Sources:
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_memphis_sanitation_workers_strike_1968/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89361277
In early 1968 The City of Memphis, Tennessee saw a chain of events that would arguably be one of the last massive acts of Civil disobedience & Protest, and ultimately would end with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After suffering through years of working in inhumane & hostile working conditions, Memphis Sanitation workers had become fed up. Workers often complained of deplorable conditions that included a lack of protection from the weather, leaking trash, having to go home with maggots in their clothing, poor pay & the city's refusal to repair or replace poorly functioning trucks. Complaints or requests for improved conditions could get you fired. The tipping point came on February 1st 1968 when Echol Cole and Robert Walker were crushed to death while seeking shelter from heavy rain inside the back of a malfunctioning garbage truck. After the city failed to effectively address the roots causes for the tragedy, an estimated 1,300 City Workers would then go on strike. The movement quickly picked up the support of Labor Unions & Student Groups from all over the country. Dr. King, The NAACP & SCLC would ramp up their efforts to support the movement starting in march of that year. A huge protest march was scheduled for March 28th 1968, but would ultimately things go horribly wrong. It is said that roughly 22,000 students skipped school to participate & have their voice heard; but with the late arrival of Dr. King & his entourage, the crowd situation at some point/for some reason escalated into a riot. As a result, the event was cancelled & Dr. King was hurried away to safety. One teenager was killed by Memphis Police, tear gas was shot into the church intended to be used as a safe haven for the would-be protesters, 4,000 National Guard Troops were called in, and martial Law was declared. Acknowledging the reality that large numbers of youth no longer believed in Non-Violent Civil Disobedience, Dr. King considered not returning to Memphis. Ultimately however, Dr. King would return a week later to finish what he had started. On April 4th 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King would be assassinated & more rioting would follow. Next week will speak to the involvement of the U.S. Government in his assassination. Sources: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_memphis_sanitation_workers_strike_1968/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89361277
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2PAC feat. THE BOOT CAMP CLIK - "MILITARY MINDED"Ah what could have been... Revisionist History paints the picture of the "Thug Life" version of Tupac Shakur running wild as the definition of manhood for the next generation. What is so conveniently left out is the part of him that wanted to UNITE the intellectuals with the street cats to initiate positive changes to the world. Another piece of information carefully written out of history is the project that he was working on at the time of his death. For those that don't know, it was an album collaboration with many of the finest from the same East Coast that he was alleged to have been beefing with. Several tracks, including today's feature, were recorded & based on a recently unearthed letter Pac wrote to Chuck D, it can be safe to say that a little P.E. Flavor was gonna be in the mix too. What happened to those tracks??? They were remixed & new vocals were added from some of today's rapper dudes-many of which Pac would have NEVER rhymed with! Buckshot, Tek & Steele's vocals were stripped from the tracks & never used. Fortunately some of the material leaked out before the great corporate heist took place. Enjoy! BUT HE DIDN'T RESIST ARREST???!!! UVA HONOR STUDENT MARTESE JOHNSON BLOODIED OVER ALLEGED FAKE ID...3/21/2015 In any other case of Police Misconduct, a narrative is contrived that paints the picture of the victim as some thug that would have eventually been dead or in jail soon anyway. But in the case of third year University of Virginia Honor Student Martese Johnson, there's no criminal history or social media posts to manipulate. Furthermore, we are talking about a case of ABC Agents that thought he may have been turned away from a bar because of a fake Id. It's St. Patrick's Day, in a college town. If he really did have a fake Id, just how often do you think that happens? Hell, how many times do you imagine that may have happened that very night? What we do know for sure is that Martese Johnson was approached by ABC Agents, shortly after being turned away at a Charlottesville, Virginia bar. The ABC Officers grabbed by the arm & began questioning him. Moments later he was slammed to the pavement & arrested on charges of Obstruction of Justice without force & Public Swearing or Intoxication. A witness described the officer's actions as “animalistic, insensitive, and brute.” In the end, Johnson sustained head injuries that required at least 10 stitches. Days later, Johnson was seen in public with bruises, scrapes & lines from the stitching required to close up his wounds. The incident occurred on March 18 in front of Trinity Irish Pub, and as a result of photos being posted online, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is calling for an investigation into conduct of the ABC Officers. Per the daily beast Website, Johnson is a well known student leader on campus & is from the same Kenwood Area of Chicago as current President Barack Obama. Per that same site, this is just the latest in cases of alleged overzealous policing tactics from the ABC Officers in the Charlottesville area. We will keep watching this developing story,, and follow up if Justice isn't done, since mainstream media won't tell you what happened. P.E.A.C.E. This morning I heard a reference to "The Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye, and got to thinking about the fear he put into defenders eyes when faced with the responsibility of tackling him. Truly a BEAST, he did not stick around long enough to merit induction into the Hall of Fame. He, like several others whose career unfortunately ended too early, will always be remembered. Not in any particular order, these other eight cats ran through, around, and by so many. And were the driving force behind their fair share of playoff victories. & a few Super Bowls too.. COREY DILLONCorey Dillon rushed for Over 1,000 yards rushing in each of the first six of his seven years of playing for a horrible Cincinnati Bengals franchise. Finally allowed a chance to win in New England, Dillon would finally cop a Super Bowl Victory in 2004 with The New England Patriots. Amassing 11,241 yards & 82 touchdowns, over a 10 year career (1997-2006), Dillon played in four Pro Bowls & is the Cincinnati Bengals all-time career leader in Rushing Attempts, Rushing Yards, & Rushing Touchdowns. At one time, he even held the NFL’s Single Game Rushing Record (278 Yards in 2002). CHUCK MUNCIEPossessing a rare combination of speed & power, Chuck Mincie often finds his name left out of the conversation when football historians talk about the great "Air Coryell" Offenses of the early eighties. But without the Power Run Game, there's no way to set up for the Deep Ball & Chuck Muncie provided just the punch they needed. Voted into Three Pro Bowls Chuck Muncie rushed for 6,702 yards and 71 rushing touchdowns, in 110 career games, with the New Orleans Saints & San Diego Chargers. Unfortunately his career & early part of retirement would be hampered by drug addiction. Who knows what more he could have done with a clear head... OTTIS "O.J." ANDERSONOttis “O.J.” Anderson was The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1979 & a Two Time Super Bowl champion. But because he spent the first seven years of his career in the Western Region of Football Hell (Arizona), few were aware of just how good he was until he showed up in a New York Giants uniform in 1986. The first in a long line of dominant Runners to come from "The U," O.J. Anderson rushed for 10,273 yards & 81 touchdowns over an impressive 14-year career-capping it all off by being honored as Super Bowl MVP in 1991. ROGER CRAIGRemembered for an ill High Step style of running, Roger Craig played in four Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowls. Voted as The AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1988, he was the first running back to gain more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season (1985). Since then, only one other running back has achieved the same feat (Marshall Faulk in 1999). Statistically speaking, Roger Craig posted totals of 8,189 Rushing yards, 566 receptions, and 73 touchdowns between 1983-1993. Craig is also One of only three running backs to ever lead the league in receptions, with 92 receptions & 1,016 yards in 1985. CHRISTIAN OKOYEChristian Okoye Holds the Kansas City Chiefs Rushing Records for total yards in a season, attempts in a season, touchdowns in a season, attempts in a single game, 100-yard games in a season, and the first Chiefs running back to rush for 1,000 yards for more than one season. in just a quick look at the pics above, it is clear that few defenders really ever wanted to get in front of this dude. Only playinf from 1987, until 1992, Okoye picked up 4,897 Yards and 40 Touchdowns before moving on to do philanthropic work. HERSCHEL WALKERHerschel Walker changed the game on multiple levels. A true freak of nature, he stood as one of the first to be the subject of a bidding war & inadvertently would be the face of one of the most infamous trades to ever happen in The NFL. But before coming to The NFL, he took a detour through the soon to be defunct USFL. After setting The USFL'S single-season rushing record of 2,411 yards, and being selected as MVP in 1985, Walker would sign a big time contract with The Dallas Cowboys. Now known more for The Trade that made The Cowboys, Herschel Walker would eventually find himself traded for five players and rights to a number of draft choices. Those draft choices would bring Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, Russell Maryland, and others to a Dallas Squad that would ultimately win Three Super Bowl Titles in Four Years. But it's the 8,225 Rushing Yards, 5,859 Receiving Yards, 21 Receiving TDs and 61 Rushing touchdowns gained between 1986 & 1997 that make him a legend. And that's after spending two years running over the competition in The USFL. After retirement, Walker would still go on to excel as a bobsledder, sprinter and mixed martial artist. EDDIE GEORGEA 1st Round Pick in 1996, Eddie George entered the league with a big BANG-on his way to winning The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. One of the cornerstones of the Tennessee Titans Franchise, Eddie would earn his way to four straight Pro Bowl Honors (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000). When the dust settled he would have narrowly lost a Super Bowl, gained 10,441 yards & scored 78 touchdowns. The year 2000 was clearly his best season, as he ran for 1,509 yards. However those 403 carries took their toll, and ultimately Eddie George's numbers would decline each year after that. Or maybe it was that old Madden Curse. Lol. BILLY SIMSThe first overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft & later NFL Rookie of the Year, Billy Sims ranks second on The Lions’ all-time rushing list with 5,106 yards and 42 touchdowns in just five seasons. Truly a beautiful runner, he was additionally a versatile talent-adding 186 catches for 2,072 yards and 47 touchdowns to his career profile. A three time Pro Bowler, Billy Sims would see his career abruptly ended by a knee injury in 1984. At the request of his coach Wayne Fontes, Barry Sanders would later don the #20 in tribute to the Legend Billy Sims. BO JACKSONFor a brief period, Bo Knew It All & Bo Was It All!!! Recruited by the New York Yankees in high school, Jackson chose football instead. Not to allow his talents to be limited to just one sport though, Bo would return to baseball after college in 1986-before becoming a Two-Sport Superstar joining the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991. In those four years Bo Jackson never played more than 10 games, but left a trail of broken & awe-struck defenders along the way. Sharing the load with hall of Famer Marcus allen, it's hard to believe that Bo only ran for 2,782 yards & 16 touchdowns. But it's the spectacular fashion in which he gained those yards that he will always be remebered... Here's the latest from Nationally Certified School Psychologist Dr. Umar Johnson. Here we find Dr. Umar breaking down the origins of Special Education, the little known fact that schools get paid extra for Special Ed Students, the Deliberate Mis-education & Exploitation of Black Families, and many of the self-defeating patterns that Black Parents commit to that further cripple the minds of our children. the need for more discipline in how we raise Our Children is also a point of emphasis, as face not only the ills of today's society; but also the dangers associated with the drugs that are being prescribed to Our Children (did you know that Ritalin is a schedule 2 drug, just as addictive as Cocaine & Opium, per The DEA)? Know who is teaching your children. Know their qualifications. Let's take a more proactive approach to what we are exposing our children to & work to fill in the Gaps. Currently Dr. Umar Johnson is also raising funds to acquire the now closed HBCU St. Paul's college, with the intention of opening The Frederick Douglas Marcus Garvey International Leadership Academy in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Click the link below for more info. http://www.drumarjohnsonschool.com/ |
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