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Tracy Morgan surprised residents when he appeared at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new community center in Brooklyn. The event made the legendary comedian feel nostalgic about his own humble beginnings when he resided in the area as a child.
Nationwide protests have taken place since October 7 despite the disbanding of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit.
The demonstrators have been accused of attacking police stations and personnel.
The rallies which are mostly attended by young people have become avenues to vent against corruption and unemployment.
Rights groups say at least 15 people have been killed the demonstrations began in early October.
Homer Harris was born on March 4, 1916 in Seattle, Washington. In 1933, Harris became the first black captain of the football team at Garfield High School in Seattle. At the University of Iowa, Homer was elected by his teammates to be team captain, most inspirational, and Most Valuable Player. He was the first African American team captain in Big Ten history and had hopes of becoming a player in the National Football League.
In 1933, the National Football League banned African Americans from playing, so upon graduation Harris instead accepted a coaching job at A & T College in Greensboro, North Carolina. His mother’s influence caused him to enter medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Harris joined the Army, and after World War II had an internship in dermatology at the University of Illinois.
Harris returned to Seattle in 1955 and opened his own dermatology practice. After initial difficulty renting office space in the Medical Dental Building, Harris built up his practice which was reputed to be the largest west of the Rockies. Harris received an award in 1989 from the Black Heritage Society for being a black pioneer in dermatology. He retired from practicing medicine after 43 years.
Washington State declared November 13, 2002 to be Dr. Homer Harris Day, and the Seattle Parks Foundation announced that an anonymous donor contributed $1.3 million to build a park in Seattle’s Central Area in Harris’ honor. The University of Iowa inducted Harris into their Hall of Fame in August 2002, and the Pacific Northwest chapter of the African American Sports Hall of Fame followed suit in 2003. Homer Harris Park opened on May 14, 2005.
Homer Harris died in Seattle on March 17, 2007, at age 90 from Alzheimers disease.
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In 2000 at the National Democratic Convention in Los Angeles where Vice President Al Gore, Jr., won the Democratic Nomination for President, fellow Tennessean, Congressman Harold Ford of Memphis, gave the Keynote Address. That address appears below.
Thank you.
I am honored to speak tonight before a convention that will nominate the favorite son of my home state to be the next President of the United States.
I recognize that I stand here tonight because of the brave men and women-- many no older than I am today-- who were willing to stand up, and in many cases sit down, to create a more perfect union.
But I also stand here representing a new generation-- a generation committed to those ideals and inspired by an unshakeable confidence in our future.
In every neighborhood in my hometown of Memphis, and all across America, I see young people tutoring and mentoring, building homes, caring for seniors, and feeding the hungry.
I also see them using their entrepreneurial spirit to build companies, start non-profits, and drive our new economy.
We stand at this magnificent moment with the ability to unleash the American imagination.
I say to all those of this new generation and to all Americans who share in our spirit: if you want a future that belongs to you- if you want a future that is for everyone- then join with us to make Al Gore and Joe Lieberman the next President and Vice President of the United States.
We know there are some people who do understand the future, but too often as they gaze to the distance, they fail to know how, to make sure that it serves all of our people.
And then there are others who fight tirelessly for the people, but who dont see beyond the horizon.
Al Gore is the rare leader, who both has a vision for the future, and understands that we can only realize its full promise when all our people share in it.
I remember meeting Al Gore for the first time.
I sat across from him at my familys kitchen table back home in Memphis.
As often was the case, my brothers Jake, Isaac and I
Christian Cooper, the birdwatcher who got into an altercation with a white woman in New York’s Central Park, wrote a graphic novel based on his […]
By Hayley Crandall Vote. The word and its importance have been the talk of the town since candidates started being announced, but now it’s crunch time. “If Black folks aren’t tired of hearing about voting, then that means you haven’t done the work,” Tiffany Henry, president of Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals, said. Biden for […]
The post ‘Sister to Sister’ Brings Wisconsin Leaders Together To Encourage Voting first appeared on The Madison Times.
BY ANDREAS BUTLER DAYTONA TIMES The Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Office has reported that 106,739 voters cast ballots during the 2020 primary with voter turnout at 28 percent. It’s reported to be the highest total in a primary in 18 years. The turnout was higher than the 2016 primary, which was 27 percent. Turnout […]
The post NAACP leaders reflect on low Black voter turnout appeared first on Daytona Times.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE If you ask a young, homeless person where they’re going and they reply to My Friend’s Place, they are probably in good hands. My Friend’s Place is a nonprofit that assists and inspires homeless youth ages 12-25 to build self-sufficient lives. Originally called the Lighthouse, My Friend’s Place was co-founded in 1988 Read More...
The post Homeless youths find help at My Friend’s Place appeared first on .
Black race car drivers were largely absent from pro racing’s spotlight for years–that is until the formation of the Black American Racers Association in August 1972.
Based in Trenton, New Jersey the main goal was to bring together and give a platform to Black drivers, mechanics, pit crews, and team owners.
For those looking to become members of the Black American Racers Association, a lifetime membership was $100 while a regular or annual one was $10.
The BARA would host a race in March 1974 featuring a number of the Black drivers of drag racing.
The Black American Racers Association would end operations in 1978.
George Floyd is sadly one of many, many African Americans who have been the victim of racial profiling and brutality.
Two men participating in that march — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and UAW President Walter Reuther — were dedicated to breaking the color lines and fighting for equality in wages, opportunities, housing, healthcare and fair societal treatment.
Because of socioeconomic and environmental factors — many due to continued disparity in opportunities — when COVID-19 struck this country it hit people of color especially hard.
The task force will act in an advisory capacity to the Governor and study the causes of racial disparities in the impact of COVID-19 and recommend actions to immediately address such disparities and the historical and systemic inequities that underlie them.
When we look at the many tragic incidents over the past decades, most recently Mr. Floyd’s horrific death, I can only think that we as a nation failed this young man, as we have failed so many others.
Dear Cultural Coach: Why aren’t you more concerned about giving our youths the correct tools to succeed in a global market? Encouraging students to constantly speak “hip-hop” vocabulary will only hold them back. It’s not like past generations where the youths had a few words or phrases used among themselves; this is becoming a language […]
We are right to worry that the events of the last week will too easily pigeonhole the sweeping tragedy of racism in America into merely a matter of police conduct, as critically important an issue that is.
The murder of young black men at the hands of police is one of the many terrible consequences of systematic and non- systematic racism that exists in America.
We must all push back on any implication that if we were to somehow solve police misconduct that the issue of black disenfranchisement will be solved.
I’ve worked my whole life encouraging black youth on Chicago’s Westside to pursue post-secondary education as the first step to claiming what is rightfully theirs: economic opportunity in this, the wealthiest nation on earth.
But, we also must use this moment to fortify our efforts to bring opportunity to black youth and to answer the call of the Counting on Chicago Coalition and complete the census, and, to ensure we get the funding we need for education in our communities.
For the second year in a row, Queen Latifah is showcasing new short films with her program called the Queen Collective.
RELATED: Director B. Monét Shows How The Power Of Dance Can Heal Unspeakable Trauma
During a virtual media roundtable, Queen Latifah, Marc Pritchard (Chief Brand Officer, Procter Gamble), and Paula Weinstein (Chief Content Officer, Tribeca Enterprises) talked about what inspired the creation of the program.
This year’s Queen Collective winners (Samantha Knowles, Nadine Natour and Ugonna Okpalaoka) were also at the roundtable and went into detail about their new projects.
“A few months later, we conceived of Queen Collective, which was a program to be able to get Black and brown women behind the camera because believe it or not only about 10 percent of films are directed by women and fewer than 1 percent are directed by women of color,” continued Pritchard.
Watch tall he short films from the Queen Collective on BET Her on June 13 at 9 pm EST.
If you have already read Becoming and wish you could hear more of former First Lady, Michelle Obama, your wish has been granted. Now you can listen to her more … Continued
The post The Michelle Obama podcast is live on Spotify appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.
Usher’s New Look and Cricket Wireless to Host Virtual Youth Mental Health Summit Addressing the Effects of COVID-19, Systemic Racism and Social Injustice on Tuesday, June 30
Panelists include Music Legend Usher, Usher’s New Look President Careshia Moore and MindRight Founder Ashley Edward
ATLANTA, (June 22, 2020) – Usher’s New Look (UNL) today announced its collaboration with Cricket Wireless to host a Disruptivate Racial Inequity & Mental Health Trauma Summit for youth on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 from 5:30 pm-6:30 pm ET.
“UNL’s Disruptivate Racial Inequity & Mental Health Trauma Summit is designed to offer comfort and counsel to young people who are experiencing pain, isolation and fear as our country faces a pandemic and extraordinary social unrest,” says Careshia Moore, President and CEO of Usher’s New Look.
The UNL Disruptivate Racial Inequity & Mental Health Trauma Summit will also feature Ashley Edwards, Founder and CEO of MindRight Health, and Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble (Dr. Alfiee), a pioneering psychologist, scientist, media personality, author and speaker.
Cricket Wireless’ collaboration with UNL to host the Disruptivate Racial Inequity & Mental Health Trauma Summit is part of its Cricket Cares corporate social responsibility platform, dedicated to building healthy human connections for happier youth.
To help continue its support of youth in need, Cricket Wireless and AT&T are donating $100,000 to MindRight Foundation to help further its mission to support and advocate for the mental health needs of communities of color.
THE SOUTH London Innovation Corridor is re-branding to become Stride and to celebrate they are...
The post Making positive strides in the tech world appeared first on Voice Online.
This has been building in Minneapolis for years, and it likely started boiling as protesters reminded us, in December of 1990 with the murder of Tycel Nelson by cowardly Minneapolis cop Dan May, who ironically is still with the department as a high-ranking instructor.
Black people in this city have been not only beaten down by the cops, brutalized, marginalized and disrespected, but have been forced to beg for crumbs from a large buffet.
Every year the last six years around Thanksgiving—as if it is a part of the holiday—in Minneapolis, headlines blare that yet another study has concluded that Minneapolis is in the top five of the worst places to live for Black people.
That’s right; while White people are living better than other White people, Black people in the Twin cities are worse off than Black folks in the rest of the country.
Eventually, yes, one day, the people oppressed by this lowdown, filthy, rotten, murderous system will educate themselves, analyze, organize and mobilize until they find a way to bring about a change that will allow BLACK, BROWN, RED, YELLOW, IMMIGRANT, MUSLIM, GAY, TRANS STRAIGHT, MALE, FEMALE, ALL OF THE 99% to live and be recognized as human beings, in a society of human beings.
“They showed me that having compassion for our fellow man is something that bestows a blessing upon us,” said Jackson, 65, founder and director of Kikstart Inc., a program that provides food and educates communities on the importance of nutritional awareness.
Kikstart distributes food boxes to needy families and hosts a summer lunch program that provides free meals to children, as well as a back-to-school drive and an after-school program that provides tutoring, mentorship, and activities for students.
“I got to travel a lot, and it was a very exciting field to be in,”said Jackson, who also earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky in 1986 and a PhD in computer information management from the University of New Mexico in 1989.
Kikstart began in 2001 after Jackson and his wife attended a church in Phoenix, Arizona, that didn’t have a lunch program.
“We started feeding kids at the charter school and the church, and other charter schools started asking where they were getting their meals from,” Jackson said.
