The Seminoles

Check out ABFLA.com

I was looking through an old notebook and wrote something about the Seminoles.This Florida Indian nation offered refuge to fugitive slaves,intermarried with them, and fought along with them against the US government in a series of wars in the mid 1800s.

Read the following:

The Black Seminoles, now called Seminole Maroons by ethnologists, are a group of people who live in Oklahoma, Texas, the Bahamas, and Coahuila, Mexico. Their ancestors were runaways from the plantations of South Carolina and Georgia beginning in the late seventeenth century who sought refuge in Spanish-controlled Florida. They lived among the Seminole Indians and were closely associated with them, but they maintained a separate identity and preserved their culture and traditions. Following the First and Second Seminole Wars (1817 -1818 and 1835 1842) some escaped to the Bahamas and others were removed with their Native American allies to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). Ten years later some of them moved to Mexico where their descendants, known as Indios Mascogos still live. After the Civil War, a group of them moved to Texas, where in the 1870s and 1880s, they served with the U.S. Army on the Texas frontier as the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts.

Their quest involved contact with Native Americans, Spanish, British and American soldiers, settlers, traders and government officials. They suffered and survived deprivation, exploitation and destitution. Today their descendants celebrate the persistence and perseverance of their ancestors.

Our people have lived in Texas for over 100 years. Before that, we were in Mexico, where some of us still live and before that we were in Oklahoma, and even earlier than that, Florida. And before that, we came from Africa. As far as weve come, in all our travels, we have never lost an awareness of our identity and pride in our freedom, because it is our freedom which makes us different from other Americans of African descent.
---- Miss Charles Emily Wilson

THE WORLD OF THE BLACK SEMINOLE

The experience of the Black Seminoles was similar to other maroon societies which proliferated throughout the Americas before slavery was abolished. Because they were in constant fear of being recaptured, they defended their freedom by developing extraordinary skills in guerilla warfare. They were proactive in finding ways to survive economically in new environments and they were savvy in their interaction with Native Americans. Leaders emerged from their communities who were skilled at understanding and negotiating with whites. Most important, all of these maroon communities, borrowed and blended elements of their experiences and integrated them into their own African heritage.

Historically the central question for those who came in contact with the Black Seminoles was whether they were African or American Indian. This issue of classification hounded them throughout their search for freedom. Individuals, agencies and institutions labeled them for their own purposes, more often than not determined by their own vested interests.

Today the Black Seminole community in Texas refer to themselves as Seminoles to set themselves apart from other Blacks and to emphasize the pride that they have in their unique history of having run away and resisted slavery. For similar reasons, the descendants living in Coahuila, Mexico, refer to themselves as Indios Mascogos, and in Oklahoma as Freedmen.

In the I 7th century our ancestors fought against slavery and escaped into the northern bushlands of Spanish FIorida. There we joined our Indian brothers and sisters who had also escaped from the oppression of the European slavers; together, for many years, we resisted their attempts to recapture us.
---- Miss Charles Emily Wilson

FUGITIVES IN SPANISH FLORIDA

When the first fugitive slaves from Charleston arrived in Spanish St. Augustine, Florida, in 1687, they were given refuge and were integrated into a cohesive, multiracial, multicultural community. The men worked as cartwrights, jewelers, butchers, and innkeepers, while the women worked as cooks and laundresses. Some even owned small businesses. Interracial unions and marriages were common. This open society, bolstered by a relaxed attitude toward slavery and race, made it possible for slaves to use the courts to change their status, to lodge complaints against ill treatment, or to change owners. Those who were free acquired property, often converted to Catholicism and served in the militia. In this regard the Spanish were not entirely altruistic. They were willing to grant freedom to the Blacks and expected loyalty and service in return.

In 1838, the Spanish governor established a settlement for the runaways called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, becoming the first free Black settlement in North America. The residents of Mose, some one hundred men, women and children came in contact with various bands of Indians living nearby. In this multilingual environment, they no doubt adopted folkways of their neighbors and absorbed some of them into their ranks. On this frontier, these Blacks showed an ability to adapt, to be creative and to survive. Even with the support of the Spanish who gave them supplies and building materials, it took intelligence and determination to forge lives for themselves and their families.

BLACKS AND INDIANS: VASSALS AND ALLIES

At the same time the Blacks were establishing themselves at Mose, bands of Creeks split off from the main body of their tribe, dislocated through war and conflict, drifted into northern Florida. These people were called Seminoles. The name Seminole comes from the Spanish word cimaroon meaning "fugitives" or "wild ones" and was incorporated into the Creek language. The English word "maroon" comes from the same Spanish source.

Slavery among the Seminoles was not new. They captured other Indians in battle, "adopted" them into their tribe to replace members who had been killed and treated them amicably. Some Black slaves were purchased, others were given as "gifts" to chiefs by the British who had acquired Florida from the Spanish in 1763. Many of these Blacks lived independently in villages separate from their Indian "owners." This independent living was the foundation of a new social group. They were efficient and productive farmers, owned livestock, and armed themselves against intruders. In deference to the Indian chief, they paid an annual tax, usually corn or some other foodstuff to be used for the common good. In return for their allegiance they were given the protection of the larger Seminole Indian community. An American general aptly described the relationship between the two groups as "vassals and allies."

Gradually the distinction between who was slave and who was free blurred and the two communities, Black and Indian, were interdependent. The Blacks adopted Seminole ways of living and dressing. They spoke their own language, Creole, as well as English, Spanish and Indian dialects. They also understood the Europeans because they had lived on plantations.

These skills made them invaluable to the Seminoles as interpreters, go-betweens and advisors. Life for the Blacks amongst the Indians was idyllic, far different than it had been under the strict codes of plantation slavery. They were free and independent and they thrived under these conditions.

THE SEMINOLE INDIAN WARS

By the early 19th century the Blacks and Seminoles had established such strong communal ties that they banded together to fight side by side defending their land and their freedom. Their adversaries were the Americans who wanted to annex Florida and to prevent its use as a haven for fugitive slaves.

During the First Seminole War (1817-1818) General Andrew Jackson invaded Florida, destroyed Black and Indian towns, burned Spanish forts and routed the British. In this chaos, some Blacks fled to the Bahamas where some of their descendants now live. Ultimately Jackson captured Pensacola and the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States in 1821. During this conflict Blacks were recognized for their aggressive military prowess.

In 1823 some Seminole Indian leaders were induced to move to a reservation in Florida and to return any runaway slaves that did not "belong" to them. In typical "divide and rule" fashion, the Indians were warned that the Blacks cared nothing for them, but only wanted their protection from enslavement. Later the Indian Removal Act of 1830 decreed that the Indians would be removed to the West. The Blacks feared that if they assembled at one place along with their Indian allies to be transported, they would be returned to slavery.

They took the lead in stirring up resistance to removal and joined the Seminoles in a guerilla war known as the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). It turned out to be the longest and most expensive war in the United States to date. Once again, the Blacks proved to be courageous fighters and served prominent roles as advisers, spies and intermediaries. Their influence on the Seminole Indian chiefs prompted General Thomas S. Jesup to say: "This you may be assured is a negro and not an Indian War." To end this long, bloody and costly war Jesup resorted to expedience. He granted freedom to the Blacks if they would go West as part of the Seminole Nation.

This war turned out to be a "War of Independence" for the Blacks. Some authorities say that this was the time that they emerged as a distinct social group because they shared the experience of running away, resisting slavery and fighting for that freedom. It was evident not only to themselves but to the outside world that they possessed the skills and intellect to subsist on their own and to create self-sufficient communities. In the years to come, this determination to remain separate and independent would face other challenges as they searched for a home where they could live as free men.

When we had to leave for safer territory in the 1830s to escape the slave raids in Florida, we went to Indian Territory and settled along the Canadian River in what is today Oklahoma. But slave raids continued from nearby states. In our search for peace, we left once again and went to Mexico, though some of our people stayed behind in Oklahoma, where their descendants still live today.
---- Miss Charles Emily Wilson

THE INDIAN TERRITORY

Once settled in the Indian Territory (1841-1850) the Black Seminoles and the Seminole Indians faced another common enemy: the Creeks. The Creeks were intent on enslaving the Black Seminoles and integrating the Seminole Indians into their community. Wild Cat, leader of the Seminole Indians and John Horse, leader of the Black Seminoles, resisted this domination.

Wild Cat didn't want his power diminished by the Creek chiefs and planned to form a confederation with other southwestern Indians of which he would be the leader. John Horse and his band of Black Seminoles were most concerned about acquiring land where they would be safe from Creek slave hunters. Kidnapping of the Black Seminoles by the Creeks and white slave hunters became so prevalent that John Horse was forced to find ways to leave the territory. He went to Washington, D.C., to negotiate a special removal policy for his people. Unfortunately, nothing came of these efforts so that he was forced to join Wild Cat's plan to move their bands to Mexico where slavery had been abolished in 1829. The Mexican government promised citizenship to colonists in exchange for helping to maintain peace along the northern border. In 1850, more than 300 Seminole Indians, Black Seminoles and Kickapoo Indians set out for Mexico on the nine month trek to the border.

IMMIGRANTS IN MEXICO

Upon entering Mexico in July 1850, John Horse exclaimed: "When we came fleeing slavery, Mexico was a land of freedom and the Mexicans spread out their arms to us." The Black Seminoles eventually settled in Nacimiento (where some of their descendants remain to this day) and the Seminole Indians settled in nearby Muzquiz. Given food subsidies, tools for farming and building materials, the Blacks put them to effective use and soon had a thriving agricultural community. A school and church were established.

One of the requirements for colonists was for the men to serve as a border patrol and protect the towns from raids by Comanche and Lipan Indians. The Black Seminoles once again proved to be excellent soldiers and with their Seminole Indian comrades, they gained a reputation for being loyal troops. In time, however, the Black Seminoles tired of this role, particularly when they were called upon to engage in the civil and foreign conflicts which engulfed Mexico in the early 1860s. This separatism and isolation increased after the death of Wild Cat and the return of the Seminoles to the Indian Territory. When the Civil War ended in the United States, the Black Seminoles looked forward to returning to the United States.

In 1870 a few hundred of our ancestors were asked to come to Texas to fight the Native Americans so that white people could settle in the region. Those Seminoles served as Scouts for the U.S. Army out of Ford Duncan in Eagle Pass and Fort Clark in Brackettville, where we live today.
---- Miss Charles Emily Wilson

THE SEMINOLE NEGRO INDIAN SCOUTS

At the end of the Civil War more white settlers moved to the Southwest and used the Overland Trail to cross Texas into New Mexico, Arizona and California. This brought them in conflict with southwestern Indian tribes, among them the Comanches and the Apaches, who had been relocated from their traditional hunting grounds to reservations in the New Mexico Territory. In retaliation, they raided white settlements, stole livestock and horses and destroyed property.

Army personnel at frontier bases in Texas were ill-equipped to stop the raids, track down and confront the fast-moving Indians. Nor did they have the necessary manpower to guard the porous Texas border. What they needed were experienced Indian fighters who knew the rugged terrain of the borderlands, understood the ways of the Indians and could speak the border language--a mixture of English and Spanish. The Black Seminoles had a reputation for being fearless fighters, and they were approached by army recruiters. Finally, in 1870, an arrangement was reached with them. The army formed a "Detachment of Seminole Negro Indian Scouts" and enlisted ten Black Seminoles. On July 4, 1870, the men and their families crossed the Rio Grande into Texas.

Under the command of Lieutenant John Bullis, from 1873 to 1881, the scouts went on twenty-six expeditions and were engaged in twelve battles without suffering any losses. They had excellent tracking skills, were precise marksmen and could endure searching for months at a time. Famed for their bravery, four of the Black Seminole scouts were awarded the Medal of Honor in the 1870s for "gallantry in action."

In return for their services the men were promised salaries, rations, and living quarters for their families at the forts where they were stationed. Some accounts say that they were guaranteed their own land in Texas or in the Indian Territory following their service as scouts. But this promise was never fulfilled in spite of numerous appeals by the scouts and the officers who supported their requests. The War Department claimed not to have land that they could legally give them. Because they were not "ethnic" Indians, the Bureau of Indian Affairs would not honor their claims. In addition, registration for Seminole Indian reservation lands was closed in 1866, thus excluding the Black Seminoles from this opportunity.

By the 1880s the number of enlisted scouts was cut back and their rations reduced. In spite of such setbacks, they continued to live on the Fort Clark military post. It was a precarious existence, however, and the group was often destitute. The unenlisted men found extra work on nearby ranches. Some of the women worked as laundresses. But as the Indian wars declined, the scouts were transferred to custodial and constabulary work and were finally disbanded in 1914. The same year, their dependents were told to leave the post where they had lived for more than a generation.

We have given our loyalty and our skill to our country, and we have contributed to its history I can rest now, knowing that this has been recognized at last, and that future schoolchildren, both American and Seminole, will learn the part we have played in the growth of our great nation.

From the CCNY website.

The Legacy of Malcolm X: Carry it forward by taking up his political stand

By Owusu Yaki Yakubu
20 May 1999

Malcolm's thought and action were not based upon unalterable concepts and formulas, but rather upon the data provided by his study of actual conditions and the creative development of new situations. Malcolm would not continue to hold onto old concepts and formulas devised on the basis of conditions that no longer exist.

We can form hypotheses regarding the probable content and character of Malcolm's ideological and programmatic development had he lived and continued to pursue the course indicated by the words and deeds of his last days. However, no matter what meaning We give to the things Malcolm said and did, and no matter what We think that Malcolm would be saying and doing were he alive today, We must decide upon the legacy that We want to leave for future generations.

We know with certainty that Malcolm left a legacy of unselfish commitment to the struggle of Afrikans in the u.s. for the realization of our national and revolutionary interests. In the last months of his life, Malcolm was developing positions which were more genuinely and consistently revolutionary and scientific.

We can begin to carry this legacy forward, with respect for Malcolm, by taking up his political stand and by making our contributions to its development.

The essence of that stand is a concern to master nature, society, and one's self; to strive to understand the world, and to use one's understanding in order to help change the world; to engage in an on-going process of formulating and testing ideas through revolutionary practice in the struggle to end the domination of u.s. and world capitalist- imperialism, and to place political/state power in the hands of the people.

The stand that We take up should be one resting on a perception of the natural and social orders as being subject to objective laws of development that can (and must) be utilized to help us make better lives for ourselves through struggles for national independence and social revolution.

Like Malcolm, We should understand that We exist in the world as social beings, as integral parts of a whole. Our stand is the stand of a people, of an oppressed nation vis-a-vis the forces of capitalist oppression. More particularly, our stand is the stand of the most revolutionary class of the nation, the working class. The stand of Malcolm, the stand that We must take up and creatively develop, is the stand of the nation for its independence, and of the working class for social revolution; it is representative of the consciousness of the nation and the revolutionary class, an awareness of our historic position and mission in the system of the world order, and of our fundamental, long-term interests.

Afrikans in the u.s. join other oppressed peoples as gravediggers of capitalism and imperialism. Our interests are fundamentally opposed to the continued ideological, political, and economic hegemony of the u.s. and its allies and puppets. Our mission is to regain absolute control of our natural and human resources, and to direct their use toward the all-round development of each person, according to the principles of collective mastery.

Also characteristic of Malcolm's stand is the search for a scientific revolutionary theory, and a corresponding attempt to build an organized structure that would test the theory in the course of practical revolutionary activities with the masses of our people and with our allies, under the leadership of the working class.

Central to the stand that We must take up is a focus on the acquisition, use, and retention of state power -- our only guarantee for an ultimate solution to our problems in all spheres of socioeconomic life. Only state power, exercised according to our development of scientific socialist principles, can secure our long-sought "freedom, justice, and equality."

Malcolm based his ideas and actions upon what he called a "proper analysis" of conditions and of interests, so that We can know what the "stakes" in the struggle really are. For Malcolm, the "stakes" were material and human resources, the control of land, the ownership of major means of production and distribution on national and international levels.

When Malcolm said, "I'm not an American," he was expressing a conclusion that he had arrived at after a thorough analysis of the concrete historical conditions that have confronted Afrikans in the u.s. Malcolm described those as colonialism. Today, he might call them neo-colonialism.

The colonial oppression of Afrikans in the u.s. helped Malcolm to understand colonialism elsewhere, and helped him to begin forming bonds of worldwide solidarity with other colonized peoples against capitalist imperialism, "as the slave system in the West is called." Malcolm's understanding of the world system of imperialism, in turn, sharpened his understanding of the colonial oppression of Afrikans in the u.s.

Malcolm's analysis of the concrete conditions inside the u.s. and throughout the world led him to the conclusion that the fundamental contradiction in the world -- the fundamental problem facing Afrikans in the u.s. -- was one posing "them" against "us." Malcolm initially posed this contradiction in racial terms, and later he more accurately pointed toward "international capitalism" as the real enemy, because Afrikans in the u.s. and elsewhere were and are oppressed "for economic reasons," and not because of the color of our skin, i.e., "racism" is a mere tool used by international capitalism and colonialism; it's a shadow that far too often diverts our attention away from the substance.

With our attention now on the "substance," where and how do We begin? We could look toward Malcolm for some examples, and We can say that he began with proper orientation, study, and struggle.

We will receive our orientation from our philosophies, ideologies, and theories. At this stage of struggle, much of our orientation will be provided by a common strategic line on the need to concentrate our efforts among the masses, in work to realize a "revolutionary democratic program."

At bottom, no matter what may be our differing philosophical, ideological, or theoretical positions, We all must work with and for the masses, around "food, clothing, and shelter" issues -- or be left by the wayside. We can tackle these issues in our usual separate and ineffective ways, or We can tackle them together, combining and coordinating our resources in the form of national revolutionary democratic front.

More than this, however, our orientation must be genuinely and consistently revolutionary. Putting all nuance and vacillation aside, the only way to be genuinely and consistently revolutionary in the real world is to fight to bring about the downfall of international capitalism and for the rise of socialism. Anything less than this would not be a creative development of Malcolm's legacy.

This is the kind of orientation that We must have, and it's the kind of orientation that We must promote in our work among the masses. Only the insincere or the misguided, or people who otherwise aren't carrying forward Malcolm's legacy, would hesitate to promote such revolutionary concepts and programs among the masses of our people. That such concepts won't be readily embraced in most quarters is no excuse for not promoting them. That capitalism needs to fall, and socialism needs to rise, is the truth. And, as Malcolm would say, We're gonna tell the truth whether people like it or not.

Initial orientation must be reinforced, refined. We must study. Again, turning to Malcolm, We see that, once oriented, he began to prepare himself for the many battles that he knew were ahead of him. Not only did he raise his basic literacy skills, but he studied a variety of subjects. He sharpened and tested skills and ideas (e.g., debates), and he began to teach as part of his learning process. He dialectically combined theory and practice, study and struggle.

We can begin in a similar way, by consciously organizing and orientating our study groups, our networks, our social investigation committees, our research projects, our community action task forces, our strategic studies institutes, and our international policy boards.

All thought, all theory and ideas must be linked to forms of practice. When We organize "study groups" We're organizing people. The objective is to organize people that aren't already organized or that aren't organized to carry forward Malcolm's legacy.

CROSSROAD Support Network
3420 W. 63rd Street
Chicago, IL 60629
Voice/FAX: 773-737-8679
crsn@aol.com
www.afrikan.net/crossroad

[Messages on BRC-NEWS may be forwarded and cross-posted, as long as proper attribution is given to the author and originating publication (including the email address and any copyright notices), and the wording is not altered in any way, other than for formatting.

As a courtesy, when you cross-post or forward, we'd appreciate it if you mention that you received the info via the BRC-NEWS list. Thank you.]

BRC-NEWS: Black Radical Congress - General News/Alerts/Announcements
Subscribe: Email "subscribe brc-news" to majordomo@igc.org

Thanks to Andre S Belcher

Happy Slavemasters Day!



But Im willing to let ol' George Washington have the benefit of the doubt. Check out this article from the GW Estate:

George Washington was born into a world in which slavery was accepted. He became a slave owner when his father died in 1743. At the age of eleven, he inherited ten slaves and 500 acres of land. When he began farming Mount Vernon eleven years later, at the age of 22, he had a work force of about 36 slaves. With his marriage to Martha Custis in 1759, 20 of her slaves came to Mount Vernon. After their marriage, Washington purchased even more slaves. The slave population also increased because the slaves were marrying and raising their own families. By 1799, when George Washington died, there were 316 slaves living on the estate.

The skilled and manual labor needed to run Mount Vernon was largely provided by slaves. Many of the working slaves were trained in crafts such as milling, coopering, blacksmithing, carpentry,and shoemaking. The others worked as house servants, boatmen, coachmen or field hands. Some female slaves were also taught skills, particularly spinning, weaving and sewing, while others worked as house servants or in the laundry, the dairy, or the kitchen. Many female slaves also worked in the fields. Almost three-quarters of the 184 working slaves at Mount Vernon worked in the fields, and of those, about 60% were women.

The workday for slaves was from sun-up to sun-down, six days a week. Sunday was a day of rest.

Although George Washington was born into a world where slavery was accepted, his attitude toward slavery changed as he grew older. During the Revolution, as he and fellow patriots strove for liberty, Washington became increasingly conscious of the contradiction between this struggle and the system of slavery. By the time of his presidency, he seems to have believed that slavery was wrong and against the principles of the new nation.

As President, Washington did not lead a public fight against slavery, however, because he believed it would tear the new nation apart. Abolition had many opponents, especially in the South. Washington seems to have feared that if he took such a public stand, the southern states would withdraw from the Union (something they would do seventy years later, leading to the Civil War). He had worked too hard to build the country to risk tearing it apart.

Privately, however, Washington could -- and did -- lead by example. In his will, he arranged for all of the slaves he owned to be freed after the death of his wife, Martha. He also left instructions for the continued care and education of some of his former slaves, support and training for all of the children until they came of age, and continuing support for the elderly.

Plus: Who is WEB Dubois?

Happy Birthday Huey Newton!



Huey Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party born 2/17/1942.

Huey Newton, the youngest of seven children, was born in Monroe, on 17th February, 1942. His father, who named his son after the radical politcian, Huey P. Long, was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).

At Merritt College in Oakland, California, Newton met Bobby Seale and in 1966 they formed the Black Panther Party. Initially established to protect local communities from police brutality and racism, it eventually developed into a Marxist revolutionary group. The Black Panthers also ran medical clinics and provided free food to school children. Other important members included Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Fred Hampton, Bobby Hutton and Eldridge Cleaver.

The activities of the Black Panthers came to the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Hoover described the Panthers as "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country" and in November 1968 ordered the FBI to employ "hard-hitting counter-intelligence measures to cripple the Black Panthers".

The Black Panthers had chapters in several major cities and had a membership of over 2,000. Harassed by the police, members became involved in several shoot-outs. This included an exchange of fire between Panthers and the police at Oakland on 28th October, 1967. Newton was wounded and while in hospital was charged with killing a police officer. The following year he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

After being released from prison Newton renounced political violence. Over a six year period 24 Black Panthers had been killed in gun fights with the police. Another member, George Jackson, was killed while in San Quentin prison in August, 1971.

Newton now concentrated on socialist community programs including free breakfasts for children, free medical clinics and helping the homeless. The Panthers also became involved in conventional politics and in 1973 Bobby Seale ran for mayor of Oakland and came second out of nine candidates with 43,710 votes (40 per cent of votes cast).

Newton published his book, Revolutionary Suicide in 1973. The following year he was arrested and charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Released on bail, Newton fled to Cuba but in 1977 he returned to the United States and was freed after two hung juries.

Newton returned to his studies at the University of California and in 1980 he received a Ph.D. in social philosophy. His dissertation was entitled: War Against the Panthers: A Study in Repression in America. Huey Newton was shot dead on 22nd August, 1989, while walking along a street in Oakland.

From: Young Messengerzz

Ranting about the world...

Ann Coulter:Throw her in the trash!

I been spending tons of money on just junk. I buy stuff...DVD's, CD's, pretty much alot of stuff. I finally got the classic old school Cold Crush Brothers album. I've been waiting for like 20 years to get that album, now its finally on Amazon. I also got that movie about the whole krumpin' movement, that move called Rize. I saw it in the theater, but I liked it so much I got that from Amazon as well. It had some tight dance scenes and I was interested in this whole dance scene, so I wanted to check it out.

I had this debate with some Republicans about Ann Coulter's nasty "Raghead" comments and statements. These people are pathetic. They actually think that by getting on the internet and calling the Arabs who are protesting about the cartoons and the terrorists ragheads, that they are actually accomplishing something. Check out this comment from some soccer mom named Beth:

Robert, there's a world of difference between racism against blacks (or others) and calling terrorists names as a way of expressing hatred (yes, hatred) for their goals and actions. If you can't see that, it's a damn shame and it says more about you than anything.

LOL....my thing was what does calling people names accomplish? I guess its hard for somebody white to really see things from the perspective of somebody who grew up around nothing but racist rednecks and had to hear "nigger, nigger, nigger" all the damn time. I don't find name calling empowering; it just doesn't do much for me. As much as it is a part of hip hop culture to "dis" people, that's different. When white people like Beth do it, its out of an inflated sense of superiority mixed with stupidity.

Republicans are some of the stupidest people on Earth. And screw the Democrats too. I don't need 'em.


Check out this awesome article on Robert F Williams and "Negroes with Guns". This was about a black man who armed himself and other black men to defend himself from mobs of racists, rednecks and other trash. Forget Booker T Washington and all those corny-ass wusses that are propped up every February. This is a true hero. His book, "Negroes with Guns" is available on Amazon.

Check out 4StruggleMag.org

The controversy over Islamic cartoons and racism

Check out So what color was Jesus?

Now I know that in the Islamic faith, the Muslims don't want the prophet Muhammed to be illustrated because of the whole aspect of making up an idol, bowing down and worshipping it. I mean, let's be real, ever since the image of Christ as looking very white with long hair has become indicative of what he really looked like, its not hard to see the influence of white supremacy in making who we worship, well, white, even though there is a possibility that he was black. Check out Jesus Black Ancestors, Was Jesus black? and another Was Jesus Black? article. Although some will say that it does not matter, to me it does matter.

What if Muhammed was black? Talk about unthinkable. I saw the cartoons and to me the Prophet was painted as just looking like a simple Arab. The cartoon makes him look slightly buffonish, with a bomb as a turban.

This image is as ignorant as it gets. It makes me think that it serves no real purpose. Its not funny. It didnt make me laugh. It painted the Prophet and all Muslims in one broad stroke as being terrorists. The image of the Prophet didn't even really provoke any kind of thought provoking reflection. In short, it was just dumb, really dumb. The same Republicans who scream free speech would be screaming bloody murder if an AmeriKKKan did a comic strip lamponing the soldiers as murderers and rapists.

As for the Muslim world, again, I ask, what if the prophet was black? Check out JA Rogers Sex and Race Books to see what I am talking about. I'll just leave it at that.

Check out Black Cults, by a "Hip Hop Republican"

Valentine Day: Are You Supporting Child Slavery & Murder?http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/showthread.php?p=73884

Nestlé
One-third of Nestle's chocolate is from West Africa, where over 286,000 children have been reported working in slave conditions on cocoa (chocolate) farms. Nestle promotes genetically engineered foods while claiming "the Fair Trade approach is not a solution." learn more

Nestlé is the largest food manufacturer and chocolate company in the world with over $65 billion in annual sales. Fair Trade Certification, which guarantees a modest minimum price of $.80 per pound, would establish a "floor" or minimum price that Nestlé could easily afford to pay, thus providing a fair price to small farmers, a subsistence wage for cocoa plantation workers, and an end to the practice of child slavery.

Nestle refuses to investigate the September 22, 2005 brutal assasination of Diosdado Fortuna, the leader of the Nestle union in the Philippines (the second Nestle union leader to be assasinated in this area).

Dole
Dole is the largest cut-flower producer in the world, the majority of which is imported from Columbia and Ecuador where low paid farmworkers are exposed to 127 different chemicals, including neurotoxins and carcinogens. Studies show 60% of these long-term workers have signs of early cancer. learn more

David H. Murdock, Dole's CEO, is ranked by Forbes as one of the wealthiest men in the world. If you took the amount Dole pays all of its thousands of international floral farm workers, per year, and multiplied it times 100 years, you'd still have less than the amount that Mr. Murdock is "worth" (over $2 billion), yet he refuses to have the company invest in paying its farmers liveable wages.

Dole is also responsible for union busting in Columbia (firing union supporters).

Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart is the largest retailer of cut-flowers in the United States, the majority of which come from Dole. Wal-Mart is also one of the largest retailers of Valentine's chocolate candies, mainly sourced from Nestle, Mars, and Hershey.

Wal-Mart's 1,713 stores do not sell or support Fair Trade or organic chocolates or flowers.

While Wal-Mart, the world's largest corporation, rakes in over $250 billion in sales each year, the average pay for a Wal-Mart sales associate is $1,000 below the poverty line for a family of three, and the company is now well known for outsourcing its production to sweat shops.

M&Ms/Mars Inc.
M&Ms/Mars Inc. has been accused of buying from contractors who utilize child labor and child slavery on cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast.

M&M/Mars Inc. is the third wealthiest private company in the United States. The three private owners of the company are each "worth" $10.4 billion, while the West African farmers actually growing the cocoa for M&Ms chocolate make a baseline income of only $108 annually. M&M/Mars Inc. continues to report record profits while flat out refusing to consider Fair Trade. learn more

Mars Brands: 3 Musketeers, Combos, Dove,
Kal Kan, Kudos, M&Ms, Milky Way, Pedigree, Sheba,
Skittles, Snickers, Starburst, Twix, Uncle Ben's, Whiskas

Hershey's
Despite announcing record profits in 2006, Hershey's has been accused of buying from contractors who utilize child labor and child slavery on cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast.

Like M&M and Nestlé, Hershey's has banned genetically engineered soy lecithin and sweeteners from its product line in Europe, while refusing to do the same in North America.

Hershey's Brands: Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, Almond Joy, Mounds, York, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, Bubble Yum

Source:
Organic Consumers Association - http://www.organicconsumers.org/valentines/alert.htm

Happy Birthday Bob Marley..Black History tidbit for today


2/6/1945-Bob Marley, reggae star born



Check out Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Part 2 of 2
Tonite at 9:00...click this link for details.