70’s Gospel music changed the genre, influences artists today | AFRO American Newspapers
The 100 Greatest Gospel Albums 1970 - 2009 | SoulTracks - Soul Music Biographies, News and Reviews
The Best Gospel Music of 1970 (walnutcreekband.org)
History of Traditional Gospel — Timeline of African American Music (carnegiehall.org)
Recently, I discovered more of my paternal distant cousin. One human being, who is my 4th cousin, is Robert James Barber, and he was born in October 1968. We share the same ancestor of my late 3rd great grandfather Isam Tillery (b. 1835 in North Carolina). Robert James Barber's parents are Robert J. Barber and Charlene Denise Ayres-Britt (b. 1951). Charlene Denise Ayres-Britt was born on February 6, 1951, in Northampton County, Virginia (on the Eastern Shore). She married Robert J. Barber in June 1968 in Trenton, New Jersey. Charlene's parents are Elton Douglas Garland Ayres (1930-1983) and Vivian Garfield Beech (b. 1931). My 2nd cousin Vivian Garfield Beech was born on August 5, 1931, in Northampton County, Virginia. She married Elton Douglas Garland Ayres on September 18, 1950, in Northampton County, Virginia. Vivian and Elton Douglas Garland Ayres's children are Charlene Denise Ayres-Britt, Darisel Darcel Ayres (1952-1953), Elton Douglas Ayres Jr. (b. 1953), Bessie Teresa Ayres (b. 1954), Ernestine Ayres Dean (1955-2004), and Carolyn Louise Ayres (b. 1957). Vivian Garfield Beech's parents are Walker Dumas Beech Jr. (1885-1966) and Cora Lee Tillery (1895-1955). My first cousin Cora Lee Tillery was born on June 15, 1895, in North Carolina, and she married Walker Dumas Beech Jr. on September 21, 1911, in Northampton County, Virginia. Cora Lee Tillery and Walker Dumas Beech Jr.'s children are Dumas Beech Jr. (1914-1921), Rose E. Beech (1916-1939), Melvin Thomas Beech (1917-1968), Earl Dale Beech (1919-1991), Lois Carolyn Beech (1923-2020), Darrel Morgan Beech (1926-1991), Carrie Webster Beech (b. 1930), Philbert Dutel Beech (b. 1930), Barbara Ann Beech (1934-1998), and Vivian Garfield Beech (b. 1931). Cora Lee Tillery's parents are Walter Tiller (1868-1927) and Sallie Gary (b. 1869). Cora's parents are my 3rd great-grandparents of Isam Tillery (b. 1835) and Martha Jane Randolf (b. 1847). Louise Edwards is my 2nd cousin whose parents are Leroy Edwards (1911-1978) and Bessie L. Tillery (1917-1978). Bessie L. Tiller's parents are Walter Tillery (1868-1927) and Anna Page (b. 1886). Walter Tillery was my 2nd great granduncle. Walter Tillery's parents were Isam Tillery (b. 1835) and Martha Jane Randolf (b. 1847).
Something in my intuition compelled me to mention information about Brazil. Bolsonaro is the far-right extremist who lost the 2022 Brazilian election. Recently, Bolsonaro supporters tried to storm the police headquarters in a January 6-style rampage. This comes about Lula having her election victory in Brazil. These far-right terrorists torched cars and buses. They wanted to storm the federal police headquarters. Inacio Lula da Silva was inaugurated in January of 2023. Far-right terrorists were arrested for trying to incite violence. These extremists wore the yellow Brazil shirt to support Jair Bolsonaro's extremist views. Brasilia has suffered a lot from these evil people. They have destroyed buildings and signposts. They have used rubbish bins and gas canisters as weapons. These Bolsonaro-supporting cowards will not prevail. Real progressive policies will make Brazil a better place with Lula as the real President of Brazil on January 1, 2023. President of Brazil Lula makes an ambitious deforestation pledge. This comes as Brazil's rainforest is nearing a point of irreversible decline. Some like Luis Guedes Pinto want to use a project to improve Brazil's biodiversity, grow forests, and nurse the Earth's forests back to health. Pinto is the CEO of SOS Mata Atlantica. Pinto wants to rehabilitate swaths of forest lands on the Brazilian Atlantic coast. The forest houses more than 145 million Brazilians. The Amazon rainforest has been damaged by deforestation for years. Three-quarters of the area has been wiped out by urban and infrastructure development plus by aggressive agribusiness practices. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was born on October 27, 1945. He has been President of Brazil since January 1, 2023. He is the first Brazilian President elected to a third term, and the oldest Brazilian President at the time of inauguration at the age of 77 years old. During his previous 2 terms, he helped to reduce poverty, inequality, illiteracy, unemployment, infant mortality, and child labor rates in Brazil. Lula wants to handle the economic crisis, grow democracy, have peace, have a National System of Culture, and expand housing programs.
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was one of the most exciting Olympics of all time. It was the Games of the XXXI Olympiad. This multisport event lasted from August 5th to 21, 2016. During those games, I was almost 33 years old in a few months after the Games (so, I was born in 1983). Rio was announced as the city to host the games at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 2, 2009. 11,238 athletes from 207 nations took part in the 2016 Games, including first-time entrants Kosovo, South Sudan, and the Refugee Olympic Team. With 306 sets of medals, the Games featured 28 Olympic sports, including rugby sevens and golf, which were added to the Olympic program in 2009. These sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city and at five separate venues in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília, and Manaus. The Rio 2016 Olympics was the first Olympics held in a South American nation. The United States topped the medal table, winning the most gold medals (46) and the highest number of medals overall (121); the US team also won its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal overall. Great Britain finished second and became the first country to increase its tally of medals in the Olympiad immediately after being the host nation in 2012. China finished third in the medal table. Host nation Brazil won seven gold medals and 19 medals, its best result at any Olympics, finishing in thirteenth place. Bahrain, Fiji, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Tajikistan, and Vietnam all won their first gold medals, as did the group of Independent Olympic Athletes (from Kuwait).
Over 10 venues were developed for the games. The largest venue at the Games in terms of seating capacity was the 74,738-seat Maracanã Stadium, which served as the ceremony's venue and site of the football finals. The second largest stadium was the 60,000-seat Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, which hosted track and field events. The athletes' village was said to be the largest in Olympic history. Fittings included about 80,000 chairs, 70,000 tables, 29,000 mattresses, 60,000 clothes hangers, 6,000 television sets, and 10,000 smartphones. The Barra Olympic Park is a cluster of nine sporting venues in Barra da Tijuca, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The site was formerly occupied by the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, also known as the Jacarepaguá Formula One circuit. There are nine venues within the Olympic Park. These venues are: Carioca Arena 1 – basketball (capacity: 16,000), Carioca Arena 2 – wrestling, judo (capacity: 10,000), Carioca Arena 3 – fencing, taekwondo (capacity: 10,000), Future Arena – handball (capacity: 12,000), Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre – diving, synchronized swimming, water polo (capacity: 5,000), Olympic Aquatics Stadium – swimming, water polo play-offs (capacity: 15,000), Olympic Tennis Centre – tennis (capacity: 10,000 Main Court), Rio Olympic Arena – gymnastics (capacity: 12,000), and the Rio Olympic Velodrome – track cycling (capacity: 5,000).
The Olympic flame was lit on April 21, 2016 at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, the traditional start of the Greek phase of the torch relay. The flame was handed over to the Brazilian organizers in a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on April 27. A brief stop-off was made in Switzerland to visit the IOC headquarters and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, as well as the United Nations Office in Geneva. The torch relay began its journey around Brazil on May 3 at the capital Brasília. The flame visited more than 300 Brazilian cities, including all 26 state capitals and the Brazilian Federal District. The relay ended in Rio de Janeiro on August 5 when the flame was used to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. The Rio event used sustainability and environmental protection to promote a more green game. There is a controversy over the downtown revitalization plan too.
The opening ceremony took place at Maracana Stadium on August 5, 2016, directed by Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Thomas, and Andrucha Waddington. The ceremony highlighted aspects of Brazilian history and culture, and featured a segment narrated by Fernanda Montenegro and Judi Dench with an appeal to environmental conservation and the prevention of global warming. The crowd in the stadium numbered 60,000 and the event was broadcast to an estimated global audience of three billion.
The ceremony included the inaugural presentation of the Olympic Laurel, an honor bestowed by the IOC on those that have made "significant achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport"; the trophy was awarded to Kenyan athlete Kipchoge Keino. The Games were officially opened by the acting president of Brazil, Michel Temer. The Olympic cauldron was lit by long-distance runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, the men's marathon bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics, who had also received the IOC's Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship after being attacked by a spectator and losing his lead in the race. The cauldron was originally expected to be lit by Brazilian footballer Pelé, but he declined to participate due to health problems. Following the opening ceremony, a public cauldron was lit in front of the Candelária Church by Jorge Gomes, a 14-year-old Brazilian athlete who had escaped from poverty to train as a runner. The 2016 Summer Olympic program featured 28 sports encompassing 306 events.
The Iraq War started on March 19, 2003, when I was a sophomore in college. President George W. Bush gave a warning to Iraq to give up weapons of mass destruction or face invasion. On March 19, 2003, the United States started the invasion with a coordinated satellite-guided Tomahawk cruise missile strike on Baghdad. American, British, Australian, Polish, and Danish military operations begin; ground troops move into Iraq. It wasn't just one nation involved in the Iraq War. Many Western nations were involved in the conflict against the government of Iraq. The war was fierce. In the beginning, Western forces easily defeated Iraqi military forces. By April 10, 2003, there was the fall of Baghdad. Coalition forces moved into Baghdad caused the start of the end of the reign of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. There was naivete in the air because some of the neo-conservatives like President George W. Bush falsely believed that the war was over. On May 1, 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush declared major combat operations in Iraq over, which was a false statement. On May 15, 2003, U.S. forces launched Operation Planet X, capturing roughly 260 people, and on May 23, L. Paul Bremer issued Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2, dissolving the Iraqi Army and other entities of the former Ba'athist state. Some scholars said that Bremer made a mistake to dissolve the Iraqi War early because that army could be used to organize a more stable Iraqi state. By June 15, 2003, the U.S. military started Operation Desert Scorpion (a series of raids across Iraq intended to find Iraqi resistance and heavy weapons). Violence continued. On June 24, six soldiers from the British Royal Military Police are killed by a mob in Majar al-Kabir in Southern Iraq. By July 2, 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush challenged forces attacking U.S. troops to "bring 'em on!" which was very controversial back then. On July 13, the Iraqi Governing Council is established under the authority of the Coalition Provisional Authority. By July 22, Uday and Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's sons, are killed in Mosul during a raid by Task Force 20.
August 7 was the date when there was a bus bombing of the Jordanian embassy, the first VBIED bombing of the occupation. August 19 was when the Canal Hotel bombing took place: Truck bomb at the United Nations headquarters killed the top UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 others. On August 29, influential Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim is killed in a car bombing as he leaves his mosque after Friday prayers. At least 84 others are killed. This increased sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shia Iraqis. The first post-Saddam government existed by September 3, 2003. Later by September 23, 2003, a Gallup poll shows the majority of Iraqis expect a better life in 5 years. Around two-thirds of Baghdad residents state the Iraqi dictator's removal was worth the hardships they've been forced to endure. On October 2, 2003, David Kay's Iraq Survey Group report finds little evidence of WMD in Iraq, although the regime did intend to develop more weapons with additional capabilities. Such plans and programs appear to have been dormant, the existence of these though was concealed from UNSCOM during the inspections that began in 2002. Weapons inspectors in Iraq did find a clandestine "network of biological laboratories" and a deadly strain of botulinum. The US-sponsored search for WMD has so far cost $300 million and is projected to cost around $600 million more. UN Security Council issues Resolution 1511 which envisions a multinational force and preserves Washington's quasi-absolute control of Iraq on October 16, 2003. The bombings in Baghdad on October 27, 2003, are called the Ramandan Offensive. By the end of 2003, the war escalates. On November 2, 2003, in the heaviest single loss for the coalition troops up to that time, two US Chinook helicopters are fired on by two surface-to-air missiles and one crashes near Fallujah and on its way to Baghdad airport; 16 soldiers are killed and 20 wounded. By November 12, a suicide truck bomb blows up the Italian headquarters in Nasiriyah, killing 19 Italians (17 of them soldiers) and 14 Iraqis. The Governing Council unveils an accelerated timetable for transferring the country to Iraqi control on November 15, 2003. On November 22, 2003, there was the 2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident: An Airbus A-300 freighter belonging to German courier firm DHL is forced to make an emergency landing with a wing fire and all three-hydraulics lost. Using different engine power to land the aircraft, after being struck by a portable shoulder-fired SA-14 missile. On November 27, U.S. President George W. Bush makes a stealthy Thanksgiving Day visit to Baghdad (the White House has announced that he would be at home with his family) in an attempt to boost morale among the troops and ordinary Iraqis. Bush is accompanied by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and he is flown into Baghdad International Airport aboard Air Force One. On November 30, the U.S. military reported that they killed 46 militants and wounded 18 in clashes in the central area of Iraq. By December 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured in Operation Red Dawn; it was announced the next day. The U.S. 4th Infantry Division launches Operation Ivy Blizzard, lasting from dawn until mid-morning. The operation resulted in the arrest of 12 insurgents. This was on December 17, 2003. By December 27, 2003, there were the Karbala bombings.
Today is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2023. We know this time especially has great significance because of the increase of anti-Semitism in the world. No matter your religion or creed, there is absolutely no excuse to hate anyone of another background than you. The Golden Rule is right to say to treat your neighbor as yourself. Anti-Semitism is evil and wrong period. During the Shoah, 6 million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis in Europe during World War Two (which was the bloodiest war in all of human history). People fought back too. There was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising where Jewish people in Warsaw, Poland fought against Nazi tyranny. Roma people, black people, and other human beings were exterminated during the Holocaust as well. Today, war is going on in Ukraine which was caused by Russia's illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Putin lied and said that Ukraine is not a real nation. We learn lessons on this day to be further inspired and have vigilance to oppose injustice and any form of bigotry. Activism, education, holding folks accountable, and other actions will cause a change to eradicate anti-Semitism from the Earth indeed. America has a permanent base in Poland. Auschwitz was one of the many concentration camps that murdered many Jewish people. Jewish Holocaust survivors live in the world today, and on this day, we have to be clear to stand up for the rights of the oppressed.
Some breaking news is that five former ex-Memphis Police officers are having murder charges for being involved in the death of Tyre Nichols. Tyre Nichols had a traffic stop, and then he died. He experienced a massive beating, was taken to the hospital, and he passed away. The city of Memphis plans to release the video of Nichols' arrest. Nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving on January 7, 2023. There is no question that there is no excuse for a grown black man in that situation to be beaten to death. There are protests now all over Memphis. The police chief said that the beating was inhumane. The attorney of Nichols' family said that the beating has no justification at all when Tyre Nichols was beaten nonstop for 3 minutes straight. We desire accountability and justice here. Black lives matter, and society has to act like it. The reason is that far too often, black lives have been mistreated by evil people for centuries in the United States of America. The family of Tyre Nichols saw the video. The video is definitely disturbing, and no family deserves their child to die in an unjust, heinous fashion. Tyre Nichols was only 29 years old. He loved his son, photography, and loved his mother.
Facebook and Instagram re-installed Donald Trump. We know what Donald Trump stands for. He stands for divisiveness, habitual lying, sexism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and political extremism. The lesson about Trump is that we should glorify his abhorrent views, and we should always stand up for the principles of truth, wisdom, and democracy. The rights of all of us are threatened when the rights of some are threatened. At the end of the day, what matters are our families, our legacies that we leave behind, courage, fidelity to justice, and making sure that future generations live in a world much better than the present. Some breaking news is that Barr pressed Durham to find flaws in the Russia investigation. They failed to do so. John Durham veered into the criminal investigation related to Donald Trump, but they failed to find wrongdoing in the origins of the Russia inquiry. It's a historical fact that Russian agents and their proxies tried to steal elections, monitor their opponents in America, and aided the Trump administration in various ways. John H. Durham (who was a veteran prosecutor) failed to find any wrongdoing behind the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
Yesterday was the Birthday of a real icon. She has performed R&B, soul, jazz, and other forms of expression. She is that talented. There is no bad song made by her. All of her music has been trendsetting and powerful. She is the leader of the quiet storm period of the 1980's. She made many soulful ballads about the power of love and romance. She is Sister Anita Baker, and she is now 65 years old. She was born in Toledo, Ohio. Later, she was raised in Detroit, Michigan. When she was 16 years old, she started to sing R&B at Detroit nightclubs. She was discovered by bandleader David Washington, who gave her a card to audition for the funk band, Chapter 8. Anita Baker is known as a contralto with a range of nearly three octaves. By May 1983, her debut album was The Songstress with singles like No More Tears, Will You Be Mine, Angel, and You're the Best Thing Yet. These are all classical music.
Rapture was her second album. Sweet Love is a romantic song that was a great hit. Caught Up in the Rapture, No One in the World, and Same Ole Love (365 Days Year) stand the test of time. She made more songs like Talk to Me. She made the comeback album of Body and Soul with the single I Apologize (which won a Grammy). In May 2005, Baker was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. She is admired by everybody from Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, and to others. She loves her children and lives in Grosse Point Park, Michigan. My Everything in 2004 was her recent album. Her 2023 tour will be called The Songstress. In 2018, Anita Baker won the Lifetime Achievement Award. She won eight Grammys. She earned four American Music Awards. Anita Baker also won seven Soul Train Music Awards. I wish Sister Anita Baker more Blessings.
By Timothy
The unjust shooting in California during the Chinese lunar year holiday caused 11 people to be killed. In Monterey, California, police were dispatched. One hero disarmed the murderer. The shooter was a coward. It was the worst mass shooter in Los Angeles County's history. The killer (who had hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his home) harmed people in a dance studio. The shooter fled into the white van. He was found in Torrance, California. The murderer committed suicide when authorities were near the van. The community is mostly Asian American. We see the epidemic of anti-Asian hate crime violence continuing. Gun violence is terrorism. Guns are not divine nor should be worshiped as such. Gun violence doesn't discriminate. It has ruined the lives of people of every background. Two kids were killed in a Des Moines location in Iowa recently. There was another shooting in the Yakima, Washington state area where he killed 3 people at a gas station. We have to reckon with the fact that we face a gun violence epidemic. There is no other way to put it. We know what the solution is. Yet, some are afraid of political consequences, but we have no fear. Guns must be really regulated in America for real.
I don't know if a recession will come about in the near future or not, but we have Google laying off 12,000 workers as tech jobs face new layoffs. These cuts will impact jobs internationally not just in America. Many cuts are done to ensure the profitability of the $1.27 trillion global technology conglomerates without regard to the dignity of regular workers in those companies. The corporate elites have been ruthless economically for generations. So, this news is not shocking. The company of Alphabet has cut works too along with Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Cloud Software Group in 2023 alone. Many Millennials and Generation Z people (who were born between 1981 and 2012) started tech careers many years ago. There laid off workers in all economic sectors. The Federal Reserve has increased inflation rates on workers (which results in the prices of goods and services going up rapidly) without allowing the super-wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes. This is part of the global crisis of capitalism. The only solution is a redistribution of wealth, democratically controlled resources, and a revolutionary change in the system to benefit the people collectively, not just the 1%.
Many people are shocked at classified documents found at Pence's Indiana home. A lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence's Indiana home last week. Pence has turned those classified records over to the FBI. The FBI and the Justice Department's National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence's home. This comes after Trump and President Biden had classified documents found in their homes too. Pence's team notified congressional leaders and the relevant committees of the discovery. Pence said that he was unaware of the existence of sensitive documents and immediately cooperated with the National Archives including any other legitimate authorities that are dealing with the matter at hand. People are trying to figure out how this occurrence transpired.
There are many Oscar nominations in the year of 2023. It was part of history. Many of the Best Picture nominees are Avatar: The Way of Water, The Fablemans, Tar, Top Gun: Maverick, Women Talking, and other films. Best Director nominations are Martin McDonagh (for The Banshees of Inisherin), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (for Everything Everywhere All at Once), Steven Spielberg (for The Fabelmans), Todd Field for Tarr, and Ruben Ostlund of Triangle of Sadness. Best Lead Actor nominees are Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Paul Mescal, and Bill Nighy. Best Lead Actress nominees are Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Andrea Riseborough, Michell Williams, and Michell Yeoh. Best Supporting Actor nominees are Brendan Gleeson, Brian Tyree Henry, Judd Hirsch, Barry Koeghan, and Ke Huy Quan. Best Supporting Actress nominees are Angels Bassett (for the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Hong Chau, Kerry Condon, Stephanie Hsu, and Jamie Lee Curtis. There are other categories too. We shall see what the end results will be on the 95th Anniversary of the Oscars. Diversity, new types of artistry in films, and the newer generation of actors and actress expressing their talents to the world represent some of the many themes of this important time in cinema history.
Yesterday was the Birthday of Sister Ayanna Howard, and she is 51 years old. STEM is part of our culture, and she has been a roboticist, entrepreneur, and educator for years. She is now the dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University. By March 2021, Howard is the first woman to lead the Ohio State College of Engineering. As a child, she was interested in robots. Her favorite TV show growing up was The Bionic Woman. Howard earned her B.S. in engineering from Brown University in 1993 and her M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California in 1994 and 1999, respectively. Her thesis Recursive Learning for Deformable Object Manipulation was advised by George A. Bekey. Howard also has an MBA from Claremont Graduate University. Howard worked in artificial intelligence and at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She founded Zyrobotics which was used as a therapy and educational system for children with special needs. Howard said in 2020 that companion robots can fill the gap left by social distancing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. By 2021, Ayanna Howard received the Athena Lecturer Award from Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for her Contributions to Robotics, AI, and Broadening Participating in Computing. In June 2022, Howard was elected a trustee of Brown University. I wish Sister Ayanna Howard more Blessings.
By Timothy
The prophet Ezekiel is one of the most underrated prophets of the Old Testament. He lived in a time of massive international upheaval in the Middle East thousands of years ago. Back then, warring empires fought each other for control over millions of square miles. Ezekiel lived during the time when the Assyrian Empire conquered the areas of modern-day Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel ended by the Assyrians in ca. 722 to 721 B.C. Assyrians also started to crumble under the blows of a resurgent Babylon. In 612 B.C., the Assyrian city of Nineveh fell to a combined force of the Babylonians and the Medes. Three years later, Pharoah Neco II of Egypt tried to conquer Israel and Syria (Aram). At Megiddo, King Josiah of Judah, who may have been an ally of Babylon as King Hezekiah had been, attempted to intercept the Egyptian forces but was crushed, losing his life in the battle (see 2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Ch 35:20-24). Wars continued. Jehoahaz, a son of Josiah, ruled Judah for only three months, after which Neco installed Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, as his royal vassal in Jerusalem (609 B.C.). In 605 B.C., the Babylonians overwhelmed the Egyptian army at Carchemish (see Jer 46:2), then pressed south as far as the Philistine plain. In the same year, Nebuchadnezzar was elevated to the Babylonian throne and Jehoiakim shifted allegiance to him. When a few years later the Egyptian and Babylonian forces met in a standoff battle, Jehoiakim rebelled against his new overlord. Nebuchadnezzar soon responded by sending a force against Jerusalem, subduing it in 597 B.C. Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin and about 10,000 Jewish human beings (see 2 Kings 24:14), including Ezekiel, were exiled to Babylon, where they joined those who had been exiled in Jehoiakim's "third year" (see Daniel 1:1 and note). Nebuchadnezzar placed Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, on the throne in Jerusalem, but within five or six years he too rebelled. The Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem in 588, and in July, 586, the walls were breached, and the city plundered. On Aug. 14, 586 B.C., the city and temple were burned. It wouldn't be until the time of Cyrus the Persian that the Second Temple would be rebuilt. Ezekiel was one of the many Jewish people exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in ca. 597 B.C. Ezekiel was a wise man, he was married, and had a house of his own. Ezekiel knew of international affairs and had a powerful intellect. In the book of Ezekiel, it focused on God's sovereignty, criticisms of Israel's imperfections, criticisms of other nations' imperfections, and redemption. The dry bones being revived and the words about Gog and Magog are some of the great prophetic symbolic messages in the Bible. Therefore, Ezekiel starts with conflicts and judgments and ends with a newly established society filled with justice and tranquility.
Hip hop existed in many events in the world. First, the world had the Civil Rights Movement and by the early 1970's, deindustrialization and poverty were widespread in New York City. Manufacturing jobs were being increasingly replaced with FIRE jobs. The oppressed were desperate for survival. Music is one instrument where people can feel joy and a means to cope. That is why hip-hop was born. It was born by black people who desired human expression, creativity, and their humanity to be honored. In recent months, there have been huge debates on the origin of hip hop and its contents The truth is that modern-day hip hop was created on August 11, 1973, in the Bronx, NYC by Kool Herc. So, Kool Herc was one founding father of hip hop. Was Herc the only founding father? No. Were all elements from hip hop created in 1973 and no elements came before 1973? No. Many elements of hip hop like rapping, dancing, DJs, graffiti, partying, sampling, etc. existed long before 1973. There is no hip hop without funk music, disco, jazz, spoken word, and the blues. During ancient times, West African griots shown lyrics and songs to outline their own stories. The power of the African drum influenced modern music completely, including hip-hop. The banjo came from African influences too. Rapping is one aspect of hip hop. Many scholars say that blues music, spirituals, etc. were influenced by West African musical traditions. The call-and-response style, which is common in jazz, gospel, and blues, came from West Africa. Blues musician and historian Elijah Wald said that rapping existed as early as the 1920's. We know about the Jubalaires rapping in a song called the Preacher and the Bear in the 1930's and the 1940's. The Beale Street Sheiks in 1927 had rapping. Jazz poetry was very common in America back then. By the 1960's, we had Muhammad Ali with his rhymes about his boxing opponents and Pigmeat Markahm's Here Comes the Judge song in 1968. By the 1960's and 1970's, Gil Scott Heron, the Watts Prophets, James Brown, the Last Poets, and other groups did spoken word songs, rapping, and creative sounds that influenced the development of modern-day hip hop. Kool Herc in 1984 said that he couldn't play reggae in the Bronx and the inspiration for rap was James Brown and the album Hustlers' Convention. Disco King Mario (who was a member of the Black Spades) was one of the godfathers of modern hip hop. He was born in Edenton, North Carolina. Later, he moved into Bronxdale, NY to escape racial oppression from the South. By 1971, Disco King Mario was a prominent DJ in the Bronx. He helped Afrika Bambaata (I don't agree with Afrika on everything that he did) to have popularity by loaning him equipment. Mobile Djs existed in New York City, and Grandmaster Flowers and the Smith Brothers in the early 1970's did Djing too. King Charles, Grandmaster Flowers, Pete DJ Jones, and Pete DJ did Djing with hip hop elements since the late 1960's too. Later, the Bronx style and the Brooklyn, Queens style started to become one. Then, modern-day hip hop as we know it was born. It is important to note that African American and Afro-Caribbean cultures (with toasting and other musical themes. Many Afro-Caribbeans admit that they were also influenced by black American music) played a huge role in hip hop's development. Later, Latino Americans contributed to hip-hop too. DJs like Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash (who was taught to mix turntables by DJ John Brown), and Jazzy Jay refined and developed the use of breakbeats, cutting, and scratching on the turntables. Smokey were b-boys back in 1972. So, hip hop was 50/50 invented by African Americans and Afro-Caribbean human beings. The contributions of black Americans and black Caribbeans should be honored and respected 100 percent period.
Years ago, I didn't know of the much more revolutionary life of Rosa Parks. Now, I do. Rosa Parks was more than a woman who didn't want to sit in the back of the bus at Montgomery, Alabama. She was born in the Deep South and saw racism firsthand. Yet, she courageously promoted self-defense and justice for all. In the midst of the black freedom movement, she was in the frontlines to show support for the Scottsboro Nine and worked with Myles Horton at the progressive Highlander Folk School. She lived in Alabama, Hampton (in Virginia), and at Detroit. Her life of activism was all about her love for black people. She was a friend to Malcolm X and a supporter of Robert Williams (who promoted active self-defense during the 1950's in Monroe, North Carolina). She worked with the progressives, communists, socialists, anti-war activists, and Black Power movement advocates. Tons of people didn't know that Rosa Parks expressed overtly anti-war and anti-capitalist views. Rosa Parks was a revolutionary in every step of the way. A real freedom fighter is more than a person who talks a good game. It's also a person who is out in the streets to advocate change and build movements of social change. Many people, in recent years, have minimized and even lied about Rosa Parks. It takes a real coward to disrespect a legend like Rosa Parks, especially after she passed away. Now, we live in a new generation where we will set the record straight on the glorious life of Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks fought for the justice of black women like Recy Taylor and Gertrude Perkins (who were raped by racist white men). Rosa Parks spoke out publicly against racism, against police brutality, against poverty and against the Vietnam War. Rosa Parks was a legendary black woman whose legacy of honor, integrity, and determination will forever be respected by all of us indeed.
The Iraq War is now 20 years old since its inception. I remember when it started just like yesterday. I was almost 20 years old back then and was taking classes in college. America was dominated by a mostly Republican House and Senate with the Republican President George W. Bush. The United States of America was much more conservative back in 2003 than today in 2023. The Iraq War was based on a lie that Saddam Hussein had massive quantities of weapons of mass destruction that could be used all over the Middle East. The Bush administration promoted this lie in 2002 and in 2003 plus beyond. The coalition of America and its allies against Iraq was extensive. The war ended the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The war was quickly an American victory in the beginning, and then the Iraqi resistance came about to make it a very long, bloody conflict. Scandals like Abu Ghraib (where Iraqi prisoners in 2004 were tortured and abused in a very perverted, graphic fashion. That even exposed the evil of torture for the war to witness) and what took place in Fallujah took place. American troops were officially withdrawn by 2011. Yet, American troops came back in 2014 after being head a new coalition to stop the insurgency of the reactionary ISIS group. Iraq faces conflicts to this very day. George W. Bush administration's war on terror, after the attacks on September 11th, 2001, still has consequences today as we approach the quarter-century mark of the 20th century. From shock and awe to modern Iraqi society, the Iraq War caused the whole world to change.
The history of Afro-Brazilians is long and extensive. Culturally, Afro-Brazilians have made great contributions in world history. While many people try to ignore their great history, we will not. Afro-Brazilian people came from Africa almost five centuries ago. The vast majority of Afro-Brazilians are Bantu people and West Africans in general. Many West African people from the Ga-Adangbe, Yoruba, Igbo, Fon Ashanti, Ewe, Mandinka (and other people who are from Guinea, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria) live in the Bahia region. Bantu people were brought to Brazil from Angola, Congo, and Mozambique. They were sent in large measure to Rio De Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and the Northeastern area of Brazil. Black people in Brazil centuries ago came from diverse ethnicities and different African regions. For example, Gilberto Freyre noted the major differences between these groups. Some Sudanese peoples, such as Hausa, Fula and others were Islamic, spoke Arabic and many of them could read and write in this language. Freyre noted that many slaves were better educated than their slave owners, because many Muslim slaves were literate in Arabic, while many Portuguese Brazilian slaveowners could not even read or write in Portuguese. These slaves were largely sent to Bahia. Even today the typical dress of the women from Bahia has clear Muslim influences, as the use of the Arabic turban on the head. Despite the large influx of Islamic slaves, most of the slaves in Brazil were brought from the Bantu regions of the Atlantic coast of Africa where today Congo and Angola are located, and also from Mozambique. In general, these people lived in tribes. The people from Congo had developed agriculture, raised livestock, domesticated animals such as goat, pig, chicken and dog and produced sculptures in wood. Some groups from Angola were nomadic and did not know agriculture. Sugarcane was introduced in Brazil by 1532. The first known evidence of slaves in Brazil was in 1538. Brazil was the number one sugar producer in the world by 1580. Afro-Brazilians fought for their rightful freedom. Palmares Quilombo in Pernambuco, or the present-day Alagoas state, was founded by runaway slaves in 1605. In 1612, Alexandre de Moura, captain of Pernambuco, makes a request to form capitão de campo (bush captain) or capitão de mato to retrieve runaway slaves and fight quilombos/mocambos in the eight parishes. Quilombos is the dominant term in Minas Gerais. Mocambos is the predominant term in Bahia. Black people fought back against slavery continuously. Henrique Dias, a black man was honored by the military in Brazil for fighting back against the Dutch invasion of Brazil in 1633. The Dutch invaded Palmares Quilombo in 1640, but they are gone from Brazil by 1654. Between 1680 and 1750, half of all slaves freed in Bahia purchased their own freedom or were purchased by relatives. Zumbi was betrayed, captured, and decapitated in 1694. Zumbi was a black freedom fighter in Brazil. The Palmaries Quilombo was invaded and conquered by Brazilian forces. Many places like the Sao Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador were built by slave labor in 1708. The biracial Antonio Fransico Lisboa who made sculptures was born in Ouro Preto in 1730. In 1752, Rosa Maria Egipcíaca da Vera Cruz publishes, Teologia Do Amor de Deus, Luz Brilhante Das Almas Preregrinas (The Sacred Theology of God's Love, Bright Light of the Pilgrim Soul), the first black woman to be published. Slavery against Native Americans was outlawed by 1755. By 1789, slaves on the sugar plantation Engenho Santana in Ilhéus, south of Bahia revolts, runaway and formed quilombo. By the late 1700's, capoeira existed massively in Brazil. Capoeira is a form of dance and martial arts created by Afro-Brazilians for self-defense, dance, and having fun. By 1809, Aja-Fon and Yoruba from Bahia slaves formed quilombo, the controlled village of Nazare for months. Twenty slave revolts existed from 1809 to 1835. 2.5 million slaves were forced to be in Brazil in 1810. After Brazil breaks from Portugal, more revolts happen. There was the 1826 Zeferina Revolt, which attacks Bahia, Zeferina claimed to be Nâgo (Yoruba) and was from the Urubu Quilombo, who worshipped Shango from the Oyo Empire.
The 1832 Society for the Protection of the Needy was founded in Bahia, free black men raise funds to purchase slaves. There was the 1835 Malé Revolt -revolt by Muslim slaves in Bahia of Yoruba ancestry, 500 slaves took part, revolt had a jihadist overtone and the 1838 Manuel Congo in Rio Janeiro. There was the 1854 book called, "The Biography of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua: His Passage from Slavery to Freedom in Africa and America," only narrative of an African-born slave in Brazil. In 1859, Maria Fermina Dos Reis from Manranhão first woman novelist publishes Ursula, anti-slavery abolition literature. The anti-slavery journal of Diabo Coxo (Lame Devil) was published in 1864. Racists in Brazil during this time promote scientific racism. By 1871, the Law of Free Wombs frees all children born of slave mother (called Lei do Ventre Livre). By 1880, abolitionists fight back against slavery. Slavery was banned by 1888 via the Golden Law. Yet, racists promote a policy of blanqueamiento or trying to exterminate the black population genetically. Brazil bans immigration of Africans and Asians (except Japanese people and Middle Easterners) in support of whitening. Racist Rui Barboasa destroyed slave records on Afro-Brazilians making it difficult to determine point of oirgin. By the early 20th century, whtie racists promote blanqueamiento or whitening. In 1911, Joao Baptista de Lacerda elaborates on whitening ideology at the First Universal Race Congress, "in the course of the next century the mixed bloods will have disappeared from Brazil. This will coincide with the extinction of the black race in our midst." Joao Baptista de Lacrerda was a wicked racist coward that I have no respect for. Black people will always exist in Brazil and worldwide forever and ever. The Afro-Brazilian hero Abdias do Nascimento was born on March 1914. Manuel Raimundo Querino publishes African Contribution to Brazilian Civilization,(O Colono Prêto Como Fator da Civilação Brasileiro), first historical study of Afro-Brazilians, the lone voice against whitening ideology. Police raids in the 1920's try to suppress traditional African regions.
Later, in 1931, the Brazilian Black Front (Frente Negra Brasileira) was founded by Arlindo Veiga dos Santos, Isaltino Veiga dos Santos, and Jose Correia Leite. A Voz da Raca (The Voice of the Race) was its paper. It fought for social and economic uplift of Afro-Brazilians and was the most important black organization since the abolition movement. Gilberto Freyre promoted the lie that racism doesn't exist in Brazilian society. In 1944, Abdias do Nascimento founded the Black Experimental Theater (Teatro Experimental do Negro or TEN) in Rio de Janeiro, which celebrated Afro-Brazilian culture and trained black actors, at a time when black roles were played by white actors in blackface. Brazil has the civilian rule in 1945 and ends in 1964. The racist whitening agenda ends. In 1959, the class film of Black Orpheus existed to celebrate Afro-Brazilian life. The Alfonso Arinos Law prohibits racial discrimination. Pele wins the World Cup with Brazil. In 1967, Gilberto Gil performs at the Third Festival of Brazilian Popular Music, inaugurating the Tropicália, cultural movement in the arts and includes Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethãnía, Gal Costa, Tom Zé. Florestan Fernandes was purged from the University of Sao Paulo. Fernandes had a counter theory to Freyre's "racial democracy." Freyre's "racial democracy" was espoused by the military dictatorship and Brazilian society. Fernandes coined the phrase “the prejudice of having no prejudice." Brazil bans race on the census. The 1978 Black Consciousness Movement (Moviemento Negro) an organization dedicated to the promotion of Afro-Brazilian culture and social empowerment in Brazil is formed. Founders included Flavia Cardanca, Hamilton Cardoso, Vander Lei Jose Maria, Abdias do Nascimento. The organization was founded after the assassination of taxi driver Robson Luz by police. In 1974, Ile Aiye became the first group to de-segregate Rio Carnaval, tried to re-Africanize carnival. Edivaldo Brito and Benedita da Silva helped Brazil in many ways. Celso Pitta was Sao Paolo's first elected black mayor. Brazil by the 21st century has affirmative action. In 2004, Taís Araújo acquired a major starring role in Da Cor do Pecado, becoming the first Afro-Brazilian in a leading role in a telenovela. Salvador, Bahi is the largest Afro-Brazilian metropolitan area by 2007. Racists forced the Ms. Globeleza title to be removed from Nayara Justino because of her Afro-Brazilian heritage. Afro-Brazilian Marina Silva makes her competitive bid for the presidency of Brazil in 2014.
Involving the mysteries of life, there should always be inspiration. The corporate media in many cases lost their credibility with promoting deceptions like some of them once believed that the Vietnam War was a righteous endeavor. Some in the corporate media even demonized the mass demonstrations of civil rights protesters in Chicago back in 1966. Mike Wallace told Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. if mass demonstrations were a detriment to progress. Of course, Wallace is wrong. Now, we have some in the corporate media who exploit the blatantly false misinformation found in some sections of the Internet as an excuse to promote censorship or intimidate people who desire the exposure of corporate corruption. The reality is that we don't have naivete. We just some that we have record economic inequality in the world, and neo-liberal wealthy elites desire policies that want oligarchy instead of fair distribution of the wealth in the world. The poor, the working class, and the middle class are the major engines of the economies of the world. Their sacrifice, work ethic, strength, and resiliency must be honored if solutions are to be made. Draconian austerity is not embraced by most people. That is why huge protests now are all over France against pension reforms plans. Censorship has been going on for a long time in the Internet and in other places. Whether people agree with me or not, people have the right to show their voices. Far too often, some want to use methods in trying to suppress dissent. I still have hope, because our ancestors suffered a great deal more than us, and they survived unspeakable injustices. I have hope subsequently because I believe in the human capacity for self-improvement and the God-given rights that we will earnestly protect and defend.
DJ Hollywood Biography | OldSchoolHipHop.Com
How Hip Hop From the 60s Changed the Music Scene (walnutcreekband.org)
Forgotten Founding Father: Disco King Mario - Hip Hop Golden Age Hip Hop Golden Age
Hip-Hop and Rap Music Timeline (liveabout.com)
The Complete History of Hip Hop (prepscholar.com)
Hip Hop Culture Timeline: 1970 to 1983 (thoughtco.com)
1968 To Now: The Evolution Of Hip-Hop – H.U.B Media (onlinehubmedia.com)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shows how extreme and far right that he is by refusing to allow the inclusion of AP African American Studies classes in Florida high schools. DeSantis talks about being against "woke" culture. When he says that, he is using coded language to believe that certain people aren't entitled to complete freedom and justice based on his bigoted views. The Florida Department of Education's Office of Articulation made the racist statement that the AP African American Studies class lacks educational value. My history as a black American has great, significant historic value from the poetry of Maya Angelou to the activism of Ella Baker. The FDOE should be ashamed of themselves for trying to sugarcoat and whitewash history. DeSantis signed a bill to restrict how schools can talk about race with students (which means that DeSantis denies systematic racism in society, and he wants to promote the view that we live in a nearly colorblind society which are lies). The good news is that The College Board website says that the first AP African American Studies exam could be administered in many schools by the Spring of 2025. I will be 42 in 2025. Florida Democratic state Senator Shevrin Jones said that Florida offers other cultural AP courses (like AP European History and AP Asian History) but not Black American AP courses. DeSantis is slick and a bigger threat than Trump because the bigot DeSantis is more articulate than Trump in spewing far-right nonsense.
Now, Rupert Murdoch has testified in dealing with a defamation suit. Dominion is suing FOX News for promoting lies about the 2020 election. In America, it is hard to prove a defamation case, because you have to prove the lie and intent (along with other evidence). The lie is that Dominion Voting System tried to rig the 2020 election in many places. Many people have been questioned by Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo, and other people. According to NPR, Murdoch is being questioned in Los Angeles on the Fox lot. The Dominion Voting System company said that FOX News personalities promote false election claims even after it warned the network that they were false and unfounded. FOX News claims that they have First Amendment rights, but the First Amendment is not unlimited. In other words, defamation and slander are not protected by the First Amendment.
The U.S. is expected to reach the debt credit today. The GOP is more entrenched to refuse to compromise or promote progressive policies. The House GOP wants to propose a 30 percent federal sales tax. That is wrong because a sales tax is regressive. That means that the lower the income that you have, the more taxes you pay. Right now, many super-wealthy people pay no federal income tax. The national debt crisis could define the tenure of the new GOP House Majority and the final 2 years of President Joe Biden's first term. Republicans want significant spending cuts because they believe in the myth that laissez-faire capitalism will solve economic complications thoroughly. The time of the summer is when if nothing changes, people can expect a financial and stock market disaster. The retirement savings of millions of Americans could be in jeopardy.
Kevin McCarthy is the new House speaker who made a deal with many MAGA extremists of the Republican Party. Kevin rewarded Marjorie Taylor Greene (who speaks in conferences filled with white far-right racists. He has promoted lies from Qanon for years now) with a seat in the Homeland Security committee. McCarthy has a lack of power involving political power. He has given many Maga Republicans key committees. Marjorie Taylor Greene (who believed in the myth that no planes hit the Pentagon on 9/11) has promoted the lie that every gun control advocate wants to get guns from the hands of all law-abiding citizens. The GOP is filled with chaos. Many House GOP members want evil austerity, debt default, lax support for Ukraine fighting for its survival, cuts to Social Security, cuts to Medicare, cuts to Medicaid, massive federal job cuts, promoting a regressive consumption tax, ending foreign aid, and other evil policies. McCarthy is a person who sold his soul for a group of people who desire our democracy to be completely dismantled.
Donald Trump is desperate for attention. Now, he is criticizing evangelical leaders for not backing his 2024 Presidential campaign. He wants to host his 2024 event in South Carolina, a state with a large evangelical population. Trump lashed out at religious conservatives. He told conservative journalist David Brody in a podcast on Monday as disloyal. Trump complained about his policies. Many conservatives criticized him like Marjorie Dannesfelser. The irony is that Trump is the person who said that he doesn't ask God for the forgiveness of his sins, so he is not an Evangelical. He is a far-right opportunist person who exploits religion in order for him to promote hate, bigotry, far-right extremism, racism, xenophobia, sexism, and political divisiveness. There is nothing moral about splitting families up at the border. There is nothing moral about calling an Asian American woman a racist slur. There is nothing moral about being a habitual liar and opposing peaceful kneeling protests at football games. So, Donald Trump contributed to the loss of Republican support in the previous elections. Therefore, we have to be on the side of truth, not distractions.
By Timothy
One way to honor the sacrifice and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is to realize that we have an urgent emergency as it relates to democracy. Right now, voting rights are being attacked nationwide from the South to the Midwest. Also, we see that compromising with folks that won't support basic freedoms won't work. Deeds are so much better than rhetoric, so we have to use plans of action in promoting voting rights, environmental rights, civil rights, civil liberties, universal health care, and anti-militarism. He was a brave man. He was stabbed, beaten by a racist in a church, hit in the head with a rock in Chicago (in 1966), threatened constantly, lied about, and illegally monitored by the FBI. Yet, Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, and their allies carried forward to advance the cause of the black freedom movement heroically. The events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Birmingham protests, the Chicago housing rights movement, and to the Memphis sanitation strike all relate to how the oppressed have the right to stand up for their God-given human rights in their goal to be free. Dr. King was only 39 years old when he passed away. He was young, so the younger generation has every right to establish their own legacies of service, activism, compassion, and advancing justice. Justice is the legitimate aim that we seek. That aim is our birthright plainly speaking.
Counsel Jack Smith leads the Trump probe to determine if Donald Trump is to be charged with felonies related to the January 6th insurrection. Smith is known for being aggressive in court legally. Recently, Michael Cohen met with NY prosecutors looking into the Trump Organization and Stormy Daniels payments. Cohen was the former personal attorney to Donald Trump, and later, Michael Cohen became one of Trump's most well-known critics. The prosecutors want to find out about the Trump organization's involvement in hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg told CNN that his office's investigation of Trump organization will continue. Nationwide, Trump faces multiple investigations ranging from election fraud to various economic issues.
Recently, a failed GOP candidate was arrested on suspicion of orchestrating shootings at the homes of Democrats in New Mexico. This person believes in the 2020 election fraud lie. His name is Solomon Pena. He lost his 2022 run for state House District 14. Albuquerque police arrested him on Monday. He is accused of paying and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners in December and January. He is accused of trying to participate in at least one of the shootings according to authorities. The shootings are politically motivated according to Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. Right-wing radical people have long used violence and even murder against those who disagree with their extreme, nefarious views. At the end of the day, justice must be done to make sure that folks' lives are protected.
On this day of Monday, January 16, 2023, we celebrate the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He lived a life filled with revolutionary changes in the world. He witnessed some of the most awe-inspiring moments in all of human history. After long decades, we know more about his life and legacy. He was one of the most prominent civil rights leaders in history. He was also a great intellectual, a husband, a son, and a black leader whose eloquent words inspire us to this day. From his background as a Baptist clergyman, he used his invocation of religious, and spiritual themes in expressing his call for racial and social justice. Dr. King was influenced by diverse people from political leaders to religious scholars. He was born and raised in the Southern city of Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was the son of the preacher Michael King and Alberta King. He had an older sister, who was Christine King Farris, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel (or A.D.) King. Dr. King's father's grandfather was a preacher. Ebenezer Baptist Church was where his father preached sermons on many issues. His father stood up and preached against Nazism back in the 1930's. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was raised in a religious household. His father and mother inspired him to fight injustice.
Dr. King's father stood up against racism in his daily life. Dr. King loved to sing hymns and state verses from the Bible. Ironically, Dr. King would reject biblical literally and deny a literal hell. He would deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Obviously, I believe in a literal hell, I believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I believe in the Virgin Birth. From high school, he had the great speaking ability, inherited from his family. He had a thorough, expanded vocabulary at a young age. He played basketball and pool too. He helped his sister Christine with math, and Christine helped him with English. Dr. King was a victim of vulgar racism on a bus, and he promised to fight racism afterward. He came to Morehouse College when he was 15 years old. He joined the ministry at the age of 18, being inspired by Baptist minister Benjamin Mays. By 19 years old, Dr. King earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1948. He studied theology more up North in Upland, Pennsylvania at the Crozier Theological Seminary. The social gospel of scholar Walter Rauschenbusch inspired him. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div.) degree in 1951. He earned his doctorate from Boston University. Dr. King married Coretta Scott King, a progressive and a singer too. Coretta Scott King was a civil rights leader in her own right. Their children were Martin Luther King III, Yolanda King, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King.
Dr. King preached first in the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement of 1955. Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, and other people fought against racial injustice involving the Montgomery bus system. This came after the unjust murder of Emmitt Till. Dr. King's home was bombed, but he fought onward for his cause. Dr. King once had a gun in his house, but Bayard Rustin convinced him to get rid of it in promoting the philosophy of nonviolent resistance. There is nothing wrong with nonviolence, but self-defense is not evil either. Both methods are legitimate forms of human expression. After the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King became an international leader of the civil rights movement. By 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was made. It was created by Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy, Fred Shuttlesworth, Joseph Lowery, and other leaders. The SCLC wanted to use political activism in order to get racial equality in the world. The SCLC included some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s friends like Dorothy Cotton, Cleveland Robinson, Benjamin Hooks, etc. Dr. King supported Gandhi's views of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance. This was before many in the public knew about Gandi's racist views today. Dr. King wanted to use nonviolent resistance to overthrow unjust Jim Crow laws in order for freedom to come massively. Segregation is evil because it is immoral, it restricts human interaction, it violates human freedom, and it promotes the racist idea that certain humans are less than human based on skin color or race. Segregation is different from independence and true freedom plus justice for all. Dr. King marched for the right to vote, anti-imperialism, labor rights, and other human rights. Dr. King suffered pain from the knife attack in 1958 by Izola Curry, and Dr. King was assaulted by a white racist in the pulpit. By 1960, Atlanta sit-ins were commonplace. Dr. King was arrested and freed. The Albany movement saw the first time when some SNCC members showed overt hostility towards Dr. King.
Ella Baker was the Mother of SNCC, and SNCC wanted to use grassroots people to enact social change in eliminating racial injustice. SNCC rejected the ideal of charismatic, single leadership that would just run the show. It is important to note that the Civil Rights Movement is made up of a community of people filled with diverse views. The Albany results caused a lack of results. The 1963 Birmingham campaign caused everything to change. Really, the year of 1963 was one of the most important years of the black freedom struggle period. Black people fought for justice in the most segregated urban city of Birmingham. Many people were arrested, and the racist Bull Connor used water hoses on innocent men, women, and children at Birmingham. This was very personal as these bigots showed no respect for black life. The television coverage of water hoses used on black Americans angered people worldwide. Dr. Martin Luther King was arrested in the campaign in his 13th arrest. He wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail to refute the call of moderates to end demonstrations as freedom is not based on a clock or respectability politics. Freedom should be given to all human beings ASAP and without delay period. Birmingham was different in that black activists used nonviolence and active, legitimate self-defense against racist authorities. Connor lost his job. The Birmingham campaign was controversial for the use of children in the protests, but it was a large success.
The 1963 March on Washington was organized by many civil rights leaders and organizations like the SCLC, SNCC, the NAACP, CORE, etc. Dr. King worked with Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, John Lewis, James L. Farmer, and Bayard Rustin to make things happen. The march wasn't without controversies. President Kennedy used his influence to sugarcoat certain aspects of how the march would proceed. Many women speakers were rudely sent off stage. Many speakers like John Lewis were censored of their speeches being more palatable to the administration. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a great I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington. The I Have a Dream speech spoke of confronting racism and injustice to promote justice. He spoke the truth that America didn't give black people just compensation after black people experienced unspeakable crimes by their own American government. Malcolm X criticized the march as a farce as being too controlled by corporate power. Dr. King spoke before the Lincoln Memorial to aspire to the greatness of the ideals of human liberty. He had a rousing applause afterward. Later, the FBI used COINTELPRO and spying to monitor Dr. King from that moment to the day of his death. The March on Washington wanted a higher wage, an end to police brutality, self-government for Washington, D.C., labor rights, and other progressive legislation. Mahalia Jackson inspired Dr. King to speak about the Dream too. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was born after the March on Washington. The deaths of four little girls in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 angered and sadden Dr. King. Dr. King said that the racists and the moderates are responsible for their deaths in 1963. Dr. King was right. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and Dr. King predicted that he would be assassinated afterward because of the sickness of some in America. Later, Dr. King worked in St. Augustine, Florida in 1964 and in Biddeford, Maine in 1964 to speak his mind.
Dr. King worked everywhere in New York City and supported the labor Scripto strike in Atlanta in 1964. Dr. King helped to establish a labor deal giving workers their Christmas bonuses and ending the boycott. In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize, whose ceremony was held in Olso, Norway for his work in fighting against racial oppression. J. Edgar Hoover was angered by this because Hoover was jealous of Dr. King's successes. Hoover believed in the lie that any progressive activist for freedom and justice was somehow infiltrated or inspired by Communism explicitly. Levison left Communism by 1960, and O'Dell was a Communist. My view is so what. We have the right to hang out with people that we ideologically disagree with. That doesn't merit a person being subject to illegal wiretapping. O'Dell was a freedom fighter too. Many of my great heroes were socialists or communists like W.E.B. DuBois and Claudia Jones. In 1965, Dr. King and others were involved in the Selma voting rights movement. The Selma movement was the peak or zenith of the old-school civil rights movement (where unified support transpired among many factions). Thousands of people of every color worked together in Selma to stand up for voting rights. There was the police beating up peaceful protesters in 1965 called Bloody Sunday. The Voting Rights Act was signed in 1965. Later, Watts happened. The Watts Los Angeles rebellion was a rebellion caused by decades of racism, police brutality, economic injustice, and poverty. Dr. King was booed by some people in Watts, Los Angeles, which was rare at that time in 1965. Dr. King later figured out that the gains in the South were not spreading fast enough in the Northern and Western ghettoes that had no legal segregation but lacked economic justice. That is why in 1966, Dr. King went up north into Chicago to stand up for housing rights. Dr. King said it doesn't matter if integration happened if black people lacked the resources to get a living wage, have affordable, great housing, or have a great job to live on. He worked with Albert Raby and the Chicago Freedom Movement. The result was mixed, but it contributed to the passage of the 1968 Housing Act. Dr. King was hit in the head by a rock in the Chicago area, and Dr. King said he saw more racism in Chicago than in Mississippi.
Dr. King allowed Jesse Jackson to stay in Chicago to promote Operation Breadbasket which wanted to boycott stores that discriminated against black Americans. While this was going on, the modern-day Black Power movement was born in 1966. Kwame Ture gave a speech in Mississippi to endorse Black Power after James Meredith was unjustly shot by a racist. Ture, King, and other leaders united to support Meredith and the Mississippi civil rights movement. Black Power was a call for independence, it was the promotion of establishing institutions beneficial to the black community, and it was about the self-determination of black human beings. Back then, moderate civil rights leaders like Roy Wilkins called Black Power as racist and just like the Klan. Obviously, Black Power is not racist as it was a call for independence not racism against non-black people. Black Power was about empowerment. Black Power advocates were diverse with the Black Panthers being the progressive faction and the conservative faction being represented by black capitalists (like Jim Brown, Nathan Wright, etc.), some black Republicans, and black conservatives in general. Dr. King had a nuisance view of Black Power. Dr. King believed in black economic and political power. He believed in self-determination among black people, but he disagreed with separatism. The irony is that as time went on, Dr. King would be more revolutionary than many of the Black Power advocates. For example, Dr. King would oppose the Vietnam War, criticize capitalism, desire a guaranteed annual income, oppose the death penalty, desire reparations for black Americans, desire a boycott against the 1968 Olympics, and want a radical redistribution of wealth to help those suffering poverty and oppression. Dr. King also opposed American involvement in the Vietnam War. This was one of Dr. King's most courageous and excellent actions that he took in his life. I 100 percent agree with Dr. King on disagreeing with the Vietnam War. Dr. King opposed the war for several reasons. He felt that the war was a civil war that could be solved by peaceful negotiations without militarism. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that the war stripped needed resources that could be used to build up American society, and he felt that it disproportionately harmed black and poor human lives. He felt that it was an immoral war as the Vietnam War has nothing to do with threatening America or has to do with any moral cause. Dr. King opposed the war in 1964 and in 1965. He tempered his criticism in 1966 because of pressure from the Johnson administration. He came to speak out more overtly in 1967 after visiting Jamaica and seeing napalmed Vietnamese human beings in the Ramparts magazine. The April 4, 1967, Riverside Church speech called "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" was a strong speech that compared American involvement in Vietnam to colonialism. Dr. King said that the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today was the American government. He was criticized not only far-right extremists but by moderates from TIME, Life Magazine, the New York Times, and fellow civil rights leaders (like Whitney Young and Roy Wilkins. Ironically, both men would oppose the Vietnam War years later).
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lost economic support. Yet, he continued to disagree with an unjust war. President Johnson and Billy Graham disagreed with Dr. King's opposition to the Vietnam War. Dr. King praised social democratic principles found in Scandinavia and praised democratic socialism. I see nothing wrong with that. Dr. King always had critiques of capitalism, but he rejected communism as promoting ethical relativism and political totalitarianism. Norman Thomas, Muhammad Ali, William Sloane Coffin, Allard K. Lowenstein, Kwame Ture, Coretta Scott King, and others supported his views on Vietnam. In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to places like London and Louisville, Kentucky. He was a friend to Muhamad Ali in opposing the Vietnam War. Dr. King didn't agree with the hippie culture as some hippies wanted to drop out of society instead of fighting for a better society. He wrote to Thich Nhat Hanh, an influential Vietnamese Buddhist who wanted peace involving the Vietnam War. By 1968, Dr. King was involved in the Poor People's Campaign and the Memphis Sanitation workers' strike. The Poor People's Campaign started in late 1967 (being inspired by Dr. Marian Edelman) when he wanted a multiracial group of people to eliminate poverty in America and the world. He desired reparations and an economic bill of rights to help the nation's poor, to have a guaranteed basic income, and economic aid to build housing plus other resources to end poverty. He wanted cities and rural areas to be rebuilt. This was beyond just civil rights. This was a call to have a redistribution of economic and political power to make the collective rights of the people to be enhanced. The Poor People's Campaign was opposed by even some in the civil rights movement, but it was a courageous, legitimate movement. Dr. King worked with Memphis strike workers who wanted a living wage and benefits to help black working-class people. The strike continued. By March 29, 1968, Dr. King spoke in Memphis. March 12 was the day of the start of the strike. One march in Memphis failed in violence, but Dr. King wanted to fight on. He gave his April 3, 1968, I've Been to the Mountaintop which was prophetic in predicting his death in an eerily sad way. Dr. King worked from Room 306 at the Lorraine motel. Dr. King worked with Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Georgia Davis, Dorothy Cotton, and other activists. By this time, Dr. King released his final book, "Where Do We Go From Here: Choas or Community?" which outlined his views addressing racism, poverty, imperialism, politics, and other social issues. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray was found and convicted, but some people, including the King family, believe that the U.S. government had involvement in his assassination.
Dr. King lived to be only 39 years old, and an autopsy said that he had a heart of a 60-year-old man. This probably was attributed to the stress of the civil rights movement. He was buried at a tomb on the site of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. The 1968 rebellions happened, and the Poor People's Campaign existed by the late Spring of 1968. The 1968 Civil Rights Act existed to address housing discrimination was passed.
Decades from now in 2023, many things have changed socially and technologically. We have the Internet, IG, the Metaverse, smartphones, and various advanced apps. Yet, the same fight for racial justice, for human equality, for environmental justice, for gender justice, for universal health care, for against hate crimes, and for an end to imperialism remains. He promoted love in complex and simplistic terms. In 2023, human beings are still fighting for living wages, voter rights protections, and extended tax credits. After the fascist insurrection on January 6, 2021, we know how urgent the time is to defend our democracy, save human lives, and build up our world in constructive ways. The movement for black freedom is about the cultivation of a progressive community as our African heritage always embraces the concept of community, family, culture, love, and human empathy for thousands of years. Racism is more than just individual prejudice or the usage of horrendous epithets. Racism is a destructive, international structure that harms people's economic power, housing, education, healthcare, land, mental health, etc. The spiritual, moral, and political edict to help the poor, welcome immigrants, lift up black lives, and stand up for workers' rights remains powerful and true. A new generation of leaders and scholars are here now fighting the good fight from being doctors, lawyers, activists, teachers, musicians, filmmakers, and a diverse myriad of heroes who want the truth to be shown. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in service. Service is not about egoism or arrogance. It's about a sincere action and duty to improve the lives of your neighbors, regardless of background. Dr. King's dream was about guaranteeing jobs and income, redistributing wealth plus power, ending racism, ending poverty, and ending militarism. So, we should be of service to wisdom, compassion, tolerance, and empathy. Therefore, all of us have that inspiration to desire to see real justice for all made into a reality.
Selah.
Attorney General Merrick Garland made an announcement to oversee the Biden documents investigation. Garland chooses former U.S. attorney Robert Hur to lead the probe into the handling of the documents from when Biden was vice President. This is only fair, legal, and right. No one is below the law, and no one is above the law. The classified files were found in Biden's private office in Washington, D.C., and in his home in Delaware. With the 2024 Presidential election coming up, he faces a major investigation. Republicans are coming in to exploit this situation to promote the lie that Trump's classified documents scandal is equivalent to the Biden one. The truth is that Biden was more transparent, and Trump fought legal subpoenas in trying to prevent the classified documents to be sent back to the federal government. In fact, Donald Trump continued to justify keeping classified documents in his own home at Florida. The federal government had to use authorities to execute a legal search warrant to retrieve the documents. It is inappropriate and wrong for any classified documents to be in a home.
We live in a new composition of the House of Representatives. After Kevin McCarthy made concessions with far-right extremists, we witness the House expecting to vote on the rules package for the 118th Congress. This represents the first test of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's slim Republican majority. McCarthy's concessions to the hardliners angered many moderate House Republicans. Many House members want to eliminate any accountability for Donald Trump when Trump did treason against the United States of America (by trying to overthrow the legal results of the 2020 election and agitating a terrorist mob harming people and property at the U.S. Capitol). McCarthy wants to pair any debt ceiling increase with spending cuts as Republicans are known for their obsession with spending cuts (even cuts to the social safety net that harms the poor, the working class, and the middle class). Some GOP leaders want to cut taxes for the super-wealthy, roll back IRS funding increases, and other roll backs.
Days ago, the supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have broken into the country's congressional building, Supreme Court, and Presidential palace according to the Brazilian media. Like always, far-right extremists in Brazil are jealous of a progressive President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election on October 30, 2022. These protesters have camped out in the capital for several days to protest Bolsonaro's loss. Jair Bolsonaro is a bigoted fascist whose loss was legal. Global governments have supported Lula like Spain, Portugal, France, and others. Brazilian police arrested protesters inside government buildings. The White House has condemned the violence too. The Brazilian judge ordered the arrest of 2 security officials who are accused of providing aid to the terrorists involved in the riot. Steve Bannon supporting the riot in Brazil shows his racist, sexist, and far-right agenda for all to see. There is no excuse for terrorism in Brazil. Democracy will prevail in the end.
Some empowered GOP lawmakers are trying to investigate the DOJ probes. This is trying to cover up the criminal activities of Donald Trump and other people. They are trying to obstruct legitimate investigations about what took place on January 6th too. The Department of Justice has every constitutional right to have legitimate due process actions to make sure that people, who violate the law, experience real accountability. Recently Lynette Hardaway of the Diamond and Silk team passed away at the age of 51 years old. She was known as Diamond. She passed away in North Carolina. Her sister is called Silk named Rochelle Richardson. She had an illness. Obviously, I don't agree with her political views and how she supported Donald Trump. Likewise, her passing is sad, and we are compassionate people. Her life was valuable, and her passing was a sad occurrence. We can both not agree with her views and express empathy for her life at the same time. This time is clear that we expose the nefarious agenda of Trump and his MAGA supporters. Many MAGA supporters and Trump are known to spew racist, xenophobic rhetoric. One example is how Trump called Mitch McConnell's wife a racist slur. Numerous MAGA supporters not only talked about glorifying violence, but many enacted violence in the U.S. Capitol harming countless lives. Therefore, our democratic freedoms must be promoted.
Prince Harry's new book and new interviews certainly have shocked many people. The irony is that Prince Harry has more sympathy in the States than in the UK. He recognizes his own personal responsibility for his errors and mistakes, but he wants the Royals, including his brother to take responsibility for his own errors too. He makes many claims and allegations from his own brother assaulting him to the hostility of the Royals towards Megan Merkle. Harry is right to say that some of the UK media have been explicitly racist against Merkle. That's clearly self-evident. Prince Harry explains his grief in losing his own mother, Princess Diana. He said that Princess Diana would be heartbroken over the rift with his brother Prince William. This is certainly unprecedented for a man to make these allegations against his own flesh and blood. These are serious accusations.
One of the most important news of our time in 2023 is how many New York City nurses are on strike against bad conditions, low wages, and lax infrastructure in hospitals, especially in dealing with the pandemic. We have seen the growth of fighting for unionism and economic rights. More than 7,000 nurses have walked out of their jobs to go on strike. It started on Monday morning at New York City's largest private hospitals of Mt. Sinai in Manhattan and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. This is the first major American strike of 2023. NYC now is one of the most expensive cities on Earth, and living costs continue to rise. The nurses are protesting understaffing and the very imperfect state of the health care system in America. This year is the fourth year of the global pandemic. Nurses have spoken their minds that conditions make it impossible for patients to help patients safely and adequately. Some nurses have to care for as high as 20 or more patients in a shift. The brutal work conditions are very real in nursing. Nursing shortages have grown before and after the start of the pandemic in the world. Health care is treated by some as profit instead of concern for human life. About 3,607 people have died in the pandemic who are medical workers. At least 1.1 million Americans have died from the pandemic including more than 44,127 New Yorkers. Now, we have the reality that the pandemic is not over. The new XBB.1.5 variant is spreading fast in America. This is the new immune-resistant variant. We face the flu, RSV, and this new variant. While CEOs of private hospitals have salaries in the millions per year, many are suffering because of economic injustice, lax infrastructure, and other problems in the for-profit healthcare system. Therefore, health care is a human right, and we must act like it.
By Timothy