Mediaboss Marketing

A candid conversation with Nathaniel Khaliq Nathaniel Khaliq addressing the crowd at press conference regarding Philando Cristle shooting July 7.

Sometimes the term living legend simply fits. Point in case, Nathaniel A. Khaliqs life, career and legacy. The St. Paul native son has fought on the frontlines for civil rights longer than many of us have been alive with a sense of unstinting commitment to community.

He served as president of the Board of Directors of the St. Paul NAACP and the Islamic Center Masjid An Nur. He is a trusted liaison between the grass roots and mainstream and has served on on search committees for the police chief and fire chief of St. Paul. Hes accepted numerous appointments from the mayor of the City of St. Paul and the governor of the State of Minnesota.

Importantly, Khaliq was involved in initiatives to improve opportunities for housing, economic development and criminal justice for African Americans. These accomplishments have been recognized with the inaugural Elizabeth Clark Neighborhood Activist Award, William Mitchell Law School Community Service Award, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers Profiles in Courage Award, the Minnesota Minority Lawyers Profiles in Courage Award, and St. Paul Urban League Family of the Year Award.

He co-founded BNV Properties with his wife Victoria Davis to provide affordable housing, an increasingly invaluable resource. Marine Corps veteran, graduate of St. Paul College and Dunwoody Institute, he is retired from the St. Paul Fire Department. Ms. Davis reflects on being shoulder to shoulder with her husband through the years of fight for whats right.

It has been an amazing journey, she says. The best part was watching God reward his spirit of love for family and community with a bold commitment to serve.

Easygoing, unassuming, over coffee in his kitchen, Nathaniel Khaliq (NK) relates historic events in an iconic era of social progress with candid, thoughtful recollection.

MSR: How did it all begin?

NK: I got involved in community politics and being a community activist when Dale and Selby was a real hotspot so far as Black-on-Black crime. At a certain establishment brothers were being killed up there, being beat up, shot, stabbed.

My nephew was 15 or 16. A guy threatened one of his friends. They went up there, confronted the guy, and the guy shot him dead on the street. After that, a friend of mine, Leroy Parker, was boxing with a guy. The other brother pulled out a knife and cut him open on the same corner. I was complaining about how this [was] allowed to continue with nobody challenging it.

Politicians, so-called community leaders, said, Why dont you stop complaining about it and do something? So, I called the president of the city council at the time, Ron Maddox. He gave me the runaround. I talked to some of the Black ministers and they said, If we close that down, theyll just go somewhere else and kill each other.

So, I went and got a petition to close the establishment. And got with Kwame McDonald, Bobby Hickman, Katie McWatt and a couple other folks to go down to City Hall with our petition. We told them if this was happening in any other neighborhood they would shut it down, wouldnt allow it to happen. Thats how I got involved.

MSR: How rewarding has it been to work toward social justice and do it with Victoria right beside you?

NK: Very rewarding, because not only is she my wife and the mother of my children, Vicky is my closest confidant. [She will] always look me in the eye and tell me if I was right or wrong. Always had suggestions on how to move things along. Shes been involved in the educational issues affecting our community while my road took me to deal with other issues such as quality of life, trying to change the negative behavior of brothers, how that impact was affecting us.

I was a knucklehead myself as a young man. Born and raised on Rondo, got involved in a lot of stupid things. I knew it was wrong. Had folks to offer me advice, but got caught up. Even when I came out of the service, hanging out on Selby at a place called the Celebrity Lounge. Meeting my wife helped to raise my consciousness to the point where the same energy I used to do negative things, I turned around and started doing positive.

MSR: You and she ever had different ideas on how to get the job done?

NK: Oh, yeah. But it never got out of hand or ugly. We were able to carry on our lives, raise our kids, enjoy each other and so forth. The biggest challenge was to separate community politics from our personal life.

The passion she dealt with and, you know, shes a real smart, smart sister graduated from Spellman. We had different backgrounds. One of the things that always amazed me about her, she was able to control her emotions and stay on an even keel, keep her eyes on the prize.

A lot of times my emotions would get the best of me. And she would assist me in putting that in check so I didnt resort to that street mentality in dealing with folks, say things that were inappropriate.

MSR: Providing housing to low- and moderate-income people, you agree thats a form of activism itself?

NK: Yes. We owned an apartment complex, renamed it from Jamestown to Malcolm Shabazz. We were able to hire Black subcontractors, tradesmen. That was reminiscent in my mind of the old Rondo area I was raised in, which was a self-contained community where a dollar was spent and stayed in the community, kept turning over.

The other thing we were able to do, brothers and sisters coming out of institutions may not have qualified to get in other complexes because of their records. We did that, bringing in folks that were having trouble finding housing. We used our faith in them that they were able to do the right thing. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didnt. But the main thing, we were able to have the resources to give someone a second chance.

MSR: Dick Gregory once said that unlike slave parents, hed never had to pray for a deformed baby that couldnt be sold, and that was all the progress hed give this country. What real progress have you seen?

NK: These are the best of times and the worst of times. Im 73, and 25 years ago I was thinking by the time I reached my twilight many of the issues we deal with today we wouldnt have to deal with. Weve seen a Black mayor, Black police chief. At one time, if you looked in Ebony or Jet Magazine, the Twin Cities was rated one of the top 10 places for Blacks to relocate to for the job opportunities, the housing, environment.

As you know, today were at the bottom of the list, one of the worst metropolitan areas in the country for education, job disparity, the gap so far as wealth. I see progress on one hand, but then I see weve lost so much on the other hand if we wouldve just continued to build.

Im encouraged and hopeful about these young folks. Black Lives Matter, Ive supported them. One thing Ive always been concerned about, and Ive told them, You gotta more be than a moment, you gotta be a movement. Theyre fighting for equality on a regular basis and have been able to inspire others. Im hoping and praying they can take it to the next level.

Many of the issues confronting us are more than police brutality, more than the criminal justice system. Its the educational system, a whole list of things.

Id hope the lesson they learn and we hadnt learned is that you cant depend on these other folks to get in there and do things for us. We have to get in there ourselves.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403.

See the original post here:
Activist living legend finds hope in Black Lives Matter - MSR News Online

Niki Ashton speaks as she participates in the first debate of the federal NDP leadership race with Guy Caron, Charlie Angus and Peter Julian, in Ottawa on Sunday, March 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton has removed a meme from her social media accounts after being criticized for appropriating Black culture.

Ashton had posted a meme on Facebook and Twitter referencing the lyrics to the left from the Beyonc song Irreplaceable.

A Black Lives Matter Vancouver Twitter account accused her of appropriating black culture to promote her campaign by using the line from the song.

Ashton replied that she removed the post, saying her campaign hadnt intend to appropriate or offend.

Ashton, who is campaigning to move the NDP further leftward, has gone out of her way to pitch her leadership bid as appealing to minority groups.

At her campaign launch in Ottawa, she had praised Black Lives Matter for challenging racism in Canada, saying that the movement has made it very clear how real racism is in our own country.

While she put out that social media fire, she was then promptly criticized online for acquiescing in a knee-jerk fashion.

Ashton is a fan of Beyonc she said at the first NDP leadership debate on the weekend that Beyonce is one of her favourite musicians, and tweeted in February that she should get album of the year (which ultimately went to Adele over Beyonc at the Grammys).

Heres the song she referenced:

Visit link:
Ashton removes Beyonc meme after backlash from Black Lives Matter - iPolitics.ca (subscription)

BEVERLY Approximately 200 people attended a ceremony Sunday dedicating a Black Lives Matter banner at the First Parish Church. But speakers said its what happens next that really matters.

That banner is going to be the smallest step in a larger process by this congregation, First Parish minister Rev. Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson said. Its got to be or it wont be worth anything.

Members of the church, located in the heart of downtown Beverly on Cabot Street, voted in January to join other Unitarian Universalist churches across the United States in displaying a Black Lives Matter banner. The church held a ceremony on Sunday to dedicate the banner, which has been up on the front of the church for two weeks.

The speakers included Martin Henson, an activist with Black Lives Matter Boston. Henson questioned whether hanging the banner was just your five-hour activism for the day or whether it will be followed by a long-term effort to end racism and inequality.

I am not free. My people are not free, Henson said. The question Im going to leave for you is, What are you going to do about it?

City Councilor Estelle Rand said the banner represents another effort by Beverly to address human rights, including a recent forum on immigration policy and last weeks School Committee vote to establish the Beverly Public Schools as a sanctuary district.

It has been an amazing two weeks in Beverly for human rights, Rand said. I feel that we as a community have reached a critical mass of support for exposing things that keep people down.

Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or pleighton@salemnews.com.

Originally posted here:
Church dedicates Black Lives Matter banner - The Salem News

Charlotte Observer

U.S. Soccer Federation's new rule sides against Black Lives Matter ... Charlotte Observer The U.S. Soccer Federation's decision to ban knealing during the national anthem positions them against the Black Lives Matter movement. and more »

Read the original:
U.S. Soccer Federation's new rule sides against Black Lives Matter ... - Charlotte Observer

Anissa Hidouk Books

I want young people of color and LGBT teens to know that they are not alone. We are fighting for you and alongside you.

Angie Thomass No. 1 New York Times best-selling debut, The Hate U Give, is a groundbreaking young-adult novel about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances. Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is living in two different worlds: her mostly black, poor neighborhood, and the mostly white upper-class private school that she attends. The balance between these two worlds is shattered after Starr witnesses the death of Khalil, her childhood best friend, at the hands of a cop. Khalil was unarmed and Starr is the sole witness. In the aftermath, Starr must decide if and how she is going to speak up about Khalils death, knowing that doing so will change her life forever.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, The Hate U Give is the kind of book that serves as an important reminder: We cannot become desensitized to the police brutality cases that take the lives of young black men and women, nor can we normalize them. No answers are offered in The Hate U Give rather, the novel shines a light on the communities that are affected by police brutality with the empathy and dignity that this complex and difficult subject matter deserves.

Angie Thomas chatted with MTV News about The Hate U Give, her love for Tupac, the representation of black culture in literature, and how teenagers can begin to find their activism in todays social climate.

MTV News: Why did you feel that you needed to tell this story? Did your background like growing up in Mississippi and your journey as a writer impact this experience at all?

Angie Thomas: It definitely did. When I first wrote [The Hate U Give], I started it as a short story while I was a senior in college. At the time I was like Starr: I lived in a mostly black, poor neighborhood, but I was attending a mostly white private college here in Mississippi. Every day I would make this ten-minute drive from home to school, and in those ten minutes I went between two completely different worlds. It was during my junior year that Oscar Grant lost his life in Oakland, California, and I remember hearing two different conversations about Oscar. At home he was one of us. At school, I was hearing conversations that he deserved it. So, in my own anger and frustration, I worked on the short story that later became The Hate U Give.

Youve referred to The Hate U Give as your unapologetic black girl book. Can you elaborate on what that means to you? What was it like to write this book as opposed to any other?

Thomas: When I wrote this, I didn't want to hold back. I wanted it to be Starr's full experience. I wanted to show this girl's anger, frustration, and her pain, because there's so many young people especially young black people who will identify with that. I wanted to make it as unapologetically black as possible because so often we see blackness in the media perceived in a negative light. I didn't want to do that, I wanted to fight against that. So I definitely wrote for all the black girls out there who want to see themselves in books unapologetically.

In The Hate U Give, Starr is balancing two worlds Williamson Prep and Garden Heights. There are so many diverse intersections between people and communities, and the tension between both worlds is palpable throughout the entirety of the novel. Was it difficult to write this balance?

Thomas: It was difficult because I knew that as a writer I may be biased on some things and I didn't want my bias to show too much. With the balance between the two worlds, I knew I had to show them equally. I couldn't put more into one world than the other world otherwise I'd be doing her entire world an injustice.

Youre a big Tupac fan so much so that the title The Hate U Give comes from his THUG LIFE tattoo. How did his music influence your novel and your writing in a more general sense?

Thomas: Tupac has influenced me in a lot of ways. I can honestly say that I first got woke listening to Tupac. His music and his wisdom ... it's amazing to me that he was only 25 when he died, because the wisdom that man displayed was incredible. So many people know him for his THUG LIFE tattoo, but most people don't know that it was an acronym for "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody." In a video explaining that, he said that what society feeds into you affects everyone. When I heard him say that in this interview, it stuck with me because I knew that was exactly what I was trying to do with the book and trying to show with the book.

So, yeah. His influence is throughout the book in so many different ways. His message is still relevant, unfortunately, in some ways. Twenty years later, we can still listen to a Tupac song and it's relevant to what's happening right now. That influences me and inspires me as an author, because I know I can listen to his music and in one album I can go from laughing to crying to thinking. That's exactly what I want to do as a writer. I want to make you cry, I want to make you laugh, I want to make you think. So he is definitely my biggest influence as a writer and as a storyteller.

While The Hate U Give is a work of fiction, it is inspired by the very real struggles that prompted the Black Lives Matter movement. Can you tell me a little bit about how Black Lives Matter influenced you and how it influences the book?

Thomas: The Black Lives Matter movement definitely influenced me, though I'm not associated with the organization. I don't think people realize that the organization and the movement are two different things. But I can honestly say that seeing the energy of the movement honestly just gave me the confidence to even write this book. Because this is something we've been seeing, unfortunately, in black America for a long time. It's only becoming a headline now because of cameras and social media, but these are things that were happening before. I was hearing about stuff like this since I was a kid, but nobody ever had proof of it happening. We didn't know how to fight it, we didn't know how to make our voices heard. We didn't know how to convince people that we were telling the truth. So now, seeing that the movement and the organization are both doing the work, for me as a writer, and for me as a black woman period, it does all the good in the world to me.

One of my favorite characters in the book, Uncle Carlos, is both a cop and close to the protagonist. Especially considering that BLM is often mischaracterized as anti-cop, how did you think about writing this character into the story?

Thomas: It was important for me to have Carlos in the book because I have law enforcement in my family. Great cops. As black cops, though, I've been told that there's a struggle for them. Inside the uniform, they're seen to some people as sellouts. Outside the uniform, they're suspects. So for Carlos, it was important for me to have that character because I wanted to show a black cop and his struggles in a personal sense with this. I wanted to have a cop who actually holds someone accountable for something. I hope that if this book ends up in some officers' hands somehow, I hope that it even encourages them to speak out because that's what we need. We need more accountability, and we need officers to hold each other accountable. I think that would build a whole lot more trust.

I think that were seeing a shift in YA literature away from dystopian politics and toward tackling current issues. Activist heroines in these stories are often normal girls as opposed to, say, Katniss Everdeen. Why do you think this is?

Thomas: I think it's happening now in books because it's happening now in reality. We're seeing so many people, especially young girls, take up activism. We're seeing them speak out, using social media. We're seeing them organize book drives, protests, and rallies. We're seeing them find their voices and find their activism and find their strength. I think as writers we would be doing them an injustice if we didn't give them that mirror to see themselves.

So was writing YA a conscious decision for you?

Thomas: Yeah. Honestly, I can't see myself writing for adults. And that's not anything against adult literature, I just can't see myself doing it. I always knew Starr would be 16 and I wanted it to be a YA novel because in so many of these cases we're looking at young adults losing their lives. I also knew that with a story and subject like this, I might have a better chance of reaching an adults heart by using a 16-year-old because Starr still had her innocence.

In the book, Starr participates in the Black Lives Matter social media culture, but shes also more than just a hashtag activist. She practices activism in her daily life. Even before she speaks up for Khalil, she stands up to casual racism and microaggressions. What would you say to teenagers who are beginning to find their activism? Do you have any tips on where to start?

Thomas: Know that your voice does matter. Sometimes it can feel like it doesn't, but know that it matters. I would also say that remember there are different ways to be an activist and there are different forms of activism. Art is activism. Writing is activism. You just have to find your activism and don't let anyone tell you what that should look like. If you're doing the work and you're getting someone to think, you're on the right path. Also, I would definitely let teenagers know particularly young people of color and LGBT teens I want them to know that they are not alone. In the YA community, we are fighting for you and alongside you. When you make your voice heard, we're gonna be even louder on your behalf. Thats definitely what I would like for teenagers to know. We've got you. We got you. I promise we do.

What would you say to teens who are frustrated, angry, and afraid of our current tense political climate especially young people who feel targeted by Trumps blatant racism and hostility toward the black, Muslim, and LGBTQ communities?

Thomas: I would definitely echo that they are not alone, and like I said, we're fighting alongside them. We're resisting alongside them. And also know that we understand. I understand that for so many young people right now in America it's a scary time, and rightfully so. But I would also like them to remember that empathy is more powerful than sympathy. We're seeing so many different marginalized people who are being threatened by our current political climate. I think that the more of us who take the time to understand how someone else is feeling, the more likely we are to resist alongside them.

In terms of response, theres been a lot of hype leading up to The Hate U Give, from the pub date getting pushed forward due to mass preorders, to John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) tweeting praise. As of now, The Hate U Give has eight starred trade reviews. How do you hope people react beyond praising the book itself?

Thomas: I really do hope that it helps people understand that empathy is stronger than sympathy, and I hope it gets some empathy out of people. I hope it helps people understand why we say "black lives matter." And I hope that all of these young black girls who are excited just because they saw themselves on the cover see themselves in the pages. I hope that it even helps with the push for diversity in young-adult books. I hope it helps push toward having more black girls in their own stories and not just as sassy sidekicks. So yeah, I've got a lot of hopes and dreams.

And the film rights have already been sold to Fox 2000! Can you tell me anything about where the film is at?

Thomas: The script is in development. Audrey Wells is penning it and we have the direction of the incredible Mr. George Tillman Jr. I get emails from George about stuff from the script and it is incredible. I'm definitely involved in the process, even with just some of the smaller things. Its definitely going well, and hopefully well have some more news soon!

So, is tackling current issues something that we should continue to expect from you in future works?

Thomas: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Book two is set in the same neighborhood as The Hate U Give and also in our current political climate. Its also more of a hip-hop book I call it my Ode to Hip-Hop. Chuck D of Public Enemy once said, Hip-hop is urban Americas CNN. Im definitely putting that quote to use in the second book.

2017 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Visit link:
Q&A: Angie Thomas On The Hate U Give, Black Lives Matter, And Writing An 'Unapologetic Black Girl Book' - MTV.com