This Is What Happens When Black People Get $25 Million
Black historic sites will soon get a facelift thanks to a $25 million initiative.
In November 2017, The National Trust For Historic Preservation launched The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), a $25 million multi-year initiative that seeks to preserve and protect African-American historic sites.
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And they’ve tapped a Black national treasure to be the Fund’s ambassador: Phylicia Rashad.
President and CEO of The National Trust, Stephanie Meeks, said we have an obligation to preserve “places which tell the often-overlooked stories of African-Americans.”
Not only will the initiative restore sites, but it will also research how preserving historic sites impact Black communities.
An arm of The National Trust also started Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE Crew), another initiative dedicated to teaching the youth about once forgotten Black history stories.
Black leaders in the arts, business, government, and academic sector will make up the advisory board for the fund. President of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, will serve as its chairman.
This news comes after a tumultuous summer where debates around Confederate statues reached a fever pitch. Some Confederate statues have come down and talks of replacing them with more uplifting figures have sprung.
“Without a thorough reckoning with the complex and difficult history of our country, especially when it comes to race, we will not be able to overcome intolerance, injustice, and inequality,” says Walker.
The Fund will start by restoring Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, Virginia, the second largest marketplace for enslaved Africans and Mountain View Black Officers’ Club in Arizona, the only World War II era social club for Black military personnel.
Currently, both are in danger of demolition.
Aside from the new initiative, grassroots efforts to preserve Black historic sites have happened in the past. We look back to when Langston Hughes’ home was facing gentrification, and author Renee Watson launched an Indiegogo to save it.
There are many other Black historic sites you can check out in African American Historic Places.
When Osaze Osagie’s dad called the police, worried that his son was experiencing some issues with his mental health, he thought they’d help his son. Sadly, he was wrong.
Instead of checking in, the police coldly killed Osaze.
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The cops are saying Osaze came at them with a knife, but we’ve all heard that one before. And what was Osaze supposedly doing with this alleged knife that warranted the police deciding to TAKE HIS LIFE?
Needless to say, this has been very upsetting for the Black community in State College as well as Osaze’s own family. Especially since the names of the officers involved were not released and details were kept quiet. People have protested, making demands for the officers to be FIRED, but so far the local council has only responded with “diversity” and “community initiatives.”
Diversity and inclusion with police cannot continue to be the only reaction whenever police officers KILL someone for no reason. When officers are never held responsible for carelessly taking lives, the problem persists. And Osaze DESERVED BETTER than this.
Before I Let Go
DJ! Drop that “Woahoohwoooahhooo” and let’s all experience the Black joy that this line dance-ready staple brings forth.
Beyoncé just released her own version of this Black family gathering classic, but can you even host a summer cookout without the 1981 original?
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Joy and Pain
There hasn’t been a Saturday morning that didn’t include open windows and a Black matriarch blasting “Joy And Pain” all throughout the house since 1980.
Get that spring cleaning done in record time.
Can’t Get Over You
Heartache hurts. This 1989 classic makes it hurt a little less. Stay strong, fam. We feel your pain.
Golden Time Of Day
Get your two-step and sway on to this slow groove. This song has a gentle melody and relaxed tempo that will be the perfect background music for your next road trip.
While I’m Alone
We can’t prove it, but there’s something about “While I’m Alone” that, if played while making a meal, makes the food come out better. This song needs to be on your cooking playlist tonight! Chop some herbs, sprinkle some spices, and sneak a bite to Maze’s 1989 hit.
In 2018, North Carolina broke its own record for jail deaths. Forty-four people died while in the state’s custody. This is the highest amount since the state started recording in 1997.
Black people are overrepresented in North Carolina’s prisons and jails. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Black people are more than DOUBLY represented in the state population inside prisons and jails at 55%.
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Previously, when a sick prisoner made it to the hospital before passing away, jails didn’t have to report it.
Now, while the increase of jail deaths can be credited to better reporting after recent changes to the law, this mortality rate is still disturbing.
Aside from better reporting, people dying in jail are often those with mental health issues and those battling addiction. At least 12 of the inmates are people who reportedly committed suicide.
It’s EASY for Black people to end up in jail without having done anything wrong at all! Whether it’s a racist officer, being unable to pay bail, or even if someone did make a mistake, jail shouldn’t be a death sentence. Ever.
In 1945, John Johnson created Ebony (and later Jet) to capture the strength, beauty, and complex existences experienced by Black people from cover to cover.
Full-color spreads gave Black celebrities and personalities opportunities to shine on covers and celebrate their talents, passion for community work, as well as to share their most intimate thoughts on Black issues.
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Our heroes were provided a platform whenother publications refused to allow us to be seen — a move that cultivated the worldview of readers.
And who could forget Ebony Fashion Fair?
Before Fenty Beauty, Ebony Fashion Fair Cosmetics was the first makeup product that offered a spectrum of deep shades catering to the color range of Black women’s skin.
The Johnson empire was not here for any attempts to whitewash our beauty.
Even in the area of civil rights, Johnson never flinched.
Their gut-wrenching journalism surrounding the Emmett Till murder (complete with images from his open-casket funeral) showcased the brutality of racism and a commitment to the liberation of our communities.
As the company acknowledged in a statement following the proceedings, “the incredible legacy and impact of Johnson Publishing Company will always be honored and hold a proud place in the [Black] experience.”
Born in Ghana and raised in London, Darren Tenkorang had tons of childhood memories of visits made to his local barbershop with his father. These community spaces were always filled with joy and laughter… but HOURS were spent waiting for an actual haircut.
In today’s faster-paced world, that type of wait won’t cut it. And thus the “Trim-It” van was born.
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Tenkorang, now 24, and co-founder Nana Darko hit gold with Trim-It - a mobile barbershop-on-wheels in London. One must simply download the app and book an appointment.
To the BBC, Tenkorang put it this way: “My service is like Deliveroo, or Uber eats, but instead of delivering food, we deliver haircuts.”
Just as you’d see in a barbershop, the back of the van is adorned with all the fixings you need for a bomb haircut. Clippers, mirror, hairdryer, buckets filled with an assortment of scissors - and, of course, a bench for friends and an AUX cord for music, keeping alive the vibrant spirit of the traditional barbershop.
Trim-It is the response to millennials on-the-go, and otherwise busy folks, who don’t have the time to wait hours for a haircut.
Thanks to this Black entrepreneur, we can bring the energy of the barbershop anywhere we want, even straight to our doorsteps.
30-year-old Annie Nyaga was a newly minted biomedical science graduate with the opportunity to study for a Master’s in the United States - but she gave it all up to pursue farming!
She made farming an official career shortly after starting a job in Nairobi, Kenya. She quit because “it was boring.” Now, she’s a successful farmer where she grows watermelons, tomatoes, and other crops.
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Getting a leg up in farming was not easy and Nyaga put in hard work, trying various seed varieties of watermelon, investing in machinery like water pump for irrigation, and hiring staff to look after the crops on the farm.
But she’s CEO of her own company, Farm2Home, and makes a net profit of 600,000 Kenyan shillings (about $6,000) every three months.
Even more than the money, Nyaga is working to change the perception of farming in Kenya, that it is for older or non-college educated folks: “This mental picture has to change. Agriculture is diverse and interesting and young people ought to view it differently if we are to develop.”
Annie Nyaga shows that when we are true to ourselves and nurture our passions and talents, then we make for better people and communities!