Civil Rights

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Harry Belafonte My Song: A Memoir

What can you expect to discover when you dive through the pages of the just released Harry Belafonte My Song: A Memoir?

You’ll encounter the inspiring life of a great singer, actor, artist, activist, and black history pioneer.

Belafonte is a World War II U.S. Navy veteran, who conquered racism while navigating life’s road through Jamaica, W.I., Harlem, New York, and Hollywood.

He became enthusiastic about theater while working odd jobs after the war.

The Belafonte 20th century timeline covers friendships with Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, President John F. Kennedy, and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Nelson Mandela, Robert Kennedy, Marlon Brando, President Bill Clinton, Robert Kennedy, and Fidel Castro are discussed with respect, reverence, and honesty.

Harry Belafonte’s passion for activism cuts right to the core of his community awareness. This part of his persona transcends what he may be most famous for: his calypso singer image.

As an African American history original, Harry Belafonte will leave a lasting legacy.

Watch his one minute video as he reflects on the metaphor of song, used in the title of Belafonte’s new October, 2011 book.

Posted by Hugh Smith on 10/26 at 06:30 PM
Biography • Civil Rights • Film • Entertainment • Video • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Crisis in USA Black History Education

A memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. is great, but beyond King and Rosa Parks, a black history knowledge gap is growing among USA high school students, as only 2% of seniors in 2010 knew important facts about Brown versus the Board of Education, the landmark US Supreme Court decision from 1954.

what’s behind this pathetic statistic? State education standards are ignoring civil rights history.

Southern states are doing the best. Northeast and western states are doing the worst.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has conducted a first of its kind study (September, 2011) about how African American history relating to civil rights is taught in high school.

Take a look at the graph to see who is at the head of the class.

Each state sets different expectations for teachers and students. Only 35 states (including the District of Columbia) required study of the civil rights movement as part of their state-mandated standards, framework or curriculum.

To compare state performance, the SPLC study stressed knowledge content across 6 categories resulting in 85% of a state’s score:

Events
Leaders
Groups
Causes (history)
Obstacles
Tactics

So what specifics should high school students know according to the SPLC framework?

The civil rights movement was a movement composed of many individuals and was not the initiative of any single person or small group of people.
All students should learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but students should learn about at least six additional figures in the civil rights movement.
Students should be able to identify major groups involved in the civil rights movement, including CORE, SCLC and SNCC.
Students should be able to identify key events in the civil rights movement and place them in the correct order (Brown v. Board of Education, Little Rock, Freedom Rides, Montgomery Bus Boycott, 24th Amendment, Birmingham bombings and protests, March on Washington, 1964 Civil Rights Act, Freedom Summer, Selma-to-Montgomery march, 1965 Voting Rights Act, Watts and other uprisings, 1968 Civil Rights Act and assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Many more elements are included in the SPLC recommendations. You can read Teaching the Movement: The State of Civil Rights Education in the United States 2011 or download a pdf version of the document.

Posted by Hugh Smith on 09/28 at 08:30 PM
Education • Civil Rights • (0) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Opens

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is the only monument dedicated to an African American on the National Mall in Washington DC. Find out more by watching and listening to this 60 second video we recorded and produced at the King Memorial on the 2nd day the new shrine was open to the public.

Posted by Hugh Smith on 08/23 at 10:00 PM
Audio • Civil Rights • History • Video • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Black History People Android App

Black History People Android App Discover the profiles of nearly 100 black history people in the free Black History People App for Android smart phones.

Authors, poets, civil rights, politics, education, sports, entertainment, art, business, inventors, law, medicine, science, aviation, and music are categories you can explore in the app.

You can Download the Black History People App directly to your Android smart phone using the web browser in your phone. Install it after downloading.

If you use a Blackberry, iPhone, or a full featured cell phone with a web browser…no problem. The app exists as it’s own website at BHP365.mobi.

Posted by Hugh Smith on 05/11 at 08:45 PM
Education • Civil Rights • Film • Government • Inventors • Law • Medicine • Entertainment • Poets • Politics • Research • Science • Sports • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The John H Johnson Vision

John H. Johnson was a publishing pioneer way ahead of his time. Download and listen to the John H. Johnson story from BlackHistoryPeople.com. Enjoy the truth about his creative stroke of genius that paved the way for a targeted mass media empire.

Read all the back issues of Jet from Johnson Publishing, (courtesy of Google Books):

Posted by Hugh Smith on 04/14 at 07:00 PM
Music • Education • Civil Rights • History • Media • (0) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Dr. Dorothy Height Human Rights Champion

Dr. Dorothy Height (1912 - 2010) dedicated her life to public service, women’s rights, civil rights, and human rights.

The YMCA was the beneficiary of her talent as an Executive Director and national board member between 1944 - 1957.

She became the President of the National Council of Negro Women in 1958. Height was named “Woman of the Year” by the Ladies Home Journal in 1974.

In 2004 Dr. Height was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 04/20 at 07:00 AM
Civil Rights • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Benjamin Hooks and the NAACP

Benjamin L. Hooks, (1925 - 2010), became the first black criminal court judge in Tennessee in 1965. He was the first African American member of the Federal Communications Commission in 1972.

In 1977, Hooks succeeded Roy Wilkins to become Executive Director of the nation’s top civil rights organization, the NAACP. Rev. Hooks earned his law degree from De Paul University in 1949.

Early in his career he was a public defender, a politician, a Baptist minister, and a vice president of a saving and loan association.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 03/31 at 08:00 PM
Biography • Civil Rights • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Let Freedom Sing: Songs from the Movement

If you missed the live 2010 White House Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement, here’s the next best thing.

In January, 2009, Time Life released Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement.

The outstanding 3 CD box set includes 2 pages of provocative liner notes written by Public Enemy front man Chuck D.

His comments are part of a large, colorful, 40 page booklet that includes lots of facts about all the songs.

Chuck says “there’s a reason why listening to the past 100 years of black music can bring a sense of voice, sound, meaning, joy, and pain...as well as a historical timeline."

He adds “way before an iPod, these songs rang in my head as they navigated me through my near half a century of life."

What’s great about this collection is the representation of each of the post 1930 - 20th century decades.

Historical facts acknowledging key years pertaining to the civil rights movement are also included in their own highlighted paragraphs weaved between the elaborate music notes.

The Southern Sons kick things off on disc one with “Go Down Moses,” recorded in 1941.

Six of the tracks are from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Four are from the 1950’s, including Nat King Cole’s stirring 1956 classic “We Are Americans Too."

As you’ll see from the track list below, no decade is left out. The best songs from the civil rights movement are included.

There are some excellent alternative versions rather than hits you might expect.

Otis Redding, not Sam Cooke sings “A Change is Gonna Come.” Bob & Marcia, not Nina Simone sings “Young, Gifted, and Black."

The liner notes have all the back-stories about why these versions were selected.

Watch our 90 second video to hear clips of 3 of the songs.

Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement:

Disc One

“Go Down Moses” - The Southern Sons, 1941
“Strange Fruit” - Billie Holiday, 1939
“Uncle Sam Says” - Josh White, 1941
“ No Restricted Signs” - The Golden Gate Quartet, 1947
“Black, Brown, and White” - Brownie McGhee, 1947
“The Hammer Song (If I Had a Hammer)” - The Weavers, 1949
“The Death of Emmett Till” parts 1 & 2 - The Ramparts, 1955,
“When Do I Get To Be Called A Man” - Big Bill Broonzy, 1955
“The Alabama Bus” - Brother Will Hairston, 1956
“We Are Americans Too” - Nat King Cole, 1956
“Why Am I Treated So Bad” - The Staple Singers, 1966
“I Shall Not Be Moved” - The Harmonizing Four, 1959
“Oh Freedom” - Harry Belafonte, 1959
“Ride On, Red, Ride On” - Louisiana Red, 1962
“Mississippi Goddam” - Nina Simone, 1964
“ Blowin’ In The Wind” - Bob Dylan, 1962
“We Shall Overcome” - Mahalia Jackson, 1963
“Too Many Martyrs” - Phil Ochs, 1964
“Alabama Blues” - J. B. Lenoir, 1965
“Our Freedom Song” - The Jubilee Hummingbirds, 1965
“A Change Is Gonna Come” - Otis Redding, 1965

Disc Two

“Forty Acres and A Mule” - Oscar Brown Jr., 1965
“People Get Ready” - The Impressions, 1965
“Nobody Can Turn Me Around” - The Mighty Clouds of Joy, 1966
“I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)” - Solomon Burke, 1968
“Respect” - Aretha Franklin, 1967
“The Motor City is Burning” - John Lee Hooker, 1967
“Cryin In The Streets” part 1 - George Perkins & The Silver Stars, 1968
“Abraham, Martin, and John” - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 1969
“The Prayer” Ray Scott, 1970
“Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud” part 1 - James Brown, 1968
“And Black is Beautiful” - Nickie Lee, 1968
“Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother” - Bill Moss, 1969
“Why I Sing The Blues” part 1 - B.B. King, 1969
“I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” part 1 - James Brown, 1969
“Stand!” - Sly & The Family Stone, 1969
“Message From A Black Man” - The Temptations, 1969
“Is It Because I’m Black” - Sly Johnson, 1969
“I Was Born Blue” - Swamp Dogg, 1970
“Yes, We Can” part 1 - Lee Dorsey, 1970
“We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue” - Curtis Mayfield, 1970
“Young, Gifted, and Black” - Bob & Marcia, 1970

Disc Three

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” - Gil Scott-Heron, 1971
“(For God’s Sake) Give More Power To The People” - The Chi-Lites, 1971
“Smiling Faces Sometimes” - Undisputed Truth, 1971
“Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” - Marvin Gaye, 1971
“Hercules” - Aaron Neville, 1973
“Get Up, Stand Up” - Bob Marley and The Wailers, 1973
“Fight The Power” part 1 - Isley Brothers, 1975
“Give The People What They Want” - O’Jays, 1975
“Black Is Black” - Jungle Brothers, 1988
“Sister Rosa” - The Neville Brothers, 1989
“The Pride” - Chuck D., 1996
“Unity” - Sounds of Blackness, 2005
“None of Us Are Free” - Solomon Burke, 2002
“Eyes On The Prize” - The Sojourners, 2007
“Down In Mississippi” - Mavis Staples, 2007
“Free At Last” - The Blind Boys of Alabama, 2008

As you can see, this 3-disc box set is excellent. Don’t know some of the artists? Discover the songs by checking out Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/24 at 07:00 PM
Audio • Music • Civil Rights • Timeline • Video • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The White House to Host A Civil Rights Music Review

First Lady Michelle and President Barack Obama will host another “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement."

You’ll be able to see the show on TV across the USA.

WETA television Washington, DC is producing it for PBS. It’s scheduled for broadcast on Thursday, February 11, 2010, at 8 pm Eastern.

NPR will also air a one hour concert special of the event (for radio) during February, Black History Month.

Here’s an early list of performers:

Natalie Cole
Bob Dylan
Jennifer Hudson
John Legend
John Mellencamp
Smokey Robinson
Seal
Blind Boys of Alabama
Howard University Choir

Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah will be the happy couple hosting the show.

Since the theme of the event is music that inspired the Civil Rights Movement, you’ll hear plenty of songs of inspiration.

I especially like the collaboration with The Grammy Museum.

They’ll be offering a downloadable “Music that Inspired the Movement” curriculum for middle and high school teachers, available at GrammyMuseum.org.

"A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” is the third “In Performance at the White House” program President Obama has offered.

Watch the slide show below featuring a few of the artists who will perform, and listen to 1 minute of a civil rights movement favorite, Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changing."

This version is performed by The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles.

The track is from the album, Dylan’s Gospel, courtesy of Powerhouse Radio. Visit Powerhouse Radio on Facebook.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 01/27 at 07:00 AM
Audio • Music • Civil Rights • Video • (1) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

100 Years of the NAACP 1909 - 2009

The birthday party will last one year, and it starts on Thursday, February 12, 2009.

1,700 chapters across the USA will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NAACP through February 12, 2010.

Here is the official NAACP 1909 - 2009 timeline prepared by the National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People.

A century of tenure is behind their 100 year advocacy as a leader in the fight for civil rights, dignity, and equality.

Check out our own BlackHistoryPeople.com timeline featuring 15 NAACP facts (from Empower Encyclopedia):

W.E.B. Du Bois was a co-founder of the NAACP in 1909.
James Weldon Johnson, (1871-1938), wrote the famous poem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” - now known as the Negro National Anthem. He joined the NAACP in 1916, and became Executive Secretary of the organization in 1920.
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 - 1955) was a champion for education, civil rights, and women’s rights. She worked closely with the NAACP, and founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935.
An activist for civil rights and education, Daisy Bates co-founded Arkansas’ State-Press Newspaper. In 1953, she was elected President of the Arkansas Conference of NAACP branches.
Dr. Joel E. Spingarn introduced the Spingarn Gold Medal in 1914 while he was Chairman of the Board of the NAACP. The Spingarn award represented the highest of African American achievement, (similar to the NAACP Image Awards today).
Attorney Constance Baker Motley, (1921 - 2005), started her brilliant civil rights career with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1945 as a law clerk.
Daisy Lampkin, (1883-1965), increased the visibility and membership of the NAACP through her fund raising leadership. She was involved in Pennsylvania State politics (1928) becoming the first African American woman from the commonwealth elected as a delegate at large to the GOP convention. Lampkin began her career with the NAACP in 1929, serving the organization in numerous leadership roles.
Thurgood Marshall, (1908-1993), became assistant special counsel for the NAACP in 1936, then chief counsel in 1938.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., (1929 - 1968), organized the Montgomery bus boycott with Rev. Ralph David Abernathy and the NAACP in 1955 after Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to whites.
In the 1960’s Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was quite involved with civil rights as Field Secretary for Georgia’s NAACP.
Margaret Bush Wilson was elected Chairman of the Board of the NAACP in 1975.
Benjamin L. Hooks, in 1977, succeeded Roy Wilkins to become Executive Director of the nation’s top civil rights organization, the NAACP.
Kweisi Mfume entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987. He served until the end of the 104th Congress. After Congress, Mfume accepted the position of President and CEO of the NAACP.
An outspoken critic of offensive lyrics by music industry artists, Philadelphia native C. Delores Tucker, (1927 - 2005), served as Vice President of the Pennsylvania NAACP.
Dr. Fredda Witherspoon, Ph.D., was President of the Missouri NAACP.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/03 at 12:00 AM
Civil Rights • History • Timeline • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Martin Luther King Jr. Online Archive

The MLK Jr. Archival Collaborative, an online home for the electronic display of the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is now live on the Internet.

Three institutions partnered to make this ‘research rich’ website happen:

The Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center
The Howard Gotlieb Archival Center at Boston University
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University

You can electronically search and view Dr. King’s papers, writings, and documents housed in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts.

The Boston University Dr. King archive alone includes more than 80,000 items.

A few bugs exist in the online search system. I searched using the keywords “nobel prize.” Several of the links that were returned were test links. In addition, there were quite a few server errors.

I’m sure the technical problems will be resolved soon, as the site is only a day old as of this writing.

Congratulations to the 3 institutions whose partnership made this historic black history website possible.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 01/14 at 12:00 AM
Commentary • Education • Civil Rights • Research • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Odetta Sang for Civil Rights

Singer Odetta Felious Gordon, (1930-2008), trained her voice for opera but decided to sing acoustic songs in the folk tradition. The guitar playing vocalist from Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the first popular African American folk singers in the 1960’s.

Odetta used her influence to raise awareness about civil rights issues. She passed away December 2, 2008.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 12/03 at 07:59 AM
Music • Civil Rights • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Arthur, Clarence, and Parren Mitchell Go to Washington

Arthur, Clarence, and Parren Mitchell, (no relationship), are three former members of the U.S. Congress who combined social activism with legislative power.

Arthur W. Mitchell, (1886-1968), was the first black Democrat elected to the U.S. Congress (1934 - 1943).

Mitchell studied under Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute. The Congressman, representing the First Congressional District of Illinois, received his law school instruction at Columbia and Harvard.

Clarence Mitchell, (1911-1984), earned the nickname the “101st. Senator,” thanks to his effective lobbying efforts for civil rights.

His influence helped pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mitchell helped extend a ban against voting literacy tests in 1970.

He was instrumental in gaining enforcement powers for the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in 1972. President Jimmy Carter awarded Mitchell the Medal of Freedom in 1980 for his lifetime battle for civil rights.

Parren Mitchell was the first African American to be elected to Congress from Maryland’s 7th District in 1970. He became Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1976.

In 1950, he challenged the University of Maryland in the courts to become the school’s first black graduate student.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 09/24 at 07:00 AM
Civil Rights • Government • Law • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Thurgood Marshall's Mark on Black History

July 2, 2008, is the centennial of the birth of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who passed away in 1993.

For more about Thurgood Marshall, check out our feature: 20 black history attorneys take the law into their own hands.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 07/02 at 06:45 AM
Civil Rights • Law • News • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ida B. Wells Crusades for American Justice

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, (1862 – 1931), was a crusader for African American civil rights and for equal rights for women.

Through newspaper articles, she wrote about discrimination she experienced and observed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Historian Paula Giddings has captured the essence of the life of Wells in Ida: A Sword Among Lions, a new 2008 publication.

Giddings, a Smith College professor, has written two previous books: In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement, and When and Where I Enter: The Impact Of Black Women On Race and Sex In America.

Her Wells biography is accurately documented as it rolls back the curtain on the fascinating odyssey of an American woman who fought for civil rights and justice.

Highly recommended.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 05/28 at 06:30 PM
Civil Rights • History • (0) Comments • Permalink

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