Atlanta, GA | Rise News
Black History Month: Rise Celestial Studios Honors Dr. Joseph H. Beasley
It was as if I entered a palace, there was a long stretch front runway of wooden floor beautifully painted a golden mahogany. As you neared deeper inside, I was immediately drawn to the high ceilings that could quickly humble any man. I felt almost guilty that it was only after marveling at the first two things did I even realize the incredible collection of art that casually gleamed all around me. It was like my own personal tour of artifacts and drawings that even the Museum of fine Arts in Boston would certainly envy. This photo tells a story far deeper than any words can explain.
-CEO of Rise Celestial Studios Ralph Celestin, describes his first time meeting Dr. Joseph Beasley at his home in Atlanta.
Human rights activist Dr. Joseph Henry Beasley was born to sharecroppers on a rural plantation in Inman, Georgia on December 27, 1936.
Beasley received his primary education in a segregated one-room school house before moving with his family to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he excelled in the local public schools. It was during this phase of his life that he began to set high expectations and committed himself to a life of service. He ultimately received his B.S. degree in criminal justice from Park College and attended graduate school at Clark Atlanta University. Dr. Beasley was the Southern Regional Director of the National Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and President of African Ascension, an organization he formed to develop economic and political ties throughout Africa and the African Diaspora.
Dr. Beasley served as a board member of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City, Afronet in Lusaka, Zambia, Afrobras in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Christ Institute in Atlanta and is Chairman of both the Benedita de Silva International Foundation and the Asian American Center, both in Atlanta, Georgia and currently serves on the Board of African Leadership Magazine. The library at Zumbi dos Palmares College in Sao Paulo, Brazil is named in his honor.
The bulk of his current work focuses on the unification of African descendants for economic, political, social and cultural empowerment. He has received dozens of awards, recently received an honorary Doctorate and has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and numerous other newspapers, periodicals and magazines as well as on CNN and other major American television networks.
Be the first to comment