I will be on Loretta N. Green's radio show this coming Friday, 2nd of October. I hope you will join us. Click here to listen to the show. The phone-in number is 001 (347) 838-9818 or you can join us in the chatroom.
I will also be on Diana Broomfield's show again on Saturday 17th October. Click here to listen in.
On my previous visit to Diana's show, we had a very lively and spirited discussion. We spoke about President Obama, affirmative action and lots more. Click here to listen to the recording of that show.
See also, Superior African Weapons.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Superior African Weapons
In my recent radio interview with Diana Broomfield, I talked about a book, Of Water and the Spirit, by Malidoma Patrice Some.
Click here to hear the interview.
Malidoma talks about his amazing journey. Having been raised by his grandfather, a powerful shaman, he was kidnapped at age six and sent to a seminary. As an adult, he had to reclaim his culture and language.
Malidoma tells of his grandfather's remarkable powers: a small plot of land was able to feed the entire village, with food to spare. And a weapon which was traditional to his family made them virtually invincible.
However, the most powerful weapon is the mind. Only by using our minds can we achieve our full potential.
I strongly recommend Of Water and the Spirit.
Click here for more personal development books.
Click here to hear the interview.
Malidoma talks about his amazing journey. Having been raised by his grandfather, a powerful shaman, he was kidnapped at age six and sent to a seminary. As an adult, he had to reclaim his culture and language.
Malidoma tells of his grandfather's remarkable powers: a small plot of land was able to feed the entire village, with food to spare. And a weapon which was traditional to his family made them virtually invincible.
However, the most powerful weapon is the mind. Only by using our minds can we achieve our full potential.
I strongly recommend Of Water and the Spirit.
Click here for more personal development books.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Listening to the President
I saw this excellent blog post today, A Different Type of Double Standard.
Do people even listen to what the President is saying? Or do they just see a Black face and turn off (literally turn off their TVs)?
I mean, first of all, they accused him of having a "political agenda". How do you get to the White House without having a "political agenda"?
I read so much nonsense about President Obama these days. I am at a loss sometimes about what to say - there is so much stupidity about.
People seem to be coming from fear, prejudice (pre-judging) and ignorance, without even listening to what the man says.
Pay attention, people. He is talking about values, things we all care about, things that can help us all to improve our lives and give them meaning. Things like education, taking responsibility, contributing to the common good. Pay attention. But if you are reading this blog, I assume you already do.
Do people even listen to what the President is saying? Or do they just see a Black face and turn off (literally turn off their TVs)?
I mean, first of all, they accused him of having a "political agenda". How do you get to the White House without having a "political agenda"?
I read so much nonsense about President Obama these days. I am at a loss sometimes about what to say - there is so much stupidity about.
People seem to be coming from fear, prejudice (pre-judging) and ignorance, without even listening to what the man says.
Pay attention, people. He is talking about values, things we all care about, things that can help us all to improve our lives and give them meaning. Things like education, taking responsibility, contributing to the common good. Pay attention. But if you are reading this blog, I assume you already do.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Now We Can Join the BNP!
Today, Black people in the UK have achieved a great victory against racial discrimination. Now we can join the extreme right-wing British National Party. They are no longer allowed to bar any British person from membership on the grounds of racial or cultural background, or country of origin.
On The Wright Stuff this morning, Matthew Wright suggested we should all join the party and, once we are members, change the manifesto. If you get there before me, please save me a place in the queue.
On The Wright Stuff this morning, Matthew Wright suggested we should all join the party and, once we are members, change the manifesto. If you get there before me, please save me a place in the queue.
Monday, August 31, 2009
I'm on the Radio Saturday 5th September!
I will be interviewed by Diana Broomfield on her radio show this Saturday, 5th August, 4 p.m. EST (9 p.m. UK time). I hope you will join us! Click here to listen online.
I will be talking about my books, my courses, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and much more.
Click here for more about NVC and empathy
I will be talking about my books, my courses, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and much more.
Click here for more about NVC and empathy
Monday, August 24, 2009
Getting Past the Hate
Check out my blog at Ancestral Healing on Black Women, Men and Self-Hatred. For practical solutions, see Getting Past the Hate.
I will be leading a two-day course in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in London in October.
I will be leading a two-day course in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in London in October.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
An International Approach
One of the important features of the More Black Success free ebooks is that we publish work by and about people of African heritage wherever we are based in the world.
It is vital that people of African heritage link together and share our knowledge and information with each other.
To read more, and to order your free copies, see Books for Truth-Seekers.
It is vital that people of African heritage link together and share our knowledge and information with each other.
To read more, and to order your free copies, see Books for Truth-Seekers.
Monday, August 17, 2009
What Do You Object To?
Further to my previous post on The President's Plans for Healthcare Reform, I have today seen two excellent blogs by my fellow AfroSpear member Eddie Griffin.
One asks, "What Do You Object To?". The President is seeking to make healthcare available and affordable for everyone. What exactly is the problem with this?
The other, A Detailed Examination of Healthcare Myths, spells it out very clearly.
I gotta say, this is one area in which the UK is way ahead of the U.S.A. Nobody in Britain has to worry about forking out for healthcare. We only have to worry about whether or not our local primary care trusts can afford to pay for the treatment we seek - and even this should not be an issue except in extraordinary cases.
If the economy continues the way it is going, however, this is going to become more and more of an issue.
As I said in my previous blog, the President is seeking to save money by reducing wastage and allocating more appropriately money which is already in the system.
What is the objection to this?
One asks, "What Do You Object To?". The President is seeking to make healthcare available and affordable for everyone. What exactly is the problem with this?
The other, A Detailed Examination of Healthcare Myths, spells it out very clearly.
I gotta say, this is one area in which the UK is way ahead of the U.S.A. Nobody in Britain has to worry about forking out for healthcare. We only have to worry about whether or not our local primary care trusts can afford to pay for the treatment we seek - and even this should not be an issue except in extraordinary cases.
If the economy continues the way it is going, however, this is going to become more and more of an issue.
As I said in my previous blog, the President is seeking to save money by reducing wastage and allocating more appropriately money which is already in the system.
What is the objection to this?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Obama on Healthcare
Click here to view a video of President Obama addressing the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).
Some of the points the President made were:
* We need a better bang for our healthcare dollar. The rising costs are not leading to a corresponding improvement in healthcare.
* He talked about commonsense measures, emphasising prevention by using methods such as immunisation and testing.
* We need clear, easy-to-understand insurance.
* We can save money on medical costs.
The emphasis on prevention goes completely against the way healthcare has been practiced in the West for the past 150-200 years. The emphasis has been on “curing” problems rather than preventing them. This is often the opposite of traditional methods such as acupuncture, where it is recognised that prevention should be the priority.
I’m sure your grandmother told you that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Somehow, with healthcare provision in the West, this message has been lost.
The President talked about the fact that providing the right care in the first place will save money. So he was talking in terms of dollars and cents, and using a system that makes sense financially while improving the quality of healthcare being provided.
He also talked about changing the way we reward doctors. Rewarding them for the quality of healthcare they provide for ongoing and chronic conditions, rather than for the number of times they see the same patients. This is groundbreaking stuff.
It was very moving to hear the President speak about his mother, after her cancer diagnosis, being accused by insurers of having had a pre-existing condition, which would have made her ineligible for coverage. She had to spend weeks writing back and forth to insurance companies from her hospital bed after she had been paying premiums right along. And this happens to people right across the country. This causes people and their loved ones a great deal of fear and anxiety because of the prospect of losing their health coverage.
He spoke about having a system of health insurance that actually makes sense.
For example, at the moment, the more times you have to return to the hospital for treatment, the more that hospital gets paid. The more often you see a doctor for treatment for the same condition, the more that doctor is paid. And the insurance company can decide not to pay for your treatment because you lose your job or you change jobs, or for some other reason. And you don’t find out until it’s too late.
This is truly shameful. This is a scandal nobody talks about. Doctors, healthcare providers and insurance companies are making profit at the expense of those seeking treatment.
Here in the UK, because we have socialised medicine, we do not have many of these problems. We don’t find that when the time comes, the doctor is not paid for, or the hospital care is not paid for. Everything is paid for and Britons expect to receive free heathcare from the cradle to the grave. We have to pay for prescriptions, but it’s at a flat rate which at the moment is just over £7, or about $10-11. And people who have a large number of prescriptions, e.g. more than five, can purchase a pre-payment prescription which means you can pay one flat rate for three months or one year, thus making prescriptions very affordable.
One statistic the President revealed today is that in the U.S., prescriptions cost 77% more than they cost in other countries. I am shocked by this but not surprised. I know prescription costs are high in the U.S. but I am shocked at how high they are, and that this has been allowed to go on for so long.
Of course, we have different problems here in the UK. The system is virtually bankrupt. We have what is called a “postcode lottery” which means that some treatments are not available to everybody in every part of the country. We have long waiting lists, which means some people who can afford to opt to go private do so, in order to access treatment promptly.
So it’s not a perfect system.
I agree with the President. There is a lot of waste in the current system and reducing that waste will reduce healthcare costs. This will be better for those who use healthcare, and for the country as a whole.
However, some of the providers are making so much money with the current system, and healthcare is such big business in America, that there will be many people who will be unhappy with the President’s plans to reform healthcare and health insurance in the U.S. They will simply lose too much money – they money they are now making by ripping people off.
What the President is proposing is very courageous and I salute him.
Some of the points the President made were:
* We need a better bang for our healthcare dollar. The rising costs are not leading to a corresponding improvement in healthcare.
* He talked about commonsense measures, emphasising prevention by using methods such as immunisation and testing.
* We need clear, easy-to-understand insurance.
* We can save money on medical costs.
The emphasis on prevention goes completely against the way healthcare has been practiced in the West for the past 150-200 years. The emphasis has been on “curing” problems rather than preventing them. This is often the opposite of traditional methods such as acupuncture, where it is recognised that prevention should be the priority.
I’m sure your grandmother told you that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Somehow, with healthcare provision in the West, this message has been lost.
The President talked about the fact that providing the right care in the first place will save money. So he was talking in terms of dollars and cents, and using a system that makes sense financially while improving the quality of healthcare being provided.
He also talked about changing the way we reward doctors. Rewarding them for the quality of healthcare they provide for ongoing and chronic conditions, rather than for the number of times they see the same patients. This is groundbreaking stuff.
It was very moving to hear the President speak about his mother, after her cancer diagnosis, being accused by insurers of having had a pre-existing condition, which would have made her ineligible for coverage. She had to spend weeks writing back and forth to insurance companies from her hospital bed after she had been paying premiums right along. And this happens to people right across the country. This causes people and their loved ones a great deal of fear and anxiety because of the prospect of losing their health coverage.
He spoke about having a system of health insurance that actually makes sense.
For example, at the moment, the more times you have to return to the hospital for treatment, the more that hospital gets paid. The more often you see a doctor for treatment for the same condition, the more that doctor is paid. And the insurance company can decide not to pay for your treatment because you lose your job or you change jobs, or for some other reason. And you don’t find out until it’s too late.
This is truly shameful. This is a scandal nobody talks about. Doctors, healthcare providers and insurance companies are making profit at the expense of those seeking treatment.
Here in the UK, because we have socialised medicine, we do not have many of these problems. We don’t find that when the time comes, the doctor is not paid for, or the hospital care is not paid for. Everything is paid for and Britons expect to receive free heathcare from the cradle to the grave. We have to pay for prescriptions, but it’s at a flat rate which at the moment is just over £7, or about $10-11. And people who have a large number of prescriptions, e.g. more than five, can purchase a pre-payment prescription which means you can pay one flat rate for three months or one year, thus making prescriptions very affordable.
One statistic the President revealed today is that in the U.S., prescriptions cost 77% more than they cost in other countries. I am shocked by this but not surprised. I know prescription costs are high in the U.S. but I am shocked at how high they are, and that this has been allowed to go on for so long.
Of course, we have different problems here in the UK. The system is virtually bankrupt. We have what is called a “postcode lottery” which means that some treatments are not available to everybody in every part of the country. We have long waiting lists, which means some people who can afford to opt to go private do so, in order to access treatment promptly.
So it’s not a perfect system.
I agree with the President. There is a lot of waste in the current system and reducing that waste will reduce healthcare costs. This will be better for those who use healthcare, and for the country as a whole.
However, some of the providers are making so much money with the current system, and healthcare is such big business in America, that there will be many people who will be unhappy with the President’s plans to reform healthcare and health insurance in the U.S. They will simply lose too much money – they money they are now making by ripping people off.
What the President is proposing is very courageous and I salute him.
See also:
Barack Obama, African American Success Story
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Happy Birthday Mandela
As Villager has said, yesterday was Nelson Mandela's birthday.
I can remember standing on the 24-hour nonstop picket line outside the South African Embassy in London's Trafalgar Square in the 1980s.
A friend of mine used to go come down every Friday evening, after a full work week, to stand on the picket line. I remember when she was arrested for obstruction one night. I went to court to support her and was pleased when the case was thrown out.
We made very small sacrifices. We boycotted certain fruits. Why did the ones from South Africa always appear to be the plumpest and freshest?
On our visits to the supermarket, we dug our fingernails into the avocados to stop anyone else from eating them.
Mandela sacrificed many years of his life, but somehow managed not only to keep his dignity, but to treat his enemies with respect, and win them over with his kindness and his wisdom.
I can remember the days when we thought the end of Apartheid would inevitably involve violence, destruction and bloodshed on a massive scale. Yet, miraculously, it came about peaceably. Mandela played a major role in the peace process.
To read more about this, see:
Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela's Autobiography
Endgame: The Beginning of the end of Apartheid.
I remember, too, that when he visited London after his release from prison, he challenged the police about their handling of the Stephen Lawrence enquiry. Up until then, the enquiry had not been prioritised or pursued seriously by the police. Mandela's involvement ensured that this issue was given the prominence it deserved.
This great African leader is an inspiration to people all over the world.
Happy birthday, Mandela!
I can remember standing on the 24-hour nonstop picket line outside the South African Embassy in London's Trafalgar Square in the 1980s.
A friend of mine used to go come down every Friday evening, after a full work week, to stand on the picket line. I remember when she was arrested for obstruction one night. I went to court to support her and was pleased when the case was thrown out.
We made very small sacrifices. We boycotted certain fruits. Why did the ones from South Africa always appear to be the plumpest and freshest?
On our visits to the supermarket, we dug our fingernails into the avocados to stop anyone else from eating them.
Mandela sacrificed many years of his life, but somehow managed not only to keep his dignity, but to treat his enemies with respect, and win them over with his kindness and his wisdom.
I can remember the days when we thought the end of Apartheid would inevitably involve violence, destruction and bloodshed on a massive scale. Yet, miraculously, it came about peaceably. Mandela played a major role in the peace process.
To read more about this, see:
Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela's Autobiography
Endgame: The Beginning of the end of Apartheid.
I remember, too, that when he visited London after his release from prison, he challenged the police about their handling of the Stephen Lawrence enquiry. Up until then, the enquiry had not been prioritised or pursued seriously by the police. Mandela's involvement ensured that this issue was given the prominence it deserved.
This great African leader is an inspiration to people all over the world.
Happy birthday, Mandela!
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Unlimited Power
In Positive Change and Transformation, I recently wrote about the fact that those of us fro a political background often come from a position of blame. Blaming white folks, blaming those in power, blaming whoever. Even blaming ourselves and each other.
Individuality
By individuality, I mean valuing oneself and others and respecting one’s own ideals and values. For more about this, see The Key to Confidence.
Individuality is not the same as being individualistic or selfish. Nor does it mean doing something because “Black people do it”. In order to be individuals, we need to honour our uniqueness.
The more we behave as individuals, and treat others as individuals, the more we can become free of the group mentality which lies at the hear tof the blame culture.
Instead of blaming, we need to take responsibility.
Passivity vs. Blame
At the opposite end of the spectrum from blaming is passivity. The “let God take care of it” attitude that many of us from a religious background tend to have.
I think this is a cultural difference between Black and white people. People from European backgrounds tend to be confident about self-power, but they tend to fear other power. We, on the other hand, tend to be overly reliant on other power, and lack confidence in our self-power.
We need both. We need a balance between self-power and other-power.
Individuality
By individuality, I mean valuing oneself and others and respecting one’s own ideals and values. For more about this, see The Key to Confidence.
Individuality is not the same as being individualistic or selfish. Nor does it mean doing something because “Black people do it”. In order to be individuals, we need to honour our uniqueness.
The more we behave as individuals, and treat others as individuals, the more we can become free of the group mentality which lies at the hear tof the blame culture.
Instead of blaming, we need to take responsibility.
Passivity vs. Blame
At the opposite end of the spectrum from blaming is passivity. The “let God take care of it” attitude that many of us from a religious background tend to have.
I think this is a cultural difference between Black and white people. People from European backgrounds tend to be confident about self-power, but they tend to fear other power. We, on the other hand, tend to be overly reliant on other power, and lack confidence in our self-power.
We need both. We need a balance between self-power and other-power.
Although I have said that they are opposites, passivity and blame often go together. This is because we feel frustrated by our own passivity and then project it onto others.
I saw a post on an online forum recently where someone who had worked in a care home was writing about the corruption she had witnessed on a daily basis. She had seen residents of the home being abused. She wrote, “I was going to challenge it, but then I decided to leave it to God”.
People, we cannot afford to “leave it to God”.
When I was a Christian and believed in a god, I also believed that “God helps those who help themselves”.
To put it another way, everything we do is matched with energy from the universe. The universe matches and multiplies whatever energy we put out.
We can only do this if we focus on our own power – not other people’s. For more about this, read Allowing Success.
Imagine you have unlimited power to attain anything you want, and fulfill your dreams.
You do have this power, you were born with it . Reach down inside yourself to draw on this power. You are unstoppable.
For more about this, see The Higher Self.
As I said in Success Strategies for Black People, never say "I can't". Say "How can I?".
Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson Is Dead
Wow. I remember when he first came to prominence, when he was 10 and I was 11. He was an exceptional talent and grew up to be one of the biggest stars on the planet - deservedly so. In those days, to be famous and successful as a performer, you needed to have real talent. And he had it in spades.
He has had such a troubled life. He had no childhood. He faced his demons in adulthood but we don't know if he won.
I was just thinking about Michael Jackson a couple of nights ago, about how when he was a child and was appearing with the Jackson 5 at the Royal Variety Performance, Elton John said he felt sorry for them because they had been made to wait so long.
He was interviewed by Oprah, where they both talked about the childhood abuse they had suffered.
How could he have died of a heart attack? He was only 50. What was going on there?
This has really shocked me. No doubt we will be learning more over the next days and weeks.
See also, Celebrating the Legend That Is Motown.
He has had such a troubled life. He had no childhood. He faced his demons in adulthood but we don't know if he won.
I was just thinking about Michael Jackson a couple of nights ago, about how when he was a child and was appearing with the Jackson 5 at the Royal Variety Performance, Elton John said he felt sorry for them because they had been made to wait so long.
He was interviewed by Oprah, where they both talked about the childhood abuse they had suffered.
How could he have died of a heart attack? He was only 50. What was going on there?
This has really shocked me. No doubt we will be learning more over the next days and weeks.
See also, Celebrating the Legend That Is Motown.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Black Men's Health - Too Embarrassed to Talk about It?
On Oprah today, Dr. Oz will be the host. It's the first time anyone other than Oprah herself has hosted.
The topic is men's health. And everyone in the studio will be male.
If you are a Black man, are you too embarrassed to talk about your health? Do you avoid talking about it with your wife, the woman in your life, your family?
The topic is men's health. And everyone in the studio will be male.
If you are a Black man, are you too embarrassed to talk about your health? Do you avoid talking about it with your wife, the woman in your life, your family?
Do you avoid going to the doctor because you don't want to get bad news?
How can we as healthcare and health promotion workers reach African American and African Caribbean men? How can we support them to get the health checks they need?
In the free More Black Success ebook Volume 4, Dr. Bill Releford writes about the Black Barbershop Project. If we can't get the men to go to the doctor, we need to bring the doctor to the men.
For your free copy, visit More Black Success today!
Friday, June 19, 2009
I'm on TV Tonight!
I will be appearing on the Rhoda Wilson Show tonight (Friday 19th June) at 10:00 p.m. I hope you will join us.
Rhoda will interview me about my book Success Strategies for Black People and about my Nonviolent Communication (NVC) workshops for the African Caribbean Community.
BEN TV, Sky Channel 184
The Rhoda Wilson Show
I am very passionate about this work. It is changing people's lives.
Rhoda will interview me about my book Success Strategies for Black People and about my Nonviolent Communication (NVC) workshops for the African Caribbean Community.
BEN TV, Sky Channel 184
The Rhoda Wilson Show
I am very passionate about this work. It is changing people's lives.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Positive Change and Transformation
In the face of recent events such as, for example, the Samantha Orabator case, the Troy Davis case and the many instances of tasings of African American people, one of my online contacts recently raised the question, “What Can We Do?”.
We work so hard to battle these injustices. Yet they never seem to decrease. So what can we do?
My work is all about creating a more positive future.
The Law of Attraction tells us that whatever we put our energies into, increases in our lives. This is very similar to the Law of Increase, which I write about in my book Success Strategies for Black People.
Although our intention is to bring about positive change, we need to be aware that these universal laws are constantly working. They can work for us or against us. We can use them in our favour – or not.
In other words, the more energy we put into battling a problem, the more energy we are giving to that problem.
We need to turn our focus to the solution rather than the problem.
Situations such as the case of Samantha Orabator will often respond to Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT). I write about SRT and the Higher Self in Success Strategies.
I also write about Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as well as other highly effective processes.
These are transformative methods. I have seen miracles happen in my life and in the lives of others. This is why I wrote the book. I want to make these methods available to as many people of African heritage as possible. We can use these methods and other things I cover in the book to heal ourselves, our families and our communities. And we can use them to achieve much, much more.
I am passionate about the work I do because I have seen the difference it makes in people’s lives.
As Black people, we often get into victim mentality. This is because we have been victimised for so many generations.
Those of us of a political bent say, “Organise! Fight back!”. And of course, there is a time to organise. There is a time to fight, to defend our communities.
However, in order to bring about real positive, effective change and transformation, we need to turn our focus inward.
Human beings in general tend to blame others for our problems, difficulties and issues. This is a basic human tendency. And others are often to blame.
The problem with this is that it locates the solution outside of us. If only “they” would treat us better. If only he, she or they would stop doing whatever it is they are doing and do what we want them to do. Then everything would be okay.
Please note, I am NOT trying to take the blame for racism and racist violence off of white people.
I am just saying that, whether we blame ourselves or other people, blame is not a solution. And I am interested in solutions.
We have amazing power. We need to use this power to bring about the changes we need. Blame then becomes a distraction from what will bring about the real changes we deserve.
I am a pragmatist. I am committed to doing what works.
I will be blogging about this further within the next few days.
We work so hard to battle these injustices. Yet they never seem to decrease. So what can we do?
My work is all about creating a more positive future.
The Law of Attraction tells us that whatever we put our energies into, increases in our lives. This is very similar to the Law of Increase, which I write about in my book Success Strategies for Black People.
Although our intention is to bring about positive change, we need to be aware that these universal laws are constantly working. They can work for us or against us. We can use them in our favour – or not.
In other words, the more energy we put into battling a problem, the more energy we are giving to that problem.
We need to turn our focus to the solution rather than the problem.
Situations such as the case of Samantha Orabator will often respond to Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT). I write about SRT and the Higher Self in Success Strategies.
I also write about Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as well as other highly effective processes.
These are transformative methods. I have seen miracles happen in my life and in the lives of others. This is why I wrote the book. I want to make these methods available to as many people of African heritage as possible. We can use these methods and other things I cover in the book to heal ourselves, our families and our communities. And we can use them to achieve much, much more.
I am passionate about the work I do because I have seen the difference it makes in people’s lives.
As Black people, we often get into victim mentality. This is because we have been victimised for so many generations.
Those of us of a political bent say, “Organise! Fight back!”. And of course, there is a time to organise. There is a time to fight, to defend our communities.
However, in order to bring about real positive, effective change and transformation, we need to turn our focus inward.
Human beings in general tend to blame others for our problems, difficulties and issues. This is a basic human tendency. And others are often to blame.
The problem with this is that it locates the solution outside of us. If only “they” would treat us better. If only he, she or they would stop doing whatever it is they are doing and do what we want them to do. Then everything would be okay.
Please note, I am NOT trying to take the blame for racism and racist violence off of white people.
I am just saying that, whether we blame ourselves or other people, blame is not a solution. And I am interested in solutions.
We have amazing power. We need to use this power to bring about the changes we need. Blame then becomes a distraction from what will bring about the real changes we deserve.
I am a pragmatist. I am committed to doing what works.
I will be blogging about this further within the next few days.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Too Many Politicians?
In the light of the recent Parliamentary expenses scandal, David Cameron has been calling for a reduction in the number of politicians.
Surely there need to be more. Constituencies are way too big, which is one reason why the politicians have gotten out of touch with the electorate. One politician said his "private life", i.e. how he spends our money, is none of our business!
Meanwhile, there has been this row over the fact that all members of the London Assembly, including the BNP member, have been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace by the Queen. Apparently, she invites the Assembly every year.
I do not hold with the argument that if she invites one, she has to invite all of them. The BNP are no better than the National Front, albeit with briefcases and nice suits. In other words, Nazis.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but did we not fight a war against these people? Are these not the same people who dropped bombs on London and other British cities every night? Now they are attacking from the inside.
But I blame the electorate. These people would not be in power if people didn't vote for them. Similarly, people voted for Hitler. Learn from history, folks!
Maybe Cameron's right, we do have too many politicians.
Surely there need to be more. Constituencies are way too big, which is one reason why the politicians have gotten out of touch with the electorate. One politician said his "private life", i.e. how he spends our money, is none of our business!
Meanwhile, there has been this row over the fact that all members of the London Assembly, including the BNP member, have been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace by the Queen. Apparently, she invites the Assembly every year.
I do not hold with the argument that if she invites one, she has to invite all of them. The BNP are no better than the National Front, albeit with briefcases and nice suits. In other words, Nazis.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but did we not fight a war against these people? Are these not the same people who dropped bombs on London and other British cities every night? Now they are attacking from the inside.
But I blame the electorate. These people would not be in power if people didn't vote for them. Similarly, people voted for Hitler. Learn from history, folks!
Maybe Cameron's right, we do have too many politicians.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Against the Execution of Troy Davis (How much is a Black man's life worth?)
Troy Davis waits to be executed for a murder he did not commit. The case against him rests on the flimsiest of evidence.
Many of us are aware of the Exonerations Project and the Center for Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University.
Among other things, this proved what many of us have known for many years – African American men are disproportionately convicted, imprisoned and sentenced to execution.
Troy Davis’s case stands out at this time because he is scheduled for execution, because there is practically no evidence against him, and because the courts have refused to reopen his case. He was given a 30-day stay of execution, but this has already passed.
There was no murder weapon and no physical evidence to convict him. Seven of the nine witnesses against him have withdrawn their testimony, stating that they only provided it under duress.
You can read more about this at Sojourner’s Place.
See also Derrick’s Window
Converstions with Marva
So why is this case being upheld?
Why is a retrial not being granted?
Fans of TV dramas such as CSI and Law and Order would strongly object if these shows depicted such a case. No weapon, no forensic evidence. This plot does not hold together.
But this is real life. And history has shown us time and time again that Black people’s lives are not worth much.
He killed a police officer. He must be guilty, regardless of the lack of evidence.
It just seems like the same old thing to me. String another one up. Lynchings, tasings, legal, state-sponsored executions. It all amounts to the same thing. So much African blood being spilled.
Black life is not worth much.
Meanwhile, the real killer is still out there somewhere.
Black life is not worth much.
Think about Samantha Orobator, the young woman from South London who was scheduled for execution in Laos.
Black life is not worth much.
Amnesty International have called for today to be an International Day of Blogging for Action.
Black life is not worth much. Click here to email or fax Georgia’s Governor Perdue and prove that this is not true.
Many of us are aware of the Exonerations Project and the Center for Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University.
Among other things, this proved what many of us have known for many years – African American men are disproportionately convicted, imprisoned and sentenced to execution.
Troy Davis’s case stands out at this time because he is scheduled for execution, because there is practically no evidence against him, and because the courts have refused to reopen his case. He was given a 30-day stay of execution, but this has already passed.
There was no murder weapon and no physical evidence to convict him. Seven of the nine witnesses against him have withdrawn their testimony, stating that they only provided it under duress.
You can read more about this at Sojourner’s Place.
See also Derrick’s Window
Converstions with Marva
So why is this case being upheld?
Why is a retrial not being granted?
Fans of TV dramas such as CSI and Law and Order would strongly object if these shows depicted such a case. No weapon, no forensic evidence. This plot does not hold together.
But this is real life. And history has shown us time and time again that Black people’s lives are not worth much.
He killed a police officer. He must be guilty, regardless of the lack of evidence.
It just seems like the same old thing to me. String another one up. Lynchings, tasings, legal, state-sponsored executions. It all amounts to the same thing. So much African blood being spilled.
Black life is not worth much.
Meanwhile, the real killer is still out there somewhere.
Black life is not worth much.
Think about Samantha Orobator, the young woman from South London who was scheduled for execution in Laos.
Black life is not worth much.
Amnesty International have called for today to be an International Day of Blogging for Action.
Black life is not worth much. Click here to email or fax Georgia’s Governor Perdue and prove that this is not true.
Black Writers and Artists, Add Your Link
I am in the process of carrying over the links from the old Nurture Success site. They will appear on various lists including
African Heritage Resources and
Writers' Resources
If you are a writer or an artist of African heritage, please join Black Books and Stuff and add your link. You can also post news of any events you are holding on this site.
You will also want to check out this list of Resources for Black Writers and Readers.
African Heritage Resources and
Writers' Resources
If you are a writer or an artist of African heritage, please join Black Books and Stuff and add your link. You can also post news of any events you are holding on this site.
You will also want to check out this list of Resources for Black Writers and Readers.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Samantha Orobator Has Seen a Lawyer
I have just heard that Samantha Orobator, the Black woman from Camberwell, South London who is being held in prison in Laos, has been allowed to see a lawyer, at last.
There were 10 Laotian high officials present, so she did not have the opportunity to discuss anything confidential. But at least they have let her see a lawyer. She was scheduled for execution but this was changed - only because she is pregnant.
Orobator is accused of heroin possession. She has been held for many months and became pregnant in prison. To read more, see: African American Political Pundit
To watch a video, see: Black Women in Europe
There were 10 Laotian high officials present, so she did not have the opportunity to discuss anything confidential. But at least they have let her see a lawyer. She was scheduled for execution but this was changed - only because she is pregnant.
Orobator is accused of heroin possession. She has been held for many months and became pregnant in prison. To read more, see: African American Political Pundit
To watch a video, see: Black Women in Europe
Endgame - The Beginning of the End of Apartheid
I was very moved and inspired by this political thriller, which depicted the true story of top secret talks held in the 1980s which led to the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa. It was recently screened on Channel 4 in the UK.
This story is not really know, even today. When most people thought a violent end to apartheid was inevitablem those who took part in these talks showed extraordinary courage, risking their lives and those of their families and friends. This is truly the courage of a few individuals in the face of danger from the group.
Click here to read my review of Engdame.
See also Nonviolent Communication.
This story is not really know, even today. When most people thought a violent end to apartheid was inevitablem those who took part in these talks showed extraordinary courage, risking their lives and those of their families and friends. This is truly the courage of a few individuals in the face of danger from the group.
Click here to read my review of Engdame.
See also Nonviolent Communication.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Hatred of Black Women
What is with the hatred of Black women?
The latest victim (that we've heard about) is the London woman who was scheduled for execution in Laos. They have let her off now - at last - but only because she is pregnant!
http://www.blackvoices.com/newsarticle/_a/pregnant-woman-escapes-death-penalty-in/20090505100309990001
She got pregnant in jail. She was accused of drug trafficking, but her friends say she has never touched drugs.
A couple of years ago, there was the woman in northern Nigeria who was threatened with being stoned to death.
But before we expect others to love and appreciate us, we need to learn to love and appreciate ourselves. I am told many sistas jumped on Rihanna after her bloke (allegedly) beat her up. And look what happened when Tyson raped that young sista. So many women blamed her.
If this is how we treat each other, we can't be surprised when others abuse, exploit and oppress us. Can we?
We need to learn to love, appreciate and value ourselves and each other. Seriously, yall, this is life and death.
Check out my article on The Key to Confidence.
The latest victim (that we've heard about) is the London woman who was scheduled for execution in Laos. They have let her off now - at last - but only because she is pregnant!
http://www.blackvoices.com/newsarticle/_a/pregnant-woman-escapes-death-penalty-in/20090505100309990001
She got pregnant in jail. She was accused of drug trafficking, but her friends say she has never touched drugs.
A couple of years ago, there was the woman in northern Nigeria who was threatened with being stoned to death.
But before we expect others to love and appreciate us, we need to learn to love and appreciate ourselves. I am told many sistas jumped on Rihanna after her bloke (allegedly) beat her up. And look what happened when Tyson raped that young sista. So many women blamed her.
If this is how we treat each other, we can't be surprised when others abuse, exploit and oppress us. Can we?
We need to learn to love, appreciate and value ourselves and each other. Seriously, yall, this is life and death.
Check out my article on The Key to Confidence.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Ending the Violence through a Creative Response
This is a continuation of my previous blogs,
Ending the Violence
No to Pre-Trial Electrocutions
Police Officers Accused of 60 Other Assaults
I was in Brixton town centre a couple of days ago when I noticed that, outside Brixton police station, a tree has been dedicated as a memorial to a young African Caribbean man, Sean Riggs, who died in police custody.
With all the recent media feeding frenzy around the allegations of assaults by police officers at the G20 demonstrations, there has been no mention of this young man's death. I have seen no connections made between the G20 incidents and the ongoing assaults on African people by the police.
According to information posted on the tree memorial, there were two cameras present when Riggs died, but neither was working. That is the official line. Judge for yourself how believable that is.
Our young people need to carry cameras all the time as a way of protecting themselves from police violence. This is one important lesson to be learned from the incidents that took place at the G20 demos. But once in police custody, use of cameras will often not be possible.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one of the most effective methods of countering violence. For more about this, see
Ending the Violence
Improving Relationships/Improving Communication
Nonviolent Communication
NVC is used to transform situations, including cases of extreme violence. It is not the same as passive resistance, it is a creative response.
I hope you will join my course in London in October and find out how you can use NVC in your own life.
We really can transform this situation and create a better future.
Below is an excerpt from "A Duty Of Remembrance", by Toyin Agbetu, taken from Nyansapo: The African Drum.
Greetings, I was recently reading trough a book that was sent to me called Again We’ll Rise by BJ Gilwards. Inside it were a collection of inspiring quotations and statements from African people spanning millennia. It made me think hard about many of the wisdom's we have forgotten, the legacies from our history, the good and the bad, the gains and also the losses.
During January 1999, a gang of eight officers from the British Police Force brutally restrained a young man named Roger Sylvester. In describing their actions the police lied claiming Roger was violent. However contrary to their statements Roger was seen being dragged limp, naked and handcuffed into a police van by several witnesses. Roger, a council worker stopped breathing and fell into a coma at the emergency psychiatric unit at St Anne's Hospital, Haringey. Six police officers had pinned him down on the floor for about 20 minutes.
Ben Bersabel, a nurse on duty at the time of the assault said he had noticed Roger was being held down on his front and calling out for a doctor. The police ignored Rogers’s pleas for help and as a direct result of their actions he suffered heart and kidney failure, severe brain damage and bruising to his body. Roger, 30 was a mental health service user. He died six days later at the Whittington Hospital.
Roger’s family made several complaints about the abusive actions of the officers. This led to an investigation carried out by Essex Police under the supervision of the racist Police Complaints Authority (PCA) but to no avail. When the discredited PCA was abandoned it was replaced with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which now has overall responsibility for the police complaints system. It is important to note that the British tactic of rebranding old as new is common and even the Metropolitan Police Force has formally changed its name to the Police ‘Service’ in an attempt to soften its brutish image.
Now for many years Roger’s family were denied justice, the British media in an attempt to exonerate the police deliberately mislead the public by reporting state fabrications. A typical story was that published by the BBC with the headline ‘Detained man's drug delirium’.
… But then after several years of campaigning the family achieved a breakthrough. On 3 October 2003, an inquest jury returned a unanimous verdict and ruled that Roger had been unlawfully killed. In a just ‘civilised’ society the six police officers should have faced murder or at the very least, manslaughter charges for their ‘unlawful killing’ but instead in 2004, a high court judge formally quashed the verdict allowing the police force to once again escape justice after killing innocent Africans.
… So what is the solution? How do we as a community achieve justice, reparation and ultimately Maat for atrocities committed against our Ancestors? Well the first thing we must do is respect the ritual of remembrance and hold a memorial or commemoration for them every year without fail. For this act to be progressive it must not only be carried out for the victims of Maafa but also the survivors and heroes.
… You see we need African Remembrance at the very least, once a year. Our own right to dignity demands we collectively remember their names especially in circumstances where the loss has been both tragic and traumatic instead of worshipping those ‘celebrities’ and role muddles the government and its media promotes as ‘black’ British or American idols.
So to those who have passed and whose names we rarely call, please know that not all your children have forgotten your sacrifice. And in remembrance to those of you who are also still with us, I want to thank you, from brother Colin, Aiah Menjor and Milton Hanson to sista Ama Sumani and Elder Rosie Purves, there are so many of you out there who I want to thank for doing the work, and those of you who silently support them, you know who you are. In the meantime I have written to the IPCC making an Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the details of all the cases involving African people who have died in custody that Freddy Patel has been involved in and may have covered up. If we don’t do think this work important, then who will?
Taken from Nyansapo - The Pan African Drum
Toyin Agbetu is a writer, film director, poet, and founder of Ligali, the pan African human rights based organisation.
To subscribe to this free newsletter, Nyansapo the Pan African Drum, contact Ligali http://www.ligali.org/index.php
Ending the Violence
No to Pre-Trial Electrocutions
Police Officers Accused of 60 Other Assaults
I was in Brixton town centre a couple of days ago when I noticed that, outside Brixton police station, a tree has been dedicated as a memorial to a young African Caribbean man, Sean Riggs, who died in police custody.
With all the recent media feeding frenzy around the allegations of assaults by police officers at the G20 demonstrations, there has been no mention of this young man's death. I have seen no connections made between the G20 incidents and the ongoing assaults on African people by the police.
According to information posted on the tree memorial, there were two cameras present when Riggs died, but neither was working. That is the official line. Judge for yourself how believable that is.
Our young people need to carry cameras all the time as a way of protecting themselves from police violence. This is one important lesson to be learned from the incidents that took place at the G20 demos. But once in police custody, use of cameras will often not be possible.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one of the most effective methods of countering violence. For more about this, see
Ending the Violence
Improving Relationships/Improving Communication
Nonviolent Communication
NVC is used to transform situations, including cases of extreme violence. It is not the same as passive resistance, it is a creative response.
I hope you will join my course in London in October and find out how you can use NVC in your own life.
We really can transform this situation and create a better future.
Below is an excerpt from "A Duty Of Remembrance", by Toyin Agbetu, taken from Nyansapo: The African Drum.
What I like most about this piece is that Toyin is bringing in the spiritual dimension, talking about revering the ancestors.
We need to have an awareness of the problem. But it is far more vital to focus on solutions.
A Duty Of RemembranceGreetings, I was recently reading trough a book that was sent to me called Again We’ll Rise by BJ Gilwards. Inside it were a collection of inspiring quotations and statements from African people spanning millennia. It made me think hard about many of the wisdom's we have forgotten, the legacies from our history, the good and the bad, the gains and also the losses.
During January 1999, a gang of eight officers from the British Police Force brutally restrained a young man named Roger Sylvester. In describing their actions the police lied claiming Roger was violent. However contrary to their statements Roger was seen being dragged limp, naked and handcuffed into a police van by several witnesses. Roger, a council worker stopped breathing and fell into a coma at the emergency psychiatric unit at St Anne's Hospital, Haringey. Six police officers had pinned him down on the floor for about 20 minutes.
Ben Bersabel, a nurse on duty at the time of the assault said he had noticed Roger was being held down on his front and calling out for a doctor. The police ignored Rogers’s pleas for help and as a direct result of their actions he suffered heart and kidney failure, severe brain damage and bruising to his body. Roger, 30 was a mental health service user. He died six days later at the Whittington Hospital.
Roger’s family made several complaints about the abusive actions of the officers. This led to an investigation carried out by Essex Police under the supervision of the racist Police Complaints Authority (PCA) but to no avail. When the discredited PCA was abandoned it was replaced with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which now has overall responsibility for the police complaints system. It is important to note that the British tactic of rebranding old as new is common and even the Metropolitan Police Force has formally changed its name to the Police ‘Service’ in an attempt to soften its brutish image.
Now for many years Roger’s family were denied justice, the British media in an attempt to exonerate the police deliberately mislead the public by reporting state fabrications. A typical story was that published by the BBC with the headline ‘Detained man's drug delirium’.
… But then after several years of campaigning the family achieved a breakthrough. On 3 October 2003, an inquest jury returned a unanimous verdict and ruled that Roger had been unlawfully killed. In a just ‘civilised’ society the six police officers should have faced murder or at the very least, manslaughter charges for their ‘unlawful killing’ but instead in 2004, a high court judge formally quashed the verdict allowing the police force to once again escape justice after killing innocent Africans.
… So what is the solution? How do we as a community achieve justice, reparation and ultimately Maat for atrocities committed against our Ancestors? Well the first thing we must do is respect the ritual of remembrance and hold a memorial or commemoration for them every year without fail. For this act to be progressive it must not only be carried out for the victims of Maafa but also the survivors and heroes.
… You see we need African Remembrance at the very least, once a year. Our own right to dignity demands we collectively remember their names especially in circumstances where the loss has been both tragic and traumatic instead of worshipping those ‘celebrities’ and role muddles the government and its media promotes as ‘black’ British or American idols.
So to those who have passed and whose names we rarely call, please know that not all your children have forgotten your sacrifice. And in remembrance to those of you who are also still with us, I want to thank you, from brother Colin, Aiah Menjor and Milton Hanson to sista Ama Sumani and Elder Rosie Purves, there are so many of you out there who I want to thank for doing the work, and those of you who silently support them, you know who you are. In the meantime I have written to the IPCC making an Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the details of all the cases involving African people who have died in custody that Freddy Patel has been involved in and may have covered up. If we don’t do think this work important, then who will?
Taken from Nyansapo - The Pan African Drum
Toyin Agbetu is a writer, film director, poet, and founder of Ligali, the pan African human rights based organisation.
To subscribe to this free newsletter, Nyansapo the Pan African Drum, contact Ligali http://www.ligali.org/index.php
Ending the Violence
As you may know, yesterday was the AfroSpear's Day of Blogging for Justice against tasers. If you haven't yet, you can read my latest anti-tasing blog here.
Here are some more:
Electronic Village Wants to End Taser Torture
Eddie Griffin's Message to the Fort Worth Police
From My Brown-Eyed View
Dallas South
Antoinette's Pont of View
There are many more. Feel free to add your voice. We need to stop this violence against African people. Tasers are widely used in the U.S.A. and will be in the UK unless we stop this.
The only real way to stop violence is with nonviolence. I am not talking about passive resistance as was used during the civil rights era of the 1960s. I am talking about creative communication, also known as Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
NVC is used in many parts of the world, incuding places that have a history of extreme violence, such as Rwanda and Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Israel and Palestine.
NVC is changing people's lives. We can use it to transform the way the police operate so that everyone's needs are respected.
The Law of Attraction tells us that what we put our energies into increases and expands. The Law of Increase says that what we concentrate on, what we focus on, increases.
So if we focus on the solution, we will find more and more solutions.
It is important that so many people have blogged and are continuing to blog about tasing, as it is being used to assault and even kill African people.
We need to be aware of the problem. This is vitally important. But even more crucially, we need to focus on solutions.
I will be leading a course in London on NVC for the African Caribbean community in October. Check my web page, Improving Relationships/Improving Communication, for updates.
For more information, see Nonviolent Communication.
We can bring about positive change and transformation. We can transform this situation. Find out more and get involved.
Here are some more:
Electronic Village Wants to End Taser Torture
Eddie Griffin's Message to the Fort Worth Police
From My Brown-Eyed View
Dallas South
Antoinette's Pont of View
There are many more. Feel free to add your voice. We need to stop this violence against African people. Tasers are widely used in the U.S.A. and will be in the UK unless we stop this.
The only real way to stop violence is with nonviolence. I am not talking about passive resistance as was used during the civil rights era of the 1960s. I am talking about creative communication, also known as Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
NVC is used in many parts of the world, incuding places that have a history of extreme violence, such as Rwanda and Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Israel and Palestine.
NVC is changing people's lives. We can use it to transform the way the police operate so that everyone's needs are respected.
The Law of Attraction tells us that what we put our energies into increases and expands. The Law of Increase says that what we concentrate on, what we focus on, increases.
So if we focus on the solution, we will find more and more solutions.
It is important that so many people have blogged and are continuing to blog about tasing, as it is being used to assault and even kill African people.
We need to be aware of the problem. This is vitally important. But even more crucially, we need to focus on solutions.
I will be leading a course in London on NVC for the African Caribbean community in October. Check my web page, Improving Relationships/Improving Communication, for updates.
For more information, see Nonviolent Communication.
We can bring about positive change and transformation. We can transform this situation. Find out more and get involved.
Friday, April 24, 2009
No to Pre-Trial Electrocutions
Congratulations to my fellow AfroSpear members for organising another Day of Blogging for Justice to raise awareness about the use of tasers against Black men, women and children.
Click here to read my post on the previous Day of Blogging for Justice against tasing.
It is a travesty that another such event is needed. Tasing is also being referred to as "pre-trial electrocution" and rightly so.
Here are some more of today's blogs:
TNT Truth Not Tasers
AfroSpear Blog
Here in London, attacks by the police are much in the news at the moment, following the demonstrations around the G20 a couple of weeks ago. Three people have been named as victims of police attacks, one of whom, Ian Tomlinson, is now dead. Films of the incident suggest that Tomlinson was minding his own business, watching the demo from the sidelines, when attacked from behind by a police officer. He collapsed, and died shortly thereafter.
It has been decided that a third inquest into Tomlinson's death will be carried out, as the findings of the first two contradicted each other.
The day after Tomlinson's death, a woman protester was struck by a police officer.
I note that (1) both of these protesters were white, (2) both incidents were filmed. In the case of the attack on Tomlinson, several different cameras in different positions recorded the incident.
And (3) none of the alleged attacks involved the use of tasers. In other words, London's Metropolitan Police are capable of doing plenty of damage without deploying tasers. Tasers are rarely used in the UK at present, but once their use becomes widespread, the situation will only worsen.
Given the current state of the economy, with an increase in employment being forecast, many are predicting an increase in civil unrest. So lots more opportunities for the police to use heavy-handed tactics.
I will be blogging more about this soon, but I wanted to post this today in support of the Day of Justice.
Black people have been saying for many years that the policing of our communities is often brutal and violent. When Black people die in police custody, no one is ever prosecuted or deemed to have acted unlawfully or inappropriately.
As I said recently in Police Officers Accused of 60 Other Assaults, African young people and adults need to be carrying cameras and/or camera phones at all times in order to record these incidents. However, I add that, once a brotha or sista is inside a police cell, he or she has no opportunity to use a camera, and no guarantee that the cameras in place are in working order or contain film. Again, I will blog more about this soon.
Again, all credit to the sistas and brothas of the AfroSpear for keeping the issue of tasing in the forefront of our minds.
Click here to read my post on the previous Day of Blogging for Justice against tasing.
It is a travesty that another such event is needed. Tasing is also being referred to as "pre-trial electrocution" and rightly so.
Here are some more of today's blogs:
TNT Truth Not Tasers
AfroSpear Blog
Here in London, attacks by the police are much in the news at the moment, following the demonstrations around the G20 a couple of weeks ago. Three people have been named as victims of police attacks, one of whom, Ian Tomlinson, is now dead. Films of the incident suggest that Tomlinson was minding his own business, watching the demo from the sidelines, when attacked from behind by a police officer. He collapsed, and died shortly thereafter.
It has been decided that a third inquest into Tomlinson's death will be carried out, as the findings of the first two contradicted each other.
The day after Tomlinson's death, a woman protester was struck by a police officer.
I note that (1) both of these protesters were white, (2) both incidents were filmed. In the case of the attack on Tomlinson, several different cameras in different positions recorded the incident.
And (3) none of the alleged attacks involved the use of tasers. In other words, London's Metropolitan Police are capable of doing plenty of damage without deploying tasers. Tasers are rarely used in the UK at present, but once their use becomes widespread, the situation will only worsen.
Given the current state of the economy, with an increase in employment being forecast, many are predicting an increase in civil unrest. So lots more opportunities for the police to use heavy-handed tactics.
I will be blogging more about this soon, but I wanted to post this today in support of the Day of Justice.
Black people have been saying for many years that the policing of our communities is often brutal and violent. When Black people die in police custody, no one is ever prosecuted or deemed to have acted unlawfully or inappropriately.
As I said recently in Police Officers Accused of 60 Other Assaults, African young people and adults need to be carrying cameras and/or camera phones at all times in order to record these incidents. However, I add that, once a brotha or sista is inside a police cell, he or she has no opportunity to use a camera, and no guarantee that the cameras in place are in working order or contain film. Again, I will blog more about this soon.
Again, all credit to the sistas and brothas of the AfroSpear for keeping the issue of tasing in the forefront of our minds.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Susan Boyle's Got Talent
On the Channel 5's Wright Stuff this morning, they were talking about judging a book by its cover. Current Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle is considered unattractive and even "ugly".
This blog has moved to Susan Boyle's Got Talent.
This blog has moved to Susan Boyle's Got Talent.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Police Officers Accused of 60 Other Assaults
In the wake of last week's demonstrations about the G20, a Metropolitan Police officer is accused of striking an innocent passerby.
Camcorder footage reveals the officer allegedly striking a man on the back of the leg as the man was walking away. The man is seen to fall over, and died shortly thereafter.
Interestingly, the passerby was white. It is a rarity for white people in Britain to suffer assaults from the police except in large demonstrations such as the Wapping pickets and the miners' strike of the 1980s. Or at least, such assaults are rarely pubicised.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission asked newspaper The Guardian to remove the video from their website.
It would be even more interesting if we could produce film footage of police officers' assaults on members of the Black community, similarly to the Rodney King incident.
It remains to be seen what, if any, action is taken against the officer involved. In the Jean Charles de Menezes case, no one was found to be guilty of causing his death even though this innocent Brazilian man was shot at point-black range following the London 7/7 bombings of 2005. It was claimed they officers involved thought he was a suspected terrorist involved in the bombings.
The Jury recorded an open verdict and made it clear that they did not believe the court testimony of the police officers involved, who stated that a warning had been given before de Menezes was shot. For more on this, see Q&A: The Day de Menezes Died
Nubiart Diary recently reported on four officers who were recently convicted of assaults on a British Muslim man, who have been accused of involvement in 60 other incidents.
The article cites a string of other recent complaints against London's Metropolitan Police. To read more, visit News and Views: ANC Welcomes Ruling.
This article also includes a report from the ANC on the Pretoria High Court's refusal to grant parole to someone who murdered two ANC members.
Camcorder footage reveals the officer allegedly striking a man on the back of the leg as the man was walking away. The man is seen to fall over, and died shortly thereafter.
Interestingly, the passerby was white. It is a rarity for white people in Britain to suffer assaults from the police except in large demonstrations such as the Wapping pickets and the miners' strike of the 1980s. Or at least, such assaults are rarely pubicised.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission asked newspaper The Guardian to remove the video from their website.
It would be even more interesting if we could produce film footage of police officers' assaults on members of the Black community, similarly to the Rodney King incident.
It remains to be seen what, if any, action is taken against the officer involved. In the Jean Charles de Menezes case, no one was found to be guilty of causing his death even though this innocent Brazilian man was shot at point-black range following the London 7/7 bombings of 2005. It was claimed they officers involved thought he was a suspected terrorist involved in the bombings.
The Jury recorded an open verdict and made it clear that they did not believe the court testimony of the police officers involved, who stated that a warning had been given before de Menezes was shot. For more on this, see Q&A: The Day de Menezes Died
Nubiart Diary recently reported on four officers who were recently convicted of assaults on a British Muslim man, who have been accused of involvement in 60 other incidents.
The article cites a string of other recent complaints against London's Metropolitan Police. To read more, visit News and Views: ANC Welcomes Ruling.
This article also includes a report from the ANC on the Pretoria High Court's refusal to grant parole to someone who murdered two ANC members.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
John Hope Franklin Dies at 94
John Hope Franklin, author of From Slavery to Freedom, advised Thurgood Marshall in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case. To read more, see Obituary for John Hope Franklin.
This article also includes a review of the book Milk, Money And Honey: Changing Concepts In Rwandan Healing. Plus Black history events and more.
This article also includes a review of the book Milk, Money And Honey: Changing Concepts In Rwandan Healing. Plus Black history events and more.
Monday, April 06, 2009
I'm on Black Pearls Magazine!
I've recently been interviewed about Success Strategies for Black People. To read this interview, see Black Pearls Magazine.
Click here to read an interview with me about Harriet, my choreopoem about Harriet Jacobs, who escaped sexual exploitation during slavery.
Click here to read more interviews with me.
Click here to read an interview with me about Harriet, my choreopoem about Harriet Jacobs, who escaped sexual exploitation during slavery.
Click here to read more interviews with me.
African Women's Creativity
The Images of Black Women Film Festival promotes and celebrates women of African descent in cinema,both on screen and behind the camera.
Click here to read my article on the fifth annual Images of Black Women Film Festival, which was held recently at the Tricicyle Cinema in London.
Click here to watch a short film based on my choreopoem about the sexual exploitation of African American women during slavery.
Click here to read interviews with me.
Click here to read my article on the fifth annual Images of Black Women Film Festival, which was held recently at the Tricicyle Cinema in London.
Click here to watch a short film based on my choreopoem about the sexual exploitation of African American women during slavery.
Click here to read interviews with me.
Monday, March 23, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Video Budget Message from President Obama
I enjoy receiving emails from the President. No message from any previous President has ever landed in my inbox.
Having said that, what is President Obama saying? We have a long road ahead of us, we have a lot of work to do. We have to work together.
I could be cynical and say “same old, same old”. But it’s a message that bears repeating. Especially since the previous administration seemed to be intent on communicating a very different message: Get all you can for yourself, forget about everyone else.
Obama is talking about putting money into affordable healthcare, education and investing for the future. He is even talking about tax cuts for low-income families. I can get behind all of these aims.
Click here to watch this Obama video.
Click here for the Key to Financial Prosperity.
Obama's whole style is different from that of the politicians that went before him. I've said this before. His style is about inclusion. I find this very inspiring. Don't know if it will work yet, but one thing is sure: we have to learn from history or we will be condemned to repeat it.
Having said that, what is President Obama saying? We have a long road ahead of us, we have a lot of work to do. We have to work together.
I could be cynical and say “same old, same old”. But it’s a message that bears repeating. Especially since the previous administration seemed to be intent on communicating a very different message: Get all you can for yourself, forget about everyone else.
Obama is talking about putting money into affordable healthcare, education and investing for the future. He is even talking about tax cuts for low-income families. I can get behind all of these aims.
Click here to watch this Obama video.
Click here for the Key to Financial Prosperity.
Obama's whole style is different from that of the politicians that went before him. I've said this before. His style is about inclusion. I find this very inspiring. Don't know if it will work yet, but one thing is sure: we have to learn from history or we will be condemned to repeat it.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Building Wealth: Learn from Experience
Did you know that John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine and the Johnson publishing empire, studied biographies of Black achievers and freedom fighters such as Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass? It was important to him to follow their examples as he climbed from poverty to wealth and business success.
For more about the importance of positive role models, see Do You Think Like a Success?
For more about John H. Johnson and other African American achievers, see Black Wealth.
Here's to your success!
For more about the importance of positive role models, see Do You Think Like a Success?
For more about John H. Johnson and other African American achievers, see Black Wealth.
Here's to your success!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Courage of One Man
As I'm sure you are aware, Hotel Rwanda is the story of the courage of one man, Paul Paul Rusesabagina, who stood up as an individual at a time when group mentality threatened his life, and hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Rusesabagina saved the lives of hundreds of people during the Rwandan genocide. There are other stories of individual courage we have not yet been told.
To read more, see Hotel Rwanda.
See also Black History International.
I talk about the individual vs. the group in my ebooks What They Don't Want Us to Know and The Key to Everything.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Black History International
This year, with the election of President Obama, we have more to celebrate than usual. Check out this article about Black History International.
It includes
President Obama is aware of the history of Kenya and how it affected his family. To read more, visit Obama's Inauguration.
Check it out: Black History International.
It includes
- Harriet Tubman
- Harriet Jacobs
- Rosa Parks
- Malcom X
President Obama is aware of the history of Kenya and how it affected his family. To read more, visit Obama's Inauguration.
Check it out: Black History International.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Articles Wanted: Michelle Obama as a Positive Role Model
I am seeking articles on Michelle Obama. For more info, see Is Michelle Obama a Positive Role Model?
You may also be interested in:
Ebony Intuition: Michelle Obama Covers Vogue March 2009
African American Relationships Guides
You may also be interested in:
Ebony Intuition: Michelle Obama Covers Vogue March 2009
African American Relationships Guides
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Is Marriage for White People?
Personally, I don't think marriage is for a particular race, culture or group. It's for anybody who wants it. Many people see marriage as a sacred trust. I certainly do. I was brought up in the church. However, being a Buddhist challenges this. For us, marriage is not a sacrament.
To me, marriage is different from any other type of relationship. It is different from living with someone (I've done both). It is a commitment acknowledged publicly by one's friends and family.
Anyway, check out this somewhat distubing article on "Marriage Is for White People".
Clearly, marriage is a choice. It'snot something anybody has to do. I'm looking to explore this more in my forthcoming African American Relationships Guides. Please submit an article if you would like to. I want to know what you think.
To me, marriage is different from any other type of relationship. It is different from living with someone (I've done both). It is a commitment acknowledged publicly by one's friends and family.
Anyway, check out this somewhat distubing article on "Marriage Is for White People".
Clearly, marriage is a choice. It'snot something anybody has to do. I'm looking to explore this more in my forthcoming African American Relationships Guides. Please submit an article if you would like to. I want to know what you think.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Black History Virtual Book Fair
Ella D. Curry of the Black Authors Network has launched her second annual Black History Virtual Book fair, which celebrates African American cultural heritage.
Storytellers, librarians, historians, teachers, parents and motivational speakers are invited to participate in this event, the theme of which is "Give the Gift of Knowledge".
To read more, visit: http://www.edc-creations.com/blackhistorybookfairthemes.html
Storytellers, librarians, historians, teachers, parents and motivational speakers are invited to participate in this event, the theme of which is "Give the Gift of Knowledge".
To read more, visit: http://www.edc-creations.com/blackhistorybookfairthemes.html
Today Only: Launch of Love Letter to Black People
Today - Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - is the official online book launch for the powerful new book by Brian McClellan entitled A Love Letter to Black People: Audaciously Hopeful Thoughts on Race and Success. You are invited to join the party and purchase you copy of "Love Letter" at the following URL:
http://www.readerviews.com/Launch-McClellan-index.html
What they are already saying about Love Letter
Brian has truly created a masterpiece -- meticulously researched, beautifully written, uncompromisingly insightful, and 'get-out-of-your-chair' motivating. - André Taylor, Entrepreneur and Author of You Can Still Win!
I strongly recommend this book to anyone - of any race - whether as an interesting sociological study or an inspiring handbook for success. - Kristen Galles, BookClubClassics.com A Love Letter to Black People
When you buy A Love Letter to Black People TODAY (Tuesday, February 10, 2009) by visiting the following URL (http://www.readerviews.com/Launch-McClellan-index.html), you will get it at a great discount and receive many gifts and bonuses with it such as exclusive excerpts of books from Larry Coleman, Judy Lubin, Hillary Roy and Rose Mitchell - and me. Also, your purchase will automatically enter you into a drawing to win one of 20 autographed copies of books from critically acclaimed author Gary Unger and even Brian McClellan's first book, The Real Bling. Get your bonus chapter on "Achieving Success" from my ebook What They Don't Want Us to Know.
So I strongly urge you to check it out and claim your free bonuses.
http://www.readerviews.com/Launch-McClellan-index.html
What they are already saying about Love Letter
Brian has truly created a masterpiece -- meticulously researched, beautifully written, uncompromisingly insightful, and 'get-out-of-your-chair' motivating. - André Taylor, Entrepreneur and Author of You Can Still Win!
I strongly recommend this book to anyone - of any race - whether as an interesting sociological study or an inspiring handbook for success. - Kristen Galles, BookClubClassics.com A Love Letter to Black People
When you buy A Love Letter to Black People TODAY (Tuesday, February 10, 2009) by visiting the following URL (http://www.readerviews.com/Launch-McClellan-index.html), you will get it at a great discount and receive many gifts and bonuses with it such as exclusive excerpts of books from Larry Coleman, Judy Lubin, Hillary Roy and Rose Mitchell - and me. Also, your purchase will automatically enter you into a drawing to win one of 20 autographed copies of books from critically acclaimed author Gary Unger and even Brian McClellan's first book, The Real Bling. Get your bonus chapter on "Achieving Success" from my ebook What They Don't Want Us to Know.
So I strongly urge you to check it out and claim your free bonuses.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Elvis Costello and Smokey Robinson
Channel surfing the other day, I came across a programme in which Elvis Costello was interviewing Smokey Robinson on stage at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Two music legends in conversation.
It was a magical moment. Smokey told the story of when he met Ray Charles for the first time and Charles helped him out of a difficult situation. In fact, it would have been a disaster had it not been for Charles's intervention. Read all about it at Celebrating the Legend that Is Motown.
Smokey also talked about working with Marvin Gaye and how he "Marvinised" every song he sang - he made every song his own.
It was a magical moment. Smokey told the story of when he met Ray Charles for the first time and Charles helped him out of a difficult situation. In fact, it would have been a disaster had it not been for Charles's intervention. Read all about it at Celebrating the Legend that Is Motown.
Smokey also talked about working with Marvin Gaye and how he "Marvinised" every song he sang - he made every song his own.
In this Black History Month/African Heritage Month, we may be very aware of the suffering we have endured and our fight for survival. It's also important to remember and celebrate the good times.
Then I saw the end credits. And who produced this TV gem? Among others, David Furnish and Sir Elton John.
Friday, February 06, 2009
New Respect for Ainsley Harriott
I love Ready, Steady, Cook. It's a great show.
And I gained new respect for the presenter, Ainsley Harriott, yesterday after his appearance on The Wright Stuff. While professing his respect for Carol Thatcher, he also said, "people think because they [gollywogs] are cute and cuddly, it's okay to use that word. It's not on".
See also: Carol Thatcher and the Gollywog Remark. She has been sacked from one of her shows on the BBC after refusing to apologise for comparing someone's hair to that of a gollywog. She insists this was not a racist remark.
And I gained new respect for the presenter, Ainsley Harriott, yesterday after his appearance on The Wright Stuff. While professing his respect for Carol Thatcher, he also said, "people think because they [gollywogs] are cute and cuddly, it's okay to use that word. It's not on".
See also: Carol Thatcher and the Gollywog Remark. She has been sacked from one of her shows on the BBC after refusing to apologise for comparing someone's hair to that of a gollywog. She insists this was not a racist remark.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Carol Thatcher and the Gollywog Remark
Apparently, Carol Thatcher made a remark at work, at the BBC, comparing someone's hair to that of a gollywog. This was being discussed on The Wright Stuff this morning. Carol Thatcher is a frequent panel member on the show. Remember, this is the same show on which Henry Bonsu used to be a panel member before they got rid of him with no explanation. He talks about this in my book Black Success Stories.
The panel pretty much agreed that this is a storm in a teacup, as Thatcher's remark was made privately. Sanjeev Bhaskar is making jokes about it.
These kinds of grotesque images were widely circulated in the African colonies to reinforce negative stereotypes about African people, as the the late Len Garrison, founder of the Black Cultural Archives explains in Black Success Stories.
I don't think anyone should have to work in a workplace where these kinds of remarks are being made.
One of the key areas in which Black people were taught to have negative thoughts and feelings about ourself was around our hair. To read more about this, read The Key to Confidence and Self-Esteem. See also What They Don't Want Us to Know.
The panel pretty much agreed that this is a storm in a teacup, as Thatcher's remark was made privately. Sanjeev Bhaskar is making jokes about it.
These kinds of grotesque images were widely circulated in the African colonies to reinforce negative stereotypes about African people, as the the late Len Garrison, founder of the Black Cultural Archives explains in Black Success Stories.
I don't think anyone should have to work in a workplace where these kinds of remarks are being made.
One of the key areas in which Black people were taught to have negative thoughts and feelings about ourself was around our hair. To read more about this, read The Key to Confidence and Self-Esteem. See also What They Don't Want Us to Know.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
We Need to Heal
Once again, I find myself involved with a Black organisation in which people are sniping at each other, launching personal attacks and generally undermining one another.
As people of African heritage, we were taught to hate ourselves. That's why we often find so much conflict within Black groups and organisations. It's why there is sometimes so much distrust between African people. When you see Black people tearing each other apart, and when we engage in that kind of behaviour ourselves, this is one of the reasons. We are very wounded and we need to heal these wounds.
To read the rest of this article, visit The Key to Confidence and Self-Esteem.
As people of African heritage, we were taught to hate ourselves. That's why we often find so much conflict within Black groups and organisations. It's why there is sometimes so much distrust between African people. When you see Black people tearing each other apart, and when we engage in that kind of behaviour ourselves, this is one of the reasons. We are very wounded and we need to heal these wounds.
To read the rest of this article, visit The Key to Confidence and Self-Esteem.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Obama: The View from Brixton
Obama Signs Order to Close Guanatanamo - brilliant news to wake up to. Our new President appears to be a man of action who is starting as he means to go on.
Obama's Inauguration Day: I have added a link to a video made in Brixton, on "Obama, the new American Zeitgeist?" Please read my article and add your comments.
Obama's Inauguration Day: I have added a link to a video made in Brixton, on "Obama, the new American Zeitgeist?" Please read my article and add your comments.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Obama's Inauguration Day Today
On Tuesday 20th January 2009, Barack Hussein Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the
Inauguration parties will be held all over the world. In
Where will you be celebrating the inauguration? To read more and leave your comments, visit: Obama's Inauguration Day. See also Barack Obama: African American Success Story and Celebrating Barack Abama.
What Inspires You about Obama?
President Obama’s campaign was characterised by unity and inclusion. Similarly to Nelson Mandela, he gave a clear message that he would be President for all Americans. This followed in the tradition of Martin Luther King, who gathered support from many different segments of the American public, including poor whites, and Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition. For more on Martin Luther King’s legacy, visit Daddy B Strong’s blogs on The Gift of Dr. King and Are There Any Drum Majors in Here?
Many African American people were strongly moved and inspired by the vision of an African American President. Obama’s election was truly groundbreaking. He mobilized sections of society which are notorious for failing to vote, e.g. young Black people, who often feel marginalized and disenfranchised.
On the day we celebrate the inauguration of the first African American President of the United States, I ask: What inspires you about President Obama?
What inspires you about President Obama?
Many African American people were strongly moved and inspired by the vision of an African American President. Obama’s election was truly groundbreaking. He mobilized sections of society which are notorious for failing to vote, e.g. young Black people, who often feel marginalized and disenfranchised.
On the day we celebrate the inauguration of the first African American President of the United States, I ask: What inspires you about President Obama?
What inspires you about President Obama?
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Celebrating Barack Obama
People all over the world are still celebrating Obama's victory.
His picture is on the covers of Essence and GQ.
Ebony have devoted their entire issue to him as their first-ever "Person of the Year".
And Pride, a UK Black women's magazine, feature Barack, Michelle and their girls on the cover.
To read the rest of this article, please visit:
http://www.squidoo.com/Celebrating-Obama
Here is a list of some of my other recent Obama blogs:
Polling Day
I went to the doctor's this morning and he said, "Make sure you get it right this time. I've emailed all my American friends and told them to get it right this time." He also said, "It would have made a huge difference if Al Gore had won". And he is a white Englishman.
Happy Birthday, America!
This truly is a new day. A new dawn. On a level, I realise, I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. A Black man in the White House. Now anything is possible. Whole new possibilities have opened up. Things that were not conceivable yesterday can happen now. I felt like this when apartheid ended in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected. I feel it even more strongly now.
I Keep Crying – Great Post-Election Videos
Message from President Obama
It is so important for us as people of African heritage to celebrate our successes. To read my article, "Do You Think Like a Success", visit
http://www.squidoo.com/Do-You-Think-Like-a-Success
Have a great day!
His picture is on the covers of Essence and GQ.
Ebony have devoted their entire issue to him as their first-ever "Person of the Year".
And Pride, a UK Black women's magazine, feature Barack, Michelle and their girls on the cover.
To read the rest of this article, please visit:
http://www.squidoo.com/Celebrating-Obama
Here is a list of some of my other recent Obama blogs:
Polling Day
I went to the doctor's this morning and he said, "Make sure you get it right this time. I've emailed all my American friends and told them to get it right this time." He also said, "It would have made a huge difference if Al Gore had won". And he is a white Englishman.
Happy Birthday, America!
This truly is a new day. A new dawn. On a level, I realise, I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. A Black man in the White House. Now anything is possible. Whole new possibilities have opened up. Things that were not conceivable yesterday can happen now. I felt like this when apartheid ended in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected. I feel it even more strongly now.
I Keep Crying – Great Post-Election Videos
Message from President Obama
It is so important for us as people of African heritage to celebrate our successes. To read my article, "Do You Think Like a Success", visit
http://www.squidoo.com/Do-You-Think-Like-a-Success
Have a great day!
Financial Prosperity + Positive Changes in 2009
Happy New Year, everybody!
I've only recently gotten back from a two-week Buddhist retreat. It was brilliant. What a way to start the year. It's difficult being back home in London, however. The noise, the dirt, the aggression of the people, the stress. I wish I were back in the clean, fresh air and peaceful environment of the Welsh hills.
But enough about me.
Are you serious about improving your life in 2009? If so, you need my book, Success Strategies for Black People.
In these troubled times, we need to find new ways of achieving success, both financially and in other areas of our lives. Download a free chapter on “Achieving Success” from my ebook What They Don’t Want Us to Know at: http://tinyurl.com/96vtx5
Check out my article on Financial Prosperity at http://www.blacksuccess1.com/keytofinancialprosper.htm
I've only recently gotten back from a two-week Buddhist retreat. It was brilliant. What a way to start the year. It's difficult being back home in London, however. The noise, the dirt, the aggression of the people, the stress. I wish I were back in the clean, fresh air and peaceful environment of the Welsh hills.
But enough about me.
Are you serious about improving your life in 2009? If so, you need my book, Success Strategies for Black People.
In these troubled times, we need to find new ways of achieving success, both financially and in other areas of our lives. Download a free chapter on “Achieving Success” from my ebook What They Don’t Want Us to Know at: http://tinyurl.com/96vtx5
Check out my article on Financial Prosperity at http://www.blacksuccess1.com/keytofinancialprosper.htm
For more articles, and for ongoing advice and support, join my free Nurture Success online community at http://nurturesuccess.multiply.com/
Barack Obama: African American Success Story
Barack Obama is one of the most important African American successful role models in history.
What can people of African heritage learn from his success? How can we apply this to our own lives?
You can read the rest of this article here:
http://www.squidoo.com/Barack-Obama---African-American-Success-
Have a great day!
Friday, December 05, 2008
Positive Cultural Reinforcement for African American Parents
How do African American people shop for gifts?
Probably the same way everyone else does.
But on top of all the other considerations, African American people often want to find gifts which are culturally relevant for us and our children.
Christmas and Kwanzaa provide excellent opportunities for positive cultural reinforcement.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
Click here for my free guide to Black holiday gifts.
Probably the same way everyone else does.
But on top of all the other considerations, African American people often want to find gifts which are culturally relevant for us and our children.
Christmas and Kwanzaa provide excellent opportunities for positive cultural reinforcement.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
Click here for my free guide to Black holiday gifts.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Barack Obama: African American Success Story
Barack Obama is one of the most important African American successful role models in history.
People all over the world are still celebrating Barack Obama's election victory. Of course, for African American people, this success has particular significance.
What can African American people learn from his success?
To read the rest of this article, click here.
People all over the world are still celebrating Barack Obama's election victory. Of course, for African American people, this success has particular significance.
What can African American people learn from his success?
To read the rest of this article, click here.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Key to Financial Prosperity
Do you want to find the key to financial prosperity? I have written this article to help you to tap into your full potential, go way beyond your goals and realise your dreams.
Use the methods I will share with you and you can see brilliant, amazing results. Your potential is unlimited. I guarantee you are capable of going way beyond what you think you can achieve.
Check it out: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/keytofinancialprosper.htm
You will also enjoy my new, free report on 4 Steps to Getting the Job You Want:
http://www.e-junkie.com/zhana21
Use the methods I will share with you and you can see brilliant, amazing results. Your potential is unlimited. I guarantee you are capable of going way beyond what you think you can achieve.
Check it out: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/keytofinancialprosper.htm
You will also enjoy my new, free report on 4 Steps to Getting the Job You Want:
http://www.e-junkie.com/zhana21
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Love Letter to Black People
Tonight, on the Success Strategies radio show, we will be celebrating President Obama's win. What does this mean for the future of the Black community? What effects will it have on your Black-owned business?
There are no limits to what we can achieve.
My guest tonight will be Brian McClellan, author of Love Letter to Black People.
I hope you can join us at 8:00 p.m. UK time.
There are no limits to what we can achieve.
My guest tonight will be Brian McClellan, author of Love Letter to Black People.
I hope you can join us at 8:00 p.m. UK time.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
I Keep Crying - Great Post-Election Videos
When I see scenes of these crowds of people celebrating Obama's victory, I cry. I can't help it. I am so emotional about this. This election result is a victory for everyone. Here in London, people keep coming up to me and congratulating me.
My fellow AfroSpear member African American Political Pundit (AAPP) made these videos of people the day after Election Day:
The status quo has been shaken to its very core.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-d4em0tHc8
First Time Voter Aged 60+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilpqwSGEDZ4
Young Black Voters Barack the Vote
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RUzhcCnCW5c
Interview with a Woman Soldier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0bYxBBEonA
Here are some more interesting videos. Like Whoopi Goldberg, and a lot of other people, I did not, in my heart of hearts, believe I would see this day in my lifetime.
The View on Obama
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AG2SmyO4YQc&NR=1
Mobs of people in Washington, DC celebrate Obama’s Win
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n8qcjVa_jjw&NR=1
Just goes to show that anything is possible. There are no limits to what we can achieve. Just like I'm always saying. Turns out it's true!
Check out my book Success Strategies for Black People.
My fellow AfroSpear member African American Political Pundit (AAPP) made these videos of people the day after Election Day:
The status quo has been shaken to its very core.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-d4em0tHc8
First Time Voter Aged 60+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilpqwSGEDZ4
Young Black Voters Barack the Vote
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RUzhcCnCW5c
Interview with a Woman Soldier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0bYxBBEonA
Here are some more interesting videos. Like Whoopi Goldberg, and a lot of other people, I did not, in my heart of hearts, believe I would see this day in my lifetime.
The View on Obama
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AG2SmyO4YQc&NR=1
Mobs of people in Washington, DC celebrate Obama’s Win
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n8qcjVa_jjw&NR=1
Just goes to show that anything is possible. There are no limits to what we can achieve. Just like I'm always saying. Turns out it's true!
Check out my book Success Strategies for Black People.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Message from President Obama
Below is a message which our new President has just sent to his supporters:
Subject: How This Happened
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack
Subject: How This Happened
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack
Happy Birthday, America!
President Obama. The sound of this is resonating in my ears.
Got up at 5:30 this morning and turned on the TV. When I saw the news, I started to cry. I was so emotional. All these crowds cheering Obama.
This truly is a new day. A new dawn.
On a level, I realise, I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. A Black man in the White House. Now anything is possible.
Whole new possibilities have opened up. Things that were not conceivable yesterday can happen now. I felt like this when apartheid ended in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected. I feel it even more strongly now.
For the first time, I care about what the First Lady is wearing. I care about how she will decorate. We have a Black First Lady in the White House now.
When Michelle Obama tells her children they can grow up to be President, she really means it. And now, the rest of us can mean it too.
Obama had 93% of the African American vote, along with 40% of the white vote.
African Americans are full citizens at last. We can participate fully in the electoral process. We have the power to bring about change. And we have used our power.
At last, I feel proud to be American.
Well done, America. Congratulations. You have finally come of age.
Got up at 5:30 this morning and turned on the TV. When I saw the news, I started to cry. I was so emotional. All these crowds cheering Obama.
This truly is a new day. A new dawn.
On a level, I realise, I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. A Black man in the White House. Now anything is possible.
Whole new possibilities have opened up. Things that were not conceivable yesterday can happen now. I felt like this when apartheid ended in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected. I feel it even more strongly now.
For the first time, I care about what the First Lady is wearing. I care about how she will decorate. We have a Black First Lady in the White House now.
When Michelle Obama tells her children they can grow up to be President, she really means it. And now, the rest of us can mean it too.
Obama had 93% of the African American vote, along with 40% of the white vote.
African Americans are full citizens at last. We can participate fully in the electoral process. We have the power to bring about change. And we have used our power.
At last, I feel proud to be American.
Well done, America. Congratulations. You have finally come of age.
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