#blackgirlsmatter

Please join the African American Policy Forum and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School for the next event in our Breaking the Silence National Town Hall Series: BLACK GIRLS MATTER MIAMI TOWN HALL Thursday, May 28 6:00-9:00pm African Heritage Cultural Arts Center 6161 NW 22 Ave Miami, Florida 33142 Organized in partnership with: Power U Center The Dream Defenders Soul Sisters The Advancement Project In 2014, AAPF launched a town hall series on women and girls of color in cities throughout the country. Thus far, hearings have been held in Washington DC, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, with each convening gathering between 50 and 350 participants. To see a video preview of the series, please click here. Our commitment in hosting these hearings is to bring the circumstances facing girls of color out of the shadows and squarely into public policy debates. Against the backdrop of surveillance, punishment, and criminalization of youth of color in the United States, the Miami Town Hall seeks to increase awareness of the gendered consequences of disciplinary and push-out policies for girls of color, and, in particular, Black girls. Key decision makers will participate to suggest and advance tangible interventions. In Miami, Black girls comprise less than 1/4 of the overall girl population, but 1/3 of the number of students receiving in-school suspensions and over half of those receiving out-of-school suspensions. Consistent with the findings of our recent report, Black Girls Matter: Pushed-Out, Overpoliced and Underprotected, Black girls in Miami face a greater racialized risk of discipline in relation to white girls than Black boys do in relation to white boys.  Historically, government hearings have been held on men and boys of color, generating a deeper understanding among stakeholders of their specific needs. These hearings have led to increased public will and ultimately, the development of the black male achievement landscape we see today. Through hosting similar hearings on women and girls of color, we hope to increase our nation’s collective understanding of the disparities they experience, both those that are common to and different from their male counterparts.

Please join us as we listen to girls of color in Miami about their life experiences. Together we can lift up the realities they face and demand their inclusion in our racial justice agendas! For questions or to recieve more information about the town hall, please contact: info@aapf.org

AS A MATTER OF FACT!

At first most slaves were shipped to islands in the CARIBBEAN. There they were sold and put to work on huge sugar cane PLANTATIONS.

Life for the slaves were so hard that many died within a few years. But there were always more Africans to take their place. The slave trade grew quickly. During the 1500's, slave ships brought about 240,000 Africans to the Americas. During the next century, the number rose to more than 1,300,000. Between 1700 and 1810, more than 6 million Africans were brought over as slaves. Millions more died during the MIDDLE PASSAGE.

HIS STORY PART III

     "I found some men of my own nation. I asked what was to be done with us. They said we were to be carried to the White people's country. We were to work for them. I still feared that I would be killed. The White people looked so savage. I had never seen anyone act so cruel."

Olaudah Equiano tells what it was like to become a slave in his narrative.

#sayhername

The African American Policy Forum, the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School and Andrea Ritchie, Soros Justice Fellow, are thrilled to announce the release of a new brief on Black women and police violence:  Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women Download the brief here.  Say Her Name highlights the stories of Black women killed by police, and shines a light on forms of police brutality Black women experience, such as sexual assault.   The brief’s release falls on the National Day of Action for Black Women and Girls called by Black Youth Project 100, Ferguson Action, and #BlackLivesMatter. For a list of national actions, click here. Say Her Name is intended to serve as a resource for the media, organizers, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders to better understand and address Black women’s experiences of profiling and policing. Help Spread the Message that ALL Black Lives Matter Download the  Say Her Name Social Media Guide here.  Say Her Name is accompanied by a social media guide with sample tweets, memes, and tools to spread the word that indeed ALL Black lives matter. Yesterday during our vigil in remembrance of Black women killed by police violence, #SayHerName was the second most popular hashtag in New York, showing that many are committed to engendering the movement to combat police violence. To keep this momentum going, we encourage you to use our sample Tweets and images or share what stood out to you most from the brief. SAMPLE IMAGES INCLUDE:

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COMMUNITY EVENT - NEW YORK CITY

Join us tomorrow, May 20th for the launch of AAPF's new brief, Say Her Name, and a series of events focused on elevating the names and stories of Black women and girls killed by the police Speak-Out and Roundtable Discussion  Wednesday, May 20 12:00PM 185 West Broadway (Room 520) New York, New York 10013 Featuring: Family Members of Rekia Boyd, Shelly Frey, Kayla Moore, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseax and Tanisha Anderson Kimberlé  Crenshaw and Andrea Ritchie, Lead authors of AAPF's new brief on Black women and police violence, Say Her Name  Moderated by GritTv's Laura Flanders Vigil in Memory of Black Women and Girls Lost to Police Violence Wednesday, May 20 5:30pm Union Square NYC  Featuring: Family Members of Alberta Spruil, Rekia Boyd, Shantel Davis, Shelly Frey, Kayla Moore, Kyam Livingston, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseax and Tanisha Anderson   Register HERE for the Speak Out If the loss of their lives matters;  If the grief of their families matters;  If the impunity with which all Black lives can be taken matters; Then we cannot allow these tragedies to remain unmarked, silenced and forgotten. Join us to mourn their loss and honor their memories. On the day prior to Black Youth Project's National Call to Action to End State Violence Against Black Women and Girls, join AAPF for a series of activities focused on raising their experiences. A speak out and roundtable discussion will be moderated by GRITtv's Laura Flanders and will feature Kimberlé Crenshaw, Andrea Ritchie, and family members of Black women who have lost their lives to police violence. The event will be filmed and later broadcast online. For the first time, family members of Tanisha Anderson, Rekia Boyd, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseaux, Shelly Frey, and Kayla Moore are coming together to create a space to honor their lost loved ones. The conversation’s aim is to uplift the stories of Black women who have lost their lives to police violence, and broaden dominant conceptions of who victims of state violence are, and what state violence consists of.   A new brief by AAPF and Andrea Ritchie, a Soros Justice Fellow and expert on police violence against women and LGBT people of color, entitled #SayHerName: Toward A Gendered Analysis of Racialized State Violence will also be released at the event and on AAPF's website. The brief argues that the inclusion of Black women’s experiences is critical to effectively combating anti-Black state violence. Say Her Name shares the stories of Black women who have experienced state violence, and provides some analytical frames for understanding their experiences for the media, organizers, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders.   Afterwards, join us at Union Square in NYC for a vigil in remembrance of all of the Black women and girls who have lost their lives to police violence, but whose experiences are all too often relegated to the margins.  Family members of Black women killed by police violence will participate in the vigil to uplift their loved ones' stories. Click here to view the Facebook event. For a full list of BYP100's May 21st National Actions to End State Violence Against Black Women, click here.

FEATURED SPEAKERS: Martinez Sutton, Rekia Boyd’s brother. In 2012, off-duty Chicago police detective, Dante Servin, fatally shot 22-year-old Rekia Boyd in the back of the head. Servin was tried for Rekia’s death in April and cleared of all charges. Valarie Carey, the sister of Miriam Carey. Capitol Police shot Miriam with her baby in the car following a car chase in front of the White House in 2013. Maria Moore, the sister of Kayla Moore. Kayla Moore was a Black transgender woman who was killed by police when attempting to arrest her on a warrant for a person with the same legal name - but who was actually a man 20 years older. Sharon Wilkerson, the mother of Shelly Frey, who was shot twice and killed by an off-duty police officer in a Walmart parking lot where he was working as a security guard after her friend was caught shoplifting. Frances Garrett, Michelle Cusseaux’s mother, who was killed by police who were supposed to be transporting her to a mental health facility last year.  Cassandra Johnson, Tanisha Anderson's mother. Tanisha Anderson was killed by police in Cleveland in 2013 when officers pushed her to the ground and slammed her head on the concrete while transporting her to a medical center.   Co-Sponsoring Organizations: BYP100 Black Lives Matter NYC  One Billion Rising Justice League NYC The Stop Mass Incarceration Network  Stop Patriarchy  The Civil Rights Coalition on Police Reform BK Nation Judson Memorial Church The Precedential Group  The Chicago Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression CONNECT Donkeysaddle Projects Brooklyn NAACP  AF3IRM Yeah, That's What She Said Black Trans* Women's Lives Matter The Civil Rights Coalition on Police Reform Empowering Women of Color at Columbia Law School Sister Circle Collective The Revolutionary Communist Party Sadie Nash Leadership Project #SAYHERNAME #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKGIRLSMATTER #JUSTICEFORREKIA #WHYWECANTWAIT #HERDREAMDEFERRED

RECENT MEDIA FROM AAPF Help us build the public will to address the needs of Black women and girls by sharing these stories:    Black Women Aren't Just Secondary Casualties of Aggressive Policing -   The Nation, April 27 "Black Girls Should Matter, Too" The Atlantic, May 11 "Black Women Are Getting Killed by Police, Too- So Why Aren't More People Discussing It?" Mic, May 11 #BlackGirlsMatter and Kimberlé Crenshaw on GRITtv May 5th

BIRTH OF A BLACK HERO

MALCOLM X was born Malcolm Little, on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska.

One of 10 children, he grew up poor, an eighth grade drop out, with limited opportunity, during the Depression of the 1930s.

As an articulate advocate of Black pride, he quickly rose to prominence as a leader in the Nation of Islam.

His aggressive philosophy was clearly different from the other school of Black leadership during his time.

Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom, in New York City in 1965. He was 39 years of age.

To read the incredible details of the life of Malcolm X Google his name

ON THIS DAY...

MAY 17, 1954

U.S. SUPREME COURT OUTLAWS SCHOOL SEGREGATION IN BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

THIS DECISION AS HANDED DOWN STATED THAT "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Although this ruling was considered a major victory in the Civil Rights Movement,  Black people still had to legislate to get the laws enforced.

BUT DON'T TAKE MY WORDS FOR IT. GO FIND YOUR OWN. GOOGLE IT!

#blackgirlsmatter

 IN 1983 VANESSA L. WILLIAMS BECAME THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN CROWNED MISS AMERICA

IN MEMORY OF...

B.B. KING of the blues



1925-2015

JAZZ LEGENDS - BIRTHDAYS IN MAY

5/14/1897 - SIDNEY BECHET







5/26/1926 - MILES DAVIS

FOR A COMPREHENSIVE BIO OF THESE JAZZ LEGENDS AND A DISCOGRAPHY, GOOGLE THEIR NAMES AND CHECK OUT ALL THE ENTRIES.

JAZZ EVENT - NEW YORK CITY

May 18-22, 2015 Events We are pleased to announce our 2015 Spring Benefit Concert on June 10 at 7:30 PM Wednesday, June 10, 2015, 7:30 PM THE KAYE PLAYHOUSE AT HUNTER COLLEGE East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues Tickets are now available online ($35 and $55).   Join us for a special evening featuring Five-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves along with special guests. The event will honor legendary bassist, Reggie Workman and acclaimed filmmaker, Albert Maysles for their remarkable contributions to their fields. The host for the evening will be WBGO's Rhonda Hamilton. Proceeds will support the museum's mission to preserve, promote, and present Jazz by creating a permanent Smithsonian-affiliated home in Harlem for the museum. You can purchase online tickets HERE. Corporate and private sponsorships currently available. Please click here for more information.  Become a Member of  The National Jazz Museum in Harlem   Special Offer: Support The National Jazz Museum in Harlem today and receive discount on tickets to our June 10, 2105 Benefit Concert featuring Dianne Reeves.    Renew/Become a member at the Minton's Playhouse level ($75), and above, by May 22nd and receive a discount on tickets for our June 10th Benefit Concert, featuring Dianne Reeves. Renew/Become a member at The Rhythm Club level ($500), and above, and in addition to discounted tickets for our June 10th Benefit Concert, receive an invitation to our pre-concert VIP reception. Support The National Jazz Museum in Harlem and play an important role in the Museum's mission of preserving and promoting our nation's extraordinary jazz heritage!  Join Here For more information on our benefits and level of giving please visit our websiteor call (212) 348-8300 Ext. 103.  Tuesday, May 19th Something To Live For: The Strayhorn Centennial, Part Three The Young Lions: Juilliard Jazz in Harlem Chamber Jazz Series  7:00-8:30pm Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem FREE TO THE PUBLIC Julliard Jazz Trio featuring pianist Mathis Picard In its continuing series of chamber jazz events celebrating the music of Billy Strayhorn,  NJMH is proud to present the Juilliard Jazz Trio, led by virtuoso pianist Mathis Picard. Mathis Picard, a young and upcoming jazz pianist currently living in New York City. Born in France, he began playing the piano at the age of 4. His musical education switched from classical to jazz early on in his life, starting at the 'Centre Musical de Didier Lockwood, age 8. After moving to the United Kingdom in 2005, he was a student of Gerri Rossi & Tommy Smith. He was also a student of Dennis Montgomerry III in Berklee's summer program in Italy, where he also received two consecutive outstanding musicianship awards in 2007 & 2008. At ages 10 & 12 Picard was the youngest ever finalist at the Montreux Jazz Piano competition and was awarded a special prize on Bitch occasions. Convinced at age 11 he wanted to be a musician, Picard joined 'Chetham's School of Music' in Manchester, UK. It was there that music became a lifetime passion. During his time in the UK Picard published his first composition in the Real Book North West, and was featured as a guest artist on the Christmas edition of 'Jazzwise Magazine UK's CD release' In 2008. Later that year Picard became sponsored by the 'Little Dreams Foundation', founded by Phil Collins. Picard performed as a finalist in the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition as well as in the Yamaha Jazz Experience in 2010. In 2011, Picard was commissioned to write a piece and perform with the Northern Chamber Orchestra (NCO) and his jazz trio in 2012. Picard has been attending The Juilliard School since 2012, and has performed alongside Jason Moran, Sonny Emory, Patty Austin & Lee Ritenour. He has been featured on the ARTE TV (FRA/GER) series of his lifestyle in NYC which has been been broadcasted worldwide, and has received a Jazz Piano Young Arts award. He was also a semi-finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician awards in 2013. Most recently, Picard was awarded 2nd place for the Parmigiani Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition in 2014 and was named one of the 12 upcoming artists for the Montreux Jazz Academy. During his time in NYC, Picard was featured in a solo piano album which also included Dan Tepfer & Kevin Hays which is due for release in September 2015. As a side project Picard has released an EP on Origami Sound (Romania) under the alias 'JAONA' which was released in September 2014 with critical acclaim. Currently in his third year at Juilliard School education, Picard is a recipient of the Nina Carasso Foundation Scholarship Join the Facebook event here.  From Our Friends at City College From Our Friends at Madiba Harlem Studios Current Exhibit  Bebo Valdés: Giant of Cuban Music    Pianist, arranger, bandleader, and composer Bebo Valdés had two splendid careers separated by more than thirty years of obscurity. Mambo, filin, batanga, descarga - he was a great innovator in Cuba music. For ten years he was music director of the famed Tropicana orchestra. His big band backed Cuba's greatest stars. He was the pianist on Nat "King" Cole's famed Havana recordings. Then everything changed. He left Cuba in 1960 and settled in Sweden. While his music was largely forgotten by the world, his son Chucho Valdés became a dominant musical figure in post-revolutionary Cuba, and one of the world's great pianists. Then, beginning in 1994, Bebo Valdés began a dramatic career resurgence via a brilliant series of concerts, recordings, and movies that brought his knowledge, skills, and inimitable style into the twenty-first century, making him a bigger star than every before and culminating in an electrifying series of collaborations with Chucho. We'll tell the story and play the music....