TSD freelance videographer Terrisa C. Mark looks at the challenges faced by African-American restaurants during the pandemic and the creative way many are responding.
Barack Obama will headline televised prime-time commencement
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Barack Obama will deliver a televised prime-time commencement address for the high school Class of 2020 during an hour-long event that will also feature LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai and Ben Platt, among others.
ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC will simultaneously air the special May 16 at 8 p.m. EDT along with more than 20 other broadcast and digital streaming partners, according to the announcement Tuesday from organizers.
Several high school students from Chicago public schools and the Obama Youth Jobs Corps will join, as will the Jonas Brothers, Yara Shahidi, Bad Bunny, Lena Waithe, Pharrell Williams, Megan Rapinoe and H.E.R.
The event is titled “Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020.” It’s hosted by the education advocacy group XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation and The Entertainment Industry Foundation.
Obama will reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of school life, especially for seniors who have missed out on their milestone rites of passage.
“This high school graduation season will be anything but ordinary — but that’s all the more reason why the Class of 2020 deserves extraordinary advice, heartfelt encouragement, and hard-won wisdom about facing new challenges in an uncertain world,” Russlynn Ali, CEO and co-founder of XQ Institute, said in a statement.
“We are grateful to President Obama for giving this gift to our nation’s three million high school seniors as they #GraduateTogether,” she added.
Nikole Hannah-Jones’ essay from ‘The 1619 Project’ wins commentary Pulitzer
by Tom Jones — (POYNTER) —
Of all the thousands upon thousands of stories and projects produced by American media last year, perhaps the one most-talked about was The New York Times Magazine’s ambitious “The 1619 Project,” which recognized the 400th anniversary of the moment enslaved Africans were first brought to what would become the United States and how it forever changed the country.
It was a phenomenal piece of journalism.
And while the project in its entirety did not make the list of Pulitzer Prize finalists, the introductory essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the landmark project, was honored with a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
After the announcement that she has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Hannah-Jones told the Times’ staff it was “the most important work of my life.”
While nearly impossible, and almost insulting, to try and describe in a handful of words or even sentences, Hannah-Jones’ essay was introduced with this headline: “Our Democracy’s Founding Ideals Were False When They Were Written. Black Americans Have Fought to Make Them True.”
In her essay, Hannah-Jones wrote, “But it would be historically inaccurate to reduce the contributions of black people to the vast material wealth created by our bondage. Black Americans have also been, and continue to be, foundational to the idea of American freedom. More than any other group in this country’s history, we have served, generation after generation, in an overlooked but vital role: It is we who have been the perfecters of this democracy.”
Hannah-Jones’ and “The 1619 Project,” however, were not without controversy. There was criticism of the project, particularly from conservatives. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called it “propaganda.” A commentator for The Federalist tweeted the goal of the project was to “delegitimize America, and further divide and demoralize its citizenry.”
But the most noteworthy criticism came from a group of five historians. ln a letter to the Times, they wrote that they were “dismayed at some of the factual errors in the project and the closed process behind it.” They added, “These errors, which concern major events, cannot be described as interpretation or ‘framing.’ They are matters of verifiable fact, which are the foundation of both honest scholarship and honest journalism. They suggest a displacement of historical understanding by ideology.”
Wall Street Journal assistant editorial features editor Elliot Kaufman wrote a column with the subhead: “The New York Times tries to rewrite U.S. history, but its falsehoods are exposed by surprising sources.”
In a rare move, the Times responded to the criticism with its own response. New York Times Magazine editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein wrote, “Though we respect the work of the signatories, appreciate that they are motivated by scholarly concern and applaud the efforts they have made in their own writings to illuminate the nation’s past, we disagree with their claim that our project contains significant factual errors and is driven by ideology rather than historical understanding. While we welcome criticism, we don’t believe that the request for corrections to The 1619 Project is warranted.”
That was just a portion of the rather lengthy and stern, but respectful response defending the project.
In the end, the 1619 Project — and Hannah-Jones’ essay, in particular — will be remembered for one of the most impactful and thought-provoking pieces on race, slavery and its impact on America that we’ve ever seen.
And maybe there was another reason for the pushback besides those questioning its historical accuracy.
As The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer wrote in December, “U.S. history is often taught and popularly understood through the eyes of its great men, who are seen as either heroic or tragic figures in a global struggle for human freedom. The 1619 Project, named for the date of the first arrival of Africans on American soil, sought to place ‘the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.’ Viewed from the perspective of those historically denied the rights enumerated in America’s founding documents, the story of the country’s great men necessarily looks very different.”
There’s no question that Hannah-Jones’ essay, which requires the kind of smart thinking and discussion that this country needs to continue having, deserved to be recognized with a Pulitzer as the top commentary of 2019. After all, and this is not hyperbole, it’s one of the most important essays ever.
In addition, we should acknowledge the other two finalists in this category: Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins and Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez.
Jenkins continues to be among the best sports columnists in the country. Meanwhile, has any writer done more to shine a light on homelessness than Lopez? This is the third time in the past four years (and fourth time overall) that Lopez has been a finalist in the commentary category.
In any other year, both would be deserving of Pulitzer Prizes. But 2019 will be remembered for Nikole Hannah-Jones’ powerful essay and project.
Pulitzers honor Ida B. Wells, an early pioneer of investigative journalism and civil rights icon
by Barbara Allen — (Poynter) —
In granting a posthumous citation to Ida B. Wells, the Pulitzer Prizes honors one of America’s earliest and most intrepid investigative reporters.
Pultizer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter:
Ida B. Wells was born a slave in Mississippi in 1862. She became a writer and publisher who crusaded against lynching and for civil rights in the deep South after the Civil War. It was death-defying work for a black woman, who spent months journeying through the Southern states, investigating the lynchings of black men through records research and in-person interviews — a process that laid the groundwork for modern investigative techniques.
At 30, and as the co-owner and editor for The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight, Wells took on that most famous work, attempting to investigate the trope that lynchings usually followed the rape of white women by black men. She discovered, of course, that this was patently false: “Nobody in this section of the country believes the threadbare old lie that Negro men rape white women,” Wells wrote.
Instead, she wrote, the horrible violence — and threat of that violence — were simply a means for white citizens to terrorize and oppress African Americans. Her writing was published across the United States and abroad, and included the pamphlets-turned-books “Southern Horrors” and “The Red Record.”
She continued her career as a journalist and advocate for civil rights, even after her life was threatened and she was forced to flee Memphis, her newspaper offices plundered and her presses destroyed. She is considered one of the founders of the NAACP and her later advocacy included organizing boycotts, the suffrage movement and anti-segregation activism.
She died in Chicago in 1931 of kidney disease. She was 68.
Wells was among the first people recognized when The New York Times launched its “Overlooked” series of obituaries — people whose deaths did not merit a writeup at the time. Said her Times obit writer Caitlin Dickerson, “As a journalist, I’m grateful that in investigating lynchings of black men, Ida B. Wells pioneered reporting techniques that remain central tenets of modern journalism.”
Most recently, The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, established in 2016, is “a news trade organization dedicated to increasing and retaining reporters and editors of color in the field of investigative reporting.” It was founded by journalists Ron Nixon, Topher Sanders and Nikole Hannah-Jones, who also was named a Pulitzer winner today.
The citation comes with a bequest of $50,000, said Dana Canedy, Pulitzer administrator, with details to come.
(Barbara Allen is the director of college programming for the Poynter Institute. She can be reached at ballen@poynter.org or on Twitter at @barbara_allen_)
‘38126 COVID-19 Response Project’ brings food, supplies and smiles
“I prayed last night and asked the Lord to please let people come out to our event,” said Ruby Bright, president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis (WFGM).
Talk about answered prayer!
WFGM – a high-profile social service organization – kicked off its “38126 COVID-19 Response Project” on the grounds of the old Georgia Avenue Elementary School on Friday. One measure of the response was the long line of cars that snaked along the side street of the parking lot.
Drawing from mountains of food and hygiene supplies, a force of masked volunteers filled each vehicle with a bounty of staples. Hundreds waited patiently to turn onto the parking lot, where cheerful, happy helpers loaded them up.
“We wanted to do something for the community,” said Bright. “Our foundation has long been concerned about the people in this South Memphis area. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic all but ravaged an already impoverished community struggling to stay afloat,” she said.
“Our assessment of what the more dire needs are right now inspired this giveaway of food and household supplies. It’s so wonderful to see everyone coming out today.”
Bright stood waving at drivers and occupants who waved back and yelled “Thank you,” before driving off.
WFGM got by with a help from friends – lots of generous, caring friends who wanted to make a difference with a positive gesture of concern. The foundation was joined by volunteers from the FedEx Global Citizenship Department, Heart to Heart International, and International Medical Corps.
“We are a part of the FedEx disaster response team,” said Rachel Kesselman, the community advisor of FedEx Global. “We go all over when help is needed, and this event today was one we are very proud to be a part of.”
FedEx donated the hygiene kits, along with Heart to Heart and International Medical Corps, as part of its “FedEx Cares 50 by 50” initiative. The company is looking to positively impact 50 million people around the globe by its 50th anniversary in 2023.
“In times of crisis, we mobilize our network quickly to help the communities where we live and work,” said Adrian Pomi, director of FedEx Global. “At FedEx, keeping the world connected in good times and during periods of great need, is who we are and what we do every day.”
International Paper was an integral part of the event, providing the huge boxes vital to the massive giveaway.
“International Paper recognizes that our corrugated boxes are essential for the generous projects of our community organizations, said Dynisha Woods, global citizenship coordinator of Community Engagement.
“This event was so important because it casts a wide safety net for those most in need during this pandemic. We are pleased to mobilize our products to aid this community, and we are proud to support the Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis.”
The giveaway is the first of several initiatives to come, according to Bright. May 1 carried with it a special significance for the foundation.
“May 1 would have been the day we hosted our annual luncheon,” said Bright. “It is our major fundraiser for the year. “But of course, the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible.
“We understand that other nonprofits have also been unable to access their normal funding opportunities. Nevertheless, our work in 38126 this year has only just begun. We’re taking a holistic approach to meeting the needs of this community.”
Bright said was important to “acknowledge and address that this pandemic has inflicted great trauma everywhere, but especially for impoverished communities, such as those in 38126. Our children don’t have the access to an online device in the household to keep up with their studies. Many parents don’t know how to go about setting up a home school situation to help their children,” she said.
“We are concerned that the digital divide will be a digital chasm whenever students return to school. We are reaching out to our partners to help us address this very important need.”
WFGM wanted to ensure that at least 500 families benefited from this first “38126 COVID-19 Response Project” event. Mission accomplished.
“We will keep working to address the needs of 38126,” said Bright. “There will be no big fundraiser this year, but we will continue doing the work. As our public and private partners see what a great need there is, we just believe they will step up to do their part. I believe God will make sure we have everything we need.”
Other partners who contributed to Friday’s outreach effort included Mid-South Food Bank, Shelby County Schools, Bare Needs Diaper Bank, Urban Strategies, RISE Foundation, SCORE South City, Emmanuel Center and First Baptist Church-Lauderdale.
WFGM seeks to encourage philanthropy and foster opportunities for leadership among women and to support initiatives that uplift women and children to reach their full potential, said Bright.
One recipient loaded down with food and supplies captured the spirit of the event:
“Y’all just don’t know what this means to us, to help us feed our children,” she said. “It’s good, so good having something like this. It’s a true blessing, and we thank y’all so much. We thank God.”