IMPACT – Page 9

Mary McLeod Bethune The Most Famous Black Woman In The World

4Apr

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IMPACT

Mary McLeod Bethune The Most Famous Black Woman In The World

Mary McLeod Bethune founded a college, defied the Klan, advised presidents, and like my grandmother, was a fierce warrior for justice. Born in 1914, Dovey Johnson Roundtree was subject to the double barriers of institutionalized racism and sexism, but rose from poverty to become a distinguished champion of civil and women’s rights. As a member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during WWII, she helped desegregate the US military. She went on to become a crusading lawyer, winning a landmark bus desegregation case in 1955. As a minster in the 1960s, she was in the vanguard of women ordained as leaders in the AME church. In her memoir, Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights, Roundtree describes how the support of community, mentors, and family nurtured her career. In this excerpt, Roundtre...

Code-Switching Surviving White Culture Not Trying to Fit in to It

4Apr

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Code-Switching Surviving White Culture Not Trying to Fit in to It

The voice that sprung from my throat was unfamiliar as I introduced myself to a classroom of White students. Its tone was high-pitched and enthusiastic—a far cry from my naturally soft raspiness. It wasn’t the first time I was unsettled by being the sole Black person in a room, but these moments had a profound effect on me. Without thought, I’d shifted my demeanor and speech. My thoughts were calculated, quickened, and in search of the “right” things to say. The words poured from my mouth pointed and stiff. I enunciated each consonant and vowel, and stressed each syllable. The production of it all, though a departure from my normal self, was seamless. It was the first time I noticed I had code-switched. Admittedly, I was later ashamed for abandoning my native tongue—African American Ver...

Drug Users Fighting Back Against America’s War on Drugs

4Apr

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Drug Users Fighting Back Against America’s War on Drugs

People addicted to opioids and other substances are organizing a national movement to demand a say in drug-policy reform. Like so many activists, Jess Tilley discovered grassroots organizing through personal hardship. In 1997, she was living in Northampton, Massachusetts, regularly injecting heroin. A limited access to clean needles led her to reuse dulled equipment, and she developed an abscess. Through friends, Tilley learned of a program where users could get free new syringes — no questions asked. At Tapestry Needle Exchange, she also discovered a community of people eager to improve their lives and the lives of others addicted to drugs. “We started talking about the mistreatment we received in emergency rooms,” Jess remembers. “I told them, ‘We need to advocate for ourselves. ...

Anti-Violence Workshop Provides Support For Inmates

4Apr

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Anti-Violence Workshop Provides Support For Inmates

Some inmates are doing the chicken dance in the Pierce County Jail in Washington. They’re standing in a circle, so as they lift their arms to flap their wings, they knock elbows and shoulders. “Okay, I’m gonna do… this,” says one inmate, punctuating the last word with a dab. Cheers raise from the group and everyone starts the choreography from the beginning, with someone adding a Michael Jackson-esque foot flick to the ad hoc sequence. “In all my years in prison, I never thought I’d be doing that,” says David Anello, an inmate with a strong New York accent and an easy smile. His face is red from a wheezy laugh. Anello is one of 14 self-selected Alternatives to Violence Project workshop participants. It’s the second day of the three-day workshop, and the activity in which he and the o...

A New Generation of Black Farmers Is Returning to the Land

4Apr

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A New Generation of Black Farmers Is Returning to the Land

They are working to repair harm inflicted over the past 400 years, with an eye toward reparations. “Imagine your neighbor stole your cow. A few weeks later the neighbor comes over, laden with remorse, to offer a sincere apology and a promise to make it right. The neighbor offers to atone by giving you half a pound of butter every week for the rest of the cow’s life. What do you think of that?” The challenge was issued by Ed Whitfield, board member of the Southern Reparations Loan Fund, during the E.F. Schumacher Center lectures in 2018. His audience was unanimous in its response: “We would want our cow back!” And the United Nations agrees. The UN Principles on Reparations and Immunity, which provides basic guiding principles around gross human rights violations, hol...

3Apr

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What an American Terrorist Looks Like

Despite racist and anti-immigrant scapegoating, data shows that most American terrorists are resentful White men inspired by White supremacist and misogynist rhetoric. “Invasion.” President Trump has used that very word about immigration at the southern border 19 times at rallies since he took office, according to a recent USA Today analysis. And six tweets between October 2018 and June 2019 use the word “invasion” that way. An arrest affidavit for 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, the man charged in the Aug. 3 mass shooting in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart that left 22 people dead and 24 wounded, reportedly says Crusius told police he was targeting Mexicans. Crusius allegedly referenced wanting to stop a “Hispanic invasion” of Texas in a statement on a right-wing online messa...

5Apr

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The Story Behind Hip Hop Drum Beats by James Z. Robinson

Nowadays hip hop is more than just drum beats, producers also use baselines and melodies in order to make beats. But it all started with the drums, for which hip hop music is known the most. Disc jockeys used to sample and isolate drums from music tracks, mostly from soul and funk music, to make their own, new sound. This was popular in the 80's, when people gathered together on block parties and used to dance on these new drum beats. Later on, the Djs started to scratch, put instrument sounds and vocals on their beats. The result was a new music genre named hip hop. The hip hop music went through a lot of changes, but the drums are still the heart of this genre. Even big producers still work with drum machines and MPCs, like Kanye West for example. And the result is very good! It'...

5Apr

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Online Radio How to Use It to Get Your Music Fix by Richard A. Manfredi

What's on online radio? It is live streams of radio stations from around the world. With online radio, you get to listen to real radio stations through your internet connection, instead of over the air. And, online radio is always streaming � so you can listen to your favorite tunes any time of the day or night! Since online radio is made up of real radio stations from around the world, you get real DJ's picking the music. It's far better than listening to playlists that are randomly generated by a computer! When you listen to online radio, it won't be any different than if you were listening to the radio station over the air. You will get all of the same commercials, news updates, and traffic reports as the people who are listening locally. But, since your radio signal is coming over t...