“Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.” -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Pic Of The Week
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
17•15
Happy Birthday Huey Newton!
Quote Of The Day
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
17•15
“Youths are passed through schools that don’t teach, then forced to search for jobs that don’t exist, and finally left stranded in the street to stare at the glamorous lives advertised around them.” -Huey Newton
Black History Fact Of The Day: Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
16•15
Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company was in operation from 1865 and 1874. According to Wikipedia, the savings bank was formed “specifically as a depository for African-American veterans, ex-slaves and their families to build their savings.” The bank was established and headquartered in New York. However, its first branch was opened in Washington D.C.
At one time, The Freedman’s Saving Bank had 9 branches in 12 states. Frederick Douglass was the last president of the bank before it closed.
Quote Of The Day
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
16•15
“The absence of slavery is not the same as the presence of freedom.” -Lloyd Ward
The 50th Anniversary Of Malcolm X’s Last Public Speech
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
14•15
On February 14, 1965, Malcolm X made his last public speech. This speech was made after his house was firebombed and a week before he was assassinated.
Book Excerpt Of The Week: “The Big Sea” By: Langston Hughes
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
13•15
“Some critics say that that is what happened to certain Negro writers too opinion that they ceased to write to amuse themselves and began to write to amuse and entertain white people, and in so doing distorted and over-colored their material, and left out a great many things they thought would offend their American brothers of a lighter complexion. Maybe- since Negroes have writer-racketeers, as has any other race. But I have known almost all of them, and most of the good ones have tried to be honest, write honestly, and express their world as they saw it.”-From, “The Big Sea” By: Langston Hughes
TODAY IS BUY BLACK FRIDAY
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
13•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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Feb•
13•15
“He that would govern others first should be master of himself.”
Segregated Libraries
Written By: Elsie Law
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Feb•
12•15
“When the sit-in movement started in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960 black people of nearby Danville had also been stirred to sit-in. There main focus then was on desegregating the ‘public’ library. As everywhere in the South, black people were denied the use of the town’s main library and assigned (in Danville, but not in all Southern towns) a miserable branch library with a few torn books. The Danville Library fought desegregation to the death, for it was not just another library, but a Confederate Memorial sacred to the white folks, the site of the last full cabinet meeting of the Confederacy before General Lee announced his surrender. Eventually faced with a court order to desegregate, the library chose instead to close from September to November, 1960, and reopen desegregated- but without chairs, and with the cost of a library card raised to $2.50 a year.” -From, “The Makings Of Black Revolutionaries” By: James Forman
[SIDEBAR; The above picture is Albany, Georgia. 1992]
