Life Stories.

 

Being in 2026 in the season of Winter represents a new epoch and new opportunities for humanity. We are in the beginning of the end of this decade of the 2020s. We are ever close to the important year of 2030, and that is very surreal to me personally. The reason for his surreal feeling is that time is constantly moving fast. By the year of 2030, the oldest Millennials will approach nearly 50 years old, and Generation X people will start experiencing their senior years. I remember my previous memories from the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2010s just like yesterday. For example, I was in kindergarten in 1988 when Reagan was President. I watched the Dream Team in 1992 on NBC television (when Michael Jordan, Charles Barkeley, David Robinson, and other basketball players were in their primes at Barcelona, Spain). I remembered participating in a STEM program in 1996 at Norfolk State University, and I traveled to Los Angeles, California in May 2019. During his new generation, new memories are readily in existence constantly from me visiting Chesapeake in 2025, etc. Standing up against bigotry and oligarchy remains a very vital philosophical framework in my consciousness. In our time, new tragedies have transpired like the murder of Ron Reiner and his wife, the attack in Brown University, and the anti-Semitic murder of people in Australia. We still believe in the Dream wherefore reparations for black Americans are made real, where environment is protected, when healthcare is universally available for all people as a human right, establishing equality for all human beings, and where voting rights are strengthened (without evil restrictions). Our heritage is filled with opposing the dictates of an authoritarian, wicked wannabe king in the White House now. We have a responsibility to reject tyranny in our daily lives, build institutions, treat people with dignity and respect, and do the right thing too. 

 

The end of this Winter 2026 series has made it very clear to the audience (who are reading these words) that truth is important to accept and advance. It matters. We live in a time when disinformation is abundant, but the truth is superior to lies. The truth is that many of Trump's policies are evil like: his promoting of banning birthright citizenship, his elimination of legitimate environmental regulations, his usage of the U.S. military to illegally occupy American cities (i.e. in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.), his expression of the racist remark about Somali people (in calling them "garbage"), his regressive tariff policies (in making items more expensive for people to spend on including farmers), his agenda to attack black museums that accurately expose slavery and the viciousness of white racism at it relates to American history, him glorifying authoritarians in the globe, and his attacks on the freedom of speech (in trying to get hosts off the air for expressing dissent with Trump's policies). Also, it is important to reject bitterness and revenge. Many people want to disagree with Trump to advance hatred for the sake of hatred. I oppose that view. We disagree with the views of Trump advance hope, solutions, and goodness in the Universe. We must always be vigilant to advocate for liberty, justice, and freedom for all. Also, it is important to advance intellectual development. That means that we must comprehend diphthongs, theme, character, alliteration, idioms, metaphors, onomatopoeia, similes, hyperbole, iambic pentameter, and other concepts in dealing with literature and linguistic skills. Benefits abound involving reading. Reading improves the quality of life physically and emotionally (like developing the mind, calming emotions, and improve vocabulary skills). Unfortunately, some adults refuse to even read digital e-Books or other digital books. So, reading, writing, and analyzing information grows our mental acuity plus our longetivies too. 

 

Artifical intelligence (A.I.) has been debated for years now. Some people, who oppose A.I., disagree with it for numerous moral reasons. Some believe that A.I. will corrupt humanity morally, strip jobs from the American people (causing economic turmoil), and eliminate a lot of innate human creativity. A.I. with SOPA now has recreated images and the speaking voices (plus mannerisms) of Tupac, Biggie, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Fidel Castro, and other famous human beings to put them in various social scenarios. These social settings can be like professional wrestling events, going to the store, using inspirational quotations, driving in a car, etc. Some estates or relatives of celebrities (whose images are used in A.I.'s SOPA devices, etc.) have threatened to sue those involved in such technology that takes the likeness of these celebrities. Artificial intelligence has been criticized for replacing many jobs from factory occupations to corporate spaces. There are defenders of artificial intelligence who feel that A.I. is highly profitable economically that can innovate more technological growth. Some people want A.I. to be utilized for more lucrative business ventures. The A.I. advocates view artificial intelligence as a great method to construct buildings faster, to develop products more efficiently, and reduce error in production in general. What is the truth? The truth is that artificial intelligence must have legitimate regulations to it. Trump wants states to have no regulations to A.I., and I disagree with him. A.I. with no regulations whatsoever will cause economic and social problems. Also, that reality can create environmental chaos (as some A.I. data centers have polluted waters in the world now. That is why I believe that A.I. data centers should be banned as it has caused water pollution, air pollution, and even increasing rates for people to have various cancers. So, artificial intelligence will be discussed vigorously in the years and decades to come. 

 

Many individuals have discussed about the life story of Tupac Shakur for over three decades now. The year of 1996 is the 30th year anniversary of his tragic, evil, and unjust assassination of Tupac Amaru Shakur which was done by cowardly people. I was alive during the time when Tupac was alive. From being the most influential hip hop artist of all time, being a poet, being a political activist, and being an outstanding, trained actor, Tupac Shakur lived a very expansive life in the realm of twenty-five years. He lived in the East Coast, the West Coast, and in the South (in Atlanta just before his passing. Many of Tupac's relatives moved to Atlanta, Georgia) to witness different environments. Yet, Tupac saw the similarities among black people in numerous regions of America. These similarities revolve around the issues of poverty, racism, police brutality, and other evil conditions that tons of black people still go through unfortunately. Yet, we are very resilient as black people. We have made lemonade from lemons literally like being architects, teachers, athletes, musicians, judges, lawyers, scultpors, inventors, doctors, astronauts, IT experts, nurses, etc. That is the power of Blackness. Tupac has been in the conversation of friends and foes in recent years. New information about his life is known as the unsung story of Tupac working with Lela Rochon on the set of the movie Gang Related in 1996. Another story about his life is how his sister Set said that Tupac had fame, but he was incredibly lonely in real life. Suge Knight was like an older brother to Tupac Shakur. While Suge's imperfections and evil actions have no justification, you can't understand the whole Tupac story without knowing about Death Row and its leader, Simon. Tupac was the embodiment of hip hop culture filled with glory, contributions, impeffections, resiliency, strength, and courage. Tuapc never was a gangster as he said that he wasn't one. He said that he was a street solider. Tupac was a young black man who lived a life filled with ups and downs. His positive actions will spark the brain that will change the world indeed as he has stated.

Rest in Power Brother Tupac Shakur. 

 

My family has a long history from the shores of the Motherland of Africa to North America. Eternally, I love and appreciate my Blackness and my black African heritage. After many decades of living my life, I still have my core convictions intact. Soon, I will be 50 years old in less than 8 years, and I am appreciative of living my lfie. Every day, we wake up during the morning is a privilege and a blessing from the Most High God. From my paternal and maternal relatives, I discovered family members who are teachers, social activists (my ancestor Joseph Peeples was involved with the NAACP before according to my mother), religious leaders, military veterans (including two people who were involved in the June 6, 1944 Normandy invasion to liberate Europe from far right Axis Nazi terrorists), community leaders, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, aunts, uncles, and other people who made outstanding gifts in the world. One lesson in life is to always stand up for yourself. We live in one life, and it is important to defend your honor and inegrity when necessary. Also, never give up is another valuable precept in life too, because doing something to imporve life's quality is a whole lot better than doing nothing. Therefore, there will be many stories formed in the future by the human family. Yet, the same goal is still the same. We want full freedom, justice, and equality  in an uncompromising fashion. 

 

The history of Miami starts with the Native American people of the Tequestas. Early Native Americans lived in the Miami region from about 10,000 years ago. pine hardwood forests and was home to plenty of deer, bear, and wild fowl. These first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River, with their main villages on the northern banks. These early Native Americans created a variety of weapons and tools from shells. The area was filled with The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans and had largely migrated by the middle of the 18th century. Miami is named after the Mayaimi, a Native American tribe that lived around Lake Okeechobee until the 17th or 18th century. The first Europeans who arrived at Miami were the Spanish who came to Miami by the mid 1500s. They formed a mission and small garrison among the Tequesta on the Biscayne Bay in 1567. The mission and garrison were withdrawn a couple years later. 

In 1513, Juan Ponce de León was the first European to visit the Miami area by sailing into Biscayne Bay. He wrote in his journal that he reached Chequescha, which was Miami's first recorded name, but it is unknown whether or not he came ashore or made contact with the natives. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his men made the first recorded landing in this area when they visited the Tequesta settlement in 1566 while looking for Menéndez's missing son, who had been shipwrecked a year earlier. Spanish soldiers, led by Father Francisco Villareal, built a Jesuit mission at the mouth of the Miami River a year later, but it was short-lived. By 1570, the Jesuits decided to look for more willing subjects outside of Florida. After the Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fight European-introduced diseases, such as smallpox, without European help. Wars with other tribes greatly weakened their population, and they were easily defeated by the Creek Indians in later battles. 

By 1711, the Tequesta had sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana to ask if they could migrate there. The Spanish sent two ships to help them, but their illnesses struck, killing most of their population. In 1743, the Spaniards sent another mission to Biscayne Bay, where they built a fort and church. The missionary priests proposed a permanent settlement, where the Spanish settlers would raise food for the soldiers and Native Americans. However, the proposal was rejected as impractical and the mission was withdrawn before the end of the year

In 1743, the governor of Cuba formed another mission and garrison on Biscayne Bay. As the mission had not been approved by the Council of the Indies, the mission and garrison were withdrawn the following year. The Spanish recorded that the inhabitants at the site of the 1743 mission were survivors of the Cayos, Carlos (presumed to be Caloosa) and Boca Raton people, who were subject to periodic raids by the Uchises (native allies of the English in South Carolina). 

In 1766, Samuel Touchett received a land grant from the Crown for 20,000 acres (81 km2) in the Miami area. The grant was surveyed by Bernard Romans in 1772. A condition for making the grant permanent was that at least one settler had to live on the grant for every 100 acres (0.4 km2) of land. While Touchett wanted to found a plantation in the grant, he was having financial problems and his plans never came to fruition. The first permanent European settlers in the Miami area came about in 1800. 

Pedro Fornells, a Menorcan survivor of the New Smyrna colony, moved to Key Biscayne to meet the terms of his Royal Grant for the island. Although he returned with his family to St. Augustine after six months, he left a caretaker behind on the island. On a trip to the island in 1803, Fornells had noted the presence of squatters on the mainland across Biscayne Bay from the island. In 1825, U.S. Marshal Waters Smith visited the Cape Florida Settlement (which was on the mainland) and conferred with squatters who wanted to obtain title to the land they were occupying. On the mainland, the Bahamian "squatters" had settled along the coast beginning in the 1790s. John Egan had also received a grant from Spain during the Second Spanish Period. John's son James Egan, his wife Rebecca Egan, his widow Mary "Polly" Lewis, and Mary's brother-in-law Jonathan Lewis all received 640-acre land grants from the U.S. in present-day Miami. Temple Pent and his family did not receive a land grant, but nevertheless stayed in the area. Treasure hunters from the Bahamas and the Keys came to South Florida to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran around on the treacherous Great Florida reef, some of whom accepted Spanish land offers along the Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole Indians arrived along with a group of runaway slaves. In 1825, the Cape Florida Lighthouse was built on nearby Key Biscayne to warn passing ships of the dangerous reefs. Slave plantations were in the Miami area where slaves cultivated sugarcane, bananas, maize, and tropical fruit. 

Fort Dallas was built in 1836 and functioned as a military base during the Second Seminole War. During the early times, the Miami area was known as Biscayne Bay Country. There are published accounts during that period to outline the area as a wilderness that held much promise. The area was called "one of the finest building sites in Florida. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War, where Major William S. Harney led several raids against the Native Americans. Fort Dallas was located on Fitzpatrick's plantation on the north bank of the river. Most of the non-Indian population consisted of soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas. The Seminole War was the most devastating Indian war in American history,[citation needed] causing almost a total loss of native population in the Miami area. The Cape Florida lighthouse was burned by Seminoles in 1836 and was not repaired until 1846. The 2nd Seminole War ended in 1842.  Fitzpatrick's nephew, William English, re-established the plantation in Miami. He charted the "Village of Miami" on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. When English died in California in 1852, his plantation died with him. Miami had very little people at first, and the name Miami came from the Mayimi Native American tribe. Later, the Third Seminole War lasted from 1855 to 1858, but was not nearly as destructive as the previous one. However, it did slow down the rate of settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed and some of the Seminoles remained in the Everglades. Miami was part of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. From 1858 to 1896, Miami grew with a handful of families living in the area. There were many settlments on the bank of the Miami River. 

Other settlements within Miami's city limits were Lemon City (now Little Haiti) and Coconut Grove. Settlements outside the city limits were Biscayne, in present-day Miami Shores, and Cutler, in present-day Palmetto Bay. Many of the settlers were homesteaders, attracted to the area by offers of 160 acres (0.6 km2) of free land by the United States federal government.

After the Great Freeze of 1894, the crops of the Miami area were the only ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle, a local landowner, convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railway to Miami. On July 28, 1896, Miami was officially incorporated as a city with a population of just over 300.  The right to vote was restricted to all men who resided in Miami or Dade County. Joseph A. McDonald, Flagler's chief of construction on the Royal Palm Hotel, was elected chairman of the meeting. After ensuring that enough voters were present, the motion was made to incorporate and organize a city government under the corporate name of "The City of Miami", with the boundaries as proposed. John B. Reilly, who headed Flagler's Fort Dallas land company, was the first elected mayor. Initially, most residents wanted to name the city "Flagler". However, Henry Flagler was adamant that the new city would not be named after him. So on July 28, 1896, the City of Miami, named after the Miami River, was incorporated with 502 voters, including 100 registered black voters.[23] The black population provided the primary labor force for the building of Miami.[citation needed] Clauses in land deeds confined black people to the northwest section of Miami, which became known as "Colored Town" (today's Overtown).

From 1900 to 1941, Miami grew rapidly. In 1900, 1,681 people lived in Miami; in 1910, there were 5,471 people; and in 1920, there were 29,549 people. As thousands of people moved to the area in the early 20th century, the need for more land quickly became apparent. Until then, the Florida Everglades extended to within three miles (5 km) of Biscayne Bay. Beginning in 1906, canals were made to remove some of the water from those lands. Miami Beach was developed in 1913 when a two-mile (3 km) wooden bridge built by John Collins was completed. During the early 1920s, an influx of new residents and unscrupulous developers led to the Florida land boom, when speculation drove land prices high. Some early developments were razed after their initial construction to make way for larger buildings. The population of Miami doubled from 1920 to 1923. The nearby areas of Lemon City, Coconut Grove, and Allapattah were annexed in the fall of 1925, creating the Greater Miami area. Yet, this boom started to slow down by building construction delays and overload on the transport system caused by the excess of bulky building materials. There was a ship blocking the Miami Harbor for a month almost on January 10, 1926. There was the catastrophic Great Miami Hurricane in 1926 the ended what was left of the boom. The hurricane was a Category 4 storm. It was the 12th most costly and 12th most deadly to strike the United States during the 20th century. According to the Red Cross, there were 373 fatalities, but other estimates vary, due to the large number of people listed as "missing". Between 25,000 and 50,000 people were left homeless in the Miami area. The Great Depression followed, causing more than sixteen thousand people in Miami to become unemployed. As a result, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was opened in the area.

During the mid-1930s, the Art Deco district of Miami Beach was developed. Also during this time, on February 15, 1933, an assassination attempt was made on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. While Roosevelt was giving a speech in Miami's Bayfront Park, Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian anarchist, opened fire. Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago, who was shaking hands with Roosevelt, was shot and died two weeks later. Four other people were wounded, but President-elect Roosevelt was not harmed. Zangara was quickly tried for Cermak's murder and was executed by the electric chair on March 20, 1933, in Raiford, Florida.

Also in 1933, the Miami City Commission asked the Miami Women's Club to create a city flag design. The flag was designed by Charles L. Gmeinder on their behalf, and adopted by City Commission in November 1933. It is unknown why the orange and green colors were selected for the flag. One theory is that the colors were inspired by the orange tree, although the University of Miami was already using the colors of orange and green for their sports teams since 1926. 

 

By Timothy