Good Black News: The Daily Drop

Memorial Day, an American national holiday dedicated to the memory of fallen US soldiers, is celebrated on the last Monday of May. Its beginnings however, started on the first day of May in 1865, when by a group of newly liberated Blacks in Charleston, South Carolina placed flowers on the unmarked graves of captured Union soldiers and held a parade to honor the dead. To learn more about what was originally known as "Decoration Day", check out the links to sources below:https://www.history.com/news/memorial-day-civil-war-slavery-charlestonhttps://www.lx.com/black-legacy/dont-overlook-memorial-days-black-southern-roots/53453/https://www.live5news.com/2020/02/18/charleston-claims-first-memorial-day-celebration-with-african-americans-playing-significant-role/https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/05/28/freed-slaves-started-first-memorial-day-in-the-us/https://aaregistry.org/story/the-first-american-memorial-day-is-commemorated/If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Born in 1879, Mary Eliza Mahoney worked hard for nearly two decades to earn her nursing license, overcoming discrimination to become the first African American person to do so in the United States. To learn more about Boston-born and based Mahoney, read Mary Eliza Mahoney and the Legacy of African-American Nurses, watch a short bio on YouTube or check out the links to more sources below.Sources:https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mahoneyhttps://www.essence.com/black-history-month-2019/mary-eliza-mahoney-the-first-black-nurse/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/obituaries/mary-eliza-mahoney-overlooked.htmlhttps://nursing-theory.org/famous-nurses/Mary-Mahoney.phphttps://www.biography.com/activist/mary-mahoneyhttp://ojin.nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/AboutANA/Honoring-Nurses/NationalAwardsProgram/HallofFame/19761982/mahome5552.htmlIf you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

The first African American woman to earn a doctorate at M.I.T., Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson is responsible for the major advances in telecommunications research that led to the invention of the touch-tone phone, portable fax, fiber optic cables, solar cells, call waiting and caller ID. To learn more about the current president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the oldest technological research university in the U.S., check out the links to sources below:Strong Force: The Story of Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson https://president.rpi.edu/president-biographyhttps://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/shirley-ann-jackson/https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/dr-shirley-ann-jackson-a-lifetime-shattering-glass-ceilings-in-math-and-science-for-black-women/https://youtu.be/mKAgAdHaJw0 (National Medal of Science bio)https://youtu.be/0CYQAQ1EPSo (Storied Women of MIT)https://youtu.be/ATcTENr07U8 (An evening with Dr. Jackson NSTMF)https://youtu.be/xvGPPE-09OE (Brown University Department of Physics bio) If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Jockey Oliver Lewis won the inaugural Kentucky Derby atop the colt Aristides on May 17, 1875. Lewis was one of thirteen Black jockeys in the fifteen-strong field. But even though Blacks dominated horseracing in the late 1800s, by the early 1900s, they'd been pushed out of the sport, with James Winkfield being the last to win in 1902. After an almost 80 year drought, in 2000, Marlon St. Julien was the next Black jockey to compete.To learn more about Oliver Lewis and the long history of African American people in horse racing, check out the sources below.Sources:https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-Americans-and-Horse-Racing-1984952https://kchr.ky.gov/Hall-of-Fame/Pages/Oliver-Lewis.aspxhttps://www.derbymuseum.org/Exhibits/Detail/12/Black-Heritage-in-Racinghttps://madamenoire.com/1314353/a-group-of-black-women-horse-owners-make-history-after-winning-their-first-kentucky-oaks-day-race/https://biography.jrank.org/pages/2969/Lewis-Oliver.htmlhttps://www.americasbestracing.net/videos/2022-celebrate-black-history-month-jockey-oliver-lewishttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=151711493456737https://youtu.be/6kXTvHErwm8 (Kentucky Derby video on Black Jockeys)If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

On Mother's Day 2022, we offer a quote from three-time Olympic gold medalist and international track star Wilma Rudolph on when you have a choice, always choose to believe your mother.To learn more about Wilma Rudolph, read her 1977 autobiography Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph, Wilma Rudolph: A Biography from 2006, the children's book Wilma Rudolph: Athlete and Educator by Alice K. Flanagan, or watch the 1977 movie Wilma starring Cicely Tyson, Shirley Jo Finney and Denzel Washington on Vudu.Sources:https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/wilma-rudolphhttps://olympics.com/en/athletes/wilma-rudolphhttps://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016444.htmlhttps://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/wilma-rudolphhttps://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/obituaries/wilma-rudolph-star-of-the-1960-olympics-dies-at-54.htmlhttps://youtu.be/BYQXYVwa4YE (biography mini bio)https://youtu.be/FPVdpJZJi-o (epic Olympic moments)https://youtu.be/Xnr0hu1skVY (interview)

Earlier this week, Karine Jean-Pierre was named the new White House Press Secretary from her current position as the Principal Deputy Press Secretary for the Biden Administration. Jean-Pierre will be the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ-plus person to serve in this position. To learn more about Jean-Pierre, read her 2019 book Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America, watch her 2020 interview on the Today show and check out links to more sources below:https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/us/politics/karine-jean-pierre-white-house-press-secretary.htmlhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/karine-jean-pierre-on-her-mental-health-struggle-and-a-blueprint-for-activismhttps://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/karine-jean-pierre-building-stronger-more-inclusive-america-n1269166https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a37223725/karine-jean-pierre-joe-biden-white-house-career-interview/https://youtu.be/BwS75k7ZE94 (MoveOn.org / Kamala Harris moment)https://youtu.be/znryYvNxSWw (Psaki and Jean-Pierre)If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

On National Nurses Day, we acknowledge Ernest Grant, internationally recognized burn care and safety expert and the first male president of the American Nurses Association. To learn more about Grant, history of nursing as well as African American nurses, check out the links provided below:Sources:https://www.nursingworld.org/ana/leadership-and-governance/board-of-directors/ana-president/https://nurse.org/articles/black-history-month-nursing-leaders/https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/nhhc/american-nursing-an-introduction-to-the-past/https://www.registerednursing.org/articles/african-american-nurses-making-history/https://www.chamberlain.edu/blog/a-celebration-of-10-famous-black-nurses-in-historyhttps://www.nbna.org/historyhttps://www.nbna.org/files/NBNA%20FALL%202019%20REVJAN07.pdfhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jan.14791https://aahc.nc.gov/resources/black-history-month-2021/black-history-month-2021-health-pioneers-interview-dr-ernest-j-granthttps://youtu.be/zCnnciTWIjY (video interview with Ernest Grant) If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Bridget “Biddy” Mason was born into slavery in 1818 in Mississippi but was able to secure her freedom in a California court after her owner tried to move her back East to Texas. Mason used her earnings from midwifery to buy property, establish the first AME church in Los Angeles, and build community as the wealthiest Black woman in LA.To learn more about Mason and her legacy, check out biddymasoncollaborative.com, laconservancy.org to learn more about Biddy Mason Memorial Park in Los Angeles, read Biddy Mason: A Place of Her Own by Camille Gavin and Biddy Mason Speaks Up by Arisa White and Laura AtkinsSources:https://www.nbclosangeles.com/local-2/descendants-of-biddy-mason-the-grandmother-of-la-want-her-honored/2832587/https://www.nps.gov/people/biddymason.htmhttps://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/09/418616/open-hand-conversation-descendants-biddy-masonhttps://la.curbed.com/2017/3/1/14756308/biddy-mason-california-black-historyhttps://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/explore/biddy-mason.htmlhttps://laist.com/news/la-history/biddy-mason-free-forever-the-contentious-hearing-that-made-her-a-legend-los-angeles-black-historyhttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-27-me-25048-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1H9m1KyFEyIncVYBAAUMX3Gv2zQLEWhLaVE5spnl0eg7JvGgclV6LM2-I

History was made 42 years ago in May 1980 when the burgeoning Star Wars franchise added the character of Lando Calrissian to its universe played by 1970s heartthrob Billy Dee Williams. He was the second Black character in popular science fiction film or television to have a significant and recurring role. (The first was Nichelle Nichols' Lieutenant Uhura on the original Star Trek series.)To learn more about Black Star Wars characters, check out the links below:https://nerdist.com/article/black-representation-star-wars/https://www.theroot.com/star-wars-black-characters-ranked-1794923523https://www.blackenterprise.com/star-wars-7-black-characters-you-should-know/https://www.thegeektwins.com/2019/02/star-wars-22-black-actors-ranked-from.htmlhttps://www.starwarsgeekgirl.com/post-1/highlighting-black-characters-in-star-warsIf you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social .

In GBN's "A Year of Good Black News" Page-A-Day Calendar" for 2022, we explore words and phrases in a category we call "Lemme Break It Down." Today's entry takes a look at "Afrofuturism" -- a term used to describe a movement within Black culture from the 1950s to present that uses science fiction and fantasy as frameworks to reimagine the African diaspora in music, art, literature, film, and fashion.To learn more, read Mark Dery's seminal 1994 "Black to the Future" essay, Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha L. Womack, Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise fo Astro-Blackness edited by Reynaldo Anderson and Charles E. Jones, watch Afrofuturism 101 at pbs.org, download the This American Life “We Are The Future” episode on Afrofuturism by Neil Drumming, check out other Afrofuturism-themed podcasts on player.fm, and listen to the awesome “Space is The Place” Afrofuturism playlist curated by Good Black News contributor Marlon West.Sources:https://www.wired.com/story/how-afrofuturism-can-help-the-world-mend/https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anxiety/episodes/black-people-are-outer-spacehttps://newsroom.ucla.edu/magazine/afrofuturismhttps://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-is-afrofuturismhttps://www.essence.com/entertainment/a-beginners-guide-afrofuturism/https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/we-travel-space-ways-afrofuturism-musichttps://www.npr.org/transcripts/968498810https://youtu.be/154XnA1xcis (short video on Afrofuturism)https://youtu.be/ppNai6KOXyQ (Afrofuturism in film)https://youtu.be/IW1eUuZaF2o (Afrofuturism TedX Masi Mbewe)

Today, on Eid Al Fitr, the celebration of the end of Ramadan, we offer a quote from El- Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Black Muslim leader and Civil Rights activist, more commonly known as Malcolm X.To learn more about El-Shabazz, watch the 1978 educational documentary El Hajj Malik El Shabazz by Gil Noble and McGraw Hill Films on YouTube, read the classic Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, and The Diary of Malcolm X: El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, which contains the copious notes El-Shabazz made during his 1964 trip to Mecca, edited and annotated by Ilyasah Shabazz and Herb Boyd.More Sources:https://therevealer.org/malcolm-x-why-el-hajj-malik-el-shabazz-matters/https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2013.46.20https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/one-pilgrims-progresshttps://www.washingtoninformer.com/remembering-el-hajj-malik-el-shabazz/https://youtu.be/mRtYluUXZ8Q (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz 1978 documentary)https://youtu.be/WBS416EZsKM (discusses OAAU June 1964)https://youtu.be/4LHtOJGZHn0 (what is Eid Ul-Fitr video)

Did you know a Black man helped build the most iconic black-labeled whiskey known the world over? In the 1850s, a young Jack Daniel apprenticed under Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved distiller, who employed a special process to make whiskey smooth.By the 1860s, Green reportedly became the wealthiest African American person in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and seven generations of Green's family have worked for the Jack Daniel Distillery.To learn more about Green and his legacy (his son George Green is in the episode's photo), check out nearestgreen.org, read 1967's Jack Daniel's Legacy by Ben A. Green (no relation), the first book to highlight Green's contribution to the iconic whiskey brand, and watch The Story of Nearest Green, the short film featuring Emmy and Tony Award winning actor Jeffrey Wright.Sources:https://www.nearestgreen.com/about-nearest-green/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/dining/jack-daniels-whiskey-nearis-green-slave.htmlhttps://theconversation.com/the-story-of-nearest-green-americas-first-known-black-master-distiller-164311?fbclid=IwAR3EEs12skCmy7s9BWUHT_4Rk75plFqUadxcOt_qFc8Ctt_2QHozDjrn2M8https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearest-green-slave-who-taught-jack-daniel-how-to-make-whiskey/https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1042481944/uncle-nearest-premium-whiskey-fawn-weaverhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/dominiquefluker/2022/03/09/how-fawn-weaver-created-uncle-nearest-premium-whiskey-from-hidden-history/?sh=79f9535cfea9

Today, we close out #JazzAppreciationMonth with a short tribute to a primary architect of the sound, the legendary New Orleans son, Louis Armstrong. To learn more about Armstrong, check out the Louis Armstrong House Museum, his 1936 autobiography, Swing That Music, his 1954 autobiography Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans, 1999's Louis Armstrong in His Own Words, and other books like Satchmo: The Genius of Louis Armstrong by Gary Giddins from 2001, Pops: The Life of Louis Armstrong from 2009 by Terry Teachout, and All of Me: The Complete Discography of Louis Armstrong by Jos Willems from 2006.More sources:https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/article_1dc3e26d-1f7b-5324-8b21-1389a514a589.htmlhttps://www.biography.com/musician/louis-armstronghttps://www.louisarmstronghouse.orghttps://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2021/04/apple-original-films-announce-definitive-louis-armstrong-documentary-black-and-blues-the-colorful-ballad-of-louis-armstrong/https://nyfos.org/louis-armstrong-performs-black-and-blue/https://youtu.be/UGIYaqz5rI0 (Duke and Louis on Ed Sullivan)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LDPUfbXRLM (1965 “Black and Blue”)

Although we dropped in on Duke Ellington earlier this month on April 6th when we shared a quote from him and a snapshot of his career and contributions, today, on his birthday, this prolific composer and musician gets a much-deserved second look. One thing we didn't share last time about the Black, Brown and Beige maestro? He had synethesia, the neurological condition where sounds and colors blend.To learn even more about Ellington, check out our April 6th daily drop, and to learn more about synesthesia, check out the links below:https://www.npr.org/2008/11/19/97193567/duke-ellington-the-composer-pt-1https://www.sfcv.org/learn/composer-gallery/edward-kennedy-duke-ellingtonhttps://www.composerofthemonth.com/duke-ellingtonhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/synesthesiahttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-synesthesia/https://www.healthline.com/health/synesthesiaIf you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

When Black Panther Party member Brad Lomax started using a wheelchair every day after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he realized he had another "ism" to fight -- ableism. In 1977 Lomax helped lead the "504 Sit In" -- the longest sit in in U.S. History to fight for disability rights from the federal government.To learn more, read 2020 New York Times feature article on Lomax from its Overlooked No More series, read The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation by Doris Fleischer and Frieda James from 2011, and watch the 2020 documentary Crip Camp on Netflix.More sources:http://sfbayview.com/2014/02/black-history-of-504-sit-in-for-disability-rights-more-than-serving-food-when-will-the-healing-begin/https://www.ndrn.org/resource/drib2020-brad-lomax/https://www.centerforlearnerequity.org/news/brad-lomax-uniting-the-civil-rights-and-disability-rights-communities/http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1371/1539https://dredf.org/504-sit-in-20th-anniversary/short-history-of-the-504-sit-in/https://newrepublic.com/article/158618/americans-disabilities-act-teach-todays-protestershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRrIs22plz0 (Crip Camp trailer)https://youtu.be/KfBD62gj8cs (short doc on Lomax)https://youtu.be/z3Swx-FNQVI (504 sit in short)Photo credit: HolLynn D'Lil. (Brad Lomax at a rally in 1977 at Lafayette Square in Washington.)

Today we quote of a joke from groundbreaking and innovative comedian Richard Pryor, taken from his self-directed 1983 concert film/documentary Here and Now: To learn more about Pryor, read his 1995 autobiography Pryor Convictions, the 2014 biographies Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him and Becoming Richard Pryor. Also, watch the 2013 documentary Richard Pyror: Omit the Logic, now on Hulu, the 2019 documentary I Am Richard Pryor, or the 2021 episode of ABC.com's Superstar series dedicated to Pryor.

In GBN's "A Year of Good Black News" Page-A-Day Calendar" for 2022, we explore words and phrases in a category we call "Lemme Break It Down." Today's entry takes a look at "bop" -- a term used today for a song with a good groove -- but was first used in the early 1940s to describe an exciting, new intricate form of jazz.Sources:https://www.etymonline.com/word/bophttps://7esl.com/bop/https://thewordcounter.com/meaning-of-bop/https://amzn.to/3Kijdae (To Be or Not To Bop by Dizzy Gillespie)https://www.npr.org/2016/02/18/467259732/a-dive-into-jazz-slang-you-digFollow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News,check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Born 105 years ago today, we offer a quote from one of the best vocalists ever, the “First Lady of Song” Ms. Ella Fitzgerald.To learn more about Ella, watch 2019's Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things documentary on Netflix, the 1999 American Masters biography Something To Live For on YouTube, read ELLA: A Biography of the Legendary Ella Fitzgerald from 2018, Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography of the First Lady of Jazz from 1994, and watch great clips of her on YouTube with Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie.Sources:http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/about/biographyhttps://www.biography.com/musician/ella-fitzgeraldhttps://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/ella-fitzgeraldhttps://thesongbook.org/ellafitzgeraldhttps://www.npr.org/2019/09/05/749021799/the-joy-of-ella-fitzgeralds-accessible-elegancehttps://goodblacknews.org/2020/04/25/a-remembrance-of-jazz-legend-ella-fitzgerald-on-her-birthday-and-playlist-listen/https://youtu.be/myRc-3oF1d0 (Ella and Ellington)https://youtu.be/_PMB-wgHM4Y (Ella and Basie)https://youtu.be/CPQwHt3f8Yo (Ella and Sinatra)Link to Ella Fitzgerald Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0LIoz4OZ7wvTwLWZcrevPt?si=c25c660b75c7407d

Located in Harlem on Lenox Avenue, the Savoy Ballroom was known as “The World's Finest Ballroom” and the “Home of Happy Feet” from its 1926 opening to its 1958 close. Unlike other ballrooms of the era, the Savoy always had a no-discrimination policy and showcased the finest swing music in the city. To learn more about the Savoy, check out welcometothesavoy.com, a site that's restoring the Savoy with a VR experience, watch 1992's Stompin' At The Savoy directed by Debbie Allen on Amazon Prime Video or Roku, watch clips about the history of the Savoy on YouTube, or read Swinging At The Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer by Norma Miller.Sources:https://www.welcometothesavoy.comhttps://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-savoy-ballroom-harlem-new-york-1930/https://welcometoharlem.com/the-savoy-ballroom/https://youtu.be/H5DyQfcokFk (short YouTube doc on Savoy)https://youtu.be/Nr8MLXDThug (clip from PBS doc Jazz on Savoy)https://youtu.be/p9OHZtq8CTk (lindy hoppers at Savoy)If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Born on this day in 1856 to free Black parents, Ohio native Granville T. Woods became one of the best and most innovative electrical engineers the U.S. had ever seen, who owned his own business and held over 60 patents. To learn more about Woods, read 2013's Granville T. Woods: African American Communication and Transportation Pioneer by David L. Head, Granville Taylor Woods: The First Black American Who Was Granted Forty-Nine Patents by Jonathan Walker from 2011, and Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, and Shelby J. Davidson by Rayvon Fouché from 2005.More Sources: https://www.biography.com/inventor/granville-t-woodshttps://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Granville_T._Woodshttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/obituaries/granville-t-woods-overlooked.htmlhttps://www.coneyislandhistory.org/hall-of-fame/granville-t-woodshttps://www.pbs.org/video/inventor-granville-t-woods-hm5ftq/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpImTBhCmARIsAKr58cw9kO0RxX2D78YMRVDNDxhc4K4PY_IsNjCsKK5S1_BcRivsE-ohPq8aAgaqEALw_wcBhttps://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/granville-woodshttps://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/granville-woods-inventorhttps://youtu.be/4PB6pYrUrr8 (short documentary)If you like these Daily Drops, follow on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

On this #EarthDay, GBN celebrates Hazel M. Johnson, a working-class woman and mother of seven who became determined to combat environmental racism by exposing and dismantling the "Toxic Doughnut" of refineries, chemical companies and steel mills that encircled the Chicago housing project Altgeld Gardens. Because of Johnson's grassroots activism, she is now known as the “Mother of Environmental Justice.”To learn more about Johnson, visit the site of the organization Johnson founded, peopleforcommunityrecovery.org where you can also donate, check out the Chicago Public Library's information on Johnson, and watch the CBS Chicago feature on Johnson from 2021.Sources:https://www.chipublib.org/blogs/post/hazel-m-johnson-mother-of-the-environmental-justice-movement/https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/04/29/hazel-m-johnson-fought-for-clean-air-and-water-on-the-southeast-side-a-congressman-is-doubling-down-on-efforts-to-honor-her/https://goodblacknews.org/2021/02/20/bhm-good-black-news-celebrates-hazel-m-johnson-the-mother-of-environmental-justice/https://q.sustainability.illinois.edu/hazel-johnson-and-the-toxic-doughnut/https://www.nrdc.org/stories/four-poets-honor-chicagos-hazel-m-johnson-mother-environmental-justicehttps://www.pbs.org/video/hazel-johnson-pollution-chicagos-southeast-side-lhhtzc/https://youtu.be/CR93k85h7TU (CBS Chicago)

In 2016, Dr. Carla D. Hayden became the first woman and first African American person to serve the nation as Librarian of Congress. Hayden also became the first professional librarian to hold the post in over 60 years. To learn more about Dr. Hayden, follow her on Twitter @LibnofCongress, watch her on C-SPAN, read The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening or the children's book Carla Hayden: Librarian of Congress from the Women Leading the Way series.Sources:https://www.loc.gov/about/about-the-librarian/https://www.wypr.org/show/midday/2021-08-10/dr-carla-hayden-the-librarian-of-congress-on-why-libraries-matterhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Carla-Haydenhttps://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/carla-hayden-41https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-7396?https://www.chicagotribune.com/people/ct-carla-hayden-14th-librarian-of-congress-1231-20220103-76khacp7wbgc5l75scsqx22ida-story.htmlhttps://youtu.be/LoFlFxtv0HM (CBS Morning feature)If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Today features a joke from Emmy and Grammy Award winning comedian Dave Chappelle from his Inside the Actors Studio conversation with James Lipton from 2006. We also discuss highlights of his career as well as the issues that arose from his 2021 Netflix special The Closer.Sources:https://www.looper.com/266269/the-real-reason-dave-chappelle-quit-his-sketch-show/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--IS0XiNdpk (SNL 2016)https://youtu.be/3tR6mKcBbT4 (8:46)https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/25/entertainment/dave-chappelle-addresses-trans-netflix-employees-cec/index.html

As we continue to celebrate #JazzAppreciationMonth, today we drop in on Billie Holiday, the singer and artist who not only influenced peers and progeny alike with her inventive interpretation and phrasing in songs, but also composed several of her signature songs which in turn became jazz and blues standards.To learn more about Billie Holiday, read If You Can't Be Free, Be A Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday by Farah Jasmine Griffin, check out the 2019 documentary Billie on Hulu, watch clips of Holiday in New Orleans on YouTube take 2021's The United States vs. Billie Holiday, also on Hulu. And there's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill on Amazon Prime Video. Also watch her classic 1957 performance of “Fine and Mellow” on CBS's Sound of Jazz and listen to the 2021 podcast on Audible, Billie Was a Black Woman,Sources:https://www.npr.org/2020/12/03/940104383/new-documentary-billie-explores-mysteries-of-billie-holiday-and-her-biographerhttps://www.npr.org/2019/08/23/748740849/returning-to-lady-a-reflection-on-two-decades-in-search-of-billie-holidayhttps://www.biography.com/musician/billie-holidayhttps://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/billie-holiday-about-the-singer/68/https://www.si.edu/spotlight/billie-holidayhttps://youtu.be/YKqxG09wlIA (“Fine and Mellow” on Sound of Jazz)https://youtu.be/hKimh-iPd_0 (Billie documentary trailer)

Today we celebrate five-time NBA champion, two time Olympic Gold Medalist, philanthropist, Academy Award winner, author, husband, father and career Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant.To learn more, read 2018's The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, 2022's The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality by Mike Sielski. Watch the 2015 documentary Kobe Bryant's Muse, now on Showtime, the 2019 All the Smoke video podcast episode featuring one of his final interviews, also on Showtime.Watch Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel's retrospective on Kobe Bryant from 2020, on Facebook. And watch his Oscar-winning short, Dear Basketball. Also listen to Bryant's family-oriented podcast The Punies about friends who play sports, have adventures and valuable learn life lessons..Podcasts dedicated to collecting and sharing Kobe Bryant's various interviews, are on listennotes.com.Sources: https://andscape.com/tag/kobe-bryant/https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/how-kobe-bryants-mamba-mentality-changed-the-nba/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/sports/basketball/vanessa-kobe-bryant-hall-of-fame.htmlhttps://www.nba.com/stats/player/977https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kobe-Bryanthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-punies-by-kobe-bryant/id1425055063https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/anger-love-and-the-evolving-legacy-of-kobe-bryanthttps://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/kobe-bryanthttps://stacker.com/stories/12133/kobe-bryant-life-story-you-may-not-knowhttps://youtu.be/98wR6-r2bbI (Kobe Bryant's Muse trailer)https://youtu.be/lUcdx4W8Xes (Dear Basketball)https://fb.watch/crjEns3UMg/ (Real Sports retrospective)

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Thomas A. Dorsey, who not only once worked as Ma Rainey's pianist and musical director, but was also the key architect in revolutionizing the sound of gospel music.To learn more about Dorsey watch the 1982 documentary Say Amen, Somebody, check out his collection of papers archived at Fisk University, read 1994's The Rise of Gospel Blues: The Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church which you can borrow from the Internet Archive, and 2015's Anointed to Sing the Gospel: The Levitical Legacy of Thomas A. Dorsey by Kathryn B. Kemp. You can also watch 2005's The Story of Gospel Music documentary.Dorsey's hometown of Villa Rica, Georgia holds an annual Thomas A. Dorsey Birthplace Heritage Festival. This year's is June 25th and 26th.Sources:https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/thomas_dorsey.htmlhttp://downtownvillarica.com/event/thomas-a-dorsey-gospel-heritage-festival/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rev-thomas-a-dorsey-mn0000926198/biographyhttps://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Thomas_A_Dorseyhttp://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/Site/inductee?entry_id=4259https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/25/arts/thomas-a-dorsey-is-dead-at-93-known-as-father-of-gospel-music.htmlIf you like these Daily Drops, follow on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links, or tell a friend. Check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

In yesterday's daily drop we celebrated sports legend Jackie Robinson. But did you know his older brother had his own claim to sports fame? Matthew Mackenzie “Mack” Robinson was an outstanding track and field athlete who won a silver medal in the 200-meter event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, finishing just four tenths of a second behind Jesse Owens.To learn more about Mack Robinson, his sports accomplishments and his civic=minded local activism, check out the sources below:https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/offramp/2016/05/19/48971/hidden-history-mack-robinson-jackie-s-long-overloo/https://web.archive.org/web/20091105182719/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ro/matthew-robinson-1.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/14/sports/mack-robinson-85-second-to-owens-in-berlin.htmlhttp://repository.wustl.edu/concern/videos/k0698c509https://around.uoregon.edu/mackrobinsonhttps://andscape.com/features/jesse-owens-vs-hitler-wasnt-the-only-story-at-the-1936-olympics/https://podtail.com/en/podcast/the-hidden-history-of-los-angeles/mack-robinson-s-pasadena-hhla24/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF4YApXTmWI (YouTube short on Mack)https://youtu.be/aNLhpEpIO04 (Mack Robinson CBS Los Angeles)https://youtu.be/97Icc35DJPM (“Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” trailer)

Seventy five years ago today, Jackie Robinson made sports and national history when he took to the infield as a Brooklyn Dodger and integrated Major League Baseball.To learn more about Georgia born, California-raised US Army Veteran Robinson, read I Never Had it Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson, True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson, watch the 2016 documentary Jackie Robinson or consider donating to the Jackie Robinson Foundation at jackierobinson.org which offers financial aid to Black college students under its JRF Scholars program. Also, check out the following sources:https://www.biography.com/athlete/jackie-robinsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr5P8dcn3n4 (doc trailer)https://jackierobinson.orghttps://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/robinson-jackiehttps://www.mentalfloss.com/article/50059/42-facts-about-jackie-robinsonhttps://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/baseball-history/jackies-own-wordshttps://www.loc.gov/collections/jackie-robinson-baseball/articles-and-essays/baseball-the-color-line-and-jackie-robinson/meet-the-press/https://youtu.be/oTsVeTz3pOY (LA Dodgers remembering Jackie Robinson)If you like these Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

#OnThisDay five years ago, hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar released his fourth album DAMN. and solidified his rep as one of the best to ever flow and rhyme with introspection and vision. Lamar earned a Pulitzer Prize for music for DAMN., the first work outside of the jazz or classical genres to ever do so.

In continued celebration of #JazzAppreciationMonth, today we offer a quote from and a supersized Drop about one of the finest vocalists and musicians ever to do it, the “Sassy" "Divine One," Ms. Sarah Vaughan.To learn more about Vaughan, read Queen of BeBop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan, Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan, the music documentary of her performing live 1958 and 1964 called Sarah Vaughan: The Divine One in 1958, watch the American Masters documentary Sarah Vaughan “The Divine One” on YouTube.Sources:https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/sarah-vaughanhttps://www.npr.org/artists/15202481/sarah-vaughanhttps://downbeat.com/archives/detail/sarah-vaughan-and-greatnesshttps://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2017/07/05/the-vast-voice-of-sarah-vaughanhttps://www.biography.com/musician/sarah-vaughanhttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/sarah-vaughan-mn0000204901/biographyIf you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Today for #JazzAppreciationMonth we celebrate Nancy Wilson, the Ohio native who from her teen years on stood out as n admired and revered song stylist who sang standards, jazz, pop, rhythm & blues and Broadway with unique, charming and compelling artistry and verve. To learn more about Wilson, check out the Jazz Profiles series she hosted on National Public Radio, read her 2007 interview on the National Endowment for the Arts website, watch her 1994 interview on Detroit Black Journal on YouTube, her 1962 appearance on Jazz Scene USA currently on YouTubeSources:https://www.grammy.com/artists/nancy-wilson/6926https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/nancy-wilsonhttps://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/statement-passing-nancy-wilson-major-force-history-american-musichttps://musicianguide.com/biographies/1608002610/Nancy-Wilson.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/obituaries/nancy-wilson-dead-jazz-singer.htmlhttps://goodblacknews.org/2022/02/21/music-monday-the-song-is-you-a-tribute-playlist-to-legendary-song-stylist-nancy-wilson-listen/https://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/nancy_wilson.htmhttps://youtu.be/Wj05EY2aP7I (“How Glad I Am”)https://youtu.be/npFMr0IGYJA (Jazz Scene USA)

In continued celebration of #JazzAppreciationMonth, we drop in on Oscar Peterson, virtuoso jazz pianist who hailed from Canada, composed the de facto Civil Rights Movement anthem, and was dubbed the "Maharaja of the Keyboard" by none other than Duke Ellington.To learn more about Peterson, read A Jazz Odyssey: The Life of Oscar Peterson, Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz and Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing and watch the 2021 documentary Oscar Peterson: Black + White on Hulu.Sources:https://jazzfuel.com/oscar-peterson-jazz-piano/https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/oscar-peterson-in-5-songs/https://jazz.fm/best-oscar-peterson-albums/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oscar-petersonhttps://internationalmusician.org/oscar-peterson/https://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/inductee/oscar-peterson/https://oscarpeterson.comhttps://youtu.be/tCrrZ1NnCuM (Hymn to Freedom video)Follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

On #NationalSiblingsDay, we celebrate talented, Tony and Emmy award-winning sisters and Howard University alums Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen. They are also the daughters of poet Vivian Ayers Allen, who GBN "dropped" in on two days ago on April 8th.Check that out along with more sources on Rashad and Allen:https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a29474469/phylicia-rashad-sister-debbie-allen/https://www.debbieallendanceacademy.comhttps://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photos-Debbie-Allen-Honored-by-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-20220406https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/a/aa-an/debbie-allen/https://www.biography.com/actor/debbie-allenhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Phylicia-Rashadhttps://twitter.com/msdebbieallen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthorhttps://twitter.com/phyliciarashad?lang=enhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Phylicia-Rashadhttps://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Wings-Debbie-Allen/dp/0142501417/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9MLZGL59P9HQ&keywords=debbie+allen&qid=1649435175&s=books&sprefix=debbie+allen%2Cstripbooks%2C256&sr=1-1

Just two short days ago, Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially confirmed by a Senate vote of 53 to 47 to become the 116th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and first African American woman ever to serve on the highest judicial body of the nation. Today, we celebrate her and the historic achievement.Sources:https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/politics/ketanji-brown-jackson-senate-vote-latest/index.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2022/04/07/1090973786/ketanji-brown-jackson-first-black-woman-supreme-courthttps://www.whitehouse.gov/kbj/https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5007053/judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-outlines-judicial-philosophyhttps://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/21/55-things-you-need-to-know-about-ketanji-brown-jackson-00018514https://www.biography.com/law-figure/ketanji-brown-jacksonhttps://youtu.be/bYhH5J_LYzgIf you like these Daily Drops, you can follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet Vivian Ayers Allen not only infused the world with her art but also with artists -- her daughters Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen as well as the children she's inspired on the site of her former alma mater, the historic Brainerd Institute in Chester, South Carolina, via her “Workshops in Open Fields” program to educate preschool children in the arts.To learn more about Vivian Ayers Allen, check out Spice of Dawns, her 1952 poetry collection and the Brainerd Institute Heritage website.Sources:https://ganttcenter.org/carolina-trailblazers/vivian-ayers-allen/https://scafricanamerican.com/vivian-ayers-allen/https://www.worldcat.org/title/spice-of-dawns-a-book-of-verse/oclc/2684559?referer=di&ht=edition#borrowhttps://youtu.be/8TbMI5vr9BMhttps://twitter.com/phyliciarashadf/status/1101497318203895808?lang=en

In GBN's "A Year of Good Black News" Page-A-Day®️Calendar for 2022 we offer some fun Black Trivia in a category we call "We Got Game." Our April entry in this category tests what you know about U.S. postal history, for as memorable as Chuck D's rhyme is in "Don't Believe The Hype," many of our heroes have indeed appeared on U.S. stamps. To see the question, answer and sources to more information, go to goodblacknews.org.Sources:https://about.usps.com/publications/pub354/welcome.htmhttps://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/freedom-just-around-the-corner-black-heritage-stamp-series/black-heritage-stamp-serieshttps://uspsblog.com/black-heritage-stamps/https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-first-african-american-on-a-stamp-the-black-experience-on-stamps-national-postal-museum/JQVhJgoFEInSLg?hl=enhttps://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/african-american-stamp-subjects.htmIf you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

Today we offer a quote from jazz royalty -- bandleader, composer, pianist, performer -- the one and only Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington in continued celebration of #JazzAppreciationMonth.To learn more about Sir Duke, read his 1973 autobiography Music is My Mistress, the 1995 biography Beyond Category: The Genius of Duke Ellington, 2016's Duke Ellington: An American Composer and Icon and 2022's Duke Ellington: The Notes the World Was Not Ready to Hear.Sources:https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/when-a-jazz-musician-shook-up-classical-music/83523/https://www.songhall.org/profile/Duke_Ellingtonhttps://jazzfuel.com/duke-ellington-biography/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/obsessed-with-duke-ellington-one-man-is-determined-to-illuminate-the-jazz-composers-stunning-output/2021/02/11/dac47244-60de-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.htmlhttps://jazztimes.com/features/columns/duke-ellington-artist-of-the-century/https://theconversation.com/duke-ellingtons-melodies-carried-his-message-of-social-justice-115602https://www.masterclass.com/articles/duke-ellingtons-life-and-music#4-characteristics-of-duke-ellingtons-musicFollow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

The most prolific and inventive producer of the millennium, Pharrell Williams offers the same in the fields of fashion, film and philanthropy. GBN is dropping in to celebrate all facets of this beautiful Neptune, born #onthisday in 1973,To learn more about Pharrell, read Places and Spaces I've Been and Pharrell: A Fish Doesn't Know It's Wet, his 2016 children's board book Happy, watch the 2016 documentary Pharrell Williams: Happy Go Lucky, his The Breakfast Club interview, his 2019 conversation with Rick Rubin on GQ's YouTube channel, or his 2021 appearance on PBS's Finding Your Roots. Also check out his Netflix series Voices of Fire, Pharrell on The FADER Uncovered podcast, and Pharrell's own podcast, OTHERtone.Sources:https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/03/us/pharrell-williams-harlem-promise-academy-internships-trnd/index.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2015/10/23/451194211/pharrell-williams-in-conversationhttps://www.biography.com/musician/pharrell-williamshttps://variety.com/2022/music/news/pharrell-williams-chanel-adidas-black-ambition-1235208293/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/pharrell-othertone-new-podcast-series-1096409/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-03-23/pharrell-williams-and-black-ambition-ceo-on-empowering-black-entrepreneurs

In GBN's "A Year of Good Black News" Page-A-Day Calendar" for 2022, we explore words and phrases in a category we call "Lemme Break It Down." Today's entry takes a look at "cutting contest" -- a term first used early in the 20th century as ragtime and jazz emerged as African American musical art forms.Sources:https://paddyreillysmusicbar.us/what-were-competitions-between-jazz-musicians-called/https://www.americanbluesscene.com/language-of-the-blues-cutting-contest/https://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2017/04/cutting-sessions.htmlhttps://olorisupergal.com/2011/06/21/sax-appeal-who-wins-the-battle-of-the-sax-this-year/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDib9hmvrsQ (1977 TV movie Scott JoplinFollow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News,check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.Photo credit: Mike Aremu and Yolanda Brown @Sax Appeal

Today we offer a quote from jazz legend and pioneer, the unparalleled saxophonist, composer and musician, John Coltrane.To learn more about Coltrane, check out the official website johncoltrane.com, which contains audio interviews with Coltrane, watch the 2016 documentary Chasing Trane, now on Hulu, read Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews John Coltrane: His Life and Music visit or support the John and Alice Coltrane Home in New York,More sources:https://www.johncoltrane.com/biographyhttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-coltrane-mn0000175553https://www.biography.com/musician/john-coltranehttps://www.jazzwise.com/features/article/how-john-coltrane-made-giant-stepshttps://www.gq.com/story/the-john-coltrane-record-that-made-modern-musichttps://www.jazziz.com/tag/john-coltrane/https://youtu.be/MXKPONrVt3cFollow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, you can check outgoodblacknews.orgor search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Incomparable musical artist Marvin Gaye was born #onthisday in 1939 and it's well known from the 1960s on he helped define R&B, soul and pop music, But what may not be well known about Gaye is that his earliest musical ambitions were to be a singer of Jazz.To learn more about the swingin' side of Gaye, check out the “Standards of Marvin Gaye” episode of WFIU's weekly music show Afterglow hosted by Mark Chilla, read Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye biography by David Ritz.More sources:https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/marvin-gaye-tribute-to-the-great-nat-king-cole-album/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-soulful-moods-of-marvin-gaye-mw0000626064https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-tribute-to-the-great-nat-king-cole-mw0000654298.Follow this podcast on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

No fooling, in the U.S. April 1st denotes the start of Jazz Appreciation Month (aka "JAM"), where the art form born out of Congo Square in New Orleans became a unique and true African American and American musical expression that continues to evolve across the decades and centuries.Started by the Smithsonian Museum of American History in 2001, "JAM is intended to stimulate and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz - to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and more."To learn more about the history of jazz, read Jazz: A History of America's Music, watch the 10-part documentary miniseries Jazz on PBS, read Downbeat Magazine's The Great Jazz Interviews – A 75 Year Anthology, check out jazzinamerica.org's timeline and the 1987 album from Smithsonian Folkways The History of Jazz by Mary Lou Williams.There's also Herbie Hancock's MasterClass in Jazz online.https://americanhistory.si.edu/smithsonian-jazz/education/what-jazzhttps://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-jazz#want-to-learn-more-about-musichttps://www.nps.gov/jazz/learn/historyculture/history_early.htmhttps://www.jazzinamerica.org/jazzresources/timelinehttps://youtu.be/BMgKXbtQwoo (“What is Jazz” video Smithsonian)

We close out #WomensHistoryMonth with a Drop on Mary Lou Williams, one of the most talented and revered pianists, composers and arrangers in jazz music history. Since 1996, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC has held an annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival - this year's will be held in May.To learn more about Williams, check out the Mary Lou Williams Foundation, read Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams by Tammy L. Kernodle, Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams by Linda Dahl, watch Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band, on Showtime, listen to NPR's “All Things Considered” 2019 segment on her and read NPR's “Turning the Tables” series of features on Williams.Other sources:https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/jazz/jazz---early-years/mary-lou-williamshttps://jazztimes.com/features/lists/five-essential-mary-lou-williams-albums/https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/mary-lou-williams-mother-of-us-all/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mary-lou-williams-mn0000859820/discographyhttps://www.knkx.org/jazz-and-blues/2020-02-19/looking-back-at-the-life-of-mary-lou-williams-the-lady-who-swings-the-band

Cora “Lovie” Austin was a Chicago-based blues and jazz pianist, composer and bandleader known as one of the best accompanists of her time, and played with singers such as Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter and Ethel Waters.Learn more about the "Down Hearted Blues" composer by streaming or buying her music on Apple Music, Amazon Music, or Spotify, and check out links to more sources below:https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/austin-lovie-1887-1972https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/12400/workshttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/lovie-austin-mn0000250355/biographyhttps://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/104856/Austin_Loviehttps://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/104856/Austin_LovieIf you GBN's Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

173 years ago today, Henry "Box" Brown gave literal meaning to the term "precious cargo" when he ingeniously shipped himself from slavery to freedom inside a crate. To learn more about Brown and his life, read Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself, originally published in 1851 or read 2020's BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Michele Wood.More sources:https://www.nps.gov/nebe/learn/historyculture/henryboxbrown.htmhttps://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/underground-railroad/stories-freedom/henry-box-brown/https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/brown-henry-box-1815-or-1816-1897/https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004665363/https://youtu.be/ClN88kn-fTw (video)If you like GBN's Daily Drops, follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com,Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Today we offer a quote from esteemed educator, civil rights activist and founder of Bethune-Cookman University Mary McLeod Bethune that speaks to her formidable and pro-active spirit. To learn more about South Carolina native Bethune, read Mary McLeod Bethune: Building a Better World, Essays and Selected Documents, Mary McLeod Bethune in Florida: Bringing Social Justice to the Sunshine State and Mary McLeod Bethune: Her Life and Legacy Also check out the 2016 documentary Mary McLeod Bethune – African Americans Who Left Their Stamp on History, the Mary McLeod Bethune documentary on YouTube, and cookman.libguides.com to access newsreels, videos and audio recordings of Bethune herself.More sources: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/mary-mcleod-bethunehttps://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethunehttps://www.cookman.edu/history/our-founder.htmlhttps://www.biography.com/activist/mary-mcleod-bethunehttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eleanor-bethune/https://youtu.be/cFICMpTFaGs (South Carolina ETV video)https://youtu.be/Un9OQO8L83UTranscript and sources available at goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

As the 94th Academy Awards ceremony takes place today, GBN takes a look at all the Black Oscar firsts, from Hattie McDaniel's inaugural win in 1940 for Best Supporting Actress to 2020 winners Mia Neal and Jamaica Wilson in the Make-Up and Hairstyling category. To learn more about Black Academy Award winners and nominees, read Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us About African Americans by Frederick Gooding, Jr. and check out these sources:https://www.oscars.org/oscarshttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/african-american-oscar-winner-oscarssowhite-870533/hattie-mcdaniel/https://www.essence.com/celebrity/way-too-short-list-black-oscar-winners/#181415https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_black_Academy_Award_winners_and_nomineesFollow GBN's Daily Drop on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

On #WorldPurpleDay, we offer a quote from and up-to-date information and links on author Alice Walker's award winning book/movie/musical/movie musical that is The Color Purple.The Color Purple (1982 novel)The Color Purple (1985 film)The Color Purple (2005 original Broadway recording)The Color Purple (2016 new Broadway recording)More sources:https://alicewalkersgarden.comhttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/alice-walkerhttps://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/alice-walker-b-1944/https://www.biblio.com/alice-walker/author/248 https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/02/oprah-winfrey-the-color-purple-cast-musicalhttps://ew.com/movies/color-purple-cast-new-old/https://www.broadway.com/buzz/184083/songwriters-stephen-bray-brenda-russell-allee-willis-on-how-god-alice-walker-and-how-to-books-helped-them-write-the-color-purple/https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/colorpurple.htmhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Color-Purple

Aretha Franklin, whose voice was rightfully declared a natural resource by her home state of Michigan, was born 80 years ago today. Today's Daily Drop celebrates her legacy by taking a tour through career highlights and offers sources to learn even more about the one and only Queen of Soul.Read her autobiography Aretha: From These Roots, Respect: The Life and Times of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz, The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An Intimate Portrait by Linda Solomon, watch Amazing Grace on DVD or Hulu, the 2021 limited series Genius: Aretha also on Hulu or the 2021 film Respect starring Jennifer Hudson.Other sources:https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/aretha-franklinhttps://www.npr.org/artists/15662553/aretha-franklinhttps://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/638355847/aretha-franklin-the-fresh-air-interviewhttps://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/franklin-arethahttps://www.biography.com/news/aretha-franklin-facts-listhttps://youtu.be/6S1_skidDFI (Live in Amsterdam 1968)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz2efshhuq4 (Kennedy Center Honors 2015)The Aretha Franklin Songbook: Playlist of songs composed by Aretha"How I Got Over: Aretha Franklin Cover Songs PlaylistFollow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

"Nobody's free until everybody's free" was the still-relevant motto of Mississippi farm laborer Fannie Lou Hamer, who was fired from her job (and worse) simply for trying to vote. Undeterred, Hamer not only helped organize others in her area to vote, she formed the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party and clamored for representation at the 1964 Democratic Convention. Learn more from the documentary Fannie Lou Hamer's America, her 1967 autobiography To Praise Our Bridges and God's Long Summer by Charles Marsh, The Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer: To Tell It Like it Is, Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America by Keisha N. Blain and Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kate Clifford Larson.More sources:https://www.fannielouhamersamerica.comhttps://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/fannie-lou-hamerHow The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Started (by Unstripped Voice)Fannie Lou Hamer: Stand Up (Mississippi Public Broadcasting)https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-hamer/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fannie-lou-hamers-dauntless-fight-for-black-americans-right-vote-180975610/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/hamer-fannie-louhttps://goodblacknews.org/2021/02/28/bhm-good-black-news-celebrates-fannie-lou-hamer-sharecropper-senate-candidate-voting-and-civil-rights-activist/

Today we offer a quote from internationally famous entertainer Josephine Baker that celebrates her humor and savvy regarding her ticket to fame, fortune and freedom in her adopted homeland of France, and around the world..To learn more about St. Louis, Missouri native Baker, read 2018's Josephine Baker's Last Dance, 2001's Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart, watch Baker's movies in the Josephine Baker DVD Collection, 1940's The French Way, and 1991's The Josephine Baker Story, an HBO movie starring Lynn Whitfield. Documentaries include 2018's Josephine Baker: The Story of An Awakening, and BBC Wales' 2006 Josephine Baker: The 1st Black Superstar.More sources:https://nmaahc.si.edu/josephine-bakerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggb_wGTvZoUhttps://www.biography.com/performer/josephine-bakerhttps://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/josephine-bakerhttps://www.kmbc.com/article/josephine-baker-jazz-age-harlem-renaissance-icon/36751476Daily Drops are based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.Additional music: “J'ai Deux Amours” performed by Josephine Baker and employed under fair use.Follow us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.