Life Lessons

That Trump regime is the opposite of true integrity. They lecture everyone else on morality and wholesomeness, but they have cabinet members who lie, spew vulgar words against fellow cabinet members, and just act out of control. One thing about Barack Obama is that he had the temperament, qualifications, and the intellectual strength to project his confidence to the people. Trump has no real confidence in himself or his cabinet, which is why he fired some members of his team and constantly obsesses with blaming the previous administration for his own failures. Trump is filled with bigotry and insecurities. Trump refuses to take personal responsibility and the government shouldn't be run like a business and that's shown by the scandals coming out now. People like Scaramucci (who is an example of white fragility and white intellectual mediocrity), Bannon, and others lack class and professionalism. I certainly thought that John McCain would vote for the "skinny" bill. When he didn't, I was surprised. The good news is that millions of insured people will have their health care. There are countless stories of suffering people who would have been dead if the ACA never existed. Therefore, the right of health care is a human right. The battle for universal health care is not over. More work ought to be done and the resistance is very passionate to believe in the creed that the general welfare shouldn't be restricted for the rich, the select few, or those in privilege. For decades, many people fought for national health care. Back during the 1960's, people fought and won health care services for the elderly (back then, Ronald Reagan even opposed the existence of Medicare). The ACA was passed in the year of 2010. Over seven years later, it still stands. The general welfare is meant for the masses of the people. Fundamentally, I don't desire replace and repeal. I desire improve and expand.


Issa Rae tweeted an important point. She made made the great point that July 31 is Black Woman's Equal Pay Day. Since the dawn of human history, black women have been scholars, leaders, writers, athletes, engineers, and other heroic human beings. Equal pay regardless of gender is not a reality here unfortunately. Therefore, it is always important to advance equal pay for equal work regardless of gender. Equality and justice are more than words. It's about a transformation of society whereby human beings have equal opportunities, treated with respect & dignity, and have the rights that are inborn. We all salute black women forever. Many elderly people have given great advice on living long periods of time. If someone wants to live a long time on this Earth, this advice is real:
(1) Never take things too serious. A positive attitude is a common denominator of tons of people who live a long period of time on Earth.
(2) Preoccupy your mind with reading, communicating with human beings, and growing social connections
(3) Be detailed as possible in your transactions plans, and everyday goings in our life.
(4) Exercise, healthy eating, regular medical physicals and examinations. Drinking water is important and apple juice builds up the brain too. Many folks eat foods in smaller portions too. There are countless benefits of honey too. Oatmeal is a food that definitely improves the human blood pressure too.
(5) Get adequate sleep. Sleep is part of health too. A great sleep decreases the chance of heart disease and lower the risk of depression.
(6) Volunteer or help other people. The Golden Rule always works.
(7) Show humor and reduce (or eliminate smoking).
(8) Take time to have meditation or self evaluation of your life.

I finally read the entire book of, "Life Upon these Shores." It is a book about African American history. It is a long book with over 400 pages and it is a large book. Yet, it's very much worth it. It has great fonts and images that show black life from the 16th century to the 21st century. I learned so much from reading its pages. It was written by Henry Louis Gates. It has information on the eras of African American history from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement. The book ends at the start of the Presidency of Barack Obama, who was the first African American President in history. The book gave me more insights in the diverse history of my people and it has inspired me to research more about various other subjects in general. I always have a love of learning. Now, Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department wants to use resources from the civil rights division to attack affirmation action on college admission. They want to investigate universities, hire lawyers, and target universities on affirmative action. Vanita Gupta said that this policy is not about civil rights, but a political agenda (which is about anti-diversity). This policy from the DOJ is evil and disgraceful. Sessions desire voter ID laws and other reactionary laws.


The rebellion of 1967 was a change and it represented a new era of Black American history. By the early 1960's, there was a strong black middle class, yet many of the black poor and working class suffered housing discrimination, racism, dilapidated education, and police brutality. Police brutality was one large factor on why the rebellion happened in the first place. Also, Detroit is known for racial and class tensions (like the 1943 race riot in Detroit where black neighborhoods were attacked by white racist gangs). Some of the largest labor strikes occurred in Detroit and a pregnant black woman (who was Mrs. Thomas. Her husband named Mr. Thomas was killed by a white racist mob) had her baby miscarriage just before the rebellion happened because of a racist white mob. The movie Detroit should have shown many of the complex issues that related to the rebellion in my judgement and other things. We can't sugarcoat history. Up to that time, the Detroit rebellion was the largest rebellion in American history except during the times of the Civil War. It started in a blind pig or an unregistered club where people were arrested after black people celebrated black Vietnam GIs returning home. Also, one authority shot and killed a black child during the rebellion whose name was Tonya Blanding. The rebellion ended after intervention from the National Guard, the police, and the Army. The Kerner Commission later exposed that racial oppression and economic oppression contributed to the reasons on why these events happened. Decades afterwards, deindustralization, growth of economic inequality, and cutbacks on resources existed in Detroit and other urban centers. Today, there is gentrification in Detroit (I have my disagreements with gentrification) and a new Detroit movement that is trying to fight for justice too. Many people will look at the movie and some will not. Regardless, we ought not to forget out past. We remember the past in order to develop our cultural magnificence and improve our present (so our future can be better). I believe that the lesson is that we learn lessons about that time in order to for us to establish creative solutions in building up our world (as we are the first humans in the world and we a'int going nowhere). Loving Blackness is about both honoring our African heritage (including loving our black African features) and desiring our black people to have infrastructure, housing, education, universal health care, a cleaner environment, and human justice. These things are what we are fighting for.


Today, we commemorate the 25th year anniversary of the passing of Sister Mary Wells. For decades, her immaculate voice outlines the talent of a gracious black woman and the power of Black Excellence. She was involved in Motown and sang a diversity of music which touched souls and inspired lives succinctly. She was born in the great city of Detroit, Michigan. She was part of an audacious, glorious movement that shown the wonder and beauty of black music internationally. Historically, she broke down barriers. In 1962, she released "You Beat Me to the Punch." In many years of the 1960's, she made other classic hits. She had a duet album with Marvin Gaye called "Together." She was a gorgeous woman inside and out. She was a great mother. She suffered a great deal from the music industry and by others. Yet, she had the courage to live her light in accordance with integrity and dignity. She passed away in 1992. She was 49 when she died. Her soul is with the Great God of the Universe today. She is now resting in a place where many mansions, cities, and great songs are shown. We recognize her life as a life where she shown her gifts of music and joy in our hearts.
Rest in Power Sister Mary Wells.


By Timothy