Black History Month - Page 8

Eunice Hunton Carter: Black Woman Who Took Down Lucky Luciano

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN Eunice Hunton Carter was a social worker and prosecutor whose investigative work in New York City in the 1930s led to what was then the largest prosecution of organized crime in US history. When notorious mob boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano met his downfall, the credit went to the young prosecutor Thomas Dewey, who eventually ran for president. But it was Carter, an assistant district attorney on his team, who laid the foundation for the case. Carter was born in Atlanta, the granddaughter of enslaved people. In 1932, she became the first Black woman to graduate from

Black-Owned Bookstores Thriving in Wisconsin Communities

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By RACHEL KUBIK RACINE, Wisconsin (The Journal Times) — While bookstores around the country are closing as more people are reading online and on devices such as Kindles and Nooks, Wisconsin still has a number of them. In Black History Month 2021, there continue to be only a few Black-owned bookstores in Wisconsin. Racine is lucky enough to have one. Mahogany Gallery, located at 1422 Washington Ave. in Uptown, is an art exhibition area, cultural center and creative space. It’s also a shop selling nearly everything in the room; products include locally made art, apparel, body products, mugs and books.

BLM Ad Links Capitol Riot to White Supremacy, Demands Action

By Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN A new Black Lives Matter ad is calling for an end to White supremacy using footage of the January 6 Capitol riots and historic Ku Klux Klan rallies to pressure lawmakers to impeach and convict former President Donald Trump. The ad, released exclusively to CNN, comes as the Senate prepares to begin its second impeachment trial of Trump on Tuesday. Black Lives Matter organizers blamed Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection and emboldening White supremacists with offensive rhetoric and divisive policies throughout his presidency. The ad shows harrowing clips of Trump supporters breaking glass windows

Josh Gibson: The Negro Leagues Legend Known as Black Babe Ruth

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By Amir Vera Although racism and fate kept him from the major leagues, Josh Gibson was one of the most dominant sluggers in baseball history. The former Negro Leagues star is credited with hitting almost 800 home runs over his 17-year career and was such a fearsome hitter that many fans called him the “black Babe Ruth.” Some who saw both play even called Ruth the “white Josh Gibson.” Because of incomplete statistics, many of Gibson’s legendary feats – like hitting a ball 580 feet at Yankee Stadium – are just that, the stuff of legends. Even his origin story

Gerald Wilson: Jazz Innovator and Big Band Legend Remembered

By John Blake Elegant, swinging, exuberant – it’s hard to find one word to describe the lush music of Gerald Wilson, one of the most important bandleaders in the history of jazz. Wilson never got the attention of big band arrangers like Duke Ellington, but he was also a major innovator in jazz music. A slim, enthusiastic man known for his personal kindness, Wilson practically danced when he directed his orchestra. A lover of many musical styles, he incorporated everything from blues, Basie and Bartok in his arrangements. While many big-band recordings sound dated today, Wilson’s music still sounds cutting-edge.

Amelia Boynton Robinson: Icon of Voting Rights Movement

By Faith Karimi She lay sprawled unconscious in the road, beaten and gassed by Alabama state troopers. A White officer with a billy club stood over her. The woman was Amelia Boynton Robinson (1911-2015), and a famous photo of that shocking moment helped galvanize the civil rights movement. It was taken during the “Bloody Sunday” march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. That attack by White officers against peaceful Black demonstrators horrified the nation and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. It also revealed the toughness of Robinson, dubbed “the matriarch

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to Lead WTO as First Woman, African

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By Hanna Ziady and Charles Riley, CNN Business The path has been cleared for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization after South Korea’s candidate pulled out of the race for the job. Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean trade minister, announced her decision to withdraw in a televised briefing on Friday. Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria, already enjoyed broad support from WTO members, including the European Union, China, Japan and Australia. However, the United States, under the Trump administration, had favored Yoo, complicating the decision-making

National Battle of the Bands Honors HBCU Marching Bands

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Webber Marketing creators of the National Battle of the Bands, announces the “National Battle of the Bands (NBOTB): Salute to HBCU Marching Bands” film presented by Pepsi. The hour-long, syndicated film will premiere throughout February in more than 50 markets across the country in honor of Black History Month to shine an intimate light into the history of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands; and the behind-the-scenes work, dedication, and passion that goes into creating the precision, sound and show-shopping performances fans have grown to love and anticipate during football halftimes, homecoming parades and the coveted battle of the bands’ showdowns.

James Armistead Lafayette: Slave Turned Revolutionary War Spy

By Faith Karimi James Armistead’s life would make a great movie. Under Lafayette, the French general who helped the American colonists fight for their freedom, he infiltrated the British army as a spy near the end of the Revolutionary War. He once reported to Benedict Arnold, the traitorous colonist who betrayed his troops to fight for the British. And he provided crucial intelligence that helped defeat the British and end the war. Armistead was a slave in Virginia in 1781 when he got permission from his owner, who helped supply the Continental Army, to join the war effort. Lafayette dispatched

Black History Month: Why Celebration Alone Is Not Enough

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Opinion by Roxanne Jones Editor’s note: Roxanne Jones, a founding editor of ESPN Magazine and former vice president at ESPN, has been a producer, reporter and editor at the New York Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jones is co-author of “Say it Loud: An Illustrated History of the Black Athlete.” She talks politics, sports and culture weekly on Philadelphia’s 900AM WURD. The views expressed here are solely hers. Once upon a time, I loved Black History Month. I loved it because February was when my classmates — from elementary through high school — and I finally got our chance

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