Black History 1: Art, Psychology, Law, and Sports

The African Blood Brotherhood for African Liberation and Redemption (ABB) was a Marxist communist and black nationalist organization that emerged in response to the violent race riots of the Red Summer of 1919. Founded in 1919 in Harlem by Cyril V. Briggs, a West Indian immigrant, the organization was structured as a secret fraternal society…

Journal Article: Democracy Came From Africa

Democracy (rule of the people) originates from Africa: is a statement of fact that many western scholars and general public predicated on racist and exploitative foundations seek to refute daily. It is conveniently forgotten that Solon the fore-father of Athenian democracy visited Egypt to learn about the tenets of the system there which he subsequently…

5 Ways to Dig Your Own Well

Your most powerful contributions are the answers you’ve found for yourself. A struggle answered is purpose found. Profundity is relative: What’s simple to you is profound to others. You’ve grown bo… Source: 5 Ways to Dig Your Own Well

The Defenders of King Leopold II: Genocide in the Congo

Since the attack on Brussels there have been a number of people sending prayers up and hoping for peace, solidarity, and justice for the victims.  There are also some people that have been extremely heartless towards the plight of those people because of Brussels history towards minorities, specifically African Americans.  I get both sides and…

A Change of Perspective on Women: Malcolm X

One thing that I became aware of in my traveling recently through Africa and the Middle East in every country you go to, usually the degree of progress can never be separated from the woman. If you’re in a country that is progressive, then woman is progressive. If you’re in a country that reflects the…

March 2016: African American News, Highlights, and Mentions

Follow the links to the appropriate articles, books, or businesses I mention this month.  Hope you enjoy!! – AcademicHustler1975 ‘Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo’ meaning (you strike the women, you strike the rock) These words from the famous resistance song have come to symbolise the courage and strength expressed at the Women’s March of 1956 as South…

Midnight Basketball: The 1994 Federal Crime Bill…22 Years Ago

Better Shaq than Crack – Never mind that in a $33 billion crime bill, heavily tilted toward prisons, cops and death penalties, midnight basketball is a mere $40 million item. That’s 12 cents for every $100 in the bill. Never mind that Republicans, despite the elephant as party symbol, are suffering from amnesia. They forget that on…

Mary Turner: Pregnant Casualty of “Convict Leasing”

Throughout time the enslavement of Africans in the United States went under various different names from “slavery” to “convict leasing” to “debt peonage” to “chain gangs” to “sharecropping” and now, “privatized prison labor” as a part of the Prison Industrial Complex.   Many erroneously link the end of enslavement to December 6, 1865 with the…

When I am old

When I am old and grey and full of sleep Invite the light in from the ledge and drop a beat Make the floors shake, enrage the neighbors Wake the street When I am old and grey and full of sleep. Source: When I am old

Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee: The 1st African American Woman appointed Dean of an American Medical School and Sister to Diana Ross

A Supreme Queen of Medicine Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., was the first African American woman to be appointed dean of an American medical school (Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine) in 2001. “Being dean of a medical school is of no consequence unless I can make the way better for those who follow … those who…

Part I: Amy Jacques Garvey: Jamaican Roots, Education, and the Politics of Love

Amy Jacques–Garvey (1895 – 1973)  Most writers on Garveyism focus exclusively on Marcus, reducing Amy to the role of “helpmate.” Like many women with famous mates, Amy Jacques Garvey was an extraordinary woman whose accomplishments were subsumed by those of her husband. Marcus was cognizant of Amy’s invaluable talents and co-opted them for “his” work….

Black Megachurches: The Class Migration

Those who expect the activist black megachurches to fill the gaps left by the Civil Rights Movement should be aware that these churches struggle with prioritizing their activities given limited capacity and limited political capital. For example, when churches form CDOs and accept government funding, the leaders and representatives of these churches are limited in…