Happy Black History Month ❤
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Monday, February 15, 2016
About African Athletes
Happy Black History Month ❤
we excel at literally anything we put our minds to
Top: Muhammad Ali (best boxer) , Serena Williams (best tennis player), Michael Jordan (best basketball player)
Bottom: Jackie Robinson (first MLB African baseball player), Usain Boldt (fastest runner in the world), Tiger Woods (best golfer)
About Emmett Till
Happy Black History Month ❤
"Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955)
was an African-American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14, after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois, and visiting relatives in Money, a small town in the Mississippi Delta region. He spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam went to Till's great-uncle's house and abducted the boy. They took him away and beat and mutilated him before shooting him and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Till's body was discovered and retrieved from the river.
Till's body was returned to Chicago. His mother, who had mostly raised him, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. 'The open-coffin funeral held by Mamie Till Bradley exposed the world to more than her son Emmett Till's bloated, mutilated body. Her decision focused attention not only on American racism and the barbarism of lynching but also on the limitations and vulnerabilities of American democracy'. Tens of thousands attended his funeral or viewed his casket and images of his mutilated body were published in black-oriented magazines and newspapers, rallying popular black support and white sympathy across the U.S. Intense scrutiny was brought to bear on the condition of black civil rights in Mississippi, with newspapers around the country critical of the state. Although initially local newspapers and law enforcement officials decried the violence against Till and called for justice, they soon began responding to national criticism by defending Mississippians, which eventually transformed into support for the killers.
In September 1955, Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till's kidnapping and murder. Protected against double jeopardy, Bryant and Milam publicly admitted in an interview with Look magazine that they killed Till." (Wikipedia.org)
Treasures, Part 2
Happy Black History Month ❤
"The Nefertiti Bust is a 3,300-year-old painted limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, who has become one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and an icon of feminine beauty. The work is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BCE by the sculptor Thutmose." (Tumblr.com)
About Mr. X
Happy Black History Month ❤
"Malcolm X (May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965),
born Malcolm Little, was an American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against Black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African-Americans in history. Malcolm X was effectively orphaned early in life. His father was killed when he was six and his mother was placed in a mental hospital when he was thirteen, after which he lived in a series of foster homes. In 1946, at age 20, he went to prison for larceny and breaking and entering. While in prison, Malcolm X became a member of the Nation of Islam, and after his parole in 1952, quickly rose to become one of the organization's most influential leaders. He served as the public face of the controversial group for a dozen years. In his autobiography, Malcolm X wrote proudly of some of the social achievements the Nation made while he was a member, particularly its free drug rehabilitation program. In keeping with the Nation's teachings, he promoted Black supremacy, advocated the separation of Black and white Americans, and rejected the civil rights movement for their emphasis on integration. He continued to emphasize Pan-Africanism, Black self-determination, and Black self-defense... In February 1965 he was assassinated by three Nation of Islam members. 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X', published shortly after his death, is considered one of the most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century." (Wikipedia.org)
"I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem just to avoid violence."
"Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery."
"Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."
About Ancient Treasures
Happy Black History Month ❤
"The Great Sphinx of Giza, a giant limestone figure with the body of a lion and the head of a man wearing a pharaoh's headdress, is the national symbol of Egypt—both ancient and modern—and one of the world’s most famous monuments. Despite its iconic status, geologists, archaeologists, Egyptologists and others continue to debate the Sphinx's enduring riddle: Exactly how old is it? The most common wisdom holds that the monolith is around 4,500 years old, and was built for Khafre, a pharaoh of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty who lived circa 2603-2578 B.C. His pyramid is the second tallest of the pyramids built at Giza, next to his father Khufu's Great Pyramid. To make up for its lesser size, Khafre's pyramid was built at a higher elevation and surrounded by a more elaborate complex with numerous statues, including the Sphinx, the head of which is thought to be built in the pharaoh’s own image." (History.com)
"Be, be, 'fore we came to this country / we were kings and queens, never porch monkeys / it was empires in Africa called Kush / Timbuktu, where every race came to get books / to learn from Black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans / Asian-Arabs and gave them gold when / gold was converted to money it all changed / money then became empowerment for Europeans / the Persian military invaded / they learned about the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred / Africa was almost robbed naked / slavery was money, so they began making slave ships / Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went / he was so shocked at the mountains with Black faces / shot up they nose to impose what basically / still goes on today, you see?" ("I Can" by Nas, 2003)
"The Great Sphinx of Giza, a giant limestone figure with the body of a lion and the head of a man wearing a pharaoh's headdress, is the national symbol of Egypt—both ancient and modern—and one of the world’s most famous monuments. Despite its iconic status, geologists, archaeologists, Egyptologists and others continue to debate the Sphinx's enduring riddle: Exactly how old is it? The most common wisdom holds that the monolith is around 4,500 years old, and was built for Khafre, a pharaoh of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty who lived circa 2603-2578 B.C. His pyramid is the second tallest of the pyramids built at Giza, next to his father Khufu's Great Pyramid. To make up for its lesser size, Khafre's pyramid was built at a higher elevation and surrounded by a more elaborate complex with numerous statues, including the Sphinx, the head of which is thought to be built in the pharaoh’s own image." (History.com)
"Be, be, 'fore we came to this country / we were kings and queens, never porch monkeys / it was empires in Africa called Kush / Timbuktu, where every race came to get books / to learn from Black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans / Asian-Arabs and gave them gold when / gold was converted to money it all changed / money then became empowerment for Europeans / the Persian military invaded / they learned about the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred / Africa was almost robbed naked / slavery was money, so they began making slave ships / Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went / he was so shocked at the mountains with Black faces / shot up they nose to impose what basically / still goes on today, you see?"
("I Can" by Nas, 2003)
About Miss Tubman
Happy Black History Month ❤
Harriet Tubman (c. 1823-March 10, 1913)
was born Araminta Harriet Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland. "Physical violence was a part of daily life for Tubman and her family. The violence she suffered early in life caused permanent physical injuries. Harriet later recounted a particular day when she was lashed five times before breakfast. She carried the scars for the rest of her life...By the time Harriet reached adulthood, around half of the African-American people on the eastern shore of Maryland were free...Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849, fleeing to Philadelphia. Tubman decided to escape following a bout of illness and the death of her owner in 1849. Tubman feared that her family would be further severed, and feared for own her fate as a sickly slave of low economic value...Tubman made use of the network known as the Underground Railroad to travel nearly 90 miles to Philadelphia. She crossed into the free state of Pennsylvania with a feeling of relief and awe, and recalled later: 'When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven'... Over time, she was able to guide her parents, several siblings, and about 60 others to freedom...The dynamics of escaping slavery changed in 1850, with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. This law stated that escaped slaves could be captured in the North and returned to slavery...In response to the law, Tubman re-routed the Underground Railroad to Canada, which prohibited slavery... In December 1851, Tubman guided a group of 11 fugitives northward...Harriet Tubman remained active during the Civil War. Working for the Union Army as a cook and nurse, Tubman quickly became an armed scout and spy. The first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, she guided the Combahee River Raid, which liberated more than 700 slaves in South Carolina...Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia in 1913." (Biography.com)
Monday, February 8, 2016
About Mr. B.T. Washington
Happy Black History Month ❤
Booker T. Washington (April 5, 1856—November 14, 1915)
"Booker Taliaferro Washington's life had little promise early on...Booker's mother, Jane, worked as a cook for plantation owner James Burroughs. His father was an unknown white man, most likely from a nearby plantation. Booker's first exposure to education was from the outside of school house near the plantation; looking inside, he saw children his age sitting at desks and reading books. He wanted to do what those children were doing, but he was a slave, and it was illegal to teach slaves to read and write... Booker's mother noticed his interest in learning and got him a book from which he learned the alphabet and how to read and write basic words. [The Civil War ended in 1865.]
In 1866, Booker T. Washington got a job as a houseboy for Viola Ruffner... she saw something in Booker—his maturity, intelligence and integrity—and soon warmed up to him. Over the two years he worked for her, she understood his desire for an education and allowed him to go to school for an hour a day during the winter months... In 1872, he convinced administrators to let him attend the school [Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute] and took a job as a janitor to help pay his tuition...Booker T. Washington graduated from Hampton in 1875 with high marks..." In 1881, he started the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. "Under Booker T. Washington's leadership, Tuskegee became a leading school in the country. Washington put much of himself into the school's curriculum, stressing the virtues of patience, enterprise, and thrift... Many Southern whites, including some prominent members of Congress, saw Washington's success as an affront and called for action to put African Americans 'in their place'... Booker T. Washington remained the head of Tuskegee Institute until his death." (Biography.com)
Mr. Washington was an adviser to presidents Theodore Roosevelt & William Taft. "He called for Black progress through education and entrepreneurship, rather than trying to challenge directly the Jim Crow segregation..." (Wikipedia.org)
Autobiography: "Up From Slavery" (1901)
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Modern Spirituals
I Can — Nas
Don't Shoot — The Game featuring Rick Ross,
2 Chainz, Diddy, Fabolous, Wale, DJ Khaled, Swizz Beatz,
Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Problem, King Pharaoh, & TGT
Black Rage — Lauryn Hill
Freedom — Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton
Why We Thugs — Ice Cube
Don'tgetit — Lil Wayne
Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It — Ice Cube
Streiht Up Menace — MC Eiht
Coming From Where I'm From — Anthony Hamilton
Keep Ya Head Up — 2pac
Be Free — J. Cole
About Miss Truth
Happy Black History Month ❤
Sojourner Truth (c 1797—November 26, 1883)
was born in New York; her birth name being Isabella Baumfree. Her first language was Dutch, though she learned English at a young age. In late 1826, she escaped slavery with her daughter Sophia. New York emancipated all slaves in July 1927, but her son Peter was illegally sold to an Alabama man. "She took the issue to court and eventually secured Peter's return from the South. The case was one of the first in which a black woman successfully challenged a white man in a United States court... On June 1, 1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth, devoting her life to...the abolition of slavery...In 1850 her memoirs were published under the title 'The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave'. Truth dictated her recollections to a friend, Olive Gilbert, since she could not read or write... That same year, Truth spoke at the first National Women's Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts... In May of 1851, Truth delivered a speech at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron [where she delivered her famous "Ain't I A Woman?" speech]...She openly expressed concern that the [abolitionist] movement would fizzle after achieving victories for black men, leaving both white and black women without suffrage and other key political rights...On at least one occasion, Truth met and spoke with President Abraham Lincoln about her beliefs and her experience... In 1865, Truth attempted to force the desegregation of streetcars in Washington by riding in cars designated for whites. A major project of her later life was the movement to secure land grants from the federal government for former slaves. She argued that ownership of private property, and particularly land, would give African Americans self-sufficiency and free them from a kind of indentured servitude to wealthy landowners. Although Truth pursued this goal forcefully for many years, she was unable to sway Congress... Until old age intervened, Truth continued to speak passionately on the subjects of women's rights, universal suffrage, and prison reform."
Source: Biography.com
Ain't I A Woman? by Sojourner Truth
Delivered 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio:
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.
Monday, February 1, 2016
About Mr. Douglass
Happy Black History Month ❤
"Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, died February 20, 1895)
was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement from Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writings. He stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Even many Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had such been a slave." (Wikipedia.org)
[Nessie's Note: Mr. Douglass TAUGHT HIMSELF how to read.]
"I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master concerning it. He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit. The nearest estimate I can give makes me now between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years of age. I come to this, from hearing my master say, some time during 1835, I was about seventeen years old." © Douglass, 1845
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