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LEST WE FORGET: Hatilloo Theatre commemorating 400 years of Africans in America with monthly interactive events

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Artists in the ’70s and ’80s like Curtis Mayfield wrote about and sang about the centuries we have spent in this country – our advances and setbacks, our triumphs and defeats, times of rejoicing and our times of struggle,” said Ekundayo Bandele, founder of the Hattiloo Technical Theatre Center.

Published

6 years ago

January 13, 2019

Oakland Post

By Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell, Special to The New Tri-State Defender

“Some people think we don’t have the right. To say it’s my country. Before they give in, they’d rather fuss and fight. Than say it’s my country. I’ve paid 300 years or more. Of slave driving, sweat, and welts on my back. This is my country…”

“Artists in the ’70s and ’80s like Curtis Mayfield wrote about and sang about the centuries we have spent in this country – our advances and setbacks, our triumphs and defeats, times of rejoicing and our times of struggle,” said Ekundayo Bandele, founder of the Hattiloo Technical Theatre Center.

“Some talked about the 400 years we’ve been here in America, and now, we really are here. It has been 400 years since the first enslaved Africans came to the New World – in 1619. This is our time for remembering how far we’ve come. This year is our quadricentennial.”

Quadricentennial? So, didn’t know that was a thing? It is.

Just as “bicentennial” is the 200th anniversary of an event, the “quadricentennial” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a 400th anniversary or its celebration.”

So yeah, it’s really a thing.

Historical sources record the first Africans arriving in the American colonies during the latter part of August. There were some “20-odd” Africans, brought here as indentured servants. Less than a decade later, fully enslaved Africans arrived on the dreaded “Middle Passage.”

The Hattiloo will commemorate the African-American experience in “Lest We Forget,” an eight-month-long commemoration, from January to August. Each month, an interactive event is planned to reflect “the Black Experience” in America. The first event will be a Jan. 28 screening of the Academy Award-winning epic “12 Years A Slave.”

“I want these scheduled events to reflect and celebrate our people, our culture, and our remembrances,” said Bandele.

“I began my own journey in September when I realized that the 400th year was coming up, and we need to collectively recall those occurrences which have brought us thus far,” he added. “I want it to be all about us, but others are certainly welcome to come and share these experiences with us.”

Through continuous dialogue and discussion, all eight events create interactive conversations with each other and Hattiloo staffers.

“I talked to many of my friends across the country who lead cultural ventures, and they won’t be observing the quadricentennial,” But this is a big deal. The Bible talks about 400 years of bondage, and then deliverance would come. Jews make that connection as they suffered slavery in Egypt. This is our 400-year mark. It’s definitely a big deal.”

Bandele has uniquely directed each event to cover some aspect of African-American past. Two films, “12 Years A Slave” and “Sankofa,” both take a painful look back into the degradation and indignities suffered by those enslaved.

Dramatic readings of actual slave narratives by actors will give voice to freed slaves who recorded their recollections of life on the plantation before emancipation. Brought to life on the stage, audiences will return to the past and relive their experiences. A scheduled concert will take the audience on a journey through time with the soulful evolution of the “Black Experience.”

Speakers from three religious sects—Christian, Islam, and Yoruba—will be featured on a panel to define what faith has meant to African-Americans through the years. But the most poignant and, perhaps, most widely anticipated is the “Lay-In.”

“The Lay-In is going to be powerful,” said Bandele. “We will lie on the floor, shoulder-to-shoulder to connect with the experience of being packed in like animals on a slave ship. As the connection is made to the Middle Passage—the stench, the death, the horror—there will be tears. That pain still runs so deep within our people. There will be tears as we cry for our foreparents who had to endure it. The Lay-In will call up all of those emotions. Everyone is invited to take part, not just black people. It is a part of our American experience.”

This Thursday, the theatre will post a dramatic listing in front of the timeline of African peoples brought to America, from the very first in 1619 up to this present day.

All events are free of charge, but reservations are recommended. You can make your reservation today by emailing Elizabeth Baines at events@hattilootheatre.org. All events are scheduled on Monday, from 5:30 p.m. until 7.30 p.m. Include the name of the event and how many will be in your party.

As the only freestanding Black repertory theatre in five surrounding states. Hattiloo has developed a strong regional audience and is known for offering high-quality, free programming and performances staged throughout the city, engaging over 5,000 people each year. The evolution of its artistic vision and programming, and the success of its business model has made Hattiloo a sought-after resource nationwide.

For a full schedule and registration info, visit http://www.hattiloo.org.

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Recently Approved Budget Plan Favors Wealthy, Slashes Aid to Low-Income Americans

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts

Published

18 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

The new budget framework approved by Congress may result in sweeping changes to the federal safety net and tax code. The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts. A new analysis from Yale University’s Budget Lab shows the proposals in the House’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution would lead to a drop in after-tax-and-transfer income for the poorest households while significantly boosting revenue for the wealthiest Americans. Last month, Congress passed its Concurrent Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2025 (H. Con. Res. 14), setting revenue and spending targets for the next decade. The resolution outlines $1.5 trillion in gross spending cuts and $4.5 trillion in tax reductions between FY2025 and FY2034, along with $500 billion in unspecified deficit reduction.

Congressional Committees have now been instructed to identify policy changes that align with these goals. Three of the most impactful committees—Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means—have been tasked with proposing major changes. The Agriculture Committee is charged with finding $230 billion in savings, likely through changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Energy and Commerce must deliver $880 billion in savings, likely through Medicaid reductions. Meanwhile, the Ways and Means Committee must craft tax changes totaling no more than $4.5 trillion in new deficits, most likely through extending provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Although the resolution does not specify precise changes, reports suggest lawmakers are eyeing steep cuts to SNAP and Medicaid benefits while seeking to make permanent tax provisions that primarily benefit high-income individuals and corporations.

To examine the potential real-world impact, Yale’s Budget Lab modeled four policy changes that align with the resolution’s goals:

A 30 percent across-the-board cut in SNAP funding.
A 15 percent cut in Medicaid funding.
Permanent extension of the individual and estate tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Permanent extension of business tax provisions including 100% bonus depreciation, expense of R&D, and relaxed limits on interest deductions.

Yale researchers determined that the combined effect of these policies would reduce the after-tax-and-transfer income of the bottom 20 percent of earners by 5 percent in the calendar year 2026. Households in the middle would see a modest 0.6 percent gain. However, the top five percent of earners would experience a 3 percent increase in their after-tax-and-transfer income.

Moreover, the analysis concluded that more than 100 percent of the net fiscal benefit from these changes would go to households in the top 20 percent of the income distribution. This happens because lower-income groups would lose more in government benefits than they would gain from any tax cuts. At the same time, high-income households would enjoy significant tax reductions with little or no loss in benefits.

“These results indicate a shift in resources away from low-income tax units toward those with higher incomes,” the Budget Lab report states. “In particular, making the TCJA provisions permanent for high earners while reducing spending on SNAP and Medicaid leads to a regressive overall effect.” The report notes that policymakers have floated a range of options to reduce SNAP and Medicaid outlays, such as lowering per-beneficiary benefits or tightening eligibility rules. While the Budget Lab did not assess each proposal individually, the modeling assumes legislation consistent with the resolution’s instructions. “The burden of deficit reduction would fall largely on those least able to bear it,” the report concluded.

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A Threat to Pre-emptive Pardons

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process.

Published

19 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

President Trump is working to undo the traditional presidential pardon powers by questioning the Biden administration’s pre-emptive pardons issued just days before January 20, 2025. President Trump is seeking retribution against the January 6th House Select Committee. The Trump Justice Department has been tasked to find loopholes to overturn the pardons that could lead to legal battles for the Republican and Democratic nine-member committee. Legal scholars and those closely familiar with the pardon process worked with the Biden administration to ensure the preemptive pardons would stand against any retaliatory knocks from the incoming Trump administration. A source close to the Biden administration’s pardons said, in January 2025, “I think pardons are all valid. The power is unreviewable by the courts.”

However, today that same source had a different statement on the nuances of the new Trump pardon attack. That attack places questions about Biden’s use of an autopen for the pardons. The Trump argument is that Biden did not know who was pardoned as he did not sign the documents. Instead, the pardons were allegedly signed by an autopen. The same source close to the pardon issue said this week, “unless he [Trump] can prove Biden didn’t know what was being done in his name. All of this is in uncharted territory. “ Meanwhile, an autopen is used to make automatic or remote signatures. It has been used for decades by public figures and celebrities.

Months before the Biden pardon announcement, those in the Biden White House Counsel’s Office, staff, and the Justice Department were conferring tirelessly around the clock on who to pardon and how. The concern for the preemptive pardons was how to make them irrevocable in an unprecedented process. At one point in the lead-up to the preemptive pardon releases, it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process. President Trump began the threat of an investigation for the January 6th Select Committee during the Hill proceedings. Trump has threatened members with investigation or jail.

Oakland Post

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Reaction to The Education EO

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking a higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college.

Published

19 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

There are plenty of negative reactions to President Donald Trump’s latest Executive Order abolishing the Department of Education. As Democrats call yesterday’s action performative, it would take an act of Congress for the Education Department to close permanently. “This blatantly unconstitutional executive order is just another piece of evidence that Trump has absolutely no respect for the Constitution,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) who is the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee. “By dismantling ED, President Trump is implementing his own philosophy on education, which can be summed up in his own words, ‘I love the poorly educated.’ I am adamantly opposed to this reckless action, said Rep. Bobby Scott who is the most senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Morgan State University President Dr. David Wilson chimed in saying “I’m deeply concerned about efforts to shift federal oversight in education back to the states, particularly regarding equity, justice, and fairness. History has shown us what happens when states are left unchecked—Black and poor children are too often denied access to the high-quality education they deserve. In 1979 then President Jimmy Carter signed a law creating the Department of Education. Arne Duncan, former Obama Education Secretary, reminds us that both Democratic and Republican presidents have kept education a non-political issue until now. However, Duncan stressed Republican presidents have contributed greatly to moving education forward in this country.

During a CNN interview this week Duncan said during the Civil War President Abraham “Lincoln created the land grant system” for colleges like Tennessee State University. “President Ford brought in IDEA.” And “Nixon signed Pell Grants into law.” In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush which increased federal oversight of schools through standardized testing. Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college. Wilson details, “that 40 percent of all college students rely on Pell Grants and student loans.”

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) says this Trump action “impacts students pursuing higher education and threatens 26 million students across the country, taking billions away from their educational futures. Meanwhile, During the president’s speech in the East Room of the White House Thursday, Trump criticized Baltimore City, and its math test scores with critical words. Governor West Moore, who is opposed to the EO action, said about dismantling the Department of Education, “Leadership means lifting people up, not punching them down.”