Is Russell T. Davies Woke?

Freema Agyeman

In this article, Russell T. Davies states that what others call diversity he calls an open door. 

The term "woke" originated from African American communities.  The meaning of "woke" is to treat groups of people and members of those groups - including African Americans - who have been oppressed, marginalised, exploited and disrespected with respect and equality of opportunity.  It is closely related to diversity and inclusion. 

I agree with Storm Huntley and Dr. Who actress Varada Sethu about this - woke can only be a good thing.  Why should wokeness be a problem?  It's only a problem for those who have a problem with diversity and inclusion.  

Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, described the U.S. as a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal".  The fact that he said this in the middle of a war which was essentially about slavery and abolition is a stark contrast to those words.  

 

 

Ncuti Gatwa

However, and I've said this before in various forums, anybody who is anti-woke is anti-Black, anti-women, anti-gay, anti-Latino and anti-any oppressed and/or marginalised group.  

So, is Russell T. Davies woke?  Let's look at his record.  

He wrote two brilliant dramas about gay life - Queer as Folk and, more recently, It's a Sin.  He, again brilliantly, revived Dr. Who and created two new spinoffs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.  

According to my (fading) memory, in Dr. Who, he put Black people in Dickensian London (they were there, but we very rarely see them), on the moon, in Victorian Scotland, and many other places including distant planets.  Lots of these episodes and series included Black/African Caribbean, Asian and gay characters.  Plus he gave us great storylines and great acting, which have not always been on offer from Dr. Who. 

David Tennant's Doctor had, at one time, a Black companion, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones.  And, of course, we now have Ncuti Gatwa as a Black Doctor.  

Davies also gave us a Christmas episode featuring Kylie Minogue which was not woke, just fun.  

When Jodie Whittaker hit the headlines as the first female Doctor, this attracted a huge amount of disapproval and even outrage.  Why?  I understand the same thing happened when the brilliant (there's that word again) re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica featured a female pilot, Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck.  

That reaction is what is called "misogyny".  

Jodie Whittaker's previous role as a nurse impersonating a doctor in Trust Me was much more far-fetched.  

In case you were wondering, I am a huge sci-fi buff.  Always have been.  Deal with it.  

Woke is a good thing.  And yes, Russell T. Davies is woke.  

 

African-American Man Convinces Klansmen to Leave the KKK through Friendship

 

 

My Buddhist teacher, the Venerable Urgyen Sangharakshita, has said that anyone can be friends with anyone, that this is his religion and that he would rather die than give it up.  

This may well be true, but I don'r necessarily think this is a good thing.  I have strong feelings about explaining racism to white people.  And yet, I find this story very inspiring.  This is challenging some of my opinions, assumptions and views. 

An African American man by the name of Daryl Davis decided he wanted to go along to Klan rallies and meetings, befriend Klan members and teach them not to be racist.  So he did.  

Unlike Ron Stallworth, the person Spike Lee focused on in his film BlackkKlansman, it was not his job.  He was not an undercover police officer.  He was just someone who wanted to make a difference. 

I personally would not have seen the point in doing this.  But Davis states that 200 Klan members have left the Klan as a direct result of his befriending them.  Food for thought.  As I say, I find this truly inspiring. 

This just goes to show that anyone can make a difference.  One person can make a huge difference. 

It's amazing what communication can do.  Go here for more about Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  This is not to say that Daryl Davis uses NVC.  But what he is doing clearly works.  

What are your thoughts?  Please post below.  

See also:  The Black Man Who Attends Klan Rallies. 

 

Zhana in Conversation with Lama Rangdrol

Lama Rangdrol is one of just a handful of Black/African American Tibetan lamas.  In his film, Festival Cancelled due to  Heavy Rain (see below), he speaks about growing up in the 'hood during the 1960s, where as a young Black man he was hunted, and  his pilgrimage to Cambodia, where, at Angkor Wat, he found ancient African images that remain undamaged.  

The tiny Buddhist country of Cambodia was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War - a war in which the front line was called "Soulville" because there were so many young Black men fighting there. 

I was very privileged to speak with Lama Rangdrol, and he explained more here.  

Lama Rangdrol and his friends in the U.S., young Black men and women, faced a long list of seemingly insurmountable problems in what he terms the "urban killing zone".  He managed to escape; his friends all ended up dead or incarcerated.

Go here to watch Lama Rangdrol's film Festival Cancelled due to  Heavy Rain. 

What are your thoughts?  How long have young Black men been hunted by the police?  And why?  Please leave your answers below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Go here for readings from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Go here for NVC resources.  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2021.  

 

 

 

 

 

Black History: Growing up in Chicago's "Black Belt"

Timuel Black grew up in Chicago's "Black Belt".  His family moved to Chicago during the "Great Migration", in 1919.  (Mine migrated in 1920.)  

African Americans left the South in order to have a better life and a better future for themselves and their families.  They often settled in large cities including Chicago, Cleveland and New York, where they formed their own communities during segregation.  

Black lists the reasons why his parents decided to move North.  

Unfortunately, many of these prosperous, thriving Black communities were destroyed by white supremacists.  See also:   

The Rosewood Massacre  

100 Years Since the Destruction of Black Wall Street.  

Go here for more Black history blogs.  

Why are we only just now starting to hear about these thriving Black communities - and the demise of many of them?  Please comment below and please share.  Thanks.  

Black Success: Stop Causing Yourself Pain

Stop Causing Yourself Pain

Black people are very good at blaming. We blame white people. We blame the government. We blame the politicians. We blame men. We blame women. Most importantly, and most tragically, we blame ourselves and each other.  We need to GET OUT OF OUR OWN WAY. 

Listen below for more about how we can heal ourselves and stop causing ourselves pain.  I am sharing practical methods of healing ourselves.  

Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.  

 

Go here for Success Strategies for Black People.  

Go here for more Black Success audios with Zhana.

Go here for more blog posts about NVC.

Go here for more about NVC and nonviolence.

50th Anniversary of Kwanzaa

As you may know, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of Kwanzaa.  And once again, I am listing Kwanzaa events on my website.  

Click here for my Kwanzaa event listings.  I am listing Kwanzaa celebrations being held in Johannesburg, South Africa; Canada, Britain and all over the U.S.A.  Enjoy!  

Please share these with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Happy Kwanzaa!  

 

87-Year-Old Venus Green Locks Police Officer in Her Basement ...

This is the kind of news story I like to see.  87-Year-Old Venus Green Locks Police Officer in Her Basement ... and wins a $95,000 settement! 

How's that for some news you can use?

Seems the police officer forced his way into her home on a pretence and sarted pushig her around.  Meanwhile, her grandson, Tallie, had been shot in a convenience store and the police officer was preventing the medics from helping him.

Rather than stand by and allow Tallie to become another statistic, Venus took matters into her own hands and locked the officer in the basement!

This story just keeps getting better.  Green then sued the City of Baltimore and won - they paid her $95,000 compensation . Go Venus!

We MUST put an end to this police violence and intimidation.  Support the Week of Nonviolence and the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.

Click here to read the article on Urban Intellectuals.  .

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.  

Black Lives Matter: Finding Peace with the Higher Self

Protestors in Brixton following U.S.police killings

Listen below for this post.

I am posting this in the aftermath of a week that saw two African American men killed by the police, and a number of police officers in Dallas killed by snipers.

Here in Britain, where 590 Black people have been killed by the police, the perpetrators are not even arrested, charged or brought to trial.




We need to find solutions that are going to work for ourselves, for our families and for our communities.

Protesters in Brixton following the U.S. police killings

We want to live in peace.  We want our children to live in peace and we want to prosper.  Violence is not a solution.

Listen below.  Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.




Black Women Sue Johnson & Johnson over Ovarian Cancer 

For more about the Higher Self, see:

How to Get Clear, Precise Answers

Your Inner Wisdom 

We Need Solutions That Work 

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence and interviews with NVC authors.

Listening to Our Black Children

Are We Listening to Our Black Children?

I posted this blog some time ago and it's still relevant:  Are We Listening to Our Children?  Plus click here for part 2. 

Those posts are for everyone, regardless of racial or cultural background (although the examples in part 2 came from the Black community). 

But I continue to be very concerned about parenting within the Black community - how we parent our children.  It's not just about physical violence.  About physical abuse, i.e. beating children, and the fact that so many of our Black parents tell me we "have to" beat our children.  No, we don't "have to" be violent to children.  We need to find better ways to communicate. We need to upgrade our skills. 

As I said, it's not just about physical violence.  I was on the bus a few weeks ago and I saw this sista with a beautiful, beautiful little girl on her back.  The child had such a beautiful smile.  She was trying to get her mother's attention and her mother was telling her to "shush" so she could talk on the phone.

This really hurt me.  And I see similar things all the time in my neighbourhood, in my community.  WHY would you ignore your child to talk on the phone?  

And I have seen a lot worse than this, and I experienced far worse than this when I was a young person.  So many of us are so damaged.  We come from damaged families.  We have been damaging each other in our families for many generations, as a direct result of racism.  As part of the legacy of slavery.  We carry wounds that go very deep. 

As I have said on this blog many times, we have learned toxic ways of communicating, toxic ways of behaving.  And we will keep infllicting these toxic behaviour patterns on one generation after another until we heal them.  This is probaby the main reason why I wrote Success Strategies for Black People.  We CAN heal ourselves and each other.  And the healing process begins with healing oneself.

My own healing journey has been a long and difficult one, and it is ongoing.  I have learned a lot through my healing process and my aim is to share with you what is of value.  See also: Violence Begins at Home. 

Muhammad Ali -The Greatest

Muhammad Ali - The Greatest

Click here for my ebook, The Power of Affirmations. 

Did you know that, long before he became the greatest, Muhammad Ali called himself “The Greatest”?  

Obviously, it took many hours of hard work, over the course of many years, for him to become – and remain – World Heavyweight Champion. But his success began in his mind. This shows us the power of words, the power of thought, the power of the human mind – i.e., your mind.

Click here for my ebook, The Power of Affirmations, to learn how you can maximise the power of your mind. 

This blog contains loads of Black history posts.  I recommend you search for them and share them with your networks.  You may want to start with this one: Invasion 1897.  It links to several of my African history posts.   

Kwanzaa 2015 Celebrations

It's that tme of year again!  I am listing Kwanzaa celebrations on my site.  These include Kwanzaa events across the United States and in Canada, Britain and Johannesburg, South Africa. 

I also have background information on the origins and meaning of Kwanzaa.  Enjoy! 

Please share this with your networks. 

Happy Kwanzaa! 

Black Lives Matter - Is There an Age Gap?

Rev. Barbara Reynolds

I had the pleasure of speaking with veteran Civil Rights activist Rev. Barbara Reynolds, and Latara Jones of Black Women for Positive Change.  Listen below.

This blog is part of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2015.  

As I am sure you know, the Black Lives Matter Movement was born as a response to the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and other Black people for whose deaths no one has been convicted. Some older African Americans, such as Rev. Barbara Reynolds, question their methods.  Latara Jones talks about the need for us to communicate across generations, and respect each other's experience and wisdom.

How can older and younger activists work together?  How can we take responsibiity for the violence in our homes and families?  Listen below.

Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below. 



Click here for practical ways to move from conflict to connection.

Click here for more blogs from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.

War on the Black Community?

Militarised Police - Does This Reassure You? 

Listen below to this blog post.  Please also check out the links below.

I believe the Black community, and Black communities around the world, are under attack and have been for many years. That is my opinion. And I want to know what you think. So please add your comments below after you have listened to this post. 

When our Black communities are thriving and prospering, every community will thrive and prosper.  Everyone will benefit.  Listen below for more.  Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks. 

We need to use PRACTICAL solutions to bring about positive change and transformation.  

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Success Strategies for Black People 

What They Don't Want Us to Know 

More about What They Don't Want Us to Know

Why We Need to Heal 

590 Black Deaths in Police Custody 

Cancer Journals  

The Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence  

Anonymous Says Sandra Bland Was Murdered. 

 

First Day of Wimbledon

Serena Williams, Wimbledon Champion

On the first day of Wimbledon fortnight, I am collecting images of Venus and Serena Williams here.

Let's celebrate these two amazing, powerful, strong and beautiful sistas who have broken so many boundaries and will ALWAYS be champions! 

MLK's "Lost" Newcastle Speech

MLK at Newcastle University

In 1967, Martin Luther King visited Newcastle University in the North East of England, where he gave a speech about his work in the Civil Rights Movement, fighting for justice. 

He was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Civil Law by the university. 

Recently, a rare film of the speech was discovered in the university's archives and was broadcast by the BBC.  Click here to view the footage and read the text of his speech.  Click here for some of the reactions of African Americans who recently heard this speech for the first time. 

See also:  MLK:  Black Is Beautiful. 

Kwanzaa 2014 Events

It's that time again!  I am listing Kwanzaa events in the U.S. and internationally on my Kwanzaa website.

In addition to Kwanzaa events in the U.S., I have included events in the UK, Canada and South Africa.

If you are holding a Kwanzaa event, or are aware of one, and don't see it listed, leave the details in the comments section below and I'll add it to the list.  

You can also find information on the history of Kwanzaa, plus background info and lots of gift ideas - books, music, DVDs and more. 

Healing Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome

enslaved African men in chains

Click here to download my new ebook, Why We Need to Heal.  

I am re-purposing this blog post.  Several years ago, Dr. DeGruy Leary gave a lecture in London on Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome.  She has said the same things I have been saying for many years.

We must heal the past. We must heal the internalised racism and oppression, i.e. self-hatred, that has been passed down within Black families for many generations since the enslavement of African people by Europeans began.

This is why I do the work I do. See my book, Success Strategies for Black People, for positive cultural reinforcement for Black parents and families - for all of us. 

This is why I compiled Black Success Stories and the More Black Success ebooks.  For more about this, see: Remember Your Greatness.   

For more information on the healing of people of African heritage, click here to download Why We Need to Heal. 

 

President Obama on the Ferguson Situation

"Hands Up Don't Shoot" Protest at Howard University

President Obama's statement last night on the situation in Ferguson was largely a recap - albeit with more brevity - of what the Attorney General Eric Holder had already said in his press conference earlier.

The local FBI in Ferguson are conducting an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.  The Justice Department are also conducting an investigation, in which they are co-operating with the FBI.

Over 200 witness statements have already been taken, and more are continuing to be taken.  (Does this mean Michael Brown was shot in front of more than 200 witnesses?  Maybe this is not what they mean by "witness statements".)  

Crucially, the President mentioned that "too many Black men are being left behind" and spoke about the importance of addressing and including cities and communities that have been left behind.  

The President also explained that he would not, himself, be going to Ferguson, because the investigations have to be seen to be independent.  However, the Attorney General will visit Ferguson tomorrow.   

Meanwhile, violence, shooting and rioting continue in Ferguson and in St. Louis, Mo.  The National Guard has been called out.  Now they are using teargas.  It's as if everyone is going crazy.

Inflict enough racist violence on people and they WILL go crazy.

The thing is, we always react to these things AFTER THE FACT.  These conditions have existed for many years. 

There have been peaceful protests in NYC, LA and San Francisco.  Check out my blog: "Hands Up Don't Shoot Protest in NYC". 

There was a protest in London as well, in front of the U.S Embassy, but, like many people, I did not find out about it until after the fact.

One result of people and communities being left behind is that our people are being killed.  Black people are being killed by the police and nobody is being held accountable.  When are they going to stop killing our young people?

Check it out:  Deaths in Police Custody.

Check out this very interesting article by Paul B. Raushenbush at the Huffington Post:  What White People Can Do about the Killing of Black Men in America.  But they're not just men and it's not just in America. 

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  We MUST end the violence.

Black People in the First World War

Black Soldiers in WWI

As we mark the centenary of the start of the First World War, we need to recall the contribution of Black - African, African Caribbean and African American - people to the Allied war effort, and the tremendous sacrifices they made.  

Perhaps more importantly, we need to recall the devastation the war caused to the African continent. This is often overlooked.  

Listen below for more information.   

Black Soldier in the Kaiser's Army

I got some of the information contained in this blog from London Black History Walks.  Some came from other sources.  

We need to remember that it's up to us to end violence.  In this day and age, many conflicts are breaking out all over the world.  It's not up to him, her or them to end violence.  It's up to you and me. It's up to us.  

Violence does not, and cannot, end violence.  This is a lesson we still have not learned.  

Listen below for more.   

Click here for my blog on Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

I wrote about Nonviolent Communication, NVC, in Success Strategies for Black People and in my new ebook, Affirmations for Parents.  

Please share this blog post with your networks, and help spread the message of nonviolence.  Thank you. 

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Win a FREE Black Business Consultation

Are you a Black business owner?  Are you a start-up, a budding entrepreneur and/or in need of help or advice on growing your business?  If so, you could win a FREE business consultation worth $300 (£200). 

Click here for details of how to enter the competition to win a FREE consultation on how to grow your Black-owned business.