Haitian Independence Day January 1, 1804

Greatest Black Emancipation : The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)

More on Slave uprisings

Paul Lawrence Dunbar Published Oak and Ivy (Dec. 20,1893)

Author: Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 1872-1906
Publisher: Dayton, Ohio : Press of United Brethren Publishing House
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: ucb_banc:GLAD-151135377
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Collection: cdl; americana

The Montgomery Bus Strike Ended December 20, 1956

When Rosa Parks refused on the afternoon of Dec. 1, 1955, to give up her bus seat so that a white man could sit, it is unlikely that she fully realized the forces she had set into motion and the controversy that would soon swirl around her.

Civil Rights Power Organizer - Ella Baker

Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986)
To remember Ella Baker at this time is paramount.  She was one of the foremost organizers in the movement to proclaim the civil rights of African American people in her era. To acknowledge her superb effort, is to offer her techniques, insights and successes as a model for present and future mass organizers to study and emulate.

“The stuggle is eternal. The tribe increase. Somebody else carries on.”
Ella Baker

Black Experience In America_Vol1

Author: PDGazette
Keywords: black history; African-Americans; racism; emancipation; slavery; success; humor; love; history; W.E.B. Du Bois; Booker T. Washington; Fanny Coppin; James Weldon Johnson; Alice Dunbar; Zora Neale Hurston; Henry Ossian Flipper; Monroe Work
Collection: opensource

POEMS OF CABINS AND FIELD (1901)

Poems of Cabin and Field (1901)
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Illustrated with photographs by
The Hampton Institute Camera Club

Author: Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 1872-1906; Morse, Alice, book designer
Subject: African Americans; African Americans
Publisher: New York : Dodd, Mead
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English

A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865

A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865:
Preceded by a Review of ... (1887)



Author: George Washington Williams
Publisher: Harper & brothers
Year: 1887
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English

The New Jim Crow

 was written by 

Michelle Alexander, highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, law professor, and author.

 

The New Jim Crow: Chapter One - Part 1

The New Jim Crow: Chapter One - Part 2

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Two - Part 1

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Two - Part 2

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Three - Part 1

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Three - Part 2

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Three - Part 3

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Four - Part 1

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Four - Part 2

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Five - Part 1

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Five - Part 2

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Six - Part 1

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Six - Part 2

The New Jim Crow: Chapter Six - Part 3

This audio is part of the collection: Community Audio
It also belongs to collection: 
Artist/Composer: anotherworldispossible
Keywords: anarchy; revolution; Jim crow; race; racism; slavery; african american; equality; civil rights

Kwame Nkrumah

Black Power • The Kwame Nkrumah Documentary

13 Buffalo Soldiers Hanged on December 11, 1917

THE HOUSTON RIOT OF 1917 (PDF)
























The Buffalo Soldiers In WWI And The Houston Mutiny Of 1917

AFTER TRAYVON: Black Boys Speak. A video

A public discussion among  9 Black and Latino boys ages 10-17. These young fellas share their feelings and their impressions very well.  Guided by moderator Kevin Powell they talk about their concerns on racism, stereotyping, stop and search, unity, education and more. This video was shot shortly before the arrest of George Zimmerman. I reccommend watching the entire video for an intimate look into the thoughts of these youngsters.

I hope this will inspire more of us to encourage and empower our young people to speak their minds, using whatever tools are available to us.

Watch Who This Cop Picks To Eject From The Park

He wasn't sitting up straight enough. Give me an effen break. You might not call it racism but I sure would. After watching this video for the third time, I have decided that sergeant Lee has committed a grievous assault on this young man's dignity. Having witnessed this cowardly act, it is readily apparent to me that this wimp like many others, has no business in a position of authority. This was much the same way that Eric Garner was approached, for something that could have been left alone. By forcing these degrading confrontations on people who are minding their own business, the police always give themselves the opportunity escalate a situation which was nothing in the first place, to one where their victim ends up in trouble or worse seriously injured.

Curtis Mayfields's New World Order

A look at Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969)

Craig Hall and Vernon Martin producers of "RAISE YOUR SELF IMAGE"
Dedicated their 4th program

(February 10, 2011) to Fred Hampton, leader of the Chicago chapter of Black Panther Party for Self Defense
They present a segment of Eyes on the Prize that discusses Fred Hampton. While the program is not long enough to present the entire program, there should be enough to stimulate people to search for more info on this dynamic young African American who gave his life trying to improve the circumstances of his community.

You keep adding to my numbers as you shoot my people down.

Give a listen to this song, although it was released in 1970, it is still, may be even more applicable today.

#BlackLivesMatter

Let Ferguson Remind Us To Revisit The...

National Black Litany (I Am Somebody) From Wattstax 1972

40 Years ago things weren't so different, the people knew knew what time was though.
We all know that Ferguson is, Fruitvale, is Sanford, is Cleveland etc, etc.

Tangipahoa African American Pioneers

Are there people in your community who should be remembered?



Many African American Pioneers of Tangipahoa Parish help shape the foundation of the parish. Pioneers like Dr. Percy Walker became the first African American veterinarian. Folks like Alexander Richardson owned and operated his own Funeral Home. Willie Kiddes Gordon built a dormitory at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for young black males who were attending college.

This movie is part of the collection: Community Video

LBJ and J. Edgar Hoover discussing Mississippi Civil Rights Workers' Murders (1964)

This is a very interesting communication between the president and the head of the FBI. I don't know if I believe the part about the local authorities cooperating with the federal agents. Notice how FBI director Hoover assumes right away that the young men have been killed. After that he tries to say it's  possible that the rights workers faked their own abduction.

The Harlem Hellfighters on Parade

An Essay Toward a History of the Black Man in the Great War (June 1919) by W.E. Burghardt DuBois

"Fresh back from an investigative trip to Europe, editor of the monthly magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), W.E.B. DuBois, outlines the history of black soldiers in World War I, both the 280,000 Senegalese who fought for France at the Marne, 30,000 Congolese fighting for the Belgians, as well as the 200,000 American blacks with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe."

Uploaded to Archive.org on March 4, 2014 by Tim Davenport ("Carrite").

Scott's official history of the American Negro in the World War

E.J. Scott

 A complete and authentic narration, from official sources, of the participation of American soldiers of the Negro race in the World War for democracy ... a full acount of the war work organizations of colored men and women and other civilian activities, including the Red Cross, the Y.M.C.A., the Y.W.C.A. and the War camp community service, with official summary of treaty of peace and League of Nations covenant (1919)

Don't forget our Black Unsung Heroes

The Invisible Soldiers: Unheard Voices of Black WWII Vets

On November 11 Remember - Black War Vets

THREE FRONTS: Testimonies of Black American WWII  

Veterans by LILI BERNARD

James Reese Europe the Hellfighters

WWII Black Female Battalion

African Americans in the Military: 

A Legacy of Exceptional Service

A booklet on Negro veterans after WWII

Let's not forget on November 11, that African Americans have always served the country, in every war.
Here is a little booklet that came out after WWII about the situations faced by Black vets after that war.

Still Touched by "The Spirit"

This is one of my favorite selections. I listen to it almost every Sunday.


I remember my mother used to love to sing this one.

Colonel Oko Ofori - My story

For UK Black History Month you should really listen to these videos if you want an African POV of relations with the British in the 40s



(They promised jobs but they did not honor their promise)

O22 Nat'l Day of Protest Against Police Brutality

October 22nd AKA #O22 
is a National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, Repression & the Criminalization of a Generation.  Check Google for a demo in your hood.

African American celebs looking for their Roots.

New technology, the digitization of statistics and the popularity of  genealogical programs on TV have stimulated many African Americans to seek out their roots. While it can be very difficult to trace family lineages through paper trails back to the mother land, DNA testing does enable the discovery of ethnic origins in Africa. Watch and see some of the interesting results.

If we look carefully we'll find that we all go back to one source.

#Ferguson - Cornel West, Faith Leaders and Activists Arrested

Monday October 13, 2014

Cornel West, Faith Leaders and Activists Arrested as Ferguson October Continues

#Ferguson Means so many things to so many people.

1. Riot-torn Ferguson awaits grand jury finding in Michael Brown shooting

   
   

   

   
   
2. Ferguson is a Scottish surname and given name. The surname is a patronymic form of the personal name Fergus. The name Fergus is derived from the Gaelic elements fear ("man") and gus ("vigour", "force", or "choice").

   

   
   

    All of the elements of the meaning of the root name Fergus are extremely significant here in the US, whichever angle you approach it from. Today in this suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, Americans are yet again confronted with the opportunity to get it right or get it wrong, to come together or come apart.  The country is going to be weak and divided or strong and united. The decision is our to make (for now), the rest of the world is not waiting around for us to get it right either. It may well be that some are even now trying to take advantage of the apparent disunity and inequities of American life in order to advance their own agenda and why wouldn't they?

    The element known as ISIS is made up of people from all over the world who are coming together as a unified force and giving us a demonstration of just what's possible when folks of different backgrounds work or fight together for a common goal.  Now I'm not endorsing anything they do because frankly I don't have enough knowledge about their motives to judge them one way or the other but I can see that whatever their motivation, the fact that they are willing to act in unison seems to be getting them a lot further in that part of the world than the west has been able to do in recent years.  

   

   
   

    I feel like North America would be a whole lot more effective, if before we strike out to defend the rights of people in other countries, we would ensure that the citizens of our own country are all subject to the same rights and privileges. This way we can at least not be seen as a bunch hypocrites who only want to step into other peoples space in order to exploit their resources. We have to lead by example if we want to hold others to some higher standard of behavior. We can't have the state condoning the extrajudicial executions of any of our citizenry by it's agents while criticizing other Nations or nationals for the same acts. Any Americans who sit idly by while this atrocious killing continues should not be surprised on the day that outsiders are able to exploit these foolish acts to their own advantages.  
   
   

   The Mike Brown Shooting and The Police State

                                                                   

   Read in "The New Yorker" What Does It Mean to Compare Ferguson to Iraq?

   BY ELIF BATUMAN

   
   

Police smash window, stun passenger

 This does seem to be excessive force for a seatbelt violation. When is the last time you were asked for ID when you were a passenger in a car where the driver was stopped for a minor traffic violation?

This is the terrifying moment police drew their guns, smashed a car window and tasered a passenger during a routine traffic stop.
Lisa Mahone, 47, was driving with her boyfriend Jamal Jones and two children, Joseph, 14, and Janiya, seven, in Hammond, Indiana, when she was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt.
Officers collected her license and insurance card, before asking to see Jones's ID, which he said he did not have because he had recently received a ticket.
(See article)

NAACP wants cops in Taser incident pulled from street

Hammond police officers Patrick Vicari and Charles Turner were named in a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District court Monday, alleging they used excessive force when they broke a car window during a traffic stop for a seat belt violation Sept. 24

The 14-year-old boy who filmed Hammond, Indiana police breaking his mother’s car window to stun her passenger with a Taser is speaking out about the “scary” police brutality he witnessed.

What do you think about this Indiana traffic -stop case from 2009?

Court: refusal to identify law applies to passengers | The Indiana Lawyer

Although state law allows police to request identification from passengers inside a car that they’ve stopped, two Indianapolis officers shouldn’t have arrested a man for refusing to identify himself when there was no reasonable suspicion he’d done anything wrong.


The Indiana Court of Appeals addressed that issue in a six-page opinion today in Adam Starr v. State of Indiana, No. 49A04-0912-CR-677, which overturned a ruling by Marion Superior Judge David Certo.


In September 2009, officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department arrested Adam Starr for refusing to identify himself, a Class C misdemeanor as defined by Indiana Code 34-28-5-3.5. Two officers pulled over a vehicle driven by Starr’s girlfriend, who’d made an illegal turn. After determining her identity, the officers questioned Starr about his identity. He denied having any ID, claimed he could not remember his Social Security umber, and said his name was “Mr. Horrell.”

Historic London Conference - First Voice: Dialogue with the Diaspora*

On Saturday 25 October 2003 The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone presented a conference for Black History Month 2003, which was in my opinion an historic event in itself. The title was 

FIRST VOICE: Dialogue with the Diaspora

The presenters were historians and scholars and the descendants of Africans from the diaspora who distinguished themselves throughout the 20th century with their efforts to uplift and unite the peoples of Africa the world over.

I found the videos that follow on the youtube channel of Donovan Fontaine so I don't know if the speakers represent all who spoke at the conference or not. I do know, that everything he has shared with us is definitely worth watching and sharing. I only hope that all of these presentations will be available for many people to see for a long time to come(ie. archived), so that this info can continue to be of use to coming generations. Props to Mr. Fontaine.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone

Dr Runoko Rashidi Chapter 1


Dr Abdul Alkalimat Chapter 2.


 Dr Hakim Adi Chapter 3


Dr. David Graham Dubois Chapter 4


Dr Gorkeh Gamal Nkrumah Chapter 5


Paul Robeson Jr, Chapter 6

Marika Sherwood, Uncovering The History of Africans in Britain

Marika Sherwood with Ghanaian friend Zan Akologo

Marika Sherwood is a Hungarian-born historian, researcher, educator and author, based in England since 1965. Ms. Sherwood has been researching the history of Africans in Britain for the past 50 years or so. I'm not that familiar with her work but a google search of her name will lead to more material on the topic of African involvement in Britain, than one can cover in a short time. She is the owner of Savannah Press, a publisher for some of her books "at cost" prices.  I'm not going to try to cover a lot of what she did in this post but I would encourage you to start looking for some of the articles, books and interviews she is associated with on your own. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with what you discover.
An interview of Ms Sherwood on "Africa Past and Present" is what alerted me to her work. I hope you'll listen to it and continue to find out more on the history of Africans in Britain.
(Sorry the above link seems to be no longer active)

• Claudia Jones, a life of struggle and exile
• Dr. Marika Sherwood at Discover Black History: Beyond the Windrush

#Ferguson, MO. October 2, 2014 Random Police Arrest of Peaceful Demonstrators

" Peace No Justice" in Ferguson.

Abuse of police power is out of hand.

This is a sad state of affairs. Too many young Americans have been and are being subjected to this treatment.  It's time to speak out (everyone) about abuse of police power. When all of this extraneous contact is being made, it can easily lead to serious or even fatal events occurring over what was initially nothing.


Seatbelt violation??? To many stops and the occurrence of undesirable events increases proportionally. Dashcams, personal recording devices and cell phone videos are now bringing into the light of day just how often this type of thing happens. No longer are police able to fabricate stories and be believed on their own testimony because witnesses are recording their actions. Stories like handcuffed young black men are producing guns and shooting themselves in the back are beginning to have less credibility. Without the video evidence, I don't doubt that the cop below would have sworn he thought that he saw a weapon.

Seatbelt Violation. Whatever came of this?
 These are just 2 examples of what plays out daily for young people of color. This type of thing happens far more often than these people actually committing crimes.

Do You Want To Talk About Race In America?

Gwen Ifill presents a cross section of Americans who share their personal feelings on race relations in the US. I highly recommend that you set aside some time to watch this program. Americans who want to see what your fellow American men and women have to say about have they feel about race relations should prove to be enlightening.

The African in Canada The Maroons of Jamaica and Nova Scotia (Updated)

Published 1890

Papers relative to the settling of the Maroons in His Majesty's province of Nova Scotia  (1798)

"Negro slavery disappeared from the Province of Nova Scotia during the latter part of last century, without legislative enactment, by
what Judge Haliburton, in his history of Nova Scotia, calls " latent
abandonment beneficial to the country." There remained a number
of emancipated provincial slaves and still more Africans who escaped
to Nova Scotia from the United States. These latter people were
called " Loyal Negroes." In 1821 a party of nearly one hundred of
them emigrated to Trinidad. But before this, on the founding of
Sierra Leone on the west coast of Africa, about twelve hundred went
there, arri>dng in 1792. Four years after this, three ships entered
the harbour of Halifax, laden with the most extraordinary cargoes
that ever entered that port. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, then in
command at Halifax, boarded the Dover, was met by Colonel W. D.
Quarrell, Commissary- General of Jamaica, with whom Mr. Alexander
Ouchterlony was associated, and a detachment of the 96th Regiment
drawn up on board to receive him. Black men of good proportions
with many women and children, all in neat uniform attire, were
mustered in lines. Other transports, the Mary and Anne, were, his
Highness was infornjed, about to follow, and the main cargo was six
hundred Maroons exiled from Jamaica with soldiers to guard them
and meet any attacks from French vessels on the voyage.

The Prince was struck with the fine appearance of the black men,
but the citizens had heard of how Jamaica had been harried by its
black banditti, and were unwilling at first to have them added to
their population. When the Spaniards first settled in the Antilles in
1509, it is estimated by Las Casas, Robertson, ami other historians
that the Indian inhabitants amounted to ten million souls, but by the
 exercise of the utmost atrocities, these were melted away until none
remained to work as slaves in the mines or in the fields. "

September 23, 1961 Thurgood Marshall is appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy

“Marshall was nominated by President John F. Kennedy for appointment to the Second Supreme Court of Appeals (New York, Connecticut, and Vermont) September 23, 1961. The appointment was confirmed by the Senate. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Judge Marshall to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. On August 30, 1967, Marshall was confirmed by the Senate to be the ninety-sixth Supreme Court Justice. He was the first African American to serve as a Justice of the Supreme court.

Justice Marshall received many awards and citations for his outstanding contributions to the field of civil rights until his death in 1993.”
Chicken and Bones

Thurgood Marshall in Action

R.I.P. Jimi Hendrix - died September 18, 1970

 At just 27 years of age when he left us. We can only wonder what he'd be doing today.
(November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) 

West African folk-tales

Collected and arranged by W. H. Barker ... and Cecilia Sinclair, with frontispiece & twenty-three drawings by Cecilia Sinclair.

Updated!!!! #boycottthehumanzoo - A message to Africans and the African diaspora.

It's time for the Lion to tell his own history and forget the tall tales of Hunter.
Africans the world over have for too long have been having our history handed down by people who really don't have the ability to comprehend the African experience. 



"‘Exhibit B’ recreates, in graphic detail, the lesser known atrocities of colonialism and slavery. Bailey, a white South African, uses black performers to present his fetishized interpretation of the African Holocaust. Images of the exhibition have sent shock waves through the Black community and beyond.

Who are #boycottthehumanzoo?

We are 18,000 and growing we are ordinary individuals and organizations who believe ‘Exhibit B’ crosses a moral boundary and enough is enough!

The petition was created by Sara Myers who felt compelled to speak out against such a monumental step backwards for the UK. Sara says it is vital that Africans hold the keys to their own history. “The African narrative is always being told from a colonialist and imperialistic viewpoint, that they are the victors and we are victims, when there is so much more to African
history. It’s time to tell our own story. “

(learn more)

Barbican shut down Bailey’s offensive ‘Human Zoo’

R.I.P. Joe Sample

"Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American pianist, keyboard player and composer."
"Since the early 1980s, he has enjoyed a successful solo career and has guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B. B. King, Eric Clapton,Steely Dan, and The Supremes. Sample incorporates jazz, gospel, blues, Latin, and classical forms into his music."
Wikipedia 

Ray & Janay Rice - What does the Media want?

You've already seen the images. 
I turned on my TV this morning and the first image I saw was Ray Rice punching out his wife fiancé. That's enough already. What the hell is the point they are trying to make? Rice and his wife need to go to counselling if they want to overcome this problem that they have. It's not necessary to take his job, it's not necessary for the Rices to pay for every couple that has had a domestic violence situation (there must be tens or hundreds of thousands) in the US alone. This feels like a big time distraction that the media is trying to pull off. Slight of hand if you will. What is that we should be paying closer attention to. The shooting down of young Black men and women comes to mind. How about, the world may well be on the brink of a war in the Middle East that is even bigger than the last 4 or 5? Whatever it is we'd better start looking for it ourselves because the mass media seems to be stuck on the personal lives of one couple and instead of taking advantage of everyone's attention to demonstrate how this tragic situation might be alleviated with the help of professional social services they demonize the man and disregard the woman to the extent that it will be very difficult for this couple to salvage their union if that's what they want. Whatever the Rices do, it is hardly warranting top coverage on the news day after day. I can only think that the media has some kind of agenda or they are just so incompetent as to not be worth watching.