National Read A Book Day on September 6, 2016

September 6, 2016: National Read a Book Day Highlighted Book of the Month The Adventures of Tume The Tug Boat: Tume Visits New York City with his new friend Speed by Monique Brown, ISBN: 978-1534980655: Tume’s Tug Boat Adventures series was created for children of all ages and will help readers understand other cultures, develop an…

July/August 2016: African American Mentions, News, and Articles of Interest

Malcolm X was invited back to London by the African Society to address a large audience in the Old Theatre at the London School of Economics. In both addresses, Malcolm X moved the political discourse from civil rights to human rights and stated clearly and unequivocally that the Black liberation struggle had to be internationalized rather than ghettoized….

June 2016: African American Mentions, News, and Highlights

In Native Son, Wright writes: “Goddammit, look! We live here and they live there. We black and they white. They got things and we ain’t. They do things and we can’t. It’s just like living in jail.” Vince Staples reminds us that the inner city still imprisons many. We should never forget that for some…

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…

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…

Books: From J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders to the Misappropriation of African American Popular Culture

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. – Haruki Murakami   Sometimes we need to branch out and read additional books that give us a better understanding of our history, present, and future.  To keep quoting the same individuals is to be closed-minded….

Propaganda: The Media and Moral Panic that Strengthens Negative Stereotypes

“The public relations industry, which essentially runs the elections, is applying certain principles to undermine democracy which are the same as the principles that applies to undermine markets. The last thing that business wants is markets in the sense of economic theory. Take a course in economics, they tell you a market is based on…

Journal Article: Unarmed, But Still Dangerous????

Update on September 20, 2016: #Charles Kinsey, behavioral therapist was shot in the leg on July 18th with his hands up on the ground while yelling to the cops that he was unarmed and trying to calm down his client who ran into the street with a toy truck. They found in favor of the cops…

White Fragility: Crucial Conversations about Race

White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. – Robin DiAngelo Whiteness itself refers to the…