This Thursday, December 26 marked the first day of Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration of African culture and heritage, and The African American Museum in Philadelphia celebrates with a full weekend of events on December 28 and 29. Over the course of the weekend, look forward to an informative discussion about the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa and the lighting of the museum’s Kwanzaa candles. Celebrate the roots of the holiday with expressive dances, music and storytelling as well. All events are family-friendly and encourage a reconnection with African roots and the support of African American communities.
Kwanzaa Celebration activities are included in museum admission. Guests are encouraged to bring a canned food item for Philabundance.
Annual Kwanzaa Celebration at The African American Museum in Philadelphia
When: December 28-29
Where: African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street
Cost: Included in general admission
More info: www.aampmuseum.org
article via uwishunu.com
Posts tagged as “Philadelphia”
Kevin Hart, a proud Philadelphia native, is giving back to the city that raised him in the best way possible. After hearing of the financial crisis plaguing the City of Brotherly Love’s school district, the comedian decided to pony up $250K of his own money to support. Hart made the announcement via a video on Instagram. “Philadelphia, aka the city of brotherly love,” he began in the clip. “I just heard about all the trouble the school district is going through. So I took it upon myself to take $250,000 and put it in the school system to buy new computers. Not because somebody told me to, because I love you, and I put on for my city.”
Additionally, Hart tagged a heartfelt caption with the vid. “My city made me who I am today and for that I am thankful. I will make it my priority to help my city get out of this debt. PHILLY UNTIL I DIE,” read a portion of the message.”
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter thanked Hart for his philanthropic contribution in a statement, saying “I want to thank Kevin Hart for his incredibly generous gift to our schools, recreation centers and citizens of all ages. These computers will have a very meaningful impact on Philadelphia.” For context, over the summer, Philly closed 24 schools, laid off thousands of employees (including teachers, counselors, vice principals, and the like), and cut numerous extra curricular programs.
article by Chris Thomas via hiphopwired.com
![In this Thursday, May 30, 2013 photo, University of Pennsylvania professor and PBS History Detectives host Tukufu Zuberi speaks about an Italian 1942 broadside matted on canvas by Gino Boccasile during an interview with The Associated Press at the Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster exhibit at the Penn Museum, in Philadelphia. The new museum exhibition presents 33 posters owned by Zuberi that were designed to mobilize Africans and African-Americans in war efforts, even as they faced oppression and injustice in their homelands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)](http://thegrio.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/black-bodies-in-propaganda.jpg?w=650&resize=650%2C366)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A new exhibit created by a University of Pennsylvania professor and host of a popular public television show examines how wartime propaganda has been used to motivate oppressed populations to risk their lives for homelands that considered them second-class citizens.
“Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster,” opens Sunday and continues until March 2 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Lectures, film screenings and other programming will be rolled out over the course of the exhibit’s run.
The exhibit’s 33 posters, dating from the American Civil War to both World Wars and the African independence movements, are part of the personal collection of Tukufu Zuberi, Penn professor of sociology and African studies and a host of the Public Broadcasting Service series “History Detectives.”
Zuberi began his collection in 2005 and owns 48 posters in all. There are five he’s seeking to complete his collection, but he’s not divulging any specifics. “Oh, I don’t want to go there,” he said with a laugh. “If I say anything, then there’s going to be someone out there with more money and I won’t be able to buy anything again.”
![The Roots Mural Workmen sweep in front of a new mural honoring The Roots, Friday, May 31, 2013, in Philadelphia. As a teen growing up in Philadelphia, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter got busted for graffiti and was ordered by a judge to clean up such vandalism by painting murals. Now, Trotter and his Grammy-winning band The Roots are scheduled to attend Friday the unveiling of a city-sanctioned mural in their honor. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)](http://thegrio.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/the-roots-mural.jpg?w=650&resize=650%2C366)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The house band for NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” is living large in its hometown of Philadelphia. Members of The Roots are now depicted on a multistory mural on the back wall of a school. The group attended a dedication of the project on Friday, May 31st.
The mural is called “Legendary.” It uses a colorful collage of images to trace the history of the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop group. Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says it’s difficult to believe how far the band has come since its founding in the city in 1992. The art project was created by the city’s Mural Arts Program. There are more than 3,600 murals in Philadelphia.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com
On March 29, 1988, an album that propelled two kids from West Philadelphia into the stratosphere of international fame was released on Jive Records: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper. Their debut LP, 1987’s Rock the House, included the mild hit single, “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble,” but it was the duo’s sophomore effort, which eventually sold enough to be certified triple platinum, that ranks among the most successful hip-hop records ever—and certainly the most successful out of Philadelphia.
He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper made Jeffrey Townes and Will Smith household names throughout their beloved hometown, while subsequently putting Philly on the map and the global stage in ways that still resonate a quarter-century later. Townes remains one of the most respected spinmasters in the world, and Smith has become one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing actors in Hollywood and part owner of the 76ers.
Read more at: DJ Jazzy Jeff on the 25th Anniversary of “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper” | Cover Story | Arts and Culture | Philadelphia Weekly.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.bet.com/news/national/2013/02/27/this-day-in-black-history-feb-27-1897/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/072611-National-Black-Herritage-Stamps-Marion-Anderson.jpg)
Marian Anderson, who became one of the most celebrated singers during the 20th century, was born on Feb. 27, 1897, in Philadelphia, PA. She began singing in church at 6 years old. Impressed by Anderson’s dedication to perfecting her talents, her church choir raised money for her to take vocal lessons for two years. Anderson soon won a chance to perform at Lewisohn Stadium in New York, and more opportunities followed.
The singer made history in 1955 as the first African-American to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. Anderson passed away at the age of 96 in 1993.
article by Natelege Whaley via bet.com
![original575](https://i0.wp.com/goodblacknews.orgwp-content/uploads/2013/02/original575.jpg?resize=490%2C242&ssl=1)
One of Camilo José Vergara’s photographs on view at the New-York Historical Society.
Since the 1970s Camilo José Vergara has been photographing murals of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. painted on walls in cities across the United States. Through them, he has documented social and political changes in the country itself. On a wall in the Callowhill section of Philadelphia, above, Dr. King is the potent orator of the Washington marches; on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem he’s a solitary, anxious visionary. In Los Angeles his figure is all but buried under fresh graffiti; in the South Bronx, the site of turf wars between blacks and Latinos in the 1970s, his face is scratched out.
Most of the murals were based on published images of Dr. King, edited to context. With trends in immigration, he takes on Latino and Asian features. Over time he is joined by a shifting pantheon of timely heroes: Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson and President Obama. As one person explained to Mr. Vergara: “Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so we all can fly.” On the evidence of the 30 pictures in “The Dream Continues: Photographs of Martin Luther King Murals by Vergara” at the New-York Historical Society through May 5, the popularity of other heroes brightens and fades while Dr. King’s mystique lives on.
article by Holland Cotter via nytimes.com
Major Harris, a highly-respected R&B singer out of Philadelphia, is dead at the age of 65. Harris was known for his role as a member of the Delfonics, and for later achieving success as a solo artist. Harris passed Friday morning at a hospital in Richmond, VA. He died from congenitive heart and lung failure.
Harris started his career singing with doo-wop groups in the 1960s in Richmond, some of which included the Jamels,the Charmers, Frankie Lymon‘s the Teenagers and Nat Turner’s Rebellion.
In 1974, Harris launched a solo career with Atlantic Records, creating a string of hits, including “Love Won’t Let Me Wait.” His work has been sampled by quite a few contemporary groups, including Wu-Tang Clan, the Fugees and Notorious B.I.G., and resurrected in films like Quentin Tarantino‘s Jackie Brown. To learn more about his life and music, click here.