Black Research Center May Close 11/09/2009

Staffing and budget cuts may force the closure of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, which is housed in Founder’s Library at Howard University.

“The loss of 60 percent of its resources and the abolishment of some critical positions due to the Voluntary Separation Incentive Retirement Program (VSIRP) resulted in many problems,” interim director Thomas C. Battle told the daily student newspaper, the Hilltop.

It is one of the world’s largest repositories of documents and other information about individuals, institutions and issues important to people of African descent throughout the world including the papers of medical pioneer Dr. Charles Drew, Congressional Black Caucus  records and copies of Afro-American  newspapers, one of the nation’s largest black newspapers.

Its collections include more than 175,000 bound volumes; thousands of journals, periodicals, and newspapers; and 100,000 prints, photographs, maps, and other graphic items.

“This should be a greater outcry. This is the premier place to research black history and culture,” Battle told the Hilltop.

Historic Election Recalled 11/04/2009

I wasn’t born yet when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, but I do remember where I was when the Challenger space shuttle exploded or when planes slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001 or when then-Sen. Barack Obama was officially elected the 44th president of the United States of America.

On Election Night ‘08, I was working as an online producer at a Nashville television station. A few weeks earlier, Obama and McCain appeared in Music City for one of a handful of presidential debates held around the country. As an online producer, I was charged with writing stories, taking and editing pictures and video and posting all of them before, during and after four nightly newscasts. On Election Night, everything moved more quickly and thankfully I worked alongside dear friend and skilled colleague Angela Gardenhire.

As the election returns came in – Ohio, the Carolinas, the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) then the polls across the Midwest and finally the West Coast, people started calling the newsroom. Angela and I hurriedly monitored blog posts and filed updates along with our usual tasks. But, at one point, after ABC anchor Charlie Gibson called the election for Obama, I stopped. I excused myself and went into a conference room and cried. When I returned to my desk among the people who called me was my mother. Initially I didn’t recognize her voice, but the caller ID confirmed the source. She was crying, saying she wished my grandfather was alive to witness this feat. She also said she wasn’t sure months ago if she’d ever see this day, but she was glad for it. I added that I was very proud of fellow Americans who stepped away from fear to elect the nation’s first black president.

Last night, HBO aired a documentary produced by actor Edward Norton  that provided behind-the-scenes access to the Obama campaign. I enjoyed reliving Election Night as well as learning about how the campaign affected staff and volunteers.

Seminar About Women, Online Media 10/15/2009

Women news creators/consumers: Register for upcoming Media Women Entrepreneurs Summit in D.C., http://www.newmediawomen.org/events/register. The event, held on Nov. 9 at the Kaiser Family Foundation Public Affairs Center, is supported by the McCormick Foundation  New Media Women Entrepreneurs project. Topics to be covered include training citizen journalists, launching niche sites and J-Lab  research on the media needs of women news consumers/creators.

Black Men Offer Advice To Boys in New Doc 10/07/2009

 

Prince George’s County native Janks Morton’s film, Men II Boys, opens the door for open dialogue between black men and women and children. In mid-September, I attended a screening at the Lincoln Theater, the same week as the annual Congressional Black Caucus legislation conference. The film was a central part of a panel discussion held during the conference.

The footage was a mix of man-on-the-street and men sitting in a photography-like studio sharing their thoughts. The director, I believe, was deliberate in trying to keep it basic as the men relayed lessons they wanted to give to boys and teens. Some of the standouts from the film included U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings whose powerful story about his father made me tear up. Also, author/social activist Jeff Johnson’s candid discussion about how he allowed finances or lack thereof prevent him from being the father he wanted to be with one of his children.

“Men II Boys” also featured men who are regular joes and their ideas on how boys need to know that if someone takes a look at their friends, they can see that child’s future. And that respecting elders and themselves is a must. Or that the so-called in crowd may not be the right crowd for where they’re trying to go…and so on and so forth. The Q&A was revelatory because Morton talked about his own struggles with his mother and not having a father figure and how a lot of boys who act out possess resentment toward their mothers and confusion about their fathers especially when their interactions with their fathers are limited or nonexistent.

Upcoming events on the film and lecture tour

• 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia
• 7 p.m. Oct. 15 Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, MD
• 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at California African American Museum, Los Angeles
• 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at Empowerment Temple in Baltimore

Please visit www.MenToBoys.com for more details about these and other screenings nationwide. They are free events for large groups or seat reservations, contact MenToBoys@gmail.com.