(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos, Year In Review [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-12 2023 Year In Review COMMENTARY BY DOPPER0189, BLACK KOS MANAGING EDITOR We’ve nearly reached the end of another long year. December is when we the editors at Black Kos enjoy looking back at the highlights of our writing throughout the year. We covered a lot of ground on Black Kos in 2023, from criminal justice to protest, election wins and court losses, history and law, local politics and international events, from prose to poetry, as well as great black scientists and vile right-wing racists. But we have now come to the time of the year, when we the Black Kos editors take our annual holiday break. We will not be returning until Friday January 12th, 2024 . But before we go, I would like to once again thank everyone who reads and participates in Black Kos for continuing to support us. Putting these diaries together is both a group effort and a lot of individual work. I have always viewed it as a blessing that our diaries are so well received. But as for 2023, let’s look back at this year. One of the things I have always enjoyed is to spend a little time each year looking back at the great work this team has put together. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s edition of Black Kos. So on behalf of Deoliver47, Justice Putnam, JoanMar, Chitown Kev and myself, I would like to say thank you to all our readers. Have a safe holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you again in the new year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary 2023: Choosing Unity AND Letting Your Voice Be Heard, Is Not An “Either — Or” Proposition, We Can Do Both By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor The hardest part of being part of a wide coalition is finding balance. I’ve long felt the largest cause for conflict in the Democratic Party isn’t between the center and left, but between the evolutionaries and the revolutionaries. How fast to push change, supporting what can pass versus pushing for more, reform versus restructuring, so forth and so on. Our political system makes big changes hard. Our political system also makes it hard to change that very same political system to bring quicker changes. That’s not an excuse for inaction, it’s a statement of political reality. Progress and pragmatism are needed in equal measure. With a crazed filled Republican controlled House and a Rightwing Supreme Court further progress will be difficult for the next two years. That is why spirited debates but also unity will be important. No one has a political crystal ball. But looking forward to a US House controlled by a 15 rounds needed to elect House Speaker indebted to a bunch or crazed political arsonist doesn’t fill anyone with hope. Forget big bills being passed will the government be able to pay its bills to keep the lights on? The US Senate at least will function and confirmations of judges will continue. But we need to not let this frustration at inaction become a wedge that tear the left apart. Without the ability to push big changes it it a good time for spirited debates on the future. Both the direction and pace of change. But beware political bad faith actors, who will claim to be “on the left”, but will spin every delay and setback into a attack on Democratic leadership. Outward facing unity in the face of detrimental opposition is just as important, as reform inside the Democratic party. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Dr. Martin Luther King. I dared to hope. I truly did. Do you remember the worldwide protest in the wake of Michael Brown’s execution? Remember the “Hands up, don’t shoot” slogan? Remember doctors, teachers, and politicians walking off the jobs with their hands up? That was in 2014, and I thought then that a change would surely come. It didn’t. And then in 2020 we witnessed the public lynching of George Floyd, and the response nationally and internationally was unlike anything we’d ever witnessed before. I assumed cops would see the response, see that people were armed with smart phones and knew how to use them; I assumed cops would be aware of store cameras and doorbell cameras, and that their departments would require them to wear body cameras. I thought that would provide some incentive for the overwhelming majority of them to act with some restraint—some professionalism. I also thought—hoped—that “good cops” would finally assert themselves and begin to aggressively police their murderous comrades. Nope. I was so wrong. Unchecked, and still unaccountable, cops continue to act as street corner commanders-in-chief, as judges, as jurors, and as executioners. “I'm gonna make it super easy on you: You put this car in drive, you're getting one right to the chest.” x YouTube Video I must confess that even after all I have seen over the years, I was still surprised to learn that after everything we have been through — all the brutality caught on video, all the protests, even after the charges and convictions — cops still managed to kill more people in 2022 than has ever been recorded before. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday- Observation on the banning of AP African American Studies by the state of Florida — Tuesday, January 24, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some observations on the banning of AP African American Studies by the state of Florida Commentary by Chitown Kev (Note: My computer has been on the fritz for two days now. Therefore, my coverage of this topic is, by necessity, incomplete. CK) There has been a lot of noise, as of late, about the banning of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course being taught in selected high schools in the state of Florida. Finally, last night, the Florida Department of Education stated their “concerns” about the course and their reasons for allowing the course to be taught in Florida schools. Marc Caputo/NBC News The state finally announced last week that it was rejecting the course, pointing to six areas of concern and works by Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, bell hooks, Angela Davis and other Black authors. . They argue that the course is a Trojan horse for "indoctrinating" students with a left-wing ideology under the guise of teaching about the Black experience and African American history (which is mandated in the state). Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. discussed the issue publicly for the first time at a news conference Monday . They argue that the course is a Trojan horse for "indoctrinating" students with a left-wing ideology under the guise of teaching about the Black experience and African American history (which is mandated in the state). DeSantis' critics, including the White House, have accused him of censoring ideas he doesn't like, blocking African American studies in general and engaging in homophobia because the state refuses to allow the teaching of Black Queer Studies, which is one of the six points of concern (the others are Intersectionality, Movement for Black Lives, Black Feminist Literary Thought, The Reparations Movement and Black Struggle in the 21st Century). Some casual observations: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary By Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez As we move into Black History Month, which is really all year round, and should be a foundational part of what is labelled “American History,” I’d like to remind folks that you don’t have to be Black to become a member of the Black Kos Community and support what we’ve been doing here on Daily Kos since 2007. Posted this history last year, and felt like I should repeat it: For those of you who are not Daily Kos "old timers," Black Kos, was founded by David Reid, screen name dopper0189, on Tue Jan 02, 2007, as an open thread, which evolved into Black Kos: weekly round up, and then became Black Kos: Week in review. On Fri Mar 21, 2008 dopper published "My last Black Kos week in review diary," and Black Kos as a user ID was born. He wrote in 2016: The reason I started Black Kos way back when was in the hope that it would allow Daily Kos members, who in their day to day lives, may not have much exposure to the everyday lives of black people. When I write of personal interaction, I don’t mean the professional interactions at work, but what life is like for everyday black people for the majority of their day. See I'm quite aware a majority of our readers at Black Kos are white. If I wanted to only address a black or mostly black audience I could more easily do so elsewhere. Think about it. I'm a member of a half dozen other majority black blogs. So why do I bother to post here? I did it because of what the the image of the progressive Net Roots was at that time. I'm writing specifically of 2003-2005. I remember watching endless hours of TV punditry, on how the Net Roots (then Yearly Kos) were all “lily white” basically the old "limousine liberal" smear. Now think to yourself, when was the last time you have heard that on a Sunday Morning talk show? Go back and look at the coverage of the first Yearly Kos convention (Net Root’s nations predecessor). The number one question then was “where are the Black (and Brown) folks?” I believe that a more visible minority presence helped combat those smears, because we were always here just not visible. (By the way, I did enjoy back before anybody knew what race I was, the discussions were often fun and lively, but I decided on my own to step up and out because sometimes you do need visible members). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez Today, February 14, is the day that we celebrate as Frederick Douglass’ birthday. Douglass chose Valentine’s Day to celebrate, though he would never know what day he was born and we won’t either. x #HBD to abolitionist, civil rights activist, and author, Frederick Douglass. Like so many enslaved African Americans, Douglass never knew his true birthday. So, after escaping slavery in 1838, he chose his own: February 14th. pic.twitter.com/G8auddUR1Q — Smithsonian Transcription Center (@TranscribeSI) February 14, 2023 I decided that since so much has been written here at Daily Kos about Douglass, that I wouldn’t do a repeat. Here are some of the diaries that have been written in the past — with excerpts. He holds my heart: Frederick Douglass Denise Oliver-Velez I was about five or six years old when my mom told me the story of Frederick Douglass. In my memories, his history was woven into her tales of my enslaved ancestors, which were lovingly and proudly passed down to me. The first time I saw a portrait of him, he reminded me of a fierce and protective lion, probably because of his mane of silvered hair and noble mien. It’s more than 60 years later, and I am still in love with Douglass. It’s a love wrapped in awe, honor, and respect for a man who stands as one of our greatest Americans. Since those days of childhood, I’ve learned much more about him—thanks to both his own words and the works of many historians. He, like all men and women, had fears and flaws. His very humanity and his ability to move through and transcend the myriad obstacles placed in his path—of enslavement, illiteracy, and virulent racism—to rise to the heights of national and international prominence speaks volumes. This, in a time when black Americans were most often viewed as sub-human chattel. This was a time when so many of us were held in bondage. This was a time when murderous gangs of whites—in the South and the North—targeted free black people to be tarred, lynched, burned out, and dragged back into enslavement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In defense of the joys of Black historia A comment by Chitown Kev I’ve been feeling a little under the weather today with a headache that hasn’t gone away but is better than it was this morning. I’m not so under the weather that I’m unable to do a bit of surfing on the internet. (Honestly, I think the feeling stems from nothing more and nothing less than a three-hour nap that I took from 7-10 pm on a Sunday night (!) and then staying up until 4 am browsing at various online archives— my body clock has simply felt off ever since.) I have greatly enjoyed reading retrospectives like, say, author Ishmael Reed’s entertaining and personal history detaining the origins of the Black Arts movement in the 1960’s (Mr. Reed always has good tea to tell!) or really digging into the curriculum and framework of the Advanced Placement African American Studies course, as suggested by commenter JennaT in Sunday’s APR (I am quite impressed with the portions that I have read so far). I’ve mentioned before my love of the etymology of the English word history which stems from its use by the first “historian,” Herodotus This is the display of the inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, so that things done by man not be forgotten in time, and that great and marvelous deeds, some displayed by the Hellenes, some by the barbarians, not lose their glory, including among others what was the cause of their waging war on each other. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos, Week In Review - The Legend of the Flying Africans — Friday, February 24, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Igbo Landing - The Legend of the Flying Africans, When death is a better option than slavery IGBO CHANT OF DEFIANCE AT IGBO LANDING, GEORGIA ”♫ MMIRI MMIRI AHỤ WETARA ANYỊ, ♫ MMIRI MMIRI GA-AKPỌGA ANYỊ N'ỤLỌ ♫" ”♫ MMIRI MMIRI AHỤ WETARA ANYỊ, ♫ MMIRI MMIRI GA-AKPỌGA ANYỊ N'ỤLỌ ♫" (Translation) ♫"The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home♫"" ♫"The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home♫"" By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor Stories of slave rebellions are severely under-taught in American history courses. With the current conservative culture war against AP African American studies the little progress being made in teaching them is under threat. In the Caribbean where my family is from, stories of slave rebellions comprise a much larger share of school history, and I’ve always had an interest in them. Unfortunately in the US the white supremacist who created slavery and later segregation, understood the power of slave revolts, and took active steps to strike them from both public memory and school’s historical curriculums. Furthermore the stories of American slave resistance that many of us do know from our times in high school only dwell on the rioting, bloodshed, violence, and destruction of slave revolts. We only learn of a few revenge killings as enslave people like Nat Turner rose up against their oppressors. But throughout American history there are other acts of resistance by slaves whose stories are worthy of being retold. These tales may have sad and bittersweet endings, but they also speak to the unconquerable spirit of Africans held captive by brutal economics of the transatlantic slave trade. Take for example the story of “The Igbo Landing” (also known as the Ibo Landing, Ebo Landing, or Ebos Landing). The story that gives Ebos Landing ( as it’s called in coastal Georgia) its name is one of the most colorful, anguishing, but enduring tales in the state of Georgia's rich history. This story has become better known as the "Myth of the Flying Africans”. Regardless of its name, the story of the Igbo landing has been retold and embellished for 200 years in the form of local legends, Gullah folklore, and children's tales. It has also been adapted into movies, novels, and television shows. The story of the Flying African is based on the historical event of the remarkable story of an Igbo slave rebellion on St. Simons Island. This melancholy tale has blossomed to become a powerful metaphor of African American courage, longing, conviction, and a refusal of the captives to submit to being conquered at all cost. Furthermore this story stands out for me for a personal reason, my brother-in-law is an ethnic Igbo from Nigeria. Because today modern Igbo people self identify with the spelling “IGBO” that is the spelling I will use when writing this piece. . The Igbo Landing itself is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, . In May of 1803, the Igbo and other West African captives arrived in Savannah, Georgia, on the slave ship the Wanderer. Historical records show they were purchased for an average of $100 each by slave merchants John Couper and Thomas Spalding to be resold to plantations on the nearby St. Simons Island. The historical roots of the flying Africans legend can be traced to the spring of 1803, when a group of Igbo slaves arrived in Savannah Georgia after enduring the nightmare of the Middle Passage. The Igbo (from what is now the nation of Nigeria, in West Africa) were renowned throughout the the current and former British colonies (including the US) for being fiercely independent and unwilling to tolerate the humiliations of transatlantic chattel slavery . The Igbo Landing itself is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia . In May of 1803, the Igbo and other West African captives arrived in Savannah, Georgia, on the slave ship theWanderer. Historical records show they were purchased for an average of $100 each by slave merchants John Couper and Thomas Spalding to be resold to plantations on the nearby St. Simons Island. On that day in May 1803 the chained slaves were then reloaded and packed under the deck of a coastal vessel, the York, which would take them to St. Simons where they were to be resold. During the voyage, approximately 75 Igbo slaves rose in rebellion. These brave captives fighting for their very freedom, overpowered their outnumbers captors. During their revolt they drowned or killed all their captors. But unfortunately the struggle that won their freedom also caused ship to the ground in Dunbar Creek, Georgia as they were unable to navigate their newly captured ship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar I’m not particularly fond of award shows. I very rarely watch them. I do, however, make an exception for the NAACP Image Awards. Sad to say, I missed even that this year. I should have watched it. I’d have wanted to see the acceptance speeches of Gabrielle Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade, in real time. I heard that their speeches were powerful, and protective, and evocative, and loving, and beautiful. It seemed that Zara Wade’s parents understood their assignment and executed it masterfully. I went looking for videos of the speeches. Beautiful Zaya Wade and her loving, supportive parents. If there’s one group of people that racists hate more than they do Black people, it has got to be transgender folks, especially Black transwomen. There is now a fierce competition to see who can conjure up the most offensive and dehumanizing language against people whose only sin is to have the audacity to believe that they too should be free to live their authentic lives. Republicans and their fascist henchmen and women have launched a full-on campaign against the most vulnerable among us. Murders of trans people nearly doubled over past 4 years, and Black trans women are most at risk, report finds… Notably, while only 13% of the transgender community is estimated to be Black, according to UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute, Black trans women accounted for nearly three-quarters of the known victims. I’ve seen adults post comments about teenage Zaya Wade that left me in tears, and I’m not related to her. Well, those who are related to her have had enough. Her (step)mom and dad had something to say and they said it beautifully. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Same ol’ Song Commentary by Chitown Kev So here it is, another Black Kos Tuesday mid-morning day where I’m searching around the met desperately trying to find a story worthy of writing a little bit (or a lotta bit) about in Black Kos. (I swear, it’s really not good for my mental and emotional health that I do this and I can stop doing it at any time but...alas.) This morning, though, I scored a hit with this article authored by Cherice Escobar Jones, Gwendolynne Reid, and Mya Poe in The Conversation about how one of the nation’s leading medical journals continues to omit critical medical research and opinion-based articles by Black medical researchers. In 2008, the AMA [American Medical Association] publicly apologized and pledged to right the wrongs that were done through decades of racism within its organization. Yet our research shows that despite that public reckoning 15 years ago, the opinion column of the AMA’s leading medical journal does not reflect the research and editorial contributions by NMA members. Invisibility in the opinion column of one of the most prominent medical journals in the U.S. is another form of subtle racism that continues to lessen the importance of equitable medical care and health issues for Black and underserved communities. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Week in Review -"Sacred Hate: The Struggle of Afro-Brazilian Symbolism from Parnassianism" — Friday, March 17, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices & Soul by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Poetry Editor , Cruz e Sousa's intellectual contemporaries did not understand him and he held their work with contempt and disdain. João da Cruz e Sousa was the son of freed slaves, born on the island side of what is now Florianopolis, in Southern Brazil. A pioneer of Symbolism in Afro-Brazilian literature, he was nonetheless shunned by his late 19th century peers. Fluent in French, Greek and Latin, and also a graduate of Math and Science taught by Fritz Mueller , Cruz e Sousa's intellectual contemporaries did not understand him and he held their work with contempt and disdain. Parnassian Criticism that was currently en vogue, elicited the following anonymous "poetic review" of two collections he released in 1893, "Missal" and "Shields": A racist mediocrity and thethat was currently en vogue, elicited the following anonymous "poetic review" of two collections he released in 1893, "Missal" and "Shields": half-wit dunce brought up in distant Mozambique has picked at true Art with his beak Swaying sickly, with sonorous grunts. And all the blacks from Senegal do a buck-and-wing as they caterwaul and hail him with rockets exploding in the air." "A spiritualizing,half-wit duncebrought upin distant Mozambiquehas picked at true Artwith his beakSwaying sickly,with sonorous grunts.And all the blacks from Senegaldo a buck-and-wingas they caterwauland hail himwith rockets exploding in the air." A proud artist who was aware of the depth of his talent, Cruz e Souza refused to bow to the literary establishment, with which he could never racially, culturally, or socially identify. Both as an artist and as a man, he realized that his ‘identity’ and ‘fate’ were inseparable, and in defiance of their views toward him, he held the banner of Blackness strong and high. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vice President Kamala Harris in Ghana Our Madame Vice President Kamala Harris is currently receiving a joyous welcome in Ghana, and getting excellent reviews and responses in the African press. For a change, it’s also been good to see more positive coverage from U.S. media, though from my perspective it is still woefully insufficient. She will be spending three three days in Ghana, two in Tanzania, and one in Zambia, returning to Washington, DC on April 2. Her arrival: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday: Enough already — Tuesday, April 04, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enough Already Commentary by Chitown Kev One thing about living in a racist society is that racist fodder can always be generated for public consumption. University of Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark appeared on ESPN’s Outside the Lines earlier today and said that she’s had enough of the back and forth regarding the “trash-talk” regarding herself and Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese. x "I don't think Angel should be criticized at all." Caitlin Clark said she thought Angel Reese received too much backlash for her celebrations during the championship game. (via @OTLonESPN) pic.twitter.com/i8tZyO8bai — ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2023 Additionally, Ms. Clark also disliked the suggestion by FLOTUS Jill Biden that the Iowa women’s basketball team should join the NCAA champion LSU Tigers at a celebration at the White House. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos: Two Justins for Justice — Tuesday, April 11, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #Justins4Justice #TennesseeThree Commentary By Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez Republicans and NRA-backed wingnuts who continue to resist passing sane gun-control measures are making a big mistake. Just take a look at Tennessee, where their expulsion of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee General Assembly has created two new national heroes. People, young and old, of all races and backgrounds are raising their fists, and voices, and more importantly are fired up and ready to vote to make changes to the American insanity of more guns in this country than people. As I sit here writing, and watching news updates from Louisville KY, scene of yet another AR15 slaughter, the broadcast is interrupted by the “Breaking News” of yet another, this one in Washington DC. Sadly, the prayer “give us each day, our daily bread” looks in reality like “give us each day, our daily deaths,” and no prayers are going to bring back the mounting total of victims. However, I’m not discouraged. Watching clips like these gives me hope. x WOW. Rep. Justin Jones is leading a march with thousands of people back to the Tennessee Capitol building right now. This is what democracy & a movement look like. Republicans messed around & they’re about to find out. Sweet, poetic Justice. pic.twitter.com/BarQstTdZl — Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) April 10, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesdays: Octavia got me to thinking… — Tuesday, April 18, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Octavia got me to thinking… The great science fiction author Octavia Butler (1947-2006) in 1984. Commentary by Chitown Kev So...I just began the third novel of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy, Imago, and I am fascinated with an overarching existential and philosophical question in all three books. For those readers unaware of the trilogy’s plot, humankind has destroyed all life on earth in a nuclear war. An alien race, the Oankali, comes along, rescues many of the remaining living human beings on Earth, transport them to a spaceship and place them in some sort of suspended animation for...about 200 years (?). The Oankali finally Awaken one human being, Lilith Iyapo, and gradually genetically alter her so that she can a) decide which other humans to Awaken and b) she can have children that are part-Oankali and part-human so that Lilith, the Awakened, and Lilith’s offspring can re-inhabit the planet that they destroyed, which they eventually do. The other part that I have to include here: the Oankali, among many things that they can do, introduce genetic changes designed to rid humans of the tendency to form hierarchies and the tendency to fear differences in people; the tendencies that they feel led to humankind’s destruction. Now at this point, if you want to know anything else about this remarkable set of novels (remarkable to me, anyway), you’ll have to read them. Here’s the question. Did humankind deserve the fate of their own self-destruction and the near-destruction of Earth as depicted in the Xenogenesis trilogy? Honestly...when I read today’s news from Kansas City to Sudan to downtown Chicago to Ukraine and many many many points in-between, I can’t help but to say yes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Black Kos editor JoanMar In reporting on the truly heartbreaking shooting of a black teen by an 84-year-old white man, the media felt obligated to inform us that the man’s actions were motivated by fear. In a discussion on CNN the night the story broke, both white and black panelists used the same language to describe what happened. Athena Jones, a black reporter, lamented that “historically, white people have feared black people.” A sentiment that was echoed by everyone on the panel. Help me identify the fear in this picture. I've been looking but am coming up empty. CNN was not alone. From The Washington Post: “The fear some people feel upon seeing a Black face has been documented in studies and investigations for years, experts say. One of the White men who lynched Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955 testified that the 14-year-old Black teen, who was about 5-foot-5 and weighed about 160 pounds, “looked like a man.” From none other than the esteemed Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP: In the aftermath of Yarl’s shooting, the focus should not only be on curbing gun violence, but also on addressing the fear attached to Black men and boys, said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP. Otherwise, he said, “we have to tell our kids when it comes to ringing the doorbell to make sure they go to the right household.” From our own Dartagan: “But Lester is more than simply one individual: He’s the sad product of centuries of American racism, fed and encouraged in his fears and beliefs by an American culture that’s never come to terms with its most egregious, fatal flaw.” I want to scream every time I hear or read the words “fear” and “afraid” after an act of racist violence. Zimmerman was afraid of Trayvon. Derek Chauvin was afraid of George Floyd. Eighty-four year old Andrew Lester armed with a gun was afraid of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl standing on the outside of a locked door. I suppose that you may think that you that you have valid reasons to be afraid of Black people if, when you look at them, you see not actual human beings, but THIS, or THIS, or THIS, or THIS. Darren Wilson, who made the decision to murder Michael Brown after he’d shot him multiple times and he was still stubbornly breathing, tried to justify the execution-style final shot with this: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Ethiopia defeated its would be colonizers By dopper0189, Black Kos, Managing Editor The Battle of Adwa was fought on March 1st 1896 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray. Ethiopia’s victory in this battle sent shock waves around the world (“The pope is greatly disturbed,” reported The New York Times) and turned the narrative of colonialism on its head. Prior to the 1850s, modern Ethiopia and Italy really didn’t exist as nation states. But shortly there after, over the course of several decades, the two nations began to take shape on maps and most importantly in the minds of their citizens, as chieftains and princes jostled for power. As the 20th century dawned, Africa had been carved up among the European powers at the Berlin Conference. The only two independent exceptions were the former America colony the Republic of Liberia in West Africa and Ethiopia (then still known as Abyssinia), in the eastern Horn of Africa region. East Africa circa 1930 The newly unified Kingdom of Italy was a relative newcomer to the European imperialist scramble for Africa. Italy had recently obtained two African territories: Eritrea and Italian Somalia. Both were near Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa. Italy sought to increase its territory in Africa by conquering Ethiopia and joining it with its two territories. Menelik II as the contemporary Ethiopian leader pitted Italy against its European rivals while stockpiling weapons to defend Ethiopia against the Italians. The Italians fortified several bases near the Red Sea and then gradually ventured inland. “Taking a page from the British book of colonial domination,” writes Theodore Vestal in The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia’s Historic Victory Against European Colonialism, they “pursued a policy of divide and conquer,” providing arms to any chiefs hostile to Yohannes IV, Ethiopia’s emperor until he was killed in battle in 1889. It was then that the Italians immediately moved to solidify their foothold by negotiating with the new emperor, Menelik II. Menelik, from Ethiopia’s historically weaker southern region, owed much to his wife, Taytu. Raymond Jonas, author of The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire wrote heir marriage was “one of the great political unions of modern times.” She came from a wealthy northern family, which “added geographical balance to the ticket,” and she possessed a cunning political mind and a deep mistrust of Europeans. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you for the shout-out to the Black press, Mr. President Commentary by Chitown Kev I didn’t watch the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for various reasons so I missed President Biden’s remarks giving a shout-out to the Black press. x YouTube Video The White House has posted a transcript of President Biden’s remarks. Roy was born in Bormingham [sic] — born in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from a great HBCU, Florida A&M. (Applause.) He started in journalism to follow in the footsteps of his father, Roy Wood Sr., who covered the Civil Rights Movement. During Black History Month this year, I hosted the screening of the movie “Till.” (Applause.) The story of Emmett Till and his mother is a story of a family’s promise and loss and a nation’s reckoning with hate, violence, and the abuse of power. It’s a story that was seared into our memory and our conscience — the nation’s conscience — when Mrs. Till insisted that an open casket for her murdered and maimed 14-year-old son be the means by which he was transported. She said, “Let the people see what I’ve seen.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She was simply the best. Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar Very few entertainers possessed the explosive vitality that Tina Turner brought to the stages she graced throughout her long career. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame double inductee was simply the best at what she did. We lost her this week, and the world will never be the same again. Fortunately, she left a vast legacy of exquisite performances for us to enjoy. Let’s celebrate her. Teaching about love: The day I first met Erwin, at an airport in Germany, I should have been too tired from my flight, too preoccupied with thoughts of my concert tour, and in too much of a hurry to get to my hotel to pay much attention to the young music executive who came from my record company to welcome me. But I did notice him, and I instantly felt an emotional connection. Even then, I could have ignored what I felt — I could have listened to the ghost voices in my head telling me that I didn't look good that day, or that I shouldn't be thinking about romance because it never ends well. Instead, I listened to my heart. I left my comfort zone and made it a priority to get to know Erwin. That simple first meeting led to a long, beautiful relationship — and my one true marriage. From her super fan Oprah Winfrey: x “What a legacy she left us all”: @GayleKing and @Oprah shared special moments with Tina Turner, from concerts to dance lessons to meals together. Oprah says she was a longtime fan of Turner's — and the singer exceeded and transcended her expectations in friendship. pic.twitter.com/1INqw1BJ1j — CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) May 25, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pride Commentary by Chitown Kev Pride. Most times, I wish that I didn’t have to feel something like “pride” about being Black or being gay or being a Black gay man or any of the other permutations or combinations of who I am. After all, I didn’t ask to be either one. I simply am Black. I simply am gay. Whatever that means. My skin tone is the color of caramel. I develop physical and emotional attachments with persons that are the same sex as myself. Since I was a child, really, I never understood the problem with any of it. Those identifiers really don’t tell anyone very much about me, after all, although a lot of people think that those identifiers do give away the essence of what feel, how I act, who I am. And, in various ways, the “normies,” those who become those in power, have constructed and organized a world where people like me are ostracized. Shut out. Even subject to “elimination”, on occasion. Simply for being. Existing. I was taught that even feeling or being “proud” is a sin. Haughty. Having an excessively high opinion of my worth. For merely existing. Never mind having a life. Living. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar It appears that the charge of murder is reserved for Black, Brown, & Native Americans. In the last decade, we’ve had a number of cases of white people unjustifiably killing black people — or killing our allies — and regardless of the state, the response from cops is always the same. The murderers are only apprehended and charged with a crime after mass protest, and secondly, no matter how heinous the circumstances surrounding the killing, the charge is almost always manslaughter. Did you hear about the case against footballer Travis Rudolph? Only this week, his jury acquitted him of the charge of first degree murder; but here’s what happened and why his case is relevant to our discussion today: Rudolph’s married girlfriend physically attacked him and then texted her brothers to “go shoot his ass up.” Her two brothers showed up at the footballer’s home with two friends in tow. The four men, some armed with guns, attacked Travis and his brother before he was able to get away and get his own gun. Travis shot at his attackers, killing one and injuring another. There were videos to support Travis’s version of what went down at his home that fateful night. How do you think the cops treated him? He was immediately taken into custody, held without bond, and charged with first degree murder. I know you know that Travis Rudolph is black. Now consider the murder of Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four. The neighborhood’s reigning Karen, Susan Lorincz, has a documented history of terrorizing the children in the community. Phyllis Wills, 33, has lived in the neighborhood for about 15 years. She knew Owens and knew of Lorincz "because she used to come outside all the time and harass our kids," she said. "Everybody in this neighborhood has feuded with this lady over our children." She said Lorincz had a problem with children simply being children. Reports are that over the years, Susan’s neighbors made over 20 complaints to the cops about her racially and physically assaulting their children. The police department knows the racist. On the day in question, the murderer scared the children away from the playground and then stole Ajike’s son’s tablet. When the 10-year-old child tried to retrieve his tablet, she became violent. The racist Karen threw a skate at his head, swung an umbrella at him, and liberally used the most offensive racial epithet in her vocabulary to describe him. Mom Ajike did what any parent would do; she went to reclaim her property from the thief. Witnesses reported that she wasn’t belligerent, which she’d have all right to be. She knocked on the murderer’s door and said, “I know you are there, come on out.” Susan Lorincz responded by shooting her through the door, killing her in front of two of her children. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar We are subjected to indignities, to macro and microaggressions that have us as a people suffering from “disproportionately high rates” of high blood pressure. But still, we find time to celebrate life: to live joyously, to laugh uproariously, to love passionately, and to fully embrace life with all its complexities, and that bothers the hell outta some people. Oh, it makes them so mad. And so, racists and Karens (redundancy, I know) now turn their jaundiced eyes on our children and how they conduct themselves at their graduations. Black graduates, bursting with pride at having triumphed over a system designed to deny their very humanity, have taken to exuberantly expressing themselves as they walk toward the symbol of their triumph. To be sure, this is not a new phenomenon. For generations now, HBCUs have been allowing their graduates to express the full range of their emotions as they strut across the stage. x And that my friend is how you cross the graduation stage. #wssualumni #wssu18 #wssugrad #wssu #wssuredseaofsound pic.twitter.com/hQB6spDNHJ — WSSU Alumni (@wssualumni) May 18, 2018 Note the difference with the Black officials. Note the nurturing posture. Note the pride, the admiration, the encouragement, and the affection on their faces. They know. They understand. These are their children, their siblings, their fellow conquerors. Now the contrast. Parents at a high school graduation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana were left shocked and upset after police officers lined the auditorium to stop students from dancing after walking the stage. In one instance, the officer pulls a student by the collar after they danced off the stage and another officer tugged on the back of a student’s graduation gown before ushering the teen out. I understand the necessity for order and control, especially at non-black institutions where you barely have an hour or two to get this thing done and get out. I understand that. However, the objective today appears to be to extract every ounce of originality and exuberance from these graduates on their big day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MVP Harris is leading forcefully in the ongoing battle for reproductive rights — which we are going to WIN! Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez Watching VP Kamala Harris, and her rousing reception in North Carolina at the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, on June 24, where she spoke on the one year anniversary of the horrendous Supreme Court Dobbs decision, I couldn’t help being both proud and heartened that we have her as our Vice President at this crucial point in our history. x You heard Madam Vice President Kamala Harris, “Don’t throw up your hands. Roll up your sleeves!” pic.twitter.com/8XP4kaLCXS — Qondi (@QondiNtini) June 26, 2023 Though right-wing forces continue to ignore the fact that a majority of Americans support the right to choose, and reject the harsh measures being imposed to restrict access to abortion, I believe that this issue will mobilize voters, especially younger ones, to end the political careers of politicians — male and female, who essentially support the possibility of murdering anyone in need of an abortion — no matter the reason. Anti-abortionists claim, falsely, to be “pro-life” when they have zero problem condemning someone to die of sepsis, to “save” a fetus. Now that they have gotten their wish to end Roe, they assume they can continue to promote and enact extremes. It ain’t gonna end well for them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary: The history of US laws, courts, and anti-blackness. By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor The recent Supreme Court decision dismantling Affirmative Action, has many American reeling. There are a lot of discussion of the Roberts’ Court as “very conservative” or “right-wing”. These commentaries are written as if the Roberts court is a departure from the norms of American jurisprudence. Because many in Hollywood came of age during the Warren Court the idea of the little guy going the court and challenge racial discrimination and winning has been ingrained in American popular culture. But a look back at over 330 years of American jurisprudence would show the exact opposite. For most of American history the courts have not been Black people's ally, and for most our history they actually been black people’s oppressor. American jurisprudence and laws have profoundly shaped and constrained the lives of Black people for over 350 years. Racial inequality has deep roots in American society beginning with the first known case marking the legal difference between Africans and Europeans in 1640 in Virginia. Americas Constitution, laws, court cases, and regulations not only bear witness to racial inequality, but are often the source of it. Warren Court My family’s history give a glimpse on how even black immigrants (like family) were profoundly impacted by America’s racial laws and how Affirmative Action is important even to black immigrants (there has been this recent conservative propaganda on how the majority of the black students at Harvard aren’t African American). One of my grandfather's was a British colonial administrator in Jamaica. He had a British passport. When my uncle was of age to go to college in 1948 he applied to the University of Florida. They assumed he was white, he was not. When he arrived at the University they threatened to lynch him if he set foot in the dorm. Luckily a Jewish professor their put him up, until he could return to Jamaica. My uncle instead went to Cambridge in the UK, became a successful judge in Jamaica. He never set foot in America again. I bring this up because when I applied for college in a less racist America I would have been a U of F alumni. My uncle was good enough to graduate near the top of his class from Cambridge (when he defended his thesis the news went worldwide on the BBC), so in a less racist America he would have been accepted to Columbia, or Yale, or Harvard and I would have had “legacy” rights at those schools. My own father would have been permitted to travel to the US for college, instead of taking correspondence classes from the US. The story above is why I consider “legacies” to actually just be the modern day “grandfather clause”. At the University of Michigan during the mid-90’s anyone who presumed to asked if black Students “only got admitted” due to affirmative action, and how did that make me feel? I would reply “oh I just assumed all white students only got in due to grandfather clause legacies, how does that make you feel?” So yes, Affirmative Action is important for even black immigrants who were denied the chance to be legacies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you Black Twitter. Drag on! Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez Black folks who have had to live through centuries of abuse have developed a razor sharp style of riposte humor that helps us laugh away some of the daily pain of racist abuse we suffer through. Whether we called it playing the dozens. or “reading” someone, in these days of social media platforms it’s often a matter of “dragging” or “ratioing” offenders. No where has it been more honed to perfection than on Black Twitter, and because Black Twitter, which is an estimated 25% of Twitter users, still stands — despite the despicable actions of its owner, Elon Musk, Black Twitter users are still doing their thing, even while they may opt to try out some of the new platforms. Black Twitter is why I am still there. The most recent example is Black Twitterati dragging the right-wing, white supremacist “Moms for Liberty” hate group took place around their visit to Philly. ‘Klanned Karenhood’: Philadelphians And Black Twitter Roast Conservative Moms For Liberty Group Leave it to Black Twitter to take over a proper dragging of a person or group who steps out of line. Even while debates rage over whether users will stay on the app or migrate over to one of its rivals, Black Twitter users have been taking the time to roast everyone from presidential candidate Nikki Haley to Keke Palmer’s boyfriend. In the midst of all that, they’ve carved out some time to drag the conservative group Moms for Liberty. Philadelphia did not welcome Moms for Liberty This particular roasting actually began offline. Moms for Liberty, a Florida-based ultraconservative group that is close to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the MAGA movement, held a convention last Friday in Philadelphia, inviting DeSantis, Trump and other top Republicans. They did not, however, anticipate how many people would show up to give them a piece of their mind. Groups like ACT UP Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Young Communist League organized protests outside the convention’s venue. Local Philadelphians and others who oppose Moms for Liberty’s agenda, which includes banning Black and LGBTQ-friendly books from schools, came out in force to protest the group and to publicly drag them. Protesters wielded signs with messages like “We Don’t Co-Parent With Fascists,’ and ‘Klanned Karenhood: Coming for a School Near You.'” Some examples: x Klanned Karenhood… and I’m supposed to leave this app?? 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/i01aQ5aCYB — Nicole Nichelle (@alamanecer) July 6, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Had a great time, but I still missed y'all last weekend Commentary by Chitown Kev If it’s not the site going wacky and mercurial, it’s my left arm doing the same so this will be brief. I missed the Black Kos contingent at Netroots. I knew that most everyone wouldn’t be and, if I am honest, it did give me a chance to attend more sessions than I would otherwise but still...I mean, who was I gonna have a proper Harold’s Chicken confab with...speaking of which… I ran into DK Campaign Director Paul Hogarth as he was on his way to the Harold’s Chicken across the street on Wabash. He noted the grimace on my face and asked about my reaction. I told him that the quality of Harold’s varies by location: South side Harold’s is usually (but not always) pretty good. I tend not to trust downtown and North side Harold’s and consider them suspect (although the Howard Street Harold’s is pretty good). Finally, I needed a snack and tried the Harold’s and it was pretty good. Tried it twice, as a matter of fact. I attended as many of the sessions on disinformation that I could but my favorite session was about combating cynicism in Black communities. First of all, the panel acknowledged that there were good reasons for Black communities to be cynical, especially as Black communities tend to be approached at the time (right before the election!) about the same stuff with no follow-up taking place in our communities after the election (as if we don’t have diners and barbershops in our communities) I can't remember offhand the name of the Georgia-based groups that did the polling and canvassing showing that, indeed, our community is diverse; younger Black folk in rural Georgia don’t vote with the same frequency or, even, with the same priorities as the older Black folk living in Atlanta. Moreover, these same trends in voting are also observable in every other ethnic group. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar The gatekeepers of tennis have not exactly welcomed Black people into the sport with open arms. From Althea Gibson to the Williams Sisters and beyond, black players have faced blatant hostility from their fellow players, from officials, from administrators, from journalists, and from fans. I have often said that Serena and Venus Williams are the only two athletes I know who’ve never enjoyed home court advantage. Personally, when I see certain people fawning all over the Williams Sisters now, it makes me wanna puke. I have a long memory, you see. I haven’t been watching a lot of tennis of late. Much as Jordan’s retiring affected basketball, Serena leaving the sport to grow her family left some of us at least a wee bit depressed. I’m just not that motivated to stay up late at night or wake up super early in the morning to catch the games anymore. And so it was that I missed the matches of the newest sensation, Clervie Ngounoue. The 16-year-old American won this year’s Junior Wimbledon title. She’s not joking. She’s truly one to watch. She also won the French Open Junior Doubles title this year. Reasons to celebrate, right? What could she [meaning me] possibly be griping about now, you may ask. Take a look at the only picture Wimbledon’s official account disseminated about the winner of the Junior Girls Singles championship: x The last two #Wimbledon Girls' Singles champions: 2022 - Liv Hovde 🇺🇸 2023 - Clervie Ngounoue 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/O0gYXXzh92 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023 See anything wrong? Ok. Take a look at this post for the 2022 winner of the same event: x Remember the name 🇺🇸 🏆 Liv Hovde wins the girls' singles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Luca Udvardy#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/d8OG0OqPXx — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2022 What about this year’s Boys’ Singles title? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos, Week In Review — Friday, July 28, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices & Soul by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Poetry Editor The Great Migration vitalized many emerging cities in the North, but none so much as Chicago and Detroit. Offering wages of as much as five dollars a day, unheard of in the rural South, Henry Ford’s Detroit factories swelled with the oaken strength of whole generations from Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama. But the ‘quiet racism’ of industrial Northern cities stubbornly red-lined the newly arrived Black populations to generations of rental uncertainty, even so, vibrant neighborhoods arose and flourished. The West Side of Detroit was one such neighborhood, giving us luminaries such as John Conyers, Damon Keith, Malcolm X and Julius V Combs, MD. Beneath Elm trees sheltering Hazlett Street, vigilant descendants of enslaved wombs, of steel-bone labor, like religious resistance, reimagine existence. When a child visits a physician, sees a Black man in a white coat, and within a flash, envisions his mission: “I am going to be a doctor.” Julius commits to covenants as husband, father, brother, son, friend, and physician, countering inequities with a deep belief in an oath to sustain life, to realize hope for impoverished patients surviving dark parts of cities, like Detroit’s Westside, where he became, reflecting on the arc of tree limbs, supplying fresh oxygen for lungs and cool shade for sizzling summer days. Then, the consequence of disease destroys the Elms, leaving empty skies and abandoned homes as factory closings wound neighborhoods, hemorrhaging like bodily injuries. And yet, ever vigilant, Julius V. Combs, MD, continues to protect our flesh, to change hospital restrictions, to revolutionize health care rules, to deliver thousands of souls at birth, resurrecting a legacy that defies this contentious, stillborn nation that undermines nature and conspires to smother a Black child’s first gasp for breath. - Melba Joyce Boyd ”Ever Vigilant: Julius V Combs, MD” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Twitter is alive, well and kickin’ butt! Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez Contrary to the pontifications of certain pundits who have declared the death of Black Twitter, if you have been anywhere near the Malcolm X sector of X (formally known as Twitter) in the last few days you have been treated to the greatest and funniest viral phenomenon in recent platform history. Sparked by a racist attack on a Montgomery, Alabama riverboat emplyee, Black folks rushed to his defense. The Guardian reported it with a fairly accurate headline: Large brawl in Alabama as people defend Black riverboat worker against white assailants Fight appeared to start when a worker objected to a pontoon boat preventing a larger river boat from docking, and was attacked by a group of white men A dramatic brawl on the Montgomery, Alabama, riverfront pitted people standing up for a Black riverboat worker against a group of white people who began beating him for telling them to move their illegally parked pontoon. The Saturday night fight, which was captured in multiple videos posted to social media, appeared to unfold largely along racial lines. And many social media users celebrated footage of the riverfront dust-up, which showed the white assailants get the tables turned on them by Black people who rushed to the riverboat worker’s aid. “This is not … 1963 anymore,” read one comment, alluding to the year before the signing of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by JoanMar While the country, if not the entire globe, focused on The Great Orange Plague—aka The Defendant, or The Indicted— and his much-deserved whupping at the hands of Jack Smith, another act of ugly, traumatizing over-policing occurred in Greg Abbott’s backyard. Texas cops stopped the Heard family because they were Black. They ran their tags because they saw a Black family. They traumatized the two boys and the parents because they were Black. Let’s just get that out of the way. Sometime in the early 2000s, my family was driving south on 1-95 on our way to New York City. The ex is driving, and one maddening fact about him is that he’ll not go above the speed limit, which, to our (me and the kids) everlasting annoyance, seems like crawling on the interstate. Suddenly, traffic slows down to like 10-15 MPH. Looks like an accident up ahead, we thought. We slowly worked our way up to the front of bottleneck, and what do we see? Two state troopers, one in the left lane and the other in the right, moving at the pace of a Sunday morning stroll! The traffic buildup was created because nobody wanted to go ahead of them. We drove behind them for two exits when the ex decided that the cops were clearly on some sort of power trip and there was no good reason for them to be holding back the flow of traffic. He eased into the middle lane and moved ahead at 50 MPH. As soon as he did that, the lights started flashing and the sirens started blaring. They were after us. He pulled over, rolled down his window, kept his hands on the steering wheel, and waited. The troopers came up to the window, “License and registration!” they shouted. I heard a whimper from the back seat. The ex looked at them (I imagined with scathing contempt), leaned forward, one hand still gripping the steering wheel, and with the other, he put his elbow on the steering wheel, put his chin in his cupped hand, stared straight ahead and proceeded to ignore them. “License and registration!” they repeated. I started to open the glove compartment to get the docs, “No! They get nothing! No documents!” the ex barked at me. Well, he didn’t exactly bark, but his command was delivered in such an authoritative tone that I didn’t even think of not obeying him. I withdrew my hand and waited. My daughter started crying. The cops started throwing questions at us: “Where are you going? Do you know you were speeding? You have a weapon in the car? Any drugs? What’s up, bro? You didn’t see us?” The ex totally ignored them, looking straight ahead. We had a standoff for what seemed like an eternity but couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. They backed down. They just turned and walked away. I was shaking. I was reminded of that incident this week as I watched the videos of the Heard family of Arkansas being terrorized by Keystone cops in Texas. I don’t know why the cops backed down in our case. Did it have anything to do with the state? Connecticut has one of the lowest rates of police brutality in the country. Was it because of the ex’s demeanor? Was it my baby crying in the backseat? Did they have a crisis of conscience? Who knows. As traumatizing as it was back when it happened, it does not appear to have left debilitating scars on the family, as is indicated by the fact that I had almost forgotten about it. The Heard family was not so lucky. They will not forget their ordeal anytime soon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday: Home — Tuesday, August 15, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Home A Brief Commentary by Chitown Kev Well... I’ve been hemming and hawing about this for some weeks now but I find myself...at home, back in Detroit. Well...not exactly. Mom moved to a Macomb County suburb over a decade ago, so while this Detroit suburb is generally recognizable as the Detroit area, these aren’t my streets. These are not my people. And they may never be. Then again, I never felt at home in Detroit “proper”; St. Clair-Jefferson, Roland-Van Dyke, The Two-Flat on McDougall Street, Young-Gratiot being the primary areas. Most of my childhood memories are of the need to get away from this “home”, to move...anywhere. Nowadays, the older I get, the more I do identify Detroit as...home. Not necessarily in a physical sense (although being here helps!) but in terms of mental and emotional impressions. So...I’m here for a family reunion and my family is as much my family as I’ve ever felt though I desired for a time to eradicate them from my consciousness as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ White kids need to learn about white anti-racist activists Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez Anne Braden and Rosa Parks Let’s face it. Black people, who are only about 14% (more or less) of the population of the United States are never gonna be able to cure this country of its foundational and deeply-rooted white supremacy and racism. If we add the victims of stolen lands, and cultural genocide into the mix — Native American/Alaskan Natives who comprise 2.9% of the populace— it still ain’t happening. This country’s problem is white people. (Cue up the push-back of “not all white people” yadda yadda.) I’ll repeat what I just said. White people are the problem. Y’all overwhelmingly vote for white supremacist Republican leaders and politicians on the local, state and the federal level. Y’all control every major media outlet — both print and televised. Y’all control police forces and police unions. Sadly, most white folks don’t recognize how white supremacy ultimately negatively affects them (hat tip to Black Kos Community member mohistory2 who repeats this like a mantra). But I digress. I was just re-reading this 2022 WaPo piece from Perry Bacon Jr. x America’s problem is White people keep backing the Republican Party https://t.co/Ym1S2vt7sl pic.twitter.com/wedMTf2uri — KD (@Fly_Sistah) October 17, 2022 He wrote: A clear majority of White Americans keeps backing the Republican Party over the Democratic Party, even though the Republican Party is embracing terrible and at times antidemocratic policies and rhetoric. The alliance between Republicans and White Americans is by far the most important and problematic dynamic in American politics today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary: African American Scientists and Inventors By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor With the state of Hawaii in our thoughts and prayers because of the recent fires, I recalled one of Hawaii’s greatest scientist who worked to stop a different kind of disaster over 100 years ago. Her work and scientific discoveries were stolen and her role forgotten until a team from the University of Hawaii ensured she received proper credit decades later. Alice Augusta Ball was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1894, the child of a middle-class family in which both parents and a grandfather were photographers. At the time, developing and printing photographs was a chemically complex process, and Alice would have seen her family mixing and processing plates throughout her childhood, perhaps sparking her interest in chemistry. At the University of Washington, she graduated with bachelor’s degrees in both pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy. She also published her first scientific paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, still one of the premier chemistry journals in the world, as an undergraduate. Ball had lived in Hawaiʻi briefly with her family, where they’d moved hoping it would help alleviate her grandfather’s arthritis. When applying to master’s programs, she was offered a scholarship to the College (now University) of Hawaiʻi, and returned there to study chemistry. Her thesis on the Kava plant came to the attention of Dr. Harry Hollman, whose work involved chaulmoogra oil, the only treatment available for Hansen’s disease (leprosy) at the time. The oil was applied topically, or injected under the skin, or ingested orally, but all of these delivery methods had side effects that compromised the efficacy of the treatments. Most patients with Hansen's disease were hesitant to take the oil over the long term because it tasted bitter and tended to cause an upset stomach. Hollman asked Ball to work with him on finding a way to make the oil easier to inject, by making it soluble in water. At the time, a diagnosis of leprosy resulted in ostracism and often death in isolation in a “colony.” The fear of contagion and the stigma of the illness was so great that patients would be hidden from sight—in Hawaiʻi, it was on the island of Molokaʻi. Ball devised a method of chemically modifying the oil that made it water soluble , so it could be injected and absorbed more easily (by isolating the ethyl esters of the fatty acids in the chaulmoogra oil). The success of this method resulted in the first patients ever to be discharged from the hospital and allowed to return to their families—but Alice Ball died in 1916, before she could publish her results. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday: The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth — Tuesday, August 29, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth Commentary by Chitown Kev Growing up in Detroit, I have many many memories of riding through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and (less often) across the Ambassador Bridge to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, mostly so Mom could go to the bingo hall of her choice or (less frequently) to Windsor Raceway for harness racing. When we were old enough, Mom would toss us a few dollars and allow me and my brother to roam the immediate neighborhood for a bite to eat or a visit to the Windsor library and, one time, to a thrift store where my brother contemplated stealing an eroded authentic Nazi arm patch. I don’t know if we thought all that much about what had to be hundreds of trips across the U.S.-Canadian border to Windsor, Ontario. It was certainly cleaner than Detroit, overwhelmingly white but with nice white people, it seemed. There were a few Black people here and there but since we were mostly in the bingo halls, I assumed that most the Black people were from across the river in Detroit. No crime that I can remember...just an entirely different vibe from home across the river. About all that I knew of the Black history of the Windsor-Essex region of Ontario, Canada is that Windsor was a very important stop on the Underground Railroad; I figure that this was increasingly so after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. I knew that Canada was part of the British Commonwealth and subject to laws abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833 with Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act. I just found out this morning that Emancipation Day celebrations for Afro-Canadians began August 1, 1834 and that Windsor used to host a BIG four-day Emancipation festival attended, sometimes, by over 100,000 people and attended on several occasions by people like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Benjamin Mays, Joe Louis, the Supremes. Held from 1932 to 1967 (the year I was born) the three-day festival/celebration was dubbed simply “The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth.” A University of Windsor alumni page from 2021 explains It was billed as the Greatest Freedom Show on Earth and that was no hyperbole. From its inception in 1932 until the mid 1960s, Windsor’s Emancipation Day celebration rivalled any festival on the globe. The population of Windsor would double as people from as far south as Alabama and Mississippi would flock to the city for what had grown into a four-day festival. Blacks, whites, and people of all nationalities would line up five deep along Ouellette Avenue to watch the marching bands from big American schools parade by. A midway that included a full-sized Ferris wheel would rise seemingly overnight in Jackson Park. The aroma of barbecue wafting through the summer air led visitors to the centre of the action. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don’t label me a “person of color”. I’m a Black woman. Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez I’ve addressed being dubbed “non-white” in the past, in “I am not 'non-white” — a term that centers “whiteness;’ making it clear that I am Black. I also reject being thrown into the catch-all demographic category “poc” (people of color) which defines everyone who doesn’t fit into the “white” classification. I also grit my teeth every time I hear Black people, or Black folks, or the Black community referred to as “the blacks,” which is an echo of the “the niggers” (Yes — I spelled it out). Before I continue, let me include a note that I have posted in the past: (Before folks leap into my comments section to insist that “there is no such thing as race,” let me assure you that as a cultural anthropologist, I am well-aware of, and have written about the social construction of race and the history of scientific racism. There is no black or white “race,” However, the construct of race holds up in practice, no matter the bogus science. The myth of race never stopped the reality of lynchings and massacres, and my “black” folks wound up facing white supremacy in spades, day in and day out, for centuries.) When confronting anti-Black racism, and white supremacy in this country (and around the globe) there is now a tendency in the media, from journalists, reporters, political pundits and academics, to use the catch-all phrase of “poc” or “people of color” as a demographic category which, from my perspective as a cultural anthropologist, essentially has no meaning. It also dilutes the very different cultural experiences and histories of people who have been dubbed “minorities” here in the U.S.— Black, Latino, Native-Indigenous, and Asian peoples. It also tends to erase and/or occlude the complicity in anti-Black racism of some members of those ethnic groups or national heritages that are included in that catch-all grouping. This is similar to the way the terms Latino/a or Latinx are used to portray what is in actuality a grab bag of cultures, social classes and nationalities that tends to erase “race” as a major distinguishing variable — and a whole host of cultural differences. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Poetry Editor Being the son of a professional Historian, having a degree in History myself, I am both, amazed and appalled, by the blatant historical revisions and ignorance that is on display by the MAGAs and their fellow travelers. From outright editing and distribution of Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists as a whole document, so as to support their dubious claims of the Founders being against the existence of a Wall between Church and State; to RW Media editing Biden’s public exchanges so his presidency is diminished and marginalized. "... Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true... " - Langston Hughes "Let America Be America Again" Surely, if one has to lie to support an argument, the argument must not be very sound. What if we "edit" the lie out these discourses? What do we get? How about an honest assessment of where we came from: What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one's heroic ancestors. It's astounding to me, for example, that so many people really seem to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free. That happens not to be true. What happened was that some people left Europe because they couldn't stay there any longer and had to go someplace else to make it. They were hungry, they were poor, they were convicts. -- James Baldwin "A Talk to Teachers," Oct. 16, 1963 It is true that a Dream arose out of the disaffection experienced by those hungry, and poor, and convicted. It is true that tragedies and dangerous compromises occurred to make that Dream of America a possibility. Just let us not lie about where it was we came from and how it is we came to be who we are; let us look honestly to where our present is and where our future could be; let us not lie to make the Dream true. It is said, Knowledge is Power, and that is a sad truism when taking account of the axiom's terrible permutations. Ignorance though, masking itself as Knowledge, is not real Power; but real Ruination. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Slooooooooow Down! A personal note by Chitown Kev Even under the best of circumstances, it seems as though I am always chasing...something whether it’s trying to cross one more item off of my mental to-do list (I rarely write these things out), read the next article or book, clear my desk off of all but the necessary things, volunteer for the next thing, make the next phone call...and so on. It does keep life interesting from the just-before-sunlight pot of Bustelo through, occasionally, falling asleep at the desk mid-sentence (my ideal for The Final Sleep). And then it grinds to a halt because that frenetic pace simply can’t go on in perpetuity. (Can it?) For the past two weeks, I’ve had two medical emergencies, both requiring stays in the hospital for three days. Both medical emergencies were due to complications from type 2 diabetes. To be blunt, both emergencies were because of neglecting medical follow-ups of my original 2021 diagnosis. My grandmother died from this disease. A nephew that I never met passed from the type-1 version of this disease at the age of eight. You’d think the I know better. Black people are twice as likely to become diabetic as non-Hispanic whites. Diabetes is treatable but I have to prioritize its treatment. If I eat right, get regular exercise, and don’t blow off periodic medical check-ups as required then I will probably live long and prosper to a ripe old age (well, there’s that smoking thing, too...). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Queen Nzinga Mbande of Angola Queen Nzinga Mbande 1583–1663 (also spelled Njinga), was a monarch of the Mbundu people. Mbande was a resilient leader who fought the Portuguese’s expanding slave trade in Central Africa. Nzingha Mbande was the queen of the ethnic Mbundu kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, located in present-day northern Angola. (The Ambundu “Mbundus” are Angola’s second largest ethnic at about 25% of the population). The kingdoms she created would be a refuge for runaway slaves and a safe haven from European conquest for over two centuries after her death. Her actions as a women defying both male and colonial domination has also made her an important inspiration for more recent African feminists. I first heard of Queen Nzinga during studying the Angolan civil war and Angolan wars for Independence. During the cold war when Angola was fighting for independence from a fascist Portuguese government Cuba sent troops to aid the rebels. Cuba has a famous Afro-Cuban slave rebellion leader Carlota Lucumi, La Negra Carlota de Cuba (see: Black Kos, La Negra Carlota de Cuba) that had some parallels to Queen Nzinga, so she became a rather noted figure in the Caribbean. Nzinga reign was during a period of rapid growth in the African slave trade with the Portuguese Empire encroachment in South West Africa. Born into the ruling family of the Ndongo, the then princess Nzinga received military and political training as a child. Later as an adult she demonstrated an aptitude for defusing political crises as an ambassador to the Portuguese Empire. Portugal was attempting to corner the Atlantic slave trade. Nzinga fought for the indepence and stature of her kingdoms against the Portuguese and reigned for 37 years. Queen Nzinga's rise to power and her actions as a warrior, diplomat and nation builder would be an inspiration to those who would later fight for Angolan independence in the 20th century. During the late half of 16th Century, both the stronger French and English kingdoms threatened Portugal’s near monopoly on the slave trade along the West African coast. This forced the Portuguese to seek fresh areas to exploit. By 1580 Portugal had already established a trading relationship with Afonso I in the nearby Kongo Kingdom (modern Congo). They then turned to Angolo, south of the Kongo. The Portuguese first established a fort and settlement at Luanda the present-day capital of Angola in 1617, encroaching on Mbundu land. This outpost in Luanda would be a starting point for a long lasting conflict between the Ndongo and the Portuguese. African states on the Central African coast soon found their economic power and territorial control threatened by these Portuguese establishing the Luanda colony. Many of these states had become regional powers through trade in African slaves.It was the growing demand for this human labor in New World colonies such as Brazil that ultimately led Portugal to seek military and economic control of this region. Old trading partners came under military attack by Portuguese soldiers and indigenous African raiders in search of captives for the slave trade, and rulers were forced to adapt to these new circumstances or face certain destruction. One leader who proved to be adept at overcoming these difficulties was the queen of Ndongo, Ana Nzinga. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday: Excellent libraries at home and in the world — Tuesday, October 03, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Excellent Libraries at Home and in the World Commentary by Chitown Kev As a person who has read books, magazines, newspapers, comic books, and even matchbook covers for as long as I can remember, I have to confess that I simply do not understand this craze of a few for banning books. I’m pretty sure that the earliest materials that I ever read were one of those pocket copies of The New Testament with the Old Testament books Psalms and Proverbs and my Mom’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents magazines. I have never lived in a home without what Jane Austen would properly describe in Pride and Prejudice as “an excellent library.” To be sure, home “libraries” as I was growing up were in various states of disrepair and disorganization (especially the ones in my room and this remains true!). The newspaper archives in the bathroom(s) might have had a two-week old Detroit Free Press on top and the current Detroit News buried under a month of newspapers. I could literally swim in the waters of the comic books that my cousin kept in the small attic of his own room. And sure, the adults knew where to keep the various X-rated materials from the nosy eyes of us “youngins’“ and we youngins’ surely knew where those materials were and filched them when we had the opportunity. This description of home libraries remains the case in nearly all of the homes of my familial peers. To be sure, not every nephew, cousin, or one of our youngins’ likes to read— a few hate it, in fact— but just in case they come around, all of us have various books and genres to choose from. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PragerU uses Black faces to push its anti-Black narratives Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez I have to admit that when I see Black faces being used by white supremacists to push their right-wing bullshit narratives I get totally pissed. The quislings who actively participate are race-traitors — tap dancing to an ugly tune that ain’t music to my ears. I get even angrier when the tool-fools are Black women. PragerU,which is not a University, and was founded by right-wing radio talk show host Dennis Prager — has been gaining in influence — infiltrating public education systems in Florida, Oklahoma, and now Montana, and has skillfully used social media platforms to spread its “anti-woke” messaging. They’ve got Candace Owens, splainin’ slavery and absolving white folks. Sister Kali Holloway, columnist for The Daily Beast and The Nation excoriated her back in 2020: “Candace Owens Is a Willing Tool of Republican Racists” Owens isn’t actually there to be white conservatives’ emissary to the Black community. Rather, she’s a tool of racist propaganda and deflection—a Black mouthpiece who propagates and validates anti-Black talking points, while exploiting her own race to shield white racists, like Trump, from charges of racism. Owens gets trotted out when white conservatives want to illustrate their idea of a “good” Black— willing to label Black culture pathologically “broken,”claim Black people are “pretending to be oppressed,” and smear Black Lives Matter as “domestic terrorists.” (And also, to misquote Harriet Tubman in a glorious display of historical ignorance and whites supremacist revisionism intent on construing Black folks as their own oppressors.) Owens is the tokenized Black messenger white racists rely on to discredit millions of other Black voices demanding racial justice, whom they had no interest in hearing or heeding anyway. Her transformation into Republicans’ Black mascot just proves that their gestures toward Black voters are always made in bad faith. The young Black face selected by Prager to place the blame for systemic racism squarely in the lap of the left, is that of Amala Ekpunobi, described as a “social media influencer” who is being touted as a former leftist who has “seen the light” and embraced conservatism. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar In 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The treaty sought to provide a framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of children. The Geneva Conventions “prohibit the targeting of children, the recruitment of child soldiers, and provide for their special care and protection.” Regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or socio-economic background, children and babies should be seen as all our children and all our babies. Their lives are all equally precious. The Staple Singers with Mavis Staples God bless the children Cause they can’t' stop what men do And that’s why lord i call on you They don’t even know how to sin These are troubled times we’re livin’ in When things fall Children cry Yes lord some will die Lord lord lord lord lord God bless the children God bless the children Teach us how to love Like never before And may we never steady war no more Talk to the hearts of the men who lead us And make them understand it’s the children who need us Ohhhh yes I know It’s not right If men must fight Lord lord lord lord lord God bless the children So many times I’ve heard this phrase That trouble it won’t last always I’m not saying this phrase is wrong But I’m wondering why it has to last so long I see a newborn baby In a proud mothers arms Then to think of all the countries that now have them Lord lord lord lord lord ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday: Just Deserts — Tuesday, October 17, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just deserts Review by Chitown Kev Brooding over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance by Nikki M. Taylor Cambridge University Press, 250 pp. In my ninth grade world history class, I remember my teacher Mr. H. standing up and asking, rather flatly, a socratic question: What is justice? Howard University professor Nikki Taylor giving a talk at Washington D.C. Politics and Prose about her new book "Brooding over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance" Most of my classmates gave rambling but ultimately illuminating replies but I have always been struck by the answer of a female classmate saying flatly, unambiguously, and very quickly: When you get what you deserve. My classmate’s answer to the what is justice question occurred to me over and over as I read Howard University professor Nikki Taylor’s Brooding over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance, a casebook of seven true stories of enslaved Black women that participated in and ultimately carried out (mostly successful) attempts on their slaveowner’s life. Notably, none of these Black women’s “lethal resistance” were carried out in order to articulate a “global grievance” against the system of slavery itself. Instead, these attempted and (with one exception) successful murders were attempts to address their treatment within the slave system; murders that, in Dr. Taylor’s words, were carried out “in response to beatings, abusive language, sexual assault, heavy workloads, threats of being sold away from loved ones, and being denied food, time off, and holidays” and often as a last resort. Brooding over Bloody Revenge not only documents frequently neglected events of the antebellum era but also serves to, for example, explode the myth of the commonly accepted binary of “house slave/field slave,” serves as a primer for slave “jurisprudence” and, ultimately, charts a genealogy of what Dr. Taylor calls a “Black feminist” philosophy and practice of justice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez District Attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, Fani T. Willis They get death threats. They get disrespected daily by MAGA Trumpsters and RepubliKlan elected officials. Pundits (who I think of as pun-idjits) question their competency daily on a loop on cable news shows and political blogs. The misogynoir is so thick you need a machete to cut through it. I just want to take a little time today, to once again thank these three Black women, (and a whole lot more of us) who stand up for democracy, justice and the rule of law in this nation which ain’t given them or the rest of us any of those things over the centuries we’ve been here. They persist, and we persist and are not gonna be scared off, shut up or take this shit laying down. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan I often see stories posted about them, that have a top photo not of these women, but of the lying rapist Donald Dump, the former POTUS. Frankly I’m tired of seeing his ugly mug plastered all over the news. So let’s celebrate the 3 Sisters today. Judge Chutkan, who is 61, born July 5, 1962, is a Jamaican immigrant who also catches hell from our xenophobes who loathe immigrants — especially Black and brown ones. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar It’s about 1:AM in the morning and I’m traveling south on Interstate 91. It’s been a long day and I need to get home, to be in my bed like in the next 5 minutes rather than the almost hour-long drive I’m looking at. As usual, my music is blasting and with only a few vehicles on the road at that hour of the morning, my foot is heavy on the accelerator. Suddenly I became aware that a car was barreling down the middle lane; my heart rate quickened and my competitive juices started flowing. “It’s on,” I thought. Stupid and dangerous, I know. 53-year-old Leonard Cure deserved better. Much better. As fast as I was going, this car easily caught up to me… and, instead of passing, it kept pace with me. “What the heck,” I thought. We drove like that for about a minute or two until I noticed that his lights were flashing! Lights?! “Oh shit!” I looked across at him and his window was down and he had a bullhorn. Seems like he’d had it for a while but with my music blasting and going as fast as I was, I hadn’t heard a thing. With my heart beating out of my chest now, I turned the music way down, and rolled down my window. “Slow down,” he said. “You are going way too fast. You want to get home, don’t you.” I nodded emphatically (so he could see) and offered a nervous smile. He grinned, put away his bullhorn and sped off. “Phew!” Leonard Cure was not that lucky. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said a Camden County deputy pulled over Cure as he drove along Interstate 95 near the Georgia-Florida line. He got out of the car at the deputy’s request and cooperated at first but became violent after he was told he was being arrested, a GBI news release said. The agency said preliminary information shows the deputy shocked Cure with a stun gun when he failed to obey commands, and Cure began assaulting the deputy. The GBI said the deputy again tried using the stun gun and a baton to subdue him, then drew his gun and shot Cure when he continued to resist. The agency didn’t say what prompted the deputy to pull over Cure’s vehicle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos Tuesday: Why I don't "celebrate" Halloween. — Tuesday, October 31, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why I don’t “celebrate” Halloween Commentary by Chitown Kev You’d think that given the lifelong attraction that I’ve had for the macabre and the grotesque that I’d get into a holiday like Halloween more than I do. I do like the concept of Halloween costumes because it is fun and interesting (and instructive) to see the personas that people choose to project. But I have never worn a costume specifically for the occasion. Who doesn’t love a good party? But I can’t ever recall going specifically to a Halloween party. I like playing the occasional prank or even, occasionally, being the victim of a well-executed and playful prank. I suspect that part of the answer involves my younger years growing up in a devout Christian household with my aunt and uncle. But unlike some highly devout families, I don’t remember any specific admonitions or lectures against Halloween that my aunt and uncle laid down nor do I recall any sermon at my church about the evils of Halloween. We usually did have candy for the occasion placed around the house and I, my brother, and cousins would watch scary movies (which would often make me laugh more than anything else). I remember going out trick-and-treating a couple of times only to go through rigorous checks of the candy that we collected. Growing up in Detroit, though, I suspect that a fear of more mayhem in the streets the day after Devil’s Night. Devil's Night made its way to Detroit in the 1930s and 1940s. Traditionally, city youths engaged in a night of mischievous or petty criminal behavior, usually consisting of minor pranks or acts of mild vandalism (such as egging, soaping or waxing windows and doors, leaving rotten vegetables or flaming bags of canine feces on stoops, or toilet papering trees and shrubs) which caused little or no property damage. By the 1970s, the concept of Devil's Night as a phenomenon of a night of mischief and vandalism had spread, in a limited way, to cities around the state of Michigan, around the Midwest, and, in some instances, a few other cities around the country. However, in Detroit in the early 1970s, the vandalism escalated to more destructive acts such as arson. This primarily took place in the inner city, but surrounding suburbs were often affected as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos, Week In Review — Friday, November 03, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices & Soul by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Poetry Editor I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the day I finally learned how to tie my shoes, and the immediate sense of independence. Mom had spent some time going over the movements of the laces, and the little song that went with it, and when I finally accomplished the puzzle, instead of giving Mom a hug for a job well done, I ran. It was only a little circle, but I felt free and grown up. Later, when my son was born, I cited that day, when still a toddler, as the first day I took Mom for granted. I graduated early from high school, and the week after I turned eighteen, I moved to a small apartment in a fairly large complex several miles from the family home. Mom and my sisters gave me a little house warming to set me up, but it hit me again how much I took Mom for granted when I went to the store and bought my first rolls of toilet paper to replenish the supply she gifted me. I didn’t realize how easy I had it until I was barely on my own. I went off to college shortly after that, tried to play a little football and run a little track. I hitch hiked from So Cal to Greenwich, CT with some college chums for a Thanksgiving dinner, instead of going home. I decided to follow a girl to Paris for Christmas for a couple of weeks, but I did send some cards to the family about how special the City of Lights was that time of year. I was so full of myself. I’m caring for Mom now as she gradually declines, and she doesn’t remember the slights, small and great. She lives in the Now and compliments me on how well I care for her, and what a good son I am. But I still linger on that day I tied my own shoes, and how I ran away. I remember the holidays spent abroad with just a little regret. I’ve tried to apologize, but she doesn’t recall it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Kos, Week In Review ~ A blue wave David Chalian could do nothing to stop — Friday, November 10, 2023 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar David Chalian, that little twit, did all in his power to dim my joy this past Tuesday. Oh lawds, he tried. Who is David Chalian, you may ask? According to CNN, “David Chalian is a vice president and CNN's Political Director where he oversees political coverage across all CNN platforms.” He really should be fired. He isn’t doing a very good job. On Monday, under the direction of the little twit, CNN devoted the whole day to talking about the NYT/Siena poll. On Tuesday, it was time for CNN to promote its own poll, which, surprise, surprise, also showed Biden trailing That Mutha. We were treated to rounds and rounds of repetitious, superficial word salads coupled with self-aggrandizing BS passing for analysis. According to CNN and its analysts, Democrats were looking at certain defeat in all elections to come because President Biden is weak, feeble, and disliked nationally. The Democrats are doomed! It was a very depressing day. I left for a while and came back to check the election results, and the first graphic I saw was for Kentucky. David Cameron 56% to 43% for Andy Beshear. Oh, Lord no! My heart sank. Things didn’t stay bleak for very long. Pretty soon it became obvious that the tide was turning and we may be in the midst of a blue wave. Ohio results were coming in; Andy Beshear had pulled ahead and seemed uncatchable; Virginia results were coming in; all good news. But CNN and David Chalian wouldn’t let up. We heard phrases like “most unpopular president,” “drag on the ticket,” “didn’t want to appear with him.” Oh, they had a field day at Biden’s expense. But now my joy is rebounding and no way I’ll allow them to ruin it. I finally switched channels. By the end of the night, David Cameron had lost; Younkin was denied the honor of announcing his grand entrance in the Republikkkan primary; Dr. Yusef Salaam was winning; and Cherelle Parker became Philadelphia’s first female mayor. Celebration time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tales from the African Diaspora, Anansi the Spider and Br’er Rabbit By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor Anansi is one of the most important legendary characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. In the legends, he often takes the shape of a spider. Anansi is considered to be the spirit of all knowledge of stories, and he is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. Anansi is sometimes depicted in many different ways. He can look like an ordinary spider, sometimes he is a spider wearing clothes, or with a spider with a human face. Sometimes Anansi looks much more like a human with spider elements, such as eight legs. The Anansi tales originated with the Ashanti of present-day Ghana. The word Ananse is from the Akan language and means "spider". The tales of Anansi later spread to other Akan groups and then to the Caribbean, Suriname (in South America), and Sierra Leone (where they were introduced by Jamaican Maroons when they repatriated to West Africa) . On Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire, he is known as Kompa Nanzi, and his wife as Shi Maria. Br'er Rabbit (Brother Rabbit), also spelled Bre'r Rabbit or Brer Rabbit or Bruh Rabbit, is a central figure in stories of African-Americans from the Black Belt of the American Southern. Br'er Rabbit is a trickster who succeeds by his wits rather than by brawn, provoking authority figures and bending social mores as he sees fit. Walt Disney later adapted this character for its deeply racially stereotyped but groundbreaking 1946 animated movie Song of the South. As a child I grew up listening to stories of Anansi from my mom and aunt (as some of you may know my family is from Jamaica). I heard them first as oral stories, and later I was given children’s book filled with his tales. Sometime [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/12/2209367/-Black-Kos-Year-In-Review?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/