Lifestyle
The civil rights icon’s childhood home in New Orleans will not be a museum after objections from her descendants
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — After Candice Henderson-Chandler moved to New Orleans and acquired her first home in 2021, she learned it played a key role in town’s civil rights history and was the childhood home of distinguished activist Oretha Castle Haley. Henderson-Chandler, who’s black, soon founded a nonprofit organization and planned to show a part of the property into a museum to honor the history.
She also listed a property on the rental site Airbnb, promoting her civil rights heritage, and sold museum memberships and civil rights-era products similar to “Freedom Fighter” citrus candles on her nonprofit’s website.
But on Thursday, a majority of the New Orleans City Council rejected Henderson-Chandler’s plans in a vote that might have modified the zoning plan to permit for the museum. Opponents of the museum warned that it was yet one more attempt by outside interests to commodify and profit from Black cultural heritage. Haley’s three sons and 7 grandchildren said in a statement that Henderson-Chandler was exploiting the civil rights activist’s legacy against their wishes.
“In our nation and our history, often the only thing they could leave you was your name — that is the history of Black people in the United States,” said council member Jean Paul Morrell, who voted against the museum. “If all you have is a first and last name, there’s a reason why people in this town care so much about who uses your name and how.”
In 1960, Haley co-founded the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, considered one of the leading groups of the Civil Rights Movement. She was an instigator of change who played an “extremely significant” role in leading protests and sit-ins to desegregate New Orleans, said Clyde Robertson, director of the Center for African and African American Studies at Southern University in New Orleans. Haley died in 1987, and a boulevard in town is now named after her.
The Haley family’s property at 917-919 North Tonti Street in Tremé, considered one of the oldest black neighborhoods in the country, served as a secure house where participants of the 1961 Freedom Rides fighting segregation on public buses could eat and spend the night. Since 2023, the property has been entered into the National Register of Monuments because the “Castle Family House”.
Haley’s younger brother, Johnny Castle, 79, remembers waking as much as prepare for varsity as a teenager and sometimes encountering a group of civil rights activists on the family home. Castle inherited the property in 1998 and held on to it for years while town of New Orleans and a local university discussed purchasing the home for preservation. The plans fell through and Castle said it could now not afford to keep up the property, relinquishing it as a part of bankruptcy proceedings in 2011.
Years later, he connected with Henderson-Chandler, a Chicago native, after she purchased the property. She said she initially planned to create a space where women of color could heal, but became fascinated by the home’s heritage. Castle “called me night after night, and I just fell in love with the story through his eyes, his storytelling and his countless memories,” Henderson-Chandler said.
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Castle, who lives in Georgia, said his relatives overestimate his sister’s influence in shaping the estate’s legacy. He said his parents, the owners of the home, also helped open its doors to activists. He supported Henderson-Chandler’s vision for a museum and community center.
“It’s a historic legacy that Candice continues and shares with the community,” he said.
One of Haley’s sons, Michael, also met with Henderson-Chandler after learning she owned the home. He said she initially told his family she planned to show the place into a wellness center.
“She never said she wanted to create any kind of museum” or anything related to his mother’s legacy, he said. He discovered her plans through social media posts that included photos of his mother. Henderson-Chandler said she has made efforts to contact Haley’s family.
Michael Haley and other members of the family sued Henderson-Chandler under the Allen Toussaint Legacy Act, a Louisiana law that protects the commercialization of deceased people’s identities without the consent of their heirs. In August 2023, a civil judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting Henderson-Chandler from “representing the legacy of Oretha Castle Haley in any way.”
Henderson-Chandler, who’s difficult the order, continued with plans for the museum, omitting mention of Castle Haley and specializing in the broader civil rights movement. Her lawyer, William Aaron, said Haley’s legacy does not represent the whole Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans and that a museum on the property could discuss the contributions of dozens of other activists.
“All of this could happen without any mention of Oretha Castle Haley,” Aaron said in an interview.
Haley’s descendants strongly disagreed with the claim that the estate’s meaning could be disconnected from Haley.
“How are you going to do it? She lived there!” Haley’s son, Okyeame Haley, told town council. “You will have a museum in the house where she lived, but her legacy will not be included. This is gibberish.”
“Everything at 917 (North Tonti Street) represents the legacy of Oretha Castle Haley, period,” one other of her sons, Sundiata Haley, told town council.
Haley’s granddaughter, Simone Haley, has stated that she believes the motivation behind creating the museum is money and that her family is not interested in commercializing the heritage. She addressed Henderson-Chandler directly on the council meeting.
“I like the concept that you are attempting to honor people. “I believe that stories should be told, but there is a right way to tell a story,” she said, sparking a verbal altercation between her and considered one of Henderson-Chandler’s friends.
Supporters of the museum identified that the home Haley owned in town and where she later raised her circle of relatives was now in disrepair and questioned why it was allowed to occur. Michael Haley said in an interview that the second property had not been in their family’s possession for several many years and had no bearing on the matter of the proposed museum. Supporters argued that thwarting the museum’s construction would eliminate the chance to share town’s history with the subsequent generation.
Henderson-Chandler said she consulted with other community members and received the blessings of veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
Councilmember Morrell said relatives of two other distinguished city civil rights activists who died told him they’d not been informed about plans to display their legacies in a museum, which Henderson-Chandler’s attorney raised.
“If you want to tell someone’s story, you have to talk to their family about it,” Morrell said.
Haley’s grandson, Blair Dottin-Haley, said that in voting down the museum, the City Council was following what “our ancestors would have wanted from us.”
“We will always stand and fight against those who want to take our culture, appropriate it, mishandle it and mismanage it,” he said.
Lifestyle
BlaQue Community Cares is organizing a cash crowd for serious food
QNS reports that Queens, New York-based nonprofit BlaQue Community Cares is making an effort to assist raise awareness of Earnest Foods, an organic food market with the Cash Mob initiative.
The BlaQue Cash Mob program is a community-led event that goals to support local businesses, reminiscent of grocery stores in Jamaica, by encouraging shoppers to go to the shop and spend a certain quantity of cash, roughly $20. BlaQue founder Aleeia Abraham says cash drives are happening across New York City to extend support for local businesses. “I think it’s important to really encourage local shopping habits and strengthen the connections between residents and businesses and Black businesses, especially in Queens,” she said after hosting six events since 2021.
“We’ve been doing this for a while and we’ve found that it really helps the community discover new businesses that they may not have known existed.”
As a result, crowds increase sales and strengthen social bonds for independent businesses.
Earnest Foods opened in 2021 after recognizing the necessity for fresh produce in the world. As residents struggled to seek out fresh food, Abraham defines the shop as “an invaluable part of the southeast Queens community.” “There’s really nowhere to go in Queens, especially Black-owned businesses in Queens, to find something healthier to eat. We need to keep these businesses open,” she said.
“So someone just needs to make everyone aware that these companies exist and how to keep the dollars in our community. Organizing this cash crowd not only encourages people to buy, but also shows where our collective dollars stand, how it helps sustain businesses and directly serves and uplifts our community.”
The event will happen on November 24 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 123-01 Merrick Blvd in St. Albans. According to the shop’s co-owner, Earnest Flowers, he has partnered with several other Black-owned brands in the world to sell his products at the shop. Flowers is comfortable that his neighbors can come to his supermarket to purchase organic food and goods from local vendors like Celeste Sassine, owner of Sassy Sweet Vegan Treats.
At the grand opening three years ago which was visited by over 350 viewersSassine stated that the collaboration was “super, super, super exciting” to the purpose that the majority of the products were off the shelves inside hours.
Lifestyle
Keke Palmer Recalls the Key Advice Will Smith Gave Her as a Child: “It’s Hard to Be First”
Like many young people, actress Keke Palmer went through a phase wherein she clashed along with her parents. Recently in a performance at “Toast” podcast.Palmer revealed that fellow actor Will Smith helped her take care of the situation along with her family.
As a child star who has appeared on Nickelodeon and Disney productions, the “Akeelah and the Bee” actress explained how juggling fame has affected her and her family relationships — a lot in order that she admits she once considered emancipating herself from her parents.
Although her lawyer tried to get her into counseling, Palmer said it was Smith’s words that ultimately modified her mind.
“A couple of weeks go by, I’m on the set of ‘True Jackson, Vice President’ and I get a call from a very, very unknown number. And I said, “What? If it was strange, I would not answer,” she said, mentioning that she simply went back to work. Later, while retrieving her phone, Palmer received a voicemail from the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star.
“Hey Keke. This is Will. We’re here filming ‘The Karate Kid’ with (my son) Jaden and I just want to let you understand that I’ve talked (to your lawyer),’ Palmer continued, impersonating Smith. “He let me know every little thing you are going through and I need you to know that sometimes it’s hard to be the first, but you may do it. Just stay focused, love your loved ones and every little thing shall be high-quality.
Palmer remembers struggling as a child with the attention and fame that got here with climbing the ladder in the entertainment industry. While trying to adjust to the demands of her burgeoning profession, the actress recalls feeling that fame meant she would have to “throw (her) family away.”
“It’s something that happens when you leave and you can become a child artist, you can be the first person in your family to go to college, or you can be the first person in your family to get married,” Palmer said: explaining her feelings at that moment. “There are so many firsts that can happen as the generations of your family grow and evolve.”
Ultimately deciding not to undergo the emancipation process, Palmer emphasized the importance of getting a healthy community when navigating the entertainment industry.
“I think I’ve always felt like a lot of people, whether they’re big names or whether they’re my lawyers, have been a good community,” she added. “Also, my parents made sure I was around (people) who would encourage community rather than discord and separation.”
Lifestyle
Issa Rae will be honored at the British Fashion Awards 2024
Issa Rae gets flowers – in style.
The 39-year-old author, actress and producer will receive the Pandora Leader of Change award at the upcoming British Fashion Awards 2024, which will happen on December 2 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the British Fashion Council announced.
Actress and former “Insecure” co-star Yvonne Orji will present the award to Rae at the event, which serves as a significant fundraiser for the council’s foundation, in keeping with Women’s on a regular basis clothing.
“We are thrilled to honor Issa Rae with the Pandora Leader of Change Award at the Fashion Awards 2024,” Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, shared in an announcement.
“Rae’s work has inspired and resonated with people around the world. “She is a staunch supporter of the civil and women’s rights movements, always advocating for equality and social justice in her acting and writing,” Rush continued. “She consistently uses her platform to highlight the lack of diversity in Hollywood and advocate for greater representation in the industry, including meeting people of color behind the scenes.”
She added: “She is wholeheartedly committed to moving the conversation forward and galvanizing voices that are typically absent and underrepresented to open doors for others. She truly embodies the principles of this award and we are very excited to celebrate her in December.”
According to the British Fashion Council website, the Pandora Leader of Change award recognizes individuals who “lead innovation” to extend representation in arts and culture. Rae will be the second-ever recipient of this award. According to official details about the award, one other actress and author Michaela Coel was honored in 2023 Elle Magazine.
“Issa Rae truly embodies the spirit of the Pandora Leader of Change award,” Berta de Pablos-Barbier, Pandora chief marketing officer, said in the release. “In this second year of presenting this award, we are (honored) to celebrate a woman whose love for her craft and community shines through in each multi-dimensional character she brings to life.”
Pablo-Barbier added: “Her passion and purpose make her a natural candidate for this award, which fits perfectly with our values at Pandora, where love is always at the center. Issa’s commitment to meaningful change and uplifting others makes her an extraordinary change leader, and we are proud to honor her.”
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