Photo: Joanna Williams Amateur astronomer Clarence Underwood traveled from California to South Carolina for the two minutes and thirty seconds of the once-in-a-lifetime experience of a total eclipse.
As a Wingate H.S. student in the 1960’s, Clarence Underwood always had his head in the stars.
Now a resident of California, Mr. Underwood is proud of his accomplishments professionally and personally, in the pursuit of his passions for the solar system, spacecraft missions, galaxies, spaceships, and science and technology. As a member of the prestigious Eastbay Astronomical Society, he supports the group’s efforts in bringing knowledge about outer space to various STEM programs in the Oakland area.
On Monday, he was in South Carolina, near Santee, observing the eclipse through his telescopes.
Underwood has lost track of his Wingate track and field gear, but in this photo he’s sporting a Lowell Observatory cap, in honor of “a place where so much information as generated about Mars. Because of Lowell’s studies, people were more inclined to believe that life could exist on planets other than the Earth”. Underwood also admits, “It made the War of the Worlds radio broadcast he heard during his boyhood years ‘seem more real’”. (BG)
Jumaane Williams, 41, Brooklyn-based NYC Councilman, denies interest in the 2018 NYS gubernatorial race. His focus and interest is in becoming the next City Council Speaker, succeeding Melissa Mark-Viverito, which is an uber- powerful position. The NY City Council introduces legislation, negotiates the city’s budget, monitors city agencies and reviews land use. Speaker has oversight of a 51-member chamber. According to Crain’s NY magazine, his major setback as a Council Speaker aspirant, is his home borough.
Herman “Denny” Farrell
Herman “Denny” Farrell, eminence grise of NY politics, retires from the NYS Assembly on September 5 after 42 years of public service. NYS Democrat who chaired the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Farrell is the fellow who deftly worked both sides of the aisle in Albany. He represents Harlem, Inwood and Washington Heights, a diverse ethnic constituency. He announced his retirement late to ensure that he could control his successor, Al Taylor, who has been his chief of staff. Riverbank Park, which borders Riverside Drive, will be named after him.
It is rumored that avowed progressive NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has his sights set on the 2020 American Presidential race. Rumors have run rampant about NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo is also eyeing selfsame race. De Blasio has to win reelection this year. Cuomo has to win reelection next year. Imagine Democratic presidential primaries with two New York competitors. It is a well-known fact that de Blasio and Cuomo are not enamored of each other. In many ways, the city suffers because of the political animus and slights. Cannot wait to see them do battle during debates.
The Buffalo, NY School Board finally removed potty-mouthed Carl Palladino, especially for his online racist remarks about President and First Lady Obama last year. A Republican, he was NY co-chair of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. A failed candidate for NYS governor, Palladino has threatened to run for governor again in 2018.
REQUIRED TRUMP READING
Two Black men write illuminating pieces about President Donald Trump. NY Times op-ed writer Charles M. Blow’s essay, THE OTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH, begins. “Donald Trump chose Trump Tower, the place where he began his presidential campaign, as the place to plunge a dagger into his presidency.” Blow continues, “Trump’s jaw-dropping defense of white supremacists, white nationalists and Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia exposed once more what many of us have been howling into the wind since he emerged as a viable candidate: That he is a bigot, a buffoon and a bully”. Piece is an indictment of the Republican Party which continues to do battle with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, facilitating the rise to prominence of Trump types.
Dr. J. Curtis McIntosh, MD
Yes, this is required reading as we move into Freud/Jung country with the new book, THE UNAUTHORIZED PSYCHOANALYSIS OF DONALD TRUMP, by New Yorker Dr. J. Curtis McIntosh, MD, of CEMOTAP, which is being serialized on a number of Black Internet media outlets. Input book title and author to access this spot-on analysis.
SIERRA LEONE CRISIS
FLOOD DONATION APPEAL: Heavy rains, mudslides and massive flooding have devastated parts of Sierra Leone, an impoverished West African nation, last week. More than 500 people have been reported dead and at least 3000 people are homeless. The SL Government needs lots of financial aid ASAP! Crisis is unfolding and could be aggravated by more rain. Americans can make checks payable to Embassy of Sierra Leone, 1701 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Visit embassyofsierraleone.net where a GOFUNDME page has been installed. Call Nadia Bangura at SL Ambassador Bockari Steven’s office at 202.939.9265.
ARTS/CULTURE
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard professor and co-founder of The Root.com, departs as editor-in-chief and becomes The Root’s new chair. He is also chairman of the Creative Thread Foundation. Dr. Gates used to chair Harvard’s W.E.B. DuBois Research Institute for African and African-American Research until 2013 when it became the Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research. Name change attributable to a $15 million gift from Glen Hutchins – Harvard alum, BS, HBS and Law – and co-founder of the Silver Lake company, an American private equity firm focusing on technology.
The “While We Are Still Here” Foundation, under the direction of culture doyenne Karen Taylor, kicks off its new season with an afternoon of music and literature, WHEN SUGAR HILL WAS SWEET: LOOKING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD, featuring the Terri Lyne Carrington Quartet with Marc Cary; vocalist Melba Joyce and the Sugar Hills Quartet performing classical sounds of jazz and author Herb Boyd who will read/sign from his book THE HARLEM READER and others. The event will be held on September 9 at 3 pm at the Sugar Hill Luminaries Lawn at 155th Street & Edgecombe Avenue, Harlem. Taylor founded “While We Are Still Here” to preserve and celebrate Harlem’s enduring African-American cultural achievement and legacies through millennia, bypassing its current gentrification phase. [Visit whilewearestillhere.org or call 929.266.3952]
AUG/SEPT CALENDAR
Andrew Michael Holness
The Jamaican Independence Foundation will host its 55th Independence Anniversary black-tie gala on Saturday, August 26 at the NY Hilton Hotel in Manhattan. Honorees include His Excellency Andrew Michael Holness, Jamaica Prime Minister; His Excellency Edward Seaga, former Jamaica Prime Minister; and Patrick Ewing, Basketball Hall of Famer, former NY Knicks player who is now head basketball coach at his alma mater Georgetown University. Entertainment will be provided by Romain Virgo and Unit Band Road International. For more info, call Jamaica Consulate, 212.935.9000, X8120.
Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz, in concert with his Dynamic Ladies Quartet of musicians, Kyoko Oyable, Adi Myerson, Taylor Moore, Gabriealls Garo and vocalist Jolie Emi Neal perform at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, located at 236 East 3rd Street, Manhattan, September 2 at 9:30 pm. [Visit romeneal.com]
New Yorkers, it is not too late to consider a summer getaway to Massachusetts and take in some culture to boot. It is the Martha’s Vineyard Jazz Weekend, Jazz and Blues Summerfest during Labor Day Weekend from September 1-3. Package includes bus transportation, NY to MA to NY, lodging and concert tickets. [Visit ticketsmv.com]
A Harlem-based management consultant, Victoria Horsford can be reached at Victoria.horsford@gmail.com.
Photo: Barry L. Mason Former NYPD detective Frank Serpico, joins members of the NYPD12, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America and The Justice League of New York in Brooklyn Bridge Park, in support of Colin Kapernick’s right to free speech.
After Charlottesville, millions are seeing a connection between the NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s choice to not rise to the lyrics of the National Anthem which, as he sees them, are hypocritical and contrast with the reality of our times.
Yesterday, thousands in New York City gathered at the National Football League Headquarters to protest the lockout of the quarterback from his job because he took a stance and dared to have an opinion. Among them were a group of men and women of the law whom the Saturday before announced their support of the athlete and of freedom to pursue truth.
Joined by community and human rights advocates, members of the NYPD12, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America and The Justice League of New York stood peacefully and solemnly yet solid and strong on Pier 1 of Brooklyn Bridge Park last Saturday morning in support of \Kaepernick, and also in support of, as guest speaker Frank Serpico said, “All who have the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression in this country and in the world”.
As the sun embraced them and the beautiful sweep of the Brooklyn Bridge and East River waters, it was noted that the gathering of some 100 stood directly across the watery pathway from 75 Wall Street, a site recognized as New York City’s first auction block for enslaved Africans and the “gloom of their grave” at the African Burial Ground – feet from the actual Wall Street they were forced to build. Following is writer Marlon Rice’s account in Part One of a three-part series about that day and the effort of those men and women who truly stand for and believe in, “the home of the brave, land of (the would-be) free.” (Bernice Elizabeth Green),
Donning black #imwithkap T-shirts, the group whose count reached around ten dozen, filled the entire northwest corner of the boardwalk as some of the city’s most influential current and former NYPD officers spoke on the importance of Kaepernick’s message, and its relation to some of the issues that our communities have with regards to policing.
Men like retired officer Frank Serpico, who became famous in the 1970’s for being one of the first cops to openly report systematic police corruption, and Damon Jones, who is the New York Representative for Blacks in Law Enforcement in America, used the occasion not only to support Kaepernick’s right to take a knee during the National Anthem but also to speak about systemic issues of race that plague the police force and its interaction with our communities.
Serpico took the opportunity to express his support, not just for Kaepernick, but for the men and women who organized the event. He said, “I am here to support my brothers and sisters …I’m 81 years old. I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever needed in life. But the one thing I wanted and never got was justice”.
Jones also spoke on Kaepernick’s motivation for protest in plain words, “Colin Kaepernick recognized the racism, sexism and cronyism that is in law enforcement”. He then supported his assertion with facts. Speaking on the 2010 Police-on-Police shooting task force established by then-Governor David Paterson, Mr. Jones pointed out that the findings of the task force revealed that “racial bias, conscious or unconscious, plays a role in a police officer shooting a victim”.
Jumaane Williams, the outspoken Councilman from the 45th District in Brooklyn, was also on hand, proudly wore Kaepernick’s 49ers jersey. He recalled facing local scrutiny similar to what Kaepernick has had to deal with on a national scale when he refused to stand during the singing of the National Anthem during a City Council meeting back in 2016. He said, “The most hate mail that I’ve ever gotten is when I sat for the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ in the City Council chambers”. He went on to explain that “what Kaepernick is doing is simply about pushing back on a structure of oppression and supremacy”.
With the events in Charlottesville reenergizing the perspective of many with regards to the current climate of injustice in America, this coming together of law enforcement and community members to support Kaepernick was about so much more than just one man taking a knee. It was about protecting the very American qualities of freedom of speech and expression, and the duty we each have to practice those freedoms, especially in the face of tyranny and inequity.
Graham Weatherspoon, one of the organizers and a retired NYPD detective who is currently a board member of the Amadou Diallo Foundation, quoted the 18th century political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke, saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
Sgt. Edwin Raymond, chief organizer of the event, agreed, adding that in the past those who took an active stance against injustice were also demonized at the time, only to be validated generations later. “As a nation, we have this habit of vindicating people in hindsight. Ali was vindicated in hindsight, Rosa Parks was vindicated in hindsight. With Colin Kaepernick, we have an opportunity to respect his work as it’s happening, in the present. We shouldn’t have to wait 20 years to understand the importance of what this man is trying to do.”
With the relationship between the police and the community as tense and as complex as it is, the idea and the execution of members of law enforcement coming together to support Kaepernick’s position and methods wound up becoming an icebreaker for the bigger discussion about injustice and corruption on the ground and in our neighborhoods.
On Monday, two days after the rally, Police Commissioner James O’Neill officially backed the officers who organized the rally. O’Neill was quoted as saying, “I have no issue with the officers (expressing themselves) whatsoever. In fact, I encourage it”. This is a direct reflection of the importance of Kaep’s silent protest and why it should be supported. As Councilman Williams put it, “Kaepernick’s act was probably the most patriotic act that many of us have seen in a very, very long time. We have to be honest about this discussion”.
For this writer, standing in the sun, with the East River at our backs and with the history of America casting its shadow over us, it was truly an empowering experience to watch members of law enforcement stand in support of exposing and defeating acts of injustice.
Thank you Colin Kaepernick. Your decision to take a knee has forced us all to analyze the issues of injustice, and that’s the first step towards solving these problems.
Part II and III will journey into the lives, beliefs and stories of Serpico, Jones, Weatherspoon and other men and women who stand or have stood on the front lines where justice is sometimes “half-disclosed” and truth is sometimes “half-concealed”.
Homeowners of Central Brooklyn are facing destruction to their properties and are being robbed of their legacies by a few unscrupulous developers who resort to “any means necessary” – sometimes violence — to get what they want however long it takes to get it. Next week, Our Time Press will present a first-person account of another Lafayette Avenue homeowner in search of justice and reparations, and some attention from the New York City Buildings Department.
Photo: Barry L. Mason Zi-monitor is a high precision caliper affixed to each side of a crack, measuring any widening.
And she’s not stopping till she gets it. And she’s going all the way.
Esther Cooper with husband James Jackson, 1942 (from the personal collection of Esther Cooper Jackson)
Civil Rights activist Esther Cooper Jackson was 10 months old when the last Total Eclipse crossed the Continental U.S. 99 years ago on June 8, 1918.
This week, the “Eclipse of the Century” cast a shadow across the nation on Monday, August 21, but not on Mrs. Jackson’s 100th Birthday, which she celebrated that day. She informed Our Time Press she spent the day in her Massachusetts apartment with her daughters, and is looking forward to a gathering of friends this coming Saturday at The W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African-American Research.
The former resident of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn – for more than 50 years — is a pivotal figure in Black history. Her work spans the 1930’s through the present, and includes involvement in the National Negro Congress, the fight against Fascism in World War II, the Southern Negro Youth Congress and the emergence of the 1960’s Civil Rights, Black Power and Peace Movements.
She was born and later raised in Arlington, Virginia, the daughter of an activist mother and teacher who served in the northern Virginia branch and president of the NAACP, and was an engraver and career Army officer. After graduating from Oberlin College (1938), she earned a master’s degree in sociology (1940) from Fisk University. She met her husband, fellow activist James E. Jackson, while working for the Southern Negro Youth Congress Voting Project in Birmingham, Alabama. At SNYC, she served as executive secretary and registered voters and fought for equal housing and employment opportunities. Mr. Jackson was a founder of the organization. They married in 1941.
For the 66 years of their marriage until his death in 2007, the Jacksons were considered mainstays of the struggle for African-American equality.
The Jacksons came to New York City in 1952, and later co-founded — with Shirley Graham DuBois, W.E.B. DuBois and Louis E. Burnham – (and later deemed managing editor of) Freedomways: A Quarterly Review of the Freedom Movement (1961-1986), a journal that featured the early literary and political writings by luminaries such as DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Paul Robeson, Alice Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and many others. The magazine also featured covers by such artists as Romare Beardon, Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett.
It is reported that “the publication was an important link between the northern and southern movements for civil rights. The publication enjoyed a national and international readership”.
Their lives and work are captured in Sara Rzeszutek Haviland’s 2015 book, “James and Esther Cooper Jackson: Love and Courage in the Black Freedom Movement”.
Mrs. Jackson was a co-editor of W.E.B. DuBois: Black Titan and Paul Robeson: The Great Forerunner. She penned such articles as “This is My Husband: Fighter for His People, Political Refugee” and “The Negro Woman Domestic Worker in Relation to Trade Unionism”.
In 1984, she received an Excellence in Journalism and Communications Award from the National Alliance of Third World Journalists. In 1989, the New York Association of Black Journalists presented her a Lifetime Achievement Award.
On March 29, 2010, she was honored at the “Phenomenal Women in Media” Awards ceremony at the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center in Brooklyn. The award, named after community activist Hattie Carthan, was bestowed on Mrs. Jackson for her “lifelong commitment to telling the stories of the African-American experience and connecting young people to their history and legacy”.
On October 16, 2014, Mrs. Jackson received an award from the National Domestic Workers Alliance at a conference on “Justice in the Home: Domestic Work, Past, Present and Future”. The conference at the Barnard Center for Research on Women was held almost 75 years after her ground-breaking study on improving the working conditions of Black domestic workers.
On May 8, 2015, the New York chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) presented her with its Presidential Trailblazer Award for her “outstanding contributions to the Civil Rights Movement”.
And at the end of 2005, the Jacksons signed an agreement with the Tamiment Library at New York University, setting the stage for the library to preserve the couple’s papers and other archival material and make them available for study, research and public exhibition by scholars and others.
Before relocating to Massachusetts, Mrs. Jackson left great gifts of learning materials for all ages at various institutions. She reports that papers, correspondence, classic artwork by Black masters, signed first-edition rare books and other materials from her vast archives were given to Medgar Evers College, City University of New York. NYU’s Tamiment Library and the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives contains Esther Cooper Jackson’s notes, clippings and correspondence with many African-American progressives, historians and other researchers, including Robeson biographer Martin Duberman. The Brooklyn Historical Society, Schomburg and many universities are repositories for her interviews.
