Tag Archives: Jim Crow

The Assassination of Dr. King – My first “political memory”

My first political memory, at age 7, is the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I was too young to remember the assassinations of JFK and Malcolm X, and although RFK would be assassinated later in the … Continue reading

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, ezwwaters, Growing Up, John F. Kennedy, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Poetry, Politics, race, raising black boys, Revolution, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Daddy Dearest

My father, a Native Southern Son, was born in the same month and year Negro History Week was established. Then, we were Negroes. Thirty-four years later, when I was born, we were still Negroes. When my father died at the … Continue reading

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Lest We Forget, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Correcting The Miseducation of the Negro

Carter G. Woodson’s seminal book, The Miseducation of the Negro, published in 1926, is a book Black folk should periodically revisit, perhaps every three years, ideally every year.  If you are Black and you have not read the book, then … Continue reading

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Education, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, Politics, race, raising black boys, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

On this Day in American history, September 7, 1976 — First Black Person Elected to Statewide Office in the South Since Reconstruction

On September 7, 1976, Joseph Woodrow Hatchett was elected to a seat on the Florida Supreme Court, becoming the first black person elected to any statewide office in the South since the end of Reconstruction nearly a century before. A … Continue reading

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On this Day in History — April 14, 1945 –White House Correspondents’ Association Denies Black Reporter Access to FDR Funeral

On April 14, 1945, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) tried to exclude Harry McAlpin, the only African American White House correspondent, from observing a funeral service for President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. Two of twelve spots … Continue reading

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This day in history — April 11, 1913 — President Wilson Permits Segregation Within Federal Government

On April 11, 1913, recently inaugurated President Woodrow Wilson received Postmaster General Albert Burleson’s plan to segregate the Railway Mail Service. Burleson reported that he found it “intolerable” that white and black employees had to work together and share drinking … Continue reading

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Fabricated Racism?

Bill O’Reilly, well known Republican hack, in today’s (06-01-15) amNewYork column, “City Council sees racism at every turn,” writes about “fabricated racism.” O’Reilly is looking at the City Council’s proposed response to the fact that, according to a UCLA study, … Continue reading

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Excerpt from my book, “Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembering Things Past and Present”

From George Washington to George Bush. From the birth of a nation to a kinder, gentler nation. From Thomas Jefferson to William Jefferson Clinton. From Democratic Republicanism to the New Democrats. From honest Abe to tricky Dick to Slick Willie. … Continue reading

Posted in Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, John F. Kennedy, Politics, Revolution, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reflections on Black Patriotism

I remember, in the summer of my life, when my blood boiled, as hot as the sun, with righteous indignation at American injustice. This, from a native son, a born and bred Brooklynite. I remember, in my youth, questioning Black … Continue reading

Posted in Black patriotism, Justice Chronicles, Patriotism, Revolution, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment