Thursday, November 16, 2006

John Hope Franklin

Duke University historian John Hope Franklin has won the 2006 John W. Kluge Prize for the Study of Humanity, a lifetime achievement award worth $1 million.The award, announced today by the Library of Congress, also was given to Yu Ying-shih, retired professor of Asian studies and history at Princeton University.Franklin, 91, was recognized for his pioneering work that examined how African-Americans shaped the nation. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, in a statement about Franklin, said: "The transformation he has helped bring about in how we think about American history and society will stand as his lasting intellectual legacy."Franklin's landmark survey of black history, "From Slavery to Freedom," was published in 1947 and has introduced hundreds of thousands of students to the African-American experience.In 1997, Franklin was appointed by President Clinton to lead a national discussion on race.http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/510691.html

Rest in Peace


My love and best wishes go out to your families.





The Souls of Black Folk

"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others. . . . One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warrings ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder." --W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) The Souls of Black Folk (1903)

Today in Black History

November 16



1873
W.C. Handy, Father of the Blues, is born in Florence, AL. He will compose numerous hits such as "St. Louis Blues" and "Memphis Blues".
1941
Composer and organist Edward Margetson is honored by the Schubert Music Society at the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
1981
Pam Johnson is named publisher of the Ithaca Journal (NY), becoming the first Black woman to run a daily newspaper
2000
Coca Cola settles race discrimination case to approximately 2,000 African American workers for $193 million in compensation. This is the biggest settlement in the history of USA Coca Cola.
2000
Civil Rights activist Hosea Williams dies from prostate cancer at the Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, GA. He was a top lieutenant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who continued the battle for civil rights long after King's death.

Police Brutality Video found On YouTube

A witness shot a video of police beating a suspect. He took the video to the local police department and no one there did anything about it... so the witness put it on you tube.

The Link to the video.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Today in Black History


November 14
Booker T. Washington died, 1856 - 1915
Background
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American political leader, educator and author. He was one of the dominant figures in African American history in the United States from 1890 to 1915.
Washington was born into slavery to a white, slave owner father and a black, slave mother in Franklin County, Virginia. He learned to read and write while working at manual labor jobs. At the age of sixteen, he went to Hampton, Virginia to Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, now Hampton University, to train as a teacher. In 1881, he was named as the first leader of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He was granted an honorary Masters of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1896 and an honorary Doctorate degree from Dartmouth College in 1901. Washington played a very prominent role in black politics.

Blatantly Racist

This is a story out of Baltimore MD. where a frat themed their Halloween party "Halloween In the Hood", you can read on but continuing on they called Baltimore an "HIV pit" and encouraged people to come dressed in "bling bling..." They even had the nerve to put a dark-skinned pirate hanging out front of the house in a noose.


The article:

BALTIMORE, Md. -- A John's Hopkins University fraternity has been barred from holding any more functions on campus after a controversial Halloween party was held this weekend.
JHU suspended all activities at the Sigma Chi fraternity during an investigation into the house's conduct last Saturday.
Angry students labeled that fraternity racist as they protested for hours along Charles Street in Baltimore Monday.
The protests were in reaction to an e-mail invitation to the fraternity house Saturday night. It referenced the party's theme: Halloween in the hood.
The e-mail called Baltimore an "HIV pit" and encouraged people to come dressed in "bling bling, ice ice."
The fraternity also had a dark-haired, stuffed pirate hanging from a noose out front of the house.
"I was appalled," said Christina Chapman, president of the Black Student Union.
"It's just very racist. There's no way you can be productive on this campus and come together as students and do things like this that they know are offensive and that they know are historically hurtful, considering black people were historically lynched in this country," Chapman said.
While the students protested, the university launched an investigation.
The fraternity declined to comment to WBAL TV 11 News.
"This should not be happening in a university community. There ought not to be an appeal to racial stereotypes as part of a party or advertisement for a party. It just shouldn't happen," said Dennis O'Shea, a spokesman for the university.
"Two of the students also went inside. There were students who said they were dressed in hood attire and slave attire. There was someone in a wife beater and overalls and barefoot with a straw hat impersonating a slave," Chapman said.
"The fact that this happened is a real shame. I hope that it won't overshadow the efforts of the kids who are really trying to reach out to each other around here," O'Shea said.


link

Knowledge is Power

Recently there is a new artist out of Saint Louis that goes by the name JIBBS. Jibbs debut single "Chain hang low" has a history that most people are not aware of. The particular nursery rhyme that the song mimics is "Ears Hang Low" The history behind this song is that during the civil war Confederate soldiers would remove certain body parts (primarily ears and testicles) from the deceased corpses of freed slaves who were fighting as Northern (Yankee) soldiers after their battles. These "trinkets" were then placed on a rope necklace and worn as a trophy piece. As the lyrics to the nursery rhyme state "do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro... etc" "Can you throw them over your shoulder like a (Continental) soldier". This word (Continental) took this nursery rhyme from racist jargon to playful melody. The word that filled this space was (Confederate) as in Confederate soldier. Other nursery rhymes have done the same i.e. Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Moe catch a Ni**er by his toe. Not Tiger. My question to young people black and white is that "Does knowing the history of the nursery rhyme change your opinion of the New single by Jibbs. " Personally knowing this myself I can't stand to hear the song. It seems to advertise our ignorance as a people. I wrote this note to inform people of this. Knowledge is power and Ignorance IS NOT BLISS; its SUICIDE if you don't know.

Tyson Foods Denies Discrimination

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Top U.S. meat processor Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:TSN - news) has denied claims of racial discrimination after being sued over two black employees who complained about the posting of a "Whites Only" sign on a bathroom at a poultry plant in Ashland, Alabama. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Tyson on Thursday, saying two black employees were disciplined after complaining about the sign."We're surprised and disappointed by this legal action and firmly believe the charges are without merit," the company said in a statement posted on Friday on its Web site.In a press release on Thursday, the EEOC said the two black employees were subjected to disciplinary action by Tyson management, including suspensions, after they complained about the segregated bathroom.The EEOC said it filed suit only after attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.The suit alleges that Tyson discriminated against Henry Adams, Leon Walker and other black employees by establishing and maintaining a locked bathroom, which on occasion had signs posted on it stating "Out of Order" and "Whites Only."Tyson said it had been cooperating with the federal agency in its investigation and said the company was "shocked" by the agency's decision to file a lawsuit."Our company has zero tolerance for discrimination in the workplace," Tyson said, adding that the presence of such a sign would be a violation of corporate policy.Tyson said the Ashland plant employs about 300 people."A company's commitment to equal opportunity is measured by more than the existence of written policies and diversity training," said Charles Guerrier, regional attorney for the agency's district office in Birmingham, Alabama, in the statement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050813/bs_nm/food_tyson_dc

Groundbreaking Today

Today thanks to Bill Clinton and other democrats the groundbreaking for the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial is under way. It is so sad it took nearly 40 years for something like this to get built.

This is a link to CNN where there is video of speeches by Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton and Gospel Praise.
Unfortunately the "w" is in this video. He says the memorial will be located between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorial.


Video: King memorial breaks ground