Category Archives: Celebrity

Newswire : Circle for Original Thinking honors Indigenous Peoples’ Day podcast will re-air discussion featuring Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

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Deb Haaland, Secretary of Interior


New York, NY – On Monday, October 9, 2023, the Circle for Original Thinking podcast will re-air its fascinating discussion from the December 8, 2020 episode featuring the then Congresswoman Deb Haaland, and author and activist, Sally Roesch Wagner.
This rebroadcast will correspond with the United States observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. At the time, she represented the First Congressional District of New Mexico, which includes most of Albuquerque and its suburbs, and she was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress—the other is Sharice Davids of Kansas. Shortly after this episode was aired, Haaland was nominated by the Biden administration to serve as the Secretary of the Interior, now making her the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.

Also on the interview is Sally Roesch Wagner. Dr. Wagner is a feminist pioneer, speaker, activist, and the author of several books, including Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists, and The Women’s Suffrage Movement. Dr. Wagner was among the first persons ever to receive a PhD for work in Women’s Studies from UC Santa Cruz and was the founder of one of the first college-level women’s studies programs in the country.
Sally appeared in the Ken Burns PBS documentary Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, for which she wrote the accompanying faculty guide for PBS. She was also a historian in the PBS special One Woman, One Vote, and has been interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered and Democracy Now.

The subject of this discussion was the “Native American Influence on the Founding Mothers.” In other words, how did the Native American cultures inspire the thinking of the ‘founding mothers’, women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Matilda Gage who were outspoken voices for women’s’ rights during the formative years of the United States. These women paid taxes but could not vote, could not run for office, had no right of divorce, and should they separate from their husband, were returned to them by police like runaway slaves. Native women, on the other hand, were fully equal in their society and played an integral role in political affairs and in keeping harmony with nature.

The host of the Circle for Original Thinking podcast, Glenn Aparicio Parry, has long pointed out that the most significant forgotten piece of America’s legacy is the profound effect Native America had on the founding values of this nation. His book Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again demonstrates how the best aspects of the founding vision of America were inspired, or directly appropriated, from living, Native American cultures: concepts such as natural rights, liberty, and egalitarian justice. Further, Parry traces the influence of Native America not only on the founding fathers, but on the ‘founding mothers’ of the 19th century women’s movement; as well as the 19th century abolitionist and modern ecological movements.
The re-broadcast will take place on Monday, October 9, 2023 concurrent with the observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. The commemoration has been officially adopted by nineteen states plus the District of Columbia, as well as 130 cities nationwide. In 2021, President Biden was the first president to officially commemorate the day, though it remains unadopted as a federal holiday.
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are a large and extremely varied group of cultures spanning a massive territory from the lower tip of South America, near the Antarctic Ocean up into the Arctic Circle with the Northern areas of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The societies that emerged from these populations date back over 10,000 years and they represent a wide scope of social organizations from tribal groups to city states to empires. There are over a thousand known languages spoken amongst these peoples, and their cultures had developed varied, and often profound, expertise in such fields as literature, agriculture, large scale architecture, metallurgy, astronomy, medicine, engineering, and mathematics. It is important that we recognize their important contribution to humanity.
The Circle for Original Thinking podcast is America’s electronic talking circle for visionary thinkers and an open forum for fresh ideas and timeless wisdom applied to today’s political and ecological challenges. It is available for subscription wherever podcast are distributed, including Apple and Spotify. Glenn Aparicio Parry’s book Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again (978-1-59079-503-3; SelectBooks, Inc., 2020) is available wherever books or ebooks are sold.

Newswire : Black America divided over Hamas’ attack on Israel, raises questions on solidarity

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People stand outside mosque destroyed by Israeli air strike in Gaza

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


Black Americans have expressed a range of emotions regarding Hamas’ recent and deadly attack on Israel, with many taking to social media to highlight what they perceive as a lack of support from Israel and some members of the Jewish community for the Black Lives Matter Movement. The sentiment was especially pronounced after George Floyd’s assassination in Minnesota in 2020.
Numerous posts on social media platforms feature hashtags like #BLM and #PLM, underscoring the perceived parallels between the struggles of Palestinians and African Americans in their fight against systemic racism. One widely circulated message emphasized the cross-border nature of these movements, stating, “Palestinians & African Americans have been [creating] a social movement, without borders, to fight systemic racism. As part of international protests, in Palestine/Israel signs read ‘Justice for Eyad. Justice for George.’, ‘Black lives MATTER. Palestinian lives MATTER.’”
Another post drew attention to what the author viewed as a lack of awareness about the treatment of Black people in Israel, saying, “If African Americans Knew How Israel Treats Black People, Black Lives Don’t Matter in Israel.”
Former NBA star Amari Stoudemire, who previously announced his conversion to Judaism, took a contrary stance, denouncing African Americans who do not support Israel. Stoudemire openly criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, asserting they were not contributing positively. He stated, “For all y’all Black Lives Matter who ain’t saying nothing or ‘let me figure out exactly what happened before I say anything,’ F. you. Figure out what? It ain’t never been cool to kidnap kids.”

In a joint statement released on Saturday, October 7, NNPA Chair Bobby Henry and NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. unequivocally condemned the acts of violence committed against the Jewish people and the nation of Israel by Hamas. The statement emphasized that Hamas’ actions, including firing rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, significantly escalated the ongoing conflict between the two parties.
“The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, forthrightly condemns the brutal, fatal terrorist attacks today on the Jewish people and the nation of Israel by Hamas,” read the statement. “Terrorism against innocent civilians in Israel and in any other place in the world can never be justified, tolerated, or sanctioned. We stand firmly in solidarity with Israel.”
Despite this, a different social media user expressed skepticism, asking, “When has anyone in Israel said to pray for the American Negro? Our Holocaust has been ongoing for 400+ years. Has Israel ever told the USA not to send any money until after it repairs Black Americans? I mean, it’s biblical to take care of your own family first.”
Experts said the diverse range of opinions within the Black American community underscores the complexities and multifaceted nature of the ongoing debate surrounding the conflict in the Middle East and its implications for various social justice movements. Further, many observed that, as the situation continues to evolve, how these perspectives will shape the discourse within the Black community and on the broader global stage remains to be seen.

Eutaw Police Department sponsors Annual National Night Out

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The Eutaw Police Department sponsored their annual America’s Night Out Against Crime. This event was held Thursday, September 21, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. at the former Carver Middle School.
Neighborhoods throughout the City of Eutaw were invited to join forces for the Annual National Night Out (NNO), a crime and drug prevention event. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Lots of fun, food and games were available.

Newswire: Twenty-Seven years later: suspect arrested in murder of Tupac Shakur 

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Tupac Shakur

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Twenty-seven years after the death of one of the most noted rappers in history of the genre, a man has been arrested for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
As the years have gone by some suspects have come into the news while others have passed away. On September 29, 2023, a man named Duane Keith Davis was arrested in Las Vegas and charged in connection with the murder of Shakur.
The rapper and actor was killed on September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas, at the age of 25, after being shot four times. He died less than a week later at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Since then, Shakur’s death has lingered on as a mystery that has never been brought to a conclusion.
Davis is a member of the California-based gang known as The South Side Compton Crips and was a childhood friend of N.W.A. member Eazy-E. During the early ’90s, Davis built a friendly relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Rumors that someone would be charged in Shakur’s death have swirled for years with no arrests made.
Tupac’s life was short but marked by artistic achievement in music and acting. His family moved to Baltimore and he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. In the late 1980s, Tupac moved to California, where he joined the hip-hop group Digital Underground as a backup dancer and rapper. He gained recognition for his skills and charisma on stage.
In addition to his storied music career, Shakur pursued acting and appeared in films such as “Juice” (1992), “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Above the Rim” (1994), and “Gridlock’d” (1997). He received praise for his acting talent.
Tupac Shakur was born in East Harlem to Afeni Shakur, a former Black Panther, and Billy Garland. He was given the name Lesane Parish Crooks at birth but later changed it to Tupac Amaru Shakur after he was inspired by the 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II.

Newswire : African leaders show new militancy amid growing environmental crises

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President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana addresses UN General Assembly

Sep. 25, 2023 (GIN) – “We must make up for time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”
 
That was Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the U.N. speaking to world leaders at a General Assembly symposium at United Nations headquarters this month.
 
The world still has the capacity to course correct if only global leaders would take action and support developing countries in addressing the crises, he added.
 
“Our focus here is on climate solutions – and our task is urgent. Humanity has opened the gates of hell,” Guterres said. “If nothing changes we are heading towards a 2.8 degrees temperature rise towards a dangerous and unstable world.
 
Meanwhile, in speeches before the U.N., African leaders presented a new and militant message: The continent is done being a victim of a post-World War II order. It is a global power and must be partnered with — not sidelined. 
 
“We as Africa have come to the world, not to ask for alms, charity or handouts, but to work with the rest of the global community and give every human being in this world a decent chance of security and prosperity,” Kenyan President William Ruto was reported to say by the Associated Press. 
 
He urged countries in the Global South to pool together their trillions of dollars in collective resources to independently finance climate initiatives.
 
Neither Africa nor the developing world stands in need of charity from developed countries,” he said, proposing a universal tax on the sale of fossil fuels.
 
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo blamed Africa’s present-day challenges on “historical injustices” and called for reparations for the slave trade. 
 
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said the continent is poised to “regain its position as a site of human progress” despite dealing with a “legacy of exploitation and subjugation.”
 
“Africa is nothing less than the key to the world’s future,” said Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu, who leads a country that, by 2050, is forecast to become the third most populous in the world.
 
With the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations, it is understandable that African leaders increasingly demand a bigger voice in multilateral institutions, said Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group. “Those calls will grow especially at a time when the continent is being courted by big powers amid growing geopolitical competition.”
 
“Africa has no need for partnerships based on official development aid that is politically oriented and tantamount to organized charity,” President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said. “Trickling subsidies filtered by the selfish interests of donors will certainly not allow for a real and effective rise of our continent.”
 
Tshisekedi’s country has the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and is also one of the largest producers of copper, both critical for clean energy transition.
 
What Africa needs instead, according to Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, is a more inclusive global financial system where Africans can participate as “a partner that has (a) lot to offer to the world and not only a warehouse that supplies cheap commodities to countries or international multinational corporations.”
 

Newswire : Remembering Hollis Watkins, Veteran of Mississippi Civil Rights Movement ,who died at 82 last week

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Hollis Watkins Muhammed

Bio compiled by Mississippi Department of Archives and History

A native of Mississippi, Hollis Watkins, was born in 1941 and grew up on a small farm in Chisholm Mission and became one of the first young Mississippians to commit to full-time work with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Watkins also served as founder and president of the Pike County Nonviolent Direct Action 
Committee,

He was a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and a county organizer in the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project.
Inspired by civil rights leader Bob Moses, Watkins began organizing local voter registration drives within the Pike County community. He organized one of the first sit-ins in McComb at a Woolworth’s lunch counter with fellow activist Curtis Hayes and was arrested and jailed multiple times for participating in various demonstrations.
Watkins was known for his use of freedom songs as an inspiration to encourage others to join the movement. He traveled across the state and worked on voter registration campaigns with other civil rights leaders such as Vernon  Dahmer. Watkins was also involved in the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party that challenged the state’s 
all-white delegation at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“Hollis Watkins dedicated his entire life to improving the lives of Black Mississippians,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “He was heavily involved in the creation of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, lending his voice to the museum’s central gallery. Museum staff are disheartened to learn of his death, but
 his legacy continues to inspire us.”

In 1989, Watkins co-founded Southern Echo, a community organization which works to develop leaders and empower local residents in support of the welfare of African American communities throughout Mississippi. He also served as chair of the Veteran of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. Watkins was honored with a Fannie 
Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award from Jackson State University in 2011 and received an honorary doctorate from Tougaloo College in 2015.
Watkins died on September 20, 2023, at the age of 82.

Newswire: University of Alabama condemns fans’ use of racist, homophobic slurs in viral video from Texas game

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By: Wilton Jackson, Sports Illustrated

Alabama fans were overheard shouting racist and homophobic slurs at three Texas players in a viral video filmed during the Crimson Tide’s 34-24 loss to the Longhorns on Saturday night.

Fans behind the Texas sideline at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., yelled homophobic and racist language at Longhorns defensive backs Jelani McDonald and X’Avion Brice as well as running back Quintrevion Wisner.
Among the slurs that can be heard on the video are Alabama fans calling the Texas players –“faggots” and advising them “to go back to the projects”.
In the wake of the video’s circulation on social media, Alabama released a statement to The Austin American-Statesman, saying the university does not condone the behavior and that such behavior “will not be tolerated” in its venues.
“We are disgusted by reports of vile language and inappropriate behavior Saturday night,” the statement read, per Danny Davis of The American-Statesman. “It’s not representative of UA and our values. We expect all attendees to act with class and respect towards others. Fans are strongly encouraged to report issues to our security resources on-site. Game day and delayed reports are appropriately addressed, and anyone found to be in violation of our rules and expectations will be promptly removed and may be banned from future events.

Newswire: Victims of deadly building fire in Johannesburg, S. A., died behind locked gates

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South African search for family members after fire


Sept. 4, 2023 (GIN) – After one of the worst residential fires in South Africa’s history, little remains of the overcrowded building in Johannesburg that sheltered some 200 Africans. Some called it a death trap and a disaster waiting to happen.
 
The fire that began shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31, trapped residents in the darkness, unable to pry open the locked security gates on each floor. A sealed gate on the ground floor prevented at least some of the victims from escaping and there were no proper fire escapes.
 
While the city-owned building at 80 Albert St. housed some 200 families, there was no formal electric service. People relied on small fires for cooking, heat and light and sometimes on dangerous electrical hookups.
 
The building had effectively been abandoned by authorities, said media reports, and had become home to poor people desperately seeking some form of accommodation in the rundown Johannesburg central business district. Some 76 apartment dwellers died in the predawn blaze, including 12 children, authorities said.
 
Homeless South Africans, poor foreign migrants and others who found themselves marginalized in a city often referred to as Africa’s richest but with deep social problems, inhabited the downtown building.
 
Senior city officials conceded they had been aware of problems at the building since at least 2019.
 
“This has been a long time coming and it will keep happening until the city wakes up. It’s devastating,” said Angela Rivers, general manager of the Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association. Rivers said that numerous government departments were aware of the appalling conditions of “hijacked” (taken over) buildings across the city center, but “they don’t take it seriously.”
 
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visiting the scene of the fire, put himself among the poor of downtown Johannesburg, and tried to reassure them.
 
“We are a caring government,” he said. “It may fall short, but the determination to care for the people of South Africa is a priority.”
 
But some found the promises coming from the government of the ruling African National Congress party which led South Africa out of apartheid and has been in power since the first democratic elections in 1994, wearing thin.
 
Around 1.2 million people in the province don’t have housing, officials said, with much of the crisis playing out in Johannesburg.
 
A statement from the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that appeared in X/Twitter linked the fire to the “direct outcome of years of permitting dilapidated structures to exist within Johannesburg, devoid of adequate upkeep or any form of vigilant oversight.
 
“The problem of hijacked and dilapidated buildings requires the provision of temporary housing for residents in such structures, as government seeks to find and establish permanent low-cost housing alternatives.”
 
The police have opened a criminal case, although it was unclear who might face any charges over the deaths as no official authority ran the building. 
 
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed the tragedy in part by “criminal elements” who had taken over the building and charged people to live there.
 
But the focus on the issue only after so many people were killed angered some in the city.
 
“We have seen the president calling this incident tragic,” said Herman Mashaba, a former mayor of Johannesburg and now the leader of an opposition political party. “What do you mean tragic? You’ve been aware of this. We have seen the decay of this city over 25 years. It’s not something that just happened overnight.”
 
The building was one of 57 hijacked buildings that the Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association had identified and repeatedly lobbied the City to act on.
 
City activist Maurice Smithers called the 5 story brick property on Albert Street an iconic building with history going back to the apartheid era.
 
“It was the Albert Street Pass Office which determined which black South Africans could live and work in Joburg. Its transformation from a place of oppression and despair to one of hope when it was turned into a women’s shelter and clinic was a significant symbolic moment.
 
“So, the failure by the City to maintain the building as a heritage site and to support the NGO which was there (Usindiso Ministries, which ran the shelter) is equal to its failure to ensure the building complied with all relevant laws and by-laws,” said Smithers. “[It has] instead effectively turned a blind eye to its hijacking and deterioration into a place of death.”
 
Urgent humanitarian aid is desperately needed. Organizations such as Gift of the Givers, the Salvation Army and the Hope SA Foundation are waiting for the go-ahead from the City of Johannesburg.
 

Newswire : Democrats introduce bill to eradicate solitary confinement, highlighting racial disparities

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Woman prisoner in solitary confinement

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


A group of House Democrats is spearheading legislative efforts to dismantle the practice of solitary confinement, a punitive measure that disproportionately affects Black and brown inmates within the American penal system.

Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform, leads this critical initiative. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, and Jamaal Bowman of New York are among Bush’s colleagues joining the effort. Together, they have introduced groundbreaking legislation to abolish solitary confinement within federal prisons and jails, effectively addressing a glaring issue within the nation’s correctional system.

The proposed legislation does not merely seek to banish this punitive practice; it also aims to institute vital due process safeguards for individuals where solitary confinement is the sole recourse. Further, the bill offers incentives to states, encouraging them to adopt similar legislation at the local level, fostering a more equitable and humane justice system.

Bush minced no words in denouncing the practice of isolating incarcerated individuals, referring to it as a “moral catastrophe.” She underscored the gravity of the situation, citing United Nations experts who have characterized solitary confinement as psychological torture. “This practice is traumatic for people subjected to it, harmful to communities, and alarmingly, it disproportionately impacts Black and brown individuals, young people, LGBTQ+ members, and other marginalized communities,” Bush passionately asserted.

Rep. Bowman echoed Bush’s sentiments, declaring that such a method of imprisonment has no place in the United States. He emphasized the stark reality that harsh practices like solitary confinement directly target marginalized groups, particularly people of color. “We must put an end to this cruel and traumatic form of punishment for the well-being of all,” Bowman insisted.

Rep. Kamlager-Dove expressed her profound disapproval of solitary confinement, likening it to a grave human rights violation that would be condemned in any other context or country. She also emphasized the necessity of treating incarcerated individuals as human beings, mainly if the goal is rehabilitation and significantly reducing recidivism rates.

“If we aspire for those within the penal system to emerge rehabilitated and less likely to re-offend, we must prioritize treating them as individuals deserving of dignity and respect,” Kamlager-Dove stated.