Black History Month!!! (February)

[NY State of Mind]

I was thinking specifically about the earlier Blax movies like Shaft & Foxy Brown, versus the more mainstream movies of today. It is interesting (to me) as you now see Mexploitation movies raising in prominence.


I didnt mean lack culture the way that sounds, I mean lacked a culture that was their own. Its the same as you say about a movie company to make movies their own.


No, I dont mean solely hip-hop as that is an offshoot, but even then it is grouping and segmenting further within the population. I mean things such as this where its not so much a type of clothing (as in hip-hop) but the attitude and means by which its being done.

Do you think those things are coming about because (this is a sweeping generalization, I know, but I am at work and cannot phrase it the way I want) these people feel apart from society or a part of society?

Clearly the Garvey and Back to Africa movement was being apart from society but I always thought the above examples were the opposite, and they came about because a feeling of community; but after reading some of the responses I am not quite sure anymore. I may have been seeing things with rose-coloured glasses.

Ok yes I understand you clearer now that i'm off my iphone lol

Blaxploitation....I believe they were created to have thier own movies, etc but yes they weren't the best of representations for Black culture but yes since they lacked a lot of culture and even past experiences with movies, etc. They portrayed themselves almost just as bad as white movies at the time being Pimps, drug dealers, etc. However, you gotta start somewhere, right? I personally love me some Blax movies but yeah there was definitely lack of knowledge on thier culture going on with the genre but it was the times.

Yes the Back to Africa movement was definitely a feeling of being apart from society or against. However, clothes like the pics you posted are more of a fashion statement supporting Africa's roots but being with society at the same time...I wouldn't call that clothing line anything rebellion.

---------- Post added at 10:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 PM ----------

Well Kean and Darla have beat me to my favorite poets besides Miguel Pinero lol...so I would just like to add to it 🙂 ..And yes Kean, Maya was very graceful, intelligent and always smiling. I have to thank my old english college professor for being able to meet her. Anywho...Maya Angelou & Langston Hughes!

James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 "“ May 22, 1967) was an American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "Harlem was in vogue".

The Negro Mother by Langston Hughes

Children, I come back today
To tell you a story of the long dark way
That I had to climb, that I had to know
In order that the race might live and grow.
Look at my face -- dark as the night --
Yet shining like the sun with love's true light.
I am the dark girl who crossed the red sea
Carrying in my body the seed of the free.
I am the woman who worked in the field
Bringing the cotton and the corn to yield.
I am the one who labored as a slave,
Beaten and mistreated for the work that I gave --
Children sold away from me, I'm husband sold, too.
No safety , no love, no respect was I due.

Three hundred years in the deepest South:
But God put a song and a prayer in my mouth .
God put a dream like steel in my soul.
Now, through my children, I'm reaching the goal.

Now, through my children, young and free,
I realized the blessing deed to me.
I couldn't read then. I couldn't write.
I had nothing, back there in the night.
Sometimes, the valley was filled with tears,
But I kept trudging on through the lonely years.
Sometimes, the road was hot with the sun,
But I had to keep on till my work was done:
I had to keep on! No stopping for me --
I was the seed of the coming Free.
I nourished the dream that nothing could smother
Deep in my breast -- the Negro mother.
I had only hope then , but now through you,
Dark ones of today, my dreams must come true:
All you dark children in the world out there,
Remember my sweat, my pain, my despair.
Remember my years, heavy with sorrow --
And make of those years a torch for tomorrow.
Make of my pass a road to the light
Out of the darkness, the ignorance, the night.
Lift high my banner out of the dust.
Stand like free men supporting my trust.
Believe in the right, let none push you back.
Remember the whip and the slaver's track.
Remember how the strong in struggle and strife
Still bar you the way, and deny you life --
But march ever forward, breaking down bars.
Look ever upward at the sun and the stars.
Oh, my dark children, may my dreams and my prayers
Impel you forever up the great stairs --
For I will be with you till no white brother
Dares keep down the children of the Negro Mother.

Maya Angelou (pronounced /ˈmaɪ.ə ˈændʒəloʊ/; born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) is an American autobiographer and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her first seventeen years. It brought her international recognition, and was nominated for a National Book Award. She has been awarded over 30 honorary degrees and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her 1971 volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie.
Angelou was a member of the Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950s, was active in the Civil Rights movement, and served as Northern Coordinator of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Since 1991, she has taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she holds the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. Since the 1990s she has made around eighty appearances a year on the lecture circuit. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. In 1995, she was recognized for having the longest-running record (two years) on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller List.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou was heralded as a new kind of memoirist, one of the first African American women who was able to publicly discuss her personal life. She is highly respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women. Angelou's work is often characterized as autobiographical fiction. She has, however, made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books, centered on themes such as identity, family, and racism, are often used as set texts in schools and universities internationally. Some of her more controversial work has been challenged or banned in US schools and libraries.

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

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[Skanky Vamp]

I wouldn't call that clothing line anything rebellion.

No, not rebellion at all. It was just, at least to me, more symbolic that black culture is becoming more and more embraced and accepted. The clothing line, for example, is incorporating 'black culture' into mainstream 'US culture' (whatever that is) I just think the smaller signs are bigger, or have more of a lasting effect.

 

[NY State of Mind]

Marcus Garvey & MLK Jr.

I've read "The Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey" and I have to say if your a sensitive white person then this book or even man might be too much for you at times...but if your black he's definitely a must read. And MLK is about obvious at this point to everybody...it's likely best you start with his autobiography if anything.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH (17 August 1887 "“ 10 June 1940) was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).

Prior to the twentieth century, leaders such as Prince Hall, Martin Delany, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Henry Highland Garnet advocated the involvement of the African diaspora in African affairs. Garvey was unique in advancing a Pan-African philosophy to inspire a global mass movement and economic empowerment focusing on Africa known as Garveyism. Promoted by the UNIA as a movement of African Redemption, Garveyism would eventually inspire others, ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement (which proclaims Garvey as a prophet). The intent of the movement was for those of African ancestry to "redeem" Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave it. His essential ideas about Africa were stated in an editorial in the Negro World titled "African Fundamentalism" where he wrote:

" Our union must know no clime, boundary, or nationality"¦ let us hold together under all climes and in every country."

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 "“ April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism.

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.

 

[NY State of Mind]

Black Panthers

To me, you can't mention Black History without the Black Panthers. I have a Black Panther tattoo myself lol. I've read Revolutionary Suicide, To Die for the People by Huey P. Newton the founder of the BPP which is essential. I also read Soul on Ice and The Assasination of Fred Hampton. I hear great things about Assata Shakur's Autobiography (yes, related to Tupac Shakur who was the son of a Black Panther), Angela Davis's Autobiography and Seize the Time by Bobby Seale, but I haven't been able to read those books yet personally. Either way you can't go wrong if your interested. There's also a movie that came out in the 90s I believe named "Panther" i'm pretty sure...it's not the best movie but gives an idea of what the Black Panthers were. And I also recommend that you atleast look up the Black Panther's "Ten Point Program".

(Original Founders)​

The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was an African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from the mid-1960s into the 1970s.

The Black Panther Party achieved national and international impact through their deep involvement in the Black Power movement and in U.S. politics of the 1960s and 70s, as the intense anti-racism of the time is today considered one of the most significant social, political and cultural currents in U.S. history. The group's "provocative rhetoric, militant posture, and cultural and political flourishes permanently altered the contours of American Identity."

Founded in Oakland, California, by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton on October 15, 1966, the organization initially set forth a doctrine calling primarily for the protection of African American neighborhoods from police brutality. But the Black Panther Party's objectives and philosophy expanded and evolved rapidly during the party's existence. The organization's leaders passionately espoused socialist and communist (largely Maoist) doctrines, but the Party's black nationalist reputation attracted an ideologically diverse membership. Ideological consensus within the party was difficult to achieve, and some prominent members openly disagreed with the views of the leaders.

The organization's official newspaper, The Black Panther, was first circulated in 1967. Also that year, the Black Panther Party marched on the California State Capitol in Sacramento in protest of a selective ban on weapons. By 1968, the party had expanded into many cities throughout the United States, including New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Diego, Denver, Newark, New York City, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Omaha. Membership reached 5,000 and their newspaper, under the editorial leadership of Eldridge Cleaver, had a circulation of 250,000. The group created a Ten-Point Program, a document that called for "Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice and Peace", as well as exemption from conscription for African-American men, among other demands. With the Ten-Point program, "What We Want, What We Believe", the Black Panther Party captured in uncompromising language the collective economic and political grievances articulated by black radicals and many black liberals since the 1930s.

Gaining national prominence, the Black Panther Party became an icon of the counterculture of the 1960s. Ultimately, the Panthers condemned black nationalism as "black racism" and became more focused on socialism without racial exclusivity. They instituted a variety of community social programs designed to alleviate poverty and improve health among communities deemed most needful of aid. It also recognized that different minority communities (those it deemed oppressed by the U.S. government) needed to organize around their own set of issues and encouraged alliances with such organizations.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover called the party "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country," and he supervised an extensive program (COINTELPRO) of surveillance, infiltration, police harassment, perjury, and a laundry list of other tactics designed to incriminate party members and drain the organization of resources and manpower. Through these tactics, it was thought that their potential for further advancement would diminish and probability of continuing to serve as a threat to the general power structure of the U.S., or maintain a presence as a strong undercurrent would shrink." While party membership started to decline during Huey Newton's 1968 manslaughter trial, the Black Panther Party collapsed altogether in the early 1970s. Angela Davis, Ward Churchill, and others have alleged that law enforcement officials went to great lengths to discredit and destroy the organization, including assassination.

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Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 "“ December 13, 1986) was an African American civil rights and human rights activist beginning in the 1930s. She was a behind-the-scenes activist whose career spanned over five decades. She worked alongside some of the most famous civil rights leaders of the twentieth century, including: W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also mentored such then-young civil rights stalwarts as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, Rosa Parks and Bob Moses.

Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1818 "“ February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, known for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing. He stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments (see this example) that slaves did not have the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. He became a major speaker for the cause of abolition.
In addition to his oratory, Douglass wrote several autobiographies, eloquently describing his life as a slave, and his struggles to be free. His first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, was published in 1845 and was his best-known work, influential in gaining support for abolition. He wrote two more autobiographies, with his last, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, published in 1881 and covering events through and after the Civil War.
After the Civil War, Douglass remained very active in America's struggle to reach its potential as a "land of the free". Douglass actively supported women's suffrage. Following the war, he worked on behalf of equal rights for freedmen, and held multiple public offices.
Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was fond of saying, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."

 

[Goby]

I don't want to restart a dead issue, but I think those who are against BHM are very, very, very wrong. No group in the US has been so abused for so long (although Native Americans come very close).

My grandfather was a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of Americans who volunteered to fight fascism during the Spanish Civil War. Most were Jewish or Communists (my grandfather was a communist). Communists were among the first to demand and fight for equal treatment of blacks in the US. During the Spanish Civil War they promoted the most able body person to be their commander. That person, Oliver Law, just happened to be black. How sad that the first commander of an integrated American fighting force was a communist, and that it occurred 10+ years before the US Army integrated their armed forces.

Here's to you, Oliver Law:

BTW, (extreme sarcasm and disgust with my country to follow) my favorite modern atrocity committed against blacks is The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, where blacks were INFECTED with syphilis between 1932 and 1972 (yes--1972!!!) in Tuskegee, Alabama, by the U.S. Public Health Service, to study the natural progression of UNTREATED syphilis. Even though treatment with penicillin was discover in 1947, The Center for Disease Control said there was a need to continue the study until completion; i.e., until all subjects had died and been autopsied. lol

We should not only study black heroes, but also learn about the terrible things we did to fellow Americans who happened to have dark skin.

 

[Goby]

As just black history month, I feel like it's restricting and over celebrates one race more than the others. Which I personally feel is wrong. I enjoy celebrating minorities and I respect the journey to equal rights every minority has and is going through.

I just feel like we should celebrate all minorities or none of them. I'm on the side of all minorities.

Why do we have BHM? Because most Americans don't know who this boy is. And few minorities from Asia, Europe, South America, or North America ever went through the hell he went through. Yet thousands of African-Americans have been abused and killed during the past 400 years... and this is just one story.

Emmett Till was a 14 year who flirted with a married 21 year old white woman. Her husband went to Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire.

Of course the murderers where found "not guilty." And since we have Double Jeopardy in this country, one of the killers freely admitted to the murder after the trial.

The jurors acknowledged that they knew Bryant and Milam were guilty, but simply did not believe that life imprisonment or the death penalty fit punishment for whites who had killed a black man

 

[VisionGirl]

I am loving this thread, so many great people mentioned! I do have to say that I cannot read NY's comments about Malcolm X without thinking about Gunn's statement that he had not been to a movie theater since Denzel got cheated out of an Oscar LOL!!

My contribution is a bit of local history, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921:

Tulsa's Greenwood district is the site of one of the most devastating race riots in the history of the United States. Before May 31, 1921, Tulsa's black business district known as Greenwood flourished in spite of segregation. It boasted of several restaurants, theaters, clothing shops and hotels. Dubbed the "Black Wall Street," Greenwood was an economic powerhouse.

After May 31, 1921, Greenwood would never be the same. The tension mounted between the black and white communities over an incident that allegedly occurred in an elevator at Drexel building in downtown Tulsa involving Sarah Page, a 17-year-old white elevator operator, and Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old black man. There are several versions of what supposedly transpired, but the most common being that Dick Rowland accidentally stepped on Page's foot in the elevator, throwing her off balance. When Rowland reached out to keep her from falling, she screamed. Many Tulsans came to believe through media reports that Rowland attacked Page although no sufficient evidence surfaced to substantiate the claim. The incident was further escalated by a local newspaper headline that encouraged the public to "Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator."

The strained relationship between the white and black communities, the heightened jealousy of the success of the Black Wall Street area and the elevator encounter led to the Tulsa Race Riot.

Armed white men looted, burned and destroyed the black community. When the smoke cleared, mere shells of buildings were all that remained of the business district. The Red Cross estimates that more than 300 people were killed and approximately 1,200 homes were destroyed.
http://www.tulsalibrary.org/aarc/riot/riot.php

 

[prophecygrrl]

Does anyone know who Ruth Ellis is? I didn't know about her until just about two minutes ago.

http://neutresex.tumblr.com/post/3099621438/black-history-month-with-ruth-ellis-ruth-ellis

Ruth Ellis (1899 "“ 2000) dedicated countless years of service to her community, and particularly black LGBT youth. In 1937 Ruth moved to Detroit with her partner Babe, the two bought a house, which from 1946 to 1971 was known as the "Gay Spot." Not only did their home serve as a safe space for Detroit's LGBT community, but the couple also offered lodging and support to many black LGBT youth in need. In a time before the Gay Civil Rights Movement began Ruth was a beacon of light for many LGBT youth who found themselves in the dark. In 1999 The Ruth Ellis Center was founded in Detroit, MI, which continues to offer lodging and support to LGBT youth in need. She continued working with LGBT organizations until her death in 2000 at an age of 101.

Very inspiring. 🙂

And Ruby Bridges:

I can't find the credit for the description here, but this is the original post:http://thedolo.tumblr.com/post/1089930781/ruby-bridges-if-you-dont-know-it-learn-her

In Spring 1960, Ruby Bridges was one of several African-Americans in New Orleans to take a test to determine which children would be the first to attend integrated schools. Six students were chosen, however, two students decided to stay at their old school, and three were transferred to Mcdonough. Ruby was the only one assigned to William Frantz. Her father initially was reluctant, but her mother felt strongly that the move was needed not only to give her own daughter a better education, but to "take this step forward "¦ for all African-American children."

As soon as Bridges got into the school, white parents went in and brought their own children out; all teachers refused to teach while a black child was enrolled. They hired Barbara Henry, from Boston, Massachusetts, to teach Bridges, and for over a year Mrs. Henry taught her alone, "as if she were teaching a whole class." That first day, Bridges and her adult companions spent the entire day in the principal's office; the chaos of the school prevented their moving to the classroom until the second day. Every morning, as Bridges walked to school, one woman would threaten to poison her, because of this, the U.S. Marshals dispatched by President Eisenhower, who were overseeing her safety, only allowed Ruby to eat food that she brought from home. Another woman at the school put a black baby doll in a wooden coffin and protested with it outside the school, a sight that Bridges Hall has said "scared me more than the nasty things people screamed at us." At her mother's suggestion, Bridges began to pray on the way to school, which she found provided protection from the comments yelled at her on the daily walks.

The Bridges family suffered for their decision to send her to William Frantz Elementary: her father lost his job, and her grandparents, who were sharecroppers in Mississippi, were turned off their land. She has noted that many others in the community both black and white showed support in a variety of ways. Some white families continued to send their children to Frantz despite the protests, a neighbor provided her father with a new job, and local people babysat, watched the house as protectors, and walked behind the federal marshals' car on the trips to school.

 

[randiann]

To to derail this thread (again), but it bothers me how so many people are stating that no other minority has been discriminated against like the Black minority. Please DO NOT rely on public school for your or for your children's basis of education, especially on the subject on history. Please strongly consider supplementing this education with outside resources. For example, Native populations in North and South America were 95% eradicated by colonists and conquistadors. 95 PERCENT (David Stannard, "American Holocaust" pg x). That's 19 out of every 20 people, gone. Chinese were subjected to the effects of the railroad system in the 1800's, Japanese were placed in internment camps in 1940's, Mexicans are currently facing anti-immigration (read anti-Mexican) legislation TODAY. Native Americans and Blacks have both been reduced to test subjects for vaccines as recent as the 1970's-1980's (Andrea Smith, "Conquest" pgs 112-113). So PLEASE do not trust what you have learned in America's public schools as a reliable source of historic knowledge. It only skims the very top of a very candy-coated iceberg.

And now back to celebrating Black History Month (which, as a member of a different minority group, I have no objections to)....

 

[nmcil12]

BHM as a mainstream celebration of JUST Black history IS reverse racism. My reasons for wanting to expand it are because I feel like if we're going to celebrate one minority in this setting, why not celebrating all of them? Why not give all minorities the reasons my friend cited for loving and appreciating black history month?

Celebrating all minorities is not reverse racism because it's not setting ONE race apart from the others. It's celebrating minorities. This is celebrating ONE race and their struggles over the others. Which is something I feel is wrong.

I love the idea that the younger generation will one day make it The Ideal Reality that all races and peoples in America are equal but unfortunately our history demands that we know and remember the struggles of its peoples on the journey to Equality and Justice for All. That day is not here yet.

African American and their Civil Right Movement are a great cause for celebration - their struggles are the direct link to the next great struggles for Civil Liberty, Equality and Justice in the Sexual Gender Struggles of today and the Immigration Civil Right Struggles of past and Future. You will also see another Civil Rights Movement in this country - The Class & Economic Struggles that will face the American people with the new distribution of wealth and the globalization of the economic structures of all human societies.

What may seem like long ago and far away to the generations that did not go up in the days of Jim Crow and the horrors of segregation in America need to try and understand the history and emotions of the people who did live with it. When I hear the arguments of "reverse discrimination" what I remember is all those people who were killed and had their lives destroyed by people who felt they had every right to kill another person just because of the color of their skin. And I also know that the reason that has changed is because of the Civil Rights Movement of the African Americans and the Hispanic Americans, joined by American citizens of all color and ethnic groups who believed that people should be treated with justice and equality.

Black History Month, just like Women's History Month, Cesar Chavez Celebrations, and any other "special recognition" are not about separation or special privilege, instead they are the history of America and how we are making that journey of One Nation of Equals - men, woman, children, all being treated with the respect they deserve.

We should all remember that every single person and their ancestors in the history of the United States were and are immigrants -

Sorry for the rant - but I also want to say "congratulations" to the site and members for even having this conversation. Good On You

 

[Goby]

To to derail this thread (again), but it bothers me how so many people are stating that no other minority has been discriminated against like the Black minority. Please DO NOT rely on public school for your or for your children's basis of education, especially on the subject on history. Please strongly consider supplementing this education with outside resources. For example, Native populations in North and South America were 95% eradicated by colonists and conquistadors. 95 PERCENT (David Stannard, "American Holocaust" pg x). That's 19 out of every 20 people, gone. Chinese were subjected to the effects of the railroad system in the 1800's, Japanese were placed in internment camps in 1940's, Mexicans are currently facing anti-immigration (read anti-Mexican) legislation TODAY. Native Americans and Blacks have both been reduced to test subjects for vaccines as recent as the 1970's-1980's (Andrea Smith, "Conquest" pgs 112-113). So PLEASE do not trust what you have learned in America's public schools as a reliable source of historic knowledge. It only skims the very top of a very candy-coated iceberg.

And now back to celebrating Black History Month (which, as a member of a different minority group, I have no objections to)....

To be honest, no one was persecuted more than Blacks and Native Americans. The discrimination of the Japanese, Chinese, Latinos, Irish, etc doesn't even come close.

I think we focus on blacks because: :

1. Their discrimination was much more prevalent in the 20th Century;
2. They are more numerous;
3. They are closer to major media centers (how many Native Americans live near New York, Los Angeles, or Washington DC?);
4. The world took more notice;
5. Their discrimination occurred when "civilized" countries had long abolished racist laws (with the exception of South Africa).

The very worst perpetrators were the conquistadors. They may have been the worst killers of all-time. I read a story about Columbus searching for gold on an island. There was a tiny bit of gold on this island, and the natives didn't think much of it. Columbus worked them so hard they were too tired to procreate. He killed the rest, and chopped off the arms of those that did not bring gold. About 50,000 natives were exterminated on that one island in only 2 years.

I hate Columbus Day and refuse to celebrate it. If they taught what REALLY happened to the Native Americans in North and South American due to gold and God (the Catholic Church sanctioned the killings) no one would celebrate Columbus Day.

 

[VisionGirl]

Randi & I both live in Oklahoma...Columbus Day is not particularly celebrated here other than banks & post offices being closed lol.

NY State of Mind agrees: yes, but the reason we say this is because they have been discriminated and held back longer than all those groups you just named

I would disagree with this when compared to Native Americans. I would agree to most other minority groups- I think in current days Hispanics & gays are most discriminated against. I'm Italian-American and I don't dispute that both Italian immigrants & Catholics have been the recipents of discrimination & prejudice throughout American history (I live in the bible belt, so I know a little bit about anti-Catholic beliefs). However it's not even a tenth of what other minority groups have experienced. And let's be honest: the darker you are, the more discrimination you face. It's just a fact.

 

[NY State of Mind]

While I agree the native americans have been treated brutally, I don't believe they faced discrimination for a longer period than black people. And I agree, the darker you are the more discrimination overall. I'm hispanic myself. And by the way I dislike the term hispanic and alot of us prefer latino. However, I won't hold you accountable..its like the black and African American thing..some prefer one while others prefer the next.

Anyways, alot of latinos are actually descendants and partial descendants of these Natives your talking about including myself. (Just look under my Username..it says Boricua which is derived from the Taino Tribes that named the island of Puerto Rico before the Spaniards, originally Boriken) And while we were enslaved, raped, ripped of our culture just like African Americans...it says alot when even these people of color demonize traits like nappy hair, wide nose, etc. To me that says alot about how African is the worst thing you could be in the eyes of racists and how deep the colonizations actually brainwashed slaves themselves into self hate, etc. Alot of my spanish speaking countries will tell you thier spanish or hispanic...but they'll be just as black as Wesley Snipes. They'll say "hey, i'm Puerto Rican or Dominican so I'm Spanish...i'm not African." Really? Same thing with the native american (indigenous) blood persons...they'll say "oh you have good hair" cause its soft and not nappy...or they'll try and teach their daughters to go with somebody fairer skinned so the kids could come out lighter. There's alot of confusion amongst latinos not relizing that they're hating on the next race or even thier own while they're victims themselves. Same thing with the reverse...some will say "oh, i hate white people"...yet they have features like a common European and love speaking spanish, and being catholic not understanding that is "white culture" the same culture they're saying they hate. Even the spanish speaking channels on TV portray the darker characters as maids, etc. while the lighter skin ones are successful and beautiful.

I personally have encountered all types of racism from every side, however my grandmother, sister, father, etc. have encountered way more than I have for the simple fact that their dark and i'm not. I wish I had a nickel for every white person down south that has called me a Mexican or told me "how i'm enjoying the country". But it's nothing compared to the real discrimination i've encountered everytime I'm with one of my family members or friends that are dark/colored. Just look up racist jokes and i'll bet the harshest ones are for black people.

But either way, every race should be honored for thier contributions. But like I said before, African Americans have fought harder and put in the biggest contributions in the US more than Native American, Latinos, Asians, etc. which is why I celebrate the month. At the end of the day it doesn't matter cause we need to stop looking at ourselves different when we all face the same problems. sorry for the rant

 

[NY State of Mind]

randiann agrees: I'm REALLY trying not to derail this but if you actually believe that Native Americans haven't been discriminated against like others, you've been grossly misinformed. I'd be happy to give you more info on the subject if you are interested.

I never said they weren't discriminated against as bad or even worst...I just said not as long as in time period of the same degree....I'm part native ancestory so you need to relax on that...I know about all my mixed cultures so I don't need you to help me on my own blood. I don't need to read about it cause I live it! Now let's get back to the real subject of Black History Month.

 

[brinkster130]

I came across an article today about some upcoming public radio programs that Maya Angelou is going to be doing over the next could weeks that look pretty interesting so I thought I'd share the information with you all.

Over the course of February, Maya Angelou's Black History Month Special will be broadcast in cities across the nation. Her first-ever radio public program features special guests Chris Rock, Cornell West, Common and Lee Daniels. It is a great American patchwork, a quilt woven of parables, historical anecdotes, autobiography, song, and poetry.

The stories she conjures echo both past and present, they emphasize our common humanity, and they celebrate the individual.

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theo-spielberg/dr-maya-angelou-launches-_b_823076.html

And here is the link to her website for the schedule and times: http://mayaangelouonpublicradio.com/

 

[nmcil12]

I came across an article today about some upcoming public radio programs that Maya Angelou is going to be doing over the next could weeks that look pretty interesting so I thought I'd share the information with you all.



Here is the link to the full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theo-spielberg/dr-maya-angelou-launches-_b_823076.html

And here is the link to her website for the schedule and times: http://mayaangelouonpublicradio.com/

Thanks for the link - all are excellent people to listen to - look forward to the program.

 

[prophecygrrl]

In more Maya Angelou news, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom yesterday by President Obama. 🙂

 

[NY State of Mind]

Rich Wright

Richard Wright was a great author. My favorite book of his is "Native Son".

Richard Nathaniel Wright (September 4, 1908 "“ November 28, 1960) was an American author of powerful, sometimes controversial novels, short stories and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes. His work helped redefine discussions of race relations in America in the mid-20th century.

 

[Goby]

Oh, I love this man. While going through law school and reading tons of boring Supreme Court Decisions, Thurgood Marshall's were the one's I enjoyed. They spoke to me, and spoke to the common man.

Marshall served on the Court for twenty-four years, compiling a liberal record that included strong support for Constitutional protection of individual rights, especially the rights of criminal suspects against the government. His most frequent ally on the Court (the pair rarely voted at odds) was Justice William Brennan, who consistently joined him in supporting abortion rights and opposing the death penalty. Brennan and Marshall concluded in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty was, in all circumstances, unconstitutional, and never accepted the legitimacy of Gregg v. Georgia, which ruled four years later that the death penalty was constitutional in some circumstances. Thereafter, Brennan or Marshall dissented from every denial of certiorari in a capital case and from every decision upholding a sentence of death.

 

[NY State of Mind]

I came across this on today 2/21/11 the date of Malcolm X assasination. Thought I'd share it...its a letter from his daughters.

"Today, we reflect and pay respect to the passing of our father, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X). Today, we once again honor his legacy. It was on this day, February 21st, in the year of 1965 that he was martyred in New York at the place then known as The Audubon Ballroom, and now known as the "Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center."

"Malcolm X was a man of vision, integrity and courage. He was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Reverend Earl and Louise Norton-Little who instilled the compassion for injustice and leadership ideals the world came to know of our father. In the late 1940's he studied, later joined the Nation of Islam and took the name Malcolm X. In March 1964, he left the Nation of Islam to form the Muslim Mosque, Inc. as well as the Organization of African-American Unity. That same year, Malcolm X went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia where he expanded his message of justice and responsibility for all races."

"Our family remains united and spirited in our loving support and efforts to join forces with those who love Malcolm X from around the world. Despite false reports and misdeeds of those in and out of the media seeking to divide and conquer, the bond and spirit of this family and community will not be broken. Tonight, there will be a public memorial at the Center commencing at 6pm, located at 3940 Broadway in Harlem, New York. Later this week on Thursday, February 24th, 2011, we the daughters of Malcolm X will convene and participate in a press conference and later participate in a private "Call To Action" ceremony, organized on behalf of the Shabazz family, and the newly formed protection entity X Legacy, LLC."

Indeed, "Malcolm X was our Black shining Prince! -- who didn't hesitate to die. Because he loved us so." He loved us all and we are so grateful for the continued support and love from all people worldwide supporting Malcolm X and the X Legacy."

The Daughters of Malcolm X