February is all about loving oneself and others and celebrating Black History Month. Therefore, it is only fair to dedicate this month’s Old Hollywood Spotlight to the inspiring Ruby Dee. The titles actress, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and activist describe her well-rounded life and career. Ruby Dee’s life began in Ohio, and she grew up in New York’s […]
Continue Reading
Among the political and social changes occurring across the country during the 1960s, America was torn between supporters of racial segregation and the Civil Rights Movement. As we discovered in last month’s spotlight on Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong, Hollywood slowly opened its gates to offer opportunities to non-white actors. This month we look at the […]
Continue Reading
Today, we as an American nation celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day to honor the tireless efforts of one man on behalf of Civil Rights. Although I’m sure you’re all familiar with the work of Martin Luther King Jr. by now, this is why we celebrate him, in his widow Coretta Scott King’s own words: […]
Continue Reading
Congressman John Lewis is a Georgia politician and civil rights activist. In fact, he was a part of many famous civil rights acts in the late ’50s and early ’60s under the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is safe to say that Congressman Lewis has a rich, heartbreaking, important story to tell. To […]
Continue Reading
Martin Luther King, Jr. represented a new beginning for America during the 1950s and 1960s. Among other civil rights activists, such as Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez, King was such a driving force for people’s right to equality that a national holiday has been created to honor him. As a Baptist minister and a social activist, King was […]
Continue Reading
A little over 100 years ago, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, set out on a horseback tour of the United States, determined to convince the states to proclaim a Native American day. He received endorsement from only twenty-four states, though, and no national day was recorded as being proclaimed. Before the coast-to-coast horseback ride, however, […]
Continue Reading
It’s March again — A.K.A. Women’s History Month, of course! After a series of unofficial community, school district, and women’s organization celebrations of Women’s History Week, United States President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8, 1980, National Women’s History Week. Later in 1980, the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) was founded in order to […]
Continue Reading
I don’t know who else out there celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this way, but when I was growing up, MLK Day was honored at my school by the annual watching of Our Friend, Martin, a 1999 animated movie about a group of teenagers who time travel through different points of Martin Luther King, […]
Continue Reading