MAY
2020 // THE
GIST OF FREEDOM IS STILL FAITH
A
celebration of the heritage and histories of
people descended from enslaved
Africans | |
A'Lelia
Bundles is the great-granddaughter of Madam C.J.
Walker. Producers of Self Made include LeBron
James and Octavia Spencer. Shellie Gaines
(inset) interviewed Bundles in our April 12,
2020
podcast. | |
Netflix Original Series Self Made
Based on Life of Madam C.J.
Walker |
Join
The
Gist Of Freedom Is Still Faith
as we congratulate A’Lelia Bundles for the
Netflix series inspired by her book,
On
Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.
J. Walker.
A’Lelia
is Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia
Bundles. In the series Self Made
(Netflix
original series, 2020), Oscar-winning
actress Spencer stars as Sarah Breedlove, known
as Madam C.J. Walker, the black hair care
pioneer and mogul who overcame challenges to
become America’s first, female self-made
millionaire. Self Made also stars Blair
Underwood as her husband C.J. Walker, Tiffany
Haddish as her daughter Lelia and Garrett Morris
as Walker’s father-in-law.
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The
Clark Sisters Thrills
with a Gospel Revolution
The
text below is excerpted from the NPR story
In
New Film About Gospel Pioneers The Clark
Sisters, The Music Comes First, published
on April 17, 2020 by Rachel Martin and Vince
Pearson. For rest of the story, see link
below.
The
Clark Sisters — Jackie, Dorinda, Denise, Twinkie
and Karen — were one of the most important
gospel groups of the 20th century. The sisters
grew up in Detroit and learned to sing from
their mother, Mattie Moss Clark, a renowned
gospel singer in her own right. With her help,
the Clark Sisters went on to win three Grammy
awards and become the top-selling female gospel
group of all time. Simply put, they changed the
sound of modern gospel music.
The
story of the ground-breaking group and the
matriarch who pushed them forward is the subject
of a new Lifetime movie called The Clark
Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. The film
differs from most musical biopics in one notable
way: Director Christine Swanson insisted that
the women playing the sisters in the film be
able to sing — really sing. Acting experience
was less of a requirement.
_________________________
The
Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (Lifetime,
Sat, April 11th, 8 PM PT/ET). Watch
the trailer here.
Read
the NPR review here.
|
Smithsonian
is Looking for Help Digitizing Historic DC-Based
Black Newspaper
The
text below is excerpted from the American
University Radio article The
Smithsonian Is Digitizing A Historic D.C.-Based
Black Newspaper, And It Needs Volunteers,
published
on February 20, 2020 by Elliott C. Williams. For
rest of the story, see link below.
Led
by the Smithsonian’s Transcription Center—which
launched in 2014—volunteers have helped
transcribe more than 1,500 pages from
collections at the National Museum of African
American History and Culture and the Anacostia
Community Museum. The collection has been
recently digitized and added to the
transcription project list. It includes fragile
newspapers, political pamphlets, and ads for
black entertainers from the 1930s.
_________________________
Read
the complete American University Radio article
here.
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Watching
Faith
Under Fire: The Antoinette Tuff Story
The
text below is from MyLifetime.com.
Seven
time Grammy® Award winner Toni Braxton stars as
Antoinette Tuff, a struggling single mom from
Georgia who heroically averted a tragedy, saving
hundreds of lives when she convinced a deranged
gunman who stormed an elementary school to
surrender. On August 20, 2013, shortly after
arriving to work at the Ronald E. McNair
Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia,
Antoinette the school’s bookkeeper, was in the
front office when Michael Hill (Trevor Morgan,
“Abducted”), a young man with a history of
mental illness, snuck in, armed with an AK-47
and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. As the
school went into lockdown, Antoinette was left
alone with Michael, who repeatedly threatened to
kill everyone. Showing enormous courage and
empathy, along with nerves of steel, Antoinette
convinced Michael to surrender by using her own
life struggles to connect with him. Antoinette’s
faith in God guided her through the toughest
moments of her life, ultimately preparing her
for that fateful day.
_________________________
Faith
Under Fire (Lifetime). Faith
Under Fire is available to stream on Amazon
Prime here.
|
North
America’s 17th Century Black
Settlements
The
story of Seneca Village begins in 1825, when
Andrew Williams and Epiphany Davis became the
first African Americans to purchase land in the
area, which stretched from West 82nd to West
85th streets between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
Within a week of these initial purchases, the
Trustees of the AME Zion Church purchased eight
lots of nearby land. By 1829, nine relatively
substantial houses had been built in the
area.
Several
Seneca Village property owners, including Albro
Lyons, Levin Smith and S. Hardenburgh, were
prominent in the abolitionist
movement.
The
village was built in a desirable location, with
proximity to the Hudson River’s ample fishing
opportunities and to a natural source of clean
water at a nearby spring. The village’s
residences ranged from one-room homes to
three-story dwellings made of wood and brick,
and there are records of three churches and one
school in the village as well. The 1855 census
indicated that Seneca Village was home to
approximately 250 residents and contained 70
houses. Life in Seneca Village was rural and its
distance from the bustling streets of Lower
Manhattan offered its residents a peaceful
life.
_________________________
Read
more about Seneca Village and the importance of
preserving its history here.
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Listen
to Shellie Gaines’ interview with A'Lelia
Bundles SUNDAY,
APRIL 12, 2020
_____________ |
Listen
to Emergency Doctor Ishmael Griffin discuss the
coronavirus epidemic
MARCH
23, 2020
_____________ |
We
celebrate Easter and honor viral immunologist
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
APRIL
6, 2020
_____________ |
Listen
to Mariam Guilliams’ interview with Egyptian
Coptic Christian
SEPTEMBER
6, 2016
_____________ |
Join
host R. Lee Gordon in an Easter Celebrity Bible
Readings
APRIL
24, 2011
_____________ |
Black
Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza speaks to
Nikkole Amir
JANUARY
7, 2016
_____________ |
Listen
to Author Dr. Myers Lectures from her book "The
Invisible Queen"
MAY
31, 2018
_____________ |
Professor
Simon P. Newton discusses runaway slave ads of
Eighteenth-Century Britain
JUNE
11, 2018
_____________ |
Join
Arthur McFarlane II the great grandson
of W.E.B. Du Bois
AUGUST
25, 2017
_____________ |
Join
Historian Philip Merrill as he talks about Rev.
Peter Fossett
JUNE
7, 2015
_____________ |
Listen
to Martin Luther King's 40 Acres
Speech
OCTOBER
28, 2013
_____________ |
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Our
histories and celebrations are many. We want to
know yours! Email
us
your story & picture. We’ll share it on
social media. Follow our tag #blackhistoryscout.
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The
Gist of Freedom is starting a Young Adult Book
Club. Email
us your
book suggestions and keep an eye out for more
details. Follow our tag #blackyabookclub.
| |
The Gist of
Freedom Quicklinks
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