Shallow Nation » Cultural History

Juneteenth History: Juneteenth Celebration (Video)

Shallow Nation — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:16:27 +0000

Juneteenth celebration takes place every year on June 19. The Juneteenth history reveals the day is also referred to as Freedom Day and Emancipation Day. It celebrates the day of freedom for slaves in Texas in 1865. Their freedom came two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which went into effect on January 1, 1863. But for Texas slaves it was not until June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers entered Galveston, Texas and announced the end of the Civil War, and read out loud the Emancipation Proclamation that had already, technically, freed the state’s 250,000 or so slaves. One can hardly imagine the initial shock and excitement of the slaves to know they had been freed.

Every year since, including Juneteeen 2009, there has been a celebration.

Life Magazine Martin Luther King Photos: New MLK Assassination Photos (Video)

Shallow Nation — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:53:38 +0000

Life Magazine Martin Luther King photos taken the night of his assassination, April 4, 1968 have been released publicly for the first time. Find out more and see video here.

The 13 photographs were taken by Life magazine photographer Henry Groskinsky. He and reporter Mike Silva were on assignment in Alabama and rushed to Memphis when news reached them that King had been shot.

The photographs had never been published nor seen publicly. They were released on the magazine’s Web site on April 3, 2009, one day ahead of the 41st anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr assassination. King had been in Memphis, supporting black sanitation workers who had been on strike. He delivered his famous speech, ‘I’ve Been to the Mountaintop’ the night before his assassination. Had he lived he would have turned 80 this year.

All of the photographs can be seen here on the Life Magazine Web site.

In contrast, the photos in this post are familiar photographs, in the public domain and preserved by the U.S. Library of Congress.

The MLK assassination photos chronicle unfolding events in the aftermath, showing his associates, including Andrew Young and the late Rev. Ralph David Abernathy Sr. together in solemnity in the slain Martin Luther King Jr’s motel room, standing on the balcony where he was killed. There is also a photograph of the inside of King’s suitcase, as he had left it; a can of shaving cream top of clothing and the book he had been reading, Strength to Love. Another photograph, chillingly reveals workers cleaning up the blood.

Martin Luther King, Jr. with medallion he received from NYC Mayor Robert F. Wagner

Groskinsky was interviewed via phone at his home in Boca Raton, Florida and he said that he had he learned about a week ago that the Life Magazine Martin Luther King photos would be published on the magazine’s Web site. The 75-year-old Groskinsky does not own the rights to the photographs.

“It was a very sombre time and I felt like an intruder…I made only two or three snaps. I remember thinking this was a moment in history, that they were making decisions about how to go forward.”

Source: Newly released photos reveal aftermath of King’s assassination

According to The UK Guardian, the photographs were discovered when Life magazine partnered with Getty Images to place archival photographs online. Life.com editor Bill Shapiro is quoted as saying, “When I saw these plates my heart stopped because I knew what we had.”

In the interview, Groskinsky was asked about the MLK assassination photographs and why they were never published.

‘Once they got the famous photo’ of King’s associates pointing in the direction of the assassin, ‘that was it,’ Groskinsky said, referring to the widely circulated Associated Press photo.

He and Silva talked on the phone two days ago, trying to piece together the events of that tragic day.

“Neither one of us could remember anything after we left the room, where we stayed, what we did,” Groskinsky said.

The next day, they went back to the magazine’s New York offices.

“I turned in my film and went on to the next assignment,” Groskinsky said. “It was very disappointing they didn’t publish them, but in those days, we had no say.”

Source: Just-released photos show aftermath of MLK assassination

For more Martin Luther King Jr. pictures, see the Life Magazine archive on Google which contains 200 photos (including rare color photos from the 1963 March on Washington).

Photo source: United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The video is below.

Here is Life Magazine Martin Luther King photos video report, with a profile and interview with the photographer, Henry Groskinsky.

Video Link

Life Magazine Martin Luther King Photos: New MLK Assassination Photos (Video)

pics, pictures

Barbie 50th Anniversary Barbie (Photos, Video)

Shallow Nation — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:33:45 +0000

Barbie’s 50th anniversary is March 2009. The landmark fashion doll and cultural icon launched in 1959, has been far more than a valued toy or a collector’s item, she has followed trends and set them. For good reason she reigns as No. 41 on the list of The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived.

Yes, she has even inspired fashion designers. In honor of Barbie’s 50th anniversary, a tribute show was held at New York Fashion Week in February 2009 with 50 designers participating.

As the Daily Mail reports, the enduring popularity of Barbie may not be reflected in sales, which are down 8 percent, but she has won the admiration of designers as well as collectors.

Despite spanning five decades and 108 careers, including palaeontology, racing driving and presidential candidacy, the plastic-fantastic starlet has never let a hard day’s work get in the way of good grooming. [...]

It is perhaps her waning popularity in the west [sales are down 8 percent] that has seen the toy company open a six-story flagship store in Shanghai called House of Barbie, featuring a restaurant, spa and runway where girls can pretend to be fashion models. [...]

Jerry Oppenheimer, author of a book on Mattel called Toy Monster says: ‘It’s very clear that the taste of little girls who play with dolls has changed, ‘They have come into the 21st century, where they play on their own laptops, and have their own cell phones. ‘Dolls will be a part of their lives and Barbie will be part of that, but it will be a small window.’

Yet, designers including Diane von Furstenburg are rushing to dress her, there has even been an anniversary figure made of German chancellor Angela Merkel in her honour.

Source: Life in plastic: As Barbie rings in her 50th year, we look back at the iconic style that is still in vogue Visit to see more side-by-side photos. A video of the runway show is after the jump.

In total, Barbie has inspired or been muse to more than 70 designers including Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Vera Wang and Versace. Among those designers paying tribute to the Barbie 50th anniversary, is legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld who has designed a special Barbie collection, which will be on display in Paris, France in March 2009 at Collette. Several photos have been released of the collection, with model Baptiste Giabiconi playing the part of Ken. More photos here: Barbie and Ken by Karl Lagerfeld

New Zealand designer Karen Walke has also created a special Barbie 50th anniversary collections. Read more about it here: Barbie gets Kiwi makeover

Paul Harvey (Video, Photos)

Shallow Nation — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:31:37 +0000

Paul Harvey was a legend of broadcast radio. See a video and photo tribute here to the pioneer who with his iconic delivery rich with expressive pauses was a broadcaster for more than 70 years and the most listened to radio commentator in the world, ending his broadcasts with his signature signoff, “Paul Harvey….good day.”

He was an icon and a revered figure, indeed a national treasure who had met every U.S. president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 2005 President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Born in 1918, he was 90 years old at the time of his death in 2009.

“Paul Harvey was the most listened to man in the history of radio,” said Bruce DuMont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and host of the nationally syndicated radio program “Beyond the Beltway.” “There is no one who will ever come close to him.”

Dumont said Harvey had a litmus test for all his stories: Would Aunt Betty care about this? He thought about the interest level of his real Aunt Betty to get away from “highfalutin” foreign affairs discussions to discuss “meat and potato” issues like health care, Dumont said.

[Source: Chicago Tribune]

Paul Harvey got his start in radio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at age 14 in while still in school. Radio broadcasting has been his sole passion and occupation, which he shared with his wife Lynne Cooper Harvey whom he called Angel. She was his longtime producer (and died in May 2008). Later his son, Paul Harvey, Jr. joined the family’s venture and became producer and writer of ‘The Rest of the Story.’

Harvey never viewed himself as a newsman, even though some 18 million people tuned into his daily reports to hear his 15-minute take on the day’s events.

“I’m a professional parade watcher who can’t wait to get out of bed every morning and rush down to the teletypes to pan for gold,” he told CNN’s Larry King in 1988.

That he did with a vengeance since those teletype days in 1951, arriving at his Chicago studio in the pre-dawn hours to produce two news and commentary segments and his evening The Rest of the Story (written by his son, Paul) which were carried on some 1,100 radio stations and 400 Armed Forces Radio Network stations.

Harvey lived in River Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He had a 16th floor studio above a street sign that said Paul Harvey Drive.

In 2001, when he was 81 years old, Paul Harvey famously signed a $100 million 10-year contract with ABC Radio Networks, the network he had been with for his entire career. The stalwart Harvey nearly fulfilled the contract.

He was also a noted pitchman, with a one-of-a-kind delivery of commercial spots that he wove seamlessly into his radio broadcasts, with companies clamoring for the very limited ads and sponsorships.

“I can’t look down on the commercial sponsors of these broadcasts,” he told CBS in 1988. “Too often they have very, very important messages to put across. Without advertising in this country, my goodness, we’d still be in this country what Russia mostly still is: a nation of bearded cyclists with b.o.”

The idea of retirement never occurred to either Harvey or his wife, Angel, whom he married in 1940 and who was his producing partner throughout his career.

“I’ve got an old country boy’s philosophy,” he told The Chicago Tribune in a 2002 interview. “When the car’s running, you don’t look inside the carburetor. Just keep rolling.”

Source: Radio legend Paul Harvey dies at 90 Photo source: AZCentral.com

Read a detailed profile of Harvey written in 2002: Good Days for Paul Harvey

Watch Paul Harvey videos below.

Here is a classic Paul Harvey broadcast. ‘Letter from God’

Here is video of Paul Harvey ‘The Rest of the Story’

YouTube Link

Here is a Paul Harvey interview video

Studs Terkel, Legendary Author, Historian, Broadcaster (1912-2008) Video Tribute

Paul Harvey Video, Photos

NAACP Image Awards 2009 Winners: Performances Video, Photos

Shallow Nation — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:15:25 +0000

The 40th NAACP Awards were broadcast live on Fox network on February 12, 2009. See the winners, photos, and video of performances here. Hosting the program, which took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, were veteran director, producer and actor Tyler Perry and Oscar winning actress Halle Berry. Performers included Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Will.i.am, Seal, and Stevie Wonder.

As always, the annual awards are to honor the achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music and literature. The program was also a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the landmark civil rights organization, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded in 1909 by a group led by scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois with a mission to “”to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” The founding on February 12, 1909 coincided intentionally with the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln.

Grammy Award-winning pop icon, Beyonce opened the show in a flowing white gown, resembling vintage Hollywood glamour. The celebrated singer-actress performed her new song, ‘Halo’ with archival footage from the Civil Rights movement in the backdrop. It was quite obvious that the set had an emotional affect on Knowles, as her yes seemed watery — as if she was ready to cry. [...]

Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, who has had an event-filled week performing and winning her first Grammy, also lit up the Shrine Auditorium with her presence.

“This is where we come from,” Hudson said, accepting the trophy for “Outstanding New Artist.” “So it’s always an honor to come home and feel welcome and to feel the love. I really cherish this and appreciate it.”

Shortly after receiving the award, the J Records vocalist made her mark at the centennial celebration with her stunning tribute to boxing legend Muhammad Ali by singing ‘The Impossible Dream.’

Source: 2009 NAACP Image Awards: Bringing Black Star Power

Photo credit: Getty Images North America, Reuters

Winners list is below. To see the full list of nominees:

NAACP: 2009 Image Awards

For red carpet photos of NAACP Image Awards Arrivals see:

NAACP Image Awards 2009 Performances Video below. More picturesand 2009 Winners list below.

Beyonce Halo video

YouTube Link

via Neon Limelight

Jennifer Hudson Impossible Dream video – tribute to Muhammad Ali

YouTube Link

****40th NAACP Image Awards 2009 Winners****

*Outstanding Actor in Drama or Series: Hill Harper (’CSI: NY’)

*Outstanding New Artist: Jennifer Hudson

*Outstanding Actress In Comedy Series: Tracey Ellis Ross (’Girlfriends’)

*Outstanding Female Artist: Beyonce

*Chairman’s Award: Al Gore; Dr. Wangari Muta Maatha

*Outstanding Comedy Series: ‘Tyler Perry’s House of Pain’

*Outstanding Role in TV Movie, Mini-Series: Sean Combs (’Raisin in the Sun’)

*Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Taraji P Henson (’The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’)

*Vanguard Award Recipient: Russell Simmons

*President’s Award: Muhammad Ali

Jennifer Hudson 40th NAACP Image Awards portrait

Beyonce 40th NAACP Image Awards portrait

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith with NAACP President Julian Bond

Former Vice President Al Gore and Will.I.Am

Jada Pinkett Smith and Dakota Fanning

Jennifer Hudson and Sean Diddy Combs

NAACP Image Awards 2009 Winners: Performances Video, Photos pics, pictures, images

Chesley B. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger New York Magazine February 2009 Cover, Photos

Shallow Nation — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:49:31 +0000

Captain Chesley B. Sully Sullenberger III, Miracle on the Hudson pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 graces the cover of New York Magazine February, 2009. See the cover, video, photos (of the Hudson landing and Sullenberger and crew at Super Bowl XLIII), and article excerpts here.

The cover story by Robert Kolker “The Last Aviator: Why They Don’t Make Pilots Like Sully Anymore” profiles Sullengerberger and his remarkable ditching of the twin jet Airbus A320 in the Hudson on January 15, 2009 which saved the lives of all passengers and crew while also exploring the history of commercial aviation pilots from the early days to the present day.

When Chesley B. Sullenberger III was first starting out, 40 years and 19,663 flight hours ago, commercial-airline pilots were like gods. It was the age of Chuck Yeager and Pan Am, and the captain in uniform was a breed apart, on a par with Hollywood actors and professional athletes. The job was prestigious and well paid; kids wanted to visit the cockpit, to grow up to fly. And on a clear but frigid January Thursday, when Sully set his plane down in the middle of the Hudson River, becoming the first pilot ever to execute a controlled water landing in a modern commercial airliner without a single fatality, the age of the hero pilot was once again, for a brief moment, alive. Sully’s deification, which began almost instantly, moved from the Inauguration to the Super Bowl and continues next week, when the pilot is set to appear on 60 Minutes and David Letterman.

But the truth is, in the years since Sully began flying commercial jets, piloting has become anything but glamorous. Automation has taken much of the actual flying out of the job. The airlines’ business woes have led to longer hours and lower pay. Flying is now governed by enough rules and regulations to fill several encyclopedias. The people attracted to the profession today are different, too. Where the piloting ranks were once made up of former Air Force jocks, many of them combat veterans, they are now filled mainly with civilians for whom flying is less an adventure than a job. “Twenty-five years ago, we were a step below astronauts,” says one veteran pilot. “Now we’re a step above bus drivers. And the bus drivers have a better pension.”

From a passenger’s point of view, that’s mostly a good thing. Each year, hundreds of millions of people fly commercial in the U.S., and fatalities are almost always in the low double digits. In the past two years, there have been absolutely no deaths at all. Changes in the way pilots are recruited and trained are a key reason: In the vast majority of situations, airline-safety experts say, you want the company man, not the cowboy. But then there are the exceptions, the Miracles on the Hudson, the rare moments when it is following the rules, not subverting them, that becomes the riskier course of action. Pilots like Sully who can perform in such circumstances are a dying breed.

Source: New York Magazine: Why US Airways Pilot Chesley Sullenberger III May Be the Last of His Kind

Cover image source Mark Pasetsky’s CoverAwards Photo source: CNET: Photo of Hudson River plane crash takes down TwitPic, and Reuters.

Here is video of video of Lorrie Sullenberger and Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s speeches at homecoming ceremony on January 24, 2009 in Danville, CA. Pictures of Chesley B. Sully Sullenberger and the crew of Flights 1549 at Super Bowl XLIII February 1, 2009 below.

Video Link

Captain Chesley B. Sully Sullenberger III, pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 and crew at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, FL on February 1, 2009

Chesley B. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger New York Magazine February 2009 Cover, Photos pics pictures images

Obama Inauguration Newspaper Front Pages

Shallow Nation — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:59:33 +0000

The Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States is on newspaper front pages around the world. See several newspaper front pages here (and links to hundreds more) and video on the unprecedented worldwide media coverage of the historic event which took place on January 20, 2009.

According to a news monitoring group, there were generated an unprecedented 35,000 stories about President Barack Obama’s inauguration in major newspapers, television and radio around the world.

The Texas-based Global Language Monitor said there had also been 6 million new Obama-related mentions on the Internet since December 31.By comparison, the last U.S. presidential inauguration, of George W. Bush in January 2005, resulted in about 1,000 stories in major media worldwide, Paul JJ Payack, president of Global Language Monitor said.

“The Obama numbers are unprecedented and speak volumes to the global fascination with the new American president, his wife and young family,” Payack told Reuters. “Obama is the biggest story of the century so far.”

Source: Obama inauguration got unprecedented news coverage

Chicago Sun-Times front page January 21, 2009 (More newspapers below)

As with the historic Presidential election, the Inauguration of Barack Obama has created worldwide enthusiasm and awe.

Many international newspapers focused on the powerful symbolism and unifying power of the arrival of an African-American U.S. president on the world stage.

“We’re a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers,” said the headline on the front of the Times of India, taking a line from Obama’s inaugural address.

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun said: “He is expected to play the leading role in changing the world in which racial and religious confrontations continue to rage in defiance of the ideal expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Source: Press Review: World hails ‘United States of Obama‘ Continue reading for more reactions and quotations from world newspapers.

Above: New York Times front page. Scroll down to see several more January 21, 2009 front pages.

Here is a mosaic of Obama Inauguration headlines.

To see more than 700 Obama Inauguration newspaper front pages from more than 70 countries around the world, see the Newseum archive.

Here are videos on the rush to find and collect historic Inaugural Day newspaper front pages and the worldwide media reaction.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

New York Daily News

The Christian Science Monitor

The San Francisco Chronicle

Le Figaro, Paris, France

BILD, Berlin, Germany

ABC, Madrid Spain

The National, United Arab Emirates

Obama Inauguration Newspaper Front Pages January 21, 2009 photos pics pictures images