History of Black Thought and Ideas

Models Monday: The Kiss

In Memoriam It seems that folk no longer read comedian and activist Dick Gregory’s 1964 autobiography Nigger—actually, I don’t remember the Malcolm X t-shirt wearing, Public Enemy listening generation of mine discussing the work either. The 1990s political climate may have informed my decision to seek out this book. The back cover told a profoundlyContinue reading “Models Monday: The Kiss”

Room for Thought

“Space reserved for being serious is hard to come by in a modern society, whose chief model of a public space is the mega-store.” -Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others

Charleston Church Shooting

“My God! We aren’t even safe at church,” Anonymous black woman after the 16th Street Church Bombing; 1963-2015. The “clean-shaven white man about 21 years old who was wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots” who opened fire yesterday at Emanuel A.M.E. Church on June 17 marks a return to the past violenceContinue reading “Charleston Church Shooting”

“Say she rose as light as a bird”

They say the people could fly. Say that long ago in Africa, some of the people knew magic. And they would walk up on the air like climbin up on a gate. And they flew like blackbirds over the fields. Black, shiny wings flappin against the blue up there. “The People Could Fly,” as toldContinue reading ““Say she rose as light as a bird””

Diane Nash Sets the Record Straight

Diane Nash’s description of leadership and sacrifice echoes her visual alignment with MLK in the screenshot above. Follow the link for the video to see and hear what Nash offers: http://abc7chicago.com/society/diane-nash-civil-rights-movement-leader-reflects-on-selma/546052/

Models Monday: The Kiss

It seems that folk no longer read comedian and activist Dick Gregory’s 1964 autobiography Nigger—actually, I don’t remember the Malcolm X t-shirt wearing, Public Enemy listening generation of mine discussing the work either. The 1990s political climate may have informed my decision to seek out this book. The back cover told a profoundly moving storyContinue reading “Models Monday: The Kiss”

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Frederick Douglass

When I was a child, I had very petty reasons for being in the doldrums about the fourth of July. Basically my melancholy had everything to do with the menu my mother planned and the clothes she chose for me to wear. Every 4th, my mother would plan a menu that included barbecue ribs, coleContinue reading ““The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Frederick Douglass”