The March on Washington (60 Years Later)

 

The 60th anniversary of the March on Washington took place in Washington, D.C. Organizers of the march included Martin Luther King III, his wife and Drum Major Institue President Arndrea Waters King, daughter Yolanda (or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s granddaughter), and National Action Network leader Rev. Al Sharpton. We see a right-wing backlash so vicious that far-right MAGA extremists want to revert to the 1950's instead of going forward in the 21st century. Jealous people in Georgia desire to target Fulton DA Fani Willis because she is fulfilling her duty to make sure that Trump and 18 other indicted people face accountability. The 60th anniversary is a continuation, not a commemoration. Many of the speakers in the rally spoke up for justice and equality for all people in the human race. They spoke out against gun violence, against racism, against sexism, and against anti-Semitsm. It's our duty to not only speak up against evil. We have to be active in constructive actions in helping society to grow. We have to expose liars like Ramaswamy who called Presley and Kendi as the "Modern KKK." The KKK murdered people, raped people, and burned down black churches to the ground. This stuff from Ramaswamy shows his racism and ignorance of history. Constructive actions must be done by us. These actions can be going on in city councils, working in the school system, registering people to vote, running for office, volunteering, mentoring kids, defending democratic rights, building up communities, working in STEM to help humanity, and being a light of wisdom for people. Each of us has a gift, and it is very important to be inspired by our audacious ancestors in making sure that the Dream in the future will develop into total fruition.

A lot has changed since August 28, 1963, when the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom began. Technology has massively evolved to include iPhones, Netflix, Meta, and artificial intelligence. Yet, victory for liberty and justice is not a reality yet. When voting rights are less now in 2023 than in 1965, then we have a serious problem. Our outrage at the status quo is justified. Many human beings today face police brutality, poverty, sexism, poverty (and other forms of economic oppression), xenophobia, and other forms of bigotry. The 1963 March on Washington and the overall civil rights movement was about bringing diverse people together in order to bring the federal government to fulfill its responsibilities to the people. The federal government has the responsibility to ensure the general welfare and promote justice for all in an indivisible fashion. That is not our reality now when states ban books, restrict voting rights, and seek to harm the free speech rights of peaceful protesters. 

The criminal justice system, the wealth gap, and health care disparities will not be solved by moderate prescriptions or MAGA rhetoric. These evils can only be solved by structural and revolutionary change among all levels of government. The deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the 3 black people in Jacksonville, Florida show the epidemic of hate crimes in America. It shows that racism is a reality that seeks to destroy black lives literally. It's our just right to stand up for black lives from the poor and the homeless to others of every background. It is important to realize that the 1963 March on Washington (which was organized by tons of people like John Lewis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cleveland Robinson, Bayard Rusin, Daisy Bates, Ann Arnold Hedgeman, A. Philip Randolph, etc.) wasn't just about the fight to end legalized Jim Crow apartheid. The march was about ending poverty, advancing a living wage, developing workers' rights, having fair education, developing housing, ending police brutality, and desiring full citizenship among black people. 

Grassroots organizing is one major avenue where solutions are enacted, and the black freedom struggle overall has been always inspirational. Reactionary politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (who advanced a shoot-on-sight policy against undocumented immigrants which is abhorrent) and four times indictment Donald Trump may want to have a vendetta against progressives, but we seek the opposite in promoting progressive values. It is not enough to end Jim Crow apartheid which should be gone. We have to also promote egalitarianism in making sure that economic and racial equality is real via a radical redistribution of economic and political power. It's the reality that when Dr. King promoted these aims including opposing imperialism (and the Vietnam War) via his Poor People's Campaign, that he would be assassinated in 1968. So, we have to be clear to unite with like-minded people to defend democratic freedoms wholeheartedly.

By Timothy

Track and Field Results from the 2023 Championships.

 

Some great news is that Sha'Cari Richardson won the 2023 World Track and Championships today. We knew it was coming. We knew when she would get the torch, and she got it by her own merit. She refuted the haters, overcame obstacles, and is now the fastest woman this year. She won in a record time of 10.65 seconds. She knew that she had to run the race of her life, and she did just that. She won against the greatest competition of women's track and field 100m athletes in human history. It's that important. Sha'Cari Richardson gave an interview after the victory outlining the point that hard work does pay off. Sha'Cari Richardson won gold, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica won silver, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won bronze from Jamaica. In the 100m hurdles of men, Grant Holloway won gold from America with a time of 12.96 seconds, Hansle Parchment from Jamaica won silver with a time of 13.07, and Daniel Roberts of America won bronze with a time of 13.07.

There are more results from the 2023 World Track and Field Championships. For the 200 m, Shericka Jackson won gold from Jamaica (almost reaching Flo Jo's record from 1988), Gabrielle Thomas from America won silver, and Sha'Carri Richardson won bronze from America.  For the men's 200m race, Noah Lyles won gold for America, Erriyon Knighton won silver, and Letsile Tebogo from Botswana won bronze. For the men's 400m, Antonio Watson won gold from Jamaica, Matthew Hudson-Smith won silver from the UK, and Quincy Hall won bronze from America.

There are more results from Thursday's 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. For the men's 400 m race, Antonio Watson of Jamaica won gold, Matthew Hudson-Smith won silver, and Quincy Hall of America won bronze. For the 400m hurdles, Karsten Warholm of Norway won gold, Kyrion McMaster of the British Virgin Islands won silver, and Rai Benjamin of America won bronze. For the men's long jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou won gold from Greece, Wayne Pinnock won silver from Jamaica, and Tajay Gayle won bronze from Jamaica. For the 400m women's race, Marileidy Paulino won gold from the Dominican Republic, Natali Kaczmarek from Poland won silver, and Sada Williams from Barbados won bronze. For the 100m hurdles of women, Danielle Williams of Jamaica won gold, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won silver, and the American Kendra Harrison won bronze. For the 400m hurdles for women, Femke Bol of the Netherlands won gold, Shamier Little from America won silver, and Rushell Clayton from Jamaica won bronze. From the women's hammer throw, Camyrn Rogers from Canada won gold, Janee' Kassanvoid from America won silver, and DeAnna Price from America won bronze.

Involving the 2023 World Track and Field Championships in Budapest, Hungary, new developments are here. Soufiane El Bakkali won gold in the 3000 m men's steeplechase from Morocco, Lamecha Girma from Ethiopia won silver, and Abraham Kibiwot won bronze in Kenya. Part of the men's high jump, Gianmarco Tamberi won gold from Italy, JuVaughn Harrison won silver from America, and Mutaz Essa Barshim won bronze from Qatar. As for the women's 1500 meters, Faith Kipyegon won gold from Kenya, Diribe Welteji from Ethiopia won silver, and Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands won bronze. As for the women's discus throw, Laulauga Tausaga-Collins won gold from America, Valerie Allman won silver from America, and Feng Bin from China won bronze.

There have been a lot of results in the 2023 World Track and Field Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The winners of the Women's 10,000 m race are Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia winning gold, Letesenbet Gidy of Ethiopia winning silver, and Ejgayehu Taye from Ethiopia winning bronze. For the 20km race walk, Alvaro won gold from Spain, Perseus Karlstrom from Sweden won silver, and Caio Bonfim from Brazil won bronze. For the men's shot put, Ryan Crouser from America won gold, Leonardo Fabbri from Italy won silver, and Joe Kovacs won bronze from America. For the 4 X 400 m mixed relay (meaning including men and women), America won gold in the world record time of 3:08:80, Great Britain won silver with the time of 3:11:06, and the Czech Republic won bronze with the time of 3:11:98.

By Timothy

The Nicene Council and The Holy Trinity.

 The Nicene Council story is one of the most important stories in Christianity and in spirituality in general. It is about a heroic young bishop against heretics like Arius and Constantine who wanted control and power. The lie is that the Nicene Council invented the Trinity, but the Trinity doctrine existed in the early church centuries before the Nicene Council. Jehovah's Witnesses, Gnostics, and other people in various faiths are anti-Trinitarian, but I do believe in the Trinity.  Constantine was once a pagan, and he never invented the doctrine of the Trinity. The term Trinitas was used by Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch in ca. 180 A.D. The term of Trinity was also used by Tertullian almost 100 years before the Nicene council. Athenagoras said the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit simultaneously exist as one God. Praxeas promoted the heresy of Monarchianism or that the Father became the Son, and the Son became the Spirit. This is modalism or what the Oneness teaches now. The Trinity was resisted by Gnostics and Arians. Modalism was promoted in Rome. Roman Catholicism as we know it today never existed in the early church as the early church never embraced purgatory, Mary being the Ever Virgin, or the Pope being the head of the church. Even the apostle Peter was married and had children. The early church had bishops and institutions functioning in equal space as Cyprian said no man is a bishop among bishops. It would be after the 300's A.D. when the Catholic Church formed claiming falsely that the Bishop of Rome has primacy over all churches of the world. By 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine of Rome claimed to have witnessed a vision of God of seeing the shape of a cross in front of the sun. Then, he saw the Greek words of toutoi nika or in this sign conquer. Constantine then put his soldiers with the X on their shields to defeat his enemies. He told his friend Eusebius this story. Constantine allowed the end of the persecution of Christians that existed since the edict of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Constantine unified church and state which is against what Yeshua said of renders things to God things belong to God and render things to Caesar separately. Then, we saw a paganism infiltrate certain churches. Soon, icon, relics, veneration of images, and other heresies came into the apostate church (not the true church). Constantine didn't care about theological issues that much. 

Many future popes called themselves the Vicar of Church is blasphemous as God needs no representative on Earth. Arius was a bishop who opposed the bishop Alexander. Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, Egypt believed in the Trinity, but Arius was a heretic who thought that Jesus Christ was a created being. Bishop Alexander had a synod and denounced Arius's views. Arius forgets that Jesus in the NT is called the only Begotten Son of God and other views show Jesus Christ's existence before Creation. Arius believed that Yeshua was a created being not the eternal God in the flesh. Arius's friend Eusebius knew of Constantine and his family, so Constantine wanted this piece. Constantine convened the Nicene Council to deal with theological questions. It ended by Juen of 325 A.D. Arius debated Alexander. Alexander believed that Jesus Christ was the of the same substance (or homoousia) being God. Bishop Alexander and the young deacon Athanasius worked hard to debate and defend the Trinity. Athanasius said that the Scriptures prove that Jesus Christ was the same substance of nature as God. Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia believed that Christ was a created being. At first, Constantine banished Arius. By 333 A.D., Constantine agreed with Arius not being banished with the help of his friend Eusebius. Constantine was baptized on his death bed in 337 A.D. Arius suddenly died on his way to visit Constantinople where his friend Eusebius lived at. Constantine's son Constantius was a total Arian. He bashed Athanasius from Alexandria. Athanasius was attacked during his church service by Arians who brought 5,000 Roman soldiers with them in 353 A.D. Other creeds like in Constantinople would disavow the term substance. This would change after Constantius death in 361. Arians split apart. Athanasius passed away in 373 A.D. after writing books to refute the Arian heresy. His other important works include his Letters to Serapion, which defends the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, you know the truth. 

By Timothy

On this July 4th, 2023.

As we approach the historic 250th anniversary of the birth of America, we contemplate its history, culture, and reality. I was born in America in Virginia, so I know all about American history. The first inhabitants of the Americas were Native Americans who developed complex, advanced civilizations. Later, colonists came into the Americas for various reasons. Evil people not only caused genocide against Native Americans, but they also enslaved African human beings, kidnapped them, and brought them into the Americas (which was one of the greatest crimes in human history). I am a descendant of Bantu West and Central African peoples. On the day of July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed during the beginning of the Revolutionary War (that started in 1775 and ended with the Treaty of Paris by 1783). The contradiction of many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence is that document mentioned that all men are created equal (which is true), but many of the signers of that document owned slaves and never believed in true racial equality. That contradiction among other contradictions are things that we must reckon with during this time of the year. While folks eat hot dogs, steaks, and other forms of food, we must be real with our past if we want a better future for America. America grew in the midst of blood. 

The Revolutionary War was between colonists and the brutal British Empire that had colonialism in the four corners of the Earth. The British Empire advanced Monarchy which placed a king as having authoritarian rule over human beings which is in contrary to the ideals of human liberty and egalitarianism. American colonists almost saw defeat (when New York City was conquered temporarily by the Redcoats and when Norfolk was burned by the Redcoats too), but America miraculously won the Revolutionary War with help from the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, and other human beings. African Americans were on both sides of the Revolutionary War seeking an end to slavery and oppression. The great sins of Native American genocide and the enslavement of black African human beings lay at the heart of the beginning of the American nation. From 1776 to our time in 2023, it has been a battle between good Americans who desire democratic principles to reign in living up to our creed, and evil people who seek evil prejudice, racism, xenophobia, sexism, and other injustices to consume America in a wicked fashion. Frederick Douglas's speech about July 4th described the legitimate outrage at American injustices and hypocrisies inflicted on human beings (especially on black human beings) and the right for us to speak out against nefarious evils too. 

It is important to note that people fought back against tyranny from back in the day too. Our ancestors fought back. Our ancestors defeated evil terrorist Confederates during the end of the Civil War (when black men and black women fought for the Union heroically. Heroes of every color also were on the right side of history too), during the end of World War II (in opposition to racism, fascism, anti-Semitism, and imperialism), and in the streets of Selma (where the Voting Rights Act was promoted, and it was signed into law by 1965). Still, the ultimate victory is not ours yet. 

Many of us underestimate the horrendous, cruel hatred found in Trumpism. Today, we witness old complications and new problems from book bans (advanced by the bigot and reactionary Ron DeSantis), voter suppression laws, and to gun violence. Our response should never be to embrace a confirming attitude. All of us should have an awareness of our responsibility to not only speak about equality and justice, but we have to live by these audacious precepts. That means that we humbly treat people with dignity and with respect, vote, protest, build institutions of helping people, improving our environment, and be sincere about being better human beings in our lives. The greatest way to love America is to improve America (to be free from oppression) that we advocate. People know what my political views are. That's self-explanatory. Whether you agree with me or not, I fully stand by my principles. I am not ashamed of showing my views in public. Therefore, we have a great opportunity in 2023 and in 2024 to continue to advocate for justice and build a just democratic society that our descendants earnestly deserve.

 

 

By Timothy

The 50th Year Anniversary of Hip Hop.

 

This year is the 50th year anniversary of Hip Hop. Hip Hop is unique in many ways. To me, it's the most controversial musical genre in human history and the most resilient musical genre in human history. Hip Hop has been loved, hated, banned by many individuals, praised, and acknowledged as a key part of world culture. Like with many things, hip hop originated with black people, and it has been expressed by human beings of every color as hip hop is a universal culture. Elements of hip hop existed long before the 1970's like graffiti, turntables, rapping (we know of people rapping in the 1930's in blues/jazz songs), beatboxing, breakdancing, and DJs existed before the 1970's. Modern day hip hop was created by Kool Herc by August of 1973. So, hip hop was created by Afro-Caribbeans and African Americans working together to celebrate music in parties and celebrations. Early on, hip hop was headed by the DJ. The DJ is equivalent to the orchestra manager or conductor like Duke Ellington conducting the notes of the orchestra. The DJ in hip hop originally conducted the beats and the sounds. African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans in the Bronx and the rest of the city of New York City used block parties to have competitions and parties to see who the better hip hop artist was (amid poverty, police brutality, and deindustrialization in New York City). 

The M.C. rose in prominence to talk about music, bragging, having fun, and other topics. During the 1970's, prominent hip hop artists were Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Sugar Hill gang, King Tim III, Funky Four Plus One More, Lady B, Jocko, Paulette and Tanya Winley, Ron Hunt, and Eddie Cheba. Kurtis Blow started his hip hop career during the 1970's too. By the 1980's, hip hop music changed forever. It was the time when hip hop was taken more seriously by mainstream society. The samples of funk and R&B records increased. Legends grown. LL Cool J, Salt n Pepa, Rakim, Eric B, Kane, and other artists helped to develop the Golden Age of hip hop. The Golden Age lasted from the late 1980's to the early 1990's. It featured many artists. The 1980's hip hop diversified with conscious groups like Public Enemy, hardcore reality rap (or gangster rap) with N.W.A, sexual hip hop with 2 Live Crew, and more pop rap like Will Smith and Kid and Play. The 1990's saw hip hop reach new heights of international power making billions of dollars of people. New Jack swing started the decade and in the end of the decade having hardcore, conscious, and the bling era. The two most prominent artists of the 1990's were Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. They lived and traveled all over America and their lives were cut short unjustly by jealous, cowardly people. They remain the most influential hip hop artists of all time with their impact, talent, and style. During the 1990's, Wu Tang Clan, Outkast, Snoop, Scarface, DMX, Jay Z, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and other artists shown their musical abilities. By the end of the 1990's, newer artists like Mos Def, Canibus, Eminem, Nia, Jean Grae, and other people released their own musical songs and albums. 

By the 2000's, there was the end of the bling era and the start of new forms of hip hop sounds. Many sounds mixed hip hop and R&B together. Hip Hop became the new rock stars in terms of popularity and influence by the 2000's. In the 1990's, there were debates on the commercialization of hip hop. By the 2000's, more hip hop artists embraced themselves as a business. By the 2000's, we saw the increase influence of Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Jay Z, Eminem, Cam'ron, Mase, Ludacris, Ying Yang Twins, and other artists. The South not only grown hip hop culture but became the the large face of hip hop by the 2000's. The growth of snap and crunk were prominent. By the 2010’s, a new generation of artists talked about politics, love, romance, the life or the urban communities, and justice like Tribe, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Pusha T, Kanye West (with probably the most experimental album of his career in Yeezus), Rapsody, The Roots, Young Thug, Future, Vince Staples, Mac Miller, and others. From the 2010’s, a new renaissance of young women hip hop artists have taken the stage like Nicki Minaj, Noname, Azalea Banks, Princess Nokia, Cardi B (I don’t agree with her on many issues, but I mention here for historical reference), Rico Nasty, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Rapsody, Tierra Whack, and Coi Leray. By the 2020’s, hip hop has evolved more in embracing the same youth culture along with soundcloud beats. The fashion has changed, historical events have changed, but the same goal of musical excellence has not changed in hip hop culture. By the 2020’s, we see artists like Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice, Polo G, Jack Harlow, Fivio Foreign, and other artists. Cheat Codes from Black Thought was an album released in 2022 with lyrical power and flow. At the end of the day, hip hop, the elements of hip hop include emceeing, deejaying, break dancing, graffiti, beatboxing, fashion, language, and knowledge. One element is not better than the other as hip hop is diverse. Human creativity is very diverse, and hip hop has been around for more than 50 years. It will continue to expand for many more years to come. 

BY Timothy

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The Detroit 1967 Rebellion.

 

July 22, 2017

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Today is the weekend of the 50th year anniversary of the rebellion of Detroit. The rebellion started on July 23, 1967. 

I wasn't born during that time, but my parents were alive then. It happened during the post-World War II boom (from 1945-1973), which many middle class people had economic growth while the poorest of Americans still suffered a great deal. It was an uprising and one of the most serious uprisings in American history. The rebellion was very large and it was suppressed by the police, the State National Guard, and U.S. Army troops. It was caused by many factors. 

For decades before 1967, the Great Migration caused thousands of black people from the South to come into Detroit. They wanted economic opportunities and escape from Southern tyranny (filled with lynchings, murder, violence, and discrimination). Yet, many of them found in Detroit: de facto segregation, lax educational opportunities, dilapidated housing, discrimination, and police brutality. Police brutality existed nationwide from NYC to Los Angeles. Detroit had it too. America was in a crossroads. Many young people wanted more radical action to end pernicious injustices in the world. By the early 1960's, the black middle class in Detroit grew into a great level, because more black residents joined unions and jobs with adequate benefits. The economic burden of the Vietnam War by the late 1960's started to restrict investments in poor communities. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Acts were passed and they were great, progressive legislation, but economic inequality wasn't truly addressed by the federal government. By the late 1960's, housing and racial discrimination were rampant in Detroit. City schools were underfunded as compared to the suburbs just before the rebellion. 

That is why a diversity of black people in Detroit from integrationalists to Black Nationalists wanted real change in their lives. Incidents of racist terror continued in Detroit well into the 1960's. Danny Thomas was a black Army veteran and he was killed by a racist white gang just before the rebellion. Danny Thomas was a courageous man who tried to  protect his pregnant wife from the sexual advances of the racist gang. She later lost the baby. The police refused to arrest the gang. The incident was kept out of the major newspapers until the city's Black newspaper made it a banner headline. The rebellion of July of 1967 started by the police trying to shut down a blind pig. A blind pig is an unregistered club. Many black Vietnam War veterans were in the club. Then, the crowd increased and the rebellion started. It was long spanning many days. It was bloody. The result was 43 dead, 1,189 injured, over 7,200 arrests, about 5,000 people were left homeless, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. Hundreds of people were wounded. Military tanks roamed the streets. Innocent people were killed. There was the Algiers Hotel incident where many innocent people were assaulted and killed by authorities. Businesses were destroyed. People were confused. Men, women, and children were displaced of their homes. Many people, who were arrested, were viciously assaulted by the police. 12th Street (in the Virginia Park area of Detroit) is a major focus point of the black community in Detroit. From Albert B. Cleage, Jr. to Malcolm X, Detroit has a long history in the black freedom movement. 

The result of the rebellion was an exodus of many people from Detroit along with the acceleration of deindustralization for decades to come. For decades, Detroit's population declined and there was the bankruptcy of Detroit during the 21st century. Also, there has been many activists in Detroit fighting for a new, better Detroit to this very day. Their efforts should be acknowledged and respected. The rebellions of the 1960's represented how American capitalism was fallible (in the sense of it claiming to be for the rights of people domestically while funding reactionary foreign policy actions overseas) and the issues of class oppression and racial oppression must be addressed if we are to be in the Promised Land of justice for real. Even the Kerner report outlined that economic oppression and racism were contributing factors to the rebellion. Today, we see the growth of the middle class and the rich. 

We see also the growth of the economic inequality and militarism in the world. The rebellions of the 1960's was exploited by the powers that be, so they could make militarized more of the local police, to expand the mass incarceration state (under the guise of "law and order" which reactionaries use all of the time), and to use other evil methods of suppression. The Detroit rebellion caused the increased military involvement in the lives of suppressing future rebellions. Also, Coleman Young was soon mayor of Detroit. He was the first black mayor of Detroit. 

The Detroit rebellion was a reminder that hurting, oppressed people don't need scapegoating. They need adequate resources, compassion, and respect to achieve their own aspirations in life. Still, Detroit residents are resilient and they a'int backing down. They are our Brothers and our Sisters.

By Timothy

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