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Basic Black: Celebrating a Prince, a Queen, and a General
April 29, 2016
A Prince, a Queen, and a General. Brilliant, prolific artist Prince Rogers Nelson, superstar singer Beyonce “Queen Bey" Knowles, and abolitionist hero Harriet Tubman -- General Tubman -- the most celebrated leader of the Underground Railroad… We delve into the loss, triumph, and tribute for all three icons and consider what all of it says about culture, race, and (mainstream) recognition.
And in our online conversation: Asian American police officer Peter Liang fatally shot African American Akai Gurley. The shooting has strained Asian American and African American relations. What’s the long term impact?
Basic Black Blog
Jan 11 2016
David Bowie performs “Fame” on Soul Train – 1975
Nov 02 2015
What should white LGBTQ organizations do post-marriage equality?
Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe With this June??s historic Supreme Court ruling ?? Obergefell v. Hodge ?? that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states many white LGBTQ organizations nationwide have been questioning what to do next. Last month the Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus picked up the gauntlet […]
Aug 17 2015
Remembering Civil Rights Icon Julian Bond, The Voice Of ‘Eyes On The Prize’
Commentary by Callie Crossley Callie Crossley was a producer for the iconic documentary series ??Eyes on the Prize: America??s Civil Rights Years,?? which earned her an Oscar nomination, a National Emmy, and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award. We were gathered around a weather beaten table on one of the top floors of a nondescript red […]
Aug 04 2015
Ferguson… the birth of a civil rights movement, one year later.
Guest commentary by Callie Crossley It happened on an ordinary street on an ordinary Saturday afternoon in the waning days of summer. In just a few days the nation will mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown– an ordinary teenager whose death sparked an extraordinary protest. And a new chapter in American […]
Jul 31 2015
Where Is My Black Body Safe in America?
Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe Like so many African American women, myself included, Sandra Bland??s death, resulting from police brutality is not new news. The national attention it??s receiving is, however. The reality of unarmed African American women being beaten, profiled, sexually violated and murdered by law enforcement officials with alarming regularity is too […]
Jul 14 2015
Removing The Confederate Flag Is Not A Victory, It’s An Icebreaker
Guest editorial by Emmett G. Price, III Now that the confederate battle flag has been successfully removed from the South Carolina State House can we get back to the real work of healing our fractured, fragmented and frayed nation? Although South Carolina??s senate easily cleared the 2/3 majority with a 37-3 vote in favor of […]
Jul 14 2015
The welcome challenges of marriage equality
Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe For some time now, my spouse and I have been bickering over where we should live in our retirement years. She, being a child from the South, and me, being from the North, well, we have our tensions. I have jokingly dubbed them our ??Mason-Dixon line feud.?? We are […]
Jun 25 2015
Obama used the n-word appropriately
Guest editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe When news broke that President Obama used the n-word during the podcast interview ??WTF with Marc Maron?? about America??s racial history, it caused shock waves. We are shocked because we are all confused as to when ?? if ever ?? there is an appropriate context to use the […]
May 06 2015
The Moynihan Report And The Black Family: 50 Years And Waiting
Guest editorial by Emmett G. Price In the shadow of the assassination of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), the Selma to Montgomery march and escalating racial tensions throughout the country, a significant report, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action was shared in limited number within the Johnson Administration. Authored by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, […]
Feb 23 2015
Black History, Police Body Cameras and the Urgency of Now
Guest editorial by Kevin C. Peterson Though it may sound counter-intuitive, this Black History Month is an occasion to reflect on the necessity of arming the police with body cameras. As recent history has painfully taught us, there is an urgent need to dispel all ambiguity surrounding the murder of black males by local law […]
