Frist Center Presents "We Shall Overcome: Civil Rights and the Nashville Press, 1957-1968"

Demonstrators sing in front of the Nashville Police Department on August 7, 1961, as they protest what they called police brutality in a racial clash two nights earlier. They criticized “inadequate” police protection and called for qualified black personnel to “replace incompetent officers on the police force.” 

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will present a selection of 50 photographs from the archives of The Tennessean and The Nashville Bannerthat document an important period in Nashville's struggle for racial equality. The black-and-white photographs will be on display from March 30 through October 14, 2018 in the always free Conte Community Arts Gallery.

We Shall Overcome opens to the public fifty years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, at a time when race relations and human rights are again at the forefront of our country's political and social consciousness. The images were taken between 1957, the year that desegregation began in public schools, and 1968, when Dr. King was killed in Memphis. Of central significance are photographs of lunch counter sit-ins led by a group of students—including John Lewis and Diane Nash—from local historically black colleges and universities, which took place in early 1960.

"The exhibition builds on a recent swelling of interest in the subject throughout the city," writes Frist Center curator Katie Delmez. "The role that Nashville played in the national civil rights movement as a hub for training students in nonviolent protest and as the first city in the Southeast to integrate places of business peacefully is a story that warrants reexamination and introduction to younger generations and newcomers to the region who may not be familiar with this meaningful legacy."

⏩ The photographs are sourced from the archives of Nashville's daily newspapers: The Tennessean and the shuttered Nashville Banner. Some were published, but many were not.

The exhibition begins with a selection of images documenting the desegregation of Nashville's public schools in September 1957, three years after the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling. Early 1960 witnessed the next wave of impactful events, when hundreds of young men and women sat at lunch counters to protest the businesses' refusal to serve African Americans. Despite being assaulted by counter-protestors and arrested for disorderly conduct, the students, mostly from Fisk University, Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State University), Meharry Medical College, and American Baptist College, remained dedicated to peaceful resistance. In the spring of 1960, the bombing of civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby's home spurred as many as four thousand protestors to walk in silence to the Davidson County Courthouse, where Fisk student Diane Nash asked Mayor Ben West if segregation was wrong and if the businesses should be integrated, to which he replied yes.

Despite this significant moment, and the resulting desegregation of some businesses in downtown Nashville, there was still much more to be done to advance civil rights in the city. The mid 1960s saw continued demonstrations to desegregate movie theaters, swimming pools, restaurants, the YMCA, and other public places.

During this period, confrontation between protestors and counter-demonstrators or police became at times more tense. "Media, especially reporters and photojournalists from the more progressive Tennessean newspaper, was often there to cover the news-making events," says Delmez. "The exhibition provides an opportunity to consider the role of images and the media in shaping public opinion, a relevant subject in today's news-saturated climate."

Publication

“Archie Allen, left, a member of the civil rights demonstrators, talks with employees of the Tic Toc Restaurant on downtown Church Street April 27, 1964. Moments later, Allen was attacked by the employees and knocked down on the sidewalk.” (via The Frist Center)

The Frist Center and Vanderbilt University Press are co-publishing a book titled We Shall Overcome: Press Photographs of Nashville in the Civil Rights Era. The publication will feature 100 plates selected from the archives of The Tennessean and The Nashville Banner. 

The book will also include a foreword by Congressman John Lewis, who was a leader in the local student nonviolent resistance; an essay outlining the history of the period by Linda Wynn, Fisk University professor and assistant director of the Tennessee Historical Commission; and an overview of the position of photojournalism during the movement by Dr. Susan H. Edwards, photography historian and Frist Center executive director. 

A timeline and a bibliography will also be featured. The book is edited by Katie Delmez, curator of the accompanying exhibition. Generous support from various community leaders will allow the book to be placed in all Davidson County public schools and libraries.

Exhibition Credit

This exhibition was organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

All images generously provided by The Tennessean and the Nashville Public Library, Special Collections, which houses the Nashville Banner Archives.

Public Programs

Saturday, April 14 

"Voices from the Front Lines" A panel discussion with participants in the local civil rights movement, moderated by historian Linda Wynn

Noon 

Frist Center 

Auditorium 

Hear the stories behind the photographs of We Shall Overcome: Civil Rights and the Nashville Press, 1957–1968, and take a deeper look at the civil rights movement. Moderated by Linda Wynn, this panel will feature first-person accounts by individuals who fought for racial equity in Nashville.

About the Frist Center: 

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art exhibition center dedicated to presenting and originating high-quality exhibitions with related educational programs and community outreach activities. 

Located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., the Frist Center offers the finest visual art from local, regional, national, and international sources in exhibitions that inspire people through art to look at their world in new ways.
                                                                                       

SOURCE: Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Marvel Music And Hollywood Records Present Marvel Studios' Black Panther Original Motion Picture Score Soundtrack

Marvel Studios Black Panther Original Motion Picture score soundtrack artwork

Marvel Music/Hollywood Records are releasing the digital album of the Black Panther score, composed by Grammy®-nominated composer and songwriter Ludwig Göransson, on February 16, 2018.   

The film is directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige with Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore, Jeffrey Chernov and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole wrote the screenplay.  Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" hits U.S. theaters on February 16, 2018.   

"Black Panther" marks Göransson's third collaboration with director Ryan Coogler ("Creed," "Fruitvale Station").  The Swedish-born composer wrote the original songs for "Creed" and has also produced albums for Childish Gambino, Haim, and Chance the Rapper.

Göransson recorded the score in London with a 132-piece western classical orchestra, African percussionists and a 40-person choir. Göransson said, "After reading Ryan's first draft of the script, I quickly realized that the only way I could properly score 'Black Panther' was to travel to Africa to record, research and learn from as many musicians I could find. I was introduced to Senegal's most incredible musicians and storytellers, and from there it all started to come together.  One of the instruments that especially caught my attention was the talking drum, which together with West African sabar drums and ceremonial rhythms, became the foundation for the score."

Göransson infused a wide array of African instrumentation into the score and character themes.  Speaking about the score's creation, Göransson notes: "The talking drum is used for T'Challa's main theme, with one hit per syllable of his name played on the drum."  For Erik Killmonger's theme, the name was sung and screamed into a fula flute to convey the "musical interpretation of the character's ferocity."   Sabar drums were used to "propel the story and to highlight both the country of Wakanda and T'Challa's movements, especially in his fight scenes."  Sabar drums are used in traditional African wrestling "making them perfect for the action scenes."

Göransson's biggest challenge was to blend a western classical orchestra and modern production with traditional African rhythms and harmonies.  He adds, "Together with Ryan Coogler, we worked out new ways of combining the three elements into something traditionally authentic and truly unique, that I hope embodies the heart and soul of Wakanda."

• The "Black Panther" digital album is available for pre-order here.  
• The soundtrack can be streamed here . 

About Marvel Studios' "Black Panther"

Black Panther  - Poster

Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" follows T'Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

"Black Panther" stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, with Angela Bassett, with Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.
              

The Trailer:

SOURCE: Marvel Music/Hollywood Records

From Trailer Parks to the White House

From Trailer Parks to the White House

As recent headlines of alleged domestic violence by top White House officials demonstrate, abusive behavior transcends all socio-economic lines. Dr. Laura Streyffeler's book, Wife Beater Shirt Optional, reveals that abuse is not limited by social or economic class, age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Using real life examples and frank discussions, the author pulls the reader into the minds and behaviors of both victims and abusers.  

The book introduces you to an upper middle class woman who denied being a victim of domestic violence because in her mind, real victims "live in trailer parks and their husbands wear 'wifebeater shirts'." 

This book explains why there is no dress code for domestic violence. Dr. Laura Streyffeler addresses the many myths and misperceptions about domestic abuse and violence.

Recent headlines of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry is another example of abuse of power.  Dr. Streyffeler's book discusses the dynamics of power and control, the various types of abuse and the resulting trauma.  

A trending question is "Why is it taking victims so long to come forward?" Dr. Streyffeler's book provides the answer to this question and many more.

"Wife Beater Shirt Optional" 
By Laura Streyffeler, Ph.D., LMHC 

Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 154 pages | ISBN 9781504388238 
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 154 pages | ISBN 9781504388214 
E-Book | 154 pages | ISBN 9781504388221

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

Dr. Laura Streyffeler (via Psychology Today)

Laura Streyffeler, Ph.D., LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor and a board certified expert in traumatic stress and in domestic violence and forensic counseling. Streyffeler maintains a psychotherapy practice while providing professional trainings and serving as an expert witness in domestic and sexual violence and other trauma related court cases.

SOURCE:  Dr. Laura Streyffeler, WBSO LLC

To Amber Rudd: Shut Down Nazi Websites On UK Soil [Petition]

Amber Rudd - UK Home Secretary (via EU Today)

The following is an email I've received earlier from our friends at HOPE Not Hate... As usual, feel free to read it and act accordingly.

Thanks in advance.

Stay safe!

Loup Dargent

The web content of NS131, a neo-Nazi organisation that celebrated the murder of Jo Cox MP (above), is being stored in London and Manchester. (via The Guardian)

The Email:

"Loup,
Some big news just in from our research team: violent, neo-Nazi and terrorist websites are being stored illegally on UK soil.

Cloudflare, a big US web company, is storing the website of at least one banned terrorist organisation - NS131 - right here in London and Manchester. This might breach hate crime and Holocaust denial laws, it is definitely unethical, and it goes against Government calls for firms to clamp down on hate speech online.

NS131 is so hateful the government banned it in 2016 -- it's even accused of ties to a plot to kill a Labour MP. We've always thought that, by hosting their hatred in the US, these extremists were beyond the reach of the UK authorities. But now we might have a chance to hurt these Nazi groups' ability to promote their vile views.

This news is a HOPE not hate exclusive, and it's not widely known -- yet. So we need you to break this story. It'll take as many of us as possible adding our names to a petition to call on the Home Secretary to investigate and shut down this loophole. Add yours now: 

Sign the petition

Cloudflare sells websites a protective shield that blocks them from attacks. NS131 is just one of its clients which include some of the most violent, extreme, and illegal organisations in the world, and it's storing them in our backyard.

Until now, our government's hands are tied because far-right groups hide websites "offshore" in the US, where hate laws are lax. The revelation that many are kept closer to home in the UK is game-changing.

This government has already banned NS131, so she shouldn't take too much convincing to eradicate this cyberspace loophole if HOPE not hate supporters get it out in the open.

Sign the petition to Amber Rudd now: launch a full-scale investigation into the practices of Cloudflare's website protection services and immediately shut down websites that store illegal and extremist content on servers in the UK.

Thanks,
The HOPE not hate team"

NS131 - Neo-nazi group banned in the UK  (image via HOPE Not Hate)

More Related Links:

• A Home For Hate
• National Action: Neo-Nazi group's aliases 'Scottish Dawn' and 'NS131' banned under terrorism laws, says Home Office
• Far-right groups Scottish Dawn and NS131 to be banned under terror laws
• Who are National Action / NS131 / Scottish Dawn?

The 'Mandela Effect' And How Your Mind Is Playing Tricks On You

(Image via Shutterstock)

By Neil Dagnall, Manchester Metropolitan University and Ken Drinkwater, Manchester Metropolitan University

Have you ever been convinced that something is a particular way only to discover you’ve remembered it all wrong? If so, it sounds like you’ve experienced the phenomenon known as the Mandela Effect.

This form of collective misremembering of common events or details first emerged in 2010, when countless people on the internet falsely remembered Nelson Mandela was dead. It was widely believed he had died in prison during the 1980s. In reality, Mandela was actually freed in 1990 and passed away in 2013 – despite some people’s claims they remember clips of his funeral on TV.

Paranormal consultant Fiona Broome coined the term “Mandela Effect” to explain this collective misremembering, and then other examples started popping up all over the internet. For instance, it was wrongly recalled that C-3PO from Star Wars was gold, actually one of his legs is silver. Likewise, people often wrongly believe that the Queen in Snow White says, “Mirror, mirror on the wall”. The correct phrase is “magic mirror on the wall”.

Broome explains the Mandela Effect via pseudoscientific theories. She claims that differences arise from movement between parallel realities (the multiverse). This is based on the theory that within each universe alternative versions of events and objects exist.

Broome also draws comparisons between existence and the holodeck of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek. The holodeck was a virtual reality system, which created recreational experiences. By her explanation, memory errors are software glitches. This is explained as being similar to the film The Matrix.

Other theories propose that the Mandela Effect evidences changes in history caused by time travellers. Then there are the claims that distortions result from spiritual attacks linked to Satan, black magic or witchcraft. But although appealing to many, these theories are not scientifically testable.

Where’s the science?
Psychologists explain the Mandela Effect via memory and social effects – particularly false memory. This involves mistakenly recalling events or experiences that have not occurred, or distortion of existing memories. The unconscious manufacture of fabricated or misinterpreted memories is called confabulation. In everyday life confabulation is relatively common.

False memories occur in a number of ways. For instance, the Deese-Roediger and McDermott paradigm demonstrates how learning a list of words that contain closely related items – such as “bed” and “pillow” – produces false recognition of related, but non presented words – such as “sleep”.

There’s a theory online that nuclear research experiments caused the world to shift into an alternate reality where Donald Trump became president.(Shutterstock)

Memory inaccuracy can also arise from what’s known as “source monitoring errors”. These are instances where people fail to distinguish between real and imagined even. US professor of psychology, Jim Coan, demonstrated how easily this can happen using the “Lost in the Mall” procedure.

This saw Coan give his family members short narratives describing childhood events. One, about his brother getting lost in a shopping mall, was invented. Not only did Coan’s brother believe the event occurred, he also added additional detail. When cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, Elizabeth Loftus, applied the technique to larger samples, 25% of participants failed to recognise the event was false.

Incorrect recall
When it comes to the Mandela Effect, many examples are attributable to so called “schema driven errors”. Schemas are organised “packets” of knowledge that direct memory. In this way, schemas facilitate understanding of material, but can produce distortion.

Frederic Bartlett outlined this process in his 1932 book Remembering. Barlett read the Canadian Indian folktale “War of the Ghosts” to participants. He found that listeners omitted unfamiliar details and transformed information to make it more understandable.

This process is called “effort after meaning” and occurs in real world situations too. For instance, research has previously shown how when participants recall the contents of a psychologist’s office they tend to remember the consistent items such as bookshelves, and omit the inconsistent items – like a picnic basket.

The pseudoscientific belief puts differences between memories and the real world down to glitches caused by time travel. (Pexels)

Schema theory explains why previous research shows that when the majority of participants are asked to draw a clock face from memory, they mistakenly draw IV rather than IIII. Clocks often use IIII because it is more attractive.

Other examples of the Mandela Effect are the mistaken belief that Uncle Pennybags (Monopoly man) wears a monocle, and that the product title “KitKat” contains a hyphen (“Kit-Kat”). But this is simply explained by over-generalisation of spelling knowledge.

Back to reality
Frequently reported errors can then become part of collective reality. And the internet can reinforce this process by circulating false information. For example, simulations of the 1997 Princess Diana car crash are regularly mistaken for real footage.

In this way then, the majority of Mandela Effects are attributable to memory errors and social misinformation. The fact that a lot of the inaccuracies are trivial, suggests they result from selective attention or faulty inference.

This is not to say that the Mandela Effect is not explicable in terms of the multiverse. Indeed, the notion of parallel universes is consistent with the work of quantum physicists. But until the existence of alternative realities is established, psychological theories appear much more plausible.

About Today's Contributors:
Neil Dagnall, Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University and Ken Drinkwater, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

Bonus Videos:

UAE Launches Seed Grants to Support New Research into Space Settlement & Space Habitation

Settlement Challenge Fact Sheet (PRNewsfoto/Dubai Future Foundation)

In its commitment to accelerating global space exploration activities, the UAE launches the Space Settlement Challenge; a dedicated seed grant fund that supports ambitious projects from all areas of research pursuing ideas and concepts to unlock the future of human space habitation. The challenge aims to attract brilliant minds from all around the world regardless of discipline, background, or origin. 

The UAE has announced a dedicated seed grant of AED2 million (approximately 500,000 euro) towards the Space Settlement Challenge. The funds will be used to bankroll proposals that explore novel ideas and develop new business models for living and working in space. 

The Challenge will solicit project proposals from diverse disciplines through a next-generation platform called "Guaana", whose innovative model dramatically reduces the time and effort required to fund seed ideas.

The Space Settlement Challenge is the first project of the newly established Mohammed Bin Rashed Centre for Accelerated Research, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).

Dubai Future Foundation's CEO Khalfan Belhoul said: "The UAE has set itself on an ambitious path to lead the global space race, establishing the first city on Mars as per the 2117 Mars Project. Space research is the logical next step in humanity's search for knowledge and survival, and an advanced means to preserve human cultures, societies and economies. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Settlement Challenge we are launching today is designed to provide support for creative minds, unconventional ideas, innovative designs and research."

The space challenge is composed of three categories, the first of which revolves around Space Settlement - aims to develop plans for locations that could support a thriving sustainable settlement in space accommodating at least 100 people. It explores matters like construction automation, power, food, water, heating and cooling, all the while taking the human factor into consideration.

The second category - Terraforming & Space Ecology - looks into creating livable long-term environments, formulating strategies for the responsible terraforming of off-planet bodies near the Moon, Mars, asteroids and other orbital habitats.

The third category- Economics, Business Model & Governance - seeks to develop business plans for optimal economics and resource utilization, writing scenarios that identify private-sector partners interested in conducting commercial activities in space. The challenge also seeks to ensure good governance by proposing national policies that promote society's awareness of peaceful settlement in space.

⏩ Application is open from February 10, 2018, for a month on: mbrspacechallenge.ae

SOURCE: Dubai Future Foundation

The Video: