On my birthday I am delighted to share a poem created by Lolita Kelson honoring her late father Thomas A. Kelson. Mr. Kelson, was a true giant in the black community. Being the father of a daughter I can understand the love Lolita had for her father. It's the type of unconditional love that is necessary for black daughters to have for their black fathers throughout our black communities from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Thank you Lolita Kelson, for allowing me to share this powerful poem with those in my social media family. Both Lolita and her Dad are alumni of Morgan State University.

Understand this Black Americans putting a black face no matter who that face is isn’t reparations. It’s not a tangible. It won’t feed a starving family, educate an illiterate child, or put heat in a home without electricity. It simply is a diversion to give you a sense of symbolism without reward. Biden and Harris refuse to mention the words black and reparations in the same sentence. Yet, the decide that to keep those of us fooled to remain foolish. Hell, Harriett Tubman understood the fact that Field Order #15 was supposedly our reality that was stolen from us. Now 156 years later the political party that was chiefly responsible for that thief come with this a black face on a twenty dollar bill. Happy for your votes black folks but as usual the Democratic Party is moving on without satisfying our deserved needs.

Today, on The Blackman Read Aloud Hour Project, I start Part One: Organizing Rage: Chapter One: Huey and Bobby from the book BLACKS AGAINST THE EMPIRE: THE HISTORY AND POLITICS OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY. This being my birthday week celebration I am most pleased that this book has been chosen because I truly believe that the time is now ripe for a renewed effort to organize our efforts as these dynamic young black men and women did in 1966.

Join Me This Evening It's Going To Be A Learning Experience With A Phenomenal Blast

Growing up in the 60's the All-American married couple was Rob and Laura Petrie and the one son Ritchie. I clearly remember the show so vividly, the one thing I noticed early on was that the Petrie's had no at that time negro friends, or neither did Joan and Ward Cleaver, or their sons Wally and the Beaver, neither did Steve Douglas, and his three sons Mike, Robbie, or Chip or even Ernie. Come to think of it neither Jim Anderson, or Margaret Anderson, or their children Betty, Bud, and Kathy had even one Negro friend. Did any blacks ever visit JD Clampett, Jethro, Granny, Ellie May? What about Mr. Drysdale or Jane Hathaway did they see black folks? Did any blacks ever go around the Junction? How about Green Acres damn Abner could’ve used some black help growing crops. The Professor, Ginger, Mary Anne, Skipper, Gilligan, Thurston Howell and his wife never saw a black face heck they even had the audacity to use white natives and color them red. Now we know Mayberry, North Carolina was a Sundown Town right? These were a few of the shows that exhibited supposed day to day living in America. All white because only white was deemed right.


The television screens of Black Americans was lily white. Black children never had role models of their own kind to model after. You wonder why we the black communities were so screwed up psychologically. If all you saw day in and day out was a wide world of white. You would have negative social and emotional effects bordering on multiple neuroses as well. Add that to Jim and Jane Crow Black Codes and boy can I get an amen on our survival instincts competing in a world based solely on white supremacy. It's a miracle that individuals my age or older were even able to sing "we shall overcome" because in the world of media and entertainment "we as Black Americans were actually overrun" by the of whiteness of oppression and the absolute whiteness of our television screens. Why even have a color television when the only color were the leaves on the damn trees. I say living through that deserves some reparations payments.

#joesmokethoughts

This is a PROVOKED THOUGHT you may disagree with it but it is something I personally feel. I know Barack Obama recently spirited the nomination and election of Joe Biden to the Presidency. My question is after 8 years in office our communities gave Mr. Obama a pass. Why? You wanna know why I disagree with those who say Barack Obama had a tremendous impact in the black communities during his two term as President? Because, Barack Obama once said that it took courage for those in power to help the most vulnerable in the communities across this nation. Even though that thought was predicated on gaining support for his healthcare program. If he had that thought in that case you know it carried over to all his policies related to our communities. Is that why Obama never truly addressed black issues? He had a lack of courage.
I cannot ever in my wildest imagination seeing Dr. King saying such a thing, nor would Malcolm X, nor would Medgar Evers, nor would Vernon Johns ever mentioning the word courage as a motivating factor in helping those in need in our communities. I can imagine all four of my heroes saying that it takes personal commitment to humanity and morality but certainly not courage. What takes courage is to be vulnerable in this nation because everyday is a personal struggle.