PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Angela Bassett won entertainer of the year at Saturday’s NAACP Image Awards on a night that also saw her take home an acting trophy for the television series “9-1-1.”
The Bassett-led Marvel superhero sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” won best motion picture at the ceremony, which was broadcast live on BET from Pasadena, California.
Viola Davis won outstanding actress for the action epic “The Woman King,” a project she championed and starred in. Will Smith won for the slavery drama “Emancipation,” his first release since last year’s Academy Awards, where he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage before winning his first best actor trophy.
“I never want to not be brave enough as a woman, as a Black woman, as an artist,” Davis said, referencing a quote from her character in the film, which she called her magnum opus. “I thank everyone who was involved with ‘The Woman King’ because that was just nothing but high-octane bravery.”
“Abbott Elementary” won for outstanding comedy series. Creator and series star Quinta Brunson invited her costars onstage and praised shows like “black-ish” for paving the way for her series.
The 54 NAACP Image Awards were presented Saturday in Pasadena, California, with Queen Latifah hosting. Serena Williams received the Jackie Robinson Sports award, which recognizes individuals in sports for high achievement in athletics along with their pursuit of social justice, civil rights and community involvement.
The ceremony, which honors entertainers, athletes and writers of color, was hosted by Queen Latifah. Special honorees included Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Two tax planning lawyers shared their perspectives on one of the ways to pay for the racial injustices suffered by Black Californians with the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans.
At the task force’s last two-day meeting held in San Diego on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28, the estate and tax planning attorneys Raymond “Ray” Odom and Sarah Moore-Johnson proposed several options to the nine-member task force for funding reparations through the federal tax code system — including an estate tax as a means to increase racial equity.
The tax discussion, held about a month ago, was as a lead-in to the task force’s next meeting in Sacramento focused on compensation and titled “Redressing the Harms Delineated in Report 1.” That meeting will be held Friday, March 3 and Saturday March 4 at the Byron Sher Auditorium at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Headquarters, beginning at 9 a.m. both days.
Moore-Johnson kicked off her presentation at the San Diego meeting during a panel titled “The Forgotten 40 Acres: Repairing Wealth Disparity Using the Estate Tax and New Charitable Incentives.” She said, “the tax code has incentivized White wealth building for years,” and that she and Odom have now found a way to redistribute wealth through tax exemptions at the state level.
“For years, Ray and I intuitively understood that if we could harness those tax incentives to create a public-private partnership to help fund reparations we could get our wealthy clients to willingly enthusiastically embrace using their own money to pay for reparations,” Moore-Johnson said. “We believe that tax deductions should be allowed for private contributions to racial repair because individual taxpayers would be paying a debt of the federal or state government on the government’s behalf,” Moore-Johnson said.
Potential revenue sources, the attorneys say, could be the state estate tax, mansion tax, graduate property tax, and metaverse tax.
Johnson mentioned that the graduate property tax revenue would not apply to California because of Proposition 13, a law that restricts increases in the state tax code.
Odom and Moor-Johnson’s presentation was a condensed introduction to the wealth disparity resulting from chattel slavery and Jim Crow law and the connection to wealth transfer and wealth taxation. Odom, however, emphasized that their idea to use the tax code is intentional but it is not a manipulation of the federal tax system.
“I really think that it is so important to set the narrative — and that narrative isn’t around who’s getting something for nothing, but what we are going to do about this gross wealth disparity,” Odom said. “We need to solve this problem for all Americans, but especially for Black Americans.”
Odom – a Chicago estate and tax planning attorney who works at Northern Trust and conducts racial wealth disparity speaking engagements across the country – is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is one of five Black tax attorneys among ACTEC’s 2,500 fellows.
Established in Los Angeles in 1949, ACTEC is a nonprofit association of lawyers and law professors skilled and experienced in the preparations of wills and trusts; estate planning; and probate procedure and management of trusts and estates of the deceased, minors and helpless.
Odom and Moore Johnson explained that the racial wealth gap started to expand in 1981 when Ronald Reagan was in office and the biggest tax cut in history took place. Odom said reparations would be an opportunity to replace “swollen wealth” with the “stolen wealth” of Black people.
Moore-Johnson, an estate planning lawyer and a founding partner at Birchstone Moore in Washington DC, became president of the Washington, DC, Estate Planning Council three weeks after George Floyd was murdered in 2020. She is also an ACTEC fellow.
In March of 2021, during a national ACTEC meeting, Odom and Johnson came up with the idea of funding reparations for slavery through the estate tax. They started their research to better understand the history of slavery, post-slavery, reparations and the wealth gap. Through their research, the duo learned that the racial wealth gap exists, partly, because of the way the federal tax code is set up.
Task force member Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) stated that the tax attorney’s recommendations provided a “clear road map” to reparations.
“All that said, I think it’s comforting, informative and powerful,” Bradford said after the tax attorneys’ presentation. “As a legislator, the takeaway is, we can afford it. This is a debt that’s owed.”
Brown: Georgetown Law School tax law professor Dorothy A. Brown from her perspective offered insight of how the tax code could benefit Black Americans.
Dorothy A. Brown addressed the task force by teleconference and shared her views about reparations and the tax code. She is a tax professor at Georgetown Law and the author of the book “The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans and How We Can Fix It.”
Brown’s literature goes to the core of how the complex federal tax system disadvantages the Black community and how it has helped White households secure more solid financial standing.
“Our tax laws as written have a racially disparate impact. Black Americans are less likely to gain access to their tax breaks than their White peers receive,” Brown said. “Therefore, (Black Americans) are more likely to pay higher taxes than their White peers.”
Brown told the task force that she supports a “wealth tax credit applicable to all taxpayers and households,” which would serve the majority of Black people and be available to all “regardless of race and ethnicity.”
“I want to be clear that I’m not providing tax advice or guidance for providing a possible analysis of any reparations payments,” Brown said. “I leave it to your tax council (economic experts) to make a final determination that you would rely upon moving forward.”
By Dr. Lenore A. Tate, Special to California Black Media Partners
Numerous studies have confirmed that homelessness and behavioral and mental health problems affect African Americans at disproportionate rates in California and around the United States.
On a very primary and personal level, homelessness affects an individual’s mental health. Looking at the data: approximately 30% of people who are chronically unhoused have a mental health condition, about 50% have a co-occurring substance use problem and 42% have a disabling condition such as a developmental disability, HIV/AIDS or injuries from combat such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
In California, 43% of the Black Californians interviewed reported that someone close to them has experienced homelessness – a rate much higher than any other racial group in the survey, according to a survey conducted by the California Health Care Foundation,
Black women in particular – are at a higher risk for exposure to mental health stresses.
“A variety of circumstances put Black women at high risk for mental and emotional stress – economic insecurity, responsibilities of caregiving, neighborhood violence, lack of social support and physical illness or disability,” reads the website of the California Black Women’s Health Project.
“As a result, many are plagued by tension, anxiety, worry and fear. Because of the powerful and complex links between the mind, emotions and body, chronic states of stress and anxiety can have dangerous and sometime fatal, health consequences. In addition, the daily struggles of coping with racism and sexism further exacerbate mental and emotional stress,” the write-up on the website reports.
When these intersecting issues go unaddressed, they can compound and adversely affect individuals.
Black people make up 13.6% of the population in the United States and account for approximately 21% of those living in poverty. Blacks in California comprise 6.5% of the population but are more than 40% of the homeless/unhoused population! In fact, in most shelters, food banks, drop-in centers for the unhoused, the majority of those served are from Black or Brown communities. Black people outnumber White people 12 to 1 among the homeless population.
California has more unhoused than any other state. Seventy percent of California’s homeless are living on the streets and in tents, etc. while in New York, data reflects that only 5% of their homeless are living on the streets.
California has instituted several policies and passed a series of laws to address the mental health and homeless crises. Last year, during his annual budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom connected the challenge of solving homelessness in the state with inadequate approaches the state has taken so far to address mental health.
Among different approaches taken to address the state’s mental health challenges and, consequently, the homelessness crisis is the passage of the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act (CARE) Act in California last year. This law, which Newsom signed into law, establishes CARE Court, an alternative to the Criminal Justice System for people who are mentally ill.
But more needs to be done if we are to address the mountainous monumental challenges of our mental health and homelessness crises, particularly as it affects minorities. The resources and programs the state has made available have simply not kept up with the demand for services.
California was the first state in the country to propose housing as a human right under Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10 (ACA-10) (Bonta 2020). This amendment would ensure shelter for the unhoused and recognize that housing as a human right. However, after more than 70 years, housing still appears to be treated as a commodity rather than a human right.
Across the board – from prevention and early intervention to strategically providing housing and chronic care — we need to do more in the Golden State across the board.
Medical professionals need to be provided cultural sensitivity training and more needs to be done to destigmatize mental health care in the Black community. Social support systems must be strengthened, and more resources need to be committed to outreach and research so that both care and information can be targeted to serve the needs of Black Californians.
We need a combination of solutions working at the policy level, within the health care delivery system and among our social and community networks that attack the problems from various angles.
Committing to funding, decreasing hurdles in zoning, working collaboratively with public and private sectors, and creating space for ingenuity would be steps towards solving these crises. Recognizing that Black and Brown communities, children, families and seniors are unhoused as well as those that carry the weight of mental illness, leads us to act and consider prioritizing vulnerable populations of unhoused.
We must utilize all our available resources so that every Californian will be afforded the right to have housing and a ‘home’ and adequate mental health care, allowing for security, safety, and comfort.
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About the Author
Lenore A. Tate, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Sacramento. She has previously worked as Principal Consultant to the California Assembly and Senate Health Committees as well as the Senate Office of Research. Dr. Tate has also served as a university professor in Texas, Arizona and California. She specializes in neuropsychology, geriatrics and behavioral health.
California Black Media’s coverage of mental health in Black communities is made possible with the support of the California Health Care Foundation
There are two sayings, “America was built by the African slave and America was built on the backs of African Americans, and to some extent these statements hold true. But also, humanity was built on the creative and intellectual genius of Africans and their descendants as far back as antiquity.
Throughout the history or “story” of Africa and the African diaspora the eruditions and contributions to humanity have been “hidden” purposefully in the ongoing effort of Europe and her diaspora to maintain the falsehood of “white supremacy and control of the narrative.
Yet, scholars such as Dr. Al Black, a former African American Studies professor at the University of Washington, believes it is vital for the descendants of Africa to be in command of their own narrative.
I think it is critically important that groups of people have the freedom and ability to tell their own history
DR. AL BLACK
“I think it is critically important that groups of people have the freedom and ability to tell their own history,” says Black. “People think that history is just a matter of recording facts, events, incidents and so on, but actually history is something that is obviously written by someone, or a group and it is written from their point of view.”
“When we talk about matters of race and we look at the difference in positions that we occupy racially versus the white race for example, clearly there are going to be different perspectives and it is absolutely crucial, therefore, that we make certain that our perspectives are heard and understood and we need to defend that with everything that is in us,” Black continued.
Within history there are a plethora of human experiences where Black people played an intricate role in the creation and development of life changing and societal altering inventions and discoveries. Efforts that have not been given the proper recognition for how they positively enhanced the lives of humanity.
Within history there are a plethora of human experiences where Black people played an intricate role in the creation and development of life changing and societal altering inventions and discoveries.
“The contributions we have made to this country, to humankind, that history is extraordinarily important for obvious reasons,” says Black. “The kind of pride that our young people develop as a result of coming to know that we have made contributions and not only to the history of the United States but to the history of what we call “mankind” which is really “humankind” is very important.”
For example, in the early part of the 18th century Boston experienced a smallpox epidemic that for its time was devasting. Between April and December of 1721, there were 5,889 Bostonians who had smallpox and 844 who died of it. Smallpox caused more than three-quarters of all deaths that year.
As sickness swept through New England, an enslaved African known only as Onesimus suggested a potential way to keep people from getting sick.
The contributions we have made to this country, to humankind, that history is extraordinarily important for obvious reasons.
DR. AL BLACK
The procedure Onesimus referred to consisted of rubbing pus from an infected person into an open wound on the arm. Once the infected material was introduced into the body, the person was inoculated against smallpox. It wasn’t a vaccination as we know today but it did activate the recipient’s immune response and protected against the disease most of the time.
Also, when it comes to heart surgery, we can again thank a Black person for furthering the development of medicine beyond its capabilities in that moment.
In 1941 Vivien Thomas — a Black man that was hired by a white doctor, Dr. Alfred Blalock to join his surgical staff — devised an operation to save “Blue Babies”, infants born with a heart defect that sends blood past their lungs. According to eyewitness accounts the fate of the baby was not in the hands of Dr. Blalock but in the instructions given to him by Thomas.
History reveals that many of the greatest western thinkers and philosophers were taught and educated by Africans.
According to Denton Cooley, a Black medical student who arrived with Thomas in 1940 at John Hopkins, “it was Vivien who had worked it all out in the lab, in the canine heart, long before Dr. Blalock did Eileen, the first Blue Baby. Thomas stood on a stool overlooking Blalock’s work each step of the way.
Again, another example of Black African genius at work when all else fails. Life is easier for the human being because of countless unseen and unknowns, countless patents stolen or not afforded to Black innovators and inventors, and their inventions that we use on a daily basis and even take for granted. Creations that change the trajectory of human life, human expediency and human comfort and convenience.
Many of us were taught that the foundations of civilization were a product of Greek and Italian genius. However, history reveals that many of the greatest western thinkers and philosophers were taught and educated by Africans. Thales and Pythagoras were not the only Greeks to have been instructed by Kemet (modern day Egypt). Plato, Aristotle, and Isocrates were all said to have been educated by Black Africans and their philosophy.
Paper, the alphabet, art, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, music, science, universities were all introduced by Black people.
The watch on your wrist, the design and completion of Washington DC were things that were created and attributed to Benjamin Banneker. Every time you stop at a stoplight to avoid an accident, you can thank a Black man for the creation.
The reason you take an escalator and not the stairs is because of a Black man, Alexander Miles. The reason you have modern toilets and not an outhouse or a hole in the ground is because of a Black man, JB Rhodes. Paper, the alphabet, art, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, music, science, universities were all introduced by Black people.
Some of us are old enough to remember driving around town and relying on our own wits to not get lost until the Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed based on the brilliant mind of a Black woman. Gladys Mae West, born October 27, 1930, is an American mathematician known for her contributions to the mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of the satellite geodesy models that were eventually incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Knowing our history and making certain that we teach our version of it is critical.
DR. AL BLACK
It is becoming well-documented the deeper you dig, the darker history gets, that not only was humanity birthed in Africa, and with Africans being the first to circumnavigate the globe they were able to nurture, educate and help civilize all of humanity. There is not a civilization in the history of mankind where their foundation is not steeped with African biological and intellectual influence.
“Knowing our history and making certain that we teach our version of it is critical,” says Black. “We cannot allow anybody or any group to deny us this history. And we have to recognize that when Florida, Texas or any state or Governor in terms of Critical Race Theory deny us the right to teach our history to our children as well as their children, the fact of the matter is their racial group did the things that it did and they need to be aware of what that was so they won’t repeat what it is that they did.”
Today Africa and her diaspora battle for their place in history. As evidence mounts of the truth, it our responsibility to pass this vital knowledge to our children. As Marcus Garvey conveyed, “A people without knowledge of their history, is like a tree without roots.”
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The post The Unseen And Unknown Genius Of Black People appeared first on The Seattle Medium.
Each year Americans flock to the history books in search of stories about great Black heroes in time. From important scientists and their discoveries to civil rights icons and artists, we can recite the list of names that have been ingrained in our memory over the decades: George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harry Belafonte and so many others who have stood in the spotlight of time. But what about the lesser-known change-makers? The men and women who broke barriers in the small towns of America and countries abroad. This week, the AFRO is taking a look back at some of the people who made history — but missed some of the history books.
Have you heard of these great Black men and women? Do you know of a “great Black first” that we should write about? Find us on social media and let us know!
Andrea Campbell
Andrea Campbell (Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Andrea Campbell)
Just last month, Andrea Campbell was sworn in as attorney general in Massachusetts, making history as the first Black woman to serve as the state’s top lawyer. She is also the first woman of color to hold statewide office.
“Today, I stand on the shoulders of all those who came before, far too many to name,” Campbell said during her historic inauguration address on Jan. 18.
She continued:
“Today, I stand on the shoulders of a beautiful and resilient Black people who stood up for civil rights, freedom, inclusion, love including interracial love; Who fought to integrate our public schools, our higher education institutions, our law schools; Who testified and were beaten while fighting to ensure our political system represents all of us; A people who were enslaved, picking cotton to build the wealth and prosperity of this country; A people who started businesses in the face of significant financial discrimination and exclusion to build wealth in their communities; A people who became lawyers at prestigious law firms and fought hard to become a partner; A people who invented the most beautiful artistry, music and culture; A people who are the epitome of resilience!”
Campbell has set an agenda that includes protecting elders, creating gun safety enforcement and expanding women’s rights to access abortions and reproductive care.
Alice Coachman
Alice Coachman (Photo by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame)
Alice Coachman became the first Black woman to win an olympic gold medal.
Shortly after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Coachman competed in the Olympics. She took home the gold medal and wrote herself into history with her high jump at the London Games in 1948.
Baroness Valerie Ann Amos
Baroness Valerie Ann Amos (Photo by the University College of Oxford)
Baroness Valerie Amos made history across the pond in 2003 with her appointment as leader of the House of Lords. With this title, she became the first Black woman to serve in a British Cabinet, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The Cabinet is the main body of people that controls policies and coordinates activities of governmental departments in the United Kingdom. Her appointment to the position included hopes of inspiring young Black and Asian voters, who report feeling cut off from British politics.
Wendell Scott
Wendell Scott was a racing legend who passed away on Dec. 23, 1990. He was the first Black driver to win a major NASCAR race, which he accomplished on Dec. 1, 1963. Scott was also the first African-American team owner in NASCAR to compete at the sport’s highest level. He paved the way for Bubba Wallace who, according to information released by NASCAR, became only the second African-American driver to win a race in 2013. (AP Photo)
Wendell Scott was a racing legend who passed away on Dec. 23, 1990. He was the first Black driver to win a major NASCAR race, which he accomplished on Dec. 1, 1963. Scott was also the first African-American team owner in NASCAR to compete at the sport’s highest level.
He paved the way for Bubba Wallace who, according to information released by NASCAR, became only the second African-American driver to win a race in 2013
Mark Williams
Mark Williams (Photo Courtesy of Twitter/Mark Williams)
Mark Williams is the first Black male to lead a major North American orchestra. In April 2022, Williams went to work as the CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra after serving as the chief artistic and operations officer for The Cleveland Orchestra.
Robert McFerrin Sr.
Robert McFerrin Sr. (Photo by the African American Registry)
Robert McFerrin Sr., father of the world-renowned artist Bobby McFerrin, was the first Black man to sing a solo at the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 1953, he was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera national auditions and made his debut as the first Black male with this company in 1955. McFerrin is also known for providing vocals in the 1959 movie, “Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” for Sidney Poitier.
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The post AFRO review: a look at lesser known figures of Black history appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers .
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Alice Coachman (Photo by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame)
Baroness Valerie Ann Amos (Photo by the University College of Oxford)
Mark Williams (Photo Courtesy of Twitter/Mark Williams)
Robert McFerrin Sr. (Photo by the African American Registry)
