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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

NYC Dream Concert to Benefit MLK JR DC Memorial

Quincy Jones, Russell Simmons, David Stern, Joel Horowitz, Edgar Bronfman Jr., and Tommy Hilfiger have come together to create The Dream Concert, a one-night benefit for The Martin Luther King Jr. Washington DC National Memorial.

Stern is the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, Bronfman the Chairman of the Warner Music Group, and Horowitz is the CEO of Tommy Hilfiger.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will be the artistic directors of The Dream Concert.  Jam and Lewis have produced Grammy Award winning albums for many artists, including Janet Jackson.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Washington DC National Memorial project is running out of time to secure the rest of the money needed to finish construction.

Groundbreaking took place on November 13, 2006.  $21 million is still needed to complete the $100 million project.

Muhammad Ali, Angela Bassett, Jamie Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kerry Washington, and former New York City Mayor David Dinkins are on the host committee for the Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Dream Concert at Radio City Music Hall in the Big Apple.

You can go to mlkmemorial.org and click on “Programs and Events,” and “The Dream Concert” for further information about when tickets will go on sale this Summer.

The King Memorial is scheduled to be completed in 2008.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 05/23 at 08:30 AM
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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Alex Haley: The Man Who Traced America's Roots

In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Roots, Reader’s Digest has compiled a collection of outstanding Alex Haley articles written between 1954 - 1991.

Alex Haley The Man Who Traced America’s Roots also includes an excerpt from Roots.

Race, politics, and class expert Lawrence Otis Graham introduces the book by highlighting some of Haley’s accomplishments.

Haley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, shook the conscience of America and the world when the story of his African ancestor Kunta Kinte was first published in 1976.

Roots on television had an even bigger impact on millions of viewers as it humanized the story using emotional connections we all could relate to.

Kunta Kinte’s family story framed inside the vicious backdrop of slavery left a visual impact most people will never forget.

The new book includes a fascinating 30 minute bonus DVD, with candid footage of Alex Haley talking about some of his challenges while writing Roots.

Additional footage includes Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, and how Haley came to write about them in his Reader’s Digest assignments.

You’ll also enjoy reading the section, “What Roots Means to Me.” Halle Berry, B.B. King, Leslie Uggams, General Colin Powell, and others reflect on the impact of Roots on their lives.

Audio highlights of these special comments are also included on the DVD.

You can read an excerpt from the book, and discover more information, by visiting http://www.rd.com/returnToRoots.do

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 05/09 at 07:00 PM
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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Classic Soul Tribute to Jackie Robinson

April 15, 2007, is the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first baseball game in the major leagues.

Catch my perspective in Jackie Robinson Honored with 13 Song Tribute.  I wrote this piece exclusively for the classic soul/R&B section of the new website, TBD.com.



Posted by Hugh Smith on 04/14 at 04:23 PM
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

100 Screen Icons of Black History

100 Black Screen Icons is a new website that spotlights 100 of the most significant black personalities in film and television.

You can vote on your favorites in four different categories through June 29, 2007.

The new site is sponsored by the United Kingdom Film Council and the BBC.

Personalities in the poll are not just the usual suspects...

  • Denzel Washington
  • Halle Berry
  • Ousmane Sembene
  • Oscar Michieux
  • (British actors) Ashley Walters, Sophie Okenodo, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Adrian Lester

Amanda Nevill, Director of BFI, a co-sponsor of the site, says: “We believe the 100 Black Screen Icons website will not only promote the cultural and creative importance of black professionals in film and television, but will also inspire young people globally in the future to pursue a career in film and television."

"It is our hope that the website will become a definitive guide to black film, as well as an educational learning resource and entertaining medium which can reach a huge range of audiences all over the world."

The nominations have been compiled with the help of experts including directors, actors, writers and technical innovators.

Nominees come from the U.K., Europe, North America, Africa and the Caribbean.

Put 100 Black Screen Icons to the history test and vote for your favorites.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 04/11 at 07:00 PM
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Muhammad Ali Lands Living Legend Honor from Africa

Muhammad Ali has been honored as a “Living Legend” by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Ghanaian based African Communications Agency (ACA).

"The Greatest” is a 2007 inductee into the ECOWAS Hall of Fame.

Ali’s African connection dates back to 1974, when he faced George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire for the “Rumble in the Jungle."

Mr. Ali accepted his award by telephone from the United States during an elegant awards banquet held at the Nicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria.

Dr. Erieka Bennett, Vice Chairman of the ACA and founder of the Diaspora African Forum proclaimed “we are honored to celebrate the life of Muhammad Ali."

Accepting the award, a grateful Ali declared “this tribute is especially meaningful to me as we celebrate Black History Month here in America."

Past ECOWAS Living Legend Award recipients include:

  • Nelson Mandela (former South African President)
  • Kofi Anan (former United Nations Secretary General)
  • Dudley Thompson (former Jamaican Ambassador to Nigeria)
  • Ruth Sando Perry, (former President of Liberia)
  • Professor Wole Soyinka, (Nigeria)
  • Dr. Babacar Ndiaye (former President, African Development Bank)
  • Dr Bamanga Tukur (former Nigerian Minister of Industry)

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay on January 17, 1942, won an Olympic gold medal in Rome as a light heavy weight in 1960.

He defeated Sonny Liston in 1964 to win the heavy weight championship for the first time.  Ali won the crown again in 1974 by beating George Foreman.

"The Greatest” became the first person in boxing history to win the heavy weight title three times when he took out Leon Spinks in 1978.

Ali refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army (he was a conscientious objector on religious and moral grounds).  He was stripped of his first title in 1967.

The official Muhammad Ali website has much more for you to enjoy!

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 03/28 at 09:15 AM
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

How New Museums are Preserving Black Culture

Museums that focus on the critical role of African Americans in U.S. history and culture are more popular than ever, and several cities are planning new or expanded facilities to attract tourists and scholars.

Birmingham, Alabama has a civil rights district that includes the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the site of a 1963 bombing that killed four young girls.  Another exhibit features the door to the jail cell where Martin Luther King Jr. sat in 1963 and wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

There are approximately 200 U.S. museums that focus on the African American experience.  Several new projects are on the drawing board.  Here are a few:

  • A museum in Atlanta to exhibit the papers of Martin Luther King Jr.
  • United States National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

The old F.W. Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, is being converted into a museum that will display the “whites only” lunch counter where, in 1960, four black college students launched the sit-in movement to protest segregation.

One of the newest museums is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, which opened in 2004. It tells the stories of the estimated 100,000 slaves who escaped via the “underground railroad,” a loose network of clandestine routes and safe havens provided by abolitionists, freed slaves and other sympathizers.

Not all African American museums focus primarily on slavery or civil rights.

Museums in Dallas and New Orleans, among others, are dedicated to African American art and culture.

Kansas City, Missouri, has the American Jazz Museum.

There’s the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio, which created an exhibit that traced African dance over 400 years.

In New York, the Museum for African Art is being expanded and moved to a new home where it will be “a cultural gateway to Harlem,” according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The new museum in Washington, DC, which will take several years to develop, is going to cover the breadth of experience from African origins down to the present.

These museums are not just aimed at an African American audience, they are for everyone.  They create the opportunity to really understand the history of black people in the USA.

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Louise Fenner contributed to the research and wrote portions of this article.

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Check out the Association of African American Museums for more details and links to black museums across the USA.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 03/07 at 01:02 AM
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

10 Top Black History People Links

Are you looking for trustworthy online sources of information about famous black history people?

Start by signing up for our free Empower Encyclopedia biographies.

When you confirm your free subscription, you’ll get a link to download valuable free software that will connect you to 25 popular African American pioneers.

Here are just 10 of the links we include:

  1. Autherine Lucy Foster
  2. Bessie Coleman
  3. Bill Cosby
  4. Charles Hamilton Houston
  5. Frederick Douglass
  6. George Washington Carver
  7. Malcolm X
  8. Mary McLeod Bethune
  9. Patricia R. Harris
  10. Maya Angelou

Primarily from universities, these are some great Black History Month resources.  Sign up for our free biographies, and you’ll grab the complete list of 25.

Remember that Black History Month is not just about the famous.  Valuable contributions from all people of color should be in the spotlight.



Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/06 at 07:30 AM
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Diversity Data Explores USA Melting Pot

We often think of black history in terms of past achievements by exceptional individuals.

If you wanted a broad general snapshot of most African American people today, the trends in their neighborhoods, and the factors that will influence the emerging black leaders of tomorrow, where would you turn?

A new website has created an extremely easy way to discover information about racial and ethnic groups in the USA by using census data gathered by the U.S. government.

According to the creators, “Diversity Data is an online tool for exploring quality of life data across different metropolitan areas, for people of different racial/ethnic groups in the United States.”

Diversity Data “provides values and rankings for the largest U.S. metropolitan areas on different indicators in 8 areas of life (domains), including demographics, education, economic opportunity, housing, neighborhoods, and health."

Just pick a state, select a metropolitan area, then instantly observe what the trends reveal.

By using an option called “customize profile,” you can dissect and analyze the information in more ways than you could ever imagine.

Each state can be searched by selecting from the largest counties.

The brainchild of this fantastic free tool is the Harvard School of Public Health.

I highly recommend Diversity Data for:

  • Population Demographics and Diversity
  • Health
  • Housing Opportunities
  • Economic Opportunities
  • Education
  • Residential Integration and Neighborhood Characteristics
  • Crime
  • Physical Environment

Where are the rural or urban centers in the USA where different racial and ethnic groups are striding ahead?  You’ll discover the answer to this question and a lot more by digging into Diversity Data online.

The trends reflect possible history in the making.  If you spot differences in your state that are surprising, let the information challenge you to think about some ways you might influence your community’s destiny.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 01/30 at 01:05 AM
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

African American Eyes Score Nobel Peace Prize

The first Nobel Prize was presented in 1901.  It took 49 more years for the first African American to be honored.

On Monday evening, December 11, 2006, Lionel Richie will perform in Oslo, Norway to help celebrate the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

Dr. Ralph J. Bunche was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Toni Morrison won the 1993 Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first African American writer to be honored.

Every year prizes are awarded in literature, economics, chemistry, physics, medicine, and “the peace prize."

Discover more about the amazing will of Alfred Nobel from NobelPrize.org.

Here’s what NobelPrize.org says about their prominently featured interactive Nobel website games...

"You don’t have to be a genius to understand the work of the Nobel Laureates. Games and simulations, based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements, will teach and inspire you while you’re having fun!"

"Students, teachers and non-professionals of all ages will enjoy testing and building their knowledge in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace and economics."

I highly recommend that you check out the skill building games of NobelPrize.org.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 12/06 at 07:47 PM
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Thursday, August 24, 2006

Carl Brashear Legacy Inspires Military Black History Web Site

A retired U.S. Navy Officer, with a passion for African American military history and equal opportunity, has launched an interesting and provocative web site.

Black military world has features plus news of general interest for African American veterans, active duty members, and Department of Defense civilians.

Black History People from the armed services are profiled and highlighted.

Site founder retired Navy Commander Gregory Black says “this project is long overdue."

Black retired as a Navy diving officer in 2002, and has since worked to promote African American history and to publicize the significant roles of African Americans in the defense of America.

The site is dedicated to late master diver Carl Brashear, whose life story was told in the popular 2002 movie Men of Honor.

Black says “stories like that of master diver Brashear, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the 555th Paratrooper Battalion (Triple Nickles), are only the tip of the iceberg."

There are approximately a half million African Americans currently employed by the United States Department of Defense (the largest employer of African Americans in the United States).

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 08/24 at 08:32 PM
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