Year Of Greatness

 DO NOT LET today be the last day that we celebrate our history. Just because the white man has subjected us to celebrate our heritage in only 28 days (29 when it's a leap year) doesn't mean that we have to restrict ourselves to this short time frame.  

Throughout the next 10 months post random information about blacks from the pass or the present. Research and update your knowledge, so you can share it with a fellow classmate or a younger sibling. Use your social media as an outlet for this information instead of the basic/irrelevant things you are posting. 

 Let this be the start of a year that we as black people make a stand, letting the world know that we have come from a strong line of warriors and we are not letting the line come to and end. The events that have taken place this month should be fuel to our inspiration for  our voices to be heard.

Black Men You Should Know

Lewis Latimer 

(September 4, 1848- December 11, 1928)

Inventor, and draftsman

Patenting of the light bulb and the telephone

Lloyd Hall

(June 20, 1894- 1971)

Developed new methods of food preservation and 

sterilization which eliminated spoilage and health 

hazards and enhanced efficiency and profitability 

for food suppliers

Charles Drew

(June 3, 1904- April 1, 1950)

Educator, Doctor, and Surgeon

Pioneered methods of storing blood plasma

for transfusion and organized the first large-scale

 blood bank in the U.S.

Bayard Rustin

(March 17, 1912- August 24, 1987)

Spent years in the background of the shadows of the

great civil rights leader of the 1960's, despite being 

the man who taught, organized and led them.

Wendell Scott

(August 29, 1921- December 23, 1990)

First Black full-time driver on the NASCAR circuit

Acting as a driver and his own mechanic he gained the 

admiration of fans and fellow drivers his grit and determination

to be successful in a sport deeply-entrenched in the Jim Crow south.

Matt Baker

(December 10, 1921- August 11, 1959)

The first known successful African American artist

in the comic book industry. 

Bobby Seale

(October 22, 1936)

Political Activist 

Co- founder and National Chairman of the Black Panther Party

Huey P. Newton

(February 17, 1942- August 22, 1989)

Activist

Founded the militant Black Panther Party in 1966

Friendships

"A broken friendship can be a comma or a full stop. You choose."

Friendships are tricky. When everything is good and working in the favor for both parties the relationship prospers, but as soon as one party does something to better themselves or the other feels left out, issues seem to arise. Why? I can't answer that for you guys at the moment, because I'm going through the stage of letting some long term friendships go. Some may say it comes from lack of communication, others say that the friendship has ran its course. Maybe it's both, but all I know is that losing a friend is harder then what most people think. 

"Make your decision on what insecurities you are willing to deal with and which ones you are not."    Arielle N. Wallace

I tend to act off of emotion in almost every situation ( I know I shouldn't, but I do). Being a friend of mine, you need to understand and take in consideration of what has happened in my day. If you do not receive a phone call from me that day or for a couple weeks it's okay. I might just be busy or want to be alone, I will reach out and inform you of why I've acted the way I did. 

Do not assume or question me because, I will not tolerate a friend that questions my actions. I hate having to explain my actions to my parents, so what makes you think I want to explain myself to a friend? Not every move I make should be explained to you. As a friend whatever I decide to do, you should be there for support, even if you know what the outcome may be. 

                                               

Yes, friends are going to have their arguments and times where they go without speaking. But neither one should feel that the other should be replaced due to been in college, staying at home, or going off to the military. Most issues in the friendship comes from new adjustments or additions to their life.  Neither one of you thought that these adjustments would be a big change, but as we can see, it has and it's either we gone communicate or the friendship will fade away.

Black Women you should know

Jane Bolin

( April 11, 1908- January 8, 2007)

Judge, Lawyer

Graduated from Yale Law School

1st black female judge in U.S. 

Marian Wright Edelman

( June 6, 1939)

Civil Rights Activist, Writer, Lawyer 

" Never work just for or for power. They won't

save your soul or help you sleep at night" 

Myrlie Evers

( March 17, 1933)

Civil Rights Activist, Journalist 

"Jim Crow is alive and it's dressed in a Brooks 

Brothers suit, my friend, instead of a white robe"

Barbara Jordan

( February 21, 1936- January 17, 1996)

Civil Rights Activist, U.S. Representative

"We must exchange the philosophy of excuse- what I am 

is beyond my control for the philosophy of responsibility"

Florynce Kennedy

( February 11, 1916- December 22, 2000)

Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Politician

 "I never stop to wonder why I'm not like other people.

The mystery is why more people aren't like me" 

Mary McLeod Bethune

( July 10, 1875- May 8, 1955)

Civil Rights Activist, Educator

"The whole world opened to me when I learned to read.

Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond 

in the rough. The true worth of a race must be measured by

the character of its womanhood."

Sally Hemings 

( 1773- 1835)

Was an enslaved black woman who's believed to have had

several children with the United States president Thomas Jefferson

Ruby Bridges

(September 8, 1954)

Civil Rights Activist

"Racism is a grown-up disease and we

should stop using or kids to spread it"

Shirley Chisholm

( November 30, 1924- January 1, 2005)

                                                     

U.S. Representative 

"You don't make progress by standing on the 

sidelines, whimpering and complaining. 

You make progress by implementing ideas."

Dorothy Height 

( March 24, 1912- April 20, 2010)

Civil Rights & Women's Rights Activist

"Greatness is not measures by what a man or women accomplishes,

but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals"

STOP WORRYING

Worrying- to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.

Worrying comes from over thinking. When we over think, we make up things that we want to happen. Then we start "tweaking"(I'll explain this in a future post). Tweaking is not good for anyone at all. Our minds can be the reason why some situations and circumstances get ruined.

Goal setting for a new year

People are always setting goals for the upcoming year. Most of us know this as a New Year's Resolution.  I've been setting such goals since I was in ninth grade, but I never actually accomplished any of them. Why? My guess is as good as yours. I think I never accomplished any because no one every held me accountable for setting them. You're probably thinking like "Maybe you should hold yourself accountable." Yes, I should, but I need support from others.