Wisdom in Late March of 2020.

This era of time of the Cold War has changed the entire world. It caused the technological explosion that we witness in the year of 2020. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it is right to reflect on the Cold War. The Cold War didn't start with the Greece crisis back in the late 1940's. It started by the end of World War II. By that time, the Axis Powers were about to be completely defeated. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away in early 1945, but Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin were key Allied leaders who differed on the outcome of World War II. Churchill wanted British imperialism to rule continents while Stalin wanted Poland and Eastern Europe to be dominated by Soviet influence. FDR was more moderate in his foreign policy views. While, FDR didn't want Communism to rule Poland, he did want British imperialism to not spread into other places of the world. FDR wanted the Atlantic Charter to be the blueprint of the world society after World War II. The Atlantic Charter wanted free trade, open markets, and a rebuilt capitalist Europe. America, the Soviet Union, and the UK all agreed with demilitarizing Germany and to make sure that Nazi Germany was gone forevermore. The Cold War magnified further the differences between the liberal, two party democracy of America and the Stalinist state of the Soviet Union. The irony is that both sides of the Cold War would claim moral superiority, but both sides made mistakes. The U.S. claimed to be the champion of democracy, but America during the Cold War had lynchings, Jim Crow, racial discrimination, imperialism, the suppression of the rights of many minorities, sexism, police brutality, and other evils. The Soviet Union claimed to be against the actions of the bourgeoisie and capitalist exploitation, but the Soviet Union during the Cold War had suppression of religious plus democratic rights, gulags, terrorism against even progressives, excessive miltiarism, and other evils. That is why many Third World Nations didn't want either America or the Soviets dominating them, so they created the Non Aligned Movement to promote ideological independence. Lumumba, Sukarno, and other nationalists defended their countries' infrastructure. The Cold War was more than a battle of ideas among 2 empires. It dealt with the Civil Rights Movement, the women's rights movement, and other social movements that expanded into unprecedented heights. It also dealt with people as diverse as Muhammad Ali to Ella Baker. The Vietnam War, anti-colonial movements, and NATO dominated the era. We saw the end of the Cold War by 1991 when Russia was born after the end of the Soviet Union. The end of the Cold War never refuted socialism. It refuted authoritarianism, Stalinism, and the evil of Western imperialism too. Numerous people don't know that Lenin, before he died, opposed Stalin as leader of the Soviet movement. The events of the Cold War showed the world that freedom is important to promote, but also social justice and economic justice too. The Cold War wasn't peaceful. It consisted of wars, brutality among both sides, imperialism, debates, assassinations (done by many factions), proxy battles, propaganda, and other events. From McCarthyism's evils to Reagan plus Gorbachev's negotiations, the Cold War wasn't a dull era. Culture became more international, and we have to learn lessons form the Cold War. One lesson is that the Cold War teaches us that dialogue, standing up for liberty, and understanding nuisance will make a difference in making sure that our world is better.


R&B music is part of the lifeblood of world music in general. It is the cousin to hip hop, funk, disco, and other genres that we know about. The sultry voice of Anita Baker, the power from the Four Tops, and the soulful tunes from Aaliyah make us realize that this musical genre is here to stay. From parties to being at home alone, R&B music is very an universal art form. Rhythm and blues has inspired our imagination, made us dance on occasion, and stirs up our imagination. If anyone wants to study American music or music in general, he or she must have a great understanding of rhythm and blues. It is music that has existed for almost 80 years since the 1940's. Early rhythm and blues used pianos, bands, guitars, bass, drums, saxophones, and vocalists. Any great musician then and now must have a passion for the art and develop their skills in an exceptional level. By the 1960's, we saw Motown, Staxx, and other record labels dominating not only American music, but music internationally. It was another golden age of R&B music filled with the Supremes, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Tami Terrell, Aretha Franklin, and other legends. Then and now, rhythm and blues focused on many messages like love, romance, pain, overcoming adversity, freedom, joy, etc. Mary J. Blige ballads about suffering emotional pain and experience great love is a testament to the power of music. You can't talk about rhythm and blues without knowing about the 2 Great Migrations of African Americans. During both migrations, black Americans came into the industrial centers of New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and other locations. They came to escape the tyranny of the Jim Crow South in order to have better economic and social conditions. The irony is that the same racism and oppression in the South existed in the North, the Midwest, and the West Coast. The difference was that in many of those places in the North, etc., legal segregation was banned. New markets in those cities focused on a diversity of music from jazz to blues. Such music was found deeply in the South like New Orleans, Memphis, etc. One of my favorite shows is TV One's Unsung. Unsung did a great service in outlining the stories of some of the greatest rhythm and blues in history. I have learned a lot about music, stories,and black unsung lives in general by watching that show alone. Today, we have R&B music influenced by hip hop, sound cloud music, and other aspects of youth culture. Bo Diddley, Otis Redding, Ruth Brown, Della Reese, ska artists, Sam Cooke, The O'Jays, Janet Jackson, TLC, Aaliyah, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Ella Mai, SZA, and other musicians represent the long history of this audacious, powerful music.


One of the most unsung heroes of the black community was William Monroe Trotter. A lot of people don't know who he is, but he was one of the most important African American leaders in history. His life spanned years after the end of the AMerican Civil War and ended just before America's overt involvement in World War II. I only knew of him years ago. He lived from April 7, 1872 to April 7, 1934. He was an activists for long decades. He worked as a newspaper editor and a real estate businessman based in Boston, Massachusetts. As an advocate for African American civil rights, he never backed down. He protested against Jim Crow apartheid. He revealed many class and ideological differences in the black community back then. For example, some (not all) of the super wealthy and upper middle class black people look down on the poor or working class black people. He contributed a lot to the NAACP or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was the founder of the Boston Guardian. This was an independent African American newspaper. It is not a secret that he disagreed with Booker T. Washington. Even I disagree with Booker T. Washington on some issues. We know what those issues are. Yet, to this credit, Booker T. Washington (before he passed) became more militant in supporting voting rights and civil rights for black people. Washington privately gave funds for legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement (in the case of Giles v. Harris). William Monroe Trotter was an unsung leader for political agitation in order to fight for equality and justice. Trotter followed the view that liberal arts education and protests for change can lead into progressive results for African Americans. Trotter fought against the racist film The Birth of a Nation. He fought for anti-lynching legislation. His wife stood with him every step of the way in his cause for freedom and liberty. His legacy is intensive. He wrote constantly, he defended the Scottboro Boys, and he is the living witness of the power of the African way of thinking. We salute his contributions to the black freedom struggle.


We witness our dreams come alive daily. Being born and living is a blessing plus a dream being alive. Black heroes aren't just found decades ago. They exist now. The common myth is that there are no heroes today. With the recent events, we know that to be a lie today. There are doctors who have saved lives. There are coaches who motivated the youth to enjoy a better path in living their lives. We know that there are tons of great activists, especially black women, doing the work in defending oppressed communities, defending black lives, and saving lives too. When Kirsten West Savali wrote literature defending progressive views, we should respect that. When you witness Nina Turner defending the truth against the status quo, we ought to be inspired by her actions. When you acknowledge a freedom lover of many backgrounds, we realize that we are all in this together. It is clear what we desire. We desire to see the homeless, the poor, and other human beings to have dignity and justice. We want all black people of any background to have black liberation without exception. We desire an end to imperialism and the system of international white racism. We desire to grow, to live, and to shine our Blackness in a diversity of ways. Honoring the legacy of Sister Dorothy Height is very important. She passed away in 2010 and was born in 1912. She was an icon of the Civil Rights Movement. She dealt with voting rights, unemployment, literacy issues, and women's rights. She was the President of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years. He was born in Richmond, Virginia. Later, she was raised in Rankin, Pennsylvania. For over 50 years, she opposed discrimination and fought for the just dream of human justice. She worked with the NAACP and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She encouraged LBJ to appoint African American women in positions of government. She encouraged Eisenhower to desegregate schools. She saw President Barack Obama inaugurated as President. Her maternal line came from the Temne people of modern day Sierra Leone. The Dorothy I. Height Post Office was one of the most iconic landmarks in the D.C. area. She received many awards like the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989, the Candace Award in 1986, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004, and the 2009 Foremothers Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Center for Health Research. Her life is a total representation of the longevity and power of Black Excellence. Always in love with freedom, her soul reached magnificent heights of glory plus power. Rest in Power Sister Dorothy Height. Blackness is not monolithic. Blackness can be expressed in dance, the arts, STEM fields, literature, athletics, and other forms of human expression. It is not right for some to try to give megabailouts to large, multinational corporations while minuscule resources to the poor and working class. When oligarchs prioritize their wealth over the concerns of the people collectively, then you will witness economic problems. The late hero Airicka Gordon-Taylor (or the cousin of Emmett Till) motivates us in our generation to continue forward in this journey for justice.



A very important aspect of cars or vehicles detail about its insurance policy. Insurance helps out car owners in case an accident happens to a car. In that sense, paying for a car fix or having inspections won't be so high in terms of cost.  Usually, insurance companies will have an investigation of an accident or any car trouble before sending aid to the car owner. Many insurance companies will give owners detailed applications in order to make sure that customers know their rights and benefits as it pertains to the insurance policy. A binder is a temporary insurance contract that provides proof of coverage until someone gets a permanent policy. Some companies have collision coverage. That is when a company pays for damages to a car owner without regard to who caused an accident. The company pays for the repair or up to the actual cash value of the vehicle minus the deductible. There are always limits that a liability policy will pay. This is called the liability limits. An adjuster is a person who investigates and settles insurance claims. This happens all of the time. Car insurance policy is complicated, but experts are available to assist customers and others who desire car insurance. For almost 200 years, modern automobiles have been with us. They rely on many sources from gasoline, diesels, natural gas, electric, hydrogen, solar,and vegetable. They deal with transpiration, transport of goods and services, entertainment, and other purposes.


Hair and culture go hand in hand. You can't comprehend anything about hair without understanding about world culture. Culture deals with the actions of human beings revolving about customs, duties, rituals, spirituality, regional diversity, the diffusion of culture, and other components. One example is that in many places of the world, hair is shown differently based upon age, sex, or other aspects of civilization. Culture evolves over time. That is why we have a completely type of fashion now in the 2020's than we have during the 1960's.  In America, we show our hair for different reasons from fashion to basic aesthetics. Also, black people expressing our hair from braids, Afros, and shorter hair is a long part of our black culture. As the years go onward, we witness more information about the diversity of hair culture. The Fulani people of West Africa allowed unmarried women to wear their hair ornamented with small amber beads and coins. Fulani people, who are married women, wear large amber ornaments. This culture is found in hair competitions and salons in the world. Salons have a major role in hair trends. It is found in barbershops where people joke around, read, and celebrate the value of their respective communities. People more and more are discovering the origin of the head-wrap. It has been used by ancient Egyptians and people of sub Saharan Africa for thousands of years. Black Americans have used them to this very day. The historian Helen Bradley Gabriel in her article, "The African American Woman's Head-wrap: Unwinding the Symbols" documents the complex, nuisance meanings of the head-wrap. Back in the day, racists made laws like the Negro Act of  1735 (in South Carolina) that limited how black people could wear their hair or their clothing that they could put on. When Louisiana was a Spanish colony, Governor Estebal Rodriguez Miro limited how black woman could wear her jewelry. The irony is that the racists wanted black women to wear headwraps to maintain the status quo, but today, the head-warp is shown as a source of inspiration to tons of Sisters worldwide. In the South during slavery, black women who were salves were force to wear kerchiefs or head wraps as part of their uniform. Today, the head-wrap has been used by black Americans as a source of strength and a powerful why to outline black identity. We have a long way to go, but we will win in the end. Movies and television shows detail how important hair is in our daily societal happenings. That is why we witness the glory of the culture of hair all of the time. The truth remains. We can't stop, because we won't stop. Our lives certainly matter on this journey of life that we live through everyday.

My 3rd cousin is Shirley Marie Langston. She lived from 1937 to 2003. Her stepmother was Ernestine Richard Wilkins (1919-2013). Her father was Andrew J. Langston. Her mother was Carlee Dorcus Evans (1918-1993).Carlee Evans is my 2nd cousin. Shirley Marie Langston's sister was Catherine Eloise Langston (1933-2001). Her stepsisters and step brothers are: Annette Wilkins Byrd (1936-2009), Robert Wilkins (b. 1939), Hilda Marie Wilkins Boone (b. 1939), Rudolph Wilkins (1941-1995), Betty Lou Wilkins (b. 1943),and Jean Elizabeth Wilkins Pullen. These people are sons and daughters of William Woodie Wilkins and Ernestine Richard Wilkins. Shirley's other sisters are Michelle Waanibe Langston (b. 1958) and Dr. Robin Yvette Langston (b. 1960). These 2 sisters are daughters of Andrew J. Langston and Ernestine Richard Wilkins. Ernestine married Williams first and then Andrew Langston second. Betty Lou Wilkins married Albert Will Tweatt (19343-2013) on June 25, 1966 at Suffolk, Virginia. The children of Betty Lou Wilkins and Albert Will Thweat are Albert W. Thweatt II (b. 1968), Nathan Eron Thweatt (b. 1978), and Rodney Terrell Thweatt. Rodney Thweatt married Danielle Joy Vaughan on September 1, 2001 at Prince George, Virginia.





By Timothy