by Cieslafdn | Jul 3, 2015 | Social Justice Work
Race relations have been a tense topic since the inception of the United States. From 200 years of slavery, to race riots in major cities, and overall institutionalized discrimination, race relations is a touchy subject. Recent shootings of unarmed African Americans across the United States serve as a reminder to both past and present atrocities. So when and how do we talk about race? Meghan Leahy, a parenting coach, emphasizes the need to immediately begin talking to children about race. Although this can be difficult, Leahy points out that the purpose of talking to children is to open a dialogue, where the sharing of ideas is encouraged. Leahy suggests that conversations begin as early as age 2 and that continued efforts to make clear both the history and prevalence of racism are required to get to the root of the problem. The discomfort and hushed tones traditionally involved in race discussions must be overcome. To read more about this topic, click here.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/we-need-to-deal-with-our-discomfort-and-talk-to-our-kids-about-racism/2015/06/30/ec6db7e8-1a9a-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html
by Cieslafdn | Jun 29, 2015 | Social Justice Work
A new Bravo network reality TV show entitled “Potomac Ensemble” is set to follow the lives of four African-American women and their experiences with Jack and Jill, an elite membership organization. Established in 1938 by a group of 20 mothers, Jack and Jill aims to provide aid and leadership development to African-American children aged two to nineteen. Networkers and producers hope the show will make for a catty, sassy, reality TV show. Jack and Jill’s national board has expressed displeasure with the show. Organization leaders fear the show will shed the organization in a negative light with gossipy flare. To read more about Jack and Jill’s displeasure with “Potomac Ensemble,” click here.
Jack and Jill of America isn’t pleased with focus of ‘Potomac’ Reality Show
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2015/06/25/jack-and-jill-of-america-isnt-too-pleased-with-d-c-reality-show/
by Cieslafdn | Jun 28, 2015 | Social Justice Work
An immensely overdue event, the integration of the New York Police Department was marked by Mr. Samuel Battle’s appointment to the New York City police force in 1911. As the first African-American officer in the department, Mr. Battle’s various accomplishments were monumental, inducing him to hire Langston Hughes, famed poet, to write his biography in 1949. Although Hughes largely dismissed Samuel Battle’s biography in pursuit of larger stories, Arthur Browne was inspired to write a book with Mr. Battle as the subject. Browne, a man of Irish descent and journalist during the 1970’s, compiled and built off of the work by Samuel Battle and Langston Hughes. Although Browne’s book is to be published long after the deaths of both Battle and Hughes, it marks the importance of continued remembrance of both the triumphs and failures of U.S. race relations. To find out more about Samuel Battle’s contributions and Arthur Browne’s literary process, click here.
Finishing What a Poet Left Undone
by Cieslafdn | Jun 23, 2015 | Social Justice Work
With just one week after the tragic shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, large companies such as Walmart, Ebay, Etsy, Google, Amazon, Kmart, and Sears have decided to no longer sell merchandise surrounding the Confederate flag. Items from T-shirts to mugs to shower curtains have all displayed the flag in some form or fashion. “The killings have renewed a focus on the Confederate flag, which had been displayed in a photograph of the accused gunman”. Much of the public nationwide have asked for the removal of the flag at the State House grounds in Columbia. “On Tuesday, as the flag continued to be held up as a symbol of hatred and slavery, South Carolina lawmakers are considering whether to have it taken down”. To read more about it in the New York Times, click here.
Rosenwald was made in loving memory of the Martyrs of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church.
by Cieslafdn | Apr 16, 2015 | Social Justice Work
On April 10th, Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens was honored on a 15′ by 15′ mural, created by Duke Ellington students under the guidance of artist Mark Walker and presented by newly-elected Mayor Muriel Bowser.
It was presented on behalf of the students of The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a DC public school. Winner of four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Owens was the son of a sharecropper and the grandson of a slave. At the height of his fame, he lived in the Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, also know as the Rosenwald. He would go for his daily run and slow up so the children who ran with him could keep up.
The mural project was done in partnership with Duke Ellington, the DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
by Cieslafdn | Feb 13, 2015 | Social Justice Work
Valerie Jarrett, the daughter of Barbara Bowman who is an interviewee for the documentary, comes from a rich legacy. In addition to being top aide to President Obama, she is the great-granddaughter of Robert Robinson Taylor, who most believe is the first African-American to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) and one of the first black architects in the country.
On February 12th, he was officially honored as the next face that will be shown on the Black Heritage stamp at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. According to The Washington Post, the ceremony featured the Howard Singers from Howard University, a historically black university that has educated some Rosenwald grant recipients. A’Lelia Bundles, who is also an interviewee in the documentary and great-granddaughter of Madame CJ Walker, was the MC at this event.
There is also a new exhibit titled “Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights,” that opened yesterday and will run until February 15th, 2016. Described by the museum as “A chronicle of the African American experience told from the perspective of stamps and mail,” the exhibit will surely be a treat for those who want to know about black history in America from a different perspective.
For more information about to the National Postal Museum, go to: http://postalmuseum.si.edu/.
Photograph of Robert Robinson Taylor’s stamp
Photo Source: www.stampnewsnow.com
Erica Marshall, Winter Intern
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