From the Obama Foundation, Obama.org
The Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Late Gen. Colin L. Powell (Ret.) Left a Legacy for
Those Who Admired Him
By Renarda A. Williams
When I heard the news that Ret. Gen. and former Secretary of State Colin Powell had died due to covid-19 and other health complications, I was, at first, highly upset.
But then, God touched my spirit and made me realize that General Powell is no longer suffering. He is resting in peace with the ancestors and I should not be sad.
The late Presdent John F. Kennedy is noted for making the statement, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." As a four-star Army General, the country’s top state official and one who served in numerous other leadership roles, Powell did his duty to his country.
On April 4, 1998, as a reporter and columnist for a Black weekly newspaper in Monroe, La., I submitted an article on Powell. My topic was “America’s Promise wants to improve the lives of America’s Youth.” The story included an interview with Powell, who was chairman of America’s Promise-Alliance for Youth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk young people in the country. At the time of the story, these young people numbered more than 15 million.
“[The word] ‘promise’ implies a solemn obligation,” Powell said in the story. “We are asking Americans to make promises to our young people – promises that will help them to be successful in life. Most often the promise will be in the form of a commitment to provide resources – money, time, talent and expertise. We are asking every state, city and town to become ‘states of promise’ and ‘communities of promise’ as a way of aligning their efforts with the ... resources goals of America’s Promise.”
On another occasion, also writing for the Free Press, I also reviewed Powell’s book, “My American Journey” (available at Amazon.com). The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell revealed in the book how he overcame his obstacles, growing up in the South Bronx, to become a four-star general. Among his many high-profile roles, he served as the 16th United States national security advisor under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; the 12th and first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under presidents Bush and Bill Clinton; and the 65th Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush.
As I think about Powell, I smile. I wish I’d had the privilege of meeting him in person, but take comfort in the fact that I had a tiny part in letting people know how he touched all our lives.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
EDITORIAL
Black youth sagging get fined or jail time; white anti-face maskers, no penalty
by Edmond Davis
Historically,
what is more dangerous to Americans? Sagging jeans in public spaces, or
not wearing a face mask in the age of COVID-19 in public places?
How many Americans have compromised health issues from ‘Sagging Pants Syndrome’ (SPS)?
What’s the CDC’s death count on SPS in southern ‘red states’? Thousands
are criminalized for freedom of expression and the majority are African
American males (6% of the U.S. population). Towns have orchestrated
ordinances against sagging, but no statewide or national legislation
yet. Wildwood, NJ; Jefferson Parrish, LA; Pikeville, TN; New Orleans,
Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Miami and Jacksonville, Fla all have
entertained similar policies disproportionately affecting Black males in
ways that are MIA -or- Marginalizing-Ign oring-Avoiding them of their rights. Lawmakers in South Carolina wanted to fine people for wearing sagging pants with a House Bill 4957 Session 122. It would make it illegal for a person to wear pants “sagging more than three inches below his ileum,” according to the South Carolina Legislature’s website.
Lawmakers have amended laws to include interpretations. Laws that
criminalize sagging have long been considered racist and
unconstitutional. According to data obtained by the Shreveport Times 726
arrests for sagging in Shreveport, LA. since the original ordinance
passed in 2007. 96% of those arrested were African American males.
Shreveport was one of many municipalities that banned sagging since the
year 2000, but it was repealed. Mostly southern cities proposed such
laws under the guise of regulating public decency of this rogue fashion.
The opponents to sagging use ethnic intimidations and feed
stereotypical fear-tactics like saying it was part of the gang way of
life or prison culture. Cities in Georgia, Mississippi, New Jersey, South Carolina and other parts of Louisiana still
have anti-sagging ordinances on the book. In Massachusetts, a law
that’s been on the books for hundreds of years, amended in 1987 General Laws Chapter 272, Section 16 punishes the crime of ‘Open and Gross Lewdness and Lascivious Behavior’ with
imprisonment in the House of Corrections for up to 2 years or in the
State Prison for up to 3 years. It's Ambiguous yet can be used for
sagging.
Sagging
jeans don’t equate to sagging morals but refusing to wear a mask can be
deadly and is selfish. When an employee requests you to wear a
facemask, the ‘KRAKEN’ Karen is released! The real social ills
are committed by individuals who don’t wear masks, but they’re not
criminalized. Sagging hasn’t put anyone at risk, but not wearing a mask
is harmful and can be deadly to the immunocompromised (African
Americans, Hispanics and the elderly).
The
death of George Floyd on social media showed Whites in real-time what
African Americans have experienced for generations with systemic racism
in policing. COVID-19 shows how white privilege weaponized coughing and
smart devices have positioned privacy as a past commodity. From COVID
Parties, vocal anti-maskers to the carnage of coughing Karens’, Houston,
we have a problem! This overwhelmingly White demographic indirectly
infects many, unintentionally kills some, and traumatized others without
accountability. Responses to these seemingly pro-COVID tactics are
unjustly delayed, unlike sagging.
SOLUTIONS: (1)
Incentivize masked Americans with discounts on various items (food,
clothing, rent, movie tickets, automobile insurance, & gas) deemed
essentials. (2) Fines for not wearing a mask should be the same for sagging ranged from $25 to $600. (3) Community Service hours from 32 to 40, and (4) even time served in a jail or prison up to 6 months depends on data from contact tracing. (5) As a health-based sociocultural lesson anti-maskers should be denied access into all public places with a sign saying, “Masks Only.” They can understand what African Americans during Jim Crow felt like when they saw a sign that said “Whites Only” when entering stores, restaurants, and parks.
I
don’t like sagging, but I won’t criminalize it. I wear them to protect
others and my family in the United States of America. Black men face a
different kind of scrutiny even with masks, not sagging. The
double-standard of racism is why the anti-mask patriots have no
accountability in the Undisciplined States of America (USA).
Edmond Davis, College History Professor, Social Historian, Law Enforcement Scholar, edmondwdavis@gmail. com 318-243-9133www. edmondwdavis.com
Edmond W. Davis
Social Historian and Influencer
Phone: 318-243-9133
Email: edmondwdavis@gmail.com
Website: https://edmondwdavis. com/
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=dP5n1yLzSE4
@eddavisw @edmondwdavis
Friday, February 14, 2020
Ladysmith Black Mambazo “lit up” The Center for the Humanities and Arts
By Renarda A. Williams
It was a pure pleasure to see the five-time-Grammy-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo perform Jan. 28, 2020 at the Center for the Humanities and Arts on the campus of the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock … especially in light of the passing of the group’s founder, Joseph Shabalala, only two weeks later.
Shabalala’s legacy is being carried on by four of his sons, who are current Ladysmith members and who — along with five other group members — performed at the Jan. 28 concert, bringing such songs as “Long Walk to Freedom” and “Hello My Baby.” This group sings a traditional music called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Me-Ya), traditional music of the Zulu people. The men were true to the tradition Shabalala perfected — a "version of isicathamiya ... built on plush, bass-heavy harmonies, call-and-response drive and dramatic contrasts of soft and loud passages, along with choreography that included tiptoeing moves and head-high kicks,” wrote Jon Pareles, chief pop music critic for The New York Times, in an obituary story on Shabalala.
Accentuated by tongue clicks, the harmony mentioned is so smooth and butter-soft, the men's sound is like one voice, simultaneously divided into different parts. Who can forget Ladysmith's “Mbube Wimoweh” introduction to the 1988 film Coming to America?
I am an African American native of Louisiana and lover of New Orleans’ infectious jazz funerals and Second Line parades, both of which are marked by marching brass bands and dancing in the streets. Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s music is a capella, but their singing and dancing is no less energetic. I was so moved me that I had to resist running onstage to join the brothers.
During its infancy, the group won so many local South African isicathamiya singing contests, it was eventually banned from competing. In the 1970s, Ladysmith picked up steam, in 1973 releasing the first of what now numbers more than 50 albums and building its success before Paul Simon, singer-songwriter and 16-time Grammy winner, asked the men to sing on his celebrated 1986 album Graceland.
Seeing the group brought back memories of an my introduction to Ladysmith back in the 1980s, when I watched Ladysmith's videos and performances on the BET and PBS networks. I saw the group perform with Simon who, after visiting South Africa, asked them to add their talent to Graceland. I fell in love with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and its work … especially the landmark hit “Homeless” from Graceland.
After the performance at Pulaski Tech, I had a chance to briefly chat with two of three group members who greeted guests and autographed copies of their CDs. I asked how they believed their music related to all in attendance, especially African Americans. “Our music relates to everyone,” one member replied. "It is a universal language! Everybody enjoys it! As for African Americans, we [Africans and African Americans] are the same .... We have the same rhythm ... We dance to the same music.”
Ladysmith's North Little Rock visit was part of a U.S. tour that, it had been reported, was canceled after Shabalala’s passing. But the group disputed that on its Facebook page. “This is the last thing Joseph would want his group to do,” according to a post on the page. "It is with our friends and fans that we gain our strength and fill our hearts with love. It is being with our friend and fans that we can live with this terrible pain in our lives. We are not canceling our concert tours. We will continue to celebrate the life of our father, Joseph Shabalala, as we have done since he retired in 2014.”
I get a few autographs from LBM members.
My wife, Helaine Williams, with LBM members. Helaine covered the concert for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's High Profile section.
By Renarda A. Williams
It was a pure pleasure to see the five-time-Grammy-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo perform Jan. 28, 2020 at the Center for the Humanities and Arts on the campus of the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock … especially in light of the passing of the group’s founder, Joseph Shabalala, only two weeks later.
Shabalala’s legacy is being carried on by four of his sons, who are current Ladysmith members and who — along with five other group members — performed at the Jan. 28 concert, bringing such songs as “Long Walk to Freedom” and “Hello My Baby.” This group sings a traditional music called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Me-Ya), traditional music of the Zulu people. The men were true to the tradition Shabalala perfected — a "version of isicathamiya ... built on plush, bass-heavy harmonies, call-and-response drive and dramatic contrasts of soft and loud passages, along with choreography that included tiptoeing moves and head-high kicks,” wrote Jon Pareles, chief pop music critic for The New York Times, in an obituary story on Shabalala.
Accentuated by tongue clicks, the harmony mentioned is so smooth and butter-soft, the men's sound is like one voice, simultaneously divided into different parts. Who can forget Ladysmith's “Mbube Wimoweh” introduction to the 1988 film Coming to America?
I am an African American native of Louisiana and lover of New Orleans’ infectious jazz funerals and Second Line parades, both of which are marked by marching brass bands and dancing in the streets. Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s music is a capella, but their singing and dancing is no less energetic. I was so moved me that I had to resist running onstage to join the brothers.
Shabala, who passed Feb. 11, formed Ladysmith Black Mambazo under the name Ezimnyama in 1960. A farm boy, he was preparing to move to the city, Durban, to pursue his dream of leading a group of singers. In fact, it was a series of dreams Shabalala had that led to the group’s creation and development, according to the group’s entry on Wikipedia. He used the town’s name, Ladysmith, to honor the hometown of his family. The word Black was used for the oxen, the strongest animal on his family’s farm. The word Mambazo is Zulu for chopping ax, a symbol for his group to chop down anything that would try to stop them from being successful. Thus began the six-decade career of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
During its infancy, the group won so many local South African isicathamiya singing contests, it was eventually banned from competing. In the 1970s, Ladysmith picked up steam, in 1973 releasing the first of what now numbers more than 50 albums and building its success before Paul Simon, singer-songwriter and 16-time Grammy winner, asked the men to sing on his celebrated 1986 album Graceland.
In addition to working with Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded with Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and others. The group carries a message of peace, love and harmony as it travels the world year after year. In addition to its five Grammy Awards, it has distinguished itself with a total of 17 nominations.
Seeing the group brought back memories of an my introduction to Ladysmith back in the 1980s, when I watched Ladysmith's videos and performances on the BET and PBS networks. I saw the group perform with Simon who, after visiting South Africa, asked them to add their talent to Graceland. I fell in love with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and its work … especially the landmark hit “Homeless” from Graceland.
After the performance at Pulaski Tech, I had a chance to briefly chat with two of three group members who greeted guests and autographed copies of their CDs. I asked how they believed their music related to all in attendance, especially African Americans. “Our music relates to everyone,” one member replied. "It is a universal language! Everybody enjoys it! As for African Americans, we [Africans and African Americans] are the same .... We have the same rhythm ... We dance to the same music.”
Ladysmith's North Little Rock visit was part of a U.S. tour that, it had been reported, was canceled after Shabalala’s passing. But the group disputed that on its Facebook page. “This is the last thing Joseph would want his group to do,” according to a post on the page. "It is with our friends and fans that we gain our strength and fill our hearts with love. It is being with our friend and fans that we can live with this terrible pain in our lives. We are not canceling our concert tours. We will continue to celebrate the life of our father, Joseph Shabalala, as we have done since he retired in 2014.”
Ladysmith Black Mambazo members display their unique choreography.
I get a few autographs from LBM members.
My wife, Helaine Williams, with LBM members. Helaine covered the concert for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's High Profile section.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Frank Scott
Little Rock mayoral candidate Frank Scott in runoff with Baker Kurrus
The Nov. 6, 2018, election saw Little Rock mayoral candidate Frank Scott come close to emerging victorious. But opponent Baker Kurrus garnered enough votes to force a runoff with Scott.
Scott came in with 37.11 percent of the vote; Kurrus 29.03 percent. The two were in a five-man race with Warwick Sabin, Vincent Tolliver and Glen Schwarz. Scott needed 40 percent of the vote to have won on Nov. 6; as it is, he and Kurrus will face off on Dec. 4.
If elected in the runoff, Scott will be Little Rock’s third black mayor but the first to be elected by the populace. The city's first two black mayors were the late Charles Bussey and Lottie Shackleford. Both held the office at the time it was a honorary position that was voted on by the city board of directors. Bussey’s selection in 1981 made The New York Times. Shackelford, chosen in 1987, was also the city’s first woman mayor.
Scott is a banking executive, former member of the Arkansas Highway Commission, former director of intergovernmental affairs for the governor’s office, and an associate pastor. I interviewed Scott — for whom I voted — in 2017, during the time he put together an exploratory committee to decide whether to run for mayor. Circumstances prevented me from interviewing him again after his decision; however, I give him some words of encouragement when running into him at several social events.
"Together, we must find ways to overcome the challenges stalling our city’s growth and prosperity," he states on his website, Frankscottjr.com. "We must grow our job base and economy while also addressing pressing issues of public safety. ... We must discover new opportunities that benefit all corners of the city. It’s time to invest in all corners of our city to unite one another."
It’s my personal hope that Scott gets his chance to take Little Rock further into the 21st century.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams keeps people informed as an activist candidate
Emails from the campaign trail of America's first African American female gubernatorial nominee
In this midterm election season, Stacy Abrams distinguished herself as America's first African American female nominee for state governor when she won Georgia's democratic primary in the spring. She stands out during an election season in which a notable number of women have run for office and won primaries.
Abrams, a former state House of Representatives majority leader, recently visited Little Rock to talk about her campaign. The Empowerment Initiative was unable to attend, so we are sharing some emails from her that give a look into her campaign ... which, if successful, will be one for the history books indeed.
In this midterm election season, Stacy Abrams distinguished herself as America's first African American female nominee for state governor when she won Georgia's democratic primary in the spring. She stands out during an election season in which a notable number of women have run for office and won primaries.
Abrams, a former state House of Representatives majority leader, recently visited Little Rock to talk about her campaign. The Empowerment Initiative was unable to attend, so we are sharing some emails from her that give a look into her campaign ... which, if successful, will be one for the history books indeed.
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