This NEW Biden-Harris ad featuring 14 Black mayors from across the country is straight fire!! 🔥🔥🔥 #BlackLivesMatter #BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/qMlWUUoCVo
— ✊🏾 ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER ✊🏾 (@flywithkamala) October 10, 2020
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Architecture in Black
An excerpt from Black Enterprise -
MEET THE BLACK WOMAN BEHIND ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S FEW BLACK-OWNED ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
by Dana Givens
 |
| Image via Purpose Brands |
Architecture is an extremely difficult field to enter, especially for people of color. In a 2018 report from the National Council of Architectural Registration Board, nonwhite architecture professionals are 25% more likely to stop pursuing licensure with a nonwhite professional representing 45% of participants in the Architectural Experience Program. Black women are an even smaller margin when it comes to diversity within the sector. One woman decided to take her savings to start her career in architecture and is now celebrating 30 years in the business.
Deryl McKissack is the owner of McKissack & McKissack, a firm responsible for overseeing construction projects including the Obama Presidential Center, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Lincoln, and several Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials. In an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE, McKissack shares her story about getting into the architecture field and the importance of diversity in the sector.
BE: What inspired you to get into architecture?
McKissack: Architecture was in my blood. I’m the fifth generation in our family to go into the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) business. My great-great-grandfather, a freed slave, was a builder, as was his son, my great-grandfather. His son, my grandfather, was the first Black registered architect in Tennessee. And my father, also a registered architect, would take me and my twin sister to work with him when we were 6, prop us up on his drawing boards and teach us how to draw details, do schedules, use Leroy lettering, make legends, and everything else. By the time we were 13, he was using our drawings.
My sister and I both went to Howard University on academic scholarships as double-majors in architecture and engineering. But I was more drawn to the practical side of things—how buildings work—and eventually made engineering my major. After I graduated, I went to work at an engineering firm.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/meet-the-black-woman-behind-the-countrys-few-black-owned-architecture-firm/
To Be Young, Gifted & Black 2
An excerpt from the Root -
Thanks to This 16-Year-Old Author, Black Girls at Predominantly White Schools Are Telling Their Stories
By Janelle Harris Dixon
 |
| Image: LifeSlice Media, Photo: Courtesy of Olivia V.G. Clarke |
If you’ve never been Black surrounded by a constant overwhelm of White—at school, your place of work, in your neighborhood—just know there can never be enough memoirs, screenplays, or comedies to exhaust the complex experience. You are ever a racial ambassador, an explainer of non-white culturisms, a human Google for thoughtless questions, a pioneering barrier-breaker of beliefs about what Black people do and don’t do. (Once when I was pseudo-swimming in a friend’s backyard pool, a white woman gasped as I adjusted my bathing suit straps and exclaimed, “I didn’t know Black people got tanned!”)
Sixteen-year-old Olivia V.G. Clarke has lived the experience. A graduating senior at Columbus School for Girls, a predominantly white institution in Columbus, Ohio, she’s spent seven of her formative years navigating racial politics. The idea to write about it hit her when she was walking home with her mom.
“I said, ‘how cool would it be to have a book to help other [Black] girls in predominantly white institutions, who either go to one or graduated or are preparing to go? And just have stories, anecdotes and poems to help them feel supported?”
Black Girl, White School: Thriving, Surviving and No, You Can’t Touch My Hair, a 123-page anthology of poems, essays and reflections from contributors ranging from middle-school age to college students, is the creative dividend of that conversation. To represent a range of experiences, Clarke posted a call for writers on social media, reached out to friends and her parents’ friends, and girls she’d met in school, camps and other activities.
https://theglowup.theroot.com/thanks-to-this-16-year-old-author-black-girls-at-predo-1845323110
From Janitor to Nurse Practitioner
An excerpt from Goalcast -
Woman Becomes Nurse Practitioner At The Same Hospital She Used To Clean
By Kawter
Achieving your dreams has no age limit, but sometimes, life gets in the way and we forget just how possible it is. That’s why stories of real life people who overcame all odds to achieve their goals are a strong reminders that we can do it, no matter what.
Such is the story of Jaines Andrades, who in 10 years, went from custodian to nurse practitioner in the very same hospital she used to clean at.
https://www.goalcast.com/2020/10/08/woman-becomes-nurse-practitioner-at-the-same-hospital-she-used-to-clean/
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Young, Gifted & Black
An excerpt from Black Enterprise -
THIS 12-YEAR OLD JUST STARTED HIS 2ND YEAR IN COLLEGE, MAJORING IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
 |
| image: BlackBusiness.com |
Caleb Anderson, a 12-year old gifted boy from Georgia, has already finished his first year in college and has just started his second year. He is majoring in Aerospace Engineering at Chattahoochee Technical College.
Caleb was just 9-months old when he learned to sign more than 250 words. He eventually learned to speak and read when he turned 11-months old. Aside from the English language, he also learned Spanish, French, and Mandarin.
Caleb’s parents, Claire and Kobi, knew he was special and has been very supportive of him ever since.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/this-12-year-old-just-started-his-2nd-year-in-college-majoring-in-aerospace-engineering/
A Generous Class Act
An excerpt from ESPN -
Houston Rockets' Russell Westbrook leaves $8,000 tip for bubble hotel staff, per report
On his way out of the NBA bubble, Rockets star Russell Westbrook left the housekeepers at the Grand Floridian hotel an $8,000 tip, the Dallas Morning News reported.
By Royce Young
On his way out of the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook wanted to show his appreciation for the housekeepers of the Grand Floridian hotel, and he did it with an $8,000 tip, according to the Dallas Morning News.
"They took great care of us," Westbrook told Bleacher Report, confirming the tip. "Took the time and energy to do their job at a high level. That was the right thing. I like to do the right thing."
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30056301/houston-rockets-russell-westbrook-leaves-8000-tip-bubble-hotel-staff-per-report
Saturday, October 3, 2020
A Family Photo at the Door
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
I keep a family photo at my front door. It’ll stay there until toxic attitudes toward Black lives go away.
Opinion by Michele L. Norris
I keep a framed family photo next to my front door, positioned on a table, so you see it as soon as you enter. It captures a moment of joy while on vacation. We’re leaning on each other, smiling wide. Family Strong.
I keep that picture by the entry in case police ever enter my home, they know that the people in that photo belong in the house where they live.
That paragraph you just read is a litmus test. Some of you will read these words and wonder, “Why would she ever do that?”
But some of you will read this and nod your head in recognition. Or perhaps conclude, “Maybe I should do that, too.”
Those of us in that second category are not worried about police entering our home because we’re engaged in criminal behavior. We worry — actually, we know, that we could be seen as criminals or intruders in our own homes even if we consistently and even obsessively live by the rules. A steady stream of raids-gone-wrong buttresses those fears and yet it goes far beyond all that.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-keep-a-family-photo-at-my-front-door-itll-stay-there-until-toxic-attitudes-toward-black-lives-go-away/2020/09/28/0e9027fe-01bb-11eb-a2db-417cddf4816a_story.html
Swearing Birds
An excerpt from CNN -
Parrots in wildlife park moved after swearing at visitors
By Rob Picheta
London (CNN) — Five parrots have been removed from public view at a British wildlife park after they started swearing at customers.
The foul-mouthed birds were split up after they launched a number of different expletives at visitors and staff just days after being donated to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in eastern England.
"It just went ballistic, they were all swearing," the venue's chief executive Steve Nichols told CNN Travel on Tuesday. "We were a little concerned about the children."
"I get called a fat t**t every time I walk past," Nichols complained.
The African grey parrots -- named Eric, Jade, Elsie, Tyson and Billy -- were given to the park from five different owners within the same week, and shared a quarantining facility together before being placed on display.
But staff immediately noticed that the birds shared a propensity to fly off the handle.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/swearing-parrots-moved-park-scli-gbr-intl/index.html
Monday, September 21, 2020
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Is Racism the Reason?
An excerpt from Deadspin -
Racism is Why Your Favorite Team Might Have Drafted a Sorry White Quarterback
By Carron J. Phillips
This is not a story about Black quarterbacks.
It’s a story about how your favorite team may have a mediocre, on his best day, white quarterback because your general manager drafted him over the really good Black quarterback you could have had.
Life is all about decisions.
When Deshaun Watson signed his four-year, $177.54 million deal on Saturday, with over $111 million guaranteed, it meant that, for now, no one in the NFL will make more than him over the next four years.
That led to Field Yates dropping these staggering numbers in this tweet.
The highest-paid QB in the NFL on average money per new year:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 5, 2020
1. Patrick Mahomes: $45M
2. Deshaun Watson: $39M
3. Russell Wilson: $35M
4. Ben Roethlisberger: $34M
T-5. Aaron Rodgers: $33.5M
T-5. Jared Goff: $33.5M
Due to be paid soon QBs include: Lamar Jackson & Dak Prescott.
Of the six highest-paid quarterbacks on average money per year, the top three are all Black, and the list doesn’t even include the large paydays that Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott are headed for.
But this isn’t about the Haves. It’s about the Have Nots.
Here’s a look at some of the franchises that blew it all because they wanted basic white guys to lead their teams instead of the Black quarterbacks that are rolling in the dough.
https://deadspin.com/racism-is-why-your-favorite-team-might-have-drafted-a-s-1844970698
Black-Owned Bulletproof Vests
From Black Enterprise -
BLACK-OWNED LINE OF BULLETPROOF VESTS FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN SEES 400% INCREASE IN SALES
by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
Thyk Skynn, a Black-owned line of fashionable bulletproof vests for men, women, and children, has seen a nearly 400 percent increase in sales over the past few weeks as Americans continue to grow concerned about their protection from police shootings and other random acts of violence.
Mike Tyree, the founder and CEO of Thyk Skynn, was a police officer in the city of Atlanta for 9 years. He says he left his career and decided to start the business to give innocent people a safe way to peacefully protect themselves.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-owned-line-of-bulletproof-vests-for-adults-and-children-sees-400-increase-in-sales/
For more information about Thyk Skynn, visit www.thykskynn.com or follow the brand on Instagram @ThykSkynn
Young, Black, and Rich
From Women's Health Magazine -
'Black Girl Sunscreen' Founder Shontay Lundy Became A Self-Made Millionaire By Taking Risks. But she doesn’t do 7 a.m. meetings.
BY SHONTAY LUNDY, AS TOLD TO ALEXIS JONES
I'm Shontay Lundy, the founder of Black Girl Sunscreen, and I'm a millionaire—a title I never considered possible for myself.
I was born in the small town of Newburgh, New York. Today, it's one of those places that people from the city migrate to because you get more for your dollar. And it's undergoing gentrification. But when I was a kid in the 1980s, there was a lot of drug use and limited job opportunities in my hometown. If you were really doing something for yourself, you were taking the metro to Manhattan to work a better-paying 9-to-5.
I grew up having to work for whatever I wanted. I was raised part-time by my grandparents (my parents were both in the military). Eventually, I became the oldest of six kids, though the only child between the two of my parents. My mom and dad divorced and had children with their new spouses after they both came out of the service. Our age gaps span from a year and a half to 13 years.
Now, when I think about the meaning of leadership as a company founder, I realize this experience really groomed me from a young age to lead by example. I wasn't afraid to be the first or take risks.
I got my first real job running a paper route at 15 years old. I took pride in it. I'd get up at 4 a.m. every day and make sure the paper arrived at my customers' homes dry and secure. This job paid for things my parents or grandparents couldn't afford—like a landline for my room. But it wasn't part of my career goals.
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a33758806/millionaire-shontay-lundy-black-girl-sunscreen/
Monday, September 14, 2020
Dog Goes to School
rudy goes to doggy school every day on a bus and he loves it
— Humor And Animals (@humorandanimals) September 10, 2020
(jukin copyright management) pic.twitter.com/SuIO0I6XMT
A Powerful Message
From David Brooks -
“It occurred to me that there were two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. Were you capable of deep love? We all know that the eulogy virtues are more important than the résumé ones. But our culture and our educational systems spend more time teaching the skills and strategies you need for career success than the qualities you need to radiate that sort of inner light. Many of us are clearer on how to build an external career than on how to build inner character.”
― David Brooks, The Road to Character
BREAKING NEWS: The@MiamiDolphins players will stay inside for both national anthems. They express their discontentment with what they call “fluff and empty gestures” by the @NFL pic.twitter.com/ghUktHhPt9
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) September 10, 2020
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Chadwick Boseman
https://hypebeast.com/2020/9/marvel-chadwick-boseman-official-tribute-art-black-panther-2-potential-recasting
Famous Recipes
From the Food Network -
Copy That! Secret Restaurant Recipes
Make your favorite chain restaurant dishes at home with these copycat recipes, created by Food Network Magazine.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/copy-that-secret-restaurant-recipes
A Class Act
This is the first message Chadwick Boseman sent to my son in 2017. He had already been diagnosed with colon cancer, unknown to anyone. Amazing. 🙏🏾💜✊🏾😭 pic.twitter.com/2Tb4V2O8bN
— Brian Hammond (@_Bro_Hamm_) August 29, 2020
Hanging Tree Guitars
From the Bitter Southerner -
Freeman Vines: Hanging Tree Guitars
https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/hanging-tree-guitars?utm_source=The+Bitter+News&utm_campaign=d78a45fc20-2020_09_01_HOUSE_THAT_CARVING_BUILT&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8269ec3593-d78a45fc20-92175213&goal=0_8269ec3593-d78a45fc20-92175213&mc_cid=d78a45fc20&mc_eid=0b6dd8ed2d
How to Vote in Every State
From Slate -
The Best Way to Vote in Every State
An extremely comprehensive guide to making sure your ballot gets counted, no matter where in America you live.
By MOLLY OLMSTEAD and MARK JOSEPH STERN
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/2020-voting-guide.html
The Marines Have a Problem
An excerpt from the NY Times -
The Few, the Proud, the White: The Marine Corps Balks at Promoting Generals of Color
A respected, combat-tested Black colonel has been passed over three times for promotion to brigadier general. What does his fate say about the Corps?
By Helene Cooper
WASHINGTON — All things being equal, Col. Anthony Henderson has the military background that the Marine Corps says it prizes in a general: multiple combat tours, leadership experience and the respect of those he commanded and most who commanded him.
Yet three times he has been passed over for brigadier general, a prominent one-star rank that would put Colonel Henderson on the path to the top tier of Marine Corps leadership. Last year, the Navy secretary, Richard V. Spencer, even added a handwritten recommendation to Colonel Henderson’s candidacy: “Eminently qualified Marine we need now as BG,” he wrote.
But never in its history has the Marine Corps had anyone other than a white man in its most senior leadership posts. Colonel Henderson is Black.
“Tony Henderson has done everything you could do in the Marines except get a hand salute from Jesus Christ himself,” said Milton D. Whitfield Sr., a former Marine gunnery sergeant who served for 21 years.
Proud and fierce in their identity, the Marines have a singular race problem that critics say is rooted in decades of resistance to change. As the nation reels this summer from protests challenging centuries-long perceptions of race, the Marines — who have long cultivated a reputation as the United States’ strongest fighting force — remain an institution where a handful of white men rule over 185,000 white, African-American, Hispanic and Asian men and women.
“It took an act of Congress last year to get them to integrate by gender at the platoon level,” said Representative Anthony G. Brown, Democrat of Maryland and a former Army helicopter pilot. “And now they continue to hold onto that 1950s vision of who Marines are.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/us/politics/marines-race-general.html
Mama Said
An excerpt from Bored Panda -
Indian Mom Goes Viral After Son Convinces Her To Put Her Worldly Wisdom On Signs And Share It On IG (30 Pics)
By Jonas Grinevičius and Ilona Baliūnaitė
The world really needs more heartwarming people like Poonam Sapra and her son Pranav. Especially in 2020. Together, the mother-son duo from India runs the ‘Mother With Sign’ Instagram page. They post photos of Poonam holding up signs with wholesome, relatable, and humorous motherly advice for living a good, healthy, and happy life.
They started the page 8 months ago and, since then, they’ve gained a whopping 108k followers. What’s more, they even got the attention of the Humans of Bombay IG account that has over 1.1 million avid fans. Poonam and Pranav’s content is nearly universal because the world’s filled with moms who constantly give out helpful advice.
https://www.boredpanda.com/mother-with-sign-poonam-sapra/
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Just A Minute
“I only have a minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Suffer, if I lose it.
Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.”
- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
"I Wish I Dried Up"
An excerpt from Upworthy -
It's Black Breastfeeding Week. Wondering why? One gut-wrenching poem says it all.
"I wish I dried up..."
By Annie Reneau
It's Black Breastfeeding Week, a week set aside in the U.S. to celebrate and encourage Black breastfeeding parents.
Some may wonder why such a week is necessary. After all, that's a pretty narrow niche, isn't it? Aren't Black moms included in all breastfeeding awareness and education campaigns? Is there something special about Black people breastfeeding?
The answer is yes, there is something unique about Black breastfeeding. Several somethings, actually, but one reason for Black Breastfeeding Week is summed up in a gut-wrenching poem by feminist author Hess Love.
"I wish I dried up
I wish every drop of my milk slipped passed those pink lips and nourished the ground
Where the bones lay
Of my babies
Starved while I feed their murderer
I wish I dried up
So the missus babies would dry up too
And be brittle
So I could crumble them to dust
Return them to the ground
Where all children of my bosom lay equal"
- Hess Love
https://www.upworthy.com/its-black-breastfeeding-week-if-you-wonder-why-this-gut-punching-poem-offers-one-reason
Best Books by Black Authors
From Cosmopolitan -
The Best Books by Black Authors to Add to Your Bookshelf Right Now
Not an anti-racist reading list.
by PAULINA JAYNE ISAAC
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/g33625689/best-books-black-authors/
Meals Served With Love, No Prices
From Black Enterprise -
BLACK-OWNED FAMILY-STYLE RESTAURANT IN ALABAMA HAS NO PRICES AND FEEDS ANYONE WHO IS HUNGRY
by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
The founders of Drexell & Honeybee’s, a Black-owned family-style restaurant in Brewton, Alabama, are gaining national attention because they serve meals with no prices. The donation-only restaurant does not use cash registers and also feeds everyone – including those who don’t have anything to pay.
Every lunchtime from Tuesday to Thursday, husband and wife team, Freddie and Lisa Thomas-McMillan, are busy serving hungry people with soul food and Southern dishes from their daily-changing menu such as fried chicken, cornbread, and collard greens.
Everyone who comes to the restaurant doesn’t have to worry about the payment because they can leave a handful of coins, a generous donation, or even just a thank-you note. The owners then use 100% of the donations for the operational costs of feeding the hungry so they don’t really profit from it.
Still, the McMillans continue serving people from all walks of life in exchange of the joy that they get from all of it. They say there’s real joy whenever people leave their restaurant “with a full stomach, a full heart, and the understanding that you are loved and worthy of love.”
https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-owned-family-style-restaurant-in-alabama-has-no-prices-and-feeds-anyone-who-is-hungry/
Pharrell Williams - Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z
Stick with this. It has a POWERFUL MESSAGE!
Club Cardinal - Launch Video
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/stanford-university-students-flock-to-virtual-campus-180975675/
BLM Poster Not Welcome Here
An excerpt from Upworthy -
Texas teacher placed on leave after parents complained about her virtual 'Black Lives Matter' poster
By Tod Perry
Via Change.org
Taylor Lifka, a 25-year-old English teacher at Roma High School in Roma, Texas, wanted to create an inclusive environment for her online classes this school year.
So she created a virtual background with posters that read: "Black Lives Matter," "Amiga, tu lucha es mi lucha," (Your struggle is my struggle) and "Diverse, Inclusive, Accepting, Welcoming, Safe Space for Everyone" in rainbow colors.
Before the first day of school, she asked her incoming students to put their names and preferred pronouns in the chat box on the digital chalkboard. Then, she posted a screenshot of her classroom on her social media.
Some parents complained about the inclusive posters to the principal.
"My assistant principal told me, 'Please take the posters down.' I guess once that happened, I knew that it might be a rocky road, but considering being put on leave? I never really thought that that was going to be their first step," Lifka told The Texas Tribune.
https://www.upworthy.com/texas-teacher-placed-leave-after-parents-complained-about-her-black-lives-matter-poster
Comply or Die
"Comply or die. That is the only thing we're able to tell our young Black sons."@MariaTaylor shared what her father, who was in the FBI, told her brother about interacting with police. pic.twitter.com/VDJukqNSWr
— ESPN (@espn) August 28, 2020
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Thursday, August 6, 2020
I just got pulled over and for the first time i watched a white women record my whole traffic stop . pic.twitter.com/BolkS8K9rj
— The Mad King (@Kingkeraun) August 3, 2020
White Privilege Explained
What is white privilege?
— BBC Bitesize (@bbcbitesize) August 5, 2020
We asked @JohnAmaechi, psychologist, best-selling author and former NBA basketball player to explain it for us.
👉 https://t.co/t7LIENTnPn pic.twitter.com/mQrYX6Y0N1
Saturday, August 1, 2020
Our Marching Orders
From the New York Times -
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html
Amazon's Ex-Wife Makes Big Donation to HBCUs
An excerpt from CNN -
These historically Black universities just got their biggest ever financial gifts all thanks to one generous donor
By Alicia Lee
(CNN)Four historically Black colleges and universities announced that they have each received the largest single donation in their long-standing history.
The generous donor?
MacKenzie Scott, formerly Bezos.
Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Hampton University and Tuskegee University all announced on Tuesday that they had been gifted record donations.
Howard, which received $40 million, Hampton, $30 million, and Tuskegee, $20 million, revealed that their donations had come from Scott, the author and philanthropist who divorced from Amazon's Jeff Bezos last year.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/us/hbcus-largest-donation-history-mackenzie-scott-trnd/index.html
White Christians Mostly Silent
An excerpt from NPR -
American Christianity Must Reckon With Legacy Of White Supremacy, Author Says
Heard on Fresh Air with Terry Gross
In his new book, White Too Long, Jones examines the legacy of white supremacy among Southern Baptists and other Christian denominations.
Jones says the Southern Baptist Convention tends to focus on each individual's interior relationship with God — and "essentially screens out questions of social justice."
"I cannot remember a single sermon calling attention to racial inequality, racial injustice [or] the struggle for civil rights," he says.
As the U.S. begins to grapple more seriously with issues of racism and white supremacy, Jones says the time has come for churches to be more in vocal about social justice.
"There's so much work still to be done," he says. "White Christians have been largely silent ... and have hardly begun these conversations."
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/30/896712611/american-christianity-must-reckon-with-legacy-of-white-supremacy-author-says?ft=nprml&f=1001
Hate is Real
The man in this video who dealt with all the hate is @robblissgr https://t.co/8kx4fmhCgO
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 30, 2020
Peanut Butter & Jelly Pie
From Bon Appetit -
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/salted-pbandj-ice-cream-pie
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Friday, July 24, 2020
Representation Matters
Not five seconds into #TheReidOut with @JoyAnnReid, my three-year-old daughter - who's in the room - points at the screen and shouts out, "MOMMY, SHE HAS CURLY HAIR JUST LIKE ME!"
— Elliot Williams (@elliotcwilliams) July 20, 2020
Representation is no joke, people. pic.twitter.com/NmELt2bCuB
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Response to Verbal Abuse is PRICELESS!
"My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho's disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television. I am here because I have to show my parents that...that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men." pic.twitter.com/cf0woHRf58
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 23, 2020
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Saturday, July 18, 2020
The First Black Female Physician in the US
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
Gravestone dedicated to the first Black female medical doctor in the US
By Brian MacQuarrie
 |
| A gravestone dedication ceremony was held at Fairview Cemetery for Rebecca Crumpler, the first Black woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF |
Rebecca and Arthur Crumpler lay side by side in unmarked graves in Hyde Park for more than a century, a wife and husband buried 15 years apart at the fringes of Fairview Cemetery near their home on Mother Brook.
No headstones carried their names. No plaque told of their lives and accomplishments. Nothing but the records of the city-owned cemetery could direct the curious — if any came along — to an unadorned patch of tree-shaded grass that covered their remains.
Until now.
Dedicated at a poignant ceremony Thursday, new granite tombstones use a few chiseled words to commemorate a remarkable story that has rarely been told. Here lies Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first Black female physician in the United States, and her husband, a former escaped slave who much later became the oldest pupil in the Boston schools.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/17/metro/gravestone-dedicated-first-black-female-medical-doctor-us/
Friday, July 17, 2020
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Monday, July 13, 2020
Where Black Students Matter
An excerpt from the New York Post -
These are the colleges where black students really matter
By Dennis Richmond, Jr.
When New York’s black high school seniors return to school in the fall and start looking ahead to college admissions, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) should be at the top of their lists.
As protests over racism continue to ripple across the country, HBCUs offer a safe haven where young minds can feel truly embraced by a racially diverse faculty who will empower them for the future. According to US Department of Education statistics, 75 percent of all black people with a doctorate degree (and four fifths of all black federal judges) received their undergraduate training at HBCUs. With typically lower tuition fees and a more integrated staff than traditionally white institutions, HBCUs are a more affordable and supportive way for black kids to level the playing field.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/these-are-the-colleges-where-black-students-really-matter/
These are the colleges where black students really matter
By Dennis Richmond, Jr.
When New York’s black high school seniors return to school in the fall and start looking ahead to college admissions, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) should be at the top of their lists.
As protests over racism continue to ripple across the country, HBCUs offer a safe haven where young minds can feel truly embraced by a racially diverse faculty who will empower them for the future. According to US Department of Education statistics, 75 percent of all black people with a doctorate degree (and four fifths of all black federal judges) received their undergraduate training at HBCUs. With typically lower tuition fees and a more integrated staff than traditionally white institutions, HBCUs are a more affordable and supportive way for black kids to level the playing field.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/these-are-the-colleges-where-black-students-really-matter/
1st Black Female Fighter Pilot!
BZ to Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle on completing the Tactical Air (Strike) aviator syllabus. Swegle is the @USNavy’s first known Black female TACAIR pilot and will receive her Wings of Gold later this month. HOOYAH! @FlyNavy @NASKPAO #ForgedByTheSea #CNATRA #CNATRAgrads pic.twitter.com/FKSlURWQhJ— Naval Air Training (@CNATRA) July 9, 2020
The Greatest Asked a Question
“How come is everything white?”— BBC (@BBC) June 9, 2020
Muhammad Ali appeared on Parkinson in 1971.pic.twitter.com/mNtQvMxmZ8
Friday, July 10, 2020
Not Today
An excerpt from the New York Times -
Yeah, Let’s Not Talk About Race
Unless you pay me.
By Damon Young
The people doing the least can be found in every viral video clip of a white person hysterically refusing to wear a mask at Trader Joe’s. These people are unhinged, dangerous and just plain goofy, willing to die (and kill) over Jicama Wraps and Kale Gnocchi. And the people doing the most? Well, the most happens anytime a white person encounters a Black person who writes about race — or just a Black person who just happens to be Black — and the Serious Conversation About Racism (SCAR) must ensue. This isn’t a new phenomenon. I’ve been SCARed before in the grocery store express aisle, between pickup hoop games at the gym, while getting a colonoscopy, and at least 82 percent of the unsolicited emails I get are drive-by SCARings. But now America feels like a deleted scene from “Get Out.” Or better yet, “The Sixth Sense.” But instead of seeing dead people, white people see us as walking, talking, antiracist book lists.
There’s no better example of the absolute most than the recent ABC News feature on Ernest Skelton. Mr. Skelton, an appliance technician, was just doing his job when the white woman whose house he was working on grilled him about the plight of blacks in America. He shared that racism is, um, bad. The woman, Caroline Brock, wrote a post about their conversation on Facebook, and it went viral. Local news stations called, and they eventually appeared on “Nightline” as an example of what happens when America allows itself to “heal from the heart.” But all I can think about is this man trying to fix a sink while taking a random pop quiz about redlining.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/opinion/george-floyd-racism.html?searchResultPosition=1
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Representation Matters
Little Jenna here is exactly why #representationmatters . I am so grateful for this show, that so many young people can watch this show and say “It’s me” . Thank you @britbrit1432 for sharing this video ❤️💕❤️💕 @HamiltonMusical #hamilfilm pic.twitter.com/iDbb4orVIs
— Phillipa Soo (@Phillipasoo) July 6, 2020
Saturday, July 4, 2020
The 4th of July to Me
Black ppl have been dehumanized, brutalized, criminalized + terrorized by America for centuries, & are expected to join your commemoration of “independence”, while you enslaved our ancestors. We reject your celebration of white supremacy & look forward to liberation for all. ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/YCD2SYlgv4
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) July 4, 2020
We Tip Our Caps
Today, we all tip our cap to the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues. #TipYourCap2020 pic.twitter.com/dIcVYiRBHj
— MLB (@MLB) June 30, 2020
A Field of Flags
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
A patriotic forest takes root to fight a stubborn, invisible — and deadly — enemy
More than 8,000 flags fly as emblems of resolve against a pandemic
By Thomas Farragher
 |
| Michael Labbe stood beside the field of flags he and his family have planted in front of their home to honor all of those who have died from COVID-19 in Massachusetts. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF |
GRAFTON – It happens several times a day on the gently sloping road where Michael Labbe is tending a star-spangled garden.
A car slows and pulls over. A camera is raised. A prayer is said. And then the passersby move on in a sudden and solemn silence.
Occasionally, they get out for a handshake. Or an air hug.
Just like 71-year-old Rhonda Lavallee did the other day as she stood in near disbelief to take in the forest of flags that has suddenly blossomed on Labbe’s front lawn.
There are more than 8,000 of them now, each one a red-white-and-blue emblem to a life lost to a killer pandemic that clouds America’s Independence Day, a holiday usually punctuated by kaleidoscopic fireworks and cozy backyard cookouts with family and friends.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/02/nation/patriotic-forest-takes-root-fight-stubborn-invisible-deadly-enemy/
He's Not With Us!
HAPPY FOURTH?
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 4, 2020
Trump’s visit to Mt. Rushmore ignites fireworks - both real and political: https://t.co/bSCtVCCqMS
America marks 244 years of independence in troubled times ... once more: https://t.co/2Y97vfcjYs
‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?’: https://t.co/nSGIaDMqFK pic.twitter.com/cG13GgOxH9
He Wanted Us to Know Black Lives Matter
From the Washington Post -
Carl Reiner’s Daughter Tweets Final Dig At Donald Trump On Her Late Father’s Behalf
The late comedy legend often took the president to task on the platform.
By Lee Moran
Carl had wanted to tweet this picture, taken last Saturday. As you can see he was happy and vital up to the very end. He will be sorely missed. pic.twitter.com/Q4sh0QK4Xz
— carl reiner (@carlreiner) July 3, 2020
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/carl-reiner-daughter-donald-trump-blm_n_5f007635c5b6acab2850ff03
Friday, July 3, 2020
Priceless!
An excerpt from Bored Panda -
Tired Of Customers Ignoring Their Polite ‘Please Wear A Mask’ Sign, This Store Puts Up A New One And It Gets Dark Real Quick Interview
ByJonas Grinevičius and Mindaugas Balčiauskas
However, wearing a mask is now a political issue in the United States. Some Americans refuse to wear them because they believe it limits their freedom. But tired of people coming in without covering their faces, vintage clothing shop Antique Sugar in Phoenix, Arizona got the world’s attention after it put up a hard-hitting sign about wearing face masks.
https://www.boredpanda.com/face-mask-sign-antique-sugar/
Artists Reflections
From the Washinton Post -
Nine black artists reflect on the question: “Is America at a point of reckoning?”
By Washington Post Staff
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/lifestyle/black-artists-america-racial-inequality/
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Exposing Racism in Medicine
An excerpt from Today -
How this Black doctor is exposing the racist history of gynecology
Dr. J. Marion Sims is known as the founding father of gynecology. He earned this title through contributions made by experimenting on enslaved Black women.
By Maura Hohman
There's one name Dr. Kameelah Phillips, an OB-GYN at Calla Women's Health in New York City, would prefer not to use in her operating room: Sims.
Depending on the context, the word can mean either a surgical tool, "Sims' vaginal speculum," or its inventor, Dr. James Marion Sims. Sims is known as the founding father of gynecology, but his legacy is fraught because of how he gathered much of his learnings — by operating on enslaved Black women without their consent or anesthesia.
Today, Phillips is "reclaiming" this story, she told TODAY. She prefers to call the tool "Lucy."
Lucy was an enslaved 18-year-old who almost died after Sims operated on her, attempting to fix her postpartum urinary incontinence, according to the Journal of the National Medical Association.
Phillips recalled feeling "shocked, appalled and disappointed," when she first learned about Sims' history over 10 years ago. In that moment, she said it was "a no-brainer" to stop using his name.
https://www.today.com/health/racism-gynecology-dr-james-marion-sims-t185269
What Trump Won't Say
From the Associated Press -
Analysis: What Trump leaves unspoken carries consequences
By NANCY BENAC
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump seems to rarely leave a thought unspoken.
Of late, though, it is increasingly clear there are things Trump won’t say — and they are tied to the most important issues of his presidency.
Among them:
— Knock it off, Russia.
— Wear a mask, Americans.
— Systemic racism must end.
None of the above are particularly bold or controversial messages.
https://apnews.com/c3251ce810aa70351e535430a48fcc50
Living in the State of Idiocracy
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Welcome to the United States of ‘Idiocracy’
Opinion by Max Boot
The presidency’s idiocy is matched by that of Republican governors in states such as Florida (where coronavirus cases increased by 277 percent in the past two weeks), Texas (+184 percent) and Arizona (+145 percent). They were slow to declare lockdowns and quick to end them. They also refused to impose statewide mask mandates — and, in the case of Texas and Arizona, tried to prevent municipalities from imposing their own rules — even though studies show that wearing masks can reduce transmission by as much as 85 percent.
This toxic imbecility is getting people killed. But recall the adage that “every nation gets the government it deserves.” Trump and the Trumpy governors did not seize power by force. They were elected by constituents who, in some cases, see masks as the spawn of the devil.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/30/welcome-united-states-idiocracy/
The Character of a Man
From Thread -
A Rabbi's Story
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1275429939597021184.html?campaign_id=93&emc=edit_fb_20200701&instance_id=19913&nl=frank-bruni®i_id=38867499&segment_id=32334&te=1&user_id=e3bf1057d4e3c0988a79ae4bce515610
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
The Deadly Consequences of Karens
An excerpt from the Raw Story -
Conservatives fume over Washington Post editor calling out the dangerous history of white ‘Karens’
By Sarah K. Burris
Conservatives are criticizing Karen Attiah, an editor for The Washington Post, because of a tweet she sent about the impact white women have had on the lynching of Black people.
In the case of the Tulsa massacre in 1921, the whole incident was caused when a 19-year-old Black shoe shiner named Dick Rowland was accused of assaulting Sarah Page, a 17-year-old white elevator operator. There was a rumor that spread throughout the city that Rowland would be lynched without a trial. Hundreds of white men gathered around the jail but a crowd of Black men wasn’t far behind. A shot was fired and the groups of men began a fight where over 300 died and over 800 people were injured.
In the case of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy allegedly “offended” a white woman, she said, because he flirted with her. Stories about the incident have been disputed, but the woman, 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant claimed Till made “advances.” Bryant’s husband and half-brother kidnapped the child, beat him, mutilated him and then finally shot him in the head and tried to hide the body in the river.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/conservatives-fume-over-washington-post-editor-calling-out-the-dangerous-history-of-white-karens/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)