Why Black History Matters Part 2

London Black History Walks have been holding events about Black people in WWI for many years.  We have now reached the centenary of the start of the First World War and I have noticed that, over the past few years, more and more documentaries have started to emerge about the Black contribution to, and involvement in, the war.  For example, this one about Togo. 

I can’t help thinking that this is partly due to the example set by Black History Walks. 

I am wondering:  what do you think is the importance of Black history? 

Further to what I said in Part 1, I think there are two main benefits to gaining knowledge about our history. 

1) Understanding and analysis.  I touched on this in Part 1. 

2) Self-esteem and confidence.  The more we know about the Black contribution, the clearer is our sense of ourselves, our identities – individual and collective – and our gifts, talents and strengths. 

This is one reason why I publish the More Black Success ebooks.

My mother taught me about slavery and resistance when I was a young child.  Although she never used the word “resistance”, she taught me about Black heroes and sheroes like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass and Toussaint L’Ouverture. 

These stories gave me a sense of pride.  They also meant I had a little bit of knowledge on which I could build.  

It is the responsibility of each and every one of  us to pass on what Black history knowledge we have to the next generations.  

Click here for more opportunities to expand your knowledge. 

There are lots more Black history posts on this blog, so do explore.  Use this as a resource, and share it with your networks.  I welcome your comments below. 

Why Black History Matters

Child being pursued during the Haitian Revolution

As October is Black History Month/African Heritage Month in the UK, I have been posting lots of Black history events on Nurture Success Events – even more than usual.

Of course, many of us know that every month is Black History Month.   BHM in the UK was started in the 1980s as an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of African people.  It was never intended to be the only Black History Month – just the one observed by local authorities and other statutory bodies.

Tony Warner of London Black History Walks runs events all year long, not just in October. So do Black History Studies.

I attended “What Were Black People Doing in WW1” on Saturday – an excellent presentation.  I have seen it at least three times now, and I always learn something new. Brother Tony breaks down the whole context of how Africa and its people got involved in the two World Wars.

So why does Black history matter?   For one thing, in order to know who we really are, we need to know our history.  We need historical context to understand the events of today, and to understand why Africa and African people are in the position we are in.  For example, check out my recent blog about how people are recovering from the Rwandan genocide. To understand how and why the genocide happened, we need the historical context.

That's just one of many, many examples I can give. 

In order to subdue and control our ancestors, the enslavers did everything they could to steal their cultural identity.

 

When we understand how Black people were robbed of our dignity for many generations, we can begin to see why we behave in ways that are so self-destructive. And these behaviours will continue until we undergo a profound healing process. And of course, that's what my work is all about.

You may also be interested in my recent blogs about the First World War.  More about this soon.

There are loads more Black history posts on this blog, so feel free to explore. 

Organisations such as Black History Studies and London Black History Walks are making a  crucial contribution to us as a people and this needs to be acknowledged more.  Enjoy Black History Month and please share this blog with your networks. Please leave your comments below.

World War One: The Crucial Battle for Togo

Map of colonised Africa 1914

I watched this very interesting short film on the BBC today. 

The wireless station at Kamina in Togo, West Africa, was a crucial centre for German communications.  Built by a huge workforce of African men and women during the German occupation, the station allowed the German colonisers to communicate with their home country and with Asia.

This is just one of many examples of how African labour, land and resources were exploited by European colonisers during the war. 

See also:  Black People in the First World War. 

Black History: Break the Silence Congo Week 2014

Mutilated in Congo

In the 19th century, under the rule of King Leopold II, Congolese people were enslaved, forced to work in their own country, which had been turned into the king's private estate, and mutilated when they failed to meet the quotas that had been set for rubber extraction. 

For a fifth year, Black History Studies will take part in the Break the Silence Congo Week for Black History Month. 

The purpose of the Break the Silence Congo Week is to raise consciousness about the devastating situation in the Congo and mobilize support on behalf of the people of the Congo. 

Click here for details.  

For lots more Black history images, see:  African Images and Black History International on Pinterest. 

Free Advice from Black Business Experts

Melinda Emerson

As I'm sure you know, some of the editions of More Black Success feature advice by Black business experts.

What you may not realise is that all of the Black business experts I have interviewed provide business advice themselves.   You can contact them for advice or for ongoing mentoring and support.


And some of them offer free resources. 

I recently tried to donate copies of More Black Success to the City Business Library.  While they were initially very interested, in the end, they did not add MBS to their collection.  I was very disappointed.  However, you can still download MBS here. 

My own business advice involves using the power of your unconscious mind to help you achieve the results you want.  For more information, see:  How Does This Affect Your Performance? 

8 Key Points for Global Networking

I'm the author of Success Strategies for Black People and the author and publisher of numerous ebooks including Shaking the Money Tree and the More Black Success ebooks.  

To produce my online radio broadcasts and my books and ebooks, I have connected with, and interviewed, Black millionaires, business experts, and people from a range of different cultural backgrounds, countries, occupations and walks of life.  

Listen below for my 8 Key Points for Global Networking. 

Do you wonder how to get started networking?  Do you feel too shy or embarrassed to approach people at networking events?  

How do you decide whom you want to approach?  And how do you approach them?  

What networking mistakes do you need to avoid?  
 

How can networking help you to grow your business?  

Listen below for my 8 Key Points for Global Networking. 

Filmmaker Ken Fero on Deaths in Police Custody

Joy Gardner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ken Fero, filmmaker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please join us for the International Summit on Nonviolence today.

See also: Deaths in Police Custody.

President Obama on the Ferguson Situation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check it out:  Deaths in Police Custody.

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

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

"Hands Up Don't Shoot" Protest in NYC

It is so moving and upsetting to see people chanting "Hands Up Don't Shoot".    Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was shot dead by police in Ferguson, MO last Saturday the 9th of August.

Since then, there have been protests and riots in many places across the country.  President Obama called it a "tragedy" and called on the police to respect peaceful protests. 

The longer he is in office, the more he has to keep making these statements as more and more young Black men are killed by the police.

This rally was held in Times Square in the heart of Manhattan and reportedly was followed by rioting.  Many of the killings have taken place in NYC.  

How many more of our youth are they gonna kill?  This has upset me so much.

One more reason Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.

Unfortunately, this will not be the last one of these blogs I shall be posting.  

See also:  Deaths in Police Custody. 

Fire in the Blood Documentary

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

The key word here is "affordable". 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Black People in the First World War

Black Soldiers in WWI

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

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

Listen below for more information.   

Black Soldier in the Kaiser's Army

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

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

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

Listen below for more.   

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

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

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

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

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

Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence

Listen below for my short audio on why I am committed to nonviolence.  

We must protect ourselves and our children.  We must end the violence.   

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

Click here for more information about the International Week for Nonviolence, 16th-23rd August 2014.  

Click here for details of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence and how you can submit your blog.  

We can end the violence, we can save lives.  It's up to you, it's up to me.  It's up to us. 

More Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

INTERnational Week for Nonviolence

I am privileged to be a member of the Summit Council of the INTERnational Week for Nonviolence, which will be held 16th-23rd August 2014.

If you are organising an event during that week, please post the details in the comments section below.

I have also posted some NVC events - not just events for that week – here.

One of my guests on my recent show about Black parents and nonviolence was saying, "You CAN'T teach young people nonviolence because they have to fight".

I was reminded of the first time I met Marshall Rosenberg, author of Nonviolent Communication.  I asked him about his work with Black gang leaders. 

 

I talk about this in the audio below.   

I am also inspired by the example of Malcolm X. He was alienated and disaffected, and he became involved in petty crime and ended up in prison. But the right support and encouragement, and given the right inspiration, he became a leader.

Listen below for more.

I am really passionate about this work. NVC is saving people's lives all over the world, and it could save your life. It could save your child's life.

The INTERnational Week for Nonviolence is not exclusively for people of African heritage. It's for everyone.

Help me celebrate the Week for Nonviolence this coming August.

I have written about Nonviolent Communication in Success Strategies for Black People and

my new ebook, Affirmations for Parents. 

Follow me @Zhana21 and @ZhanaHeals.  

Current Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

 

What Do Black Parents Need? (Part 2)

Please listen below for Part 2 of this discussion, which focuses on nonviolence.  Click here for Part 1:  What Do Black Parents Need?  

See also:  Are We Listening to Our Children?  

I was joined by two awesome sistas, Shaunes Richardson of  State of the Black Parent and Dr. Stephanie Myers of Black Women for Positive Change. Black Women for Positive Change are organising a Week of Nonviolence 16th-23rd August.  

Shaunes, in particular, spoke about some of the difficulties and challenges we face when working to bring about positive change. This work is not easy!

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

I am passionate about this work because it could save your life, and it could save your child's life. NVC is saving lives all over the world.  

We can change the world.  And positive change starts with us - our minds, our hearts, our families, our communities.   

Please listen below for Part 2 of this discussion, which focuses on nonviolence.  Please leave your comments below, and share this blog post with your networks.  Many thanks. 

Online Books Radio at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

 

What Do Black Parents Need?

What Do Black Parents Need? 

I would love to hear your thoughts about what Black parents need.  We talked about this on my show this week, and there's still a lot more to say.  I was joined by Shaunes Richardson from State of the Black Parent.  You can listen below.  

On both sides of the Atlantic, we are facing some of the same challenges.  This is why I wrote Success Strategies for Black People.  Our communities are dealing with a lot iof challenges, and there is a lot more to say about this.  I'll be blogging about this some more.  

I was listening to Rev Up with Rev Alethea yesterday - her interview with Mr. X, a former prisoner.  Even though I am not a Christian, I found her approach very inspiring - and it occurred to me that, many times, parents don't realise how much impact their words have.  When they say something hurtful, they don't realise how much it hurts.  If someone else said the same thing, it would not be nearly so painful.  

But actually, most of us do not realise the impact of our words and actions most of the time.  And our words and actions have long-term consquences. 

What do Black parents need?  Please leave your comments below.  Thanks.   

Click here for Black Success audios.  

Click here to download Affirmations for Parents now.  

New Books Podcasts with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

70th Anniversary of D-Day

Josephine Baker

As we all know, tomorrow, the 6^th of June, will be the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day landings.   We will commemorate the day when, after much long-term planning and military strategising, Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches for the first major turning-point in the Second World War.

The men and women who fought in the war were incredibly heroic, and are rightly being celebrated for their efforts. But as the BBC screens interviews with veterans, has the Black contribution been overlooked by the major media once again?

My Dad is a WWII veteran who fought in the Italian campaign, one of many thousands of African American soldiers who did so. Little has been mentioned about their war. Check out my blog: The Negro Soldier. 

Tony Warner of London Black History Walks has given many presentations about the Black contributions to both World Wars. Did you know, for example, that the troops that liberated Paris were mostly made up of West African soldiers, as most white French soldiers had been either killed or captured? But when the triumphant march into the city was filmed, the Black soldiers were ordered to the back, so they are not seen on the footage we usually see.  

 

The lady pictured above, Josephine Baker, was an African American dancer in Paris. Impossibly glamorous, she became the toast of Paris, She was later decorated as a war hero by the French for the part she played in the French Resistance.

See London Black History Walks for details of the Black Spitfire pilots, How Black People Won World War Two, and more.

Teen Murdered His Parents

I am sure you are shocked by this story.  I don't know what happened in this family, but it seems clear that there was a serious breakdown.  16-year-old Vincent Parket murdered his parents. 

Teen Murdered Parents for Taking Away His iPod

When we see an appalling story like this, we need to think about what we can learn from this.  If we don't listen to our children, the results can be tragic.  They are rarely this tragic.  But we MUST help young people - and parents - to find nonviolent solutions. 

I talk about nonviolent solutions in my new ebook, Affirmations for Parents.  

See also:  Which Children Are Most Likely to Bring Weapons to School? 

Which Children Are Most Likely to Bring Weapons to School?

Is Your Child at Risk of Knife Crime?

I saw this blog recently:  Do You Know Which Students Are Most Likely to Bring Weapons to School? 

It's the children who are being bullied, or at risk of being buillied - the ones who feel they have to defend themselves - who are most likely to take a knife or gun to school.  

This is true in the UK as well.  They discussed this on The Wright Stuff a couple of weeks ago.  And I know someone in London whose son was running away from a bully, who ended up being arrested and imprisoned on a "joint enterprise" charge.  This is just one way our Black youth are filling up the prisons.  One more way the criminal justice system targerts our communities.  

We MUST help our young people find nonviolent solutions to these problems.  If you have read my book Success Strategies for Black People, you know that Nonviolent Communication (NVC) can help to turn situations around - including situations of extreme violence.  

If your child is at risk of becoming involved with violence, knife crime, gun crime or other risky situations, you need to learn NVC.  This can make a huge difference and may even save your child's life.  

To find out more about NVC, and for more NVC resources, click here to download my new ebook Affirmations for Parents. 

 

Is Black Really Beautiful?

Below is my review of the new documentary Beauty Is, from director Toyin Agbetu of Ligali.  

Beauty Is explores the relationship people of the African Diaspora, and all African people,  have with beauty.  

Our quest for beauty influences:  
- our health
- our economics
- our relationships and
- our self-esteem

and the film explores all of those areas.  

This is a very important film, and we need to keep having these conversations.  

There is a link to the Ligali anti-skin-bleaching campaign below.  

I will be interviewing the Director of Beauty Is, Toyin Agbetu, soon, so stay tuned!  

You can listen to my review below.  

Find Additional Books Podcasts with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

 

Click here for Natural Hair/Nappturality. 

Click here for The Key to Confidence and Self-Esteem.  

Click here for the Ligali anti-skin-bleaching campaign. 

 Click here for my Black Success audios. 

Click here for my analysis of the film 12 Years a Slave.

The Gentrification of Peckham and Other Black Areas

I enjoyed this event on Saturday.  As I live just down the road from Peckham, South London, and have for many years, I was particularly interested in this topic. 

Like pretty much all of the events held by London Black History Walks, "The Gentrification of Peckham and Other Black Areas" as very well presented.  It started with Tony Warner going through a short history of migration and gentrification which took in the Black history o f London from Roman times to the present day, including the Elizabethan era and the two World Wars, as well as the experience of Black people in Brooklyn, including Spike Lee, and in South Africa and Zimbabwe.  

Back in the 1950s and '60s, many Black people in London and the UK were forced to become homeowners, as this was the only way to provide accommodation for themselves and their families.  

The authorities will sometimes allow local areas to become run down in order to make them more attractive to investors.   This has also involved encouraging the use of drugs and guns in Black areas.  There is evidence of this in the U.S., and he referred to "Operation Jackpot" in Stoke Newington in Hackney, East London.  

Tony's presentations are always packed with factual details and always highly engaging.  

The presentation by Charmaine Brown focused specifically on Peckham and covered the area's history as well as reviewing how much Peckham has changed.  

Brown clarified the distinction between improvements and gentrification.  The Council first started making improvements to the area several years ago.  However, with gentrification, a new type of resident moved in - people who do not have any investment in the "social capital" of the area.  

She characterised "social capital" as a personal interest and investment in, and involvement with, the local area, its people and its culture.  Thus, there is often a divide between the current residents and those moving into the area.  Added to this is the fact that, with property prices skyrocketing, locals often feel unable to own their own homes, and can find themselves moved out of the area completely. 

Like many of the Queen Nzingha lectures, this one left me feeling sadness and frustration.  Althought the problem was well explained and illustrated, there was little focus on solutions.  

I was particularly saddened by a short film featuring author Alex Wheatle, in which he talked about the ways in which the Brixton and Tulse Hill areas have changed.  He walked around Brixton Market but did not mention that none of the shops and businesses inside the market are Black-owned.  They are all owned by white and Asian business owners.  It was like that more than 30 years ago, when I first came to London, and it's still like that now. 

He also stated that Dick Sheppard School in Tulse Hill has been closed and replaced with a gated community.  Again, this was particularly sad for me as, many years ago,  I used to teach at a Saturday school based there.  

We need to focus more on solutions, and on actions steps we can take today, here and now, such as, for example, those described in Maggie Anderson's Empowerment Experiment and Our Black Year.  We need to take ownership of our communities. 

To read about The Empowerment Experiment and Our Black Year, and to watch a video about them, see Strong Black Business Community.  

Black Success: How to Get Clear, Precise Answers

Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT) is a form of energy healing which can help us to get clear, precise and accurate answers.  

Through working wiith the Higher Self/High Self, we can address a huge range of issues and make major changes to our lives.  Listen below for more information. 

Click here for Success Strategies for Black People. 

Click here for Your Inner Wisdom.  

Click here for more Black Success audios with Zhana.  

Find Additional Books Podcasts with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

What Can We Learn from Our History?

The Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave has been criticised, by Samuel L. Jackson among others, for dwelling on the past rather than dealing with the present.  

But 12 Years a Slave tells us a great deal about the kinds of difficulties and challenges still faced by Black people, and Black communities.  Its clear and graphic portrayal of the violence and brutality inflicted on African people during slavery depict ways in which Black people have been mentally and emotionally scarred by the slavery experience, and by colonisation in Africa.  This continues to have long-term consequences for us and for our families and communities. 

The film may not tell us much that is new, but I suspect there are many people, particularly young people, who are not aware of the history depicted in this film.  Click here to read my review of 12 Years a Slave.