Showing posts with label Black youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black youth. Show all posts

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Take A Stroll with Cecile Emeke and the African Diaspora 2024

Back in 2015 I made this post.

 Cecile Emeke is still at it. The Young Black Voice. 

The Strolling series by the young producer Cecile Emeke is, in my opinion,
one of the best things to happen in Black media in recent years. Ms Emeke is in the
act of combining the power of social media with her knack for video storytelling
and presenting the voices of young articulate and efflorescent Black people from
various localities (so far in Europe). She is giving them the opportunity to
freely express their feelings with regard to the various cultures that they find
themselves at once immersed in and excluded from. The series is not only one of
the few outlets that allows these young people to vent their feelings but at the
same time it demonstrates clearly their diversity. Each subject has his or her
own unique story about their impressions and experiences in their particular
society which, I feel, were very well told. I see that this is a work in
progress and I hope we will all recognize and support this effort for the
valuable service that it brings to the people of the African diaspora wherever
we find ourselves. I also hope that the series will stimulate others to share
their talents with us while creating works that unify us to the same degree as
Cecile Emeke is doing. I am so impressed with the work this young woman is
doing. I hope we are sharing these videos to the max.
It looks like you will have a chance to experience this series on youtube.
It appears that she wants to relaunch the series.
:Go check out her new Youtube channel and more like the following

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Black Youth and Modern Mis-Education

 I found this article among my facebook suggestions and thought I'd like to share it. This article is on the topic of the broken education system and it's affect on African American youth, especially males. I hope you'll read it and reflect on the contents of the article. It's from a site called Mybrotha.com. There seem to be many other interesting articles and a forum as well. I believe it's worth exploring this site.


The Makings of Modern Mis-Education

(Mybrotha.COM) - Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black History Month and second Black PhD to graduate from Harvard, wrote the acclaimed The Mis-Education of the Negro way back in 1933. In the 1940s, psychologist Kenneth Clark’s "Doll Test," demonstrated that Black children were being psychologically conditioned to yearn and favor the looks of White people at the expense of self-dislike. His critical findings were cited during Brown vs. Board of Education when the Supreme Court desegregated schools in 1954.

Here we are, decades removed and Dr. Woodson’s book is still widely sold and studied, while Black children are still predisposed to view White dolls as "prettier and nicer" with hair that’s "better" than Black dolls. Educationally, we face ever-dismal challenges where Black children enter kindergarten a full year behind Whites; by high school the gap extends to 4 to 5 years; and 58 percent of Black males don’t even graduate high school.

Princeton researchers recently published a 7-year study, concluding that a 20-year "Manhattan Project-effort" is necessary to close today’s education and economic gaps of racial inequality. Just so you’ll know, the original Manhattan Project was a massive pursuit, costing the equivalent of $22 billion and comprising thousands of scientists who developed the A-Bomb in 1945 to nuke Japan into a crisp. So, to infer this same category of endeavor, speaks to the comparative enormity of the challenge.

There's good reason for skepticism since Black kids who dropout commonly say "classes aren’t interesting." And as far back as my childhood in the 1960s, "Acting White" has been a tagline used by Black kids to ridicule those who academically excel. Naturally, adults respond by saying, "there’s nothing White about being smart." Although this is absolutely true, it absolutely misses the point and fails to address the sociopolitical and mis-educational factors that confound young minds to misconstrue smartness with Whiteness.
continue reading

Monday, March 22, 2010

Charter school in tough neighborhood gets all its seniors into college

Urban Prep Charter School

It's the first graduating class at Urban Prep since it opened its doors in 2006.

Urban Prep Charter School is the country's first all-boys public charter high school. Located in Englewood, Illinois, the school is graduating its first class of seniors. Every one of them has been accepted into a four-year college or university---four years ago, many of them were not reading at grade level. Mayor Daley and other dignitaries joined them Friday to celebrate the milestone.







When we add this to the example of Children's Defense Fund and The Harlem Children's Zone we see that the will to educate, applied by people who care, can make all the difference.

Now, if we start to insist more emphatically that money be diverted from incarcerating our young people to educating them, maybe we can see this happen on a much larger scale.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Officers "Suspended" in Jordan Miles Police Brutality Case

Officers get paid vacation in Jordan Miles Police Brutality Case
Wow, when will it end?



Three officers under investigation by the city for allegedly beating a Homewood teen during his arrest last month have been placed on paid administrative leave, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said




A judge has again postponed a hearing for the CAPA High School student who says police officers beat him up during his arrest.

The three accused officers did not show up to testify at the hearing for 18-year-old Jordan Miles, of Homewood.

He was accompanied by members of the Black Political Empowerment Project.

Prosecutors in the case say they need a delay so the FBI can continue its civil rights investigation.

Authorities say the officers allegedly got into a confrontation with Miles back in January after they thought he was carrying a weapon in his pocket. It turned out to be a soda bottle.

"He didn't have any weapons on him," said Reggie Roberts, of the Black Political Empowerment Project. "There were three police officers to take down a 150-pound, thin, young man. Why was that necessary?"

Monday, January 11, 2010

Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia 1992



by Sylvia Hamilton



"One of the best things about learning, is passing on what you discover to other people." Shingai Nyajeka."

A film about a group of Black Nova Scotian students and their quest for knowledge of self and their place in their own and the community at large.
In the face of racism and marginalization, they work to establish a Cultural Awareness Youth Group, a vehicle for building pride and self-esteem through educational and cultural programs. With help from mentors, they discover and share, the richness of their heritage and learn some of the ways they can begin to affect change. Shot on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada)


The Seaview African Baptist Church bulldozed in 1967


"Nova Scotia in black context:
People of African descent have been living in Nova Scotia for almost 300 years. In Acadia, from the early to mid 1700s, there were more than 300 people of African descent in the French settlement at Louisbourg, Cape Breton.

In Halifax in 1751 there were 15 Black people. Between 100 and 150 people of African descent were among the new settlers, now known as the Planters, who came from New England after the British gained control over Nova Scotia in 1763.

Over 3,000 Black people came as part of the Loyalist migration between 1783 and 1785.

In 1796, 550 people, known as the Maroons, were deported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia. In 1800 they were relocated to Sierra Leone.
Some 2000 escaped slaves came from the United States during the War of 1812, under conditions similar to those of the Black Loyalists. They had thrown in their lot with the British between 1812 and 1816 and were offered freedom and land in Nova Scotia. They moved into the Halifax area to settle at Preston, Hammonds Plains, Beechville, Porter's Lake, and the Lucasville Road, as well as the Windsor area.
In the early 1900s Black immigrants were actively recruited from Barbados, West Indies to work in Cape Breton for the Dominion Coal Company. This community survives to the present day in Whitney Pier, Glace Bay and New Waterford.
People of African descent continue to immigrate to Nova Scotia today."




See more about Sylvia Hamilton

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Harlem Children's Zone

The Harlem Children's Zone Project is an example of what we must do to rebuild our community's infrastructure. We will all have to involve ourselves and do whatever it takes to insure that this and programs like it thrive every where there are children in need of upliftment. We all have to do our best to raise the funds to make it happen. Our children deserve a stake in the future of this country and we can make it happen, as the work of Geoffry
Canada has shown us.

Called "one of the most ambitious social-service experiments of our time," by The New York Times, The Harlem Children's Zone Project is a unique, holistic approach to rebuilding a community so that its children can stay on track through college and go on to the job market.

The goal is to create a "tipping point" in the neighborhood so that children are surrounded by an enriching environment of college-oriented peers and supportive adults, a counterweight to "the street" and a toxic popular culture that glorifies misogyny and anti-social behavior.

Geoffrey Canada on Helping Harlem's Children


CNN Harlem Children's Zone


Harlem Children's Zone kids talk about their lives in Harlem


Harlem Children's Zone Moms


Trends does a rap video with kids from Harlem Children Zone



Barack Obama on the Harlem Children's Zone



pdf_button U.S. Secretary of Education and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes to keynote at national conference to replicate Harlem Children's Zone Project in New York City November 9-10.

Monday, November 16, 2009

KKK at Heather Ellis March?

New development in the Heather Ellis case.


KKK Shows at Kennett March for Heather Ellis
Updated: Monday, 16 Nov 2009, 1:01 PM CST
Published : Monday, 16 Nov 2009, 12:00 PM CST

Les
Smith
KENNETT, Missouri - Members of the Klu Klux Klan have joined the crowd of onlookers in Kennett, Missouri at a march in support of Heather Ellis.

The march was organized in part by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and until moments before the march, the permit had been revoked only to be reinstated later Monday morning.

The 1.5 mile march began at the Wal-Mart parking lot where Heather Ellis is accused of assaulting officers after a verbal altercation with a store cashier when Ellis cut line in January 2007. The march will end in front of the courthouse.

According to FOX13's Les Smith, the march has proceeded peacefully. Approximately 20 supposed members of the KKK are among those lining the streets, holding signs with KKK slogans and swastikas.

One arrest of an alleged skinhead was made prior to the march.
read more

Friday, February 27, 2009

To Paul Laurence Dunbar -- Thank You!




As Black History Month draws to a close
let's remember Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Talk about inspired, Dunbar's work is
enough to keep us engaged for a long time.


from Ione-Part I Paul Laurence Dunbar.

I loved! Why not? My heart was youthful,
My mind was filled with healthy thought.
He doubts not whose own self is truthful,
Doubt by dishonesty is taught;
So loved I boldly, fearing naught.
I did not walk this lowly earth,
Mine was a newer, higher sphere
Where youth was long and life was dear,
And all save love was little worth.

Friday, February 13, 2009

The US Government presents Black History Month 2012

Let's take a look at how our government
is presenting BHM this year.


The theme for 2012
Black Women in American Culture and History





topics

* African American History Month Home
* About
* Exhibits & Collections
* Images
* Audio/Video
* Profiles
* For Teachers
* Images Used On
This Site

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Guerilla Funk Recordings

Guerilla Funk Recordings- positive/conscious hip hop and more.


About Guerrilla Funk

Guerrilla Funk Recordings was born out of necessity. It's a musical organization that was founded by Paris - the politically conscious artist best known for the incendiary song "Bush Killa" - that counters the corporate stranglehold of censorship currently plaguing the entertainment industry. It provides balance in this intolerant climate of suppression of free speech and artistic expression, and serves as a vehicle for those who are unable - not because of lack of talent or relevance - to be heard. There now exists a harmful double-standard at most record labels of endorsing artists who only espouse misogyny, mindless violence, and drug culture references in their music -- while at the same time ignoring artists who strive to enlighten and inspire. It is our pledge at Guerrilla Funk Recordings not to follow suit.


What can I say? It's informative, it's entertaining and
 it's there for you. Go check out all of the material and
visit regularly because it's not static they stay up to date.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Revolution Underground

Revolution Underground by Shani Carter

 Revolution Underground is a short video that
brings to the fore, some concerns and impressions
of young African Canadians and others from the
African diaspora. This production is right on time
and I hope it will be seen far and wide throughout 
the African Diaspora.

 The producer Ms Shani Carter at once a student,
a community activist with many irons in the fire, not
to mention, an artist. I doubt if her legacy will stop there
because she's just beginning.

 Props Shani!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Young unarmed Black father Oscar Grant killed by police

On January 1, 2009 A young Black father, Oscar Grant, was shot in the back by a Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer. This young man, mr. Grant according to all the witness reports I can find was lying quietly on his stomach with his hands behind his back cooperating fully with the police and the officer just took out his weapon and shot him in the back.

I wasn't personally on the scene so I can only pass on the the info I can find online. I welcome the comments of anyone who knows more about this case.

I hope we will all be watching this case carefully and trying to come together in order to bring an end to the fatal treatment of our young men
at the hands of the police. Usually when one fires his gun they all do so you can't tell who did the actual killing. This time apparently there is someone to hold accountable.



New Footage of Oakland Man Murdered By BART Cop
by Oakland Police Cop Watch Blog ( ORGANIZEOAKLAND [at] YAHOO.COM )
Tuesday Jan 6th, 2009 2:20 PM


Your browser is not able to display this multimedia content.






Here is a youtube account of an eye witness who in fact recorded some of what she saw.





An audio account by Davey D, on Breakdown FM 

For more see this article in The Hinterland Gazette.



 (01-05) 22:30 PST PST Oakland -- Five days have passed since a BART police officer shot and killed an unarmed rider on a station platform, but the officer has not given a statement to investigators about what happened and the transit agency has apparently not forced him to do so.  read more...

 It's time for this type of nonsense to end folks, what an insult to Black Americans 
that Oscar  Grant's life means so little that they can be this lackadaisical about this
investigation.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Mychal Bell Shoots Himself

  I have thus far seen two versions of this story. One purports that young Bell shot himself out of despair relating to a recent shoplifting accusation and the other that he was cleaning a gun and accidentally shot himself.
 
 I have also noted that there are those who have already tried and convicted Bell once again with statements the the affect that some people never learn or that Al Sharpton has yet again backed the wrong person.
 
 Well I'm not personally ready to give up on young Myke Bell so easily,  he has been living under a lot of stress and he has also been subjected to the full force of the racist Louisiana legal system which would all to gladly throw him under a bus rather than give him the chance that a young white boy would get for similar offences.

 Hang in there Mychal, there are people out here who do want to see you get it together.