Esther Jones was the real Betty Boop

The iconic cartoon character Betty Boop was inspired by a Black jazz singer in Harlem. Introduced by cartoonist Max Fleischer in 1930, the caricature of the jazz age flapper was the first and most famous sex symbol in animation. Betty Boop is best known for her revealing dress, curvaceous figure, and signature vocals “Boop Oop A Doop!” While there has been controversy over the years, the inspiration has been traced back to Esther Jones who was known as “Baby Esther” and performed regularly in the Cotton Club during the 1920s.

Baby Esther’s trademark vocal style of using “boops” and other childlike scat sounds attracted the attention of actress Helen Kane during a performance in the late 1920s. After seeing Baby Esther, Helen Kane adopted her style and began using “boops” in her songs as well. Finding fame early on, Helen Kane often included this “baby style” into her music. When Betty Boop was introduced, Kane promptly sued Fleischer and Paramount Publix Corporation stating they were using her image and style. However video evidence came to light of Baby Esther performing in a nightclub and the courts ruled against Helen Kane stating she did not have exclusive rights to the “booping” style or image, and that the style, in fact, pre-dated her.

Baby Esther’s “baby style” did little to bring her mainstream fame and she died in relative obscurity but a piece of her lives on in the iconic character Betty Boop.

Before there was Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin

Most people think of Rosa Parks as the first person to refuse to give up their seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. There were actually several women who came before her; one of whom was Claudette Colvin.

It was March 2, 1955, when the fifteen-year-old schoolgirl refused to move to the back of the bus, nine months before Rosa Parks’ stand that launched the Montgomery bus boycott. Claudette had been studying Black leaders like Harriet Tubman in her segregated school, those conversations had led to discussions around the current day Jim Crow laws they were all experiencing. When the bus driver ordered Claudette to get up, she refused, “It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn't get up."

Claudette Colvin’s stand didn’t stop there. Arrested and thrown in jail, she was one of four women who challenged the segregation law in court. If Browder v. Gayle became the court case that successfully overturned bus segregation laws in both Montgomery and Alabama, why has Claudette’s story been largely forgotten? At the time, the NAACP and other Black organizations felt Rosa Parks made a better icon for the movement than a teenager. As an adult with the right look, Rosa Parks was also the secretary of the NAACP, and was both well-known and respected – people would associate her with the middle class and that would attract support for the cause. But the struggle to end segregation was often fought by young people, more than half of which were women.

Historical Newspapers Edited by Frederick Douglass Now Online

Newspapers edited by Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery in 1838 and became a voice for abolitionists as a journalist, orator, and author, have been digitized and are now available online from the Library of Congress.

The collection is comprised of 568 issues of three weekly newspaper titles dating between 1847 and 1874: The North Star in Rochester, New York, Frederick Douglass’ Paper in Rochester, New York, and New National Era in Washington, D.C. The collection is online at: loc.gov/collections/frederick-douglass-newspapers/about-this-collection.

Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in February 1818 and was enslaved, working on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. After escaping slavery in 1838, Douglass went on to become a leading voice for the abolitionist movement through his oratory, his autobiographical slave narratives, and his newspapers.

The North Star, Douglass’ first anti-slavery paper, was named as such for the star Polaris, which helped guide slaves to freedom in the North. Douglass merged this paper with the Liberty Party Paper in June of 1851, creating Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Douglass added a monthly supplement to this paper, Douglass’ Monthly, before ending the weekly edition altogether to focus on the impending Civil War and, after the war began, on recruitment and acceptance of black troops. The New National Era came about during the Reconstruction era but was relatively short-lived and handed over to Douglass’ sons, Lewis and Frederick Jr.

Douglass held a strong belief in the significance of the African American press on the issue of abolition and assumed a leadership role in journalism, despite the struggles of earlier black newspapers. He covered issues focused on ending slavery, empowering African Americans and improving the equality of African Americans, as well as supporting women’s rights.

Highlights of the collection include:

• An explanation of the title of The North Star to act as “the star of hope” in its first issue published Dec. 3, 1847;
• A first-hand account written by Douglass of the Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York published in The North Star, July 28, 1848;
• A letter from Gerrit Smith, a wealthy abolitionist and Liberty Party supporter, published in the first issue of the Frederick Douglass’ Paper on June 26, 1851.
• An “Address to the Voters of the United States,” featured on the front page of Frederick Douglass’ Paper, July 31, 1851.
• Countless articles denouncing bigotry and violence against African Americans published in the New National Era from 1870-1874.

In June of 1872, a fire devastated Douglass’ Rochester, New York home. While his wife Anna and family members survived the fire, 16 volumes containing The North Star, Frederick Douglass’ Paper, and Douglass’ Monthly were lost in the fire. While no complete collection of Douglass’ newspapers is available, the Library of Congress preserves a large collection of his weekly newspapers, now available online.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States – and extensive materials from around the world – both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

Katrina VanderWoude Appointed President of Los Angeles Trade Technical College

Katrina VanderWoude has been chosen to be the next president of Los Angeles Trade Technical College. She is scheduled to take office on February 24.

Los Angles Trade Technical College enrolls more than 13,000 students, according to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education. The vast majority of students are African Americans or Hispanic Americans.

In 2018, Dr. Vanderwoude was named the 12th permanent president of Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California, north of Oakland. She was placed on administrative leave and later resigned her position after nine months in that position. Previously, she was vice president for academic affairs at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California. Earlier, she was vice provost at Rochester College in Michigan.

Dr. VanderWoude is a graduate of Michigan State University, with degrees in social work and psychology. She earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University.

[SOURCE: JBHE]

Kobe Bryant Memorial Ceremony: Too Big for the Staples Center

Plans for a public Kobe Bryant memorial ceremony are underway. While no official details of the date or location have been confirmed yet, one issue was apparently raised at a meeting to make arrangements for the event: while the Staples Center, known as the “House that Kobe Built,” is the intuitive place to stage the ceremony, it may simply not be large enough to accommodate the outpouring of public grief that organizers are anticipating.

TMZ reports that the L.A. Memorial Coliseum appears to be under consideration as a venue. The Coliseum is able to hold 80,000 people in the stands, and the surrounding parks could be used for overflow if needed. The Staples Center, by contrast, only holds 20,000 spectators inside. The TMZ post says that the Rose Bowl was brought up as a possibility, but while the capacity is larger, it seems the plan is to keep the event within the city of Los Angeles, rather than ask mourners to travel out to Pasadena.

In April, Staples hosted the public memorial service of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle. Tickets to attend the event were distributed within minutes of becoming available, and crowds spilled out into the L.A. Live plaza for hours.

[SOURCE: LAMAG]