Culture, Race & Economy

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Frederick Douglass on 5 July 1852 Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly, nor with greater distrust of my ability, than I do this day. A feeling has crept over me, quite unfavorable to the exercise of my limited powers of speech. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. I know that apologies of this sort are generally considered flat and unmeaning. I trust, however, tha…

:-D Oh my goodness, Troy has brought out a real Boondocks moment for me. (Just to let you know, this contains profanity.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmA34MGSJTQ

PERHAPS I HEARD WRONG THE NAACP IS INVITING THIS IDIOT TO SPEAK/WHY/....MITT ROMNEY WILL HE WEAR A KLAN SHEET/MITT ROMNEY WILL NOT TALK ABOUT HIS MORON MORMON RELIGION THAT BELIEVE BLACK PEOPLE ARE AN INFERIOR RACE, HE AND THE REST OF THE KLAN TRASH REPUBLICANS BELIEVE THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT BORN IN THIS COUNTRY AND THE PRESIDENT IS THE ANTI CHRIST...WHO WILL THE NAACP INVITE TO SPEAK NEXT THE KLAN TRASH GRAND DRAGON...///.

Charisse of The Book Look interviews singing sensation and new author, LEDISI!

Chris Rock’s comment about white people’s day creates an angry buzz The Examiner Marci Stone Friday, comedian Chris Rock experienced quite a bit of backlash after his “white people’s day” comment on July 4th; Rock, who thought he was being funny tweeted a joke to followers, but his comment has stirred controversy. Chris Rock’s tweet: “Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks” Rock is a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and this isn’t the first time his comments have been bathed in controversy, and he seems completely unmoved by the comments made about him. Some people …

Do you like folktales/fables/parables? *********************** "Meat of the Tongue" Many years ago, in a land faw away, a great sultan lived in a palace with his wife. But the queen was very bored and unhappy. She would wander the pale, moping, yawning, and crying to herself, "What am I going to do? I am so bored and frustrated." The queen began to lose weight, and her hair began to fall out. Her skin was all pimply and her eyes were bloodshot red. She was, indeed, an unhappy queen. Now, in the village there lived a poor man whose wife was always very happy. When she worked in her garden, she would sin songs to herself and call out to her neighbors, …

"If you don't allow a man an education, don't put him in prison for being ignorant. That's what they did to me when I was 16." - James Brown Check out this James Brown documentary (Soul Survivor):

(1938-1997) Fela Anikulapo-Kuti The Father of Afro-Beat Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, previously Ransome-Kuti, was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1938. His family belonged to the Egba branch of the Yoruba tribe. His father, like his grandfather, was a minister of the Protestant church, and director of the local grammar school. His mother was a teacher, but later became a politician of considerable influence. As a teenager, Fela would run for miles to attend traditional celebrations in the area, already feeling that the authentic African culture of his ancestors ought to be preserved. His parents sent him to London in 1958, but rather than study medicine like his two …

BLACK BIBLE READERS WHERE DOES IT SAY THE COLOR OF GOD AND CHRIST..BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD READ THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMED'S BOOK MESSAGE TO THE BLACK MAN.BOOK TALKS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE AND GOD...BLACK PEOPLE, IN MY OPINION HAVE BECOME SPIRITUALLY CONFINED..../

The irony in the prayer, speeches, remarks given (and even the selection of the people giving these) during this event is endless. I wonder if anyone else will notice. Anyway, these African American men fought their hearts out in World War II for a nation that would not even allow them to fight without being in segregated units (and often only in roles of servitude). Ut;s 2012 and these men are just being honored. Why is that? Not so much why are they being honored and not even why are they just now being honored, but I mean...why now? Anyway, check the full program out here: http://www.c-span.org/Events/Nations-First-African-American-Marines-Receive-Con…

Source MSNBC, Staff July6, 2012 Just yesterday, George Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, began soliciting donations for his client’s bond because he said Zimmerman couldn’t afford the one million dollar bond the judge had set. Well, all the begging for bond money must’ve worked because today, Zimmerman was released from jail. Read More: Zimmerman Released From Jail With Help of Donations to His Defense Fund

Couldn't resist posting this. Of course, Democrats will get my vote by default. I can't stand Republicans.

Queen Nanny of the Windward Maroons has largely been ignored by historians who have restricted their focus to male figures in Maroon history. Learn more about Jamaica only female national hero. By Deborah Gabriel Queen Nanny is credited with being the single figure who united the Maroons across Jamaica and played a major role the preservation of African culture and knowledge. Background Queen Nanny of the Windward Maroons has largely been ignored by historians who have restricted their focus to male figures in Maroon history. However, amongst the Maroons themselves she is held in the highest esteem. Biographical information on Queen Nanny is somewhat va…

When looking at the independence flags of other nations, it is very clear that the colors have deeper meanings.For instance, some colors and their brief representations: Black-the people, gold-the sun, green-the land... Red-the blood of the people, black-the people, green-the land...Black-the people and their vigor, gold-sun/resources, blue-the water.. and so on. These things are taught right along with the meanings of the triangles or bars /stripes that might be on them. The American flag has a certain number of stripes, bars, and stars. Most people in America know the symbolism in this. However, what seems to be vague, what seems to not be taught is the symbol…

The Only One Chapter 22 When Troy Briggs had shown up at Carole Everly’s apartment casually attired in a yellow polo shirt, tan dockers, and white Nikes, everything about this sensual, buffed, charismatic man reminded her of why she found him so irresistible, why she was so taken by someone she’d never even had, except in her dreams. Idling there in the middle of her front room, grabbing her hand when she returned from the kitchen where she’d deposited the pizza he’d brought, it was if her reaction to him was a primitive one, - that of a female seeking a mate, instinctively drawn to an Alpha male. “Do we have to go through a lot of drama about - this situ…

"The Fallacy of the Fourth" by Paul Scott On July 5th 1852, the great orator and abolitionist, Frederick Douglas delivered an electrifying speech where he posed what was possibly the most significant question of his time; "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" He received a thunderous round of applause. A hundred and twenty some odd years later, July 4th 1976, as a nine year old junior militant, I stood defiantly on a picnic table, raised my sand shovel and posed a similar question. Why do black people celebrate Independence Day,anyway?" The response I received? "Shut up and eat your hot dog!" The issue of whether African Americans should cel…

(What a mouthfull...) Pity for Poor Africans (1788) William Cowper I own I am shock'd at the purchase of slaves, And fear those who buy them and sell them are knaves; What I hear of thcir hardships, their tortures, and groans Is almost enough to draw pity from stones. I pity them greatly, but I must be mum, For how could we do without sugar and rum? Especially sugar, so needful we see? What? give up our desserts, our coffee, and tea! Besides, if we do, the French, Dutch, and Danes, Will heartily thank us, no doubt, for our pains; If we do not buy the poor creatures, they will, And tortures and groans will be multiplied still…

Independence Day for Native America By Helen Oliff | Published: July 4, 2011 The Fourth of July holiday inspires feelings of patriotism and freedom for many Americans. We tend to celebrate it with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings over the long weekend. And thousands of people continue to leave their homelands to come to “the land of the free and the home of the brave” to live out the American dream. Do we ever stop to think how Independence Day might be for Native Americans? Indigenous peoples lived here free and independent for thousands of years before the United States of America was founded in 1776. This audio clip by American Public Mediacalled “…

(**This speech was delivered in 1866 by Georgia Senator. Henry McNeal Turner. What a rare politician. This was in 1866... Who among black politicians in 2012 has the testicular fortitude to deliver such a speech AND mean that thing?**) 1868) Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, “I Claim the Rights of a Man” African Methodist Episcopal minister and later Bishop Henry McNeal Turner emerged immediately after the Civil War as one of the most ardent defenders of African Ameriacn rights. Turner was also among the first group of Reconstruction-era African American elected officials. In July 1868, Turner was among the two state senators and twenty-five black Republican state repre…

AS THE 4TH OF JULY APPROACHES,I OBSERVE HOW BLACK PEOPLE ARE STILL CONFINED AND DETAINED...BLACK PEOPLE SELF ENSLAVED BY DRUG ADDICTION, SEX AND GANG VIOLENCE..DRUG USERS AND SELLERS HAVE BLACK COMMUNITIES CONFINED AND ENSLAVED.AFTER CAUGHT FOR HAVING DRUGS, BLACK PEOPLE CONFINED TO A CELL....SEX ,, KNOWING OF AIDS-HIV VIRUS, BLACK PEOPLE ARE ADDICTED WITH SEX, IGNORING THE RISK OF GETTING AIDS..BLACK MEN HAVING CHILDREN THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT,BLACK WOMEN WANTING THOSE KND OF MEN....SOME BLACK PEOPLE THINK LEADRS HAVE US ON PLANTATIONS, THEY ARE OVERSEER'S PROFITING OFF THERE OWN PEOPLE...IF BLACK PEOPLE EMBRACE THE KWANZAA PRINCIPLES, EMPHASIS …

The Senecas, members of the Iroquois Confederacy, fought on the side of the British in the American Revolution. Red Jacket, also known as Sagoyewatha, was a chief and orator born in eastern New York; he derived his English name from his habit of wearing many red coats provided to him by his British allies. After the hostilities, as the British ceded their territories to the Americans, the Senecas and many other Indian peoples faced enormous pressure on their homelands. Red Jacket was a critical mediator in relations between the new U.S. government and the Senecas; he led a delegation that met with George Washington in 1792, when he received a peace medal that appeared in …

PLEASE turn the volume down on your computers the first time you view this. What do you see? Then view it again. Do you see anything different now?

“The Only One”, was a little self-produced book originally written 15 years ago, and in the process of updating and abridging it for the purpose of serialization, the result turned out to be quite different from the original version. Once I reunited with the characters via of them materializing in my imagination, they sat down with me and helped me re-tell their story. And what a surreal experience that was! I’m someone who sometimes thinks of herself as a young chick trapped in the body of an old hen, and it was exhilarating to stretch out and embrace the freedom of expression that the anonymity of cyberspace allowed me. As my alter-ego took over, I had a good tim…

In Mexico and Peru Professor Gates explores the almost unknown history of the significant numbers of black people—the two countries together received far more slaves than did the United States —brought to these countries as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, and the worlds of culture that their descendants have created in Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico, the Costa Chica region on the Pacific, and in and around Lima, Peru. Watch full episode. Another Louis Gates documentary: Also, Dr. Ivan van Sertima, author of "They Came Before Columbus" (about African Presence in Ancient America) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nceKy72vV0

"Cuba was always represented as a black child." I'm not a big fan of Louis Gates Jr., but this documentary actually tells much more about Cuba from the days of slavery to the days of the Cuban revolution than what is usually told.It even shows how the United States tried to import American style apartheid to Cuba. It goes into how Europeans were imported to Cuba to "whiten" Cuba. It talks about how the battleship was sent to Cuba to protect American interests long before Castro. It goes into the many years of American intervention, how America's colonialism replaced Spain's colonialism in America. The United States of America tried to impose a Jim Crow state in Cub…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lxKIqWXJIs&feature=related

How American Antiwar and Solidarity Movements in 60s Impeded an Effective Invasion of Cuba Fair Play for Cuba and the Cuban Revolution by BILL SIMPICH July 26, Cuba’s most important holiday, is the commemorative date in 1953 when Castro and his forces unsuccessfully stormed the government stockade at Moncada and ignited the Cuban revolution. On a day like today, it should be noted that Americans made a successful Cuban invasion impossible with a campaign of determined resistance. Antiwar and solidarity activists came together to protect the Cuban revolution during the era of 1960-1963 – the era of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis, and the JFK as…

IN 1909 I THINK, BLACK AMERICAN MATTHEW A. HENSON ACCOMPANIED EXPLORER ROBERT PEARY ON A U.S. EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH POLE.IN APRIL 1909..IN 2000,NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY IN POSTHUMOUSLY , GAVE A THEIR HIGHEST HONOR A HUBBARD AWARD MEDAL TO HENSON..HIS GREAT NIECE ACCEPTED THE AWARD FOR HIM..MATTHEW HENSON EARTH CONSERVATORY CENTER IN WASHINGTON D.C.///.MORE BLACK HISTORY LESS RICH AND FAMOUS .......THOSE WHO SLITHER THEMSELVES ON STAGE TO GET AWARDS BUT DO NOT MARCH AND PROTEST,IF NOT FOR THAT YEARS AGO THEY WOULD NOT BE WHERE THEY ARE HAVE THE MILIONS THEY HAVE....WE SHOULD PROTEST THE AWARD SHOWS......NAACP,ESSENCE AND TRUMPET.../

"Belly full but dem starvin, have a lot but still wantin" -Garnett Silk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEMQKs_v6II

"Obama-care"... Is it just me or not including the "solid right") are relatively few people talking about the court's decision (re: the constitutionality of the aforementioned/provisions/stipulations)?

The Only One Chapter 20 No, he hadn’t seen Debbie Marlowe lately, Troy Briggs ruminated as he made his way through a crowded hall in City Wide’s main office, on his way to a conference room on the other side of the building. But, then, there were a lot of people he hadn’t seen lately, including Carole Everly who had just asked him about Debbie during their conversation in the employee lounge, - an inquiry that was now inspiring a flashback… …Yeah, everything between him and his Barbie Doll had been great at first, what with how each one was trying to make a good impression. But because they were who they were, it was not natural for either of them to be…

NEWS SAYS, 17 DEMOCRATS SUPPORTING REPUBLICANS ATTACKING U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER. I ASSUME THE DEMOCRATS ARE WHITE.. THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS , MEXICAN GUNS.I HEARD ON THE NEWS THIS WAS A REALITY WHEN BUSH WAS THE PRESIDENT.. THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE PRESIDENT OBAMA A ANGRY BLACK MAN TO THE EYES OF THE WHITE PEOPLE THAT VOTED FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA.........THEY ARE OBSESSED WITH GETTING HIM OUT THE WHITE HOUSE....

The Only One Chapter 19 Chicago's summers were always slow in coming, mainly because its cold winters were so reluctant to defer to the tentative little episodes that passed for spring. But somehow the luke warm Junes showed up, hinting at better days ahead when July caught fire and August waited in the wings. Weather aside, the passing months had been a productive time for Carole Everly, a period of growth and change. And the first thing change involved, was realizing that she needed to stop making book covers the parameters of her world, needed to cease relying on fiction to escape reality. So, getting up off her ass and becoming a more active participant in…

I SEE ON TV PREVIEWS OPRAH WILL HAVE NBA CHAMPS MIAMI HEAT ON HER OWN NETWORK CHANNEL.SO WHAT.OPRAH WINFREY SHOULD HAVE ON TRAYVON MARTIN FAMILY.ROBERT XCHAMPION FAMILY.ROBERT CHAMPION WHO WAS BEATEN TO DEATH BY HAZING ON THE FAMU BAND BUS...SHOULD DISCUSS CORRUPTION IN BLACK CHURCHES,PREACHERS BEAT UP AND KILL THEIR WIVES..EDUCATION IN BLACK COMMUNITIES POOR SCHOOLS..AND WHY AIDS HAS INCREASED IN BLACK COMMUNITIES SPECIFICALLY BLACK WOMEN..////POSITIVE BLACK PEOPLE IN PORR AND AVERAGE BLACK COMMUNITIES,INSTEAD OF THE RICH BLACK PEOPLE WHO DO NOT DO ANYTHING..../TRAYVON MARTIN'S THE KILLER TRASH GEORGE ZIMMERMAN GETS A NEW BOND HEARING...NEO KLA…

Arizona Governor says Police can Begin Enforcing Immigration law By Paloma Esquivel and John M. Glionna / Los Angeles Times | Tuesday, June 26, 2012 | http://www.bostonherald.com | West PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer called it "a victory for the rule of law." But for police chiefs, Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the so-called "show me your papers" provision of SB 1070, the state’s immigration law, looks like a big headache. Arizona may now require officers to ask for proof of legal status of people they stop for other reasons and suspect to be in the country illegally. State law enforcement officials said the decision immediately made …

License plate readers: A useful tool for police comes with privacy concerns By Allison Klein and Josh White, Published: November 19, 2011 An armed robber burst into a Northeast Washington market, scuffled with the cashier, and then shot him and the clerk’s father, who also owned the store. The killer sped off in a silver Pontiac, but a witness was able to write down the license plate number. Police figured out the name of the suspect very quickly. But locating and arresting him took a little-known investigative tool: a vast system that tracks the comings and goings of anyone driving around the District. Scores of cameras across the city capture 1,800 images…

Source NPR: Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Ariz.) signed into law a ban on classes that are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnicity. The law targets any ethnic studies classes in the state's public school system that "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals (May 24, 2010) Source: Huffington Post: "Shooting the Messenger" On January 18th, NPR aired an interview with John Hupenthal the Superintendent of Arizona Public Instruction and the author of a state law banning ethnic studies programs. According to Hupenthal, the law was conceived, in part, because of the "failure of the Tucson Unified School District to prov…

The [prophetic] James Baldwin was a guest of honor at The National Press Club in 1986. This clip includes an introduction, speech and question and answer session - which turned out to be the most dynamic part of the evening. Produced by C-SPAN. (As an aside, if he thought that there was trouble here in 1986, I can only imagine what he would think in the year 2012.) James Baldwin on C-SPAN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYka_Tq_mTI&feature=related

So long, too long! Beloved Brother Majek Fashek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFQIwqxP_Xk&feature=related

Woooooiiiii!! Sista bad, bad, bad! One of my favorite artists, Rachelle Ferrel performing "I Can Explain" live: (oh my GAWD, our sista is BAD)

Oh I love, love, love Brother Gil. (Love and light upon his soul.) I love this song., this poetry put to music and melody. Winter in America by Gil Scott-Heron... Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcHOq8i5Pyk&feature=related From the Indians who welcomed the pilgrims And to the buffalo who once ruled the plains Like the vultures circling beneath the dark clouds Looking for the rain Looking for the rain Just like the cities staggered on the coastline Living in a nation that just can't stand much more Like the forest buried beneath the highway Never had a chance to grow Never had a chance to grow And now it's winter Wi…

IN 1916, TEENAGER JESSE WASHINGTON WAS LYNCHED.HE WAS DRAGGED BY HUMAN MORBID HYENAS.THEY LYNCHED HIM.THEN CUT OFF HIS PENIS.BURN HIS BODY.THEN THEY DRAGGED HIS TORSO THROUGH THE TOWN...THEY SOLD HIS BODY PARTS AS SOUVENIRS....THEY CLAIMED HE RAPED AND KILLED A WHITE WOMAN....THESE MORBID HUMAN HYENAS...THEY -THE PRESENT MORBID HYENAS ARE OBSESSED WITH GETTING PRESIDENT OBAMA AND U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER BOTH OUT......WAR ON ISLAM, MOSQUE IN THIS COUNTRY ARE BEING THREATENED.......TO BE, BOMBED...REPUBLICANS WANT TO BOMB IRAN AND SYRIA........

Firsthand account of the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of journalis tMSNBC's Brian Williams... Hurricane Katrina-The Untold Story Much respect to Brian Williams for his journalistic integrity and for this very telling program, but most of all for the human factor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grfW5Ud81_Y&feature=related

KILLER OF TRAYVON MARTIN,GEORGE ZIMMERMAN NOW SAYS TRAYVON CAME FROM THE BUSHES AND ATTACKED HIM..TRAYVON WAS REACHING FOR HIS GUN..ZIMMERMAN AND HIS WIFE ARE LYING TRASH..RODNEY KING BEATING WAS VIDEO TAPED TRASH POLICE GOT AWAY,BECAUSE OF A WHITE JURY.THINKING ZIMMERMAN JURY MIGHT BE ALL WHITE OR WHITE AND HISPANIC....AFRICAN AMERICAN U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER, NEO REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO MAKE HIM RESIGN WITH THE FAST AND FURIOUS MEXICANS AND GUNS CRAP.....BLACK SLAVE REPUBLICAN MICHAEL STEELE IS HELPING THEM...DAMN IDIOT...BLACK CONSERVATIVES BLACK TEA PARTY ARE TRASH....

(Not a new article but informative the same way.) The Fugitive: Why has the FBI placed a million-dollar bounty on Assata Shakur? By Kathleen Cleaver Twenty-eight years ago, in a highly disputed trial, an all-White jury convicted former Black Panther Assata Shakur of the murder of a New Jersey state trooper. In 1979, while serving a life sentence, she escaped from prison and eventually resurfaced in Cuba, where she was granted asylum and has lived ever since. But the U.S. government has continued to pursue Shakur, regularly increasing the bounty on her head and classifying her as a “domestic terrorist.” Last May the Justice Department issued an unpreced…

Barack Hussein Obama might be considered a "synthetic" black American by some, but his wife, Michelle, is the real deal. Below are excerpts from an article about this subject written by Dawn Turner Trice, a black columnist for The Chicago Tribune. Many Americans are fascinated by the family history of Michelle Obama, a descendant of slaves who is the nation's first African-American first lady. Now, add to that a new book due out Tuesday, "American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama." Dawn Turner Trice: I recently talked to author Rachel L. Swarns, 44, a Washington, D.C.-based reporter for the New York T…