A tiger, when attacked, fights alone. Even when the imperiled tiger is surrounded by fellow tigers, the tigers that are not in imminent danger do nothing to help. Lions defend against attack as a pride. No tiger attacks a lion within sight of another lion. A single lion, however, had it the will to, could slaughter every tiger on the planet, lined up cheek to jowl, one at a time.” -From, “The Reckoning” By: Randall Robinson
Willis Johnson invented the egg beater. On February 5, 1884, he received a patent for his device. Willis Johnson’s invention revolutionized the way cooking was done. Before the egg beater invention, all mixing was exhaustingly done by hand.
“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” -Colin Powell
“Do not send a fool in an important matter when you can send one that is wise. Do not instruct a fool lest he hate you for it. When one instructs a fool, he or she says ‘What they are doing insults me.’ The friend of a fool is a fool. The friend of a wise person is another wise person. If you are given bread for being stupid, you may learn to despise instruction. Although the way of God is before the people, the fool cannot find it…
It is better for a serpent to be in the house than for a fool who comes often. Those who associate with a fool are drawn into wrongdoing. Those who live with a fool die in captivity. The friends of fools sleep tied to them. And the wrongdoing of fools harm even their own relatives. When a fool lights a fire, he goes to close it and gets burnt. And when a starts a fight, she goes too close to it and gets knocked down. Those who walk with the wise share their praise, but those who walk by in the company of a fool create an evil odor in the street.” -From, “Selections From The Husia: Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt” By: Maulana Karenga
In 1898, on October 10th, Charles Orren Bailiff received a patent for his invention of the shampoo headrest.
“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” -Samuel Johnson
“Be diligent as long as you live, always doing more than is commanded of you. Do not misuse your time while following your heart, for it is offensive to the soul to waste one’s time. Do not lose the daily opportunity to increase that which you have. Diligence produces gains and gains do not endure when diligence is abandoned.” -From, “Selections From The Husia: Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt” By: Maulana Karenga
PLEASE PASS THIS ON! (EACH ONE TEACH ONE OR TWO!) THIS IS PHASE ONE ON HOW WE CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN & EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY:
The 2008 not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case evoked outrage, emotion, and debate. It is not an anomaly that the police officers involved in the Sean Bell slaying were acquitted of all charges on all counts in State Supreme Court. I could run out of ink printing the names of people who have been victimized by the inaptly named justice system.
The American justice system has been especially terroristic towards the African American community. Many community members can cite historic and personal accounts to prove this. Therefore, it would be foolhardy (at the least) to turn to a system that has methodically oppressed us, and request that they free us. We can only free ourselves through extreme discipline and intelligent planning.
As a community we have been too compliant with leaders who organize ineffective, delayed reactions. The only strategy that can save us in this last hour is one that calls for a collective code of conduct that will be conducive to improving the conditions of our community, and shifting the paradigm of how we are treated by outside entities. The first step of this code of conduct should be based on economics.
The old adage of “money talks,” still reigns true in the new millennium. Any political scientist worth his or her library card will tell you that: “Economic powerlessness equals political powerlessness,” and conversely “economic power equals political power.” This means that if we continue to allow our wealth to be extracted from our community, we will remain impotent.
The power of the collective “Black Dollar” is often discussed. However, that power has been left unchanneled. Today is the day to change that. A one-time boycott is not going to bring long-term change and respect to our community. Our community has launched boycotts before. Our success and ascension will be based on what we consistently do. For this reason, we should initiate “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS.”
BUY BLACK FRIDAYS is a small step towards our community acquiring power via controlling our economics. Every Friday, people who acknowledge the injustice and oppression that the African American community has been consistently subjected to should do one of the following:
Option #1: Spend $0 on Friday
Option #2: Spend no more than $10 on Friday
Option #3: Only Shop at Black Businesses on Friday
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE OPTIONS CAN & SHOULD BE EXERCISED ON A DAILY BASIS. However, we can all at the very least focus on Fridays. This way we can take a collective stand and build our collective discipline. Please remember that this is only Phase 1!].
To the people who are tempted to label “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS” as racist, I say this: In the big scheme of things, this is about right & wrong, justice & injustice. The African American community is a strong, proud community that has endured the brunt of America’s iron fist. We must stop the pounding. I feel that any fair-minded individual will concur, and join in.
ANY business that is privileged to enjoy the support of the African American community MUST return that support.
I thank you in advance for your effort and dedication.
-Elsie Law AKA Starface
“Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes under, your ego goes with it.” -Colin Powell
LEARNING:
“Learning refers to a short-, intermediate-, or relatively long-term change in perception, ways of integrating and organizing information, of communicating, expressing and applying processed information in the world by both verbal and nonverbal means that occur as the result of experience, imitation, deliberate and/or repeated practice, and the inferential construction of concepts, procedures and rules. Because experience, models for imitation, practice, some concepts, procedures, rules of thought and behavior can be consciously manipulated and scheduled, the potency and character of learning can also, to some significant degree, be enhanced or impaired.” -From, “Awakening The Natural Genius Of Black Children.” -Amos N. Wilson
