The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the most prominent leader of the American civil rights movement, happened on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He had come to Memphis to lead a march by striking sanitation workers. In response to King’s death, more than 100 American inner cities exploded in rioting, looting, and violence. James Earl Ray, a career small-time criminal who became the object of a more than two-month manhunt before he was captured in England, pled guilty to the shooting. Continue reading
Tag: Civil Rights
3/12/24 O&A NYC CELEBRATING WOMEN ON INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Fannie Lou Hamer Fought For The Rights Of Black Americans
In 1962, Fannie Lou Hamer was ready to cast her first ballot – but Mississippi wasn’t ready to let her vote. Denied registration, she fought for rights for Black Americans. Continue reading
3/11/24 O&A NYC CELEBRATING WOMEN ON HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: The Mahalia Jackson Documentary
This timeless documentary about Mahalia Jackson, the legendary Queen of Gospel, features Jackson herself telling her story of her life and times! Continue reading
8/21/23 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
In small-town Alabama in 1932, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is a lawyer and a widower. He has two young children, Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is currently defending Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a Black man accused of raping a white woman. Meanwhile, Jem and Scout are intrigued by their neighbors, the Radleys, in particular the mysterious, seldom-seen Boo Radley.
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5/22/23 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. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of Black Lives Matter.
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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
4/25/23 O&A NYC IN MEMORARIUM: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
Harry Belafonte, a multi-talented entertainer and activist who broke barriers in the film and music industry, and was instrumental in the civil rights movement has died at 96.
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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 SONG OF THE DAY: We Shall Overcome- Morehouse College
The Morehouse College Glee Club performs We Shall Overcome, arranged by Wendell P. Whalum, at the 2009 Candle on the Bluff Awards. Continue reading