Beautiful, Rare Video Footage From the 1920s of All Black Towns

Photo From Video Footage Below

These towns and their self-reliant middle class and affluent residents are documented by the home movies of Reverend S. S. Jones, an itinerant minister and businessman.

Stunning and inspiring! Most of us know about Black Wall Wall Street; but there were many towns across America where Black people thrived. Whites didn’t like that, of course, and as we saw with Black Wall Street, these jealous sick freaks stole by demolishing, because they couldn’t handle not being best. It’s hard to be best when they always had others enslaved doing the work for them. But this is a happy post so!

the video footage by clicking here. I can’t embed it sadly. Article associated posted below.

Part three of a four-part series from the film archive of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

By the 1920s, Oklahoma was home to some 50 African-American towns, in addition to a large and prosperous black community living in the city of Tulsa. These towns and their self-reliant middle class and affluent residents are documented by the home movies of Reverend S. S. Jones, an itinerant minister and businessman. Known and respected by the citizens of the towns whose lives he captured on film, Rev. Jones’s work offers revealing glimpses of these communities as a haven for African Americans who very often faced discrimination elsewhere in America.

The subjects are everyday life: a family on the front porch of their bungalow, shop workers at a storefront, farmers plowing their fields, children playing on seesaws in a schoolyard. Much of the material documents the economic life of the towns, from business districts filled with prosperous merchants to the homes of successful professionals, with an abundant countryside beyond.

As Rhea Combs, curator of film and photography for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, points out in her commentary, here we even find a married couple who were oil barons, proof of the extraordinary progress made in the relatively short time since the end of slavery.

The fashions and hairstyles, automobiles and horses, and even such details as a man manually pumping gasoline at a filling station make the films a fascinating record of the lives of Americans, and African Americans in particular, in the early 20th century.

I’ll Be Shopping At Target Now… Black Owned and Proud…

If there is one thing I am not, it is a ‘girly girl’ who enjoys make-up and …all that. I, of course, love eyeliner and mascara, but that isn’t just a look that is a representation of many different things depending on the day/mood…And it is also a tribute to past lives I have not forgotten; as well as a sign of gratitude and a promise to never forget the ancestors who would be so ashamed… We need change;… But I know as we fight forward we also need some positive topics, too, once and again…

And here we are! I think this is so awesome and I had no idea that Target had 1 let alone 22 products that are Black owned! Being a huge supporter of “Buy Black” I will make sure to check it out; and I hope you all will too…

#SOLIDARITY and also, nothing but love and well wishes for those involved ❤

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 “In the last two years I’ve created countless lists featuring black-owned brands from plus size swimwear to skincare, but the response to these listings is always sort of so-so. Folks share the lists, but do they shop? I’m not so sure. Perhaps the reasoning for not Buying Black is due to accessibility. Most online based-businesses have a final sale policy, which can dissuade potential customers. Thankfully, Target is home to 22 Black-owned cosmetics brands, with new ones cropping up all the time. That’s right, now we have the option of buying Black right at our neighborhood Target stores, giving shoppers the option of easily returning products that may not work for them.

Check out this list of 22 Black-owned Beauty Brands sold at Target: ”

Click here for more information and a detailed list, and get to shopping! 🙂

Akon’s Plan in Motion-Giving Millions of Africans Electricity

When Akon’s first album came out I not only loved it for the music, but also because of the pain, kindness and goodness I saw in Akon’s soul (eyes are the window to the soul…). And I can’t think of a better way to say he proved me right than what he is currently doing: bringing electricity to millions in Africa. While this project alone proves his wonderful soul; I can’t help but also mention what sparked his idea to help bring electricity to Africa… What was his initial reason?

His Grandmother and her current living conditions sparked the idea to help her and others living in the same situations in numerous places of Africa. That touches my heart in the deepest way. 

“Without electricity, you can’t even begin to develop a country, let alone your own home.” – Akon

Because George w Bush & America runs off money & greed, aka, oil, Akon initially only had a few unused solar products and he quickly learned America’s unwarranted, once more- greedy taxes attached with Solar Energy. Akons mentions policies brought in by Bush, staying truthfully:

“He (Bush) did it because his main agenda was in oil, he needed the oil to keep burning right, so anything renewable he wanted to keep away because if effected the money.” 

So he turned for help elsewhere and now thanks to the help of Chinese investors, he has $1 billion to work with and contribute towards his amazing dream and project.  

It’s inspiring to me to see not only someone giving back, but giving back to Africa instead of robbing from the Motherland. 

With electricity, despite the obvious benefits of lights and more; it also gives African children -and adults- so many deserved possibilities and opportunities, with the use of things such as computers and Internet. 

In the interview Akon reflected on his African roots, which I’ll paste below. I can’t say enough how happy this makes me… Blessings and love to you, Akon, for caring and staying grounded with your wonderful soul! 

His words on Africa and link follow: CELEBRATE GOOD NEWS!!! It’s so rare, we can’t take it for granted. 

****ARTICLE BEGINS****

Akon also talked about his African background, mentioning how he grew up without electricity, something he now believes everyone should have access to. He grew up in Senegal, a country located on the West coast of Africa. There was neither electricity nor running water where he lived and so they had to rely on a well.

“When I came to the United States, and [saw] the projects or what they claimed to be projects, Vlad I thought they [were] living in luxury, compared to what poverty is back home…” Akon explained, noting that U.S. citizens have a lot more than other people around the world yet many take such things for granted.

The singer said that it’s his grandmother’s living condition that inspired him to start the project. He says his grandmother declined to move from her hometown in spite of his money and fame. She was living in a house without electricity.

“Every time I would come, I would try to upgrade her, but she would never take it… one day I said ma I’m not coming to visit you anymore… you have to at least let me put electricity in the house. Come to find out the grid was so far out; I don’t care how much money I had there was no way I could bring electricity to her.”

And that’s the moment it hit him that something needed to be done, not just for her grandmother, but also in other locations across Africa where people live without electricity. 

 “Without electricity, you can’t even begin to develop a country, let alone your own home,” he says.

For more of the above article, click here.

Kobe Bryant Now a Business Man & Million Dollar Investor & an INSPIRATION.

I’m a basketball fan but not much for Kobe; however I respect what he is doing!! Inspiring; though he has the money to start where he is, ANY ONE can do it with hard work and passion… Never settle for less, REBUILD Black Wall Street!!! 

“Retired basketball sensation Kobe Bryant is doing something commendable with his retirement time and resources. Over the past three years, the star has been building a $100 million venture capital fund. Speaking on Monday, he said investing is one of the things he’s been very passionate about, and that’s why he made a decision to pursue it.”  

The 38-year-old former shooting guard co-founded the fund, Bryant Stibel, in 2013 with the current vice chairman of Dun & Bradstreet, Jeff Stibel.

According to Stibel, they opted to wait so that the initiative could only be unveiled if had been given a strong foundation.

“We wanted our body of work, and the entrepreneurs and companies, to stand for themselves,” Stibel told CNNMoney. “We wanted to prove that this was something that had substance and depth.” 

He’s planning to invest in different fields, including technology, media and data companies, especially those that lean towards sports and wellness.

Click here for the full article. 

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Never Forget Aaron Swartz; A Revolutionary Hero…

Three years ago this world was robbed of a beautiful life, a wonderful soul…his name, Aaron Swartz. It is a very emotional topic for me, I’d like to write more about him and about all the good he has without a doubt done for us, given to us; but right now I can’t find the words.

In the below video from “The Young Turks” we are given information on just how unjust, biased and discriminatory the prison sentences are. Of course with drug offenders, who should not be in prison either, the mandatory minimums are outrageous. But comparing what Aaron Swartz “did” -wanting to help people, understanding that education should be free; and so more- to other offenses that people would think carry more time than he was facing; but don’t.

Note, under 15% of prisoners are in for murder or sexual offenses, 95% of those last offenders will haunt the streets shortly after doing time, if they do in fact do time. The majority being drug offenders who are over 56% of the prison population. The reason I note this is because these laws he goes over make it seem the American government doesn’t have an agenda; but it does.

That can clearly be seen if you look at the numbers and the crimes; if you look at the man I deem a hero, Aaron Swartz; who was facing an outrageous amount of time for doing nothing more than trying to help make this world a better place. I do blame the government for his death; his suicide. 

The government was afraid of the intelligence and awareness Aaron had. His gift mixed in with his intelligence and concern for social issues made him someone they feared because they can’t grasp it; they don’t desire to… Their mind and heart are in it for the money; the people are the last thing they care for.

And thus, we lost an amazing, amazing activist & caring, kind and brilliant man 3 years ago….

The Rich Get Richer, The Poor…Get Poorer. Why?

This isn’t a topic I normally speak or write on, but it is vital for revolution. Of course, first we need unity, those asleep must wake up and so forth… Regardless, this is a video of information regarding corporations, the government and money… We shouldn’t have homelessness, nor poverty, but the reasons we have these problems is obvious and much more than what this video speaks on however, it is a video on what really happens with money, it is a video which shows the sick but true way the government/corporations behave… A video I believe everyone should check out.

Price of Britain’s Slave Trade Revealed at St. John’s College

Very interesting read. The below quote along shows us how sick and corrupted ‘people’ are to allow money to twist and pollute their mind, heart and soul enough to treat fellow humans so immorally; with such vicious malice and depravity.

“What these letters reveal, apart from a total lack of empathy for their human commodities is the sheer amount of money involved. Many anti-slavery campaigns were grassroots efforts by ordinary people, while the pro-slavery lobby had significant wealth and influence they could use to exert pressure on Parliament.”

Repeating Islands

Earlier this month, St John’s College Library at the University of Cambridge, announced the acquisition of letters and papers revealing in detail how human beings were priced for sale during the 18th century Transatlantic Slave Trade. They are now available to researchers and the public. Special Collections Librarian Kathryn McKee reminds us that the 18th century letters provide “a distressing reminder of the powerful business interests that sustained one of the darkest chapters in British history.” Dr. Richard Benjamin, Head of the International Slavery Museum, points out that the letters are also part of a larger body of historical documentation that sheds light on resistance to slavery. Here are just a few excerpts; see the full article in the link below.

[. . .] Kathryn McKee, Special Collections Librarian, who acquired the papers, which were previously held in Derby County Records Office, said: “These documents provide first-hand evidence of the sale of…

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