By Herb Boyd — An ensemble of luminaries, mainly writers and musicians, shared their memories and reflections of the esteemed author Toni Morrison on Thursday at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. The church was packed to the rafters for the tribute to Morrison who made her transition on August 5. She was 88. This collection of voices and impressions in their separate ways provided a loving profile…
Congressman John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929 – October 27, 2019) By Herb Boyd — Unlike his often convulsive, tumultuous political career, former Congressman John Conyers, Jr. died peacefully in his sleep Sunday at his home in Detroit. The iconic and highly productive representative from Michigan was 90. More than half those 90 years were spent on the battleground for civil rights and public service, including 53 years as…
Toni Morrison (February 18, 1931 — August 5, 2019) By Herb Boyd — “We die,” Toni Morrison said at the conclusion of her Nobel Prize address in 1993. “That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” Morrison not only did language, she gave it her own special embellishments, an eloquence that elevated the human condition as she probed the…
By Herb Boyd — From far and wide, comrades of Don Rojas came with passages of praise for the ailing journalist, who was defined by many as a freedom fighter. Rojas, diagnosed with bone cancer and undergoing debilitating treatment, must have felt some comfort with the outpouring of love and genuine respect from a coterie of renowned speakers last Saturday evening at the House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn.
By Herb Boyd — In this digital age of social media, when in a nanosecond you have the news, we are just learning of the death of noted scholar and esteemed intellectual Dr. Martin Kilson who made his transition on April 24. His passing, no matter when it occurs, is a considerable loss to the world of African and African American studies. Dr. Kilson, 88, a Government Professor Emeritus from…
By Herb Boyd and Autodidact 17 — There was an overflow crowd of supporters Saturday afternoon at the People’s Forum near Penn Station to hear a panel of speakers on an update on the condition of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Many were surprised to learn that Abu-Jamal, who has been behind bars since 1981, would be addressing them via telephone. Spectators were hardly in their seats when Mumia’s rich, sonorous…
Focus: A Tribute to Don Rojas. Guests: Herb Boyd (Author, Columnist, Amsterdam News, Harlem, NY), Atty. Nkechi Taifa (Consultant, Human Rights Advocate, Washington, D.C.), Carlotta Scott (Former Legislative Assistant, Cong.Ronald V. Dellums, Washington, D.C.) and Rick Adams (Chair., Board of Directors, Institute of the Black World, Pittsburgh, PA)
By Herb Boyd, New York Amsterdam News — Back in September of last year, noted scholar and activist Angela Davis was to receive the prestigious Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights award at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s annual gala in February. Jan. 4, the BCRI caved in to pressure they say came from within and without to rescind its invitation, which has spurred an outrage from a number of community activists….
By Herb Boyd — “First you say you do/ Then you don’t. Then you say you will/Then you won’t/ You’re undecided now/ So what are you gonna do.” This indecision may work well in a popular song of yore, but it does little to end the 35 years former Black Panther and radio commentator Mumia Abu-Jamal has spent behind bars. On Thursday a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge ruled that Abu-Jamal who…
Topics: The Case of the Cherokee Black Freedman • Perspectives of Aretha’s Legacy and Spike Lee’s Black Klansman • The State of Black Labor in the Age of Trump. Guests: Marilyn K. Vann (President, Descendants of Freedmen, Five Civilized Tribes Association, Oklahoma City, OK), Herb Boyd (Author, Commentator, Columnist, Harlem, NY) and Bill Fletcher (Labor and Social Justice Activist, Commentator, Washington, D.C.)
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