America I AM: The African American Imprint is a touring exhibition celebrating nearly 500 years of African American contributions to the United States across four core areas: economic, sociopolitical, cultural, and spiritual. Twelve thematic galleries feature more than 200 rare historic objects, documents, photographs, and multimedia. Created in collaboration with leading scholars such as Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cornel West, the exhibition is presented by Tavis Smiley and organized by Cincinnati Museum Center and Arts and Exhibitions International.

The exhibit runs Wednesday, February 2, 2011 to Sunday, May 1, 2011. Admission varies from $6 to $12.

 

Aaron White, who is African-American, warned his father that a group of teenagers was on its way to their home to “kill” him and attack his family after believing Aaron had threatened their friend with rape in an Internet chat room. When the teenagers arrived, Aaron’s father, John, confronted them in his driveway carrying a handgun for protection. The teenagers yelled racial slurs and one of them lunged for John’s gun, which went off, killing 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro Jr., who was White.


At his trial, John testified that he grew up in Brooklyn hearing stories about how the Ku Klux Klan burned down his grandfather’s store in Alabama in the 1920s. He said he feared a similar attack was about to take place.

The courts convicted John of manslaughter following the August 9, 2006 racially-charged confrontation and sentenced him for five to 15 years. Based on John’s lack of prior arrests and his record of honesty, the courts reduced his sentence to two to four years in prison. John recently lost an appeal bid to the New York State Supreme Court, then outgoing New York Governor David Paterson granted clemency to John.

“Our hearts go out to the Cicciaro family for the loss of their loved one. The events of August 9, 2006 can only be described as tragic. That tragedy has been compounded by the decision to imprison a dedicated father for defending his family and home from attack by an angry group of people that intended to do them harm,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, who along with Al Sharpton praised Patterson for his decision.

Black Youth Found Hanging in MS

The NAACP today urged the United States Department of Justice to engage in an immediate federal investigation into the hanging death of 26-year-old Frederick James Carter on December 3, 2010. Carter, an African American, was found hanging from a tree in the predominantly White neighborhood of North Greenwood, MS. While officials have ruled the death a suicide, the NAACP remains deeply concerned and is calling for an investigation under the newly passed, Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act, which offers protections from crimes motivated by race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

Pictured:  Unidentified youth lynched.  Time unknown.

 

The day after Democrat Vincent Gray was sworn in as Washington, DC’s next mayor, Jacksonville State Representative Jennifer Carroll (FL-R) became Florida’s second female and first Black Lieutenant Governor. Both contributed in dueling articles in the May - July 2006 issue of Port Of Harlem that focused on Personal Responsibility. Gray wrote from a Democratic perspective while Carroll wrote for a Republican perspective.

“The important thing to remember is that you have the responsibility to choose your path,” wrote Carroll who was born in Trinidad and Tobago. “Like the man in the adage, young people have the personal responsibility of making use of the opportunities government creates and services it provided to promote independence,” countered Gray.

The issue featured Kemba Smith on the cover. In late December, CNN featured Smith’s “My life saved by reprieve of 24-year sentence for crack.”

Pictured top:  Kemba Smith.  Picture bottom:  Jennifer Carroll.