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!