Marti Turnipseed march and celebration

On April 24, 1963, Birmingham-Southern sophomore Martha “Marti” Turnipseed chose to join seven African-American students at a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s food counter in downtown Birmingham.

The other students were arrested, and BSC officials told Marti—a third-generation BSC student—that she had to leave campus. She was allowed to return a year later and complete her degree, and died in 1972 in a tragic car accident.

Now the college is honoring Marti’s brave decision to stand up for what she knew was right. On Wednesday, April 24, beginning at 9:30 a.m., BSC President Gen. Charles C. Krulak and Birmingham Mayor William Bell will lead students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community on a march from campus to downtown’s Kelly Ingram Park, tracing Marti’s footsteps. Rev. Spencer Turnipseed, Marti’s brother, will also attend and speak at the event. Watch the video (www.bsc.edu/video/turnipseed/index.cfm) to find out more about why he says that “it matters, even 50 years later, that the school and the city have recognized that this remarkable act occurred.”

The entire Birmingham community is invited to join the 2.1 mile march. Area gospel choirs will ine the route and join the marchers as they progress , and the BSC Concert Choir will perform at the closing ceremony.

Read more about Marti’s story here.

Read Gen. Krulak’s op-ed in The Birmingham News about Marti here.

Find out more about BSC’s Forward, Ever Birmingham events here.

Motivational Speaker and OWN Network Star, Iyanla Vanzant Coming to Birmingham

Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Iyanla Vanzant and more gather to honor
Harry Belafonte and unsung female civil rights heroes

(Birmingham, AL – April 11, 2013) – The Power Belle Hat Tea™, which takes place at 11:00 am on Friday, April 12^th at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center (BJCC) – South Ballroom located at 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North will honor women who were unsung heroes in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama.

The SCL Foundation, Inc. will join with Mayor William Bell and Harry Belafonte as they listen to energetic speaker, Iyanla Vanzant in a celebration of the dynamic women who helped change America and ultimately the world. Women from all walks of life will join Belafonte as he pays special recognition to a group of women who have not been fully recognized for their contributions as well as women who are continuing the legacy of helping to make life better for others.  The Power Belle Legacy Award recipients are: Ruby Shuttlesworth, Doris Gary, Lola H. Hendricks, Yvonne Turner, Ruth Barefield-Pendleton, Leola Early, LaVerne Revis Martin, Lois M. Hall and Julia Rainge. The Power Belle Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Amelia Boynton Robinson. Most of the honorees range from 75 to 102 years of age and have never been recognized fully for their contribution to a very important time in the history of Birmingham. They were the infrastructure of the movement, without which the movement would not have been successful.

Dr. Lucenia Dunn, SCL Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees member and Creative Director of the event says:  “This list does not include all of the women who should be recognized, but it represents a good start.  It was important that the movement had people to march and be willing to serve time in jail. However, other roles and responsibilities were as critical to the success of the movement led by such great leaders as Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The event’s purpose is to salute those who worked in the trenches to keep things moving.”

The Power Belle Bold Hat Award recipients are: C. Virginia Fields, Lajuana Bradford, Nyya Parson-Hudson, Katie Davis, Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Sunnetta “Sunny” Sheppard, Judge Carole Smitherman and Isabel Rubio. These women are following the tradition of courageous and gallant action that improves the lives of others. They are involved in helping to eliminate HIV/AIDS, human trafficking and discrimination and represent the realization of the dreams promoted by the women who so bravely fought for the ability of these women to occupy their present status.  It is 50 years forward.

The cost is $60.00 per ticket (available at the door) with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to a Birmingham organization that focuses on providing support services to women who are living with HIV/AIDS. Attendees are encouraged to wear hats in homage to the “crowns of glory” worn by many women in 1950s and 1960s.

 All event tickets may be purchased online at http://www.jazzhall.com/events.htm.

Harry Belafonte, Iyanla Vanzant as well as SCL Foundation, Inc. members welcome and are available for interviews and media requests. Please contact Toya Winder at 877.687.7251 or media@sclfoundation.org for scheduling and availability.

 

SCL Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization established in 1966 by
Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier.

“Building Today for a Better Tomorrow Through Purpose-Program-Progress”

The SCL Foundation’s focus has evolved into a service organization that works to reduce health disparities with a focus on HIV/AIDS, the plight of human trafficking and the empowerment of a new community-minded generation.

Civil Rights Veteran and WhereToGo411.com Collaborate to Host Historic Summit Black Clergy & Entrepreneurs to Convene to Seek Solutions to Crisis in Urban Communities

(Birmingham, Alabama – April 2, 2013) Leaders from Alabama’s religious and business communities
will join forces in an historic Birmingham summit designed to devise creative solutions to revive urban communities suffering from years of economic neglect. The event will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 13, at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, 1101 Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive S.W., driven by the theme, The Black Church: An Economic Harvest.

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Civil Rights events in Birmingham, invited entrepreneurs and church leaders vow to take the lead in formulating a strategy that grows the black business class and spurs an economic movement. It is a dream that Dr. King envisioned, but was cut short by his death. Prompted by the deterioration of many communities, the organizers are convinced that some solutions can evolve out of the summit as different groups from the Movement come together and develop strategies based on the successes, and failures, of the past.

Kathy Y. Times, vice president of WhereToGo411.com and immediate past president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said, “As a former investigative reporter, I witnessed widespread problems everyday. Now, it’s a joy to help plant tangible solutions in Birmingham and across the country.”

The summit’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Virgil A. Wood, a ten-year co-worker of Dr. King and Virginia organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.

“I’m excited to be a part of advancing this economic agenda and Dr. King’s unfinished business,” said Dr. Wood. “We can’t allow people to steal our dreams while we sleep. We must wake up. Birmingham will once again lead the nation in changing our communities.”

On Saturday following the morning summit, Dr. Wood will also speak at 1:30 p.m.at First United Presbyterian Church of Forestdale, 1375 Tomahawk Road, Birmingham. A panel of leaders in social justice, economics, community building, medicine, and law will join Dr. Wood for a session on advancing the economic movement.
Times is co-creator of WhereToGo411.com, a national web site and mobile app that connects African-American business owners to a market of local and national buyers, including consumers. Times and her business partner and site creator, James Covington, launched Wheretogo411 in Birmingham in May 2012. Covington is an entrepreneur and the author of the book, “From Civil Rights to Silver Rights: We Need An Economic Movement.”
“As an Economic Harvest, the black church has the power to ease problems associated with high unemployment, crime, and failing schools,” said Covington. “This is where souls are saved, and communities must be revitalized for those souls to thrive.”

Summit panelists and speakers include: Sephira Shuttlesworth, widow of Civil Rights Leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth; the Rev. Dr. Jonathan McPherson, chairman of the Birmingham Southern Christian Leadership Conference; the Rev. James Ephraim, pastor of First United Presbyterian Church of Forestdale; Bishop Theo Bailey, pastor of Christ Temple Deliverance Ministries; Bro. Tremon Muhammad, Alabama Student Minister, Nation Of Islam; Hezekiah Jackson, IV, president of the Metro Birmingham Branch of the NAACP; Rev. Dr. Michael Wesley, Sr., senior pastor of Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church; and the Rev. Dr. Thomas Wilder, Jr., pastor of Bethel Baptist Church.
The Summit is open to the public, but ministers, business owners, and community leaders are urged to attend. Seating is limited. To register, go to www.WhereToGo411.com.

The national web site, WhereToGo411.com, is partnering with the Birmingham non-profit, NewStar First Community Development Corporation, Birmingham View Magazine, and Vision 2013 to facilitate the Summit. The offices of Birmingham City Council President Roderick Royal and City Councilor Jay Roberson are co-sponsors.

Singer, Actor and Activist Harry Belafonte To Be Inducted Into Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

Induction, Film Festival and Other Appearances Are Part of the 50th Anniversary
Commemorations of the 1963 Birmingham Civil Rights Movement

 

(BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, April 2013) – Famed activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte comes to Birmingham on April 11 to be inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame as an honorary member.

Induction is usually reserved for Alabama natives, but the 86-year-old singer, film and TV actor, and producer is receiving the honor because of his vital role in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly in Birmingham.

In his book, Why We Can’t Wait, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said Belafonte volunteered to be a strategic financial organizer for the historic 1963 Birmingham Campaign:

“Harry Belafonte organized a committee, and money was pledged the same night. For the next three weeks, Belafonte, who never does anything without being totally involved, gave unlimited hours to organizing people and money… It would be hard to overestimate the role this sensitive artist played in the success of the Birmingham crusade.”

To celebrate his role in the Birmingham Movement 50 years ago, the Jazz Hall of Fame is hosting several events on Thursday, April 11.

The Harry Belafonte Film Festival is set from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with screenings of “The World, The Flesh and the Devil” (1959), “Island in the Sun” (1957), “Carmen Jones” (1954) and “Uptown Saturday Night” (1974). Tickets for the film festival are $5 per movie; an all-day pass is $25.

Belafonte will attend the induction ceremony, which starts at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception and screening of “Sing Your Song,” the 2011 HBO documentary about Belafonte’s life, including his role in the Movement. After the screening, he will hold a question-and-answer session with audience members, followed by the induction ceremony and a musical tribute by the UAB Jazz Ensemble. Admission to the induction ceremony is $40.

All tickets can be purchased in advance through the Jazz Hall’s website. For more information, call 205-327-9424.

Belafonte’s appearance for the Jazz Hall of Fame induction is one of several others planned in Birmingham as part of the official celebration of the 1963 Birmingham Movement’s 50th Anniversary Commemoration. He is a co-chair of the city’s “50 Years Forward” campaign that marks the historic milestone.

About Harry Belafonte

In the music world, Harry Belafonte (born March 1, 1927) is best known as the singer of “The Banana Boat Song,” one of the songs from his 1956 Caribbean-infused album, “Calypso.” Because of the song’s wide popularity and its signature call “Day-O!” the Harlem-born son of a Jamaican-born housekeeper was dubbed “the King of Calypso.”
Belafonte started his career as a jazz singer, but his songs also include show tunes, standards, blues, folk and gospel music. His 1965 album recorded with legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba won a Grammy for best folk recording.
As an entertainer most famous for his music, Belafonte also had a long and successful acting career.

Belafonte made his film debut, co-starring with Dorothy Dandridge in “Bright Road” (1953) and the following year in his first Broadway musical, John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, for which he won the 1954 Best Actor Tony Award.

He starred in the Broadway show “3 For Tonight” (1955) co-starring the legendary dancers Marge and Gower Champion. That year, they went on a national tour during which Belafonte, as the only African American in the company, faced significant opposition and hardships. Those difficulties fueled his life as an activist for social and economic justice.
His film and TV work has run the gamut, from the 1954 Otto Preminger film “Carmen Jones” (his most famous role with Dandridge) to “Islands in the Sun” (1957) with James Mason, Joan Collins, Joan Fontaine and Dandridge, to famed actor Sidney Poitier’s “Buck and the Preacher” (1972), with Poitier and noted actress Ruby Dee, and “Uptown Saturday Night” (1974), also with Poitier.

In 1996, the New York Film Critics Circle named him best supporting actor in Robert Altman’s “Kansas City.” His final dramatic role was in Emilio Estevez’ 2006 film “Bobby,” for which he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
Belafonte helped to break color barriers for Blacks in the entertainment industry. He later became the first African American TV producer with his Emmy-winning special in 1960, “Tonight With Harry Belafonte.”

Acting and activism were one in the same for Belafonte. He used his celebrity as an American pop idol to promote the cause of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and ‘60s. He helped organize performers and celebrity speakers in 1963 for the historic March on Washington 50 years ago. At great personal risk, he and Poitier flew undercover to Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1964 to deliver thousands in cash to support civil rights workers in the state. He and Poitier founded the Southern Christian Leadership Foundation specifically to raise funds that financially supported Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Belafonte was also a driving force in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa in the ‘60s, decades before it was fashionable in America and worldwide.

As a Peace Corps cultural advisor appointed by President John F. Kennedy and in 1987, as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and every day since, Belafonte has worked tirelessly to promote human rights causes and continues to do so to this day.

George Fraser Arrives in Birmingham April 3 with A Message for the Next 50 Years Forward

By Vickii Howell

Black America’s top networking guru, business consultant and true believer in the potential greatness of African American people, George C. Fraser, is headed to Birmingham with a message fitting the date of his arrival, April 3.

Fifty years ago, on April 3, 1963, Birmingham’s fiery civil rights leader, the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, read a manifesto that launched the  historic Birmingham Movement, starting with boycotts of segregated department store lunch counters. The Movement later turned into mass demonstrations, including the scenes of non-violent child protestors besieged by police dogs and high-powered fire hoses.

And on April 3, 1968, Shuttlesworth’s iconic contemporary, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his last speech in Memphis that was filled with his plans for economic advancement that would help his people reach “the Promised Land.” But Dr. King was assassinated the next day; his plans essentially died with him and his plans remain unfulfilled to this day.

Fraser’s motivational message for Birmingham is a message for Blacks across the nation and around the world: in the next phase of the Movement, we must focus on resource management and cooperative economics through networking to create generational wealth and financial equity.

Black people are not poor, the Cleveland-based businessman says. Rather, we are mentally broke.

“African Americans are a $920-billion economy. If we were a nation, we’d be the 19^th richest in the world. But our money goes in one direction – away from us,” he says. “We are some of America’s most conspicuous consumers.

“Therefore, it’s clearly time for us to unite. God has given us everything we need to succeed except one thing – each other. Until we learn how to love ourselves, how to love each other, how to network and collaborate with each other, we will not receive anything else from God.”

Fraser uses African American history to inspire their desire to achieve the potential for great success that’s bound in them. For more than 200 years, Blacks worked together in a long and brutal campaign for civil and human rights to end slavery. They struggled another 100 years after the Civil War to finally achieve first-class American citizenship.

Under such local leaders like Rev. Shuttlesworth and Dr. King;s national renown, along with scores of other activist preachers and citizens of good conscience in the nation, they achieved one of the world’s greatest human revolutions through love, cooperation and strategic action. So Fraser believes that African Americans possess a unique potential to bring about positive change, for themselves and the world at large.

 

While the City of Birmingham marks the 50^th commemorative anniversary of the world-changing 1963 Birmingham Movement, Fraser hopes to inspire today’s civic and business leaders to continue their ancestors’ pioneering work by tackling the last challenge facing African Americans – building wealth and economic stability that is on par with other ethnic and racial groups.

There are two main obstacles that hinder the work, Fraser says. One, African Americans don’t help each other like other groups do. And two, we abuse and misuse the many resources that we control rather than leveraging them for greater economic and intellectual capital.

“When we unite and become better stewards of our resources, we demonstrate to the world and to ourselves that we are a force to be reckoned with,” he says. “Until such time we learn to do that, we just won’t get to the Promised Land.”

So he strives to de-program negative attitudes and instill a culture of success and empowerment among Blacks through his best-selling books, lectures and networking seminars.

Fraser, the Chairman and CEO of FraserNet, has spent the last 25 of his 67 years writing books like Success Runs In Our Race: The Complete Guide to Effective Networking in the African American Community to highlight Blacks who have already achieved success, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, through willpower, talent and personal networks that worked.

He’s on a mission to help Black people attain wealth that can be handed down to the next generation, and to help them become the No. 1 employer of each other in the 21st century.

To achieve that vision, the former corporate executive who spent 17 years at Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Co., and United Way started FraserNet and its annual PowerNetworking Conference. He uses his skills to reconnect people of African descent in America and other parts of the world with each other, and connects them with other human resources that increase their chances for business and economic success.

EVENT DETAILS:

George C. Fraser of Cleveland, OH
@ Jazz Underground in Five Points South

Address: 2012 Magnolia Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205
Phone:(205) 202-3640
Networking Hour 5 PM
Program 6 PM to 8 PM
Registration: $10.00

This event is brought to you by Urbanham.com, Birmingham View Magazine Online, The Birmingham Terminal, Birmingham 24/7 and U-Metro Magazine in association with UrbanProfessionals.com of Atlanta.

VIDEO:

Birmingham Business Card Swap

The Birmingham Business Card Swap is this Thursday, March 21, 2013 from 5:30pm – 8:00pm at the Wine Loft!

The Wine Loft is located at 2200 1st Avenue North in Birmingham, AL. 35203.

Free admission, giveaways, on-site professional headshot opportunities.

Brought to you by Sam South Innovations and First Impressions Marketing Group.

For more information email samsouthinnovations@gmail.com

The Mhe Magazine Makeover Contest!

 

Enter to win the Mhe Makeover Contest!

Presents by Hydratherma Naturals.

Visit www.facebook.com/MheMagazine to enter now through February 15th!  You must like the Mhe Magazine, Hydratherma Naturals and Natural Hair and Health Expo Fan Pages on Facebook to be Eligible.

Contest winner will join the Mhe Magazine and Hydratherma NAtural at the 2nd Annual Natural Hair and Health Expo 2013 in Birmingham for the ultimate Natural Hair Makeover on the main stage of the Expo!

The expo will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2013

The winner selected will enjoy two tickets to the expo, natural hair makeover including dinner for 2, a loaded gift bag full of Hyratherma Naturals products and a feature photo shoot published in the Summer 2013 issue of Mhe Magazine!

Like us on Facebook at www.mhemagazine.com

2013 A.G. Gaston Conference

The 2013 A.G. Gaston Conference – Economic Empowerment Through Enterprise Development takes place February 19-20, 2013.

Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL. 35203

To register visit www.aggastonconference.com

Music from the Movement: A Tribute to Sam Cooke

Jazz Underground presents Music from the Movement – Music That Inspired A Generation – A Tribute to the Legendary Sam Cooke!

Saturday, January 26, 2013.

Doors open at 7:00pm, Showtime at 9:00pm.

2012 Magnolia Avenue in Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama 25205.

For reservations call (205) 202-3640

ABOUT SAM COOKE

Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and influence on the modern world of music. His contribution in pioneering soul music led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and popularized the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown.

Cooke had 30 U.S. top 40 hits between 1957 and 1964, and a further three after his death. Major hits like “You Send Me”, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, “Cupid”, “Chain Gang”, “Wonderful World”, and “Twistin’ the Night Away” are some of his most popular songs. Cooke was also among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the American Civil Rights Movement.

On December 11, 1964, Cooke was fatally shot by the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 33. At the time, the courts ruled that Cooke was drunk and distressed, and that the manager had killed Cooke in what was later ruled a justifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been widely questioned.

Music from the Movement: A Tribute to Sam Cooke
2012 Magnolia Avenue in Five Points South
Birmingham, Alabama 35205
Phone: (205) 202-3640
www.jazzunderground5points.com

 

The Music We Love: A Tribute to Wilson Pickett

Jazz Underground presents The Music We Love: The Wilson Picket Tribute Show!  Get your reservations early for a great show packed with music from the legendary singer Wilson Pickett!   Friday, January 4, 2013.  Doors open at 7:00pm, showtime at 9:30pm.  For dinner reservations or information call (205) 202-3640.  $10 Admission

Jazz Underground
2012 Magnolia Avenue

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