Remembering Prince

We all mourn the passing of Prince. Prince was more than a musician. He was part of a movement that wanted to allow human beings to express themselves creatively. He showed the world that regardless of your sex, race, or background, being different and expressing yourself in diverse ways is always sacrosanct. He was in many movies, but he loved to perform. From his Super bowl performance to doing concerts in various towns, he loved to give people an amazing show. Her personified excellence in his work ethic and his song writing. He was a producer and an innovator of culture. He shocked people, inspired people, and made a lasting impact on world culture. He showed the Earth that masculinity is not monolithic and that femininity is beautiful too. Purple Rain set trends and is highly popular to this day. He was a humanitarian too. He supported the Black Lives Matter movement and made a concert for Freddie Gray in the great city of Baltimore. R&B, soul, rock, and other genres of music were expressed by him. He also promoted coding for black youth. Coding involved using computer technology and technology in general to help humanity in positive ways. He also talked about the recession and exposed how big banks on Wall Street received a bailout while everyone else has to wait. Back during the 1980’s, he wanted Ronald Reagan to have diplomacy instead of strident warfare with the USSR. He promoted artist creativity and artists owning their works. That is why he fought against Warner Brothers in order for him to have control over his own work. He was a controversial artist who reveled in his controversial actions. Many artists are passing away during this year alone. He was ahead of time. Before many artists, there was Prince. He proved the point that you can be creative and unique and still help your fellow human being. Music is meant not only to be enjoyed. Some music is just meant to challenge conventional ideals and to inspire change. Prince did those things when he was alive. You don't have to confirm to the whims of the corporate establishment. You can use your power to own your own music. Certainly, his music will live on forever.

RIP Prince.

Also, a great artist always respects the legends. One of the greatest things that a person (who is a musician) can do is to honor the legends that paved the way for that person to perform. We certainly desire a true renaissance where people use diverse instruments to get their points across and real music is shown from a place of honesty and love (in a higher level). Without love, a'int no real music will transpire and flourish. Many people don't listen to the radio anymore. Many of the young people with great talent today are either rare, not exposed to the wider public, or more in the underground. You always will have amazing people like Janelle Monae, Jasmine Sullivan, Monica, and others in any generation, but we want the youth to be inspired. That is what we want. We want the youth to see that they should never fear creativity. They should embrace it. The handwriting is on the wall and we send condolences to Prince's family and friends. A lot of music today is homogenized and watered down. Young folks have to be taught to take time to create music and find that deep inner parts of their lives and express themselves about how they really feel. Instant gratification doesn't inspire true, inspirational creativity. Real creativity comes from the soul and from our experiences. That is why the industry has been so bad recently in wanting a quick fix instead of inspiring independently thinking artists more opportunities to express themselves. Purple Rain came out months after I was born. So, I saw the film during the 1990's. He certainly entertained taboos, but he always wanted to be his own individual. People respect his genius and the fact that he wasn't ashamed to express himself. Back in the 1980's, a man had to have guts straight up to do what he did lyrically and music wise. Prince definitely expressed genius immensely. That is why I believe in the public funding of music in our schools. His memory will never be forgotten. Yet, some young folks do have a problem with not taking the time to create genius in terms of music of songs. Sometimes, genius is created by study, by trial and error, and by effort. Other times, genius is just natural. Young folks have to learn about sacrifice and life is not about selfishness. It is about selflessness.

The political race is very contentious now in 2016. There are certainly 2 bourgeois political parties in America. We see Wall Street interests and corporate leaders influencing the Democrats and the Republicans. We have an overtly racist, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump dominating the Republican primaries. The candidate Bernie Sanders is now struggling against Hillary Clinton for delegates. Sanders’ plan of Medicare for all, free tuition for universities, and a $15 an hour minimum wage has appealed to the youth and workers. He is redbaited, but he isn’t a socialist. Sanders has unfortunately supported bloody wars, occupations, and other actions of U.S. imperialists. He once voted for the extradition of Assata Shakur from Cuba to America, which is wrong. Bernie Sanders is a New Dealer. Hillary Clinton (who is a Democrat, which was the one time party of the Confederacy and Jim Crow) is winning many votes in the midst of the fascists supporting the Republican Party. Hillary Clinton is notorious for her advocacy of imperialism and allying with the corporate power structure. The Republican candidates make no bones about their sexism, their anti-immigrant racism, and their Islamophobia. Economic nationalism is popular in America, but workers are not just exploited in America, but workers internationally need liberation too. Demonstrators protesting Trump’s rallies have been assaulted and black protesters subjected to cries of “go back to Africa.” The KKK and other fascist groups are crawling out of their holes, with former Klan grand wizard David Duke declaring, “Voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage.” So, we know about Trump, Cruz, and Kasich’s extremism. I oppose the agenda of Donald Trump and Donald Trump is just plain wrong. I’m glad that some people are being indicted (for involvement in the Flint, Michigan water crisis). I can’t imagine anyone not being indicted when so many men, women, and children have suffered so much as a product of the poisoning of the waters of Flint, Michigan. Lead is a notorious neurotoxin and many children have permanent brain damage as a product of being poisoned. Multiple levels of government are responsible for this tragedy. Capitalist greed and capitalist exploitation are personified in this Flint tragedy. More criminals should be indicted as well and the Governor of Michigan should resign. Not only did the MDEQ drop the ball, but the current Governor has dropped the ball too. He can drink water in Flint (in an exploitative publicity stunt), but he needs to be held accountable for his actions. Emergency aid from the federal government should definitely be sent into Flint as the residents of Flint are experiencing a serious emergency. Also, the emergency manager system must end in the state of Michigan. Water is a human right.



World Trade Center 7 is a building in lower Manhattan. The original WTC & was completed in 1987 (with 47 stories tall with an red exterior masonry and it occupied a trapezoidal footprint). In 1988, Salomon Brothers signed a long-term lease, and became the main tenants of the building.  It was destroyed by the evil September 11 attacks. During 9/11, WTC 7 was damaged by debris when the nearby North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. The debris also ignired fired. The current recreated World Trade Center Number Seven was opened in 2006. Both buildings were developed by Larry Silverstein, who holds a ground lease for the site from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  The new 7 World Trade Center has 52 stoires and is 741 feet tall. It has 42 floors of leasable space, starting at the 11th floor, and a total of 1,700,000 sq ft (160,000 m2) of office space. It has stainless steel design in it too. Some call the building as the safest skyscraper in America. It has Otis destination elevators. World Trade Center collapsed on the time of 5:20:33 pm. EST. The World Trade Center 7 is part of the World Trade Center complex. There has been a huge debate about whether explosives or not were used in WTC 7. First, more facts must be shown here. World Trade Center Seven wasn’t hit by an airplane, it was largely undamaged for a time, it had its fireproofing intact for a time, and it collapsed from the bottom instead from the top. Structural engineer Tony Szamboti is part of the engineers affiliated with the Architects & Engineers for 9/11. He said that the NIST report has flaws. The NIST believed that the WTC 7 fell by fire alone. The final Report of the NIST avoided physical testing, but use computer models heavily. Even the NIST had to admit that the diesel fuel was not responsible for the collapse as the official story of 9/11 claimed. The NIST ignored the many points of evidence of molten steel at the building’s base and the steel sulfidation as documented by FEMA. This debate has continued to this very day. The Madrid tower partially collapsed; the hotel in Beijing remained fully intact. The fact that Building 7 collapsed in seconds, symmetrically, and with only a fraction of the fire that the Madrid (in 2005) and Beijing (in 2009) towers experienced. The NIST believes that WTC 7 fell by fire and debris.


First, we should take time to revere and honor the sacrifice of Harriet Tubman. She saved lives, stood up against tyranny and promoted justice for our people. America was created in the midst of hypocrisy and contradictions. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were slave owners and racists. For a long time, many groups wanted Harriet Tubman to be on the 20 dollar bill. I read where she won’t be on the 20 dollar bill until years later. Today, some want to use this news as a means to promote the myth that we have progress. We should be focused on eliminating racism and economic oppression. Harriet Tubman being on the 20 dollar bill is better than having Andrew Jackson on it, but we shouldn’t celebrate token gestures when we still have a corrupt system oppressing our people. This system continues to harm our black people, so we don’t have a total victory until the system of white supremacy is gone being replaced with a system of justice. Ben Carson have made it his duty to submit to the interests of the GOP (which have a long history of promoting the War on Drugs, austerity, race-baiting, etc. Both parties of the Democrats and the Republicans have done nefarious actions). For him to praise Andrew Jackson makes me very aware of why I disagree with him. Carson supports Trump, who is the same male (not man since Trump is not a real man) who disrespects him during that campaign. So, I am not surprised at his statements. Ben Carson praising a racist slave owner like Andrew Jackson makes Ben Carson a sellout. Also, I find it interesting that he wants Harriet Tubman to be on a 2 dollar bill rather than a 20. Regardless if one agrees with Tubman on a bill or not, that statement shows a slick way of him in making Jackson above Tubman (in significance), which isn’t the case at all. Andrew Jackson was a white supremacist who owned slaves, oppressed Native Americans, and appointed the racist Chief Taney to the Supreme Court. Taney supported the evil Dred Scott decision. Andrew Jackson used pet banks, which contributed to the Panic of 1837 when the nation experienced a massive recession. So, our eyes are open about these issues. We always praise the hero Harriet Tubman for her strength, her sacrifice, and for her courage as a great black woman.

By Timothy