BIG MAMA SPEAKS

A Tulsa Race Riot Survivor’s Story A PLAY BY HANNIBAL B. JOHNSON Featuring acclaimed actress VANESSA ADAMS-HARRIS  as “Big Mama” Big Mama Speaks is based on Hannibal B. Johnson’s book, Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District....

The Illusion of a “Post-Race” America

November 5, 2008, newspaper headlines trumpeted the dawn of a new era: “A Nation Changed” (The Bakersfield Californian); “In Our Lifetime” (The Anniston Star); “America Chooses Change” (Tahoe Daily Tribune); and “Obama Wins in Historic Vote” (Record Searchlight), just...

The Limits of the Law

By Hannibal B. Johnson The words “law” and “justice,” most often coupled sequentially as “law and justice,” fit together like handmaidens. Historically and strategically, African-Americans have been true believers in the marriage of these concepts. From abolition to...

February: A Time to Celebrate Black History

In 1926, the history of persons of African ancestry was largely ignored—not studied; not documented. African presence in America dates back to pre-colonial times, yet it was not until the 20th century that persons of African ancestry took it upon themselves to...

Dr. King–A Visionary for the Ages

What I find most remarkable about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is his vision. This champion of social equality and economic parity possessed an unparalleled penchant for timeless, incisive, inspirational prose. More than anyone, Dr. King elevated our discussions of...

Dr. John Hope Franklin Quiz

DR. JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN Know the History; Know the Historian On March 25, 2009, America lost a trailblazing historian and scholar in the person of Dr. John Hope Franklin. At the time of his death, Dr. Franklin, a noted academician, was the John B. Duke Professor...

Oklahoma’s All-Black Towns (Quiz)

OKLAHOMA’S ALL-BLACK TOWNS Test Your Knowledge of Oklahoma’s All-Black Towns. Take This quiz. You May Be Surprised At What You Don’t Know. 1.      List two criteria used to determine whether a community constitutes an “all-Black town.”...