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.  

 

 

 

 

 

Injustice: The Film the Police Tried to Ban

My guest on the most recent edition of my Success Strategies online radio show was Ken Fero, the director of Injustice.   You have probably heard of, or seen, Injustice, Fero's film about seven UK families that are still fighting for justice after a family member died in police custody.  The police tried to ban this film - every time a cinema was scheduled to screen it, the police would phone them 15 minutes beforehand and tell them not to show it. 

Go here to listen.  

Ken Fero spoke to me about the fact that the police are, in his words, "killing Black people", and that this must stop.  

Some people believe the "Black Lives Matter" movement only pertains to the U.S.  Ken Fero talked with me about filming the experience of Black people and other migrant communities in many places, including the UK, Germany and France.  Go here to listen. 

He also spoke about his new film, Ultraviolence, and the fact that deaths in police custody are just "the tip of the iceberg".  

For more about Ken Fero and Injustice, see Ken Fero on Deaths in Police Custody.  

Go here to listen to our conversation.  

See also:  Protecting Our Communities.  

As I am sure you know, October is Black History Month/African Heritage Month here in the UK.  

And, of course, every month is Black History Month/African Heritage Month.  

Go here for my recent conversation with Brother Tony Warner of London Black History Walks:  Does Black History Really Matter?  As usual, he offered us loads of information about Black British history. 

Go here for more of my Black history blogs.  

Please leave your comments below and please share.  Thanks!  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2020.  

Black History: Lupita and the Warrior Women

Black History the Dora Milaje

People all over the world enjoyed the Black Panther movie. The film broke loads of box office records – and so it should have. As Lupita Nyong'o states, Black Panther was one of the highest-grossing films of all time.  I personally have seen it three times – so far. 
 

Black Panther featured the Dora Milaje – an army of women warriors whose responsibility it was to protect the King – the Black Panther.

These women were amazing – beautiful, fierce, brave – they showed incredible courage and skill.  Lupita Nyong'os character was not a member of the Dora Milaje - she played a spy who was also fierce and beautiful, and who also displayed some very impressive fighting. In the end, she put on the Dora Milaje armour and fought the battle for control of Wakanda.  

Last night, Lupita presented a programme on Channel 4 as part of their Black history season.  She discovered actual, historical African warrior women who had the job of protecting the King. It is online for the next 30 days, so I urge you to watch it if you have not done so already, or even if you have.  

Black History Walks gave a presentation last year about the historical basis of the Black Panther movie, in which Brother T. gave several examples of warrior women in Africa, who protected their monarchs.

In Dahomey, now known as Benin, Lupita discovered an historical army made up of thousands of women warriors - the Agoji.  The Agoji were press-ganged into serving, went through rigorous training and were required to obey the King.  They fought the European powers, particularly the French, who had invaded and occupied the area (and many other territories around the African continent).  

Although the knowledge about the existence of this female army is inspiring, we learned that they were also required by the King to invade other territories, notably the Yoruba territory in what is now Nigeria.  They abducted many men and women, and some of the women were enslaved in Dahomey.  Both men and women were also sold into Transatlantic slavery under the orders of the Kings.  Thus, it is also a shameful history.  

Again, watch it while it is still available online.   

Go here for more African history blogs.  

 

Black History: Rosewood

We have heard about the Black Wall Street.  Other Black communities were also destroyed by racist violence, including Rosewood, Florida.

Rosewood was attacked and destroyed by a racist mob.  Even the children  had to hide, or run for their lives when there was nowhere left to hide.   

Go here for more Black history posts.

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

Patrick Vernon on the Importance of Black History Month

In this video, a panel including activist and campaigner Patrick Vernon discuss the importance and relevance of Black History Month/African Heritage Month.

If you have seen the documentary More than a Month, you know that this debate continues in the United States, where it was found that the way Black history was taught in schools focused on a few signicant figures.  People such as Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks featured prominently, as so they should.  But Black history did not begin with slavery.

Although this approach to Black history is wholly inadequate, when there was no attempt made to recognise Black History Month, Black history was not acknowledged or taught at all.

Therefore, Black history is still very relevant, and although there is no need to confine it to one single month, Black History Month/African Heritage Month serves as a signpost towards greater knowledge and understanding, both here in Britain and in the United States.  . 

I am keen to share Black history as far and wide as I can.  Therefore, please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.

Please also share these Black history links.

Please also share my short film about Harriet Jacobs and Harriet Tubman.

End Taser Torture in U.S. Prisons

Watch some horrendous footage of tasers being used to torture prison inmates.  

People have been tased when restrained with their arms behind their backs. This is despite a lawsuit dating back to 2011.  

The guards have been called "sadistic". 


I wonder how many other prisons are using these kinds of brutal tactics. 

Of course, this does not apply exclusively to Black people/people of African heritage. But Black people are more likely to end up on the sharp end of the criminal injustice system.  For some statistics about this, see:  How to Escape the Prison System.  

The U.N. has been called in to investigate this situation. 

If you are in prison or you know someone who is, or you work in a prison, you really need to check this out. 

This is just one reason why we need Nonviolent Communication (NVC) - as a PREVENTATIVE measure, to PREVENT these kinds of incidents. 

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

Black History Film: Freedom Riders

Bombed Freedom Rides Bus

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.  

Have you ever gone into McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC or indeed, any fast food place to buy and eat a meal? I am sure at some point we have all patronised some such establishment, or a café or diner.

Have you ever reflected on the fact that there was a time we were not allowed to enter such places?

The documentary Freedom Riders covers a period in 1961 when people – both Black and white – challenged the laws and customs that forbade Black and white people from mixing or co-mingling. The film contains archive footage as well as interviews with some of the original Freedom Riders.

Freedom Riders, a hard-hitting documentary, depicts when members of CORE – the Commission on Racial Equality – embarked on a journey to test a recent ruling by the Supreme Court which had declared segragation on interstate buses to be unconstitutional. They set out to test whether Federal law was being enforced.

The journey began in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Riders boarded buses to Atlanta, GA, where they met with Martin Luther King. They were excited to meet with him and hoped he would join them. But he cautioned them not to continue their quest, and to use methods that were less confrontational.

At this point, I admit to being confused. While applauding their courage, I do not understand why these young people chose to put themselves in extreme danger rather than finding another, less violent way to address the issue.

The Freedom Riders continued on their way, heading towards Birmingham, AL. One group rode a Greyhound bus (coach), the other used Trailways. The Greyhound never made it to its destination - it was firebombed by a racist mob. The Trailways bus arrived in Birmingham to be greeted by another racist mob. Bull Connor, Birmingham's Chief of Police, had made a deal with the Ku Klux Klan to allow the mob to assault the Freedom Riders for 15 minutes before the police arrived.

Because they were confronted by such extreme force, the Freedom Riders resolved to continue on their journey. They refused to be intimidated into giving up. This much I do understand and, again, applaud.

The Freedom Riders were then joined by fresh troops from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Each had signed his or her last will and testament before joining the Freedom Rides. As time went on, more and more people joined them.

The film documents the dirty deals that were done, such as the one in Birmingham I mentioned above. At one point, the riders were holed up in the First Baptist Church with MLK, who was on the phone to the then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. The Kennedies had not taken much notice of the need to enforce Federal law forbidding segregation up until then, and as Julian Bond says, civil rights were “an afterthought” to them. But MLK insisted they take action, and the Freedom Riders captured their attention and that of the nation. The leaders got behind the Freedom Riders and their efforts were reported internationally, shaming America and the values our nation was meant to represent. 

 

The actions of the Freedom Riders, and the support of MLK and other prominent leaders such as the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, led to the Riders securing a high level of protection for part of their journey. This demonstrated that the State and Federal governments could have afforded them that protection from the start. This takes me back to my original question. Why did the Riders not insist on getting government protection before they started out? Or why diid they not use less violent strategies?

Unfortunately, the story did not end there. The Riders suffered more brutal racist violence. In Jackson, Miss, they were sentenced to hard labour at the notorious Parchman State Prison. Again, this was intended to discourage them but had the opposite effect. The prison became one of the stops on the Freedom Rides and over 300 of the riders served time there – under a law that had been declared unconstitutional.

I have to admire the Riders' ingenuity. Nothing and no one was going to stop them. They turned every adversity into an advantage. They even composed a song about the Parchman prison. 

For more about Parchman Prison, see Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice.  

The Freedom Riders' quest was a foolhardy one – in terms of the methods they used - and led to a great deal of suffering which, to my mind, was preventable. However, the courage and determination of these young people spurred the Federal Government to take action and, in the end, led President Kennedy to call for an end to all segregation.

The film draws some very uplifting and inspiring conclusions. People from all over the United States, from different races and religions, and different backgrounds, came together and put their lives on the line to put an end to racial injustice.

I definitely recommend you see this film.

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

Black History Presentation: The Black Image

St. Maurice of Germany

It is crucial for Black parents and teachers to learn about, and share, our history with the next generation. For more about this, see below.

I recently attended the  presentation on "The Black image" by Tony Warner of London Black History Walks. I think it was the third time I've seen it.

One thing I enjoy about Brother Tony's presentations is that he always adds some new information. Thus, I enjoy watching them over and over again.

At one time, Black people were depicted in European artworks as regal and magnificent, often dressed in finery.   But in the modern day - starting with Transatlantic slavery and continuing to this day - the Black image has been distorted and degraded.  Films often depict situations in which a small band of white – British or American – fighters are up against hordes of Black enemy soldiers. The white soldiers are represented as brave and heroic, fighting off massive numbers of Black people.

Old films such as Zulu follow this pattern, and it continues with modern-day films such as Black Hawk Down. Similar patterns also appear in video games.

These kinds of images reinforced the British idea of empire: that they had gone into Africa and other places and stood up against huge numbers of hostile locals or, as they would have called them, “natives”. These attitudes continue to be reinforced in the British and American psyches today, through the use of these powerful images. And they affect the way we see ourselves and our history.

Perhaps the most important point Brother Tony made is that we must create our own images. We must record our own history and share it. As a griot, this is my job. It it is the responsibility of all of us - particularly that of parents and teachers. It is useful and important for us to understand the prevailing mainstream images of Black people and Black history, but we must create our own.

There are loads more Black history and African history posts on this blog, so please read them and share them with your networks.  Please leave your comments below.

590 Black Deaths in Police Custody

Marcia Rigg Protest about the Death of Sean Rigg, London

Check out my previous blog posts:  Protecting Our Communities

We Need Solutions That Work. 

According to this article, 590 Black people in the UK have died in police custody.

This article fails to mention that some of the 500 people killed by the police, with impunity, were women. Some were disabled. Some were probably both. 

Call their names:  Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardner.   

Also, Cherry Groce was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life after being shot by the police in London.

This post appears to be pitting disadvantaged groups against each other. We need to stand together. I am Black, a woman and disabled. I have a problem with the way this site has posed the question, “If it was 590 women or 590 wheelchair users, would there be a national outcry?”.

All deaths in police custody need to be highlighted, awareness needs to be raised, but racism is something that affects Black people in every area of our lives, whether or not we are women or disabled. We need to keep highlighting this. 

These are just some of the many reasons why I am hosting the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2015.   

Plus check out this blog from Naturally Moi:  The Woman Who Filmed the Eric Garner Killing Is Suing the NYPD.   

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

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. 

Filmmaker Ken Fero on Deaths in Police Custody

Joy Gardner

There's a reason why everyone in my neighbourhood in South London knows who Trayvon Martin was.

A few months ago, a local public meeting was held. The posters all featured a photo of Trayvon. No caption, no explanation. But everyone in this area knows that similar things happen here.

I know Trayvon was not killed by the police, but his killing was sanctioned by the courts.

BFI London South Bank recently held a day on deaths in police custody, as part of the African Odysseys ongoing film series.

Filmmaker Ken Fero, director of numerous documentaries including the multi-award-winning Injustice, spoke in the morning and screened clips from his films. In the afternoon, two of those films were screened.

Injustice chronicles the fight for justice of seven families whose members died in police custody. None of the police officers involved in these killings have been prosecuted or disciplined. Six of the families are Black (African Caribbean), the seventh is Irish. An Irishman was gunned down as he walked through Brixton carrying a wooden table leg. The police stated they thought he was armed with a gun.

All of these families are still continuing to fight for justice.

Injustice has never been shown on UK television. When it was first released in 2001, every time it was due to be shown in cinemas, the police would phone the cinema about 15 minutes before the screening was due to start, threatening legal action. They claimed the film “might be libellous”.

Ken Fero, filmmaker

However, as Fero explained at the BFI, the audience inevitably contained someone who owned a business or ran a community centre or another venue. So the audience would decamp down the street, and the film would be screened.

Like a lot of people, I was very keen to see the film, and I saw it in a barbershop in South London. All I can say is, if you haven't seen Injustice, you need to see it.

Fero has made many other films about human rights abuses committed in Britain and other European countries, notably Germany and France. It was, frankly, disturbing to hear him say how many times he has filmed some of the same families. For example, the family of Joy Gardner, a Jamaican citizen who died in police custody in 1993.

Joy Gardner suffocated whilst in police restraints. The press labelled her an illegal immigrant and, as Fero pointed out, ignored the fact that other labels could equally be applied to her. Like “student” and “mother”.

He also said that, between 2001 and 2011, another 1,000 people died in police custody. This is an escalation, as more than 1,000 deaths in police custody had occurred in the previous 30 years.

Fero said he makes these films in order to inspire people and educate them about how to take action. He told me that he doesn't want to continue to make these films but, as I am sure he would agree, it is vital that he does.

And while we are collectively mourning Michael Brown, Eric Garner and all the others, we are aware that these things also happen here.

Please join us for the International Summit on Nonviolence today.

See also: Deaths in Police Custody.

Fire in the Blood Documentary

Fire in the Blood is the true story of how the pharmaceuticals companies conspired to stop people in Africa and other parts of the world from having access to affordable HIV meds.  

The key word here is "affordable". 

I saw this documentary a couple of years ago, but it has taken me until now to blog about it, because it upset me so much.  It is a very disturbing film.  

As we know, the HIV virus mutates and people have to change their meds every few years, to get hold of the most up-to-date and effective meds.  

Drugs laboratories in India were producing generic versions of popular meds and selling them in many different markets, including the United States.  This had been going on for many years. 

But when they started producing HIV meds, this was seen as a problem.  Some of the major pharmaceuticals companies, which were producing their own brands of AIDS and HIV meds, conspired to stop them from producing meds which would be affordable in places where people, and governments, have limited funds for purchasing meds.  

So a lot of people in African countries, Latin American countries and others were prevented from getting hold of these meds at affordable prices.  This has been called "genocide".  

Fire in the Blood breaks it down.  It shows exactly what was done and how the U.S. government conspired with the pharmaceuticals companies.  

This is not an easy film to watch, and it does not have a happy ending.  

Having said this, Fire in the Blood demonstrates why we must become less dependent on pharmaceuticals to treat serious illnesses, including HIV and AIDS.  We must learn to use other methods, including traditional methods of healing, as well as complementary therapies and other methods, alongside pharmaceuticals.  

Although pharmaceuticals have saved millions of lives, and are continuing to do so, we also need to use other methods.  

Not Gonna Fall in Your Lap

"It's not just gonna fall in your lap." These are some wise words from legendary film director Spike Lee.  Click here to watch the video on Spike Lee's advice to aspiring filmmakers. 

 

Did you know it took him 20 years to make the Malcolm X film, from inception to the final production? 

Too many of our people are waiting for something to drop into their laps - waiting for some hero, leader or saviour to rescue them.  That's what I said in "Do You Play the Lottery?"  Please check this out and leave your comments there. 

Sweet Crude - The Niger Delta

Sweet Crude - the Niger Delta

Black History Studies recently screened the documentary "Sweet Crude", about the Niger Delta. 

I am going to say up front that I was upset by this film, although I was aware of the situation in the Niger Delta, having seen a film produced by the BBC a few years ago which covered much of the same ground.  

It is vitally important that Black History Studies continue to screen these kinds of films and provide us with the information we need about the experience of African people all over the world.  

It is equally important that we remember we can transform the situation.  More about this later. 

Oil was discovered in the Niger Delta in 1956.  Once international oil giants Shell and Chevron moved in, they devastated the region, with the complicity of successive Nigerian military regimes.  For more about modern Nigerian history, see Naij:  A Film History of Nigeria.  

The natural life expectancy in the Niger Delta is in the sixties; today, the life expectancy is 40.  Forty.  Four-zero.  

During the enslavement period, the Niger Delta was known as the "slave coast".  Many thousands of people were taken down the river in chains, to be sold in the West. 

There is a long history of resistance in the region.  

Today, because of the constant illegal burning of natural gas released by the oil drilling, toxic chemicals are released which pollute the air and the water and destroy the wildlife.  The rain that falls in the Niger Delta is toxic enough to destroy metal roofs.  

There are few, if any, schools in the Niger Delta. The Nigerian government and the oil companies want to drive the locals off their ancestral lands.  

You can view the trailer below. 

One of the most disturbing episodes covered by Sweet Crude was when Director Sandy Cioffi, having cultivated a relationship with MEND (The Movement to Emancipate the Niger Delta), arranged for a member of MEND to be interviewed on Nightline.  

MEND wanted the international media to cover the situation.  A member of MEND courageously agreed to be interviewed on camera, but the interviewer repeatedly asked him if he was a terrorist and if M\END were holding hostages.  When the MEND member answered "no", the interviewer  appeared bored and looked at his watch, and when the MEND spokesman began to explain the situation, the interview was terminated.  

The subject was broadcast with a screaming headline about "Africa's New Terror Crisis" and references to a threatened increase to the price of oil for Americans. 

Although we know the media often manipulate stories, and manipulate us, it was still shocking to watch this.  

The Joint Task Force (JTF), a branch of the Nigerian military, maintain a presence in the region with brutal violence.  The U.S. government under George W. Bush agreed to supply intelligence about activists in the region to the Nigerian government.  Thus, in a way, we are all complicit in this scenario.  

The author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned and killed because of his involvement in the Niger Delta protests. 

Sweet Crude is heartbreaking.  As I said above, it is vital that we remember that we can transform the situation.  We have amazing energy inside of us and we can use it to transform situations like these.   For more about this, see Your Inner Wisdom. 

Thank you once again to Black History Studies for screening Sweet Crude.  

For more information and to buy a copy on DVD, visit Sweet Crude. 

The Black Wall Street - Before They Die

Saw this awesome Black history film screened by Black History Studies last week.  

"The Black Wall Street" was  the name given to the thriving community of Greenwood, Oklahoma, which boasted several millionaires.  In 1921, Greenwood was attacked and destroyed by white people envious of its success. 

Some of those who were children at the time, and saw their homes and community destroyed, are still alive now.  "Before They Die" is the title of a documentary about the elderly survivors' fight for justice. 

Click here for more about The Black Wall Street and to watch the trailer for "Before They Die". 

Click here for Next Black History Events. 

The attack on The Black Wall Street was a horrible atrocity.  But we can help the survivors to get justice.  We can bring about positive change.  We have the power to transform the situation.

We can learn from history.  The ancestors want us to heal these terrible, terrible wounds from the past and create the future we deserve. 

Click here for my Success Workshops in London. 

We can bring about peace and harmony for ourselves.  We can bring about joy and abundance for ourselves and for those around us.

African Film Season on Film Four

This week, Film Four is screening a series of films made in Africa, by and about African people. 

Last night, they screened Johnny Mad Dog, which depicts the experience of child soldiers during the Liberian civil war.  Click here to read more and watch the trailer.  

Tonight, Film Four will screen A Screaming Man, a drama from Chad about guilt, betrayal and intergenerational father/son conflict.  A Screaming Man also touches on the effect the Chinese takeover of African countries is having on the lives of ordinary African people.  Check out the trailer above. 

Click here for more about the Film Four African Film Season. 

Black History: African American Entertainment Entrepreneurs

I have posted this blog to acknowledge and to celebrate African American entrepreneurs who made their names in the entertainment field, and achieved great success at a time when few opportunities existed for Black people.

People who provided employment and training for African Americans, helped Black performers to forge successful careers, and contributed to the financial prosperity of the Black community.

Don Cornelius, producer and presenter of Soul Train, was one of the first African American entrepreneurs whose business operated without white backing.

Click here to watch a video about Don Cornelius.

Berry Gordy founded the Motown empire. He had worked in a car factory himself, and based Motown on the way the automobile factories operated.

Click here to read more about Berry Gordy and the legend that is Motown.

Oscar Micheaux was the first African American to make a feature film. He promoted African American actors from 1919/20 onwards. Click here to read more about Oscar Micheaux's life and work.

Plus click here for free advice from Black business experts.

This blog contains hundreds of Black history resources. To locate them, just type "Black history" into the search box.

Dark Girls Lecture with Directors

The Dark Girls documentary explores color prejudice/colorism among African American women. See below for a trailer.

The Du Sable Museum in Chicago will hold a lecture with Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, the directors of Dark Girls, on Monday, October 10, 2011.

For details of this and other events, see Black History/Cultural Events.

See also: Chicago African Festival of the Arts.

For more great stuff like this, click here to join Nurture Success.

See also: Africa and Africans on Film.

Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.

Black Men Stepping Up to Fatherhood

Saw this great page today on Black fatherhood: First Date: Meeting My Daughter and Becoming a Father Figure. Thanks very much to Jessica Ann Mitchell of National Black Pages. Videos of Black men talking about taking on the responsibility of fatherhood.

Also, check out: Black Fatherhood: Reconnecting with Our Legacy. With all the media images of crime, violence, imprisonment and the disintegration of our families, it's important to remember that there are plenty of Black fathers doing what they need to do. A lot of the time, we just don't get to see images of them. So it's up to us.

See also: Positive Images of Black Families.

Oscar Micheaux - First Major African American Filmmaker

Oscar Micheaux was the writer, director and producer of more than 40 African American films. He made his first feature film in 1919/20.

Before Spike Lee, there was Oscar Micheaux.

To read more, see Oscar Micheaux.