Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is a bonus episode about U.S Supreme Court JusticeKetanji Brown Jackson, whose historic appointment this week can’t be celebrated enough.
To read about her, read on. To hear about her, press PLAY:
[You can 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. Full transcript below]:
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 Saturday, April 9th, 2022, based on the format of the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
Just two short days ago, history that was a long time in coming was finally made when Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially confirmed by a Senate vote of 53 to 47 to become the 116th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and first African American woman ever to serve on the highest judicial body of the nation.
In a bit of poetry, the vote was called for and presided over by Vice President Kamala Harris, who herself is quite familiar with making U.S. history as a Black woman.
Nominated by President Joe Biden in February, Justice Jackson faced over a month of scrutiny in the Senate confirmation hearings as well as in the media, but navigated it all with intelligence, grace and candor.
History was made moments ago when the U.S. Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson 53-47 to become the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Jackson is the first African American woman to serve on the court and the 116th Associate Justice overall.
President Joe Bidennominated Jackson over a month ago to take over the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom Jackson once clerked.
Associate Justice Jackson was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, then attended historically black colleges and universities.
Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade Public School System. When Justice Jackson was in preschool, her father attended law school.
In a 2017 lecture, Justice Jackson traced her love of the law back to sitting next to her father in their apartment as he tackled his law school homework—reading cases and preparing for Socratic questioning—while she undertook her preschool homework—coloring books.
Justice Jackson stood out as a high achiever throughout her childhood. She was a speech and debate star who was elected “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of Miami Palmetto Senior High School.
But like many Black women, Judge Jackson still faced naysayers. When Judge Jackson told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to attend Harvard, the guidance counselor warned that Justice Jackson should not set her “sights so high.”
That did not stop Judge Jackson. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Jackson went on to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, serve as a public defender, become a U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia and then a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Justice Jackson lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters, in Washington, DC.
As #JazzAppreciationMonth continues, we offer a quote from true jazz royalty, — bandleader, composer, pianist, performer — the superb, sublime Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.
To read it, read on. To hear it and more about Ellington, press PLAY:
Or just check it out every day here on the main website.) Full transcript below:
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, April 6th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.
Today, we offer a quote from jazz royalty — bandleader, composer, pianist, performer — the one and only Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington:
“Playing ‘bop’ is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.”
Born in Washington D.C. in 1899 to two piano playing parents, Duke Ellington began composing in his teenage years and started landing gigs through his work as a freelance sign painter by offering his band’s services to any club or party he made a sign for.
Ellington later moved to Harlem and landed the gig as the house band for the Cotton Club after King Oliver turned it down, and became a world-renowned big band leader for popular compositions and recordings like 1926’s “East St. Louis Toodle-O” which was the first signature song of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra:
[Excerpt from “East St. Louis Toodle-O”]
Also hugely popular was his composition “Caravan” which was first recorded and released by clarinetist Barney Bigard and his Jazzopaters before Ellington reclaimed it:
[Excerpt from “Caravan”]
“Mood Indigo” for which Barney Bigard is listed as a co-writer:
[Excerpt from “Mood Indigo”]
The classic swing tune “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”:
[Excerpt from “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”]
His 1953 composition with longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn, “Satin Doll”:
[Excerpt from “Satin Doll”]
One of Ellington’s best known songs is one that Strayhorn composed for him, the song that would replace Ellington’s own “East St. Louis Toodle-O” as his orchestra’s signature song, the song titled to tell you how to get to Harlem, Ellington and the Cotton Club… “Take the “A” Train”:
[Excerpt from “Take the “A” Train”]
Ellington also composed beyond the category of jazz, writing orchestral and symphonic works such as Black, Brown, and Beige, and a Concert of Sacred Music, scored the feature films Anatomy of a Murder and Paris Blues, and influenced those who became the vanguard in jazz and bop such as Miles Davis and former orchestra member Charles Mingus.
In 1962, Ellington himself played Scrabble without the vowels when he recorded the album Money Jungle with bassist Mingus and drummer Max Roach, which included a new take on “Caravan”:
[Excerpt from “Caravan” from Money Jungle]
Ellington composed and played up until the last years of his life before passing at the age of 74 in 1974. That same year, his DC hometown renamed its Calvert Street Bridge the Duke Ellington Bridge.
In 1997, an intersection in Harlem in Central Park was renamed Duke Ellington Circle. In 1999 he was posthumously awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his indelible contribution to art and culture and in 2009 Ellington graced the back of the commemorative District of Columbia quarter, among just a few of the honors Ellington has received since he transcended this life as we know it.
And, of course, buy or stream as much of the music as you can from the man lovingly and unforgettably referred to by modern day musical genius Stevie Wonder as “The king of all, Sir Duke.”
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.
Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot. All excerpts of Duke Ellington’s music included are permitted under Fair Use.
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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been selected by President Joe Biden to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Stephen G. Breyer‘s impending retirement. When confirmed, Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court of law.
Jackson, 51, a U.S. appeals court judge in Washington, has been the front runner for the Supreme Court seat ever since Justice Breyer, 83, announced last month he was retiring. Jackson was, fittingly, a Supreme Court law clerk for Breyer.
In addition to being the first Black female justice, Jackson would be the first justice on the Supreme Court to have previously worked as a public defender, something progressive groups, according to the Los Angeles Times, hope will help the court offer a different perspective.
Judge Jackson, who graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, then attended historically black colleges and universities. Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade Public School System.
When Judge Jackson was in preschool, her father attended law school. In a 2017 lecture, Judge Jackson traced her love of the law back to sitting next to her father in their apartment as he tackled his law school homework—reading cases and preparing for Socratic questioning—while she undertook her preschool homework—coloring books.
By Lloyd DeGrane via Wikimedia Commons
Judge Jackson stood out as a high achiever throughout her childhood. She was a speech and debate star who was elected “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of Miami Palmetto Senior High School.
But like many Black women, Judge Jackson still faced naysayers. When Judge Jackson told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to attend Harvard, the guidance counselor warned that Judge Jackson should not set her “sights so high.”
That did not stop Judge Jackson. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University as an undergraduate, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Judge Jackson lives with her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, who is a surgeon, and their two daughters, in Washington, DC.
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.”
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.
According to abcnews.go.com, a major street in Washington D.C that leads to the White House, has been painted with bold, bright-yellow letters reading “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” at the behest of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The giant letters are painted just two blocks from Lafayette Square, where on Monday U.S. Park Police and other law enforcement agencies used what protesters described as tear gas to make way for the president’s walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church where he took a photo holding a Bible.
“There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen, and to have their humanity recognized, and we had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city,” Bowser said at a press conference. “And it is that message, and that message is to the American people, that Black Lives Matter black humanity matters, and we as a city raise that up as part of our values as a city,”
The mayor said that the people who painted it were from the D.C. Public Works department.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also has ordered the stretch of 16th Street NW between H and K streets renamed “Black Lives Matter PLZ,” she told reporters at a press conference today.
The new sign bearing the plaza’s name has been put up at 16th and H streets.
Cavanaugh Bell, 7, of Gaithersburg, Maryland is helping others out of his own savings during the coronavirus outbreak. (Courtesy of “Cool and Dope.” Taken by his mother, Llacey Simmons.)
Anyone, anywhere, at any age, can make a difference if they want. And Seven year-old Maryland child Cavanaugh Bell is doing exactly that.
According to fox5dc.com, young philanthropist Bell spent $600 of his own money, saved up from three Christmases and two birthdays, to create 65 “COVID-19 Carepacks” in addition to 31 hot meals from restaurant Buca Di Beppo, to serve to senior citizens and help local businesses impacted by being closed after Gov. Larry Hogan shut down restaurants Monday.
Cavanaugh filled several shopping carts at Target with food and a bottle of bleach to hand out to seniors. On top of that, he also helped feed 90 students in need on Thursday.
Cavanaugh started a non-profit called “Cool and Dope” with the mission to “eradicate all bullying and youth suicide through political and social action by his 18th birthday on Nov. 20, 2030.”
From left, brothers Collin, Austin and Ryan Gill run Freres Branchiaux. (Chanel Jaali Photography)
According to the Washington Post, brothers Collin, 13, Ryan, 10, and Austin Gill, 8, started their candle business Frères Branchiaux for two reasons: to afford the Nerf guns and video games they wanted and, more importantly, to help raise money to combat homelessness in the District.
“I want to give back to the community because they gave to us,” Ryan says.
The brothers donate 10 percent of their proceeds to homeless shelters in the area, a promise they’ve kept since launching Frères Branchiaux in 2017.
Demand has grown rapidly for their scented, soy-based candles, which can be purchased at several stores in D.C. and at select Macy’s across the country.
The Gill brothers are pretty busy with school and their business, so they would make the most of a D.C. dream day and explore some of their favorite places around the city, along with a few new ones.
Liberty University graduate Ella Washington (photo via liberty.edu) via liberty.edu
While putting her 12 children through school and working full time to provide for her family, Ella Washington, 89, never abandoned her goal to continue her education. On Saturday, she walked across the stage at Liberty University’s commencement as the oldest graduate in the Class of 2018, earning her associate degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Washington grew up in rural North Carolina during the 1930s, when education came second to working on the family farm. She dropped out of school in the sixth grade. But when she got married and had children of her own, she wanted more for them.
“She has always been a lifelong learner,” said Washington’s daughter Ellen Mitchell. “Her desire for learning and for pursuing an education became a family tradition. She taught all of her children how to read, write, and do math prior to their beginning school, just as her grandmother taught her and her siblings.”
Thanks to her faith in God and her perseverance, Washington enrolled in an adult education program and earned her GED diploma in 1978 at age 49. She had always wanted to go to college, however. In 2012, she enrolled in Liberty’s online program after a recommendation from Mitchell. “Liberty is a great university,” Washington said. “I would recommend Liberty to anyone because I did well.”
But she isn’t stopping at her associate degree; she is already working toward a bachelor’s degree in history at Liberty. “To me, history is a great subject,” she said. “Everybody should know their history and learn more about it. A lot of people don’t know much about history. There’s nothing wrong with learning more.”
She moved to Washington, D.C., as a young mother and had a variety of jobs, ranging from a custodian at the Pentagon to an office assistant to a certified nursing assistant at an adult daycare. She was still working up until about six years ago. “Coming to D.C., there weren’t many opportunities for a poorly educated black woman,” Mitchell said. “But she worked hard doing whatever she could to make sure we were taken care of.”
Mitchell said it was her mother’s drive to better herself that has always inspired her children, who also worked to make education a priority in their lives. “My mother is a remarkable woman,” Mitchell said. “I learned how to be strong because of her example. Now, she has set the bar for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
Washington said her advice to her fellow Class of 2018 graduates would be to keep their sights set on using their education to the fullest.
“Education will help you make the best life for yourselves and those who come after you,” she said. Source: https://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=277995
You can also watch Ellington in the short film Black and Tan from 1929, Symphony in Black from 1935 featuring Billie Holiday, the mid-1960s documentary 
