This time represents an unprecedented time in American history and world history. We live in a crossroads wherefore 2025 will be a new era of our time. This is truly the most dangerous time in our democracy since the American Civil War as I have mentioned for some time now. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump was evil, wicked, and unjust. You always express dissent with peaceful, constructive action, not murder or violence. An innocent man was murdered by a coward named Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He was a registered Republican and gave $15 to a progressive cause. The tragic events started on July 13, 2024. Former President Donald Trump was at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. This comes just before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The rally had a large audience. Secret Service snipers were in the area. Witnesses warned authorities that a man was climbing in the roof of a building holding a weapon. Minutes into the start of Trump's speech, multiple people were shot, and Trump was glazed by a bullet next to his ear. His ear started to bleed, and he fell down to the ground. The Secret Service did a great job to immediately run on stage to hold Trump down. The Secret Service sacrificed their lives to save many lives. Trump wanted to get his shoe, and the Secret Service grabbed him up to the van. Trump yelled Fight, Fight, Fight to the crowd with blood on his ear. The crowd yelled USA, USA. Trump was taken to the hospital. Thomas Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper. Armed police authorities, with automatic weapons, guarded the area too. The FBI is investigating this act as domestic terrorism. This is the first attempted assassination of either a former President or President since 1981 when Ronald Reagan was shot. Two other victims are in critical condition. The murderer Crooks is a coward. People said that he was bullied. Millions of people throughout human history have been bullied. That is no excuse for murder and political violence at all period. Crooks had a high-power semiautomatic rifle that could shoot ammo in the range of hundreds of yards, and the Secret Service Counter Assault Team sniper killed Crooks. Many questions remain on safety protocol especially when Crooks climbed on top of the roof of the building to shoot a dangerous weapon. Investigations will occur by the President, Congress, and other authorities. Political polarization has increased in the past over five decades now. Like always, we don't support the action of murder and harming innocent human life. We wish for Trump to have a full recovery (including the other victims), and people have legitimately sent prayers to Trump and the other victims. That is right.
Likewise, we will not apologize for the truth. We will show the truth in season and out of season. Let's not forget about Project 2025, of the fascists in Charlottesville in 2017 causing mayhem in the streets unjustly, of the epidemic of mass shootings in America (where some people make an idol out of a gun instead of promoting virtue, legitimate gun regulations, and ethics), the threats against political leaders daily, and the insurrection in the U.S. Congress which was a product of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, and hatred. Trump made fun of a disabled person, talked down on military people, and said that he wants to be a dictator on Day One. Trump has spoken violent rhetoric for years. Many Trump supporters have called for violence and demonized progressives with derogatory invective for years. So, I have the same energy to expose their evil. Right now, far-right extremists are exploiting the tragedy of the unjust shooting to promote lies like J.D. Vance of Vance blaming Democrats for the shooting, Nick Adams blaming Biden for the shooting, Erick Erickson showing out, and Clay Travis cursing people out who disagree with him. Yes, I haven't forgotten, and yes Trump is still wrong on many political issues. That is the truth. We should be cautious with our words, but we will not compromise our core convictions. We advocate a clean environment, justice for all, the separation of church and state, and civil rights without injustice. Two things can be true. It is true that the actions of Crooks have no justification for being evil plus wrong, and people have the God-given right to peacefully disagree with the agenda of Donald Trump too.
I found out that my 5th cousin Dabrisha Yolanda Dillard (b. 1990). She was born on October 6, 1990, at Rockingham, North Carolina. Her sister is Satori Lanisha Dillard (b. 1988). She married Moussa Balla on May 3, 2011, in Danville, Virginia. They have six children together, including Nazair Moussa (b. 2011), Nouhou Moussa, Naima Moussa, and other children. The parents of Dabrisha Yolanda Dillard are James Nathaniel Dillard (1957-2019) and Serena Lynette Hampton. James Nathaniel Dillard's parents were George Melvin Dillard (1930-2000) and Ophelia Moyer (1935-1993). The parents of Ophelia Moyer were Berkley Moyer (1913-1973) and Ollie May Broadnax (1910-1990). My 3rd cousin Ollie May Broadnax's parents were Dennis Broadnax (1881-1975) and Cynthia Broadnax (1885-1931). Cynthia Broadnax's parents were Dennis Harris (1860-1928) and Gundroa (Geneva) Perkins (1868-1927). Gundroa Perkins's parents were George Perkins II (1847-1932) and Fannie Lou Blackstock (1848-1949). My 3rd great-granduncle George Perkins II's parents were George Perkins I (b. 1815) and Esther Perkins (b. 1816). Dabrisha's mother was my 5th cousin James Nathaniel Dillard who lived from August 31, 1957, to October 2, 2019. She believed in God with help from the late Bishop W. H. Giles in the Only Way Church of Christ. James Dillard attended the local public schools of Eden City System. He worked in brick masonry. James Nathaniel Dillard's brother was Annette Dillard, who lived from August 11, 1959, to July 18, 2022. Annette Dillard was a native and lifelong resident of Rockingham County, North Carolina. She was educated at Rockingham Community College, earning an Associate Degree. She worshipped at the Only Way Church of Christ, with Pastor David Caibness. She loved to draw, cook, write poems, and spoil her grandchildren. Her twin is Anthony Dillard (1959-1979). She married Johnny Ray Hopper on June 24, 1983, in Rockingham, North Carolina. Their child is my 5th cousin Antonio Hooper. Annette Dillard had children with Alvin Bridges whose names are Kristin Marie Bridges (b. 1988) and Breionna Bridges. The grandchildren of Annette Dillard are Amari, Kristopher, Kendirck, Ka'Niyah, and Kamron. My 5th cousin Diamond Kimauri Irving Leake was born on February 14, 2000, in Rockingham, North Carolina. Diamond Leake is an expert nail specialist. Her parents are Gary Thomas Leake Jr. (1981-2000) and Ophelia Bernice Irving (b. 1974). My 5th cousin Ophelia Bernice Irving's parents are Robert Lee Irving Jr. (b. 1953) and Joanne Dillard Irving (1953-2016). My 5th cousin Joanne Dillard Irving's parents were George Melvin Dillard (1930-2000) and Ophelia Moyer (1935-1993). Ophelia Moyer is the descendant of George Esther (b. 1815) and Esther Perkins (b. 1816) of the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
There is the ceremony of dedication of the United States Statue of Liberty was held on the afternoon of October 28, 1886. President Grover Cleveland, the former New York governor, presided over the event. On the morning of the dedication, a parade was held in New York City; estimates of the number of people who watched it ranged from several hundred thousand to a million. President Cleveland headed the procession, then stood in the reviewing stand to see bands and marchers from across America. General Stone was the grand marshal of the parade. The route began at Madison Square, once the venue for the arm, and proceeded to the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan by way of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, with a slight detour so the parade could pass in front of the World Building on Park Row. As the parade passed the New York Stock Exchange, traders threw ticker tape from the windows, beginning the New York tradition of the ticker-tape parade.
A nautical parade began at 12:45 p.m., and President Cleveland embarked on a yacht that took him across the harbor to Bedloe's Island for the dedication. Lesseps made the first speech, on behalf of the French committee, followed by the chairman of the New York committee, Senator William M. Evarts. A French flag draped across the statue's face was to be lowered to unveil the statue at the close of Evarts's speech, but Bartholdi mistook a pause as the conclusion and let the flag fall prematurely. The ensuing cheers put an end to Evarts's address. President Cleveland spoke next, stating that the statue's "stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man's oppression until Liberty enlightens the world." Bartholdi, observed near the dais, was called upon to speak, but he declined. Orator Chauncey M. Depew concluded the speechmaking with a lengthy address. No members of the general public were permitted on the island during the ceremonies, which were reserved entirely for dignitaries. The only women granted access were Bartholdi's wife and Lesseps's granddaughter; officials stated that they feared women might be injured in the crush of people. The restriction offended area suffragists, who chartered a boat and got as close as they could to the island. The group's leaders made speeches applauding the embodiment of Liberty as a woman and advocating women's right to vote. A scheduled fireworks display was postponed until November 1 because of poor weather.
Shortly after the dedication, The Cleveland Gazette, an African American newspaper, suggested that the statue's torch not be lit until the United States became a free nation "in reality" as found in this quote: "...Liberty enlightening the world," indeed! The expression makes us sick. This government is a howling farce. It can not or rather does not protect its citizens within its own borders. Shove the Bartholdi statue, torch and all, into the ocean until the "liberty" of this country is such as to make it possible for an inoffensive and industrious colored man to earn a respectable living for himself and family, without being ku-kluxed, perhaps murdered, his daughter and wife outraged, and his property destroyed. The idea of the "liberty" of this country "enlightening the world," or even Patagonia, is ridiculous in the extreme..."
COVID-19 had a long history since the end of 2019. COVID-19 was born in 2019, and so far, the evidence showed that the virus evolved from Nature. As early as December 2019, Symptoms of the index case, or patient zero, began on 1 December. The man had not been to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. By December 12, 2019, there was a cluster of patients in China’s Hubei Province, in the city of Wuhan, began to experience the symptoms of an atypical pneumonia-like illness that does not respond well to standard treatments. The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in China is informed of several cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (cause) with symptoms including shortness of breath and fever occurring in Wuhan, China. All initial cases seem connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market by December 31, 2019. By early 2020, COVID-19 had spread rapidly globally. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan is closed amid worries in China of a reprise of the 2002–2004 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-1) outbreak. This was on January 1, 2020. The virus spreads rapidly across China in January of 2020. By January 5th, 2020, CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) activated a center-level response to investigate this novel pneumonia of unknown etiology. The genetic sequence for the atypical pneumonia virus, Wuhan-Hu-1, is submitted to the Department of Zoonoses, National Institute of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in Beijing, China by Yong-Zhen Zhang of Fudan University, Shanghai. The complete genetic sequence of the virus remains unavailable to the rest of the world as the virus spreads. The Thailand Ministry of Public Health confirms the first laboratory-confirmed case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus outside of China by January 13, 2020. By January 19, 2020, the virus spreads into Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. By January 17, 2020, CDC begins screening passengers for symptoms of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus on direct and connecting flights from Wuhan, China to San Francisco, California, New York City, New York, and Los Angeles, California and plans to expand screenings to other major airports in the U.S. On January 20, 2020, CDC reports the first laboratory-confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the U.S. from samples taken on January 18 in Washington state and on the same day activates its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to respond to the emerging outbreak. The first American case with COVID-19 was on January 21, 2020. The COVID-19 virus has spread across the globe. In January 26, 2020, the virus spread into California, Arizona, and other locations like Macau, Hong Kong. The WHO issued situation reports about the virus. By late January, the virus goes into Europe, South America, and other places. The UAE have victims of the virus. Over 100 people have died from the virus in China alone by early February 2020.
COVID spread into India and the Philippines in February too. On February 9, 2020, the virus killed 811 people with total cases being above 40,000 people. The virus grows constantly. By late February 2020, the President issues travel restrictions ot Iran. There was the DOD COVID-19 Task Force too. Debbie Birtx was the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. March 2020 changed everything in the world. This was when the President signed the COVID-19 bill, passing 8.3 billion dollars for crisis response for relief that's non-DOD. Italy created its country-wide lockdown on March 8, 2020. This was the new era of COVID-19 where lockdowns started to happen globally by March of 2020 including in America. In mid-March 2020, tons of sports arenas, schools, restaurants, and businesses were closed because of the spread of COVID-19. The government promoted labs and N9 respirators nationwide. Travel restrictions happen in Europe for 30 days starting on March 13, 2020. The President addressed the nation. On March 11, 2020, the WHO called COVID-19 a pandemic. The President called COVID-19 a national emergency. Zoom and telecommunications have increased to allow people to talk and work without contracting the virus. Statewide stay-at-home existed in California on March 19, 2020. By this time, debates exist about health safety and human liberties. We should have civil and human liberties, but in a healthcare emergency, selfishness is not an option. People should follow legitimate safety guidelines not risking death out of making liberty a fetish. By late March 2020, hospitals nationwide and worldwide are overwhelmed to capacity. It has gotten so bad that the U.S. government had to use Navy ships to house patients. Clinical trials exist. The CARES Act was passed to help Americans with payments on March 27, 2020. Vaccines develop and deaths pass the 100,000 mark by May 28, 2020. Over 2 million American cases existed by June 10, 2020. Anthony Fauci on June 30, 2020, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that new COVID-19 cases could hit 100,000 people per day. By July 2, 2020, California and Indiana postpone or reverse plans to reopen their economies. By July 7, 2020, more than 3 million infections exist in America. Masks mandates exist and the race was on to finish vaccines in dealing with COVID-19. By September 2020, we know that COVID-19 can be airborne, and it can spread in reinfection. Trump had COVID-19 by October 2020. The cases of COVID spike by October 15, 2020. October saw global cases increase to more than 40 million people.
Gilead's Remdesivir was the first COVID-19 drug approved by the FDA. 100,000 cases of COVID per day happened by November 4, 2020. By November 9, 2020, Joe Biden was elected President. By the end of December 2020, the FDA starts to approve the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. From 2021 to the present, there have been massive COVID-19 historical developments. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was in order too. By 2021, fierce debate occurred about not only about mandates but mandatory vaccinations to have jobs. The vast majority of Americans by 2024 have at least one vaccination shot, but tons of people oppose COVID-19 vaccinations. By March 11, 2021, Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law, which includes funding for COVID-19 vaccinations, expanded unemployment benefits, rental assistance, extending the child tax credits, and giving people direct cash payments of up to $1,400. These actions helped to save millions of lives literally. The CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky extended the eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021, to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. By the end of 2021, schools start to re-open. Also, by this time, many people have booster shots. By early 2022, there is a growth of new COVID-19 variants like Delta and Omicron. New York state had its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic began with 114,082 cases. 2021 and 2022 saw the most massive increases of the COVID-19 virus statistically. By the end of 2022, policies of mask mandates, vaccinations, booster shots, and the growth of Omicron existed. From 2023 to 2024, COVID 19 has declined in many places of the world. Death has lowered, but COVID-19 is still a very serious virus. A high number of cases still exist in many places like Malaysia and New Zealand. According to Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center of Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston said that the severity of COVID-19 is lower than years ago not because of the variants being less robust but because the immune responses are higher. Most people hospitalized now are people ages 75 and up and babies. The symptoms have milder, less severe issues.
After the dedication ceremony, the Statue of Liberty was controlled by the United States Lighthouse Board in 1887. Bartholdi came to America in 1893 to make more suggestions but his suggestions failed. He did succeed in improving lighting within the statue, allowing visitors to better appreciate Eiffel's design. From 1933 to 1982, the Statue of Liberty was controlled by the NPS or the National Park Service, starting during the days of President Franklin Roosevelt. The Statue of Liberty had an Army building and the eleven-pointed walls of Fort Wood, which still form the statue's base. During World War II, the Statue of Liberty was opened to the public. In 1972, the immigration museum in the statue's base was finally opened in a ceremony led by President Richard Nixon. The museum's backers never provided it with an endowment to secure its future and it closed in 1991 after the opening of an immigration museum on Ellis Island.
In 1970, Ivy Bottini led a demonstration at the statue where she and others from the National Organization for Women's New York chapter draped an enormous banner over a railing which read "WOMEN OF THE WORLD UNITE!" Beginning December 26, 1971, 15 anti-Vietnam War veterans occupied the statue, flying a US flag upside down from her crown. They left on December 28 following a federal court order. The statue was also several times taken over briefly by demonstrators who were publicizing causes such as Puerto Rican independence, opposition to abortion, and opposition to US intervention in Grenada. Demonstrations with the permission of the Park Service included a Gay Pride Parade rally and the annual Captive Baltic Nations rally. A powerful new lighting system was installed in advance of the American Bicentennial in 1976. The statue was the focal point for Operation Sail, a regatta of tall ships from all over the world that entered New York Harbor on July 4, 1976, and sailed around Liberty Island. The day concluded with a spectacular display of fireworks near the statue. From 1982 to 2000, it was a time when the Statue of Liberty had renovations and rededication. American and French engineers helped to renovate the statue. The original torch was removed and replaced in 1986 with the current one, whose flame is covered in 24-karat gold. July 3–6, 1986, was designated "Liberty Weekend", marking the centennial of the statue and its reopening. President Reagan presided over the rededication, with French President François Mitterrand in attendance. July 4 saw a reprise of Operation Sail, and the statue was reopened to the public on July 5. In Reagan's dedication speech, he stated, "We are the keepers of the flame of liberty; we hold it high for the world to see." From 2001 to the present, the Statue of Liberty had many closures and reopenings. After 9/11, the Statue of Liberty was closed to the public. It reopened by the end of 2001.
The statue, including the pedestal and base, closed on October 29, 2011, for the installation of new elevators and staircases and to bring other facilities, such as restrooms, up to code. The statue was reopened on October 28, 2012, but then closed again a day later in advance of Hurricane Sandy. Although the storm did not harm the statue, it destroyed some of the infrastructure on both Liberty and Ellis Islands, including the dock used by the ferries that ran to Liberty and Ellis Islands. On November 8, 2012, a Park Service spokesperson announced that both islands would remain closed for an indefinite period for repairs to be done.
Since Liberty Island had no electricity, a generator was installed to power temporary floodlights to illuminate the statue at night. The superintendent of Statue of Liberty National Monument, David Luchsinger—whose home on the island was severely damaged—stated that it would be "optimistically ... months" before the island was reopened to the public. The statue and Liberty Island reopened to the public on July 4, 2013. Ellis Island remained closed for repairs for several more months but reopened in late October 2013. On October 7, 2016, construction started on the new Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island. The new $70 million, 26,000-square-foot (2,400 m2) museum may be visited by all who come to the island, as opposed to the museum in the pedestal, which only 20% of the island's visitors had access to. The new museum, designed by FXFOWLE Architects, is integrated with the surrounding parkland. Diane von Fürstenberg headed the fundraising for the museum, and the project received over $40 million in fundraising by groundbreaking. The museum opened on May 16, 2019. The statue is situated in Upper New York Bay on Liberty Island south of Ellis Island, which together comprise the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Both islands were ceded by New York to the federal government in 1800. Visitors to the Statue of Liberty use ferries. All ferry riders have to do security screening, similar to airport procedures, before boarding.
Visitors intending to enter the statue's base and pedestal must obtain pedestal access for a nominal fee when purchasing their ferry ticket. Those wishing to climb the staircase within the statue to the crown must purchase a special ticket, which may be reserved up to a year in advance. A total of 240 people per day can ascend: ten per group, three groups per hour. Climbers may bring only medication and cameras—lockers are provided for other items—and must undergo a second security screening. The balcony around the torch was closed to the public following the munitions explosion on Black Tom Island in 1916. The balcony can however be seen live via webcam.
In our generation, it is important to promote unity in the black community in America and worldwide. That is why I will forever believe in black Pan-African unity, because we may be born in America, Cuba, Brazil, Barbados, Jamaica, France, the UK, etc. (with different cultures). Still, we have a common origin from Africa as human beings of black African heritage. We can both acknowledge our cultural differences while respecting our common ties (like love of family, love of community, a belief in justice plus virtue, and a determination to fight for freedom without apology) as human beings. For many years, the FBA and ADOS movements have done a lot of division in the black African Diaspora. As a black American, I know people of Afro-Caribbean heritage or other people of the Diaspora being hurt by their xenophobic rhetoric from numerous members of the ADOS and FBA cliques. The ADOS movement was created in 2016 by Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore. The FBA movement was created by Tariq Nasheed in 2019. The demonization of black immigrants, Afro-Caribbeans, Africans, and other people (who are not African Americans) by some in the ADOS and FBA movements has no justification. This demonization has nothing to do with promoting reparations for black Americans or economic justice. It has to do with bigotry and xenophobia. The ADOS and FBA movements (which ignore American imperialism, voter suppression laws, the climate crisis, health care disparities, and other evils in our world. These movements make America a near idol to be worshiped) promote the lie that Pan-Africanism is dead when it is still strong. Pan-African groups function internationally to this very day. Tariq Nasheed lied and called people who usually wave the red, black, and green flags as agents. This is ironic when Tariq admitted that white far-right racists approached him to attempt to pay him money to attack black immigrants. That seems very interesting. Now, Tariq uses slurs to call black immigrants the t word and other slurs. Tariq is a hypocrite to demonize Caribbeans, but he used to make a documentary about the Haitian Revolution called 1804, and his wife has Haitian heritage according to many sources (his wife is biracial). Pan-African leaders who believed in reparations too include people like Queen Mother Moore. Our African identity is with us forever. Anyone who tries to disrespect black African identity, attacks black immigrants, attacks black American history (Tariq recently excludes Malcolm X as being part of African American history. Back in August 4, 2022, Tariq Nasheed expressed a sick Twitter rant against Yvette Carnell. He called Yvette Carnell the h word and used other misogynistic comments. I disagree with Yvette Carnell on some issues, but she never deserves to be called out of her name), and attacks Pan-African unity is a traitor. Pan-Africanism just means that people of black African descent have cultural diversity (our diverse cultures are beautiful and should be respected), but we have common interests, and we should be unified economically, politically, and socially to free all black people globally. There is nothing wrong with that. Justice for all is a legitimate aim to advocate too.
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