Annette John-Hall http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall RSS Feed for Inq Col Annette John-Hall en-us Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:54:41 GMT Annette John-Hall: Saying farewell to a legendary artist http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120217_Annette_John-Hall__Saying_farewell_to_a_legendary_artist.html After an emotional week that felt more like a year to me, Whitney Houston will be laid to rest Saturday. Annette John-Hall: 'Soul Train' spins a record in Philly http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120214_Annette_John-Hall___Soul_Train__spins_a_record_in_Philly.html It began as an idea for a tribute to the late Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius, and it ended up being the ultimate love, peace, and soul challenge to the city: To put Philadelphia in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most dancers to go down a Soul Train line. Annette John-Hall: CNN pundit's tweets should spark discussion http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120210_Annette_John-Hall__CNN_pundit_s_tweets_should_spark_discussion.html So, Roland Martin's suspension has some black folks up in arms. Looks like CNN's indefinite canning of its ascot-wearing, progressive pundit has many of his supporters indignant. Some of them have even begun an online petition drive to get him back on the network sooner. Annette John-Hall: 'PHLash' of inspiration helps Philadelphia students learn http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120207_Annette_John-Hall___PHLash__of_inspiration_helps_Philadelphia_students_learn.html If only Philadelphia's flash mobs could be as joyous and fun as the New Yorkers who boogied down a loosely organized Soul Train line in tribute to creator Don Cornelius over the weekend in Times Square. Annette John-Hall: Using video games to reduce violence http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120203_Annette_John-Hall__Using_video_games_to_reduce_violence.html We've heard it for years - a violent culture begets violence. Conventional wisdom says, if you want to understand the not-so-subliminal reasons for incivility, you don't have to look any further than the movies, the music, and the video games - the elements of pop culture we so readily identify with and glorify. Annette John-Hall: Penn will bestow long-overdue honors on W.E.B. Du Bois http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120131_Annette_John-Hall__Penn_will_bestow_long-overdue_honors_on_W_E_B__Du_Bois.html In just a few weeks, long-overdue history will have its reckoning: William Edward Burghardt Du Bois will be appointed an honorary emeritus professor of sociology and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Annette John-Hall: Likening obesity to child abuse http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120127_Annette_John-Hall__Likening_obesity_to_child_abuse.html Can you imagine Social Services storming into your home like Special Ops and seizing your children because of what you've fed them? Annette John-Hall: "Red Tails" is worthwhile but misses opportunities to teach viewers about the Tuskegee Airmen http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120124_Annette_John-Hall___quot_Red_Tails_quot__is_worthwhile_but_misses_opportunities_to_teach_viewers_about_the_Tuskegee_Airmen.html Looks like Red Tails, George Lucas' World War II biopic about the Tuskegee Airmen, made $19 million over the weekend. Decent, considering its limited opening in the dreaded dead zone between Christmas and the Oscars. Annette John-Hall: Corbett's blame game with Chester Upland School District is hurting the students http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120120_Annette_John-Hall__Corbett_s_blame_game_with_Chester_Upland_School_District_is_hurting_the_students.html This was the week that teachers in the bankrupt Chester Upland School District were supposed to go without their paychecks. Annette John-Hall: Food-stamp crackdown is no way to celebrate Dr. King http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/annette_john-hall/20120117_Annette_John-Hall__Food-stamp_crackdown_is_no_way_to_celebrate_Dr__King.html Oh, the irony of it all. On Monday, I tried to get someone in Harrisburg to explain why, in the name of all that's fair and just, low-income Pennsylvanians who have managed to build up modest savings are slated to have their food stamps - now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - cut off.