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1. On this day in 1955, Emmett Till (14) was kidnapped and lynched in Money, Mississippi.
2. On this day in 1963, more than 250,000 persons participated in March on Washington demonstration, the largest civil rights demonstration in history.
As if Louisiana hadn’t brought enough shame on itself with the whole Katrina mess (yes, I realize our national government made a mess of things as well), they've now managed to bring back Jim Crow era racism. If you’re not familiar with the story here’s a brief synopsis:
Last fall in Jena, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen." A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The families of these young men are fighting back, but the story has gotten minimal press. Together, we can make sure their story is told and that the Governor of Louisiana intervenes and provides justice for the Jena 6. It starts now. Please join the fight: http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2153-251938
For more information go here.
On this day in 1963, W.E.B. Du Bois (95), scholar, protest leader and a founder of the NAACP, died in Accra, Ghana.
When I think of KRS One I think of my lazy, slacker college days and how he (among others) really made me THINK, about so many things. To this day when I hear his deep, booming, chocolate voice I start to consider how I can do better/more.
Here’s a great clip of him at a recent show at Prospect Park in Brooklyn talking about how when he was homeless he slept there and dreamt he’d “one day…rock this park.”
btw: I found the clip at illdoctrine.com, a hip-hop video blog. If you like hip-hop it's a must see.
Her look may not be cutting edge, or terribly fashion forward but she always looks classy and beautiful.
We are embarking on a major (and much needed) kitchen remodel so I’ve been spending lots of time on desiretoinspire.com. The plan is to open the kitchen to the backyard and these photos sort of sum up our goal - both with the clean lines of the kitchen and how it seamlessly it opens to the backyard.
We also plan to add a “room” off our bedroom that looks a bit like this outdoor space.
Where we live it takes ages for the city to approve almost any little thing you want to do to your house so we won’t be starting this project until the fall, but I’ll provide updates as the project goes along. And at some point I’ll post “before” pics of our very outdated kitchen space and the barren backyard. Yikes.
On this day in 1950 Edith Sampson, was the first Black appointed to United Nations by Harry S Truman.
Avon’s known for their efforts to provide economic opportunity for women worldwide, often in places and at times when employment options were limited. So, no surprise that they’ve developed another wonderful program to help women change the world.
Avon has created the Hello Tomorrow Fund. Every week for a year, commencing April 2007, $5,000 will be awarded to an individual to help realize a program, project or idea to empower women.
Applications and guidelines are available here. One winner will be publicly announced every Tuesday through the Hello Tomorrow website and profiles of the winners will be featured on the website to further share their inspiring ideas.
This sounds like a show that could provide some interesting insights into our public school system from the perspective of a new, young teacher - a voice we don't often hear when it comes to public school discussions.
The Sundance Channel will present the television premiere of the original documentary series "The Education of Ms. Groves" at 8 p.m. Aug. 26. A new episode will air each night at 8 through Aug. 31. The four-part half-hour series charts the year-long struggle of a rookie English teacher as she sets out to inspire, challenge and educate 83 sixth-graders at a tough urban middle school.
Fresh out of the University of Virginia, 21-year-old Monica Groves is one of a select group of college graduates chosen by Teach for America to educate students in low-income communities.
Plan to watch, or set your DVRs.
Kersh is a Vancouver-based clothing line that’s simple and classic, without being boring. Their knitted tanks, shirts and sweaters are laidback and sexy at the same time. The line is sold at specialty stores across the country and at bigger department stores such as Sak's, Nordstroms' and Bloomingdales. Want to see more?
