Channing Dungey: First African-American to head a broadcast TV network

The president of the ABC Entertainment Group is departing amid low ratings, to be replaced by the first African-American to head a broadcast TV network.

Paul Lee's successor is Channing Dungey, who has been ABC's executive vice-president for drama development, movies and miniseries, the Walt Disney Co.-owned network said Wednesday. Dungey shepherded ABC hits including "Scandal," ''How to Get Away with Murder" and "Quantico."

Dungey is both the first black network programming chief and a rare female executive. Change has come faster for women than minorities in the TV executive ranks, with Jennifer Salke serving as NBC's entertainment president and, at Fox Television Group, Dana Walden sharing chair and CEO duties with Gary Newman.

Dungey, a graduate of UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, has been with ABC since 2004, starting with ABC Studios. Previously, she worked at production companies and as a production executive at Warner Bros., handling films including "Bridges of Madison County" and "The Matrix."

[SOURCE]

Why Black Lives Matter skipped meeting with President Obama

On February 18 President Obama meet with several African American civil rights leaders. The White House billed the meeting as as a first-of-its kind gathering of veteran leaders, young activists, and the leader of the free world. Black Lives Matter was also invited but declined to attend the meeting. The groups co-founder Aislinn Pulley wrote the following statement as to why they refused in an op-ed posted at http://www.truth-out.org/

I respectfully declined the invitation to the White House to discuss criminal legal reform and to celebrate Black History Month. I was under the impression that a meeting was being organized to facilitate a genuine exchange on the matters facing millions of Black and Brown people in the United States. Instead, what was arranged was basically a photo opportunity and a 90-second sound bite for the president. I could not, with any integrity, participate in such a sham that would only serve to legitimize the false narrative that the government is working to end police brutality and the institutional racism that fuels it. For the increasing number of families fighting for justice and dignity for their kin slain by police, I refuse to give its perpetrators and enablers political cover by making an appearance among them.

Read Aislinn Pulley's full op-ed here" Black Struggle Is Not a Sound Bite: Why I Refused to Meet With President Obama

WGPR: First Black Owned TV Station

WGPR-TV (Where God’s Presence Radiates) was the first television station in the United States owned and operated by African Americans. The station, located in Detroit, Michigan, was founded by William Venoid Banks. WGPR-TV marketed toward the urban audience in Detroit, Michigan, which in that market meant programming for the African American community.

WGPR-TV first aired on September 29, 1975 on channel 62 in Detroit, Michigan. Station founder William Venoid Banks was a Detroit attorney, minister and prominent member of the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, an organization he founded in 1950. The Masons owned the majority of stock in WGPR-TV. The station initially broadcast religious shows, R&B music shows, off-network dramas, syndicated shows and older cartoons.

It was Banks’ vision that WGPR-TV provide African Americans with crucial training and experience in the television industry, allowing many local blacks the opportunity to work "behind the camera" in producing, directing and other roles which placed content on air. The station aired some locally-produced programming including Big City News, The Scene, and Arab Voice of Detroit.

Big City News was a Monday through Friday newscast that aimed to focus on community activities from the African American perspective, showcasing positive “success stories.” It was discontinued in 1992. The Scene, a nightly dance show that offered young Detroiters an opportunity to display their musical and dance talents, ran from 1975 to 1987. It still enjoys a cult following of viewers and former dancers. Arab Voice of Detroit was a public affairs show directed toward the significant Arab American population in Detroit and its suburbs.

Whatever its popularity among blacks in the television industry, WGPR-TV failed to attract a large audience outside the African American community. Even within that community, it competed with larger stations that after 1975 offered more programs directed toward African Americans. After 1980, the station faced its most powerful competition in the Black Entertainment Television (BET). Moreover with its 800,000 watt signal compared with 2 million watts for major Detroit TV stations, WGPR-TV never reached an audience beyond the city of Detroit. By the 1990s WGPR aired primarily reruns and infomercials.

On July 25, 1995, WGPR-TV was sold to CBS amid controversy from the black community, which felt that the station should remain under African American management. The Masons in particular were criticized for selling the station to a mainstream network. Two months later, CBS changed the television station name to WWJ-TV and targeted its programming for a general audience.

[SOURCE]

‘Roots’ Remake to Premiere on Memorial Day, First Trailer Released

The “Roots” remake from A+E Studios will premiere this Memorial Day. The first full trailer for the high-anticipated event series was released on Thursday. Watch that trailer below.

The eight-hour project will air over four consecutive nights at 9 p.m. beginning on Monday, May 30 on History, A&E and Lifetime.

The A-list cast includes Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anika Noni Rose, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Matthew Goode, Mekhi Phifer, James Purefoy, Regé-Jean Page and Malachi Kirby.

Joseph Hayne Rainey: First African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives

Joseph Hayne Rainey (June 21, 1832 – August 1, 1887) was an American politician. He was the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives, the second black person to serve in the United States Congress (U.S. Senator Hiram Revels was the first), and the first black presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Born into slavery in South Carolina, he was freed in the 1840s by his father purchasing the freedom of his entire family and himself. Revels and Rainey were both members of the Republican Party.

In 1870, Rainey was elected to the State Senate of South Carolina and became chair of the Finance Committee. He served only a short time as that year he won a special election as a Republican to fill a vacancy in the Forty-first Congress of the United States. This vacancy had been created when the House refused to seat Benjamin F. Whittemore, the incumbent. He had been censured by the House for corruption but re-elected.

Rainey was seated December 12, 1870 and was re-elected to Congress, serving a total of four terms. Serving until March 3, 1879, he established a record of length of service for a black Congressman that was not surpassed until that of William L. Dawson of Chicago in the 1950s. He supported legislation that became known as the Enforcement Acts, to suppress the violent activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

Eric Garner's daughter releases ad for Bernie Sanders.

Erica Garner stars in a new four-minute campaign ad for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, in an effort to spread Sanders's millennial success across all races.

Don't miss the ESPN Black History Month Special : Rise UP 02/14/2016

The centerpiece of ESPN’s Black History Month programming, Rise Up: A SportsCenter Special, airs Sunday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m.(EST) on ESPN. In the one-hour program, four segments will feature prominent African-Americans in a direct and intimate conversation sharing firsthand accounts of the events in the news cycle that impacted their lives. The topics include Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls on rising up against gun violence; Missouri football captain Ian Simon on rising up against authority; former pro tennis player James Blake on rising up against racial profiling; and ballet star Misty Copeland on rising up against prejudice. Following each segment, a brief discussion of the significance of the subject will be held among reporters, analysts and editors from ESPN and other media outlets. The panelists include Scoop Jackson, ESPN.com/ESPN the Magazine and LZ Grandersen, ESPN/ABC (Gibson); William Rhoden, New York Times and Maria Taylor, SEC Network (Missouri football); Howard Bryant, ESPN.com/ESPN the Magazine and Chris Haynes, Cleveland.com (Blake); and Alison Overholt, ESPN the Magazine/espnW and Kelley Carter, The Undefeated (Copeland).

2016 ESPN Black History Month Special: Rise Up: A SportsCenter Special from ESPNFrontRow on Vimeo.

Bernie Sanders challenged at Black America Forum

During a Black America Forum in Minneapolis Bernie Sanders was challenged by a woman who believes he has a reluctance to speak on specific black issues, and his habit of speaking in generalities when he does discuss those issues that do effect African Americans. Watch that exchange below.

George Edwin Taylor: First African American to run for President of the U.S.

Taylor and other independent-minded African Americans in 1904 jonied the first national political party created exclusively for and by blacks, the National Liberty Party (NLP). The Party met at its national convention in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904 with delegates from thirty-six states. When the Party's candidate for president ended up in an Illinois jail, the NLP Executive Committee approached Taylor, asking him to be the party's candidate.

While Taylor’s campaign attracted little attention, the Party's platform had a national agenda: universal suffrage regardless of race; Federal protection of the rights of all citizens; Federal anti-lynching laws; additional black regiments in the U.S. Army; Federal pensions for all former slaves; government ownership and control of all public carriers to ensure equal accommodations for all citizens; and home rule for the District of Columbia. Taylor’s presidential race was quixotic.

In an interview published in The Sun (New York, November 20, 1904), he observed that while he knew whites thought his candidacy was a “joke,” he believed that an independent political party that could mobilize the African American vote was the only practical way that blacks could exercise political influence. On election day, Taylor received a scattering of votes.

The 1904 campaign was Taylor's last foray into politics. He remained in Iowa until 1910 when he moved to Jacksonville. There he edited a succession of newspapers and was director of the African American branch of the local YMCA. He was married three times but had no children. George Edwin Taylor died in Jacksonville on December 23, 1925.

City of Cleveland: No Ambulance Charge to Tamir Rice's Family

Cleveland's mayor and other city officials apologized Thursday for asking for reimbursement from Tamir Rice's family for the medical services he received after he was fatally shot by a police officer. The claim has no been withdrawn.

Rep. Keith Ellison: The Congressional Black Caucus did not endorse Hillary Clinton

Yes Hillary Clinton received an endorsement from the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, but congressman Keith Ellison wants us to know the PAC is not the same thing as the Congressional Black Caucus. Bernie Sanders supporter, Rep. Keith Ellison made that point on Twitter.

Cong'l Black Caucus (CBC) has NOT endorsed in presidential. Separate CBCPAC endorsed withOUT input from CBC membership, including me.

— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) February 11, 2016

Congressional Black Caucus PAC Endorses Clinton

Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton received an endorsement from the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee Thursday ahead of primaries in the South.

Did you know that William Henry Hastie was the first black federal judge?

Hastie received a BA from Amherst, where he finished first in his class, and then received a law degree (1930) from Harvard, becoming the second African American to serve on the Harvard Law Review. He then taught at Howard University Law School, where he worked with his friend, Charles Hamilton Houston, and his student, Thurgood Marshall, among others, to develop legal challenges to segregation. In private practice, as part of the law firm Houston, Houston, and Hastie, he argued a number of civil rights cases.

In 1933, Hastie was appointed Assistant Solicitor in the Department of the Interior by President Franklin Roosevelt, and in 1937 Roosevelt appointed him judge of the Federal District Court in the Virgin Islands, making him the country's first African-American federal magistrate. He left that position in 1939 to become Dean of Howard Law School. In 1941 Hastie became an aide to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and worked to reform the military's segregationist policies. But Hastie resigned from that position in 1943 to protest the military's entrenched “reactionary policies and discriminatory practices.” That year he was awarded the Springarn Medal “for his distinguished career as jurist and as an uncompromising champion of equal justice.”

In 1946, Hastie became the first African-American governor of the Virgin Islands, and in 1949 President Truman appointed him judge of the Third United States Circuit Court of Appeals, making him the first African American to be appointed as a federal circuit judge.

U.S. Justice Dept. sue Ferguson to force police reform

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri after their city council rejected a consent decree seeking to reform their police and municipal court system. The city and the federal government reached an agreement.

Freedom's Journal: First African-American owned-and-operated newspaper

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Freedom's Journal was the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. Founded by Rev. Peter Williams, Jr. and other free black men in New York City, it was published weekly starting with the 16 March 1827 issue.

Freedom's Journal provided international, national, and regional information on current events. Its editorials opposed slavery and other injustices. It also discussed current issues, such as the proposal by the American Colonization Society to resettle free blacks in Liberia, a colony established for that purpose in West Africa.

The Journal published biographies of prominent blacks, and listings of the births, deaths, and marriages in the African-American community in New York, helping celebrate their achievements. It circulated in 11 states, the District of Columbia, Haiti, Europe, and Canada.

Ben Carson does horribly in New Hampshire Primary

Republican primary candidate, Ben Carson wasn't expected to do well in the New Hampshire primary because he didn't spend time there, had little to no organization, or ground game and as expected, he did horribly.

Among major Republican candidates, he came in last beating only former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore who many don't even know is running. Although a historic number of New Hampshire voters turned out, Carson received less than 3% of the vote. (I'm being nice because at the time of this writing it was closer to 2%)

Earlier today Dr. Carson discussed being willing to run with Donald Trumps as his VP choice. Seeing as that is now unlikely, he should be looking to end his campaign and get that conservative talk show that he has coming on Fox News or conservative talk radio.

Former NAACP President Ben Jealous endorses Bernie Sanders

MANCHESTER, N.H. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders Friday picked up the endorsement of former NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous.

“Bernie Sanders has been principled, courageous and consistent in fighting the evils that Dr. King referred to as the ‘giant triplets’ of racism, militarism and greed,” Jealous said. “Bernie Sanders has the courage to confront the institutionalized bias that stains our nation. Bernie Sanders is the type of leader we can trust to fight for the future of all our nation’s children as if they were his very own. It is for all these reasons that I am proud to endorse Bernie Sanders for president of these United States.”

Jealous was the youngest-ever president of the century-old NAACP, serving from 2008 to 2013. He’s credited with leading the storied civil rights group back to prominence.

“I think the proposals that we have brought forth in this campaign are proposals that will go a very, very long way to improving the lives of people of color in this nation,” Sanders said. The senator cited raising the minimum wage, ensuring pay equity for women, creating millions of decent paying jobs, Medicare for all and tuition-free public colleges and universities among the plans he’s put forward that would directly impact communities of color.

Jealous will travel to South Carolina on Saturday for a series of campaign stops and events throughout the Palmetto State.

To read Ben Jealous’ prepared remarks, click here.

Bessie Coleman: First Black female airplane pilot

Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, and is popularly known as "Queen Bess." She was the first Black woman to become an airplane pilot, and the first American woman to hold an international pilot license.

Read more about Bessie Coleman here: http://blackhistory.com/content/61906/bessie-coleman

Did you know that Wilberforce University was the first HBCU?

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Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically black university (HBCU) located in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates in the United Negro College Fund.

The founding of the college was unique as a collaboration in 1856 by the Cincinnati, Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). They planned a college to provide classical education and teacher training for black youth. Leaders of both races made up the first board members.

When the number of students fell due to the American Civil War and financial losses closed the college in 1863, the AME Church purchased the institution to ensure its survival. Its first president, AME Bishop Daniel A. Payne, was one of the original founders. Prominent supporters and the US government donated funds for rebuilding after a fire in 1865. When the college added an industrial department in the late 19th century, state legislators could sponsor scholarship students.

The college attracted the top professors of the day, including W. E. B. Du Bois. In the 19th century, it enlarged its mission to include students from South Africa. The university supports the national Association of African American Museums to broaden the reach of its programs and assist smaller museums with professional standards.

Did you know that Art Shell was the first black NFL head coach?

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NFL Hall of Famer, Art Shell was a third-round draft pick in 1968. He played on Oakland’s special teams for two seasons and then became the team’s starting offensive left tackle. During the 1970s, Shell was a key part of the Raiders’ notoriously intimidating offense. While Shell was a player, the Raiders played in 23 post-season games, including eight AFL/AFC championships, and won the Super Bowl twice. Shell himself played in eight Pro Bowl games and was a first- or second-team All-Pro every year from 1973 to 1978.

Shell retired from football after one season in L.A. In 1989, he returned to the Raiders as a coach. He was the first black man in modern football history to become the head coach of an NFL team. In five seasons, Shell’s Raiders went 56-41. They went to the playoffs four times and to the AFC championship game once. But in the 1994 season, the team could only manage a 9-7 record, and Shell lost