Breaking News! History in the Making
Black doctors see hope in TV’s ‘Doc McStuffins’
From the Grio.com A pig-tailed girl whose favorite accessory is a pink stethoscope has become a symbol of pride and hope for black women in medicine and the daughters they want to inspire. Doc McStuffins, the African-American title character of an animated TV series for children, dreams of becoming an M.D. and, for now, runs…
Senate bill would allow Frederick Douglass statue in Capitol
From the Washington Post The D.C. spending bill approved by a Senate panel this week would help the District government stay open in the event of a federal shutdown and would allow the city to place a statue of abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass in the halls of the Capitol, advancing a pair of key priorities…
Room4Debate: Are the New Adidas Shoes with Shackles Cool?
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World I literally froze up when I saw a new design from Adidas set to hit stores in August. JS Roundhouse Mids, are purple and gray, with HANDCUFFS that wrap around the ankles. Yes, I said handcuffs…shackles….the stuff that our ancestors wore for 400 years while experiencing the most…
Celebrate the Birthday of James Weldon Johnson, Intellectual, Activist, and Writer of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”!
James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938) was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore. He was also one of the first African-American professors at New York University.…
How Can You Measure Income Inequality? Count The Trees
Homes in a verdant neighborhood are likely worth more than those with fewer trees–and may be more likely to house people of color.
On This Day in History: The Largest Slave Revolt in US History Began, Led by Denemark Vesey
from the article in the Atlantic Monthly: “Denmark Vesey, Forgotten Hero” In 1822, in Charleston, South Carolina, Vesey masterminded what would have been the largest slave revolt in American history. When an informer revealed the plans at the last minute and the revolt was nipped in the bud, Charleston authorities downplayed the story, claiming that…
On This Day in History: The 1920 Duluth MN Lynchings
From Wikipedia These lynchings occurred on June 15, 1920, when three black circus workers were attacked and lynched by a mob in Duluth, Minnesota. Rumors had circulated among the mob that six African Americans had raped a teenage girl. A physician’s examination subsequently found no evidence of rape or assault. The killings shocked the country, particularly for…
Stop-and-Frisk App Users on the Rise
By Julia Chance of The Root The Android tool for recording police wrongdoing has taken off since its release last week. On June 6 the New York Civil Liberties Union rolled out its Stop and Frisk Watch smartphone app, a tool that lets bystanders record and report unlawful police encounters. Since its debut, more than 75,000…
Ziggy Marley: Let’s Not Be Food ‘Lab Rats’
Bob Marley’s son Ziggy is also a musician–and passionate about what we put into our bodies.
‘Doc McStuffins’ TV Show Gives Black Girls, Aspiring Doctors Hope
By LYNN ELBER in the Huffington Post LOS ANGELES — A pig-tailed girl whose favorite accessory is a pink stethoscope has become a symbol of pride and hope for black women in medicine and the daughters they want to inspire. Doc McStuffins, the African-American title character of an animated TV series for children, dreams of…
Shellie Zimmerman Arrested: George Zimmerman’s Wife Charged With Perjury
By Trymaine Lee for the Huffington Post – Published June 12, 2012 at 5:45pm EST Shellie Zimmerman, the wife of the Florida man charged with fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, was arrested and charged Tuesday afternoon with one count of perjury, according to law enforcement officials. The charges stem from what prosecutors have described as a…
Remembering Dr. James Cameron, 1914-2006
On this day in 2006, our nation lost an unsung hero of the civil rights movement, James Cameron, and ABHM lost its founder. Dr. Cameron was a fighter for racial justice: an indefatigable opponent of the Ku Klux Klan and the organizer of several NAACP branches. Through his writings, public speaking, and museum, he worked…
Witness an Unlawful Stop & Frisk? There’s an APP for That!
by Miranda Leitsinger of msnbc.com Believe you are witnessing an unlawful police stop and want to record the moment? There’s an app for that, courtesy of the New York Civil Liberties Union. The group released a free smartphone application on Wednesday that allows people to record videos of and report police “stop and frisk” activity,…
First Statue In U.S. Honoring Dred Scott Unveiled Friday In St. Louis
Source: PR Newswire According to the online Dred Scott history exhibit at Washington University in St. Louis: “Dred Scott, a slave aged some 50 years, and his wife Harriet, petitioned for their freedom in 1846. The Scotts’ two trials, in 1847 and 1850 in Missouri, instigated a series of complex events which resulted in a…
A 1998 Lynching in Texas
By the Associated Press in the African America Registry On this date in 1998, a Black man was dragged to his death in Jasper, TX. Three white men with suspected ties to the Ku Klux Klan chained James Byrd, Jr. (a Black hitchhiker), to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him to his…
Room4Debate: May a White Person Use “Ni**ga in a “Friendly” Way?
Gywneth Paltrow Use of N-Word Lost in Translation By Rebecca Carroll in Ebony.com – Published June 4, 2012 The black digerati had their panties in a tweet on Monday when Gwyneth Paltrow — ever the antithesis of all that is negro — tweeted a pic of herself on stage in Paris with Kanye and Jay-Z…
Plantations, Prisons and Profits
By Charles M. Blow of the New York Times “Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s, seven times China’s and 10 times Germany’s.” That paragraph opens a…
Obeying Judge’s Order, Zimmerman Turns Himself In and Is Back in a Florida Jail
By Lizette Alvarez in the New York Times. Published: June 3, 2012 MIAMI — Six weeks after being released from jail on bond, George Zimmerman, who is facing second-degree murder charges in the death of Trayvon Martin, is back behind bars. Mr. Zimmerman turned himself in to the authorities in Sanford, Fla., early Sunday afternoon, according to a…
Sneak Peek of the Documentary – ‘Colored Confederates: Myth Or Matter Of Fact?’
By Sergio for Shadow and Act: Cinema of the African Diaspora at indiewire.com There has been a movement for the longest time by so-called “historians” who argue and claim to have definitive proof that there were many black slaves, up to over 90,000 some claim, who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The reason why this fact hasn’t…
Black Women’s Transitions to Natural Hair
By Zina Saro-Wiwa for the New York Times What I find remarkable about the movement is the way it is spreading through black women in America. Many are transitioning silently, without much fanfare. Some are inspired by friends and family members who have already made the switch…. It is not an angry movement. Women aren’t…
Judge revokes Zimmerman’s bond in Trayvon Martin killing; 48 hours to surrender
By Associated Press, Updated Friday, June 1, in the Washington Post SANFORD, Fla. — A judge on Friday revoked the bond of the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murdering Trayvon Martin and ordered him returned to jail within 48 hours, saying George Zimmerman and his wife misled the court about how much money they had available when his…