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Nov. 18, 2020

LOVING YOUR ENEMIES 11/17/1957 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On November 17, 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came before his congregants at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama to preach. Dr. King’s sermon that Sunday morning was “loving your enemies.” After two years of turmoil in Montgomery that began actually a nearly century earlier with the abolition of slavery and supposed freedom of enslaved African Americans in the CONFEDERATE STATES. It was an awfully difficult task for any African American to love those white Americans who hated them so blatantly. To love those white Americans who terrorized and murdered them so openly. To love those white Americans whose government denied them the rights of citizenship so easily. Yet, Dr. King wanted love to overcome hate and malice. He gave a blueprint 63 years ago on loving your enemies even when the task of gaining that love seems insurmountable. Today, I will revisit my reading of that sermon. Why? Because, now more than ever with this nation bursting at seams with renewed racial and class hatred. We need Dr. King’s formula for reconciliation and abiding love more than ever.

Nov. 17, 2020

Remembering Booker T. Washington, November 14, 1915

The Black Blogger didn't get a chance to remember the date that Booker T. Washington died on November 14, 1915. So today on my blog I will go back 105 years to Mr. Booker T. Washington's last public speech that he gave on August 18, 1915, to The National Negro Business League in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, I also discussed shortly the brutal beating that Mr. Booker T. Washington was given in New York City in March of 1911. Not many know that America's supposed foremost voice of the African American's accommodationist policy was brutalized by White Americans at the end of his life but he was. Still, four years later in this speech, Booker T. Washington spoke of the hope America promised the African American race. Rest in Peace, and God Bless You Forever.

Nov. 13, 2020

THE BLACKMAN READ ALOUD HOUR PROJECT

To all parents of upper elementary and middle school-aged children who are currently learning virtually via the online network. To adults who struggle with literacy there also is way expand your reading capacity. Did you know that a key component of gaining strong literacy skills is having your child listen to a highly proficient reader? Yes, the read-aloud is one excellent tool in the pathway to building a child's literacy suitcase. One reason for my objective and goal was to offer this methodology of the read aloud to the social network. I choose to only read nonfiction historical books focused on our African American ancestors. I also felt that this could be a shared model of instruction. That's why you should listen along with your child whose literacy skills may be lacking to "The Blackman Read Aloud Hour Project." Not only will your child learn about his/her African American history but you can also spend time after the reading session to ask comprehension questions about what was read during the session. Since I read the books from cover to cover you will have sufficient time to have an expansive learning experience. During this time of classroom lockdowns and virtual learning our communities need to fill in the missing gaps of knowledge. Otherwise, our children will lose valuable skills to enhance their reading abilities. Besides, all the books I on my project are nonfiction texts which also is an area of weakness that our children are confronted with. Join me and share my project with others. My reading project is currently going into its fifth year on Facebook Live. I have touched tens of thousands of people during that time. See you everyday around 6:00 PM EST.

Nov. 13, 2020

In Their Actions, My Voice The Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott The Trickle Of Justice Begins

On November 13, 1956, The United States Supreme affirmed the Alabama District decision that segregation on the Montgomery, Alabama public buses was in violation of the United States Constitution. This affirmation was by a unanimous​ ​decision of Chief Justice Earl Warren court. The entire city of Jackson's black population refused to ride the city buses for a year. I simply cannot comprehend why our disunity is so disjointed? Those in power continue to deal injustice from the bottom of the deck and we willing accept our terrible hands. Why can’t the majority of African Americans today stand up to the powers to be like the Jackson Mississippians did 65 years ago? Just tell the government until our inequality issues are addressed correctly our communities will not be satisfied. We will not be pushed around or controlled any longer.

Nov. 12, 2020

The Time Is Now To Get What Is Due To Us

Now that the election is over and the Democratic Party has assumed control of the Executive Branch of our government, and, if the African American voters show up again in Georgia on January 3, 2021, for the senatorial runoff elections, the Democratic Party can control possibly both houses of upcoming Congress. Now is truly the time to cash that insufficient check that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discussed initially on 8/28/1963 and again, during the final days of his life. The Democratic Party’s history in this nation is stained with the blood of our African American ancestors especially during the period between 1877 to 1965. When black codes, Jim Crow, terror, murder, and economic deprivation reigned supreme in the Southern States of this nation. That is why I am calling not on African American representatives to lead the cause for reparations because that should be a given. I am calling on the white elected majority of the Democratic Party to lead the fight for not only a full-fledged Reparations Commission but to ensure that the commission is run fairly and judiciously. Because if that happens I am assured as both the Brookings Institution and the United Nations have indicated the descendants of those African Americans harmed and those living African Americans will be compensated for the losses they incurred. It's time for our votes to count for something other than displacing Donald Trump. 

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