Urban Pro Weekly

AUGUST 14-20, 2014

The CSRA’s FREE WEEKLYNEWSPAPERVOL.3 NO.46

NEWS • COMMENTARY ARTS ENTERTAINMENT Urban WPro eekly

Eddie Bussey 706-772-9800

Get On Up REVIEW ~ ‘Black twitter’ as a new social activism tool?

déjà vuAnother black teen shot dead

in the streetA police officer in riot gear watches as protesters march in front of the Ferguson police station on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Marchers are protesting Saturday’s police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager. Photo by Robert Cohen - St. Louis Post Dispatch

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Continued on Page 4

By Tanzina VegaNew York Times

When Tyler Atkins heard about the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., he posted on Twitter a picture of himself in a tuxedo, with a saxophone around his neck, next to a photograph of himself dressed in a black T-shirt with a blue bandanna tied around his head and his finger pointed at the camera.

Like hundreds of young African-Americans, he placed his pictures under the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, protesting Mr. Brown’s killing by a police officer and the way young black men are depicted in the news media. He said that Mr. Brown’s identity was dis-torted and filtered through negative stereotypes, and that the same would have been done to him with the ban-danna image if he found himself the victim of a similar event.

The first picture was taken after a

jazz concert at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, where Mr. Atkins, a senior, studies music. The other was taken during a recording for a rap video he made with friends for a school math project.

“Had the media gained ahold of this picture, I feel it would be used to portray that I was in a gang, which is not true at all,” Mr. Atkins, 17, wrote in an email.

The speed with which the shoot-ing of Mr. Brown has resonated on social media has helped propel and transform a local shooting into a national cause, as African-American commenters draw attention to con-tinued episodes of violence directed at African-Americans and the media portrayals of young black men. “This affects me deeply because the stories of Mike Brown, Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo and many more could have been me,” Mr. Atkins wrote, referring to the shooting deaths of blacks, some at the hands of police officers.

On Tuesday, President Obama issued a statement calling the shoot-ing “heartbreaking” and urging Americans to remember Mr. Brown “through reflection and understand-ing.”

Mr. Obama said, “I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions,” adding, “We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.”

Brittney Gault, 28, a student at DePaul University, said the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign gained popularity because of the strength of black Twitter users collec-tively known as “Black Twitter.”

“They are really a media response team,” Ms. Gault said. “Everybody is tapped into Black Twitter.”

And the social media chatter and anguish have become part of a com-plicated sea of viral words and images — a picture Tuesday of police officers in combat gear pointing military-style rifles at a young black man in jeans and a blue T-shirt was one of them —

that have created a new and charged environment for social activism.

According to data from the Pew Research Internet Project, 40 percent of African-Americans ages 18 to 29 use Twitter, compared with 28 per-cent of whites of the same age.

Since the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign began, the phrase has been used on Twitter more than 168,000 times. Commenters on Twitter are also hoping to organize a series of vigils called the National Moment of Silence, which is meant to commem-orate victims like Mr. Brown. The St. Louis County N.A.A.C.P. urged people on Twitter to use the hashtags #MikeBrown and #blacklifemat-ters “so that your posts can be seen nationally.”

Local authorities in Ferguson are less enthusiastic about social media’s role, blaming it for inciting looting and violence following after the events. “They have the ability to understand where they’re all going

by Vincent HobbsPolitical and social protest is the

hallmark of a free society. Boycotts, sit-ins, marches and non-violent demonstrations have moved entire nations to change the way its citizens are treated by government entities. With each generation come new tools to disseminate information and to organize people to effectively com-municate their grievances.

“Black Twitter”, which is defined by Wikipedia as “a cultural identity on the Twitter social network focused on issues of interest to the black community, particularly in the United States,” is a new form of social and

political protest that has sprung to life, allowing a new form of activism that has an instant reach of millions.

UPW contacted several Augustans to get their insight on the social web site, but the most were not aware that “Black Twitter” existed. A few said that they “don’t do Twitter.” Augustan Jeff Watson expressed that he “will check out the site from now on’’ after hearing about the “Black Twitter” feed. Vincent C. Sullivan-Hobbs, a student who posts to Instagram and Facebook, also wasn’t aware of the feed. “People need to have a place to make their voice heard – that’s the only way things will change,” he said

after reviewing the Twitter page.The demographics for the heaviest

Twitter users include 40% of African-Americans, aged 18-29, according to the Pew Research Internet Project. In contrast, only 28% of whites in the same age range use Twitter.

Recent events involving law enforce-ment officers killing unarmed black males has sparked a national outrage, and “Black Twitter” has been at the forefront of keeping the pressure on authorities to become accountable for their actions. A fascinating devel-opment, born out of frustration with the media’s portrayal of young, black males, is the Twitter feed #ifthey-

gunnedmedown. The feed features side-by-side photographs of young men and women in which one image portrays a casual look, such as jeans with t-shirt and baseball cap, con-trasted with a second image of the person in professional or work attire – and the question “which photo will the media use, if I am gunned down?” is posed to the reader.

The postings are a response to the media’s portrayal of gunned-down teen Michael Brown, in which a photo of him giving a peace sign, while wear-ing a Nike jersey and jeans, attracted

Continued on Page 4

Shooting spurs hashtag effort on stereotypes

Creola McCalister, 88, protests the killing of teenager Michael Brown on Tuesday at a rally outside Greater St. Mark Family Church. Brown’s death Saturday has sparked both peaceful rallies and violence this week. Scott Olson Getty Images

Black Twitter and Social Change: Augustans have something to say

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Continued on Page 4

PublisherBen Hasan

706-394-9411

Managing EditorFrederick Benjamin Sr.

706-836-2018

UrbanProWeekly LLC

Mailing Address:3529 Monte Carlo DriveAugusta, Georgia 30906

Urban WeeklyPro Sales & MarketingPhone: 706-394-9411

Photography and Social Media Courtesy of

Vincent Hobbs

email:Ben Hasan

[email protected]

Frederick Benjamin [email protected]

Vincent [email protected]

An empty lot awaits new construction at the site for Lucy Craft Laney Comprehensive High School on Laney-Walker Blvd. The projected comple-tion date for the project is March 2015. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Piles of rubble are all that remains of a section of Cherry

Tree Crossing, a 75-year-old public housing complex that

was home to 355 families. The Augusta Housing Authority

is slated to build a new mixed-income apartment com-plex at the 15th Street location

after the demolition is com-pleted. Walton Communities, the same developer that con-structed Walton Oaks and the

Legacy at Walton Oaks, was selected for the project.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Innercity

changingits face

The New Laney HS campus scheduled for completion in 2015.

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Stop Da Stigma4th Annual Red Party

On Augusta 30, get ready to have a great and fun time for the Awareness of HIV/AIDS at the Stop Da Stigma 4th Annual Red Party. This year’s event will be in honor of Michelle’s Kids and will be held at the Henry Brigham Senior Center. The event starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.

Tickets are $20. Food, drinks, raff le drawing and door prizes are included. DJiAM Terrence Anthony Williams will be on the 1s and 2s.

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The Augusta Commission on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 will conduct a Public Hearing at 1:30 P.M. to receive public com-ments regarding the 2014 proposed property tax increase and a Special Called Meeting at 2:00 P.M. to adopt the 2014 millage rate in the Lee Beard Commission Chamber, Room 200B in the Municipal Building, 530 Greene Street.

Tax Hike Public Hearingto be, and they can basically plan where they want to go next,” said Jon Belmar, the St. Louis County police chief. “So it’s a really efficient way to communicate.”

Local officials have also declined to release the name of the officer who shot Mr. Brown, citing concerns about the officer’s safety because of threats on social media.

The image of Mr. Brown that spurred the campaign on Twitter showed him with the fingers of his right hand extended in what some considered a peace sign, but which others called a gang sign. A spokeswoman for NBC News, one of the outlets that pub-lished the photograph online, said it was taken from Mr. Brown’s personal Facebook page, where it was his pro-file picture.

In a subsequent article about Mr. Brown’s killing, the network used a different photograph of him that showed him wearing headphones and gazing at the camera.

Tosan Tutse-Tonwe, 32, a blog-ger, consultant and co-founder of a nonprofit group called Act 4 Accountability, said photographs remove context from a situation, par-ticularly in the wake of negative ste-reotypes about black men.

Jeremy Connally posted a photo-graph of a rabbit nuzzling against his face, as well as a picture with a red scarf tied around his face.

Mr. Tutse-Tonwe posted a photo-graph of himself wearing a T-shirt from his group and another with a black male friend who is flashing peace signs. Mr. Tutse-Tonwe said he chose to post the photograph with his friend after the image of Mr. Brown making the same hand gesture was circulated.

“Mike was throwing up a peace sign and people thought it was a gang sign? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mr. Tutse-Tonwe said. “People make these leaps and there’s no basis in them and they go unchecked.”

Jeremy Connally, 24, a student study-ing computer science at University of Texas at Arlington, agreed. “They’re portrayed as if they deserved it, cop versus robbers, good guys versus bad guys,” he said. The Twitter engage-ment is part of broader efforts to use social media as a tool for education and engagement, particularly among the young. Few things have been more of a spur to passionate campaigns on Twitter and other social media than some of the racially charged killings of young blacks in recent years.

Last week, when The Associated Press published a Twitter message announcing that Theodore P. Wafer had been found guilty of second-de-gree murder for killing Ms. McBride, Twitter users reacted swiftly, criticiz-ing the post that described Mr. Wafer as a “suburban Detroit homeowner” and Ms. McBride as a “woman who showed up drunk on porch.”

In response, Twitter users post-ed African-American history images, including one featuring a slave ship with the headline, “Families board wrong ship, end up in wrong place.”

Yemisi Miller-Tonnet, 19, a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, said social media movements should be taken seriously. “Hashtag activism is activism,” Ms. Miller-Tonnet said. “We might be tweeting from a couch, but we’re also getting up and doing the work that needs to be done.”

Samantha Storey and Alan Blinder contributed reporting.

Black stereotypes from page 2

more attention than the initial photo of Brown’s high school cap-and-gown image that was released. The peace sign photo was even interpreted by some conservative media outlets as a gang sign, fueling the fire behind the Twitter protest of how blacks are

portrayed in the media.With a reach of over 645 million

active users, Twitter is emerging as a positive catalyst for young peo-ple who are in engaged in social and political activism. “Black Twitter” could be a game-changer.

Black stereotypes from page 2

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One step forward, two steps backLate last week, a Michigan jury found

Theodore Wafer guilty of second-de-gree murder in the slaying of 19-year-

old Renisha McBride. Back in November 2013, Wafer shot and killed McBride out of an apparent irrational fear as she knocked on his door in the middle of the night seek-ing help because she had crashed her car in his neighborhood. Finally, the so called “stand your ground” defense had been rejected by a jury. Twelve human beings wisely agreed that overreacting to wrong-headed and preconceived notions does not justify cold-blooded murder. The McBride family’s unspeakable tragedy became some-thing of a national legal triumph for civil rights and race relations. For a moment, it seemed as though we were turning a corner. Then, on Saturday, tragedy struck again.

Eighteen-year-old college hopeful, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. Details are still emerging about the specific events that led up to the shooting. But it is clear that Mr. Brown was unarmed. It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Mr. Brown was African-American. The shooting has trig-gered protests, an uprising in the suburban St. Louis community, and a nauseating feel-ing of deja vu across black America. We’ve been here before. We’ve lost so many sons to police violence that we no longer feel shock or awe in these instances. The only emotion left is a numb familiar grieving. As a community, we’ve become uniquely accus-tomed to the tears of inconsolable mothers. We are far too well acquainted with the sight of youthful faces lying in caskets. It is our tragic second nature to feel abandoned by those who have promised to protect us. It seems at times that the great burden of being black in America is the traumatic and near constant expectation of injustice.

One of my Caucasian colleagues asked, as many white Americans will in the wake of these types of events, “What sense does it make to riot?” Her question was fair. It is indeed senseless to burn down build-ings, destroy property, and steal mer-chandise in the name of justice. It’s not something that any of our leaders would stand for or condone. But, sadly, it is a reaction that they may understand. While

looting and rioting makes no sense, try making sense out of the fact that an unarmed boy was shot and killed by law enforcement. Then try making sense out of the fact that this isn’t even a rare occurrence if you happen to be African-American. Try making sense out of the fact that as a mother of a black child, you have the ardu-ous and unfair task of explaining to that child why a different set of rules applies to them, especially when it comes to dealing with law enforce-ment. None of it makes any sense. With any hope, the family of Michael Brown will get justice for their son. We often say “no justice, no peace.” We should also remember that with-out peace, justice cannot prevail. Lesley McSpadden, the mother of 18-year-old Michael Brown

Runs Missionary Baptist Church invites the public to its Women’s Conference on Friday, August 22 through Sunday August 24, 2014.

On Friday, August 22 at 7 p.m., Rev. Monica Cofer of Carpentersville Baptist Church, North Augusta will be the speaker.

On Saturday, August 23, 2014 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. there will be a Health Fair. Safety and health topics relevant to men and women will be covered. Lunch will be served.

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Urban WeeklyPro Commentaryhim and recognize his greatness and good qualities. They choose to focus on the good that he did for the community and the healing that he brought to people of all colors. They still give turkeys and toys to the unfortunate in Augusta in his name during the holidays.

In addition, his daughter Deanna has founded J.A.M.P., which is a music academy for local Augusta children. Many of the scenes in Get On Up were well acted and exciting. There weren’t many down scenes in the movie. The dancing and musical scenes were on point and the come-dic scenes were too. I encourage everyone to check out Get On Up weather you like James Brown or not.

The Bad: (Not shooting the movie in Augusta/leaving out crucial peo-ple and episodes in JB’s life/poor screenwriting and directing.

If JB were alive, he never would have let them shoot the movie entire-ly in Mississippi. The scenes that were supposed to represent the CSRA, looked nothing like this area. I understand director Tate Taylor wanting to help out his hometown, but his main concern should have been making the best movie possi-ble.

Glaring omissions: One of the big-gest ones was the cape man Danny Ray being missing from the film. I got a chance to speak with Danny Ray at the Augusta Red Carpet event and he was just as surprised as the rest of us as to why he was left out.

He was J.B’s cape man and emcee for 46 yrs. He mentioned that it was a lot of things that the people making the movie probably didn’t know about James Brown because they never consulted him.

Another glaring omission is that of J.B.’s third wife Adrienne. She was a big part of his life and died tragically due to complications from plastic surgery. (like Kayne West’s moth-er) James Brown’s son as a result of that marriage Darryl Brown was recently interviewed and he agreed with Ray. Darryl felt it was a trav-esty that Ray wasn’t in the movie and also stressed that many people who knew Brown intimately were not consulted, including him. Other notable figures left out: Mr. Bobbit, JB’s longtime manager, Fred Wesley, his longtime band director, and Al Sharpton, his longtime friend and confidant.

Breaking the fourth wall: For those that don’t know, breaking the fourth wall is when a character interacts with the audience that’s watching the movie. Several times J.B. looks at the audience and narrates the movie. This takes away from the seriousness of the film. It’s no big secret that this movie will be compared to Jamie Foxx’s portrayal in the movie Ray. While I loved Chadwick Boseman in this film and hope he gets an Oscar, I can’t help but thinking that the cheesy nature of the film may hurt his chances. It would be one thing for Boseman to break the forth wall during comedic scenes, but he does

this during some dramatic moments.The Ugly: (Black involvement was

very thin) When Spike Lee was orig-inally cast as the director of the JB biopic; many wanted him to give JB the same treatment that he gave Malcolm X. When Lee was no lon-ger involved, many thought another black director would be cast to tell the story of one of the most influ-ential black people in America. That didn’t happen. Mick Jagger took over to team with producer Brian Grazer and director Tate Taylor, an all-white team. Not only that, but they also chose two British screenplay writers and all the story writers were white. Were there not any competent black writers to add to the team who could have added some authenticity to the film? Would an addition of credible black writers make Get On Up a bet-ter film? Yes and yes are the answers to both questions. How did the film do at the box office? As of this writ-ing, the film has yet to break even on its budget of $30 million. It has grossed $23.7 million dollars as of Aug. 11th.

I will stop short of telling people not to see the movie because it lacks authenticity. I will say, just see the movie so you can join in the con-versation. Ultimately, I hope that another biopic of JB is made with black involvement and is shot here in Augusta. After all, how can you make a movie about Soul Brother #1 and not have any soul brothers or sisters on the writing team? That’s like talking loud and sayin’ nothing!

By Corey WashingtonSpecial to UrbanProWeekly

When Augustans found out that a James Brown movie was being made, we were

ecstatic. James Brown was still alive then and Spike Lee was hired to direct the film. Little did we know that James Brown’s life would be cut short on Dec. 25th, 2006.

After Brown’s death, a free for all occurred with messy litigation ensu-ing. The rights to the movie were in limbo for some time, but finally Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer stepped in to make the movie a reality. Spike Lee was out as the director and Tate Taylor was brought in to direct.

It was then that Augusta found out that Get On Up would not be shot in Augusta. All shooting locations were to be shot in director Tate Taylor’s home state of Mississippi. Furthermore, Augusta wondered if we would be left out altogether. With all these mixed emotions concern-ing the film I decided to lay out The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Get On Up.

The Good: (The acting, partic-ularly that of Chadwick Boseman/Better understanding of the com-plexities of James Brown) The movie started off with one of the funniest scenes of the whole movie. Many who know the events in the life of James Brown can recall the inci-dent where somebody was using his bathroom at his building here in Augusta. It is unclear whether Mr. Brown was mad because someone used his bathroom or because they forgot to spray some air freshener after they did their business. But the whole situation is overblown when Mr. Dynamite gets his shotgun from his truck. It was the beginning of the end for Mr. Brown when he put a bullet hole in the roof. This led to a two state chase from Augusta to Aiken, S.C., where Mr. Brown’s truck was riddled with bullets. It was later discovered that Mr. Brown was high on PCP while this was all going on. Chadwick Boseman absolutely kills this scene in the movie.

Watching the movie, you can’t help but come away understanding the complex character of James Brown more. Seeing the turmoil in his early life and how his mother and father abandoned him really drives home the point of why he was so resilient. Seeing the domestic vio-lence between his mother and father and then later between him and his second wife Dee Dee, played by Jill Scott, one can only wonder if it was a learned behavior by Mr. Brown. A troubled childhood is no excuse for violence towards women, but it does give some context to the situation.

Most of those men and women that we put on a pedestal are complex fig-ures. They have their great moments and their not so great moments. Brown is no different. Those people that he hurt the most have forgiven

Get On Up – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

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