On This Day In Black History...

1746 ~ Minister and abolitionist Absalom Jones was born into slavery in Sussex, Delaware. He becomes the 1st Black Episcopal Church priest

1860 ~ Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States. His opposition to the expansion of slavery prompted Slave-owning states to secede from the union which brought about the Civil War. Lincoln’s opposition to slavery was epitomized in his now famous phrase, “A nation cannot exist half-slave and half-free.”

1900 ~ James Weldon Johnson composes “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing.” The song becomes the “Black National Anthem” that is appropriately still sang at all meaningful Black events! Do you know the words? That is your task. Learn and memorize at least the 1st verse. Teach it to your children!!! (smile)

1928 ~ Oscar DePriest (1871-1951) is elected to the 71st U.S. Congress (Illinois) He was the 1st Black congressman from the North and the 1st to take a seat in Congress since Jim Crow laws and attitudes drove the last Black from Congress in 1901.

1962 ~ The United Nations adopted a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and called on all member states to terminate economic and military relations with the country.

1968 ~ The longest campus strike in U.S. history, led by the Black Student Union and Third World Liberation Front, began at San Francisco State University, where the students presented their set of 15 "non-negotiable" demands, which included the expansion of the College's new Black Studies Department (the nation's first), the creation of a School of Ethnic Studies, and increased recruiting and admissions of minority students.

1973 ~ Coleman Young and Thomas Bradley are elected first Black Mayors of major American cities; Detroit, Michigan and Los Angeles, California respectively.

1990 ~ Sharon Pratt Dixon-Kelly is elected the first Black female Mayor of Washington, D.C.

On This Day In Black History...

1787 ~ The US Constitution, document of "freedom", is approved containing 3 clauses allowing for the continuation of slavery. Slaves deemed "equal to 3/5 of a white citizen" and the slave trade was forecasted to end within 20 years.

1858 ~ Dred Scott, who waged a noted legal battle for his freedom, died

1861 ~ Hampton Institute is Founded

1878 ~ William A. Lavalette received Patent for improvement to Printing Press

1947 ~ Jackie Robinson, 1st Black baseball player to be named "Rookie of the Year' in the major leagues

1968 ~ Diahann Carroll, Actress & Singer, became the 1st Black in a lead role in the TV Sitcom, "Julia"

1970 ~ The Flip Wilson Show premieres on NBC. 1st prime time variety show starring a Black American male since the Nat King Cole Show

1973 ~ Illinois became the 1st state to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday as a holiday

1983 ~ Vanessa Williams becomes 1st Black woman to be crowned Miss America

There's A River A Risin' In Binghamton!!!

OK, so those of you who know me, know that I LOVE adventure. You also know that from time to time I have bragged (just a little) about beating the odds and escaping horrible weather in, of all places, good ole' Binghamton. Well, I guess now it is my turn. Binghamton is flooding like crazy!!! For once, the media is NOT exaggerating!!! It IS as bad as they are describing... Water, water everywhere!!!

Downtown, which is just down the road, over a bridge (likely the only the bridge left in town that is not yet under water), and visible from my 12th floor roof top is mostly under water. What was once a quaint little city of rivers and bridges sadly is not fairing so well with all this excess water. The bridges are covered and the rivers are cresting...


My friends also know that I am the High Rise Queen. I don't know when I last lived in a house. So rest assured that my "self" and hopefully my "stuff" is safe. If not, then the end is nearer than we think!!! (smile). Surely you know that I like my high rise to overlook, or at least be near, a body of water. Teresa says that is how she will always find me... She is right! Well, this time I think I over did it!

I live where two rivers meet, the confluence of the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers. They are meeting alright, deep in love and kissing up a storm!!! They have not yet crested (or should I say climaxed), but SOON, very soon, they will! It IS inevitable I am told... The cresting, that is. Let’s hope it is quick, swift and uneventful. You know like usual… Still, I am talking about the rivers. Yes I am!!! (smile).

Sistah' Girl has no use for a kitchen! Not even the threat of Hurricane Lee could change that! So it goes without saying that the cupboards are mostly bare and much of what is there has likely expired! Do those dates really count or are they there only to entice me to throw it out and buy it again? I’m Just Askin’… LOL!!! Not to worry, I am probably good for a day or two, maybe three. Since wild horses won't get me to leave my apartment, I ask that you join me in serious prayer for serious relief, and seriously soon! REAL soon!!! I'm Just Sayin'... (smile)

So for now, I am feeling confident and safe about the outcome of my new and unexpected adventure. However, just in case my confidence is somehow misplaced, I have taken my car to the highest ground I could find about a mile away. I exchanged numbers with Lauren, a random and very kind woman who lives there. She will watch my car and she assured me that even if the dams break, her neighborhood will never flood! I drank the KoolAide, I’m believing her, with my fingers crossed behind my back, but I believing her. Really I am! (smile)… Let's say that dam did break, all hell will have been let loose, damnation will rule the day and who will need a car? Right? I'm Just Wonderin'...

Again, for now I am safe and feeling good about my unexpected adventure and my pending life lesson. Just happened to watch Oprah 25 year finale show earlier today, surely that was an omen to let me know that there is a life lesson in all of this! There is a lesson in this, isn't it? I'm Just Hopin'... (smile)

OK, so now I'm hungry and ready to take on a new adventure - A Visit to My Refrigerator!!! LOL!!! Oh what delight awaits me there? I can hardly wait!!! Really I can't!

Just to let you know, I am fine and I will keep you posted as best I can. And to those who NEVER visited me here in lovely ole’ Bing Town, I guess you are off the hook!

For now, I am just fine…


Miss Higgi Says,
Thanks For Caring

Saw The Movie...

While killing time in Manhattan on yesterday, I decided to see the movie, "The Help". Ms. Davis and the entirety of the female cast did us proud. It was clear that the producer understood the sensitivity of the subject and was very thoughtful in its presentation. The movie depicted a sad truth in our history, peppered with just enough humor to keep the moviegoer entertained while educating, not diminishing or down playing, the public regarding the realities of a very harsh period in American history. A period in our history that some would like to forget, others would like to rewrite. A part of  our “past” that may be more part of our "present" than some would like to accept. I’m Just Sayin’…

During the movie there was a White woman sitting next to me who at one emotional point in the film just started sobbing. Skeeter confronts her Mother and demands an explanation of what happened to her “Help”, her surrogate Mother, Constantine, who disappeared without explanation when Skeeter went off to college. I wanted to ask my neighbor what she was feeling at that moment but of course I did not. After the movie, she immediately left the theater. I thought I had missed my chance until I saw her in the lobby. I wanted to have tea and talk with her but I had a bus to catch. Instead we walked together and talked. She explained that while she was emotional because she had just lost an Aunt, she admitted that she was moved by the movie because it brought back memories of a "woman who helped her family" and reminded her of just how dysfunctional her family is. She went on to say that we "create" our families where we can...

I share that to say there is good in the movie in that it can and it did, raise the consciousness of the viewer on both sides. Recognizing the controversy, I had planned to view the movie with a group of mixed race women, followed by what I knew would be lively and thoughtful discussion. Unfortunately, an overloaded schedule got in the way of these good intentions and I was not able to plan this activity.

My hope is that maybe, just maybe, some modern day "Hilly" saw herself in the movie and will treat her "Help" better because of it. The heroines of the movie live on. Still today there are lots of "Abilenes, Millies, and Constantines" as well as “Hillys, Elizabeths” and others out there. Of course the “Help” now comes in different shades, from different lands and/or with different accents, but they are the Help nonetheless and despite race, ethnicity or origin, are likely similarly mistreated or disregarded. Maybe this movie will make a difference in how those who employ others see themselves and how they treat "the Help"... I'm Just Hopin'...  

For all those who have been "the Help", including my Mother, I feel your pain and respect your tenacity to survive. For all those who employ "the Help", remember "but for the grace of God there go You (I)..." and be mindful that for many, and not so many generations ago, there went you! I'm Just Sayin'... 

To all, I encourage that you see this movie. It was tastefully done...

Good "Help" Is Hard to Find...

Here are comments I posted on The Ladner Report, a blog by Dr. Joyce Ladner, in response to a very insightful and heartfelt post she made regarding the movie The Help. I am still reading the book and I do plan to see the movie.


I wrote:

Thanks for speaking your truth Dr. Ladner, it reminds us of Our truth... Our strength... Our resolve... And why we should be so proud. Black folks have truly been through some stuff AND STILL WE STAND! Amazing and Resilient! That's what we are... 

I have not yet seen the movie but I have read most of the book and watched the promos. Quite frankly, it is Viola Davis’ accepting the lead role that inspired me to read the book and see the movie. She has credence. Recognizing her pride and accepting that the story was going to be told, I am trusting that she would not compromise her/our integrity…

As I read the book and watch the promos, I am struck that Black women are given such praise and reverence for raising other people’s children. Seemingly to the exclusion of their birth mothers, children, mostly women, who are now adults and likely parents themselves, are searching and longing for the love and nurturing of their Black maids who they admit “raised” them. Fascinating! Because today, America’s foster care system suggests just the opposite. Nationally, Black children today are overwhelmingly and disproportionately over represented, misrepresented, in foster care. Black Mothers forgot how to mother? Really???  Or did they just become expedient and accessible pawns in a tragic and systematic disregard for and destruction of the Black family? I’m Just Wonderin’…

Foster care is charged with doing what is in the best of the child and ultimately should be concerned with the continuity, stabilization and when appropriate, reunification of the family. Too often, such is not the case. For example, in New York City where 66% of the population is White, fewer than 4% of the children in foster care are White. How can that be? Sadly, NYC is no exception. As our children go from foster care to prison care, no one seems to care that this is a national problem. So just when did Black Mothers lose this enviable skill and become such incompetent caregivers? I’m Just Askin’…

In law school I took a class on Child Abuse and Neglect. The professor was a former attorney handling child “welfare” cases for the state. In that role she legitimatized the removal of countless children from their homes and of course supported such state action in her teaching. I remember explaining to her that in order for me to accept the validity of her arguments and the statistics as reported regarding the overwhelming numbers of Black children in foster care would require that I also accept the validity of the innuendo that despite raising every body else’s children, Black women are now innately incapable of being good Mothers and raising their own children… REALLY??? I will not, cannot accept any such premise… 

Conversely I KNOW that we are truly amazing and resilient people and that we have been through some stuff! AND STILL WE STAND! So thank you again Dr. Ladner for sharing your Truth! 

On another note, ever wonder how the very rich, very famous Ms Paula Deen might have “learned” to cook soul food so well? I'm Just Askin'... 
Good "Help" is still hard to find and the beat goes on...


Check out Dr. Ladner's post at the link below.
http://theladnerreportblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-thanks-kathryn-stockett-i-dont-want.html

On This Day In Black History...

1868 ~ 14th Amendment validates citizenship for African Americans

1872 ~ Elijah McCoy was issued patent #129,843 for improvements in steam engines lubricators. He had over 50 inventions and it is he for whom the popular phrase "The Real McCoy", meaning "the real thing", is coined

1889 ~ W. A. Martin received Patent for the forerunner of modern door lock

1962 ~ Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

1967 ~ The largest race riot in the 20th century began in Detriot in the early morning of July 23. It lasted 5 days, spreading to other Michigan cities and was precipitated by a police decision to raid and arrest 83 patroms of an unlicensed, after-hours bar. The patrons were reportedly celebrating the safe return of a Vietnam veteran. Mayhem erupted. Republican presidential hopeful, Gov George Romney, sent in the Michigan National Guard and President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in the US Army to help end the disturbance. The end result however was 5 days of rioting; 43 dead (33 Black, 10 White), 467 injured, 231 incidents reported each hour, 7,231 arrested, 388 families rendered homeless, 483 fires set and more than 2,500 buildings destroyed at estimagted property values between $40 and $80 million. Although the riot ended within 48 hours of their deployment, it was widely believed that the deployment of mostly White National Guard troops into the majority Black inner city incited more violence. Most of the Army troops were Black and were met with less resistance. The chaos received international attention. National news media covered the riot on live television, extensive newspaper reporting, and feature stories in Time and Life magazines. The Detroit Free Press won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage.

1968 ~ A race riot known as the "Glenville Shootout" began in Cleveland on the night of July 23, lasting 5 days and prompted by a shootout between a Black militant group led by Fred "Ahmed" Evans and the Cleveland police department. There were casualties on both sides; 7 dead (3 policemen, 3 suspects, 1 civilian) and 15 were wounded. Although property destruction and vandalism continued for 4 additional days, it is widely held that further deaths were prevented by Mayor Carl Stokes' insightful position that putting Blacks in charge of their own community would prevent further bloodshed. Immediately only Black police and Black community leaders were allowed in Glenville. Other police and the national guardsmen were stationed on the perimeter of the cordoned-off area until calm had mostly been restored. There was no more loss of life. Evans surrendered on the morning of day two of the disturbance. 63 businesses were damaged with total loss set at $2.6 million

Note: Mayor Stokes is noted for being the first African-American Mayor of a major United States city.

Today I Celebrate...

Yesterday after learning of the loss of a dear Friend’s Mother, despite the threat of a storm, the gloomy sky, having no plans for accommodations and only 20 minutes to spare, spontaneously I rushed from a long day at the office to the Port Kent dock in NY and hopped a ferry boat to Burlington, Vermont. What a pleasant and refreshing surprise! Chatted with some really nice folks on the hour long ferry ride across Lake Champlain and a beautiful rainbow, certainly in honor of Mrs. Bracey, welcomed us as we approached Burlington, a beautiful and very trendy little city with a foreign feel and just by the lake. Had to keep reminding myself that I was in the states...

Although the July night was a little cool and felt more like late September, I enjoyed the folks, the music and the sites on Church Street and late night sidewalk dining at Bangkok Bistro, a cute little Thai restaurant with friendly people and wonderful service. Because it was Thai food, I convinced myself that I would not wake up wearing my late night indulgence around my waist. I comforted my conscience by skipping Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, a local and homegrown favorite, for dessert. Now that’s willpower!!! (smile)

Today I celebrate my free spirit & highly recommend exploring the wonders beyond what is familiar to us. Step outside the box and see what you might find... Burlington, Vermont. Who Knew?

Special Love to Jo & Her Family & Happy Thursday to Everyone!

I'm Just Sayin'...

Earlier today while riding my bike I passed a woman loudly cursing and humiliating her teenage son in the presence of her other three children and the general public in the park. I shook my head but kept riding along, feeling disgusted but "minding my business". When I saw her later, her son was not with her, I asked if I could speak to her privately, not in front of the other two children who were still with her. I explained that she had been on my mind since hearing her speak so offensively to her son a 1/2 hour or so before.

Of course she used equally colorful language to tell me where to go and how to mind my business. She made it perfectly clear that she would speak to her son any way she saw fit. I responded that it is my business because when her son becomes a statistic because he has spent his entire life being so berated by her that he disrespects women or lacks self esteem and/or self confidence such that he is stifled or misdirected in his growth and the choices he makes, he become all of our business.

As I rode away explaining that she IS the problem, it occurred to me that hers is behavior that we reward. I fully expect that she will have a reality TV show any day now! I'm Just Sayin'... We are so screwed folks! I wanted to apologize to her son for her... What can I say? We have got to do better...

At the risk of getting cursed out, be a part of the solution. Take care of yours and be mindful of how you treat/talk to them. And occasionally, just occasionally, size up the situation and step out of your comfort zone to try and have an impact on others. You just might make a difference. If not now, perhaps down the road. We cannot keep looking the other way. I'm Just Sayin'...

Getting cursed out never hurt anyone... Being on a fast moving bike doesn't hurt either (smile)

Enjoy Your Evening Folks!!!

On This Day In Black History

• 1822 ~ Denmark Vesey, leader and planner of what would have been the largest Slave revolt in US history, was arrested in Charleston, SC. After purchasing his own freedom with winnings from a $1500 lottery ticket (OK, so why do I play? - smile), he stuck around to fight for the freedom of others! Imagine that. What a Concept! His name should be a household name. Google it if you don't know... Before the uprising could begin, word of the plans was leaked by, who else?, two misguided handkerchief head and obviously mentally enslaved "Black" persons. Vesey and 131 others were charged with conspiracy; 67 were convicted & 35 were hanged. Vesey went to his death with dignity and pride! A true Black American Hero!!!


• 1869 ~ Tougaloo College, one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges & Universities, was founded in Jackson, MS.


• 1889 ~ William H. Richardson receives a patent for a baby carriage whose body can be raised from its frame.


• 1909 ~ Nannie Helen Burroughs founded national training school for women in Washington, DC. At her school, in addition to teaching domestic science, secretarial skills, shoe repair, barbering, & gardening she also emphasized the importance of being proud Black women and required that all students study African-American History and Culture through a required course in the Department of Negro History! Something about those "Helens" encouraging love of self and understanding where one comes from to make you strong & confident going forward. I'm Just Sayin'... A street in DC's Deanwood section is named after her.


• 1968 ~ The US Supreme Court bans racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. 1968 - Not so long ago folks! I'm Just Sayin'...

On This Day In Black History; June 12th

• 1774 ~ Rhode Island becomes the 1st state to prohibit the importation of slaves. No matter, for 3 generations US Senator james dewolf's family (and others) continued to trade and prosper on the backs of Slaves. The dewolfs cut a deal with Sally Hemings' lover and father to 6 of her children, slaveholder & president thomas jefferson, allowing that despite this and other anti-slave trade laws, over the years his family kidnapped and sold over 10,000 Africans into slavery and were reportedly the nations largest abuser of human trafficking laws (Slave traders) from 1769 - 1820. At the time of his death, the senator was the 2nd richest person in the country. Imagine That! To their credit, it was members of the DeWolf family that exposed this hipocrisy...



• 1886 ~ The Georgia State Supreme Court sustained the last testament and will of wealthy bachelor David Dickson, a former slaveholder who bequeathed more than 1/2 million dollars to his daughter Amanda Eubanks, making her the wealthiest Negro in America. Go David!!! White relatives of Dickson contested the will on the grounds that it was illegal for a White man to leave property to his Black illegitimate children. They Lost... And sometimes, just sometimes, there is "Justice For ALL" I'm Just Sayin'... (smile)



• 1893 ~ Thomas W. Stewart patents the mop



• 1963 ~ Medgar W. Evers, Civil Rights Activist & NAACP Field Secretary, was shot in the back and assassinated in front of his Jackson, Mississippi home. At his 3rd trial in 1994, a jury of 8 Blacks & 4 Whites, viewed the same evidence from the two previous trials and convicted the cowardly byron de la beckwith for 1st degree murder. On 01/21/2001 de la beckwith died much too soon of heart disease at the tender age of 80. satan undoubtedly welcomed return of his "soul" which was over nighted directly from prison. I'm Just Guessin'... May de la beckwith continue to suffer. His conviction was slow Justice, but ultimately "Justice For All", thanks to the tenacity and persistence of his wife, Myrlie Evers.



• 1967 ~ The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a VA miscegenation law establishing that no state can prohibit interracial marriage or cohabitation. (Loving v. Virgina - Google it)



• 1967 ~ President Lyndon Johnson appoints U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thurgood Marshall to fill vacancy of retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clark. Followng a heated senate debate on August 30, Marshall’s nomination was confirmed by a vote of 69 to 11. Two days later, he was sworn in making him the 1st (and some would say the ONLY) African American in history to sit on America’s highest court



• 1989 ~ US Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing workers to file lawsuits where they felt they had been adversely affected by Affirmative Action policies intended to level the playing field and right the discriminatory ills of the past. The concept of "reverse discrimination" is born. Justice Marshall dissented. (Martin v. Wilks)



• 1991 ~ Michael Jordan leads Chicago Bulls in win over L.A. Lakers to capture his first NBA Championship. Fast Forward 20 years, LeBron will do the same! Go HEAT!!! Sorry, I just could not resist... (smile)

On This Day In Black History...

• 1889 ~ John Purdy & Daniel Sadgwar received a patent for the Folding Chair



• 1920 ~ Hazel Scott, Jazz Singer, Pianist, former wife of Adam Clayton Powell Jr and the 1st Black woman to host her own TV show, was born. The Hazel Scott Show premiered on the DuMont Television Network on July 3, 1950 and was canceled on September 29, 1950. Ms Scott was tried but not charged by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Throughout her career she remained true to herself publicly opposing mccarthyism and racial segregation. Dare I say that she just might have cracked the door, even if just a tiny bit, for Oprah? I'm Just Sayin', Thank You Ms Scott!!!



• 1930~ Congressman Charlie Rangel was born. In 1970 he secured his seat in NY's 18th Congressional district when he successfully challenged long-time incumbent Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., in the NY Democratic primary. Mr. Rangel maintains the seat today



• 1963 ~ Two Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, escorted by Federal troops, enrolled at University of Alabama despite the opposition of governor george c. wallace who, with the aid of his dutiful state troopers, physcially blocked the entrance to the university until later in the day when the students returned accompanied by Federal National Guard troops. The cowardly bully and his troops stepped aside. The students took a gigantic step towards tearing down the walls of blatant discrimination and educational segregation... I Celebrate and Thank Them For Their Heroism!!!



• 1963 ~ President John F. Kennedy declares during a nationwide radio and television address that segregation was “morally wrong” and urged the nation and Congress that it was "time to act" [pass legislation] in the Congress, in your state and local legislature body, and in all of our daily lives, "to end all segregation of the races". Celebrate Character. Celebrate Courage! Thank You Mr. President!!!



• 1964 ~ Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly attempting to sabotage, I say rightfully dismantle, an uquestionably hate inspired apartheid system of legal and sanctioned racism, AKA South African government. Like Geronimo Pratt, he served 27 years of unjust incarceration. Unlike Mr. Pratt, his country took measures to reverse the wrong and four years following his release democratically elected him President, 1994 to 1999. He is a helluva' man! Thank You God!!! What would I give to meet him??? To emulate even a semblance of his strength and compassion??? I'm Just Sayin'...

On This Day In Black History...

• 
  1898 ~ Hattie McDaniel, 1st Black person to win Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Gone With The Wind (1940) was born


• 1899 The Black Elks, the historic African-American fraternal organization, was formed


• 1794 ~ Richard Allen founded the AME Church in Philadelphia


• 1904 ~ Granville T. Woods received a patent for the automatic air brake


• 1910 ~ Howlin' Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett), rhythm & blues singer, is born. Director Darnell Martin recently reminded us of his talent in his 2008 movie starring Beyonce, "Cadillac Records"


• 1940 ~ Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalist, Pan Africanist, and Founder of United Negro Improvement Association and the "Back To Africa" Movement, dies in London, England


• 1940 ~ The Cotton Club, famous night club in Harlem, NY that operated during prohibition and featured jazz music and many legendary Black entertainers (i.e. Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday), officially closed its doors. Note that Jack Johnson (see below) was the original owner of the night club that would later become the Cotton Club. He sold it to Owney Madden who renamed the club.


• 1946 ~ Jack Johnson, 1st Black heavyweight champion, dies. Currently Senator John McCain and others are leading an effort to secure a Presidential pardon posthumously for Mr. Johnson. He was persecuted and sent to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for one year and one day because of his flagrant arrogance in and out of the ring (aka confidence, a very dangerous trait for a Black man in the early 1900s) and his very public flaunting of his affection for caucasian women, another dangerous stance during the 1920s. He married three. He was convicted for violating the Mann Act, which did not even exist at the time of his alleged crime. Some say he should be exonerated as he committed no crime for which to be pardoned. He died following a car crash in NC after angrily speeding off from a diner that refused to serve him. He was taken to the nearest hospital that would treat Blacks.


• 1964 ~ US Senate imposed cloture for the 1st time on a civil rights bill ending a southern filibuster by a vote of 71-29. On July 2 President Johnson signed the bill into law containing sections on public accommodation and fair employment


• 1997 ~ Geronimo Platt, former Black Panther and one of the MANY victims of the madness of j. edgar hoover and his COINTELPRO program, was released from prison when his murder conviction was overturned. Does anyone else resent that there is a federal building bearing the name of this horrible man? I sure do! Mr. Pratt, who lost 27 years of life for an unjust incarceration, died last Thursday, June 3, 2011, at the tender age of 63


• 2001 ~ Natasha "Sasha" Obama, the youngest of our beautiful First Daughters, was born

On This Day In Black History...

• 1886 ~ 1st Civil Rights Act is passed


• 1953 ~ Martin Sr. marries Martin Jr & Coretta Scott in Marion, AL on MY BIRTHDAY!!!


• 1953 ~ US Supreme Court rules discrimination in Washington, DC restaurants is illegal. No longer can Black patrons be refused service. Sets tone for rest of country.


• 1968 ~ james earl ray, cowardly assassin of Martin Luther King, is captured at London Heathrow airport.


• 1982 ~ Satchel Paige, baseball legend, is 1st Negro League player to be elected to baseball hall of fame, dies in Kansas City, MO.

On This Day In Black History...

• 1892 ~ Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "white" car of the East Louisiana Railroad Plessy was 1/8 Black and under Louisiana law, the infamous one drop rule, he was considered Black and therefore required to sit in the "colored" car initiating Plessy v Ferguson



• 1892 ~ G.J. Sampsons received a patent for the Clothes Dryer



• 1893 ~ Mahatma Gandhi refused to comply with racial segregation rules on a South African train and was forcibly ejected



• 1917 ~ Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning Poet, was born



• 1930 ~ New York Times agrees to respect Negro demands, that the "N" in the word "Negro" would be henceforth capitalized in its pages



• 1943 ~ Nikki Giovanni, Poet, Educator & Publisher was born



• 1953 ~ Mary Church Terrell, Political Activist, wins struggle to end segregation in Washington DC restaurants



• 1958 ~ His Purple Majesty & Premier Entertainer, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, MN



• 1998 ~ James Byrd, Jr., a Black hitchiker, was beaten, chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged three miles to his death in Jasper, TX. The three cowardly "white supremacists" dumped his body in a Black cemetery. All were convicted. One is scheduled for execution on 09/21/2011 (keep hope alive!), death for another has not been scheduled and the remaining defendant received life imprisonment

On This Day In Black History...

• 1716 ~ The 1st group of 500 Slaves arrived in Louisiana from the French colonies of the Caribbean


• 1790 ~ Jean Baptist Pointe Desable, trader and fur trapper, becomes 1st permanent resident and founder of Chicago


• 1831 ~ Convention of Free Persons of Color was held in Phila, PA


• 1863 ~ The Battle of Milken’s Bend - A Negro soldier takes his former "master" prisoner. Poetic Justice!!!, I'm Just Sayin'...


• 1869 ~ Dillard University was chartered in New Orleans, LA


• 1939 ~ Marian Wright Edelman, Children's Rights Advocate, founder of Childen's Defense Fund & 1st woman to be admitted to Mississippi bar was born


• 1942 ~ Congess on Racial Equality, CORE, was founded in Chicago


• 1966 ~ James Meredith, 1st Black graduate of University of Mississippi , is wounded after being shot by an angry and cowardly White sniper, as he marched along US Highway 51 on the 2nd day of a 220 mile voter registration walk from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MI. Have you voted lately? I'm Just Askin'...


• 1966 ~ Stokely "Kwame Toure" Carmichael, Civil Rights Activists, launched the Black Power Movement. Toure defended use of the term as not anti-white, but instead a phrase to denote a political strategy. Specifically, "a call for Black people in America to unite, define their own goals, lead their own organizations, recognize their heritage and build a sense of community..."


• 2004 ~ Phylicia Rashad made theatrical history when she received a Tony for her portrayal of Lena Younger, the tough-minded matriarch, in a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun”

On This Day In Black History...

• 1857 ~ Harriet Tubman rescued her parents from slavery. Alrightee Now!!!


• 1895 ~ Joseph Lee, caterer, restaurant and hotel owner, received a patent for his Bread Crumbing Machine. Disturbed by the wastefulness of discarding day old bread which he used in a variety of recipes, he invented a bread crumb machine which automated the tearing, crumbling and grinding of stale bread into bread crumbs faster than could 5 to 6 men. He sold his rights to his bread crumbling machine, which is still in use today, to Royal Worcester Bread Crumb Company.


• 1946 ~ Mississippi Valley State University is founded in Itta Bena, Miss.


• 1967 ~ Bill Cosby receives an Emmy Award for "I Spy". His achievment is noted because he is the 1st Black actor to find success in a non-traditional television series that did not deal directly with racial themes.


• 1972 ~ After two years of incarceration for commission of a crime at which she was not present, Angela Davis, political activist, scholar, and author is acquitted of murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy charges by a jury of 11 whites and one Mexican American. The charges were brought in connection with a 1970 courthouse shoot-out in San Rafael, CA. Today, Ms. Davis is a professor at UC, Santa Cruz and continues to be an activist. She teaches courses on the history of consciousness, advocates for prison reform and has authored several books.


• 2008 ~ Senator Barack Obama defeats Hillary Clinton and wins the Democratic Presidential nomination. He is the 1st Black American candidate to win a major U.S. party nomination

On This Day In Black History...

• 1854 ~ Anthony Burns, a "fugitive" Slave, was returned to VA from Boston. A Black church raised $1300 to secure his freedom. He was back in Boston within a year. Of note, he was the last fugitive Slave to be sent back to the south from Boston or any of the New England states.


• 1863 ~ Harriet Tubman led union soldiers into South Carolina where they burned plantations, carried off thousands of dollars worth of crops and livestock, and freed nearly 800 Slaves, the Combahee River Raid. She was the 1st woman in US history to lead an armed expedition in war.


• 1899 ~ Black Americans observed day of fasting called by National Afro-American Council to protest lynching and racial massacres. Have we lost this ember of our spirit? I'm Just Askin'...


• 1967 ~ Three days of rioting & looting began in the Roxbury section of Boston. Nearly 100 people were arrested after 30 Black welfare Mothers chained the doors of the welfare office and committed to remain there until their demands for job training, representation on welfare boards, and respectful treatment were met. Good For Them!!!
  

On This Day In Black History...

• 1851 ~ Sojourner Truth delivered her famous, "Ain't I A Woman?" speech to the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio


• 1973 ~ Tom Bradley was elected Mayor of Los Angeles


• 1980 - Vernon E. Jordan Jr., President of the National Urban League, critically injured in attempted assassination in Fort Wayne, IN

On This Day In Black History...

• 1854 ~ Famous “fugitive” Slave Anthony Burns, who escaped from Alexandria VA at age 19, was arrested in Boston. His "capture" tested the authority of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act that required all states to cooperate in returning escaped Slaves, even when captured in northern states were slavery had been abolished. Burns was returned to slavery but his case so outraged Bostonian Abolitionists, that his freedom was eventually purchased for $1300. Burns returned to Boston, later received an education at Oberlin College in Ohio and ultimately became a preacher before emigrating to Canada


• 1856 ~ The Pottawatomie Massacre, led by John Brown, occurred. in Franklin County, KS. A pro-slavery settlement was attacked by an anti-slavery group


• 1887 ~ Elijah McCoy patents lubricator for Safety Valves


• 1910 ~ Walter M. Hard, a young Black barber, invents and patents a device that tremendously improved trolley car service


• 1944 ~ Patricia Louise Holte, PATTI LABELLE, is born in Philadelphia, Pa. HAPPY B-DAY Ms Patti!!!!


• 1951 DC!!! ~ Racial segregation in Washington, D.C. (AKA Chocolate City) restaurants ruled illegal by Municipal Court of Appeals. 1951, no so very long ago... I'm Just Sayin'...


• 1974 ~ Duke Ellington dies at the age of 75

On This Day In Black History...

• 1743 ~ Touissant L'Ouverture, Leader of the Great Haitian Slave Revolt, was born! In 1791 a half million African Slaves set fire to plantations and killed all those in their path. General L'Ouverture took charge and trained the disorganized Black Slaves to become competent troops. His military skill and absolute brilliance outmanuevered the French, the English, the Spaniards & Napoleon's army. He played the competing European nations one against the other until he successflly drove them all from the island telling the Haitian slaves, "Here is your liberty!"


• 1861 ~ North Carolina became the last state to secede from the Union


• 1942 ~ Black recruits were allowed to serve in the U.S. Navy


• 1961 ~ Atty General Robert F. Kennedy dispatched 400 U.S. marshals to Montgomery, AL to restore order when Freedom Riders were attacked by an angry mob who attacked them with baseball bats, pipes, and sticks. One Black Rider was covered with kerosene and set on fire

On This Day In Black History...

• 1881 ~ Blanche Kelso Bruce, 1st Black to serve a full term in the US Senate, was appointed Register of Treasury by President Garfield


• 1925 ~ On this day we give SPECIAL thanks for the life and contributions of Malcolm X who was born in Omaha, NE. Happy Birthday Malcolm!!!


• 1930 ~ Lorraine Hansberry, Author & Playwright, was born in Chicago. Her play "Raisin in the Sun" was the 1st play written by a Black woman to be performed on Broadway


• 1948 ~ Grace "Pull Up To The Bumper" Jones was born in Spanishtown, Jamaica


• 1965 ~ Patricia Roberts Harris, Howard University Law Professor, became 1st Black woman named to an Ambassador position, Luxemburg


• 1968 ~ The Last Poets, a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s Black civil rights movement, was born. Originators of the "Spoken Word"...


• 1991 ~ Willy T. Ribbs became the 1st Black driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500

Manners 101: What Ever Happened to Thank You?

As we approach graduation season, I find myself thinking about manners and pondering what we are teaching our children...

Just a few weeks ago I attended a scholarship brunch in support of a friend who was being honored for years of community service work. As part of the program three law students were being awarded scholarships in the amount of $4,000 each. Much to my amazement only one of the three students showed up in appreciation of this honor and to accept her award. One student, I will call "Ms Hollywood", sent a video acceptance speech because she was "too busy studying" to be bothered by some banquet in her honor, you know like important people do when they can't make it to the Grammys... The remaining student sent her Mother to accept her award. In her defense, she attends some far away school and maybe it really was a hardship for her to attend. Conversely however, Ms Hollywood was "studying" just across the bridge, less than an hour away... She couldn't break for $4,000? Really?

Call me old skool', but I have no tolerance for such behavior and I have to wonder who is to blame. At the law school level, we are dealing with young adults, so who do we hold at fault? The parents, who perhaps did not stress the importance of politeness and basic manners? Or do we blame the student who maybe has forgotten his or her manners but by now who certainly should have some sense of right and wrong and what is correct? I'm Just Askin'...

So not to single out these young ladies or this event, in all fairness, this is not the first time I have seen this happen. I am no less appalled however. A friend reminded me that we had a similar experience when I accompanied her to a scholarship luncheon for high school graduates last year. There too, very few recipients showed up. She reported this year however that NONE of the recipients showed up. I suspect that next year my lawyer friends will have a similar response. By allowing that only one of three recipients shows up to receive her scholarship, they inadvertently set the stage for none to show up in subsequent years. It will be interesting to hear...

Observance of this behavior immediately brought to mind Graduation 2010. I am certain that last year I sent at least 6 or 7 graduation cards, containing checks of varying amounts depending upon the level of graduation. I might be exaggerating to say that I got three thank you notes and two of them were from two children in the same family. Again, what are we teaching are children?

It seems to me that whenever someone is kind enough to acknowledge you, your accomplishments or gives you something, the least that one can do is show up to say thank you, send a card, give a call, DO SOMETHING! I'm Just Sayin'...

While I am no longer a member of this organization, I am a former recipient of their scholarship. I was much appreciative of the honor and recognition bestowed me. Certainly as a struggling law student, I was appreciative of the financial award. Not showing up to say thank you simply was not an option. Finals and all, I showed up...

Before leaving this otherwise very pleasant event, I made it perfectly clear to anyone who would listen, that going forward, barring really extenuating circumstances, it seems that a condition of acceptance should be that the recipient is available to attend the brunch, properly receive the award and give appropriate thanks.

Yes it is a new day and we can give this generation much more than what our parents may have been able to give us, but if we over indulge them and shower them with gifts and material things but deny them the basic gifts of manners and common courtesy, what will have we accomplished? At best we will have committed a greater sin, done them a greater injustice than if we were to deny them material things in a world where they are surrounded by riches.

Recognizing that I have become intolerant of indifference and being taken for granted in my old age, I measured my response against that of a few friends of varying ages. I was comforted to learn that they too were appalled and agreed with my position. One friend said her guiding principle is that she does not use a gift until she has properly thanked the person who gave it to her. I like that...

So as we approach graduation 2011, summer weddings, birthday celebrations, baby showers, etc., etc., please be mindful that no one owes us anything. If someone is kind enough, proud enough to acknowledge you and/or your accomplishments, take a minute to say "Thank You!" That is the least you can do...

I'm Just Sayin'...

Barry Bonds, Jack Johnson; Same Story, 100 Years Later...

Did anyone see the NY Times piece on why Barry Bonds is being prosecuted? Repeatedly I have heard reports that he is being prosecuted because he is Barry, because he is arrogant, cocky or aloof. FINALLY someone called it what it is. He is being prosecuted because he is all of that AND Black! Here is the link to the article, written by William C. Rhoden, a Morgan University graduate I might add. Following is my letter of gratitude sent to him for having the audacity to call a spade, a spade...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/sports/baseball/10rhoden.html?_r=1&ref=williamcrhoden

Mr. Rhoden,

I appreciate the candor and otherwise denied truthfulness expressed in your article about Barry Bonds. I am sure the comments to follow [posted by readers] will be interesting... It is the usual elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. So, GOOD FOR YOU!!! RACE and abuse of judicial authority is the issue, with Barry, with the relentless pursuit of "justice" for "post Nicole" OJ, with the unjust incarceration of Wesley Snipes and a whole host of other Black men. How dare they have confidence, stand straight and look their accusers in the eye and presume to think their resources or positions in life, should protect them, protect their rights... How dare they believe the system is fair and just and that it should work for them as it does for their white counterparts, who often have committed the same or much worse offenses but are guaranteed a very different, less cruel, less demeaning, less damning and certainly less public kind of "justice", if any "justice" at all.

You are correct, 100 years later, our "colorblind and racially tolerant" system continues to work against the Black man, works to remind him/us to stay in his/our place. No matter his stature in life, he should somehow expect that a prison number and doing time are somehow rites of passage and expected for Black men. Somehow he should be immune, understand, ACCEPT that he is pre-destined to do time and wear a bright orange jumpsuit with a number across his back. REALLY? Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, got it right. Mass incarceration of our men has revitalized the ways of jim crow and has created for us a new caste system determined solely by race.

We are drowning in a sea of racial hostility where "justice" is now dispensed with a nod and a smile instead of a noose and a billy club. And sadly, still some of us think we have arrived! Forgive me, I digress... It is indifference, not necessarily racism, that prevents others from seeing the enclosure of bars on the cages around us, in and out of prison. Bars that affect, that impede Blacks and other minorities in all segments of our society. It is status quo, business as usual. They don't get it. They don't want to get it. They don't have to get it. We don't demand that they get it...

So thank you Mr. Rhoden for writing this piece. There are so few who will speak our truth. I was so sick of reading the headlines that Barry was being tried for "being Barry". I kept waiting to hear that more importantly, Barry, pompous, arrogant, aloof, rich, whatever, is being tried because he is Barry AND because he is Black. Plain and Simple... It is our silence [the Black community] on matters such as this that makes us complicit and therefore guarantees that the beat will go on. Sadly we don't become outraged until the drummer is beating at our door...

As an attorney and a community activist, I am more than aware and mostly disgusted by what we call "justice" in America. Richard Pryor got it right so many years ago. There is a certain brand of "justice" in America and it is intended for JUST US! JUST US crowding the prisons and JUST US keeping lots of folks gainfully employed from arrest to detention through release. I'm Just Sayin'... Your comparison to Jack Johnson perfectly made the point that the more things change... Good Job!

I fully expect that Barry Bonds will be convicted and sent to prison for perjury. Seemingly only those who have taken an oath to uphold justice are immune from lying, lying by omission or misrepresentation in our courts. All others, when it is convenient, will be held accountable and charged with perjury and any other convenient charges that come to mind. Didn't you know? But let's keep hope alive that Barry will be spared the orange. His legacy and standing as a superior Black athlete in baseball history, America's "apple pie" and favorite sport, has been tainted. Their job is done. Prison is icing on the cake! Thanks for writing the piece.

With MUCH Respect,

Helen L. Higginbotham

On This Day In Black History... (April 3, 2011)

• 1883 ~ H.H Reynolds patented window ventilator for railroad cars


• 1888 ~ A.B. Blackburn patented spring seats for chairs


• 1950 ~ Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History, dies


• 1961 ~ Eddie Murphy was born. Where is he???


• 1964 ~ Malcolm X delivered his historic "The Ballots or the Bullet" speech, outlining the Black nationalist political perspective, at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH


• 1968 ~ Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I've Been To the Mountain Top" speech in at Bishop Charles J. Mason Temple Memphis, TN "...it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now..." It was his last public appearance and final address before his assassination and the nation's tragic loss...


• 1990 ~ Sarah Vaughn, Jazz Singer, died


• 1996 ~ Ron Brown, 1st Black DNC Chair and 1st Black Secty of Dept of Commerce died in a plane crash

On This Day In Black History...

• 1833 ~ Prudence Crandall opened a school for Black girls in Connecticut. Howard University Ladies of the Quad know this. Crandall Hall, Sweet Memories... I was GA in Truth Hall.


• 1868 ~ Hampton INSTITUTE was founded by Samuel Chapman Armstrong. Umm, that does say Hampton INSTITUTE right? I'm Just Checkin'... The Real HI!!! (smile)


• 1917 ~ Scott Joplin, musician, composer and creator of ragtime died 1905 ~ Mother (Clare) Hale, founder of Hale House, a haven for HIV infected babies in Harlem, NY was born


• 1929 ~ Atlanta University allied with Morehouse and Spelman colleges to create the Atlanta University system, where Morehouse and Spelman focused on undergraduate studies and Atlanta University served as the graduate school. GOOD INFO!


• 1950 ~ Charles R. Drew, surgeon and developer of the blood bank concept, died after an automobile accident near Burlington, North Carolina. I had the pleasure of getting to know his sister in DC. Where is Charlene? Anyone know? 1951 ~ Oscar Micheaux, you know the famous film maker on that US stamp I hope you are currently using, died in Charlotte, NC


• 1984 ~ Marvin Gaye murdered by his father. TRULY, TRULY A Very Sad Day! I had just returned home from what turned out to be an April Fools "dream date" when the DJ on the car radio announced that Marvin Gaye had been shot. How I wish the news, and not the date, had been the cruel joke... What an entertainer!!! Tomorrow he would have been 72 and likely STILL Sexy!!! (smile)

Waterproof Today, You Tomorrow... Get Involved!

Please read the attached accounting of what happened with Mayor Higginbotham and Chief Jenkins in Waterproof, LA. Being aware of the facts in this case, it is the most comprehensive I have seen so far. I then ask you to get involved and commit to bringing attention to this matter. Contact info for persons or organizations of interest is included below.

Miss Higgi Says, THANKS & GET INVOLVED!!!

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/moving_america_news/26366/2


The silence and apathy of America will be the death of America. This is not an isolated incident in the Delta. Other Black officials who dared speak out against sanctioned racism and a southern affection for the ways of jim crow have faced similar or worst fate.

Lost records? How convenient! Surely there is one alderman of moral substance to stand up and acknowledge that they did in fact vote for a raise for not only the Mayor but for themselves as well.

44 counts reduced to 2? If not signs of a witch hunt, what is it? Let's not overlook the fact that this DA is the same town attorney fired by Mayor Higginbotham. Can we call it revenge? Can we call for his recusal and a new trial? I'm Just Sayin'...

Two bogus counts remain and the “judge” is so confident in the DA and the strength of THEIR case that he issues poll slips to the jury with "guilty" marked off by the “judge”, and he still has a job. Really?

A court reporter who failed to take notes thereby thwarting efforts for an appeal? And what else was s/he doing during a trial where that is what s/he is paid to do? Is s/he fired yet?

A flight risk? Why because Mayor Higginbotham is an upstanding and professional Black MAN of means with a back bone, a passport and the will to fight as opposed to a Black MAN beaten down by an unjust system, impeded by threats of a criminal past and no means and/or no will to fight? Mayor Higginbotham's passport was confiscated long ago when his offices were raided. So how will he flee? Why would he flee? I'm Just Askin'... This is a MAN who has stood his ground and fought these folks from day one and continues to do despite their deeds.

Come on folks! This is ridiculous! Mayor Higginbotham and Chief Jenkins’ rights have been violated on so many fronts. Racism, institutionalized and otherwise, is alive and well... We are treated as we allow ourselves to be treated. What does it take for you to get angry? to get involved?

Today Mayor Higginbotham and Chief Jenkins. Tomorrow it could be YOU!

I'm Just Sayin'... Get Involved People!!!

• Contact your local media, radio or TV
  
• Contact your blog or talking head (i.e. Bill Maher, Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart)
  
• At a minimum, contact the following:
  
  Attorney General Holder & the Dept of Justice
  U.S. Department of Justice
  950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC 20530-0001
  202-514-2000
  AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
  
  Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell
  1885 North 3rd St.
  PO Box 94005
  Baton Rouge, LA 70804
  PHONE: 225-326-6079
  FAX: 225-326-6797
  Executive@ag.state.la.us
  
  President Obama
  1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
  Washington, DC 20500
  Switchboard: 202-456-1414
  FAX: 202-456-2461
  Email at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
  

For those with more time on your hands, please contact some or all of the following who can also help:

Congressional Black Caucus
Chairman Emanuel Cleaver II
1433 Longworth
House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-9776
congressionalblackcaucus@mail.house.gov

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.
John A. Payton, President and Director-Counsel
99 Hudson Street, Suite 1600
New York, NY 10013
(212) 965-2200
mgagarin@naacpldf.org

National Bar Association
Demetrius D. Shelton, Esq., President
1225 11th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone: (202) 842-3900
Fax: (202) 289-6170

Hispanic National Bar Association
Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, Executive Director
1900 L Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 223-4777
Fax: (202) 223-2324
ztapia@hnba.com

Southern Law Poverty Center
Richard Cohen, President
400 Washington Ave Montgomery, AL 36104 334.956.8200
http://www.splcenter.org/contact-us

ACLU
Susan N. Herman, President
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York NY 10004
212-549-2500
media@aclu.org

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director
1401 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20005 202-662-8600 888-299-5227 (Toll Free) 202-783-0857 (Fax) barnwine@lawyerscommittee.org

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Wade Henderson, Esq., President & CEO
1629 K Street, NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
202.466.3311

NAACP, National Headquarters
Ben Jealous, President & CEO
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215
(410) 580-5777
Toll Free: (877) NAACP-98
btjealous@naacpnet.org

DON'T BE SILENT!

I'm Just Sayin'...

On This Day In Black History...

1841 ~ US Supreme Court upholds NOT GUILTY verdict for murder & mutiny for Cinque & others who commandeered & killed the captain of the Amistad, the most famous Slaveship revolt. The defendants were represented by John Quincy Adams, former & 6th President of the United States. GOOD FOR HIM!!! Rent the movie (1997)

1891 ~ NC A&T was founded. Go Aggies!!!

1913 ~ Harriet Tubman , "Moses" of the Underground Railroad, dies. Did you know that Harriet was a Cougar? Her husband was 22 years her junior. Not a bad reward for a life of sacrifice and hard work! Go Moses!!! (smile)

Jena 6? American Violet? Take Your Pick; Here We Go Again!!!

There is a Color of Change email going around the internet, "Another Jena?", dealing with this subject and asking that we sign a petition in support of Bobby Higginbotham. Here is the email I sent to friends regarding my knowledge of this case and my friendship with Bobby... Bobby is the former Mayor of Waterproof, Louisiana and is unjustly incarcerated. Read my story and sign the petition on the Color of Change link. Thank You!!!


I wrote:

I suspect that many of you recall in 2007 when I traveled south in search of my roots and in support of Jena 6. I took my time in my travels and made an excursion of the trip. I call it Part II of my southern trek. I stopped and visited friends and did Black History tours all across the south, including Nashville, Memphis and Jackson before heading to Jena, Louisiana. As usual, I was traveling solo. I befriended some woman who answered the phone at the hotel I where I planned to stay and she shared with me a back road route to Jena from Jackson that would be a little shorter. What she did not tell me was that I would travel through the middle of no where and often times not even have cell phone service.

As I traveled along taking in the scenery, mesmerized by the cotton crops, wanting to stop and take a picture of it, get out and pick it in honor of and in tribute to my ancestors who endured such cruelty and back breaking work simply so that I can be... I began seeing signs, "Bobby Higginbotham for Sheriff". Of course, considering the "neck" of woods I was in, quite naturally I thought it was some White guy running for sheriff in some small town. I passed one sign, then another or two before I decided that I should at least stop and take a picture of the sign bearing my name in the middle of no where. One of the benefits of having a unique last name like Higginbotham is that you take notice when you see it, when you hear it. So I turned around and just as I did, the sign now facing me had a picture of this Bobby Higginbotham. Lo and behold, Bobby was Black! So you know what I did. I ventured out to find this Bobby Higginbotham who was at the time, Mayor of Waterproof, LA. He was running for Sherriff of Tensas Parish. They don't have counties in LA, they have parishes.

Not noticing Higginbotham Plaza right across the street, I went to the competitor's store to ask where to find the Mayor. I explained that I was a Higginbotham passing through and that I wanted to meet him. Of course they did not tell me to go right across the street. They asked had I come in on the main road. Of course if my life depended on it, I still cannot tell you what is the main road. They were all country roads to me... Anyway, they directed me to the Mayor's office "over yonder". Again, I enter city hall and tell the clerk the same story, that I am a Higginbotham and I want to see the Mayor. She directs me back to the Plaza, across from the store I had just left.

I walk in and give the same story. Someone goes to find Bobby. He comes out and of course he is skeptical. I show him my license, tell him a little about me, why I am in Louisiana, we share a few stories, cannot establish familial lines but almost immediately we hit it off like old friends. Our bond is immediate and so natural, I'm thinking, we must be family... I meet his employees, his brother Edgar, his campaign workers, etc. I shoot the breeze a bit more and head out to find Jena. My cousin Dan, the family historian, later confirms for me that Bobby and I are not family. But I love him just the same. We became fast friends, talk all the time and have seen one another many times since then.

I promised Bobby I would return to help him campaign. Election day was just over one month away. I don't think he believed I would return but I am a woman of my word. Before heading back to NJ, I returned to Jackson and spent another day or two more with my girlfriend's Mother and then continued on my trek heading out to Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, Atlanta and Durham, before stopping in DC at the Congressional Black Caucus convention. As promised, one month later I boarded a flight and headed back to Waterproof to help Bobby. It was a wonderful and hopeful day. I worked along with Bobby and loads of other volunteers helping him to get folks to and from the polls in his campaign for Sheriff. Little did we know that most of the folks we were carting to the polls, whose hands we were shaking, on whose doors we were knocking, were people who likely voted for his White, significantly under educated and unsympathetic opponent.

I was more hurt by the defeated mindset of the Black majority than I was by Bobby's decisive defeat at the polls. They just didn't get it. Blacks are the majority in the Delta but hold no true positions of power. Bobby is not the first Black Mayor to be accused of malfeasance, imprisoned or run out of office. The towns people could not see that Bobby was trying to empower them. True to form, like crabs in a barrel, they did not stop in their pursuit to tear him down until he ended up in his present predicament, behind bars on bogus charges. I suppose they are happy now. I suppose too that they think they broke him, broke his spirit. NOT!!! I am happy to report that I visited Bobby at the correctional facility this past Thanksgiving. It did my heart good to see just the opposite. His spirit is not broken. His head is not bowed!!! He is as proud as ever and committed to continue his fight for justice.

I remember Bobby sharing with me advice that his Mother had given him to "leave them as he found them". She was talking about the people in Waterproof, people trapped in the Delta. Sadly, people trapped in ignorance. She was a wise woman and she understood the depth of envy. The Higginbothams for the most part have been very successful and certainly well educated. The average annual income in Waterproof is reportedly between $10,000 and 15,000. Bobby has been a very successful businessman for many years and provided employment for many in the Delta and otherwise and he very generously provided for his Mother's every need until her last day. Thankfully she is not here to see the truth of her prophecy...

Those who did support Bobby however, have been real troopers. You would be hard pressed to find a more supportive family or better friends than Ms Watson, Kim or Maurice. It warms my heart to know that he is so loved. They have kept me apprised at all times of what was happening with Bobby. Earlier today, Bobby was sentenced to 21 months and ten years probation. It is a travesty! Bobby convinced a friend, a decorated veteran, to be town Chief of Police for Waterproof. As the story below indicates, the "d.a." and the sheriff did not appreciate these educated and professional Black men having the audacity to serve as a beacon of hope to mostly poor and/or uneducated Blacks. How dare they! You know, kinda' sorta' like our President! How dare he! I'm Just Sayin'...

Chief Jenkins still awaits his day in court. He has already been subjected to ten days in the local jail where he previously sent criminals. How does a man serve his country and come home a celebrated veteran and wind up in jail when all he wanted to do was serve and improve his community? Only in America folks and especially in the Delta! You know, kinda' sorta' like after so many wars when our men fought on the front line only to come home to no respect, no job, no gratitude, no future, no love... I'm Just Sayin'...

Bobby has been in jail since the day he was convicted, some ten months ago. Because he is a "flight risk", I guess that means because he is a Black man with a passport and a Mercedes??? I digress... He was denied release on bond while awaiting sentencing and now while awaiting appeal. The "judge" in this case was recused because he apparently had such little confidence in the d.a's case, in the jury to do the "right" thing, that he wrote "guilty" on the poll slips before delivering them to the mostly White jury in the mostly Black parish. Essentially he instructed them to find Bobby guilty of the 2 remaining and obviously weak charges. Originally, Bobby was indicted for 44 counts of something. By time for trial, all but two were rescinded.

Again, this whole thing is such a travesty. Not that I am convinced that it will make much difference, because the good ole' boys in the Delta, in Tensas Parish are mean, heartless, hateful to the core and obviously yearning for days of old, but please sign the petition being circulated by Color of Change and linked in the article below. National attention needs to be given this matter, the ills of the Delta in general. Americans who are shocked and appalled and critical of the lack of democracy in other parts of the world, need to look more closely in our own back yards. As the caption on an old cartoon featuring the image of a hanging man drawn inside a car rearview mirror reminds us, "objects in the rear view mirror are closer than they appear"... Seems like the more things change, the more they remain the same... A friend recently described it as "dynamic status quo", things are constantly changing in order to remain the same. So the story goes...

Let's help Bobby.

Let's help the Chief!

Let's convince mainstream media that this is a story of importance and worthy of coverage...

Thank you for listening and of course, Please Pass it on...

Here is the Link. Vote Your Support of Bobby...
http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/mayor?akid=1915.108792.gys3Fs&rd=1&t=3http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/mayor?akid=1915.108792.gys3Fs&rd=1&t=3

On This Day In Black History...

1866 ~ Before Republicans became evil spirited modern day dixiecrats, before reconstruction when they really were the party of Lincoln, a very Honorable Republican Congressman from PA, Thaddeus Stevens, proposed what has become known as the "40 Acres and A Mule" promise to freed Negroes. As an amendment to the Freedmens Bill, public and confiscated land was to be distributed to freedmen, slaves, who had essentially earned the land, and loyal refugees. Uh, we can stop waiting right about now. The amendment was soundly defeated 126 to 37. No Surprise. I don't suppose ALL freedmen (i.e. slaves) got a vote. I'm Just Speculatin'...

1884 ~ Inventor W. Johnson patents the Egg Beater. Wonder how much we invented before we could claim the right to patent. Hell, we were the only ones working so who else would have thought of better & more efficient processes? I'm Just wonderin'...

1934 ~ Henry "Hank" Aaron, the King of Homeruns, was born

1994 ~ More than 30 years after the fact, self acclaimed racist byron de la beckwith was finally convicted for the cowardly murder of shooting Civil Rights Activist Medger Evers in the back. Myrlie Evers never stopped fighting for justice. She NEVER gave up! Thank You Mrs. Evers!

2008 ~ Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama won 13 states on Super Tuesday!!! NEVER EVER Give Up... Thank You Mr. President!

On This Day In Black History...

1794 ~ First African Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Philadelphia, PA

1794 ~ Slavery was abolished in France, only to be reinstated in 1802 by that little guy, napoleon

1913 ~ Rosa Parks, Activist & Mother of Civil Rights, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama

1986 ~ Sojourner Truth was honored on a US postage stamp.

1999 ~ Four paranoid and gutless gun toting NYC cops fired 41 shots at unarmed and innocent 22-year old Amadou Diallo, a Guinean immigrant, in Brooklyn when as reached in his pocket for his wallet, thinking he had reached for a gun. He was shot 19 times by these "officers". All four were indicted in Brooklyn by a jury of their affected peers only to be acquitted of 2nd degree murder charges in Albany by a jury of their unaffected "peers". Shameful Racial Profiling. More Shameful American "justice". His parents successfully sued NYC.

2005 ~ Actor & activist Ossie Davis died.

On This Day In Black History...

1926 ~ Carter G. "MisEducation of the Negro" Woodson, the Father of Black History, initiates "Negro History Week". I remember Mr. Calvin McNeil so well. He was a 5th grade teacher committed to teaching Black History to mostly uninterested students in a mostly White school district. Not sure I appreciated him or his efforts then but I am certainly thankful now... Special thanks to all of the Mr. McNeil's out there who teach so much more than history. They teach pride and self respect... Thank You Mr. McNeil!!!

1976 ~ Negro History Week became "Black History Month" . Of course I say, Celebrate Black History EACH and EVERYday!!!

1960 ~ Four Black college students from HBCU, North Carolina A&T stage 1st of many historic & highly effective sit-ins at Woolworth's segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. Much thanks for their audacity!!!

1902 ~ Langston "Harlem Renaissance" Hughes, poet, playwright and author, was born

1978 ~ Harriet "Underground Railroad" Tubman was 1st Black woman to be honored on US postage stamp. Ida B. Wells was similarly honored in 1990.

On This Day In Black History...

1797 ~ Sojourner "Ain't I A Woman Too" Truth, abolitionist & women's rights activist, was born a slave in Hurley, NY. Escaped in 1826 with her daughter. First Black woman gto successfully sue a White man for custody of her son. d

1797 ~ Congress refused to accept the 1st recorded petition from Black Americans.

1800 ~ Blacks were 18.9% of the US population; 1,002,037 to 5,308,483. Lots & Lots of FREE Labor. Shame they couldn't vote for that 1797 petition. Think it was to free them? How bout' wages for their labor? Think it might have passed?

I'm Just Wonderin'...

On This Day In Black History...

1920 ~ Andrew "Rube" Foster organized the first Black baseball league, the Negro National League.

1923 ~ Rosewood, FL, town of affluent Blacks, was destroyed by mobs of angry Whites. (1997 Movie)

1971 ~ Black Congressional members organized the Congressional Black Caucus to address to provide awarance and to create alliances, politically, racially and socially, issues of key concern to Black community.

2005 ~ Barack Obama began on his path to the Presidency. He was sworn in as the junior Senator from Illinois, 3rd Black U.S. Senator since reconstruction, only 5 in U.S. history.