Tuesday, July 30, 2013

EQUAL JUSTICE SOCIETY





JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL CELEBRATION ON AUG. 28 AT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM!
Everyday People: The Unsung Heroes and Heroines Who Powered the Civil Rights Movement
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street, Oakland, Calif.



Joanna Haigood, Steven Anthony Jones, Marcus Shelby, and Eva Paterson share a preview of the Aug. 28 performance and event. 


6:00PM - “THE ART OF CIVIL RIGHTS”
Cocktail Reception • Silent Auction

Artists have always provided inspiration in times of trial and struggle. Singers, actors, dancers and others have created original works of art inspired by the civil rights movement. Artistic works will be on display and available for purchase.

7:30PM - PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE


Musicians, actors and dancers from the acclaimed
Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and the Zaccho Dance Theatre will debut an original theatrical event that pays homage to the unsung heroes and heroines who powered the civil rights movement.

 Joanna Haigood, Steven Anthony Jones, Marcus Shelby, and Eva Paterson share a preview of the Aug. 28 performance and event.
BECOME A SPONSOR - BUY TICKETS


EVA PATERSON TO BE A FEATURED SPEAKER AT ABA HEARING ON 'STAND YOUR GROUND' LAWS
The American Bar Association National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws has invited Eva Paterson to speak at its Western Regional public hearing on Aug. 9 in San Francisco.
The crucial public forum will address issues raised by the Zimmerman case and will include expert witnesses drawn from local and regional community and government stakeholders, law enforcement, prosecutors, public and private criminal defense attorneys, bar association leaders and legal academicians.
The National Task Force, recently formed by the ABA Coalition on Racial & Ethnic Justice (COREJ) along with key ABA entities, will hold its Western regional public hearing on Friday, August 9, 2013 at the Westin San Francisco Market Street, 50 Third Street, San Francisco.







Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Zimmerman Verdict

I really tried to stay away from this topic.  Only because it's impossible for me to think or talk about without getting upset.

I have to be honest and say, I haven't followed the coverage very closely.  Only saw snippets of the trial, but enough to know early on, that Zimmerman would not be convicted.  I couldn't bear to immerse myself in it and still navigate through corporate America.

I think Zimmerman's brother's smug attitude, throughout the events, pretty much gave us a clue that he knew something that some of us didn't.  A jury of George's peers would never convict him.

Last night, I saw the anonymous juror on CNN and she talked about how basically Trayvon Martin was responsible for his own death.

Forget stand your ground, this boils down to good old American white folks sticking together.  Even our Hispanic brothers and sisters seemed to align themselves with Zimmerman.  I mean, face it, George was drifting between two worlds.  A minority when it was convenient for him.  Top that off with the fact that his father is a retired federal judge.

And isn't it funny how the same people who wanted to crucify OJ for "getting away with murder," want to hail George Zimmerman as a hero.

Hug your children.  Especially your black boys.  There's a war going on and it's on homeland soil.

Only in America.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson



Available online and in bookstores now.

"You have to bear in mind that [Questlove] is one of the smartest motherf*****s on the planet. His musical knowledge, for all practical purposes, is limitless." --Robert Christgau
MO' META BLUES
The World According to Questlove

Mo' Meta Blues is a punch-drunk memoir in which Everyone's Favorite Questlove tells his own story while tackling some of the lates, the greats, the fakes, the philosophers, the heavyweights, and the true originals of the music world. He digs deep into the album cuts of his life and unearths some pivotal moments in black art, hip hop, and pop culture.

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson is many things: virtuoso drummer, producer, arranger, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon bandleader, DJ, composer, and tireless Tweeter. He is one of our most ubiquitous cultural tastemakers, and in this, his first book, he reveals his own formative experiences--from growing up in 1970s West Philly as the son of a 1950s doo-wop singer, to finding his own way through the music world and ultimately co-founding and rising up with the Roots, a.k.a., the last hip hop band on Earth. Mo' Meta Blues also has some (many) random (or not) musings about the state of hip hop, the state of music criticism, the state of statements, as well as a plethora of run-ins with celebrities, idols, and fellow artists, from Stevie Wonder to KISS to D'Angelo to Jay-Z to Dave Chappelle to...you ever seen Prince roller-skate?!?

But Mo' Meta Blues isn't just a memoir. It's a dialogue about the nature of memory and the idea of a post-modern black man saddled with some post-modern blues. It's a book that questions what a book like Mo' Meta Blues really is. It's the side wind of a one-of-a-kind mind.

It's a rare gift that gives as well as takes.

It's a record that keeps going around and around. - See more at: http://hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ahmir-uestlove-thompson/mo-meta-blues/9781455501366/#sthash.J79zgcXu.dpuf

Thursday, July 4, 2013

MOAD AFTER DARK: Black Hair Throughout the Diaspora


Friday July 12, 2013

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm




NaturalSelectionBlog + MoAD Vanguardpresent 

Black Hair Throughout the Diaspora: A Celebration of the Global Culture of Hair. 

Kick off a luxurious Friday night at the 

museum with our Open Champagne Bar 

and networking hour from 6-7 pm in the first floor 

lobby, followed by an evening of all things black hair, 

curated by Cassidy Blackwell of NaturalSelectionBlog

Special Invited Guest, 

Celebrity Hairstylist Felicia Leatherwood.

Admission $30 | Pre-Sale through June 30 $25

Purchase tickets at http://moadafterdark.eventbrite.com/