Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Today in Black History: Fast and Pray


On this day, June 2, 1899, Black Americans observed a day of fasting.  This day of fasting and prayer was called by the National Afro-American Council in protest of the lynching and racial massacres occurring in the United States.  Unfortunately, these lynchings carried on through the 20th Century, and there are still reports of hate crimes in this 21st century. 


Music/spoken word on subject:   Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday, and Black Baby Tears by Stephen Earley Jordan.

Book on subject:  Strange Fruit: Plays on Lynching by American Women, and Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
Info source:  blackfacts.com
Photo source:  latina.com

4 comments:

Fly Girl said...

I'm glad that there was a day of rememberance for lynching. It's such a brutal legacy and I can feel the legacy of violence whenver I visit certain Southern areas.

Stephen A. Bess said...

Hey Rosalind! I've felt that as well. I did a post back in 2006 related to that: http://civileyes.blogspot.com/2006/08/plantation-on-bay-part-2-healing.html

I had a strange reaction to a beautiful but painful place.

Rose said...

This is something because the behavior and this henious act is still going on today...maybe in a different form but nevertheless, it is still going on.

ruthibel said...

hallo

thanks for droppping by my blog.

I foresee a car in the near future too ... hopefully a shiny, PINK new one! lol

Have a good one and God bless!

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