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