Dr. Maya Angelou has passed away at the age of 86

Maya Angelou, Lyrical Witness of the Jim Crow South, Dies at 86

By MARGALIT FOX

MAY 28, 2014

Maya Angelou, the memoirist and poet whose landmark book of 1969, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” — which describes in lyrical, unsparing prose the author’s girlhood in the Jim Crow South — was among the first autobiographies by a 20th-century black woman to reach a wide general readership, died on Wednesday in her home. She was 86 and lived in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Her death was confirmed by her longtime literary agent, Helen Brann. No immediate cause of death had been determined, but Ms. Brann said Ms. Angelou had been in frail health for some time and had had heart problems.

As well known as she was for her memoirs, which eventually filled six volumes, Ms. Angelou (pronounced AHN-zhe-lo) very likely received her widest exposure on a chilly January day in 1993, when she delivered the inaugural poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” at the swearing-in of Bill Clinton, the nation’s 42nd president, who, like Ms. Angelou, had grown up poor in rural Arkansas.

She has received over 50 honorary degrees and was Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

Angelou is famous for saying, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

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Why Brown v. Board of Education Is STILL the Most Important Court Decision of the 20th Century

This week has been the Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.



The First Lady went to Topeka, Kansas to deliver a speech about the Anniversary.

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision, First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at Senior Appreciation Day in Topeka, Kansas, where the historic civil rights case began.

On this commemoration, there is a tendency in some quarters to take the glass half-empty approach to what's happened in the past 60 years.

Yes, schools have gone back to being re-segregated.

Yes, there continues to be inequality in the schools, and it's still a funding issue. If the discrepancy in funding didn't seem to follow the re-segregation, I don't think it would be that much of an issue.

But, don't let anyone tell you that Brown is outdated.

That Brown wasn't necessary.

Brown was absolutely, positively necessary.

Brown v. Board of Education was the death knell to what I call the ' Delusional World of Mad Men'.

Where we had a group of people believing that they were big fish in a big pond.

When, in actuality, they were fish in a pond where 90% of the rest of the fish were shoved into sardine cans.

Brown v. Board opened those sardine cans and let all the rest of the fish come out and swim in the pond. To be given the chance to swim in the pond and make it.

There is a underlying lie, that there simply weren't qualified Black people to do jobs, and suddenly, after the Civil Rights Movement, all these folks just 'happened' to appear.

That's a DAMN LIE.

The truth is, there were generations upon generations of highly qualified Black people who never got the chance to dream. To fulfill their 'passions'. To explore ' possibilities'. All things that the youth of today do routinely.

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First Lady Michelle Obama Gives the Weekly Address

In this week's address, First Lady Michelle Obama honored all mothers on this upcoming Mother's Day and offered her thoughts, prayers and support in the wake of the unconscionable terrorist kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls.

Kwasi Enin Is Accepted at *ALL* 8 Ivy League Universities!

Hat tip-3CHICSPolitico:

Let it be know that Kwasi Enin APPLIED to and was ACCEPTED into *ALL* EIGHT (8) Ivy League UNIVERSITIES. He's a high school senior, IVY LEAGUE COLLEGES or UNIVERSITIES, NOT schools. Got it?

Kwasi Enin has made HISTORY, beacuse he is the FIRST student to achieve this phenomenal feat.

CONGRATULATIONS, KWASI!











Long Island high school student is accepted at all eight Ivy League schools

Excerpt here:

Kwasi Enin, a senior at William Floyd High School in Mastic, applied at each of the eight Ivy League schools and got accepted into all of them. The acceptance rate for upcoming freshmen at these elite schools ranges from 5.9% at Harvard to 14% at Cornell.



"I think my preference is Yale," he said. "They seem to embody all the kind of things I want in college. The family, the wonderful education, the amazing diverse students and financial aid, as well. I think Yale has all that for me right now. It's tough to compare all these wonderful schools," he ended.



Kwasi Enin and family- LOL Ya'll know Kwasi's sister is a NERD.

John Kerry In Ukraine - Old Thinking Has Renewed The Cold War

John Kerry is now in Kiev getting the U.S. more deeply involved in a Cold War conflict.... pledging Billions of dollars and making more promises of help. It is U.S. meddling since Clinton that led to this confrontation in the first place (pushing NATO eastward when it was not necessary... creating more U.S. defense obligations in the process... while antagonizing the hell out of the Russians; U.S./EU trying to control former Soviet Republics, etc). The U.S. has an interest in maintaining the Cold War so that the massive defense industry will continue to have customers (The U.S. government & other Nation States). Now there is a new line across Europe. Most Americans don't have a clue about the history of Ukranian-Russian relations.

I would rather see Obama & co take that money and invest it in much needed projects here at home. Where are the billions of dollars for Americans who desperately need it? It's ironic that while offering aid overseas... money for food stamps for Americans was slashed in the recent Farm bill. We need money to build community centers, job training centers, increase the number of job opportunities and to rebuild urban cores like Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Camden....cities all across the Country. We need money to improve education, put more officers on the street (& give them better training), & weed/seed blighted areas. We need money to build/re-build infrastructure, and put together a comprehensive & strategic energy policy (like Germany has done). Money is also needed to fix the debt (a looming crisis). But when it comes to taking care of the homefront... these jackasses can't seem to find the money. But the 'meddling in conflicts & adventures overseas budget' always seems to be limitless. Americans have spent at least a trillion dollars (a trillion....just think about that for a moment) on Iraq & Afghanistan alone (and still counting). And a trillion is a lowball estimate.

American priorities are out of order.

Sadly... Americans (who don't know any better) believe that Hillary Clinton would be a great candidate for President. But we can't afford another Clinton. (She's a warhawk like her husband... but even more inclined to go to war). Biden is a joke.... and is too old. There seems to be no good viable candidates.

Hopefully another progressive will emerge (one with a fresh vision for the Country). Nation is screwed otherwise.

Huge Mess In Ukraine

The situation in Ukraine has exploded into a huge crisis. I have written here many times on the subject.... and have pointed out that Ukraine was one of the most dangerous flashpoints on earth. Now everyone is seeing why.

The U.S. & Europe are largely to blame. Meddling and engaging in a Cold War tug of war with Russia (something not in our interests) has basically created this situation. Years of bad foreign policy from the Clinton administration, through the Bush era, and now with Obama, has now led to this. Most Americans, including diplomats & Obama advisers, don't understand Ukraine... so bad policy on Russia and Ukraine was the natural result. This has the potential of being another Berlin or Cuba. Hopefully that can be avoided with diplomatic efforts.

Wider U.S. policy on Russia over the past 20+ years, particularly under Clinton, created the conditions in Russia that allowed a cowboy like Putin to come to power. The people of Russia once supported the U.S., especially in the 1980's... to around 1991. But years of antagonizing Russia, ignoring Russia...and pushing Russian interests aside...basically disrespecting Russia... the U.S. turned into an enemy once again. The U.S. missed an opportunity in the 1990's to bring Russia into the Western sphere (if you can call it that)...and into the normal community of nations... aligned more closely with traditional Europe. Clinton is largely to blame. I will never understand why Americans want to see another Clinton. The USA can't afford another Clinton. We are indeed still paying the price for Bill Clinton's policies.

Follow the Ukraine situation on Twitter. Welcome to follow my twitter page.

E-mail/call your member of Congress and let them know that you want the U.S. & Europe to keep out of Ukraine...with the exception of negotiation/mediation.

The Infamous Human Chair Photo: Racist or Misunderstood?

The photo of Russian socialite, art critic and Garage Magazine editor Dasha Zhukova , has sparked an outcry both online & off. The photo above, originally published in the Russian magazine 'Buro 247', shows Zhukova sitting on a human chair made from a Black model. Cautious observers point out that the photo is a remake of a style and a series from previous artists. However, that context doesn't overcome the context regarding race. Racism is rampant in Russia, so how could Zhukova or anyone else believe that this would be viewed as acceptable? Then again, their aim may have been to shock. They were definitely successful at pissing off a large number of people. The aim may have been to gain more exposure for her magazine. If that is the case, then it's like adding salt to the wound. It just makes it that much worse. It has also been reported that the human figure is simply a mannequin... not a real model. Looks like a model to me. But I don't think that makes a huge difference either way.

I think it's racist just in terms of the publisher not recognizing the social context and environment in which it was put out.

Any thoughts? Is this defensible?

A Less Ambitious State of The Union

For the first time in several years, I was not glued to my TV screen for the annual State of the Union. There was not much anticipation surrounding this years speech.

This was definitely a speech from a President who is on his way out. Unfortunately a Republican Congress was at least partially successful in its mission to block or disrupt most of his major initiatives. At least for the time being, they have at least partially won the argument on healthcare reform.... in part because they have a much better PR game, and Progressives still cannot seem to sell their ideas to a public that, for the most part, already believes in core Progressive principles. This is astonishing to me.... but I predicted as much. The PR surrounding the Affordable Care Act has been a train wreck. Progressives could not sell a lifeline to a drowning man. The fact that Obama and Co outsourced one of their most important projects to a bunch of tech amateurs and didn't triple check the work also didn't help their cause.

In this speech, President Obama seemed to focus on remaining goals that were actually reachable.

Unlike previous State of the Union messages, there were no repeated demands in this speech for Immigration Reform. I think Obama & Co has accepted the reality that getting something done regarding comprehensive immigration reform is unlikely. A good PR campaign could help (the public has consistently expressed support for immigration reform), but the Democrats, being so bad at PR, are not even putting up much of a fight, even though it could help them in midterms, and in 2016. It's an illogical approach on their part.

Most of the speech was trite... much of the same blah rhetoric. I did hear a few positives.... or at least President Obama seemed to lean in a positive direction in a few areas, particularly in foreign policy. He expressed a willingness to stand up against Congress on at least some of his foreign policy moves. He expressed a desire not to allow Congress to interfere with negotiations on Iran. He also seemed to raise the bar, although slightly, on the future use of force, at least until the next pro-war American President takes office. For the first time, in about 15 years (since Bill Clinton's Kosovo adventure) an American President emphasized the need for the U.S. to "move away from a permanent war footing". First, he acknowledged that this was a problem, and secondly, he pointed out other means of asserting American influence besides using military force. However, there were several points where he ended up negating or contradicting those statements. The best example would be the obligatory declaration of support for Israel at all costs (even at the cost of America's best interests and security)...an obligatory declaration that all American Presidents must give because Israel has such a strong influence over money and politics within the U.S.

I guess it has not dawned on him that putting Israel ahead of the U.S. and blindly supporting and defending Israel, even to the detriment of this country, means that the U.S. will literally be on a war footing forever. So which is it? The U.S. can't have it both ways. Unfortunately with Israel, it's an either/or proposition.

In describing what America is all about, he went on to say we "free other nations from tyranny and fear. He was basically reiterating America's role as global cop. But I would argue, that's not our job. You cannot really hope to end the state of perpetual war, while at the same time, continue to push the role of the world's police force. So unfortunately, there was no groundbreaking shift from war in this speech at a time when we should have heard something more definitive. All I heard from the President on this front is that for the next couple of years, he was hoping to avoid any wars, and that we might.... just might... be able to avoid a big disastrous war with Iran. It was not the convincing message that I wanted to hear. There were no signs that the country was making a fundamental shift from outdated & nonsensical cold war, Truman Doctrine, or Bush Doctrine foreign policy. The U.S. is still headed in that wrong direction. Meanwhile, the U.S. will not be able to pay down its debt and will continue to fall behind in education, energy, education and tech.

I would have liked to hear more about student loan debt relief and reform, patches to healthcare reform, immigration, job creation, a national energy strategy that makes sense; and investment in urban communities in terms of eliminating blight, providing jobs and job training.

Happy Birthday, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is the national holiday honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are plenty of speeches that one could post about Dr. King, but here's a passage from A Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

April 16, 1963

MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN:

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you go forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.