Articles/Freelance Writing
Malcolm, as Told by Malcolm: In the Premiere of The Smithsonian Channel’s Lost Tapes: Malcolm X
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The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAACH) celebrated the life and legacy of Malcolm X last Wednesday, January 31, 2018. The premiere screening of the Smithsonian Channel’s “Lost Tapes: Malcolm X” hosted by Comcast, The Smithsonian Channel, and NMAACH was an honorable prelude to Black History Month.
During the reception, people conversed with and took pictures alongside Malcolm X’s daughters Ilyasah, Malaak, and Qubilah Shabazz. Malcolm’s third daughter, Ilyasah emphasized that the best way to contribute to her father’s legacy is through the preservation of African American History.
“One of the best ways we can contribute to my father’s legacy as African Americans are honoring our ancestors and understanding our culture. We must preserve and correct the inaccuracies of our history,” says Shabazz.Inside the Oprah Winfrey Theater, representatives from Comcast, journalists, media correspondents, spectators, and the film’s producers sat in anticipation of the debut. Some of the guests included Executive Producer and Emmy and Peabody Award winner Tom Jennings, Executive Producer John Cavanagh, and WUSA9 reporter, Bruce Johnson. “This is different than a lot of other documentaries just in general, in that there is no narration and no interviews. The story is told with speeches from Malcolm, press conferences, and media reports. The first thing people will take away is they are going to get to hear a lot more of what Malcolm had to say. His beliefs were his life,” says Jennings.
The first six rows of tan leather seats had reserved on them, sectioned off for the three daughters and their family and friends.Before the film Ilyasah Shabazz, the author of Growing Up X, Malcolm Little, and most recently Betty Before X spoke briefly about her article she wrote for the New York Times in 2015 “What Would Malcolm X Think?” Where she wrote, “The key to creating change is a critical mass of ready and angry people whose passion doesn’t ebb and flow with the news cycle.”
The lights dimmed. As the film played, there were moments of laughter, gasps, and silent sadness. Across the room, people shook their heads nodding in affirmation of Malcolm’s words. Jennings was successful in achieving his goal.“We hoped to capture this corner of American history in the early 1960s when the Nation of Islam introduced Malcolm X as the number two person and he is rising to prominence and notoriety. Malcolm addresses that the promises made to every American have not been kept, people were fed up and that’s what he was expressing we’re fed up and it’s time to change the narrative,” says Jennings.
The audience is privy to the life of Malcolm X, through the eyes of Malcolm X and other prominent Black leaders. Some of these leaders include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) and Ossie Davis. His journey in the Civil Rights movement is shown as a progression from the way he thinks, and the combination of him learning and simultaneously teaching.
The absence of a narrator from the film alleviates the distraction of what some might perceive as an embedded opinion, guiding the thoughts of the viewers. Instead, Malcolm’s voice is the consistent backdrop for communicating and defending his own opinions and ideas.“In this film, you will see speeches that run for three minutes long. It just plays, you will get the sense of who he was as a speaker and public figure,” says Jennings
“By any means necessary,” is the extent to which Malcolm X is associated with. Executive producer John Cavanagh prior to his work on this film only had the knowledge of what he learned about Malcolm X in high school. “This film provided me with a new outlook and added more to the conversation,” says Cavanagh.
In many schools, the history of Malcolm is taught in relation to Martin Luther King Jr. MLK being non-violent and Malcolm X being violent. The parallel is emphasized in the film. However, the dialogue goes beyond the portrayal which is consistently misrepresented.
After the film, a panel discussion was held between Tom Jennings and the museum curator of NMAAHC Damion Thomas moderated by Bruce Johnson. Bruce Johnson asked Jennings “Was it hard to produce this film being a white man?” “Being a white man served as a tremendous disadvantage because I knew I had the responsibility to get it right,” says Jennings.
A man from the audience during the comments section mentioned that he felt the film did not provide enough context to the historical events taking place in correlation with what Malcolm X was doing.
However, any audience member whether they have an extensive knowledge of Malcolm X or no prior knowledge will be able to take something away from this film. They will have the opportunity to be enlightened and gain an appreciation for Malcolm X as a man and revolutionary. “In honoring him [Malcolm], we honor the best in ourselves,” Ossie Davis. The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X will premiere on the Smithsonian Channel February 26, 2018, at 8 PM
“One of the best ways we can contribute to my father’s legacy as African Americans are honoring our ancestors and understanding our culture. We must preserve and correct the inaccuracies of our history,” says Shabazz.Inside the Oprah Winfrey Theater, representatives from Comcast, journalists, media correspondents, spectators, and the film’s producers sat in anticipation of the debut. Some of the guests included Executive Producer and Emmy and Peabody Award winner Tom Jennings, Executive Producer John Cavanagh, and WUSA9 reporter, Bruce Johnson. “This is different than a lot of other documentaries just in general, in that there is no narration and no interviews. The story is told with speeches from Malcolm, press conferences, and media reports. The first thing people will take away is they are going to get to hear a lot more of what Malcolm had to say. His beliefs were his life,” says Jennings.
The first six rows of tan leather seats had reserved on them, sectioned off for the three daughters and their family and friends.Before the film Ilyasah Shabazz, the author of Growing Up X, Malcolm Little, and most recently Betty Before X spoke briefly about her article she wrote for the New York Times in 2015 “What Would Malcolm X Think?” Where she wrote, “The key to creating change is a critical mass of ready and angry people whose passion doesn’t ebb and flow with the news cycle.”
The lights dimmed. As the film played, there were moments of laughter, gasps, and silent sadness. Across the room, people shook their heads nodding in affirmation of Malcolm’s words. Jennings was successful in achieving his goal.“We hoped to capture this corner of American history in the early 1960s when the Nation of Islam introduced Malcolm X as the number two person and he is rising to prominence and notoriety. Malcolm addresses that the promises made to every American have not been kept, people were fed up and that’s what he was expressing we’re fed up and it’s time to change the narrative,” says Jennings.
The audience is privy to the life of Malcolm X, through the eyes of Malcolm X and other prominent Black leaders. Some of these leaders include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) and Ossie Davis. His journey in the Civil Rights movement is shown as a progression from the way he thinks, and the combination of him learning and simultaneously teaching.
The absence of a narrator from the film alleviates the distraction of what some might perceive as an embedded opinion, guiding the thoughts of the viewers. Instead, Malcolm’s voice is the consistent backdrop for communicating and defending his own opinions and ideas.“In this film, you will see speeches that run for three minutes long. It just plays, you will get the sense of who he was as a speaker and public figure,” says Jennings
“By any means necessary,” is the extent to which Malcolm X is associated with. Executive producer John Cavanagh prior to his work on this film only had the knowledge of what he learned about Malcolm X in high school. “This film provided me with a new outlook and added more to the conversation,” says Cavanagh.
In many schools, the history of Malcolm is taught in relation to Martin Luther King Jr. MLK being non-violent and Malcolm X being violent. The parallel is emphasized in the film. However, the dialogue goes beyond the portrayal which is consistently misrepresented.
After the film, a panel discussion was held between Tom Jennings and the museum curator of NMAAHC Damion Thomas moderated by Bruce Johnson. Bruce Johnson asked Jennings “Was it hard to produce this film being a white man?” “Being a white man served as a tremendous disadvantage because I knew I had the responsibility to get it right,” says Jennings.
A man from the audience during the comments section mentioned that he felt the film did not provide enough context to the historical events taking place in correlation with what Malcolm X was doing.
However, any audience member whether they have an extensive knowledge of Malcolm X or no prior knowledge will be able to take something away from this film. They will have the opportunity to be enlightened and gain an appreciation for Malcolm X as a man and revolutionary. “In honoring him [Malcolm], we honor the best in ourselves,” Ossie Davis. The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X will premiere on the Smithsonian Channel February 26, 2018, at 8 PM
Working in Silence: Why victims of sexual harassment in the workplace remain silent
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| In the Tower: Barbara Kruger |
The biggest question is why now?
Why not now?
Is it possible to think that this unveiling of sexual harassment is new? Is it ignorant to believe that all the data gleaned from the government websites might be an accurate representation of all the people that have faced sexual harassment in the workplace? A majority of the sexual misconduct that goes on at a professional level will probably never be revealed by victims and kept deep in their own memory banks. Victims remain silent.
We must also consider that sexual harassment goes beyond just the work place and that the current claims being brought to the surface are only an etching of the deep history of sexual harassment in the work place. It is important to recognize the pervasiveness of sexual misconduct.
“Sexual harassment is only unwelcome sexual conduct that is a term or condition of employment constitutes a violation. 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11(a).” As defined by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Recently Buzzfeed published an article that gives a breakdown of sexual harassment claims filed over the past 20 years filed across all industries and professions.
It is proven that the victim of sexual assault is most likely a woman. According to the EEOC of 83% of sexual harassment claims have been filed by women.
Victims remain silent because they believe there claim will rarely lead to any outcome.
“For most of American history, women silently endured mistreatment in the workplace, with little protection or recourse. During the 18th and 19th centuries, sexual coercion was a fact of life for female slaves in the South, as well as a common experience among free domestic workers in the North. In the early 20th century, women employed in new manufacturing and clerical positions confronted physical and verbal assaults from male supervisors. Union leadership was successful in enacting protective legislation that shielded women from performing physically demanding labor, but not from the propositions of lecherous bosses. By the 1920s, working women were advised to simply quit their jobs if they could not handle the inevitable sexual advances.” As reported by Time
Silence is a direct result of societal thinking that this behavior is just something that you get through. Each year over 50% of claims are dismissed because there has not been enough evidence to substantiate claims. According to the EEOC this is defined as “no reasonable cause” based upon the “evidence obtained in the investigations from 2010 to 2016
However, this puts the victim in a he said she said ordeal. This means that claims and allegations can only really be supported if there are witnesses to such behavior.
Numbers are not accounted for individual claims which have been filed within the workplace. The EEOC receiving the claim is the last resort, still some claims internally are never reported or fully resolved.
Victims remain silent because they do not want to be blamed.
During the testimony of Anita Hill’s against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991, Hill was put on trial just as much as Thomas. Confronted with uncomfortable questions, accusations undermining her own credibility. Unknowingly this trial may have set the precedent for many women of what it looks like when you allege sexual harassment against a person in power.
“Dominique Strauss- Kahn the former head of International Monetary Fund, was publicly accused of sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper, the housekeeper’s immigration status and credibility were viciously attacked.” said The Restaurants Opportunities Centers United
Victims remain silent because fear of being fired, or facing unwanted retaliation
Silence rest in the concern of losing a job, not getting a promotion, further harassment, and being unfairly evaluated.
According to the EEOC” nearly three-quarters of sexual harassment charges included allegations of retaliation, suggesting that many victims face retribution when they come forward or efforts to dissuade them from complaining”
Rather than staying in an uncomfortable situation and possibly facing further humiliation, most women make a statement by leaving.
Often women will leave the company rather than rather than making an official complaint, said Sahar Aziz, a law professor at Rutgers University who was part of the EEOC’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace.”
Victims remain silent because they are not aware the behavior they deal with is sexual harassment
Buzzfeed wrote “When employees were asked in randomly sampled surveys whether they had experienced sexual harassment at work, 25% answered yes, according to the EEOC task force’s study. That number rose to 40% when they were asked whether they had experienced “unwelcome sexually based behaviors” like unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion.”
Silence is can be the result of not understanding what is deemed as sexual misconduct. Is it okay if it just was one occurrence of unwelcomed advances or an uncomfortable joke? Having clearer guidelines on the determining factors of sexual harassment would alleviate much of the perplexity.
Victims remain silent because of shame
The shame and fear surrounding a terrible experience is one that most people probably do not want to relive or discuss. Time interviewed victims in Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers and they said, “The emotional and physical fallout from those advances,is described as wrestling with a palpable sense of shame.”
As a society it is important to break the silence by abolishing the milieu which has allowed victims to feel persecuted.To Whom It May Concern, Black Women Need to Know About PrEP Too
It is very clear that the demographic of people affected by HIV/AIDS can no longer be circumscribed to any particular gender. The same must be said for those who the medication to prevent HIV should be marketed to. African-American women account for 62% of aids prevalence among women according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is promising that Pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP/Truvada can decrease the cases added to this number. However, it is highly unlikely that a Black woman might learn about a medication such as this, which is not marketed to them. The lack of knowledge provided to a group so pervasively affected by the disease this medication seeks to prevent is an error and a form of oppression.
The CDC has found that Daily PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%. Among people who inject drugs, it reduces the risk by more than 70%. The risk of getting HIV from sex can be even lower if you combine PrEP with condoms and other prevention methods.
As cited by PBS in “Timeline: 30 Years of AIDS in Black America”, according to the CDC by December 1988 African Americans make up half the AIDS ever reported among women. This trend and statistic has been consistent for the past twenty-nine years. HIV/ AIDS is disproportionately affecting black women more than any other race. Should black women then be considered people at very high risk for HIV? The CDC specifically states that PrEP,” is when people at very high risk for HIV take HIV medicines daily to lower their chances of getting infected.” Why then are black woman being excluded from the conversation?
This medication is proactive rather than reactive. The medication PrEP is released into the blood stream, if exposed to HIV it should prevent the strand of HIV from multiplying itself, not infecting the person. In 2017 according to the Black Aids Institute, “Among Black women newly diagnosed with HIV in 2017, 91% acquired HIV through heterosexual contact.”
PrEP has been available since July 16, 2012. In July 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the daily use of Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus emtricitabine, or TDF/FTC) as PrEP. By 2015 Black women, heterosexual contact to be affected with new HIV diagnoses is at 4,142. The Black AIDS Institute states that “The sad reality is that Black people have been largely left behind every time a major scientific breakthrough in the fight against AIDS has occurred.” As of March 2017, PrEP is available in Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, and the US as reported by The Well Project. What if PrEP was marketed to the same degree as oral contraceptives?
Not all doctors are aware of PrEP, or even using it as a prevention plan specifically for women. During the International AIDS Conference, “Staci Bush of Gilead Science reported that among the 44% of PrEP users with available data, white people made up 74%, with Hispanics (12%), African-Americans (10%) and Asians (4%) accounting for much smaller proportions.”
Many private organizations currently are making strides toward creating awareness. The Black Aids Institute has an outlined report called “Saving Ourselves.” This report takes an in depth look at what can be done to help the Black community in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. “The Black AIDS Institute surveyed 16 organizations that have joined the Black AIDS Mobilization, a campaign to craft a national community plan of action against HIV/AIDS. Each organization is developing its own individual plan for incorporating HIV/AIDS into its broader work. According to our survey, 12 of 16 organizations had completed their plans at year's end.” When the numbers are astronomically high and AIDS remains the top five causes of death in black women ages 25-54 it is necessary, that Black women have access to this medication and a prevention plan.
This medication is proactive rather than reactive. The medication PrEP is released into the blood stream, if exposed to HIV it should prevent the strand of HIV from multiplying itself, not infecting the person. In 2017 according to the Black Aids Institute, “Among Black women newly diagnosed with HIV in 2017, 91% acquired HIV through heterosexual contact.”
PrEP has been available since July 16, 2012. In July 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the daily use of Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus emtricitabine, or TDF/FTC) as PrEP. By 2015 Black women, heterosexual contact to be affected with new HIV diagnoses is at 4,142. The Black AIDS Institute states that “The sad reality is that Black people have been largely left behind every time a major scientific breakthrough in the fight against AIDS has occurred.” As of March 2017, PrEP is available in Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, and the US as reported by The Well Project. What if PrEP was marketed to the same degree as oral contraceptives?
Not all doctors are aware of PrEP, or even using it as a prevention plan specifically for women. During the International AIDS Conference, “Staci Bush of Gilead Science reported that among the 44% of PrEP users with available data, white people made up 74%, with Hispanics (12%), African-Americans (10%) and Asians (4%) accounting for much smaller proportions.”
Many private organizations currently are making strides toward creating awareness. The Black Aids Institute has an outlined report called “Saving Ourselves.” This report takes an in depth look at what can be done to help the Black community in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. “The Black AIDS Institute surveyed 16 organizations that have joined the Black AIDS Mobilization, a campaign to craft a national community plan of action against HIV/AIDS. Each organization is developing its own individual plan for incorporating HIV/AIDS into its broader work. According to our survey, 12 of 16 organizations had completed their plans at year's end.” When the numbers are astronomically high and AIDS remains the top five causes of death in black women ages 25-54 it is necessary, that Black women have access to this medication and a prevention plan.
Top 5 Reasons You Should Consider Groupon
1. Great affordable deals on trips, local restaurants, bars, salons, and spas2. Three-month voucher redemption period
3. Make a glamorous lifestyle attainable on a budget
4. Your friends can all get the same deal and then it’s a party!
5. You get the most for your money
I’ve watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” at least 20 times now. It is one of my absolute favorite movies. Every single occasion that I’ve watched the movie, I am almost positive that Holly Golightly had no job, no real consistent source of income. Somehow, though, she still lived a glamorous lifestyle.
Then it dawned on me; finally, all my unanswered questions were put to rest: she must have been a member on Groupon. If you have not utilized the Groupon app at least once yet, you are missing out. Being new to the District of Columbia and the DMV area I wanted to get to know more people. As a student, I wanted to be able to experience things affordably. It was one Sunday sitting in my apartment after finishing homework when I realized that I’m 22 in the city and I want to live life as fun filled as Holly Golightly. I mean I will only be in my twenties and in D.C. once.
An email popped up from Groupon and it was a Groupon for dance classes at Work it Studio! on U street. Five classes for $45. This was actually a great deal because normally one dance class costs $25 or more. I love to dance; it brings me joy. So I made a big decision. I bought the Groupon.
Well, this is where my frenzy began, and then I realized how many other deals Groupon offered, like trips to Dubai and Iceland with airfare included. Mind boggling. For only half the price, there are deals on manicures, pedicures, haircuts, and massages.
Something I noticed during my many viewings of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was that Holly Golightly sported a classy wardrobe, and now dressing like her is attainable. Groupon features retail deals for a number of high-end retailers and jewelry stores. I’m no ambassador for Groupon, however, I realized as a college student working hard in school and working a part-time job, sometimes it is nice to enjoy yourself, if only just for a couple of hours. Similarly anywhere that you’re able to find a deal on doing something you love, just for fun, or to relax is a good thing. The best part is that you find these experiences without breaking the bank or feeling guilty about the price.
I went to all five dance classes and I learned new styles like African dance, soca, and hip-hop. I’ve been going back to the dance classes frequently and it is one thing I always look forward to throughout the week.
Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” image courtesy of Flickr
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