Gregory Clay with Malcolm Nance, counter-terrorism analyst and expert for MSNBC.
FEATURED STORIES
COMMENTARY: Measured in milestones When former President Barack Obama bestowed actor Sidney Poitier with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, he was effusive with praise. “It’s been said that Sidney Poitier does not make movies, he makes milestones — milestones of artistic excellence, milestones of America’s progress.”
Milestones etched indelibly in slices of Americana, as well as globally. Take the 1967 movie, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
It gave new meaning to the word, “SURPRISE.” And a new household expression was invented, as life imitated art.
In the movie, Joanna Drayton, a 23-year-old white woman, returns from her Hawaiian vacation to her parents' home in San Francisco with Dr. John Prentice, a 37-year-old Black widower. Let the story begin — in the movie and in real life. READ MORE.
National View: Hank Aaron hit everything life threw at him Much of the universal reverence attached to Henry Aaron’s name is related to figures. You know, something about home runs.
Several years ago, one of his telephone numbers contained a conspicuous set of figures: 7-5-5. Aaron, who died a week ago at age 86 and whose funeral was held this week, once told me, “I didn’t ask for it. The phone company just did it.”
That privilege must be reserved for icons.
Aaron, the 10th Baseball Hall of Fame player to die since last April, was a different kind of cat. Humble, unassuming, methodical, dignified. A hard-hat and lunch pail-type dude. A guy with strong hands, quick wrists, plus enough baseball records in the book to make Stevie Wonder take notice. And enough intestinal fortitude and resolve to stare down racial hatred and still get an A-plus grade on the home run exam. READ MORE.
In the two months since we projected a Saturn V rocket on the Washington Monument, I’ve lost track of the number of times someone has told me that “Apollo 50: Go for the Moon” was the most incredible thing they had ever experienced.
Dear Gregory Clay,
In the two months since we projected a Saturn V rocket on the Washington Monument, I’ve lost track of the number of times someone has told me that “Apollo 50: Go for the Moon” was the most incredible thing they had ever experienced.
And I can’t tell you how much that reaction means to me, as the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Air and Space Museum. I want to continue to astonish and amaze our visitors, and people around the world, the same way the Moon landings did 50 years ago. But just as the Apollo program was the nation’s Moonshot, “Go for the Moon” was one of the most ambitious projects the Museum has ever done. We need your support as we create new experiences that push the limit of what we thought possible. Give today.
Did you miss the show? You can watch the full video of the full 17-minute "Apollo 50: Go for the Moon" projection show.
Put space diplomacy on the front burner Fifty years after the first moon landing, what’s next?
Three former astronauts, gathered on the same dais during a fervent Apollo 11 celebration week in Washington, offered their candid thoughts about what should be in the future for the space game.
First up, Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon (after Neil Armstrong): “Remember when Neil said, ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ Well, we are still looking for that ‘giant leap.’ And I think the public would like to know what is the next step? We need a space alliance. This is not just NASA, not just the U.S. We would have an alliance of nations that needs to venture out on this next step, in space, and they’re not just space agencies.” READ THE ONLINE VERSION HERE.
Mastering the Beatles Did you know a student can receive a master’s of arts degree in the Beatles?
Well, Liverpool Hope University in England offers a curriculum titled “The Beatles, Popular Music and Society.”
The description states: “This MA will examine the significance of the music of the Beatles in the construction of identities, audiences, ethnicities and industries, and localities; by doing so it will suggest ways to understand popular music as a social practice, focusing attention on issues such as the role of music in the construction of regional identities, concepts of authenticity, aesthetics, meaning, value, performance and the use of popular music as a discursive evocation of place.
READ THE ONLINE VERSION HERE.
Sheryl Sandberg effect ― lean in or lean out Sheryl Sandberg created a national firestorm earlier this year when she said women should “Lean In” aggressively to maximize their careers. The $64,000 question, though, is how realistic is that for most women?
Not every woman is like Sandberg, who is the Harvard-educated chief operating officer for Facebook. Not many men either, for that matter. She gained $821 million from shares that vested in 2012 and received an additional $25.6 million in stock. And that’s not all. She also had a base salary: $328,000 that year with an additional $277,000 in bonus money. READ MORE
Sheryl Sandberg ― When Option A Isn’t Available Sheryl Sandberg — of “Lean In” fame — has inspired another movement. This one emanated from tragedy, when you’re one of the most influential corporate executives in the nation trying to pick up the pieces where devastation lay.READ MORE
PAST FEATURED STORIES
The Politics Of A Champion
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this photo is a book. Try a humongous one. Try “War and Peace.” Literally. There are 12 distinguished gentlemen in this picture, all of whom are black. Some of them possess transcendent qualities from a U.S. perspective. But only one of them was a global magnet capable of worldwide reach. His name is Muhammad Ali. The photo in question was taken on June 4, 1967, yes, during the civil rights movement. The occasion was a news conference in Cleveland for Ali, with his supporters shoulder to shoulder, to announce why the boxing champion was rejecting his being drafted by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Ali sat in the foreground, flanked by NBA star Bill Russell, NFL great Jim Brown and college basketball standout Lew Alcindor. The back row featured NFL stars Willie Davis and Bobby Mitchell. READ MORE
A Rare Queen in the 'Sport of Kings'- True Story | OZY
If you’re walking in the Arizona desert early in the day, say around 6 a.m., the air will still be cool for a little while longer. In every direction, you’ll see only greens and golds, scrub and boulders. All of it dwarfed by an immensity of sky. If you’re lucky, you might come across a figure. And it’s just some fellow wanderer to you until you notice that one arm is sheathed in a stiff, medieval-looking glove. On that glove? Something that belongs to the sky. READ MORE
Across from the White House, a time-capsule moments
The Fourth of July came early on a cool spring night in the nation's capital on Sunday. There were people entrenched in front of the White House joyously waving the American flag; there were people across the street perched in trees and draped with Old Glory at Lafayette Park in a scene of immense pride. One guy shouted, "We killed the (blankety-blank)." That "blankety-blank" was Osama bin Laden. READ MORE
Cuban Flag Day At Embassy In Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON ---- An honor guard trio of men dressed in regal uniforms and sporting stern facial expressions delicately manipulated taut rope-cords as a red-white-and-blue flag reached its zenith atop a flagpole on Monday. Then a sun-baked delegation of ladies and gentlemen joyously sang the Cuban national anthem in front of a gated mansion on 16th Street, about 2.5 miles north of the White House. READ MORE
Freedom Summer Of Hope In 1964 McClatchy-Tribune News Service
The Ku Klux Klan, the most vile domestic terrorist organization of the 1960s, accosted three civil rights workers while they were driving near Philadelphia, Miss. The workers’ offense: trying to register southern black folk to vote and leading boycotts of segregated establishments. READ MORE
The Book of Cosby By: Gregory Clay
It almost came tumbling down . . .
. . .for Bill Cosby, that is. The year was 1965. Cosby had been cast in NBC-TV’s new prime-time drama “I Spy.” Except there was one problem: Cosby couldn’t act. The network wanted him gone. But Sheldon Leonard, the show’s acclaimed executive producer, aimed to salvage Cosby, who at the time was known moreso for being a popular stand-up comedian.... READ MORE
No Video Means No Outrage By: Gregory Clay
It happened several years ago on Bill Maher’s late-night network talk show, “Politically Incorrect.” Rapper-actor-so-called activist Ice Cube essentially surmised during the panel: NFL players are violent on the field so don’t expect them to be... READ MORE
Taping Richard Nixon By: Gregory Clay
Marvin Kalb, moderator of the anniversary panel and elite CBS News diplomatic correspondent in the 1960s and '70s, posed the question this way: “Why are we so fascinated with Richard Nixon --- even 40 years later?”
Perhaps it’s the negativity that the former president conjures up by the mere mention of his name. READ MORE
Don Lemon and Bill O’Reilly told the truth Journal Sentinel
There was an attack this past weekend. No, not with bullets and guns, but with angry, vengeful words.
But with angry, vengeful words. Don Lemon, a news anchorman for CNN, issued what he hailed as "No Talking Points" on five ills that plague much of the black ... READ MORE
O.J. Simpson: 10 Years After The Verdict The Augusta Chronicle, October 3, 2005
The tension was palpable. The anxiety was immense. The date was Oct. 3, 1995. The time was 1:07 p.m. EDT. That's when the court clerk announced Orenthal James Simpson was found "not guilty." It's been 10 years since that Tuesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom; has it really been that long already? READ MORE
The City's A'Changin' McClatchy-Tribune Wire Special Sections, July 2, 2012
WASHINGTON - It's a four-minute bus ride. That's all.
It takes four minutes in the heart of Washington to see night and day, a city of stark contrast.
We're talking neighborhoods here.
Like many major cities, the nation's capital is defined by "pockets." READ MORE
A timeline of civil rights anniversaries from 1963 McClatchy Tribune, August 21, 2013
The date is when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his game-changing "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He started speaking at 3:01 that afternoon for 16 minutes.
Timeless ...
The year 1963 was a landmark time during the era of the civil rights movement. Here we are, remarkably, 50 years later. READ MORE
Sheryl Sandberg effect – Lean In or Lean Out McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Sheryl Sandberg created a national firestorm earlier this year when she said women should “Lean In” aggressively to maximize their careers. The $64,000 question, though, is how realistic is that for most women?
Not every woman is like Sandberg, who is the Harvard-educated chief operating officer for Facebook. READ MORE
Guest opinion: Journalist Aynesworth has covered historic day for 50 years Originally published November 22, 2013, Billings Gazette
The conspiracy theories are endless. They seem to multiply like locusts.
Just who REALLY was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? READ MORE
The Five Phases of B.J. Thomas - and the 'Raindrops' McClatchy-Tribune News Service
The year was 1969. What was the "it" list? The upstart New York Jets shocked the world by rocking the vaunted Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. READ MORE
Making Their Marks - Historical and Cultural Contributions of Black Women Prospectus News
Most of us know prominent black women in Hollywood - from Cicely Tyson to Halle Berry to Kerry Washington. We know superstar black athletes, such as the tennis-playing Williams sisters, and we remember bronze medalwinning figure skater Debi Thomas from the momentous Calgary Winter Olympics of 1988. READ MORE
