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Posts tagged as “Washington D.C.”

Farrakhan Announces Millions For Justice Rally in October for Million Man March 20th Anniversary

By goodblacknews on June 26, 2015
Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakan (photo via Associated Press)
Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakan (photo via Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said Wednesday he plans to hold a Millions for Justice March in the nation’s capital this fall, 20 years after the Million Man March.
During a speech at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, Farrakhan said he intends to hold the rally Oct. 10 on the National Mall, scene of the 1995 march.
“This is the time our people must see our unity,” Farrakhan said. “Let’s make 10/10/15 a meeting place for those who want justice, for those who know what justice is.”
Organizers said they aim to stage a more diverse and inclusive event than the one in 1995, which was billed as a men-only event.
Former NAACP executive director Benjamin Chavis, who helped organize the original Million Man March, said he is optimistic that this year’s turnout will be “in excess of a million.” He said the event’s success would be measured more by the political and socioeconomical impact it has on communities.
“What ultimately will be a success is seeing improvements in the communities where these people are going to come from,” Chavis said. “We want to make sure our public policy demands are aligned with those challenges.”
Farrakhan said the rally is intended to galvanize a more strategic movement for equality as supporters unite under the social media hashtag #JusticeOrElse.
“Walk with the young people, the warriors of God, as we say to America, ‘You owe us,'” Farrakhan said.
The Million Man March was held in Washington on Oct. 16, 1995. Its goal, organizers said, was to encourage black men to make firmer commitments to family values and community uplift. It is among the largest political gatherings in American history, although there were disputes over the size of the heavily black and male crowd it drew. Crowd estimates ranged from 400,000 to nearly 1.1 million.
Farrakhan, 82, also used the march announcement to call for fair treatment and an end to injustice in the wake of the massacre of nine people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, last week.  “Yes, all lives matter, but the only reason you’re here is because black lives are being slaughtered,” Farrakhan said.
As for efforts to remove the Confederate flag in the wake of that tragedy, Farrakhan said the gesture does little to remove the stain of injustice.
“The media is (still) twisting the narrative of murderers,” Farrakhan added, referring to perceptions that the media tends to portray white perpetrators more humanely than those of other races or ethnicities.
article by Glynn A. Hill via bigstory.ap.org

Michelle Obama Hosts White House Fashion Education Workshop

By goodblacknews on October 12, 2014

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, first lady Michelle Obama hosted the White House’s first fashion education workshop to honor and recognize budding fashion designers, stylists, writers, and entrepreneurs.
Inviting students from 14 East Coast high schools and colleges, the FLOTUS spoke to the students about the importance of fashion education and the impact of the fashion industry.
“When it comes to the fashion industry, so often people think it’s all about catwalks and red carpets and ‘who wore it best,’ and whether some famous person wore the right belt with the right shoes,” said Mrs. Obama.
“Fashion is really about passion and creativity, just like music or dance or poetry,” added the first lady. “For so many people across the country, it is a calling; it is a career.”
Breaking the students into groups for workshop sessions on fashion inspiration, construction, journalism, entrepreneurship, and more, Mrs. Obama also invited leading influencers in the industry to mentor and educate the students on the ins and outs of the business. Some of the fashion notables included Tracy Reese, Jason Wu, Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Wintour, and many more.
Wintour, who introduced the first lady at Wednesday’s event, credited her with changing the perception of fashion in the District of Columbia, while emphasizing the impact style has on society.
“Fashion can be a powerful instrument for social change… It allows us to think about who we are as individuals and as a society.”
To prove her support for student designers, Mrs. Obama donned a sleeveless navy dress at the event designed by New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology student Natalya Koval.
SOURCE: Washington Post
article by Courtney Connley via blackenterprise.com

New Fellowship "Code For Progress" Prepares People of Color for Coding Careers

By goodblacknews on August 27, 2014

The 2014 graduating class of Code for Progress (Photo courtesy of Code for Progress)

The graduation ceremony started with a freedom chant led by fellow Angie Rollins, a member of the BYP100. The 40 plus people in attendance joined in, clapping and repeating the chorus: “What side are you on my people?/What side are you on?” It grounded the event in this political moment, referencing Michael Brown and Ferguson in the chant as they began. If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was a graduation for community organizers, or radical political educators. Instead, it was a graduation for 11 newly trained coders, finishing the first-ever Code for Progress (CFP) fellowship. They all spent the last four months in an intensive coding bootcamp in Washington, D.C., learning from instructor Aliya Rahman the basics of a handful of different coding languages, with the hopes of beginning their careers in technology.

The graduation was held at Google’s downtown Washington, D.C., offices, a fact that felt both fitting and somewhat ironic given recent conversations stirred up this summer with the release of Google’s, Apple, LinkedIn and Yahoo’s self-reported diversity statistics. Unlikely to be a surprise to anyone working within the  industry, the stats show abysmal representation for non-Asian people of color overall, and a poor showing for women as well. So for the 11 fellows, seven of whom are women of color, they are unlikely to find many peers in their future places of employment. The freedom chant, while distinctly out of place at Google, was actually quite fitting for the mission of CFP—its goal is to bring politically minded organizers into the tech industry.
The fellowship is a direct response to the lack of diversity in the tech field, and it also tries to address a root cause of these disparities: access to computer science education. “Folks who are in communities of color have a higher probability of going to a school that doesn’t teach computer science,” says Rahman. “Seven kids took the advanced placement computer science exam in Washington, D.C., [last year], compared to hundreds in Maryland and Virginia.”

Obama Administration Lays Out Ways Groups Can Support Program for Minority Men

By goodblacknews on May 31, 2014
President Obama met with My Brother’s Keeper task force members at the White House on Friday. (Photo Credit: Gabriella Demczuk/The New York Times)

The Obama administration announced recommendations on Friday on how public and private entities can participate in a White House initiative meant to support minority men and boys, including a move to focus on summer jobs and recruit adults who can serve as mentors.

“Already we’re seeing, I think, a much greater sense of urgency this summer about putting these young people in opportunities where they can learn the basic skills that they’re going to need to get attached to the labor market,” President Barack Obama said Friday. The former basketball star Magic Johnson and Joe Echevarria, who heads the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, will help lead the program.

“We’ve got a huge number of kids out there who have as much talent, and more talent, than I had, but nobody is investing in them,” Mr. Obama said, adding that over the next couple of weeks, more specific programs would be announced.

The recommendations come three months after Mr. Obama announced the five-year initiative, called My Brother’s Keeper. Standing in front of a group of young minority men and executives from businesses and nonprofit organizations in February, the president recalled his own experiences as a black man growing up without a father at home and sometimes making “bad choices.”

Homeless Teen Ramesha Melson Earns Full Scholarship to Georgetown University

By goodblacknews on May 31, 2014

Rashema Melson

Rashema Melson, an Anacostia High School senior and resident of Washington D.C.’s largest homeless shelter, just earned a scholarship to Georgetown University.
“I feel accomplished,” she tells us. “I feel I did something worthy. I feel like I did it. But I’m not done yet.”
What makes Rashema’s story all the more remarkable is when you consider where she comes from. For the past two years, Rashema, her mother and two siblings have been living at the D.C. homeless shelter.
“It’s pushing me to be better, to know what I want in life, and to know this is not what I want, but I have to go through it for the moment,” she said.
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“She is definitely a success story,” said Dora Taylor, a spokesperson with the D.C. Department of Human Services. “She definitely is.”
The department oversees the shelter.
“As you can see, she has no complaints,” said Taylor. “Nothing depresses her. Seemingly nothing brings her down. And she has the right attitude. You know, she expressed to you that she’s grateful despite her circumstances.” “And she’s determined that she’s going to do you know exactly what she needs to do in life to be self-supportive on her own. So we are extremely proud of Rashema.” “I think the toughest part is just moving around before we got to the shelter,” said Rashema. “Because it’s been going on for six years.”

Standing by Her Story: Anita Hill Is Celebrated in the Upcoming Documentary "Anita"

By goodblacknews on March 14, 2014
Anita Hill, photographed at Brandeis University, is the subject of a documentary, “Anita.” (CreditTony Cenicola/The New York Times)

WALTHAM, Mass. — On the day in 1991 that the Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, Anita Hill — the little-known law professor who riveted the nation by accusing him of sexual harassment — faced news cameras outside her simple brick home in Norman, Okla., with her mother by her side, and politely declined to comment on the vote.  In the nearly 23 years since, Ms. Hill, now a professor of social policy, law and women’s studies at Brandeis University, has worked hard, she likes to say, to help women “find their voices.” She has also found hers — and she is not afraid to use it.

“I believe in my heart that he shouldn’t have been confirmed,” she said in a recent interview, acknowledging that it irritates her to see Justice Thomas on the court. “I believe that the information I provided was clear, it was verifiable, it was confirmed by contemporaneous witnesses that I had talked with. And I think what people don’t understand is that it does go to his ability to be a fair and impartial judge.”

It was a surprisingly candid comment from a deeply private woman who has long been careful in the spotlight. But the quiet life Ms. Hill has carved out for herself is about to be upended — by her own choice — with the release of a documentary, Anita, opening on March 21 in theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

First Lady Michelle Obama Shines at Kennedy Center Honors

By goodblacknews on December 9, 2013

The 2013 Kennedy Center Honors were held on Sunday evening in Washington, D.C., bringing all the good cheer we have come to expect from the annual celebration of our nation’s best performers. First lady Michelle Obama stole the show as usual for her fifth annual appearance at the fete, as she entered its opening reception on President Obama‘s arm.  Wearing an emerald green gown by Marchesa with draping silk framing her biceps, Mrs. Obama looked both fit and glamorous in the strapless piece.
Showcasing her trim figure in the intricate folds of its bodice, the first lady paired this structured garment with big curls tousled away from her face.  “Her makeup was stunning as well — she wore a pretty pink, shiny lip gloss,” according to HollywoodLife.com. “She wore black eyeliner around her eyes with a slightly smokey purple/mauve shadow. Her cheeks were highlighted with a gorgeous blush. She looked so beautiful!”  The softness of her hair was matched by the flow of the full chiffon skirt. Simple silver-toned jewelry completed the look.
President Obama made remarks at the opening reception before the first couple, honorees, and other luminaries attended a performance lauding these creative greats.  “Billy Joel, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, opera star Martina Arroyo and actress Shirley MacLaine all received Kennedy Center Honors at the annual national celebration of the performing arts,” reports E! news, “and top entertainers such as Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks and Don Henley, offered tribute performances for each honoree.”
The entire performance will be broadcast on CBS on December 29.
“The diverse group of extraordinary individuals we honor today haven’t just proven themselves to be the best of the best,” President Obama said. “Despite all their success, all their fame, they’ve remained true to themselves — and inspired the rest of us to do the same.”
article by Alexis Garrett Stodghill via thegrio.com

Sisters, Separated as Infants, Reunite at High School Track Meet

By goodblacknews on May 14, 2013
Jordan Dickerson, left, and Robin Jeter discovered they were sisters after 17 years apart. (Courtesy WUSA 9)
Jordan Dickerson, left, and Robin Jeter discovered they were sisters after 17 years apart. (Courtesy WUSA 9)

Jordan Dickerson and Robin Jeter were separated when they were infants, but reunited by chance at a high school track meet earlier this year.  Dickerson, a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School, and Jeter, a senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy public charter school, attend school about 10 miles apart in Washington D.C. and play the same sports, but had never crossed paths.

On January 9, both sisters attended the same track meet. Dickerson told WUSA 9 that her teammates told her there was another girl who looked just like her.  “I had already known about my adoption, and I knew my last name was Jeter,” Dickerson said.  When she learned Robin’s last name, she said she started crying.
They talked on the phone the night they met, discovering that they were born just nine months apart.  Jeter first lived with her biological mother, then moved to foster care, and then to a legal guardian.  The sisters decided to look for more siblings, finding four so far, according to WUSA 9.  Dickerson and Jeter have become close, spending weekends together and frequently talking on the phone.
Click here to watch the full WUSA 9 report.
article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com

Heritage Tourism Publishes Black Churches Guide For D.C.

By goodblacknews on October 27, 2012

Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County has committed to preserving the legacy of the church with a guide of African- American churches in the Washington D.C. area.  Entitled “Community Cornerstones: A Selection of Historic African American Churches in Montgomery County, Maryland,” details the history of 21 historically African-American Montgomery churches. These churches, founded by free slaves, reflect the desire to create a new life after years of being in captivity and repeated violence. While most of the churches are still in use, three churches that are included in the guide are no longer standing.

Peggy Erickson, executive director of Heritage Montgomery, was inspired to create the guide after the tourism alliance filmed an Emmy Award-winning video on the Civil War last year.  “This story needs to be told rather quickly because the congregations are vanishing and the people are growing old,” Ericksen told the Washington Post.

article by Brittney M. Walker via eurweb.com

Seventeen Years Ago Today: Million Man March Took Place On Washington’s National Mall

By goodblacknews on October 16, 2012

Million Man March
The Million Man March (pictured throughout), one of the most moving and emotional moments ever in African-American history, took place on the grounds of the National Mall on this day in 1995. The symbolic importance and cultural impact of the huge gathering signified a shift in the attention on issues that plagued urban environs and minorities. The National African American Leadership Summit and the Nation of Islam worked in tandem alongside local chapters of the NAACP to make the March a reality.