Willoughby Avenue - KOLUMN Magazine

Former Calif. Mayor Johnson shares Black Capital initiative at the Met | The Black Wall Street Times

January 31, 2020January 31, 2020African American Economics

TULSA, Okla. — The former Mayor of Sacramento, California, Kevin Johnson, in partnership with SeedInvest, launched their Black Capital initiative, a collective mission to economically empower African Americans through access to the venture capital industry. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Their first visit, since the initial launch, was Tulsa, Oklahoma — once a black entrepreneurial hub in the […]

What Was the Black International? | JSTOR

January 31, 2020January 31, 2020African American Economics

The twentieth-century struggle for African independence began in Paris salons hosted by the daughters of elite blacks, then travelled by telegram and steamship. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Relationships were the essence of the early twentieth century “black international.” In Paris, the Martinician writer Jane Nardal took to her typewriter to make sense of a pattern she was […]

The Hunting of Billie Holiday | Politico

January 30, 2020April 5, 2020Jazz Music

How Lady Day was in the middle of a Federal Bureau of Narcotics fight for survival From his first day in office in 1930, Harry Anslinger had a problem, and everybody knew it. He had just been appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics—a tiny agency, buried in the gray bowels of the Treasury […]

Color of Hockey: Canada Post stamp celebrates Black History Month | NHL.com

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020KOLUMN Magazine

Pays tribute to nearly forgotten early 20th-century players, league in Maritimes [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog for the past eight years. Douglas joined NHL.com in March 2019 and writes about people of color in the game. Today, he writes about Canada Post’s 2020 Black History Month stamp that […]

Did Dershowitz Say He Was ‘Not Happy Seeing Nixon’s Gang Being Tried by Blacks and Liberals’? | Snopes

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020Racism

Searching the long quote trails of public figures often turns up interesting statements from days past. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] In mid-January 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz would be part of his legal defense team for his upcoming Senate impeachment trial. Shortly afterwards, a quote meme made the rounds […]

Michelle Obama Wins Grammy Award For Audio Recording Of ‘Becoming’ Memoir | HuffPost

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020African American Literature

Fans are hoping the former first lady will go on to become an EGOT. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Michelle Obama is now a Grammy winner. The former first lady took home the trophy in the Spoken Word Album category for the audio recording of her bestselling 2018 memoir “Becoming.” The Grammys’ Best Spoken Word Album award honors […]

America’s Black Holocaust Museum Hopes To Reopen Its Doors This Year | Wisconsin Public Radio

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020African American History, Black Holocaust Museum

Thanks To A Donation, The Museum Plans To Open In Summer 2020 [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) in Milwaukee is a step closer to reopening its doors after being closed for over a decade, thanks to funding from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The museum was founded by lynching survivor, James Cameron in 1988. […]

‘I believe in white supremacy’: John Wayne’s notorious 1971 Playboy interview goes viral on Twitter (2019) | The Washington Post

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020Racism

John Wayne is never going to be confused for a progressive by anyone familiar with his life and career. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] The actor was famous as one of Hollywood’s staunchest conservatives: a onetime member of the reactionary anti-Communist John Birch Society, a producer for and actor in a film about the ignominious House Un-American Activities […]

Jimmy Heath, 93, Jazz Saxophonist and Composer, Is Dead | The New York Times

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020African American Music, Jazz Music

Jimmy Heath, a tenor saxophonist whose sharp and lively compositions became part of the midcentury jazz canon — and who found new prominence in middle age as a co-leader of a popular band with his two brothers — died on Sunday at his home in Loganville, Ga. He was 93. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] His grandson Fa […]

African Fabrics Connect to Form Quilted Portraits of Black Figures by Bisa Butler | Colossal

January 28, 2020January 28, 2020African American Art

Brooklyn-based artist Bisa Butler (previously) uses brightly colored cotton, wool, and chiffon fabrics with bold patterns to piece together quilts featuring detailed portraits of Black people. The materials and themes connect American subjects with their African roots and tell visual stories of history and culture. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Butler is a New Jersey-born African American artist […]