Today, it is the birthday of the late great Sister Florence Griffith Joyner. She is also known as Flo-Jo. She is the fastest woman of all time and many of her records still exist to this very day. She was a woman who was a legend. Her elegant stride in the track, her fashion style, and her charismatic personality were readily known by a wide spectrum of human beings. She was born in Los Angeles, California. We know that many track and field greats were born from Southern California as we always love the great people of the West Coast. She was born in 1959. Her father inspired her to run. She set school records while she ran track in Jordan High School in LA. Griffith attended the California State University at Northridge, and she was on the track team coached by Bob Kersee. She won silver medals in the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics. In the Summer Olympics of Seoul, South Korea, she won multiple gold medals. In the 100-meter final, she ran a 10.54, beating her nearest rival Evelyn Ashford by 0.30 seconds. In the 200 meter semifinal, she set the world record of 21.56 seconds and then she broke this record again in winning in the final by 0.38 seconds with her time of 21.34 seconds. No other woman has beaten the 21.56, much less approached the 21.34. At the same Olympics, Griffith Joyner also ran with the 4 × 100 m relay and the 4 × 400 m relay teams. Her team won first place in the 4 × 100 m relay and second place in the 4 × 400 m relay. Their time is still the second fastest in history, following the winner of this race. Flo Jo is known for her gorgeous nails too. She retired from track and field in 1989. She continued to work in fashion, was in a TV show, and continued to raise her family. She married and has a child with her husband (Al Joyner). She passed away in September 21, 1998. Tons of track and field athletes and athletes in general are inspired by her legacy. Also, people not involved in athletes honor her memory too by advancing excellence, helping our neighbors, and loving truth. Her legacy is eternal.
Resist in Power Sister Florence Griffith Joyner.
These types of discussions have existed in our communities for years and decades. Either, we believe in human rights for black people in total or we don't. It's as simple as that. As for me, I believe that black people (regardless of his or her background) are entitled to human rights. Black people have the right to live, to have health care, to have equality regardless of his or her background. There is no question that the media has shown negative stereotypes against black men and black women for a long time. Birth of a Nation, many movies, and many magazines readily degrade black people. I don't agree with any nefarious degradation of any black person. We know that black men and black women were raped, assaulted, and abused by white racist terrorists. This has to do with the evil of white racism. The deal is that many people talk about emasculation as a way to promote the myth that patriarchal supremacism is the essence of true black manhood, but black masculinity is not monolithic. There are many Hoteps who not only believe in a narrow interpretation of toxic masculinity, but they are advocates of misogynoir, which is evil. I'm not lying about this either, because I have looked at their websites desiring this. This is real. There are black men who are not just athletes and boxers. There are black painters, black sculptors, black teachers, black opera singers, black performing artists, etc. who are men. These men are not less of a man than a black boxer or a black football player. So, instead of believing in a monolithic view of the characteristics of what a real black man is, we should recognize the diversity of black manhood. I think that TI (who supported Iggy's bad agenda, which is wrong) should recognize that diversity. Black men and Black women shouldn't be degraded in an evil way period. Likewise, we should reject bigotry and we reject the lie that any black person who doesn't have a nuclear family or who doesn't act in a monolithic way is somehow inferior or part of some agenda to end the black population. We want black liberation at the end of the day. To make that a reality, we have to promote community development, resources to help people with HIV/AIDS, fight poverty, eradicate misogyny, grow our economics into the next level, promote STEM fields, and allow outlets for black people (with eclectic tastes or interests) to flourish. We are both diverse in our lives and we are unified in our history plus our heritage. We need to respect our differences and promote pan-African unity simultaneously.
The deplorable individuals (who voted for Trump) didn't care about social justice or racial justice. They cared about seeking to elect a person who is a documented misogynist, racist, and xenophobe. They have unconditional support for a demagogue and they lacked the true convictions to resist reactionary agendas. Therefore, they will live with that vote for the rest of their lives. Trump is the total confirmation of what we have been mentioning for years. Trump represents all of the things that are antithetical to democracy and black liberation. Many of his proposed cabinet members seek to privatize Medicare, one person seek to enact more militarism in the Middle East, and Trump doesn't care. The GOP supported voter ID laws not to advance the spreading of voting rights. They enacted such laws (that includes decreasing the times when individuals can vote and restricting the types of IDs that people can use to vote) to restrict the opportunities of those, who oppose their views, from voting. Putin and Trump are right wing nationalists. They are what they are. Also, it is important to acknowledge how the CIA have done corruption in foreign nations for decades. The date of November 8, 2016 is a date that shall live in infamy as millions of people voted for the bigot Donald Trump. International ramifications will exist as a product of this election too. Trump lacks massive foreign policy experience and many of his advisors are outright war hawks. We live in dangerous times and we have to have vigilance too to oppose Trump's evil aims.
First, it is always important to reiterate the accurate point that beauty is diverse. Beauty is found in a myriad of different hues, sizes, hairstyles, etc. Therefore, Danielle Brooks expressed clearly a legitimate point about the hypocrisy in ANTM. There is a plus sized judge, but they refuse to massively show plus size models. There are tons of gorgeous, intelligent, and very qualified plus sized models in the world. Hypocrisy is very much common place in American society and throughout the world. Many people unfortunately believe in the erroneous notion that human value is determined by weight or size. That is why tons of other people reject that bigoted lie. I'm differently glad that Danielle Brooks is a powerful voice to speak out about these issues. We want change and many young people of this generation desire progressive respect in our society. Danielle Brooks is completely right in her cogent assessment of the situation. Not to mention that it is evidently true that self determination is important. Our people have every right to create our own spaces where black people are honored and respected too.
Also, we know that everything in the world is not peaches and cream. A Russian Ambassador was assassinated in Turkey. The murderer was once a cop for Ankara. There has been an attack in Berlin. A mosque was attacked in Switzerland. Therefore, this situation is complex. This is a crisis in the world that deals with not only extremism. It deals with the spread of Islamophobia, the refugee crisis, and the lack of empathy among some for the plight of others in the world. If we want to get this thing right, then we need discussions, cooperation, and other progressive policies. Next year will include many anniversaries. One is the 50 year anniversary of the historic Riverside speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In that speech, Dr. King heroically opposed the Vietnam War with wit, logic, and eloquent arguments. He accurately stated that the war is a civil war and only a peaceful negotiated settlement could end the war. He opposed the war as unjust, brutal, and stripping away resources that could be used to build up American society. He also believed in international cooperation to combat poverty, racism, militarism, and other injustices. That speech in 1967 was ahead of its time and it was a great one.
By Timothy
No comments:
Post a Comment