What Do Women Want?

March was International Women’s Month. So, on my "Success Strategies" show, we asked the question, "What Do Women Want"? 

My two guests were:  

• Sister Empress Chionesu, who was the organiser of the Million Woman March which was held in 1997; and

• Dr. Stephanie Myers, who is one of the founders of Black Women for Positive Change, who hold the annual Month of Nonviolence.  

Go here to listen. ‘

In April, we will be discussing, "What Do Men Want?"  So please join us then.  We are live on the first Saturday of every month.  

Please share this with your networks. Thanks!  

5 Things People Still Get Wrong about Slavery

African American Freedom Fighters

I've just seen this very interesting article about slavery misconceptions.  I know that in school, children used to be taught that the enslaved were docile and "happy on the plantation".  But does this belief still persist today?  Please post your thoughts in the comments section below.  

I am delighted that Brother Tony Warner of London Black History Walks will be joining me as my guest on my Success Strategies podcast/online radio show on 4th March.  Please join us for this show, as I am sure he will be dropping many, many fascinating Black history facts and telling us about his new book, Black History Walks in London Volume 1.  

Plus go here for loads more Black history blog posts.  

See also:  The Breathtaking Courage of Harriet Tubman.  

See also:  The Legacy of Violence of the British Empire. 

Please share this with your networks.  

What was your most surprising or unusual Black history fact?  Please comment below.  

How Can We Create a Peaceful World?

On my "Success Strategies" radio show, we asked the question, "How Can We Create a Peaceful World?". 

In Part 1, we talked about recent events, including the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.  We are all in shock about these incidents, especially as we watched George Floyd being killed before our eyes on TV.  Go here for Part 1, which links to Parts 2 and 3. 

Part 2 contained my recent interview with Carthenia Jefferson, one of the sistas from Black Women for Positive Change.  Carthenia is a member of the Birmingham, AL Black Nurses' Association and the National Black Nurses' Association.  She spoke about events they have held in the past for the Week of Nonviolence, and plans for this year under the covid-19 lockdown.  Go here for Part 2. 

In Part 3, we talked specifically about solutions.  We also talked about the fact that this is a global problem, it is not just about the U.S.  People in the UK have been demonstrating on a daily basis since the televised killing of George Floyd.  I talked specifically about the deaths of Cynthia Jarrett, Smiley Culture and Stephen Lawrence, and the shooting of Cherry Groce, all of which occurred in the UK. 

The Independent Police Complaint Commission have found that there is 'no evidence of a criminal offence' in the death of Smiley Culture, and that he stabbed himself to death while police were in attendance at his home.  Does this sound logical to you?  Anyway -   

Are the police the problem?  Do we need to abolish police?  And, if so, what can we put in their place?  How can we put more power into the hands of ordinary citizens?  And how can Nonviolent Communication (NVC) help us to transform these situations?  

Go here for Part 3. 

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2020. 

Many thanks to Naimah Latif for inviting me to host my show on her Blogtalk Radio channel, "The Female Solution".  See you again next month! 

Please listen to the programme and please leave your comments below.  Please also share this with your networks.  

Black History Films

Spent Saturday afternoon watching another excellent Black history presentation by Tony Warner at the Imperial War Museum. To listen to my interview with him from last October, visit the Success Strategies Radio Show.

On Saturday, Tony showed a film of interviews with African Caribbean war veterans, talking about the way they were treated when they settled in Britain after the war.

He then screened another film, titled "Playing the Race Card", about how successive Labour and Tory governments brought in legislation to prevent immigration from Africa and the Caribbean in the '60s and '70s, but did nothing to support the Black people living here.

The film pointed out thtat there were not measures to slow down or curb immigration from Ireland, which was not a member of the British Commonwealth.

In the 1970s, many people who had originated from India but had been living in Kenya and Uganda settled in the UK after receiving pressure from Idi Amin and Jomo Kenyatta. Although they held British passports, many Kenyan Asans discovered that the law had suddenly changed to prevent them from settling in Britain.

Tony pointed out that, although there were huge labour shrtages at the time, African, Caribbean and Asian people were still being discriminated against in employment.

The presentation finished with a short film celebrating some of the many contributions African women have made. I strongly recommend it. Click here to watch it.

Tony's site, Black History Walks, lists future events he will be offering.

I made a decision that this year, I would focus more on the positive. Even though, oppression, discrimination and pain feature largely in our history, alongside this, it is important to focus on the positive. Hence, my article on Black History International.

I therefore add the following comments:

(1) Knowledge is power. I'm sure President Obama has told his children about the way his Kenyan grandfather was treated during Britain's occupation of Kenya. For more about this, see Obama's Inauguration.

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall told me that some of her students in New York from Caribbean backgrounds were not even aware that slavery had happened. Tony Warner told me on Saturday that he had encountered this himself. This kind of ignorance renders us more vulnerable to manipulation by those who would exploit and oppress us. To listen to my interview with Marshall, go to Success Strategies Radio Show.

(2) Tony Warner and I have both heard Black people (who should know better) say that too many immigrants are coming to this country now. These Black people need to be educated to know that they are behaving the same way white people behaved towards their ancestors one or two generations ago.

(3) Along with these stories of oppression and discrimination, there are always stories of courage, of resistance, of African brothas and sistas who have stood up against evil, and fought for their rights and the rights of others. These stories continue to inspire me.

(4) Most importantly, we need to remember that white people are not the enemy (although they often seem to be). The enemy is group mentality. Another example of vicious group mentality and its consequences is the Rwandan genocide as portrayed in Hotel Rwanda. A very small number of people were courageous enough to stand up to the group and behave as individuals in that situation.

I talk more about group mentality and the need for individuality in The Key to Confidence, and in my book What They Don't Want Us to Know.

Do Black People Know Our History?

My guest on tonight's show is Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, founder of the Law and Policy Group and author of Race, Law and American Society 1607-Present. She has a lot to say about Black history and how the law has affected us in Britain and the U.S.A.

I had a fascinating conversation with Gloria last night. She lectures in law in New York City and she told me that some of her students from Caribbean backgrounds were not aware that slavery had even happened there - they thought African people were indigenous to their islands. They had never been taught about slavery. (These are NOT Jamaicans, she assures me.)

Similarly, I was told by a previous guest, Tony Warner, that people in African countries are not aware of their history because the education system does not tell them about it. Click here to read more about that.

Tonight's show is going to be lively, informative and thought-provoking. I hope you will join us at 8:00 p.m. UK time. Click here to join us.

Free Black History Newspaper

Mia Morris has been running the Black History Month website for many years at http://www.black-history-month.co.uk/

Mia now publishes a new, free Black History newspaper. I have just been reading a great article by Stephen Bourne in Mia's paper, about Black people who lived in Southwark, South London (where I live) during WWII. Plus she has events listings from London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Liverpool, Leeds and more.

The newspaper is available from museums including the Imperial War Museum, as well as Lambeth and Westminster libraries.

When I was at the Imperial War Museum, there were thousands of copies stacked up in the corner. So do what I did: grab a dozen copies or so and take them to your local library or school, or share them with friends.

To hear a recording of my 30th September Success Strategies radio show, on which Mia was a guest, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

See also:

http://ancestralenergies.blogspot.com/2008/09/wordpower-literature-festival-emmanuel.html

http://ancestralenergies.blogspot.com/2008/10/black-history-radio-shows.html

http://ancestralenergies.blogspot.com/2008/10/black-history-with-tony-warner.html

Black History Radio Shows (3)

My guest on last week’s show was the historian Tony Warner.

One of the points he made is that Black people are not aware of our history. This is not just true in the Diaspora, it is true on the Continent as well.

He has travelled to Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. In all of these places, he found that people were unaware of their history because the education system did not tell them about it.

To find out more about Tony Warner’s work, visit Black History Walks.

I asked him how people can start to learn about Black history and he said to start with your own family: interview your parents and grandparents about their lives.

To listen to a recording of the show, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow

I asked the late Len Garrison, founder of the Black Cultural Archives, how to research family history. You can read his response in Black Success Stories.

This week, my guest on the Success Strategies radio show will be Kwende Ukaidi of the Birmingham bookshop Yemanja.

Yemanja have a very exciting educational and culture programme for Black History Month. To listen to the broadcast on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and to hear recordings of previous shows, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

Black History in London Radio Show

As October is Black History Month/African Heritage Month in the UK, I am delighted that my guest tonight will be Tony Warner of Black History Walks http://www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk/

Brother Tony tends to take a global view of Black history, which is very much in keeping with the international approach of my show.

To listen, please join us at 8:00 p.m. UK time at: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

You can also listen to the recordings of previous shows at that URL.

See also: Black History with Tony Warner.

Click here to read an article about the African origins of BHM UK.

Black History Radio Shows (2)

Following on from the previous blog, my next guest, Mia Morris, spoke about her Black History Month website and her new, free Black History newspaper, which complements the site. She is keen to promote grassroots organisations which are putting on events regardless of whether or not they receive funding.

Mia’s website is at: http://www.black-history-month.co.uk/

My final guest was Emmanuel Amevor, who spoke about the Wordpower International Black Literature Festival and Book Fair. Centerprise, who are running Wordpower, have lost all their funding from the Arts Council, but they intend to carry on and are holding an impressive series of events this year.

Click here to listen to the recording of this show.

Click here for Black History Radio Shows (part 1).

Click here to see my African Heritage resources.

For more BHM events, visit: http://www.itzcaribbean.com/blackhistorymonthevents

Black History Radio Shows

My first guest on the Success Strategies radio show on Tuesday was Joan Gosier of Black Parent Connect and HBCU Kidz. Joan is becoming a regular caller and it was lovely to hear from her again. She is doing research about people from Africa who attended HBCUs. She is finding it very difficult even to search for the information because of the way the search engines are configured. If you can help or have any information, please contact her. Click here for Joan’s blog.

To read about Black history which is alive in London today, click here.

Click here to join us for the show every Tuesday and to listen to recordings of previous shows.

Wordpower Literature Festival - Emmanuel Amevor Interview

On Tuesday, 30th September, I begin my Black History Month programmes with a preview from Mia Morris of Black History Month UK. Plus, Emmanuel Amevor of Centerprise will tell us about the forthcoming Wordpower International Black Literature Festival, which is now in its second year.

Wordpower 2008 will include events about African spirituality, identity and the effects of the media on the African self-image.

The show goes out live at 8:00 p.m. UK time. To listen and to phone in with your questions or comments, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

To read a previous interview with Emmanuel Amevor, visit
http://www.kuumba-survivors.com/centerprisewordpower.htm.

Judith Germain: Surviving and Thriving in the Corporate World

My guest last night on the Success Strategies radio show was Judith Germain. She mentors CEOs and has a particular interest in working with mavericks.

Amongst other things, Jude spoke about

• what being a maverick is like for a Black person
• bad managers and how to change their behaviour

I don't know about you, but I've experienced loads of bad managers in my time, so I found this very interesting.

Click here to listen to the recording.

Rene Carayol MBE, whom I interviewed in Black Success Stories, also has a particular interest in mavericks. In my interview with him, he shared his five steps for corporate success. Click here to order your copy.

Report Back from the Democratic National Convention

Last night, on my "Success Strategies" radio show, two Black bloggers, African American Political Pundit and Adrianne George of Black Women in Europe reported back from last week's Democratic National Convention in Denver.

They described the "electric" atmosphere at the convention. They had expected only seven Black bloggers to be present, but there were at least 12 (out of 150). But at least 40% of the people there were African American, including delegates as well as people who had just come along because they wanted to be present.

They also talked about whether, and how, Obama will be able to represent the disenfranchised, particularly the homeless.

To hear the recording of the show, visit http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

Award-Winner Black Blogger Reports from the Democratic National Convention

Award-winning blogger Adrianne George, from the Black Women in Europe blog, will be joining me on my "Success Strategies" radio show tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

Adrianne was given credentials to attend the convention. Blogging has become very important in this presidential election, giving ordinary people a voice in a way that has never happened before. But there has been a struggle to allow African American bloggers to attend the convention as credentialled bloggers. Click here for more information about the Black bloggers.

Adrianne will be joining the show live from the floor of the convention. You can join us by clicking here.

Click here to read my Obama blogs.

Direct from the Democratic National Convention

On Tuesday 26th August, 8 p.m. UK time, Adrianne George of Black Women in Europe will report direct from the floor of the Democratic National Convention on my Success Strategies radio show. Click here to join us.

It was difficult for Black bloggers to get the credentials to attend the convention, and very few will be there, with an overwhelmingly white presence amongst the bloggers. But Adrianne did it and she'll let us in on all the latest news on Tuesday.

Click here to read my Obama blogs.

Prisoners Provide Cheap Labour for Microsoft

Many large corporations, including Starbucks, JC Penny, Nintendo and Microsoft, use cheap prison labour to produce their goods in the U.S. For more information, see http://africanamericanpoliticalpundit.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=119

This practice began after slavery, when plantation owners used ex-slaves as free labour to harvest their crops. Specific laws were brought in which ensured that African Americans swelled the prison population, and were then made to work on chain gangs.

On Tuesday, 26th August, I will be interviewing Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, author of Race, Law and American Society 1607-Present, which explores links between modern-day racial injustices and slavery and post-slavery discrimination.

Plus, I will have a report from the floor of the Democratic National Convention by Adrianne George, of the Black Women in Europe blog, who has been credentialled as a blogger at the convention.

I hope you will join us. Please phone in with any questions or comments. Click here fore details.

Prisoners Provide Cheap Labour for Microsoft

Many large corporations, including Starbucks, JC Penny, Nintendo and Microsoft, use cheap prison labour to produce their goods in the U.S. For more information, see http://africanamericanpoliticalpundit.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=119

This practice began after slavery, when plantation owners used ex-slaves as free labour to harvest their crops. Specific laws were brought in which ensured that African Americans swelled the prison population, and were then made to work on chain gangs.

On Tuesday, 26th August, I will be interviewing Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, author of Race, Law and American Society 1607-Present, which explores links between modern-day racial injustices and slavery and post-slavery discrimination.

Plus, I will have a report from the floor of the Democratic National Convention by Adrianne George, of the Black Women in Europe blog, who has been credentialled as a blogger at the convention.

I hope you will join us. Please phone in with any questions or comments. Click here fore details.

Obama Phone-In Tomorrow (Tuesday)

As the author/publisher of Black Success Stories, I am very aware of the psychological importance of positive role models.

I would like to know, if Senator Obama is elected President, how will this impact on the lives of people of African heritage, both inside the U.S. and internationally? How will this affect our families, our jobs, our businesses, our health ?

Please join me for the Obama phone-in on my “Success Strategies" radio show tomorrow, Tuesday 19th August at 8:00 p.m. UK times. Your opinion matters! http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

Obama in Berlin

Yesterday, 25th July 2008, the streets of Berlin were lined with people wanting to hear Presidential candidate Obama speak.

He spoke of freedom, and of the need for American and German people to unite.

He spoke of duty and of victory over tyranny. He spoke of a common destiny and of our common humanity. He made reference to a new hope, and to the fall of the Berlin wall.

Senator Obama’s central message seemed to be that we need to unite in the fight against terrorism – get behind the armed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was saying that wee are all together in this fight. He repeatedly addressed the “People of Berlin, people of the world”. I am sure he is eager to demonstrate his grasp of foreign policy.

However, his statement that the purpose of the NATO mission in Afghanistan was to “help them rebuild their nation” was, at best, disingenuous. It sounded very much like Bush and Blair’s justification for the invasion of Iraq. It made me wonder whether Obama's foreign policy will be "business as usual" if he is elected President.

In Britain, the U.S. is largely characterised as an invading and dominating force. The speech may have been meant to allay that perception, but if so, I am not clear about how far it went in achieving that aim.

I was heartened to hear the Senator speak of the need to tear down walls between Christians, Muslims and Jews.

I was also encouraged by his statement of the need to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and reduce the arsenals, and to bring the Iraqi war to a close. This was a dove message in what was largely a hawkish speech.

Although the candidate made repeated reference to the Berlin airlift, he only mentioned briefly and in passing the two world wars we fought against Germany. Living in London, I see nearly daily reminders of the Second World War and the devastation it caused. Work on construction sites still regularly unearths unexploded Nazi bombs that were rained down on the people of London and other British cities. Senator Obama’s speech contained only the briefest mention of that conflict.

The Senator used many of the right words, but I am not sure he conveyed a good grasp of the international situation. And although his speech was very idealistic, I did not personally find it particularly convincing.

To watch the video, go here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/berlinvideo/

As the author/publisher of Black Success Stories, I am well aware of the importance of positive Black role models. If he is elected President, what impact will this have on your life – your home, your family, your health, your job, your business? Join my Obama phone-in on 19th August. Click here to register Click here for more details. Your opinion matters.

Happy 4th of July!

I am surprised at how much this day means to me today. At home, I was never one to celebrate Independence Day. All that flag-waving left me cold.

Wow! In the past six months, I have completed five ebooks! So I have a lot to celebrate.

I made my first potato salad of the year the other day. This ritual connects me with my memories of the past, summers in New York, barbecues with family and friends. And many things I have been happy to leave behind.

But this year, we have an African American Presidential candidate who looks like he may have a chance of winning.

Join me for my Barack Obama phone-in for African American people, Tuesday 8th of July. Let me hear your views. What difference will it make if Obama is elected President? How will it affect your home, family, job, business? Click here to listen and ring in.