links)

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Tina Turner – Quote on How to Find Your Freedom and Creativity (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast, on Valentine’s Dayis based on the Monday, February 14 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022. It’s an inspirational quote from the one and only “Queen of Rock and Roll” — singing legend Tina Turner.

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, February 14th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

On this Valentine’s Day, we offer an inspirational quote from author, twelve-time Grammy® winner and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tina Turner, whose signature song is her number-one pop hit “What’s Love Got to Do With It”:

“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go–purge yourself. I did that. I had nothing, but I had my freedom… [W]hatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”

To learn more about Turner’s life and music, check out her 2018 bestseller My Love Story, her 2020 book Happiness Becomes You: A Guide To Changing Your Life For Good, her 1986 memoir I, Tina: My Life Story, which was adapted into the Academy Award nominated feature film What’s Love Got To Do With It? starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.

Also, the 2021 documentary Tina is currently available on HBOMax and Hulu, and just this past week it was announced that Tina – The Tina Turner Musical will start a multi-city North American tour in the Fall of 2022. Fans can visit www.TinaOnBroadway.com to sign up for updates on upcoming tour news and announcements.

Links to these sources are provided in today’s show notes as well as in the episode’s full transcript on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22

(paid links)

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Even though most Americans think of today as Super Bowl Sunday, on GBN’s Daily Drop podcast bonus episode we instead celebrate what’s been the day’s other moniker since 2018 — #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay.

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Sunday, February 13th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Although today is known by most Americans as Super Bowl Sunday, for the past four years, thanks to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew A. Cherry, it’s known among millions on Twitter and beyond as #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay.

#JanetJacksonAppreciationDay is where fans of Janet Jackson (aka “#JanFam”) flood their social media timelines with loving GIFs, memes, and videos of the legendary “Rhythm Nation” performer.

This annual trend began in 2018 in reaction to Justin Timberlake being invited to headline that year’s Super Bowl halftime. In 2004, when Jackson and Timberlake performed together at halftime, Jackson alone bore the blame for the “wardrobe malfunction” that occurred when Timberlake ripped a revealing part of her costume.

The moment that came to be called “Nipplegate” sparked controversy and damaged Jackson’s career for years while Timberlake’s soared.

Today’s #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay is particularly special because just a few weeks ago, the four-part documentary Janet Jackson and brother Randy Jackson executive produced on her life and career aired in the U.S. on Lifetime and A&E. In it, Janet shared footage and information from her life and career that had never seen or heard before by the public.

The widely watched doc set off a current surge of appreciation for Jackson’s contributions to popular culture in the following ways:

  1. top ratings in the U.S. and airings across the globe
  2. soaring iTunes sales and streams of her singles and albums, with Control hitting the #1 spot on the iTunes pop album charts 36 years after its release.
  3. Twitter and IG filled with fan and celebrity tributes alike.

As a #JanFam member myself since childhood – from Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes, the early albums and on – well, today I personally would like to appreciate Janet Jackson who, since 1989, has used her music to tackle and highlight issues such as racism, sexism, illiteracy, domestic violence and homophobia.

I wrote a piece on Good Black News about it last year and created a playlist to which I’ve included links in this episode’s show notes.

But I also appreciate Janet’s decades-long contributions to charities and causes such as the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, Feeding America, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research, among so many others.

Currently, Janet is selling her vintage tour swag on The Real Real to support the non-profit organization Girls Leadership, which teaches girls to exercise the power of their voices through programs grounded in social emotional learning.

Some other sources that can help you get your Janet Jackson appreciation on are the incredible book in the 33 and 1/3 series dedicated to Velvet Rope by Ayanna Dozier, and Janet’s own 2011 part memoir, part health and lifestyle bestseller True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself written with David Ritz.

There’s also an awesome podcast called Janet Today, Janet Tomorrow, Janet Forever where cousins Courtney and Kam discuss Janet’s music and videos song by song, as well as conduct fun and informative interviews with musicians, dancers, stylists and the like who have worked with Janet throughout her career.

There’s also Janet Jackson’s own Instagram, her IG stories and Twitter, the hashtag #janfam to see posts from her devoted fan base and the hashtag #JanetsLegacyMatters, whose creators helped organize the grassroots push for Janet’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which happened in 2019.

And of course, you can always jump on social yourself and add to or check out the #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay tributes that are all for her! Links to everything I mentioned and more are provided in today’s show notes.

Additional sources:

This has been an extra-long bonus daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Music used in today’s episode includes “The Knowledge” off Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation: 1814 album, “Control (The Video Mix)” from the Control: The Remixes album, “All For You” from the 2001 album of the same name, and “The Pleasure Principle (Dub Edit – The Shep Pettibone Mix)” from Control: The Remixes.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!

(paid links)

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley – Dressmaker, Author and Confidante to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast, on Lincoln’s birthdayis based on the Saturday, February 12 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022. It’s about the amazing Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, an enslaved woman owned by her own father who managed to buy her freedom and become dressmaker and confidante to first lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

(Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Saturday, February 12th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing. Today, on Lincoln’s birthday, we are honoring 19th century dressmaker and designer Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley.

Against all odds, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley had perseverance, talent and style. Owned by her own father, Keckley was born enslaved in 1818. Despite being treated brutally, she eventually became an accomplished seamstress, and in 1855 Keckley had earned enough money to purchase her and her son’s freedom.

She then built a dressmaking business and became dresser and confidante to First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. In 1863 she founded a relief association for newly freed Blacks. Keckley published her autobiography, Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, in 1868.

To learn more about Keckley, you can read her autobiography, which is in the public domain and online at the internet archive, check out The Elizabeth Keckley Reader, Volumes 1 & 2, which are two collections of essays and other published works about Keckley, check out the dresses she designed online, including the one for Mary Todd Lincoln that resides at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian, and watch her short biography on YouTube produced by the Smithsonian Channel.

Keckley, played by Gloria Reuben, is also a featured character in Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film Lincoln. Links to these sources and more are provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Black Lexicon – What “The Drinking Gourd” Means (LISTEN)

[Image via National Park Services; nps.gov]

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Friday, February 11 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 that explains the term “The Drinking Gourd.”

(Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just listen every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Friday, February 11th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

It’s in the category we call “Lemme Break It Down,” where we explore the origins and meanings of words and phrases rooted in the Black Lexicon and Black culture. Today’s phrase? “The Drinking Gourd.”

“The Drinking Gourd” is a term from African American folklore used by enslaved people to reference “The Big Dipper” constellation. Thus, instructions along the Underground Railroad to “follow the Drinking Gourd” meant to follow the North Star as a guide on the path to freedom.

The term also referred to the hollowed-out gourd used by enslaved people and indentured workers to hold drinking water. The folksong “Follow the Drinking Gourd” was first published in 1928 and has been sung and recorded over the decades.

Right now you are listening to a taste of singer/songwriter Richie Havens’ version from the 1991 album, Songs of the Civil War.

Several children’s stories also employ the phrase and its lore, such as Jeanette Winter’s 1992 illustrated book Follow The Drinking Gourd and the 1993 Morgan Freeman-narrated and Taj Mahal-scored half-hour visual audiobook illustrated by Yvonne Buchanan also titled Follow The Drinking Gourd, which is currently available on YouTube. Links to these sources are provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

(paid links)

“Dear Lori”: Who Cares About “Black Firsts” and Why Do They Even Matter?

Lori Lakin Hutcherson, Good Black News Editor-in-Chief

Whelp, I feel like I need to start this post with a re-boot. When I first wrote “Dear Lori” in September 2020, the idea was to make it a semi-regular feature where I answered some of the myriad questions I’ve received over the years about race and systemic racism. (If inclined, you can read details of this column’s genesis here.)

But two “Dear Lori”s in I paused… then stopped. One reason was lack of time: I returned full-time to my TV writing gig while also dealing with my two school-aged children who were adjusting to distance learning, in addition to some other challenging personal matters.

The other reason was the nasty political landscape. The level of divisiveness, purposeful misinformation, vitriol and literal insurrection on January 6, 2021 made me feel like this column was pointless.

And now it’s February 2022. As voting rights continue to be under attack and fears and misinformation around Critical Race Theory have emboldened several states to legalize suppression of education about America’s history of racism, I once more feel like I need to do something, anything that might help. Especially as I witness even more organized attempts to undermine understanding, change, democracy and equity.

So… I’m back. And I’m committing to the mental and emotional labor that answering some of these questions takes.

That all said now, I’m ready to address a question asked of me a few days ago on Facebook (excuse me, Meta). Which I find ironic and fitting, because that’s the very platform where this whole me answering people’s questions about race thing began in the first place…

***********************************************************

[All letters/queries are published verbatim and without corrections. Only the names have been changed.]

On February 5th, I published a GBN post on how Dr. Jessica Watkins will become the first Black woman astronaut to spend months in space when she heads to the International Space Station in April. Below is one of the comments/questions the post received.

Dear Lori:

Who cares??? Why does it always have to be first black this and first black that??? –Robert

Dear Robert:

Thank you for your question. Although its intent feels snarky and dismissive instead of genuinely curious, I’m answering. Because, intentions aside, I don’t think you are alone in this query.

In fact I know you’re not, because as Editor-in-Chief of Good Black News and when authoring the A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day® Calendar for 2022, I actually have asked it of myself (albeit in a much kinder, pensive tone) — why are Black firsts still a thing? And should I keep shining a light on them?

The answers I came up with for why there’s a need for “first Black this and first Black that,” are pretty simple:

1) “Firsts” inspire. Those who think something might be impossible for them based on race, gender, disability or economic status — whatever factor – seeing someone who looks like them or with a similar background doing that very thing helps dissolve both real and perceived barriers to that achievement.

People derive hope from hearing about “firsts.” So I share them whenever I can, because perhaps some young Black girl who has fantasized about traveling into and spending time in space now sees a path to make that dream a reality because she saw Dr. Watkins’ story.

2) “Firsts” highlight inequities. If someone sees a “first” and reacts by saying “What took so damn long? It’s 2022!” — that’s a good reason to share it, too. Sharing “firsts” can provoke much-needed and deeper questionings into why it has taken so much time to make these strides and inroads. Like, what possible historic or systemic reasons could there be within organizations or institutions — educational, governmental — that it’s taken until this year for a Black woman to spend a few months on the International Space Station?

By the way, I’m not picking on NASA here — NASA has done active recruiting to diversify its astronaut training programs (cool documentary about that here) — I’m saying if you react to a “first” by wondering what’s taken so long, follow that wonder and most likely the answer you find will hip you to some inequities that are causing the dearth of Black people in certain positions or fields.

3) Celebrating “firsts” is human nature. No matter when or where firsts happen, human beings love to exalt firsts, as firsts at their essence signify when the impossible has become possible for us. It’s why we are all still taught Magellan was the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe, Neil Armstrong was the first human being to walk on the moon or Kamala Harris is the first Black East Indian Woman Vice President of the United States of America (she packed in A LOT of firsts there!). I mean, this right here is the whole ass reason the Guinness Book of World Records is still even a thing!

I hope my answer helps, Robert, I truly do. Now I have a question for you – have you ever bothered to ask why anybody cares about any of the “firsts” we all know about (eg. man on moon, female Supreme Court justice, airplane flight) or why you were taught them? What’s the intent behind that? Could maybe it be to give people a sense of their abilities, possibilities, worthiness? Maybe? And if so, why is it bothersome to you when Black people engage in this type of celebration?

If you choose to answer me, trust me, you will be the first.

Take care and all best,

Lori

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Garrett Morgan – Inventor of the Gas Mask Prototype (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Wednesday, February 9 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022, about early 20th-century inventor Garrett Morgan who, along with the tri-color traffic light, created the “safety hood” — a prototype for the mask American soldiers wore in World War I to protect them from toxic gas.

(Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Wednesday, February 9th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing. It’s in the category for Black Inventors we call “You Know We Did That, Right?”

You may have learned at some point that Garrett Morgan is the name of the person who invented the tricolored traffic light.

What may not ring a bell is that in 1914 Morgan patented a “safety hood” breathing device to filter out harmful smoke and pollutants.

When marketing this creation proved difficult for him, he hired a white actor to play “the inventor” of the device while he played “Big Chief Mason,” the inventor’s sidekick and guinea pig.

The charade totally worked—sales were brisk—and Morgan’s device became the prototype for masks used to protect American soldiers from toxic gas in World War I.

To learn more about Garrett Morgan’s life and work, check out the links provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

GBN Daily Drop Podcast: Classical and Opera Singer Marian Anderson – “The Voice of Freedom” (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast expands on the Tuesday, February 8 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022, which offers an inspirational quote from famous contralto Marian Anderson.

I include that, as well as a bit more historical context and links to sources, which can be found in the show’s transcript below.

(Btw, GBN’s Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 is 50% off at workman.com with code:50CAL until 2/28/22!)

You can also follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.comor create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Today, on #OperaDay, we offer an inspirational quote from famous contralto Marian Anderson, the first Black performer to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.

In addition to her commanding voice, Anderson is widely known for singing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in 1939 after the Daughters of the American Revolution enforced their segregationist beliefs and denied Anderson the opportunity to sing to an integrated audience at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and President Roosevelt supported Anderson, and over 75,000 people showed up to watch her outdoor concert.  To quote Anderson:

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.”

To learn more about Anderson, you can check out her 1956 autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning, the book about her landmark performance called The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America by Raymond Arsenault or the 2011 award-winning children’s book The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman.

You can also watch Voice of Freedom, the 2021 PBS documentary about Anderson. Links to these sources provided in today’s show notes.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022, published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon,Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

(paid links)