Civil Rights Movement

Dec 9 2010

Civil Rights activist

Ella Baker, born Dec. 13, 1903, in Norfolk, Va., was a prominent, behind-the-scenes figure in the Civil Rights Movement. Known most for her work alongside more famous leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King Jr., Baker inspired, mentored, and groomed some of the most up-front civil rights leaders and liberationists of the 20th century.

Her journey to leadership began as a child, when she listened to the stories her formerly-enslaved grandmother told her about slave revolts and the need to fight for justice.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Dec 9 2010

Practical Politics

Every year since 2002 the community-based group, Reparations United Front, RUF, has presented a comprehensive report to Southern California residents regarding the state of the reparations movement. This year that report will be presented on Saturday, from 11 am to 4 p.m., at Los Angeles Southwest College in Lecture Hall LL 103. The presentation is in conjunction with a class assignment for Pol Sci 101, and it is both free and open to the general public.

Terri Schichenmeyer  |   OW Contributor
Oct 28 2010

Book Review

Your parents gave up a lot for you over the years.

From the start, your mother gave her body over to you and nurtured you. Your father taught you, and mom guided you (and vice versa). They put a roof over your head, food in your belly, toys on the floor, and memories in your heart.

Oct 14 2010

Black Panther Party

In a time when injustice reigned with no remorse, and in the wake of the assassination of activist Malcolm X, an uprising of young Black leaders and freedom fighters formed a group that would change the climate and pace of the Civil Rights Movement forever. Huey P. Newton along with his long-time friends Bobby Seale and David Hilliard founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 15, 1966.

May 21 2009

by Raymond Arsenault

You do it without even thinking about it.

You hum around the house, sing to your babies, to your God, or to the radio. You catch yourself doing it while you’re relaxing with a hobby.

You sing wherever you want to lift up your voice.

In the new book Sound of Freedom (c.2009, Bloomsbury Press, $25.00, 310 pages, includes notes and index), by Raymond Arsenault, you’ll see that it wasn’t always so easy. Sometimes a song is more than just a song.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”