Benjamin Hooks interviewed by Richard D. Heffner on Affirmative Action (The Open Mind) 1983

 In 1983 Benjamin Hooks was interviewed on the program "The Open Mind" on the subject of Civil Rights and the effects of affirmative action laws. Listen to mr. Hooks and see if you think his assessment of the state of affirmative action is on target.  Hooks offers some interesting solutions and makes some interesting comparisons re: making affirmative action work. Do you believe any of these solutions have been earnestly attempted.

 They discuss the subject of activist American leadership. Where are the contemporary leadership going to come from? Who do you think has stood out from the crowd since that time?

 Thirty years later can you see any points that Mr. Hooks was missing?  What about mass incarceration do you think it's possible that affirmative action caused mainstream-Americans overlook the incarceration of many young African-Americans, in order to remove them from the affirmative action formula?

Claudette Colvin Is Honored for Women's History Month

Young Claudette Colvin 

Claudette Colvin 

Claudette Colvin (born September 5, 1939) is a pioneer of the African-American civil rights movement. She was the first person to resist bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, preceding the better known Rosa Parks incident by nine months. The court case stemming from her refusal to give up her seat on the bus, decided by the U.S. District Court, ended bus segregation in Alabama. The case went to the Supreme Court and finally ended transportation segregation nationally.

An audio interview with Ms. Colvin

Last year (2013) for Women's History Month "The Peoples Organization for Progress" invited Mrs Claudette Colvin to New Jersey, in order to pay homage to the part she took  in the Montgomery, Alabama struggle for civil rights. It's my pleasure to share this effort by this active grassroots organization to honor the heroism exhibited this elder in very dangerous circumstances and to keep the memory of what she did always alive in our historical archive. God Bless.

A Lifeline to Our Young People

This program is already a few years old but I believe it's still very relevant and addresses issues that are very much the concern in our Black communities today. If you're concerned about the situation of youth in your community then this program will offer the viewpoint of young people as well as several insightful  and creative solutions. PLEASE take an hour of your time and listen to this. (You don't have to stream you can download and put it on your ipod or phone) Then take the discussion to your local community meeting. The Childhood Matters Organization is an excellent role model if you want to start something to address the problems of youth in your community.

Childhood Matters: Bringing Peace, Hope, and Opportunity to Our Communities--August 8, 2010

Recently Oakland has been in the news pertaining to four eruptions of civil disobedience over the past two years, much of which involved youth. Yet little news coverage has reflected on the root causes of widespread inner-city anger in underserved communities. Join Nurse Rona guests for a discussion about bringing peace and hope to our communities and creating economic opportunities and youth leadership:

• Maya Dillard Smith, strategic partnerships and investments director for Youth Uprising.
• Jakada Imani, executive director of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Civil Rights Movement 1963 | American University Washington DC

Civil Rights Movement 1963 | American University Washington DC

Civil Rights Announcement, 1963 . JFK . WGBH American Experience | PBS

Civil Rights Announcement, 1963 . JFK . WGBH American Experience | PBS

The Color of Justice (1970)

  The Color of Justice - Department of Justice.  This moving image examines race, the Constitution, and desegregation over time. The film uses the March 3, 1970 incident at Lamar High School in Lamar, South Carolina, where a group of white parents rioted against desegregation, as a backdrop for the discussion.


National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 567612 / Local Identifier 129-BOP-12

This movie is part of the collection: FedFlix

Producer: National Archives and Records Administration
Language: English
Keywords: archives.gov; public.resource.org
Creative Commons license: CC0 1.0 Universal


Well. 43 years and a day later how much has changed?

Miriam Makeba born 4 March 1932

Mama Africa

Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award-winning South African singer and civil rights activist.

In the 1960s she was the first artist from Africa to popularize African music in the U.S. and around the world. She is best known for the song "Pata Pata", first recorded in 1957 and released in the U.S. in 1967. She recorded and toured with many popular artists, such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, and her former husband Hugh Masekela.

She actively campaigned against the South African system of apartheid. As a result, she discovered that her South African passport had been revoked in 1960 and the South African government revoked her citizenship and right of return in 1963. As the apartheid system crumbled she returned home for the first time in 1990.

Makeba died of a heart attack on 9 November 2008 after performing in a concert in Italy organized to support writer Roberto Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like organisation local to the region of Campania.

Martin Luther King & Malcolm X: Striking Similarities Part 1 of 3

See this very interesting sequence of videos comparing the words of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. This is the first time I've seen them presented like this. Do you believe they were more alike than different, in their ideas?


Martin Luther King &  Malcolm X: Striking Similarities Part 1 of 3

  
Martin Luther King &  Malcolm X: Striking Similarities Part 2 of 3

 
Martin Luther King &  Malcolm X: Striking Similarities Part 3 of 3