One large legacy of Africa is resiliency and the African Diaspora. The more that I study about the African Diaspora, the more I gain an insight into my people. Our people exist globally not just in one nation or one region of the world. We exist globally with diverse cultures, nationalities, creeds, and backgrounds. Yet, we are unified in being part of one human race and having the same goal of liberty, happiness, and justice that we earnestly desire. One of the largest communities of the African Diaspora in the world are Afro-Latinos. They exist in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and North America too. They can speak the languages of Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, creole languages, etc. The common myth is that black people never came into the Americas until 1619. The truth is that black people were in the Americas long before 1619, black Africans were in Europe long before 1500 too. DNA evidence confirm that sub-Saharan black African people lived in Europe during the days of the Renaissance, during the days of the Roman Empire, etc. By the 21st century, there is more of a cultural visibility of Afro-Latino people in international culture. From Pele, Nene, Benedita da Silva, and Sonia Guimarães, Afro-Latino people have made great contributions in human history. In life, you have to make contributions to help the lives of fellow people. I believe that life has a purpose as we are more than cells and biochemical functions. We have a soul and a mind that can establish great things via effort and strong insights of wisdom.
Curtis L. Flowers was my late 1st cousin who lived from March 22, 1949, to September 3, 2005. He passed away at the Bronx, New York City. He is the son of Alberta D. Flowers (1932-2000). Alberta is the granddaughter of Carl D. (1886-1968), and she is the great grandfather of my 2nd great grandfather Adam D. (b. 1862). Curtis Lee Flowers (whose parents are Ronnie L. Edwards and Alberta D. Flowers. Curtis Lee Flowers was born at Charleston, Virginia) married Patty M. Milligan at Lakewood Township, Ocean New Jersey in July 1975. Curtis Lee Flowers lived in New York City, Lakewood, New Jersey, and in Philadelphia. He passed away on Saturday, September 3, 2005, at Philadelphia (at the age of 56 years old). Curtis Lee Flowers had a son named Curtis Flowers Jr. of Lakewood, New Jersey. His 2 daughters are Debra Flowers of Burlington and Lisa Marshall of Lakewood, New Jersey. His five brothers are Carter, Jerome, Timothy, Richard, and Antonio. His four sisters are Alice Jackson, Rhonda, Angela, and Robin from New York. He had at least 9 grandchildren too. My 2nd cousin Rhonda A. Flowers-Edwards was born on October 20, 1961, and she has lived all over New York City. Curtis Lee Flowers Jr. (the son of the late Curtis Lee Flowers) was born on December 8, 1980.
San Diego being a major tourist attraction in America is easily to witness. For example, there is Balboa Park, which is often called the "Smithsonian of the West." It is the largest urban park with cultural institutions in America. In the park, there are 17 museums that deal with anthropology, art, aviation, natural science, and technology. Gardens and Spanish Colonial architecture are found in Balboa Park. There is the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. It has over a hundred shops and boutiques that line the streets with tons of restaurants. At the center of the Old Town is the Whaley House Museum Complex, which is made up of five historic buildings. The USS Midway Museum was named one of the top museums in the country by Trip Advisor. USS Midway is the longest serving aircraft carrier with 35 exhibits and tours.
One of the greatest heroes of black history and human history is Rosa Parks. I was inspired to write about Rosa Parks again, because recently many jealous and ignorant people want to downplay Rosa Parks's revolutionary history. Rosa Parks was a revolutionary in ever since of the world. You can recognize Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Mary Louise Smith, Jeaeatta Reese, and Claudette Clovin being involved in the Birmingham Bus Boycott and civil rights without minimizing and lying about Rosa Parks's activism. It is important to set the record straight for real. Rosa Parks stood up for Malcolm X, worked with the Black Panthers, fought against the prison industrial complex, opposed apartheid in South Africa, and was actively engaged in the black freedom movement long before the 1950's. Rosa Parks did more than participate in a boycott. She was standing up for self-defense and human rights before many of these racists and haters were born. That truth isn't known by many people. The real Rosa Parks was a heroic woman who fought for black freedom back decades before the 1960's, even before the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. Yet, that reality has been documented by many books like the recent book entitled, "The Silent Revolutionary Rosa Park: The Untold Story" by Catherine Wright and "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks" by Jeanne Theoharis. This year is the 110th year Anniversary after Rosa Parks's birth. This year of 2023 is the perfect time to show the truth about Rosa Parks's life and to show a new generation the real story of the revolutionary hero Rosa Parks indeed.
The 1970's saw massive changes in the world. It was the first generation seeing of the first fruits of the massive social and cultural changes that were born from the 1960's. It was a time of massive economic upheaval after the postwar economic boom. By the early to mid 1970's, economic inequality worldwide increased. There were coups, wars, civil wars, and the rise of the conservative backlash against progressive reforms by the end of the 1970's (with the wise of Ronald Reagan and Conservative UK leader Margaret Thatcher). We saw serial killers, military coups, and the growth of neolbieral economic theory in the replacement of Keynesian economic. Some good news is that more women and persons of color (including black people) expanded into positions of power, there were decolonization in many parts of the world, and the Green Revolution helped to provide food for billions of people. Also, there was a musical revolution in the 1970's too. Fashion and culture were filled with swagger and creativity. The music of the 1970's saw rock, pop, R&B, country, gospel, and other genres of music being more international. Popular culture became more like a business. Movies reflected the time dealing with race, the drug trade, sex, culture, divorce, and science fiction like The French Connection, Coffy, Kramer vs. Kramer, Jaws, Saturday Night Flever, The Godfather, etc. Groups and solo artists like Earth, Wind, and Fire, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, REO Speedwagon, The Doobie Brothers, etc. wasn't just expressed in the States. It was displayed globally. Funk developed into the next level by the 1970's, as funk is an offshoot of soul music. The latter half of the decade was dominated by disco bands and singers from Donna Summer, Chic, etc. Metal bands grown from Deep Purple, and other people. Rock music in general became more diverse with progressive rock, soft rock, and punk. Punk was all about rebellion against the establishment grown from the poor and the suffering. Punk, is similar to hip hop as hip hop was born in the 1970's from the poor and suffering communities of New York City. From the death of musical icons of the early 1970's to the end of the 1970's seeing new sounds grown, the 1970's had some of the most talented musical artists in human history.
To learn about heart health to a great extent, you have to understand basic information about the human heart. The human health is a muscular organ that pumps blood through blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste (like carbon dioxide) to the lungs. The average human heart is the size approximately of the closed fist. It's located between the lungs in the middle compartment of the chest. The human heart (like other mammals and other birds) has four chambers. There are the upper left and right atria and the lower left and right ventricles. Commonly the right atrium and ventricle are referred together as the right heart and their left counterparts as the left heart. In a healthy heart blood flows one way through the heart due to heart valves, which prevent backflow. The heart is enclosed in a protective sac, the pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. The wall of the heart is made up of three layers: epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium. The heart pumps blood with a rhythm determined by a group of pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node. These generate a current that causes the heart to contract, traveling through the atrioventricular node and along the conduction system of the heart. In humans, deoxygenated blood enters the heart through the right atrium from the superior and inferior venae cavae and passes it to the right ventricle. From here it is pumped into pulmonary circulation to the lungs, where it receives oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide. Oxygenated blood then returns to the left atrium, passes through the left ventricle and is pumped out through the aorta into systemic circulation, traveling through arteries, arterioles, and capillaries—where nutrients and other substances are exchanged between blood vessels and cells, losing oxygen and gaining carbon dioxide—before being returned to the heart through venules and veins. The heart beats at a resting rate close to 72 beats per minute. Exercise temporarily increases the rate, but lowers it in the long term, and is good for heart health.
As Black Americans, our people have lived in America for over five centuries. Our ancestors have experienced the worst form of slavery in all of human history. Yet, we survive and live today. We respect our heroes who paved the way for us from Harriet Tubman to Fannie Lou Hamer. To this day, black Americans have not received just compensation in response to the unjust treatment (that includes slavery, the peonage system, pogroms against black communities, and unjust structural racism) that our ancestors and what we continue to experience today (with racism, economic exploitation, and discrimination). That is why reparations are necessary for African Americans as a means for American society to be held accountable (for real) for its evil mistreatment against black Americans. Many conservatives and even some so-called "liberals" oppose reparations, but we aren't worried about that. Other groups of people received reparations, and they are silent. Yet, massive resistance comes when we desire unequivocable justice. We desire truth and accountability to exist despite political correctness. Therefore, the drum still beats in our souls and complete, wholehearted liberation is our aim.
For over 200 years, Brazil has existed. Now in 2023, we have a progressive President named Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after years of a far-right extremist. Brazil has been part of the epicenter of culture, race, economic issues, and environmental situations. In fact, Brazil is number one of the 17 megadiverse countries with tons of flora and fauna. It is home to the South American Rain Forest supplying much of the world's oxygen with its tree. Human beings are standing up to try to preserve the trees and habitats of Brazil too. Native Americans live in Brazil originally. Today, Brazil is one of the most diverse nations on Earth with Afro-Brazilians, biracial people, multiracial people, white people, Asian people, etc. Brazil's capital city is Brasilia, and the most populous city is Sao Paulo. Rio is the city being home to the 2016 Olympic Games filled with history and records. The nation of Brazil is a federal made up of 26 states and the Federal District. Having more than 217 million people, it is one of the highest populated nations in the world. Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy, having the twelfth largest GDP in the world by nominal, and ninth by PPP measures, the largest in Latin America. As an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country, Brazil has the largest share of global wealth in South America and it is one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. This year is the perfect era of time to describe the demographics, climate, history, culture, and legacy of the great nation of Brazil.
By Timothy
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