Can a community heal from a hate crime?

I was surprised when I read an April 21 article from Fox Chicago, Racist who dragged black man behind truck will be executed this week. (It looks to be a reprint used in several publications.) I expected a bland short piece giving a brief biased synopsis of the 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. and minimal details of the impending execution of one of his murderers. Instead, the piece starts with a story of how that murder has shaped people’s view of the town by telling how a tech company questioned opening a center there specifically because of the murder that took place 21 years ago.

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International Women’s Day

In honor of this day, here are images of women, all ages, around the world, throughout time, holding space and standing their ground.

Ralph Bunche

As Black History Month nears its close, I have come across another innovative, radical, groundbreaking, extremely intelligent individual who few likely know by name. Ralph Bunche was an academic, political scientist, activist, and diplomat. While alive, he was celebrated for his peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean, for helping form the United Nations, and for his work in the Civil Rights Movement. And, not only was he the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he was the first person of color to receive the award.

Percy Julian

Percy Julian was a research chemist who figured out how to synthesize medicinal compounds from plant sources, making them more affordable for mass-production. His work laid the foundation for the production of cortisone and birth control pills.

Michael Tubbs

At the age of 26, Michael Tubbs made history when he was elected as mayor of Stockton, CA in 2016. He is not only the first black mayor of Stockton, but the youngest elected in the city’s history.

Jackie Shane

In light of her recent passing, today’s Black History Month post is on Toronto soul singer, Jackie Shane. A performer who defied gender stereotypes and had a captivating stage presence, Shane is recognized by soul-music enthusiasts as one of the greatest singers of the genre, yet Shane has remained largely unknown outside Toronto.

Gordon Parks

Gordon Parks was a photographer, musician, artist, writer, and film director. Not only was he prominent in photo-documentary of the black experience from the 1940s to 1970s, he was a cultural pioneer. He was the first African-American photographer to work for the FSA, Life magazine, and Vogue, and to direct a major Hollywood motion picture. While his photography is what he should be best known for, most know him as the creator of the “blaxploitation” genre of films.

George Carruthers

George Carruthers is an astrophysicist and award-winning inventor. He created the spectrograph, the ultraviolet camera used by NASA in the 1972 Apollo 16 flight. It is because of Carruthers that we learned that hydrogen is the predominant element in the universe.

Blackdom, NM

A couple of years ago I did a brief post about a New Mexico town founded by black settlers because a documentary was being crowdfunded. During Black History Month, let’s learn more about the short-lived town!

The Belleville Three

In the Black History Month post on Sister Rosetta Tharpe I talked about the far-reaching impact black Americans have had on practically every music genre to be developed in the US. Today, I want to introduce you to Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson – the three friends that gave birth to techno and who influenced music around the world.