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Monday, July 24, 2023

Cultural Facts at the end of July 2023.

 

By 1995, new songs dominated the scene of music.  By January 1995, the song of I'm The Only One came out by Melissa Etheridge. She is from Leavenworth, Kansas. This was part of her fourth album Yes, I Am. We have musicians like Rednex, Hootie and the Blowfish showing Hold My Hand, and PJ Harvey having the album of To Bring You My Love. Hootie and the is from the city of Columbia, South Carolina. Their debut album was Cracked Rearview Mirror which was the best-selling album of 1995 selling over 21 million copies. By February 1995, Madonna scored her eleventh #1 single in the US with "Take A Bow." The song is the second single from her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories #3 US, #2 UK. The album's lead single "Secret" reached #3 US, #5 UK. The album goes Triple Platinum in the US and sells eight million copies worldwide. When the show Moesha came out in 1995, the singer Brandy was already a household name in America plus beyond. By March 1995, the California singer, songwriter and actress Brandy scored the second of three US Top Ten hits with the single "Baby" #4 US. The song is from her self titled debut album which also features the singles "I Wanna Be Down" #6 US and "Brokenhearted" #9 US. The album goes Double Platinum in the US. From this moment on, Brandy with Moesha and other music would be one of the greats of R&B music (along with her other counterparts of Monica and Aaliyah). During the same time, the Stockbridge, Georgia rock band Collective Soul find continued commercial success with their self-titled second album, which goes Triple Platinum in the US. The album contains two US Modern Rock Top Ten hits "December" #2 and "The World I Know" #6. Elastica made their self-titled debut album by March of 1995 too. One tragedy was the March 1995 death of the Texas singer Selena. She already had her fourth US Latin #1 single in a row with "Fotos y Recuerdos" a reworking of The Pretenders' "Back On The Chain Gang." In March Yolanda Saldivar, the manager of the Selena fan club and fashion boutiques, shoots Selena to death following a business dispute. Selena was a Latina American superstar who inspired future artists like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. Wu-Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard releases his debut solo album Return To The 36 Chambers and hits #7 US, #2 US R&B/Hip-Hop. The album generates two US Rap Hot Singles including "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Brooklyn Zoo". The album went US Platinum.


One of the most popular R&B and dance songs of all time would come out called This is How We Do It by April of 1995 done by LA singer, songwriter Montell Jordan. The song was number one in America and number 11 in the UK. The single was from Def Jam Records. The song is the title track from Jordan's debut album which charts at #12 US and goes Platinum. The album's second single "Somethin' 4 The Honeyz" hits #21 US. The fourth album from UK alternative band The Boo Radleys hits #1 UK but fails to chart in the US. The album generates the UK #1 single "Wake Up Boo!" along with the #25 UK single "It's Lulu." This would be the band's commercial peak, though they would release two more albums. White Zombie made music too. On April 1995, the California hip hop artist Tupac Shakur has a #1 album Me Against The World and a US Top Ten single with "Dear Mama" #9 US, #1 US Rap, all while serving time in prison for a crime that he said that he is innocent of to his dying day. A video is made without the imprisoned Tupac, instead featuring his mother Afeni, the subject of the song. Tupac Shakur would go on to new heights and become the most influential hip hop artist of all time. The alternative bands of Everclear and Blesid Union of Souls made many songs and albums. The former lead singer and guitarist for UK band The Jam, Paul Weller, hits #1 UK with his third solo album Stanley Road. The album produces four UK Top 20 singles including "The Changingman" #7 UK and "You Do Something To Me" #9 UK. The album goes 4X UK Platinum. Canadian singer songwriter Bryan Adams has his fourth US #1 single with "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman." The song is included on the soundtrack album for the Johnny Depp film Don Juan DeMarco. The song receives an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. 




By June of 1995, there is the song that represent a R&B and hip hop prominent collaboration. The song is "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" is a remix of Method Man's track "All I Need" mixed with the Motown song "You're All I Need To Get By" (done by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell). The song, with choruses and backing vocals by Mary J. Blige, hits #3 US, #1 US R&B. Around the same time, the American brother/sister superstars Michael and Janet Jackson team up for the single "Scream" which charts at #5 US, #3 UK. The song is written and produced by the Jacksons with the team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The video for the song costs $7 Million and is one of the most expensive ever produced. The song Scream is about Michael Jackson being supported by Janet Jackson over many allegations and controversies. It's about a younger sister and an older brother playing, being angry, and showing their talents to the world (in the midst of the media's obsession with them). The second album from Icelandic singer songwriter Bjork is one of her most successful, reaching #2 UK, #32 US and going Platinum in both countries. The album spawns three UK Top Ten singles including "Army Of Me" #10, "Hyperballad" #8 and "It's Oh So Quiet" #4. The Chemical Brothers, an electronic music duo from Manchester, England, release their debut album Exit Planet Dust which breaks into the UK Top Ten at #9. The duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons had previously been known as the Dust Brothers. The album goes Platinum in the UK. In July 1995, the Notorious B.I.G. was at the crown top of East Coast hip hop. Brooklyn, New York rapper Biggie Smalls a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. hits #2 US, #34 UK with the remix single "One More Chance/Stay With Me." Produced by Sean Puffy Combs, the song features additional vocals from Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige, it sells over a million copies. The remix music video had tons of hip hop and R&B icons from Heavy D to Aaliyah. Elliot Smith and Supergrass released music. By August 1995, the former drummer for Nirvana, Dave Grohl, wrote the songs, plays all the instruments and sings all vocals for the self titled debut album for the Foo Fighters which charts at #23 US, #3 UK on it's way to going to US Platinum. After recording the album, Grohl recruits band members to tour. By August 1995, TLC released the song of Waterfalls. I remember that song vividly as I watched it a lot on Splash TV back in 1995. The song is about promoting the lesson that dangerous choices can lead into death literally, and people should be careful to create the positive choices in life. Atlanta, Georgia R&B, hip hop group TLC hit #1 in the US with the single "Waterfalls" #6 UK. It is the second #1 single from their album CrazySexyCool which sells 21 million copies worldwide. In July the band declares bankruptcy in a bid to renegotiate their recording constract. Yet, TLC will bounce back, make more music, and be the premier new jack swing hip hop/R&B group that inspired the world with their messages. 


By August 1995, the UK singer songwriter Seal goes to #1 US, #4 UK with the single "Kiss From A Rose" after the song is featured in the Batman Forever movie. Seal wrote the song eight years earlier, but reworked it with producer Trevor Horn for his second album. The album goes 2X Platinum in the UK and 4X Platinum in the US. A group called Garbage made their album. Dundalk, Ireland pop/folk family band The Corrs release their debut album Forgiven, Not Forgotten and climb to #2 UK. The album is produced by Canadian producer and musician David Foster and released on Atlantic Records. The album goes on to sell over three million copies worldwide. Cleveland, Ohio hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony hit #1 US with their second album E. 1999 Eternal. The album goes 9X Platinum in the US and contains the single "Tha Crossroads" which sells over two million copies and hits #1 US in 1996. Shaggy had Boombastic in August of 1995 too as part of reggae music. Shaggy continues to make music to this day. Grateful Dead lead guitarist and founder Jerry Garcia dies of a heart attack after a long struggle with drug addiction. The Grateful Dead formed in 1965 in California's San Francisco Bay area performing a mix of folk, country and psychedelic rock and pioneering the "jam band" ethos. On September 7, 1964, influential West Coast hip hop artist Eric Lynn Wright (Eazy-E) passed away from the AIDS-induced pneumonia. He was 30 years. He was a member of N.W.A. and had his own solo career too. He was a producer who help to promote Bone, Black Eyed Peas, and other artists. He wanted to work hard on his companies, build technological devices, and made a final note to his fans, made amends to Ice Cube, and married his girlfriend. By September 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum opened in Cleveland, Ohio. It was designed by architect I.M. Pei.  The RRHOF Foundation was established in 1983 and several cities were considered for the hall's permanent home, but Cleveland civic boosters raised $65 million. By this time, after hitting #3 US in 1994 with his single "Fantastic Voyage", California rapper Coolio teams up with R&B singer L.V. for the single "Gangsta's Paradise" which hits #1 in both the US and UK. The song was created for the film Dangerous Minds and is on the soundtrack album. Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Pulp, Oasis, and Take That made many songs and albums. American singer Whitney Houston has her eleventh US #1 single with "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" #11 UK. The song is from the film Waiting To Exhale in which Houston plays the lead role. Produced by Kenneth Babyface Edmonds the soundtrack also features Toni Braxton, Brandy, TLC and Mary J. Blige among others This was in November 1995. By December of 1995, veteran hip hop artist L Cool J teamed with Philadelphia R&B vocal group Boyz ll Men on the single "Hey Lover" which charts at #3 US, #17 UK. The song is from Cool J's sixth album Mr. Smith which goes Double Platinum in the US. During this time in December 1995, Boyz ll Men also collaborate with Mariah Carey on her eleventh US #1 single "One Sweet Day" #6 UK. The song is included on Carey's fifth album Fantasy, whose title track had hit #1 US in October. The album goes 8X Platinum in the US and sells over 20 million copies worldwide. One Swet Day was one of the greatst songs of all time not just in the 1990's.




Living in America, it is important to understand the culture of cities. Today, most Americans live in cities, and Austin, Texas is a very important city of the American landscape. Austin is found in Texas, which is a state with a large amount of culture. Austin being the capital city of Texas making its very vital in the political strength of Texas found in Travis County. It's the 10th most populous city in America and the fourth most populous city in Texas. It is also the second most populous state capital city in America. Since 2010, its population has grown very fast. Austin is found northeast of San Antonio, south of Dallas, north west of Houston far east of El Paso. Now, Austin, Texas has almost 1 million human beings. Many residents to the Main Building at the University of Texas, the Laguna Gloria, Paramount Theater, the Texas State Capitol Building, and other locations. We know of the Austin City Limits concerts hosting artists and being nicknamed "The live Music Capital of the World." Austin is home to many rivers, lakes, and waterways along with college students, musicians, high tech workers, and blue collar workers. The headquarters or regional offices of 3M, Oracle, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Whole Foods Markets, and other corporations exist in the vicinity of Austin, Texas.  In 2021, Austin became home to the Austin FC, the first (and currently only) major professional sports team in the city. Therefore, it is important to know wisdom and appreciate our lives. 




Civil rights history has been found prominently in Austin, Texas. Many black people were slaves and free during the 19th century. The Texas Revolution was created to maintain the Republic of Texas's slavery policies against the Mexican ban on slavery. The private Historically Black University of Huston-Tillotson University (HT) was created in 1875 as the first higher learning educational location in Austin, Texas.  The university is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and the United Negro College Fund. Huston–Tillotson University awards bachelor's degrees in business, education, the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, science, and technology and a master's degree in educational leadership. The university also offers alternative teacher certification and academic programs for undergraduates interested in pursuing post-graduate degrees in law and medicine. Since 2022, Melva K. Williams serves as president of Huston–Tillotson University. She was preceded by Archibald W. Vanderpuye, an interim president. After the American Civil War and Reconstruction, black people in Austin fought for voting rights and human rights in general. Also, Latino Americans in Austin fought for human rights too. In 1940, Arthur De Witty becomes the first African American to be appointed to a Travis County Grand jury. In May 1946, Heman Marion Sweatt files a lawsuit against The University of Texas at Austin president Theophilus Painter and other school officials for denying him admittance into The University of Texas School of Law because he is African American. Representatives of the Campus Guild at The University of Texas at Austin congratulated Hazel Scott, a nationally known African American pianist, for refusing to perform before a segregated audience at Gregory Gym in 1948. After four and one half years of legal battles, Heman Marion Sweatt registered at The University of Texas at Austin in 1950. By 1951, Austin City Council abolishes racial segregation in the Main Library and the Carver Branch Library in December. August Novel Swain (1927-2006) becomes first African American to receive a master’s degree from the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin in 1953.



Harry Akins, owner of the Night Hawk Restaurant, is “instrumental in the desegregation of most of Austin’s major restaurants.” In 1953, Mrs. Myrtle Washington is arrested for refusing to move to the rear of the bus when asked by an Austin Transit Company bus driver. The Austin Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) represented Mrs. Washington who is charged with violating the 1945 Jim Crow law requiring Blacks to sit at the rear of the bus. The Austin Chapter of the NAACP wants the abolition of segregation of Austin public schools in 1954. In 1955, in a unanimous decision, The University of Texas Board of Regents voted to admit African American undergraduate students starting in the fall semester, 1956. Racists fight back against this policy, but their actions fail. Arthur De Witty, public relations officer for the Austin Chapter of the NAACP in Austin, secures an attorney to aid in the case of Mrs. Howellen Taylor who has been charged with “violating the state Jim Crow Law” by refusing a driver’s request to move to the back of the bus. Austin schools start to integrate by 1956. University of Texas student Barbara Smith Conrad was removed from the opera of Dido and Arenas, because she is black in 1957. Bishop John E. Hines of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas calls for racial integration and equality in local congregations and in Episcopalian schools and camps. When fourteen-year-old Sandra Kay Hall is admitted into Allan Junior High, she became the first African American in Austin to attend a white junior high school. By the 1960's, students pick area colleges and businesses on Congress Avenue to end Jim Crow apartheid. Many black and white students at the University of Texas have demonstrations against the segregated Texas Theater on the Main Campus by 1960. By 1963, The Austin Chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution recommending the “immediate and complete integration of all public facilities.” In 1964, Mrs. Cora Eiland Hicks, who in 1953 became the first African American to hold a position higher than a clerk at The University of Texas, is appointed to the University faculty as a teaching assistant in the English Department. Racism persists with the racist Cowboy Minstrel Show. Then, it was finally banned of its blackface perforance by 1965. In April 1968, Wilhelmina Fitzgerald Delco is elected to the Austin ISD Board of Trustees, becoming the first African American in Austin to be elected to such a position. After Dr. King's unjust assassination in 1968, many students hold a campus memorial service and a march to the Texas Captiaol building. There was a service sponsored by the Austin Council of Churches at Municipal Auditorium (filled with people of many colors and backgrounds). 


In 1969, John Warfield created the Department of Black History and Afro-American Studies. By the 1970's, debates on desegregation continue and the federal government brought a suit against the Austin ISD for alleged failure to comply with desegregation guidelines. By 1971, the Tri-Ethnic Community Council is formed in January to work for equal educational opportunity for all Austin students. Anti-busing movements grows by the 1970's and 1980's. From voting rights protests, anti-police brutality rallies, pro-immigration rallies, and other protests in the 21st century, Austin has always been a homebase on social activist activity. 


 


The assassination of President John F. Kennedy existed in stages. By November 22, 1963, Air Force One arrivated at Dallas Love Field at 11:40 am. President Kennedy and the First Lady boarded a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible limousine to travel to a luncheon at the Dallas Market Center. Other occupants of this vehicle—the second in the motorcade—were Secret Service Agent Bill Greer, who drove; Special Agent Roy Kellerman in the front passenger seat; and Governor Connally and his wife Nellie, who sat just forward of the Kennedys. Four Dallas police motorcycle officers accompanied the Kennedy limousine. Vice President Johnson, his wife Lady Bird, and Senator Yarborough rode in another convertible. The motorcade's meandering 10-mile route through Dallas was designed to give Kennedy maximum exposure to crowds by passing through a suburban section of Dallas, and Main Street in Downtown Dallas, before turning right on Houston Street. After another block, the motorcade was to turn left onto Elm Street, pass through Dealey Plaza, and travel a short segment of the Stemmons Freeway to the Trade Mart.


The planned route had been reported in newspapers several days in advance. Despite concerns about hostile protestors—Kennedy's UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson had been spat on in Dallas in 1961—Kennedy was greeted warmly by enthusiastic crowds. President John F. Kennedy's limousine entered Dealey Plaza at 12:30 pm. CST. Nellie Connally turned and commented to Kennedy, who was sitting behind her, "Mr. President, they can't make you believe now that there are not some in Dallas who love and appreciate you, can they?" Kennedy's reply – "No, they sure can't" – were his last words. From Houston Street, the limousine made the planned left turn onto Elm, passing the Texas School Book Depository. As it continued down Elm Street, multiple shots were fired: about 80% of the witnesses recalled hearing three shots. The Warren Commission concluded that three shots were fired and noted that most witnesses recalled that the second and third shots were bunched together. Shortly after Kennedy began waving, some witnesses heard the first gunshot, but few in the crowd or motorcade reacted, many interpreting the sound as a firecracker or backfire.





Within one second of each other, Governor Connally and Mrs. Kennedy turned abruptly from their left to their right. Connally—an experienced hunter—immediately recognized the sound as that of a rifle and turned his head and torso rightward, noting nothing unusual behind him. He testified that he could not see Kennedy, so he started to turn forward again (turning from his right to his left), and that when his head was facing about 20 degrees left of center, he was struck in his upper right back by a shot he did not hear, then shouted, "My God. They're going to kill us all!"


According to the Warren Commission and the HSCA, Kennedy was waving to the crowds on his right when a shot entered his upper back and exited his throat just beneath his larynx. He raised his elbows and clenched his fists in front of his face and neck, then leaned forward and leftward. Mrs. Kennedy, facing him, put her arms around him. Although a serious wound, it likely would have been survivable.


According to the Warren Commission's single bullet theory—derided as the "magic bullet theory" by the Warren Commission's critics—Governor Connally was injured by the same bullet that exited Kennedy's neck. The bullet created an oval-shaped entry wound, hit and destroyed several inches of Connally's right fifth rib, and exited his chest just below his right nipple, creating a sucking chest wound. That same bullet then entered his arm just above his right wrist and shattered his right radius bone. The bullet exited just below the wrist at the inner side of his right palm and finally lodged in his left thigh. As the limousine passed the grassy knoll, Kennedy was hit again: a fatal shot to the head. The Warren Commission made no conclusion as to whether this was the second or third bullet fired. The two investigative committees concluded that the second shot to hit Kennedy entered the rear of his head. It then passed in fragments through his skull, creating a large, "roughly ovular" hole on the rear, right side of the head, and spraying blood and fragments. His brain and blood spatter landed as far as the following Secret Service car and the motorcycle officers


Secret Service Agent Clint Hill was riding on the running board of the car immediately behind Kennedy's limousine. Hill testified to the Warren Commission that he heard one shot, jumped onto the street, and ran forward to board the limousine and protect Kennedy. Hill stated that he heard the fatal headshot as he reached the Lincoln, "approximately five seconds" after the first shot that he heard. After the headshot, Mrs. Kennedy began climbing onto the limousine's trunk, but she later had no recollection of doing so. Hill believed she may have been reaching for a piece of Kennedy's skull. He jumped onto the limousine's bumper, and he clung to the car as it exited Dealey Plaza and sped to Parkland Memorial Hospital. After Mrs. Kennedy crawled back into her seat, both Governor and Mrs. Connally heard her repeatedly saying: "They have killed my husband. I have his brains in my hand." Bystander James Tague received a minor wound to the cheek—either from bullet or concrete curb fragments—while standing by the triple underpass. Nine months later, the FBI removed the curb, and spectrographic analysis revealed metallic residue consistent with the lead core in Oswald's ammunition. Tague testified before the Warren Commission and initially stated that he was wounded by either the second or third shot of the three shots that he remembered hearing. When the commission counsel pressed him to be more specific, Tague testified that he was wounded by the second shot.



As the motorcade left Dealey Plaza, some witnesses sought cover, and others joined police officers to run up the grassy knoll in search of a shooter. No shooter was found behind the knoll's picket fence. Among the 178 witnesses who testified to the Warren Commission, 78 were unsure of the shots' origin, 49 believed they came from the Depository, and 21 thought they came from the grassy knoll. The Warren Commission said that no witness ever reported seeing anyone—with or without a gun—immediately behind the knoll's picket fence at the time of the shooting. Critics disagree with that assumption. 


Lee Bowers was in a two-story railroad switch tower 120 yards behind the grassy knoll's picket fence; he was watching the motorcade and had an unobstructed view of the only route by which any shooter could flee the grassy knoll; he saw no one leaving the scene. Bowers testified to the Warren Commission that "one or two" men were between him and the fence during the assassination: one was a familiar parking lot attendant and the other wore a uniform like a county courthouse custodian. He testified seeing "some commotion" on the grassy knoll at the time of the assassination: "something out of the ordinary, a sort of milling around, but something occurred in this particular spot which was out of the ordinary, which attracted my eye for some reason which I could not identify." Witness Howard Brennan said a man from the school book despository having a rifle. 



When searching the sixth floor of the Depository, two deputies found an Italian Carcano M91/38 bolt-action rifle. Oswald had purchased the used rifle the previous March under the alias "A. Hidell" and had it delivered to his Dallas P.O. box. The FBI found Oswald's partial palm print on the barrel, and fibers on the rifle were consistent with those of Oswald's shirt. A bullet found on Governor Connally's hospital gurney and two fragments found in the limousine were ballistically matched to the Carcano.


Oswald left the Depository and traveled by bus to his boarding house, where he retrieved a jacket and revolver. At 1:12 p.m., police officer J. D. Tippit spotted Oswald walking in the residential neighborhood of Oak Cliff and called him to his patrol car. After an exchange of words, Tippit exited his vehicle; Oswald then shot Tippit three times in the chest. As Tippit lay on the ground, Oswald fired a final shot into Tippit's right temple. Oswald then calmly walked away before running as witnesses emerged. The Dallas police found Lee Harvey Oswald at 1:36 pm. He was at the Texas Theater without paying a movie. The film War is Hell was playing. Dallas policemen arrested Oswald after a brief struggle, and Oswald drew his empty gun. He denied shooting anyone and claimed that he was a patsy because he had lived in the Soviet Union. At 12:38 p.m., Kennedy arrived in the emergency room of Parkland Memorial Hospital. Although Kennedy was still breathing after the shooting, his personal physician, George Burkley, immediately saw that survival was impossible. After Parkland surgeons performed futile cardiac massage, Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m., 30 minutes after the shooting. CBS host Walter Cronkite broke the news on live television. 



The following strange stuff happened too. The Secret Service was concerned about the possibility of a larger plot and urged Johnson to leave Dallas and return to the White House. However, Johnson refused to do so without any proof of Kennedy's death. Johnson returned to Air Force One around 1:30 p.m., and shortly thereafter, he received telephone calls from advisors McGeorge Bundy and Walter Jenkins advising him to depart for Washington, D.C. immediately. He replied that he would not leave Dallas without Jacqueline Kennedy and that she would not leave without Kennedy's body. According to Esquire, Johnson did "not want to be remembered as an abandoner of beautiful widows." At the time of Kennedy's assassination, the murder of a president was not under federal jurisdiction. Accordingly, Dallas County medical examiner Earl Rose insisted that Texas law required him to perform an autopsy. A heated exchange between Kennedy's aides and Dallas officials nearly erupted into a fistfight before the Texans yielded and allowed Kennedy's body to be transported to Air Force One. At 2:38 p.m., with Jacqueline Kennedy at his side, Johnson was administered the oath of office by federal judge Sarah Tilghman Hughes aboard Air Force One shortly before departing for Washington with Kennedy's coffin. President Kennedy's autopsy was performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital on the night of November 22. Jacqueline Kennedy had selected a naval hospital as the postmortem site as President Kennedy had been a naval officer during World War II. Scholars who believe that the assassination was a conspiracy or not, heavily believed that the autopsy was too rushed and messed up. It was a heavily botched autospy.  The HSCA forensic pathology panel concluded that the autopsy had "extensive failings", including failure to take sufficient photographs, failure to determine the exact exit or entry point of the head bullet, not dissecting the back and neck, and neglecting to determine the angles of gunshot injuries relative to body axis. The panel further concluded that the two doctors were not qualified to have conducted a forensic autopsy. Panel member Milton Helpern—Chief Medical Examiner for New York City—said that selecting Humes (who had only taken a single course on forensic pathology) to lead the autopsy was "like sending a seven-year-old boy who has taken three lessons on the violin over to the New York Philharmonic and expecting him to perform a Tchaikovsky symphony."


 

You always find new information on family trees. I found out that Aisha Camille Bennett is my paternal 4th cousin as she is related to the Tillery family. She was born on August 31, 1972, and she has lived in New Jersey. She married Harry Hayes on August 23, 2003 at Willingboro Township, Burlington, New Jersey. Aisha Bennett and Harry Hayes's children are Jaidon Hayes and Cameron Hayes (my 4th cousins). Her parents are Calvin L. Bennett (b. 1971) and my 3rd cousin Bessie Teresa Ayres (b. 1954). Calvin L. Bennett married Bessie Teresa Ayres in June 1971 in Trenton, New Jersey. Aisha Camille Bennett's sister is Charmel Bennett Bloodshaw. Bessie Teresa Ayres's parents are Elton Douglas Garland Ayres  (1930-1983) and Vivian Garfield Beech (b. 1931). Vivian Garfield Beech's parents are Cora Lee Tillery (1895-1955) and Walker Dumas Beech Jr. (1885-1966). Cora Lee Tillery's parents are Sallie Gary (b. 1869) and my 2nd great granduncle Walter Tillery (1868-1927). Walter Tillery's parents are my 3rd great grandparents Isam Tillery (b. 1835) and Martha Jane Randolf (b. 1847). 




There is more information I found about my late maternal cousin Catherine Lee Peeples (1933-2006). Both of us are descendants of Fannie Peeples and Charles Peeples. Catherine Lee Peeples was born on November 20, 1933, at Pocomoke, Maryland. Pocomoke is located in the Eastern Shore of Maryland where cities like Cambridge, Eaton, and other places are found at. I been to the Eastern shore of Maryland in real life too. Catherine Lee Peeples's parents were William Rouser Peeples Sr. (1898-1952) and Goldie Elizabeth Taylor (1902-1985). Catherine Lee Peeples married Aaron P. Nottingham Jr. (1932-1989). The Nottingham African American family heavily lives in the Eastern Shore of Virginia at Northampton County. The couple had the following children: Deborah Lee Nottingham (b. 1953), Patricia Ann Nottingham (b. 1960), William Aaron Nottingham (b. 1961), Cynthia Nottingham (b. 1964), and Kimberly Michone Notthingham (b. 1968). Kimberly Michone Nottingham and Troy Lamont Jackson had the child of Taneckia Jackson (b. 1985). My 2nd cousin Deborah Lee Nottingham married Aurthur Wayne Onley (1953-2009) on March 16, 1974 at Northampton County, Virginia. Their children are my 3rd cousins whose names are Wayne Tiaz Onley (b. 1976. He married Kimberly Candace Burnett) and Dimitra Onley. 



My late maternal 4th cousin Mabel Lee Artis (1945-2021) is a descendant of my 6th great grandparents of Burwell Williams and Winifred Woodson-Bozeman (b. 1791). To start, Mabel Lee Artis was born on April 26, 1945 at Nansemond, Virginia (or Suffolk, Virginia today). She married Thomas Lee Roberts (b. 1944) on December 31, 1987 at Suffolk, Virginia. She and James Edward Speller had the child of Rosemary Artis (b. 1960). She and Norman Skinner had the child of Phebe Annette Artis (b. 1963). Her other children are Melvin McKinley Artis Jr. (b. 1964), Norman McCoy Artis (b. 1967), and Ruby Artis. Mabe Lee Artis's parents were Harry Columbus Artis Sr. (1925-2003) and Gladys Earline Ash (1925-2004). Harry Columbus Artis Sr. and Glayds Earline Ash had the following children: Mabel Lee Artis (1945-2021), Alton Artis (1948-1987), Harry Artis (b. 1950), Susie Mae Artis (1951-1967), and Jessie Lee Artis (1954-1992). Harry Columbus Artis Sr.'s parents are Harry Washington Artis (1876-1958) and Mary Alice Brown (1877-1953). Henry Washington Artis's parents are Jimmie Artis (b. 1853) and Margaret Wiggins (b. 1847). Margaret Wiggins's parents are Sally Williams-Woods Wiggins (b. 1825) and Robert Wiggins. Sally Williams-Woodson Wiggins's parents are Burwell Williams and Winifred Woodson-Bozeman. 



During this early stage of the 2024, many realities are abundant. We have the most important election of our lifetimes coming up in 2024. The GOP candidates are very clear on what they desire. They desire the destruction of the progressive blessings that many of us take for granted. Some of these blessings have been gone via many Supreme Court decision from eliminating affirmative action in colleges to suppressing certain human rights. Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Chris Christie, Larry Elder, Nikki Haley, and other Republican candidates desire Biden to have a one term Presidency. Pence and Haley are very hypocritical to claim to want a better America, but they minimize the corruption and criminal behavior of Donald Trump. DeSantis even denies that the January 6th insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol was an insurrection. Chris Christie and Will Hurd are the only Republican Presidential candidates so far who have publicly criticized the policies of Donald Trump as reckless and corrupt. For DeSantis wanting to end birthright citizenship and supporting a Florida educational curriculum mentioning that slavery had some personal benefit to people shows his anti-democratic, racist mentality. As for the Democratic side, President Biden, Robert Kennedy Jr. (who promotes disinformation and loves free market capitalism), and Marianne Williamson are running for President. We have third Party candidates like Cornel West of the Green Party, Taylor Marshall, and other human beings. Third Parties have the right to exist, but it seems that one of the major parties will have the Presidency. Long term, we should have multiple parties having great influence not just a duopoly, but the threat of fascism remains in our society. So, making sure that a Republican won't have the Presidency in 2024 is very important. Either we have rights for all people or not. In other words, in 2024, the election will between fascism vs. democracy. I'm not being hyperbolic. I'm being real. Therefore, a Biden/Harris re-election is so much better than a fascist MAGA leader of Donald Trump or a Republican in the White House in 2024. 


By Timothy

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