Category: Fleshing It Out

Marian Anderson on “What’s My Line” 1957

American contralto, Marian Anderson, 1897-1993, was one of the most globally celebrated singers of the 20th century and yet the panel on What’s My Line in 1957 felt ashamed when they couldn’t guess who she was… Ms. Anderson sang at the Lincoln Memorial  on Easter Sunday in 1939 after she was refused a performance at… Continue reading Marian Anderson on “What’s My Line” 1957

Ten Years Without a Comb

For a host of reasons, the river called Hair runs deep. And wide. After a decade of wearing my hair “locked”—only one of many versions of its natural state—I continue to bear witness to the triumphs and mysteries of the choice. And also the outright weirdness that happens largely because non-black people are curious, having… Continue reading Ten Years Without a Comb

New Poor People’s March: Coming May 2018

ANITA GAIL JONES:Fortunately, as we celebrate MLK day today, there are many modern day civil rights leaders picking up the baton to keep America in the race for equality. As Coretta Scott King said, “Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”Last week on Democracy Now! (KPFA, Berkeley)  host Amy… Continue reading New Poor People’s March: Coming May 2018

Must-see Film ~ Screening in Albany, Georgia: Tuesday, 9/12/17

  Albany Civil Rights Institute Presents Award-Winning Civil Rights Documentary & Discussion Featuring Several Black Albanians, Filmmaker The Albany Civil Rights Institute will present an award-winning civil rights film, featuring multiple black Albanians, who fought on the front lines of the bloodiest campaign of the entire Civil Rights Movement.                   The Institute will present the hour-long… Continue reading Must-see Film ~ Screening in Albany, Georgia: Tuesday, 9/12/17

My Father ~ Silas Jones ~ An Inspiration

Independence Day Musings ~ My father, Silas Jones, was born in 1921 in Putney, Georgia—a widening-in-the-road near Albany. I remember one summer when I was home—most likely during my Brooklyn, New York years: 1979-1985, we drove “down home” to visit my mother’s people in Bainbridge/Camilla. We were at a cousin’s house where the TV played… Continue reading My Father ~ Silas Jones ~ An Inspiration

Don’t Be a Sucker

Don’t Be a Sucker is a short propaganda film produced by the U.S. War Department, released on July 4, 1943 and re-released in 1947. It has anti-racist and anti-fascist themes. The film was supposedly created to make the case for the desegregation of the United States armed forces [paradoxically I dare say] but ultimately upholds… Continue reading Don’t Be a Sucker

Van Jones ~ Plain Truth and Direct Action

Jan. 26, 2017, Mill Valley, CA I was lucky enough to be in the audience last Thursday, Jan. 26th, when Van Jones spoke at the Mill Valley Rec Center. Jones is a personable, humble dynamo—not so impressed with himself that he couldn’t be giddy and lose his mind when Oprah called him in his hotel… Continue reading Van Jones ~ Plain Truth and Direct Action

National Amnesia & Bipartisan Disorder

Anita’s Note ~ Come on people. Have we really forgotten that the same country that elected Barack Obama elected Donald Trump? And that country participated in the Middle Passage slave trade for 245 YEARS? And that same was the architect of what W.E.B. Dubois described as “the freedom to destroy freedom”? As a result our… Continue reading National Amnesia & Bipartisan Disorder