Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 823

Will Dark Money Reshape North Carolina Political Landscape From Senate Race to State Supreme Court?

Democracy Now
In one of the first closely watched races of the 2014 primacy season, North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis has won the Republican Senate nomination. Tillis will face Democratic Senator Kay Hagan in November in a race that could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. 
The North Carolina primary drew national attention pitting Tillis, backed by much of the Republican establishment, against candidates with close ties to the Tea Party and religious right. As speaker of the North Carolina House, Tillis was a frequent target of the Moral Monday protests over the past two years. Primaries were also held Tuesday to determine who will sit on the state's Supreme Court. The races have gained national attention because millions of dollars from outside groups have poured in to the state to back conservative candidates. One TV ad bought by a secretive outside group accused state Supreme Court Judge Robin Hudson of being "not tough on child molesters." North Carolina is one of 22 states where judges on higher courts are elected rather than appointed. We are joined from North Carolina by Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies.

South Africa's 'Born-Frees' Look Beyond Mandela's Party

Danny Glover & Kathleen Cleaver Discuss 'The Black Power Mixtape: The Book'

Democracy Now
Based on the film with the same name, the extraordinary new book The Black Power Mixtape  chronicles the black freedom movement in the United States using found footage of top African-American leaders between 1967 and 1975. 
Shot by Swedish journalists and discovered in the basement of Swedish public television 30 years later, the film features some of the leading figures of the Black Power movement in the United States, including Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver. We discuss the project with two guests: renowned American actor, film director and political activist, Danny Glover; and Kathleen Cleaver, professor at Emory Law School, who is featured in the film during her stint as communications secretary of the Black Panther Party.

Fighting for Their Families; Standing Up for Our Neighbors by Benjamin Todd Jealous

Fighting for Their Families; Standing Up for Our Neighbors by Benjamin Todd Jealous | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)  "I am fighting for my father. He is undocumented. I am fighting for all of the children who don't have their mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters."
That was the speech I heard last Wednesday from Yahir Servin, an 11-year-old who participated in a civil disobedience on Capitol Hill with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement. Yahir was one of seven kids between the ages of 11 and 17 who joined 20 adults in a jail cell all afternoon to draw attention to the need for immigration reform. As rain poured down, the protestors sat resolutely in the middle of the street outside Capitol Hill while police handcuffed them one by one.
A few blocks away, the U.S. House of Representatives was in session but immigration reform was not on the agenda. Even though every day of inaction means that more immigrants are evicted and more families broken up, the House has still not taken up the comprehensive reform bill that passed in the Senate, or offered an alternative of its own. Meanwhile, although President Obama has been an outspoken supporter of reform, deportations have risen significantly over the course of his presidency.
Immediately before the protest, a 16-year-old named Talia Gonzalez told a heartbreaking story about her family's situation. Her father had returned to Mexico in order to get the necessary documentation to become a citizen. The U.S. officials at the Mexican border told him that he could not return. For the past four years, Talia and her father have only seen each other a handful of times, a mountain of paperwork separating father and daughter.
She is not alone. According to a 2012 report by the Center for American Progress, one out of three U.S. citizen children of immigrants live in mixed-status families, and tens of thousands of parents are deported each year. This has a devastating impact on families, forcing children into foster care or leaving single mothers who struggle to make ends meet.
I stood with the protesters on Wednesday because I believe that immigrants of all colors deserve to be treated with dignity and fairness. This has been a priority for the civil rights community for a very long time. It was a priority for Frederick Douglass when he opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act in the years after the Civil War, arguing in effect that he did not intend to watch the government brutally exploit workers in the Southwest just after ending slavery in the Southeast. It was a priority for civil rights leaders in the 1960's, who, immediately after passing the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act, pushed through what historian Taylor Branch has called through the "third pillar" of the civil rights revolution - ending the racist Europe-only preference for immigrants in this country.
As Douglass, Ella Baker and Roy Wilkins understood, our communities are strongest when we are willing to stand up for our neighbors' families with the same passion that we fight for our own.
There is reason for optimism. A number of Republican lawmakers have spoken out recently, urging their colleagues to take a vote on immigration reform. The pressure on these intransigent legislators will only increase as more people, young and old, stand up to make their voices heard on the issue.
By going to jail for their cause, Yahir and the other young protestors took a page from the Birmingham Children's Crusade of 1963. We all know the iconic images of children locking hands, marching in step and singing "We Shall Overcome" as Bull Connor's deputies blasted them with fire hoses. Fewer may remember that some of the children's parents had second thoughts about letting their little ones out in the charged Birmingham streets.
In a speech that week, Dr. King was able to put the situation in perspective, in words that called to mind the actions of Yahir, Talia and the other young activists half a century later.
"Don't worry about your children," he said, "They are going to be alright. Don't hold them back if they want to go to jail, for they are not only doing a job for themselves, but for all of America and for all of mankind."
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Jealous is the former President and CEO of the NAACP. He is currently a Partner at Kapor Capital and a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. 

"Fall for You"--New Video from Leela James

StacheMedia

R&B/Soul singer-songwriter Leela James announces the release of her new album Fall For You to be released via J&T Records/BMG/RED Distribution on July 8, 2014. Fall For You marks Leela's fourth studio album of her career. The second single and title track "Fall For You" is now available for purchase, and the full-length album can be pre-ordered on iTunes starting today. Produced by Leela James herself, and co-written with Rex Rideout (Ledisi, Babyface, Luther Vandross), "Fall For You" is a tender, introspective, and poignant ballad that demonstrates James' maturity, vulnerability and vocal command. 

Say Hey! Willie Mays--Happy 83rd Birthday!

Grace Hightower De Niro Talks Entrepreneurship

WSJDigitalNetwork
Grace Hightower De Niro, philanthropist, entrepreneur, socialite, and wife of legendary actor Robert De Niro, talks to WSJ's Lee Hawkins about her decision to launch "Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda", a for-profit venture to help support Rwanda's coffee farmers and economy.

#BringBackOurGirls Reaches Activists Around The World

"...Feeling Real Black, Right Now"

'Illmatic': The Making Of A Classic

Danny Clinch | SONYLegacy