Late January 2016 News

Throughout human history, we have always enacted solutions that represent service and helping others selflessly. Marley wants books to be read that reflect her humanity (with her #1000 BlackGirlsBooks campaign). She is participating in a great endeavor that not only promotes literacy. It also shows the great character, humbleness, and strength of black girls. The lives of black girls matter and we advocate an intransigence in terms of embracing our core convictions. She is very young and she has helped people in America and internationally. Her spirit is amazing and she will do even more positive accomplishments, which will enrich her community and improve our land. Bless Sister Marley and her family. The far right's slander of the Black Lives Matter movement today is very similar to the far right's slander of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in general. The truth is the BLM has repudiated racism, poverty, xenophobia, and all injustices. Capitalism is not infallible and the should be a radical redistribution of economic and political power if the human race is to be liberated. The truth is that black people have always told the truth that the world's poor exist in every color. It is just that we, who are black people (I am a black human being) will also expose how the system of racism must be exposed not just the injurious, evil system of economic exploitation. There must be an end to racial oppression and economic injustice too. The suffering of the poor and the homeless must be acknowledged and solutions must develop to fix problems related to poverty. People must not only have living wages. People also need to have jobs without discrimination. The same talking points used by white racists then are still being used today. We are inspired to oppose the crippling evil of police brutality. We want affordable housing for humanity and we believe that health care in a human right (not a privilege sent to the few). We believe in improving the environment and we will never back down. Black people have made great contributions in the human rights movement. Black is Beautiful. We will stand up and speak up for social justice.


Donald Trump is the total representation of bigotry in our generation. He is not only a racist. He is also a fascist, a sexist, and he wants the evil policy of banning any Muslim from traveling into America. He refuses to increase the minimum wage by even one cent. He wants to abolish the estate tax. He has insulted the disabled, immigrants, and his personal security detail has routinely beat up black, Latino, Muslim, and other protesters at his election rallies. Many of his supporters are overt white supremacists. The billionaire Donald Trump is not a populist. He’s a demagogue who has exploited many Americans’ fears as an excuse for him to express his vitriolic hate. Also, the hate from Trump is not some anomaly or an anachronism. This hate is very common among many people in American society. We know how the extremists have used coded language like “states’ rights,” “tough on crime,” and “big government” in trying to fight against the liberation movements of black people, the poor, women, other people of color, and other human beings. When Trump slandered the Central Park Five, then that shows his callous attitude towards innocent people. The truth is that the promotion the great concept of equal justice for all is our great strength.
Yes, I signed the petition too.
I will never be silent.

Imperial Dreams is a movie with a powerful trailer. The film is based on a true story and many of us know one person who had similar experiences as depicted in the movie. I like urban films (which are inspirational and teaches a valuable lesson on life) just like I like documentaries. The imagery of the movie is powerful and the emotion of the trailer is strong. So, the movie does look interesting. Not all of our stories will be peaches and cream. We, as black people, do deal with drama. Many of us may not have dealt with the drama in the scale as shown in Imperial Dreams, but life hasn't been a total crystal stair for us. Also, another point is to be made. I will go there. We must always show empathy and sympathy for the plight of the black poor and working class in the ghetto. The ghetto is a domestic colony, which was created by the powers that be to exploit the poor and confine their power (while the establishment subsequently uses economic policies that oppress the citizens of the ghetto). We know that the prison industrial complex, police brutality, lax job opportunities, etc. have harmed the lives of many black men and black women. That is why it is very important to not only condemn unjust violence in communities, but to condemn the violence perpetrated by crooked cops, by imperialists, and to condemn the violence of poverty. The neglect of helping our poorer Brothers and Sisters is a testament to the selfishness, the shamefulness, and the callous attitude of many people. I am in full support of a higher minimum wage, of increased development of quality, affordable housing for the poor, and for the expansion of health care so all Americans can have universal health care. We want to end the War on Drugs and alternatives to come about, so human rights are maintained and those who have addiction problems (who are non violent) receive adequate treatment. This fight for the egalitarian, beloved community is a righteous fight that we are waging. So, we want freedom to ring.



I remember this story when it came out. Many black people have been the victims of racial profiling in Barneys and in other places nationwide. Like usual, the guilty parties gave a settlement to the innocent victim in an attempt for Barneys and the NYPD to save face. Trayon Christian was blatantly violated of his human rights. He sued and he had every right and justification to sue. He deserves not only a settlement, but the people who, mistreated him, should be fired and face other forms of accountability. I wish the best for Trayon Christian. Also, there must be widespread solutions. There should be local, state, and federal laws to ban racial profiling explicitly and we have every right to defend our human dignity. No black person should experience being follow unjustly or falsely treated as a criminal inside of any store. There are plenty of stories where black people are treated in a heavily racist, biased fashion. We are tired of this and we desire real changes, so future generations won't have to deal with some of the things that we have dealt with.


It is always time to celebrate one of the greatest advocates of fitness and community development in our generation. Her name is Ernestine Shepherd. She is a competitor in the fitness world and she does other great things too. She was born in June 16, 1936. When she was very young, she had little interest in athletics and exercise of any kind. She was a model in Baltimore for years. Later, at age 56, she and her sister Mildred Blackwell started to take aerobics classes. Both started to compete in bodybuilding shows. One piece of sad news was that her sister passed away in 1992 as a product of a brain aneurysm. To this very day, Ernestine uses the memory of her precious sister as motivation for her to help her neighbors on health and exercising in general. She won bodybuilding titles and she ran many marathons. She has led classes of exercises for seniors at the Union Memorial United Methodist Church in Baltimore and she works as a personal trainer too. Her diet consists of 1,700 calories a day, mostly from boiled egg whites, chicken, vegetables and a liquid egg white drink, and she runs about 80 miles a week; she does not take supplements. During June of 2016, she will be 80 years old, but she looks much younger than 79 years old indeed. She loves her husband (who is named Collin. The couple has been married for over 50 years, which is a great blessing) and she is a very spiritual woman. She has inspired women from across backgrounds and age groups. She is a living example of perseverance, family solidarity, and hope for the future. She does running, lifting weights, and other forms of working out. Her motto is: “Determined, Dedicated, and Disciplined.” That advice is sacrosanct and has great value. She has used her faith and her commitment to fitness to help others and bless others.This is what life is all about. I wish the absolute best for her.

By Timothy