Showing posts with label civil rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label civil rights. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Conservative Outrage Over Mother Moses Being On $20!

Harriet Tubman is going to be honored on the $20 U.S. bill. Conservatives act a fool when the news broke.

The conservatives are going bananas over the announcement of Harriet Tubman being featured on the $20 U.S. dollar.

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew decided that the time is now. He decided to scrap the idea of having Alexander Hamilton replaced on the $10 U.S. dollar. He decided that it's time to replace Old Hickory.

She will replace Andrew Jackson. The denomination is the most commonly bartered currency in the United States.

The changes were announced Wednesday by the Treasury as part of a historic overhaul of U.S. currency aimed at addressing America’s legacy of slavery and gender inequality.

Cue the conservative outrage.








The bile is so unbelieveable. The trolls underneath the bandwidth bridge makes the Republican Party look really bad. Matter of fact, Republicans face a huge deficit in rounding up minority voters.

These are the Donald Trump voters. These are the people glued to Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and The Drudge Report. These are the people who may be your friends, co-workers or your neighbors.

And they seem to be clueless on American history.

Pathetic Republicans and their hateful ass agenda.

Mother Moses fought hard for the freedom of all. She deserves the honor of being on American currency.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Amelia Boynton Robinson Passed Away!

Amelia Boynton Robinson passed away.

With great sadness we've heard that Amelia Boynton Robinson passed away at the age of 104.

Amelia fought for Civil Rights during the turbulent times of the 1960s. She was a key figure of the Selma to Montgomery march. She and John Lewis suffered a beat down by the White bigots who tried to silence their peaceful march.

Amelia Boynton Robinson was an American activist who was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Amelia was among those beaten during the voting rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in March 1965 that became known as "Bloody Sunday." State troopers teargased and clubbed the marchers as they tried to cross the bridge. A newspaper photo showing Boynton Robinson, who had been beaten unconscious, drew wide attention to the movement.

Fifty years later, Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, pushed her across the span in a wheelchair during a commemoration.

Amelia who was hospitalized in July after having a major stroke, turned 104 on Aug. 18. Her son said she had been living in Tuskegee and was hospitalized in Montgomery. Boynton Robinson's family said in a written statement that she was surrounded by relatives and friends when she died around 2:20 a.m.
Selma this year. President Barack Obama holds hands with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and Amelia Boynton Robinson.
In January, Boynton Robinson attended the State of the Union address as a special guest of Democratic Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, who said Boynton's 1964 run for Congress paved the way for her. Sewell is Alabama's first elected black congresswoman. Boynton was the first woman to run on a Democratic ticket in Alabama and the first black woman to run for Congress in the state, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

"Mrs. Boynton Robinson suffered grave injustices on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma at the hands of state troopers on Bloody Sunday, yet she refused to be intimidated," Sewell said in January. "She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, my colleague Rep. John Lewis and thousands of others from Selma to Montgomery and ultimately witnessed the day when their work led to the passage of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965."

World News Today send our condolences to the family of Amelia Boynton Robinson. You are a hero to the movement for change. You fought for me to be here.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Louis Stokes Passed Away!

Former U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes passed away.


The city of Cleveland lost a fighter. Louis Stokes passed away today. His family confirms that the former 15 term lawmaker died in his hometown after a lengthy fight with brain and lung cancer.

He was 90 years old.

World News Today send our condolences to the family of Louis Stokes.

Born in Cleveland, Stokes and his brother Carl B. Stokes lived in one of the first federally funded housing projects, the Outhwaite Homes. Louis attended Central High School. Stokes served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. After attending Western Reserve University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Stokes began practicing law in Cleveland in 1953.

Stokes argued the seminal "stop and frisk" case of Terry v. Ohio before the United States Supreme Court in 1968. Later in 1968, he was elected to the House, representing the 21st District of Ohio on Cleveland's East Side. He shifted to the newly created 11th District, covering much of the same area following a 1992 redistricting. Stokes served 30 years in total, retiring in 1999.

Cleveland dedicate a portion of their city to Mr. Stokes.



Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Emma Didlake Passed Away!

President Barack Obama thanks Emma for her service.

A month after meeting President Barack Obama, Emma Didlake, passed away. Born in Alabama, grew up in Detroit, Emma served in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) during World War II. She served stateside for about seven months during the war, as a private and driver.

Emma Didlake died Sunday in West Bloomfield, northwest of Detroit, according to the Oakland County medical examiner's office. She was considered one of the oldest veterans at the time living.

She passed away at 110 years old. World News Today send our condolences to the family of Emma Didlake.

Didlake was a 38-year-old wife and mother of five when she signed up in 1943 for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. She served about seven months stateside during the war, as a private and driver.

She spent time with the president in July during a trip to Washington that was arranged by Talons Out Honor Flight, a southwest Michigan chapter of a national nonprofit that provides free, one-day trips for veterans to visit monuments and memorials in the nation's capital.

"Emma Didlake served her country with distinction and honor, a true trailblazer for generations of Americans who have sacrificed so much for their country," Obama said Monday afternoon in a statement. "I was humbled and grateful to welcome Emma to the White House last month, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to Emma's family, friends, and everyone she inspired over her long and quintessentially American life."

Emma was born in Alabama and moved with her family to Detroit in 1944. She was known to her family as "Big Mama" and recently moved to an assisted living family in suburban Detroit.

She was deemed the oldest U.S. veteran based on information gleaned by Honor Flight representatives through national outreach campaigns.

Granddaughter Marilyn Horne told The Associated Press last month that when Talons Out officials presented her grandmother with a short-sleeved shirt bearing the group's logo to wear on the trip to Washington, Didlake took a look and said: "'I don't have Michelle Obama arms — I'm going to need a jacket.'"

During her visit to the White House, Didlake wore a patriotic-themed neck scarf and sat in her wheelchair in the same spot in the Oval Office where foreign leaders sit when they meet with Obama.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Julian Bond Passed Away!

Civil rights icon Julian Bond passed away.

The famed Julian Bond passed away over the weekend. World News Today send our condolences to the family of a great icon in civil rights.

Julian was a social activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement, politician, professor, and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped to establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Bond was elected to four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and later to six terms in the Georgia Senate, having served a combined twenty years in both legislative chambers. From 1998 to 2010, he was chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Bond died in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, after a brief illness, according to The Associated Press.

“Julian Bond was a hero and, I’m privileged to say, a friend. Justice and equality was the mission that spanned his life,” President Barack Obama said in a statement Sunday. “Julian Bond helped change this country for the better. And what better way to be remembered than that.”
I'm privileged to say, Julian was a friend for justice and equality.
Bond was a Nashville, Tennessee, native who attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. While in school, he co-founded the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee -- an organization that fought for and encouraged youth members to be vocal in the civil rights revolution.  He led SNCC as the communications director, stood on the front lines of protests alongside several other civil rights pioneers like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, and became a leader in the 1960s protest movement.

Bond later served as board chairman of the 500,000-member NAACP for 10 years, but declined to run for another one-year term in 2010, the AP reported.

Bond would often appear as a commentator on news shows and became a leading voice in the media, featured on NBC's "Today" show, and in The Nation and The New York Times.

He was also a professor of history at the University of Virginia and an adjunct professor at American University, the AP reported.

Many other celebrated civil and human rights activists mourned Bond's death Sunday.

"Very few throughout human history have embodied the ideals of honor, dignity, courage and friendship like Dr. Julian Bond," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "Quite simply, this nation and this world are far better because of his life and commitment to justice and equality for all people. Future generations will look back on the life and legacy of Julian Bond and see a warrior of good who helped conquer hate in the name of love. I will greatly miss my friend and my hero, Dr. Julian Bond."

Bond is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, and five children.

Thursday, July 02, 2015

Uncle Tom's Cabin Historical Site!



I am sharing my experience of traveling in Canada.

I went to the town of Dresden, Ontario. It's about 76 miles from Detroit. I was traveling the Highway 401 towards London. I saw the sign that said Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site. 

I couldn't help but go and visit this.

It's a part of Civil Rights History.

The Henson estate. Josiah Henson, a former slave, author, abolitionist, and minister, who, through his 1849 autobiography The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself, was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's title character in her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.[

The 5-acre (20,000 m2) complex is part of the original 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land purchased in 1841 to establish the Dawn Settlement, a community for escaped slaves.

The original Henson cabin was located on a different location nearby and opened as a museum in the 1940s by an area farmer, William Chapple.

The house was moved to the existing location in 1964 by J.D. Thomson, and subsequently was owned and operated by Kent County, Ontario and then the St. Clair Parkway Commission. Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site has been owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust since 2005.

Henson Family Cemetery is located on the site. The original cabin was moved slightly for the museum and interactive centre. 

I show some pictures and also posted my first YouTube video in five years.



















Have you read the epic novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by American writer Harriett Beecher Stowe?

Have you visited the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati?

Have you read about Mother Moses?

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

The Long Hot Summer.....

The South rocked by possible arson at predominately Black churches.

First things first, we start of the month of July with the report of the Klan making a trip to Columbia, South Carolina to protest the proposal to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds.

Then there was a disturbance in which a man instigated a riot near the capitol grounds. The man was a supporter of the Confederate flag and he deliberately drove through to taunt the Black protesters.

That situation managed to attract the conservative Craigslist attention. After all, what could spook White folks more than a man being pummeled by a bunch of Black people.

Conservatives would find #BLACKLIVESMATTER hashtag merged with #RACIALMOBVIOLENCE

Then we have unexplained Black church burns in the South.

Macon, Memphis, Tallahassee, Warrenville, S.C. , Knoxville, and Charlotte were the scene where possible burns may have been the works of White extremists.

The FBI and state authorities are trying to connect the dots. Could this have been a hate crime?

Since that White terrorist killed nine innocent victims at Emmanuel AME Church, the calls for gun control and the removal of the Confederate flag have gotten louder.




Friday, June 26, 2015

BREAKING: GAY MARRIAGE LEGAL IN THE U.S.!

Anthony Kennedy joined the liberal justices Steven Breyer, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor in an extremely historical decision. The gay marriage bans in states like Ohio, Kentucky, Florida and Texas are gone. The United States Supreme Court ruled, gay marriage the law of the land.

A HUGE DAY IN AMERICA FOR OUR FRIENDS IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY! THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT THE STATE BANS ON GAY MARRIAGE ARE ILLEGAL.

GAY MARRIAGE AND GAY ADOPTION ARE NOW LEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES.

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE IN THE COUNTRY.

THE ROBERTS COURT FINALLY WENT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

A big day in the Supreme Court. The legality of marriage is now equal for all.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that all state mandated gay marriage bans are discriminatory.
Win for the LGBT community.
The decision is a historic victory for gay rights activists who have fought for years in the lower courts. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia already recognize marriage equality. The remaining 13 states ban these unions, even as public support has reached record levels nationwide.

The justices found that under the 14th Amendment, states must issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex unions that were legally performed in other states.

The lead plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges is Ohio resident Jim Obergefell, who wanted to be listed as the surviving spouse on his husband's death certificate. In 2013, Obergefell married his partner of two decades, John Arthur, who suffered from ALS. Arthur passed away in October of that year, three months after the couple filed their lawsuit.

Obergefell was joined by several dozen other gay plaintiffs from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee who were fighting both to be able to marry and to have their marriage recognized in every state in the country.
Family matters. The Supreme Court made a historical decision on gay marriage.
The country's views of same-sex marriage have transformed since 2004, when Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay couples to wed. In 2013, the Supreme Court began chipping away at the country's legacy of discrimination against same-sex couples when it struck down part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which prevented same-sex couples whose marriages were recognized by their home state from receiving the hundreds of benefits available to other married couples under federal law.

President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to support marriage equality when he came out in favor of it in 2012, the same year that the Democratic Party made it part of its platform for the first time. The Republican Party and its slate of 2016 presidential aspirants, however, remain opposed to same-sex marriage. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) support a constitutional amendment protecting states that want to ban marriage equality.

Some conservatives have advocated for a civil disobedience effort against a Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage. However, officials in red states told The Huffington Post recently that they are prepared to implement the decision, going so far as to ready gender-neutral marriage licenses and set later office hours. Gerard Rickhoff, who oversees marriage licenses in Bexar County, Texas, said that if same-sex couples are discriminated against elsewhere in the state, "Just get in your car and come on down the highway. You'll be embraced here."
















President Barack Obama will be heading to Charleston soon but before he goes, he may deliver a speech on the court decision.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

I Need Like Ten.....!

US10dollarbill-Series 2004A.jpg
The U.S. Treasury announced a new design for the $10 bill. The bill will feature a woman.

Who will get blamed now that the conservatives found out this bit of historical news?

A. Barack Obama
B. Hillary Clinton
C. Michelle Obama
D. Women's Rights Groups
E. Liberals
F. All of These Above

Guess who's on the $10 American bill?

Okay, I give you a hint..... He was the first U.S. Treasury Secretary and a statesman. He was assassinated in a duel. He was a founding member of this great country.

Give up.

Okay, his name is Alexander Hamilton. He's not a president. He and founding father Benjamin Franklin are on American currency. Hamilton and Franklin are not presidents. But they are honored respectively for their achievements.

Benjamin Franklin is on the $100 American bill. That is the highest domination to exist. There are rare higher domination bills. But the United States mandates that no amount shall exceed $100.

Alexander Hamilton is on the $10 American bill.

When the year 2020 comes, the U.S. Treasury will be kicking him to the curb.

It was announced by current U.S. Secretary Jack Lew that a woman would be featured on a redesigned ten-dollar bill by 2020. The Department of Treasury is seeking the public's input on whom should appear on the new bill.

So who's gonna get the prize?

My top choices for nomination.

1. Michelle Obama (living)
2. Nancy Reagan (living)
3. Hillary Clinton (living)
4. Harriet Tubman
5. Susan B. Anthony
6. Jacqueline Kennedy
7. Betsy Ross
8. Martha Washington
9. Mary Todd Lincoln
10. Shirley Chisolm
11. Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson
12. Coretta Scott King
13. Rosa Parks
14. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
15. Sacagawea

So your thoughts on this?

Send it to me and S. Baldwin.

Monday, June 15, 2015

S.W.B. Got A Man In County Lockup!

County sheriff arrest man for shopping in Walmart too damn slow.

S.W.B. is short for shopping while Black.

While shopping at a Pensacola Walmart, four men film an interaction with a female Florida deputy for Escambia County. The deputy was called allegedly by management after seeing four men shopping the store in a matter that appeared "suspicious".

Three men were walking while one was in a motorized shopping cart. The deputy was none too thrilled to see these four men. She would order them out of the store.

One of the men had told the officer, that they got a bag of Doritos in the shopping cart. They have a right to shop. They done nothing wrong.

The deputy wasn't having any of this. She warned the man in the motorized cart to leave.

“You cannot shop. I’m telling you to get your ass up off that cart and get out of the store.”

Of course, cops shouldn't cuss at people. It escalates the situation. One of the men called the deputy out on this. "She's cussing at us", says one of the men.

“Because I’m speaking fucking English and the fact that you don’t understand me  — ” said the deputy to the man in the motorized cart.
They were told to leave because they were shopping too slow.
After being told to leave the store, one man can be heard saying, “We can still pay for our stuff,” before adding “I ain’t going to be put in jail for nothing. I ain’t going to jail.” Then he would call her a bitch.

The deputy had enough. She would cuff the man in the motorized cart.

As he is being led out of the Walmart the other men told the officer that it's not fair. They were told to leave Walmart for allegedly shopping too slow. The management believed they're up to no good.

Again you have a right to film the law. You don't have to speak to the law. You don't have to be friends with the law. You can talk back to an officer. You can ask for their name, their badge number or supervisor. You can question why you are being detained or arrested. You have a right to refuse search of your home, your car and your personal properties.

The video hits the internet over the weekend and it's already rolling over 1 million views as of now.

Some claimed that Walmart mentioned the video in which a man filmed two women fighting in the store. They claim it's a double standard. No one was arrested in this incident. They were eventually banned after Walmart saw the video.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Bernie Sanders Runs With The Scissors!

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has declared his intentions to run for prez.

The progressive activist has decided the time has come to challenge the status quo. The left is not thrilled with Hillary Clinton right now. So in order to force her to the left, they'll do an "Anyone But Hillary" campaign.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has formally declared his intentions of running for the Democratic nomination. Sanders is an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats.

Sanders is officially running. There's no word of former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley and former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee's formal announcements.

No real contenders in this race.

The junk food media already ignores the Stallmigos.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have already declared running for the Republican nomination. The junk food media already not impressed with them.

So they've taken their act to Baltimore.

Anyway, while this is great that it's not a one person race, most people aren't familiar with the senator. He comes from Vermont. Most would advocate Vermont with former governor and Democrat chairman Howard Dean.

Sanders will formally declare he's a Democrat and prepare for his launch in May.

Sanders advocates for equal pay protection, marijuana legalization, due process, the protection of the safety net, fair taxation and single payer health care (amending Obamacare).

So far there's five declared candidates in the clown car.

Are you interested in them?

Monday, March 09, 2015

Conservative Outrage Over NY Times Burning The Bush Out!

Former president George W. Bush was in Selma for historic event. The racist right upset that he was brush out. They're upset that Bush and President Barack Obama interacted with Rev. Perm.


They're outraged because the New York Times couldn't fit the former in.

George W. Bush, former first lady Laura and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA, Majority Leader) were in attendance, Of course there lawmakers  and agitators were there. The most notable were Attorney General Eric Holder, Rev. Perm, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

What got the folks over at FalseVolt, Breitfart, Newsclusters and The Daily Nothing pissed off was the "deliberate" brush out of Bush and McCarthy.

The Times was trying bias to the former and Majority Leader.

Now you know how conservatives look at the media. They would take a foreign source that got its source from an anonymous foreign source over American outlets.

You see how reactionary these people are.

Bush isn't the president. Barack Obama is. They're sworn enemy.

The complaint, courtesy of The Daily Nothing. The Selma March included the president, Rev. Perm, Holder but missing from the photo, though only a few people down to the right, were former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura. The Times also focused quite a bit of their story on the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, even though the local and federal investigations into that event found race had zero role in it and they refused to bring charges.

For their front page, the Times curiously chose a picture that did not show the entire front line of marchers, choosing instead to leave the Bushes on the cutting room floor.

Anyway, I am not wasting too much time covering this. These agitators can't get over the fact that President Barack Obama is in the White House. They hate the fact he's even in there.

It's about RACE not about politics.
The First Family and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) got the front. Conservatives outraged that G.W. Bush got the back.
Republicans and their racist right allies are wasted space in America. Eventually that will be phased out.

The younger generation are tolerant of LGBT, interracial marriage, religious freedom, marijuana legalization and the safety net.

The older generation is what Republicans relish on. They want more looser gun laws, restrictive voting rights, restrictions on women's rights, restrictions on immigration and religious intolerance.

This is why the world should never take American conservatives seriously. They too damn immature.

They can't understand that the media is free. The lefties hate how Loserville operates. But no one is trying to silence them. You have the right to change the channel, avoid picking up the paper, never click on the link or visiting the blog. You have a freaking choice.

Why get upset over a decision you decided to take consideration into?

It's click bait, America.



Sunday, November 23, 2014

Marion Barry Passed Away!

DC Councilman and former mayor Marion Barry passed away.


Today it was announced that former Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry passed away overnight.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Barry.

Barry, a colorful and yet troubled individual in the 1990s. He was caught smoking crack cocaine while in office. While in prison, he turned around his behavior. He wrote booLike the former mayor of Toronto, Barry made things work in Washington, DC during the 1990s. But his actions were mired in controversy. For you see lawmakers in Washington hated him.

Barry was a council ward during his final years.
The infamous crack smoking tape. The FBI set up a sting operation to catch the mayor.
Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. (March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as the second elected Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth Mayor from 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served three tenures on the Council of the District of Columbia, representing as an at-large member from 1975 to 1979 and in Ward 8 from 1993 to 1995 and again from 2005 to 2014. In the 1960s he was involved in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, first as a member of the Nashville Student Movement sit-ins and then serving as the first chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Barry came to national prominence as mayor of the national capital, the first prominent civil-rights activist to become chief executive of a major American city; he gave the presidential nomination speech for Jesse Jackson at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

His celebrity transformed into international notoriety in January 1990, when he was videotaped smoking crack cocaine and arrested by FBI officials on drug charges. The arrest and subsequent trial precluded Barry seeking re-election, and he served six months in a federal prison. After his release, however, he was elected to the DC City Council in 1992 and ultimately returned to the mayoralty in 1994, serving from 1995 to 1999.

Despite his history of political and legal controversies, Barry was a popular and influential figure in the local political scene of Washington, D.C. The alternative weekly Washington City Paper nicknamed him "Mayor for life," a designation that remained long after Barry left the mayoralty.

The Washington Post has stated that "to understand the District of Columbia, one must understand Marion Barry.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Maya Angelou Passes Away!

President Barack Obama offers the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Maya Angelou.

Breaking today, the famed poet and civil rights activist died today according to most sources.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014. 

Maya Angelou was an American author and poet. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning more than fifty years. She received dozens of awards and over thirty honorary doctoral degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of seventeen, and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, night-club dancer and performer, cast-member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the days of decolonization. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. Since 1982, she taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she holds the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. 

She was active in the Civil Rights movement, and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Since the 1990s she made around eighty appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. 

In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.

With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson of black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of black culture. Although attempts have been made to ban her books from some US libraries, her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide. Angelou's major works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics have characterized them as autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre.

 Her books center on themes such as racism, identity, family, and travel. Angelou is best known for her autobiographies, but she is also an established poet, although her poems have received mixed reviews.

Angelou was found dead by her caretaker on the morning of May 28, 2014. She had reportedly been in bad health and had canceled recent scheduled appearances.

Thursday, February 06, 2014

NC Students & Young People Mobilize | Moral March on Raleigh Promo





North Carolina Students and Young People are under attack in North Carolina when it comes to their education and voting rights. And they are mobilizing for their future.

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Greedy Kings!

Dexter (right), Bernice (center) and Martin Luther King III (left) are feuding with one another over their father's memorable items. Some include his bible and Nobel Peace Prize. The three surviving members of the King Estate have distanced themselves from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

As you know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy is loved a cherished by millions here and abroad.

He was the pioneer of the American Civil Rights Movement. He fought for equal rights for all Americans.

The modern day conservatives truly believe that King was an inspiration for their loathing of President Barack Obama. They would tarnish his legacy by making outrageous claims about his life, his family and of course his beliefs.

For one thing, King was called a "COMMUNIST" by the racist right. Republicans weren't on board for passing a national holiday recognizing the slain civil rights leader.

For him winning a Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, conservatives would have slander him as a NIGGER who got all this attention for being a meddler. Conservatives believe that King didn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. The very same stuff conservatives done to President Barack Obama when he won the award in 2009.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

Now let's fast forward to 2014,  50 years since the March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Corretta Scott's children are squabbling over the royalties.

CNN reports the children of Martin Luther King Jr. are back at loggerheads -- this time over his Bible and Nobel Peace Prize.

The estate of the civil rights icon filed a complaint in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Friday to force Bernice King, his daughter, to turn over the items.

King's heirs agreed in 1995 to give up their inheritance to the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc., the complaint reads.


Bernice King has "repeatedly acknowledged and conceded the validity" of the agreement, but has "secreted and sequestered" the items in question, it says.

Specifically, the estate -- which is controlled by Dexter King and Martin Luther King III -- wants his 1964
Nobel Peace Prize and his traveling Bible, which was used by President Barack Obama when he was sworn in for his second term.

Bernice King says her brothers just want the items to sell them.

"Our Father MUST be turning in his grave," she said in a Tuesday statement.

"While I love my brothers dearly, this latest decision by them is extremely troubling. Not only am I appalled and utterly ashamed, I am frankly disappointed that they would even entertain the thought of selling these precious items. It reveals a desperation beyond comprehension."

The complaint does not mention the possibility of a sale, and attempts to contact the King brothers, through the estate, Tuesday were unsuccessful.

This is not the first time the family has been at odds over King's legacy. Over the years, the siblings have sued and counter-sued one another.

Bernice King and Martin Luther King III sued Dexter King in 2008, accusing him of converting "substantial funds from the estate's financial account at Bank of America" for his own use. They later agreed to a settlement and avoided a public trial.

"My brothers' decision to sue me is drastic and grieves me greatly. I have absolutely no desire to be in court or to fight yet another public battle," Bernice King said in her statement Tuesday.

"Nevertheless, some actions are sacrilegious and some things are not for sale."

Sunday, September 01, 2013

Republican About Face On Civil Rights!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marches through Selma. John Lewis (right) was injured in the event. He would later run for U.S. House as a Democrat.

The past doesn't seem to match up with the present. It's unfortunate that Republicans of present day are trying to rewrite history on the backs of the Black community. They have no freaking clue on what impact the Civil Rights Act of 1964 done for America.

That law banned discrimination in the workplace, retail establishments and services.

Yeah, the Republicans were instrumental in helping Democrats pass Civil Rights and Voting Rights laws. They deserve credit. But to keep saying it was only them when the Democrats held the majority and presidency is kind of disingenuous.

Today's Republican Party has no care for Civil Rights. They're proceeding to tear apart the very fabric of equal rights for Blacks, Hispanics and those in the LGBT community.

People like Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) would gladly repeal Civil Rights laws, if given the opportunity.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) claim they're a product of diversity within the Republican Party. Yet, they're the ones who vote to restrict your rights to vote. They rather see Blacks, Hispanics and Muslims locked up just like their fellow Republicans.

In a party that's 90% WHITE and 10% EVERYONE ELSE, you would think the problem solely lies within the party not the Democrats they love to attack for being a "racist" party.

The Republican governors are so eager to pass voter identification laws and rolling back early voting days.

They feel that "voter fraud" is a huge problem in urban community. Say if Tyrone Boykins and Shenquia Teasunae Johnson were without their state issued identifications and they were registered to vote. They wouldn't have an opportunity to vote. Even though you have to sign a book letting you are present, you still don't have enough credibility according to the Republicans. You're only allowed to vote once. Obviously you're not carrying three different identities to vote.

Black conservatives love to rail against the Democrats about being the party that supported racism.

Instead of looking into the facts, they'll just pull stuff right out of their asses.

Harry J. Enten of the Guardian wrote a pretty interesting piece about Republicans "claim" to Civil Rights.
Andrew Breitbart talks to Black Tea Party protester. The conservative agitator died of a heart attack in 2012.
He debunks the theory that Republicans mainly contributed to passage of Civil Rights. He even says that if the Democrats were the "racist" Black conservatives claim them to be, why did they nominate Barack Obama for president?

Enten wrote that Republicans are having trouble with minorities. Some like to point out that the party has a long history of standing up for civil rights compared to Democrats. Democrats, for example, were less likely to vote for the civil rights bills of the 1950s and 1960s. Democrats were more likely to filibuster. Yet, a closer look at the voting coalitions suggests a more complicated picture that ultimately explains why Republicans are not viewed as the party of civil rights.

He wrote that if look you at the party vote in both houses of Congress, it fits the historical pattern. Republicans are more in favor of the bill:
Civil Rights support by party
80% of Republicans in the House and Senate voted for the bill. Less than 70% of Democrats did. Indeed, Minority Leader Republican Everett Dirksen led the fight to end the filibuster. Meanwhile, Democrats such as Richard Russell of Georgia and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina tried as hard as they could to sustain a filibuster.
This guy represents Republicans. This guy is probably one of the reasons why Blacks hate the Republican Party.
Of course, it was also Democrats who helped usher the bill through the House, Senate, and ultimately a Democratic president who signed it into law. The bill wouldn't have passed without the support of Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana, a Democrat. Majority Whip Hubert Humphrey, who basically split the Democratic party in two with his 1948 Democratic National Convention speech calling for equal rights for all, kept tabs on individual members to ensure the bill had the numbers to overcome the filibuster.

Put another way, party affiliation seems to be somewhat predictive, but something seems to be missing. So, what factor did best predicting voting?

You don't need to know too much history to understand that the South from the civil war to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 tended to be opposed to minority rights. This factor was separate from party identification or ideology. We can easily control for this variable by breaking up the voting by those states that were part of the confederacy and those that were not.

Civil Rights votes by region

You can see that geography was far more predictive of voting coalitions on the Civil Rights than party affiliation. What linked Dirksen and Mansfield was the fact that they weren't from the south. In fact, 90% of members of Congress from states (or territories) that were part of the Union voted in favor of the act, while less than 10% of members of Congress from the old Confederate states voted for it. This 80 pt. difference between regions is far greater than the 15 pt. difference between parties.
Civil Rights party region



He concluded that nearly 100% of Union state Democrats supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act compared to 85% of Republicans. None of the southern Republicans voted for the bill, while a small percentage of southern Democrats did.

The same pattern holds true when looking at ideology instead of party affiliation. The folks over at Voteview.com, who created DW-nominate scores to measure the ideology of congressmen and senators, found that the more liberal a congressman or senator was the more likely he would vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, once one controlled for a factor closely linked to geography.

That's why Strom Thurmond left the Democratic party soon after the Civil Right Act passed. He recognized that of the two parties, it was the Republican party that was more hospitable to his message. The Republican candidate for president in 1964, Barry Goldwater, was one of the few non-Confederate state senators to vote against the bill. He carried his home state of Arizona and swept the deep southern states – a first for a Republican ever.

Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Congresswoman from California holds hands with Georgia's Democratic Congressman John Lewis (a former civil rights leader) as they walk across the U.S. Capitol lawn to vote on the Affordable Healthcare Reform Law.
Now, it wasn't that the Civil Rights Act was what turned the South against the Democrats or minorities against Republicans. Those patterns, as Trende showed, had been developing for a while. It was, however, a manifestation of these growing coalitions. The South gradually became home to the conservative party, while the north became home to the liberal party.

Today, the transformation is nearly complete. President Obama carried only 18% of former Confederate states, while taking 62% of non-Confederate states in 2012. Only 27% of southern senators are Democrats, while 62% of Union state senators are Democrats. And 29% of southern members in the House are Democrats compared to 54% in states or territories that were part of the Union.

Thus, it seems to me that minorities have a pretty good idea of what they are doing when joining the Democratic party. They recognize that the Democratic party of today looks and sounds a lot more like the Democratic party of the North that with near unity passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 than the southern Democrats of the era who blocked it, and today would, like Strom Thurmond, likely be Republicans.

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