"DAISY BATES: FIRST LADY OF LITTLE ROCK" PREMIERES IN HARLEM

Saturday, January 14th

Time: 4 - 6 PM
Schomburg Center for

Research in Black Culture

515 Malcolm X Boulevard
New York, NY 10037-1801

Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock tells the story of a seven-year journey by filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to try to unravel the life of a forgotten civil rights activist named Daisy Bates. In 1957, Bates became a household name when she fought for the right of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock,Arkansas. Bates’ public support culminated in a constitutional crisis — pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

As head of the Arkansas NAACP, and protector of the nine students, Daisy Bates would achieve instant fame as the drama played out on national television and in newspapers around the world. But that fame would prove fleeting and for her attempts to remain relevant, she would pay a hefty price.

This documentary travels with Daisy Bates on her long and lonely walk from orphaned child to newspaper woman to national Civil Rights figure to her last days in Little Rock.

Bates’ journey, both her triumphs and defeats parallels the ongoing struggle of generations of African Americans who for more than 200 years have challenged America to live up to what it claims to be.

COMING TO PBS on Thursday, February 2, 2012

Black Buying Power: Watch Where You Spend Your Money

Most big advertisers don’t respect the African American consumer

By David Alexander, Special to the NNPA from Our Weekly –

How much do most big corporate advertisers respect the African American consumer—25 percent, 15 percent, 5 percent, or one percent?

If you guessed one percent you were wrong. It’s less than that—.68 percent, to be exact.

Of the $263.7 billion spent annually on advertising within the nation, less that one percent is used to target African American consumers, despite the fact that Black buying power is estimated at around $857 billion, according to the 2010 census.

Ken Smikle of Target Market News notes that “the largest single investment corporate America makes is advertising,” but only a trickle is spent targeting African American consumers, a group that has been and continues to be underestimated, underserved, disrespected and misunderstood.

Pepper Miller, co-founder of the Hunter-Miller Group, a multicultural marketing firm, and co-author of the book “What’s Black About It?” explains that one of the most common misperceptions advertisers have is that mainstream publications will reach all possible consumers. Since most African Americans speak English, they generalize, there is no need to market outside of the mainstream publications.

“Marketing is about segmentation, diversity and understanding who your customers are,” counters Miller, who has devoted many years to the field of diverse marketing. But why do advertisers feel that way when these facts are taught in most marketing classes, and when it is known that most African Americans generally distrust the mainstream media?

A 2008 study by Radio One entitled “Understanding Black America” revealed that only 13 percent of African Americans trust the mainstream media, and out of 29 million Blacks, only 2 million can be reached through mainstream publications.

In fact, there is a long history of corporations and organizations using Black newspapers for free press exposure while committing only a paltry amount of their vast advertising budgets to support the same papers that have opened up valuable editorial space to them.

A similar type criticism was lodged against Toyota by the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) earlier this year. The NNPA alleged that when Toyota’s image was hurt by devastating recalls a couple of years earlier, the Japanese car maker sought help from the Black press to restore the brand’s image and to encourage African American loyalty. The NNPA charged that Blacks stood by Toyota to the tune of $2.2 billion. However, in its $1.6 billion 2011 advertising budget, Toyota allocated only $20 million to be shared by all African American media, including newspapers, radio and television. And when Toyota ran ads thanking American consumers for remaining loyal, none of the thank-you ads ran in the African American press.

R.L. Polk & Co., an automotive marketing research firm, says African American consumers represent almost 10 percent of Toyota’s U.S. market share, with 15 out of every 100 automobile purchases by African Americans being a Toyota-made automobile.

Unfortunately, the slighting of African American media is a problem even among Black advertisers. The NAACP, the oldest and largest of civil rights organizations, ignored Black publications in advertising its annual Image Awards extravaganza. When doling out its advertising dollars for the event, the organization chose to utilize only mainstream publications. As a result, NAACP president and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous was the target of much criticism from the Black press. Jealous claimed it was a “grave” oversight. “I am very sensitive to the need to support Black community newspapers. They are the only way to assure Black readers in a given community that you actually want your ads to reach them directly,” he said in response to the criticism.

This questionable marketing practice is also occurring in the music industry, where there are multitudes of African American performers. Despite this fact, the industry has invested few ad dollars targeting African American consumers.

This is occurring at a time when African American businesses and workers are hardest hit by unemployment and the ever-tightening economy.

Many executives in the movie industry are guilty of a similar myopia. They have operated on the assumption that African Americans will not attend a movie that does not have an African American lead and/or cast. However, a study conducted by BET this year revealed that 81 percent of movies seen by African Americans did not include an African American cast, lead actor or storyline. This same study also showed that the average African American goes to the movies 13.4 times a year in comparison to the general moviegoer who goes 11 times a year.

So the question becomes: why are these advertisers slighting their most reliable consumer?

According to a 2008 report from Packaged Facts, which publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer industries, Black buying power is projected to rise to about $1.1 trillion by 2012. There are currently 343,300 African American households within the United States earning $150,000 or more, as well as “819,700 individuals who earn a minimum of $75,000 per year.”

Although a number of companies have profited by marketing directly to the African American consumer, such as McDonalds, Gucci, Lexus, Lincoln, Procter & Gamble, State Farm, Infiniti, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, overall most corporations and organizations have left the African American consumer out when it comes to their ad dollars.

In “Black Is the New Green,” authors Leonard Burnett Jr. and Andrea Hoffman write: “It would be foolish in the extreme not to tap into this rich buying segment, yet this is exactly what the marketing firms of companies (fail to) do all too frequently.”

Click here to read entire article: blackvoicenews.com

Let Us Help You with THE HELP

I just got back from a special-screening of "The Help" at my local movie theatre, so I thought that I might as well do a review for all of you who are somewhat interested to see this movie and need a PUSH.

Now, first off, I must admit that I have only read a portion of the book, but I definitely do know a lot about it. After watching the trailer, I was intrigued. At first glance, the casting caught my attention big-time. Emma Stone as 'Skeeter'? I bet most people were as shocked as I was to find out that she was cast as the main character -- but let me tell you what: the casting was superb! I could not have chosen a better cast than what was already chosen. There was amazing chemistry between both the antagonists and protagonists. I won't go into too much depth about the characters, but for me, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, and Octavia Spencer were the shining stars of the movie.

I know that there has been an on-going issue about this movie from a lot of people claiming that "the blacks had to be 'saved' by the whites" (pardon the language), or something along those lines. I have to agree that the trailer does give off that type of vibe -- Skeeter saving the colored-folks -- however, the movie tells and depicts otherwise - the colored-folks actually saved themselves. Minny and Aibileen, as well as the other colored-folks in the community, were the real "heroes" of the movie; they just needed someone to push them to their potential (Skeeter).

I can not remember the last time I saw a movie that inspired me, made me cry, made me laugh, and made me sad, angry, and hopeful, all at the same time -- this is what "The Help" strides and aims for, without making it "cheesy". Without a doubt in my mind, there are definitely Oscar-worthy performances in this movie. Not only does this movie depict just the colored-folks' side of the story, but it also equally shows the feelings of the white-folks, as well. So, you definitely get both sides of the story without it being more or less "mean" or "degrading" to any sides.

There are definitely a few awkward moments in the movie, but what movie doesn't have them? This movie started around 10:10 and ended around 12:20 -- about 2 hours and 10 minutes, give or take, if my calculations are correct. However, this movie only felt like it was an hour-long. It was so good that I didn't even know the two hours passed by until the theatre lights lid and the rolling credits began.

All in all, this is a DEFINITELY-MUST-SEE movie. I personally believe that it is one of the best movies of 2011. Go see it -- you will not regret it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

And during its opening weekend (August 12^th) Box Office reported it came in 2^nd at $26.0M behind Planet of the Apes at $27.8M. You need to catch up…

Black and Gay in Corporate America--Black Enterprise

By Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director of National Black Justice Coalition

This week, Black Enterprise (BE) magazine, the most respected business journal for Black America, released an eight-page article on being Black, Gay and in Corporate America that is sending shockwaves through Black communities. The teaser article started with:

“We’re not going to pretend this was an easy topic for Black Enterprise to consider. Let’s face it—the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is one of which our society whispers, mocks, ignores, and, in extreme cases, vehemently rejects. For Black members of this community, the emotional backlash can be even more intense.”
- Sonia Alleyne, Editorial Director, Careers/Lifestyle, BE

CALL TO ACTION…We need our members and supporters to:

· Purchase a Black Enterprise magazine today (it will be a piece of history)

· Post the Black Enterprise cover story on your Facebook page to share with your network:
www.blackenterprise.com/2011/07/13/black-and-gay-in-corporate-america/

· Facebook “Like” the BE special features at:
www.blackenterprise.com/blacklgbt/

· Add your voice to the many comments (positive and negative) regarding BE’s coverage about our community on the BE website: www.blackenterprise.com

No Independence Day For Black People

Written by Dr. Boyce Watkins

When I think about the fourth of July, my mind is motionless. I don’t get happy, sad, angry or thoughtful. As a 40-year old man, I can’t even get excited about the fireworks anymore. The holiday means as much to me as the birthday of my biological father who abandoned me at birth. In fact, I don’t even know what day he was born.

The fourth of July has quite a bit of meaning for our nation at large, of course, given that it was the day on which the Declaration of Independence was signed. Black people were still slaves on that day, which highlights the core of persistent American hypocrisy as it relates to race. All the while, one has to respect the courage shown by Americans of all ethnic backgrounds who fought against the tyranny of the British to create the powerful nation in which we live today. If we actually had the courage to live up to the ideals of those who gave their lives for freedom, we’d be a much better country because of it.

For African Americans, we don’t quite have a true fourth of July. This is not only because the original fourth of July took place while we were still slaves, but because we have not yet earned our independence. Of course, we obtained some semblance of freedom in 1865, after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation; but being free is far from being truly independent. Despite the fact that slavery ended long ago, the descendants of our historical oppressors still control nearly every dimension of our lives:

1) Large corporations like Viacom and Time Warner control major black media outlets like BET and Essence, giving them the right to shape our collective point of view. We depend on these companies to tell us what to think.

2) Most African Americans are controlled by corporate jobs that mute their ability to speak out or stand up on issues of social justice. We depend on companies owned by others in order to feed our children.

3) Black children’s minds are obliterated at an early age by media giants who mass market hip-hop music that sells black boys a recipe for self-destruction by the time they reach kindergarten. Capitalist and shareholder-created monstrosities like Lil Wayne teach them how to kill themselves and each other by the time they become teenagers.

4) Our children have their futures thrown into the trash by school systems that put even the most brilliant black boys in special education at a rate that is five times greater than white kids.

5) The NCAA still earns over a billion dollars per year on the backs of black families, leaving many single black mothers in poverty. In fact, athlete compensation has been criminalized, while mostly white coaches and administrators sign multi-million dollar contracts without playing in any of these sporting events.

6) Black unemployment is nearly double that of white Americans, with no politician in Washington expressing any interest in alleviating the suffering with targeted policy. We depend on politicians and a Democratic Party that fills our minds empty rhetoric, while not respecting us enough to deliver on campaign promises.

The most glaring sign of our lack of independence is the prison industrial complex, which has served to decimate the black family in America. Black men are disproportionately incarcerated and used as slave labor to make expensive corporate products. In fact, the 13th Amendment, which allegedly abolishes slavery, actually includes a clause stating that slavery is still legal if the government can label you as a felon.

So, part of my ambivalence toward the fourth of July doesn’t rest on hating others or carrying the crippling burden of acidic anger. It comes from the fact that I know that my people are at least 100 years away from gaining their independence. Consider me to be a pessimist, but when I look at the world around me, I see very little independence for black people.

Person of the Week: A Black Valedictorian Is Recognized 75 Years after Graduation

Pittsburgh School Denied her the Honor in 1936 Because of Race, Family Says

Fannetta Nelson Gordon was finally recognized yesterday as the valedictorian of Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh—an honor denied her in 1936 because of her race

Gordon died three years ago at age 88, but her sister, Sophia Phillips Nelson, 93, attended the ceremony sponsored by the Westinghouse Alumni Association.

"It was just so emotionally heartfelt to see the 93-year-old woman take the award for her sister," says lawyer Reggie Bridges, head of the alumni group. "The room was in tears."

"I wish Fannetta could have been there," said Phillips Nelson. "She was a brilliant girl and determined."

So determined, her family says, that Gordon overcame the wrong that was done to her when the school principal pressured music teacher Carl McVicker to change Gordon's grade from an A to a B so she wouldn't be first in her class—an honor that her older sister, Sophia, had achieved two years earlier. The principal didn't want two black valedictorians within two years, the family says.

Gordon—whose official transcript ranked her fourth in the 155-student class—went on to become the accompanist for the National Negro Opera Company and played at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Hall. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, she became a high school German and English teacher and later was named by the governor as a senior adviser for English and foreign languages in the state Education Department.

But she never got over being deprived of her rightful status as valedictorian, her family says. "It was one of the most painful episodes of her life," says her niece, Gloria Wofford. "He erased her A and gave her a B because she was black."

Phillips Nelson said she and other students were aware of what had happened at the time. "We knew. Unfortunately, they were principal and music teacher—we were just youngsters."

The reality at the time for African-Americans, she said, was to tolerate injustices: "Just take it."

The recognition ceremony Thursday came about when Bridges reviewed the transcript and other records. "As clear as day you can see where the grades were changed in music," he said. "You can see erasure marks. " Her earlier music grades were all As, he said.

The Pittsburgh School District has not officially recognized Gordon as valedictorian. "It does appear there were erasure marks on the transcript—we can't confirm the back story" because the principal and music teacher are dead, said spokeswoman Ebony Pugh. "What the district does recognize is that Fannetta Nelson Gordon was a high-achieving student."

In the 1930s when the sisters attended the school, Westinghouse High School was about 5 to 10 percent African-American, whereas today the school is 97 percent black. The school—whose famous alumni include supermodel Naomi Sims and jazz composer Billy Strayhorn, the soloist at Sophia's graduation—will become two single-sex academies next year.

"Our school is in trouble," says Bridges. "This is just the kind of thing to remind [today's students]—quit making excuses. If these sisters could do it in the 1930s, you can do it."

"We hope that they will take a lesson from this and not let anything stop them," says Gloria Wofford.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAYARD RUSTIN Today, he would have celebrated his 99th Birthday

Bayard Rustin at news briefing on the Civil Rights March on Washington in the Statler Hotel, half-length portrait, seated at table - August 27, 1963

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American civil rights activist, important largely behind the scenes in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and earlier. He is credited as the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.


He counseled Martin Luther King, Jr. on the techniques of nonviolent resistance. He became an advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes in the latter part of his career. Homosexuality was criminalized at the time, which made him a target of suspicion and compromised some of his effectiveness.

Your 101 Class on What's Really Going On in Uganda

Here are the Cliffs Notes on a past year of Gay, Human & Civil Rights that are being threatened in Uganda. We hope this helps you get up to speed.

October 14, 2009

Anti-homosexual bill in Uganda introduced by David Bahati

February 5, 2010

US condemns Uganda anti-gay law

The Obama Administration called Uganda to task as the African nation considers a law that would criminalise homosexuality. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had expressed U.S. concerns about the bill to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

February 17, 2010

Anti-gay bill finds support in conservative Uganda

March 25, 2010

International Uproar over Uganda Anti-Gay Bill, Study Finds American Evangelicals Encouraging Homophobia

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/25/international_uproar_over_uganda_anti_gay

Proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda has sparked international uproar. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill would impose much harsher punishments including life imprisonment and even the death penalty for some homosexual acts. We speak with a leading Ugandan gay rights organizer and a Zambian priest who has documented the role of American evangelicals in fostering homophobia in Uganda.

October 2, 2010

Ugandan media, politicians campaign against homosexuality

Gays and lesbians in Uganda say they are living in fear, targets of a media and political campaign to wipe homosexuality from the face of the East African country. Tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone is spreading anti-gay hatred and identifying gays in Uganda. In its Oct. 2 edition, the newspaper launched a campaign to identify 100 "top homos" in Uganda, adding on the front page, "Hang Them."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/22/f-uganda-anti-gay.html#ixzz1CTU2d7oc

December 8, 2010

Rachel Maddow - David Bahati "Kill The Gays" Bill Uganda Sponsor

- Part 1

December 14, 2010

African Americans protest Bahati’s US tour to promote “kill the gays” in Uganda

LGBT People of African Descent and our allies, family and friends are responding to the immediate attack on our fellow brother and sisters in the country of Uganda. The conservative Christian right organization known as The Family and so-called “ex-gay” activist Scott lively exported hatred to Africa with a direct threat to the LGBT community in Uganda by funding and sponsoring the “Anti-Homosexuality” bill which would introduce the death penalty for gay people and require extradition of gay Ugandans around the world.

LGBT communities of color in the USA and across the globe are at greater risk for hate crimes and persecutions. Killing LGBT people in Uganda or anywhere else around the world is wrong.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTER IN UGANDA

Learn more about Frank Mugisha and the POWERFUL work he is doing.

Frank on NPR: (December 20, 2010)

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132147169/anti-gay-atmosphere-permeates-uganda

Happy Martin Luther King Day!!! -- Dare to DREAM

By Maurice Jamal

Today is set aside as a holiday of remembrance for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his tireless work for equality, civil rights and justice. As national and world events occur, one might take a moment and wonder about the current condition of peace, freedom and liberty.

Often when people speak of Dr. King, they discuss "the dream". Not only his landmark speech on civil rights, but the essence and content of his dream. I was reminded today that dreams are limitless. There are no boundaries, hurdles, fears or obstacles that can stand in our way. And dreams are not a child's folly. They are the power of the human spirit reminding us that we can rise above the obvious and move towards the great. Dreams make the impossible, possible.

The work each of us does everyday is part of this dream. It moves us towards a world where equality, acceptance, peace and justice are the norms and not the exceptions. Where regardless of background and sexual orientation, people are not only free to love, live and pursue their liberty, they are encouraged and supported to do so.

This year brought both highs and lows for our community; from the victory of DADT to youth suicides that shook us to our core. And each of you has made a fundamental difference for good in this march towards equity.

A dream is more than an idea, it is permission. It allows someone the ability to craft a world that has everything they could want and desire. It emboldens them to say not only "I can" but "I will" and most importantly "I am".

When we struggle, fight and are working to survive, remember that there are men, women and young people across this country who look at the work you do. They see YOU as evidence that their dream has merit. Your talent, work, dedication and perseverance make a difference. Everyday.

GLO TV may appear to be a digital television network. But it is so much more than that.

It is the dreams of people in small towns, church congregations, school campuses and homes across this nation, who often need a voice to speak for them, an ear to hear them, arms to embrace them, and a heart to welcome them.

It is the reality of what their world can be.

The road ahead is one that we will all walk down together. It is not always easy nor the path always cleared. But it is a road we walk down triumphantly, knowing that every step we take, gives our community permission for them to be bold enough, to dare to dream "I AM".

BE your dream!

Tony Porter - Break free of the "man box."

Tony Porter makes a call to men everywhere: Don't "act like a man." Telling powerful stories from his own life, he shows how this mentality, drummed into so many men and boys, can lead men to disrespect, mistreat and abuse women and each other. His solution: Break free of the "man box."

Tony Porter is the visionary and co-founder behind the nonprofit A Call to Men: The National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women. Porter’s message of engagement and self-examination has connected powerfully with numerous domestic and sexual violence programs for such high-profile groups as the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, and colleges and universities around the country, including the US Military Academy at West Point and the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. Porter is also an international lecturer for the U.S. State Department, having done extensive work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He is a faculty member of the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services Academy of Addiction Studies, where he co-authored their curriculum for clinicians who work with chemically dependent African-Americans. He also specializes in developing social justice models for human service organizations.

"Ted Bunch and Tony Porter shared their expertise in riveting testimony about men’s responsibility for ending violence against women, and they challenged well-meaning men to become part of the solution. The men spoke of their own journeys in understanding that domestic violence is a civil rights issue." From My Sister’s Place