Month: February 2017

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The documentary “For Love of Liberty” tells the contribution of African Americans in the military. Introduction by Colin Powell and Hosted by Halley Berry, narrations by many others, won the 2011 NAACP Image award. You can see clips or purchase the DVD by going to “For Love of Liberty.org”. This is a story every American should be aware of and show the contributions and sacrifices Blacks made for this country. It is what Black History Month is about, to look at the positive side of our Community.
click here:
LIBERTY_PR_PACKET (1) collen powell

Professor Kevin Young is now the new Director of The Schomburg Center. It will soon be a hundred years since the creation of the Schomburg Center and he is looking to expand it’s online presents, as well as people coming to see the archives in person. The renovation of the Center is almost completed and he has ideas of how to use the new space with new archives. Visit The Schomburg web site to see his vision for it’s future.

Katherine Coleman Johnson was born on august 28,1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
She did the calculations for the trajectory for Alan Shepard’s 1959 first American in space flight and the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the moon.

She is just one of many women of color who played a role in the space program of The United States. There is a movie released recently “Hidden Figures” that tell the story of what she and others contributed.

George Braithwaite known on the street as Braith
Web site www.georgebraith.com.
He started playing saxophone in the Bronx, Prospect Junior High School 40 Band in the 7th grade, then attended Music and Art High School. He became known for playing two saxophones at the same time. Inspired by The great Roland Kirk who was the fist to do so. He was fortuned enough to meet Roland who mentored him and introduced him to many of the greats Jazz musicians of that era, and he sat in and played with them. He eventually recorded on his own. He invented the Braithophone, an alto and soprano saxophone welded together. When you get off the New York 2nd Ave. subway at 72nd Street, you can see his picture on the wall. You never saw Braith without his instrument in the 1970’s practicing at Citi Center on Lexington Avenue or Bryant Park on 42nd Street. All the “JHS 40 alumnus” want to give a “SHOUT OUT” to George Braith for his accomplishment and say play on.

At 72, George Braith Has a Sound That’s All His Own – The New York Times March 9,2012