Stories on Life.

  

Norma Artis Morton was my 4th cousin who lived from February 5, 1927, in Pennsylvania to August 15, 2010, in Jamaica Queens, New York City. She married the late Harry Morton Sr., and they had many children. Some of their children are Harry B. Morton Jr. (b. 1952), Bernard Louis Morton (1953-2003), Maureen V. Morton (b. 1961), Evan Morton, and Adrienne C. Morton George. My 3rd cousin Elliot Artis has a long history. She lived from 1898 to 1968. Her parents are Benjamin Joe Artis and Annie B. Lewis Artis. Their children are Madelean Artis (1894-1935), Annie L. Artis (b. 1900), May Artis (b. 1902), Maude Artis (b. 1907), Prince Edward Artis (1909-1972), Miriam Artis (b. 1912), Thaddeus Wilson Artis (1913-1968), Lewis A. Artis (B. 1917), Elliot Artis (1898-1968), and Jo Bill Artis. Elliot Artis married Julia Ann Wyche on December 28, 1924, in Virginia. Their children are Ella Beatrice Artis (1925-1927), Irma Artist (b. 1929), Virginia Artis (1929-1992), Elliot Benjamin Artis Jr. (1931-2003), Edward Artis (b. 1932), Mabel Artis (b. 1933), George E. Artis Sr. (1936-2003), Florence E. Artis (b. 1940), Lloyd Artis (b. 1942), Minnie Artis (B. 1943), and Anthony Artis (b. 1947). Elliot Artis's son was George Artis. George Artis married Bessie Mae Branch. Bessie Mae Branch's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Branch. Elliot Artis lived in Ossining, New York state. The ceremony was performed on February 20th, 1960, in a home. The bride Bessie Branch was employed at Beckley Hospital before going to New York. Her sister, Julia Branch, was the maid of honor. Her bridesmaids were Miss Alberta Knight, Miss Jane Murray of Brooklyn, NYC, and Miss Daisy Lee of New York including Miss Myrtle Merchant of Tuskegee, Alabama. Lloyd Artis is the brother of George Artis, and he was the best man. 

 

Many people know about the story of reparations coming to Evanston in 2012 by former Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste. Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) is a nonprofit organization that promotes and develops affordable housing. It was used to give the first 16 local reparations restorative housing grants. This is not reparations for black Americans collectively, but it is a legitimate gesture to help fellow human beings to survive in the world. Evanston's Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program wanted to eliminate the effects of systemically racist past practices from the city government and all city affiliated organizations. Many black people have to fit certain categories to get reparations like residents who lived in the city from 1919 to 1969, a direct descendant of a black resident from 1919 to 1969, and residents who gave evidence that they were victims of housing discrimination due to the city's policies or practices after 1969. More black Evanstonians are fighting for these types of reparations. This story has been written by the reporter at the Evanston RoundTable named Debbie-Marie Brown. Evanston is found in Illinois being a Chicago suburb. Reparations for black Americans have been stalled in Congress for a time now. In St. Paul, Minnesota, the city has apologized in 2021 for its role in the institutional and structural racism experienced by its black residents. City officials in St. Paul formed an advisory committee to create a framework for reparations commissions. The committee made a report recommending direct cash payments to eligible black residents and creating a permanent reparations committee. This will focus on sending reparations to address racial disparities in housing, healthcare, education, employment, etc. Trahrn Crew, a member of St. Paul City council's reparations legislation advisory committee partly influenced reparations efforts in Minnesota's capital city. Yohuru Williams wants a holistic approach to reparations. Times are changing, and the movement for reparations for black Americans collectively is reaching new heights of power. 

 

Life is a miracle. When I was younger, I certainly underestimated the value of life and timing. Now, that I'm older, I see the value of life is very important. Learning great lessons is part of aging. Centuries ago, my ancestors were in Western and Central Africa. Later, evil people kidnapped, raped, and abused our ancestors. They sent them to America against their will. Their cultures, music, and way of life (from Africa) have been gone in a moment. The journey of the Maafa was brutal. Black women were raped on ships, black men were whipped, and black people on ships were placed in chains. The worst crime of humanity involving slavery was the Maafa. It lasted from the late 1400's to the 1800's. It lasted for over 400 years. The miracle is that our people live now. After all of that pain and turmoil have done to our black ancestors by racists and terrorists, black people still exist as STEM leaders, teachers, lawyers, activists, theologians, artists, musicians, athletes, doctors, lawyers, and other courageous human beings. Our people have no malice toward innocent people of every color, but we reserve our right to advocate for restitution, accountability, and justice. Part of that aim for justice is to promote reparations for black Americans. The Black American story is a great story filled with triumphs from laws being made to institutions being developed to improve the lives of so many people in the world. We still have a long way to go in seeking liberation. For the past 50 years, the reparations movement has grown in strength. Many policies have existed. For the record, I reject xenophobia. Some try to exploit the reparations movement to demonize or minimize the importance of Pan-African unity. That is why I don't agree with the ADOS or FBA movements as their movements have tons of members having hostility toward black people outside of America. The leader of FBA, Tariq Nasheed, has disrespected Afro-Caribbeans constantly in videos and Tweets (even calling them slurs like the "t" word). One of the founders of ADOS even showed hostility to African music shown in Howard University. Another founder of ADOS said that he has more in common with a European American than an African. Therefore, black Americans will continue to fight for reparations without compromise, without xenophobia, and without bigotry. Truth is on our side. 

 

Popular Culture has been around for a long time. During ancient times, many people did plays and other ceremonies about acting. Today, we have more sophisticated technology to describe stories, show entertainment, and deal with other aspects of human lives. Nowadays, Tik Tok among the youth can show dances and other forms of entertainment. Presently, advanced smartphones can create movies by themselves with cinematic, digital devices. The more facts that we know, the more insights that we know. I want to make the following point too. Crowder's disrespect of the quarterback Russell Wilson as "lame" (when Crowder talks about Wilson like that, he wants to dismiss his manhood) is silly by him. That view represents the view of some in the world. The truth is that Russell Wilson is a man who takes care of his kids, stands up for his wife, loves his family, and goes out of his way to provide for people. Russell Wilson is a role model that real men should respect not downgrade. Also, we know of the massive symbolism and occult influence found in Hollywood. One example is the racist L. Ron Hubbard invented Scientology. Scientology is a controversial group that believes that humans are immortal alien spiritual beings (a thetan) trapped on planet Earth in a physical "meat body." They claim that going through the process would allow people to gain spiritual strength. Margery Wakefield's 1991 work called, "What Christians Need to Know About Scientology" documents the heresies, blasphemies, and deceptions found in Scientology too. He lived in Jack Parsons' home for a time. Jack Parsons was obsessed with magic, sex rituals, the occult, and the views of the occultist and sexist Aleister Crowley. Jack Parsons founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, an organization that paved the way for much of the research found in NASA. We know that it is evil in the world. Yet, we have to know about the good news. The good news is that many people are waking up and rejecting the Crowleyan sick ideologies. There is a remnant of human beings in the world who care for the sick, defend the rights of the poor, promote human rights for black people, care for women, and believe in the creed of justice for all. 

 

There was a German settlement in Mexico during the Spanish rule of Texas. the first permanent settlement of Germans was at Industry in Austin Coun, formed by Friedrich Ernst and Charles Fordtran during the early 1830's. They lived under Mexican rule. Ernst wrote a letter to a friend in his native Oldenburg. This was found in the newspaper there. His description of Texas was very influential in attracting German immigrants to that area. He is known as the father of German immigration to Texas. Many Germans, especially Roman Catholics who sided with Mexico, left Texas for the rest of present-day Mexico after America defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American War in 1848. A few Mexican Irish communities existed in Mexican Texas until the Texas Revolution. Many Irish then sided with Catholic Mexico against Protestant pro-U.S. elements. The first Emprearial grant has been made under Spanish control to Moses Autin. The grant was passed to his son Stephen F. Austin, whose settlers, known as the Old Three Hundred, settled along the Braxos River in 1822. The grant was later ratified by the Mexican government. Twenty-three other empresarios brought settlers to the state, the majority from the United States of America. By 1821, in spite of growing Mexican limitations on slavery, U.S. immigrants brought an increasing number of slaves to Texas. By 1825, 69 slave owners owned 443 slaves. Mexican granted Texas a one-year exemption from the national edict of 1829 outlawing slavery. Yet, Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante ordered all slaves to be freed in 1830. Slavery is immoral, and it should be banned. The colonists violated the law by converting slaves into "indentured servants for life." By 1836, there were 5,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas. Bustamante outlawed the immigration of American citizens to Texas in 1830. Many new presidios were formed in the region to monitor immigration and customs practices. These new laws called for the enforcement of customs duties, angering both native Mexican citizens (Tejanos). In 1832, a group of men led a revolt against customs enforcement in Anahuac. These Anahuac Disturbances coincided with a revolt in Mexico against the current president. Texans sided with the federalists against the current government and after the Battle of Nacogdoches, drove all Mexican soldiers out of East Texas.

Texans took advantage of the lack of oversight to agitate for more political freedom, resulting in the Convention of 1832. Among other issues, the convention demanded that U.S. citizens be allowed to immigrate to Texas and requested independent statehood for the area. The following year, Texians reiterated their demands at the Convention of 1833. After presenting their petition, courier Stephen F. Austin was jailed for the next two years in Mexico City on suspicion of treason. Although Mexico implemented several measures to appease the colonists, President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's measures to transform Mexico from a federalist to a centralist state led the Texan colonists to revolt. This caused the Texas revolution. So, the Texas Revolution was about settlers trying to be independent of Mexico in order to have a conservative government and maintain slavery against black people.  

The vague unrest erupted into armed conflict on October 2, 1835, at the Battle of Gonzales, when Texans repelled a Mexican attempt to retake a small cannon. This launched the Texas Revolution, and over the next three months, the Texian Army successfully defeated all Mexican troops in the region. On March 2, 1836, Texans signed the Texas Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos, effectively creating the Republic of Texas. The revolt was justified as necessary to protect basic rights and because Mexico had annulled the federal pact. The majority of the colonists were from the United States; they said that Mexico had invited them to move to the country, but they were determined "to enjoy" the republican institutions to which they were accustomed in their native land.

Many of the Texas settlers believed the war to be over and left the army after the initial string of victories. The remaining troops were largely recently arrived adventurers from the United States; according to historian Alwyn Barr, the numerous American volunteers "contributed to the Mexican view that Texan opposition stemmed from outside influences." The Mexican congress responded to this perceived threat by authorizing the execution of any foreigner found fighting in Texas; they did not want prisoners of war. As early as October 27, Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had been preparing to quell the unrest in Texas. In early 1836, Santa Anna personally led a 6,000-man force toward Texas. His force was large but ill-trained. Santa Anna led the bulk of the troops to San Antonio de Bexar to besiege the Alamo Mission, while General Jose de Urrea led the remaining troops up the coast of Texas. Urrea's forces soon defeated all the Texian resistance along the coast, culminating in the Goliad Massacre, where they executed 300 Texian prisoners of war. After a thirteen-day siege, Santa Anna's forces overwhelmed the nearly 200 Texians defending the Alamo, and killed the prisoners. "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" became a battle cry of the Texas Revolution.

News of the defeats sparked the Runaway Scrape, where much of the population of Texas and the Texas provisional government fled east, away from the approaching Mexican army. Many settlers rejoined the Texian army, then commanded by General Sam Houston. After several weeks of maneuvering, on April 21, 1836, the Texian Army attacked Santa Anna's forces near the present-day city of Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto. They captured Santa Anna and forced him to sign the Treaties of Velasco, ending the war. The Republic of Texas lasted from 1836 to 1845. The 1st Congress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836 at Columbia (now West Columbia). It overturned the Mexican prohibition of slavery and outlawed the emancipation of slaves, although slaveholders were allowed to free their slaves outside the Republic if they desired. Free Black people were specifically forbidden to live in the Republic. Stephen F. Austin, known as the Father of Texas, died December 27, 1836, after serving two months as Secretary of State for the new Republic. In 1836, five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas (Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco, and Columbia) before President Sam Houston moved the capital to Houston in 1837. In 1839, the capital was moved to the new town of Austin by the next president, Mirabeau B. Lamar. So, there you go.

There were internal politics in the infamous Republica. There was a conflict among 2 factions. The nationalist faction, led by Mirabeau B. Lamar, advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans, and the expansion of Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Their opponents, led by Sam Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful co-existence with Native Americans.

Although Texas governed itself, Mexico refused to recognize its independence. On March 5, 1842, a Mexican force of over 500 men, led by Ráfael Vásquez, invaded Texas for the first time since the revolution. They soon headed back to the Rio Grande after briefly occupying San Antonio. 1,400 Mexican troops, led by the French mercenary general Adrian Woll launched a second attack and captured San Antonio on September 11, 1842. A Texas militia retaliated at the Battle of Salado Creek. However, on September 18, this militia was defeated by Mexican soldiers and Texas Cherokee Native Americans during the Dawson Massacre. The Mexican army would later retreat from the city of San Antonio.

Mexico's attacks on Texas intensified the conflict between the political factions in an incident known as the Texas Archive War in 1842. To "protect" the Texas national archives, President Sam Houston ordered them out of Austin. Austin residents, suspicious of the president's motives because of his avowed disdain of the capital, forced the archives back to Austin at gunpoint. The Texas Congress admonished Houston for the incident, and the incident would solidify Austin as Texas's seat of government for the Republic and the future state. 

By February 28, 1845, the U.S. Congress narrowly passed a bill that made America annex the Republic of Texas if it so voted. The legislation set the date for annexation as December 29 of the same year. On October 13 of the same year, a majority of voters in Texas approved a proposed constitution. This constitution was later accepted by the U.S. Congress, making Texas a U.S. state on the same day annexation took effect (therefore bypassing a territorial phase).

The Mexican government had long warned that annexation would mean war with the United States. When Texas joined the U.S., the Mexican government broke diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States now assumed the claims of Texas when it claimed all land north of the Rio Grande. In June 1845, President James K. Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to Texas, and by October, 3,500 Americans were on the Nueces River, prepared to defend Texas from a Mexican invasion. On November 10, 1845, Polk ordered General Taylor and his forces south to the Rio Grande, into disputed territory that Mexicans claimed as their own. Mexico claimed the Nueces River—about 150 miles (240 km) north of the Rio Grande—as its border with Texas.

On April 25, 1846, a 2,000-strong Mexican cavalry detachment attacked a 70-man U.S. patrol that had been sent into the contested territory north of the Rio Grande and south of the Nueces River. The Mexican cavalry routed the patrol, killing 16 U.S. soldiers in what later became known as the Thornton Affair. Both nations declared war. In the ensuing Mexican–American War, there were no more battles fought in Texas, but it became a major staging point for the American invasion of northern Mexico.

One of the primary motivations for annexation was the Texas government's huge debts. The United States agreed to assume many of these upon annexation. However, the former Republic never fully paid off its debt until the Compromise of 1850. In return for $10 million, a large portion of Texas-claimed territory, now parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming, was ceded to the Federal government. More migration came to Texas after its statehood. Its population increased to about 150,000 people. There were societies like the Texas Emigration and Land Company that helped to settle colonists to be a militia to be a defense against Native Americans. In return, they would get a grant of 320 acres of choice land. Most of the new people migrated to the states of the lower South. Slavery was granted legal protection by the Texas constitution of 1845.  The Texas population by 1860 was quite diverse, with large elements of European whites (from the American South), African Americans (mostly slaves brought from the east), Tejanos (Hispanics with Spanish heritage), and about 20,000 recent German immigrants. The new state grew rapidly as migrants poured into the fertile cotton lands of east Texas. With their investments in cotton lands and slaves, Texas planters established cotton plantations in the eastern districts. The central area of the state was developed more by subsistence farmers who seldom owned slaves. Texas in its Wild West days was filled with men, women, and children in love with adventure. Germans (who were Protestants, Catholics, Jewish people, atheists, Saxons, farmers, intellectuals, abolitionists, slaveholders, etc.) were the largest group immigrating directly from Europe. 

The first Czech immigrants started their journey to Texas on August 19, 1851, headed by Jozef Šilar. Attracted to the rich farmland of Central Texas, Czechs settled in the counties of Austin, Fayette, Lavaca, and Washington. The Czech-American communities are characterized by a strong sense of community, and social clubs were a dominant aspect of Czech-American life in Texas. By 1865, the Czech population numbered 700; by 1940 there were more than 60,000 Czech-Americans in Texas.

By Timothy