2022
"I offer that we must never consider ourselves finished with our learning...It is a messy, lifelong process but one that is necessary to align [our] professed values with [our] real actions."
...Robin DiAngelo
Although we are not holding group meetings at this time, we will continue to share news, articles on Black history, essays, upcoming events, and other material that will help us to continue increasing our knowledge and understanding.
December
In December, all eyes were on the Georgia Senate Runoff election between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker.
One reminder of the campaign is this widely viewed speech (HERE) by Pastor Jamal Bryant. He shares what he believes Herschel Walker represents and why he thinks Raphael Warnock should represent Georgia in the Senate.
November
Two films of interest - One you've probably heard about and one that may be surprising:
Till, available in theaters now, and Is That Black Enough for You ?!?, premiering at the New York Film Festival on November 11, followed by streaming on Netflix.
Till
Watch the trailer, left, then read the New York Times review below.
Backstory
"Ten years before Emmett was murdered by Mississippi racists, 23-year-old Louis Till [his father] was executed by a racist American military system. The coincidences and parallels are almost surreal. Louis Till was accused of raping two women and murdering another in Italy in the waning days of World War II. Emmett was accused of whistling at a white woman"
Both trials, of Emmett’s alleged killers and Louis’s alleged crime, were a farce.
Emmett and Louis Till were both victims of what Wideman calls a “crime of being,” that is, being a black American.
-- John Edgar Wideman
Emmett Till's father, Louis Till,
as told by John Edgar Wideman
Emmett Till's Mother Sues Look Magazine and Reveals Marriage
Jet Magazine, February 6, 1958
Note: Unable to find additional information about the suit (so far).
Most recent attempt to re-open the case
New York Times, August 9, 2022
PBS American Experience screened another recounting of Emmet Till's murder on August 23rd of this year. This documentary is viewable below:
Among those who appear in the PBS film is African-American news photographer Ernest Withers. He was the only photographer to fully cover the Emmet Till trial. In the photo below, taken at the trial, Withers is in the foreground with his back to the camera.
Click on the photo to see raw footage of a 2003 interview with Withers, from the WGBH Open Vault.
Ernest Withers is a very important individual who lived a somewhat double life. There are books about him, a podcast, and a PBS Independent Lens production, The Picture Taker, will premier in January of 2023.
And he's someone not well known at all. Please click HERE to view fascinating material about him and to look at his amazing photographs.
Is That Black Enough for You ?!?
Elvis Mitchell's Is That Black Enough for You ?!?, produced by Steven Soderbergh and David Fincher, is , according to Vanity Fair, "necessary viewing for anyone who professes to love American cinema."
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Check out the trailer, right, then read more about what looks like an amazing documentary, below.
Elvis Mitchell and Steven Soderbergh discuss Mitchell's film at the 60th New York Film Festival
If you'd like to know a bit more about Elvis Mitchell, check out his Wikipedia entry below:
Elvis_Mitchell.pdfOctober
Great PBS programming starting tomorrow and continuing through the month -- and it isn't even Black History Month. Bravo PBS and WGBH!
Making Black America: Through the Grapevine
Beginning on October 4, 2022 at 9:00 pm on GBH2
You may be reminded of our session on Black Joy , January 29, 2021.
Click HERE to have another look and scroll down for the joyful music!
Click on the graphic above to access the PBS website and scroll down a bit to watch the series trailer, followed by a number of interesting clips.
Two special programs follow the Making Black America series on October 4 and 11:
The Inspiring Story of Harriet Tubman October 4 @ 10:00 pm Becoming Frederick Douglass October 11, @ 10:00 pm
Access a few clips from the program, below:
Access a few clips from the program, below:
And if all this is not enough, check out the BLOCK PARTY:
A collection of accessible documentaries made available during the month of October.
Click above for the collection.
Note that some require GBH Passport.
September
Here is September's selection of shared articles, video, and announcements.
There are also several updates to last month's shares .
Detroit artist Jonathan Harris has been in the spotlight for his recent painting, Critical Race Theory (above).
You can see more of his work, along with that of two other impressive young Black artists (Crystal Starks-Webb and Terrill Jahaun Anglin) at Detroit's Irwin House Gallery. In the video below, you will meet the artists and view their beautiful and moving paintings.
In a New York Times opinion piece on September 11, "Mr. Biden, Tear Down This Highway," Adam Paul Susaneck explains how a highway expansion would widen racial divides.
Note that the article is interactive and cannot be effectively accessed via PDF. It must be viewed directly on the Times site.
A recent article published by the Southern Poverty Law Center highlights an August 30 report of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that raises concerns about US compliance with nearly every aspect of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
A new feature documentary, Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues, will be released this autumn following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival ... and it may surprise many people!
Check out this September 3 article from The Guardian (left).
August
Below are two recent articles highlighting the ongoing attempts to erase the history of Black Americans.
Click on the graphic above to directly access the Washington Post.
You may also view a PDF of the article below.
Book bans are threatening American democracy. Here’s how to fight back. - The Washington Post.pdf
UPDATE September 2022: More on Censorship
On September 10, the New York Times editorial board reminded us that "Censorship is the refuge of the weak."
Below is a pdf of the article:
Opinion _ Censorship Is the Refuge of the Weak - The New York Times.pdf
August (cont'd)
Below are an 1897 essay from The Atlantic, written by W.E.B. DuBois, and an event announcement that may be of interest.
In a 2020 commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first captive Africans brought to what would become the United States, The Atlantic gathered dozens of stories that have appeared in the magazine over 163 years. A list, with links, may be found HERE. Click on the photo of W.E.B. DuBois (at right) to read one of these articles.
If you are unable to access The Atlantic directly, you may wish to read the PDF version below.
W. E. B. Du Bois on Black 'Double-Consciousness' - The Atlantic.pdf
From Swastika to Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges in the American South
The Sousa Mendes Foundation (click HERE for more information) is sponsoring a film-and-discussion program based on the film, From Swastika to Jim Crow, that premiered as part of PBS's Black History Month in 2001.
You will have the opportunity to watch the film and then listen to a panel discussion with distinguished guests.
Click on the photograph (left) then scroll down to watch the film's trailer and to register by clicking the Eventbrite button.