Category Archives: ~ Culture & History

National Museum of African American History and Culture

I can’t begin to thank you enough for your past support of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Getting involved so early with something of this magnitude requires faith and vision, and everyone at the Museum truly appreciates your support and engagement with this historic endeavor.

As with any major undertaking, the first steps are always the most important. Building on the National Mall in Washington DC requires fine attention to detail. Our goal is to create a place worthy of the Museum’s mission and its prominent location on the National Mall – adjacent to the Washington Monument and near the White House.

As you read these words, our award-winning architectural team is working to design this signature new museum; our curators are creating state-of-the-art exhibitions that reflect the rich history and culture of the African American community; and our educators are developing innovative educational curricula and public programs.

Of course, you do not have to wait until the Museum opens in 2015 to experience what we will offer. You can see it now! We have programs and exhibitions currently underway — and as a Museum supporter you are already receiving special, early notices and invitations via email. That is just one of the benefits of your helping us raise the funds we need to build this much-anticipated Museum. Your special “insiders” look is one way we have of showing you just how much we appreciate your support.

As the end of the year approaches, I wanted to remind you of three things:

The overarching mission of the Museum is to use African American history and culture as a lens into what it means to be an American and that the African American experience is interwoven with, not separate from, the American experience. Together they create one, powerful American story.
The Museum will cost $500 million, half of which, $250 million, we must raise from Americans, like you, from around the nation.
The end of the year is the perfect time to make a tax-deductible gift to the Museum.

There are many good reasons to support the Museum: the powerful history and culture that will be on exhibit; the opportunity to add your name to something that will inspire and educate future generations; and the presentation of this important story in the grand tradition of a Smithsonian museum.

Whatever your reasons, we are honored by your commitment to the Museum. Our campaign to build the Museum continues to gain momentum, thanks to supporters like you. The bottom line is that we need your steadfast support and are very grateful to receive it.

So, please, take a moment right now to make a contribution to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Again, thank you very much.

All the best,

Adrienne C. Brooks
Director of Development

P.S. I just want to underscore the great tax benefit your contribution to the Museum represents. Whatever amount you are able to generously contribute today is tax- deductible to the full extent of the law.

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Honor Those Who Stand Up Against Immoral War

11/10/2010 Nativegrl77

Honor Those Who Stand Up Against Immoral War

Watch the Video | Send To A Friend

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, the 10th Veterans Day since the Afghanistan War began.

The burden of this brutal, futile war falls heaviest on a very small slice of the population: military members and their families. Many of them think that this war is immoral, and that makes fighting in it a weight they’ll have to carry their whole lives. Our new video features the voices of some of these veterans, urging us to rethink the burden we’re laying on troops.

Rethink Afghanistan is partnering with the Truth Commission on Conscience in War to help lift some of this burden. We’re pushing to expand the rights of veterans who refuse to serve in specific wars on moral grounds. Right now you have to oppose all wars, ever, to be granted conscientious objector status. That’s silly–you don’t have to be a pacifist to think it’s morally wrong to be fighting an endless war in Afghanistan. You can learn more about this push to honor troops’ consciences at the Truth Commission on Conscience in War’s website.

Share this video with your friends to help honor those who stood up to say, “I can’t fight this war. My conscience won’t allow it.” Let’s all remember what we’re asking of our troops on this Veterans Day.

Sincerely,

Derrick Crowe, Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Foundation team

P.S. If you haven’t done so already, please join Rethink Afghanistan on Facebook and Twitter.

Donate today to help bring an end to this atrocious war that’s not making us any safer.

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Alert: Hurricane adds to misery in Haiti

11/06/2010 Nativegrl77

Your gift can save lives and change the world -- Donate now

In the wake of January’s earthquake and an ongoing cholera outbreak, CARE has joined the people of Haiti this week in shifting attention to a third life-endangering threat: Hurricane Tomas.

In times of crisis, your support is urgently needed. A gift of $25, $50 or anything you can afford today can help us continue to provide our emergency relief and poverty-fighting programs in Haiti and 71 other countries around the world.

The hurricane made landfall in Haiti on Friday morning bringing howling winds and heavy rain that ripped roofs off of buildings, toppled power lines and caused rivers to burst their banks. The resulting floodwaters have swept into the tents and temporary shelters that 1.3 million Haitians call home.

To help Haitians prepare for the storm, CARE swiftly mobilized. We’ve distributed food, water, first aid kits and radios. We’ve also passed out tarps, ropes and building supplies to help people reinforce their dwellings. And we stocked up on emergency supplies to help people after the storm passes.

As you may know, since late October, Haitians have been facing a serious outbreak of cholera. The deadly, waterborne disease has already claimed close to 450 lives and more than 6,700 cases have been reported. The torrential rains of the hurricane will most certainly worsen the epidemic.

Our priorities include making sure there is a supply of clean water for the most vulnerable — those living in camps — and distributing items to help prevent the spread of disease, such as clean water, jerry cans, aqua tabs, soap and hygiene kits.

In the aftermath of the storm, CARE will continue partnering with Haitians to rebuild their country and help empower them to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty.

Our poverty-fighting work doesn’t stop in Haiti. Every single day of the year, CARE is on the ground in the world’s poorest countries. Whether we’re delivering emergency relief or carrying out innovative programs that strike at the root causes of poverty, CARE is there — thanks to the generosity of friends like you.

Please make a tax-deductible gift today to help ensure that we can make a lasting difference in the lives of poor people in Haiti and other countries across the globe.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE

~ Culture & History

a message from Adrienne Brooks, NMAAHC

11/03/2010 Nativegrl77

Let's make histroy -- Become a charter member today -- Join now

Thank you for signing the virtual guestbook for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. You’ve taken the first step to show your support for this new and long overdue museum. Now, take the next step and become a Charter Member.

When you become a Member, you’ll play a critical role in recording and preserving the voices of African Americans from the past and present for generations to come.

Yes, this new Museum will celebrate African American history and culture — from the dark days of slavery to the individual heroism and collective resiliency that was the Civil Rights movement to the triumph of the election of the first African American president and beyond. This history is America’s history.

Our challenge now is to raise the money we need to build this exciting addition to the American cultural landscape. A total of $500 million is needed. Congress has committed to provide half of the funds needed to build the Museum, and we need your help to raise the additional $250 million in private donations to make the National Museum of African American History and Culture a reality.

In return for your generous support of the Museum as a Charter Member, you’ll be eligible for many special benefits:

For your gift of $25, you will receive a 10% discount at all Smithsonian gift shops and online, a one-year subscription to the quarterly magazine American Legacy, special E-updates about Museum events, programs and exhibitions, and your name added to the Museum’s prestigious electronic Honor Roll of Charter Members to be displayed at the Museum.
For your gift of $40, you will also receive a beautiful 8.5″ x 11″ Certificate of Appreciation, perfect for framing and proudly displaying your support of the Museum.
For your gift of $100, you will also receive the double CD Every Tone a Testimony, a fascinating aural history of African Americans in words, music and poetry.
For your gift of $250, you will also receive the book Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, a beautiful collection of portraits and stories of prominent African Americans.

When the Museum opens its doors in 2015, it will be far more than a collection of objects. It will be a place that seeks to help all Americans remember—and by remembering, continue the dialogue about race in this country and help foster a spirit of reconciliation and healing.

Please, become our partner in building this great Museum by becoming a Charter Member today. With your help, we’ll build this important institution brick by brick, story by story, and honor the great legacy of the African American experience. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Brooks
Director of Development
National Museum of African American History and Culture

~ Culture & History

Stop ABC News from giving a platform to a race-baiting liar

10/31/2010 Nativegrl77

CREDO Action | more than a network. a movement.

Tell ABC News: Don’t give Andrew Breitbart a platform to spread his lies.

Breitbart is a known liar and serial race-baiter.

Clicking here will add your name to this petition:

Don’t give Andrew Breitbart a platform to spread his lies.

It’s appalling that ABC News’ election night coverage will include notorious propagandist and serial race-baiter Andrew Breitbart, who only months ago was publicly disgraced for falsely smearing Shirley Sherrod.

There are plenty of other conservatives who ABC News could turn to for analysis or commentary. By inviting someone like Breitbart to participate, ABC News is not only calling its own credibility into question, it is also serving to rehabilitate the credibility of Andrew Breitbart and legitimate more of his race-baiting lies.

I respectfully request that you rescind your offer inviting Andrew Breitbart to participate in your Election Day coverage.

Click here to add your name

One of the most precious assets of a news organization is its credibility. So it’s appalling that ABC News’ election night coverage on Tuesday will include notorious propagandist and serial race-baiter Andrew Breitbart, who only months ago was publicly disgraced for falsely smearing Shirley Sherrod.

We cannot let this go unchallenged. That is why CREDO is joining with our friends at Color of Change to put a stop to this and tell ABC to rescind its invitation to Breitbart.

Tell ABC News: Don’t give Andrew Breitbart a platform to spread his lies. Click here to automatically add your name to the petition.

The saga that led to Breitbart’s very public identification as a liar who intentionally stokes racial animosity began when Breitbart released a heavily edited video of Sherrod, then an official with the USDA, which Breitbart claimed was “video evidence of racism coming from a federal appointee and NAACP award recipient.”

In the hit piece Breitbart released, Sherrod (who is black) appears to be saying that she withheld aide to a white farmer because of his race. Breitbart’s stated purpose for releasing the video was to defend the Tea Party from charges of racism leveled by the NAACP, and to further claim that the video showed that the NAACP, Democrats and the Obama administration were comfortable with black people discriminating against whites.

The only problem was that Breitbart lied about what Sherrod actually said.

The full video of her remarks clearly demonstrated that Sherrod not only aided the farmer, but was using the story to illustrate how viewing the situation through the narrow lens of race was the wrong thing to do.

As Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” That’s what happened here.

After Breitbart’s post, the story gained steam as news organizations breathlessly hyped Breitbart’s video before verifying the basic story.

In the time it took for the truth to get out about the anti-racist message Sherrod very clearly both said and intended to communicate, Sherrod was publicly vilified and was fired from her job.

Multiple news organizations apologized on air and in print for the egregiously bad way they handled the over-hyped Sherrod incident-all of which was based on Breitbart’s horribly irresponsible video and the absolutely misleading ways he characterized it.

It is infuriating and absurd that a news organization, just a few months later, would give Breitbart another chance to spread his deceit.

Tell ABC News: Don’t give Andrew Breitbart a platform to spread his lies. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

One of the most disturbing implications of Breitbart’s participation is that it was his site that was the launching pad of the mendacious videos that ultimately led to the collapse of ACORN, an organization that helped register and turnout voters in poor communities and communities of color.

In the last couple of weeks, we have already seen Republicans and their conservative allies preemptively level wild-eyed accusations of voter fraud (much of which is laden with racial overtones). This not only serves to incite the intimidation and harassment of legitimate voters in communities of color by those who believe the voter fraud conspiracy theories, it also sets the stage for claims that Democrats “stole the election” if and when Republican candidates don’t win.

ABC News has a positive duty to spread true information and fight the spreading of lies. And that’s doubly true when the lies underscore the deeply harmful notion that people of color are somehow scheming on a massive scale to subvert our democracy.

Yet by including the likes of Andrew Breitbart, ABC News is failing this public duty in huge way.

By including Breitbart, ABC News is providing him the means to reach people he would otherwise not reach with a deceitful message that will seem much more trustworthy than Breitbart deserves.

Tell ABC News: Don’t give Andrew Breitbart a platform to spread his lies. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

Thank you for working for a better world.

Becky Bond, Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets

P.S ABC has started to backpedal in the face of growing criticism. On Friday, David Ford of ABC News confirmed to Media Matters that Breitbart “will be one of many voices on our air” on election night. But yesterday, the network started to distance itself from Breitbart. Andrew Morse, executive producer for ABC News Digital, issued a clearly defensive statement explaining that “Mr. Breitbart will not be a part of the ABC News broadcast coverage” and that his contribution will only be aired online at ABCNews.com and Facebook.

ABC is clearly wavering. We need to put the pressure on so that they drop Breitbart entirely.