Black Agenda Report articles.

https://blackagendareport.com/blue-plague-and-black-death

https://blackagendareport.com/michael-jordans-last-dance-celebration-american-nightmare

https://blackagendareport.com/african-liberation-day-black-alliance-peace-demands-us-shut-down-africom

https://blackagendareport.com/bar-book-forum-vincent-browns-tackys-revolt

https://blackagendareport.com/bar-book-forum-symposium-sarah-haleys-no-mercy-here-2

https://blackagendareport.com/spy-plane-over-baltimore-tool-voter-suppression

Spirituality.

https://www.scribd.com/document/463582673/The-World-Faith-Prosperity-Gospel-Movement-Exposed

Minneapolis' Pain and No Arrests of Crooked Cops

The rebellion in Minneapolis is not new. Centuries ago, slave rebellions existed to defeat slavery. The antebellum period was a time of overt tyranny where our ancestors were raped and abused. Our black ancestors back then had every God-given right to resist tyranny by any means necessary. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. articulated the point is it is easy to condemn a rebellion, but a rebellion comes from the pain of the unheard. A corrupt system that produces such rebellions in our modern age is vastly worst than a rebellion. I don't agree with the police using tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters in an unjust way. Do I agree with everything that happened during the rebellion of Minneapolis? No. I don't agree with innocent people being harmed or innocent property being harmed. Yet, buildings and property can be rebuilt. George Floyd's life can never be rebuilt. His life is gone forever physically. He won't see his family on this Earth again. If people want to condemn this rebellion, they better condemn the French Revolution and the American Revolution, because both revolutions involved overt resistance to the monarchy, destruction of property, fires burning, and they totally overthrew various institutions (in forming a new system of government).

The Boston Tea Party involved men destroying British-owned property and throwing it away in the sea. Colin Kaepernick lost his job for kneeing, but evil people won't even acknowledge Colin's arguments for just kneeling. I do feel that agent provocateurs try to infiltrate protesters, and we have to condemn the acts of agent provocateurs completely. People have not only the right to peacefully protest. People have the right to justifiable self-defense too. Police terrorism has no place anywhere in the Universe. Also, we should always organize strategy in building in our community. Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Dr. King, and other elders taught us about grassroots organizing, forming organizations, creating demands, and using leadership in accomplishing what we want (which is total black liberation and justice).

We are now at this point in our history. Tons of people now see what black Americans have been telling the world for centuries. We face a classist, racist, and oppressive system that must be eradicated and replaced with a system of justice. Many of our black mothers, black fathers, and black youth are afraid to walk in the street for fear of living their last day on Earth. Many of our black people have been falsely called the police on for just walking in a park. This is the first time in a long time where I have seen Americans from across the political spectrum condemn the death of an innocent, unarmed black man. We know the truth. The videotape shows the truth. George Floyd was murdered unjustly in Minneapolis, Minnesota on a Monday days ago. The crime against him was horrific and evil. Derek Chauvin forcefully pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes despite Floyd saying that he couldn't breathe. No other officer at that scene came to try to stop Chauvin. As far as I'm concerned, those other officers are just as complicit in Floyd's passing as Derek is. The FBI now is having an investigation of the passing of George Floyd. The officers must be charged, and they could face possibly hate crime charges. There is absolutely no excuse for what Floyd has gone through. The three other officers are Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Keung. Right now, all 4 officers aren't arrested yet. That is inexcusable.

Protesters have condemned police brutality in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc. This police brutality comes from racism, economic oppression, and the oligarchy seeking to control populations instead of advancing justice. 400 police killings have occurred in America since 2020. There is no other industrialized nation on planet Earth that has that many killings as America has. Black and brown people make up a disproportionate amount of people in America targeted for harassment, abuse, arrest, and incarceration in America. Trump hypocritically claims to be for us, but he once said that he wanted the police to be more rough when arresting suspects. While the corporate financial oligarchy funds both major parties to maintain the status quo, we desire the working class and the oppressed to unite to create the political plus economic power to define our own destinies. Dr. King was right to say that there must be a radical redistribution of economic and political power in helping society.



It is important to mention this. Recently, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and his crew of camera people were unjustly arrested by state police authorities. Omar did the right thing, was not doing anything wrong or illegal, and he showed his credentials to the officers. He and others were still arrested and held in custody while the people involved in the death of George Floyd are not arrested right now. Soon, the Governor of Minnesota Jim Walz apologized, and Omar plus his team of media people were released from custody. This shows once again that we have an epidemic of police misconduct. This is why people are justifiably angry at a system that take more priority at comfort of corrupt corps than American citizens outlining their constitutional freedom of the press. CNN sent their legal team to protect Omar Jimenez and his media allies' human rights. We know the elephant in the room. That's self explanatory. Omar Jimenez (who was treated as a criminal when he wasn't) is a person of color, and Josh Campell is a white reporter (who was treated much better by the police). We know that Trump's executive order targeting social media companies is an attack on the First Amendment. Trump uses Twitter to provoke violence (in saying that when the looting starts, the shooting starts which glorifies violence inappropriately. That phrase was made by a Miami mayor during the 1960's who said that he doesn't mind police brutality) is beyond the pale.


By Timothy

The Rebellion.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/minneapolis-rebellion-floyd/

The World's Events.

I certainly believe in mail in voting. The fact that some, in the GOP, desire to sue California for expanding mail in voting shows their desperation. We know what Trump stands for. In the midst of civil liberties, he won't stand up against police brutality or against the harassment of black people in parks, homes, and other locations. In terms of the environment, he has ended the Paris Climate Accords and eliminated legitimate environmental regulations. On the economic front, he passed large tax cuts for wealthy, multinational corporations, while about 40 million Americans are unemployed. Even his opportunity zones only benefit primarily pro-privatization corporations not everyday working class including poor Americans. Even Twitter has criticized Trump on his false claims about mail in voting. In terms of the Trump administration's cabinet, they include many convicted criminals, reactionaries, and other extremists. Trump has notoriously made a mockery of the law, the separation of powers, etc. by rejecting legal subpoenas and having a true fit against anyone who disagrees with his views. Trump's words are not the words of a true role model. They are the words of a racist, narcissistic male who refuses to apologize for his many evils.

We have large lines in foods banks and almost 100,000 victims of the coronavirus in the United States of America alone. Trump has accused one journalist Joe Scarborough of basically murder which is a slander. We certainly recognize the lives lost during the pandemic as mothers, fathers, chefs, political leaders, religious leaders, doctors, nurses, lovers of the arts, and a wide spectrum of some of the greatest human beings in human history. These people are real heroes who worked day in day out in making the lives of us better. Their honor are always appreciated by us. During these extraordinarily times, we will always keep our faith. I have lived on this Earth among 5 decades. I've lived from the 1980's to the 2020's today. I have seen a lot and done a lot of things. Yet, my central faith and hope always remain stridently strong.

Recently, Donald Trump made many offensive tweets. Trump has also promoted posts from a racist Twitter tweet. While almost 100,000 people have died from the coronavirus, Trump has played golf during the Memorial Day weekend. Trump re-posted many tweets from the far right extremist John K. Stahl. Stahl attacked Nancy Pelsoi, Kamala Harris, and the African American political leader Stacey Abrams. John K. Stahl also made racist, sexist comments about MSNBC host Joy Reid. Stahl, Trump, and others make it their business to denigrate women, black people, and other folks who disagree with their abhorrent extremism. Trump is no real man, and he is no role model. Even from the basis of morality, Trump has shown that he is unfit to be President. Trump has accused Joe Scarborough of murdering a former staff member in 2001. We know this to be false. Trump has supported the tweets of the far right Muslim hater and migrant hater Katie Hopkins (who is from Britain) when most people in Britain came from continental Europe plus other places not from the UK originally. Even English is not indigenous to the UK. The language of English came from Germanic Indo-European languages.

As Maya Angelou has said, when someone tells you how they feel the first time, believe them. The xenophobic, deceptive ADOS crowd (who exploits the lives of black Americans in causing division in the black African Diaspora) and the far right Trump supporters omits that Trump has gutted environmental regulations (causing more people to be sick), never made policies to address police brutality federally, desires to end ACA health care protections legally, said slurs about majority black nations, cuts support for prisoner halfway houses for those transitioning back into society, and rolled back guidance on protecting black students from being punished more severely. Trump has shown no real agenda for black Americans and no real tangibles, so he should be voted out office on November of 2020.

Today, the FBI is investigating a case of how a black man died by having neck being pressured for 9 minutes (after the black man said that he couldn't breathe). The man's name is George Floyd. This is similar to the Eric Garner case in NYC where Garner couldn't breathe. The 4 Minnesota officers involved in the incident have been fired. It is a tragedy, and justice ought to exist. This has happened in Minneapolis, throughout America, and all over the world (as massive police against black people in found in Brazil, the UK, France, and even in Canada). The Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that, "Being black in America should not be a death sentence." He is right. The fact that we have to warn children about police misconduct tells us that we don't have totally freedom or justice right now. The fact that sick people want to blame the victims of oppression instead of the oppressors organizing injustice outlines that we have a long way to go in seeing the Promised Land. George Floyd lost his life on Monday night after 8 pm. Floyd's request for water as he couldn't breathe and blood came out of his nose. There is absolutely no excuse for the police harming and killing George Floyd. His family are entitled to unconditional justice.


By Timothy

MLK

https://kennedysandking.com/martin-luther-king-articles/the-assassin-next-door-focuses-on-the-wrong-target

https://kennedysandking.com/martin-luther-king-articles/garrow-s-interpretive-guesswork-presumes-the-worst

https://kennedysandking.com/articles/soledad-o-brien-meets-mary-meyer

https://kennedysandking.com/articles/goodbye-and-good-riddance-to-chris-matthews

https://kennedysandking.com/malcolm-x-reviews/marable-manning-a-life-of-reinvention

https://kennedysandking.com/martin-luther-king-reviews/martin-hay-replies-to-the-authors-of-killing-king

https://imixwhatilike.org/2018/01/02/stokelyareview/


https://blackagendareport.libsyn.com/dr_peniel_joseph_peddles_slick_marketing_constructs_as_black_history_

https://kennedysandking.com/malcolm-x-articles

https://kennedysandking.com/malcolm-x-reviews/who-killed-malcolm-x-review

https://kennedysandking.com/malcolm-x-articles/the-hidden-hand-the-assassination-of-malcolm-x

https://imixwhatilike.org/2020/02/08/whokilledmalcolmx/

RFK

https://kennedysandking.com/videos-and-interviews/robert-kennedy-jr-on-the-assassinations-of-his-uncle-and-father

On this Memorial Day.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion didn't start with President John F. Kennedy, but his views would be shaped by the aftermath of the invasion. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles who wanted to defeat Castro plus his Cuban Revolution. The U.S. government covertly funded the operation during the height of the Cold War. Many of the Cuban exiles involved were Pepe San Roman, Felix Rodriquez, Erneido Oliva, etc. The U.S. Government supported the Brigade 2506 against the Cuban Revolutionary Armed forces and the National Revolutionary militia. To start, you have to investigate how it started. Cuba was inhabited by Native Americans originally. The Spanish colonial empire ruled Cuba by the 18th century. Cuban nationalists in the 19th century rebelled against the Spanish Empire especially by the Cuban War of Independence (1895-1898). America fought the Spanish empire and forced the Spanish Army out. Yet, the U.S. government forces made Cuba a pro-Western puppet state. Batista was the total U.S. puppet who allowed the Mafia, large corporations, and other entities to exploit Cuba's resources. Later, the Cuban Revolution and the Bays of Pigs invasion occurred. In August of 1960, the CIA contacted the Cosa Nostra in Chicago in trying to invade Cuba to assassinate Castro, Raul Castro, and Che Guevara (in exchange for a pro-U.S. government to exist in Cuba and allowing the Mafia to have their monopoly on gaming, prostitution, and drugs).

It is no secret that the CIA wanted to assassinate Fidel Castro. The man overseeing plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion was Richard m. Bissell Jr., the CIA's Deputy Director for Plans (DDP). He assembled agents like David Philips, Gerry Droller, and E. Howard Hunt (many of these people were involved in the 1954 Guatemalan coup). Eisenhower supported the plan. Thousands of people died in the situation. The invasion lasted from April 17-20 1961. General Fulgencio Batista led a coup against President Carlos Prio in 1952. Afterwards, Prio was in exile in Miami. Castro led his movement, and it became successful to overthrow the dictator Batista in December 1958. Castro nationalized American businesses from banks to sugar and coffee plantations. The U.S. severed all ties with Cuba. Then, President Dwight D. Eisenhower allows $13.1 million to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in March 1960 to use tactics against Castro. The CIA aided Cuban counter revolutionaries in their goal of overthrowing Castro. Cuban exiles formed Brigade 2506. There were over 1,400 paramilitaries. They were divided into five infantry battalions and one paratrooper battalion. They were assembled and launched from Guatemala and Nicaragua on boat on April 17, 1961. 2 days earlier, the CIA supplied 8 B-26 bombers. They attacked Cuban airfields and returned to America. Playa Grion was where the local revolutionary militia via Jose Roman Fernandez fought.  The invaders lost the battles fiercely. President John F. Kennedy withed air support after being told to do it from many factions. JFK supported Operation Zapata or the Bay of Pigs plan. Eisenhower planned the use of air and naval forces. Without air support, the Cuban exiles had great difficulty to defeat Castro's forces.  The invaders surrendered on April 20, 1961. Many of them were placed in Cuban prisons, many of them were killed, and it was a new era. The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces defeated the invading force in 3 days.  The failed invasion was a U.S. foreign policy failure. Castro remained in Cuba for decades. Cuba became closer to the Soviet Union. President John F. Kennedy accepted responsibility for the debacle. Allen Dulles, Charles Cabell, and Richard Bissell resigned by 1962. Still, the CIA would try to kill Castro long after 1961 via Operation Mongoose (which started on November 30, 1961. It was led by United States Air Force General Edward Lansdale). This would be a prelude to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.



1960 saw the growth of the sit-in movement. This movement existed in the 1950's, but the Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in movement represented a new era of the Civil Rights Movement. It involved 4 black students who started the 6 month Greensboro sit-ins. It was on February 1, 1960. By February 13, 1960, there was the Nashville sit-ins. It was started by Nashville students being trained by activist and nonviolent teacher James Lawson.  They are successful by May of 1960. Another leader of the Nashville movement was a black woman named Diane Nash. Dr. King had tax evasion charges on February 17. The Virginia Union students or the Richmond 34 staged sit ins at Richmond, Virginia. They stage sit ins at Woolworth's and at Thalier's department store. James Lawson was expelled from Vanderbilt University for his sit-in participation. Houston has its sit -in on March 4, 1960 via Texas Southern students. They stage it at Houston, Texas at Weingarten's lunch counter. Felton Turner of Houston was beaten, hanged upside down in a tree with the initials KKK carved on his chest on March 7. San Antonio was the first city of Texas to integrate lunch counters. Florida Governor Leroy Collins said Lunch counter segregation unfair and morally wrong. SNCC was created with the blessing of Ella Baker in Raleigh North Carolina. It started on April 15-17, 1960. It wanted to use grassroots organizing in causing justice. Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Dr. King was acquitted of tax evasion by an all white jury in Alabama. Dr. King met with Senator John F. Kennedy on June 24, 1960. Ruby Bridges integrated a New Orleans school by the end of 1960 too. On January 11, 1961, 2 African Americans (Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault) came into the University of Georgia. They were once suspended and ordered reinstated. CORE members were arrested in Rock Hill South Carolina. They desire a sit-in. The Freedom Rides of 1961 was supported by CORE and SNCC. SNCC members Diane Nash and James Bevel take up the cause.

The Freedom Riders, Dr. King, and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were besieged by racists at Rev. Abernathy's First Baptist Church in Montgomery. They were protected by federal marshals. The Albany, Georgia movement would form in 1961. 1962 saw the forming of COFO which included members of SNCC, CORE, and the NAACP. CORO stands for the Council of Federated Organizations that wanted voter registration. On March 20, 1962, the FBI installs wiretaps on NAACP activist Stanley Levison's office. Leroy Willis was the first black graduate of the University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences on June 1962. Churches were burned and people suffered injustices back then. Yet, heroes fight onward. 1963 was one of the most explosive years of the black freedom struggle. January 18, 1963 was when George Wallace called for segregation forever as Governor of Alabama. From April 3 to May 10, 1963, there was the Birmingham Campaign. It was involved with the SCLC and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Kids, women, men, and others were hit with water from firefighters during the Montgomery movement. Homes were bombed. People died, and JFK sent troops to stop the rebellion after black Americans used self-defense against racist terrorists. Dr. King wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963. Fannie Lou Hamer was beaten, and the 1963 March on Washington existed. Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1963, and 4 little girls were murdered in Birmingham (the 16th Street Baptist Church). On that day, the Selma Voting Rights Movement was born by James Bevel, Diane Nash, and others via the Alabama Project. Malcolm X, on November 10, 1963 gave his "Message to the Grassroots" speech in fighting white racist power structure and criticizing the March on Washington as co-option of revolution. The poll tax was banned by the Supreme Court via the 24th Amendment on January 23, 1964. There was Freedom Summer in Mississippi to promote voting rights for black Americans in 1964. Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. June 21, 1964 was when Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were murdered. They were civil rights workers. The Organization of Afro-American Unity was created by Malcolm X on June 28, 1964. The Civil Rights Act was finally signed in July 2, 1964. It bans discriminated based on color, religion, race, sex, and national origin in employment practices and public accommodations. Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act that helps Native Americans in civil and criminal lawsuits. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegates challenge the racist Mississippi representatives at the Democratic National Convention. Fannie Lou Hamer gave a speech in support of justice there at Atlantic City, New Jersey. Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964. He was the youngest person to be honored at that time. By December 14, 1964, the Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964.


President John F. Kennedy's domestic and foreign policies can be divided into the years of 1961, 1962, and 1973. In 1961, he was just starting and face new challenges. He struggled a bit. In 1962, President Kennedy evolved to see how the military industrial complex was aggressively trying to push his to invade Cuba, invade Laos, and do other aggressive actions that would possibly start WWIII. JFK refused to embrace the Pax Americana ethic. 1963 was when he had some of his greatest moments oratorically and policy wise from standing up for a Civil Rights Bill and endorsing a long term strategy of forming peace between America and the Soviet Union. To start, it is important to go into 1961. Robert Kennedy was the Attorney General soon in 1961. JFK told RFK that he wanted him to use lawsuits in the South to attack voting discrimination. On March 6, 1961, President Kennedy signed an executive order to end discrimination in government employee hiring and contracting. By March 20, 1961, the Kennedy administration interceded in the New Orleans School District on desegregation cased on behalf of the integrationist Judge J. Shkelly Wright. He later appointed Judge Wright to the D.C. Court of Appeals. President Kennedy promoted space exploration. On May 7, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard was the first American to achieve space flight. Later on May 25, 1961, JFK gave a speech that advocated a big space exploration program. He wanted humans to go to the Moon before 1970. He would get his wish, because Americans came to the Moon by 1969. On May 14, 1961, the Freedom Riders came into Anniston and then Montgomery, Alabama. They wanted to enforce existing law that integrated interstate bus travel. The Freedom Riders were pulled of the buses and beaten with baseball bats, chains, etc. The FBI did nothing to stop this. The Governor doubled crossed the President. So, JFK sent in 500 U.S. Marshals to rescue the protesters. President John F. Kennedy wanted the courts and the law to promote equality, but the protesters wanted both the courts and active demonstrations in order to make equality real. I agree with the protesters, because you have to use demonstrations and the courts or the legal system in getting change. The Vienna summit between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev failed. They debated on the future of Berlin. JFK wanted West Berlin to be free and open. Khrushchev was afraid that if Germany had too much power, then a Hitler like figure would reign and fight the Soviets again like during WWII. The Cold War was more heated. There was East Germany closing its border with West Berlin. American and Soviet military forces faced each other. Then, the Berlin Wall was built. The wall was unjust and cruel, but JFK said that a wall is better than a war. JFK set up the Alliance for Progress program and the Peace Corps to expand Americanism overseas under the guise of humanitarianism. There were sincere people in the Peace Corps, so I want to make that clear. On November 22, 1961, Kennedy sent 15,000 advisors to Vietnam via NSAM 111. Advisors is code name for military people aiding the South Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam civil war. On January 17, 1962, President Kennedy signed a law that granted federal employees to form unions and bargain collectively.

March 15, 1962 was when Kennedy signed the Manpower Development and training Act to fight African American unemployment. That law saved lives and gave almost 350,000 people jobs. JFK rejected Operation Northwoods which called for the U.S. to use false flag operations in America in order to be a justification for an American invasion of Cuba. The Birmingham movement for civil rights grew from 1962 to 1963. By 1962, JFK's Medicare bill failed, and JFK took on Big Steel over economic issues. JFK supported the Laos neutralization plan as signed in Geneva. Kennedy sent in the Army and federal troops to stop white racists from rioting over the admittance of the African American James Meredith at Ole Miss. October 1962 was JFK's great movement to save humanity along with other people. The military generals and many in the intelligence community wanted JFK to attack Cuba after Soviet missiles were found in Cuba. JFK used a blockade to prevent military supplies to leave or go into Cuba. That brought time to help find a solution. The solution was an agreement of JFK to get ride of U.S. missiles in Italy and Turkey in exchange for the Soviet missiles to be removed from Cuba. Many in the military industrial complex hated JFK for this, but that agreement is better than millions of people dying in a nuclear holocaust. Vasil Arkhipov was a Soviet soldier who courageously stopped some Soviets of attacking American forces within a short span of time basically saving a large part of the human race. Operation Mongoose or the plan to assassinate Castro was disbanded by the end of 1962. After China invaded India, JFK send a military airlift to Nehru. China retreated a day later. On November 20, 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order that prohibited discrimination in sales and rental for housing. Khrushchev's letter to Kennedy on December 11, 1962 was the beginning of detente. JFK also support the UN trying to stop the Belgian and British goal of separation of Katanga from Congo.  1963 saw many changes in the Kennedy Presidency. JFK by this time saw many changes. The Battle of Ap Bac in Vietnam caused a loss for South Vietnam forces. On January 26, 1963, James Donovan came into America from Cuba. Castro's physician Rene Vallejo told Donovan that Castro was interested in talking about re-establishing relations with Washington. On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at American University to promote world peace. He wanted a long term end to the Cold War with the Soviet Union. One June 11, 1963, he promoted a Civil Rights Bill and racial equality. It was a bill that was the strongest civil rights bill since the days of Reconstruction. By August 5, 1963, JFK, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed the Limited Atomic Test Ban Treaty. It banned above ground nuclear testing. This policy was very historic. The coup of Diem was on November 1, 1963. It caused the Vietnam to spiral out of control in some respects. By November 1963, it was the beginning of the end of the Kennedy Presidency.




It is the perfect time to celebrate the life of a late, great legend, who lived from November 9, 1922 to September 8, 1965. I always love her work and the causes that she advanced. She experienced so much joy and pain, yet her life is the testimony of the resiliency of the human spirit. She was a black woman who didn't live long enough to see the younger generation of black actresses showing their lights, but she was one architect of the modern day black woman superstar involving acting plus music. Her name was the great Sister Dorothy Dandridge. She was born in Cleveland , Ohio. Back in the day, you had to be multifaceted in talent to get into the door. Dorothy Dandridge danced, sang songs, and acted in many legendary movies. Her role in Carmen Jones back in the year of 1954 was ahead of its time. It was film about a woman during World War II who experienced controversies, love, and tragedy. She was in the film Bright Road too. In 1959, Dandridge was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess. She is the subject of the 1999 HBO biographical film, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. From the Cotton Club to the Apollo Theater, she loved to perform. She loved her audience. She recorded musical records back in the 1940's and all the way to the 1960's. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Los Angeles to promote civil rights legislation. She passed away in 1965. Many actresses give credit to her as inspiring them like as Cicely Tyson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Halle Berry, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Tasha Smith, and Angela Bassett. She was one of the many African Americans who helped to break down barriers for future black women actresses and entertainers in general. Her light was great and now we honor her legacy by promoting excellence and due diligence in achieving justice for people. Sweet Dreams Sister Dorothy Dandridge.


By Timothy

Why I Stood With Henry Wallace

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/11/henry-wallace-1948-progressive-party-campaign-communist

THE MAZE OF MASONRY

https://christinprophecy.org/articles/the-maze-of-masonry/

On this Memorial Day Weekend.

The history of the Middle East in my opinion is the most debated history of a region in human history. I've looked at many points of view to find the truth. What is something interesting is that both sides forget one important element of the debate. Some pro-Israeli scholars and some pro-Palestinian scholars readily omit one important fact of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That fact is that British imperialists in many occasions played both sides against each other, and that subterfuge contributed to the conflict that we witness in the world today. For example, before the Aliyahs (or the massive migrations of Jewish people into Israel from Europe), the Ottoman Empire controlled Israel and Palestine. Jewish people and Arabic people already were in the lands for thousands of years continuously (In other words, after the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in ca. 70 A.D. as prophesied by Yeshua ben Yoseph, Jewish people continued to live in the land during the 9th century, during the time of the Crusades, and during the early 19th century).

The deal was that WWI allowed Europeans, with the help of some Arabic people, to defeat the Ottoman Empire. Later, the British imperialists gave sometimes vague promises to both Jewish people and Arabic people about self-determination. Their promises weren't completely fulfilled. That is why the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement existed that showed the intentions of European imperialists, who wanted British and French forces (not Jewish or Arabic human beings) to control Syria and Palestine. As early as 1919, Chaim Weizmann and Emir Faisal, son of Sherif Hussein made an agreement to promote equality and cooperation among Jewish and Arabic people in he region. Very few people know about this. Later, the British colonial, imperialist forces used policies to break up this unity and cause chaos. Today, we have what we have. It is a fact that when al-Husseini (or the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who was an anti-Semite and a thug) worked with the Nazis to harm Jewish people during WWII, then that is wrong. Also, Netanyahu showing far right policies in Israel including brutal occupation is also wrong.

Many of the same ones, who talk about Israel's imperfections (which must be exposed), are silent on the anti-black racism found in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Northern Africa, and even in Palestine. Many of the same ones, who deny any mistakes made by Israel, are silent on the suffering of the Palestinian people, many Afro-Palestinians, and many black Israelis. Therefore, reasonable Israelis and Palestinians want the same thing. It is just that we have a long way to go in ensuring that freedom and justice for Jewish people and Arabic people are enacted in that region.

There are many things that years ago shocked me about JFK as we near 60 years after his assassination. JFK back then knew of foreign policy matters in a great deal. When JFK called for French colonialism to end during the 1950's, we had folks like Allen Dulles and John Foster Dulles organized the American involvement in the Vietnam War. High level CIA agent General Edward Landsale supported policies that extended the Vietnam civil war. Lansdale used propaganda (as he was an expert in psychological warfare) to convince the Catholics in the north that they would be persecuted by Ho Chi Minh in inspiring them to travel into south Vietnam. He did this to prop up the U.S.-backed dictator Ngo Dinh Diem. The Dulles Brothers and Lansdale supported Diem. Diem was so brutal against the Buddhists in South Vietnam, that many Buddhists burned themselves alive in protest to the oppression that they have faced. Eisenhower, Nixon, the Dulles brothers, and others helped to create South Vietnam. Before 1950, there was no South Vietnam. They did this, because they wanted to violate the Geneva Accords which called for fair elections. Knowing that these elections would oppose Diem, they enacted their own policies. Lansdale rigged elections to maintain Diem's power. Diem advanced torture.

When JFK was Senator during the 1950's, he opposed Eisenhower's foreign policy. Richard Mahoney's book called JFK: Ordeal in Africa from 1983 documented how JFK made a speech in 1957 to oppose French colonialism in Algeria. JFK, when he was President, was warned not to send military troops in Vietnam by de Gauille, by Senator Mike Mansfield, and even by Douglas MacArthur. The son of the late North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap said that JFK was planning to withdraw from Vietnam in 1963. JFK had his imperfections (we know what they were), but he wasn't ignorant of foreign policy matters. Lansdale didn't like many of JFK's policies when JFK was President. President John F. Kennedy supported the progressive leader of Indonesia named Sukarno and gave Indonesia billions of dollars in civilian and military aid. He planned on visiting Indonesia in 1964. He didn't do it, because of the obvious reason.

Kennedy supported Algerian independence. Kennedy sympathized with the Partito Socialista Italiano or a socialist party with its Italian leader Pietro Nenni. This was very taboo and opposed by John McCone including Dean Rusk. JFK was a supporter of UN leader Dag Hammarskjold, Patrice Lumumba, and Cyrille Adoula. JFK supported Kwame Nkrumah of Kenya. JFK also supported the independence of Guinea. Also, JFK was in secret talks with Castro in trying to have detente. So, these facts alone should tell people something. JFK was adamantly opposed to Israel having nuclear weapons, and he wanted inspections of the Dimona reactor. JFK did the right thing in saying his June 11, 1963 speech in favor of racial equality, in standing up against Big Oil, and opposing many of the policies of the CIA.

By Timothy

Kennedy and King

https://kennedysandking.com/

https://kennedysandking.com/reviews/the-marilyn-monroe-kennedys-hoax-part-1-the-mythology-is-launched

https://kennedysandking.com/reviews/the-marilyn-monroe-kennedys-hoax-part-2-the-mythology-soars-into-outer-space

https://kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/counterpunch-jfk-and-vietnam


https://kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-reviews/the-house-of-kennedy-by-james-patterson-and-cynthia-fagen

The Grand Mufti was evil

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/mf2017.pdf#page=31

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/myths-and-facts-toc

“Homeland Defense” and the Militarisation of America

https://www.globalresearch.ca/homeland-defense-and-the-militarisation-of-america-2/5650654

5G Wireless Radiation: Scientists Warn Harmful Biologic, Health Effects. “We Are Flying Blindly”

https://www.globalresearch.ca/scientists-warn-harmful-biologic-health-effects-5g-wireless-radiation/5713401

Neoliberalism, Intervention and Anti-Blackness: A Webinar* Presentation

https://blackagendareport.com/neoliberalism-intervention-and-anti-blackness-webinar-presentation

https://blackagendareport.com/identity-politics-and-elite-capture

Trump vs. Biden: The China-Hating Contest Is On Like Donkey Kong

https://blackagendareport.com/trump-vs-biden-china-hating-contest-donkey-kong

https://blackagendareport.com/american-exceptionalism-and-american-lefts-china-double-standard

Late May 2020 Information.

Yesterday was the Birthday of the legendary Brother Malcolm X. When I was in the 7th grade of middle school, I did a project on him. So, I know a lot of his life story. Malcolm X was born in the Midwest in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925. His parents were Garveyites and stood up against white racism. His father was a person who preached the message of black empowerment. Malcolm X moved into Michigan and Boston in order to escape injustice and find himself. Malcolm X's story is a story common to many people. He was a working class black man who got caught up in the criminal underworld temporarily. Later, he followed the Nation of Islam while he was in prison. When he got out, he was the most powerful speaker of the Nation of Islam's views. Even when he was in the NOI, no one could refute his arguments about America having disguised hypocrisy (of claiming to be a democracy, but black Americans being treated as second class citizens), about how police brutality is wrong, about the evils of slavery, and about how black people should unify in developing solutions to our problems. One of Malcolm X's greatest moments was when he stood up for the human dignity of Ronald Stokes, who was murdered by the police in LA. I have visited Los Angeles before last year. Malcolm X's gift was that he was in constant evolution of his views, and he used similes, stories, powerful, eloquent examples, and wit to evaluate how evil society is (while advocating solutions). He evolved from being in the NOI to embracing more internationalism in fighting Western imperialism. Malcolm X wanted political activism to advance black nationalism and Pan-Africanism. Malcolm X's support of self-defense is well known. He said that we aren't trying to be tough, but any man or anyone else has the right to defend himself or herself. That is why he wanted black armed people to defend their communities against racists.

Malcolm X came into the Hajj in 1964 after he left the NOI. After his personal Hajj, Malcolm X changed his views to make it clear that black liberation is not just a national affair. We have to unite with the millions of black Africans and the rest of the African Diaspora in order to achieve true liberation. He wanted black unity and women having equality. Also, Malcolm X criticized the Vietnam War, wanted more militancy involving the Selma voting rights movement, and he shook hands with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964. Malcolm X contributed mightily in growing the black consciousness in the African American community. He did great on that front. Malcolm X's assassination was tragic, and it was more than some gunmen. We know that the NYPD, the CIA, and the FBI monitored him, because Malcolm X wanted to go to the United Nations to bring up charges against America for its mistreatment against black Americans. Malcolm X visited many African nations to study African culture and to gain support for his cause of making America accountable for its crimes against our people. He helped to popularize the term of African American. Malcolm X loved his wife and his children. Malcolm X taught us to love our Blackness unconditionally and without apology. He was courageous. One example was that he continued to speak his mind after people burned his home, threatened him, and illegally monitored him. He stood by his convictions. Malcolm X was a hero to black people and freedom loving people in general by his words and deeds.

Rest in Power Brother Malcolm X.

Many workers are facing massive burdens during the coronavirus epidemic. Thousands of autoworkers have returned to work. The Trump administration and large corporations want a rapid reopening of the American economy. The issue is that many plants have inadequate safety measures. GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler restarted 51 factories in many states like Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, etc. Some workers have strike involving the car industry. That is why people want solutions. One solution is to make committees that are independent to oversee health and safety in the plants. These committees could work with trusted medical professionals to handle the best, safe way to handle hours, protection for workers, and N95 masks including other protective gear. Those with the coronovarius deserve immediate medical treatment with no loss of pay. The priorities of workers having a safe working environment must exist before the corporations' large profits. In that sense, a resolution can develop.

Genius is a world to describe her. Not only has she broke down barriers. She helped to expand fashion, music, and other realms of human existence. She is Sister Grace Beverly Jones, and it was her Birthday yesterday. She is now 72 years old. She is a Jamaican model, singer, actress, songwriter, and record producer. She has one child. Her talent in dance music has been amazing. She inspired Annie Lennox, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Solange, Lorde, and other artists. She as born in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica. She lived in Syracuse, New York when she was 13 years old. The irony of her life was that she was a shy child, and she became one of the most expressive artists of her generation. Grace Jones was raised in a very strict household. She modeled in Paris, New York City, and worldwide by the 1970's. She studied theater in college. She made music, was part of movies, and became more bold in her expression. She loves reggae and dance music. Before Beyonce, before Madonna, before Bjork, and before other musicians, there was Grace Jones. Grace Jones started a whole lot of innovations in fashion and music. Grace Jones won many awards and is honest about who she is. Hurricane was her 10th album which was released in 2008. She is legendary in many ways, and her desire for herself is about promoting the essence of freedom. I wish Sister Grace Jones more blessings.

This is the first time that I've shown more about this story here. David Williams was a famous musician. He worked with The Mighty Dells, The Temptations, Michael Jackson,and other artists. He was one of the greatest guitarist of all time. He was born in Newport News, Virginia on November 21, 1950. I found out something interesting. I found out recently that he was my 2nd cousin. We share the same ancestor of Adam D. David Williams' great grandfather is Adam D., and my 2nd great grandfather is Adam D. So, we are related to each other. Larry and Reatha Williams are his parents. Both of our ancestors came from Halifax, North Carolina on my paternal side of my family. Many of his children are musicians and actresses like Davida Williams, Dana Williams, and Kenya Williams (who is an actress who had been on Moesha and other movies). When I look at his children, I can tell immediately that they are related to me by how they look and act. David Williams' grandmother was Leatte D. or my 2nd great aunt (the daughter of Adam D. and Nancy Reynolds). David Williams lived a full life. He passed away in the year of 2009. Many of his relatives today live in Hampton, Newport News, and California.

By Timothy

Cold War Events.

The era from 1956 to 1963 during the Cold War was the closet America ever existed in terms of being close to a war with the Soviet Union. Tensions were extremely high back then. There was the Bay of Pigs Crisis, the growth of the Civil Rights Movement, the Berlin crisis, and the Presidency of John F. Kennedy. That era was a transitional period after the Suez Canal Crisis and before Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War. Speaking of Vietnam, this era saw a gradual, overt involvement of American forces in the Vietnam Civil War. There are constant debates about JFK's role in increasing American involvement in the Vietnam War, but it is true that JFK didn't start the Vietnam War. American funding of South Vietnam existed since the days of Eisenhower. Also, JFK would never have expanded the Vietnam War to the same extent as LBJ have done. LBJ and JFK had disagreements with American policy involving the Vietnam Civil War (as explained by Robert McNamara). The Cold War wasn't just about international affairs. It influenced the expansion of various social movements like the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Rights Movement, the Beat Movement, etc. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a paradoxical center-right President. He criticized the military industrial complex, and he oversaw an expansion of cities plus the suburbs. He defended Social Security and many New Deal programs. The issue with Eisenhower was that he took a very soft approach in terms of civil rights issues, and he was slick to advance Western imperialism overseas. He sent in the National Guard to help black children to integrate in white schools, but he never promoted immediate equality and justice for black Americans overtly. He said that he was forced to follow federal statues that desegregated schools. This era ended with the evil assassination of President John F. Kennedy. To this every day, we haven't completely gotten over his passing. Many of the events that we witness in 2020 came from the political changes and social changes are related to the events after November 22, 1963. JFK was an eloquent, inspirational capitalist politician. He had his strengths and weaknesses. His aspirations and idealism captivated Americans. That is why his era was called Camelot which had a dream vision of what society could be, but that dream didn't equate into the reality of how racism plus injustices in general harm the lives of black people, poor people, people of color, and all oppressed people. JFK's strength was his capability for intellectual curiosity and growth. He grew to be more militant in terms of advocating for civil rights, in signing the Nuclear Test ban Treaty with the Soviet Union, and standing up to Big Oil. Many of his policies behind the scenes from supporting Lumumba, refusing to support Israel having nuclear weapons, and allying with the Indonesian Nationalist Sukarno are not known by many people. Therefore, we have to look at the nuisance of history and be better people in general.


To understand Dwight D. Eisenhower's legacy fully, you have to look at the events of the 1950's chronologically. Eisenhower allowed John Foster Dulles to be the Secretary of States. Dulles was a war hawk and was militantly anti-Soviet. JFK would later fire Dulles because of his actions involving the Bay of Pigs fiasco. By February 28, 1953, the Balkan Pact was signed by Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey. The pact wanted to deter Soviet expansion. After Stalin died on March 5, 1953, NATO debated on a fresh start. The Soviet troops ended the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany on June 17, 1953. By May of 1954, the Hukbalahap revolt in the Philippines was defeated. July 22, 1954 was when India annexed the Portuguese territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. On February 25, 1956, Nikita Khrushchev criticized Stalin on the speech, "On the Personality Cult and Its Consequences." It was delivered at the closed session of the 20th Party Congress of the CPSU. The speech marks the beginning of the De-Stalinization. Violence happened in Poznan, Poland after anti-communist protests on June 28, 1956. By July of 1956, the United States and the UK cancelled offers of aid on the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt due to its arms purchases from the Eastern Bloc. Nasser retaliated by nationalizing the Suez Canal. The October 23, 1956 Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was made up of socialists and progressives who wanted to end the Soviet domination of Hungary. They were crushed by the Soviet military that reinstated a Stalinist Communist government. On October 29, 1956, the Suez Canal existed. This was when France, Israel, and the UK attacked Egypt with the goal of removing Nasser form power. International diplomatic pressure forced the attackers to withdraw.

Canadian Lester B. Pearson encouraged the United Nations to send a peacekeeping force (the first of its kind) to the disputed territory. For this, Lester B. Pearson won a Nobel Peace Prize for his actions. Later, he became Prime Minister of Canada. By the year of 1956, the Vietnam Civil War expanded with the forming of the Viet Cong insurgency in South Vietnam (which was sponsored by North Vietnam). The Eisenhower Doctrine was created on January 5, 1957. It wanted America to defend Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan from Communist influence. Israeli forces left the Sinai which they occupied back in 1956. This was on January 22, 1957. The UK detonated its first hydrogen bomb on May 15, 1957. The Strategic Air Command made 24/7 nuclear alert until 1991 to protect from a Soviet ICBM surprise attack. Sputnik satellite from the Soviets flown into space on October 4, 1957 including Avor Arrow was revealed. Sputnik 2 was launched with Laika or the first living being on board by November 3, 1957. Later, America built more fallout shelters to survive a nuclear attack. The military expands in America. Khrushchev claimed that Soviets have more missile capability than America and challenges America to a missile shooting match to prove it. The Djuanda declaration was made. It said that oceans and land in Indonesia are unified. NATO has its first summit in Paris, France by December 16-19, 1957. Mao made his Great Leap Forward on January of 1958. America showed its first artificial satellite called Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958. The 2nd Taiwan Strait crisis happened when China bombs Quemony. Finally , Fidel Castro won the Cuban Revolution by January 1, 1959. He overthrow the dictator Batista via guerrilla warfare.

He inspired similar movements in Latin America. Crisis in Tibet happened in 1959. The Kitchen Debate was when U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Premier Khrushchev debated communism and capitalism on July 24, 1959. Explorer 6 from America is in orbit to photograph the Earth on August 7, 1959. Khrushchev visited America for 13 days and goes to Sea World. The NLF was created in December of 1959. It was a Communist insurgent movement that wanted to overthrow the anti-communist South Vietnamese government. North Vietnam and the USSR fund the NLF movement. France tested its atomic bomb on February 16, 1960. By April 1960, Jupiter IRBM missiles were sent to Italy. It was used to be in close range of the Soviet Union.On May 1, American pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down in his U-2 spy plane while flying at high altitude over the Soviet Union. This was the U-2 incident and it was embarrassing for the Eisenhower administration. The June 1960 split among the Soviets and China was about China accusing the Soviets of a superiority complex. The Chinese Communists believed that their system was superior. the Congo crisis started on July 1960. Communist revolts happened in Laos.

By September 23, Nikita Khrushchev came to NYC to talk to the U.N. General Assembly. He continued to visit America for a month. Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted to overthrow Castro bad despite his warnings about the military industrial complex (which is a real entity that has ruined nations for years via imperialism, miltiarism, economic exploitation, and destruction of so many lives). On January 3, 1961, President Eisenhower ended diplomatic relations with Cuba. The end of Eisenhower's President related to his goal of ending the Cuban Revolution. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States of America. He was a military veteran as the five star general in the Army and Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. That is why he led in the planning of the historic Normandy invasion of France to liberate millions from Nazi tyranny. He was one of the last of the center-right Republicans that didn't want revolutionary change, but he wasn't so extreme that he wanted permanent austerity either. He was of Pennsylvanian Dutch ancestry. He was a Cold Warrior. He gave economic resources to South Vietnam, he supported the military coups in Iran plus Guatemala, and he sent 15,000 soldiers during the 1958 Lebanon crisis. His more moderate side was when he opposed the Suez war of 1956, he continued New Deal programs, he disagreed with Joseph McCarthy's extremism, he signed the National Defense Education Act, and he expanded Social Security.  Eisenhower had a mixed record on civil rights. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but that law had no teeth to enforce civil rights policies. He sent Army troops to enforce federal court orders to integrate schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. Eisenhower is heavily admired by many today. We know that Eisenhower was not the worst President. We know who is the worst President in recent history. That's self explanatory. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a man who wanted to use rationality, a stable course, and a stable transition in terms of his personal policy decisions. He was a transitional President that many people don't know, but he was much more engaging on issues than many people realize. Eisenhower was more interested in foreign policy or international affairs than domestic affairs. With him not wanting to outright eliminate New Deal programs, he was popular among liberal Republicans and many conservative Republicans hated his views. From being the promoter of the Interstate Highways system to other policies, Eisenhower was an unique Presidential person.



The mid to late 1950's Civil Rights Movement had new developments all over the place. It was about grassroots working class and poor black Americans standing up for their human rights in opposing tyranny found in Jim Crow apartheid. Many mainstream civil rights leaders had links to the middle class bourgeois circles, but the vast majority of the black freedom movement always included grassroots, working class, and poor black human beings. By January 7, 1955, Marian Anderson was the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera. The executive Order 10590 was signed by President Eisenhower on January 15, 1955. This formed the President's Committee on Government Policy to enforce a nondiscrimination policy in Federal employment. Protesters from CORE and Morgan State University (or an HBCU) staged a successful sit in to desegregate Read's Drug Store in Baltimore, Maryland. On May 7, 1955, NAACP and Regional Council of Negro Leadership activist Reverend George W. Lee was killed in Belzoni, Mississippi. Brown II was established by the Supreme Court on May 31, 1955 to desegregate public schools with all deliberate speed. Many states continue to desegregate schools for years to come. Teenager Emmett Till was killed in Money, Mississippi on August 28, 1955. Tills's death inspired more people to fight for black freedom. By November 7, 1955, the Interstate Commerce Commission bans bus segregation in interstate travel in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, extending the logic of Brown v. Board to the area of bus travel across state lines. On the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court bans segregation on public parks and playgrounds. The governor of Georgia responds that his state would "get out of the park business" rather than allow playgrounds to be desegregated. On December 1, 1955,  Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This occurs nine months after 15-year-old high school student Claudette Colvin became the first to refuse to give up her seat. Colvin's was the legal case which eventually ended the practice in Montgomery.

It is important to note that Rosa Parks was a revolutionary. She allied with Malcolm X and Dr. King, she fought police brutality, she worked with the Black Panthers, and she opposed the prison industrial complex.  Roy Wilkins was the executive secretary of the NAACP by the end of 1955. 1956 saw more developments of social activism. Georgia Tech president Blake R Van Leer stands up to Governor Marvin Griffin threats to bar Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh player Bobby Grier over segregation on January of 1956. The end of segregation of schools happened in Wilmington, Delaware.  Ninety black leaders in Montgomery, Alabama are arrested for leading a bus boycott on February 1956. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Southern preacher back then who supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott was made up of men, women, and children who got tired of injustice and oppression.  The Tallahassee, Florida bus boycott began on May 28, 1956. On June 5, 1956, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) is founded at a mass meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful by December 20, 1956. By May 17, 1957, the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, D.C. is at the time the largest nonviolent demonstration for civil rights, and features Dr. King's "Give Us The Ballot" speech. 1957 saw more events. The Little Rock Nine students were escorted to Little Rock Central High School in 1957 by Federal and National Guard troops on September 24, 1957. Sit ins were in Oklahoma City by 1958. Paul Robeson's autobiography called Here I stand was released in 1958. In 1959, desegregation existed in parts of Virginia. Motown was born in 1959 too. A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, debuted on Broadway on 1959. On April 18, 1959, King spoke for the integration of schools at a rally of 26,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The 1961 film version will star Sidney Poitier.


The mystique about John F. Kennedy is still here with us. The truth is that we have 2 extreme lies about JFK. The first lie is that JFK was an reactionary extremist. The other lie is that he was very progressive superhero. The truth is that President John F. Kennedy was a liberal President who wanted to use his intellectual curiosity to establish a better America. He had his strengths and imperfections like all people have. Yet, he had the strength to grow and be more progressive into 1963. The start of President John F. Kennedy started with his family. He was born on May 29, 1917 at Brookline, Massachusetts. He was raised in a wealthy Catholic family. His father was Joseph Kennedy (where his competitive side came from) and Rose Fitzgerald (where his more people person side came from). Back in the day, many Catholic people faced taunts and overt bigotry. Yet, JFK excelled in many areas of his life. He went into many schools to gain education especially in politics and economics. He traveled with then Ambassador Joseph Kennedy into London. Joseph Kennedy was controversial as he was known by his peers as a person who said anti-Semitic comments. Kennedy had a close friendship with Viscountess Astor and their correspondence is replete with anti-Semitic statements (according to the author Edward Renehan). Joseph P. Kennedy told Kennedy told the reporter Joe Dinneen: "It is true that I have a low opinion of some Jews in public office and in private life. That does not mean that I. ... believe they should be wiped off the face of the Earth. ... Jews who take an unfair advantage of the fact that theirs is a persecuted race do not help much. ... Publicizing unjust attacks upon the Jews may help to cure the injustice, but continually publicizing the whole problem only serves to keep it alive in the public mind." Of course, anti-Semitism is wrong and evil period. President John F. Kennedy was a World War II Navy veteran who saved many lives. After the war, he came into the House of Representatives and the Senate. JFK's father wanted him to be President, but first, JFK had to establish political seniority. He did with his experience in the Congress. During that time, he criticized Western or French imperialism against Vietnam during the 1950's which was taboo. John F. Kennedy visited Vietnam in 1951. He criticized colonialism as preventing the fires of nationalism to spread in the world. His wife was Jacqueline Kennedy (whose maiden name was Bouvier). His 1956 book Profiles in Courage was eloquent and outlined the history of famous Senators. He took on the Mafia via the McClellan Committee, he attacked France for its imperial war against Algeria, and he was once the Vice Presidential candidate for the 1956 Presidential election. By 1960, he publicly called himself a liberal, and he ran for President in the Democratic ticket. The 1960 race wasn't easy. He had to defeat Humphrey, LBJ, and others who ran on the Democratic primary. John F. Kennedy also endorsed immigrant rights with his book on immigrants.

Then Senator John F. Kennedy gave speeches in favor of a higher minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and a separation of church and state (in ending fears that he would be bounded under the Pope's authority to determine legal policy. JFK gave a speech on this issue to many Baptists, and the Baptists applauded his stance). The separation of church and state is the hallmark of any progressive society. I have my faith in God, but I won't use my religious beliefs in infringing on the human rights of another person who is not of my faith. John F. Kennedy chose LBJ as his running mate to compete in the South. It is no secret that RFK didn't like LBJ, because of many reasons. Yet, JFK wanted to use political wit. John F. Kennedy defeated Nixon in the debates and in the Presidential race. President John F. Kennedy won the 1960 election after allowing Dr. King to leave jail. Dr. King's father inspired many black people to vote for him. JFK spoke in favor of civil rights, but his administration would be tested on civil rights issues. President John F. Kennedy had a civil rights record a million times better than Eisenhower, but civil rights activists had to push him in getting policies established. Many of his policies would be enacted by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. At the very end of the Eisenhower administration, the hero Lumumba was murdered in Katanga with the support of the CIA. JFK expressed sadness over the incident. January 20, 1961 was when John F. Kennedy gave his historic Inaugural Address. It was a masterpiece of oratory and probably the greatest inaugural address of the later half of the 20th century. JFK spoke themes of freedom, and he criticized Communism as an enemy. It had mixed aspirations and a call to arms to defeat Communism worldwide. So, the Kennedy mystique grew into new heights after that speech. We know that Communism is not monolithic, and not all Communists wanted to destroy the whole world (like not all capitalists are in love with economic injustice though capitalism is an imperfect economic system that readily is exploitative. Stalinism also is antithetical to true socialism). Yet, the world back then was in the Cold War era where provocative rhetoric was the order of the day. President John F. Kennedy was immediately tested by world events. On many events, he made mistakes, and JFK rose to the occasion to make great accomplishments (like his June 11, 1963 speech to advocate for racial equality, his support for affirmative action policies, his opposition to invade Cuba, and his speech to promote universal health for the elderly which would later be called Medicare) on other events too. These facts makes John F. Kennedy's legacy very clear that this man was different than many leaders of his day. He had great leadership qualities.


The Golden Era of Hip hop lasted from 1986 to 1994. It had an explosion of not only talent, lyricism, and creativity. It was diverse. That era of hip hop saw conscious hip hop, club music, G-funk, dance hip hop, gangsta rap, hip hop soul, Southern hip hop, underground hip hop, and other forms of hip hop. It was a time of a massive amount of expression. It was a time where both debates about lyrical content and the fight for hip hop recognition existed simultaneously. While opposing authoritarian censorship is good, we have to reject lyrics that celebrate misogyny, the n word, and other evils. You can do both. This era of hip hop wasn't just found in New York City (though NYC had a big role in hip hop's growth). It is also found in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, San Diego, Oakland, Detroit, Virginia, and in other places nationwide plus worldwide. The Golden Era of Hip hop was the first time when there was a combination of hip hop talent, fashion, profits, and innovation including influence that reached into new heights of popularity. Massive, diverse expression of hip hop is found in that era too with the songs from Arrested Development. Some of the greatest hip hop artists of all time flourished during this era. During this time, C. Delores Tucker and other people debated certain hip hop lyrics. These debates continue to this very day. In retrospect, many human beings found that C. Delores Tucker was right to say that black women, black men, and black children shouldn't be called every name under the sun by artists. Dehumanizing black people in music is a vice. When I was in elementary school and early middle school, I witnessed and lived through the Golden Era of Hip Hop. From the sounds of Slick Rick to the philosophy of life shown by Geto Boys, there was never a dull moment. From the women showing empowerment like Queen Latifah, Salt n Pepa, Yo Yo, and MC Lyte to the funnier type of artists like Kid 'n Play, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, MC Hammer, and others, you can witness greatness. From the conscious artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, Paris, Public Enemy, De La Soul, and to early gangsta rap artists like NWA, Ice-T, etc., hip hop expanded greatly. From Nas to Outkast, there was great versatility. You can find lyricism from KRS-One, Erc B and Rakim, Kane, A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers, etc. Music was reinvented all of the time. Afrocentric lyrics and a love of blackness was shown. Therefore, the Golden era of hip hop refined the essence of what hip hop is.

By Timothy

Mid May 2020 News.

Now, Dr. Fauci has issued a caution against states who want to open up prematurely. Trump has publicly disagreed with him. Dr. Anthony Fauci gave his testimony to the Senate hearing on Tuesday. Fauci said that a rapid reopening could increase cases so much, that that problems could cause a possible 2nd lockdown. There probably won't be a new vaccine or antiviral treatment on August or September of 2020. Trump wants to get the country open as soon as possible. The problem with Trump's argument is that we have to use real science in constructing a cogent solution. In other words, if credible scientific experts want to use caution involving this virus, caution is the prescription that we should diligently execute in formulating real solutions. Dr. Rick Bright is the ousted former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. This is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. He told Congress that if wise decisions that deal with a coordinated national response aren't implemented, America may face a terrible winter involving the outcome of the spread of the pandemic. Right now, over 300,000 people have passed away from the virus worldwide. There are over 4.4 million cases worldwide. We know that economic inequality is driving the coronvarius cases too. Like always, people internationally (with expertise and leadership involving complex medical conditions) ought to paramountly utilize their resources in fighting this invisible enemy of a virus.

NYC (an in many places of America) have always had civil liberties issues. One video (shown by Dr. Rebecca Kavanagh, Professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr., and other people) shows a young woman with her toddler being escorted by NYPD officers. The woman and her toddler have masks on. They walk up the subway. The police forced her to the ground and handcuffed her in Brooklyn. Yet, in certain parts of other areas of NYC parks, people don't have masks on. Statistics show that in New York City, 81% of the summons issued for violating social distancing rules from March 16 to May 5 were given to black Americans and Hispanic people (Yet, Black people and Hispanic people make up 53% of NYC's population). The police said that she wasn't wearing her masks properly. This is totally wrong on the part of the cops. It shows that we have a long way to go in establishing justice. Later, the mother and her child left the subway without the police formally charging her. The cops involved in this injustice should be fired ASAP.


I want to mention this information. It is always important for us to be educated on black American history and the history found of the African Diaspora in general as found in the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, etc. Many of us are blessed to know about these things, but many people (even some in our own community) never heard of Queen Nzinga, Ella Baker, or Toussaint. Even in recent years, we are fighting for accurate historical information about American slavery to be placed in textbooks in the state of Texas. It was only recently in my state of Virginia where Lee-Jackson-Stonewall Day was banned, because it celebrated Confederates. That is why young people and adults for that matter should know about the Haitian Revolution, Mansa Musa, the Dogon people of Mali (with their excellent understanding of astronomy), the ancient civilization in Zimbabwe, and modern day heroes making excellent contributions in science, technology, literature, athletics, music, the other arts, mathematics, etc. Everyday, we are fighting for the elimination of mental colonization that originated centuries ago when our ancestors were brought into the Americas in chains. Our ancestors fought to end the Maafa. We salute them. In Brazil, Afro-Brazilians now are in the struggle for their liberation too. One Afro-Brazilian judge named judge Fabio Esteves once never heard of Luis Gama (who was an Afro-Brazilian man who freed 500 black slaves via the courts even though he was denied an official law school education, because he was a black man).

Even with a law in Brazil mandating teachers to teach African and Afro-Brazilian history in the school system, some teachers don't comply with the law. Yet, in the past decades, many Afro-Brazilian people are teaching Afro-Brazilian people plus others about real black history. One young schoolteacher and Afro-Brazilian woman named Perla Santos created a card game named Bafo Afro. This game teaches students on Afro-Brazilian history in the city of Porto Alegre. The cards show images of Afro-Brazilian heroes and heroines. Perla Santos teaches at the Mario Quintana Municipal Elementary School. Many heroes on the cards are Dandara, Zumbi dos Palmares, Teresa de Benguela, Andre Reboucas, and Jose do Patrocinio among other human beings. Santos wants to increase literary and true understanding. This is certainly great news.


One of the most tragic stories of our time is the recent killing of a young black woman named Breonna Taylor. She was a hero who was an EMT worker. She saved lives constantly in her occupation. Now, she is gone physically. She died at her own Louisville, Kentucky home. The police executed a messed up search warrant. They forced their way in the home. They surprised Taylor and her boyfriend. Later, 20 shots were fired in the apartment. Taylor was shot eight times by the police. The police were in plainclothes with unmarked vehicles. Taylor was unarmed and did nothing wrong. In fact, Taylor wasn't even the home with drugs. This story hasn't been shown much in the mainstream media, but it has been shown a lot in the Internet including social media. We want accountability and justice.

Rest in Power Sister Breonna Taylor.

35th Anniversary of the MOVE Bombing.

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/8/8/20747198/philadelphia-bombing-1985-move

Coronavirus is Making the Case for Black Reparations Clearer Than Ever

https://blackagendareport.com/coronavirus-making-case-black-reparations-clearer-ever

Whose Crisis?: When the People Lose, the Corporate Parties and the Rich Win

https://blackagendareport.com/whose-crisis-when-people-lose-corporate-parties-and-rich-win

Black Agenda Radio for Week of May 11, 2020

https://blackagendareport.com/black-agenda-radio-week-may-11-2020

Freedom Rider: New Attacks on Venezuela

https://blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-new-attacks-venezuela

Facts.

When someone uses the words of identity politics to criticize anyone talking about race, then that person really wants to ignore racial issues in trying to eliminate the need to end structural racism. That is why I don't take folks seriously when they use the coded phrase identity politics in criticizing real social activists. The term of identity politics is used by many to dismiss legitimate concerns about racism and misogyny and to minimize the concerns of marginalized, oppressed communities. The irony is the identity politics was originally coined by a heroic black woman named Barbara Smith as a means to stand up for justice. Decades later, the real meaning of identity politics has been co-opted by racists, reactionaries, and leftist class reductionalists (Krystal Ball, WSWS, etc. Krystal Ball criticized centrism which ought to be done, but she believes ironically in the centrist ideology of opposing identity politics) in order for them to minimize the concerns of black people. Black people collectively have every right to tell our stories and to stand up for real democracy without whitewashing and without compromise. Krystal Ball wants people to not follow identity politics, because a conservative African American man was elected Attorney General in the state of Kentucky. That's silly, because institutionalized racism should be exposed. Also, many of these class reductionists wants us to obsess to gain the support of white working class people while omitting the needs of black human beings including other people. The false argument of Ball is that anyone who believes in identity politics wants far right people or neoliberal centrists of any color to be praised by virtue of their color alone. That is certainly not the case. Identity politics is about acknowledging specific forms of oppression and doing something about it involving structural, revolutionary change (not diminishing the oppression of other people). Her coded phrases of "suffering Olympics" and "leave identity at the door" are very typical of some liberals who hate anyone viciously opposing a class-only approach or supporting reparations (like the Reverend Dr. King did. She or Ball says content of character while omitting that Dr. King wanted redistribution of wealth and race-based compensation given to black Americans because of slavery including Jim Crow oppression). Krystal Ball praising the racist Joe Rogan is very interesting. See, I do know my tea. Her saying that I don't agree with extremists like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly on every issue, but they just mention something that I enjoy. I'm not surprised by her. The true reality is that many Republicans and reactionaries have convinced some progressives and some Democrats that identity politics is bad, while these same Republicans spent millions of dollars in specific media and other instruments to advance far right wing views based upon far right white politics. Certainly, we know that Trump is the worst President in our generation. He has been a failure in establishing a coherent policy in dealing with coronavirus, police brutality, and other issues. That is why we are clear that we desire better leadership than this. The disaster of the response has caused the lives of many people to be gone. Many businesses are gone. Millions of Americans struggle to get food and other resources. More than 20 million Americans are out of work. We have witnessed overt bigotry and xenophobia shown by this administration that Reagan could have dream of doing. Therefore, I'm an optimist by nature. Our response isn't to give up. Our response to this crisis is to continue our duty to help our communities via charities, outreach, investments, promoting real advice, and standing up for solutions.


Candace Owens is at it again spewing lies and deception against the black community. Before I refute her lies, I will outline what she has said recently. She believes in the view of respectability politics. Respectability politics is the view that many conservatives have that if black people want to develop into the next level of improvement, then we have to confirm to rigid clothing styles, embrace Western society unconditionally, use perfect diction, abhor progressive values, and make an emphasis of conforming to the status quo. Of course, I reject respectability politics. Candace Owens is the hypocrite that once sued people because of racial discrimination, but she downgrades racial oppression today. She wrote a book that compares black people voluntarily joining the Democratic Party as being in a plantation which trivializes plus disrespects the black suffering found in slavery.

Slavery involved genocide, abuse, manipulation, and terror. Slavery can't be equivalent to anyone joining any party voluntarily. On Twitter, she recently downplayed Ahmaud Arbery's murder. She listed the usual far right conservative talking points which is why a lot of far right white people like her. She said the stats on coronavrius deaths are nonsense when a disproportionate amount of deaths in America involve black Americans. She called black culture wrong when black culture gave the world inventors, scholars, political leaders, etc. She said that the black community doesn't speak out on "black on black " crime when black people via various programs always condemn violence and stand up against intraracial violence all of the time. There are conflict resolutions programs now fighting gang violence and other evils. The irony is that many of the same ones who lecture others in saying that we live in a colorblind society (which we don't) talk about "black on black" crime (which has racial connotations) as a way for them to prop up right wing talking points. The crime rates in the black community have declined massively since 1980. There are massive declines in crime rates overall. She omits that most crime in America is intraracial, and crime is not based on racial genetics but on diverse socioeconomic factors including close proximity. She ignores the existence of structural racism and discrimination which has been documented by sociological studies. She makes it her business to lecture black people about what we ought to do when black people have been doing the work before she was born. She said that black people aren't hunted.

There is the black slave trade in Libya today. Many black people are abused and raped plus hunted worldwide (via the modern slave trade, sex trafficking, and other sick forms of abuse). Black people are constantly harassed in the Internet and in the streets of America. Black people are victims of slurs and racism daily. So, this reality is what Owens ignores. Owens denied that Ahmaud was a jogger when he was. Her comparing black Democrats to slaves is the height of ignorance. She quoted a retweted a bigoted comment saying that Black Americans are the most confused and deceived people on Earth. Obviously, that is a lie. Owens talks about black children passing away, but her omission of black Americans organizing the fighting against the deaths of black children makes her disingenuous and hypocritical. She wants to worship the conservative ideology at the expense of her ignoring black people fighting international white racism. Downplaying white racism while maligning black people who are progressive is her M.O. She's a traitor just like Jesse Lee Peterson and the rest. Her claim that the left hates America is a lie.

Owens said that black Americans have a 'victim mentality.' No, we (who are black people) realize that we are victims of oppression, and we have a victor mentality of wanting justice and real freedom against injustice. There is a difference. Candace Owens doesn't want to be seen as monolithic, but she makes monolithic labels against black Americans when black Americans are very much diverse not monolithic. Owens dismissed the increase of hate crimes in America. She minimizes the terrorism done by white nationalists, because her views are similar to their views. Owens lied and said that the NRA was a civil rights organization. We know that the NRA was created by Union soldiers during the late 19th century originally to improve marksmanship. The NRA promoted gun control explicitly and wise gun ownership until the 1970's when they were taken over by extremists. Owens lied and said that the October 2018 mail bombings were done by leftists when a Trump supporting Republican did it. Her (when she talks down to black Americans in a disgraceful fashion) supporting Trump is typical of her. She will not talk the way she talks to white people as she does to black people. Trump made racist comments, made sexist comments, and who has cut the social safety net plus enriched big corporations (as capitalism grew to what it is today via slave labor and imperialism including colonialism) for years. She is just wrong.


By Timothy

Genealogy Information.

https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SN-054_Millie_Woodson-Turner_Nottoway_Reservation_AllotmentFarmstead_2017_WMCAR_report-1.pdf

Monday Updates.

One of the most surprising things that I have learned is that one of my late distant cousins was involved in the Normandy invasions during World War II. His name was Reverend Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris. He lived from December 15, 1921 to April 25, 2010. He was the fifth of nine children of Emma Jane Mason Harris and Andrew Harris. All of the nine children of Emma Jane Mason Harris and Andrew Harris were: Marian Harris Nottingham (whose daughter is Gloria E. Nottingham), Bessie H. Johnson, Robert Harris, Andrew Harris, James Hurley Harris, Delaware Harris, Henry Harris, Mildred H. Jenkins, and Evelyn H. Price. Rev. Delaware Floyd Harris and I share the common ancestor of Sarah Claud, who was the daughter of the heroic Zilphy Claud. Sarah Claud was my 4th great grandmother, her son was the Rev. James Thompson Claud, Rev. James Thompason Claud's son was Arthur Boss Claud, Arthur Claud's daughter was Ella Mae Claud, Ella's son was Robert (or my later grandfather), Robert's daughter was my mother, and then I came about. Sarah Claud's daughter was Susanna Sarah M. Hill (b. 1868). My 4th great aunt Susanna Hill, whose father was Tom Hill, married a man named Nelson Harris (b. 1861) on December 22, 1886 at Southampton County, Virginia. The couple had many children. One of their children was Andrew Harris (1892-1984) or my 1st cousin. Andrew Harris married a woman named Emma Jean Mason Harris (1893-1908). They had nine children. One of their children was my 2nd cousin Rev. Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris (1921-2010). So, I am related to many people in Southampton County, Virginia.

Rev. Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris was born in Courtland, Virginia which is next to Suffolk, Virginia. He lived in Southampton County, Virginia during his childhood where my maternal ancestors came from. He joined the United States Navy during World War II on the ship LST 520. He was a religious man and became a chaplain to the soldiers overseas. According to the published log of the captain of this warship, Delaware Harris and his shipmates participated in the Normandy invasion. He was awarded 2 medals of valor and distinguished service (i.e. The Victory World War II Medal and the European/African theater Medal with 1 Star). He received a Letter of Commendation from President Harry S. Truman for his "fortitude, resourcefulness, and clam judgement" during his service to his country. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Virginia Union University at Richmond, Virginia and a Doctor of Divinity Degree from Virginia Theological Seminary and College in Lynchburg, Virginia. He dedicated his life to the ministry. He worked in carpenter, insurance, and other churches like the Wilson Chapel Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Virginia and the First Nottoway Baptist Church in Crew, Virginia. Rev. Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris married Selena M. Ridley on July 17, 1943 at Norfolk, Virginia. They had one child named Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris II (b. 1946). Dr. Delaware Harris II lives in California, and he was born on April 21, 1946 at Norfolk, Virginia. He married Mary Frances Robinson (b. 1952) on June 24, 1972 at Prince George County, Virginia. Dr. Delaware F. Harris II and Mary Frances Robinson as a couple both live in the Los Angeles, California area. Therefore, this news is certainly very interesting.

The Crusades are part of world history during the Middle Ages that changed the world forever. It was a conflict of religions, ideologies, and other views that we deal with to this very day. In our time, we know a lot of the Crusades' origin, history, and legacy. It was initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Roman Catholic Church. The multiple Crusades were long from 1096 to 1271. The goal of the crusaders were overt. They desired to control the Holy Land from Islamic rule. Also, this era saw the Catholic Church used terrorism and violence to harm pagans, Gnostics like the Albigensians, and other dissident religious groups like the Waldensians. People have the right to agree or disagree with views, but no one has the right to murder people by virtue of someones' political or religious views. The Crusades represented an early form of European imperialism and war crimes on a mass scale across continents. The first Crusade started by Pope Urban II on 1095. This was when he proclaimed the First Crusade at Council of Clermont. He wanted military support for Byzantine Emperor Alexios I against the Seljuk Turks and an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Many people in Western Europe supported his action. Volunteers took a public vow to join the crusade. The Crusades were complex. Some of it existed for feudal reasons, opportunities for economic growth, religious extremism, etc. The Crusader states were in the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Country of Tripoli. The Knights Templar were involved in many of the Crusades. Christians and Muslims fought in the Iberian Peninsula. Muslims controlled it until 1492 via the Reconquista by Christians. That was when the fall of the Muslim Emirate of Granada came about. The 1147 campaigns in Northern Europe against pagan tribes existed. Pope Innocent III started crusades against what he deemed "Christian heretics" in 1199. By the 1200, crusading was done against the Cathars or Gnostics in Languedoc in France, plus in Bosnia, the Waldensians in Savoy (in Italy), and the Hussites in Bohemia. There was the targeting by the Vatican against Protestants by the 16th century. This crusading rhetoric ended by 1699 with the War of the Holy League.

The Crusades started and ended with religion. By the end of the Roman empire, Christianity was widespread in Europe. The first proclaimed Christian Roman Emperor was Constantine the Great in 324 A.D. The Western Roman Empire was gone by 476 A.D. The Eastern Roman Empire or the locations around Byzantium continue to flourish for centuries until the 1400's. Islam was created by the 600's A.D. by Muhammad. Islam expanded from 622-632 across the Arabian peninsula. By 661 A.D., the Islamic influence spread to all of the New East, North Africa, and other places. By the time of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661-750 A.D., this era saw Islam expanding into Spain. The Byzantine world and the Islamic world during the time of the Middle East had massive wealthy, cultural development, and military power. Western Europe was in a funk of lax power and influence. There was relative peace for a time among the Christian and Muslim world before the Crusades. Muslim Arabic people conquered territory from the Indus in the east to North Africa and Southern France in the West. Syria, Egypt, and North Africa were taken from the Byzantine Empire. Shia Islam grew. Shia followers believe that only the descendants of Muhammad's cousin and son in law Ali plus daughter Fatimah could be caliph. Sunnis disagreed with this view. Before the start of the Crusades, many events occurred. From 1040 to 1055, the Turkish people migrated from central Asia to southwest Asia. They conquered Persia, and they started to invade Armenia including Iraq. They captured Baghdad or the capital of the Abbasid capital city. From 1067 to 1070, the Turkish people invaded Byzantine territory in Turkey. Turkic forces take over Jerusalem from the Fatimid dynasty of North Africa. By 1071, Turkic forces defeated the Byzantine forces at the Battle of Manzikert and found the Sultanante of Rum in Asia Minor (Turkey). In 1054, the Catholic Church was divided. It split among the Vatican in Rome and the Greek Orthodox Church in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. From 1061 to 1091, Christian forces under the Normans invaded and defeated Muslim ruled Sicily. Yet, they retained Muslim cultural influence under Norman rule. The Turkic people conquered Antioch, Syria in 1085. The Muslim city of Toledo was captured by Christian forces under Alfonso VI.


To start, the First Crusade (1095-1099), started by the Byzantine Emperor or the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. He wanted the Pope to reclaim lands in Turkey that were lost to Turkic Islamic forces. The Council of Clermont on 1095 was when the Pope called upon the princes of Western Europe to rule Jerusalem. Crusaders were promised absolution of all sins. The problem was that Jerusalem wasn't originally owned or controlled by Europeans. The People's Crusade came about in 1096. The Pope called on the princes of Europe. Many people in Europe were followers of that call of invasion. In 1096, vicious peasants killed many Jewish people living in the Rhineland of Germany. The Fatimids retook Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks in 1096. in 1096, Crusader armies under Peter and Walter destroyed at Nicaea by Kilij Arslan. In 1097, the Crusades invaded Turkey and reach Antioch by October 21, 1097.  From 1096 to 1099, a group of 50,000 to 60,000 Europeans (including 7,000 knights) took the city of Jerusalem. They set up the Western dominated Kingdom of Jerusalem. On Spring and Summer of 1096, Jewish people were massacred in Europe. On October 20, 1097, there was the siege of Antioch. Crusaders took lands formerly belonging to the Byzantine Empire. They worked as a mercenary army. The city of Antioch fell about a long siege. By March 10, 1098, Edessa was formed as the first Latin settlement in the West under Crusade leader Baldwin after its Turkic leader flees. Muslims fight them or the Crusaders at Antioch on June 5, 1098. The Crusaders captured the city of Jerusalem in 1099. They or the Crusaders massacred many of the residents, including Jewish people, Muslims, and Christians. Godfey was elected ruler of the city. They divided the city into four sections. Later, the Knights Templar would work heavily in Jerusalem. By 1100, Baldwin was chosen as the first Crusader king of Jerusalem. The city of Acre was ruled by the Crusader leader Baldwin. It was a port city. In that same year, the Muslims defeated the Franks at Harran. It prevented them from moving further east into Muslim territory. The Hospitallers or the Knightly Order of St. John was founded as a Crusader force. By Spring of 1115, an alliance of Muslims and Franks in Syria were used to fight Seljuk Sultan Muhamamd ibn Malikshah. The Knights Templar was founded as a Crusader force by 1119 A.D. The Second Crusade was from 1147 to 1148. This was when Westerners wanted to retake the city of Edessa. It failed. The 2nd Crusade also included Crusaders in parts of Muslim ruled Spain, Eastern Germany, and the East. Spanish Crusaders take Lisbon from Muslim rule. The Crusader armies under Conrad of Germany and Louis VII of France besieged Damascus, but they are turned back by Nur al-Din's forces. By 1187, the Muslim soldier Saladin captured the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Saladin ended Fatimid rule in Egypt, and he formed the Ayyuid dynasty. There is competition between Nur al-Din and Saladin. Saladin ruled Damascus by 1174. After Saldin took over Jerusalem, Franks only retain cities of Tyre, Tripoli and Antioch. The entire army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was lost in the battles for the city. The Third Crusade lasted from 1189 to 1192. The Crusaders, who headed it, were Richard I of England, Philip II of France, and the Holy Roman Emperor Emperor Frederick I. Frederick I died en route to the Middle East by June 1190. This was when there was an attempt to conquer Jerusalem again by the Crusaders.

Richard the Lionhearted led the Third Crusade. He was from England. He controlled a small amount of land in Israel. Christians were allowed to visit the city of Jerusalem. By September 2, 1192, Richard and Saladin end their fighting with a treaty. Richard leaves for his home in England. Saladin died by 1193. His brother al-Adil rules. The Fourth Crusade was from 1203 to 1204. The Crusaders wanted to conquer Jerusalem again. They were involved in politics. They sacked Constantinople to form the Latin Kingdom of Constantinople. The Fifth Crusade was against Egypt. It lasted from 1218 to 1221. It was a costly failure. From 1209 to 1229, Albigensian people were massacred by the Vatican in Southern France. In 1212, the Children's Cruades begins and ends in tragedy. From 1217-1221, there was the Fifth Crusade. Pope Honorius III continues it. Cardinal Pelagius led an invasion of Egypt which was ruled by al-Malik al-Makil. The Muslim forces defeated the Crusader army. Al-Kamil provided bread and supplies to save the Crusader army from starvation. By 1219, a rare inter-religious dialogue happened between Sultan al-Kamil and Francis of Assisi. Francis preaches. al-Kamil negotiated with Frederick II over the control of Jerusalem by 1222. Byzantine retake Turkey in 1235. From 1236-1238, in Spain, Ferdinand III of Castile attacked the city of Cordova. The Christian army of Argon took over over the city of Valencia from Muslim rule. The Crusaders lost Jerusalem for good by 1244. In 1245, Pope Innocent IV sent missionaries to the Mongols to attempt an alliance against Muslims in Asia and the Middle East. In 1247, Louis IX planned another Crusade. His al-Mail's son Ayyub knows of the plan.  The Sixth Crusade lasted from 1248-1254. Louis IX of France invaded Egypt. He controlled Damietta, but is defeated and captured by the city of Mansurah. He was released for ransom and return of Damietta. By 1258. the Ayyubid dynasty ends, Mamluk rule again, and the Mongols under Genghis Khan's grandson Hulegu invaded plus destroyed Baghdad. The Seventh Crusade started with Louis IX in 1270, and forces attacked Tunis. Louis IX died in the same year. Mamluk sultans Qalawun and his son Khalil retake Tripoli and Acre from the Franks by 1289. 1291 was the end of the Great Crusades. Many Crusaders retreat to the island of Cyprus. Jerusalem was controlled by Muslim people until 1917.



By Timothy