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Andrew Johnson has lived in infamy as one of the most racist Presidents in American history. He not only wanted Confederate leaders to be pardoned without accountability for their evil crimes. He was hostile to Reconstruction policies. He was once the vice President of Abraham Lincon, and he was a Democratic President too. He lived from December 29, 1808 to July 31, 1875. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He had English, Scots-Irish, and Irish ancestry. His parents were Jacob Johnson (1778-1812) and Mary (Poly) McDonough (1783-1856). He had siblings who died in their childhoods. Andrew Johnson was born in a two-room shack. He was a poor child. He grew up in poverty. Andrew Johnon was inspired to read by one worker. He had a lifelong love of learning, and he was a public speaker. Johnson moved into Laurens, South Carolina after running away from North Carolina. He came into Raleigh. Later, he moved west into Tennesse in fear of being arrested for running away. He lived in Knoxville, Mooresville, Alabama. He also was a tailor in Columbia, Tennessee. He fell in love with Greeneville, Tennessee. He married Eliza McCardle when she was just 16 years old. He was 18. They were married by the first cousin of Thomas Lincoln (whose son was Abraham Lincoln). His name was Mordecai Lincoln. Mordecai was the Justice of the Peace. Andrew Johnson invested in real estate, and he was a famous tailor. He read books all of the time, and he had private debates on the issues of the day with customers who had opposing views. He took part in debates at Greeneville College. Andrew Johnson and his wife had 5 children named Martha, Charles, Mary, Robert, and Andrew Jr. Eliza supported Andrew's work. She suffered from tuberculosis. His wife taught him mathematics and helped to improve his writing. His wife was shy, and his daughter Martha served as an official hostess. Andrew Johnson started to have slaves in 1843. The human being was named Dolly and 14 years old in that time, and Johnson later kidnapped Sam. Dolly had 3 children named Liz, Florence, and William. 

 

 

In 1857, Andrew Johnson purchased Henry, who was 13 at the time and would later accompany the Johnson family to the White House. Sam Johnson and his wife Margaret had nine children. Sam became a commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau and was known for being a proud man who negotiated the nature of his work with the Johnson family. Notably, he received some monetary compensation for his labors and negotiated with Andrew Johnson to receive a tract of land which Andrew Johnson gave him for free in 1867. Ultimately, Johnson owned at least ten slaves. He only freed the slaves on August 8, 1863. The former slaves were his paid servants. In 1864, Andrew Johnson was the military governor of Tennessee when he proclaimed the freedom of all Tennessee slaves. Sam and Margaret, lived in his tailor shop while he was President without rent. Andrew Johnson was given a watch by many emancipated people in Tennessee. It was inscribed with the words of "for his Untiring Energy in the Cause of Freedom." Obviously, Johnson was not an advocate for true freedom for all people. Andrew Johnson was a politician early on. Johnson organized an 1829 working men's ticket in the 1829 Greenville municipal election. He was elected town alderman. Also, he promoted a state convention to pass a new constitution to disenfranchise person of color who were free. This was about the time of the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion. It has infrastructure plans in them. He was the mayor of Greenville on January 4, 1834. During his Greeneville days, Johnson joined the Tennessee Militia as a member of the 90th Regiment. He attained the rank of colonel, though while an enrolled member, Johnson was fined for an unknown offense. Afterwards, he was often addressed or referred to by his rank. 

 

 

He was in the Tennessee state legislature. Johnson wanted minimal government spending and didn't want aid for the railroads. He lost reelection in 1837 to Brookins Campbell and the Whigs. He was a Presidential elector, a state Senator, and a member of the U.S. Representative. Johnson was anti-abolitionist, talked about the interests of the poor, and opposed protective tariffs. He wanted limited spending. Andrew Johnson supported slavery and didn't want the federal government to fight it. He also supported the Polk's administration decision to fight in the Mexican War. That war helped to make Texas a slave state. Also, he opposed the Wilmot Proviso since it was a plan to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico. He supported the Homestead Bill to give 160 acres to people. He even supported slavery in D.C. He advanced the Compromise of 1850. Later, Andrew Johnson was the Governor of Tennessee. Farmers and other people voted heavily for Andrew Johnson to be a new U.S. Senator. In October 1859, abolitionist John Brown and sympathizers raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia). Tensions in Washington between pro- and anti-slavery forces increased greatly. Johnson gave a major speech in the Senate in December, decrying Northerners who would endanger the Union by seeking to outlaw slavery. The Tennessee senator stated that "all men are created equal" from the Declaration of Independence did not apply to African Americans, since the Constitution of Illinois contained that phrase—and that document bared voting by African Americans. So, Andrew Johnson was a total racist. By that time, Johnson owned 14 slaves, and he was wealthy. He supported the Homestead plan. Gordon-Reed points out that while Johnson's belief in an indissoluble Union was sincere, he had alienated Southern leaders, including Davis, who would soon be the president of the Confederate States of America, formed by the seceding states. If the Tennessean had backed the Confederacy, he would have had small influence in its government.

 

Tennesse joined the Confederacy after a 2nd referendum was passed by Juen 1861. Andrew Johnson opposed secession and wanted a unified Union. Johnson had to flee to the Cumberland Gap where his friends were shot at. His family and wife stayed in Greeneville. Johnson worked with Abraham Lincoln early on. He wanted any Union commander to fight the Confederacy in East Tennessee. Lincoln appointed him as the military Governor of Tennesse.  Later in 1862, after his departure from the Senate and in the absence of most Southern legislators, the Homestead Bill was finally enacted. Along with legislation for land-grant colleges and for the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Bill has been credited with opening the American West to settlement. He fought in 1863 to allow Tennessee to be part of the Union. Johnson didn't want Tennessee to be affected by the Emancipation Proclamation. Then, he finally said that he wanted to end slavery. He reluctantly supported efforts to enlist former slaves into the Union Army, feeling that African Americans should perform menial tasks to release white Americans to do the fighting. Nevertheless, he succeeded in recruiting 20,000 black soldiers to serve the Union. Andrew Johnson was Vice President by 1865. Lincoln wanted a unity ticket. On the afternoon of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and Johnson met for the first time since the inauguration. Trefousse states that Johnson wanted to "induce Lincoln not to be too lenient with traitors"; Gordon-Reed agrees.

 

 

Andrew Johnson was President after Abraham Lincoln's evil assassination. Johnson wanted the conspirators to face punishment. Further, Johnson placed a $100,000 bounty (equivalent to $1.69 million in 2020) on Confederate President Davis, then a fugitive, which gave Johnson the reputation of a man who would be tough on the South. More controversially, he permitted the execution of Mary Surratt for her part in Lincoln's assassination. Surratt was executed with three others, including Atzerodt, on July 7, 1865.  President Lincoln had authorized loyalist governments in Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as the Union came to control large parts of those states and advocated a ten percent plan that would allow elections after ten percent of the voters in any state took an oath of future loyalty to the Union. Congress considered this too lenient; its own plan, requiring a majority of voters to take the loyalty oath, passed both houses in 1864, but Lincoln pocket vetoed it. Andrew Johnson wanted a speedy restoration of the Union as long as those states, who seceded, expressed loyalty to the Union. He didn't want voting rights for all black people and wanted states to decide on voting rights. He wanted reelection in 1868. 

 

The Republicans had formed a number of factions. The Radical Republicans sought voting and other civil rights for African Americans. They believed that the freedmen could be induced to vote Republican in gratitude for emancipation, and that black votes could keep the Republicans in power and Southern Democrats, including former rebels, out of influence. They believed that top Confederates should be punished. The Moderate Republicans sought to keep the Democrats out of power at a national level and prevent former rebels from resuming power. They were not as enthusiastic about the idea of African American suffrage as their Radical colleagues, either because of their own local political concerns, or because they falsely believed that the freedman would be likely to cast his vote badly. Northern Democrats favored the unconditional restoration of the Southern states. They did not support African American suffrage, which might threaten Democratic control in the South. Johnson wanted the states to handle Reconstruction issues, but the Radical Republicans wanted more federal intervention. Johnson promoted amnesty to many ex-rebels without black suffrage or rights to the freed people. Since many Northerners didn't want black suffrage like many in the South, the Southern states used Black Codes. The Black Codes binded African-American laborers to farms on annual contracts they could not quit and allowing law enforcement at whim to arrest them for vagrancy and rent out their labor. Most Southerners elected to Congress were former Confederates, with the most prominent being Georgia Senator-designate and former Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens. Congress assembled in early December 1865; Johnson's conciliatory annual message to them was well received. Nevertheless, Congress refused to seat the Southern legislators and established a committee to recommend appropriate Reconstruction legislation. Many Republicans didn't want the Black Codes or the power of the Southern states to increase. This galvanized Republicans and Johnson broke with the Republicans in 1866. 

 

Johnson wanted a political battle with the Radical Republicans in order for him to win election in 1868. Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull, leader of the Moderate Republicans and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was anxious to reach an understanding with the President. He ushered through Congress a bill extending the Freedmen's Bureau beyond its scheduled abolition in 1867, and the first Civil Rights Bill, to grant citizenship to the freedmen. Trumbull met several times with Johnson and was convinced the President would sign the measures (Johnson rarely contradicted visitors, often fooling those who met with him into thinking he was in accord). In fact, the President opposed both bills as infringements on state sovereignty. Johnson wanted to gain more support among white Southerners. Johnson vetoed the Freedman's Bureau's bill on February 18, 1866. Many white Southerners cheered. Republicans were angry. The Senate failed to overthrow the veto. He wanted the Radical Republicans defeated, but moderate Republicans would unite with Radical Republicans to fight back. Andrew Johnson gave a speech and lied to say that Stevens, Sumner, and Phillips were plotting his assassination. The Republicans overridden the Johnson veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It was the first of its kind in American history. Johnson even opposed the 14th Amendment. In January 1867, Congressman Stevens introduced legislation to dissolve the Southern state governments and reconstitute them into five military districts, under martial law. The states would begin again by holding constitutional conventions. African Americans could vote for or become delegates; former Confederates could not.  Johnson was impeached but not kicked out of office by the Seante. Andrew Johnson sent Secretary of State William H. Seward to handle foreign policy issues. Seward wanted America to gain more territories. He was involved in gaining Alaska from Russia. Johnson signed the Southern Homestead Act to help poor people, but it was plagued with fraud. Johnson pardoned Davis at the end of his term, even Dr. Samuel Mudd (who was convicted of conspiracy in being involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln). Andrew Johnson won the Senate seat late in life. He died of a stroke at the age of 1866. 

 

President Grant had the "painful duty" of announcing the death of the only surviving past president. Northern newspapers, in their obituaries, tended to focus on Johnson's loyalty during the war, while Southern ones paid tribute to his actions as president. Johnson's funeral was held on August 3 in Greeneville. He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. Andrew Johnson was what he was. He was born in poverty, knew the truth, and he decided to still support policies that harmed the rights of the most vulnerable, oppressed Americans. Andrew Johnson was not new. Back then and today, significant amounts of people in America believed in a small government, in racial bigotry, and hostility towards Reconstruction policies. So, Andrew Johnson's oppressive legacy is overt, not mysterious. He had one term, and the future legacy of American society would evolve into many designations. 

  

 

For decades, gospel artists have been awarded with many awards and congratulations. One of the most famous awards shows is the Stellar Awards. The Stellar Awards Gospel Music Academy (SAGMA) presented the awards since 1987. It has been on TV One from 2015-2018 and on BET from 2019 to the present. Every year, the presentation has performances by gospel artists and presentations. The first Stellar Awards ceremony was held on 1984, to honor and respect the musical accomplishments by gospel performers for the year 1983. Following the 2018 ceremony, SAGMA overhauled a few Stellar Award categories for 2019. In 2020, the awards show was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony was aired virtually on August 23, 2020. Jekalyn Carr later hosted the "Stellar Tribute to the Holidays", which aired on local channels and on UPtv, Aspire TV, and Bounce TV. The first Stellar Awards took place at the Aire Crown Theater in Chicago by 1984. Some of the Categories in the show are Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year, etc. Kirk Franklin, Johnathan McReynolds, and Koryn Hawthorne hosted the 2020 Stellar Awards on BET. It was shown virtually. The GMA Dove Award show existed since 1969. It has been hosted in Nashville, Tennessee and in Atlanta, Georgia in 2011 and 2012. The ceremonies have been broadcasted on TBN. It deals with gospel styles involving rock, pop, hip hop country, and urban. The whole ceremony was envisioned by gospel singer and songwriter Bill Gaither at the Gospel Music Association board meeting in 1968. The first DOVE award took place at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. The 52 GMA Dove Awards took place on October 19, 2021 at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The hosts of the show are Jonathan McReynolds and Natalie Grant. The nominees were announced on August 11, 2021, with producer and songwriter Steven Furtick leading ten nominations among non-artists, whilst Elevation Worship and Brandon Lake led the artist nominations with seven each. CeCe Winans won the most awards, with 4 including Gospel Artist of the Year, alongside producer Jason Ingram and worship band Elevation Worship, who both also clinched 4 awards each, the latter winning Song of the Year for "The Blessing". Pop duo For King & Country won their second consecutive Artist of the Year, whilst Maverick City Music took home the New Artist of the Year award. 

 

 

 

Many TV shows and documentaries about gospel music has always been prominent. One of the recent documentaries about gospel music is called The Black Church. The documentary has been new, eye opening, and caused debate. The documentary is in the perspective of promoting the social gospel motif. It is from a liberal perspective, so Gates made sure to advance that perspective in the documentary. It is what it is. Likewise, it presented great historical information that many people didn't know about the evolution of the Black Church from the past to the present. The influence of the Great Migration spread a faster paced gospel sound from the Delta to Chicago including everywhere in America. It showed the diverse people in the gospel black tradition from more conservative people to more progressive people with different ideologies. I saw all parts of the documentary before. Touched by An Angel, Promised Land, etc. Many shows would be more for grown folks like Greenleaf. Some are for children like Veggie Tales. 

  

 

Some of the most disturbing news is how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wanted to propose a state military force under his direct control. This is overt promotion of fascism. He wanted a 200 member Florida State Guard. This will cost $3.5 million. DeSantis claimed it will be used to support emergency response efforts in the event of a hurricane, natural disasters, and other state emergencies. This proposal will definitely be used to repress protests like the State Guard did in 1947. DeSantis had already deployed over 1,000 members of the Florida National Guard to help suppress protests that broke out in Florida in response to the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. We know that June 3, 2020 was when an armed military police (via Trump's orders) violently attacked peaceful protesters assembled outside the White House. Desantis sent a further 500 guardsmen to D.C. at the request of then Defense Secretary Mark Esper. The Florida Military Affairs statue, it has a provision that DeSantis can deploy the State Guard "to assist the civil authorities in maintaining law and order." The State Guard is beyond federal control without being deployed by the U.S. President. DeSantis is the same person who signed the Combating Public Disorder bill. That law is the most anti-protest law in the nation violating people's right to exercise their freedom of speech and right to assemble. He signed laws with policies that made voting more difficult, banning snacks to voters waiting in line, restrict the time period when people can vote, and restrict the access to secure ballot drop boxes. DeSantis sent 50 Florida National Guard troops to the Texas/Mexico border to arrest suffering migrants. He made xenophobic remarks about the migrants being sex offenders and drug dealers which is racist rhetoric. DeSantis believes in the myth that herd immunity would end the coronavirus. He loves the views of Donald Trump too. Whistleblower Rebekah Jones in Florida was violated of her rights with a raid by DeSantis of her home (with guns pointed at her husband and children. The police go her phone, computers, and other equipment, because Jones exposed how DeSantis wanted to manipulate the data of the spread of COVID-19 in Florida). On September 16, 2021, DeSantis was awarded the Governor's Medal of Freedom by former CIA officer Felix Rodriguez (who is a fascist, a person involved in the murder of Che Guevara, and participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion). Also, Felix is a war criminal being involved in the Operation Phoenix program during the Vietnam War where he trained South Vietnamese paramilitary units to execute over 80,000 people. The working class and the poor must always oppose DeSantis' evil, anti-democratic agenda in Florida. 

 

 

 

There are almost 15 million Afro-Brazilians in Brazil. Most of them live in Bahia, Sao Paulo, Rio De Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and other locations in the country of Brazil. Afro-Brazilians are called preto in Brazil. Multiracial Brazilians are called pardos. Since the early 21st century, Brazilian government agencies such as the Special Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality (SEPPIR) and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), have considered combining the categories preto and pardo (individual with varied racial ancestries) into a single category called negro (Black, capital initial), because both groups show socioeconomic indications of discrimination. They suggest doing so would make it easier to help people who have been closed out of opportunity. This proposal has caused much controversy because there is no consensus about it in Brazilian society. For decades, Afro-Brazilian people have fought oppression and racism. Many Afro-Brazilians admire African Americans as seen as inspiring change. Many black Brazilians are fighting for affirmative action in Brazil, fighting police brutality, and working to increase their personal representation. A large percentage of Afro-Brazilian people come from the Congo, Angola, Mozambique, etc. Slavery was abolished in Brazil on May 13, 1888. Today, we have Afro-Brazilian scholars and singers like WD, Hugo Rafael, Thais Pereira, Bruno Fernandez, Iza, Dom Salvador (a pianist), and Letieres Leite. Afro-Brazilian political leaders are Benedita da Silva, Joaquim Barbosa, and other human beings. 

 

 

Afro Colombians then and now have been fighters for justice. There are about 4.6 million Afro-Colombians in Columbia. They have descent from Congo, Angola, Gambia, and other places in West and Central Africa. Many slaves centuries ago were forced to work in gold mines and on sugar cane plantations. Some were forced to work at cattle ranches and large haciendas. African people played key roles in the struggle for independence from Spain. Historians note that three of every five soldiers in Simon Bolívar's army were African. Afro-Colombians were able to participate at all levels of military and political life. By 1851, slavery was abolished in Columbia. Black Columbians do live in places like Quiddo and in the northwest Columbian coast and at the Pacific Ocean. In Colombia's ongoing internal conflict, Afro-Colombians are both victims of violence and displacement as well as members of armed factions, such as the FARC and the AUC. African Colombians have played a role in contributing to the development of certain aspects of Colombian culture. For example, several of Colombia's musical genres, such as Cumbia and Vallenato, have African origins or influences. Some African Colombians have also been successful in sports, such as Olympic weightlifter Óscar Figueroa and footballer, Patrocinio Bonilla, also known as "Patrón" (believed to have been murdered on August 11, 2020). Afro Colombians have been involved in music like bambuco, cumbia, and porro. Luis Antonio Robles Suárez was the first Afro-Colombian lawyer and politician. Ilia Calderón is a Afro-Colombian journalist. 

 By Timothy