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How can Blacks Become Responsible for Their own Freedom? The "I" in Black Lives Matter.
I am Queen Sierra and as your featured guest blogger for todays post When 3/5th becomes a man, the nation is at a stand still. This same nation which once held these truths to be “self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. The key word I want to focus your attention on here is ‘liberty’. Liberty is defined as the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views. In the case of blacks in America, it…
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Real Reasons to Celebrate Black American History & Pioneers
We may have had to sit in the back of the bus, but it doesn’t mean we weren’t the first on the bus. Although Black History has been relegated to only one month, some of you may recall it used to be only one week. The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter Woodson and the Association for the study of Negro life announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week.” This week was chosen because it marked the birthdays of both former president Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. People, especially those of color may have an issue with Black History…
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Letters to Empower Young Black men: Keep ya Heads Up
Dear young brother, How was school today? I noticed I saw you on the block about 12:30 or so. Wait a minute, doesn’t school get out at 2:00? So what are you doing out so early? Come to think of it I saw you out around the same time twice last week. You were on the corner wearing your black North face jacket, patent leather red and black (Bread 11) Jordans, and Levi’s jeans sagged a little below your waist waiting patiently for the next customer to come by and get served. What happened to you? Where is your dad? I thought you two reconciled and repaired your broken relationship. Why do…
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Reflections on Young Black America, MLK and Miley Cyrus
Interesting week. Miley Cyrus trying out for the twerk team, football players losing their minds, and much more to cover so let’s chop it up. Riley Cooper is an idiot “‘l will fight every ni**er in here”. Yes in case you haven’t heard that’s what Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper said during a drunken state at a Kenny Chesney concert. Sad thing is 90% of his teammates are black, and believe it or not, some supported his apology while others didn’t. This arguably temporarily left a locked room divided. He did take a leave of absence from the team, but it goes to show you the word and racism…
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Hollywood’s White Saviors and the Negro Damsels in Distress
Before I begin, I would like you to take a look at many of the movies and shows that have been filmed over the years and I ask you, “What do they have in common”? As a matter of fact, lets take a very brief look at a few right now. ‘Conrack’ Filmed: 1974 Starring: Jon Voight, Antonio Vargas, Madge Sinclair Pat Conroy (Voight), an educator, is assigned to Yamacraw Island located off the coast of South Carolina to teach African-American students who are extremely poor, very illiterate and know nothing outside of the world they live in. He teaches them not only basic academic skills but about the ‘American’…
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Will Pro Wrestling Ever Suplex it’s Racial Stereotypes?
Picture this: Circa 1980’s. You’re in Madison Square Garden (MSG). The crowd noise is deafening, there’s electricity in the air, it’s crazy. At a New York Knicks game you ask? No. Or maybe you’re at a New York Rangers game? No. You are at a WWF event. This was back during a time when Pro Wrestling transcended sports and it was an extremely hot commodity. So you’re in MSG, the mecca of Pro Wrestling. You hear the bass thumping, and the speakers blaring. You hear the familiar song of “Grab Them Cakes!!” and you see Sylvester Ritter (known at that time as the Junk Yard Dog) coming down the aisle ready to grapple.…