Afeni Shakur We Salute You. Thank You For All Of Your Hard Work And Sacrifices...
In discussing the news that Queen Afeni Shakur had passed away, one common thought expressed over and over again centered around the idea of who would now control the music, legacy & likeness of our departed brother Tupac Shakur. As if the corporate culture vultures had not already done all the could to water-down and bastardize the defiant/revolutionary-minded Pac, in favor of the more reckless version we saw during his Death Row Records days-now they may have the opportunity to ramp those efforts to new levels. My next thought centered around which version of Afeni shakur would the media focus on, when discussing her life. Would they minimize her just being Mother Of the Late Tupac Shakur? How quick would they move to dwell on her past substance abuse problems? More importantly, how would they report on her time fighting on the frontlines of The Black Panther Party-if at all?? Being that she was the driving force behind the eventual acquittal of The Panther 21, anything less than the dignity warranted for a Freedom Fighter would be unacceptable. But I'm sure that I will be disappointed, as they will not due her justice and the focus will immediately shift to how to monetize the legacies of both her and her son. Why? Because in America, We The Black & Brown are not considered to have a soul worthy of the same dignities required to be given to others. So daily, whether we realize it or not, "They got us fighting for our spirit and mind." How much longer will we have to fight? Until more of us take up the mantle of those before us, move up into vanguard positions and work on every level imaginable to finally bring Power To The People... Afeni Shakur We Salute You. Thank You For All Of Your Hard Work And Sacrifices...
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For most people that grew up in the 70's and 80's Pro Wrestling and Shaolin Kung Fu Movies were two staples that dominated television on any weekend, and for me both of those somewhat guilty pleasures would continue to be a part of my life right up to this day. I don't really get too much into toady's wrestling as much; but can (and do) sometimes spend hours at a time watching the old classics. Figuring I knew just about all there is to know about the different legends and pioneers, I have spent considerable time learning about the Black and Brown Faces of yesteryear that could have been so much more well known-if not for segregation and old racist attitudes in certain territories. People like Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd, Bobo Brazil, Thunderbolt Patterson, The Junkyard Dog and many others were fan favorites and generated lots of money for the different promotions that they worked for; but were not allowed runs as World champions because by many accounts promoters feared that angry white fans might riot. In fact it wasn't until 1992 that a Black World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned, when College Football Hall Of Famer Ron Simmons would be Big Van Vader for The WCW World Heavyweight Championship Belt. One pioneering name seems to have fell through the cracks; and it wasn't until watching last week's WWE Hall Of Fame Presentation Show that I first heard the name "Sailor" Art Thomas. Inducted as a "Legacy" entrant, Art Thomas broke into wrestling back in 1943. After finishing up his time in the U.S. Navy, Thomas had already made a name for himself as a Bodybuilder and was asked to wrestle some house shows. Possessing an amazing physique, crazy strength, and 6'5" 265 lb frame he quickly rose up the ranks. Billed as a former seaman, Sailor Art Thomas was also known to showcase much style and flavor-always dressed immaculately in either a business suit or a seaman uniform. As a fan favorite Art Thomas would earn many opportunities to challenge for The NWA World Championship Belt-including several memorable battles with The Legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. In the 1960's Sailor art would move on to The then-WWWF and battle in Tag Team matches with Legends like Bobo Brazil and Bruno Sammartino. During the 1970's Art would move on again to wrestle in Canada, and would retire in the early 1980's. While working all over the country, Sailor Art Thomas was best known for his time wrestling in Chicago. Sailor Art would succumb to cancer in 2003. He was also known as "Seaman" Art Thomas, "Hercules," and "The Body." Without his hard work and sacrifice, so many others would not be selling out huge arenas today like The Rock, Booker T, and others have in more recent times. #SaluteThePioneers One major tool of White Supremacy is to separate non-white people into separate groups that can be isolated and conquered individually. Vital to making this happen is to exploit perceived or manufactured differences to create levels of constant friction between each group. Ever ask yourself where the countries are that form the basis of the Negro, Afro-American, Latino, or Hispanic Race names are??? Italians are from Italy, Russians are from Russia, and The Irish are from Ireland-so what justifies the generic names imposed upon the non-white majority by those that invaded their lands hundreds of years ago? Those who identify themselves as African American are the descendants of slaves that were kidnapped away from the continent NOW KNOWN AS AFRICA; but a European named it as such after successfully invading the bulk of the land and stealing control of its resources. Those who identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino are the descendants of the people who were conquered and raped by invading Spanish and Italian savages. Hundreds (if not thousands) of years prior, Black explorers visited these same lands and some of them stayed. There are scores of pyramids, statues, and other works of art that provide evidence of the African presence in precolonial South America. And with the coming of slavery, many of those same Africans were dumped onto these same lands-along with The Caribbean. So why is it that an already dark-skinned people-mixed with an even darker grouping of people would ever be looked at as anything other than Black? They are certainly not white, and there are no countries with the words Hispanic or Latin in it. The root of it all lies in subjugation and genetic survival. For the non-white minority lies the true power; but what good is it if the majority fails to recognize said reality? Race refers to the Biological/Genetic Traits and DNA of a group of people. Nationality & Ethnicity are specifically traced to Cultural/Geographic Regions and the people that reside in that area. That is why clearly White citizens of South Africa and called just that - South African. There's no such thing as a Dominican Race, Haitian Race, Cuban Race, etc. These are all Black/Melanated People displaced by The Atlantic Slave Trade-plus prior African Exploration. But to make each group of people feel like the marginalized minority, with little to no power, the oppressive white minority maintains control by making them all think that they are different. Do you think they would still be in control of the resources of Africa, Asia, The Middle East, and South America if we all knew that we were of the Same Origin (and stopped fighting each other)? Why don't we learn about "The Black Dwarfs" or "Little Black People" (possible kin to the pygmies) that resided in China for at least a thousand years? Historians also note evidence that similar groups of Black people have been identified as having resided in Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia too. What about all of those chocolate-faced people of India, Cuba, and Venezuela? Why do they only show you the lightest of the light on Tell-Lie-Vision. and even those people, blinded 500+ years of subjugation, seek to hide their Black features by bleaching their skin and perming their hair. Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proudly proclaimed to the world that He Was An African; and now for that and many other reasons, he is gone. His legacy is tarnished and the movement that he led is left struggling just to continue to exist. As for Chavez's efforts to unite South American, African, and Asian Nations Economically & Politically-the have been some encouraging developments; but progress has been slowed significantly. Even worse, the movement no longer has a bright & proud figurehead to draw publicity to the movement. Reality says that, at a time when Europe and America find themselves on all sorts of Social, Political & Economic Instability, a Union of The World's People Of Color could have a Major Impact. Wake up, Study Your True History, Embrace Who You Really Are, and UNITE!!! SUGGESTED READING: "World's Great Men of Color, Volume I" J.A. Rogers SOURCES: http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/06/20/the-black-presence-in-early-china/ http://www.livescience.com/33903-difference-race-ethnicity.html http://www.trinicenter.com/FirstChinese.htm In January, and again in April, of every year the world pauses to honor the memory of the one & only Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But what is his true legacy? If you let corporate media, politicians, or the school system tell his story, you get just a really watered-down version that really loses relevancy with each passing year. If you rely on those vessels for information, as far too many do, then Dr. King Led a few marches, Had "a Dream," Went To "The Mountaintop," and then was snuffed out by some Crazy Lone White Assassin's Bullet. How many even know that in 1999 The U.S. Federal government was found Guilty as a Co-Conspirator in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King? Yes. So while the narrative of James Earl Ray continues to go on, the FACT is that it has been CONFIRMED that members of U.S. Military Intelligence and Sniper Groups were in the immediate vicinity of Dr. King's Motel-and all police protection was REMOVED within an hour of his execution (check the links below for more information). Anyway, back to the point... Starting around 1967, or some evidence would suggest even 1965, Dr. King's message and overall demeanor began to change/gain a stronger sense of urgency. Dr. King's message began to shift away from a loving message of integration-to a stance against Institutionalized Racism. Dr. King began to call out the government for the hypocrisy of spending hundreds of millions of dollars toward wars to control other sovereign nations, and at the same time, loudly proclaiming the intention to fight harder for God-Given Rights. Dr. King railed against Racism practiced via Housing Discrimination, Employment discrimination, discrimination in Federal Funding and Grants, Violence against Non-Whites, and the overall lack of morality in the actions of Government & society. “We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” Missing from the pages of history is the reality that many of his allies turned on him during those latter days of his life. He was no longer welcome in Lyndon B. Johnson's White House. Many spoke out against him. His change in focus, and willingness to criticize The Federal Government, put him on an island by himself. And much like Malcolm, it got him killed. Do note that on April 4th 1967 (EXACTLY ONE YEAR PRIOR TO HIS ASSASSINATION) Dr. King called the U.S. government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." Most of those that walked with him prior to that time began to go into business for themselves, and Dr. King knew it. Once he was gone, they all got rich-and today they continue to bask in his light, while never doing anything more than SYMBOLIC acts that remain in the vein of a strategy that he had moved away from. “We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” In an encounter just days before the execution of Dr. King, Harry Belafonte Jr. described the demeanor of Brother mLK: "I remember the last time we were together, at my home, shortly before he was murdered. He seemed quite agitated and preoccupied, and I asked him what the problem was. "I've come upon something that disturbs me deeply," he said. "We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know that we will win. But I've come to believe we're integrating into a burning house." That statement took me aback. It was the last thing I would have expected to hear, considering the nature of our struggle, and I asked him what he meant. "I'm afraid that America may be losing what moral vision she may have had," he answered. "And I'm afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Until we commit ourselves to ensuring that the underclass is given justice and opportunity, we will continue to perpetuate the anger and violence that tears at the soul of this nation." SOURCES: https://legacy.scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/Belafonte/essay.html http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/21/dr_martin_luther_king_in_1967 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-martin-luther-king/2016/01/15/4094b44a-ba62-11e5-829c-26ffb874a18d_story.html?tid=sm_fb http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/01/martin-luther-king-assassinated-us-govt-king-family-civil-trial-verdict.html http://www.thekingcenter.org/sites/default/files/KING%20FAMILY%20TRIAL%20TRANSCRIPT.pdf On December 12 1963, Kenya was declared Independent from British Colonial Rule. Kenya's struggle for freedom is said to have begun in 1942, when members of the Kikuyu, Embu, Meru and Kamba tribes took United to fight back against the Oppressive & Exploitative Rule of British Occupation. Matters shifted into high gear in the early 1950's, with the beginning of The Mau Mau Rebellion. The Mau Mau was a Mobilized Force of mostly Kikuyu Tribe Revolutionaries who embarked on a secret campaign of Guerrilla against British Agencies & White settlers in Kenya. Known for their effective use of the machete, The Mau Mau struck terror in the hearts of their oppressors in both the hillsides & urban areas. In 1952 a State of emergency was declared, and those suspected as being part of the campaign became targets for arrest and/or execution. In 1953, Kenya's future leader Jomo Kenyatta was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison. In 1956, Dedan Kimathi would be arrested and put to death by hanging. Many suspected Mau Mau were locked up in detention camps as the State of Emergency would remain in effect until sometime in 1959. In the midst of conflict, political gains were being made however & Kenyan Representatives would soon become a dominant force in The Kenya Legislative Council. By 1962 The Kenya people had forced Jomo Kenyatta's release from imprisonment, and a year later he would be elected Prime Minister. Kenya would finally be declared an Independent Republic on December 12, 1963, and Jomo Kenyatta would serve as its first President. Many atrocities were committed during Colonial rule, and especially during the period between 1952 to 1962. Tens of thousands of Kenyans were killed simply for being suspected Mau Mau. In 2011, four Kenyan survivors were granted the right to sue the British government for the abuses they were forced to endure during the conflict. Of course the history books will tell a different story, but it OUR duty to research & Report the Truth of what happened to US & OUR Land during the course of the European Occupation and Exploitation of Africa & Its Diaspora. SOURCES: http://www.kenyarep-jp.com/kenya/history_e.html http://www.blackpast.org/gah/mau-mau-1952-1960 http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/dec-12-1963-kenya-gains-independence/?_r=0 |
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