Honoring Our Heroes
Commentary by Black Kos Editor JoanMar
I still remember that scene as the names of legendary women warriors were read aloud, and one by one those formidable forces rose to receive the love that was being bestowed upon them. Among the 25 women honored at that Legend Ball in 2005, were visionaries like Maya Angelou, Ruby Dee, Cicely Tyson, Diana Ross, Leontyne Price, Tony Morrison, Coretta Scott King, and Rosa Parks. In explaining why she chose to honor those women, Ms Winfrey said:
These women, who have been meaningful to so many of us over the years, are legends who have been magnificent in their pioneering and advancing of African-American women. It is because of their steps that our journey has no boundaries.
It was television at its best. It was Oprah Winfrey at her best. At the end of that
TV Special, there was not a dry eye for miles around.
History is set to repeat itself in Oprah once again stepping into the void and doing for us what nobody else has the pull and presence to do. She will honor those who are still living who were in the forefront of the civil rights movement back in the sixties.
Honorees will include Ambassador Andrew Young, Berry Gordy, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Diane Nash, Dick Gregory, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Congressman John Lewis, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Juanita Jones Abernathy, Julian Bond, Marian Wright Edelman, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier, and Harry Belafonte.
For Ms. Winfrey, this will be a twofer; she will be honoring the civil rights giants even as she will be promoting her film, Selma.
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Thanking Ms. Winfrey (at whom I have rolled my eyes countless times), for once again reminding the world of how an oppressed people went about fighting for their freedom and humanity. Reminding us that they fought with elegance, grace, and with dignity. Thanking her for using her network and movie to show us how black folks fought and largely won without having to resort to crass, vulgar, obscene depictions of the black body. Without having to use the soul-destroying, spirit-numbing language and visuals of our enemies. Though, it may be that she is not quite "civilized" enough, you know, as I have been told that to show black folks as subhuman, for example, is really an intellectual tool used to poke the racist in the proverbial eye. Some 11-dimensional chess, if you will, which only those with an advanced, sophisticated sense of humor and an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of a superior culture can appreciate.
If only Dr. King, the leaders, and foot soldiers of the civil rights movement knew of this powerful weapon!
If you, like me, need your soul refreshed, and your spirit rekindled, then Oprah's Legend Ball Special is the place to be. Set to air On Sunday, January 18, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm on OWN TV:
Oprah Winfrey Network will air a special television event of “Oprah Winfrey Presents: Celebrating Selma & The Legends Who Paved The Way.”
Trailer for special:
It is 2015, and still la lutte continue.
Update: Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday morning and Selma is up for best film. The director of the movie, Ava DuVernay, was ignored. The powerful performance from David Oyelowo was dismissed. I guess the movie made itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over looked good news. FiveThirtyEight: EDUCATION 6:01 AM JAN 12, 2015 Black And Hispanic Students Are Making Meaningful Gains, But It’s Hard To Tell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since the Nixon administration, federal education administrators every few years have issued the National Assessment of Educational Progress’s long-term trend assessments, part of a government project called the Nation’s Report Card. It captures how well a representative sample of U.S. students can answer a range of rigorous questions in mathematics and reading. Between 1973 and 2012, the average student score in reading increased by 13 points for 9-year-olds, eight points for 13-year-olds and remained stalled among 17-year-olds. In math, the gains since the 1970s were even higher for 9- and 13-year-olds but also remained virtually flat among 17-year-olds.
Slight gains on a 500-point scale, right? But the data is telling you to look deeper. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that black and Hispanic students have made tremendous gains in math and reading on the nation’s gold standard for measuring these skills.
While the overall math averages for 9-year-olds grew by 25 points between 1978 and 2012, average scores among black and Hispanic students increased by 34 and 31 points, respectively.
Among 13-year-olds, math scores for white students increased by 21 points, while results for blacks and Hispanics increased by 34 points and 33 points, respectively. Overall, 13-year-olds improved by 26 points in math.
Seventeen-year-olds, many of whom are one year away from enrolling in college, nudged upward by six points overall between 1978 and 2012 on the math portion of NAEP, but scores for black and Hispanic students increased by 20 and 18 points, respectively.
Overall, scores for 9-year-olds taking the reading assessment grew by 11 points between 1975 and 2012; the scores for black and Hispanic students each rose by 25 points in that same period.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new report evaluates a class and mentoring program just for black boys in Oakland.
ColorLines: In Oakland, School Program Focuses on Black Boys’ Success.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 17 Oakland public schools, a district-run program dedicated solely to the nurturing and development of black boys is seeing results four years into its operation. It’s called the Manhood Development Program, and black boys enrolled in its classes and mentoring initiatives have improved their grades and reading capacity, according to a new report (PDF) released today by the district’s Office of African American Male Achievement.
But that’s not all. The program, which was conceived as an initiative to decrease school suspensions and increase graduation rates for black boys in 2010, is dedicated to identity development and emotional nurturing of youth.
Half the students enrolled in the MDP report that by the ninth grade, they’ve seen someone get shot, according to the report, called “The Black Sonrise.” Meanwhile, only 28 percent of California’s black boys scored “proficient” or higher on a state English exam. While black boys are just 17 percent of Oakland’s public school enrollment, they’re 75 percent of students who get arrested while at school. The dynamics are not unrelated, the district determined.
In order to address what the Office of African American Male Achievement calls the “epidemic failure” of black boys, the MDP put together classes which are currently offered in 17 district schools to 450 students. The classes, which are held every five days a week during the school day, bring together a mix of “high-achieving,” “average,” and “under-achieving” students for a program “predicated on evidence-based community-defined best practices and insights.” The classes allow black boys learn from their peers and black men to support each other in an academic environment that’s all too often hostile to them and offer curriculum by and about other African-Americans.
cover image from The Black Sonrise report
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A whistle-blowing website which aims to expose politicians and businessmen who abuse power in Africa has been launched by media and campaign groups. BBC: AfriLeaks website to expose abuses in Africa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AfriLeaks will give people a chance to leak sensitive information anonymously. The site's founders say it is an attempt to boost investigative journalism to expose widespread corruption and human rights abuses.
It will also help circumvent growing surveillance by governments and corporate firms, they say. Afrileaks, made up of 19 media outlets and activist groups, says it is committed to "speaking truth to power".
"You will be able to send us documents and select which of our member organisations should investigate it," it says. "We've designed a system that helps you to share these materials while protecting your own identity, so that it becomes impossible to identify you as the source of the leak."
Young Ivorian learn how to use a computer on 22 April 2004 in Abidjan
Journalists are hoping that the public will leak more information to them via the internet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Movies like The Help, with white protagonists, get lots of recognition, while cinematic classics like Do the Right Thing and Lumumba don’t get their due. The Root: If You Think Selma's Snubbing Is a Fluke, Think Again. Lots of Black Films Have Been Stiffed By the Oscars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ocial media is abuzz with news that Ava DuVernay’s towering film Selma received only two Academy Award nominations, for best picture and best song. The best film ever made about the civil rights movement, Selma was shut out of nominations for best director and actor that seemed inevitable just weeks ago. And the popular Twitter hashtag #OscarSoWhite, which is trending now, tells us only part of the story.
This is not the first time the Oscars have snubbed a black filmmaker whose artistic achievements seem to be overwhelmed by a storm of political controversy.
Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is rightfully regarded as the director’s masterpiece, a scintillating meditation on American race relations that turned the summer of 1989 into a national conversation about racial conflicts simmering across the nation. Many in Hollywood, including actor Kim Basinger, who said as much during the 1990 Academy Award show, felt that Lee should have received a best director nomination and the film nominated for best picture. Instead, Lee was nominated, but did not win, for best original screenplay.
Three years later, Lee’s searing three-hour biopic, Malcolm X, was again shut out from the best picture and best director categories, although Denzel Washington did receive (but did not win) a best actor nomination.
A less-recognized and more recent slighting of a seminal black film is Raoul Peck’s woefully unrecognized Lumumba, which told the story of Congolese prime minister and Pan-African icon Patrice Émery Lumumba, whose fight against colonialism influenced African-American leaders from Malcolm X to Amiri Baraka. Independently produced and helmed by a Haitian director, Lumumba featured an electrifying performance by actor Eriq Ebouaney.
David Oyelowo as Selma’s Martin Luther King Jr. talks to director Ava DuVernay.
COURTESY OF PARAMOUT PICTURES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to the Black Kos Community Front Porch!
Pull up a chair and sit down a while and enjoy the company.