Category Archives: African American Civil Rights Organizations

“We Are The Drum – A Rhythm In Wisconsin” 2012

Posted by Wonder Woman on

CAPITA (City At Peace In The Arts)

Productions Presents…

“We Are The Drum – A Rhythm In Wisconsin” 2012


Inspired by a distinctive movement for racial justice in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.

http://capitaproductions.org/

Since 1990, CAPITA Productions (City At Peace In The Arts) has been presenting a Black History Program yearly for thousands in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

This year we are adding a very special and overdue segment which will celebrate those brave marchers and demonstrators, from all backgrounds, who risked their lives for the cause of civil rights, especially in Milwaukee. It will be a dramatic reenactment of the Underground Railroad, prominent in the Waukesha area; the escaped slave Joshua Grover, and Fr. Jim Groppi’s “March on Milwaukee”.

 

For 200 consecutive nights hundreds marched for open housing through rain, snow and fear of physical attacks. These heroes have not been properly honored until now. Their stories should be known by our youth as well as everyone in Milwaukee and across the nation.

 

We will celebrate those who lived this experience, sharing the stories of those who participated in the demonstrations, served on the NAACP Youth Council, Commandos, and all organizations that led or joined in some way, the historic Milwaukee’s Civil Rights Movement.

Public Shows:

Tickets are $10 (balcony) $15 (floor)per person

• Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 7:30pm

• Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 7:30pm

• Friday, March 2, 2012 @ 7:30pm

• Saturday, March 3, 2012 @ 7:30pm

PUBLIC SHOW TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE

Buy Now Online http://www.capitaproductions.org/tickets.html

Student Shows:

Tickets are $4 per child.

For more info on the student shows,

Call Liz Coleman- 414-807-7322

• Tuesday, February, 21, 2012 @ 10:00am & 12:00pm

• Wednesday, February, 22, 2012 @ 10:00am & 12:00pm

• Monday, February, 27, 2012 @ 10:00am & 12:00pm

• Wednesday, February. 29, 2012 @ 10:00am & 12:00pm

All shows will once again take place at:

North Division High School Campus

Auditorium

1011 West Center Street

Milwaukee, WI 53206

Black revolution must start now even without total Black Unity.

Posted by Disrael on

Image 

PRESS RELEASE*****PRESS RELEASE*****PRESS RELEASE*****PRESS RELEASE…PRESS

PLEASE STOP WAITING ON ‘BLACK UNITY’ TO START THE REVOLUTION.”

You hear it every day.  ”Man, if Black people would just come together we could” or “All we need is unity among Black folks and everything….” Most Black people have/had some romantic notions of ALL Black people, with afros and dashikis marching towards New Africa, with the Isley Brothers, “Caravan of Love” playing in the background. Reality is probably going to look more like what were seeing with the Occupy movements and Arab Spring, different groups of Black folk doing different things  at different times in different places for similar outcomes.  That is just fine.  No people in history have ever been totally united on anything.  Egypt was not totally united, Rome or Greece were not totally united. All South African Blacks didn’t support Nelson Mandela and all Negroes didn’t support Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Black people come in all different shapes, sizes and colors.  They have different DNA, life experiences and  want different things.  The common thread is the history of suffering and oppression along with a destiny to resurrect the community and homeland. This reality is being created now. Yes, The revolution has started.  Its going on now and its personal.  You are the revolution.  You and the person(s) you are with are the army.  Start today with whomever you are with, wherever you are. Get involved, you are whats missing..  No one can do everything yet everyone can do something.  If you sit in front of the t.v. or computer with the young people at your home and explain to them whats going on in the world….That is Black revolution. The Black problem now is not lack of unity but ignorance and fear..

While we  are here, does anyone remember the “Good ole days”?  Well, thats a lie  that old heads use to  dump this current crop of bs on the laps of young people.  The history books have no record of a time in Black American history that can be sanely called  the “Good ole Days.”  Black people have always caught and continue to catch pure d hell in America. Blacks never all got alone or all worked together. Even during segregation there was backstabbing and boot-lickin going on then as now, Black Wall Street and Rosewood notwithstanding.  There are wealthy Black towns and neighborhoods today yet they hardly represent the state of Black America. Every generation has had victories and failures in the struggle for Black liberation

The time for action is now.  We are the continuation of the struggles of our ancestors.

He who waits for the perfect time to plant, never plants…The Bible

Power to the people.  Peace.

We Are All Witnesses But To What?

Posted by Wonder Woman on

We Are All Witnesses But To What?

Black Athletes & The Black Movement Vs. Selling Their Brand

Back in the day, most Black athletes were not only about the business of winning, they were about the advancement of our people and improving our quality of life. These brave warriors not only took hits and punches in their respective sports, many lost revenue and major endorsements to promote Black Power and to keep our voice relevant in the political arena as well as the sports arena.

Significantly starting with the breaking out of Michael Jordan and others to follow; sure they are great athletic stars but they are making conscious choices to not take political sides. Instead they elect to become “brands” and sell their voices to the highest bidder.

Everyone associates MJ with Nike, but how many people want to take him to the hole on the sweatshops and Nike debate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_sweatshops)? Why won’t MJ take his money and create a Black factory in the urban areas, or demand that Nike do so?

Magic Ervin is known for doing business in the Black community but the list of Black Athlete Entrepreneurs grows shorter with every sport season gone by. Most are electing to create foundations (tax write offs some and others are legit foundations) and some are electing to put their money into causes, but yet and still very few are lending their power to our movement. They are not (to coin a current phrase) “taking their talents” back to the hood of things.

Muhammad Ali caused a national debate by not serving in the military. John Carlos and Tommy Smith shocked the world with their black-gloved fist held high to show Black solidarity. Now, the only movement we see is the campaigning for draft picks or monetary rights to jerseys and apparel. A far cry from the movement that was started not so long ago. We are still not free in this country yet WE entertain billions, even across the globe and create a ridiculous amount of revenue for the NBA and NFL cartels! Please see this article on how much they actually make off the backs of our people. Yet we see very little coming back to the Black community.

http://oneluvsports.blogspot.com/2011/06/one-luv-sports-evil-trolls.html

And if we are not seeing enough of them acting a fool on Twitter or some other social networking site, now their wives and baby mommas are reaping the rewards by showing up on reality TV, showcasing to the entire world the ignorance people to some degree are associating with modern Black culture.

No we all don’t have weave and we all are not angry! TV is a messed up place right now!

Who is the next Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul, Bill Russell, John Carlos, Tommy Smith, or Muhammad of our time?

Is it time to stop helping the Kobe’s, Lebron’s, Williams Sisters, and Tiger’s launch their brands and refocus them back to the real cause of empowerment, civil rights, and moving the entire Black race forward?

Peace Family,

WW

See below for an excellent piece on this topic.

Athletes and Politics

By JOCKlife Sports (Contributor) on September 26, 2008

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/61761-athletes-and-politics

In 1968, John Carlos and Tommy Smith took a stand. After medaling in the ’68 Olympics they climbed up on the podium quietly slipped a single black glove on their hand and with their medals draped around their necks, lifted their gloved fist above their heads as a salute to the millions of African-Americans at home who had yet to obtain their Civil Rights.

During those same Olympics, the future Heavy Weight Champion, George Foreman took a stand of his own. After winning the Gold medal in boxing, Foreman took a small American flag and paraded around the ring waving it gleefully, the antithesis of John Carlos and Tommy Smith.

One year earlier, another boxer made a huge sacrifice to take a stand against something he did not believe in. Muhammad Ali refused to take the step forward symbolizing the induction into the United States Army. Ali believed that the Vietnam War was unjust and that Blacks in America were being oppressed by the same government he was being asked to defend. No doubt Ali paid a heavy price for displaying such courage out of the ring. He was stripped of his title, denied the opportunity to make a living in his chosen profession (boxing) and generally vilified by the power structure. Ali never wavered. Today, he is known simply as the greatest!

Fatherhood, personal responsibility vs Government entitlements!

Posted by Little tortillas on

While self-serving local, state and national politicians and activists run around rallying people of color to claim anything they can get from the government they distract us from the heart of the problem in our communities and that is the effect that these programs have had on the collective psyche of our communities. These politicians and activists have advocated for a more prominent position at the government trough which has replaced fatherhood and personal responsibility with dependence on the government. Here is a great segment that focuses on the real antidote to the fragmentation of our communities:

MLK Memorial Still Brews in Controversy for Building with Chinese Workers

Posted by Wonder Woman on

While WW is busy fighting crime, I thought you would like to revisit this topic  the”Your Black World” July 2011 article since it is soon in coming. I think it is an outrage that the MLK Memorial looks Asian, appears angry, and is minus African American workers or artists!!

Peace Family,

WW

MLK Memorial Still Brews in Controversy for Building with Chinese Workers

July 5, 2011 By Staff of Your Black World

http://yourblackworld.com/2011/07/05/mlk-memorial-still-brews-in-controversy-for-building-with-chinese-workers/

 

Your Black World reports.

We have just two months before the August 28 celebration of a new memorial in Washington DC dedicated to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The site will be four acres, and cost $120 million to construct.   The memorial continues on in spite of controversy about the builders choosing a sculptor from China.

The King family is in support of the use of a Chinese sculptor, leaving many American and African American artists disappointed that their talents were not used by the family.  There are also some who believe that the 30-foot likeness of Dr. King appears too confrontational, contrasting with King’s non-violent approach to Civil Rights.

Ed Jackson, executive architect of the Martin Luther King National Memorial, said that the King family approved the likeness created by Lei Yixin.

“I’ve seen probably 50 sculptures of my dad, and I would say 47 of them are not good reflections — that’s not to disparage an artist,” said Martin Luther King III. “This particular artist — he’s done a good job.”

The critics of this decision include a sculptor who was on an earlier team.  Also, academics, union members and others were angered by the decision to bring a group of Chinese workers to Washington to put the statue together.  Those who support the monument are working to deal with the criticism as they seek ways to raise the last $6 million needed to finish the project.

“He had already created … three additional sculptures of Dr. King’s head,” Jackson said, referring to past work that had been done by Lei.

Jackson then brought pictures of four different heads to two of King’s children, who chose Lei’s as the best of the group.

“The response was the first one,” King III said. “I informed them that this was the one that had generated all that controversy about their father looking confrontational. Martin said, ‘Well if my father was not confrontational, given what he was facing at the time, what else could he be?’”

Ed Dwight, a sculptor who’d been on the project earlier, said that he thought that Lei Yixin would help him, but not that he would be doing the job by himself.   Dwight claims that King would be insulted to hear that a sculptor from a Communist country would be working on his likeness.

“Dr. King would be turning over in his grave if he knew,” Dwight said. “He would rise up from his grave and walk into their offices and go, ‘How dare you?’”

There are also some who would argue that Dr. King, a man who fought for the rights of American workers, might be concerned about the exclusion of black and white American workers on the project.  Bringing Chinese workers across the world to work on a King memorial is an interesting reminder of corporate globalization that is taking place in America today.  Throughout the economic recovery, American workers have been the least to benefit, while the wealthy and corporations have done quite well.  Part of the reason for this division is due to the fact that wages are kept low by using workers overseas.