TODAY IS BUY BLACK FRIDAY
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
16•15
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
Quote Of The Day
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
16•15
“If you save one life, it as if you had saved the entire world. The wisdom of that saying is, of course, its recognition of the generative potential inherent in each man and woman. When you save a single life, you protect for all humanity all that person will accomplish and all that his or her children may do for the world ahead. Conversely, when you snuff out a life, you also deny all humanity, for ll times, all the good and constructive thing that he- and all his descendants- might have accomplished.” -Johnnie Cochran
The Black History Fact Of The Day: Lucy Prince- The First Black Published Poet
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
15•15
Lucy Prince was the first African-American to have a poem published. The pioneering poem that she published was entitled, “The Bar’s Fight.” She was 16 years old when she wrote the poem describing a battle she had witnessed at a place called “The Bars.”
Quote Of The Day
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
15•15
“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.” -Mother Teresa
Black History Fact Of The Day: John Berry Meachum & The Steamboat Library
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
13•15
John Berry Meachum, former slave and reverend, was dedicated to the education of Black people. During his lifetime, it was illegal for Black people to learn how to read and write. Despite this known legality, Reverend Meachum built a steamboat that housed a library. His steamboat was docked in St. Louis in the Mississippi River. On his boat he taught Black people literacy.
The Real Definition Of Justice Or Else
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
13•15
“Justice requires not only the ceasing and desisting of injustice but also requires either punishment or reparation for injuries and damages inflicted for prior wrongdoing. The essence of injustice is the redistribution of gains earned through the perpetration of injustice. If restitution is not made and reparations not instituted to compensate for prior injustices, those injustices are in effect rewarded. And the benefits such rewards conferred on the perpetrators of injustice will continue to ‘draw interest,’ to be reinvested, and to be passed on to their children, who will use their inherited advantages to continue to exploit the children of the victims of the injustices of their ancestors. Consequently, injustice and inequality will be maintained across the generations as will their deleterious social, economic and political outcomes.” -Amos Wilson
Quote Of The Day
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
13•15
“Preparedness never caused a war and unpreparedness never prevented one.” -Florence Kahn
What Christopher Columbus Wrote In His Diary 523 Years Ago, Today
Written By: Elsie Law
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Oct•
12•15
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus reportedly wrote in his diary, “I took some of the natives by force.”
[Source: “The Black West” By: William Katz]
