In America and in the world in general, we have poverty and homelessness. Some people, even in social media and in other areas of the public, make it a sick past time to mock the poor or those in poverty either by slick, disgraceful memes or materialistic advice words. The truth is that poverty is not caused by a character flaw. It is caused by an economic system that rewards heavily the select few at the expense of the majority working class and the poor. Tons of people are poor by many circumstances not because of idleness or laziness. Those, who mock the poor or the homeless, should instead inspire the poor and give people hope for the future. Part of that hope is advocating for economic justice, working in charities, promoting dignity for the poor including the homeless, and supporting real programs that combat poverty (including economic inequality). That is how real change transpires. That is why I won't make quotes and say words that dehumanize the value of someone because of their wealth. I will mention that all humans are equal regardless of wealth. It is necessary to fight poverty by showing compassion not degradation and with a plan for economic justice in a forthright fashion.
There is a lot of breaking news today. One is that Trump recently fired Rex Tillerson. He will be gone from the White House by March 31, 2018. It is no secret that Tillerson and Trump didn't get along on many issues. Tillerson is more of an internationalist in terms of foreign policy philosophy while Trump is more of a hawkish nationalist. Trump has threatened North Korea with nuclear attacks if he doesn't get what he wants. Trump wants to end the Iran nuclear deal, which has stabilized relations among Iran and America. Tillerson has agreed with the Iran nuclear deal. Tillerson is more strident than Trump in criticizing the nationalist autocrat Putin. Trump wants Pompeo to be the new Secretary of State. Pompeo is a known advocate of enhanced interrogation (which is a code name for torture) and he is very hawkish like Trump. Trump has fired a large amount of his cabinet members. He wants Gina Haspel (who has supported the development of CIA secret prisons in the world. The ACLU via a FOIA request found that some of these prisons used explicit torture. She has a role in the secret CIA destruction of tapes of torture sessions) as the new CIA Director. Trump is known for his devilish ways. There is no question that many members of the Trump has been involved in corruption and other scandals. Mueller is investigating Trump on possible collusion charges (Mueller has charged Manafort on many things and he could face life in prison). We want always reject imperialism as well.
It is important to mention information on this great black woman. She worked in Baltimore for years and her name is Dr. Carla Diane Hayden. She is an American librarian and the 14th Librarian of Congress, which is of one of the greatest honors in America. She is also the first woman and the first African American to have that illustrious title. She was the President of the American Library Association or the ALA and she was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Her alma mater was the Roosevelt University including the University of Chicago. She heroically kept Baltimore’s libraries open during the 2015 protests of the death of Freddie Gray. She wanted to give people a place of refuge, relief, and opportunity. One great unsung scholar is Sister Rachel Renée Russell. She is now 59 years old. She has written many children books and won many NAACP awards. Rachel has 2 daughters and works as an attorney too. The Misadventures of Max Crumbly is one of her many books. Her daughters also do writing and illustrations. She is definitely a role model for our community and I wish her more blessings.
Recently, it is the time when the musician Craig Mack passed away. He was 46 years old. He was an innovator of hip hop music. He had one of the most unique voices and original flows involving hip hop too. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He lived in Brentwood, New York for a number of years. He is famous for making the remix of "Flavor in Your Ear." He constantly made music from the 1980's to the 21st century. He is missed by his friends and family. Craig Mack was the artist who was honest in expressing his talent and a person whose honor to music inspires us greatly. His voice was powerful and he had great charisma. Walterboro, South Carolina was the place of his passing. He passed away via heart failure. I send condolences to his family and friends. Greatness was part of his life and he was the person who brought remixes to music on the map. Craig Mack had a wife and 2 adult children. He was one architect of the modern sound of rap and he will continue to be an icon of music in general.
Rest in Power Brother Craig Mack.
Yesterday was the Birthday of Sister Yemi Alade. She is now 29 years old and she was born in Abia state, Nigeria. She is one of the great, young artists of Nigeria. She has toured the world in expressing Afropop music. I love African music. She has Yoruba and Igbo background. She has a degree in geography from the University of Lagos. Mama Africa is the name of her second album from 2016. She has shared the stage with Mary J. Blige an other well known, international artists. I wish Sister Yemi Alade more blessings. Today is the Birthday of Brother Common. He is an actor, hip hop artist, songwriter, and film producer. He was born in Chicago and he is now 46 years old. He was in college and started his hip hop career back during the early 1990's. One of his early singles was "Take it EZ." He later made records that were diverse from talking about love, conscious issues, relationships, the essence of hip hop in general, and collaborations with soul or R&B artists like Erkyah Badu and Lauryn Hill. He has taken his time to outline his messages. Today, he has been in many movies from action movies to thrillers. He has written poetry and wrote his own book too. Dr Mahalia Ann Hines is his mother. Now, Common has worked in philanthropy to help the youth have STEM field access, to build up schools in schools, and grow job opportunities. He has spoken out on many important issues from education to being against police brutality. I wish Brother Common more success.
By Timothy
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