https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/12/18/on-capitalism-racism-trump-and-pandemo-fascism/
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
On the Eve of the 2021 Georgia Runoff Elections.
2020 should always be a year when the issues of racial justice and fights against police brutality were in the forefront. To start, our black ancestors were never scared. Our ancestors fought in the ships, in Africa, in the Caribbean, in South America, in Latin America, and in America against slavery heroically. Later, the Revolutionary war existed (during the late 1700's) with still our rights being denied. The Underground Railroad and various slave revolts fought against tyranny. These occurrences transpired to liberate our people. The U.S. Civil War was a Union victory with heavy support by black heroes (one of my ancestors was a Union black soldier). Reconstruction came, and Jim Crow existed. Our ancestors fought to defeat Jim Crow apartheid. After 1968, Dr. King was not here. There was a paradox of many black people having jobs, being wealthier, etc. Yet, at that same time, many poorer Brothers and Sisters suffered poverty, a post industrial economy, the War on Drugs, and continued police brutality. From 1968 to 2008, these problems existed along with resistance from heroes. In 2008, Barack Obama was elected President as the first African American President.
Many people falsely viewed Obama's victory as being proof of a post racial society. Still, oppression continued. Obama and even his family were slandered by far right racists. By 2020, it was a boiling point. When George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were unjustly murdered by cowards, black people and people of every color said, Enough is Enough. It was enough. Rebellions, protests, and other acts against racism flourished worldwide. Massive inter-generational, multiracial protests spread in D.C, London, Norfolk, Richmond, L.A., Milwaukee, New Orleans, Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, Berlin, Tokyo, Miami, and cities around the world. Some things have changed like many Confederate statues being gone, new laws existed, defunding efforts gaining ground, and a growth of a social consciousness about these issues. Yet, we have such a long way to go. This battle is not over. It won't be over in 2020. This liberation must not only exist in America. It must exist globally as all people of the African Diaspora deserve to be free too just like anyone else.
After all of these years, I still believe in Pan-Africanism. To be a freedom lover, you have to oppose colonialism and imperialism. That is just plain commonsense. Also, we support Africans and people of the African Diaspora who desire total liberation. Real freedom has nothing to do token symbolism. It is about independence, land, and the growth of institutions that we control. It is also about the eradication of economic oppression and racial oppression in the world. Also, liberation for us relates to the promotion of unapologetic Black Love. You can't be free without honoring the black African phenotype that the Most High gave us. Too often, some folks desire a worship of celebrity culture or a downplaying of their blackness to seek social acceptance by mainstream society. That tactics ruins the soul. We should honor the interests of the black collective, we should respect self-determination, and we should promote black collective power.
Right now, we still have the virus crisis. About 2 million Americans have received the vaccine. There has been a massive amount of hospitalizations during the past week alone. Over 1.28 million people passed through security checkpoints on Sunday according to the TSA or the Transportation Security Administration. Six states with records on Sunday for the most virus patients hospitalized are Alabama, California, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. More than 63,000 Americans have passed away in this month of December. That is the most who died of any month since the pandemic started as stated by Johns Hopkins University. Democracy has spoken. The majority of Americans and even the majority of the Electoral College has made Trump a one term President. Trump is the lead of the GOP being part of a cultic movement. The base of the Republican supports Trump's racism, sexism, xenophobia, and bigotry. Trump has no respect for the rule of law by rejecting subpoenas and refusing to accept the defeat of the 2020 election. He has not came out to condemn police brutality in a strong way, and he continues to defend the statues of racist Confederates. The GOP is fundamentally a party who believes in a evil, bankrupt ideology that the federal government has no right to promote the general welfare for the common people. That is exemplified by Mitch McConnell being hesitant to even promote a $2,000 stimulus for Americans. Mitch of Kentucky is one of the worst Senators in history. Now, these checks will rely on the Senate. This goes on when people are having risk of eviction, food insecurity, and other problems. Yesterday, the Vice President elect Kamala Harris has taken the pandemic vaccine. So far, over 2 million Americans have received the vaccine. Biden has promised a more aggressive vaccine supply effort, when he is elected President.
More than 2.3 million votes have been already cast in the Georgia runoff elections. On Tuesday, Trump has played golf while important political issues are being debated by Congress. Also, the victors of these races will determine the composition of the Senate. Those, who have the leverage of power in the Senate, have a great deal of influence on which kind of legislation gets passed. Trump is only promoting the $2000 stimulus is to seek revenge over McConnell's acknowledgement of Biden's 2020 Presidential victory. The American people certainly deserve $2,000 in the midst of a serious national crisis. There has been a growth of African American turnout in early voting in Georgia now.
By Timothy
Monday, December 28, 2020
Updates on Life.
The breaking news is that Donald Trump finally signed the $900 billion relief bill. The irony is that he did this days after calling the bill a "disgrace." The truth is that the bill is certainly not enough. Later on, hopefully more legislation will come to help the American people in a more thorough fashion. Trump extended the cruelty of his response by knowing about this pandemic disaster as early as February of 2020 and doing very little plus going out to show deception. Many GOP Congresspeople have been so terrible that even Ted Cruz voted against the $600 checks for the American people (while Cruz promoted Texas billionaires to get a $35 million pandemic relief loan for fracking companies). Now, 1 out of every 1000 Americans has now died as a product of the virus. While authoritarianism dominates the GOP, the Democratic Party establishment is dominated also by corporate power and militarism. Many independent, progressive, and courageous Democratic voices desire HR 40, a federal jobs gurantee, and Medicare for all. In L.A. County, one person has died from the virus every 10 minutes, and discussions are in California about rationing care.
It is just plain common sense to be given equal pay. The pay gap is in existence, because of sex discrimination and other factors of the neoliberal capitalist system. There are tons of women in sports who improve, break down barriers, and made exceptional accomplishments. The professor of exercise and physiology and physiotherapy Dr. Netto said that women work just as hard from a training perspective and are entitled to equal pay. When someone does the same job, that person deserves equal pay regardless of sex or background. In terms of athletics, the cruel irony is that the lowest performing men still get paid better than the best performing women (that includes champions too). That is why the U.S. women's soccer team still earns less than even the men's team when the women's team have multiple World Cup victories. There are differences among men and women biologically. On average, women live longer than men worldwide. Women's bodies have more adipocyte tissue compared to muscle mass. On average, the musculoskeletal system is larger in a man than a woman. One important point is that true leadership doesn't even require massive physical strength. It does require compassion, discernment, emotional intelligence, discipline, and tolerance of other people. In health, there are Type 1 slow twitch muscle fibers and Type II fast twitch muscle fibers. Women usually have a better Type 1 fibers in dealing with endurance, while men usually have a better Type 2 fibers in dealing with power. There are many women who are very strong physically and emotionally. So, we believe in equality among the sexes.
Many in the esoteric crowd believe in the existence of ley lines. Promoters of ley lines believe that cities and ancient sites are placed on certain areas of the Earth with certain energies. Some of these people believe that these places are also aligned with the same star constellations like Orion and Draco. While mainstream scientists view the ley lines concept as psuedo-science, you still have to know about many things in life even if you disagree. Many researchers have found how a straight line pattern that aligns with the locations of Teotihuacan, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City Boston, Stonehenge, Troy, and Baalbak (in Syria). In the esoteric crowd, there is a concept called "God's Longitude" found meridian 77 degrees west of England. Many astronomers and surveyors went to Virginia to mark the new Meridian, but they were lost in the Great Dismal Swamp. The meridian 77° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. Elaine Paulinois Phelen wrote an article on D.C. saying that the National Academy of Sciences have 12 of the zodiacs displayed in relief on the metal doors of the building. The Library of Congress Building had a display of 5 zodiacs.
The U.S. Capitol building's architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe was initiated in the Lodge No. 2, London in 1788. He was affiliated with Lodge No. 54 in Richmond, Virginia. So, in 1783, there was the federal city being planned from the U.S. Constitution. By 1790, the Residence Act implemented the Constitution. The start of the construction of the U.S. Capitol Building started in 1803. The Smithsonian Institution was established by Congress in 1847. In 1848, there was the start of the construction of the Washington monument. It was completed by 1884. The \McMilan Plan was finished by 1901. The Lincoln Memorial was built in 1922. Gary Osborn wrote literature making the unique theory that the plan of Washington, D.C. is based on the plans of the Great Pyramid.
My paternal 4th cousin is David Christian (born in May 14, 1964). Both of us are descendants of the same common ancestor of George Perkins I (b. 1815). George's son was James Perkins (b. 1841). James's son was George W. Perkins (b. 1870). His daughter was Minnie L. Perkins (b. 1919). Her daughter was Mary Madgelene Thomas (1941-2017). Her son was David Christian. His siblings are Kathy Ann Christian (b. 1970), Kevin Christian, and Willis Lee Christian. David Christian's father was David Christian Sr. (1941-1985).
One of my distant cousins is a human being named Danyelle Ashi Gibson-Gonzalez. She is related to me, because we share the same ancestor of Sarah Claud. Sarah Claud and Tom Hill's daughter was Adeline Hill (1862-1930). Adeline Hill's son was Peter Percy Williams (1880-1949). These people lived in the Southampton County, Virginia region. Peter Percy Williams had a daughter named Eunice Magdalene Williams (1909-1990). Her son was Ben Berlin Wright Sr. (1931-2005). Ben's son was Randy Darnell Wright (1956-2004). Randy Darnell Wright's daughter is Danyelle Ashi Gibson Gonzalez (she was born in 1972). Danyelle's grandparents were Dougall Plunkett (1916-2004) and Celia Eleanor Gibson (1925-1998). Her grandparents came into New York City from Jamaica. So, they are of Afro-Caribbean Jamaican descent. Danyelle Gibson lives in New York City.
It is always important to understand the roots of music. Real music always relate to soul, rhythm, and the beat. That is why when you study R&B, rock, soul, neo-soul, blues, jazz, and other genres, they have an origin from the soul music of the spirituals and gospel. In fact, many of the legendary musicians (like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Holliday, and other people), were raised in the church, because many churches had soul and rhythm. Even hip hop has elements of soul, disco, funk, blues, and jazz. Hip hop artists like Rakim (who played the saxophone and his relatives were musicians) and the late Guru admitted that they learned jazz to improve their rhyming techniques. Hip hop have elements of moving the crowd, Djs, graffiti, lyricism, soul, lines, charisma, and creative beats. Hip hop is more than putting words together. It is about making innovative ways on how you use words and the power of the content. You can't learn about music comprehensively without learning about Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Monk, and the legends of jazz. Music is part of a universal language. Music is global and diverse from classic music, raggae, and other forms of music in the four corners of the Earth. Therefore, true music should never be watered down, and the soul always remains powerful worldwide. We know who the originators of music are, and we know who the first people on Earth are. That's self-explanatory.
There are tons of other heroes who have made a difference in the lives of the people everyday. LaTosha Brown have fought for voting rights throughout her life. She co-founded the group of Black Voters Matter which is an organization that fight for the voting rights of black Americans. Voting matters as school board members, judges, governors, city council members, and investments to communities in the world all deal with voting. She came in Georgia and across America in making sure that Georgia became blue. She has fully documented how far we have to go as voter suppression is ever real in America, not just in the South. Cori Bush is a politician, a pastor, and an activist. He won a Missouri congressional district. She is the first African American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri. She was born and raised in St. Louis. Also, she earned a graduate diploma in nursing from the Lutheran School of Nursing in 2008. During the 2014 Ferguson movement, she worked as a triage nurse and organizer. Bush is also an unapologetic progressive who has been endorsed by Jamaal Bowman, Nina Turner, Bernie Sanders, Angela Davis, and other human begins. Fighting for criminal justice change, police reform, a $15 minimum wage, and other policies is part of her aim. She received the 2015 Women of Courage Award from the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation. Noah Harris being 20 was being elected as the first black student body President at Harvard College. He is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He is majoring in government and co-chairs the Undergraduate Council's Black caucus. He promotes inclusion and improving student mental plus physical health. Princeton University's Deana Lawson was the first photographer to win the $100,000 Hugo Boss Prize. She is the professor of visual arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University in New Jersey.
By Timothy
Friday, December 25, 2020
Black Agenda Report News.
https://blackagendareport.com/colonial-logics-remained-black-women-liberated-zimbabwe
https://blackagendareport.com/stokely-carmichaels-black-power-meets-african-liberation
https://blackagendareport.com/letters-our-readers-105
https://blackagendareport.com/black-agenda-radio-week-december-21-2020
https://blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-master-biden-speaks
On this December 25, 2020 Day.
On this day, we celebrate the birth of a person who changed the world. He came on this Earth during the era of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire (whose territories are from Iraq to Britain at its peak in ca. 117 A.D.) was filled with imperialism and oppression against the Hebrew people. Yet, he was a person who gave free health care to people in miracles, condemned materialism by sending greedy people out of the Temple, and said the revolutionary words that, "the kingdom of God is within you." He was scorned by hypocritical the Sadducees and Pharisees who desired the status quo. His allies and followers were the apostles who preached his Gospel of peace, justice, and reconciliation with God. He did revolutionary actions like healing someone on the Sabbath, preventing the stoning of a woman, and discussing theological matters with rabbis when he was a teenager. Many of the apostles would be killed like Peter, Matthew, and others, but their courage are always remembered by us. The man who changed the word is Jesus Christ or his Hebrew name is Yeshua.
Jesus Christ is both compassionate and militant to condemn injustice. His life signaled a new epoch in human history. Back then, the 2nd Temple was in existence, and Jewish people were in constant conflict with the Roman Empire over rituals and sovereignty. Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. He was falsely accused, crucified, and rose from the dead 3 days later. It has been over 2,000 years since he was born on the Earth. Far right extremists and neo-liberal moderates are ever clear in their intention to desire no bold change to help humanity. Even when millions of Americans face evictions from their homes because of a lack of pandemic relief, you still have some moderates plus far right people saying that doing a minuscule amount is enough. That is a disgrace. Today, we have many challenges today (like health care disparities, racism, police brutality, poverty, food insecurity, and other issues). Yet, we are people born beyond just with DNA, molecules, and synapses. We have a mind and soul which should be inspired to fight for what is right along with fighting for justice.
We have another breaking news of armed fascists storming another capitol in Oregon. Many of our great grandparents were American soldiers who fought the Nazis in WWII. I have relatives on both sides of my family who were WWII veterans. Today, we still have to defeat fascism in America. These armed extremists were led by Joey Gibson and Chandler Pappas of the Patriot Prayer group. They wanted to stop a 800 million dollar bill to help landlords, tenants, and extend an eviction moratorium. Some of these people have body armor and had semi-automatic rifles. They sprayed mace at the police. They also shattered windows in the Oregon capitol. In contrast to these terrorists, thousands of anti-police brutality protests in America have been peaceful. Many of the fascists shouted racist and fascist chants.
Some sad news today is that hip hop pioneer recently passed away. His name is John "Ecstasy" Fletcher. He was only 56 years old. He was a member of the trailblazing group of Whodini. Whodini sold out concerts during the 1980's. He or John Fletcher was a legendary hip hop artist. Hip hop is about the flow, bars, moving the crowd, and charisma too. The essence of hip hop is about making your audience understand and feel what you're saying. He was a man who was underappreciated by some, but his contributions will always be acknowledged by us. Whodini came from Brooklyn, NYC. Jermaine Dupri got his start in the business with help from Whodini. Dupri, Questlove, Q-Tip, LL Cool J, and others gave their condolences to him. Fletcher broke down barriers, had fashion, and loved hip hop everyday.
Rest in Power Brother John Fletcher.
It's a bizarre time in the world. We have Trump wanting $2000 checks for Americans, but his motives are insincere. He is doing this out of spite not out of an intention to help Americans. The reason is that many Republican Senators desire to not steal the election for him. The truth is that Americans deserve $2,000, but the issue that many Republicans in Congress now refuse to allow that to happen. Democrats want it, and powerful Democrats have mentioned this desire on their Twitter accounts. The relief bill is worth 900 billion dollars. We have the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression with millions of Americans unemployed. We have witnessed a record amount of people at food pantries in Harlem, in Texas, in Virginia, in California, in Florida, in Chicago, in the rural areas, and in other places nationwide. The infections from the virus continue to reach record highs in America along with a variant strain found in the UK. This tragedy has increased, because we have an economic system that cares more for profit than human lives. It is a vicious economic system that must be changed radically.
By Timothy
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Legislative Chaos.
Rand Paul is shown as one of the worst Senators in American history. Paul said that he doesn't want a $2,000 stimulus plan, because he said that it's equivalent to socialism. Rand Paul also said that Republicans who go along with this plan are allying with what he calls, "socialist Democrats." He is wrong on all levels. We have an unique situation here. Businesses are dying, people are starving, people are dying, and there is an increase of people signing up for unemployment benefits. This reality doesn't merit some free market solution. There has to be bold solutions to end this tragedy in America. Rand Paul lied and said that the 2,000 dollars are free money. This money isn't free. People bled and sacrificed for this money. People have lived on this Earth experienced undeniable pain, and one of the words of the Preamble to the Constitution is to promote justice and advance the general welfare. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the right to hand taxes and give money to help the American people. $2,000 stimulus checks will help millions of Americans. Many Republicans are more concerned with portfolios and Wall Street interests than all of the American people. If Rand Paul was so opposed to socialism, he should give up his free health care and ban socialism for the rich in tax breaks and records funds to corporate rich interests. He won't do it, because he's a hypocrite. Rand Paul hypocritically claims to love the Constitution but once supported Roy Moore. Moore wants a religious test in office which is illegal as Article VI of the Constitution forbids it. Rand Paul blocked funding for a 9/11 victims bill, but he signed onto Trump's large policy of tax cuts for the wealthy. Trump recently wants to steal the election, but he will fail. Trump wants $2,000 checks, but he never advocated for this plan before. Democrats want it done. McConnell only made this bill because of the Georgia Senate races.
This is a story that I never revealed here before. Alysia Nicole Harris is a well known American poet and performer. She was born in California and has lived in Virginia plus Atlanta. She loves the art of spoken word poetry especially. Traveling constantly, she has performed spoken word poetry in America, South Africa, the UK, Canada, and Slovakia, including other locations. She loves to write, received awards, and is an editor. She is also an expert on language and culture. Being a professed Christian, she said that you don't have to be perfect to be a believer in the Christian religion. Recently, I found out that we are 3rd cousins as we share the same common ancestor of Rev. James Thompson Claud (or my 3rd great grandfather. He was a born a slave and later married Susanna Field Hurst-Turner). Alysia was raised in Alexandria, Virginia, and she was born in California. The lesson here is that many people that you are related to are people from across the world.
Trump is facing his last days in office. He has massive paranoia. We have many Trump allies trying to leave the country. Pence is hiding from him. That is why Trump is criticizing even his great supporters like Mark Meadows, Pence, Cipilione, Pompeo, and others. Trump is narcissistic, and he refuses to realize that the President is not a king. There are laws and regulations that don't make the President to have massive powers. Trump has criticized Mitch McConnell, because McConnell said to Congress that Biden is the next President. Giuliani said that Sidney Powell isn't representative of Trump, but Trump is open to Powell's lies about the election. The truth is that by January 6, 2020, the Electoral College results will be confirmed, and by January 20, 2020, the inauguration will commence. The majority of American voters decided that Trump will be a one term President, and that is a good thing. Right now, many voting companies are threatening to sue far right wing media with legal actions for their false claims over the election of 2020. Newsmax, OAN, FOX News, and others are given warnings that they could experience a defamation lawsuit. They also want to sue possibly Flynn and Sidney Powell. Flynn is the traitor who wants martial law to exist in order to steal the American election results. That is why Dobbs and people of FOX retracted many of their statements about Biden because of threats of lawsuits. The lawyers for Smartmatic and Dominion have great experience. Defamation lawsuits are expensive and take a long time. Yet, they aren't impossible to get a conviction of.
Happy Hanukkah. For those who don't know what Hanukkah is all about, it is the celebration of the recovery of Jerusalem and the re-dedication of the 2nd Temple at the start of the Maccabees revolt against the Seleucid Empire (which existed after the death of Alexander the Great). The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. The 2nd Temple was created during the days of Cyrus (of the Medo-Persian empire). The holiday starts on the 25th day of Kislev. The event of Hanukkah celebrates Jewish freedom fighters against imperialists. The menorah being lightened up every day and other ceremonies represent a powerful experience of remembrance. There is a new movie coming out about Fred Hampton called Judas and the Black Messiah. The term of Judas and the Black Messiah is used as a title for a reason. The FBI had a document relating to COINTELPRO that didn't want a what they called a "Black Messiah" to galvanize and motivate change in the black community. Fred Hampton was only in his early 20s when he passed away. Yet, Fred Hampton was an organizer, a revolutionary, a socialist, and united people among many backgrounds to stand up against oppression. The movie showed his heroic legacy and the informant to who worked with the powers that be that contributed to his assassination. The Chicago police murdered Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in cold blood on December 1969. We know the informant to be O'Neal. Fred Hampton was the Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party with his headquarters in Chicago. The movie stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield who are actors of the new generation. Regardless, we certainly send great respect to our ancestor Brother Fred Hampton.
Days ago was the Birthday of a late legend. She was the fastest woman sprinter in human history. She is Sister Florence Griffith Joyner or Flo Jo. She was born in Los Angeles, California. She lived in Littlerock, California too. Later, she lived in Watts of LA. Since she was a young girl, she performed in track and field. She went into the Sugar Ray Robinson Organization to run track meets. She won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games 2 years in a row, at the ages of 14 and 15. She ran track at Jordan High School in Los Angeles too. She loved fashion. That is why she wore long nails and unique clothing when she was involved in athletics. Long jump was a sport that Flo Jo did too. Bob Kersee trained her in track and filed when Griffith attended the California State University at Northridge. Griffith earned her degree of bachelor's in psychology from UCLA. She ran in many races. She was 4th in the 200m back in the World Championship in 1983. She had a silver medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics at LA. Her husband is Al Joyner (the Olympic triple jump champion of 1984 and in 1987). In 1987, Flo Jo improved her track and field skills. By 1988, she won 3 gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and the 4 X 100 m relay. She won silver in the 4 x 400m relay at Seoul. Griffith later was on TV shows, helped to design the uniforms for the Indiana Pacers NBA team in 1989, and was on the soap opera Santa Barbara in 1992 as Terry Holloway. As a lover of fashion, she wore a hooded speed staking body suit. She loved her husband and daughter Mary Ruth Joyner (who was born in 1990). She was in the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1995. She passed away in 1998. As the best ever at what she has done, her legacy is always awe inspiring.
Rest in Power Sister Florence Griffith Joyner.
By Timothy
Monday, December 21, 2020
Genealogical Information.
There are always many links between African Americans and West/Central Africans. In 1619, slave traders forced Africans to get on a slave ship called the White Lion. They took these human beings to Virginia. There were about 20 Africans on the ship. They originally came from present day Angola. It was seized by the British crew from the Portugeuse slave ship called the Sao Joao Bautista. This ship came into Hampton, Virginia in 1619. The whole culture of Afro-Brazilians in Brazil was influenced by Angola. Many slaves who came into Brazil came from Angola (which is in Central Africa). Almost 4 million black Africans were kidnapped and brought into Brazil. Afro-Brazilians in many cases follow the religion of Condomble, which ame from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The early history of capoeira is recorded by historians such as Dr. Desch-Obi. Originally, the ancestor tradition originated from Kingdom of Kongo and was called N'golo/Engolo (known as Angola today); a type of ritual dance that used several elements of kicking, slap boxing, etc. Many of the black people in Brazil established settlements, called quilombos, and used capoeira as a form of self-defense against imperialists. Correspondingly, Montinaro et al. (2014) observed that around 50% of the overall ancestry of African Americans traces back to the Niger-Congo-speaking Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin, reflecting the centrality of the his West African region in the Atlantic Slave Trade. The characteristic West African haplogroups L1b, L2b,c,d, and L3b,d and West-Central African haplogroups L1c and L3e in particular occur at high frequencies among African Americans. Therefore, we (who are African Americans) are heavily Bantu. I am an African American with a lot of DNA from Western and Central Africa indeed.
The African American Collins family in Virginia came from the Eastern shore of Virginia. Now, I do know that I'm related to many members of the Collins family on my paternal side of my family. My first cousin is Mallie G. Collins Brown. She was born in October 15, 1929, and she lives in Philadelphia. Her parents were my grand uncle Wilbert T. Collins (1909-1990) and Lillian Mapp Collins (1909-1996). Their children are Ralph William Collins (1928-2006), Mallie G. Collins Brown, and Richard Collins (b. 1935). Wilbert T. Collins' daughter with Hazel Doris Weeks Sr. (1926-2003) was Hazel Doris Weeks (1953-1973). Hazel Doris Weeks Jr. was my 1st cousin, and she married Clifton Robert Mack on January 7, 1972 at Eastville, Virginia (in the Eastern Shore). Wilbert T. Collins's parents were Jacob Collins (1869-1928) and my great grandmother Effie Sarah Bailey Bryant (1891-1977). Jacob Collins' parents were Caleb Collins (1834-1920) and Adah Collins (1838-1896). Jacob Collins married Sarah Felton (b. 1866) and they had the following children: Susan Anna Collins (1892-1949), Benjamin S. Collins, Louis Herman Collins (1895-1961), Jacob Collins Jr. (1896-1959), and Levin Collins (1896-1953). Caleb Collins' parents were Major Collins (1816-1877) and Lakey Collins (b. 1810). Caleb and Adah Collins had the following children: Caleb Collins Jr. (b. 1855), George Major Collins (b. 1858), William H. Collins (1861-1937), Louisa Collins (b. 1861), Annie Collins (b. 1863), John A. Collins (1865-1954), Severn T. Collins (b. 1867), Jacob Collins (1869-1928), Drucilla Collins (B. 1869), Ella Collins (b. 1869), Margaret Collins (b. 1871), Effie S. Collins (b. 1875), and Rich R. Collins (b. 1877). Major Collins' parents were Stephen Collins (b. 1770) and Sarah Collins. Joette Nichole Collins Rhodes (b. 1983) is my 5th cousin. She is related to the Upshur and Perkins families too.
Constantly, I have discovered new information about my genealogy. Cory Lee Duffy is my 4th cousin (born in 1979) as we share the same paternal ancestor of Esther Perkins (b. 1816). Cory's parents are Ada Yvonne Upshur Duffy (B. 1951) and Elmer Lee Duffy (b. 1951). Ada Yvonne Upshur is my 3rd cousin, and she was born in September 1951. She once lived in Delaware, and now she lives in North Carolina. Ada's parents were Charles Edward Upshur (1918-1964) and Annie Virginia Sample (b. 1918). Ada Yvonne Upshur's brothers and Sisters are Gail Upshur (b. 1955), Cherie Linnett Upshur (b. 1958), Gladys D. Usphur (b. 1959), Charles Upshur, Elton Upshur, Elton Upshur, Fayne Upshur, and Gloria Upshur, Carolyn Upshur, and Doris Upshur. My 2nd cousin Charles Edward Upshur (1918-1964) had the parents of Charles Henry Upshur (1885-1964) and Messina Upshur (b. 1887). Messina Upshur (1887) had the parents of Henry Upshur (1858-1940) and Caroline Perkins (1862-1927). My 2rd great grand aunt Carolina Perkins' parents are my 4th great grandparents of George Perkins (b. 1815) and Esther Perkins (b. 1816). I was told that the Upshur family were cousins to us, and DNA plus genealogical evidence prove that to be 100% true.
The world is much more different than years ago. We witness new laws coming about, a new Presidents, and people fighting for racial plus economic justice. After 2018, I have learned much more facts about my genealogy. I have communicated with many of my distant cousins on Ancestry.com. The lesson that I have learned about my research is how interconnected we are with fellow people. We have massive differences in terms of our cultures, interests, styles, and gifts. Yet, we are still part of the same human family, and our origins ultimately came from Africa. During this generation, tons of human beings are waking up about the necessity to promote justice. The protests for respecting the memories of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have been inspiring. The origin of my family tree is only one place. It is the continent of Africa. Most African Americans came from Western Africa and Central Africa. That is why pro-African DNA services have found that many black Americans are related to the Yoruba, Hausa, and other ethnic groups. My paternal ancestors came from North Carolina and the Eastern shore of Virginia. My maternal ancestors came from Southampton County, Virginia.
One actress and performer including actress and professor is Anna Deavere Smith. During the 1990's and beyond, she has been a playwright and worked on many shows. She is now 70 years and was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Smith is a recipient of The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2013). In 2015, she was selected as the Jefferson Lecturer by the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University. Later, she went to the West Coast for graduate work, receiving an M.F.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California. She was in theater to work on playing roles, etc. Smith is best known as a playwright and actress for her "documentary theater" style, also called verbatim theater, in plays such as Fires in the Mirror (1992) and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (1993). Both featured Smith as the sole performer of multiple and diverse characters, based on interviews she had conducted with numerous residents and commentators in the two cities where riots took place. For these works, she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show two years in a row. She interviewed more than 100 people as part of her creation of Fires in the Mirror, which dealt with the 1991 Crown Heights riot. In 1992, she interviewed some 300 people as part of her research for creating Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, which dealt with the 1992 Los Angeles rebellions after the acquittal of police officers who beat Rodney King, in events captured on tape. Both of these plays were constructed using material solely from interviews.
My 2nd cousin Elaine Williams Patterson had a child named Tracey Elise Williams (b. 1966) with Charles Norman Langford (1944-1969). Tracey Elise Williams is my 3rd cousin, and she was born on December 28, 1966 at Hampton, Virginia. She had the children of Mareo Lamon Williams (born in 1990. His father is Jose Luis Rodriguez Montanez Jr. Jose Montanez Jr. was born in 1966), Marquita Elise Williams (born in 1989 and her father is Mark Anthony Harris), and Marshawn T. Williams. Mareo, Marquita, and Marshawn are all my 3rd cousins. Marquita Elise Williams married Antonio Devon Harmon on September 16, 2011 at Hampton, Virginia. Marquita was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 6, 1989. Mareo Lamon Williams married Latonya Arielle Abrams on February 7, 2014 at Hampton, Virginia.
The era of the 2000's saw many changes in American society. It was a time of my early adulthood. The war on terror and debates about civil liberties were heavily abundant. The Internet reached new levels of power. Music became more accessible to the people. Napster soon was gone, but you have the growth of digitized music by the end of the decade. Many CD stores and VHS locations went out of business by 2009. In the mean time, music in R&B was very glorious. The songs of the first decade of the 21st century had the elements of old school sounds from Toni Braxton, Maxwell, Mary J. Blige, Sade, and Tamia. Also, this decade saw the growth of young talent with outstanding charisma like Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Usher, Kelis, Jennifer Sullivan, Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Fantasia, Ashanti, Mario, Keke Wyatt, and other artists who knew the basis of musical expression. The elephant in the room is that this era had pop star from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake (who made a comment disrespecting Prince) utilized a lot of R&B/soul elements in their music. Yet, people should realize that R&B and soul music originated from us (who are black people). Any artist of any color has to respect black music in order to respect real music in general. That is the principle. R&B music of the 2000s saw a fusion further of hip hop and R&B genres in collaborations and songs. Music in general saw hip hop as most the powerful genre of this 21st century. The end of 2009 saw R&B changing once again into allowing new talent and legendary artists to continue to shine their talents. That is why I saw that the 2000s had some joints from the music from 3LW, Lfye Jennings, Anthony Hamilton, Melanie Fionna, Leona Lewis, Alicia Keyes, Amerie, Jagged Edge, Craig David, Floetry, Brandy, Monica, Mya, Tweet, Corrine Bailye Rae, Kelly Rowland, and other excellent artists. People as diverse as Vivian Green, Heather Headley, Keri Hilson, Erkyah Badu, Avant, Lloyd, Jill Scott, and Lil Mo, and Cheri Dennis made us dance and think.
John Quincy Adams Scott was born on February 6, 1897 in Virginia. He was my 1st cousin and the great grandson of Zilphy Claud (1840-1892). Scott's mother was Roberta Hill, Robert's mother was Sarah Claud, and Sarah Claud's mother was Zilphy Claud. John Quincy Adams Scott's father was William Theo Scott (1865-1935). John Quincy Adams Scott was a veteran of World War I. He came back into America from Brest, France on June 26, 1919 (which was the date of his departure from France). He arrived at Newport News, Virginia. He lived at Courtland, Virginia. He was a Private First Class, his Service Number was 2611039, and he was part of the Colored 548th Engineers.
Doreatha E. Faltz Bulter was my 1st cousin. She lived from May 10, 1930 to October 9, 2019. She was my maternal relative. We shared the common ancestor of Rev. James Thompson Claud (1857-1926). Doreatha E. Faltz Bulter was born at Courtland, Virginia. Her parents were Joseph Faltz (1902-1952) and my 2nd great grand aunt Alice Rosetta Claud (1902-1987). Alice Rosetta Claud's parents were Rev. James Thompson Claud and Susanna Field Hurst-Turner Claud (1862-1949). Doreatha Faltz Butler was the oldest woman of 10 siblings. She was heavily educated in the Southampton County public school system. By 1989, she earned a Certificate in Religious Studies from the School of Theology, Virginia Union University. She was part of the A.M.E. David Temple in Courtland, Virginia and later worshiped at Oakland Chapel Church of Christ in 1955. She was a missionary and taught Sunday School. In Norfolk, Virginia she was part of Social Services. She had a sense of humor, gardened, and cook meals for her family and friends. Her Brothers and Sisters are Wilbert Randolph Faltz Sr. (1923-1985), William Faltz (b. 1924), Joseph Nathan Faltz (1925-1959), Mary Alice Faltz (b. 1929), Ernest Calvin Faltz (1931-2007), James Louis Faltz (1932-1985), Viola Faltz (b. 1933), Leman Faltz (b. 1935), Clarence Sylvester Faltz (1936-2016), and Thelma R. Faltz (1938-2009). Doreatha Faltz Butler married William Butler Jr. in 1952 at Monroe, Florida. Doreatha Faltz Butler had 3 children. Their names are: Gale Denise Butler (b. 1952. She lives in Virginia Beach, VA), Michael Butler, and Allen Todd Butler. These 3 people are my 2nd cousins. Gale Butler was born on October 15, 1952. She at first married Larry Uzzle in 1972 at Pasquotank, North Carolina. Their children are Danielle Alisha Uzzle (b. 1973), Larry Uzzle Jr. (b. 1975), Marcus Lamont Uzzle (b. 1979), and Darnell Uzzle (b. 1986). These 4 human beings are my 3rd cousins. Gale married Arthur Caliph Pigram on 1993, and her current husband is Anthony Lee Midgette since 2010. Daneille Alisha Uzzle married Trent Lavell Foreman on February 14, 1995 at Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their children are my 4th cousins who are Paris De'jah Foreman (b. 1996), Isaiah Foreman, and Trent Foreman Jr. Allen Todd Butler is married to Wanda Lyn Owens on December 31, 1998 at Norfolk, Virginia. Doreatha Faltz Butler had 11 grandchildren of: Danielle Foreman (Trent) of Virginia Beach, VA, Larry Uzzle, Jr. of Seattle, Washington, Marcus Uzzle (Andrea) of Washington DC, Darnell Uzzle (Erica) of Chesapeake, VA, Taylor Pigram of Arlington, VA, Shene Midgette, Omari Midgette of Virginia Beach, VA, Andre Butler, Alex Butler, Andrew Butler of Norfolk, VA, and Sheldon Whitaker of Georgia, eight great-grand children, Trent Foreman, Jr., Paris Foreman, Isaiah Foreman, Mycka Uzzle, Codie Entrekin, Jewel Curry, London Uzzle, and Princeton Uzzle, three sisters, Mary A. Boyd of Virginia Beach, VA, Viola Warren of Norfolk, VA and Thelma Bell of Philadelphia, PA, special cousins, Alfred and Rena Whittaker, Barbara Jackson, Theophylis Artis, etc.
By Timothy
Friday, December 18, 2020
Black Agenda Report News.
https://blackagendareport.com/you-cant-shame-shameless-black-misleadership-class
https://blackagendareport.com/planets-problem-hell-samantha-power
https://blackagendareport.com/agenda-2021-resist-useunato-axis-domination
https://blackagendareport.com/bar-book-forum-grace-musilas-book-wangari-maathais-registers-freedom
https://blackagendareport.com/bar-book-forum-yelena-baileys-how-streets-were-made
https://blackagendareport.com/racial-capitalism-black-liberation-and-south-africa
Important Topics on Late December 2020.
One of the big news story is how the Russian cyberattack targeted Energy Department's Nuclear Weapons agency. The information from that agency was breached. Trump is silent on these attacks like usual. It shows that Trump has negated his responsibility to defend America. Even some leftists view Russia as some heroic state. Russia is state dominated by corrupt, capitalist interests. Even Jill Stein was wrong to have dinner where Putin was present. Putin is not heroic. Putin is a far right wing nationalist capitalist. He has passed laws that violated democratic rights and evangelism. Putin has allied with many oligarchs in Russia. Putin has allowed nefarious spies in trying to infiltrate many institutions of American society. Anna Politkovskaya, who courageously opposed Putin’s war in Chechnya, was mysteriously murdered. The common lie among Putin supporters is that if you criticize Putin, then you want an invasion of Russia or imperialism. That is a lie as we reject a military invasion of Russia (as some neo-cons advocate). We desire Russia to embrace true liberation, and Putin to be held accountable for his authoritarianism and corrupt actions. No nation on Earth is immune from legitimate critique. Many hypocrites lecture others on the evils of American imperialism (American imperialism should be criticized), but they are silent on the abuses of power done by the person by the name of Putin. Putin's evil has nothing to do with every Russian person. It has to do with a select number of evil people who embrace far right nationalism at the expense of human freedom.
The recent raid of Anjanette Young's home in Chicago shows the disrespect of the human dignity of black people. Young barely survived in the raid, and she experienced brutal trauma. There is no excuse for what happened to her. She was not a criminal, and the police targeted the wrong house. After the police wanted her to not release the tape of her arrest, the tape was released. Even the White House counsel warned Trump not to fire Christopher Wray or FBI Director, because that would give the impression of a loyalty test. The reality is that Trump does have a loyalty test for the people he decides to appoint. Trump wants to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden. Barr refused to have it done. That is one reason why Barr resigned. Trump wants Barr's replacement to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, because Trump hates Joe Biden.
Days ago was the Birthday of Sister Cindy Birdsong, and she is 81 years old. She had a solo career, and she was part of the legendary Supremes group during 1967 plus beyond. Before being part of the Supremes, she was in the Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. She was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey. She lived in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Camden is just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. She wanted to be a nurse at first. Later, she came back into Philadelphia to be part of the music industry. She was in the Ordettes group. In the music world, Philadelphia is known for its soul groups like The Stylistics, the Three Degrees, and The Delfonics. The Bluebelles had their hit of I Sold My Heart to the Junkman in 1962. The Bluebelles and the Supremes wore similar outfits on stage. The Bluebelles were friends with Philly native Tammi Terrell. Birdsong worked for the Supremes, at the UCLA Medical Center as a nurse, and worked at Motown too. She made the song of Dancing Room in 1987. She sang with Patti Labelle during the 1980's. Also, she sang with Mary Wilson, and Kelly Rowland to celebrate the Supremes' legacy in 2004. Now, she lives in the Los Angeles area, and she has one son. I wish Sister Cindy Birdsong more blessings.
This is an important topic to discussion, because some want us to be silent on these people. Some want us to ignore them, but they have a large following among our community unfortunately. They spew not only misogyny and disinformation. They also promote divisions in our community based upon nationality, sex, income, and background in general. Some of them even want to promote the FBA or the ADOS movements which are explicitly xenophobic and desire to divide black people based upon nationality. Therefore, I can't be silent on these fraudulent individuals. One person who is part of the new generation of deciever is a fraud named Kevin Samuels. I didn't know who this person is at first. I did my research to find that not only does he promote the PUA/red pill dating nonsense. He is a person who is known to make women cry because of his sexist words. He is like Tommy Sotomayor who has a platform to bash black women and follow the evil of colorism. Kevin Samuels readily has no class in mocking or disrespecting many of his callers to his show, he was twice divorced, and claims to date women under 25. Kevin Samuels' views are disturbing, archaic, and inaccurate. Tariq Nasheed is a person who is a liar and a hypocrite. Nasheed mocked John Lewis in offensive terms, he claims that massive voting fraud existed in Georgia (which is false), and he mocks IRs that he doesn't approve of but his mother in law is a white woman. Tariq released a film about the 1804 victory of Haitians against French imperialists, but he regularly mocks Caribbeans including Haitians on many occasions. Umar Johnson talks about Pan-Africanism (which I do agree with), but he recently said that women are not putting in the work which is a lie. Umar has many scandals from money for his school to child support issues. The common denominator among these Hoteps is that they refuse to call for a radical redistribution of wealth involving housing, economics, political power, and other things in order to see liberation. They refuse to promote long term solutions for our communities. They lecture us on tangibles, but they have no tangible policies to address income inequality, police brutality, homelessness, poverty in general, or other important issues but set up some businesses. There is nothing wrong with growing businesses, but solutions include much more than that. You have to confront the 1 percent and their power structure, you have to stop economic inequality, and you have to develop means to eradicate racism internationally. So, we should follow real black scholars like Solomon Comissiong, Michelle Alexander, Christina M. Greer, Dr. Eddie Glaude, and other Brothers and Sisters who are experts.
Days ago was the Birthday of the legendary singer Sister Lalah Hathaway, and she is 52 years old. Soul always encompasses her outstanding legacy as an artist. She is the daughter of the legend Donny Lathaway. Also, she won 5 Grammy awards. Chicago is the place of her birth. Lalah Hathaway has been a musician, a songwriter, a record producer, and an arranger. She can play the piano too. Her first album was Hathaway in 1990. By 1994, she released the album called A Moment. Joe Sample was the person she worked with on the album The Song Lives On in 1999. Her most successful album was in 2008 with Self Portrait. During this year of 2020, she is working on her studio album entitled, "L.A.L.A.H. rebirth." Lalah Hathaway also worked with musicians like Mary J. Blige, Marcus Miller, Take 6, Meshell Ndegeocello, Sandra St. Victor, Nona Hendryx, Joyce Kennedy, Indira, Simone, and The Winans. She has wrote songs, produced, and sang background vocals for many musicians. Her gift is that she can show a multiphonic singing voice. Lalah Hathaway invests in time to promote The Circle of Promise. She has raised money on her tours and record sales to fight breast cancer, especially within the African American community. Like her father, she is a legend and an icon of music. I wish Sister Lalah Hathaway more blessings.
By Timothy
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
A New Political Day.
We the people determines the composition of government not oligarchs or extremists. The people have spoken, and the majority of the American people want to end the Trump era. That era will end finally on January 20, 2020. While Trump supporters hypocritically lecture us on the law, they violate the law constantly. The Proud Boys illegally took down the BLM flags from churches in Washington, D.C. to burn them. These Proud Boys thugs vandalized black churches. It is similar to what happened in Germany during the 1930's against synagogues, but many conservatives heavily ignore this act of terrorism against black churches. Many of them stabbed people in D.C. streets too. Trump allowed the police to tear gas and beat peaceful protesters during the summer of 2020. Many GOP political leaders tried to stop mail in voting in Texas and in other states. They failed.
Now, we have a new Biden administration on the horizon. Some want to go back to normal. I'm glad that Biden has won the election, but we don't need a return to "normal." We need revolutionary change. Here is the reason why we don't want normal. For the past 40 years, there has been a rise of economic inequality, stagnant wages, and the status quo. The GOP leaders have advanced hatred and divisions. Even some centrist Democrats decades ago promoted NAFTA, welfare reform, and the crime bill that ruined millions of American lives. The pandemic now is harming black people, other people of color, and the poor in disproportionate levels. Decades of redlining, systematic racism, gentrification, harm to the social safety net, environmental degradation existed in Trump's time and before. Today, America is the only industrialized nation on Earth without universal health care. This reality must change. It won't be changed by moderation. It must be changed by bold actions. Changing course is important. It is moral and commonsense to address these problems. We want justice for Breonna Tyloar and George Floyd. We have to defeat racism and economic oppression regardless if a Democrat or Republican is President. We want BIPOC people to have liberation, and we desire all in the human family to have true freedom.
In recent years, more and more people are talking about Afro-Latino people. That is a good thing, because many human beings don't know too much about Afro-Latino culture or history. They have existed in the Americas for centuries. They have been abolitionists, political leaders, athletes, lawyers, various scholars, musicians, and other contributors to society. Also, they are black people just like me. Many years ago, I read a book from Henry Louis Gates describing much of Afro-Latino people that certainly interested people including me. Since I have an inquisitive mind, I did my own research too. The largest number of Afro-Latino human begins are found in Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and other locations. In Brazil, people like Pele, Zezé Motta, Nene, and Benedita da Silva made long lasting contributions to society. Celia Cruz, Lola Falana, Laz Alonzo, Nancy Morejón, and Gina Torres are of Afro-Cuban descent. Afro-Colombians like MarÃa Isabel Urrutia, Piedad Córdoba, Raul Cuero, and other people represent Black Excellence to the fullest. When you get older, many folks open their eyes to see a fuller representation of the truth. Tons of Afro-Latino people live in America too. As an African American, we have every right to learn and to grow in consciousness. Afro-Latino human beings are always my Brothers and my Sisters.
There is a story that Russia hacking the DHS, the State Department, the National Institute of Health via sophisticated means. The cyberattacks have breached email accounts across the U.S. federal government. Also, Russia was caught in a cyberattacks against other government agencies too. Many people love Putin (even those claiming to be "progressives"), because they claim to be against imperialism. I have no problem with being against imperialism in any manifestation, but Putin is no hero. Putin is not a socialist. He is a capitalist nationalist with links to Russian oligarchs (many of them oligarchs have been exposed to have participated in notorious scandals). In Russia, there is right wing extremism and racism. In Russia, many Russian opposition political leaders were victims of poisonings, harassment, and even death. Russia is notorious for meddling in the 2016 election, and places bounties on U.S. troops. Putin has policies that violate democratic rights, even religious liberty rights as Russia limits evangelism. In America, we have the First Amendment where religious expression is protected. So, Putin is no freedom fighter. He's a thug, and a sick person.
Today is a very monumental, historic day for the United States of America. After this long journey, the electoral college with its electors will confirm Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the 2020 Presidential election. As this goes onward, we have seen far right wing extremists use violence on Saturday night days ago. We have seen Trump and his allies make a mockery of the law and democracy by issuing the slander that widespread voting fraud existed. Trump is a notorious enemy of freedom by his policies and actions. Far right extremist hypocrites lecture us on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but they make it their duties to try to invalidate the results of a constitutional, legal election. Trump has cursed out peaceful NFL protesters, he has tried to ease libel laws, he eliminated the Iran nuclear deal, he has refuse to promote diversity education on racial justice in schools, and he has made bigoted remarks for decades. Many Proud Boys tore down a BLM flag from a church. Some of them were violent displaying racist epithets in D.C., and they are allied with Trump at the White House. Many Trump supporters have threatened violence over voter certification. The electors made the right choice to make Biden the winner. The victory was heavily made by black people who defeated the odds in many areas of this nation. Efforts by the GOP to eliminate mail in ballots and restrict basic voting rights has failed to make Trump get a 2nd term. The election of 2020 is over. Now, we have to deal with the Georgia Senate campaign. If the Democrats win both seats, then the Senate will be mostly Democratic. That is why we have to be vigilant and defend our democracy like always. Breaking news is that Attorney General William Barr has resigned (he will step down on December 23, 2020). Jeff Rosen will be the acting attorney General. Bill Barr will go down as one of the most controversial Attorney Generals in history. Just because this has happened, Trump criticized Barr for saying that he didn't find any widespread fraud of the 2020 election. Trump complained about Barr didn't reveal investigations in public. Barr is the person who is leaving before a new President and a new Vice President comes into office. Barr is a terrible Attorney General. He did nothing when innocent protesters were assaulted in D.C., with batons including tear gas, and he did nothing when police brutality still continues to go on.
By Timothy
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Studies on Colorism.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/skin-tone-bias_n_4597924
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/08/dark-skinned-whites-arrested-more-those-lighter-skin
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/colorism-and-its-impact-on-society
https://www.nccj.org/colorism-0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_based_on_skin_color
Monday, December 14, 2020
Life and Music.
Especially in this year alone, civil liberty issues are found all over America. They are diverse too. One of the most important parts of civil liberties involve protecting human privacy and security during the midst of a rapidly changing technological age. Technology is heavily innovated in the 21st century. We desire individual people to have control over their personal information and reject those who hack other's information. Back in 1986, there is the federal law that protects people's electronic information. This was long before the modern manifestation of the World Wide Web that came about in 1989 with the first web browser came out in 1990. The Fourth Amendment protects information that people keep in a desk. Many former NSA whistleblowers including Snowden has sent to the public the extent of the NSA warrantless programs that has been criticized by people from across the political spectrum. It is not a secret that government agencies like the NSA, CIA, and FBI monitor private communications worldwide. That includes cell phone communications and everything else. Edward Snowden copied and leaked thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists. This information proved that the access of some federal agencies to the public's online identity and led to wider use anonymizing technologies. Snowden is forced into exile, because he risks arrest to this day if he steps foot in America. Some have called him a hero, a patriot, or a traitor. The truth is that Snowden did a controversial action, but he isn't some traitor (as he desired to allow the American people to know how extensive mass surveillance, government secrecy, etc. is). By September 2, 2020 a U.S. federal court ruled that the U.S. intelligence's mass surveillance program, exposed by Snowden, was illegal and possibly unconstitutional. Daniel Ellsberg has said that Snowden's release was the most significant leak in American history. We have to fight for our freedom. We don't want the government to track our every move. The balance between security and freedom must always be in existence. Movies like Enemy of the State and Snowden exposed what is going on in America plus the world to this day. Other civil liberty issues deals with voting rights, national security, women's rights, religious liberty, free speech, disability rights, criminal justice issues, etc. Voting is a fundamental human right. That is the Voting Rights Act should be strengthened, unfair gerrymandering must be ended, voter restoration must be a priority, and access to the ballot has to be expanded in order for human rights to be grown.
One of the most interesting parts of the 1990's was the growth of dance music. During the 1990's, musicians of every color made dance/house music that was inspirational. People danced to their music, and many unsung artists are part of that culture. When I was teenager (during the late 1990's), I saw a commercial celebrating 90's dance music. A lot of the music came from America and from Europe. In 1990, dance music was powerful with songs from musicians like Kylie Minogue, Maxi Priest (with his song of Close to You), and Snap!. People like Kim Appleby had records like Don't Worry, Beats International had Dub Be Good to me, Technotronic had Get Up (Before the Night is Over), Dee-Lite's Groove is in the Heart (in my opinion gave disco a huge comeback in 90's music. We were very tolerant of disco during the 1990's for real), and Twenty4Seven feat. Captain Hollywood's I Can't Stand It offered diversity. People like Bombalurina, Londonbeat, DNA feat. Suzzane Vega (with their Tom's Diner), The KLF, MC Hammer (with U Can't Touch This), etc. made people dance. In 1991, The KLF had the song of 3AM Eternal with an amazing people. People like Whitney Houston, Color Me Badd, Amy Grant, Kate Yanai, Michael Jackson, etc. had dance hits. Seal's song of Crazy was ahead of its time. Prince had his generation of music. Emotions from Mariah Carey was a large dance record. People like Rozalla, Roxette, 2 Unlimited (with Get Ready for this), C&C Music Factory, and other people had creative sounds. One Queen of House is Crystal Waters with her song of Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee) form 1991. Crystal Water worked hard throughout her life to achieve the accomplishments that she has earned by her own merit. Dance hits from Karyn White's Romantic, Paula Abdul's The Promise of a New Day, Cathy Dennis's songs, EMF's Unbelievable, and other people made the 1990's what it is.
1992 saw an evolution of music. Prince, Felix, Right Said Fred, Madonna's controversial Erotica, etc. had themes that were ahead of its time. Ce Ce Peniston's Finally shown great vocals, creative colors in the video, and just great talent. Dance music from En Vogue, Shanice, Michael Jackson's In the Closet, and Dr. Alban's It's My Life expanded dance music. From Kriss Kross, Jon Secada's Just Another Day, Double You, KWS, Snap!'s Rhythm is a Dancer, Tasmin Archer's Sleeping Satellite,and other songs made people enjoy themselves. Groups like Inner Circle and Londonbeat had music of the 90's as well. 1993 saw an explosion of dance/house music. Ace of Base, Toni Braxton, Jade, Mariah Carey's Dreamlover, and Gabrielle's Dreams were inspirational. Snap! and Nikki Harris released music. People like 2 Unlimited, Pet Shop Boys, Culture Beat, Stakka Bo, Zhane, UB40, Tina Turner's I Don't Want to Fight, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Inner Circle, Take That, Captain Hollywood, Haddaway's Life, M People, and many people had music. Culture Beat's Mr. Vain was one of the most popular dance/house songs of all time. Even I heard of this song when I was a kid. Shaggy was out in 1993 with the song Oh Carolina. Show Me Love by Robin S. was another huge record. Dr. Alban's Hallelujah was very powerful too. From DJ BoBo's Somebody Dance with Me, Janet Jackson's music, Urban Cookie Collective, Spin Doctors' Two Princes, Cappella's U Got 2 Know, and 4 Non Blondes' What's Going On made 93 unique. 1994 was the end of the early 1990's. In dance, 1994 saw Crystal Waters made 100 % Pure Love. She was at another level in 1994. Youssou N'Dour ft. Neneh Cherry made 7 Seconds. One of the great dance songs of the year was Another Night by The Real McCoy. Aaliyah's Back and Forth showed her range. Janet Jackson's worldwide touring and love of her fans are shown in her song of Because of Love. Toni Braxton, Tevin Campbell, Ace of Base, Prince Ital Joe, Haddaway, Pharao, Baby D, 2 Unlimited, Prince, Capella's You and Me, and Salt-N-Pepa plus En Vogue had great music.
In 1995, music expanded involving house and dance. Brandy, Corona, La Bouche's Be My Lover, Outhere Brothers' Boom Boom Boom, Shaggy's Boombastic (I saw that song on the show Splash back in 1995), Alex Party, Tina Turner, Adina Howard, Ini Kamoze's Here Comes the Hotstepper, Brownstone's If You Love Me, Grace, The Real McCoy's Runaway, Janet Jackson's Runaway, and other human beings had songs which were timeless. N-Trance, This is How We Do It from Montell Jordan, and other music outline a golden age of music. In 1996, Mariah Carey made great music. California Love from Tupac, Robert Miles's Children, Quad City DJ's song, Jamiroquai's Cosmic Girl, Los Del Riot's Macarena, Mark Morrison, BBE, Brandy, and other human beings promoted their talents. In 1997, it was a more serious sounds with people from Lutricia McNeal, Spice Girls, Boyz II Men, Allure, 112, Bees Gees, Eternal, Draft Punk, Aqua, En Vogue, Whitney Houston, Dario G, Usher, and Chilli ft. Carrapicho made music. By the late 1990's underrated artists like Jessica Folkcer (she is of Afro-European descent from Sweden like the younger Afro-German singer Joy Denalane), Gabrielle, Diana King, Dionne Harris, Seal, Adriana Evans, and other people made music. In 1998, songs were more about introspection and having fun. Artists like Wes, Meja, Will Smith, Pras, Maya, Lighthouse Family, Mousse T, Dru Hill, Janet Jackson, Divine, Desiree, Ace of Base, Robbie Williams, Sash, Deborah Cox, Destiny's Child, Spice Girls, Monica, Brandy, TQ, and other artists made people dance. In 1999, dance music was abundant. Anne Lee, Enrique Iglesias, Madonna, Emilia, Destiny's Child (in 1999, Destiny's Child established themselves as a supergroup with a long list of hits), Eiffel 65, Vengaboys, Jessica Folcker, Will Smith, Sisqo, and other people expressed sounds during the final year of the 20th century.
One of the most vicious nuclear disasters in history was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that took place on March 11, 2011. Many people have came into the hospital as a product of the disaster along with death. It was caused by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. It was the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. It was the only accident to receive a Level 7 event classification on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The reactors shut down their normal power generating fission reactions. The earthquake and tsunami caused water to flood lower parts of the reactors 1-4. This cause loss of power to the circulating pumps. Then, 3 nuclear meltdowns came about. Then, hydrogen explosions, and the release of radioactive contamination existed. In the days after the accident, radiation released to the atmosphere forced the government to declare an ever-larger evacuation zone around the plant, culminating in an evacuation zone with a 20 km radius. All told, some 154,000 residents evacuated from the communities surrounding the plant due to the rising off-site levels of ambient ionizing radiation caused by airborne radioactive contamination from the damaged reactors. Later, radioactive isotopes were released into the Pacific Ocean during and after the disaster. Since the Pacific Ocean is huge, this poisoned water has spread globally. Michio Aoyama, a professor of radioisotope geoscience at the Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, has estimated that 18,000 terabecquerel (TBq) of radioactive caesium 137 were released into the Pacific during the accident, and in 2013, 30 gigabecquerel (GBq) of caesium 137 were still flowing into the ocean every day. The plant's operator has since built new walls along the coast and also created a 1.5 km long "ice wall" of frozen earth to try to stop the flow of contaminated water. Yet, the damage is done. Even the most conservative researchers admit that it will take 30-40 years at least to cause a cleanup of the contaminated area and cause a decommission of the plant. Many studies were ignored about the vulnerabilities of the plant too.
There are always mysteries in the architecture of Washington D.C. The Lincoln Memorial has tons of architectural influences and strong imagery. It acts as a place to remember Abraham Lincoln. Many people from Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas pressured Abraham Lincoln to be more courageous during the Civil War. Lincoln was opposed to slavery, but at first he wanted to unified the nation, even if that meant that the South would still have slaves. Later, he wanted to fight for the Union without slavery in existence. After the U.S. Civil War, legalized slavery was gone. That was a good thing. The architect of the Lincoln Memorial was Henry Bacon. Henry Bacon (1866-1924) was influenced by the Beaux-Arts style. The Lincoln Memorial was finished from 1915 to 1922. Bacon based the Lincoln Memorial on the style of ancient Greek temples like the Parthenon. The statue of the Abraham Lincoln is made up of 170 tons. The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Memorial's interior is divided into three chambers by two rows of four Ionic columns, each 50 feet (15 m) tall and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) across at their base. The central chamber, housing the statue of Lincoln, is 60 feet wide, 74 feet deep, and 60 feet high. The Memorial is replete with symbolic elements. The 36 columns represent the states of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death; the 48 stone festoons above the columns represent the 48 states in 1922. Inside, each inscription is surmounted by a 60-by-12-foot (18.3 by 3.7 m) mural by Jules Guerin portraying principles seen as evident in Lincoln's life: Freedom, Liberty, Mortality, Justice, and the Law on the south wall; Unity, Fraternity, and Charity on the north. Cypress trees, representing Eternity, are in the murals' backgrounds. The murals' paint incorporated kerosene and wax to protect the exposed artwork from fluctuations in temperature and moisture.
One of the most interesting paintings in the U.S. Capitol rotunda dome is the Apotheosis of Washington. It was painted by the Greek-Italian artist named Constantino Brumidi in 1865. The fresco is suspended in 180 feet above the rotunda floor. It covers about 4,663 square feet. Brumidi had worked for three years in the Vatican under Pope Gregory XVI, and served several aristocrats as an artist for palaces and villas, including the prince Torlonia. He immigrated to the United States in 1852, and spent much of the last 25 years of his life working in the Capitol. In addition to The Apotheosis of Washington he designed the Brumidi Corridors. The symbolism of the paintings is overt and clear. It show George Washington sitting amongst the heavens in an exalted manner. It shows George Washington ascending into being a god (which in my opinion is blasphemous). Washington was the first U.S. President and the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The paintings shows pagan imagery like the Goddess of Liberty with the red liberty cap. It shows the goddess Victoria. Forming a circle between Liberty and Victory are 13 maidens, each with a star above her head, representing the original 13 colonies. Several of the maidens have their backs turned to Washington, said to represent the colonies that had seceded from the Union at the time of painting. Across the circle from Washington is the banner E Pluribus Unum meaning "out of many, one."
Surrounding Washington, the two goddesses and the 13 maidens are six scenes lining the perimeter, each representing a national concept allegorically: from directly below Washington in the center and moving clockwise, "War," "Science," "Marine," "Commerce," "Mechanics," and "Agriculture." The perimeter scenes are not fully visible from the floor of the Capitol. The scenes shows an homage to Roman gods and goddesses like Minerva, Neptune, Ceres, Vulcan, and Mercury. It praises Columbia too.
With recent events going on in the world, it is important to honor the black African Diaspora. Black people live globally. You can't be pro-black unless you desire all black people to be liberated worldwide. My ancestors came from Africa, and I was born in Virginia. The vast majority of black people who live in the world outside of Africa live in Brazil, The Untied States of America, Haiti, and Colombia. With 43 million black Americans, 100 million Afro-South Americans, and 23 Afro-Caribbeans, there are almost 200 black people in the Americas alone. Black people in France include courageous human beings too. Afro-French human being Laetitia Avia is an MP from Paris for La Republique En Marche!.Maxette Grisoni-Pirbakas (born on April 14, 1973) is a French politician and syndicalist. She is on the list in the 2019 European Parliament election in France of the National Rally (RN). Sibeth Ndiaye (born on December 13, 1979) is a French-Senegalese communications advisor. Rokhaya Diallo (born on April 10, 1978), is a French journalist, author, filmmaker, and activist for racial, gender and religious equality. We have different cultures, and that is great. We are still part of one human family.
By Timothy
Friday, December 11, 2020
Defending Democracy.
Trump once again is attempting a coup d'etat of American democracy. Trump, the Texas attorney general, and over 100 Congressional Republicans have signed a statement and lawsuit to try to stop the votes from many states sent to the Supreme Court. These reactionaries are not only motivated by greed, power, and hatred of democratic power. They are also motivated by racism, because the greatest demographic who voted against Trump during the 2020 election are black Americans (which is my ethnicity as I am a black person in America). Now, one person from Staten Island, NYC was arrested for making threats, because he was angry that Trump lost the election. One PA Democratic called this lawsuit seditious, and it is. For Trump and his allies to disregard the majority of Americans who voted him out of office is outright sedition. Trump has always been a traitor, and Ted Cruz is a coward. Cruz wants to be a lawyer in the Trump lawsuit, when Trump disrespected Cruz's wife, father, and children. Trump even accused his father of being involved in the JFK assassination. Every state and territory of America has already certified the election as a Biden victory. On January 20, 2020, there will be a new President and new Vice President. We still have to be vigilant to promote our rights. Trump has disrespected mail in ballots, defied court decisions that said that Biden won the election, and has habitually lied on voting rights. Therefore, we are done with the Trump administration.
Days ago, America sets a new record of the pandemic deaths. There are over 3,000 Americans who lost their lives from the virus today. This is one of the highest deaths of any day of any event in American history. The virus is harming rural hospitals. One hospital in the Southside of Chicago is fighting for its survival. Right now, a FDA panel decided to recommend the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccine is projected to be shipped in the East Coast and the West Coast (plus across America) massively in a manner of days. Now, the state of Pennsylvania is holding test runs of mass vaccinations. Over 60 percent of Americans desire such a vaccine. I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime. This is just like 1968. 3,103 people died from the virus in America on Wednesday is just incalculable. It's wild, and it's hard to comprehend the pain of the many families who have lost loved ones. We should never be numb to this. One person in the White House is responsible for the response to this tragedy. Trump is completely silent. He is not leading. We have record cases of people with the virus too in America. It isn't just him responsible for policies done in dealing with this tragedy. It is a whole lost of people who believe in false theories and no stimulus than truth. They are just as much responsible for this crisis as the occupant in the White House.
We should always respect great black leadership. Yet, we shouldn't be naive about how some black people (being neoliberals) who are involved in some fake "wokeness." We know their types. Many of them exploit Blackness in order for them to support the current system filled with corporate power, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Money interests. Many of them are right on voting rights, civil rights, and other matters. We are with them on those issues. Yet, they are silent on poverty, silent on exposing corporate power, and being very silent on exposing imperialism. You have to confront the military industrial complex if a solution is made. So, we believe in solidarity, honoring our identities, and believing in a just future. I love being Black, and part of that is desiring the human race to be free without compromising to the status quo. Part of that is also loving black people worldwide in a Pan-African unity.
One of the most important news is that when the eviction moratorium ends on December 31st, 2020, 40 million or more Americans face evictiona. This comes during a pandemic. Capitalist exploitation is indifferent to human suffering. That is why one encampment was recently cleared in Charlotte without housing or compensation to the homeless. It is illogical for state and local governments in America to break up tent cities when the eviction of more people could exist by the end of this year. Neoliberalism or centrism never worked, and that's proven by the current housing crisis. For decades, neoliberalism promotes gentrification, record money to the police, without a radical improvement of the quality of life of urban plus rural residents. Housing is a human right, and some folks ought to act like it. Congress can spend $740 billion per year on wars, but they refuse to send families $2000 a month to help them.
We face far right extremism who are part of the Trump cult. There reports nationwide of local officials being threatened by Trump supporters because Trump lost the election. In 2020 alone, The Wolverine militias in Michigan wanted to kidnap the Democratic Governor. Many Trump loyalists have harmed people, and some of them have been caught harassing another Michigan political leader. One Arizona Republican said that he is prepared to lose his life over this battle. Trump is silent on these threats. Also, we have people who don't agree with masks swarming the Idaho home of a Boise, Idaho member of the state Health board. This form of harassment is typical of many Trump supporters. One GOP official is scared that this person's house would be attacked by Trump supporters. The Trump supporter (who refuses to acknowledge Biden's election victory in 2020) claims to be a super patriot, but he or she is a traitor. They lecture us on laws, but they abhor the right to vote, the right to free speech that they don't like, and many of them love real racist Confederates.
By Timothy
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Wednesday, December 09, 2020
Political Realities and New Directions.
Representative Marcia L. Fudge's nomination as the Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is certainly good news. She is superbly qualified. The mayor of Washington D.C. Muriel Bowser will provide $1,200 stimulus checks to eligible people. While this is going on, Trump refuses to show leadership in promoting stimulus checks for the rest of the American people. The country need stimulus checks and not immunity for corporations exposing workers to the virus. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has won a second term. General Lloyd Austin is nominated to be part of the Pentagon (as Secretary of Defnese), and Marcella Nunez-Smith is part of the virus task force. The new mayor of Baltimore is Brandon M. Scott. So, all around us, history is being made. Mitch McConnell has blocked the Justice in Policing Act that banned no-knock warrants in America. The House passed the bill. In Virginia, Governor Ralph Northam signed Breonna's Law on Monday that bans the police from using no-knock search warrants in the state. People can say what they want about Virginia, but Virginia proves once again that it's the most progressive state of the how. The NAACP wants Biden to create a cabinet level civil rights envoy. Also, Biden has to decide on the new Attorney General. Many progressives and civil rights leaders want an Attorney General who has experience in civil rights, a person who is opposed to police brutality, and who has the courage from day one to fight for justice for all. I agree with them on that point. The fact of a black woman reporter named Wendi C. Thomas being spied upon for years in Memphis by the police shows us that we need police accountability without evasive, unwarranted spying. That is why the ACLU of Tennessee had sued the MPD for violation of a 1978 consent decree barring surveillance of residents for political purposes. The MPD spied on Dr. King for his fight for sanitation workers' rights back in 1968. Casey Goodson Jr. was killed by a cop in Ohio when he only was holding a sandwich not a gun. This is why centrism doesn't work. Neoliberialism permits poverty and wealth inequality. It allows the working class and the poor to have the greatest tax burdens while the super wealthy, the police, prisons, and the Wall Street billionaire class receives billions of dollars. It's like capitalism for the poor and socialism for the rich.
A very wild story is about Rebekah Jones (who said that the Florida governor was suppressing data involving the virus). She wrote and talked about being a whistleblower in Florida about the Florida response to the virus. Later, armed Florida police stormed her house. They immediately asked everybody to come out (including her husband and children). There was a commotion, and Rebecca was in fear for her life. Rebekah Jones is not a Wall Street fraud banker. She is not a person involved in a stock scam. She is a regular person who was treated with excessive police force. Rebekah Jones said that the police drawn guns on her children. Of course, the police denied this allegation. Drawing guns on innocent children is despicable. The irony is that many black people and people of color have experienced the same terror as Rebecca has. In fact, black people are disproportionately killed by the police, and the criminal justice system needs radical change (that even admitted by people from across the political spectrum). The police said that they had a search warrant to search for 3 hours. They accused Rebecca of sending dangerous texts via hacking to members of the State Emergency Response Team on November 10, 2020. The truth is that Rebecca said that she didn't send the text. The police raid is totally unjustified and wrong. Rebecca was a former health official.
You can't love music without criticizing music that glorifies evil. Too many artists want to follow the colonizer tactic of degrading your own people in order to get money. That is why C. Delores Tucker was right to say that negative music is just a means that the prison industrial complex can ruin so many lives under corporate control. Mainstream music is dominated by conglomerates found in America and Europe. Some (not all) music glamorizes behavior that leads into jail plainly speaking. That is why we have to control our own artforms. You noticed that back in the day, tons of music was about uplifting communities overtly. From the Supremes, the Temptations, and the Staples Singers, people wanted a wholesome vibe. Controversial music back then was either in the underground or never promoted in the forefront as a representation of every aspect of black cultural life. This is not about demonizing all music. We know that tons of music have positive messages and are inspirational today. Black music is always a blessing. That is why we have to call out those who claim to love us, but they use lyrics to glamorize being in a violent gang, refuse to promote liberation, or harbor music that promotes anti-black slurs in their music. Real power relates to an economic base, political organization, and the embrace of true ethics in your own life. You have to believe in something and do something about it if change is to come.
Right now, the UK are having a nationwide immunization of the pandemic vaccine. It is the largest mobilization of the immunization in UK in UK's history. The vaccine immunization of America will come later. Michael Tibbs, or a 99 year old WWII veterans, receive it in the UK. The FDA Advisory committee will discuss about vaccinations later this week. The New York Times said that the Trump administration passed on the chance to secure more of the Pflizer vaccine. Some good news is that the Supreme Court reject Pennsylvania Republicans' attempt to block Biden's victory. As senior legal analyst Laura Coates have said, Trump's games are over. Biden won the election in 2020 fairly. We should not be surprised at Georgia Republicans trying to limit mail in voting. Georgia has known GOP members who agree with obscene voter suppression efforts. That is why the new House Representative Nikema Williams desire to fight against this GOP attack on voting rights, when some Republicans are even trying to close down voting locations in Cobb County. Our voting rights are sacrosanct. In the midst of a crisis, there is especially no need to violate constitutional rights. Jobless aid will end for millions of Americans the day after Christmas if nothing is done.
She is one of the greatest singers of the 21st century. When people say that there is no R&B, people need to listen to her music. She loves to perform R&B and soul music. She is Sister Chrisette Michele, and it was her birthday yesterday. She is now 38 years old. She was born in Central Islip, New York. She performed in gospel choir as a young person. Many legendary singers grew up in the church. Her father was a sociologist, and her mother was a psychologist. She worked with many artists like Nas, Jay, the Game, Kanye West, etc. Her debut album was I am from 2007. Her songs like Be Ok, Your Joy, and If I Have My Way were inspiring. Flowing with charisma and a beautiful sound, she outlines her gifts. She was in the song Rising Up ft. the Roots in their album of Rising Down. She toured with her peers like Solange Knowles and Raheem DeVaughn. She gave a tribute to Patti Labelle too. Her 2nd album was Epiphany. Her recent 2020 song was Wait. She won many Awards like the Centric Music Award and a Grammy. Her music always an exquisite jazz quality to it. People from my generation and other generations know all about her great, beautiful talent. I wish Sister Chrisette Michele more blessings.
By Timothy
Monday, December 07, 2020
Nearing the end of 2020.
The year of 2006 saw artists from snap, lyrical hip hop, and other forms of hip hop take shape. The early part of 2006 saw the group of Tha Alkaholiks with their album of Firewater, Sway with This My Demo, J Dilla with Donuts, Remy Ma with There's Something About Remy: Based on a Tru Story, and Dem Franchise Boyz's On Top of Our Game. 20/20 was an album made by Dilated Peoples. D.M.C, Juvenile, E-40, B.G., T.I.'s King, Ghostface, Bubba Sparxxx, LL Cool J, and other artists made their albums in 2006 too. The Coup, Mobb Deep, Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere, Cam'ron, Bronze Nazareth, Rampage, Ice, Shawnna, Yung Joc, Busta Rhymes, and Zion I made music too. 2006 was a year in hip hop with old school and new school musicians being fully represented from Lord Jamar to 7L and Esoteric. DMX's Year of the Dog Again, Pharrell, Inspectah Deck's The Resident Patient, Method Man, The Roots, Chingy's Hoodstar, Lupe Fiasco, Ludacris, Sleepy Brown, Lloyd Banks, P. Diddy's Press Play, The Game, Jay Z's Kingdom Come, Snoop, Clipse, Jeezy, Mos Def, Shady Records, and other musicians have expressed diverse songs. 2006 saw Georgia' snap music come alive with songs like Snap Yo Fingers from Lil Jon, Lean Wit It, rock Wit It form Dem Franchise Boyz, It's Goin's Down by Yung Joc, and Shoulder Lean from Young Dro. TI's What You Know in 2006 allowed TI to reach into a new level of prominence in hip hop music. Rick Ross was on the scene with the song of Hustlin'. Field mob, Jibbs, Jim Jones, Pimp C, and other musicians saw their talents flourish in 2006.
In 2007, hip hop music saw a continued merging of old school music with new school influences. In early 2007, old school artists had albums like Ultramegnetic MC's, X Clan, Hussein Fatal and Hardtimerz, and Consequence has albums. New artists back then like Jin, Crime Mob, Devin the Dude, Mims, Lil Flip, and others had albums too. Prodigy, Redman, Rich Boy, Young Buck, Timbaland's Shock Value, Brother Ali, Mic Geronimo, Joell Ortiz, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's Strength and Loyalty, KRS-One and Marley Marl, Lil Wyte, Canibus' For Whom the Bell Tolls (one of the most lyrical albums of all time), etc. proved that hip hop is a very diverse genres with styles being shown in multifaceted ways. Timbaland's Shock Value was ahead of it time sonically which was a prelude to Kanye West's Yeezus album. DJ Khaled developed his movement with music by this time. Pharaoh Monche's Desire was released along with TI's TI vs. TIP. Music from Tech N9ne, Common, Kia Shine, Guru, Plies, UGK, Brand Nubian, Killah Priest, Aesop Rock, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent's Curtis, Kanye West's Graduation, Young Noble and Hussein Fatal, Chamillionaire, Havoc, Percee P, Soujah Boy, and other people released music all over 2007. Jay Z's American Gangster was inspired by the film of the same name (the movie was about the life of Frank Lucas who came from North Carolina to form a drug empire based in Harlem, NYC after Bumpy Johnson died). That album showed Jay Z talked about his previous drug dealing and the response to the criticism that he has received. By the end of 2007, a new generation of artists shown their music like Gucci Mane, Hi-Tek, Chingy, Lupe Fiasco, and other artists have shown their talents. Scarface, Styles P, Birdman, Wu Tang Clan, Freeway, DJ Drama, and other people made 2007 a very vibrant year of hip hop. Cassidy made records back then. Party Like a Rockstar from Shop Boyz and This is Why I'm Hot by Mims were popular. From Rich Boy, Hurricane Chris, Kanye West, Gorilla Zoe, Unk, UGK, Bow Wow,Timbaland, Souja Boy, and other artists, 2007 ended with music that combined popular records along with lyrical records.
In 2008, Barack Obama was elected President of the untied States. Rick Ross' Trilla album would increase his presence in the hip hop scene. Twista created his new label called Get Money Gang. Flo Rida had a digital sales record by selling over 470,000 digital units in one week. Jay Z stepped down as Def James President to be replaced by L.A. Reid. Jay Z wanted to pursue other things. Ruthless Records return with help from Sony. Eazy-E's wife Tomica Woods-Wright is the CEO of the re-formed company. Nas' album of The N was released in 2008. It targeted racism, FOX News, Bill O'Reilly, and oppression. Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III was released in 2008 too selling over 1 million copies in its first week. Disturbing tha Peace signed with Def Jam. 2008 was the peak of the 50 Cent and Fat Joe beef, and later they would end it. Eminem and Royce Da 5'9 ended their peace in 2008 too. Chuck Phillips of the Los Angeles Times accused Diddy and Jimmy Rosemond of being involved in the death of Tupac Shakur. Of course, Rosemond and Diddy deny those allegations. Today, we know that some members of the Southside Crips were involved in the evil murder of Tupac Shakur. Game released his album of L.A.X. TI was found guilty of gun charges, Remy Ma was found guilty of charges against her, and Max B was shot. Nelly released his album of Brass Knuckles. Trina's album of Still da Baddest was number 1 on the Rap albums on Billboard on April of 2008. Suge Knight was assaulted and hospitalized in May of 2008. New York governor David Paterson pardoned Slick Rick that ends his immigration troubles. By June of 2008, BET loses many sponsorship over violence, profanity, and obscenity in some hip hop videos. Many like Pepsi and General Motors pulled their ads from Rap City and 106 and Park. BET would make a huge comeback later with movies about New Edition, etc. This was the year when Rick Ross was revealed to be a correctional officer before being a rapper. Master P works in community programs. Dr. Dre's daughter released a controversial documentary called Daddy's Shadow talking about her father not supporting her dreams of rapping. Da Brat was sentenced to jail for hitting a woman with a rum bottle at an Atlanta nightclub in 2007. Yung Berg (who is a notorious colorist) was beaten up and robbed of his Transformers necklace in Detroit at Trick Trick's club Plan B. TI's Paper Trial would be successful. Johnny J committed suicide by jumping of a tier of a county jail. He was a producer of many Tupac Shakur's songs. Other artists like Chino XL, Bzig Noyd, Webbie, Pete Rock, Shawty Lo, Rakim, Bizzy Bone, AZ, Prodigy, Foxy Brown's Brooklyn's Don Diva, Three 6 Mafia, Immortal Technique, RZA, Jean Grae's Jeanius, David Banner, Skillz, GZa, Kardinal Offishall, Common, Ludacris, Murs, and other artists made 2008 a year of creative power in hip hop.
As January 1, 2020 commenced, the world had high hopes for a better future. Yet, as we shall see, 2020 saw radical developments transpiring in our world. There was a Presidential campaign going on with the most diverse Democratic candidates in American history. Most of the candidates back then dropped out of the race. Most people didn't envision a coronavrius situation that would cripple much of the world. As people celebrated new years all over the world, a virus was growing, and some new reports from December 2020 mention that the virus was already in America as early as December of 2019. 2020 would be one of the most important years in human history. Again, I have never seen a year like 2020 in my lifetime. It is the most important year of the 21st century so far. January 1, 2020 was when U.S. troops used tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, supporters of an Iranian-backed militia, at the U.S. Embassy at Baghdad, Iraq. Trump said Iran will be held accountable. China fight the outbreak of the respiratory illness of the coronvarius in the central city of Wuhan. January 3, 2020 was when a U.S. drone strikes the Baghdad International Airport. The bombing killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani or the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. This ruined much of the relationship between America and Iran. Tensions grew. days later, 56 people are killed in a stampede at Soleimani's funeral. A bus crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on January 5 that killed 5 people and 60 people were injured. January 6 was when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued first travel warnings for Americans visiting China. Iran responds to the attack on Qasem by launching missiles at two Iraqi bases with American military personnel. Many people are injured. Hours later, Iran's military shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after takeoff from Tehran. All 176 people were killed on board.
January 8, 2020 was when Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle announced their plans to step back form the duties as members of the British royal family. January 13 was when the Houston Astors fired GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch over the sign stealing scandal. Jay Z sued the Mississippi Department of Corrections over the deaths of multiple inmates at the state penitentiary in Parchman on January 14, 2020. It is no secret that the prison industrial complex has harmed the lives of many people (especially black lives) with rape, abuse, exploitation, mental trauma, and family suffering massive pain. January 15, 2020 was when the House of Representatives voted to sent its impeachment articles against President Trump (for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress) to the Senate. America started to screen airline passengers arriving form Wuhan on January 16. The first recorded case of coronavirus reported in America was a 35 year old Washington man who returned form China days earlier. On January 22, 2020, Opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial begin. In Davos, Switzerland, President Trump downplays coronavirus. “We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine,” he tells a reporter during a press conference. China quarantined entire city of Wuhan. On January 24, 2020, President Trump writes his first tweet about the pandemic. “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in California. People mourn worldwide. Kobe Bryant was the greatest NBA player of his generation. Kobe grown from his imperfections to be a person who made massive accomplishments in movies, literature, and philanthropy. Billie Eilish wins Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. By January 29, 2020, the White House announced the creation of the coronavirus task force. The next day on January 30, WHO declares the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
On January 31, 2020, President Trump bans travel from China, with some exceptions. Trump would later make the racist remark of calling the virus the "kung flu" virus. Hate crimes against Chinese Americans do happen over them being unfairly scapegoated over the virus. Brexit becomes official and the UK begins the process of formally withdrawing from the European Union. February 2, 2020 was when The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV in Miami. Pete Buttigieg won the Iowa caucus on February 3 after securing one more state delegate elector than Bernie Sanders, despite Sanders receiving several thousand more votes. President Trump delivered his last State of the Union address on February 4, 2020, and the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tore up a copy of Trump’s speech. The Diamond Princess cruise ship docks and is quarantined in Yokohama, Japan. February 5, 2020 was when the Senate acquitted President Trump after voting against subpoenaing witnesses, including John Bolton. Republican Mitt Romney is the only Republican to vote for removal. NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth after 328 days in space, a record for a woman. On February 7, President Trump fired EU ambassador Gordon Sondland and National Security Council adviser Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who both testified against the president during the impeachment trial. On February 9, “Parasite” made history, becoming first film in a language other than English to win the Academy Award for best picture. The South Korean film wins four Oscars overall, including best director and best original screenplay. By February 11, 2020, Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary, Joe Biden finished fifth behind Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren; the WHO names coronavirus COVID-19. President Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich who attempted to sell Barack Obama’s former Senate seat when he was elected president (on February 18). Bernie Sanders cruised to victory in the Nevada caucus after winning huge numbers from members of the Culinary Union, the state’s largest labor group (on February 22, 2020). On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in Georgia. This sparked protests and more debate about extrajudicial killings of unarmed black people. On February 24, President Trump tweets, “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA“ and “Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” as Dow Jones falls 1,000 points. Five people were killed in a mass shooting at the Molson Coors Beverage Company in Milwaukee on February 26, and the House of Representatives passed anti-lynching legislation. The Presidential campaign by late February 2020 was now between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden on the Democratic side. Many people thought that this was Biden's last stand. Rep. Jim Clyburn advocated for Biden in South Carolina and contributed heavily in a Biden victory of the South Carolina primary on February 29, 2020. That was a turning point in the race, and Biden's victory made him go on a trajectory to win the Democratic nomination. In essence, black Americans were the key demographic that led Biden to win the Democratic primary. On February 29, 2020, there was the first coronavirus death reported in the U.S., though earlier deaths will be reported later. The U.S. and Taliban reached a conditional peace agreement on February 29 too.
On March 1, 2020, Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race, and he endorsed Joe Biden. By March 2, 2020, MSNBC host Chris Matthews resigned abruptly after criticism of sexist comments and comparing Bernie Sanders’ campaign to the Nazi invasion of France. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of presidential race and endorsed Biden. By March 3, 2020, Biden shocked his presidential primary rivals with stunning victories in 10 states on Super Tuesday, putting him in the driver’s seat for the Democrat presidential nomination. At least 25 people are killed after 13 tornadoes strike Nashville area. On March 4, 2020, Michael Bloomberg dropped out of presidential race, and he endorsed Biden. On March 5, Elizabeth Warren dropped out of presidential race, does not endorse Biden or Sanders originally. By March 9, Italy placed itself on a nationwide quarantine to slow the spread of coronavirus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges more than 2,000 points. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The NBA suspended its season temporarily after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. E3 2020 video game conference is canceled. Harvey Weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison. Tom Hanks announces he and wife Rita Wilson tested positive for coronavirus. On March 12, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2,300 points after the U.S. bans travel from the Schengen Area in Europe. Major League Baseball suspended its spring training and announced that the season will be delayed because of coronavirus. The NHL and Major League Soccer suspended their seasons. PGA and LPGA tours cancel several upcoming events. Broadway shows are suspended. On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency. Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police in Louisville on March 13 too. Breonna Taylor was a woman who was an outstanding worker who helped to save lives. Her husband tried to defend her life too. Breonna Taylor was murdered unjustly by officers. Mount Everest and the Louvre are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Boston Marathon was postponed. Spain goes into total lockdown on March 14. On March 15, New York ordered public schools closed. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden had a one-on-one debate without an audience. Bernie Sanders talked about Biden's centrist positions, but Biden spoke as if he won the whole thing. On March 16, the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 2,997.10, the largest single-day point drop ever, amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Actor Idris Elba announced that he tested positive for coronavirus. Bars and restaurants in New York were ordered closed. During the era stage of the virus in America, New York City suffered a great deal. Many people died causing huge suffering among human lives.
On March 17, 2020, NCAA canceled men’s and women’s college basketball championship tournament. Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant tested positive for coronavirus on the same day too. On March 20, 2020, worldwide coronavirus death toll passes 10,000. Tom Brady signed contract with Tampa Bay Buccaneers after 20 seasons with New England Patriots. IRS announces Tax Day is postponed until July 15. Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued stay-at-home order for New York state. Sen. Rand Paul and Harvey Weinstein test positive for coronavirus on March 22, 2020. By March 24, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were suspended until 2021. India and United Kingdom go into lockdown. Trump tweeted that the “cure” cannot be “worse than the problem itself” and calls for country to reopen on Easter Sunday. FBI agents shoot dead man suspected of plotting attack on Missouri hospital treating coronavirus patients. New York passes 20,000 coronavirus cases. By March 26, 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was diagnosed with coronavirus, and later he recovered from it. Global cases pass 500,000. The U.S. passes China and Italy in number of cases and passed 1,000 deaths.
2020 started with massive political crisis, a Presidential nomination coming to a close on the Democratic side, and a growing virus in China. Many people didn't anticipate the widespread nature of the coronavirus on January 2020, but the virus spread rapidly worldwide. Trump, during the early part of 2020, either downplayed it or claimed that it could easily be contained in America. He made xenophobic remarks about China, and Biden made a huge comeback in South Carolina in order for him to start to win the Democratic nomination. That Biden turnaround was one of the greatest political comebacks in American history. Bernie Sanders won many states, but we know of the influence of the centrist DNC. Bloomberg ran for the purpose of trying to stop the rise of Sanders. There is no ambiguity about that. Sanders and his supporters were reviled and disrespected by moderates and some in the corporate media, but Bernie Sanders maintained a humble attitude. March 2020 saw America change forever. That was the month when tons of schools, businesses, and stores closed down in the USA in response to the spread of the virus. New York City saw a massive death toll at first as a product of the viciousness of the virus. Yet, Governor Cuomo stood firm to organize a response to help fight back against the illness. The coming up months of 2020 would include some of the greatest protests for racial justice in world history and a historic nomination of a Vice Presidential candidate that has inspire people to this very day. Even during the early months of 2020, various occurrences showed the world that life would never be the same again.
The Georgia Senate debate is finally over. Purdue was cowardly to refuse to debate Jon Ossof, so Ossof spoke in a debate setting to outline his views. Once again, Loeffler refused to answer the question if she believes in massive voting fraud during the 2020 election. Loeffler was promoting red baiting propaganda too with her denouncing anything socialist (when many socialists helped to form civil rights, environmental protections, social justice policies, etc.). Warnock answered a question on separation of church and state. Loeffler is lying in saying that Warnock is desiring to attack all police. Warnock believes in attacking police brutality. The debate took place in Atlanta, Georgia. Loeffler doesn't want America to fundamentally change. When you have record deaths from a virus, police brutality, food lines growing, housing disparities, Trump's corruption, and economic inequality, then there is nothing wrong with enacting fundamental change to improve America. Loeffler forgets that crooked police officers are thugs. Her views are out of step with Georgians. Loeffler ignores that she agrees with Trump's agenda filled with xenophobia, hatred, and false theories. Trump is a notorious racist and sexist, and Loeffler supports him. Just because investigations exist doesn't mean that there is massive voting fraud in the 2020 election. Warnock is such a nice guy. Voting suppression is very real nationwide as documented by studies and testimonies from black victims of voter suppression efforts. Texas Republicans tried to eliminate mail votes weeks ago. Warnock is right to say that small businesses must be invested, people need relief, and essential workers deserve a living wage. Loeffler slandered Stacey Abrams, who is a black woman. She is jealous of Abrams helping to turn Georgia blue. Trump has every right to be criticized when he lies about elections.
What's radical is the far right wing views of Loeffler. She is slick with her racism saying that Warnock isn't qualified to lead as a Senator. Loeffler should answer questions about the stock scandal. Loeffler doesn't want to be stereotyped, but she stereotyped Democrats and the Left as totally evil. Raising taxes on the super wealthy is fine, defunding the police is not the same as abolishing the police, and she allies with Trump. There is nothing wrong with the redistribution of income. Karl Marx wasn't perfect, but Trump is notorious to ruining American society. Loeffler lied and refused to say that Trump was defeated in the 2020 election. There was already an audit in Georgia. Multiple recounts have shown that Biden won Georgia. Loeffler lied and saying that raising taxes on the super wealthy is wrong. Health care for undocumented immigrants have existed for decades. Loeffler racist self tried to imply that Warnock was a criminal. Loeffler ought to realize that healthcare is a human right, housing is a human right, and these rights must be protected.
You will notice when the great black woman (who is an interviewer at the Atlanta debate) asked Loeffler, what she will do to help minorities (i.e. black people, etc.), the poor, and the oppressed, Loeffler doesn't give policies to answer question. Loeffler believes in no comprehensive solutions to end racial injustice. That is why she doesn't want to strengthen the Voting Rights Act, eliminate unfair gerrymandering, and end the War on Drugs to be replaced with alternatives to help communities. She or Loeffler is a liar, as most liberals don't support higher taxes on poor people, the 2nd Amendment does merit regulation, conservatives like her aren't really pro-life after the baby is born, and educational choice means nothing without massive investments in public education. How can Loeffler care about black people when she refuses to stand up against police brutality and the racism of Trump? Loeffler dodged the question about Kemp and Trump. Loeffler lies about Jeremiah Wright being anti-Semitic. Jeremiah Wright supports Palestinian liberation, and he doesn't' hate Jewish people.
She loves to slander progressive black people, but she loves racists like Trump and Perdue. She's a hypocrite. The truth is that the rich pay less taxes proportionately while they take larger percentages of profits for 40+ years, and folks who were laid off lose their healthcare. Our economic system restricts options and advances economic inequality. Warnock didn't attack all people in the military. Some in America should repent for some in America for worshiping whiteness. Israel does have occupation in the West Bank. Loeffler doesn't like being lectured about morality and spirituality, but she should be lectured on how Trump split up families on the border, about how he made a bigoted Muslim ban, about how he defends racist Confederate statues, and how Trump made bigoted remarks throughout his life. Big Government gave us Social Security, civil rights legislation, voting rights legislation, and other blessings in the world. There is nothing wrong with effective government. Higher taxes on the wealthy has worked. Loeffler (who disrespect Rev. Warnock's religious faith as Matthew 24 is clear that we are called to help the poor and the suffering) is evasive on whether she thinks that Trump has lost the election. The Russiagate situation wasn't a hoax. Russia is run by a far right nationalist, pro-oligarch Vladimir Putin. Putin is a person who has laws violating religious liberty even. America does need fundamental change. Loeffler is a liar to say that progressives want to take away people's guns. Loeffler lied and said that Warnock would pack the court. The Constitution gives Congress the right tax and invest in America from Article I, Section 8. Loeffler called the BLM fascist which is disgraceful. Defunding the police is different than abolishing any law enforcement. Loeffler offers no policies to end the mass incarceration state. The cash bail system being gone is fine. Warnock didn't call her a racist, but he said that she sat to talk with a racist. Loeffler racist rhetoric is about the dehumanization of Palestinians. Just because she says "radical liberal" doesn't mean that she is right. Loeffler's vision is hatred of undocumented immigrants, nothing to solve systematic racism, defense of corporate exploitation, defense of the real radical far right person Trump, worship of conservative talking points, and no real change for America. Warnock believes in living wages, progressive policies, the love of racial and social justice, and a real opposition to the extremism of Trump. So, Loeffler was repetitive and slick with her red baiting words, but Rev. Warnock won the debate with his views.
By Timothy
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