Mardi Gras is 47 days before Easter, since Easter can be from March 22nd to April 25th , Mardi Grad can be from February 3rd to March 9th. 
Mardi Gras is February 25th in the year 2020. I ask you to make a journal of your day in New Orleans during mardi using photos from wherever you like to paruse  
Story 1 :  https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=885  
Story 2 : https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-eostre-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=886  
 
STORY 1
 
ba-bedee-debede-doo Bonjou Nouveau Orleans, I have returned. The morning is bright or magical, as I step from the shore into the city. The sound of horns audible even from this distance. I wonder if anyone will remember when I was here last. If anyone will remember what I did. Well, I have to step forward to find out. Just follow the sounds, as they get deeper. ba-bedee-debede-doo-boo-badoboop-ba Some people are celebrating, and I see a krewe coming like a grass from a storm. Suddenly a woman pops out.
She is on a mobile float like a little island, floating between the streets. A lovely glaze from her skin is given no interference from the sunlight, the latter choosing to shine away rather than muddy her complexion with its cloudy difference. I am in new orleans. I wonder if I can get to the old bar, I wonder if it will be there. I awe at the spirit bird going away on her magical island, like all the other men, and as the island turns, I turn back onto the road north, to the Treme, to the storyville, to my old grounds.  
I wonder about the families of my friends and I, what happened from then to now. Could our stories have ended? I see, a family dressed up.  
I Want to ask them their names, one looks familiar, but I see no men. It is ungentlemanly to speak to women unaccompanied. They may take great offense. so, I decide to keep it moving, let’s not get startled.
In my pocket is an old daguerreotype. I take it out and shed a tear.  
Suddenly the beautiful collage of horns is no longer interesting. All I can recall are the chants of yore, when instruments were too expensive, when the priestesses still roamed the noir streets of the city. Gens de magique femme . I am amazed it survived the passage through time but I hope it will not be a memory discontinued.  
It takes hours to get back to my home, ici le tempeste, no longer here, nowhere, I remember when a storm passed through the city. Everyone’s shanty was destroyed but mine, mine remained, mine survived the storm. But that is cause it was a storm itself, shaking uncontrollably absent proper supports, leaking wildly absent a proper roof, a collisions of sounds, made it an orchestra for any who lived in it for any time. It taught me more than any human ever could about sound. I see this small storefront where its porch stood and go to it. The cover over the window has a small gap and i see a woman dancing inside.
An angel, like the one on the floating island before, but this one is in a room of cotton, gently cushioning her every move. Her face… her face look like my fofo,  I love her most of all. I wish the ancestors allowed me to take her too. I need to speak to this woman. I go inside, the woman pays me no mind, entranced in her own routine. I ask her, can she tell me where to find the descendants of Madame Fofo, my fofo. She does a pirouette and stops facing me. She seems startled by my old-style clothes, the first in these future times, but tells me to go to a party at the beach, where her cousin is. She is the best historian she knows.
So, I travel back out and go back from whence I came, back to the waters about my city, back to the waters that can take you anywhere. And, a party existed where I stepped out of. People drinking, partying, listening to music. I recall the description of the cotton angel and look about, even get a free sausage from finely ground meat that is put in between a fluffy bread shaped similar. I imagine to myself, i may never find the historian but then I notice a woman from afar who may be her. I keep walking toward and I am certain she fit the description. I face the potential historian standing next to her friend I assume. The friend, like an Incan princess, notice me first and realize my stare. I approach and the historian turns to me.
I ask the historian her name and it matches what the cotton angel told me. I explain to her I am looking for Madame Fofo, my fofo. The historian looks to me in disbelief, and pulls a letter out of her pocket, telling me she found it in the archives and keep it for inspiration. She tells me, to read it.  
I read the letter and it says: Mon amour, mon corniste, mon Tontton, j'ai fait ce dont tu avais besoin. J'espère que vous trouverez notre avenir sûr. Je veux vous demander, vous dire, beaucoup de choses. Mais, je ne peux même pas savoir si vous lirez ceci. En l'état, je dirai ce que vous devez entendre. Où est ta corne? C'est là que nous nous sommes embrassés pour la première fois. la touche tape sur la perle blanche. La mélodie que nous avons faite ensemble.
I comprehend instantly, hand the letter back to the young lady and go to Bienville street, and to where we kissed for the first time. The lamp is still there and I see at the base the bumpy surface and a white bump exists. Then I tap on the it with my shoe. ba-bedee-debede-doo-boo-badoboop-ba-ba-badoboop-badoboop-bedee-debede-bedee-debede and a latch open. My horn! I play our melody on our horn and I can see it is all worth it, as the world reverse before my eyes, like an old movie, Bienville street is going to the way it was in the past.
Past I do not know, but past looking closer to my own. Now I know it is worth it, now I know I was right to risk this. The priestess said the Cardinal’s spell on our child needed someone to risk their life, where only love can succeed. I trusted in my Fofo and she trusted in me, and I am coming back. Better keep playing my horn. ba-bedee-debede-doo-boo-badoboop-ba-ba-badoboop-badoboop-bedee-debede-bedee-debede and on and on and on, I see her. STOP! It is the evening, and My Fofo run to me, and embrace me. But she isn’t alone, someone is in a carriage next to her. Someone who look a little like us both.  Ancestres!  
“Mon amour, voici notre fils. L'annee est” I kiss my wife. I do not need to know that. We have all the time in the world.
 
STORY 2
 
I am walking alone, far from bourbon street. Far from the sound of beads hitting bare breast, drunken stammers acapella through the krewes horns, just a man alone with the moonlight looking down upon me. I see a small shop, too small to have a sign, only the merchandise in the window provide any clue to the innards. Nothing particular I notice: masks/cloaks/old horns with stories to tell. But wait, a small figurine catch my eye. A simple figurine ready for Mardi Gras in an appropriate outfit.
I hear a sound in my ear as I look upon the figurine. But I cannot decipher it. "venez ici": I hear clear while subtely. I shake my head wondering why I am hearing french. "come here": I comprehend but I do not know from who. Again, the voice repeat and I notice my attention to the figurine. She is not moving, she does not seem mechanical, and yet I seem to know the voice is from here. I enter the shop. "Bonjour": is the shopkeeper courtesy. I am surprised he think I know a lick of french. I ask about the figurine in the window. He say, she is very old, made for a gens de colour libre woman. I ask him the price, a gentle fifteen dollars. I accept, and he gathers the figurine and place her in a box with bubble pop for cushion. I leave thinking, I have no wife or daughter and I am getting a cute figurine. Well, at least I can tell people she is old. "trouver ma peinture": I sense from the figurine but I keep on walking. "find my painting!": and I face the unchanged figurine, holding it high above my head, and ask a silly question: "where is your painting?" I wait but no reply. I continue to walk finally satisfied this nocturnal magic is finished with me. "North roman entre Beinville et Iberville" I recall the two streets, I think I know where she mean. I take out my map and recall I passed that location and I begin to walk there. My companion stay muted even as I approach the methodist church at the locale. I look down to the figurine and wonder if this is alright. A light is on, inside. I walk to the door and knock. A cleaning man open the door. "Why aren": he stop speaking and seem in a daze. I wave my hand in his face. No change. I decide to go inside foolishly, not knowing if the magic I did not use will come again if more strangers find a stranger in their church. But I look about the nave or the walls and see no painting. I look behind a column and see her.
Somehow I know the figurine is happy. But then a question occur to me. This painting is you. I thought you were given to a gens de colour libre girl, not that you are a gens de colour libre woman. The painting then wink at me. I look up and she speak. "Bon soir anglo, I... need your help": she speak simply. I ask her, what can I do to help you. "You need to face the woman who did this to me and then face me to her, i can do the rest": she speak surely. I have many doubts. "Whomever did this to you is way beyond me, I am no sorcerer": I say escapingly. "Y do not need to know how to wield the magic, just know I need your actions to aidez moi... and the woman in question is located in La Fourche, you will find here where three tree intertwine": and then the painting became still. I look at the figurine and nothing. I go to the door of the church and the cleaning man is still quiet, so I slip past him and close the door behind me. It can be unwise walking around new orleans or around cajun country at night, even during mardi gras but I figure the figurine will help. I buy a sandwich from a local deli and a pack of cigarettes. I eat while I walk, figurine safely in her box, and I keep walking. By the time I get to La fourche I am smoking cigarettes. A car with a confederate sign, fill to the rim with white men who are looking at me, drive but do not stop. I know I need to make this quick. I go by homes, some literally at the river edge, and look for the three entwined tree. I hear a scream. I see a man violently moving and decide to hide behind a bush. I creep near the window and see a dangerous sight.
I look down at the figurine and wonder if this little magic will not get me killed. "Sud, sud!": I hear in my head. Clearly my wavering got the attention to my master. I leave the scene, and hope I can find this tree before I end up in a horror movie. I walk south and finally I see the tree. But no one else is there. "Speak these words anglo...Je te donne mon cœur, tu me donnes un objectif, personne ne doit le savoir": the figurine speak hurriedly in my soul. I am hesitant but finally I decide, all well what the hell. And, after speaking the words, nothing. "PUT ME AWAY QUICK": the figurine speak, I can hear her ceramic heart beating, the black priestess soul underneath determined. Suddenly, a half of a mask appear on one side of the three twined tree. The eye behind one half of the mask seem to be a fluid blue. I hear a loud sniff. and, a woman appear from behind the tree. A forked tongue hiss whisper from the mask: "You are pretty fonce to be down here, anglo...now what is your goal, if your coeur is not heavy enough, I get the rest of the deal". I reply firmly: "alright ma'am, though I already gave my heart to another, though I cannot comprehend exactly why": and I pull out the figurine quickly, facing the masked woman straight away. A hiss is heard from all angles and I hear the figurine in my head:"Vous devez m'avoir oublié, imbécile. Joséphine vous l'a toujours dit, pour faire attention aux vieux sorts que vous lancez." The masked woman, writhing, spit out in french:"Anacaona, mais je connais le sang de ta famille, tu n'avais pas de descendants, pas de clan pour t'entendre." The figurine spoke again:"Imbecillia, vous avez oublié que le membre du clan peut avoir n'importe quelle distance, et l'esclavage de votre côté de notre famille a profité d'éclats faits dans mon clan il y a longtemps." And, a flash. Something knocked me down but someone not present helped me up. "LEve! anglo, leve!": said a woman, a black woman in the gown from the tree woman. Her hair pure white. She kneeled down and looked at a figurine on the ground.  Suddenly, I realized where is my fifteen-dollar figurine. I hear a giggle from the stranger masked woman:"it is me, the figurine" I am amazed. And then I realize the figurine on the ground is the woman formerly behind the mask. My figurine, pick up her nemesis, and say:"retourne, go back to new orleans, and thank you". My honesty perk up. I did not do anything. She smile and say:"This magic was not really of spells but circumstance, will a descendent of mine find me, me living in a porcelain figurine in a small shop in new orleans, but you found me, pure chance and that was the magic that tipped the scales, no spells, no incantations". I stand up and offer a hand, and I notice her hand has age. "aucun problem anglo, I have been dormir a while": she lift up and give me a hug and continue:" I will be alright, I think I know where I can help myself around here, and I thank you for that". Before I can speak, a sole horn player, standing aside a wall is playing, while the rest of bourbon is empty. It is very late. I think to go back to the three entwined tree, but I am tired, and I need to get rest. For some reason, I need to get rest, and I do. ... Back in New York City, I wonder if I had a dream induced by someone planting something in a drink or spraying me with something. I think on that for weeks. And then I get a postcard.
I turn to the back and I see Anacaona Liber's name attached to that old churches address. Her message is:" Figure I needed a new painting with a new style, I will wait for you to decide about listening to your heart"
I realize, what may have happened but hesitate to confirm and when I turn the postcard back around, the image wink at me.   ART https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/655-black-history-month-mardi-gras-2026/   CELEBRATIONS   Salvador, Bahia, Carnival 2026 https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12468-salvadaor-bahia-carnival-2026/

Event details

CENTO Series episode 94
Was it worth to take the fall?
Letting them once again be played.
Causing other people's demise,
Wishing that you can be redeemed;
Or this will cause some to disband.
https://www.deviantart.com/hiromi-seika/art/The-Last-Stand-948524424
So let the whispers linger, let them soar,
Through the ebb and flow of time's embrace,
Embracing shadows, embracing grace,
In the silent conversations with myself.
Seeking solace in the words unsaid.
Each word a ripple in the vast expanse
https://www.deviantart.com/bukoslav/art/Conversation-with-myself-1023684804
 

Epub series 
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/series/richard-murray-short-story-collection

Audiobook series 
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/series/richard-murray-tip-jar-audios

To get a microcalligraphy signature go to the following pay page 
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/commission/Microcalligraphy-signatures-1487995

Event details

Introduction to Jesse JAckson Juniors Eulogy
Yesterday I listened for several hours of three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson,... He maintained a tense relationship with the political order, not because the presidents were White or Black, but the demands of our message, the demands of speaking for the least of these — those who are disinherited, the damned, the dispossessed, the disrespected — demanded not Democratic or Republican solutions, but demanded a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point in time sold us out as a people.”
 
MY THOUGHTS
Who is Jesse Jackson ?
In cheap hindsight, Jesse Jackson is one of the Black Leaders, another is Shirley Chisholm ,  whose rise was in the last decade of the Jim Crow era, 1865 to 1980[eighteen sixty five to nineteen eighty , the period after the enslavement era from 1492 fourteen ninety two to 1865 eighteen sixty five], in the 1970s, nineteen seventies. 
What happened in the the 1970s? 
China + Japan , two white asian countries, each began a fiscal push, that in twenty twenty six have become pillars of modern fiscal activity, deleting the edge in engineering the usa had from the end of commonly called world war two. 
the USA installed the lickspittle puppet, the Shah of Iran in the nineteen fifties because the elected prime minister of iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, wasn't a lickspittle and was stopping the uneven oil business. I restate, Mosaddegh wanted to sell Iranian oil to iran's favor at market value, both things, and that is what led to United States of America plus the United Kingdom of England plus Israel overthrowing the government of iran and installing the shah as a monarchy. yes, the usa plus uk plus israel installed a monarchy to get what they each wanted financially. But that action led to the Muslim Revolution of Iran overthrowing the shah in the 1970s and publicly stating two countries who had a hand in overthrowing the elected government of Mosaddegh, , USA+Israel are correctly enemies of Iran. 
The inevitable failure of the civil rights laws in the private financial sector showed their reality. As Black populaces in white cities had a growing class of workers for city governments, aided with publicly funded schools, but the white flight was about to allow white cities to undercut staffing and undercut funding which ultimately derailed many black populaces in cities. 
What was Jesse Jackson's plan?
Jesse Jackson realized the heritage of unpaid unelected advocacy in the Black descended of enslaved populace, whose members were continually murdered through the whole jim crow period needed to survive in the future; said heritage was about advocacy, working for something, that returns nothing to oneself. MEdgar evers/Fanni lou hamer/James Baldwin/Malcolm/ MLK jr/ Billie Holiday/ Mary Lou Williams all died through murder or poor condition of life, financially broke. None of them had money. They all had funerals paid for by others, had their childrens opportunities financed by others. Jesse Jackson's idea was, lets place Fannie Lou Hamer + Malcolm in the elected official class. Why? I argue Jesse Jackson saw with Jim Crow ending, the USA is going into a phase where individuals from many communities in the usa will be able to financially achieve great heights, unbounded, but they will be communally abvocates. Not advocates, those who work toward, but abvocates, those who work against. So, while financially a Black one percent will grow and those not of white european descent in a rainbow coalition, which came from Fred Hampton in chicago, will achieve financial wealth, the black fiscal poor as part of the greater fiscal poor of the united states of america will need an elected class who are not just filled with victors who own spoils abvocating to the districts that elected them, but communal advocates who have the same energy plus vibe that Jesse Jackson saw in the jim crow era before it was murdered by non blacks aside their black agents. 
Did Jesse Jackson succeed? 
No, To the victor goes the spoils is the oldest heritage for elected officials in the united states of america. It is a strong heritage because in a land where government post tend to not be inherited, the only fiscal profit in government is in extracting what you can in the short term. Supporting the short term fiscal value of elected positions in government is the rarity of advocates of highest quality that surrounded Jesse Jackson in the nineteen sixties. Being an abvocate , working against, to the people is easy , natural in the united states of america. Being an advocate to the people , and better yet one who is making no fiscal revenue, is a rare way of life in the usa. 
 
Jesse Jackson tried to create a culture of advocacy for all people within the elected class of government officials in the united states of america, who could make money and take money while being effective legislators or executives who forced profit to be made on mountains of unprofitable caring to prevent crimes in the future or the potency of crimes in any past. 
 

TRANSCRIPT
0:00 Yesterday 0:07 I listened 0:10 for several hours of three 0:14 [clears throat] 0:15 United States presidents 0:18 who do not know Jesse Jackson. 0:26 He maintained a tense relationship 0:30 with the political order. Not because 0:34 the presidents were white or black, 0:38 but the demands of our message. 0:40 Yes. 0:41 The demands of speaking for the least of 0:43 these, those who were disinherited, the 0:45 damned, the dispossessed, the 0:48 disrespected. 0:50 Yes, sir. 0:51 demanded not Democratic or Republican 0:54 solutions, but demanded 0:57 a consistent 1:00 prophetic 1:02 voice 1:03 that at no point in time ever sold us 1:06 out as a people. 1:10 And it speaks volumes about who the 1:13 Reverend Jesse Jackson 1:16 was. Our message has already been 1:20 delivered today. I can see it all over 1:23 my mother's face. 1:26 Rise, Jesse, rise. Give Jonathan Jackson 1:30 another great round of applause for 1:33 delivering our family message to the 1:37 world. 1:42 Let's hear it for the congressman. 1:50 [applause] 1:52 There'll be no different message that 1:55 leaves this service than the one that 1:56 Jonathan Jackson has blessed us with. 2:02 I want to thank my sister Ashley and on 2:05 behalf of all of our siblings, 2:08 there is something about the blood of 2:11 service that Jesse Jackson has given to 2:15 all of us. 2:17 Ashley is an extraordinary individual, a 2:21 very, very talented young lady, and I am 2:24 so grateful. We're all so grateful to 2:27 call her our sister. Thank you, Ashley. 2:32 [applause] 2:37 [applause] 2:41 a gift to us from our father. 2:48 Amen. 2:50 to my sister Santita 2:53 whose talents are so extraordinary that 2:57 I've always wondered why they're so 2:59 contained. 3:02 We're so grateful for her scholarship, 3:06 her input, her thinking, 3:09 her being our oldest 3:11 sibling. 3:14 She doesn't like oldest. She likes 3:16 eldest sibling. 3:20 We want to thank Cintita in a very 3:21 special way for her leadership. Give 3:24 Centa a great round of applause. 3:25 [applause] 3:27 Let's hear it for Centa. 3:33 [applause] 3:38 And if we can listen once again to four 3:40 presidents yesterday, three of whom 3:43 happened to be US presidents 3:46 who did not know my father, we can 3:48 certainly listen to Jqualine Jackson. 3:52 We can listen to Jqualine Jackson who 3:54 cared for my father. Give her the round 3:57 of applause that she deserves. 4:03 [applause] 4:13 And last but not least, 4:18 for 64 years before we heard of 4:22 progressive nuclear pausy or Parkinson's 4:25 disease, 4:28 my father at North Carolina ENTT said 4:30 that he was standing 4:32 at the cafeteria when he saw a young 4:34 fresh woman 4:37 walking across 4:39 the campus. 4:41 That's right. 4:44 And mommy, at least as the story was 4:46 conveyed to me, he said something to the 4:48 effect that you're going to be my wife 4:51 one day. 4:54 And mama said to him, "You going to have 4:56 to work hard to make that the case, my 4:58 brother. 5:04 for 64 years with a particular emphasis 5:07 since Reverend's diagnosis 5:10 of initially Parkinson's disease but a 5:13 further diagnosis that revealed 5:16 pseudonuclear Pauly 5:19 whether the weather was rain or whether 5:21 the weather was cold 5:23 whether things were going well or things 5:25 were not going well. 5:28 the mountain tops that marriages reach 5:30 as well as the valley that they reach. 5:32 Jqualine Jackson has been the enduring 5:35 force in the ministry of the Reverend 5:38 Jesse Jackson and she lent him to the 5:43 world. Give Mrs. Jackson the honor that 5:47 she deserves. 5:51 [applause] 5:55 [applause] 6:00 I want to remind everybody 6:03 Yes. 6:07 that we are burying our father today. 6:17 I was so grateful that he gave me his 6:18 name. 6:22 When he first gave it to me, it was a 6:23 good name, 6:26 Jesse Jackson. 6:28 Born March 11th, just a few short days 6:31 from now. 6:34 He had traveled from Chicago Theological 6:36 Seminary to Selma, Alabama. 6:41 He sent my mother to Greenville, South 6:43 Carolina. 6:49 because he wanted his firstborn son to 6:51 be born where he was born. 6:56 When I was born, the Selma to Montgomery 6:58 March was entering a new phase. And mama 7:02 called Selma to find out what 7:06 or to share with my father that his 7:07 firstborn son had been born. And 7:11 he was so overwhelmed by the moment that 7:13 he almost named me Selma. 7:21 But thank God for mama's better 7:23 judgment. 7:29 And my father had a lot of jokes. 7:32 Yes, sir. 7:33 My father was a funny man. 7:36 Those of you who knew my father knew 7:38 that he was an enjoyable man. Whatever 7:42 the media has to say about him, it has 7:45 nothing to do with what each and every 7:48 one of us knows about who Jesse Jackson 7:52 was and is in our thinking. 8:06 being Jesse is not easy. 8:09 And so, Dad and I had worked out some 8:12 understanding of why he would do this 8:14 and why I would do that. And a symbiosis 8:17 occurred in our personality because what 8:20 he did affected me one way and what I 8:23 did affected him the other way. But such 8:26 was the name Jesse Jackson. 8:30 And I remember when I was in prison. 8:40 [applause] 8:43 And I would think about the man 8:46 who brought Robert Goodman home. 8:48 Yes, sir. 8:50 Yes, sir. 8:51 Who called the Ayatollah in Iran and 8:55 asked him to release the Americans. And 8:58 when he wouldn't, he said, "At least 9:00 release the black ones because America, 9:03 don't use them as a human shield. 9:05 America don't care." 9:09 And Ayatollah heard Reverend Jackson's 9:12 voice and released the black prisoners. 9:20 [applause] 9:21 Jonathan and I were in Cuba when dad 9:23 brought, I believe, the Mario prisoners 9:26 home. 9:28 I think Yousef and Jonathan were in Iraq 9:32 when they met with Saddam Hussein 9:35 [snorts] and brought a 747 9:38 of filled with human shields home. 9:44 [applause] 9:49 And I remember mama when daddy would 9:51 come visit me in prison 9:53 and I would think about 9:56 all of the people my daddy could save. 10:07 He came to visit me one day and I said, 10:08 "Daddy, 10:11 do you think you can get me out of 10:12 here?" 10:18 [applause] 10:23 [applause] 10:25 He said, "I'm trying, son, 10:28 but don't give up." Yes, sir. 10:31 Hold your head high. 10:33 Stick your chest out. 10:35 You can make it. 10:38 And so, yesterday, I began a little 10:41 statement, and this ain't going to last 10:43 but about four more minutes cuz I 10:46 haven't had a chance to develop it. 10:48 [snorts] 10:50 Howard Thurman 10:54 because the message has already been 10:57 delivered. Rise, Jesse, rise. I'm 11:00 specifically hanging around Howard 11:03 Thurman yesterday because I don't want 11:06 the media to step on rise, Jesse, rise 11:10 in tomorrow's story. 11:14 It's a calculation. 11:16 Yes, sir. We Jackson have to think about 11:19 what we say so we don't have too many 11:22 messages emanating from the same 11:25 household. We think about it. 11:32 Howard Thurman his family grew up as a 11:34 sharecropping family and he had 11:36 experienced some of the horrific 11:38 treatment of African-Americans in the 11:40 South, not unlike my father. and his 11:43 family decided they didn't want young 11:45 Howard to be a sharecropper. So, they 11:47 put together all of their pennies and 11:50 quarters and nickels, and they came up 11:53 with just enough money to make sure 11:55 Howard Thurman could afford a ticket to 11:58 go to college. 12:03 And in the book, which Bill Clinton 12:05 referenced yesterday with Head and 12:07 Heart, he dedicates the book 12:11 to this story. 12:14 When he went to get his ticket, the 12:17 broken pieces of his life were in a 12:20 trunk that his family had given to him 12:23 with no handles. And he had tied the 12:25 trunk up with ropes. 12:28 Yes, sir. 12:29 Yes, sir. And the conductor said, "You 12:32 can get on the train, but your baggage 12:33 can't." 12:35 He said, "In that trunk was all of the 12:37 broken pieces of his life, his pictures, 12:40 his his clothes, all of his memories, 12:43 and 12:46 he wasn't leaving his broken pieces 12:49 behind." 12:52 So he went over in the corner of the 12:54 train station and he began crying 12:58 because his dreams and his hopes had 13:01 been thwarted about whether or not he 13:04 could go to college. 13:07 And crying and tears and mucus all lay 13:11 in a pile when he wiped his eyes and he 13:12 looked up mama and he saw a pair of old 13:16 rustic boots. 13:20 He continued to look up and he saw a man 13:23 in some overalls and he saw an old black 13:26 man wearing a straw hat and he said, 13:28 "Boy, 13:30 what you crying for?" And Howard said, 13:33 "Because I can't take my luggage with me 13:38 on the train. I've decided not to go to 13:41 college." And the old man reached in his 13:44 pocket and he grabbed a little leather 13:45 sack and pulled out a few coins and 13:48 bought a ticket for Howard Thurman's 13:51 luggage. 13:54 And Howard Thurman says he never got the 13:57 man's name. 14:00 Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And all he remembers 14:04 was his train was going in one direction 14:07 and he saw the old man walking down the 14:10 train tracks until he faded away. 14:14 He dedicates his autobiography 14:18 to the stranger 14:23 who restored his hope. 14:26 Yes, sir. 14:27 And sent him to college. Thank you, 14:30 Jesus. 14:31 I just want two more minutes to tell you 14:34 about who my daddy was. 14:38 [applause] 14:39 You see, when I was in prison, 14:41 Yes, sir. 14:42 I had to ask my daddy if he was 14:44 disappointed in me. 14:45 Yes, sir. Come on. Come on. 14:48 [snorts] 14:49 I announced this little old campaign for 14:51 Congress on his birthday, October 8th, 14:56 2025, because I wanted to remember his 14:59 birthday as long as I live. 15:02 Yes, sir. 15:05 Help. 15:06 You see, when I was in the hole 15:10 and I looked up and saw the ceiling, 15:14 I thought about the stranger. 15:19 And I said to myself, "My dad is the 15:23 stranger." 15:26 You see, he's the man who can save 15:28 people from prison and save people and 15:31 bring them from foreign leadership. He's 15:33 the man who can go around the world and 15:36 change it for everybody. 15:39 He's the man who spoke in the high 15:41 schools and told young people to stop 15:44 complaining about what they don't have, 15:46 to use what they got. 15:48 Yes, sir. Yes, sir. 15:51 He's the one who told them down with 15:53 dope and and up with hope. 15:56 He's the one who preached your funerals 15:59 for your families and married your loved 16:02 ones and helped bring them forward in 16:05 happily married matrimony. 16:08 He's the one we turn to at our lowest 16:12 hours. 16:13 And so, [gasps] not only in the life of 16:17 his family was he hope, 16:20 but he was a stranger Yes, sir. for 16:24 millions of people who knew not his 16:27 name. 16:28 You see, [cheering] 16:31 imminent Howard Thurman theologian said 16:34 that to Howard Thurman, the stranger was 16:38 the embodiment of God. 16:42 So when the stranger shows up in our 16:45 space, 16:46 I don't care if it's your daddy. I don't 16:49 care if it's your mama. I don't care if 16:51 it's someone that you don't get along 16:53 with. God is trying to tell you 16:55 something, judge. 16:57 Yes, sir. [applause] 17:00 Yes, sir. 17:01 I'm done. 17:03 [applause] 17:04 God help you. 17:05 When Jonathan delivered that message 17:06 today, 17:08 you 17:09 on behalf of this family and on behalf 17:11 of a people, 17:12 Yes, sir. 17:14 He covered every aspect that I know of 17:19 my father's life. 17:20 Yes, sir. 17:21 I am so grateful to each of the 17:23 iterations of Jesse Jackson that are 17:26 represented here today 17:28 because we've seen and you you you and 17:31 you have lifted this family and allowed 17:34 us the great privilege 17:37 Yes, sir. 17:39 [cheering] 17:39 of representing you 17:42 in some mighty amazing places. And so, 17:46 Santita, to God be the glory. [cheering] 17:50 For all of the wonderful things that he 17:54 has done. 17:56 I am grateful to all of you on behalf of 17:59 our family. Rise, Jesse. Rise.
 
 
COMMENTARIES 
https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12576-president-obamas-eulogy-of-rev-jesse-jackson/#findComment-80620
sted just now
@aka Contrarian well,I think what jesse jackson jr said was truth, clinton/obama/biden were each considered good guys, the southern white sax player, the mulatto with a black wife, the kindly old white guy, but each weren't the kind of elected advocate that Jesse Jackson  senior hoped to brew as a common occurrence in the usa. I still feel ,with no proof, that what Jesse Jackson wanted, his purpose, was to get people with the quality of leadership of advocates, unpaid or unelected while totally committed, like fannie lou hamer or malcolm x to be elected officials, to improve the quality of elected officials, in the usa. Instead, the overall industry of government led to a bunch of pantomime black or non black elected officials who are all salespeople, who do nothing for blacks or non blacks while claiming their are acting in all humanities betterment.  This is why Shirley Chisholm left government. She was an advocate who became an elected official, but she was surrounded by black plus non black salespeople. And three of said salespeople spoke during jesse jackson's funeral with the same quality inherent in insult that brooke shileds plus magic johnson spoke at michael jackson's funeral.  
 
03142026
https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12576-president-obamas-eulogy-of-rev-jesse-jackson/#findComment-80668
osted just now
@aka Contrarian 
  On 3/11/2026 at 6:04 PM, aka Contrarian said:
Well, if you dont want the 3 Presidents to talk politics at the funeral of a political figure, then don't invite them, just to show how important the deceased was. And Al Sharpton certainly didn't mince any words about what's happening in the country in his remarks. 
If you want a dignified funeral, don't invite a bunch of dignitaries to speak, and hold the services at a huge hall to accommodate  all the public mourners you opened the doors to.
You're just asking for confusion and resentment and that's what the Jackson family got.
You can't have it both ways.
I am with you 100% Do I think jesse jackson spoke false ? no BUT I concur to your point that if you want no commercialization then make the funeral private and if you want a more public aspect, for jesse jackson was famous, known, then you need to have greater control over what happens plus over how what happens in the schedule. I concur to you. If you open the possibility for behavior you don't want at an event you control, then when the behavior you don't want happens you are partially and arguably mostly to blame. If Jesse jackson junior would had began mentioning where the jackson clan, or whomever was in control went wrong, that would had made his speech not only truthful but even.
 
@Pioneer1 
  1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:
This shit has got to stop.

Perhaps there should be a Black Law: If you're already light skinned, you shouldn't be allowed to dye your hair blonde.

Maybe we should have a limit to how many "white" features a Black person is allowed to have before they are no longer considered Black....lol.
 i have to ask a simple question. who will enforce the black laws? you?:) you talk of law enforcement with white laws so i assume someone will enforce the black laws:)
 
03142026
https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12576-president-obamas-eulogy-of-rev-jesse-jackson/#findComment-80674
osted just now
@Pioneer1
  2 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:
I guess if we could figure out who or what is influencing so many Black women to dye their hair blonde, we can figure out who or what can get them to stop.
what if the influencer is the freedom of a woman to do whatever she wants with out having to worry about any penalty ? who is going to deny them their freedom to do what they want? what can deny them the freedom to do what they want?
 
03152026
https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12576-president-obamas-eulogy-of-rev-jesse-jackson/#findComment-80709
osted just now
@Pioneer1 
  7 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:
If the "freedom of a woman to do whatever she wants" was the influencer....where are the AfroAmerican women with naturally light hair dying it black or dark brown?

When was the last time you saw a Black entertainer with naturally lighter hair dying it black?

It's not about freedom, it's about them being conditioned to believe that blonde hair, light skin, and light eyes somehow makes them look better.

I don't think they should be physically or even legally prevented from doing so, but I do think that we as AfroAmericans who ARE proud to be Black...should have a consistent campaign of self-love and promotion of African features like dark skin and dark hair and promote this especially to our children to COUNTER the effects from centuries of racist anti-Black brainwashing that our community has endured.

Use the movies, television shows, and advertisements to promote dark skin and dark hair....especially to our children.
Make them desire THOSE features, instead of the opposite.
Expand  
 
In my experience most Black women don't have naturally light hair. so they would never need to dye it a dark color. In contrast i find many white women tend to have natural light hair and they dye it dark colors. 
 
I can't recall a Black Entertainer with naturally lighter hair. Black to dark Brown is the usual colors for Black entertainers. 
 
You are not wrong that conditioning exist, this is undeniably true.
 
BUT, you hint at a greater challenge. I live in NYC , has more black women than any other city in the united states of america. If someone asks me what hairstyle do most black women have. I argue, a majority of black women in NYC today of younger generations have natural styles. And black women in nYC of older generations have a fifty /fifty natural to unnatural. Now, You mention a consistent campaign but when does this end? are you speaking of an eternal campaign? why do I ask? don't forget you live in the usa. There isn't a populace/peoples/group in the usa today that doesn't have many individuals in it who don't adhere to some code of appearance or conduct. Many people whose parents: don't speak english , don't speak spanish; dance the rumba; don't dance forms from latin america; are of asian descent, have been adopted by white europeans and barely know any asians. ... my point. 
 
If you are looking for 100% like another member of aalbc, or maybe yourself when it comes to black crime, then you can forget it in the united states of america. In my experience most black people desire being of some black tribe, in appearance, heritage, culture. But, not 100% and in my view, what your complaining about is the lack of 100% which I oppose. 
 
Pioneer you will always see black people who are white-philes in the usa, ALWAYS. But Black people have always been majority in love with being Black. I think black people like you love to cry emergency with the mere existence of black people who act as you feel they should not, even though said black folk have always been a minority in the black populace. 

Event details