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Basic Black Blog

Jan 13 2012
MLK Day Reflections for LGBTQ Justice in the Black Church

Guest Editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe I am proud to count myself among the many people working for social justice today who stand on the shoulders of Martin Luther King, Jr. Too many people think King’s statements regarding justice are only about race and the African-American community – thus excluding the LGBTQ community. But King read full article

Dec 16 2011
President Obama and the First Lady Speak to The Troops At Fort Bragg

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome home troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and thank them all for their service. December 14, 2011.  Their remarks (reposted here from whitehouse.gov) follow the video. MRS. OBAMA:  Hello, everyone!  I get to start you all off.  I want to begin by thanking General Anderson for read full article

Oct 17 2011
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dedication, October 16, 2011

Thousands converged on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Sunday October 16th for the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.  The dedication will be remembered as a historic event as King is the first African-American to be honored with a statue on the National Mall.  The event featured performances by Aretha Franklin read full article

Oct 06 2011
The Past Is Never Dead With The N-Word

Guest Editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe In a supposedly post- racial society one would think that the n-word was buried and long gone with it troubled eras of race relations in this country. But as American novelist William Faulkner wrote in his 1951 novel Requiem for a Nun, “The past is never dead. It??s not read full article

Sep 26 2011
Elmo: An Autobiography…

If Elmo from Sesame Street doesn’t make you smile, you got issues…  Here’s the trailer from a very interesting and insightful film about Kevin Clash, the man who brings Elmo to life.  The film rolls out nationally on October 21st.

Sep 09 2011
The American Jobs Act of 2011

President Obama presented his plan for job growth to a joint session of Congress on September 8, 2011.  While the rate of unemployment for the U.S. population as a whole stands at 9%, the unemployment rate for African Americans has held steady at a dismal 16% for months. Highlights from the President’s proposal: First, it read full article

Aug 02 2011
President Obama on S.365: The Budget Control Act of 2011

President Obama thanked the American people for their contribution to the debt crisis resolution on the evening before he signed S.365 into law.  The transcript of his remarks after the passage of the bill follow the clip below: “…since you can??t close the deficit with just spending cuts, we??ll need a balanced approach where everything read full article

Jul 01 2011
Tracy Morgan’s Homophobic Rant Is About Black Manhood

Guest Editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe While I will continue to argue that the African American community doesn??t have patent on homophobia, it does, however, have a problem with it. And Tracy Morgan, comedian and actor on NBC??s “30 Rock,” is another glaring example of the malady. During a standup performance this month at the read full article

Jun 29 2011
Provincetown’s Not Safe For Black Lesbians

Guest Editorial by Rev. Irene Monroe At the tip of Cape Cod is the LGBTQ-friendly haven Provincetown, fondly called P-town, and known as the best LGBTQ summer resort on the East Coast. Of late, more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people of color (POC) have not only begun vacationing in P-town, but we read full article

Jun 10 2011
Quiet Storm: Lowering The Signal On Black Radio In Boston

A Guest Editorial By Kelley C. Chunn As an African American who specializes in multicultural marketing and whose last name is Chunn, how can I be upset that Boston??s only noted black AM station, WILD 1090, now carries Chinese programming? Yet I am upset because Boston is a top 10 media market. So it is read full article

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Basic Black

Basic Black: "Red Tails" and "Find Our Missing"


(Originally broadcast on January 20, 2012)

This week on Basic Black we take a look at recent entertainment media that aims to fill the gap in the African American experience: we’ll examine how the television program “Find Our Missing” focuses on searching for children of color who’ve vanished, and we’ll talk about the new George Lucas film “Red Tails” which looks at the achievements of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. 

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