CBC Mini series the BOOK of NEGROES

Episode One of The CBC's "The Book of Negroes" May be seen at the following URL I don't know how long it will be available but for now you can watch it online.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2646401100/

Based on author Lawrence Hill's award-winning novel of the same name, THE BOOK OF NEGROES is a six-part miniseries that follows the harrowing journey of Aminata Diallo played by Aunjanue Ellis, and her return home after being forced into slavery as a child.

Abducted from her village in West Africa, eleven-year-old Aminata (Shailyn Pierre-Dixon) is forced to walk in a coffle - a string of slaves - for months until they reach the sea. After enduring a horrific ocean crossing, she's put to work on an indigo plantation in South Carolina. Here, she survives by using midwifery skills learned at her mother's side and drawing on the strength of character inherited from her parents. After a clandestine wedding to fellow slave Chekura Tyano (Lyriq Bent), the couple's first baby is sold by her jealous slave master, Robinson Appleby (Greg Byrk).

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Some Truth About The Black Panthers

R.I.P. Marvin Gaye "April 1, 1984"

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984 
African American singer, songwriter and musician. Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown Records, first as an in house session player in the 1960s and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, including How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) and I Heard It Through the Grapevine, and duet recordings with Mary Wells, Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell, later earning the titles Prince of Motown and Prince of Soul.

The Tree of Iron - Ancient African Steel Production

Carbon steel had been made long before either Kelly or Bessemer. One of the oldest and most sophisticated methods was that of the Haya people. They're an African tribe in what is Tanzania today. The Hayas produced high-grade carbon steel for about 2000 years.

The Hayas made their steel in a kiln shaped like a truncated upside-down cone about five feet high. They made both the cone and the bed below it from the clay of termite mounds. Termite clay makes a fine refractory material. The Hayas filled the bed of the kiln with charred swamp reeds. They packed a mixture of charcoal and iron ore above the charred reeds. Before they loaded iron ore into the kiln, they roasted it to raise its carbon content.  (See African Steel Making)

Peniel Joseph interviewed on Africa Today (Stokely A Life)

Book Cover

Peniel E. Joseph

Preeminent interviewer Walter Turner of the KPFA program Africa Today interviews  Dr. Peniel E. Joseph (Professor of History at Tufts University) on the December, 29, 2014 program to discuss Joseph’s book “ Stokely, A Life”

Don’t miss this very enlightening interview. I know you’re going to want to know more after you hear these icons of contemporary African life discussing Stokely Carmichael, one of Africa’s most influential sons of Black Activism. I hope you younger people, who are not familiar with the period of activism from the 1960’s through the 1980’s will follow the threads pointed out, in this interview. 

This Program Aired December 29, 2014 - 7:00pm

Africa Today Host Walter Turner

Amanda Seales - Funny Lady

 Protest and demonstrations are good (real good) but let's maintain a sense of humor. Sistah Seales is a good jumping on point when it comes to comedy today. She has a great web presence and a witty delivery and her material is fresh and provocative. Check her out at Amanda Seales.com