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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.

Published

4 years ago

September 3, 2019

Oakland Post

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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WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Welcome to the NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception
The post WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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1 week ago

September 22, 2023

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The post WATCH LIVE! — NNPA 2023 National Leadership Awards Reception first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Just last month, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in climate mitigation project selections nationwide to help communities build resilience through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance program. In total, more than 50% of these projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, and in particular, 70% of BRIC projects will do the same.
The post OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

September 22, 2023

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By Erik A. Hooks, FEMA Deputy Administrator

We know that disasters do not discriminate. Yet, recovery from the same event can be uneven from community to community, perpetuating pre-existing inequalities. Recognizing these disparities, FEMA and the entire Biden-Harris Administration have prioritized equity when it comes to accessing federal programs and resources.

The numbers tell the story.

Just last month, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in climate mitigation project selections nationwide to help communities build resilience through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance program. In total, more than 50% of these projects will benefit disadvantaged communities, and in particular, 70% of BRIC projects will do the same.

These selections further underscore the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity and reaffirm FEMA’s mission of helping people before, during and after disasters, delivering funding to the communities that need it most.

Building on this momentum and our people-first approach, FEMA recently announced the initial designation of nearly 500 census tracts, which will be eligible for increased federal support to become more resilient to natural hazards and extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis. FEMA will use “Community Disaster Resilience Zone” designations to direct and manage financial and technical assistance for resilience projects nationwide, targeting communities most at risk due to climate change. More Community Disaster Resilience Zone designations, including tribal lands and territories, are expected to be announced in the fall of 2023.

These types of investments have, and will yield a significant return on investment for communities nationwide.

For example, in my home state of North Carolina, the historic community of Princeville, founded by freed African American slaves, uses BRIC funding to move vulnerable homes and critical utilities out of flood-prone areas.

In East Harlem, BRIC dollars will provide nature-based flood control solutions to mitigate the impacts of extreme rainfall events in the Clinton low-income housing community.

While we are encouraged by these investments, we know more must be done.

Not every community has the personnel, the time or the resources to apply for these federal dollars. Fortunately, FEMA offers free, Direct Technical Assistance to help under-resourced communities navigate the grant application process and get connected with critical resources. Under the leadership of FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, this assistance has been a game-changer, reducing barriers and providing even more flexible, customer-focused, tailored support to communities interested in building and sustaining successful resilience programs.

In Eastwick, Philadelphia, FEMA’s dedicated support helped the city with outreach to multiple federal agencies. Together, we built a comprehensive community-led flood mitigation strategy. When applied and implemented, this will make this community more resilient to hazards like flooding, which was negatively affecting many neighborhood blocks.

In DePue, Illinois, we worked hand-in-hand with communities to improve their ability to submit high-quality funding applications for hazard mitigation projects. We are happy to share that DePue is the first Direct Technical Assistance community to be selected in the BRIC national competition. And, we know they will not be the last. Thanks to this assistance and their ambition, DePue was awarded more than $20 million to build a new wastewater treatment plant, which will reduce flooding and raw sewage back-up into the basements of homes.

In total, our agency is working with over 70 communities, including tribal nations, to increase access to funding for mitigation projects that will make communities more livable and resilient.

With extreme weather events becoming increasingly intense and frequent due to climate change, we must keep pressing forward and continue investing in ways to better protect ourselves and our neighbors. And we are encouraged that local officials are engaging with us to learn more about the benefits of the BRIC non-financial Direct Technical Assistance initiative—just last week, we saw hundreds of participants nationwide register for a recent webinar on this important topic.

We want to see even more communities take advantage of this initiative, and, ultimately, obtain grants for innovative and forward-looking resilience projects. To that end, FEMA recently published a blog with five steps to help local communities and tribal nations learn more about the benefits of this non-financial technical assistance to access federal funding. I hope your community will take action and submit a letter of interest for this exciting opportunity and increase meaningful mitigation work throughout the country.

With the pace of disasters accelerating, communities can utilize federal resources to reduce their risk and take action to save property and lives. FEMA stands ready to be a partner and collaborator with any community that is ready to implement creative mitigation strategies and help build our nation’s resilience.

The post OP-ED: Delivering Climate Resilience Funding to Communities that Need it the Most first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities

ARIZONA INFORMANT — Prior to the Civil War, many communities in the Ohio River Valley were a part of an elaborate system that provided resources and protection for enslaved persons from Southern states on their journey to freedom. Once someone crossed the Ohio River, they traveled along unknown terrain of trails to safe houses and hiding places that would become known as the Underground Railroad.
The post Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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1 week ago

September 20, 2023

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By Christopher J. Miller, Sr. Director of Education & Community Engagement, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Christopher J. Miller

September is International Underground Railroad Month.

This proclamation began in the State of Maryland in 2019, and now more than 11 States officially celebrate one of the most significant eras in U.S. history. With the signing of Ohio HB 340 in June 2022, Ohio became the 12^th state to designate September International Underground Railroad Month.

Many history enthusiasts and scholars hope the momentum of the proclamation spreads to other states so that all our forebears of freedom are remembered.

Examining this era, you find that the Ohio River Valley is instrumental in the many narratives of freedom seekers. These stories are critical to our understanding of race relations and civic responsibilities.

Before the Civil War, many communities in the Ohio River Valley were part of an elaborate system that provided resources and protection for enslaved persons from Southern states on their journey to freedom. Once someone crossed the Ohio River, they traveled along unknown terrain of trails to safe houses and hiding places that would become known as the Underground Railroad.

Gateway to Freedom sign

The Underground Railroad was comprised of courageous people who were held to a higher law that confronted the institution of slavery with acts of civil disobedience by helping freedom seekers elude enslavers and slave hunters and help them get to Canada.

Many communities were a force for freedom along the more than 900-mile stretch of the Ohio River Valley, but I would like to focus on two significant communities.

Southern Indiana was a major part of this history. It was originally believed that there were from Posey to South Bend, Corydon to Porter, and Madison to DeKalb County, with many stops in between.

In further examination, the Underground Railroad in Indiana was a web of trails through the forests, swamps, briars, and dirt roads. The city that is often overlooked in reflecting on the history of the Underground Railroad is New Albany, Indiana.

By 1850, New Albany was the largest city in Indiana, with a population of 8,632. Free Blacks accounted for 502 of that population. Across the river, Louisville was Kentucky’s largest city, with a population of 42,829. A quarter of the 6,687 Black population were free in Louisville.

Town Clock Church (aerial view)

Louisville and New Albany would grow to become a significant region for Underground Railroad activity. People like Henson McIntosh became a prominent community member and major Underground Railroad conductor. McIntosh was one of approximately ten Underground Railroad agents in New Albany who used their wealth and influence to impact the lives of freedom seekers crossing the Ohio River.

The Carnegie Center for Art & History is an outstanding resource that continues to preserve New Albany’s role during the Underground Railroad era. Approximately 104 miles east along the Ohio River is another institution that plays a critical role in elevating the profile of the Underground Railroad on a national scope.

Inside Town Clock Church New Albany Indiana safe house

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio.

By 1850, Cincinnati would grow to be the 6^th largest city in the Union, with a sizable Black population.

The Freedom Center is prominently located in the heart of a historic Black community called Little Africa. Although the community no longer exists, its legacy lives on through the Freedom Center.

As with New Albany, the community that resided along the banks of the river served an important role in the story of the Underground Railroad. Little Africa was the gateway to freedom for thousands of freedom seekers escaping slavery.

Although there were Underground Railroad networks throughout the country, Ohio had the most active network of any other state, with approximately 3,000 miles of routes used by an estimated 40,000 freedom seekers that crossed through Little Africa.

Despite the growth of enslavement leading up to the Civil War, communities such as Little Africa and New Albany reveal the realities regarding race relations and a model for the dignity of human life through their respective efforts to be kind and resilient friends for the freedom seekers.

For More Information:

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – https://freedomcenter.org/

Cincinnati Tourism – https://www.visitcincy.com/

Carnegie Center for Art & History – https://carnegiecenter.org/

Southern Indiana Tourism – https://www.gosoin.com/

The post Tale of Two Underground Railroad Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.