Underrated Prince

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time." Malcolm X






I have always been passionate about African-American history and the Civil Rights movement but  there is one man I feel as though he never gets the credit he deserves is El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz better known as Malcolm X. Malcolm was honest, articulate, and ultimately another reason African-Americans were able become confident with themselves and challenge the establishment. There were many movers and shakers on the forefront during the the 1960s but in my personal opinion and observation Malcolm X was better than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Some people say that Malcolm preached racism, black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. I admire him for many things he was courageous and honest this man had the gumption to challenge the media and anyone who stood in his way. As for his attitude towards violence me and close friend of mine often disagree on this. Before I say anything else let me pose these question Is  any form self-defense wrong? Who is allowed to use self-defense? Just think about it. If everyone practiced the non-violent turn the other cheek philosophy then the Klu Klux Klan would still be able to incite fear and riots, Jim Crow would still be around, etc. My point is we don't live in a world where non-violence and racism does not exist.


Malcolm X influenced and inspired the The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and this organization later inspired the formation for the Bloods and Crips these gangs had a different purpose when they were founded. I will enlighten in my next blog post. As for Malcolm brother I love you and miss you and I want to say thank you. You had the audacity to indite White America for her harsh treatment of African-Americans. I am grateful for you and what you have done more people should take the time to learn and understand this man.

Live In The Sky



Emmett and His Mother



As a young child I was told the story about a young man named Emmett Till my mother mentioned him when our family was going to Mississippi for a family reunion. My mother, grandmother, and aunts warned us about wondering off and proper etiquette basically how crucial it was when we go down south. Recently over my winter break I watched the Emmitt Till documentary on TV One and I was in tears the whole time and the image of his body has not left my mind. For those who do not know about this story I will enlighten you.



Who Was Emmett Till?
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was born  July 25, 1941 born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.  He was the son of Louis Till he passed away in 1945, and Mamie Carthan passed away in 2003. His mother was born and raised in the small town Delta town of Webb, Mississippi. When Mamie Carthan was only two years old her family moved to Argo, Illinois at that time there was a great migration of African-Americans leaving the south.  They were trying to escape the lack of opportunity as well as corrupted law. Emmett Till was raised primarily by his mother and grandmother Mamie Carthan and his father split up sometime in 1942. His father cheated on his mother and choked her severely once. Louis Till was ordered by a judge to stay away from Mamie Carthan and either go to jail or the Army but he died in 1945. So Mamie moved on with her life  she worked and raised Emmett when he was six years old he contracted polio and the cause of his persistent stutter.
What Happened in 1955?
Emmett Till spoke to a 21 year old woman named Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store. emmtt's cousins dared him to speak to her and he said to her "Bye Baby" as she left the store. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam, arrived at Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River,weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later. The part that baffles me the most about this is a few black men were involved in horrible act of violence.



The AfterMath
As you can see the image is very disturbing it appears as though this young teenager does not even look human. The death of Emmett Till was the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. That same year Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus in Alabama, constant media coverage of The Little Rock Nine at Cental High School in Arkansas struck a nerve with black youth in 1957,the NAACP came to the forefront, as well as activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, The Black Panther Party later in the 1960s. I can't imagine the pain and suffering his family endured nor I want to. May he rest in peace his blood was shed in order to spark a movement that changed the world.


The BIG 30!!!!!!!

The BIG 30!!!!!!

One of my favorite singers that is underrated and beautiful is Kelendria aka Kelly Rowland a former member of Destiny's Child and has become and established solo artist. Although her biggest challenge is being compared to her former band mate Beyonce' but I love them both.





Kelly's new album is finally dropping this year and she just turned 30 as of today. She was only 16 when Destiny's Child had their first hit and hasn't looked back since 1997. Kelly celebrated her birthday in New York for the annual fashion week. Happy Birthday Kelly!!!!!! This is the year of the grown ass woman.

He's Fake, She's Fake,

I have been watching the fourth season of BET's critically acclaimed series The Game. For those who are unaware of the show it was written as a spin-off of the highly successful show Girlfriends. The Game aired its first three seasons on The CW Network being cancelled in May 2009 only to be brought back two years in January 2011. I was furious about the first two episodes but things have gotten better since then. So what has been going on?




Marion Pooch Hall Jr. aka Derwin Davis is now the superstar of the San Diego Sabers he is pulling big numbers on and off the field. At this point he has money to blow he and girl Melanie aka Med School are doing much better it seems as though they are starting to enjoy marital bliss. Then again I think the money is going to Melanie's head but who could blame her and Janay isn't going anywhere any time soon. Everything around Derwin has changed including his friendship with teammate Malik Wright.

 Hosea Chanchez aka Malik El De barge Wright is spinning out of control he has become addicted to alcohol, pills, and is having an affair with his boss's wife. Malik has burned his bridges with family and friends he has continued to ridicule and mock his former best friend Terrence aka Tee Tee about money and sleeping with his girlfriend. Recently he was arrested for drunk driving and assaulting a police officer but was released from jail right after the incident occurred. I hate what the writers have done with this character just two years ago Malik was becoming a man and he began to grow. Malik moved out of his mother's house, fell in love and wanted to turn in his player's card, found his long lost father and began to bond with father and his little sister Poochie.





Now he has become an egotistical jerk losing his way in life. On last week's episode of The Game Malik asked Derwin to appear at a press conference so the media and fans could see that Derwin is and still remains Malik's true friend and positive influence. Derwin was told by Tasha Mack, Melanie, and all his endorsers not to talk on the phone with Malik or be seen in public with him. Jason used this incident as a way to receive high ratings on his sports talk show but even he realized Malik is headed in the wrong direction and needs help. So Jason turned on Malik, Melanie turned on Malik, his own mother Tasha Mack turned on him, and now his one true friend Derwin left him hanging. What's next?

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense Pledge

Black Child's Pledge



I pledge allegiance to my Black People.


I pledge to develop my mind and body to the greatest extent possible.


I will learn all that I can in order to give my best to my People in their struggle for liberation.


I will keep myself physically fit, building a strong body free from drugs and other substances which weaken me and make me less capable of protecting myself, my family and my Black brothers and sisters.


I will unselfishly share my knowledge and understanding with them in order to bring about change more quickly.


I will discipline myself to direct my energies thoughtfully and constructively rather than wasting them in idle hatred.


I will train myself never to hurt or allow others to harm my Black brothers and sisters for I recognize that we need every Black Man, Woman, and Child to be physically, mentally and psychologically strong.


These principles I pledge to practice daily and to teach them to others in order to unite my People.







The Black Panther, October 26, 1968


by Shirley Williams

Happy Birthday Mr. Hughes

Hold fast to dreams



For if dreams die


Life is a broken-winged bird


That cannot fly.


Hold fast to dreams


For when dreams go


Life is a barren field


Frozen with snow.


Dreams by Langston Hughes



Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri the second child of school teacher Carrie "Caroline" Mercer Langston and her husband James Nathaniel Hughes. Both parents were mixed race and Langston Hughes was of African American, European American and Native American descent. He grew up in a series of Midwestern small towns. Both his paternal and maternal great-grandmothers were African American, and both his paternal and maternal great-grandfathers were white: one of Scottish and one of Jewish descent.

Hughes as a Baby

More Things About His Ancestry.... Hughes was named after both his father and his grand-uncle, John Mercer Langston who, in 1888, became the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress from Virginia. Hughes' maternal grandmother Mary Patterson was of African American, French, English and Native American descent. One of the first women to attend Oberlin College, she first married Lewis Sheridan also of mixed race. He joined the men in John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 and died from his wounds.


Hughes worked various odd jobs, before serving a brief tenure as a crewman aboard the S.S. Malone in 1923, spending six months traveling to West Africa and Europe. 

During his time in England in the early 1920s, Hughes became part of the black expatriate community. In November 1924, Hughes returned to the U. S. to live with his mother in Washington, D.C. Hughes worked at various odd jobs before gaining a white-collar job in 1925 as a personal assistant to the historian Carter G. Woodson at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. As the work demands limited his time for writing, Hughes quit the position to work as a busboy in a hotel.

There he encountered the poet Vachel Lindsay, with whom he shared some poems. Impressed with the poems, Lindsay publicized his discovery of a new black poet. By this time, Hughes' earlier work had been published in magazines and was about to be collected into his first book of poetry.The following year, Hughes enrolled in Lincoln University, a historically black university in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He joined the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, a black fraternal organization founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C.


After Hughes earned a B.A. degree from Lincoln University in 1929, he returned to New York. Except for travels to the Soviet Union and parts of the Caribbean, Hughes lived in Harlem as his primary home for the remainder of his life.





Just Maybe? I admit I have read and heard accusations about Langston Hughes being a homosexual there is nothing wrong that. But some sources say it was true and others say that it wasn't. Although there could have been some hidden messages in his poetry. Some academics and biographers today believe that Hughes was homosexual and included homosexual codes in many of his poems, similar in manner to Walt Whitman. Hughes has Whitman as his influence. Hughes' story "Blessed Assurance" deals with a father's anger over his son's effeminacy and "queerness." But in order retain the respect and support of black churches and organizations and avoid exacerbating his precarious financial situation, Hughes remained closeted.  Arnold Rampersad  was the primary biographer for Hughes, determined that Hughes exhibited a preference for other African-American men in his work and life.

Then Again? However, Rampersad denies Hughes' homosexuality in his biography. Rampersad concludes that Hughes was probably asexual and passive in his sexual relationships. He did, however show a respect and love for his fellow black man (and woman). Other scholars argue for Hughes' homosexuality: his love of black men is evidenced in a number of reported unpublished poems to an alleged black male lover.



Langston Hughes died on May 22, 1967 he died from complications after abdominal surgery, related to prostate cancer at the age of 65.  The ashes from his body are interred beneath a floor medallion in the middle of the foyer leading to the auditorium named for him within the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.The design on the floor covering his cremated remains is an African cosmogram titled Rivers. The title is taken from his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers". Within the center of the cosmogram, above his ashes, is the line: "My soul has grown deep like the rivers." That happens to be my favorite poem written by Langston Hughes. May he rest in peace he is certaintly an influential man in the world of writing and Harlem Rennisance culture.

The Torch Is Ours

Disclaimer: The purpose of this blog is to inform and entertain people about various topics that come to my mind. I am passionate about Music, Love, Politics, and whatever life has to offer. February is an important month for me as a African-American woman this month is Black History Month. African-Americans are intellgent and beautiful people that have made many great contributions to the United States of America and the world as a whole. All post this month will be dedicated to the people that have blessed us with their intellect, innovative ideas, as well as those who sacrificed their own lives to help bring about equality for African-American men and women.

"Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history"

These are the words of Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, distinguished Black author, editor, publisher, and historian (December 1875 - April 1950). Carter G. Woodson believed that Blacks should know their past in order to participate intelligently in the affairs in our country. He strongly believed that Black history - which others have tried so diligently to erase - is a firm foundation for young Black Americans to build on in order to become productive citizens of our society.

Known as the "Father of Black History," Carter G. Woodson holds an outstanding position in early 20th century American history. Woodson authored numerous scholarly books on the positive contributions of Blacks to the development of America. He also published many magazine articles analyzing the contributions and role of Black Americans. He reached out to schools and the general public through the establishment of several key organizations and founded Negro History Week (precursor to Black History Month). His message was that Blacks should be proud of their heritage and that other Americans should also understand it.



Carter G. Woodson was born in New Canton, Buckingham County, Virginia, to former slaves Anne Eliza (Riddle) and James Henry Woodson. Although his parents could neither read nor write, Carter G. Woodson credits his father for influencing the course of his life. His father, he later wrote, insisted that "learning to accept insult, to compromise on principle, to mislead your fellow man, or to betray your people, is to lose your soul."


Carter G Woodson wrote many books including The Miseducation of the Negro, The Journal of Negro History, The Negro In Our History just to name a few. Thank you Mr. Woodson for wanting to help our people help themselves. Stay tuned this month will have some great posts.