Monday, February 28, 2022
Sunday, February 27, 2022
📣 For Your Information
Sorry, folks... but if you're a frequent shopper @ Family Dollar, you NEED to read this article forthwith and pass it on to others you know who shop there too!
Saturday, February 26, 2022
📚 BHM Reading List
In honor of BHM, staff members who are part of the Obama Foundation’s Black Affinity Group compiled a reading list that includes everything from contemporary memoirs to classic novels. These "must read books" reflect unforgettable stories about black love, survival, healing, and joy. Pass it on and spread the word!
Friday, February 25, 2022
ROOTS: The Saga of An American Family
"ROOTS" is an American TV miniseries based on Alex Haley's novel "Roots: The Saga of an American Family". The series originally aired on ABC January 23-30, 1977. It received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won 9 of them. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which holds the record as the third-highest-rated episode for any type of TV series, and the second-most watched overall series finale in U.S. television history. It was produced on a budget of $6.6 million, which is nowhere near what a production of the same magnitude would cost today.
The novel that preceeded the miniseries was published by Doubleday on August 17, 1976. It was an immediate success, garnering a slew of positive reviews and debuting at #5 on The New York Times Best Seller List. It quickly became a #1 Best Seller and held on to that spot for 22 weeks. In total, it remained on the list for 46 weeks. Together, the success of the novel and miniseries that followed sparked an explosion of interest in the fields of genealogy and people researching their own family history. In some cases, it also inspired many black families to plan and gather for long overdue reunions that might not have happened otherwise, but still continue to this day.
So thank you, Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (1921-1992), for sharing your family's personal journey from Africa to America and slavery to freedom in such an extraordinary way that made the world stop, take notice, think, and not miss an episode. And, we will always remember that tremendous all-star cast of actors and actresses who played their individual roles so well. Rest in power to you and anyone else who is no longer with us. For those who are still here, thank you for your part in this unforgettable experience too!
🇺🇸 Black History is American History
Watched the livestream presentation "A Celebration of Hazel Scott: Activism Through Music & Art" last night 7:00-8:30pm ET on Eventive and it was excellent!
Thursday, February 24, 2022
⏳ #TBT Longwood Gardens
It's sleeting in Philly right now, so this personal reminder
from 8 years ago today that spring is coming was right on time!
from 8 years ago today that spring is coming was right on time!
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller
Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller is the first known African American psychiatrist whose work includes some of the earliest publications on dementia in America and his story is a remarkable one.
Born in Africa in 1872, Dr. Fuller was the grandson of enslaved people in Virginia who purchased their freedom and moved to Liberia. After moving to the United States in 1889 to complete his undergraduate degree, he graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine, a school open to all genders and racial-ethnic groups.
After completing medical school, Dr. Fuller did research in the lab of German psychiatrist Dr. Alois Alzheimer, doing anatomical preparations and examining the resulting brain samples. His work in the lab led to the discovery of traits for Alzheimer's disease in 1906.
Dr. Fuller made a huge contribution to our knowledge about Alzheimer’s dementia and his legacy lives on. It provides hope to African Americans and others that they can go on and make impactful contributions to science as well, especially dementia science.
Today’s researchers should continue to be inspired by Dr. Fuller and commit to diversity in their labs and trials to strive toward a common goal—to understand and ultimately end dementias among all populations.
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Monday, February 21, 2022
💙 Attention Autism Community!
Please read this list carefully and I know it is intended to raise awareness in general. However, I will take it one step further by saying any one of these things could set the stage for our autistic children (depending on their individual abilities) to be vulnerable at the hands of over zealous police who choose to shoot first and ask questions later—in particular, after they become teens through adulthood. This is one more reason why we need police reform NOW! #RememberElijahMcClain
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Friday, February 18, 2022
⏳ #FBF Laugh Out Loud
Okay, this blast from the past is just to make you smile. Who remembers invisible dog leashes? Did you buy one for your invisible dog? Be honest. No harm was done and we won't tell anyone!
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Free Livestream Event: RSVP & Spread The Word
"Hazel Scott was a born improviser, driven to break the rules..." so wrote TIME Magazine of this most important civil rights advocate you may not know.
A true civil rights hero, Scott was known for her courageous testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and her tireless fight against segregation. Few artists have used their public profile to combat racial injustice as valiantly as she did. In a career that spanned over four decades, Hazel Scott captivated audiences worldwide with her swing renditions of the classics. Born in Port-au-Spain, Trinidad and raised in Harlem, Scott used her influence to improve the representation of African Americans on-screen, and on her own television show, The Hazel Scott Show, in 1950.
This a free live event for everyone and it will air online Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 7:00pm ET. Produced by MOWFF cultural partner The Apollo Theater and narrated by Hazel Scott biographer Karen Chilton, this very special program includes performances by pianist Damien Sneed and saxophonist/vocalist Camille Thurman, and a virtual conversation about Hazel Scott with Mr. Sneed and MOWFF Artistic Director Isisara Bey. Click on the image or text link to RSVP. You need to register to livestream the event.
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters
Throughout the 20th century, African Americans challenged segregation at amusement parks, skating rinks, and swimming pools not only in pursuit of pleasure but as part of a wider struggle for racial equality. Before the Montgomery Bus Boycott, church groups picnicked at white-only parks, mothers led their children into segregated amusement parks, and teenagers congregated at forbidden swimming pools. But, too often, white mobs attacked those who dared to transgress racial norms. In Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters, Victoria W. Wolcott tells the story of this battle for access to leisure space in cities all over the United States.
Contradicting the nostalgic image of urban leisure venues as democratic spaces, Wolcott reveals that racial segregation was crucial to their appeal. Parks, playgrounds, and pools offered city dwellers room to exercise, relax, and escape urban cares. These gathering spots also gave young people the opportunity to dance, flirt, and mingle. As cities grew more diverse, these social forms of fun prompted white insistence on racially exclusive recreation. Wolcott shows how black activists and ordinary people fought such infringements on their right to access public leisure. In the face of intimidation and violence, they boycotted discriminatory roller rinks, picketed Jim Crow amusement parks, and swam at white-only beaches. When African Americans demanded inclusive public recreational facilities, white consumers abandoned those places. Many parks closed or privatized within a decade of desegregation. Wolcott's book tracks the decline of the urban amusement park and the simultaneous rise of the suburban theme park, reframing these shifts within the civil rights context.
Filled with detailed accounts and powerful insights, Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters brings to light overlooked aspects of conflicts about public accommodations. This eloquent history demonstrates the significance of leisure in American race relations. Victoria W. Wolcott is Professor of History at The State University of New York in Buffalo and you just read the Forward from the book. Click on the cover photo for more details about the author and book.
Contradicting the nostalgic image of urban leisure venues as democratic spaces, Wolcott reveals that racial segregation was crucial to their appeal. Parks, playgrounds, and pools offered city dwellers room to exercise, relax, and escape urban cares. These gathering spots also gave young people the opportunity to dance, flirt, and mingle. As cities grew more diverse, these social forms of fun prompted white insistence on racially exclusive recreation. Wolcott shows how black activists and ordinary people fought such infringements on their right to access public leisure. In the face of intimidation and violence, they boycotted discriminatory roller rinks, picketed Jim Crow amusement parks, and swam at white-only beaches. When African Americans demanded inclusive public recreational facilities, white consumers abandoned those places. Many parks closed or privatized within a decade of desegregation. Wolcott's book tracks the decline of the urban amusement park and the simultaneous rise of the suburban theme park, reframing these shifts within the civil rights context.
Filled with detailed accounts and powerful insights, Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters brings to light overlooked aspects of conflicts about public accommodations. This eloquent history demonstrates the significance of leisure in American race relations. Victoria W. Wolcott is Professor of History at The State University of New York in Buffalo and you just read the Forward from the book. Click on the cover photo for more details about the author and book.
Footnote: When I was growing up, I always wondered why my church, my family, me and my friends (when we got older), etc. always had to travel so far to get to an amusement park. Once upon a time, Philadelphia had them within the city limits but they were all gone by the time I was born in 1958. After I read this book a few years ago, I found out why. One example I learned about from the previous generation was Woodside Amusement Park, which was located in Fairmount Park (Ford & Monument Roads) from 1897-1955. One piece of its history, the Dentzel carousel, was restored and is used at the Please Touch Museum today. Woodside was possibly the last amusement park in Philly to close its gates forever. Of course, it was demolished eventually (like all the others) and if no one who was alive at the time told you about it, you would never know it was there. Click on the photo and travel back in time to learn more about this inner city amusement park and its ultimate demise.
Monday, February 14, 2022
😇 I Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV)
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Saturday, February 12, 2022
🏈 Super Bowl Challenge
How many of you know your culinary skills are so awesome, you can make an exact replica of this stadium for the big game tomorrow?
Friday, February 11, 2022
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
😋 Bon Appetit
Okay, this is a double-whammy in our house because the hubby loves pizza and I love bagels and lox. Sorry I didn't check my source earlier today, but we know it now. Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
📺 ME-TV Age Challenge
Well, this was only ONE YEAR off at guessing
my age based on my answers and that's pretty good!
my age based on my answers and that's pretty good!
Monday, February 7, 2022
Sunday, February 6, 2022
Saturday, February 5, 2022
🇺🇸 Black History is American History
Almost 71 years ago (June 5th), mom graduated from Stanton High School in Jacksonville, FL. Under her photo in The Stantonian Yearbook, it notes her nickname was Pudding, her hobby was Reading, her vocation was Nurse Training, and she was a member of the Drill Team.
The school was built in 1868 and named after Edwin M. Stanton, President Abraham Lincoln's second Secretary of War. He was an ardent champion of human rights and an advocate of free school education for Negro boys and girls. At that time, it was the second school for black children in the entire state of Florida.
The original school mascot was 'The Blue Devil'. Because the wooden building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice in 1882 and 1902, 'The Phoenix Rising From Ashes' was later adopted as a second mascot. Both mascots are used today--The Blue Devil for sports and other activities, and The Phoenix as a symbol for the school itself.
There were no more fires but over time, the second wooden building deteriorated and was deemed unsafe. A fire-proof brick building was finally constructed in 1917, which was there by the time mom came along, and is still standing today. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and it is still educating students as Stanton College Preparatory School.
Mom always felt nothing but pride whenever she talked about her Alma Mater and its history of survival through racial adversity, destruction, and segregation. She was more than happy to tell anyone who asked that she graduated from Stanton High School in the Class of 1951.
The school was built in 1868 and named after Edwin M. Stanton, President Abraham Lincoln's second Secretary of War. He was an ardent champion of human rights and an advocate of free school education for Negro boys and girls. At that time, it was the second school for black children in the entire state of Florida.
The original school mascot was 'The Blue Devil'. Because the wooden building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice in 1882 and 1902, 'The Phoenix Rising From Ashes' was later adopted as a second mascot. Both mascots are used today--The Blue Devil for sports and other activities, and The Phoenix as a symbol for the school itself.
There were no more fires but over time, the second wooden building deteriorated and was deemed unsafe. A fire-proof brick building was finally constructed in 1917, which was there by the time mom came along, and is still standing today. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and it is still educating students as Stanton College Preparatory School.
Mom always felt nothing but pride whenever she talked about her Alma Mater and its history of survival through racial adversity, destruction, and segregation. She was more than happy to tell anyone who asked that she graduated from Stanton High School in the Class of 1951.
Friday, February 4, 2022
📬 Carjackings: Email Warning From Police
THIS APPLIES TO BOTH MEN & WOMEN. BEWARE OF PAPER ON THE REAR WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE. NEW WAY TO DO CARJACKINGS (NOT A JOKE)...
Heads-Up Everyone!
You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car, and get inside. You start the engine and shift into reverse. When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into park, unlock your doors, and jump out of your car to remove the paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the carjackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car, and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car. And, guess what ladies? More than likely, your purse is still in the car. So, now the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised.
Beware of this new scheme that is now being used. If you see a piece of paper (or anything else) stuck to your rear window, just drive away. Remove it later and be thankful that you read this e-mail. Please forward this to family and friends, especially to women. A purse contains all kinds of identification documents and personal information, and you certainly do NOT want it to fall into the wrong hands. Share this and keep it circulating!
For additional information from the police about other methods being used to stage carjackings, please click here to see my previous blog post on January 13th. There's a significant increase of these crimes in major cities around the country right now. Be aware of your surroundings at all times and stay safe!
Thursday, February 3, 2022
🙏🏾 National Missing Persons Day
Calling attention to National Missing Persons Day. I pray that God will continue to watch over all of them until they are found, hopefully safe and unharmed!
