New Haven Independent

Black History | April 21, 2008

"For Colored Girls," A Chance to Shine

by Melinda Tuhus | April 21, 2008 4:23 PM | Permalink

With poise and chutzpah, seven city teens (including Angie Liana Laluz, at left) brought new life to a 1970s play about the struggles of black women. Melinda Tuhus reports.

Black History | April 6, 2008

Middle Passage Conversations

by Tom Ficklin | April 6, 2008 5:26 PM | Permalink

Provocative. Stimulating. Controversial. Agitating. Perplexing. Challenging. Irritating. Confusing. Frustrating. A scholars' conference on "black religion in the diaspora" was all those things -- and therefore a success.

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Black History | February 18, 2008

Goodness Gracie

by Allan Appel | February 18, 2008 8:13 AM | Permalink

She knew how to listen -- and she made a difference. Upon her retirement, an original "community" cop heard stories about how she was a true pioneer.

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Black History | February 14, 2008

Bregamos Revisits The '60s

by Allan Appel | February 14, 2008 11:00 AM | Permalink

Is Barack Obama channeling the spirit of JFK? This man, actor Wallace Bullock, may help you make that determination.

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Black History | February 8, 2008

Brown v. Board Comes Alive

by Melinda Tuhus | February 8, 2008 8:52 AM | Permalink

"I felt like I was there." That's how this Coop High student felt after experiencing the one-man play, Brown v. Board of Education.

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Black History | December 3, 2007

Rosa Parks, Minus The Myth

by Allan Appel | December 3, 2007 8:30 AM | Permalink

With an uncanny physical likeness to Rosa Parks, who triggered the modern civil rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery public bus in 1955, actress Ella Joyce electrified some 250 people at the Wexler-Grant School.

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Black History | November 26, 2007

Civil Rights Leader Remembered

by Melinda Tuhus | November 26, 2007 7:40 AM | Permalink

The New Haven community said goodbye to civil rights leader Edwin “Doc” Edmonds as friends and family (including State Rep. Toni Walker, pictured) provided a loving peek into the life of a New Haven icon.

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Black History | November 7, 2007

The "Cause" Kept Him Young

by Paul Bass | November 7, 2007 1:58 PM | Permalink

Edwin "Doc" Edmonds, New Haven's premier civil-rights figure of the mid-20th century, has died. He made it to 90 years old, with a long life of community service behind him.

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Black History | July 27, 2007

Ward of Disgrace

by Paul Bass | July 27, 2007 10:55 AM | Permalink

Free speech in the academy took a hit this week when a professor named Ward L. Churchill lost his job.
At least that's what Churchill would have you believe.

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Black History | June 20, 2007

New Haven Marks Juneteenth

by Georgia Kral | June 20, 2007 9:02 AM | Permalink

The Juneteenth Celebration on the steps of City Hall called for a remembrance of the past and a reflection of what the past means today.

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Black History | June 4, 2007

Reunited Family Marks The Sesquicentennial Creed of Dr. Creed

by Allan Appel | June 4, 2007 8:55 AM | Permalink

Here’s a kind of historical fairy tale, only one that’s true, about how race matters a lot and then not at all. It’s set in New Haven a century and a half ago, and it was being told on Sunday at the Dixwell Congregational United Church of Christ.

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Black History | April 12, 2007

Shakur Looks Back, And Ahead

by Tom Ficklin | April 12, 2007 4:13 AM | Permalink

She is an author, a former Black Panther, a youth advocate, and mother of the late Tupac Shakur. Afeni Shakur told her story -- and discussed the establishment of the Tupac Amuru Shkaur Center for the Arts -- during an appearance at Southern Connecticut State University. Click on the play arrows above and below to watch highlights.

Black History | April 1, 2007

Amistad Exhibit Reveals The Rest of The Story

by Allan Appel | April 1, 2007 5:09 PM | Permalink

Here's a thought perhaps worth reflecting on during the Easter/Passover season of rebirth and freedom that is upon us: the dangers, for a city, of taking for granted what is in plain sight. In New Haven, we have a statue of it in front of City Hall, at least one named street, an increasingly famous charter school, a Catholic Worker house, a replica of the ship in the harbor, and many other features of Elm City life named in its honor, and the Amistad story is taught to every Greater New Haven-area kid in the elementary grades. Still, how many of us can truly describe the significance of the 1839 to 1841 trial and ultimate release into freedom of Sengbe Pieh and 52 other Africans illegally kidnapped from West Africa and sold into the transatlantic slave trade -- only to revolt and persevere in the human rights case of its time?

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Black History | March 6, 2007

A Power Point, In Two Senses of the Word

by Allan Appel | March 6, 2007 2:22 PM | Permalink

Just when you thought Black History Month was over - and even, if like some young African-American New Haveners, you have a doubt or two about its continuing efficacy (click here for that story) - there’s no doubt it came to an affirming conclusion for Darrick Potter and his grandparents Jacqueline and Matthew Potter at Monday’s Board of Education meeting

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Black History | February 27, 2007

No Organizing? No Power

by Paul Bass | February 27, 2007 1:35 PM | Permalink

So said Gary Holder-Winfield, head of the Connecticut Federation of Black Democratic Clubs and a new-generation New Haven activist, in a Black History Month address. Click on the play arrow to watch it.

Black History | February 26, 2007

Nature, Nurture & Regaining a Community's Rhythm

by VJ Vitkowsky | February 26, 2007 9:06 AM | Permalink

New Haven's black community has lost its rhythm, said Bea Dozier-Taylor [pictured]. She wasn't talking about beats and steps, but the moral fiber that unites communities into powerful, mobilized forces. She and other panelists at a Gateway forum called upon their generation to step up to the plate and take it back -- as they debated the problem's root causes.

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Black History | February 23, 2007

DuBois-Booker T 3.0

by Staff | February 23, 2007 8:37 AM | Permalink

Who are the "authentic leaders" of Black America? A great debate took place in New Haven this week over that question, a debate with echoes of great debates over the past century over civil rights. Click on the play arrow for a snippet videotaped by Tom Ficklin, and read on for more.

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Black History | February 9, 2007

A "Noble Journey" Stop

by Paul Bass | February 9, 2007 8:07 AM | Permalink

About 150 students and educators from around the state converged on the Hall of Records this week to watch Actor Mike Wiley of North Carolina perfrom "One Noble Journey," sponsored by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Black History Month. During his one-man performance, Wiley portrayed Henry "Box" Brown and several other significant Americans from early 19th Century America. Wiley wrote the play by weaving together several real and inspiring accounts by former slaves, several of whom were able to escape to freedom. The Hill Regional Career High School Gospel Choir also performed several selections. Tom Ficklin

Black History | January 25, 2007

Freedom -- Reenacted

by Tom Ficklin | January 25, 2007 8:07 AM | Permalink

Wednesday night saw a reenactment of the Connecticut 29th Colored Regiment Infantry, by Kevin Johnston, at the New Haven Free Public Library. Click on the play arrows below to watch video clips of the event taped by Tom Ficklin of Empower New Haven. For more info about the regiment, click here.

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Black History | January 11, 2007

An Act of Subversion Comes to Light

by Paul Bass | January 11, 2007 5:09 PM | Permalink

A little-known act of rebellion against the state -- involving Black Panthers, a judge, and a sketch artist -- emerged this week in the filtered light of Beinecke Library. Click here to learn, and see, more.