Trump Slams Civil Rights Hero Ga. Rep. John Lewis On MLK Honorary Weekend
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President Barack Obama's Address in Selma March 7, 2015
When President-elect Donald Trump denigrated the personal history of Ga. Rep. John Lewis this weekend -- after Rep. Lewis said that he questioned the legitimacy of America's presidential election with the Russians doing Trump's bidding -- it seems like this 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Day is best honored with my review and full text of President Obama's historic March 2015 Selma speech.
For Donald Trump -- who discredited President Obama for years with his birther claims -- to become indignant over Rep. Lewis' opinion and then turn like an attack dog on Lewis is more than I can stomach. This archives article details not only the events around Selma, in which John Lewis was nearly killed, but also the subsequent march to Montgomery, Alabama led by the Rev. Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta.
On this reverential weekend in America, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to unleash a high-profile feud with people of color and all progressives and Americans of conscience who have not forgotten Rep. Lewis' near-death experience in Selma. The New York Times explains with In Trump's Feud With John Lewis, Blacks Perceive a Callous Rival.
Fredrik Lerneryd Captures Beauty & Ballet Magic Of Mike Wamaya's Kibera Dance School
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Fredrik Lerneryd Captures Beauty & Ballet Magic Of Mike Wamaya's Kibera Dance School
"The sun rose in Kibera this morning, and it rose in my world, too, with my rapture over these Fredrik Lerneryd images of ballet dancers in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi. They are my best Christmas gift.
Anne of Carversville has a long psychological, emotional and now functional relationship with Kibera. Initially, my lovefest with the largest slum in Africa was triggered by JR's famous 'Women Are Heroes' project, with Kibera being one of the four slums featured in his everyday examination of the beauty and heroic female efforts worldwide. Over time I pieced together collection of intimate and deeply personal connections to Kibera through my muse Dan Eldon. The functional dimension of AOC's connection to Kibera is GLAMTRIBALE's support of The Kibera School for Girls, with 5% of revenues. Another 5% is earmarked for elephant conservation.
The dancers photographed by Fredrik Lerneryd learn dance through a program run by UK-based charity Anno's Africa, which provides alternative arts education to over 800 children in Kenya. "
Tony Gum Creates 'Mercurial Aesthetic' Free of Racial, Cultural Or Sexual Oppression
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Tony Gum Creates 'Mercurial Aesthetic' Free of Racial, Cultural Or Sexual Oppression
Women artists were more obvious in this year's Art Basel in Miami, and especially at PULSE Miami Beach.
At Christopher Moller Gallery, young Capetown artist Tony Gum, born Zipho Gum, was such a smash in New York March 2016 and then Art Basel Miami December 2016, that she was just named in ArtNet's 14 Emerging Women Artists to Watch in 2017.
Vogue called Tony Gum "the coolest girl in Cape Town", based on her tightly curated Instagram feed. Her Instagram becomes a gallery to communicate with corporate brands like Coca-Cola and Adidas about issues of race, women, pop culture and art through the lens of her own penetrating, clear-eyed, articulate and sophisticated vision.
On Site: Decoding Betye Saar's Uneasy Symbolism At Milan’s Fondazione Prada
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Writing for Hyperallergic.com, Seph Rodney surveys the work of American artist Betye Saar at Milan's Fondazione Prada. AOC wrote about Saar in advance of the exhibition opening, but Rodney's impressions put the works in an environmental context and also filtered through the writer's own personal thought universe.
My favorite work in the show is a small teal room titled “The Alpha and the Omega” (2013–16), which contains a related suite of individual works, including a suspended structure threaded with neon tubes and representing a ship. Below, a small playpen holds a collection of inflated balls, two empty chairs face each other across a board set up for an unfamiliar game, and two fancy birdcages sit quietly with entire worlds contained within them. This room is a bit more enigmatic and quietly serene. According to the gallery guide, the installation looks to represent the entire journey of a human life. “The Alpha and the Omega” also demonstrates that Saar can do more than manipulate racist icons; she can give you a glimpse of her internal life, tell you that she is ready for tomorrow to arrive.
Related: Racist Objects: Confronting Racist Objects The New York Times
A Painful Past Still Present The New York Times
For a more detailed discussion of the art of Betye Saar, read our exhibit opening overview: Assemblage Artist Betye Saar Shows 'Uneasy Dancer' At Fondazione Prada Opening Sept 15-2016
Serena Williams Is SI Sportsperson of the Year, Tapped For Athletic Dominance, Cultural Importance & Personal Growth
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Always mistress of her own ship, tennis superstar Serena Williams chose to sit on a throne, wearing high heels for her Sports Illustrated cover story honor of 'Sportsperson of the Year'. SI managing editor Christian Stone wrote on SI.com that Serena wanted to express her own ideal of femininity, strength and power."
