Author |
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Monday, February 19, 2007 - 9:19 am
Historian Chronicles Lives of Monticello's Slaves
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 6:49 pm
One of my favorite poems by Nikki Giovanni... Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why) I was born in the congo I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx I designed a pyramid so tough that a star that only glows every one hundred years falls into the center giving divine perfect light I am bad I sat on the throne drinking nectar with allah I got hot and sent an ice age to europe to cool my thirst My oldest daughter is nefertiti the tears from my birth pains created the nile I am a beautiful woman I gazed on the forest and burned out the sahara desert with a packet of goat's meat and a change of clothes I crossed it in two hours I am a gazelle so swift so swift you can't catch me For a birthday present when he was three I gave my son hannibal an elephant He gave me rome for mother's day My strength flows ever on My son noah built new/ark and I stood proudly at the helm as we sailed on a soft summer day I turned myself into myself and was jesus men intone my loving name All praises All praises I am the one who would save I sowed diamonds in my back yard My bowels deliver uranium the filings from my fingernails are semi-precious jewels On a trip north I caught a cold and blew My nose giving oil to the arab world I am so hip even my errors are correct I sailed west to reach east and had to round off the earth as I went The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid across three continents I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal I cannot be comprehended except by my permission I mean...I...can fly like a bird in the sky... link
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 9:27 pm
Mocha, that's beautiful! Never heard it before. Thanks for sharing it. 
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 6:49 am

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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 7:57 pm
Black Sub Vets: The Untold Silent Service Navy News | PO1 Ira J. Elinson | February 16, 2007 Groton, CT. -- It’s a story that’s been told for more than 50 years, mostly across the dinner table or on back porches. Although it was never a secret, this tale of the “silent service” hadn't reached a wider audience. Now, thanks to someone’s childhood fascination with submarines, and especially a specific crew member, everyone has the opportunity to hear the story. “Despite the fact that black men served valiantly in the submarine force during World War II and beyond into the age of nuclear submarines, and continue to do so to this day, their accomplishments have gone largely unnoticed. It is now time to get them back onto the radar screen of history,” declares author Glenn A. Knoblock, in his book, “Black Submariners in the United States Navy, 1940 - 1975.” Knoblock presented a comprehensive lecture on his latest work at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Conn., before an audience of more than 100 current and veteran submariners Feb. 9. Many of the SUBVETS who attended were highlighted in his book. Knoblock’s slide show depicting Navy life for black submarine Sailors in the 1940s evoked warm memories for many SUBVETS. Retired Master Chief Melvin Williams Sr., who, despite graduating at the top of his technical high school class before joining the Navy in 1951, was limited in his career choice to the Steward rating (SD). The Navy, he said, moved slowly in regards to racial equality, but it was better than in the civilian world. Williams traveled from Maryland to attend the event. His son, Melvin Williams Jr., carried on the Navy tradition as a vice admiral serving as deputy, Fleet Forces Command, and wrote the foreword to Knoblock’s book. James Mosley served 20 years in the Navy after joining in 1948. During his career he said he’s seen many changes in the way blacks were treated. He stuck with it and went on to be the first black to attend, not only the Submarine Medical Technical School, but the Navy’s Nuclear Power School. Rear Adm. Cecil Haney, commander, Submarine Group 2, said these men are described in the book as trail blazers "who paved the way for change." “The Navy today has folks of all colors involved in all aspects of operations. It is the difference between day and night," he said. After the presentation, Knoblock signed copies of the book. It seemed as though there were as many people interested in getting their books signed by the submarine veterans as the author. A special display honoring the service and sacrifice of black submariners is on exhibit in the museum’s main hall throughout the month of February.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 7:18 am
Wow
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 6:49 am
There are some good interviews with lots of Black Hollywood at the Pan African Film Festival and can be found here
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 7:10 am
Civil Rights Walk of Fame Gains 13 New Members
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Retired
Member
07-11-2001
| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 12:58 pm
Yay! 
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 1:22 pm
How kool.
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 4:56 pm
Sojourner Truth Replica to be Displayed in Capitol
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 5:00 pm
Capitol Hill honors Frederick Douglass
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, March 03, 2007 - 7:53 pm
I'm very confused by this event: Cherokee Nation Votes to Expel Freedmen Apparently Freedmen are the descendants of slaves owned by Cherokees in the 17 and 1800's. They moved with the Cherokees to Oklahoma, and from what I've read most have Cherokee blood. But when the Dawes Rolls were created in 1906 (largely to determine federal benefits and land grants), full-blooded Cherokees and mixed White/Cherokees were listed as "Cherokee by blood" and Black/Cherokees were listed in an entirely separate roll called "Freedmen." The Cherokee constitution from way back when recognized the Freedmen as tribal members. But recently the move has been made to remove Freedmen voting rights, and now (following a successful challenge by the Freedmen to the removal of their voting rights) the vote has been made by the Cherokee nation to recognize only those Cherokees by blood who can trace their descendancy from the Dawes Rolls. Which means black Cherokees are out, no federal bennies and no right to claim any of the gains from the billions of dollars the Cherokee casinos make. I've seen various figures on how many Freedmen are actually out there - somewhere between 2800 and 25,000. Compared to 250,000+ Cherokees from the Dawes Rolls. Not a very large percentage at all, comparatively. This gives the appearance of a) first and foremost, racism. Which, I've always had sympathy for American Indians over the racism they've suffered. You'd think they would have an acute sensitivity to the issue act to avoid the appearance of the same. And b) one big honkin money grab. Cut out the blacks, more for all of the rest of us. The weak ruminations I've heard out of the tribal council that pushed the vote against Freedmen is that they are a sovereign nation and they have the right to determine their citizenship, be it by blood or otherwise. I've heard absolutely no argument showing that somehow the Freedmen are NOT blood descendants of the Cherokee tribe, which undeniably they are. I seriously don't understand what the Cherokee reasoning was here outside of the entirely nefarious reasons listed above. Am I missing something? And PS the Navajos tried something similar in the past and recanted when their federal bennies were threatened. Here's hoping for the same result in this situations. It's very disturbing.
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Saturday, March 03, 2007 - 8:25 pm
It's very disturbing. And I think it is both your A and B above ... racism AND money. I hope this gets a lot more air play and that the Black civil rights leaders get a hold of this. I'd love for the BIA and Federal govt to tell them that discrimination is illegal and to hold up their precious money until they decide to do what's right. If they pull that sovereign stuff, then say okay, be sovereign without federal monies.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, March 03, 2007 - 8:40 pm
Correction - it was the Seminole Indians who tried to expel their Freedmen in the past, not the Navajos. Here is a more expansive article on the issue, but it still doesn't elaborate on the historical issues between the two factions: Washington Post on the Freedmen
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, March 03, 2007 - 9:21 pm
Here is a fascinating website devoted to the Freedmen, including slave narratives: Black Indians
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Sunday, March 04, 2007 - 9:56 am
It's a damn shame.
quote:Against: Freedmen saw the vote as less about self-determination than about discrimination and historical blinders. They saw hints of racism and a desire by some Cherokees to deny the tribe's slave-owning past.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Sunday, March 04, 2007 - 4:12 pm
http://tinyurl.com/2d6x6d NAACP president resigns after 19 months at civil rights organization March 04, 2007 5:53 PM EST NEW YORK - The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Bruce S. Gordon, is quitting the civil rights organization, leaving after just 19 months, he told The Associated Press on Sunday. Gordon cited growing strain with board members over the group's management style and future operations. "I believe that any organization that's going to be effective will only be effective if the board and the CEO are aligned and I don't think we are aligned," Gordon said. Gordon, 61, was a surprise pick for the NAACP's top post. When he took over in August 2005, he had no record in traditional civil rights circles. He had spent 35 years in the telecommunications industry. <snipped>
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 6:37 pm
It's about flippin' time: Disney first: black princess in animated film NEW ORLEANS - The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called “The Frog Princess,” which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio’s first black princess. The film, set for release in 2009, also is the first hand-drawn film Disney has committed to since pledging last month to return to the traditional animation that made it a worldwide brand. “The Frog Princess,” a musical scored by composer Randy Newman, is “an American fairy tale” starring a girl named Maddy who lives in the French Quarter in New Orleans, said John Lasseter, chief creative director for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Disney did not provide details of the plot, but the company showed shareholders preliminary drawings from the movie. Newman and a jazz band played a song from the movie’s score. Maddy joins eight other Disney princess characters, who have generated $3 billion in global retail sales since 1999. Disney Princesses is the fastest-growing brand for the company’s Consumer Products division. Disney introduced its first non-white animated heroine in 1992's “Aladdin”: a Middle Eastern character named Jasmine. Three years later an American Indian princess appeared in “Pocahontas.” The creation of the Chinese heroine from “Mulan” came in 1998. Other Disney princesses are the main characters from “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid.” Disney aggregated the eight characters in 1999 under the banner Disney Princesses and has rolled out toys, books, clothing, furniture and other merchandise aimed at girls ages 3 to 8. Disney chief executive Robert Iger said the company wanted to show its support for New Orleans, only partially rebuilt 18 months after it was flooded by Hurricane Katrina, by holding its annual meeting and setting its newest animated film in the city. “The film’s New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture,” Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said. John Musker and Ron Clements, who co-directed “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin” and “Hercules” will co-direct the movie. The pair also wrote the story for the film.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 6:41 pm
Yay!!
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Jan
Moderator
08-01-2000
| Friday, March 09, 2007 - 12:31 pm
well good for them!!!! It's about time for the balck princess and Yay to them for the shout out to New orleans.
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Friday, March 09, 2007 - 12:36 pm
I read about this yesterday ... it's about time!!! 
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Friday, March 09, 2007 - 1:32 pm
Oohh I hadn't seen her picture ... very pretty!!

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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Friday, March 09, 2007 - 1:33 pm
A more conciliatory Farrakhan: 'I've evolved' very interesting article
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, March 09, 2007 - 1:34 pm
Don't like it. She should be wearing AUBERGINE!!!!
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