5/3/23 O&A NYC MILESTONES- HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES BROWN: Live at the Boston Garden, April 5, 1968

On April 5th 1968, James Brown gave a free concert at The Boston Garden which became a thing of legend.  Only 24 hours earlier civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated resulting in widespread violence across the United States. The mayor of Boston was persuaded to let the concert go ahead and it was broadcast live across the city by WGBH-TV. Continue reading

2/28/23 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: The Wade’s Fight For Human Rights at the NAACP Image Awards ’23

Truth speaking to power and the world Dwanye Wade and his wife Dabrielle Union share their admiration for their daughter Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade while receiving the President’s Award  at the 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards ’23.  Continue reading

3/14/22 O&A NYC BLACK FACTS: The Tuskegee Experiment

From 1932 to 1972, the United States Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention operated an extremely unethical medical experiment on the effects of outcomes of untreated syphilis. During the Tuskegee Experiment hundreds of poor Black men from Macon County, Alabama were enrolled in the study, and treatment for syphilis was withheld from them. Continue reading

1/17/21 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: MLK’s Promised Land (1967–1968 America’s Civil Rights Movement)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stakes out new ground for himself and the rapidly fragmenting civil rights movement. Continue reading

7/20/21 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Muhammad Ali – Dropping Knowledge (1974)

Professional boxer, activist, poet and philanthropist Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. Known as The Greatest he was one of the greatest boxers of all time. Continue reading

5/4/21 O&A NYC LOCKDOWN LEARNING: Malcolm X – Interview At Berkeley (1963)

Malcolm X, being interviewed by Professor John Leggett and Herman Blake (graduate student) (Dept. of Sociology) at the University of California, Berkeley in October 1963, discusses being a Black Muslim, the conditions of Blacks in this country, their relation with white people, and states the case for Black separatism. Originally recorded October 11, 1963,  Continue reading

5/3/21 O&A NYC LOCKDOWN LEARNING: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow Episode 1 Promises Betrayed

The premiere episode begins with the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, periods that held so much promise for free black men and women. But as the North gradually withdrew its support for black aspirations for land, civil and political rights, and legal due process, Southern whites succeeded in passing laws that segregated and disfranchised African Americans, laws that were reinforced with violence and terror tactics. Continue reading

5/3/21 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: I Am Not Your Negro

Master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, Remember This House. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. Continue reading

4/14/21 O&A NYC BLACK LIVE MATTER: Former Officer Jim Potter Charge In Daunte Wright’s Death

By Walter Rutledge

Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer will be charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of  20-year-old Daunte Wright. This comes one day after the 26-year police veteran  resigned from the police department. State officials said Ms. Potter would be booked into Hennepin County Jail. She was taken into custody at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Bodycam footage

Mr. Wright was killed Sunday during a traffic stop when Ms. Potter shot him with her two-pound black 9-millimeter Glock instead her eight-ounce yellow Taser. Police described the shooting as an accident, and body-camera footage showed her shouting the word Taser several times before firing her gun. The killing sparked protests and clashes with police on Sunday and Monday nights. Several cities in the region, including Minneapolis, St. Paul and Brooklyn Center, imposed curfews amid the protests.

Ex-officer charged with manslaughter

Ben Crump, who is representing the Wright family, said he appreciated that Washington County Attorney Pete Orput was pursuing justice; but a veteran of the police force knows the difference between a Taser and a gun. “This was no accident. This was an intentional, deliberate, and unlawful use of force”. If convicted charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison under Minnesota law.

3/9/21 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Marian Anderson Lincoln Memorial Concert- Voice of Freedom American Experience PBS

Marian Anderson stepped up to a microphone placed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and stared out at a crowd of more than 75,000 people. She had been barred from performing at Constitutional Hall, but thanks to clever advocacy by Walter White of the NAACP and the aid of high-powered allies like Eleanor Roosevelt, the concert was now set to make history. Continue reading