MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing all who celebrate this holiday...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Listen to some Xmas tunes by the classic singers of bygone eras.

Eat some Xmas turkey or ham or tofu.

Drink some hot chocolate or coffee or tea or a stiff martini or two.

O. D. on sweet potato pie, or Grandma's yellow layer cake, or a really good fruit cake (which I like if it's the good stuff).

Eat a mountain of ice cream chased by some chocolates.

Do this with family and/or friends.

In other words, have fun and enjoy the season!

One of Hollywood's earlier attempts at mixing it up circa 1975 - THE EIGER SANCTION

The other night as I was perusing the STARZ movie list (I'm subscribed) I came across a film I'd not seen in ages - THE EIGER SANCTION. A good old Clint Eastwood movie. He doesn't disappoint whether it's one of his early performances or one of his directorial efforts. Anyhoo, this film was from 1975! And dear Clint was ahead of the current H'weird trend of pairing White leading men with Black leading ladies. Eastwood plays an art history professor who moonlights as a gov't assassin. He was still attractive at that time with just enough crow's feet around the eyes from squinting to be manly and not look like a Shar Pei. Anyhoo, his character who gets paid by the gov't with large amounts of cash and stolen art masterpieces through an Albino go-between (I kid you not) wants to retire from "retiring" people.

Ah-Ah-Ah! Not so fast Mister Man With No Name.

The gov't wants him to do one last kill or "sanction" before they let him go. He refuses but they coerce him into taking the sanction by threatening to report his expensive paintings to the IRS AND lying to him that a friend was killed by an old enemy of his. The gov't. Talk about sharks. Anyhoo, Clint says he'll think about it and takes a plane to his mountain home retreat to ponder. Well, on the plane he meets stewardess (yes. that's what we used to call them) Jemima Jones, played by the beautiful Vonetta McGee. They exchange innuendoes and before you know it, they are acting on them in his mountain home retreat.




Clint wakes the next day to find Jemima gone. His phone rings and it's her explaining how he must take the sanction because it's a matter of national security, blah, blah, blah. After hanging up, he's pissed that he's been played and rushes over to his safe to find it  has been broken into. His money from doing all that sanctioning is gone and so is the document he'd finessed out of the Albino that  excludes Clint from paying taxes on his artwork. Seems lil Jemima knows how to crack safes.

So, Clint calls the Albino and makes a deal with the devil to take the sanction, declaring it the last one, and demands his money and docs back when it's over. To sweeten the deal, Jemima returns to the retreat with a Picasso or Pizarro (can't recall) to help him keep his word. After they argue about the gov't, the endless back and forth of espionage and on her part how he screwed him because she wanted to not because she had to, Clint still chews her out and puts her out, and goes off to train for the sanction. Which is to take place on the Eiger. Hence, the film's name. A kill on the highest mountain in Switzerland - THE EIGER SANCTION. I won't spoil the ending. It was a good film to munch popcorn to.

It's a thrilling movie with lots of action, lots of snappy dialogue and gorgeous scenery.Mr. Eastwood even did most of his own stunts. Plus, as a movie star who wasn't just a pretty face, this film was one of his collabs between his outfit, THE  MALPASO COMPANY, now MALPASO PRODUCTIONS and UNIVERSAL. Mr. Eastwood said once in an interview that he had always intended to work for himself in Hollywood.

Vonetta McGee.



I'd forgotten how attractive and graceful she was. Sadly, Ms. McGee has passed on. She died at 65 in 2010. She'd been the star of blaxploitation films and had memorable turns in a few - MELINDA, THOMASINE & BUSHROD, BLACULA., SHAFT IN AFRICA. Huge, expressive eyes, a heart-shaped face, she was a chameleon with her look. Though she'd been in a long term relationship with her THOMASINE & BUSHROD co-star Max Julien, she wed majestic-looking actor Carl Lumbly instead . The two remained wed until her death. Lumbly even set a record when he starred in the short-lived, sci-fi t.v. show, M.A.N.T.I.S. He played a paraplegic who developed a suit that enabled him to be mobile and to fight crime.

Carl Lumbly

Okay. That's my throwback movie recap with a bit of history tossed in. The salt/pepper agenda in film and on T. V. and in print, ain't new. It's just that Hollyweird has a new generation to sell it too.
I liked the THE EIGER SANCTION because I like suspense and dependable actor. You know what you're getting with Eastwood evn when he goes outside the box - BIRD, MILLION DOLLAR BABY. Plus it was nice to see the voluminous McGee again.

ps another pic because I like the Black western, THOMASINE & BUSHROD with McGee and Max Julien

The legacy of Wally Triplett

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/11/12/little-known-black-history-fact-wally-triplett/

Football great Wally Triplett was a homeboy of sorts. He was born in LaMott a suburb of Philly and a a place that was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

He achieved several firsts in his career, one of them being Penn state's 1st African-American starter and its 1st Black varsity player. Ironically, Penn State's gain was University of Miami's loss. He'd been offered a scholarship by the latter but the creeps RESCINDED the offer after they found out he was Black.

No comment.

He went on to play for the Detroit Lions. After serving in the Korean War, he returned to play for the Chicago Cardinals. After his career ended, he became a spokesman for Chrysler.

Mister Triplett passed on November 9th at the age of 92. Bless you, sir.

WALLY TRIPLETT - ATHLETE. LEGEND. TRAILBLAZER.

The National Dental Association's birth

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/11/14/little-known-black-history-fact-the-national-dental-association/


The National Dental Association came into existence because, as usual, White dentists didn't want to admit Black dentists to the American Dental Association, their turf.

Ho-hum. La de da.

So the National Dental Association was born.

Read about its founder and establishment at the link above.

 

THE O'JAYS RETIRING? NOOOOOOOOO!

Pardon my absence. I've been toiling over 4 WIPs and not getting anywhere in them. Though, I must say my 1st effort in horror is moving along.nicely. So here I am to take a break and soak up inspiration. Actually, to inhale gummy bears and blackberry tea. Well enough about my travails.

Noooooooooo! Say it ain't so. One of my hometown R-n-B groups is retiring! I've been listening to their smooth tunes for over 4 decades and now they are gonna rest their pipes.☹ Yes, THE O'JAY's are calling it career and leaving the stage.All the members are in their 70s and have been at it for SIXTY YEARS but they STILL can blow!

They will be going on a farewell tour come May 2019 and will be releasing their final album, THE LAST ALBUM. But to wet out whistles until it drops, they released a single from the album called ABOVE THE LAW. Listen at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHSK71l7lbk

It has the WHAT'S GOING ON vibes of Marvin Gaye and the same type of message. Oh, man. I'm gonna miss these icons.

I say Happy Retirement! to Walter Williams, Eddie Levert, and Bobby Massey and past member Bill Isles. Fourth member William Powell died in 1977.

I can't say I have a fav song by them. They are ALL so damned good. Damn. They were part of the many-layered soundtrack of my reteen and teen years.

THE O'JAY'S retiring? Damn..I'm getting old.

Okay. okay. Okay. I lied. Here's an oldie but a goodie. The intro, the outfits, the foot work. They are everything.         

BACKSTABBERS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfznbRucAhE










PS The group had their lawyers send the then Presidential candidate Donald Trump a cease-and-desist letter to stop using their song FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY during his campaign.

Way to go, men!

Henrietta Lacks, the hubris of both John Hopkins University and the NIH and the medical community

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/10/11/little-known-black-history-fact-henrietta-lacks/




This is no surprise. U. S. scientists have always used poor populations on which to test out new drugs or procedures or simply play God. This usually meant BLACK populations but could include those seen as disposable too - The mentally challenged. Any woman back in the day seen as "loose." Any non-White person. Any person who was termed "retarded." The list went on and on  And the atrocities continued into the mid 70s in lots of states.

One instance happened at a hospital where my mom worked as a nurse in the the late 60s to early 70s. To her horror, she noticed that young Black women with two or more children, who came to the hospital to deliver another child, were allowed to remain in the hard labor stage without anything to take the edge off. Hours would go by. She saw these women scream in pain and she would attempt to ease their pain only to be shooed away by the attending.Why was this allowed to happen? Because the state had on record that these women were either unmarried, or of "low I. Q." or were "poor with what was seen as too many kids." Most were on public assistance.  They were seen as unworth and their wants unimportant. So, making them miserable during labor meant a doctor could swoop in, like a White knight, at the last minute with a paper for them to sign to get "pain relief." In actuality, the fine print also stated that while delivering the relief and the patient's child, he could STERILIZE her too!

My mom left that hospital. I'm certain she was threatened not to talk or else. After that, every woman she could reach in our neighborhood she told  not to deliver at Such-An-Such Hospital and to have someone to read over anything anyone hands them at another

Researchers are notorious thieves. There. I said it. They are forever looking to hone in on each others work and steal the limelight, credit and any funds. I know believe me. I worked at a company full of the fragile souls

So, the disrespect shown to Henrietta Lacks when she was alive and after her death and to her family is par for the scientific world. These types love to point fingers, be holier-than-thou because they are doing it for humanity, yadda, yadda, yadda. Please shut up..

It is shameful that the Lacks family is not being paid for their loved one's contributions to society. Literally her contributions, her tissues (The HeLa Cell line) have been sold around the world for cancer research and for AIDS research. Procedures or treatments developed in the last 40 -50 years, were made from her stolen flesh, her amazingly aggressive cancer cells that live to this day in some Petri dish in labs around the globe. These finds have made scientists worldwide hella rich and the Lacks family has received not a coin.

So, if you or your loved one survived cancer in, say, the last half a decade, get down on your knees and thank the Lord and a little Black baltimore housewife named Henrietta Lacks.

You owe her.

P. S. John Hopkins University who STOLE her tissues will name a new campus building after Henrietta. Big whoop! Pay her family, thieves!

Yeah. It might get old but not for me!

IT'S SEPTEMBER SO THAT MEANS IT"S EARTH, WIND AND FIRE TIME!

What can I say? You missed a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you never saw this group in concert.

The thrill when the house lights went down. The emcee's voice reciting that famous preamble as the that pyramid floated down from the rafters!.The audience screams! Maurice in his jumpsuit. The rest of the costumes. It was a good era.

Oh yes. It's that time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk

and a bonus track - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=god7hAPv8f0

Frank Yerby, Black novelist whose bestseller was adapted for the big screen in Hollywood

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/09/05/little-known-black-history-fact-frank-yerby/



Ever read or heard of the book "The Foxes of Harrow?" It was a smash bestseller back in 1946 and was purchased by a Hollywood studio the same year and was given the H'wood treatment in 1947. It was released as "The Little Foxes."

It was a damned good movie about the in-fighting, treachery and greed of a rich, prominent, White Southern family. My mom loved that film because one of her favorite actresses was in it - Bette Davis. Rex Harrison starred too. I saw it years later and have to admit old Bette put the work in and commanded every scene she was in

But more interestingly, the book it was based on was written by Mister Frank Yerby. A Black man who probably would have had to sit in the "peanut gallery" (the upper mezzanine where it was hard to see the total film as the top part of the screen was partially covered by the friggin' curtains above it), that lovely viewing area to which Black folks were relegated in a movie theater at the time.

Yerby, a Georgia native, a graduate of Paine College and Fisk University, took up writing after he dropped out of the University of Chicago's doctoral program in education. Wow. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during THAT conversation with his parents.

Anyhoo, Yerby beat the odds and wrote 33 books, mostly centered on White Southerners and established a track record of success.  He left America (um, I wonder why) and settled in Spain. He remained there until his death

Works

The Foxes of Harrow
A Woman Called Fancy
Pride's Castle
The Voyage Unplanned
The Girl from Storyville
Fairoaks
The Dahomean ( 1971 release considered to be his best work)
and many more

The "Negro Motorist Green Book" gets the Hollywood treatment

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/09/07/little-known-black-history-fact-the-real-story-behind-the-green-book-movie/

I'd have no problem with the "Green Book" making a return. If you didn't know, The "Green Book" was a guide named for its originator, Victor Hugo Green, for Black folks only, published by Black folks only, that listed safe places to stop for gas or food or lodging on road trips. It listed "Blacks Only" vacartion spots too. My grandfather used it in planning all our trips here in the States, especially on the ones down South. We were not insulted that the "Green Book" was needed. It helped him make safe choices in lodging and gas stations that were Black owned or would serve us. More importantly, it kept us safe from nutcases who thought harming vacationing Black folks would be a lark.

But the "Green Book" died as did Black establishments that catered to Blacks once the Civil Rights Movement licked in. Shame. Some of those resorts were gorgeous but couldn't survive because former patrons flocked in droves to now permitted but previously forbidden  places. Places that wouldn't have pisssed on them if they'd been on fire previously but now had to grant them access.

I don't recall mt grandfather flocking to those places as he always used to say, "Why would I give my money to people who don't want me in their establishment? Makes no sense. And I surely don't want them fixin' my food."

Wise man.

As for this movie. It should be interesting. Hollywood loves dramas with Black people when they are being treated crappy. Otherwise, it's comedies all the way. In any case,  I do like Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen

Aretha Franklin - The G. O. A. T. of all music

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/08/17/little-known-black-history-fact-aretha-franklin/



So much to be said about Miss Franklin. Not enough room to say it in.

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942 and went home August 16, 2018.

She's been admired, studied, praised and copied and she will continue to influence future generations of performers.

She was the 1st woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She never was contracted by Motown. Atlantic Records and Capitol Records was where the magic happened. An unbelievable catalog which SHE owned! Not some third party with an agenda.

“Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” and “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” were born. “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Ain’t No Way,” and “Chain Of Fools” and on and on.

In life, she didn't do things by halves. So in death expect no less.

Her funeral will be in her hometown of Detroit, MI. on August 31st, 2018. I predict it will be several hours long. Whatever the length of the service, please don't invite Madonna to speak.

Rest In Power, Queen.

Was the Lone Ranger based on an actual badass named BASS REEVES, the 1st Black Deputy U. S. Marshal west of the Mississippi?

BASS REEVES.. Think DENZEL WASHINGTON in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN! Hold that image.


Was BASS REEVES the inspiration for the dictional LONE RANGER? I used to be glued to my TV on any given afternoon after school watching episodes of the "Adventures of the Lone Ranger.' The masked man atop his steed, Silver who'd he urge to "Hi Ho, Silver! Away! And let's not forget his "faithful Indian" sidekick, Tonto. Hey, I loved the show. What did I know? It was entertainment. Clean and wholesome. But that's how deceptions work. They are attractive and showy and go down smooth like the sweetest medicine. All the while, the truth the deception is based on is never revealed

But folks somewhere, somehow, always have the receipts!

Enter Bass Reeves. Born into slavery in Crawford County, Arkansas, legend said he beat up the son of the man who owned him after a round of cards. That's bold and brave and very badass. he escaped into Indian Territory where he stayed several years learning many nations languages. Father of 11 children with his 1st wife, killer of 14 assailants in self-defense and a record 3,000 arrests under his belt, the man was bigger than life. So, why wouldn't he have been the model for the LONE RANGER? It's a disgrace the TV character could not have been Black. But then again, White audiences would have smashed their TV sets or had the vapors. A little like many did when Barack Hussein Obama was elected President. Twice.

But I digress.

Yeehaw, Mofos!

Anyhoo, read more about Bass Reeves courtesy of Black America Web at the link below

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/08/03/little-known-black-history-fact-bass-reeves-2/

The girls of the Leesburg Stockade

https://www.npr.org/2016/09/17/494360257/new-african-american-museum-in-d-c-remembers-leesburg-stockade-girls

http://gpbnews.org/post/girls-leesburg-stockade

Undesirables. Teens. Girls. Black teen girls.




Before this ICE mess, before America became a place that had no problem bringing to the fore AGAIN its penchant for cheering on the ugly in its midst, there was slavery. There was Jim Crow (which hasn't gone away. It's just morphed into mass incarceration). There were cross-burnings. There were lynchings on Sunday afternoons after church at picnics. With children and their SMILING parents in the forefront of the photos taken. Photos taken to be used as POSTCARDS to be sent to loved ones who'd missed the festivities.

But I digress..

Coming back to the purpose of this post is a photo in an exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.. It shows a group of young Black girls (about 15 to 30 of them. A few were as young as 12) who'd been held at the Lee County Stockade of Leesburg, Georgia. They'd been part of protests, one held  in front of a police station; the other when some had tried to buy movie tickets at an a Whites Only theater. It happened back in 1963 during the Civil Rights Movement.. some girls were from Americus. Some were from Dawson. At this point NONE of their families knew they'd been taken or where they'd been taken.

Children taken away? Children arrested? Children n prison? Now, why does that sound familiar? because it's America doing what she's always done. Ah.America. You love repeating an oldie but goodie.

And these children and their families were citizens.



Anyhoo, this bad look for the land only ended when a photographer involved in the Movement discovered where the girls were. A local activist helped him get into the "prison" by distracting the sentry. He took pictures that later hit the news. The girls were released.

The girls were never brought up on charges but were charged a 2 buck a night boarding fee for their "stay." They'd been held for TWO MONTHS!

So, let the real meaning of "Make America Great Again' sink in. It means "give me the America my White ancestors had" for many. To me it's a myopic cry to recapture a past that was never that great in the first place. Oh, of course for certain folks but never for my ancestors .




Photos courtesy of Danny Lyon

My historical romance, DISSENT, as a video, as seen through the eyes of the company of terrific graphic artist, Charles Huggins

This is a little video to showcase that thing I do - WRITE!

This pretty graphic honors my historical romance, DISSENT. Mr. Huggins did a spot on job with the images and even piqued my interest in the story. And I wrote the damned thing!

Enjoy.

The unfulfilled promise of the G. I. Bill - It wasn't for EVERY returning soldier

My maternal grandmother had 12 children. A quarter of them went into various branches of the armed services. So, they thought I would have been interested in "serving." Um, er, nope. Big nope. Even with the benefits. Which I found out were not all that great. Two of my uncles who dodged bullets in battle in WWII were DENIED use of the G.I. Bill. A little thing full of loopholes that benefitted White G.I.s How do you think all those returning soldiers were able to go to school AND buy that split-level in one of those new 'burbs that were cropping up? Not all from hard labor. The burgeoning middle-class was made possible due to the GOV'T PROGRAMS with low interest rates made available to WHITE G.I.s only. A sort of affirmative action shall we say? Black G.I.s were systemically cut out on purpose. You want proof? Go read THE COLOR OF LAW by RICHARD ROTHSTEIN. Great book. He puts it down in print that the discrimination practiced in housing was supported and FUNDED by the U. S. GOV'T.

Why am I not surprised? No one does subterfuge better.

Those brand-spanking new suburbs that popped up just outside big cities were the result of "White Flight" and the G.I. BILL. The sub-divisions were advertised in such a way to assure Whites that no Blacks would be moving in. In fact, any Black person, no matter how well-situated he was to purchase a home in one of these wastelands (yes, I call them that. Any time one needs a car to get to a Dunkin Donuts, it's a wasteland as far as I'm concerned. Why do you think so many suburbanites today fleeing BACK to the city? GENTRIFICATION. But I digress. That's a post for another day.), was not allowed to buy.. Usually through red tape that was so ridiculous that it discouraged the Black buyer from even applying for a loan. And that's if he made it that far..

One of my WWII Vet uncle's who'd married in 1948, had a baby two years later and who'd wanted to take advantage of the G.I. Bill, couldn't due to the aforementioned crap. He had to wait until he and his wife had saved CASH for their split-level in a mostly Black sub-division. The price tag was $17, 500. Not that much in today's dollars but the price in cash was a hill they had rather not had to climb. Their daughter was a PRE-TEEN by the time they'd saved enough to buy their house. Both of them had worked TWO JOBS each for THIRTEEN FRIGGIN' YEARS.

That's not right!

Don't tell me "Well done." Screw "Well done." Why wasn't he afforded the same "in" his White counterparts had been? It would have shaved years off my uncle and aunt's grueling, backbreaking journey to home ownership.

Oh, some did manage to "get in" a house sooner and  and immediately regretted it. The houses were in all-White enclaves. Usually, a White guy who had served with a Black guy in WWII or The Korean Conflict, had become friends . The White guy living in the 'burbs was ready to implement the next stage in his 5 year plan. Meaning? He was set to move into a bigger house because he had sizeable equity and it was time to move on up. He had a ready buyer in his friend. Except due to having signed on the dotted line that he (the White guy) would not sell to anyone non-White, the sale would have to be a "straw" one. Think sale by proxy. No one in the neighborhood would know that good ole Ted was moving (because he and his family would move out under cover of night) until they saw Leroy moving in. Then all hell would break loose.

Read about how the sub-divisions named "Levittown" around the country exploded into ugly, dangerous showdown towns reminiscent of a cross between KKK rallies and lynchings.

Not America's finest hours.

The Levittown, PA sub-division near me erupted in serious hate crime mode in 1958. It was before my time but it was seared into the memories of my family members as every terrifying thing that happened to the one Black family who'd moved there was in print everyday for all to see.

Fire-bombings. Crowds out front of their house chanting N-this and N-that. Rocks sailing through windows at all hours. Yet, these were the kinds of people the current president would call "very fine." I bet not a one, if they are still drawing a bigoted breath (and I am sure their wrinkled asses are alive), thinks they did anything wrong.

But, hey, I am certain "very fine" people, just like politicians and whores, get respectable with age.

So, no, I was never patriotic enough, or naive enough or able to swallow bs without getting sick, to have joined the armed forces. I was, am , not that girl.  But to non-White citizens who could and can, I commend you.

Katherine Johnson gets a statue erected to her at her alma mater. I ask, "NASA, where is the space station named for her?"

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/06/04/hidden-figure-no-more-nasa-mathematician-katherine-johnson-gets-statue-at-alma-mater/












Look, the statue is nice. The doll is fine. But name a freakin' space station after her, NASA. The U. S. of  A. would not have reaches the stars if she, and others like her, had not been "computers supreme!" Any time John Friggin' Glenn said to run HER computations against a computer because he TRUSTED HER RESULTS over the machine's, name a gotdamned space station after her before she passes..She's the only one left from her group and she's 99 years old! She has more than earned it! I'm looking at you NASA. I'm out.

ODUNDE! Hey, you should really go one year. No really!

What is ODUNDE?



Well, for me it was a fun time whe I could get to Philly to participate. Oh, Lord. I am getting up there. I went to the very first one in 1975. My youngest, very militant, brilliant uncle, Mr. Black Consciousness himself, took me. Me, I had a great time eating, dancing and soaking up the atmosphere.It only was one city block when I went. It is now comprises about 15 city blocks. And I was always mesmerized by the beauty of the offerings given to the water goddess, Osun, at the festival. It has grown exponentially. It takes place Sunday, June 10th, 2018 in South Philly.

ODUNDE was created in 1975 by Lois Fernandez and Ruth Arthur. The festival attracts UP TO 500,000  people annually and is the largest African American street  festivals held in the country.The festival, whose concept originates from the Yoruba people of Nigeria, West Africa, celebrates the coming of another year for  African Americans and Africanized people around the world.  It is an  occasion highlighted by a colorful procession from  23rd and South Streets to the Schuylkill River where an offering of  fruit and flowers is made to Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of the river. ODUNDE is also known for its authentic African  marketplace featuring vendors from around the  world selling merchandise  from many African nations, the Caribbean and Brazil. 

Each year, the second Sunday  in June, ODUNDE takes place covering 12 city blocks.  ODUNDE will be celebrating its 39TH year in the  traditional south Philadelphia location near 23rd and South streets. The festival started in 1975 with a $100.00 grant and neighbors from Fernandez's south  Philadelphia community.  In just  two years the ODUNDE Festival exploded.  The eclectic mix of vendors, entertainment and music started to draw people from around and beyond the region and  each year continues to be no different.  ODUNDE IS FOR EVERYONE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THIS YEAR!!!

Learn more about it!

https://www.odundefestival.org/





And if you are interested and can't make it like me. LISTEN on wurdradio.com from 12pm to 2pm on Sunday

Dr. Ruth Simmons - a tireless academic and administrator, now president of Prairie View A&M University

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/05/29/little-known-black-history-fact-ruth-simmons/





This stately lady has a impressive resume. The daughter of sharecroppers, from Grapeland, Tx., whipped through Dillard University for undergrad, then took on Harvard University for a master's and a doctorate in Romantic Literature.

Cycling through a slew of academic appointment, she landed the position of provost at Spelman College then president of Smith College. With those accomplishments under hr belt, she went on to become Ivy League's Brown University's president where she made waves.

Settled into a hard earned retirement, she was coaxed by her brother to come out of retirement and helm Prairie View A&M University, his alma mater, in a interim presidential position. She liked it. The school liked her. She stayed and is now its current president as of her inauguration on April 20th, 2018. .

Full life, goals accomplished, retired. Then she comes back.

Where dey do dat at?

Black girl magic.

https://www.chron.com/local/education/campus-chronicles/article/Prairie-View-A-M-to-inaugurate-Ruth-Simmons-as-12851070.php

(forgive the crappy cropping of the pic. NOT my doing)

That adorbs pajama set from Vicky Secret comes with free matching baggage

https://www.ranker.com/list/companies-in-the-united-states-that-use-prison-labor/genevieve-carlton


In the 5th book in my "FELIG CHRONICLES" series, GAMBIT, I used this ugly issue as the plotline. Felig are a alien race who live off others. They invade Earth and BOOM!Smorgasbord! To make a long story short (Actually, make it long. Go buy the series so far and catch up) the rich, in installment 5, make a deal with the Felig to leave them alone. But at a price. The Felig will be offered Earth's prisoners to consume, and the rich, who have stock in private prisons, will keep them filled to capacity, keep their grip on the public's minds, fill their pockets and feed the Felig at the same time.

Who knew this was playing out in real life to a degree in the U. S. A.? And with "respected" businesses? No. No Felig are involved but prisoners sure are.

Gobble. Gobble. And it ain't even turkey day.

Read how Vicky Secret can afford you cute, satiny thongs for pennies. I dare ya.

Malcolm and Meghan

I thought I'd post this as Meghan Markle walks down the aisle. She is a bright, young woman; I'd like to think she picked this day on purpose but I doubt if she's that conscious. I wonder what Malcolm would of thought of the event of the day if he were alive?

el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X) May 19th 1925 - February 21st 1965

Happy Birthday!

"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today."

Jackson State University Murders of 1970 and the Kent State University killings of 1970

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/05/14/little-known-black-history-fact-jackson-state-murders/

The Kent State University incident from 1970 (May 4th) got more press, and still gets more press than, the Jackson State killings that happened days later involving Black college students. Kent State involved the National Guard being called in to disrupt student unrest on campus over the Vietnam War, and ended in the killings of 4 unarmed students instead by the Guard.

See the famous photo below.


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The Jackson State killings (May 14th, 1970) sounded a lot like the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, but it happened 10 days later at a predominantly black college in the South. Except this time it was the police who fired on the students. And the incident was not about the Vietnam War. City and State police were called in due to reports of Whites who'd strolled through campus had been pelted with rocks. A lot more scenarios erupted which fueled the cops to shoot. They fired for about 30 seconds on a group of students , killing two and wounding 12 others.. 

Rocks versus bullets? Umm. 

To this day this incident is widely ignored.

Hazard a guess as to why?

The reasons for the killings were as thin as tissue paper including authorities saying that a sniper perched on a high building had shot at the police. 

No one was ever brought up on charges though a special commission called the use of force "an unreasonable and unjustified overreaction."






Phillip GibBs and James Earl Green, the two murdered students


Listen to an NPR segment on this intentionally overlooked massacre;

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126426361

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Little Known Black History Fact: Ohio State University Takeover, April 26, 1968

https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/04/26/little-known-black-history-fact-ohio-state-university-takeover/



I don't recall this event. I was probably obsessing over my Barbies instead. But my dear, militant, youngest uncle, who when his hand wasn't holding an iron to press his jeans was usually clenched in Black Power fist, definitely would have recalled every detail. He was a news-hound extraordinare.

This uproar at Ohio State University was over the lack of a curriculum devoted to Black Studies. This incident led to colleges and universities re-examining why they ONLY taught the dominant culture's legacy and finally implementing a curriculum which told the story of a huge part of the population that had never been considered..

On April 26, 1968, Black students, and those in solidarity, fed up with the absence of any literary or historical, or for that matter, any accurate mention of Black people in the materials being taught, rebelled and took over the Administration Building at OSU. They did so until they got the attention of campus authorities. This was not the only occurrence. This scene was repeating itself across U. S. campuses rapidly. So, university authorities had to cooperate or have protests and stale-mates on their campuses indefinitely as the black students were not backing down.

Hence, the birth of Black Studies as a viable, crucial course of study in institutions of higher learning in the U. S.

What's that they say about squeaky wheels?

I say squeak on.

https://library.osu.edu/innovation-projects/omeka/exhibits/show/civil-rights/sections/minority-relations-at-the-ohio

Mug shot of John C. Evans. Due to his leadership in the take-over of the Administration Building at OSU, he was the only student charged in 1968.. He eventually had all charges dropped against him and graduated in June 1970. I hope his life was not negatively impacted for standing up.