Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 28, 2007, Page 13, Image 13

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    February 28. 2 0 0 7
Page B5
B lack H istory M onth
History Exposed in “The Black Panthers” Collection
Photos and essays commemorate
the group's 40th anniversary
In the midst of the largely non­
violent Civil Rights movement
sweeping through America, Huey
P. Newton and Bobby Seale
founded the legendary Black Pan­
ther Party in 1966 in Oakland,
Calif. The release of “The Black
Panthers” (Aperture, Oct. 2(X)6),
a new book of photographs by
Stephen Shames and essays by
party co-founders Seale and
Charles E. Jones, coincides with
the Panther’s 40th Anniversary.
The Black Panthers, revered
by some and vilified by others,
burst onto the scene with a revo­
lutionary agenda for social change
and the empowerment of Afri­
can Americans. Its methods were
highly controversial and polariz-
THE BLACK
PANTHERS
PWWONNIft ft VfRtfh fthMKt
U.S. Stamp Honors Ella Fitzgerald
1
Jazz legend
broke many
barriers
From the 1970 infamous com ­
mercials that the late Jazz singer
Ella Fitzgerald asked of the world
“Is it live or is it Memorex?” in
which she performed a high note
to break a wine glass, Fitzgerald,
known as the “ First Lady of
Song” gets signed, sealed and
delivered as the 30th honoree in
the U.S. Postal service Black
Heritage Stamp series.
Since 1940, the United States
Postal Service has honored the
legacy of Black History. From
BookerT Washington, to Whitney
Moore Young, an A to Z list of
African American lives have been
celebrated in the form of a United
States postal stamp.
The 39-cent U.S. Postal por­
trait stamp illustrates a 1956 pho-
tographof Ella Fitzgerald. Because
A U.S. postal stam p com m em o­
rating the late Ella Fitzgerald.
honorees have to be deceased for
at least ten years, with the excep­
tion of U.S. Presidents. 2007 com­
memorates ten-plus years of Ella
“The First Lady o f Song"
Fitzgerald's passing.
World renowned for her vocal
ability to combine the art of scat
and singing in astonishing vocal
ranges, Fitzgerald perfected her
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FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATE
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Call me to learn more about stocks, bonds, lending
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805 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 221-7600 or (800) 547-1526
www.fa.smithbarney.com/hakimjones
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S mith B arney
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division and service mark of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and its a ffili­
ates and is used and registered throughout the world. CITIGROUP and the
Umbrella Device are trademarks and service marks of Citigroup Inc. or its
affiliates and are used and registered throughout the world
private meetings held in the Party
headquarters, to Bobby Seale at
work on his mayoral campaign in
Oakland.
“The Black Panthers” brings
together a remarkable collection
of images from Shames' archive.
This illuminating volume reveals
how Shames insider status en­
abled him to create an uncom­
monly nuanced portrait of this
dynamic social movement, dur­
ing one of the most tumultuous
periods in U.S. history.
Saluting Black History Month
chic by creating characteristic
vocal syllable sounds that ech­
oed the rhythms o f instruments.
The legendary jazz trum peter
Dizzy Gillespie, often requested
that Fitzgerald accompany him.
"Listening to Dizzy made me
want to try something with my
voice that would be like a horn,”
Fitzgerald said. "H e'd shout, ‘go
ahead and blow' and 1 would
improvise.” Her recordings of
songs like “Lady Be Good” and
"How High the Moon” consoli­
dated Fitzgerald's reputation as a
jazz singer. “ How High the
Moon” became one of her signa­
ture tunes.
Fitzgerald, who sang at the
inaugural for president John F.
Kennedy in 1961, had already
broken many color barriers years
before. One example was that
she was one the first black artist
to appear in various exclusive
clubs around the United States,
including the famed Copacabana
in New York, in June 1957.
‘Red River’ Brings History to Life
“ R ed R iv e r,’’(W a rn e r
Books Hardcover; $24.99)
a new n o v el by L a lita
Tadem y, w eaves together
h istory and the story o f
T adem y's own family in an
intertw ining story o f two
fam ilies struggling to sur­
vive and thrive in an America
deeply divided after the Civil
War.
From slavery to freedom,
to R econstruction - after
centuries o f terror, blacks
in Am erica were told they
would get their rights. What
they got was draft riots and
lynchings. Much has been
written about this period of
The history o f one
o f the m o st
socially important
organizations o f
the 1 9 6 0 's is
chronicled in a
new book titled
"The Black
Panthers."
ing, so much so that in 1969, FBI
leader J . Edgar Hixiver described
the organization as the country’s
greatest threat to internal secu­
rity.
During the height of the move­
ment, from 1967 to 1973, pho­
tographer Stephen Shames had
unprecedented access to the or­
ganization and captured not only
its public face - street demon­
strations, protests and militant
posturing - but also unscripted
behind the scenes moments, from
the late nineteenth century,
but little is know about an
event that claim ed the lives
o f nearly every black man in
a small Louisiana town: the
Colfax M assacre o f 1873.
Tademy brings this trag­
edy to life in “Red River," a
detailed and horrifying ex­
ploration of betrayal and re­
newal and o f the massacre
and its devastating impact
on her father's people.
Tademy is also the author
o f ac claim ed New York
T im e s b e s ts e lle r “C an e
River," a riveting family saga
chronicling four generations
in Louisiana.
“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity
and importance and should be undertaken
with painstaking excellence. ”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
5949 Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
3120 Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard