Show Me The Mo'ne!

Mo'ne Davis, a 13 year old baseball playing, 70 mph right-arm throwing -- Philadelphia native, is the first female in Little League World Series history to throw a shutout with only two hits, while striking out eight batters and walking none against Tennessee. 

And although the little leaguer has already made a name for herself and garnered world wide press along the way, she remains humble in knowing who she is but most importantly -- what equality should like look as she stated, "it does mean a lot to be the first American girl, but more girls should start joining boys' teams," Davis told the Philadelphia Daily News. 

"The attention should not just be on one girl; more girls should join boys' teams so it is a tradition and it won't be so special." 

There you have it; beauty, brains, brawn, and a stellar bright star for all little girls who love sports and wish to participate.

Mo'ne's future goals require being the first female in MLB, or playing basketball in the WNBA -- although baseball is her priority.

Her team plays against Las Vegas, 2-0, on Wednesday night.

2014 LA

First Woman NBA Assistant Coach Makes history

Becky Hammon, a point guard for the San Antonio Stars was recently chosen by coach Gregg Popovich, to stand beside him while offering up her basketball expertise as a means of accelerating the advancement of the 2014 basketball champions -- the San Antonio Spurs.

This is not only a historical moment in the NBA, but an empowering example for so many females who may have dreamed of one day being able to coach within the NBA. 

I've always had an issue with men being able to coach women in the WNBA, but wouldn't allow the same equality for women to coach in the NBA. To me I saw no difference -- only in gender, but talent speaks for itself. 

Maybe it's the feminist in me but I always felt that women should've been able to coach men in the NBA, and I constantly made my argument during friendly debates.

So now to see it actually happen is simply elating, although I'm still pushing for a woman to become an NBA head coach one day. 

#ICanDream

2014 LA

Michelle Howard Makes 'Four Star' American History

Adm. Michelle Howard, flanked by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, left, and her husband Wayne Cowles, accepts her new rank during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Armando Gonzales)

Have you ever seen the movie Captain Phillips starring legendary actor, Tom Hanks?

In this particular film a group of Somali Pirates surrounded and invaded a US Cargo ship, while taking the captain (played by Hanks) hostage.

Well, what you probably didn't know is that a woman by the name of Michelle Howard, was behind the rescue of that captain. She not only was the brains behind the entire rescue operation serving as a female naval officer, but has recently been appointed as the US Navy's vice chief -- making her the first woman and first black person to reach the rank of four star admiral ever in the history of the United States! 

How's that for female power?! 

Kudos to Ms. Howard for standing strong in the face of adversity and for furthering the cause and mission, that women most definitely deserve a seat at the table. Thank you Ms. Howard, for your heroic work and sacrifice to our great nation; females everywhere young and old should be inspired and very proud.

2014 LA

PBS Freedom Summer Documentary

After watching the PBS documentary of Freedom Summer 1964, I gained more clarity and much more compassion for the white race. 

Taking into account mine and others' discriminatory experiences it almost always felt like a constant fight between "us" verses "them", but taking in those two hours of historical revelations I realized that it wasn't just black people being oppressed -- it was also white people.

Not just the white people that came down to Mississippi to volunteer for Freedom Summer, but the white people who fought viciously against both the black and white Freedom Fighters. You see, those white people that displayed such hatred in their eyes and such disdain for the black race prevailing, they were following their races' ideology because they thought it was the right thing to do. Even if deep down they felt a twinge of compassion for the black race there was no room for tolerance, as they knew their people well and the violent streak that would ensue should they decide to "change" direction. With regards to the misinformed, the saying of "They know not what they do" makes even more sense.

Although white people in Mississippi had it better than black people livelihood wise, they were still oppressed because their entire way of life was dictated to them; women were to look and behave a certain way, children as well and there was no room for anything different. Everything had to remain the same with white men having all the money and power, because this was the true way of America. The only people that were truly free in this great nation were the white men that ran it, period.

Moreover, it took for white and black people to come together in order to initiate magnetic change, one race couldn't do it without the other race -- hence, the reason President Obama was elected twice. 

We will always need each other and we'll always be stronger for it, but it's imperative to stay united against the fear mongering and hateful rhetoric -- for this is what's used as the great divider amongst the races. Now in the 21st century, it should no longer be a fight between black and white but a fight between good verses evil or truth verses lies. For people aren't bad or evil unless it is taught to them -- therefore, color becomes completely irrelevant and the hostile feelings is what remains at the forefront.

Hostility is what the Freedom Fighters were met with until it brought about miraculous change within The White House, where President Johnson won a second term and was compelled to stand up for what was right by writing into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (which key parts of the VRA was struck down just last year by the SCOTUS). 

Lyndon B. Johnson had a tremendous weight on his shoulders, not wanting to stir up a second civil war among the races -- especially since Freedom Summer was deemed to be the most violent acts of domestic terrorism since Reconstruction. But the integrated Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party couldn't be ignored, no more than its electrifying leader, Fannie Lou Hamer.

Freedom Summer brought about sacrifices -- those who were willing to give their lives in order for democracy to prevail, but the deaths and injuries of both black and white people wouldn't be in vain as true change most certainly came the following year with the VRA. 

Change is hard yes, but change is also inevitable in which it most surely promises the progressiveness and betterment of future generations. How fitting that our first black president is literally "two sides of the same coin"; black and white, the two races which have been in constant feud for centuries.
 

One thing is for sure, as long as we stay privy to mainstream politics by engaging the electorate with our voices and votes, hope will never be to far behind.

We shall overcome, we will overcome and we must continue to overcome -- or die. Americans, in this upcoming November election let your conscience be your guide, just like Mississippians did in this past primary.

2014 LA

Freedom Summer 1964 Remembered

This past weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer 1964, when three young men by the names of Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Adam Goodman were kidnapped, shot dead and burnt up, by the hands of a Mississippi Deputy Sheriff and the Ku Klux Klan, who the sheriff alerted to action after he pulled the men over for false speeding.

It took the wife of Michael Schwerner, the families of the men, many protesters and activists, who eventually found the bodies of the missing men 40 days later buried in an earthen dam side by side.

These men were killed because they were trying to register African Americans to vote, so that they too could have a voice in the political process within America.

For more information about Freedom Summer 1964, click here.

2014 LA

Maya Angelou Remembered At Memorial Service

Maya Angelou was a  legendary artist, activist, and mother/sister/friend, to all that knew her well and to all that connected to her spirit through her words and on May 28, 2014, her work in the physical realm was complete in which she has now moved on to a much higher purpose; becoming God's supernatural angel.

My condolences to the Angelou family for the loss of such an extraordinary human being, whose mark will remain forever and always on those who are lucky enough to encounter her great works.

Rest in peace Ms. Angelou, and thank you for all that you've done and all that you will continue to do for us in heaven.

2014 LA

 

Is the New Testament in the Holy Bible a Reincarnation of Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"?

The character Zarathustra, is described as a religious innovator who lived in Persia (Modern Iran) between 1750 and 600 BCE. His ideas of God/good and Devil/evil, had far reaching effects with regards to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

As I continued to read more and more of this fascinating literary piece of work, it dawned on me that there were way to many characteristic similarities between the two notable books. Also, the fact that the author called this particular writing the "fifth Gospel", pretty much eluded to the fact that there might be more biblical terms in store for curious readers.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra gives way to Psalm readings,

repast, the supper (as in The Last Supper?) where wine was being served although the "bread" was missing, poisonous serpents that were regarded as "knowledgeable" and "Wise", ie, the "tree of knowledge" in the Bible, eagles are regaled as excellent beast of prey that can see all -- and is commonly used in many countries flags (I thought it interesting that Mexico's flag displays an eagle biting off the head of a serpent; seen above).

Nietzsche's literature goes on to represent man as superior over woman and in the Holy Bible the word "man", was used commonly to describe both male and female characters making it even more obvious who the "dominate" sex should be. Also per the Bible, man was put on earth before woman, which I find rather interesting since historically speaking everything has always grown from "mother earth", ie, woman.

In Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, women were regarded as "playthings" and "pure and fine like the precious stone," in which a woman's most important job was birthing the next rulers and/or heirs. The latter description in itself screams misogyny; would this explain why certain men are very misogynistic? 

Is this why for centuries women had no rights, and were expected to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen? And is it coincidence that the quote was used most commonly under German Empire?

The character Zarathustra recited that "when all have denied him, only then will he return." The familiar wording is also representative of the New Testament in the Holy Bible, but in this case it is supposedly Jesus that bespeaks about people denying him -- as well as his second coming. And doesn't this make you wonder even more about a particular event that our 43rd president attended and spoke at, in which he called for the converting of all Jews to bring about the second coming of Christ?

Friedrich Nietzsche even made the statement, "To have glued this New Testament, a kind of rococo of taste in every respect, to the Old Testament to make one book, as the "Bible", as "the book par excellence" - that is perhaps the greatest audacity and "sin against the spirit" that literary Europe has on its conscience." ~Beyond Good and Evil~

I mean, you can't get anymore clearer than this as he openly admits that his people, the Germans, are responsible for taking his work and twisting his meaning to interpret what they wanted it too mean to others. 

And because Nietzsche's sister married an anti-semitic German Nazi, in which she took her brother's book and tried manipulating his words before handing it over to Hitler who acknowledged it as the Third Reich; slowly the fog starts to dissipate and the dots begin to connect as one intuitively realizes, that man had way more control over the book par excellence then we could have ever known.

During slavery in America's South, the Holy Bible was

constantly used by slave masters as a way of restoring order and obedience among the enslaved. Did the slave masters know something that the slaves didn't or were the slave masters themselves tricked into believing, that cruelty to other races must occur in order for their race -- the "white race" to prevail?

Honestly, I can go on and on and on with the extremely close similarities between Nietzsche's work and parts of the Holy Bible, but it would take up this entire page and then some -- just to break it all down. Moreover, I wanted to put it out there in case someone else wanted to dig a bit deeper; it would make for an extraordinary thesis.

Does this book explain why the divisiveness between specific countries, gave way to horrible wars in the past and currently in the present?

2014 LA

Will Ta-Nehisi Coates' Case for Reparations Begin a National Dialogue?

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates' case for reparations tackles the decades of crying out by African Americans, who've long fought against the unjust system of exploitation here in America.

Deriving from the personal experiences of those who lived through the Jim Crow era and interjecting valid facts about slavery, and how it transitioned in to institutionalized racism; the writer lets us know that this is more than an issue -- this is an epidemic. 

In the Atlantic article written by Mr. Coates, you'll receive a brief insight into America's shameful past through the eyes of those that lived it. History always makes a comeback when scores haven't been settled -- when debts haven't been paid. For centuries black bodies have been treated like credit cards that never max out, and now in the 21st century, Ta-Nehisi Coastes readjusted the "black bodies bill" and shipped it off by first class mail to the public, in hopes of finally attaining payment -- or at least a discussion for the masses, on a past due balance.....that's long overdue.

#ThankYouToAllThatFoughtForReparationsInThePast
#ThankYouToAllThatContinueToFightToday

2014 LA

Ta-Nehisi Coates Talks Reparations

Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates talks reparations, stay tuned....

Alexis Wilkinson: First Black Female President of the Harvard Lampoon

MSNBC contributor and MHP substitute Jonathan Capehart, made history yesterday on 'The MHP' show as he interviewed the first black female President of the Harvard Lampoon in 138 years! The Harvard Lampoon's first issue was released in 1876.

Alexis Wilkinson (seen above) wrote for the Lampoon for two years and broke extraordinary barriers, as she referred to the almost century and half year old organization as an "all boys club."

Wilkinson stated that her ultimate career goal would be to write for a film/TV show, or write for her own late night program as she enjoys comedy.

Kudos to Ms. Wilkinson for making progressive history.

2014 LA

Black Oscar History Making Moments

Since its founding in 1929, only seven Black women have made Academy Award history with the seventh winner seen above, Lupita Nyong'o.

1. Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar 74 years ago and was the first black woman and person, to ever win such an award. She won Best Supporting Actress for the film 'Gone With the Wind.' 

2. In 1991 Whoopi Goldberg, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the movie 'Ghost.'

3. Halle Berry was the first black woman to win Best Actress for her role in 'Monsters Ball.'

4. Jennifer Hudson won the Academy Award in 2006, for her role in the musical film 'DreamGirls.' The American Idol contestant was the first black actor to win for a debut film performance.

5. Mo’Nique took home the gold for Best Supporting Actress in the jaw dropping film 'Precious.'

6. Octavia Spencer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her comedic and dramatic role in 'The Help.'

7. In 2014 Lupita Nyong’o is the seventh black woman to win an Oscar, in which she won for Best Supporting Actress in the film '12 Years a Slave.' 

Congrats and much thanks to all these lovely ladies for breaking down barriers and making history in the process.

2014 LA

'Free Angela Davis And All Political Prisoners' - Documentary Review

For Black History month BET (Black Entertainment Television) played a documentary directed by Shola Lynch and titled, 'Free Angela Davis And All Political Prisoners.' 

Never fully knowing the story behind the woman I felt it was my duty to tune in, and learn a more detailed version of this particular time in history.

Ms. Davis' background proved to be challenging because she grew up in the deep South of Birmingham, Alabama. Her early recollection of childhood memories referenced the fact that her father often kept weaponry in the home, as a defense mechanism used to deter outsiders that wished to do his family harm. Just in knowing the latter, makes one understand why in her adulthood she chose to defend herself with a gun.

Death threats by letters and in person became the norm for Ms. Davis, while she taught Marxism philosophy at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). Moreover, the Alabama native who was lucky enough to attend school in the Northeastern part of America during the Jim Crow era, and who eventually proceeded to study German philosophy abroad -- was a natural target when she came back to the states unapologetic about her communist roots.

President Richard Nixon, Governor of California Ronald Reagan, and FBI leader Herbert Hoover, all completely denounced Ms. Davis' appointment as a professor at UCLA and felt she would use her position to indoctrinate students with her political views. 

And when a heinous attack took place leaving some dead and others injured (a sitting judge included) with all weaponry at the crime scene identified under Angela Davis' name, that was fuel which set federal officials on fire in hot pursuit of the liberal activist.

The young intellectual didn't turn herself in but instead flew to Chicago, Miami, and then New York, where she was later arrested and taken to jail. While in prison she was put in solitary confinement for a majority of the time, and she said it was done as a means of "breaking" her; being forced to be anti-social. Then Ms. Davis said something remarkable on her reflection of jail life, "Prison can either break a person or make a person stronger," in which she disciplined herself to do the latter. 

She use to fight for the rights of political prisoners and now she had become one herself, and all those who she came to know, teach, and love all around the world -- loved her back by rallying together in protest for her release.

Roger McAfee, a middle class white man with a wife and children, used his entire farm as collateral for the bailing out of Angela Davis. Her bail was over one hundred and two thousand dollars, but because the rural resident believed in Ms. Davis' message of equality with regards to jobs, housing, safety, education, and civil rights, that was enough for him to put his family's entire livelihood on the line in hopes of a more progressive America.

Leo Branton, one of Davis' defense attorneys had this to say during her trial: "I knew I had to prove that Angela's plight was not their nest of guilt. I said to the jury, I want you to play a role with me. For the next several minutes I want you to think black, I want you to be black; don't worry, I'll let you return to being white when this is over."

[...] "If you're black, you know that your fore parents were brought to this country as slaves. And the United States Supreme court ruled there are no rights that a black person has that a white man is bound to respect. An intellectual like Angela Davis knew this, she also knew that during the 60's, every time a black person raised his voice in support of liberty and freedom of the black man, he was assassinated. And so if you know all of those things, if you are Angela Davis or if you're black, you don't wonder "why" she fled. You only wonder why in the world did she allow herself to be caught?"

[...] "Angela Davis is no fool, why would she buy a gun to blow a judge's head off and buy it in her own name?" 

And as the all white jury came back with a verdict of not guilty on all charges, people began screaming out "Power to the people" and "Power to the jury!" 

When fearless activist Angela Davis (seen below) finally got a chance to speak with the people, she thanked them for their tireless support while grinning from ear to ear about this day being the "happiest day of her life." And then as usual she got serious and back into her teaching mode as she stated,  

"Throughout this country people are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that whatever the government does is not a priority -- the truth. And it's not only the struggle around political prisoners that has begun to change the climate in this country so that an acquittal like this could occur, but also the reaction to the war in Vietnam and the reaction to Nixon's economic policies, I think there's a lot more resistance now and that means we have to continue to build that resistance and allow it to mature."

Wise words from an extraordinary leader whose inspirational story should empower women and men all over the world. 

This documentary was excellent and proves once again that knowledge is a powerful tool that can be used to change the world, and even though there are those who denounce education for this very fact, that alone should set a spark inside of everyone to learn more -- in order to figure out what a certain "few" are trying to hide.

2014 LA

Happy 85th Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In remembrance of a man that gave power to the powerless and a voice to the voiceless, a man who nullified fear while taking on full responsibility of a people; fighting for our right to freedom. 

This day we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the man, the leader, the hero, who in a 1954 sermon proclaimed that, “The real problem is that through our scientific genius we’ve made of the world a neighborhood, but through our moral and spiritual genius we’ve failed to make of it a brotherhood.”

And today, as we press on to continue the dream of this legendary and admirable figure, we must keep in mind that although things don't always come easy -- taking a stand for justice has always been the ladder of continued progress towards realizing a more peaceful world. 

Dr. King, thank you good sir, for everything you've done to enrich the lives of millions, and thank you Congressman Lewis for co-authoring the federal legislation that made today a national holiday in which to honor our extraordinary leader.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2014 LA