theGrio
by Talia Whyte
The holiday season is in full swing, and television and movie theaters are currently filling up with jolly films to get us into the spirit. However, it’s very rare to see holiday-themed movies starring black actors. Here are a choice few holiday films with black characters in leading roles that spread Christmas cheer.
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I recently had a chance to go back to my alma mater Emerson College to speak to some current students of color about the state of race relations on campus. The four students in the video are executive board members of Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interests (EBONI). In recent years, the school has been plagued with accusations of subtle racism and lacking racial diversity among its faculty and student body.
A couple of years ago, two black professors accused Emerson of denying them tenure because of their race. Up until that time, Emerson College had only granted tenure to just three black professors in its 129-year history. There have also been many claims by students of color over the years that they didn’t feel welcomed by their white counterparts on campus.
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With the advent of e-books, audio books, Kindles and other devices that make the art of reading a digital experience, many wonder with the declining number of bookstores, what will happen to public libraries. For those of us who are lucky to live in places where a library exists, they are not only spaces to read and lend out books, but they also act as community meeting spaces.
However, the increase in digital media has also been compounded with the current economic downturn, which has contributed to the budget cuts and closings of many public libraries around the United States. Even more unfortunate is that many of these endangered public libraries are serving marginalized populations in rural and inner city areas.
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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