Medgar Evers Was assassinated In 1963The work and murder of Mississippi Resident, and NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers has never been given the level of attention and discussion that has been given to other Martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement. Undoubtedly it has been his widow, Myrlie Ever's, tireless fight that has ensured that his name is not forgotten altogether-as so many others have. Actively fighting to protect the rights of Black Citizens in Mississippi, from 1952 until his assassination in 1963, Medgar Evers played an instrumental role in the fight for the integration of the University of Mississippi, justice in the murder of Emmett Till, protection of voting rights, and several other of the issues that were commonly faced in the Jim Crow Era. In his role, as Field Secretary for the NAACP, Evers organized economic boycotts, voter registration drives, and other mass demonstrations in hopes of making it difficult for business's and local government agencies to continue to perpetuate racial inequality. As Medgar Evers profile grew, and white supremacist groups became increasingly vigilant in efforts to maintain the status quo, death treats began to become more common & frequent. In May 1963, the Evers Home was fire-bombed-and on June 12 1963-Medgar Evers would be gunned down in front of his home. Byron De La Beckwith, of Mississippi's White Citizens Council, was charged with Ever's Murder. Eyewitness statements placed De La Beckwith near the scene, and his prints were found on the murder weapon; but two separate All-White Juries failed to reach a verdict. De La Beckwith was allowed to go free, until evidence of possible jury tampering was found in 1989. Based on new witness testimony, Byron De La Beckwith was indicted again, and eventually convicted in 1994. He would die in prison in 2001. None of this would have been possible, if not for the unyielding efforts of Medgar's widow, Myrlie Evers, who NEVER stopped searching for evidence for which to bring the murderer to justice. Ironically Medgar Evers was assassinated on the same night that President John F. Kennedy utilized the Alabama National Guard to force integration of The University of Alabama; and later that night, gave a televised speech announcing that he intended to push forward with what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Some wise person once said that LOVE IS MUSIC. And the decade of the 1970's defined that idea, like no other before or since. I woke up this morning with this song in my head, and I have to add that this one has so much sentimental value, as my late mother used to play this song so often. Anyway, enough of the emotions, hope this makes your day BRIGHTER... Simply put, a person’s RESILIENCY QUOTIENT is the ability of a person to bounce back from detrimental situations that occur during their life in a positive and proactive way. Typical examples of detrimental situations are death of a loved one/family member, diagnosis of disease, job loss, the termination of a friendship or relationship, loss of an ability or skill, etc. There are certain factors that make this quotient higher for some than others. These include but are not limited to: social and economic support systems, a person’s inner feelings of their self-image/self esteem; the amount of positive outlets and people within their environment; and a person’s ability to understand that most things are temporary and can be resolved positively. For those that don’t have any of these supports, the resiliency quotient can be low, extremely low. Sometimes thoughts of helplessness, apathy, consistent negativity, violence against self or others, and even suicide can be the result. Others may become withdrawn and/or develop an “I don’t care” attitude. This is something that all humans should attempt to avoid. As my Father so eloquently put it: “It’s always darkest before the dawn!” Let this day be your new dawn, a dawn of positive thought and action. Don’t allow the powers that be, externally and internally, turn you away from the positive aspects that are present or can be cultivated within your life. Keep your goals in focus and strive for those consistently by refusing to give-into the negativity. There’s enough negativity in the world as is. We are constantly bombarded by the media with the newest tragedies instead of the positive triumphs that occur. People die daily, this we know, but they are also born. Try to shed light on these positive things that the larger world seems to have little concern for. Don’t let the sensational negative stories and occurrences drag you down into a world of darkness. Become an avid advocate for positive thought and actions within self and your environment. Presently, we don’t have enough of these so there is no monopoly on this type of thought. There’s no profit in peace, however war, tragedy and despair are extremely profitable. Try to avoid watching or listening to stories riddled with negativity and/or tragedy. I find it very disheartening that every news channel CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, etc. report the same negative stories over and over again in a simultaneous fashion. You turn on the morning news to watch the weather and hear about the latest flood, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, etc. that has destroyed some city, county, state or country. It’s almost as if there’s nothing positive to report. This is very contrary to reality and reality is what we make it. There are several good things going on daily within ourselves and our environment. We must recognize these things and become advocates for them. Seek these positive things out avidly and try to ‘add-on’ to them by being positive yourself. This is the WEEKLY WORD for the day, be positive and try to stay positive. It’s a new day, a new week, a new month. Try to capitalize on it by adding some positivity to it. Again, let the news do their negative reporting, you should attempt to be a positive reporter full of stories of triumphs. Please leave comments of positive things in your life, area, and the larger world you observe. You never know, it may help someone else raise their RESILIENCY QUOTIENT. Peace! Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A CominI have to give the credit and inspiration to my son for this one. In a time when the masses are locked into really simple-minded beliefs, as to what defines Good Music, it is so refreshing to see him embrace such a classic song. #salute |
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