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Hip-Hop and Fashion Film Featured at 2019 Sidewalk Festival, Wins Award

BIRMINGHAM TIMES — Coming of age during the growth of hip-hop in the mid-1980s and working at the legendary Def Jam Recordings and Rush Artist Management gave filmmaker Lisa Cortés a unique insight about music culture. Her film “The Remix: Hip-Hop X Fashion,” one of the featured presentations at Birmingham’s 2019 Sidewalk Film Festival last week, was shown during the event’s first Black Lens Spotlight Night; it also won Best Black Lens Film Award.

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Filmmaker Lisa Cortes

By Ameera Steward

Coming of age during the growth of hip-hop in the mid-1980s and working at the legendary Def Jam Recordings and Rush Artist Management gave filmmaker Lisa Cortés a unique insight about music culture.

Her film “The Remix: Hip-Hop X Fashion,” one of the featured presentations at Birmingham’s 2019 Sidewalk Film Festival last week, was shown during the event’s first Black Lens Spotlight Night; it also won Best Black Lens Film Award.

“I was a woman in hip-hop, behind the scenes. … [Working on this film] allowed me as a storyteller to pay homage to some incredible sisters,” said Cortés, who partnered with co-director Farah X on the film. “I always have a personal connection to the films I’m involved with, but this I think was super-personal. It also was reflective of a passion I’ve had for many years to make certain that the narrative … about hip-hop’s pioneers is an inclusive one.”

Among those highlighted in the film are several hip-hop stylists and fashion designers, known and unknown, including entrepreneur and fashion architect Misa Hylton and Walker Wear founder April Walker; also featured are illustrious Harlem, N.Y., tailor Dapper Dan and Pyer Ross creator, founder, and designer Kerby-Jean Raymond.

“We create culture but don’t participate in the longevity of it in terms of the business part,” Hylton said in the film.

Cortés, who was in Birmingham for the screening in the festival’s new theater in the Pizitz Building, said “The Remix” looks at stylists and the role women played in creating fashions that not only became iconic for the artists but also transcended and had a huge impact on global fashion—and was “appropriated and sold back to our community,” said Cortés.

“I just felt like it was a wonderful way to combine my desire to change the scope of hip-hop narratives,” most of which, she added, lean toward a male perspective.

From hip-hop’s beginnings, however, women have been there, Cortés said: “There has always been a partnership between men and women in this space. Unfortunately, there haven’t been a lot of … opportunities for the stories of women’s contributions to be told.”

“The Three E’s”

Viewers of “The Remix: Hip-Hop X Fashion” will resonate with the stories of empowerment and fashion or with the music, said Cortés.

“What I always hope for any viewer are my three E’s—that [people] are elevated by the experience, that they are educated by the experience, and that they leave with empathy for the stories … shared in the film.”

Hearing from hip-hop pioneers allows the audience to learn things they may not know “about this intersection of fashion and music, particularly hip-hop music,” Cortés said. “There’s a discovery of some incredible architects who are a part of this movement.”

The audience also gains recognition of the cyclical nature of fashion, of the place of black excellence and creativity, “of our ability to take straw and spin it into gold in what we do,” she said, adding that people sometimes wear clothing and hairstyles that become a phenomenon, but they don’t know the origins.

“In excavating these origin stories, we can see that there’s been a long history of African Americans taking fashion, recontextualizing it in our own style, wearing it in a political manner, and then … co-opting and recycling it into our culture,” Cortés said.

Cultural Appreciation

Alan Hunter, who helped found the Sidewalk Film Festival 21 years ago and is now chair emeritus of the festival’s advisory board, said the “The Remix” was an important part of the screenings.

“I know a little something about the fashion business,” he said. “I was in New York in the 1980s when a lot of that stuff was coming around. … I have an appreciation for it. I have an appreciation for culture in general.”

Hunter, who is also a former MTV DJ, added, “I thought the film was great. It took a much deeper dive than I would have expected it to. … You can’t have just a nice, frothy look at some of the great designers in hip-hop culture without going back to the reason they were designing these kinds of clothes.”

Cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation is a topic worthy of discussion, he said: “That’s on everybody’s mind, whether they know it’s on their minds or not. Everybody’s trying to appropriate one culture or the other, and the music business is certainly the epicenter of the cross-fertilization. … That meant something to me [while watching the film.]”

Michele Forman, immediate past president on the Sidewalk Film Festival advisory board, said the film was “incredibly watchable, but it’s really deep.”

“I thought [it] was very revealing about how successful some of these iconic figures were,” she said. “The thing to me that was most heartbreaking is that their style impact has gone on for decades after their innovation, and they’ve not been the ones to profit [from] it. I think the film does a very good job of being able to map out how that kind of business happens.”

Andrew Jones of Birmingham said the film resonates with his brand Fly V and what he’s trying to create for the culture of Birmingham.

“I really appreciated the fashion designers and the creativity that was shown,” he said. “[The film] showed the struggles of some designers and how the fashion industry works, [as well as] some of the struggles they have when trying to promote their brand and creativity. … I think [the directors] did an awesome job with a lot of the scenes and messages in the movie.”

“The Remix: Hip-Hop X Fashion” also showed the importance of being persistent and not focusing on recognition, said Jones: “As long as you’re true to yourself and true to your talent and creativity, it’ll all come together in the end.”

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

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Remembering George Floyd

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

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Hate and Chaos Rise in Trump’s America

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains.

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups operating across the United States in 2024. In its latest Year in Hate & Extremism report, the SPLC reveals how these groups are embedding themselves in politics and policymaking while targeting marginalized communities through intimidation, disinformation, and violence. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos, and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless,” said SPLC President Margaret Huang. The report outlines how hard-right groups aggressively targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout 2024. Figures on the far right falsely framed DEI as a threat to white Americans, with some branding it a form of “white genocide.” After the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a former Utah legislator blamed the incident on DEI, posting “DEI = DIE.”

Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains. Similar threats hit Jewish institutions and Planet Fitness locations after far-right social media accounts attacked them for trans-inclusive policies. Telegram, which SPLC describes as a hub for hate groups, helped extremists cross-recruit between neo-Nazi, QAnon, and white nationalist spaces. The platform’s lax moderation allowed groups like the Terrorgram Collective—designated terrorists by the U.S. State Department—to thrive. Militia movements were also reorganized, with 50 groups documented in 2024. Many, calling themselves “minutemen,” trained in paramilitary tactics while lobbying local governments for official recognition. These groups shared personnel and ideology with white nationalist organizations.

The manosphere continued to radicalize boys and young men. The Fresh & Fit podcast, now listed as a hate group, promoted misogyny while mocking and attacking Black women. Manosphere influencers used social media algorithms to drive youth toward male-supremacy content. Turning Point USA played a key role in pushing white nationalist rhetoric into mainstream politics. Its leader Charlie Kirk claimed native-born Americans are being replaced by immigrants, while the group advised on Project 2025 and organized Trump campaign events. “We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics, and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”

Click here for the full report or visit http://www.splcenter.org/resources/guides/year-hate-extremism-2024.

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