Society
About Black History
Written by Glenn R. Towery   
Thursday, 27 February 2014 17:38

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black History is actually world history. We only call it Black history because it is told and created by Black people. Black History is the primal story of the indigenous Black people who are known to be the first people to grace the face of this world we call Earth. In that regard, it represents the history of all people because we all are derived from the original men and women who walked the earth.  If we do not tell Black history, it is impossible to tell the totality of all history. Have you ever read a book without a beginning? That is what narrating history is like without telling Black history. There was a time when all there was, was Black history, because there has been a time when all there were, were Black people on planet earth.

To understand where we are headed as a race (the human race) and as a people, (Black people) we must know and try to understand truthfully where we come from and how we got to where we are actually at today. In this way, we may be able to trail blaze a unique and beneficial course for ourselves as mankind. The stories that make up Black history have almost every culture on earth involved in them at some point in history one way or another. It is important to realize and to understand that as a culture, Black people have undergone and overcome nearly impossible odds and the way those odds were overcome was by individual sacrifice and collective mindset that never takes its subconscious eyes off the prize. All of this makes for a dramatic story of survival, defiance and the ultimate goal of ascendance to the exalted state of true freedom and self-actualization.  Black History shows mankind that much can be achieved when we put our minds to work with a passionate zeal and distinct will to survive.

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The Leadership of Oz
Written by Albert Bolea MBA   
Tuesday, 25 June 2013 20:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I grew up in the 1960s and once each year a major television network would show the Wizard of OZ, a 1939 film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The entire family would come together in the living room for 103 minutes to re-live a fantasy adventure on our 18-inch Magnavox television set. Now as an adult and on the other side of 50 years, a leadership consultant, and a university professor, I no longer view the film as a fantasy. I see it as a lesson in leadership.

As the movie unfolds we are introduced to Dorothy, a young girl knocking on the door of adulthood. Her reality is awakened when a powerful person in her environment, Almira Gulch, takes a dislike to her dog, Toto, and purses legal action to have the dog put down. Instead of facing her reality, Dorothy packs her bags and runs away with Toto trailing behind her. Not far from home she meets her first mentor in the story, Professor Marvel, a traveling magician. The professor helps Dorothy become aware of her accountability to her family, especially her Aunt Em. When faced with the realization that her behavior is wrong she turns around and makes her way back home.

On her way home she encounters another challenge in her environment, a massive tornado that chases her into her house where she is knocked unconscious by the force of the wind. When she awakens she discovers that the house with her in it has been torn from its foundation and is falling through the tornado’s violently rotating column of air. The house lands in a mysterious land, “somewhere over the rainbow.”  Then she meets her second mentor, Glinda the Good Witch, who describes a future for Dorothy that exists at the end of the yellow-brick road – in Emerald City. There she will find the great and powerful Wizard of Oz who will help her find her way back home.

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Inequality Within Black America
Written by Dr. Brooks Robinson Ph.D   
Friday, 15 February 2013 00:27

 

An Obama Presidency does not expunge the issue of inequality in America. Whether one is concerned with income or wealth inequality, the differences between White and Black Americans are stark. Accordingly, Black Americans should continue efforts to reduce the income and wealth gaps that exist vis-à-vis White Americans.

However, Black Americans should not overlook the fact that there is inequality within Black America. Given that we have financial superstars, such as Robert Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Cosby, and knowing that 25 percent of Black Americans are in poverty, one might surmise, there is considerable income and wealth inequality within Black America.

Standard measures of, and statistics on, wealth inequality are difficult to obtain. However, a well recognized measure of income inequality is the Gini ratio. The Gini ratio measures how evenly income is distributed. It takes on values between 0 and 1. A Gini ratio of 0 indicates perfect equality (i.e., every household has identical income), while a Gini ratio of 1 indicates perfect inequality (i.e., one household has all of the income). The lower the Gini ratio, the better—that is, the greater the equality.

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My Blackness Will Always Be Beautiful
Written by Kymberly Keeton   
Tuesday, 27 March 2012 00:00

 

 

There are many connotations in the media and society that still portray African-American women in a negative light. I believe that our race needs therapy. I remember when I was in an abusive relationship and I thought the man that I was with loved me. However, I came to realize that it had nothing to do with him; it was all about me, and how I regarded my life—my self-worth. The relationship did end; I had to revert to therapy to understand why I allowed myself to get into a situation of this caliber.

I remember having to go back into my past during those therapy sessions to truly encompass where I was at that moment. I remember as a child that my mother never told me that I was beautiful or the best thing since sliced bread. I never remember my father telling me these things either, because he died when I was two years old. It took a long time for me to come to the realization that all women are beautiful, and we were designed to be women for a reason.

I speak to every woman reading this article today, that if you have allowed yourself to be abused in a negative way, either in a relationship, by family, friends or co-workers that it is up to you to change, in order for your circle to change. I admit, I’m a pop-culture fanatic, and read just about everything that I can get my eyes on. However, I will say that I have come to realize that the society that we live in—in the 21st Century is no different than the previous.

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