Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Obama Wins, Newspapers lose

Barack Obama has made history, millions have rejoiced at the news, but hundreds of print newspapers have woefully underestimated the nostalgic demand for the memorabilia value of their November 5, 2008 editions.

Why did newspapers fail to boost circulations in light of the election of the first African American to become President of the United States?

All over the USA, folks have been lamenting about the lack of local papers.  The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, etc.  All gone in the early hours of November 5th from newsstands.

Some papers, like the New York Times, are now prepared to publish collector’s editions.  A few will be charging higher prices to get their paper into your hands.

At the expense of the print editions, 2008 will be remembered as the year the online press favorably embraced the rush for information about a USA favorite son from Hawaii who would win the White House and shock the world.



Posted by Hugh Smith on 11/05 at 08:30 AM
Commentary • News • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Close to Construction

The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Inc. has submitted it’s formal request to the National Park Service for a permit to move forward with the construction of the Memorial.

Construction is expected to begin on the four-acre memorial in November, 2008.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 10/29 at 06:30 PM
News • (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.

Technorati tags:



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

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Cullen Jones is Big Swimmer in Beijing

In August of 2006, we wrote about swimmer Cullen Jones, and the role he would play on the 2008 US Olympic team.

Jones swam the 3rd leg of the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay in Beijing to help the US team win the 2008 gold.

Take another look at Cullen Jones, the first African American to hold a swimming world record.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 08/13 at 12:02 AM
News • Sports • (0) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

6 Black History People Create Olympic Game Highlights

As the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China get ready to role, we feature a blast from the past with 6 black history people who created Olympic Game highlights:

  1. Award winning Olympic athlete Willye White is the only American woman to participate in five different Olympiads and finish in the top 12 in her events.

    She competed at age 16 in Melbourne Australia in 1956 when she won a silver medal in the long jump.  White was on the Olympic team in Rome in 1960.

    She won a silver medal in the 400 meter relay in Tokyo in 1964.  White was also successful competing in 1968 (Mexico City), and 1972 (Munich, Germany).

  2. Muhammad Ali won an Olympic gold medal in Rome as a light heavyweight boxer in 1960.

  3. “Smokin’” Joe Frazier won the gold medal for boxing at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.

  4. Ralph Metcalfe was a standout in track at the 1932 and 1936 Olympic games.

  5. In 1936, Jesse Owens made history in Berlin, Germany.  A member of the U.S. Olympic track team, Owens became the first American to win four gold medals.

  6. Tennessee State University’s Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome (100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and relay team).

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 08/05 at 06:30 PM
Sports • (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.

Technorati tags:




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

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami

Later this Summer, a new documentary, Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami, will find its way to a PBS television station near you.

This 2008 production begins in 1960 as it traces the young boxer known as Cassius Clay through his training at Miami, Florida’s Fifth Street Gym.

The release of the one hour documentary is timed to coincide with the August 8 - August 24 Summer Olympics in Beijing, although many PBS stations will repeat the program this Fall.

Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee talks about the role Miami played in launching the boxing great.

Historian Manning Marable, journalist David Remnick, and Ali biographer Thomas Hauser offer commentary and insight during the program.

Ali’s Miami neighbors and friends also weigh-in with their recollections.

Watch for Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami in the coming months.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 06/25 at 06:30 PM
History • News • Sports • (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.

Technorati tags:



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

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

10 Black History Artists Craft Great Collections

Augusta Savage, (1892-1962), sculptor and art teacher, was the first Director of the Harlem Community Art Center in New York City.

She studied at the Grand Chaumiere in Paris after receiving a Rosenwald grant in 1929.  Savage also received a prestigious Carnegie Foundation grant.

Her works have been exhibited at...

  • The 1939 New York World’s Fair
  • New York’s Anderson Galleries
  • The New Jersey State Museum
  • New York’s Schomburg Collection
  • The Societe Des Artistes Francais Beaux Arts in Paris

Our 10 black history artists hold the distinction of crafting great collections in the USA and around the world...


  1. Augusta Savage - sculptor
  2. Charles Alston - muralist, sculptor, and artist
  3. Dr. Margaret Burroughs - painter, sculptor
  4. Elizabeth Catlett - sculptor and artist
  5. Adele Chilton - Painter and artist
  6. Richard Hunt - sculptor
  7. Lois Mailou Jones - artist
  8. Dr. Samella Sanders Lewis – painter, graphic artist
  9. James A. Porter - painter
  10. William E. Scott - murals and portraits

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 04/16 at 12:02 AM
Art • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Martin Luther King Jr. Saluted with Song

Friday, April 4, 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Here are 2 video tributes we created using a couple of albums, now out of print, that salute the Martin Luther King Jr. legacy.

Here’s more background about this 1973 Martin Luther King Jr. Classic Soul Dream Concert.

Read the notes from playwright Tommy Butler about the Martin Luther King Jr. Selma Musical.

Technorati tags:




Posted by Hugh Smith on 04/02 at 06:30 AM
Music • Civil Rights • Video • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hallelujah for Quincy Jones at 75

March 14, 2008 was the 75th birthday of the phenomenal Quincy Jones.

Musical genius Jones was born in Chicago in 1933.  He studied his craft at Seattle University and at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

As a black history legend in music, Jones has been honored with 27 Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, seven Oscar nominations, plus an honorary Oscar.

Quincy has worn all of his industry hats as a musical director, film score creator, composer, musician, producer, conductor, arranger, and record company executive.

In 1953, Quincy Jones was the first arranger/conductor to utilize the newly-invented Fender electric bass in audio recordings.

He played and toured with jazz greats Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, and Dizzy Gillespie.  Jones has scored over 50 films.

His first film score was “The Pawnbroker,” in 1963.  Jones has produced albums for the very best, including Michael Jackson.  Besides winning all of those Grammy Awards, Quincy Jones has produced the actual network presentation of the Grammys on television.

“Q" recorded “Hallelujah,” Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, a contemporary version of the famous classical work in 1991.  Released in 1992, the album featured Patti Austin, Andrae Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Clifton Davis, Charles Dutton, Kim Fields, Edwin Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Linda Hopkins, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis, Marilyn McCoo, Stephanie Mills, Jeffrey Osborne, Phylicia Rashad, Joe Sample, Take 6, Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong.

For his incredible story, discover Q - The Autobiography of Quincy Jones.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 03/19 at 12:02 AM
Music • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Margaret Rosezarian Harris Conducts Key Movements

Margaret Rosezarian Harris, (1944 – 2000), was the first black woman to conduct the symphony orchestras of 16 American cities, including Los Angeles, Detroit, and Chicago.

A child prodigy, she played piano at age 3, and at age 10, played a Mozart Concerto with the Chicago Symphony.

Miss Harris started her career as a pianist, but achieved much more attention as a celebrated conductor.

The Chicago, Illinois born Margaret won a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  She was also a graduate of New York City’s Julliard School of Music.

Margaret Harris conquered Broadway as the music director of the musical Hair in 1970.

She passed away this week, 8 years ago, at age 56.

Classical Trivia: William Grant Still was the first African American to conduct a major symphony orchestra, (The Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1936).



Posted by Hugh Smith on 03/05 at 06:30 PM
Music • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Out of Touch with History Highlights

USA teens are out of touch with not just African American history, but with history and traditional culture in general.

Common Core, an advocacy group pushing for the teaching of more liberal arts in schools, released the shocking report today as reported in USA Today.

Out of 1,200 17 year-olds surveyed, only 43% knew that the Civil War was fought between 1850 - 1900.

30% did not know that President John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

It’s troubling that real history is taking a back seat to the more seedy elements of today’s popular culture.  Most teens and adults are experts in the gossipy news of today.

As Black History Month comes to a close, it’s time to renew our commitment to real knowledge that matters, across cultural and ethnic divides.

A trivia question as a final thought.  In 1976, U.S. representative Barbara Jordan became the first African American to give the keynote address to a national party convention.  Who gave the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004?

Leave your answer in a comment!

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/27 at 07:00 AM
Commentary • News • (1) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Fannie Lou Hamer Lights Up Democracy

Fannie Lou Hamer, (1917-1977), was the founder and Vice Chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

She led the black delegates from Mississippi to the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Hamer was a sharecropper with just an 8th grade education.  She was forced to leave the plantation in 1962 after unsuccessfully attempting to register to vote.

Fannie Lou then joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, (SNCC), and became a field Secretary.  Late in 1962 she was finally able to register to vote.

Her story is fascinating and inspirational.  Fannie Lou Hamer was an ordinary citizen who rose to take extraordinary action.

With the backdrop of this year’s 2008 USA presidential election, the complete Fannie Lou Hamer story is one you’ll enjoy experiencing in much more detail.

How did one woman, barred from registering to vote in 1962 America, help change the system of segregation in the South?

I highly recommend diving right into This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer (Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century), written by Kay Mills.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/26 at 12:02 AM
Civil Rights • Politics • (1) Comments • Permalink

Monday, February 25, 2008

Black History's Forgotten Sportin' Life Players

Beyond Jackie Robinson, Tiger Woods, Wilma Rudolph, and other famous sports legends, black history honor rolls are filled with many other competitive athletes who made their mark.

Here are 5 sports originals who richly deserve a second look, although they may not be the best known.

  1. Alice Coachman - Represented the women’s track team at Tuskegee Institute.  Alice was the only woman on the 1948 U.S. Olympic team to win a gold medal in track and field (high jump).

  2. Dan Bankhead - The first African American pitcher in Major League Baseball (August 1947 for the Brooklyn Dodgers).

  3. Fritz Pollard - First black All-American (1916).  This football legend played for Brown University between 1915 - 1916.  He played in the first Rose Bowl game (January 1, 1916 - Brown vs. Washington State).

  4. Marshall W. “Major” Taylor - A cyclist who won the World Cycle Racing Championship in 1899.  Taylor won the U.S. trophy in 1900.  He was called the fastest bike rider in the world.

  5. Pele’ - Born Edson Arantes De Nascimento in Tres Coracoes, Brazil, “The Black Pearl” became the most famous soccer player in the world.  At 17, he led the Brazilian team to their first World Cup in Sweden (1958).

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/25 at 12:02 AM
History • Sports • (0) Comments • Permalink
Page 1 of 8 pages  1 2 3 >  Last »