Happy Birthday, Brother Malcolm

Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little; May 19, 1925 – Feb 21, 1965)

This post is to honor the memory of Mr. El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X) for his birthday, May 19, 1925. You know, we sometimes forget that our leaders of the past and present were once little boys and girls who loved to laugh and play. They played games like 21, hop scotch, and hide-and-go-get-it. They became excited when they heard the ice cream truck; they loved bubble gum, cookies, and all types of sweets. They had a crush on the pretty girl or cute boy in their class.

Back then, the young Malcolm Little did not know that he would grow, fall, and rise like the Phoenix. He did not know that he would grow to be internationally known and respected. He did not know that he would carry the weight of the world on his shoulder. Malcolm Little did not know that he would die just trying to make things right -- right for everyone. God bless your soul, brother Malcolm. Happy Birthday. Peace~

Happy 93rd Birthday Nelson Mandela

Fast and Pray

Mark 9:29 "And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."


On June 2, 1899, African Americans observed a day of fasting called by the National Afro-American Council to protest lynching and racial massacres.








Source:blackfacts.com

Paul Robeson In Song

Paul Robeson Water Boy
Video sent by paleopale

Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual African American actor, athlete, bass-baritone concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, Spingarn Medal winner, and Lenin Peace Prize laureate.

Save Darfur Rally: My Point Of View

© Stephen Bess 2006

Saturday night in D.C. on U street. I saw this poster and decided at that point that I wanted to attend.

© Stephen Bess 2006

Dinner at Busboy's and thoughts about a headwrap.

© Stephen Bess 2006

The beginning of the rally sometime around noon on Sunday.

© Stephen Bess 2006

The rally is picking up in momentum. There is a growing excitement in the crowd.

© Stephen Bess 2006

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This Is No Ordinary Man: Paul Rusesabagina

Last evening, I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Rusesabagina speak at George Mason University's Center for the Arts. Rusesabagina played a major role in saving over 1200 Rwandan refugees during the slaughter of what would become millions throughout the country. Rusesabagina’s bravery and dedication to saving the lives of his people inspired the 2004 award winning film, Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina. In this informative lecture, Rusesabagina gave a detailed account of what happened at the Hotel des Mille Collines in April of 1994 and the effects that it had on him as an individual. He spoke of the atrocities of genocide inflicted upon the Tutsis by the Hutu. He also spoke of the United Nations role in allowing these atrocities to happen and how the West chose to walk away from the situation.

He went on to say that they could have, at least, silenced the radios in and around Rwanda that were spewing hate messages and fueling the already intense animosity the Hutus had for the Tutsi. Did this experience change him as a person? Rusesabagina said that it is now very difficult for him to trust after what happened in Rwanda. The people who he thought he could trust left him and his family to die at the hands of rebels who wanted to wipe out an entire race of Tutsi or “cockroaches” as they were called. He mentioned that it takes him a while to trust when dealing with people on an individual basis.

Overall, it was a great experience to see and hear Paul Rusesabagina speak. He urged everyone (especially the next generation) to do all we can to make sure that the genocide anywhere never happens again. Unfortunately, I looked around the audience and saw many of that generation sleeping through the lecture. Meanwhile, “History continues to repeat itself over and over again,” he said. He urged us to speak out, write to our congress, petition, send money or do anything to make our voices heard. Paul signed copies of his book, "An Ordinary Man: The Story of Hotel Rwanda.” I picked up a copy to be signed and finally made it to the front of the line. I asked my wife do the honors. In the end, I didn’t get a chance to shake Paul Rusesabagina’s hand amidst all of the madness and rush, but I did manage to smile at him while he was signing a book for us and he smiled back. God bless you Mr. Rusesabagina.

He also brought attention to the genocide that is taking place n Darfur where the Sudanese Government is using Arab “Janjaweed” militias (air force) to murder several hundred thousand black Sudanese through organized starvation. His question to us was, who will speak for them? Who will speak for them?

Perception: Thinking about Katrina

Ok. The media coverage of what's happening in New Orleans is completely sensationalized. I mean to the point of it being a blockbuster movie. As a matter of fact, I don't think that I've seen this much media coverage since the sniper shootings in DC. What is most interesting is that Hurricane Katrina hit a major city. This is not often seen. Storms like this usually hit small communities in the Southeast or the Midwest. Larger towns and cities are usually on the viewing end of the storm. This storm affected a large segment of New Orleans poor and disenfranchised residence. They are largely African American, but the media refers to them as "refugees."

Now, I know that the definition for refugee refers to people fleeing their home from danger or natural disaster; this is what is happening. However, I have never heard the media refer to anyone here in the United States as refugees. Is it because they are of African descent? Perhaps they resemble their African brothers and sisters fleeing Rawanda or the Sudan. I don't know, but I found it peculiar. The media is also focused on the "looting" and the unlawlessness. Guess what, hunger, uncertainty and desperation will bring out things in human nature that some of us could never imagine. So, please don't judge these people because we are not in their situation right now.

Furthermore, most of us could never imagine being in that predicament. We must also look at the fact that there are bad people out there no matter the color. No, it is not right that some people are stealing things just because it's there, but they don't represent the many thousands that are not. The media is going to focus on them because they bring the most excitement and sensationalism to an otherwise dreary Thursday night news report. Overall, I think that if we empathized with the people involved then we could better understand why "some" of them are doing what they are doing. It's called survival. Some of them were already on the verge of being homeless and now their worst fears are reality. Well, I've said my 2 cent. Have a safe holiday weekend. Peace~