Tatyana Ali stuns at the premiere of 'Bad Boys: Ride of Die'

 Tatyana Ali stuns at the premiere of 'Bad Boys: Ride of Die' | Watch (msn.com)

Celebrating Black Music Month.

 EXCLUSIVE: NPR’s Tiny Desk Celebrates Black Music Month With All-Female Lineup (msn.com)

Donald Trump is Now a Convicted Felon.

 

The breaking news is that the jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts. This is very historic showing how the legal system can work at times. Many crowds in New York City have shown emotion over the verdict. Donald Trump watched the jury as the verdict was read. The jury looked at all of the evidence, and the jury made their decision Donald Trump has looked down as the jury has been read. The process of this trial has been thorough and very positive. The jury asked many questions, and Trump has faced accountability involving the hush money trial. Many people feared that Trump may be acquitted, but this is not the case. The 12 juries acted as citizens filled with regular, everyday lives who sacrificed their lives to make one of the most important decisions of their lives. The jury represents democratic power in action. Trump is whining after the verdict like usual. Trump repeatedly violated the gag order, habitually lied about issues, and is a notorious bigot. The verdict has nothing to do with the Biden administration despite what lies Trump talks about. This verdict has to do with expert jurors who fulfilled their legal and moral obligations. The judge has every right to try the case, and Trump has policies in total contradiction of civil liberties and human rights. Trump is now a convicted felon.

The jurors didn't look at Trump's eyes when the verdict was read. The sentencing hearing is set for July 11, 2024. This day saw the triumph of the rule of law Trump is going to Trump Tower at his home. The convictions are felonies with serious implications to the election. The rule of law matters, and we always knew that Trump was guilty of many evil crimes. This jury made the courageous step to convict Trump of many crimes. The judge will be involved in figuring out the sentencing process. The debate will involve what the punishment will be. The defense will fight a prison term, and the prosecution will desire one. If he does serve prison time, there is a debate on whether the term can exist while the election is taking place or after the 2024 Presidential election. The Trump defense team will issue an appeal. DA Alvin Bragg won't answer the question on whether prosecutors will seek a prison term for Trump.

The Boeing company which is a powerful aerospace institution is having a serious crisis in the world. It has a cash shortfall according to a May 23 article in the Wall Street Journal The corporation had a loss of $4 billion in the first quarter of 2024 It faces a net loss for the year as whole, according to Chief Financial Officer Brian West. Boeing shares fell more than seven percent on the day of the announcement. We know of the massive safety issues found in many Boeing planes. There is the slowed production as a result of ongoing safety and quality issues There was the mid-flight door blowout on a 737 Max 9 on January 5, 2024. These problems deal with landing gears, wing panels falling down, and a recent fire on a Boeing 737-300 that forced the takeoff to be aborted and injured 10 people. The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a case as to whether Boeing has violated the terms of a $2.5 billion settlement agreement reached in 2021. Many whistleblowers have exposed the corruption at Boeing too. The airline industry must be changed to care more for human freedom than just profit.

Recently, MLB has incorporated the Negro League's statistics into the MLB's stats. Now, Josh Gibson (of the Negro League) is the MLB career and season batting leader. This is more than about diversity. This is about diversity and respecting the black experience involving sports. The Negro Leagues features many of the greatest baseball players in history like Kansas City Monarchs pitcher Leroy Satchel Paige. The integration of the statistics from the Negro Leagues will be found from 1920 to 1948. Negro League historian Todd Peterson mentioned that the Negro Leaguers were the only ones to consistently beat white major leaguers, who dominated semi-pro, college, and minor leagues. Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean, who organized many games between white players and Negro League players showed great respect for the player of Satchel Paige. Willie Mays and Hank Aaron's statistics have been updated as a product of this much needed integration of stats. Josh Gibson, Jackie Robinson, and Larry Dody all played in the Negro Leagues. 

Yesterday was the Birthday of Brother Ralph Carter, and he is 63 years old. He is famous for being an actor and singer. His role in Good Times has been iconic. He was born in New York City. When he was 9 years old, he was in the musical The Me Nobody Knows on Broadway He played Travis Younger in the play Raisin for which he won the 1973 Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Performer He won the 1974 Theater World. He played Michael on the show Good Times which was about a working-class black family surviving in Chicago.  Carter playing Michael was about him being the youngest child to Florida Evans and James Evans. In 1995, he recorded an album called Young and In Love. He performed a cover of the Ruby and The Romantics 1964 song When You're Young and in Love on Soul Train. In 1985, Carter released a single called Get It Right. In 2005, Carter appeared in the cast of Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death for the Classical Theater of Harlem Company. Ralph Carter loves his wife, River York, and his five children. I wish Brother Ralph Carter more Blessings.

By Timothy

The end of the Trump Hush Money Trial.

 

We are at the end of the Trump hush money trial. The prosecution is delivered its closing argument to the jury. The prosecution said that Trump was concerned about the election, not his family. The prosecution said that Trump had an affair in 2006, but the payoff happened two weeks before the 2016 election. Attorney Joshua Steinglass delievered the prosecution's closing argument in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial. Both sides among the prosecution and defense made their final points before the jury starts deliberations. Steinglass said that evidence corroborates Michael Cohen's testimony about Trump's involvement in the hush money scheme after the defense criticized the credibility of Cohen. Prosecutors accuse Trump of taking part in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, which included concealing a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied an affair with Daniels. Now, the jury will have its deliberations to either convict or not convict Donald Trump. 

Robert DeNiro confronted pro-Trump cultists calling the police who opposed the insurrectionists as traitors. This is a lie from many MAGA extremists. The truth is that insurrectionists hypocritically claimed to support the police, but they cursed the police, called officers racist slurs, and assaulted them with poles, tear gas, and other weapons. Other insurrectionists waved Confederate and Neo-Nazi flags on the U.S. Capitol for the first time in American history. The Capitol grounds were heavily destroyed and desecrated in vulgar ways. The events of January 6th should never be sugarcoated as extremists tried to literally end democracy in America as we know it. Trump and his MAGA cultists to this day believe in the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. To this day, fake leftists claiming to be progressive desire Trump to be re-election for the sake of believing that Biden is God and change all in society with a wand of the hand (when Biden is not God). We have 2 choices in November 2024. Either Trump loses the election or democracy is destroyed. There is no middle ground. 

An Israeli airstrike killed dozens of civilians in Rafah in Gaza. This location is a tent location. This has nothing to do with targeting Hamas at all. This is barbarism and overt war crimes. The IDF said that it's investigating the incident. Innocent Palestinian people dying is a reality that is transparently clear for all to see. If an American did this in America, that person would be arrested for many charges ASAP. The problem is that when President Biden shows his red lines, and Netanyahu disregards Biden's warning. Netanyahu is acting carte blanche to do as it wants in Gaza and the West Bank. The status quo doesn't work. Netanyahu is doing Israelis a disservice even by his actions. Fundamentally, Netanyahu is trying to escape investigations. The incident in the camp is beyond a tragic incident. It is a blatant war crime.

In Russia, Vladimir Solovyov wanted retaliation against America. This shows that Putin is a dictator and Solovyov is a puppet. Then, you have Tim Scott supporting a habitual liar Trump. Scott is wrong to call Trump an innocent man when he was caught illegally stealing documents. Robert Kennedy Jr. saying that wearing a mask is similar to living like a slave is offensive and disrespectful to the black community. The GOP leadership and MAGA cultists claims they support freedom when they are advocating taking away voting rights, human rights, religious rights, social rights, and other constitutional rights. You can't claim to be for liberty when your policies promote revenge and violations of the rights of people with whom you disagree with. That is pure hypocrisy plain and simple.

The Libertarian Party is deciding its candidates for the 2024 election. Many people in the Libertarian convention have booed Donald Trump, because Trump's policies are blatantly authoritarian from civil liberties to other issues. I don't agree with libertarians on every issue, but it is obvious that Trump's neo-fascist views are clear. Trump wants more votes to gain more power. Tons of Trump's supporters are cult followers, lovers of political division, and those who hate progressive views. MAGA's hatred of Joe Biden is much greater than people realize. The Libertarian Chairwoman told Trump supporters to give up the front tables and the first four rows, so Libertarians can get some seating in front of Trump at their own conventions. MAGA cultists are trying to intimidate libertarian people. Trump continues to lie and called the raid on Mar-a-Lago illegal when it was a product of a legal search warrant. Trump called military men and women who served America suckers and losers. Any Trump supporter is a person I don't ally with. This coward Trump should not be voted into office period.

By Timothy

MUST WATCH! I BLINDLY PLEDGED TO SATAN | DENOUNCING DELTA SIGMA THETA SO...

Human

 Human | PDF | Human (scribd.com)

Memorial Day Remembrance.

 List of Memorial Day parades and ceremonies across Southern California (yahoo.com)

Cultural Information in Late May of 2024.

  

The grandson of enslaved African Americans, harmonica player DeFord Bailey rose to prominence in the 1920's. He was the very first performer introduced on the Grand Ole Opry stage when it started in 1927. Bailey was a virtuoso playing and mimic train sounds on the harmonica. Country music in the 1940's had many dynamic changes. From 1940 to 1945, the Special Service Division of the U.S. military introduced hillbilly bands to a wide audience of soldiers in the USO shows Honkly tonk, blue grass, and other country standards spread across the world. By 1942, Roy Acuff and Fred Rose created Acuff-Rose Publishing. In 1942, Ernest Tubb's recording of Walking the Floor Over You made him an overnight sensation which promoted honky-tonk. Republic Studios called Roy Rogers the King of the Cowboys, producing a film by the same name. In 1945, Nashville, Tennessee became the center for country music, but country music culture is found across America plus throughout the world. In 1947, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys record the record of "Blue Moon of Kentucky." This was one of the major examples of the new bluegrass style of country music. By 1948, KWKH radio in Shreveport, Louisiana introduced Louisiana Hayride to the airwaves. By 1950, Country music, radio, and movie star Gene Autry moved to television with the Gene Autry Show. Roy Rogers promoted the Roy Rogers Show in 1951. From 1954 to 1955, Elvis Presley promoted rock and roll music via Sun Record sessions. He also promoted his version of Blue Moon of Kentucky. By the 1950's, there were rockabilly artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers started to record hit after hit. Cowboy films were promoted by Dale Evans, Rogers's wife, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Spade Cooley. Lefty Frizzell had great popularity in country music in the 1950's. By the 1950's, the Nashville sound movement existed with artists like Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, and Jim Ed Brown. Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Webb Pierce of Bakersfield, California were found on honky-tonk bars in California. 

 

World War One was an invent that changed the world forever. This war existed between the tensions of world Empires found in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Great Britain, France, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Austria-Hungary, etc. wanted to control as many resources of the world as possible. The European powers never solved their competition to gain the world's resources via colonialism, imperialism, genocide, stealing lands, and other forms of evil actions. Then, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, caused World War I officially. He was murdered by the Bosnian Serbian person named Gavrilo Princip and other people found in the Black Hand. The Allied Powers defeated the Central Powers (made up of Germany, The Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, etc.). The war saw tanks, planes, and chemical warfare in a high level for the first time in human history. During the war, there was the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the Russian Revolution (that caused the Soviet Union to exist, and the Soviet Union left the Allied side to be neutral by the end of WWI), and the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. After the events of World War One, the Treaty of Versailles existed, and the League of Nations was formed. The League of Nations didn't cause the great peace internationally, because the League of Nations had a problem of  ts rules being enforced, it wasn't strong enough to handle international disputes, and massive economic problems caused the organization to lack funding to handle its policies. Ironically, the League of Nations was a foundation for the creation of the United Nations after World War II (which started in September 1939). The lesson now is that we must oppose imperialism, colonialism, and capitalist exploitation. Also, another lesson of WWI is that we have to learn about international affairs as we can't live in the sand in one nation. What happens overseas can happen here in the United States of America. With the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and other places of the world, we must be on the sacrosanct, righteous path of righteousness, truth, and justice. 

 

Diana Ross made more albums like The Force Behind the Power in 1991, Take Me High in 1995, and Every Day is a New Day in 1999. By 1991, Diana Ross was one of the few American artists to have headlined the annual Royal Variety Performance, performing a selection of her UK hits before Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London. This marked her second appearance at the Royal Variety Performance, the first being in 1968 with the Supremes. The Force Behind the Power sparked a comeback when the album went platinum in the UK. It led by the No. 2 UK hit single "When You Tell Me That You Love Me." The album produced 9 singles across international territories, including another Top 10 UK hit "One Shining Moment." In 1993, Ross returned to acting with a dramatic role in the television film, Out of Darkness. Ross won acclaim for her role in the TV movie and earned her third Golden Globe nomination.

In 1994, One Woman: The Ultimate Collection, a career retrospective compilation, became a number one hit in the UK, selling quadruple platinum. The retrospective was EMI's alternative to Motown's box set Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs. Ross performed during the opening ceremony of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in Chicago, and during the pre-match entertainment of the 1995 Rugby League World Cup final at Wembley Stadium. The World Cup ceremony had her take a penalty kick that was staged for her to score, and the goalposts were intended to fall down from the power of her shot. She infamously missed the penalty instead. On January 28, 1996, Ross performed at the Super Bowl XXX halftime show, held at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Earlier that month, Ross's Tokyo concert, Diana Ross: Live in Japan, filmed live at the city's Nippon Budokan Stadium, was released. In May 1996, Ross received the World Music Awards' Lifelong Contribution to the Music Industry Award. In that awards show, Diana Ross sat on Michael Jackson's lap and sang to him. On November 29, EMI released the compilation album, Voice of Love, featuring the singles "In the Ones You Love", "You Are Not Alone" and "I Hear (The Voice of Love)."

On February 8, 1997, EMI released the Japanese edition of Ross's album, A Gift of Love, featuring the single, "Promise Me You'll Try." In May, she performed with operatic tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras again at the Superconcert of the Century concert, held in Taipei, Taiwan. She later inducted the Jackson 5 into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on May 6. On February 19, 1998, Ross hosted the Motown 40 telecast on ABC. In 1999, Ross was named the most successful woman singer in the history of the United Kingdom charts, based upon a tally of her career hits. Madonna would soon succeed Ross as the most successful woman artist in the UK. Later that year, Ross presented at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in September of the year and shocked the audience by touching rapper Lil' Kim's exposed breast and pasty-covered nipple, amazed at the young rapper's brashness. In 1999, she and Brandy Norwood co-starred in the television movie, Double Platinum, which was aired prior to the release of Ross's album, Every Day Is a New Day. From that album, Ross scored a Top 10 hit in the UK in November that year with "Not Over You Yet."

 

By July 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the appropriation bill for the Boulder Dam The dam was renamed he Hoover Dam during the Truman administration. By 1931, people started to build the dam. The population of Las Vegas increased from around 5,000 citizens to 25,000, with most of the newcomers looking for a job building the dam. However, the demographic of the work force consisting of males from across the country with no attachment to the area created a market for large-scale entertainment. A combination of local Las Vegas business owners and Mafia crime lords helped develop the casinos and showgirl theaters to entertain the largely male dam construction workers. Despite the influx of known crime figures, the local business community tried to cast Las Vegas in a respectable light when the Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur visited in 1929 to inspect the dam site. However, a worker was found with alcohol on his breath (this was during the time of Prohibition) after a visit to Block 16 in Las Vegas. The government ultimately decided that a federally controlled town, Boulder City, would be erected for the dam workers.

Realizing that gambling would be profitable for local business, the Nevada state legislature legalized gambling at the local level in 1931. Las Vegas, with a small but already well-established illegal gambling industry, was poised to begin its rise as the gaming capital of the world. The county issued the first gambling license in 1931 to the Northern Club, and soon other casinos were licensed on Fremont Street, such as the Las Vegas Club and the Hotel Apache. Fremont Street became the first paved street in Las Vegas and received the city's first traffic light in 1931. In reply, the federal government restricted movement of the dam workers to Las Vegas. Smuggling and circuitous routes then were developed. In 1934, to curtail these activities and the resulting growth of criminal figures in the gambling industry, the city's leading figures purged gambling dens and started an effort to stem the flow of workers from the dam. This only emboldened some dam workers who still contrived to visit Las Vegas. A celebration of this era has become known as Helldorado Days.

Although the suppression efforts resulted in declines at gambling venues and resulted in a business downturn, the city was recharged—both literally and figuratively—when the dam was completed in 1935. In 1937, Southern Nevada Power became the first utility to supply power from the dam, and Las Vegas was its first customer. Electricity flowed into Las Vegas, and Fremont Street became known as Glitter Gulch due to the many bright lights powered by electricity from the Hoover Dam. Meanwhile, although the dam worker population disappeared, the Hoover Dam and its reservoir Lake Mead turned into tourist attractions on their own and the need for additional higher-class hotels became clear. In 1940, U.S. Route 95 was extended south into Las Vegas, giving the city two major access roads. Also in 1940, KENO, Las Vegas's first permanent radio station, began broadcasting replacing the niche occupied earlier by transient broadcasters. The war years in Las Vegas lasted from 1941 to 1945. On January 25, 1941, the U.S Army formed the flexible gunnery school for the United States Army Air Corps in Las Vegas. 

 

The John Brown raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) was a massive time in the antebellum period of American history. It happened in 1859 which is almost 100 years after the birth of America. America was born in the midst of conflict and controversies. The British Empire wanted to control the colonists in America, but many colonists wanted to set up their own independent country, free from monarchical rule. America at one point almost lost the Revolutionary War, and even Norfolk, Virginia was burned to the ground during the conflict. Yet, aid from France, Spain, and other nations along with American resiliency caused the Patriot to be victorious by the end of the Revolutionary War (after the Treaty of Paris in 1783). Many Americans back then wanted justice for all, and many Americans didn't desire that aim. The Preamble of the Constitution mentioned that "all men are created equal," but slavery, oppression against women, and genocide against Native Americans were realities. John Brown was an eclectic, eccentric man who desired an end to slavery against black Americans. He didn't just talk about ending slavery. He was actively engaged in Kansas to fight pro-slavery forces. It is important to note that the black freedom included people of many colors, but it originated and was headed by black people. The prominent role of black people in the overall global black freedom struggle should be acknowledged regardless of DeSantis and his MAGA allies trying to sugarcoat black history. John Brown's raid was not supported by everyone in the abolitionist movement, because many felt it was a suicidal, impossible mission, but no one can discount John Brown's courage and firm conviction to fight overt tyranny in American society. There were black and white men involved in the raid. Most of these men lost their lives in service to the cause of freeing black people from bondage. Slavery involve torture, rape, splitting families, ruining culture, murder, kidnapping, other forms of abuse, and other evils that have no justification. The survivors of the raid moved into other places of America to live their lives. John Brown's raid was one of the final events before the American Civil War (Many Southern states seceded from the Union by the early 1860's, and the Confederate Constitution explicitly condoned slavery). The American Civil War ended overt legalized slavery and expanded the federal government into new heights to reckon with the reality that one nation means one nation (not multiple states acting as separate nations). John Brown and his allies will forever be remembered as heroic people who desired goodness to prevail over injustice. In the end, good will triumph, and that day will be so glorious in the eyes of Almighty God. 

 

Marilyn Mosby was sentenced to one year of home detention. She faced multiple years in prison, but the judge has shown compassion to her. She has three years of supervised release. Marilyn Mosby was a victim of a political agenda in trying to target Mosby, because she was a progressive black woman who fought for civil rights and human rights. Marilyn Mosby used the money that she used to create a better life for her family. I agree with her that she should be pardoned. The recent Supreme Court decision of Alexander vs. State Conference of the South Carolina NAACP represents Alito and other Justices' biases. The decision sought to keep a congressional map that a lower court had found to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Alito and five other Republican justices made it harder to challenge racial gerrymandering (like moving black voters from one district to another in South Carolina to promote a stronger Republican political power base).

Nikki Haley saying that she is voting for Trump in November is not shocking. It is typical of many Republicans caring more for party than justice. Trump has promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and his embrace of fascist rhetoric shows Trump to lack character as a human being. Trump disrespected Haley's own husband, but Haley wants to vote for Trump. That's cowardice. Haley said that Biden has been a catastrophe which is false. Biden passed some of the most progressive legislation in American history since the LBJ era. President Biden oversaw massive reductions of the unemployment rate, growth of business, the cutting of child poverty, and an increase of the greatest economic recovery from the pandemic than any Western nation on Earth (proving the resiliency of the American economy). Haley believes in the myth that Trump and Biden are equally bad when Trump wants a Muslim ban, desires to harm the press if it disagrees with him and seeks to promote immunity for officers who commit police brutality. Haley is a hypocrite who condemned Trump's statements disrespecting the military, but she wants to vote for him. Haley doesn't embrace Putin, but many GOP and MAGA cultists glorify Putin like Tucker Carlson.

Many people have talked about the Diddy apology video. In that video, Diddy never said Cassie's name or made a direct apology to Cassie at all. He did apologize for what he had done, but he lied previously in denying all allegations against him. What he has done has no justification. Witnesses from bodyguards, Cassie, other victims, and videotape evidence document Diddy's history of emotional and physical abuse. Many people accused Diddy of sexual abuse and human sex trafficking. Diddy is desperate to salvage his reputation. The truth is that the story of Diddy is filled with materialism, violence, and depraved actions. The video shows it all. Diddy not only beat Cassie up, but he threw an object at her. This relates to a vicious mentality. Even during the 1990's, I knew that something wasn't right with Diddy. In our time, we have to promote ethics and morality, not nihilism. You will notice that Diddy lied in his initial statement that all of these allegations against him were false. Diddy was sorry that he was caught point-blank period. His recent video proves that his recent denials are lies. Therefore, the Golden Rule is one great truth that we must all live by.

Amber Rose supporting Donald Trump makes her a hypocrite. Rose hypocritically claims to be for women's empowerment, but Trump is a documented sexist (who demonizes women constantly), found liable for raping a woman, and goes about to support policies antithetical to the rights of women. In retrospect, we shouldn't be surprised. She demonized black women in Philadelphia, said the n word, and went out of her way to defend the racist Donald Trump now. Amber Rose hypocritically lives in a blue state, but she ignores how many people in Mississippi and Kentucky are denied health care, economic rights, and other benefits that are found in many blue states. The irony is that tons of Southerners are some of the most progressive fighters for justice in American history (then and now). Amber Rose said that Biden doesn't care about black people. First, Rose doesn't identify as black, so she in her own words is not black. She has no right to dictate the terms of how we black people decide to vote for our interests. Second, Biden has a track record of funding HBCUs, cutting child poverty in half, investing black-owned businesses (which has grown in record levels in America), seeing the record low unemployment rate in the black community, and crime rates going down in places nationwide. Trump wants the police to beat suspects in custody, he wants to eliminate DEI programs, Trump supports voter suppression policies, and he is overt in his bigotry (by praising schools being named after Confederate traitors). Therefore, Amber Rose embraces the Trump ignorant rhetoric that black people must vote for a con artist like Trump. She is wrong. 

 

The conundrum of the 2024 election is that we must balance the truth with reality. Voting Trump out of office is more than about Biden. It is about saving America from a MAGA fascist cult that is theocratic, sexist, racist, imperialist, and anti-democratic. Donald Trump makes a mockery of the rule of law, demonizes his political opponents, lies about the 2020 election being stolen, and seeks to ally with reactionary enemies of truth. Trump is more in league with Netanyahu's excessive war crimes in Gaza than Biden. So, the lie that Trump and Biden are the same must be exposed now and forever. Some people rather have people with a lack health care, human rights being further violated, allow Ukraine to be a Russian vassal state, and seek more environmental destruction for the sake of allowing Biden to lose the election (and promote some punishment against Biden). Therefore, those folks are people that I don't agree with. The imperfections of President Biden don't mean that Trump is the savior. Trump has said that he wants to re-impose the Muslim travel ban and reject any immigration of any refugees from Gaza. It means that the problems of the world are rooted in the system and a revolutionary change to make the system in favor of justice must be instituted comprehensively.

One of the most stirring new developments of our time is that the International Criminal Court prosecutor has charged Netanyahu and other leaders of Hamas with war crimes. This is a change in history. I saw Netanyahu on Good Morning America denying all charges, but Netanyahu has used excessive conduct in the war in Gaza. We know that Hamas has done murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent human lives. Hamas is a blatantly evil terrorist organization that murdered innocent civilian Israelis. Netanyahu accused the ICC of using a moral equivalency and the Biden administration has condemned the ICC's actions. The ICC prosecutor Karim Khan accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant of presiding over the murder the extermination of Palestinians, using starvation as a method of war, and other acts of violence against the Gazan civilian population (to collectively punish the Gazan population). Khan has applied for arrest warrants against the leaders of Hamas, Netanyahu, and Gallant. Netanyahu's regime has destroyed homes, schools, churches, and hospitals in Gaza alongside universities. Israeli leaders called the Gaza civilian population "animals." Some Israeli leaders said that they want no electricity, no food, and no fuel in Gaza. Israeli forces have killed a peacekeeping van with innocent people in it. If these aren't war crimes, then I don't know what is. The ICC is right that Hamas and Israeli war crimes have no justification.

By Timothy

Howard University Student Zora Sanders Denounced Her Sorority Because of Her Religious Beliefs.

 Howard University Student Zora Sanders Denounced Her Sorority (distractify.com)

Howard University student Zora Sanders denounces Delta Sigma Theta weeks after joining (msn.com)

HERE COMES SHA'CARRI...Richardson prevails in first 100m of Olympic year...

Architecture.

 STEM Part 4: Architecture | PDF | Egyptian Pyramids (scribd.com)

Late May 2024 News.

 

Marilyn Mosby was sentenced to one year of home detention. She has three years of supervised release. Marilyn Mosby was a victim of a political agenda in trying to target Mosby, because she was a progressive black woman who fought for civil rights and human rights. Marilyn Mosby used the money that she used to create a better life for her family. I agree with her that she should be pardoned. The recent Supreme Court decision of Alexander vs. State Conference of the South Carolina NAACP represents Alito and other Justices' biases. The decision sought to keep a congressional map that a lower court had found to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Alito and five other Republican justices made it harder to challenge racial gerrymandering (like moving black voters from one district to another in South Carolina to promote a stronger Republican political power base).

Rena Lynette Everett is my 4th cousin as we share the ancestor of my 5th great grandmother Zilphy Claud. Rena Everett was born on October 13, 1951, in Southampton County, Virginia. She was married to Alex Maurice Garris (b. 1946) from March 13, 1971, at Franklin, Virginia to May 7, 1976, in Southampton County, Virginia. She married Melvin Earl Jones from August 14, 1993, at Southampton County, Virginia to April 20, 2009, at Richmond, Virginia. Renee’s parents are Floyd Arthur Everette (b. 1929) and Mary Lee Williams (1929-2008). Renee Everett’s siblings are Floyd Arthur Everett Jr. (b. 1949), Rosemary Everett (b. 1952), Curtis Leon Everett (b. 1956), Vonda Kay Everett (b. 1966), Kenneth Lee Everett, and Anthony Jerome Everett. The parents of Mary Lee Williams (1929-2008) were Robert Spurlock Jr. (1911-1979) and Carrie Williams. Robert Spurlock Jr.’s parents were Robert Spurlock (b. 1888) and Mary Lee Williams (1890-1938). Mary Lee Williams’s parents were John Henry Williams (1857-1921) and Adaline Hill (1862-1930). Adaline Hill’s parents were Sarah Claud (1842-1892) and Tom Hill (1838-1915). Sarah Claud’s mother was Zilphy Claud (1820-1893).  

The late James R. “Jack” Turner Jr. (1937-2010) was my 3rd cousin who was in the United States military.  He married Verdelle Patterson Moody (1939-2005) on April 6, 1963, at Portsmouth, Virginia. The couple have three children whose names are: Roy Chester Turner (b. 1956), Darius Wendell Turner (b. 1967), and James R. Turner III. James Turner Jr. and Verdelle Moody have three grandchildren and three great grandchildren. James Turner Jr.’s parents are James Riddick Turner and Gracie Williams (1913-1999). Gracie Williams’s parents were James Edward Williams (1877-1950) and Miranda Williams (1880-1964). James Edward Williams’s parents were John Henry Williams (1857-1921) and Adaline Hill (1862-1930). Adaline Hill’s parents were Sarah Claud (1842-1892) and Tom Hill (1838-1915). Sarah Claud’s mother was Zilphy Claud (1820-1893). James Turner Jr. loved to cook out on his grill and entertain his friends, as well as attending Jazz Concerts. He attended I. C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, VA and was a United States Air Force Veteran, after twenty years of service. He retired from Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

Some people want Justice Samuel Alito to be rescued from court cases dealing with Trump related cases, because there were stop the steal and other flags on his homes These 2 flags were waved by the January 6th insurrectionists. Some want the Justice to be impeached. Rep Hakeem Jeffries wants Samuel Alito to be rescued from any cases related to January 6th issues. The two flags are the upside-down flag and the flag with the tree on it. The Supreme Court has been so unpopular among the American people that some polls show them as more unpopular than Congress which is amazing. Questions about conflicts of interest exist among Alito and Thomas. The MAGA extremists not only want money to promote their nefarious aims. They want control to impose their warped sense of how they feel the world should exist upon all people in America. This is about fascism and authoritarianism vs. democracy.

Nikki Haley saying that she is voting for Trump in November is not shocking. It is typical of many Republicans caring more for party than justice. Trump has promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and his embrace of fascist rhetoric shows Trump to lack character as a human being. Haley said that Biden has been a catastrophe which is false. Biden passed some of the most progressive legislation in American history since the LBJ era. Haley believes in the myth that Trump and Biden are equally bad when Trump wants a Muslim ban, desires to harm the press if it disagrees with him and seeks to promote immunity for officers who commit police brutality. Haley is a hypocrite who condemned Trump's statements disrespecting the military, but she wants to vote for him. Haley doesn't embrace Putin, but many GOP and MAGA cultists glorify Putin like Tucker Carlson.

By Timothy

The Exercise Neuroscientist: NEW RESEARCH, The Shocking Link Between Exe...

Fastest 100m woman alive, Elaine Thompson-Herah joins the lineup for Eugene Diamond League 2024.

 Fastest 100m woman alive, Elaine Thompson-Herah joins the lineup for Eugene Diamond League 2024 (msn.com)

Rep. Jasmine Crockett Gets Personal About DEI, "Hitting Me Differently" (msn.com).

 Rep. Jasmine Crockett Gets Personal About DEI, "Hitting Me Differently" (msn.com)

5 Financial Literacy Books Penned By Black Women You Should Know.

 5 Financial Literacy Books Penned By Black Women You Should Know (msn.com)

Aileen Cannon Slammed After New Evidence Unsealed.

 Aileen Cannon Slammed After New Evidence Unsealed | Watch (msn.com)

WATCH: The Black Music Honors Were A Celebration Of Legacy.

 WATCH: The Black Music Honors Were A Celebration Of Legacy | Watch (msn.com)

What is Going on in the World.

 

The conundrum of the 2024 election is that we must balance the truth with reality. Voting Trump out of office is more than about Biden. It is about saving America from a MAGA fascist cult that is theocratic, sexist, racist, imperialist, and anti-democratic. Donald Trump makes a mockery of the rule of law, demonizes his political opponents, lies about the 2020 election being stolen, and seeks to ally with reactionary enemies of truth. Trump is more in league with Netanyahu's excessive war crimes in Gaza than Biden. So, the lie that Trump and Biden are the same must be exposed now and forever. Some people rather have people with a lack health care, human rights being further violated, allow Ukraine to be a Russian vassal state, and seek more environmental destruction for the sake of allowing Biden to lose the election (and promote some punishment against Biden). Therefore, those folks are people that I don't agree with. The imperfections of President Biden don't mean that Trump is the savior. Trump has said that he wants to re-impose the Muslim travel ban and reject any immigration of any refugees from Gaza. It means that the problems of the world are rooted in the system and a revolutionary change to make the system in favor of justice must be instituted comprehensively.

Many people have talked about the Diddy apology video. In that video, Diddy never said Cassie's name or made a direct apology to Cassie. He did apologize for what he had done, but he lied previously in denying all allegations against him. What he has done has no justification. Witnesses from bodyguards, Cassie, other victims, and videotape evidence document Diddy's history of emotional and physical abuse. Many people accused Diddy of sexual abuse and human sex trafficking. Diddy is desperate to salvage his reputation. The truth is that the story of Diddy is filled with materialism, violence, and depraved actions. The video shows it all. Diddy not only beat Cassie up, but he threw an object at her. This relates to a vicious mentality. Even during the 1990's, I knew that something wasn't right with Diddy. In our time, we have to promote ethics and morality, not nihilism. You will notice that Diddy lied in his initial statement that all of these allegations against him were false. Diddy was sorry that he was caught point-blank period. His recent video proves that his recent denials are lies. Therefore, the Golden Rule is one great truth that we must all live by.

Amber Rose supporting Donald Trump makes her a hypocrite. Rose hypocritically claims to be for women's empowerment, but Trump is a documented sexist (who demonizes women constantly), found liable for raping a woman, and goes about to support policies antithetical to the rights of women. In retrospect, we shouldn't be surprised. She demonized black women in Philadelphia, said the n word, and went out of her way to defend the racist Donald Trump now. Amber Rose hypocritically lives in a blue state, but she ignores how many people in Mississippi and Kentucky are denied health care, economic rights, and other benefits that are found in many blue states. The irony is that tons of Southerners are some of the most progressive fighters for justice in American history (then and now). Amber Rose said that Biden doesn't care about black people. First, Rose doesn't identify as black, so she in her own words is not black. She has no right to dictate the terms of how we black people decide to vote for our interests. Second, Biden has a track record of funding HBCUs, cutting child poverty in half, investing black-owned businesses (which has grown in record levels in America), seeing the record low unemployment rate in the black community, and crime rates going down in places nationwide. Trump wants the police to beat suspects in custody, he wants to eliminate DEI programs, Trump supports voter suppression policies, and he is overt in his bigotry (by praising schools being named after Confederate traitors). Therefore, Amber Rose embraces the Trump ignorant rhetoric that black people must vote for a con artist like Trump. She is wrong. 

Now, the Trump hush money trial continues. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has questioned witness Roberto Costello, a lawyer who advised Michael Choen during cross-examination. The judge briefly cleared the courtroom earlier after a heated exchange with Costello over his behavior on the stand. Now, Costello will resume his testimony on Tuesday morning. Prosecutors have rested their case on Monday. They have shown weeks of testimony that could result in a historic conviction against a former President. The prosecution called 20 witnesses, including Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and Hope Hicks. The prosecution accuses Donald Trump of falsifying business documents to cover up a payment to Daniels before the 2016 election. The defense wanted to criticize the credibility of Cohen or the prosecution's key witness. The defense grilled Cohen on stealing from Trump Org. and his financial interest in the trial. Costello said that he didn't know Michael Cohen before he met him. The defense rested its case. Now, the prosecution and the defense will give their closing arguments, and the jury will decide to convict or not convict Donald Trump. 

One of the most stirring new developments of our time is that the International Criminal Court prosecutor has charged Netanyahu and other leaders of Hamas with war crimes. This is a change in history. I saw Netanyahu on Good Morning America denying all charges, but Netanyahu has used excessive conduct in the war in Gaza. We know that Hamas has done murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent human lives. Hamas is a blatantly evil terrorist organization that murdered innocent civilian Israelis. Netanyahu accused the ICC of using a moral equivalency and the Biden administration has condemned the ICC's actions. The ICC prosecutor Karim Khan accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant of presiding over the murder the extermination of Palestinians, using starvation as a method of war, and other acts of violence against the Gazan civilian population (to collectively punish the Gazan population). Khan has applied for arrest warrants against the leaders of Hamas, Netanyahu, and Gallant. Netanyahu's regime has destroyed homes, schools, churches, and hospitals in Gaza alongside universities. Israeli leaders called the Gaza civilian population "animals." Some Israeli leaders said that they want no electricity, no food, and no fuel in Gaza. Israeli forces have killed a peacekeeping van with innocent people in it. If these aren't war crimes, then I don't know what is. The ICC is right that Hamas and Israeli war crimes have no justification.

By Timothy

Late May 2024 Updates.

Five of the organizers of the John Brown raid escaped. At least 22 men were involved in the raid too. Some of the escaped people were Francis Jackson Merriam, Barclay Coppock, and Owen Brown who escaped across Pennsylvania They took refuge in Astabula County, Ohio, where John Brown Jr lived. They were described as voters in the location. By November 1859, Governor Wise offered a reward of $500 (or $16,956 in 2023) each for the apprehension of the four white escapes. Charles Plummer Tidd was a lumberman from Maine. He met John Brown in Kansas who died during the American Civil War in 1862. He died of a fever while being in the Union Army. Owen Brown lived in Ohio for a time He raised grapes on an island in Lake Erie or the Chicago market. He died on January 8,1889 in Pasadena, California. His funeral was an event with a marching band. His burial site is atop a peak named Brown's Peak being a local tourist attraction today. Albert Hazlett, 23, fought in Kansas, escaped following the raid but was captured and hanged on March 16, 1860. He was buried John Brown Burial grounds.  Osborne Perry Anderson escaped capture following the raid. He died in 1873. Osborne Perry Anderson is both the only Black escapee and the only escapee that had been in the engine house. He is also the only raider to publish a memoir about the raid. He served as a recruiter for the Union Army and died in poverty in 1872. He is buried unknown grave at the National Harmony Cemetery Park Cemetery, Hyattsville Maryland. Barclay Coppoc, 19, escaped capture following the raid. He fought in the Civil War. He died September 4, 1861, in a train crash caused by bushwackers; buried Mount Aurora Cemetery, Leavenworth. Kansas. Francis Jackson Meriam, 22, grandson of Francis Jackson was a leader of Antislavery Societies. Meriam was an aristocrat. He escaped during the raid. Captain Meriam led an African American infantry group during the Civil War. He died on November 28, 1865; New York County.

 

We live in a new era of time On Sunday, May 19, 2024, President Joe Biden gave the commencement address to the graduates of Morehouse College. He spoke his words during the Middle East crisis. Many students protested him by turning their backs on him, raising their first in the air, showing a Palestinian flag, and showing a Congolese flag (as the war in Congo continues). President Biden cited his accomplishments as President to the black community (like cutting the poverty rate, decreasing unemployment to record lows, and growing black businesses to record levels), and desiring an immediate ceasefire to the conflict in Israel and Gaza. The problem is that Netanyahu is so far right that he wants no compromise, and he desires to invade Rafah, which is a densely populated location. There have been massive war crimes done by Hamas (what Hamas did was not resistance, but rape, murder, and kidnapping against innocent men, women, and children. Anyone who supports Hamas's actions is a hypocrite and a liar), and the Israeli government (Netanyahu's regime is complicit in bombing civilian locations, killing journalists, and ruining civilian infrastructure). These are facts. 

President Biden said that he wants billions of dollars to be invested in HBCUs. HBCUs or Historically Black Colleges and Universities have a large historical and cultural role in the black community. Many of my relatives have graduated from HBCUs, and I took classes inside a HBCU in real life before too. President Biden's commencement address was mostly a political speech. I have no problem with that because free speech is free speech. Yet, Biden faces tons of challenges from polling, the youth protests in colleges, and debates about strategies in trying to win the 2024 election. We all want Trump to lose the 2024 election, but pushing President Biden to be more progressive on certain issues is very much fair. There are MAGA extremists who are wrong, and those who refuse to vote in 2024. People who refuse to vote ignore how voting influences our schools, our environment, our voting rights, our education, and other rights that some take for granted. Our ancestors bled and died for voting rights, and I will vote. Voter suppression laws in Florida, Texas, Georgia, etc. represent the necessity to vote reactionary extremists out of office.

 

The Middle Ages of world human history lasted from 500 to 1500 AD. This era of time saw the expansion of Kingdoms in the world, the growth of agriculture, and the expansion of international trade (including from the Great Silk Road). Many scholars have called this time that Post Classical Era. Trade networks among regions began to increase. We saw the spread of international religions like Christianity spreading in Europe (some people forget that early Christians were heavily persecuted in Europe and throughout the world in vicious ways), Islam spreading into Asia, Europe, and Africa, and Buddhism spreading in Asia too. We saw the split of the Catholic Church in Western Europe and the Eastern Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe which facilitated more religious and cultural diversity in the world. The Islamic Empire grew from Saudi Arabia to North Africa, southern Spain, and to parts of the Middle East. The Mound Cultures, the Inca, Aztecs, and Mayan civilizations were the Americas. The sub-Saharan cultures of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai had infrastructure, religious institutions, governments, and universities. Gunpowder was formed in China and the Mongol Empire was from Europe to the Middle East The world's population doubled during this time from ca. 210 million people in 500 A.D. to 461 million in 1500 A.D. There was the Plague of Justinian, the Mongol invasions, the Black Death, and the Crusades. Empires spread in Africa and other parts of the world too. While tunics were very common in the Middle Ages, there were a variations of tunics back then too. 

As time went on during the Middle Ages, we saw more colors being found in garments, belts, dresses, and other accessories being more complex. By this time of world history, migration of culture including fashion was commonplace. Many rulers had scepters and crowns. Linens and amulets were very prominent and displayed by Vikings, African peoples, and the Kingdoms of China too. Like in ancient times, nobles, kings, queens, working class people, and poor people had different styles of clothing. For example, an Anglo-Saxon King wearing a silk tunic, and the King of the Mali Empire wears clothing with advanced clothes and gold items. Gold, diamond, and enamel jewelry were in existence back then too. Knights of the four corners of the Earth back had swords and armor made up of various metals. Many women wore skirts and other forms of dress. Hats and turbans were used by many in Muslim communities during the Middle Ages. Many women and women during that time wore cloaks to play instruments like string instruments. There were the Cote Hardie dresses worn by women during the Middle Ages. Shoes back then were made up of leather. By the end of the Middle Ages, there were complex gowns worn by women. 

 

By 1980, Diana Ross released her most successful solo album to date called Diana. Chic's guitarists Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards were involved in hits like I'm Coming Out and Upside Down. The latter song was her fifth chart topping single in America. Ross scored a Top 10 hit in late 1980 with the theme song to the film It's My Turn. Continuing her connections with Hollywood, Ross recorded the duet ballad "Endless Love", with Lionel Richie. The song would become her sixth and final single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Ross began negotiations to leave Motown at the end of 1980. After over 20 years with the label, Ross received US$250,000 as severance. RCA Records offered Ross a $20 million, seven-year recording contract, which gave her complete production control of her albums. Before signing onto the label, Ross allegedly asked Berry Gordy if he could match RCA's offer. Gordy stated that doing so was "impossible". Ross then signed with RCA on May 20, 1981. At the time, Ross's was music history's most expensive recording deal. In October 1981, Ross released her first RCA album, Why Do Fools Fall in Love. The album sold over a million copies and featured hit singles such as her remake of the classic hit of the same name and "Mirror Mirror". Shortly thereafter, Ross established her production company, named Anaid Productions ("Diana" spelled backwards), and also began investing in real estate and touring extensively in the United States and abroad.

Before the release of Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Ross hosted her first TV special in four years, Diana. Directed by Steve Binder, the concert portions of the special were filmed at Inglewood, California's 17,500-seat The Forum indoor stadium and featured performances by Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Dallas actor Larry Hagman, music impresario Quincy Jones, and members of the Joffrey Ballet. In early 1982, Ross sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XVI and appeared on the musical variety show Soul Train. The episode, devoted completely to her, featured Ross performing several songs from Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

On May 6, 1982, Ross was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She followed up the success of Why Do Fools Fall in Love with Silk Electric, which featured the Michael Jackson-written and -produced "Muscles", resulting in another Top 10 Grammy nominated success for Ross. The album eventually went gold on the strength of that song. In 1983, Ross ventured further out of her earlier soul-based sound for a more pop rock-oriented sound following the release of the Ross album. Though the album featured the Top 40 hit single, "Pieces of Ice", the Ross album did not generate any more hits or achieve gold status. On July 21, 1983, Ross performed a free concert on Central Park's Great Lawn, aired live worldwide by Showtime. Proceeds from the concert would be donated to build a playground in the singer's name. Midway through the beginning of the show, a torrential downpour began. Ross tried to continue performing, but the severe weather forced the show to be stopped after 45 minutes. Ross urged the large crowd to exit the venue safely, promising to perform the next day.

The next day's concert suffered no rain, but the memorabilia that was supposed to be sold to raise money for the playground had already been destroyed by the storm. When journalists discovered the exorbitant costs of the two concerts, Ross faced criticism from Mayor Ed Koch and the Parks Department commissioner. During a subsequent mayoral press conference, Ross handed Koch a check for US$250,000 for the project The Diana Ross Playground was built three years later. In 1984, Ross released Swept Away. The album featured "All of You", a duet with friend Julio Iglesias. The single was featured on both Ross's album and Iglesias's 1100 Bel Air Place, his first English-language album. It became an international hit, as did the Lionel Richie-penned ballad "Missing You", composed as a tribute to Marvin Gaye, who had been killed earlier that year. Swept Away garnered gold record sales status. Eaten Alive was her 1985 album being produced by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees. It has the song Chain Reaction. She worked with Michael Jackson and Gibb on the album too. In 1985, she was in the USA for Africa's We Are the World charity song that sold 20 million copies worldwide. Money from the song went to fight famine in Africa. On January 27, 1986, Ross hosted the 13th annual American Music Awards. Ross returned the next year to host the 14th annual telecast. She came back to Motown and won the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Supremes (along with Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard). She has the song of If We Hold Together song from the film The Land Before Time in 1988. Her 1989 album was Workin' Overtime. 

 

The Legue of Nations lasted from January 10, 1920, to April 18, 1946. It was a group that wanted world peace made up of many countries after World War I. The League of Nations failed, and it was a foundation for the modern-day United Nations. The League's primary goals were stated in its eponymous Covenant. They included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. Its other concerns included labor conditions, just treatment of native inhabitants, human and drug trafficking, the arms trade, global health, prisoners of war, and protection of minorities in Europe. The Covenant of the League of Nations was signed on June 28, 1919, as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles, and it became effective with the rest of the Treaty on 10 January 1920. Australia was granted the right to participate as an autonomous member nation, marking the start of Australian independence on the global stage. The concept of a peaceful community of nations had been proposed as early as 1795, when Immanuel Kant's Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch outlined the idea of a league of nations to control conflict and promote peace between states. Kant argued for the establishment of a peaceful world community, not in the sense of a global government, but in the hope that each state would declare itself a free state that respects its citizens and welcomes foreign visitors as fellow rational beings, thus promoting peaceful society worldwide The first meeting of the Council of the League took place on January 16, 1920, and the first meeting of the Assembly of the League took place on 15 November 1920. In 1919, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as the leading architect of the League. It had as many as 58 members. The League didn't have an armed force. It depended on the victorious Allies of World War I (Britain, France, Italy, and Japan were the initial permanent members of the Executive Council) to enforce its resolutions, keep to its economic sanctions, or provide an army when needed. The Great Powers were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could hurt League members, so they were reluctant to comply with them. During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, when the League accused Italian soldiers of targeting International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement medical tents, Benito Mussolini responded that "the League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out." The League of Nations moved its headquarters from London to Geneva by November 1, 1920. French and English were the official languages of the League of Nations. In 1939, a semi-official emblem for the League of Nations emerged: two five-pointed stars within a blue pentagon. They symbolized the Earth's five continents and "five races" (we know that race is a social construct). A bow at the top displayed the English name ("League of Nations"), while another at the bottom showed the French ("Société des Nations").

The League of Nations failed because of many reasons. It could not handle the imperialism of the Axis Powers during the 1930's, America never joined the League of Nations, and it lacked the enforcement power to promote its policies and reforms that it desired. Japan and Germany left in 1933, Italy left in 1937, and Spain left in 1939. The Soviet Union only joined in 1934 and was expelled in 1939 after invading Finland. Furthermore, the League demonstrated an irresolute approach to sanction enforcement for fear it might only spark further conflict, further decreasing its credibility. One example of this hesitancy was the Abyssinia Crisis, in which Italy's sanctions were only limited from the outset (coal and oil were not restricted), and later altogether abandoned despite Italy being declared the aggressor in the conflict. The onset of the Second World War in 1939 showed that the League had failed its primary purpose; it was largely inactive until its abolition. The League lasted for 26 years; the United Nations (UN) replaced it in 1946 and inherited several agencies and organizations founded by the League. Current scholarly consensus views that, even though the League failed to achieve its main goal of world peace, it did manage to build new roads towards expanding the rule of law across the globe; strengthened the concept of collective security, gave a voice to smaller nations; fostered economic stabilization and financial stability, especially in Central Europe in the 1920s; helped to raise awareness of problems like epidemics, slavery, child labor, colonial tyranny, refugee crises and general working conditions through its numerous commissions and committees; and paved the way for new forms of statehood, as the mandate system put the colonial powers under international observation. Professor David Kennedy portrays the League as a unique moment when international affairs were "institutionalized", as opposed to the pre-First World War methods of law and politics. 

 

In terms of video games, they have changed the world in incredible ways. It shows the incredible human imagination and intellect involving the creation of imagery, graphics, and storylines that have inspired people for generations. Computing systems have existed for millennia, but modern-day video games have existed for a few decades. Back in the day, video games were highly expensive, and reserved mostly for upper middle-class and rich people during the 1970's. By the 1980's, video games had become more affordable for all people. The paradox of video games is that the more profits that companies have from selling video games, the more complex that exists as time goes on. We went from Pong to Minecraft. We went from arcades in various locations to virtual reality headsets that allow human beings to enact video gaming systems. In the 21st century, diverse people of every color embrace video game culture, anime, music culture, and various conventions that celebrate the art of video games. Balance is one key fact of the Universe. People have the right to use video games, but we shouldn't let video games define every personality characteristic of our lives. Our human lives relate to love, family, jobs, diverse hobbies, and other functions of human living. 

 

An overview of the 1930's is key to understanding the Presidencies of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The 1930's was a decade of chaos, wars, resistance against tyranny, prominent people, and other events. There was the political and global economic crisis of the Great Depression that came after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the largest stock market crash in American history. The Great Depression caused widespread poverty and unemployment globally, not just in America. Germany experienced a massive recession after struggling to pay off the reparation for the First World War. The Dust Bowl further exacerbated the financial crisis. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who took office in 1933, introduced a program of broad-scale social reforms and stimulus plans called the New Deal in response to the crisis. The Soviet Union's second five-year plan gave heavy industry top priority, putting the Soviet Union not far behind Germany as one of the major steel-producing countries of the world, while also improving communications. First-wave feminism made advances, with women gaining the right to vote in South Africa (1930, whites only which is disgraceful), Brazil (1933), and Cuba (1933). Following the rise of Adolf Hitler and the emergence of the NSDAP as the country's sole legal party in 1933, Germany imposed a series of laws that discriminated against Jewish people and other ethnic minorities. When Nazi Germany rose up, they remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936, stole Austria in 1938, and stole Sudentland (by 1938).  Italy likewise continued its already aggressive foreign policy, defeating the Libyan resistance (1932) before invading Ethiopia (1935) and then Albania (1939). Both Germany and Italy became involved in the Spanish Civil War, supporting the eventually victorious Nationalists led by Francisco Franco against the Republicans, who were in turn supported by the Soviet Union. The Chinese Civil War was halted due to the need to confront Japanese imperial ambitions, with the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party forming a Second United Front to fight Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Lesser conflicts included interstate wars such as the Colombia–Peru War (1932–1933), the Chaco War (1932–1935) and the Saudi–Yemeni War (1934), as well as internal conflicts in Brazil (1932), Ecuador (1932), El Salvador (1932), Austria (1934) and British Palestine (1936–1939). Severe famine took place in the major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union between 1930 and 1933, leading to 5.7 to 8.7 million deaths. Major contributing factors to the famine include: the forced collectivization in the Soviet Union of agriculture as a part of the First Five-Year Plan, forced grain procurement, combined with rapid industrialization, a decreasing agricultural workforce, and several severe droughts. A famine of similar scope also took place in China from 1936 to 1937, killing 5 million people. The 1931 China floods caused 422,499–4,000,000 deaths. Major earthquakes of this decade include the 1935 Quetta earthquake (30,000–60,000 deaths) and the 1939 Erzincan earthquake (32,700–32,968 deaths). During the 1930's, we saw new sound films and novels like The Three Stooges, and Marx Brothers Judy Garland starred as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Dozens of black film companies existed by the 1930's, including Oscar Micheaux's institutions. Hattie McDaniel, Bill Robinson, Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney, Mildred Washington, Edna Mae Harris, Dorothy Van Engle, Ruby Elzy, Fredi Washington, Elisabeth Welch, Dorothy Dandridge, The Nicholas Brothers, and other black actors and black actresses shown forth their talent to the world. 

By Timothy

Suffolk transfers land back to Nansemond Tribe | Watch (msn.com)

 Suffolk transfers land back to Nansemond Tribe | Watch (msn.com)

'Eight Seconds': The forgotten history of African Americans in western culture

 'Eight Seconds': The forgotten history of African Americans in western culture (msn.com)

'Black People Will Swim' Initiative Makes Waves In New York City (blackenterprise.com)

 'Black People Will Swim' Initiative Makes Waves In New York City (blackenterprise.com)

Olympic water polo star Ashleigh Johnson makes a splash as a role model for Black children.

 Olympic water polo star Ashleigh Johnson makes a splash as a role model for Black children (msn.com)

Barbara O. Jones Dies: Actress In The Independent Black Cinema Was 82 (msn.com)

 Barbara O. Jones Dies: Actress In The Independent Black Cinema Was 82 (msn.com)

Velvet Yvonia Claud.

 Velvet Yvonia Claud Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information (jtmorriss.com)

THOMAS J. CLAUD (vt.edu)

Information.

 Houthis Violating Women’s and Girls' Rights in Yemen | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

Mildred Carter - Alabama's First Licensed Black Female Pilot (pinterest.com)

Remembering Six Triple Eight 6888th Battalion of Black women that served WWII sorting mail | Daily Mail Online

Country Artist Tiera Kennedy Talks Forging Her Own Path After Boost From Beyoncé (msn.com)

 Country Artist Tiera Kennedy Talks Forging Her Own Path After Boost From Beyoncé (msn.com)

WWII Information.

 These Black Female Heroes Made Sure U.S. WWII Forces Got Their Mail | HISTORY

JACQUELINE CLAUD Obituary (2015) - 1. New Hanover, NC - Wilmington Star-News (legacy.com)

The New Deal Timeline.

 New Deal Timeline | Living New Deal

More News

 TruthSeeker24's anti-N.W.O. corner: Culture. (truthseeker2473.blogspot.com)

TruthSeeker24's anti-N.W.O. corner: Early May 2024 News of the World. (truthseeker2473.blogspot.com)

TruthSeeker24's anti-N.W.O. corner: Early May 2024 News of the World. (truthseeker2473.blogspot.com)

Beyoncé and the ‘Renaissance' of Black Country Music Highlighted in ‘Call Me Country' Doc (msn.com)

Tamron Hall.

 MSN

White House: Behavior at University of Mississippi is 'Undignified and Racist' (msn.com).

 White House: Behavior at University of Mississippi is 'Undignified and Racist' (msn.com)

Dinnie Freeman Obituary (1944 - 2017) - Portsmouth, VA - The Virginian-Pilot (legacy.com)

 Dinnie Freeman Obituary (1944 - 2017) - Portsmouth, VA - The Virginian-Pilot (legacy.com)

News

 Hallmark Mahogany’s VP Alexis Kerr Discusses The Superpower Of Making Black Women Feel Entirely Seen (msn.com)

The Presidents Part 5: The 2nd Era.

 The Presidents Part 5: The 2nd Era | PDF | Harry S. Truman | Dwight D. Eisenhower (scribd.com)

The End of the Week News.

 

The Trump defense team has grilled Michael Cohen over the hush money issue in the trial. The Trump attorneys questioned Michael Cohen about the key October 2016 call that Cohen testified was about Stormy Daniels hush money payment. They said that Cohen lied under oath. Trump paid close attention to Cohen's testimony today as he listened in court. Michael Cohen walked the jury through the $130,000 he paid at Trump's direction and its aftermath Cohen's testimony is part of the prosecution case that Trump broke the law by falsifying business records to reimburse Cohen and conceal the payment. Trump attorney Todd Blanche believed that Cohen had inconsistencies with the aim of letting the jurors think that Cohen shouldn't be believed. The court is off on Friday, so Trump can attend his son's high school graduation. Michael Cohen had at times an emotional cross examination. Soon, the prosecution will rests it's case, and the defense will present it's evidence in court. Like always, we shall see what the verdict is.

Many counter-protesters crossed the line at UCLA. They assaulted the UCLA's pro-Palestinian protests with objects and fists. Many of these incidents have been caught on tape. There was a young man in a white plastic mask beating a pro-Palestinian protester Another in a brown hoodie hit a protester with a pole. A local instigator pushes down barricades. Law enforcement in the area stood by for hours as counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA on April 30, 2024. A criminal investigation into the assaults is taking place. Marian-Librett threw the bottom of a broom at a pro-Palestinian protester Journalist Dolores Quintara was pepper sprayed by the man in the brown hoodie and other counter-protesters. These actions have no justification because violence against innocent human beings is evil and abhorrent. People can agree to disagree on issues pertaining to the Middle East without being violent. The truth is complex. Israeli hostages must be freed, and the Netanyahu regime is wrong to use war crimes and excessive force against Palestinians. UCLA student journalists were attacked in the situation too.

The MAGA podcaster DJ Akademiks is being sued for rape and defamation. The writer Fuziya Abashe said that DJ Akademiks drugged and raped her including 2 other men. She said that the sick action was caught on surveillance footage. DJ Akademiks has denied all allegations. This person Akademiks is an evil person for many reasons. He has a tendency to disrespect people with whom he disagrees with, he was caught on tape verbally abusing a woman, he attacked the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, he is a supporter of Donald Trump (like many Hotep do), he body shamed the artist SZA, he called older hip hop pioneers "dusty," and these facts make him a disgrace to his Afro-Caribbean heritage. He had threatened that if he goes down, other people are going down with him. So, DJ Akademiks is a person who promotes gossip, shock value nonsense, and distractions. The real issue is that his actions are not what real men or what real humans in general should express in their daily lives fully.

Dr. Kimberly Carmen Munro Whitley of North Carolina is my 4th cousin, as we share the same ancestor as Zilphy Claud. She was born on September 27, 1970. Before she moved to North Carolina, she lived in Spring Valley, New York. Her brother is Theodore Charles Munro Jr. (b. 1969). Her parents are Theodore Charles Munro (1945-2018) and Linda Darnell Hundley (b. 1949). My 3rd cousin Linda Darnell Hundley’s parents are Ernest Allison Hundley (1915-1973) and Gladys Elizabeth Williams (1918-2000). My 2nd cousin Gladys Elizabeth Williams lived in Southampton County, Virginia and her parents were Peter Percy Williams (1880-1949) and Hattie E. Joyner (1881-1959). My 1st cousin Peter Percey William’s parents were Nottoway descendant John Henry Williams (1857-1921) and Adaline Hill (1862-1930). Adaline Hill’s parents were Sarah Claud (1842-1892) and Tom Hill (1838-1915). Sarah Claud’s mother was my 5th great grandmother Zilphy Claud (1820-1893).

There is more important about my family tree that I recently discovered on Thursday, May 16, 2024. My late 3rd cousin was Irvin Wesley Harris (1942-2021), as we are both descendants of Zilphy Claud. His parents are Frank Ralph Harris (b. 1912) and Gracie Williams (1913-1999). Irvin Welsey Harris married Gloria Elizabeth Potts (b 1946) on October 28, 1961, at Portsmouth, Virginia. Their 2 children together are Angelique Harris-Anderson (b. 1962. She married Gregory Malone Anderson on October 24, 2006, in Norfolk, Virginia) and Irvin Wesley Harris Jr. (b. 1963. He was once married to Penny Brown). Later, Irvin Welsey Harris married Audrey Boomer Harris. His siblings are James R. Turner, Barbara Turner Vann, and Calvin Wendell Harris. James Riddick Turner and Barbara Turner Vann's parents are Gracie Williams and James Riddick Turner Sr. My 3rd cousin Barbara Turner Vann married Arthur Thomas Vann (b 1929) on June 5, 1950, at Portsmouth, Virginia. Their children are Avis Lucretia Vann (1950-2021), Arthur Thomas Vann Jr (b. 1951), and Ricky Mordecai Vann (b. 1952). Avis Lucretia Vann married Dinnie Lee Freeman (1944-2017) on June 24, 1978, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Avis Lucretia Vann worked at Bank of America. Her daughters are Chanel Vann Tillman (b 1970) and Ebony Vann (who is with Ronald Ebony was born in 1973). Her grandchildren are Dante' Vann, Deondrea Tillman, Brion Vann, and Bryson Vann. My 3rd cousin James Riddick Turner Jr. married Verdelle Patterson Moody (1939-2005) on April 6, 1963, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Their children are Roy Chester Turner (b. 1956), Darius Wendell Turner (b. 1967), and James R Turner III. Roy Chester Turner married Janet Lee Veeder (b 1960) in Chesapeake, Virginia on March 3, 1978. Their child is Kendra Leigh Turner (b. 1984), and she has a child with Stephen Copeland named Teayana Turner (b. 1971). 

By Timothy

Court Case News, etc.

 

Ann Coulter made a recent racist remark against Vivek Ramaswamy. I don't agree with Vivek on tons of issues, but racism has no place in the Universe. You can agree or disagree with a person without using racist rhetoric. Ann Coulter told Vivek that she wouldn't vote for him because he is an Indian American. This is wrong, because we judge our candidates on character and policies, not ethnicity, color, or background. Vivek said that he disagrees with Coulter's comments and that he is an American just like every other American. I'm not shocked at Ann Coulter's comments. I heard of Ann Coulter for over 20 years spewing the same racism, xenophobia, imperialistic rhetoric, and other extremism that has been condemned by people from across the political spectrum. Ann Coulter has defended the usage of the Confederate flag, supports literacy tests for voting, etc. Coulter defended the unjust Iraq War for years when George W. Bush was President too 

Michael Cohen recently testified on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Michael Cohen experienced his cross-examination from the defense team. The Trump defense team will continue to cross-examine Michael Cohen in the future on Thursday. The defense wants to discredit the prosecution's key witness in their former President's criminal hush money trial in New York City. At the end of the day, it comes down to witnesses, documents, and other evidence in allowing the jury to make a decision on this case. Michael Cohen was pressed by the defense about his shifting views on Donald Trump. Cohen had detailed the hush money scheme involving the adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Cohen told the jury that he paid $130,000 at Trump's direction and his fallout with the former President. The prosecution accuses Trump of breaking the law by falsifying business records to reimburse Cohen and conceal the payment. A New York appeals court has rejected Trump's attempt to overturn the gag order against him in the hush money case.

Anyone who supports Trump is deluded. The Trump administration weakened or wiped out more than 125 environmental rules over four years. We have a record increase of young people having colon cancer, we have climate change, and we have massive pollution around the globe. This is no time to cut back legitimate environmental regulations which have saved lives for years and decades. Trump promised to do whatever Big Oil desires. Many unionized Apple store workers in Maryland voted to authorize a strike. Apple has been accused of not bargaining in good faith over pay. Apple has about 150 billion dollars in stock buybacks, so can afford to pay their workers. Recently, the Biden administration tried to limit credit card late fees. Yet, a Trump-appointed judge blocked it at the request of the Chamber of Commerce, costing U.S. families an estimated $27 million a day. This proves that corporate interests and MAGA followers want to economically harm society. The MAGA cult is the biggest cult of the 21st century whose anti-democratic agenda is well known.

The bad news for now is that Russia is advancing slowly in Ukraine. The top military in Kyiv are fighting for their survival. Russia is advancing in much of the frontline. The good news is that in about a month, the $61 billion of the U.S. military aid will start translating into Ukraine having the weapons it has been begging for. Vladimir Putin seems to be throwing everything in Ukraine to prepare for the Ukraine counterstrike during the summer of 2024 when the U.S. supplies come to Ukrainian forces. Russia is attacking the northern border of Ukraine, near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Russia has conquered many villages and used airstrikes over territories. President Volodymyr Zelensky is dealing with many tough choices. This is the largest Russian momentum since the time of March 2022, during the start of the war. Putin is an overt terrorist who wants to conquer Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Putin's imperialism in Europe must end now.

Monday was the historic day of when Michael Cohen gave his testimony to the Trump hush money trial. The trial continued on Tuesday. Michael Cohen was Trump's ex-attorney and fixer, so he has a lot of in-depth information about the Trump campaign during the past. He testified about the Stormy Daniels hush money payment and Trump's alleged involvement in the scheme. Cohen was one of the prosecution's key witnesses. He testified that Trump told him to move ahead with the payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels and said that he "immediately" notified Trump when she signed the deal. Cohen said that he used his home equity line of credit for the funds, so it wouldn't be tied to Trump as it was paperless. Cohen testified under oath that Trump was worried about the 2016 campaign, not his marriage when trying to bury the alleged affair with Daniels. Prosecutors accuse Trump of using falsified business records to cover up his reimbursement to Cohen of the $130,000 payment he made to Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump was in the New York court when Cohen testified. Trump has denied the affair with Stormy Daniels and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

By Timothy

Charlie Wilson.

 Charlie Wilson Tops Billboard Adult R&B Chart With Latest Single, "Superman" (msn.com)

Basketball.

 Basketball: I Love This Game | PDF | Nba Finals | National Basketball Association (scribd.com)

Events of the Past and Present.

 

 

The events of Ferguson opened up a new chapter in the black freedom struggle. We (who are African Americans) are never descendants of slaves. Our ancestors were victims of slavery, but our ancestors originally were free men and free women from Africa. I want to make that point perfectly despite what the xenophobic movements of ADOS and FBA will say. Tons of people need to realize that. Ferguson helped some Americans realize that America is not a meritocracy where hard work guarantees success. Americans are some of the hardest-working people in human history, but structural injustices remain, even in 2024. There are economic, health, education, and other social disparities that have been documented by dozens of sociological studies. This reality is not a figment of my imagination. It's very real. For example, the black maternity crisis has been proven by experts like Dr. Blackstock and retired track and field legend Allyson Felix. That is why advocating for paid family leave, equal pay, and universal childcare will help millions of families and other human beings in America plus the world. One major legacy of Ferguson outlines the fact that grassroots organizing is pre-eminent in trying to solve problems. The Organization for Black Struggle (with leaders like Kayla Reed) and other human beings (like Brittany Packnett Cunningham) spoke out, protested, and set up programs to fight systemic racism, economic injustice, sexism, and other evils that are common in the world today. Since 2014, many unarmed black men and black women have been killed like Philando Castile, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, etc. There is a dual reality now. We have more awareness of the issues of social justice, and there is a far-right wing backlash that has ruined much of the progressive gains (like some MAGA extremists are banning books, ending affirmative action in colleges, restricting DEI, and sugarcoating black history. This evil isn't just in Texas and Florida which is bad enough. This bigoted agenda is spreading nationwide) that we have achieved via courage and sacrifice. That is why it is always imperative for us to continue to build, fight for righteousness, and believe in the Dream for real. 

 

Video Game conventions and tournaments are very commonplace in our generation. The people who join many movements are human beings among every background and ethnicity. There is the OtuakuFest in Miami lasting from May 17-19, 2024. This is about anime, comics, and games being promoted and celebrated in the Florida city of Miami. Such conventions help people to develop social skills, build friendships, increase human camaraderie, and even build romance. There are a lot of couples in real life that enjoy video games, comics, and science fiction motifs. There is the future New York Comic Con taking place from October 17-20, 2024. Some video game tournaments take place in either arenas or online. Many such tournaments allow users to be paid money for them to participate in them. One such platform is called GameChampions that is a genuine platform that offers a legitimate opportunity for games to earn money for their skills. 

 

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the most important events during the end of World War One. It was a peace treaty signed on June 28, 1919. This treaty officially ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. The agreement was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which caused the war in the first place. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. The previous armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the actual fighting but more negotiations existed. These negotiations dealt with the payment of reparations, and other conditions and principles in ending the war. It took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before the signing of the treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was effective on January 10, 1920. The Allied Powers also included the UK, America, Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, France, Italy, Japan, Brazil, China, Greece, etc. The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to disarm, make territorial concessions, extradite alleged war criminals, agree to Kaiser Wilhelm being put on trial, recognize the independence of states whose territory had previously been part of the German Empire, and pay reparations to the Entente powers.  The most critical and controversial provision in the treaty was: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." The other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles. This article, Article 231, became known as the "War Guilt" clause. Critics including John Maynard Keynes declared the treaty too harsh, styling it as a "Carthaginian peace", and saying the reparations were excessive and counterproductive. On the other hand, prominent Allied figures such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently. This is still the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists.

The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was a compromise that left no one satisfied. In particular, Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The United States never ratified the Versailles treaty and made a separate peace treaty with Germany, albeit based on the Versailles treaty. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the Locarno Treaties, which improved relations between Germany and the other European powers. The reparation system was reorganized, and payments were reduced in the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. Bitter resentment of the treaty powered the rise of the Nazi Party, and eventually the outbreak of a second World War. Although it is often referred to as the "Versailles Conference", only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the "Big Four" meetings taking place generally at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d'Orsay.

 

By May of 1970, Diana Ross released her eponymous debut solo album. It had hits like Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) and A'int No Mountain High Enough. Diana Ross made more albums like Everything is Everything in 1970 and Surrender in 1971. I'm Still Waiting is a 1971 ballad that was her first number-one single in the UK. In 1971, she also starred in her first solo television special called Diana! which included the Jackson 5. By this time, she was working on her first film called Lady Sings the Blues. It was released to the public in October 1972 that detailed the life story of Billie Holiday. The film was a classic filled with drama, emotion, contributions to music, and a legacy. Ross won critical acclaim for her performance in the film.  Jazz critic Leonard Feather, a friend of Holiday's, praised Ross for "expertly capturing the essence of Lady Day". Ross's role in the film won her Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. The soundtrack to Lady Sings the Blues became just as successful, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200, staying there for two weeks, and selling two million units. In November 1972, Ross sung the song "When We Grow Up" for the children's album, Free to Be... You and Me. In 1973, Ross had her second number-one hit in the U.S. with the ballad "Touch Me in the Morning." Later in the year, Motown issued Diana and Marvin, a duet album with fellow Motown artist Marvin Gaye. The album became an international hit. Touring throughout 1973, Ross became the first entertainer in Japan's history to receive an invitation to the Imperial Palace for a private audience with the Empress Nagako, wife of Emperor Hirohito. In April 1974, Ross became the first African-American woman to co-host the Academy Awards, with John Huston, Burt Reynolds, and David Niven. After the release of the 1973 album Last Time I Saw Him, Diana Ross acted in more films. The 1975 film that she was in was Mahogany with Billy Dee Williams. The film is about black people in the fashion industry, issues in the black community, exploitation, and other matters in a realistic fashion. Diana Ross designed the wardrobe in the film herself. Mahogany was the story of an aspiring fashion designer who became a runway model and the toast of the industry, Mahogany was a troubled production from its inception. The film's original director, Tony Richardson, was fired during production, and Berry Gordy assumed the director's chair himself. 

Gordy and Ross clashed during filming, with Ross leaving the production before shooting was completed, forcing Gordy to use Secretary Edna Anderson as a body double for Ross. While a box-office success, the film was not well received by the critics: Time magazine's review of the film chastised Gordy for "squandering one of America's most natural resources: Diana Ross." Nonetheless, Ross had her third number-one hit in the U.S. with "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)". A year later, in 1976, Ross released her fourth solo number-one hit, "Love Hangover", a sensual, dramatic mid-tempo song that bursts into an uptempo disco tune. Later that year, Ross launched her "An Evening with Diana Ross" tour. The tour's success led to a two-week stint at Broadway's Palace Theatre and a 90-minute, Emmy-nominated television special of the same name, featuring special make-up effects by Stan Winston, for a scene in which Ross portrayed legendary cabaret artist Josephine Baker and blues singers Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters, and a Special Tony Award. The albums Baby It's Me (1977) and Ross (1978) sold modestly. The film adaptation of The Wiz had been a $24 million production, but upon its October 1978 release, it earned only $21,049,053 at the box office. Though pre-release television broadcast rights had been sold to CBS for over $10 million, the film produced a net loss of $10.4 million for Motown and Universal. At the time, it was the most expensive film musical ever made. The Wiz remains a powerful film and a classic for the black American community and other communities too. The Wiz had Diana Ross and Michael Jackson displaying great acting chemistry together. 

In 1979, Ross released The Boss, continuing her popularity with dance audiences, as the title song became a number-one dance single. On July 16, 1979, Ross guest-hosted an episode of Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, featuring Lynda Carter, George Carlin, and Muhammad Ali as guests. Later that year, Ross hosted the HBO special, Standing Room Only, filmed at Caesars Palace's Circus Maximus Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, during her "Tour '79" concert tour. This concert special is noted for its opening, during which Ross literally makes her entrance through a movie screen. In November of that year, Ross performed The Boss album's title track as a featured artist during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in New York City. Later, Diana Ross will continue to thrive during the 1980's. 

 

By October 18, 1859, the Marines broke through the engine house door. At 6:30 AM Lee began the attack on the engine house.  He first offered the role of attacking it to the local militia units, but both commanders declined. Lee then sent Lt. J. E. B. Stuart, serving as a volunteer aide-de-camp, under a white flag of truce to offer John Brown and his men the option of surrendering. Colonel Lee informed Lt. Israel Greene that if Brown did not surrender, he was to direct the Marines to attack the engine house. Stuart walked towards the front of the engine house where he told Brown that his men would be spared if they surrendered. Brown refused and as Stuart walked away, he made a pre-arranged signal—waving his hat—to Lt. Greene and his men standing nearby. Greene's men then tried to break in using sledgehammers, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He found a ladder nearby, and he and about twelve Marines used it as a battering ram to break down the sturdy doors. Greene was the first through the door and with the assistance of Lewis Washington, identified and singled out John Brown. Greene later recounted what events occurred next. Greene said that John Brown was hit with blow to the neck. Two of the raiders were killed, and the rest taken prisoner. Brown was wounded before and after his surrender.  The hostages were freed and the assault was over. It lasted three minutes. According to one marine, the raiders presented a sad appearance. Army leader Robert E. Lee and the Marines had to calm the crowd from killing Brown and his men. Colonel Lee and Jeb Stuart searched the surrounding country for fugitives who had participated in the attack. Few of Brown's associates escaped, and among the five who did, some were sheltered by abolitionists in the North, including William Still. All the bodies were taken out and laid on the ground in front. "A detail of [Greene's] men" carried Brown and Edwin Coppock, the only other white survivor of the attack on the engine house, to the adjacent office of the paymaster, where they lay on the floor for over a day. Until they went with the group to the Charles Town jail on Wednesday, there was no record of the location of the two-surviving captured black raiders, Shields Green and John Anthony Copeland, who were also the only two survivors of the engine house with no injuries. Green attempted unsuccessfully to disguise himself as one of the enslaved of Colonel Washington being liberated.

John Brown was interviewed constantly by soldiers, politicians, lawyers, reporters, citizens, and preachers. He was given attention. The first to interview him was Virginia congressman Alexander Boteler, who rode over from his home in nearby Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and was present when Brown was carried out of the engine house, and told a Catholic priest to leave.  Five people, in addition to several reporters, came almost immediately to Harpers Ferry specifically to interview Brown. He was interviewed at length as he lay there over 24 hours; he had been without food and sleep for over 48 hours. ("Brown carried no provisions on the expedition, as if God would rain down manna from the skies as He had done for the Israelites in the wilderness.") The first interviewers after Boteler were Virginia Governor Wise, his attorney Andrew Hunter, who was also the leading attorney in Jefferson County, and Robert Ould, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, sent by President Buchanan. Governor Wise having left—he set up a base in a Harpers Ferry hotel—Brown was then interviewed by Senator James M. Mason, from Winchester, Virginia, and Representatives Charles J. Faulkner, from Martinsville, Virginia, and Copperhead Clement Vallandigham, from Ohio.  (Brown lived for years in Ohio, and both Watson and Owen Brown were born there.) Vallandingham was on his way from Washington to Ohio via the B&O Railroad, which of course would take him through Harpers Ferry. In Baltimore, he was informed about the raid.

Many people in the North and West viewed Brown as a fanatic attacking Virginia with only 22 men, of whom 10 were killed immediately, and 7 others would soon be hanged, as well as 5 deaths and 9 injuries among the Marines and local population. With the newspaper reports of these interviews, followed by Brown's widely reported words at his trial, the public perception of Brown changed suddenly and dramatically. According to Henry David Thoreau, "I know of nothing so miraculous in our history. Years were not required for a revolution of public opinion; days, nay hours, produced marked changes." Even people who disagreed with Brown viewed him as a brave man. Virginia Governor Wise had a force of 90 men acted disappointed that that action ended quickly. Wise also reported the opinion of Lewis Washington, in a passage called "well known" in 1874: "Colonel Washington says that he, Brown, was the coolest and firmest man he ever saw in defying danger and death. With one son dead by his side, and another shot through, he felt the pulse of his dying son with one hand and held his rifle with the other, and commanded his men with the utmost composure, encouraging them to be firm, and to sell their lives as dearly as they could."

By October 19, Lee and the Marines, except for Greene left Harper's Ferry to go to Washington, D.C. They finished the report and sent it to the War Department. There was a synopsis of the events at Harpers Ferry. Brown was hastily processed by the legal system. He was charged by a grand jury with treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and inciting a slave insurrection. A jury found him guilty of all charges; he was sentenced to death on November 2, and after a legally-required delay of 30 days he was hanged on December 2. (This execution was witnessed by the actor John Wilkes Booth, who later assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.) At the hanging and en route to it, authorities prevented spectators from getting close enough to Brown to hear a final speech. He wrote his last words on a scrap of paper given to his jailer Capt. John Avis, whose treatment Brown spoke well of in his letters:

"I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed; it might be done." 

His words here predicted the Civil War as legalized slavery was never going to be abolished except by the American Civil War. Four other raiders were executed on December 16 and two more on March 16, 1860. Many Southerners viewed John Brown as a traitor, and many Northerners either viewed him as a martyr or a misguided person who legitimately opposed slavery. Ironically, the John Brown raid increased the chance of the American Civil War. Brown's raid, trial, and execution energized both the abolitionists in the North and the pro-slavery in the South and brought a flurry of political organizing. Public meetings in support of Brown, sometimes also raising money for his family, were held across the North. "These meetings gave the era's most illustrious thinkers and activists an opportunity to renew their assault on slavery."  It reinforced Southern sentiment for secession. By 1860, war was on the horizon. Just 2 years after John Brown's raid in 1859, the American Civil War started by 1861 with the Confederate attack of Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Counting John Brown, there were 22 raiders, 15 white people, and 7 black people. 10 were killed during the raid, 7 were tried and executed afterward, and 5 escaped. In addition, Brown was assisted by at least two local enslaved people; one was killed and the other died in jail. John Brown is buried on his farm near Lake Placid, New York. It is maintained as the New York John Brown Farm State Historic Site. His son Watson is also buried there, and the bones of his son Oliver and nine other raiders are buried in a single coffin. 

 

By Timothy