The History and Culture of Us.

Harriet Tubman was one of the greatest black heroes in history. She rescued tons of black enslaved people and caused many to experience a much better life. She traveled to Philadelphia and Canada to organize the movement for freedom. She was not only an abolitionist leader. She led a group of Union soldiers to fight the Confederate enemy during the U.S. Civil War. Therefore, as an African American, the real story of Harriet Tubman is personal to me. The Harriet movie has sparked debates and discussions. Many people have praised the movie, and some have abhorred it for various reasons. You already know my views of this movie. Regardless, I will show what the movie got right, what it got wrong, and my view of the film overall. First, the actress who portrayed Harriet is a young Afro-British woman named Cynthia Erivo. She is a gorgeous Sister, and she works in fitness, theater, and other forms of acting. She has extensive acting experience. The problem isn’t her qualifications for acting or her nationality. I have no issues with Afro-British people (of Nigerian descent) portraying African American icons. I also reject the views of the ADOS movement, because it promotes xenophobia against non-black Africans, it uses generalizations, and many of their leaders advance lies (and some of them are funded by white nationalist, anti-immigrant organizations). The problem is that Cynthia Erivo made inappropriate, problematic statements about African Americans that she hasn’t apologized for. Erivo made a tweet that she claimed that she repeated a song in which she mocked African American accents as “ghetto.” Her tweet mocked the words of black African Americans. If a white man used that tweet, he would rightfully be condemned as racist.  Cynthia allied with Luvvie (who is a woman who is known to disparage African Americans constantly. Luvvie made the bigoted comment that: “…Adele sings like she composed all Negro spirituals that led slaves to freedom. She was Harriet Tubman’s producer in a past life. For real...”). It is one thing to make bad statements and issue a sincere apology for them. It is quite another that she hasn’t apologized for them. If she made similar statements about Latino people, LBGTQ people, or Jewish people, there is no way that she would gotten away with them without an apology. Cynthia Erivo just needs to apologize to African American people and especially repudiate the views of Luvvie. The movie was directed by Kasi Lemmons. It was produced by Debra Chase, Daniela Lundberg, and Gregory Allen Howard. Gregory Howard and Kasi Lemmons made the screenplay. Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwayn, Janelle Monae, and other actors plus actresses were in the film. The film accurately showed the journey of freedom fighters helping people.

It outlined the diversity of the abolitionist movement. Many parts of the film are inspirational. The issue is that the Harriet movie in many cases downplays Harriet Tubman’s militancy, and it showed overly inaccurate statements. This is beyond artistic license. This is straight up made up slander against the life of Harriet Tubman. The movie invents the character called Bigger Long (which never existed in history) that kills one black woman and brutally assaults Harriet Tubman. Bigger Long perpetrates the black male brute stereotype that is about a black male being profane, angry, and lusting after white women. Bigger Long is killed by the slave owner. There is controversy on whether the slave owner is portrayed as a white savior or not. Kasi Lemmons denies this. Regardless, the slave owner is shown as equivalent morally to the character Bigger Long. That is clear irrespective of the spin from Harriet film proponents. The truth is that there is no evidence that there were thousands of black slave catchers running around in America during the 19th century. Many slave states banned black people from owning guns. Also, the slave owner wants a friendship with Harriet in the film which never existed historically at all. These parts of the film make me not want to watch it with my money. It sends the wrong message of anti-historical narrative, false stereotypes, and tensions between men and women. It is not shocking that Roland Martin (who uses profanity against those with critiques of the movie), Michael Eric Dyson, and others support that historically inaccurate movie. Many of the people who support the film are part of the liberal establishment, some Boule members, some Links members, and those of the corporate establishment. Therefore, the Harriet Tubman movie is a sophisticated propaganda film that lies on Harriet Tubman’s life, unfairly made up a character that vilifies black men, sugarcoats the viciousness of white slave owners, and slams the militancy of the black freedom movement in general. Harriet Tubman deserves much better than this. The real story of Harriet Tubman is clear. She was a political activist. She saved dozens of lives. She worked with John Brown on his raid on Harpers Ferry. She fought Confederates. She believed in women’s suffrage. She was a victim of assault on her head. She followed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. She helped elderly black people. Harriet Tubman loved black men, black women, and black people. She married Nelson Charles Davis (who was a black man) in a loving marriage. These things aren’t shown in that movie Harriet, because the power of Black Love and black revolutionary activism are too taboo for some in that industry to embrace. Rest in Power Sister Harriet Tubman.


Queen and Slim is a very powerful film in many ways. It talks about life, black love, crime, police brutality, and other issues. It also refutes colorism when both of the leading characters are dark skinned black people who have unconditional love for each other in a passionate, unapologetic way. This film was directed by Melina Matsoukas in her feature directional debut. The screenplay was created by Lena Waithe from a story by Waithe and James Frey. The leading actor and actress in the movie are Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. Other people in the film include Chloe Seigny, Flea, Bokeem Woodbine, and Indya Moore. It is more than a Bonne and Clyde vibe. It is about two people struggling to survive in an imperfect world. The film starts when the couple goes on a first date. A police officer pulls them over for a minor traffic violation. Later, Slim takes the officer’s gun and shoots him in self-defense. Soon, the couple is labeled as “cop killers” by the media. Slim and Queen feel that they have no choice but to leave and go on the run. They try to evade the law. One video is released of the incident, and the couple represents the trauma, terror, and pain plus grief of people nationwide. We know pain first hand. The movie is a metaphor for all oppressed people. Oppressed people are readily treated as guilty until proven innocent by mainstream society. That is why legal and health disparities are real not only in America but worldwide. We know of the statistics. Black lives always matter. The lesson of the movie is that life will be complex and filled with nuisance. That is why you have to do what is right, but we have to know what people are coming from in dealing with complex life circumstances too.


There has always been the tensions between the African American community and the police. Black and Blue fully expounds on that tension in a multifaceted, complex fashion. It is a 2019 American action thriller being directed by Deon Taylor. The film starts Naomie Harries and Tyrese Gibson who has promoted the film across the globe. Other people in the film include Frank Grillo, Nafessa Williams, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, and Beau Knapp. The movie is about a rookie police officer who goes on the run after she witnessed a murder. A black man helps her out to clear her name. Naomi Harris plays U.S. Army veteran Alicia West. She comes back to her hometown in New Orleans where she was recruited into the city’s police force. Her new partner is Kevin Jennings (played by Reid Scott). Alicia West talks about the issues in her community and the police department. Alicia found gunfire from a building. She has a Glock pistol and a vest fitted with a body camera. Alicia sees Deacon and two more police officers murdered an unarmed drug dealer. When one of the officers, Terry Malone (Frank Grillo), attempts to assume the situation to her, the other officer, Smitty (Beau Knapp), panics upon seeing Alicia's body cam and shoots at her, causing Alicia to fall onto the ground below. Alicia escapes wounded. Many in the community shun her for being a police officer. When a fellow police officer arrives, Alicia realizes the department has been blackmailed by Terry, forcing her to hide out in the home of Milo Jackson (Tyrese Gibson), a member of the community who is reluctant to hide her. Terry also blackmails criminal kingpin Darius into putting out an open bounty on Alicia.

While recovering in Milo's home, Alicia learns that Deacon, Terry, and Smitty are corrupt cops while researching footage of the murder captured on her body cam including police cam footage on a laptop. Alicia also discovers that if she does not upload the footage exposing the murder within twelve hours, it will be erased by the corrupt officers. To gain Milo's trust, he requests for Alicia to hide her identity as a policewoman so she won't be killed. Alicia makes a plan to save her life form Terry and those working for Darius. She sends the footage to Milo while she lures Terry and Smitty to a vacant apartment. Alicia stops Smitty. She engages with Terry. Terry is shot in the chest by Jennings. Milo released the film online which exposes corrupt officers. Terry is arrested. Alicia has cleared her name. The community has respected them. `The essence of the film makes us aware that we still have crooked cops in the world. The system of oppression is multifaceted. also, it is right to make sure that accountability is made against those who abuse others under the guise of the badge.



The passing away of Diahann Carroll at the age of 84 years old makes us aware that life is precious. She made history as the first black woman to lead in a non-stereotypical TV show called Julia in 1968. When I was a child, I watched her on Carmen Jones. That movie was about African Americans living during the World War II era. It came out in 1954. Trailblazer is a word that accurately describes her life, because she was unapologetic in making the world fully witness her contributions. She was fearless. Back then especially, black folks were fearless to achieve so much in the midst of glaring oppression. She was an icon for decades who not only talked about civil rights. She was a mentor to so many young actors and actresses (like the young cast of the A Different World show) who desired to find their own ways of expression. From theater to movies, she never skipped a beat. She has studied acting from the greats and worked with Dorothy Dandridge, Sidney Poitier, Patti Labelle, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, and other artists. She was in the movie Paris Blues. She received many awards. Carroll was a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, which helps women in dealing with many issues. Her roles were diverse from Claudine to The Five Heartbeats. She grew up in the Bronx, NYC. She not only belongs to the ages. She represents the essence of what Black Excellence is all about.
Rest in Power Sister Diahann Carroll.



One of the most important parts of the history of hair is the growth of the natural hair movement among women of black African descent in the 21st century. This movement has always existed for centuries and thousands of years. Yet, during this time, we see more social media, programs, and other movements promoting it. For the record, there is nothing wrong with anyone getting a weave. We know people have weaves if they have cancer, or if they just want to express themselves. This is about showing further light on the natural hair movement in our generation. There is nothing wrong with natural, coiled, kinky, or tight curly hair. Many people now wear hair twits, braids, and locks. Some people wear natural hair for political reasons and some wear it for non-political reasons. More people are realizing that the beauty of hair is that it can be displayed in diverse ways. That is enough. Natural hair also is beautiful and valuable in the Universe. The critically acclaimed documentary from 2005,  My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage outlined this issue in great detailed. My Nappy Roots chronicled over 400 years (and 200 hours of footage) of Afro hair culture starting in Africa through the middle passage, reconstruction the creation of the Black hair industry to the year 2008. This documentary became the definitive film on the history, culture, and economics on Black hair. The urban story postulated the word 'nappy' derived from the word 'nap', which was the name of the small cotton balls inside of a cotton plant. The word 'nappy' was born because it resembled the texture of unkempt Afro-textured hair.

In an effort to be more acceptable socially, some people believed in the myth that it would be desirable to have straight hair like the dominant culture. This historic film has never been publicly released. In the 21st century, more people are using more organic hair products. In the 21st century, countless scholars from blogs, books, and other social media accounts have shown the culture of hair style like Black Girl Long Hair, Naturally Curly, Afrobelle, South Africa’s My Fro and I, etc. With the popularity of natural hair movement, hair care suppliers have seen a rapid decrease in the purchase of relaxers, the harsh chemical hair straightener. An industry that was once worth an estimated $774 million, relaxer sales have gone down 26% over the last five years, 2013 numbers report. Relaxer sales have fallen to 38% between 2012 and 2017. Sales are estimated to decrease to 45% by 2019. Also, life is not without drama. There have been many controversies where many people have used racist and offensive statements about the hair of black women especially. One example is when Giuliana Rancic said that the then teenager Zendaya Coleman’s hair smelled of “weed.” Many black girls and black women (from schools to various occupations) have been discriminated against because of wearing their hair in locs or being natural. Even black people had to fight to make sure that the Armed Forces didn’t discriminate against black people for wearing their hair in braids or locs. It is important to never support those who degrade black people. There is the double standard when non-black people like Bo Derek and Kim Kardashian can wear braids and it’s called groundbreaking by mainstream society (but a black woman wear hair in the similar fashion gets disrespected by many people). Erykah Badu, Alssa Maiga, Lupita Nyong’o, Beyoncé, Janelle Monae, Solange, Inna Modja, and other Sisters have worn their hair with braids, natural, and other styles with power.

For the time of millennia, hair has been part of our existence as human beings. It is a reflection of our humanity. Also, it has been shown in a myriad of ways. When you look at the truth, it shows its face. The truth is that there is no such thing as good or bad hair. Hair is just hair. The more people recognize this fact and treat people with dignity and with respect, the better off the world will be. When you see the hairstyles of civil right activist Ida B. Wells and entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, you witness how hair makes a statement about someone’s personality indeed. During the ancient times, someone’s hair would indicate wealth, age, religion, and social status in various communities. Today, hair signifies more diverse messages that someone wants to express beyond just social status. Not to mention that hair is about liberation. We don’t have to confirm to European standards of beauty. We can confirm to our own standards of beauty and self-expression. The myth of black inferiority and the myth of white superiority (which includes many non-whites putting white people on high pedestals in the sense of submission to the status quo) has been ingrained in not only racist white people but in the minds of some black people with self-hatred too. It is important to resist oppression in any of its manifestations. That is why the hi-top fade, the Afro, the afro puffs, dreadlocks, bantu locks, Caesar, and other hair styles outline what our existence is all about. We are never monolithic culturally, socially, or otherwise. The more that we outline our creative energies, the more enriched the world truly is. Whether someone wears their hair long like Ayesha Qurishi from Sweden to those who wear their head shorter like the Afro-Brazilian politician Luiza Helena de Bairros, our freedom of expression is always sacrosanct.



By Timothy