Dr. Ben and Dr. Clarke Teach Afrikan World History and Culture

I posted this back in 2009 and happened to notice in my archive that the youtube links had been discontinued and it had received no hits at all which is a shame because these are some outstanding Black History/ Consciousness talks by 2 of our most compelling Black Historians. I'm reposting this now. If you have the time watch and share these most important video documents.

I lost interest in history at the time I found out that all that was to be said about my heritage was that my ancestors were slaves and before that heathen savages and cannibals and such. Our contribution to American Culture was Negro Spirituals. What a snow job. I remember we used to play the "you be such and such a character" in school and I wanted to be Cheyenne, a favorite cowboy character of a TV program by the same name but my classmates were like you can't be Cheyenne, Ray can be Cheyenne you be the Kingfish ( an Amos and Andy character). Hell, Ray couldn't even ride a horse and I rode broncos (for real!) Since I was raised in the rural Northeast, went to a predominately white school , and didn't have anyone teaching me otherwise, that was our history. I didn't go to college or University or have access to big city libraries so I had to wait for "The Internet" to come to my rescue and did it ever.

Now it's my pleasure to share with you some of the treasures I find for example if I had known about the story of "US deputy marshal BASS REEVES I wouldn't have even wanted to be Cheyenne. Reeves was a Real Black Hero but I'll save that story for another time.

Meanwhile you enjoy listening to Dr Clarke and Dr Ben all you have to do here is click the play button on these youtube videos and your adventure will begin.


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James Brown and Luciano Pavoratti

Time to lighten up and just appreciate our gifts.
Thanks youtube.

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006)

The Amistad Rebellion

The Amistad Case

Background

In February of 1839, Portuguese slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. This abduction violated all of the treaties then in existence. Fifty-three Africans were purchased by two Spanish planters and put aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad for shipment to a Caribbean plantation. On July 1, 1839, the Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. On August 24, 1839, the Amistad was seized off Long Island, NY, by the U.S. brig Washington. The planters were freed and the Africans were imprisoned in New Haven, CT, on charges of murder. Although the murder charges were dismissed, the Africans continued to be held in confinement as the focus of the case turned to salvage claims and property rights. President Van Buren was in favor of extraditing the Africans to Cuba. However, abolitionists in the North opposed extradition and raised money to defend the Africans. Claims to the Africans by the planters, the government of Spain, and the captain of the brig led the case to trial in the Federal District Court in Connecticut. The court ruled that the case fell within Federal jurisdiction and that the claims to the Africans as property were not legitimate because they were illegally held as slaves. The case went to the Supreme Court in January 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams argued the defendants' case. Adams defended the right of the accused to fight to regain their freedom. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Africans, and 35 of them were returned to their homeland. The others died at sea or in prison while awaiting trial.

Libel of Lieutenant Thomas R. Gedney

The Washington was the brig that seized the Amistad off the coast of Long Island. Its commander was Lt. Thomas R. Gedney. In his libel, or written statement, to Judge Andrew T. Judson of the district court, he described the encounter with the Amistad. Because he sought salvage of the schooner and its cargo, he was very detailed in his account and itemized all of its cargo, estimating its value at $40,000 and the value of the Africans as slaves at $25,000. In maritime law, compensation is allowed to persons whose assistance saves a ship or its cargo from impending loss. The libelants claimed that with great difficulty and danger to themselves they recaptured the Amistad from the Africans. They claimed that had they not seized the vessel, it would have been a total loss to its "rightful" owners. Therefore, Gedney and his crew believed they were entitled to salvage rights. At that time in U.S. history, even individuals acting in their official capacity as officials of the government were entitled to salvage rights.

In addition, Gedney relayed that the Africans could speak only native African tongues and that one of the two Spaniards, Jose Ruiz, spoke English. Gedney included in his libel the account of the mutiny as told by Ruiz.

S. Staples, R. Baldwin, and T. Sedgewick, Proctors for the Amistad Africans

After the Amistad was seized, the schooner, its cargo, and all on board were taken to New London, CT. Had it not been for the actions of abolitionists in the United States, the issues related to the Amistad might have ended quietly in an admiralty court. But they used the incident as a way to expose the evils of slavery and generate significant opposition to the practice. Abolitionists asked Roger S. Baldwin, a lawyer from New Haven, and two New York attorneys, Seth Staples and Theodore Sedgewick, to serve as proctors for, or represent, the Africans. The answer to the libels of Lt. Gedney, et. al. and Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz that the proctors submitted to the district court conveyed the position of the Africans.

John Quincy Adams' request for papers relating to the lower court trials of the Amistad Africans

After the Federal District Court ruled in favor of the Africans, the U.S. District Attorney filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. In the trial before the Supreme Court, the Africans were represented by John Quincy Adams, a former U.S. President and descendant of American revolutionaries. Preparing for his appearance before the Court, Adams requested papers from the lower courts one month before the proceedings opened. For 8 ½ hours, the 73-year-old Adams passionately and eloquently defended the Africans' right to freedom on both legal and moral grounds, referring to treaties prohibiting the slave trade and to the Declaration of Independence.

Opinion of the Supreme Court in United States v. The Amistad

Senior Justice Joseph Story wrote and read the decision of the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the Africans on board the Amistad were free individuals. Kidnapped and transported illegally, they had never been slaves.
Although Justice Story had written earlier that ". . . it was the ultimate right of all human beings in extreme cases to resist oppression, and to apply force against ruinous injustice," the opinion in this case more narrowly asserted the Africans right to resist "unlawful" slavery.
The Court ordered the immediate release of the Amistad Africans.

Statement of the Supreme Court to Circuit Court

Following its decision, the Supreme Court submitted this statement to the lower court where the case originated. The statement indicated that the decision of the circuit court was in part upheld and in part reversed. The part that was upheld related to the freedom of the Africans. The part that was reversed related to Judge Andrew T. Judson's application of the Congressional Act of March 3, 1819. Judson's decision authorized the President to return the Africans to Africa. Ultimately, the abolitionists arranged for their return in early 1842.

Sengebe Pieh aka Joseph Cinque

Leader of the Revolt

The caption under the graphic reads;

JOSEPH CINQUEZ

The brave Congolese Chief, who prefers death to slavery, and who now lies in irons at New Haven, Conn awaiting his trial for daring for freedom

Speech to his comrade slaves after murdering Captain &C and getting possession of the vessel and cargo.

"Brothers we have done that which we purposed, our hands are now clean for we have striven to regain our precious heritage we received from out fathers.

We have only to perservere. Where the sun rises there is our home, our brothers, our fathers. Do not seek to defeat my orders, if so I would sacrifice any one who would endanger the rest. Whhen at home we will kill the old man, the young one shall be saved he is kind and gave you bread, we must not kill those who give us water.

Brothers I am resolved that it is better to die than to be a white man's slave and I will not complain if by dying I save you. Let us be careful what we eat that we may not be sick. The deed is done and I need say no more."

This youtube video was inspired by the Amistad Case,

props to BLACK NATURE

Professor James Small on Post Slavery Trauma Syndrome

Professor James Small was born in 1945, on Arcadia plantation, located on the banks of the Waccamaw River. This Lowland rice plantation is located where the Waccamaw, Peedee, and Black Rivers converge to meet the Atlantic Ocean, on the shores of historic Georgetown, South Carolina. Prof. Small was born to a family that traces their descent from enslaved Africans, to the Yoruba, Akan, and Ewe people of West Africa. Prof. Small's heritage also stems from the Native American ancestors that inhabited these South Carolinian shores. Both his maternal great-grandmother and his paternal great-grandmother were members of the Chicora Nation, and made their home along the mighty Waccamaw River.

Prof. Small graduated from the all Black Howard High School in Georgetown, South Carolina in 1964. He then served in the U.S. Navy for two years during the Vietnam era. Upon his release from military service, Prof. Small moved to New York City where he joined the organization of Afro-American Unity founded by the legendary Malcolm X. In 1967, Prof. Small became Imam (minister) of the Muslim Mosque Incorporated, also founded by Malcolm X. In 1975 Prof. Small traveled to the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to make his holy pilgrimage, the Hajjah. For eleven years Prof. Small served as principal bodyguard to the late Ella L. Collins, the sister of Malcolm X, the then President of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (O.A.A.U.)

Between the years of 1966 and 1980, Prof. Small held membership in the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (S.N.C.C.), the N.A.A.C.P, Uhuru fighters and O.A.A.U. During this period Prof. Small had the opportunity to interact with such historical giants as Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Kwame Ture, H. Rap Brown of S.N.C.C, Eldridge Cleaver, Zaid Shakur, and Lumumba Shakur of the Black Panther Party (B.P.P.) in which he served as a liaison between the B.P.P. and the O.A.A.U. Prof. Small has been a member of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization (A.S.C.A.C.) for 14 years. He served as President of A.S.C.A.C. Eastern Region for two years, where he worked and studied with Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef A. A. Ben Jochannan, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Wade Nobles, Dr. Amos Wilson and Dr. Francis Cress Welsing, just to name a few.

read more

POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 1 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 2 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 3 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 4 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 5 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 6 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 7 JAMES SMALLS




POST SLAVERY TRAUMA SYNDROME PT 8 JAMES SMALLS

Marion Wright Edelman Started the Childrens Defense Fund in the early 1970's

and she's been going strong ever since.

I didn't know anything at all about this dynamic woman until I saw a mention
about Malaak Compton-Rock and her trip to South Africa with the Bushwick Kids.

The Bushwick Kids Malaak Compton-Rock



Well this video really made me want to know more about
Malaak Compton-Rock was doing. So I dug around and found ;

Angel Rock Project and African Ancestry Help Teens Find Roots



One thing led to another and I found this:

Malaak Compton-Rock Children's Defense Fund



So this is where she got her inspiration?
I really wanted to know more about Marion Wright Edelman.
So I googled and searched youtube and guess what?
There is no end to the data on Edelman or the CDF
I see right away that President Obama made the wrong call
for the Health and welfare cabinet position.

Then again ms Edelman appears
to be working too well to be in government.

Introduction to the Children's Defense Fund




CDF Freedom Schools® Program Introductory Video




CDF President Marian Wright Edelman Health Care Reform Testimony



At this point, I'd say if you want to be on a winning team,
look up ms Marion Wright Edelman ASAP.

Peace out.

Response to AFRICAN AMERICAN BLOGSPHERE; GAINING STATURE IN THE WORLD OF NEWS.

Response to - AFRICAN AMERICAN BLOGSPHERE; GAINING STATURE IN THE WORLD OF NEWS.
on The World Of Ensayn Reality Blog

"How to drive more of the Black collective to the internet and the Black blogsphere?"

My feeling is with you, I never stop thinking about ways to reach the Black masses. One important way to get answers is to broaden the question. So we can add ----How to deliver the contents of the internet and the Black Blogosphere to the Black coillective?---- to the original question.

I think we shouldn't forget that while we have been many moons in America, we are still more of a verbal culture than a written one. Griots have always been an important factor in African communication, history and genealogy many generations of information was passed on unbroken by this means. Up until the point where many of us, in the diaspora, were hijacked and thus pulled completely out of the loop, this means of communication was working for us.

Even then, after several centuries our young folks are coming full circle with Rap.
A rapper may be compared to a griot telling stories of the things that folks in the village want to know about. It is another spoken word means of communication which has proved to be very effective. So much, that millions have been spent in America to divert and circumvent the original form, in an attempt to subvert the output and once again minstralize our image while at the same time raking in tons of money.

Rap reaches so many people around the world, that it truly is a force to be reconed with. People of all cultures find it appealing but especially those of the African Diaspora . Outside the US I have seen quite a few progressive presentations and productions being utilized by young people to express their impression of how they perceive and are determined to respond to their sociopolitical environment.

African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal

We have to work together to inform our people that Black folks around the world are ready,
even sometimes a personal risk to speak out for the cause of liberty and justice.
While we may appear to be separated, we are not alone.

Cuban hip hop group protests racism and injustice

Brazil Official Estilo Hip Hop Trailer

Closer to home People like DaveyD, Professor Jared BAll, Rosa Clemente, Sista Souljah and other Media Activists are working to bring us together. Black bloggers have to get on board and back these brothers and sisters up.

Media Activist Davey D on media consolidation ncmr 2005

http://www.voxunion.com/
VoxUnion.com is a fantastic site that IMO all Black bloggers would benefit plugging into.
My favorite feature on this site is the Freemix Radio concept, that suggests we all create mixtapes
of music, news, current events and such and listen then pass them on and if we have the resources create more add to it and pass that along too. I could see this model working for e-mail newsletters as well.

There are others also out there working and we all have to somehow communicate with one another in order to
consolidate and or coordinate at least some of our efforts in order to take advantage of the fact that right now we have potential access to millions of people. In the last ten years I have seen a number of excellent productions come and fall by the wayside because of lack of support and the people producing them just couldn't maintain their level of output while working alone.

Blogging, youtube, podcasting, skype and more resources are available, in various combinations for those of us who will challenge our imaginations. Never before and (when this window closes) possibly never again, will we have such a fantastic opportunity. We have to talk about it, we have to learn real fast how to combine efforts for maximum use of input.

And yes, I think we have to do everything we can to drag the collective, (even if kicking and screaming) right along with us.

I'll close with this message from
Davey D at the NCMR 2007

Black Women's History Month

I haven't presented anything for Women's History Month but I came across a story of some contemporary young Black Women that should prove to be an inspiration to all of us, Whatever our sex or color.

I found this great presentation on youtube called;
So what if I an a Black Woman performed by Arbeny Davis

After watching this superb performance by this beautiful little girl,
I googled her name to see what else she may have done and I discovered some very interesting info.

First I found an article

I wonder what this little girl is doing now...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007

which included a comment by the little girl herself.

Hey Nesha thanks for showing me love on your website. In case you dont know my name is Arbeny Davis, and I am the little girl; well no longer a little girl.LOL!!! I attend the University of Memphis now, I am majoring in Dance, my goal is to own my own dance studio. Thats just a little info about what Im doing now. I love what you are doing and good luck with everything. Much Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Further research showed that not only is Arbeny talented, intelligent and ambitious, she is also a very brave young woman.
The company she keeps is no less courageous.

Here's what lead me to that conclusion---

Best Friend Saves Life
by Donating Kidney
Lifelong Friends Recovering After
Transplant
Last Edited: Wednesday, 17 Dec 2008, 4:09 PM CST
Created On: Wednesday, 17 Dec 2008, 4:09 PM CST

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WHBQ FOX13 -

Both girls are in as high of spirits as one can be a day after a major operation, but they were willing to let our cameras into their hospital rooms long enough to share a heartfelt story of giving.

Lying in her hospital bed, Arbeny Davis calls this "the best Christmas I've ever had."

It's a tearful thank you for a grateful 19 year old girl born with a diseased kidney.

Davis says "I don't know what I could do for her that she's done for me."

With tubes delivering oxygen to her pained body, Arbeny Davis is recovering on the 10th floor of Methodist Hospital.

Lying in her hospital bed, Arbeny Davis calls this "the best Christmas I've ever had."

It's a tearful thank you for a grateful 19 year old girl born with a diseased kidney.

Davis says "I don't know what I could do for her that she's done for me."

With tubes delivering oxygen to her pained body, Arbeny Davis is recovering on the 10th floor of Methodist Hospital.

She is fighting abdominal aches from the surgical incisions that saved her life. None of it would have been possible without the courage of her best friend, Kenesha Reed.

Reed murmurs "It makes me feel really good that God used me to save her life."

For two girls who have never really been apart since meeting in grade school, the kidney transplant bonds them for life.

Arbeny says of Kenesha, "She means the world to me."

When no one in Arbeny's family was a match, her best friend got tested shortly after her 18th birthday. Kanesha says the decision was easy.

"Because I love her and the Bible says there is no greater love than a man who will lay down their life for a friend, and I love her, so I'll give it to her, I'll do it all over."

Young siblings recognize Kenesha's bravery in words expressed as poetry. But the selfless teen doesn't want any acknowledgment. She hopes the noble effort inspires more giving this holiday season.

"I hope people learn to step outside of themselves and be willing to give, be willing to share with other people, and stop being so selfish."

I'm proud to say that these young women are our future. Their lives, like those of many of their peers, are history in the making and we owe it to ourselves and them to ensure that they receive our continued acknowledgment and support by any means necessary, as
Malcolm X would say.

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a racially motivated terrorist attack on September 15, 1963, by members of a Ku Klux Klan group in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. The bombing of the African-American church resulted in the deaths of four girls. Although city leaders had reached a settlement in May with demonstrators and started to integrate public places, not everyone agreed with ending segregation. Other acts of violence followed the settlement. The bombing increased support for people working for civil rights. It marked a turning point in the U.S. civil-rights movement of the mid-twentieth century and contributed to support for passage of civil rights legislation in 1964.
-from wikipedia

MLK Speaks out against the Viet Nam War

Martin Luther King

Speaks out against the Viet Nam War


Justice is indivisible
Injustice anywhere is a
Threat to Justice Everywhere

                                          -MLK

Many believe that Dr. King was murdered

because of his anti-war stance.

Black History Month 2009

Guerilla Funk Recordings

Guerilla Funk Recordings- positive/conscious hip hop and more.

About Guerrilla Funk

Guerrilla Funk Recordings was born out of necessity. It's a musical organization that was founded by Paris - the politically conscious artist best known for the incendiary song "Bush Killa" - that counters the corporate stranglehold of censorship currently plaguing the entertainment industry. It provides balance in this intolerant climate of suppression of free speech and artistic expression, and serves as a vehicle for those who are unable - not because of lack of talent or relevance - to be heard. There now exists a harmful double-standard at most record labels of endorsing artists who only espouse misogyny, mindless violence, and drug culture references in their music -- while at the same time ignoring artists who strive to enlighten and inspire. It is our pledge at Guerrilla Funk Recordings not to follow suit.

What can I say? It's informative, it's entertaining and

 it's there for you. Go check out all of the material and

visit regularly because it's not static they stay up to date.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. - "A Revolution of Values"

"Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere"

The prophetic words of Dr. Martin Luther King.

still ring true -Let's review this not so famous speech.

"I'm Sorry Sir You Don't Know Me"

Now is the time to make that change happen.

We the people all want it.

Oscar Grant -Robbie Tolan -Adolph (Chris) Grimes

Oscar Grant -Robbie Tolan -Adolph (Chris) Grimes

 

Young Black American Men Gunned down by Police 

In The first Week of  2009.

Is there anything we can do about it.

Yes We Can.

We can work together.

We can put our money to better use from now on.

We can create jobs in our own communities.

We can educate our  youth of their true history.

We can build and or rebuild our community infrastructure.

We can support those who are already working

in our communities for our benefit.

We can continue to take an active part in local

and state politics.

We can teach our youth to respect and defend the community

rather than kill each other.

We can do anything we decide to do and we don't have

to wait for anyone to do it for us.

Sista Soulja has been addressing the problem for quite some time now.

She makes it very clear in the following piece.

If you listen carefully I believe you will hear her say,

YES WE CAN!

sista soulja speaks

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

I discovered this while surfing Youtube.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe-Strange Things Happening Everyday... Recorded in 1944, this song has been considered by some the first rock and roll song, you be the judge

  It never ceases to amaze me just how far the internet has come

since I first started using it in the late 80s.  

 

 I was unaware of Sister Rosetta Tharpe until this morning and

I've been around for quite a while. I thought I'd share this with

the rest of you. I just have a quick wikipedia reference here but feel 

free to do your own research and add to this.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was a pioneering Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock accompaniment. She became the first great recording star of Gospel music in the late 1930s and also became known as the "original soul sister" of recorded music.

Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her inspirational music of 'light' in the 'darkness' of the nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, her witty, idiosyncratic style also left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists, such as Ira Tucker, Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the world of pop music, she never left gospel music.

Birth name Rosetta Nubin
Born March 20, 1915
Origin Cotton Plant, Arkansas
Died October 9, 1973 (aged 58)

naturalnana on YouTube

To quote a Mulberry, a regular BWP forum contributer. (Black Web Portal)

"I began to look at the alternatives to healthy hair and came across a video and I think it will resonate with many NubianSisters that we need to stop putting all these chemicals on our hair/skin and be natural and one will see that our locks will be much thicker and healthier and our skin will also."

It's true gals, you are oh so beautiful. 

Remembering Katrina (Common Ground)

WelcometoNOLA is a documentary about the heroic action of a few 

Americans in response to the needs created by Katrina. Working 

under the auspices of a group called Common Ground Collective they 

served tens of thousands of people in and around New Orleans.

“I know everyone in here has a horror story about Katrina,

 but now its time for rebuilding,” 

Malik Rahim, a founding member of Common Ground, ...

The following video is one, of a documentary series of 

12- WelcometoNOLA-videos

Welcome to New Orleans 7 of 12 - Vigilantes & Complications

Some of this material is quite shocking so be for-warned.

Click here to see the complete WelcometoNOLA series.