The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) issued the following statement regarding ABC’s decision to cancel the Roseanne television show due to the star’s racist comments on Twitter.
“Roseanne Barr’s comments were appalling and reminiscent of horrific time in our history when racism was not only acceptable but promoted by Hollywood. We applaud ABC for taking a stand against racism by canceling Roseanne today. We commend the network and its president Channing Dungey for placing the values of diversity, inclusion and respect for humanity above ratings,” said NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson.
NAACP Hollywood Bureau director Robin Harrison believes this move by ABC sends a strong message that’s in line with the Bureau’s continued work to expand diversity in front of the camera and behind the camera.
“This is a strong and decisive move by ABC to refuse to continue business as usual,” said Harrison. “It’s important that Hollywood understands the power of inclusion and continues to take a clear stand against racism and bias within the industry.”
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More