Issa Rae, the creator and star of the hit web series, The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl, was a speaker at the first annual “Black Women in America” conference Feb. 25. The sudden success of “Awkward Black Girl” says a lot about not only the potential of viral video and good old-fashioned word of mouth, but also a growing desire among people of color to see better portrayals of their communities in the media.
State Rep. Byron Rushing joined local community activists at Hibernian Hall Oct. 19 to discuss the history of the 45-year-old Madison Park Development Corporation, as well as highlight the roots of black activism in Boston. It was an enlightening conversation among elder activists that showed that change is possible when all people organize as one around a common agenda and goal.
So it was interesting when Occupy Boston activist Brian Kwoba got up during the discussion to ask the panelists what tips the current Occupy Movement could take away. Panelist and Dudley Main Streets executive director Joyce Stanley said that unlike the Roxbury activists of the 1960s who organized around not allowing the I-95 to be built in the community, the Occupy Wall Street movement doesn’t have a clear agenda nor has it made any specific goals for their protest.
“If you don’t have clear goals when you are organizing a movement, eventually people start to lose interest in what you are protesting about,” Stanley said.
Watch the video here
Black AIDS Institute founder Phil Wilson spoke before the National Association of Black Journalists in Washington DC March 25 on why HIV/AIDS has become a “blacker” disease in 2011 and the responsibility of black journalists to continue covering the epidemic.
Journalist and AIDS activist Kai Wright was the keynote speaker at a town hall meeting on black men’s health and sexuality put on by the AIDS Action Committee during its World AIDS Day commemorations Dec. 7. Wright has been writing about sexual health for over 10 years, and spends much of his time going around the country, speaking before both people of color and LGBT communities.
View the video interview here
By Talia Whyte
The Grio
Yesterday, President Obama spoke before world leaders at the United Nations about the ongoing global climate change debate. The president acknowledged that the over the last century, the industrialized world has “caused much of the damage to our climate” and now has the responsibility to lead.
For the most part this week, this issue will be discussed from an international context, leading up to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year. Developing countries have suffered most from global carbon emissions, and they are now seeking 1 percent of the world’s GDP to help them adapt to the climate crisis. While I support this notion of international benevolence, climate change also has to be viewed from a domestic perspective as well.
Read the full article here
By Talia Whyte
The Bay State Banner
The recent decision by Gov. Deval Patrick’s daughter to come out of the closet marked a significant milestone in what has been a productive year for Boston’s black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, as it makes strides in the struggle for acceptance and forges stronger allegiances with the larger black community.
Read the full article here.
