Mittwoch, 21. April 2010

Society: What's Up?!

Foto: Dr. Dorothy Height 1966/Public Domain/Library of Congress/New York World Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection

Nicht nur das Schwarze Amerika trauert um Dr.Dorothy Height, eine Bürgerrechtlerin der ersten Stunde:


American Hero Dr. Dorothy Height Passes
 by Angel Elliot/AngelElliot's A-List
"Civil rights icon Dr. Dorothy Height passed away this morning at 98. She was the current Chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women. Height joined the organization in 1944, elected President from 1957 – 1997. She was the recipient of the 2004 Congressional Medal of Honor. She also served as President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. from 1946 – 1957.
Height was a social activist and champion of rights for all people, regardless of race, sex, color or creed..."
Dorothy Height: Remembering a Leader and Legend

Get more on her life and work and leave your comments and condolences here.
by The AP/on BET-com-news
"Height, who continued actively speaking out into her 90s, had been at Howard University Hospital for some time.
Remembering the "Godmother": President Obama's Statement
More: BET News' Andre Showell Honors the Trailblazer
Photos: Leaders React to Height's Death
As a teenager, Height marched in New York's Times Square shouting, "Stop the lynching." In the 1950s and 1960s, she was the leading woman helping the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leading activists orchestrate the civil rights movement.

The late activist C. DeLores Tucker once called Height an icon to all African-American women.
"I call Rosa Parks the mother of the civil rights movement," Tucker said in 1997. "Dorothy Height is the queen."
Height was on the platform at the Lincoln Memorial, sitting only a few feet from King when he gave his famous "I have a dream" speech at the March on Washington in 1963.
"He spoke longer than he was supposed to speak," Height recalled in a 1997 Associated Press interview. But after he was done, it was clear King's speech would echo for generations, she said, "because it gripped everybody."
Height became president of the National Council of Negro Women in 1957 and held the post until 1997, when she was 85. She remained chairman of the group.
"I hope not to work this hard all the rest of my life," she said at the time. "But whether it is the council, whether it is somewhere else, for the rest of my life, I will be working for equality, for justice, to eliminate racism, to build a better life for our families and our children."..."
Click here to learn more about Dr. Height
 by NCNW's Office / The Official Rememberence
"For nearly half a century, Dorothy Irene Height has given leadership to the struggle for equality and human rights for all people. Her life exemplifies her passionate commitment for a just society and her vision of a better world.Dorothy Height was born in Richmond, Virginia March 24, 1912, and educated in public schools in Rankin, Pa, a borough of Pittsburgh, where her family moved when she was four.Height established herself early as a dedicated student with exceptional oratorical skills. After winning a $1,000 scholarship in a national oratorical contest on the United States Constitution, sponsored by the Elks, and a record of scholastic excellence, she attended New York University and earned her bachelor and master's degrees in four years. She did postgraduate work at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work...."
Farewell to Civil Rights Activist Dorothy Height 
by Jay Newton-Small/Time/Swampland Blog
"...At the height of the struggle for Civil Rights she organized Wednesdays in Mississippi, bringing together white and black women from the North and the South. As Maudine Cooper, president of the Greater Washington Urban League, told The Afro-American Newspapers, Dr. Height "was the only woman amongst the civil rights leaders. I know it was a tough place to be, but she held her own. And she made sure that they not only talked about civil rights, but they also talked about women's rights."
I last glimpsed Dr. Height -- she garnered 36 honorary doctorate degrees over the years – at Barack Obama's inauguration, her purple hat braving the crisp breeze that day. As President Obama tweeted this afternoon, “Today we lost the godmother of the civil rights movement, Dr. Dorothy Height, who devoted her life to those struggling for equality.” Her legacy will surely continue to have an impact for many generations to come...."
Civil Rights Activist Dorothy Height Dies at 98 


Dorothy Height’s Indelible Imprint on Black America  

by Pamela Gentry/Pamela on Politics
"...Height participated and witnessed American history and left built a legacy for future generations.
It’s hard to imagine the political landscape of the early 19th century and present day.  Taft was faced with a tough election in 1912 facing two opponents; unemployment was 4.6 percent and the U.S. population was just over 95 million.
Just imagine, Height was 11 years old when Henry Ford decided to organize the Ford Motor Company in 1903.  In her lifetime she witnessed more than 55 African-Americans elected to Congress, the onslaught of the on-line world and the election of the first African-American president.
What a life!
Often we forget to look back and reflect on how far African-American’s have traveled on their journey in American history.  But that’s not the case with Height.  She has always managed to keep tabs and always with  a keen eye focused  on how to  build on every accomplishment...
...Throughout her life she stood stead fast for equal rights for both African Americans and women, and in 1944 she joined the national staff of the YWCA.   She served as the national president for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated from 1946- 1957.  But her longest and most indelible contribution was to the National Council of Negro women where she served president for 40 years.
Height was a trailblazer, and like others born in her generation she was on a mission to make a difference...."

Ein im Vergleich zu dieser großen,alten Lady noch sehr junger Mann aus der US-Rapper-Szene ist ebenfalls gestern gestorben: Rapper Guru erlag mit nur 43 Jahren einem Krebsleiden.  

Rapper Guru Passes; Leaves Letter to Fans
 by Tanu Henry/news you should know
"...As I reflect on Guru’s life and his music, I think about those moments in my life that I punched up with his songs.
I remember two of my favorite Guru songs in particular: “Johnny Was,” the rapper’s posthumous collabo with Reggae great Bob Marley, and the Hip Hop classic “I’m Jazzy.”
Get more on his life and music, find out about the letter he left his fans, and send condolences here."

Rapper Guru mit 43 Jahren gestorben
von wun/Tagesspiegel.de

"...In einem offenen Abschiedsbrief an seine Fans verbittet sich der am Montag an Krebs verstorbene Rapper Guru jegliche postume Vermarktung seines Namens im Zusammenhang mit seinem „Ex-DJ“, zu dem er seit über sieben Jahren keinen Kontakt mehr hatte. Gemeint ist DJ Premier, mit dem Guru ab Mitte der achtziger Jahre in New York für etwa 15 Jahre eine der einflussreichsten Hip-Hop-Formationen bildete: Gang Starr überwanden mit Premiers knochentrockenen, vom Jazz beeinflussten Beat- und Sample-Architekturen den blechernen Sound der ersten Hip-Hop-Generation, dazu bestach Guru mit einem hypnotischen Flow, der ihn zu einem der bedeutendsten Rapstilisten machte..."
Festgenommen wurde am Wochenende Hollywood-Star Danny Glover. Allerdings hatte er weder seine Frau verprügelt noch verbotene Substanzen zu sich genommen. Glover gehört seit vielen Jahren der Bürgerrechtsbewegung an, für deren Gewerkschafts-Ziele er zunächst auf die Straße und dann in die Gefängniszelle ging:

Danny Glover Arrested in Maryland
by Tanu Henry/news you should know

danny_glover_arrest2
"Danny Glover and 11 other activists were arrested on Friday for trespassing while protesting outside the Rockville, Md. headquarters of the food services company Sodexo.
The activist and actor joined others to demonstrate against what they view as the company’s heavy handed approach to dealing with its union employees..." Foto Courtesy of news you should know

Viel Aufregung gab es auch um einen Zeitungsartikel, den ein Afro-Amerikanischer Professor für Religion veröffentlicht hatte. Darin behauptet er, die Kirche der Schwarzen, die viele Jahrzehnte lang Dreh- und Angelpunkt der Schwarzen Familie, der Nachbarschaften  und der Bürgerrechtsbewegung war, sei mittlerweile tot:

The Black Church Is Dead
by Eddie Glaude Jr./The Huffington Post
"Black Church, as we've known it or imagined it, is dead. Of course, many African Americans still go to church. According to the PEW Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life, 87 percent of African Americans identify with a religious group and 79 percent say that religion is very important in their lives. But the idea of this venerable institution as central to black life and as a repository for the social and moral conscience of the nation has all but disappeared..." 

Princeton religion professor draws sharp criticisms for his diagnosis
by The Buzz/The Root

"A Princeton professor who suggested that the "black church is dead" has been barraged by criticism, and not just for his arguments. Eddie Glaude, who teaches philosophy of religion has been accused of being an "Ivy League elitist"after a Web posting that "The Black Church is Dead" on Huffington Post.
A New York Times article reported the outrage.
“When I came up with the title, I said, ‘Lord, what am I doing?’ ” Professor Glaude, 41, recalled in a telephone interview this week. “And as I was thinking that, I hit the send key. With the understanding that I would be in the firestorm.”..."

Viel Agression und oft schon Hass schlagen in diesen Tagen den Politikern entgegen in USA.  Sogar die Neo-Nazis gehen geschlossen demonstrieren auf Los Angeles Straßen, die bislang immer nur für Hollywood-Träume von Gleichheit und Schönheit herhalten mussten. Nun scheint die Stunde der Rechten gekommen:

Newsweek: A SURGE OF HATE: Anti-Government Extremists Are On The Rise -- And On The March 
Political Death Threats Mount

Krawalle bei Neonazidemo in Los Angeles
Voralberg online
"Beim Zusammenstoß von Neonazis und Gegendemonstranten sind am Samstag vor dem Rathaus von Los Angeles zwei Menschen verletzt worden.
Nach Angaben der "Los Angeles Times" hatten sich etwa 40 weiße Rassisten dort versammelt. Hunderte von Gegendemonstranten stellten sich ihnen entgegen."
Die Demonstranten hätten die Polizei und die abziehenden Neonazis mit Steinen um Flaschen beworfen. Mindestens fünf Menschen seien festgenommen worden. Die Neonazis hätten bei ihrem Aufmarsch Parolen gegen Immigranten und "Sieg Heil" gerufen."
Jesse James Does The Nazi Salute (PHOTO, VIDEO) 

 NEWS

Police Beating of U of MD Student Caught on Tape 


Va. Gov. Condemns Slavery, Upholds “Confederate History Month”

New York: Lebensmüder springt vom Empire State Building  

Politsatire: Freiheit oder Tod 

Unser letzter Blick geht heute nach Detroit, wo nur noch wenig an die gute, alte Zeit der US-Autoindustrie erinnert. Zuletzt war die gebeutelte Stadt Weihnachten in den weltweiten Schlagzeilen, als ein nigerianischer Al Quaida-Terrorist fast ein Flugzeug über der City hatte abstüzen lassen. Die länger anhaltenden Probleme sind lokalpolitischer Natur - Es geht um den ehemaligen Bürgermeister, der schon seit Jahren nicht aus den Schlagzeilen rauskommt.Für viele Amerikaner aber zeichnet sich mit diesem Mann das Bild vom abgestürzten Schwarzen Emporkömmlig ab.Eben so, wie ihn viele gern sehen, den Schwarzen Mann:

The Mayor Who Won’t Go Away - The Detroit Blog - TIME.com
by  Steven Gray
"...Kilpatrick, of course, was once a rising star in American politics. In 2002, he became Detroit's youngest mayor, at age 31. His flashy suits, diamond-studded earrings and inaugural “club crawls” proclaimed his comfort with being the country's first “hip-hop mayor.” He was a visionary, charismatic leader who built relationships with Michigan's business establishment, helping extend many of the economic development projects launched by his predecessor. He sliced nearly 10,000 people from Detroit's bloated job rolls, and cut property taxes to keep what's left of this city's middle class. But Kilpatrick clearly believed he was above the law. That unfortunate view led to excessive behavior that overshadowed his professional success..."

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