Sexual Exploitation of Black Women

"Harriet" is a choreopoem by Zhana which I wrote earlier this year. It explores themes around the sexual exploitation of African American women during enslavement.

It contains no explicit material.

"Harriet" tells the story of Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Lives of a Slave Girl, and portrays an imaginary meeting between her and Harriet Tubman.

To listen to an excerpt from a rehearsed reading of "Harriet", click here.

Do Black People Know Our History?

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

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

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

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

Free Black History Newspaper

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

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

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

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

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

See also:

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

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

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

Black History Radio Shows (3)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Black History in Birmingham

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

Yemanja have a very exciting educational and culture programme for Black History Month.

I hope you can join us. To listen to the broadcast on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and to hear recordings of previous shows, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

To read about the previous guests on my shows, visit:
http://ancestralenergies.blogspot.com/2008/10/black-history-in-london-radio-show.html
http://ancestralenergies.blogspot.com/2008/10/black-history-radio-shows-2.html

To read an article about the origins of Black History Month UK, visit:
http://groups.msn.com/NurtureSuccess/originsofblackhistorymonthuk.msnw

Black History in London Radio Show

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

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

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

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

See also: Black History with Tony Warner.

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

Black History Radio Shows (2)

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

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

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

Click here to listen to the recording of this show.

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

Click here to see my African Heritage resources.

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

Black History Radio Shows

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

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

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

Black History with Tony Warner

I went to a Black History lecture last Friday night, by Tony Warner of 100 Black Men of London. He was speaking at Dr. Lez Henry’s BLAK Friday event.

The talk was on the Black history which is all around us in London. As usual, Brother Tony told gave us lots of useful information – and it’s often right in front of us. Black people have done so much to be proud of. I could not note down every bit of information he gave us, but here are a few examples:

A Black man, Bill Richmond, owned a pub in Leicester Square in the early19th century and owned his own gym in Trafalgar Square in 1810. In those days, boxing was all the rage amongst the aristocracy, who were his clients. His was the London’s first boxing academy.

Many African people resisted slavery, including:

Robert Wedderburn, a free Black man who
- saw his mother and grandmother, who were enslaved, whipped for being rebellious
- saw women who fought against rape be whipped, have their ears cut off or be
starved to death.

He wrote a book called The Horrors of Slavery and was an active speaker against slavery and economic oppression.

Ottobah Cuguano, who
- was one of the leaders and spokesmen for London’s Black community
- wrote a pamphlet in 1787 calling for the total abolition of slavery
- sent it to the King although the Royal Family were pro-slavery
- advocated for Black schools in 1794 – Black children were facing some of the same
problems we are seeing today
- proposed making war on the slave trade by using the Navy.

The Sons of Africa, who
- were a group of African men who wrote to the newspapers in 1787
- protested against slavery and racism.

Mary Prince, whom I am sure you have heard of:
- was born into slavery in Bermuda in 1788
- fought back against frequent rapes
- was whipped, then sold
- was sexually abused by her new master
- was whipped for marrying a free Black man
- was sent to the UK to keep her away from her husband
- wrote The History of Mary Prince, which was published in 1831
- was sued for libel by her former owner but won the case because of her scars and
disablilities.

Mary Prince’s story in some ways echoes that of Harriet Jacobs, the subject of my choreopoem, Harriet. Although Jacobs was not raped, she resisted sexual exploitation by her master for many years. Her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, gave some of the few published accounts of the pressures women were under during enslavement.

Then, there was Ukawsaw Gronniosaw
- A prince from Chad
- a loyal soldier
- racially abused and ripped off by his landlady in London, as well as his employers
and the general public
- published his book in 1770, A narrative of the most remarkable particulars in the
life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw

And finally,

Thomas Peters
- a loyal British soldier in the Revolutionary War
- along with many other loyal soldiers and civilians, dumped in Nova Scotia, a rocky
island where they had no land for planting, after the war
- got 15 ships from the British and equipped them with African captains
- got the government to pay for the former slaves to travel; and
- sailed with them 5,000 back to Sierra Leone.

As I said, there is much more information but I cannot even include here everything I wrote down.

Some of the people spoken about were loyal soldiers who fought for the British which raises other questions for me. Brother Tony spoke about some of these issues in another talk, "Where Does Your Allegiance Lie?" I will be posting about this.

One thing Brother Tony did not mention was that because of people such as Mary Prince, Robert Wedderburn, Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglass, amongst others, who published their own eyewitness accounts of slavery, and who did speaking tours in Britain, an antislavery movement grew. Many white people were appalled when they learned some of the details of what happened on board slave ships and on plantations, even if these were sanitised versions. These people were quite rightly appalled, and as a direct result, the abolitionist movement in Britain grew.

Every Tuesday this month, I will be doing Black History shows on the radio. To listen to them, and to hear the recordings of previous shows, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

Brother Tony will be one of my guests, so check the website for details.

See also:

Soul Survivors
German Death Camp in Namibia
Wordpower Literary Festival

Wordpower Literature Festival - Emmanuel Amevor Interview

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

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

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

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

German Death Camp in Namibia

Warning: Some of the information in this blog is shocking and disturbing.

I saw a very powerful Black History presentation on Saturday at the Imperial War Museum. Tony Warner of 100 Black Men of London presented this audio visual history of Black people who had served their countries in the armed forces, including the two World Wars.

If you have ever been to any of Brother Tony’s presentations, you know they are very good. Highly informative. But he doesn’t just hit you with the facts, although he gives loads of factual information. He also puts it into context.

So usually, when we think of Black people coming from the Caribbean in the 1950s, we think of them finding it hard to find anywhere to live, and experiencing racism at work. We have heard this same story many times before. But Brother Tony contextualised it by saying that many of these people had served in the armed forces. He showed a TV discussion where ex-servicemen and women in the studio spoke of their experiences.

They thought they would be welcomed when they came to Britain. I still find it very hard to get my head around this. After all, they had experienced racism in the armed forces and even in the Caribbean. But for some reason, they thought things would be different when they arrived here.

Anyway, it was an excellent presentation, as we have come to expect from Brother Tony. He also showed film of people in Africa fighting for Germany, France and Britain in the two Word Wars. Again, I find it difficult to comprehend why they did so, when they were treated so appallingly by the European powers. I understand that in Kenya, the British told the Kenyan people they were fighting for their own country. So I suppose they expected that, after the war, they would be treated better. See also:
Kenya’s Colonial Past
http://ancestralenergies.blogspot.com/2008/03/kenyas-colonial-past.html

One thing I did not know was that the first death camp the Germans built was in Africa – in Namibia in the early 20th century, just over 100 years ago. First, the Germans committed a genocide against the Herrera people, wiping out 75% of their population. Then, they built a death camp on a remote island named Shark Island. They shipped the Nama people to Shark Island in cattle cars. In other words, they tried out many of the methods which were later used against the Jews under the Nazi regime.

But these practices were carried out by the German government long before the Nazis came into existence. Hitler was not involved, he came along much later.

Brother Tony showed photographs of Shark Island which showed men, women and children living there in shacks, in slum conditions.

50% of the Nama people were killed at Shark Island. The surviving Nama and Herrera people were sold into slavery to German settlers.

Probably the most disturbing thing for me was that Brother Tony showed photographs of severed heads – on Shark Island, people were decapitated and their heads were studied to try to prove that African people were inferior to Europeans. In point of fact, they sought to prove that African people were animals.

Brother Tony Warner will be a guest on my Success Strategies radio show at some point during October (Black History Month UK), talking about Black British and European history. This will be one of several programmes I will be doing for BHM (African Heritage Month). I hope you will join us. To tune in, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

To find out more about his work and his Black history walks, visit: http://www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk/

Black/African British Identity and Young People

I read a piece in the Voice the other day which argued that young people in Britain lack a sense of identity.

They may have been born in the UK or come here at an early age. When they go back to visit their parents’ homes in Africa or the Caribbean, the place seems foreign to them. But in Britain, they don’t feel as if they belong.

Identity is clearly an important issue. In the 1970s, many young people turned to Rastafarianism as a way of reclaiming their cultural identity.

The article glossed over some factors. For example, a young person living in a big city might feel out of place on a farm, whether that farm is in a rural area of Britain or in the Caribbean or Africa.

Still, the article states that “nearly all youth projects only offer musical or sports-related activities”, which “reinforces the stereotype that Black males can only be successful if they are sports figures or musicians”.

It is so important that we reinforce positive cultural values and a sense of their African heritage and identity with our young people. Without this, many of them are lost. They often don’t do well in school, join gangs which offer a feeling of belonging, get involved in crime and end up behind bars.

In my book, Black Success Stories, I made a conscious decision to avoid featuring people in the fields of sports or entertainment. After all, people of African heritage are good at everything. I celebrate Black success across a wide range of fields. All of the people I feature in the book are based in Britain. To order your copy today, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/blacksuccessstories.htm

We also celebrate Black success and talk about the need for positive Black role models on my Success Strategies radio show every Tuesday. To listen in, and to hear recordings of previous shows, visit: http://www.blacksuccess1.com/radioshow.htm

Paulette West MBE - Growing Aspiring People

My guest on Tuesday's show was Paulette West MBE.

Paulette spoke about how she started out as a typist at Barclays at the age of 16. She moved into a management position. She then used Barclays’s considerable resources to benefit the Black community, by holding events where she profiled role models and offered Black businesses the opportunity for start-ups and mentoring.

She is still holding role model events now, and young Black people have been inspired to start businesses as a direct result of this work. She has now left Barclays and runs her own project, the g.a.p. network – Growing Aspiring People.

Sometimes, people assume that successful people had it easy. I think people give up when they reach difficulties. When we see a Black role model standing up there talking about the difficulties he or she encountered, then we realise it’s not going to be easy. This inspires some people to take risks which they might not otherwise have taken.

Paulette takes these role models into the community. She hires community venues so Black people could feel comfortable attending these events. She is doing this work internationally, in African countries.

We can learn strategies from those who have been successful, which we can then apply in our own situations. When I interviewed people for Black Success Stories, I asked them what mistakes they had made, and how they had overcome them.

Click here to listen to my interview with Paulette.

Judith Germain: Surviving and Thriving in the Corporate World

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

Amongst other things, Jude spoke about

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

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

Click here to listen to the recording.

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

I Am a Community Organiser

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities.- Sarah Palin, 2008

I have been involved with community organising for my entire adult life. I have been a member of the African Health Forum for several years. Our members work within African communities in South London, providing health education and awareness around HIV prevention and testing, and supporting those with HIV to get the best treatment available. We also now work around other health issues including sickle cell and teenage pregnancy. People from the voluntary sector work alongside those in the NHS to provide these services, and we share knowledge and skills with one another.

I am both proud and humbled to be a part of this work. (Search this blog for more information.)

People in many different African countries are part of this community effort, organising in their towns and villages, in places where there are few resources but an abundance of ignorance and stigma around HIV and other illnesses.

I am also involved with the Black Parents’ Forum and I lead workshops for African Caribbean parents, to support them in getting the best out of the education system for their children, and in working to stem the gun and knife crime which is dramatically increasing both in London and across the UK.

This work is obviously vital to our communities. We are saving lives. For Sarah Palin to be so dismissive about community organisers is to say that she doesn't care about human life.

When the Jena incidents began, who was it that brought this to the public’s attention? Community organisers on and offline.

Similarly, campaigners on and offline are challenging the excessive use of tasers and other forms of violence by police officers.

I don’t know if Palin is really that ignorant, or if she just does not care. Or if she is running scared because she sees the power of Senator Obama’s campaign. By networking with, drawing on and channelling the energy of community organisers, Obama has put the Presidential campaign back where it belongs – in the hands of the people (a/k/a voters). The churches, the synagogues, the mosques, the schools, the PTAs, the small groups and organisations and forums all over the world that are doing their bit to make life better for those around them.

This is what it’s all about. Senator Obama has tapped into that energy. African American politicians and African politicians internationally have been doing this for many years. Telling people what they need to do, telling them how to bring about change.But this time it’s different. Obama does not just tell people what to do. He asks us what we want. And that is scary. To people who don’t want to see change happen, real, fundamental change, this must be absolutely terrifying.

Obama’s people are on the case. They are out there right now, signing people up to vote. Young African American people, who normally don’t cast ballots, or register to vote. Those in the inner cities, who are the most likely to end up in poverty, in jail, or dead. They are signing up in their thousands. This could mean a real future for those who, up to now, never had a chance. At last, they have a voice, and somebody who is listening to it.

I still don’t know how much change Obama can or will bring about if he is elected President. But I can see how much change he is bringing about now. Drawing on the strength of the community, and the organisers within it, can potentially create massive change.Yeah, Sarah Palin. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Many members of the AfroSpear and the afrosphere are blogging today to challenge Sarah Palin’s disrespectful remarks about community organisers. Please join us.

Report Back from the Democratic National Convention

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

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

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

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

Award-Winner Black Blogger Reports from the Democratic National Convention

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

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

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

Click here to read my Obama blogs.

Direct from the Democratic National Convention

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

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

Click here to read my Obama blogs.

Prisoners Provide Cheap Labour for Microsoft

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

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

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

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

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

Prisoners Provide Cheap Labour for Microsoft

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

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

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

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

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