Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
December 28, 2016
February 1, 2016
Happy Birthday: Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, MO on this date in 1902. He began writing poetry while attending Central High School in Cleveland, OH. He was educated at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.Click here to view most of the literary works of Langston Hughes!
He was an influential figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's. Hughes spent time in Paris and after returning to the United States, he worked as a busboy in Washington, D.C. It was there in 1925, that his literary skills were discovered after he left three of his poems beside the plate of American poet Vachel Lindsay, who recognized Hughes's abilities and helped publicize his work.
Langston Hughes was active in social and political causes, using his poetry as a vehicle for cultural protest. He traveled to the Soviet Union, Haiti, and Japan, and he served as the Madrid correspondent for a Baltimore newspaper during the Spanish Civil War. Hughes wrote over 50 books and his drama Mulatto was performed 373 times on Broadway. Hughes also became known for the character Jesse B. Simple that he created in the 1940's for the Chicago Defender & New York Post. The humor and dialect of Jesse Simple disguised his common sense while depicting the everyday American experiences of Black citizens.
Langston Hughes died in 1967.
Let America be America Again
LANGSTON HUGHES 1938
Originally published in Esquire and in the International Worker Order pamphlet A New Song (1938)
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!
O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!
Do you have any thoughts about Langston Hughes? What is your favorite literary work by Bro. Hughes?
January 1, 2015
'Am I Not Human?' Blogging Campaign
Please let us know if you plan to participate in our monthly campaign. We seek bloggers interested in sharing information about human rights violations with their blog readers on the 27th of each month.
All of us need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray.
In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?
Will you join us?
September 5, 2014
Old School Friday: The O'Jays and Simply Red
The first song that came to mind was simple ... who doesn't remember The O'Jays talking about cash money in their 1974 hit song, For The Love of Money!
However, my current economic situation seems to flow more with Simply Red and his lyrics from his first big hit, Money's Too Tight To Mention:
I been laid off, my rent is due
My kids all need brand new shoes
So I went to the bank to see what they could do
They said 'son looks like bad luck got a hold on you'
February 8, 2014
January 31, 2014
Old School Friday: New Edition
I was in college when New Edition took the world by storm in the eighties. As a result, they were never the equivalent of the Jackson 5 in my mind. However, it is impressive to see how long they survived in the music industry. Ronnie Devoe, Bobby Brown, Rickey Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ralph Tresvant originally made up New Edition. They got their start in the music business when they weren't even teenagers. Their musical journey has seen them have success as a bubblegum pop group, a mature R&B group, and even as solo superstars.
The group originated in Boston and burst on the scene with their 1983 debut album 'Candy Girl.' Some of their early hits included 'Mr. Telephone Man,' and 'Cool It Now.' As they grew older, they drifted apart. Their most eclectic member, Bobby Brown, would leave New Edition to pursue a solo career in 1986. New Edition would remain strong, however, with R&B crooner Johnny Gill replacing Brown.
The song that still resonates with me from New Edition was 'Can You Stand the Rain'.
The group originated in Boston and burst on the scene with their 1983 debut album 'Candy Girl.' Some of their early hits included 'Mr. Telephone Man,' and 'Cool It Now.' As they grew older, they drifted apart. Their most eclectic member, Bobby Brown, would leave New Edition to pursue a solo career in 1986. New Edition would remain strong, however, with R&B crooner Johnny Gill replacing Brown.
The song that still resonates with me from New Edition was 'Can You Stand the Rain'.
December 20, 2013
Old School Friday * The Emotions
My favorite song by The Emotions was on the radio back in 1976. If you listen to the full song you will hear a message that brothers today need to hear more than they needed it back then. Don't you agree?
Finally, it is Christmas time. In fact, the reason that I created this blog post was to highlight this next song -- sometimes it hits home more than I like. Have you ever wondered what the lonely do for Christmas?
December 15, 2013
Sunday Inspiration: 'The Christmas Scale'
This blog will continue to seek out Sunday Inspirations, a meme inspired by Sojourner's Place. Sunday Inspirations is just one way to help get us through the week ahead, the trials we may face, and yes, to say 'Thank You Jesus' and testify! I invite you to participate in this weekly meme as your contribution might serve as an inspiration to someone in need.
December 1, 2013
Sunday Inspirations: Kirk Franklin
I'm working hard to get the spirit of this song into my being. I'm tired of being held down and I'm ready to stand up and fight for my miracle. I invite all villagers to enjoy the vibe from this Kirk Franklin song!
Anyone else out here ready to make the declaration -- 'This Is It!'.
Perhaps it's time for a true 'Revolution' in our lives ... our community ... and out nation. What say u?
Anyone else out here ready to make the declaration -- 'This Is It!'.
Perhaps it's time for a true 'Revolution' in our lives ... our community ... and out nation. What say u?
November 13, 2013
October 16, 2013
October 2, 2013
August 27, 2013
Am I Not Human? Emmett Till (1941-1955)
Emmitt Till was murdered on this day in 1955. Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was beaten and shot to death by two white men. These men then threw the Till's muti
lated body into the Tallahatchie River near Money, Mississippi. Young Till was killed for talking to and perhaps whistling at a white woman at a Mississippi grocery store. Later that year, Roy Bryant, whose wife Carolyn was the white woman at the store, and his half brother, J. W. Milam, were tried for Till's murder and acquitted by a jury of 12 white men.In March, 2007, the FBI released a summary of its 8000 page report of its investigation of the murder of Emmett Till. This report also includes the 354 page transcript of the 1955 murder trial of J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant.
This gruesome photo of Emmett Till helped spark the ci
vil rights movement. It demonstrated the brutality of southern violence towards African Americans, and created outrage across the nation. Emmett's mother, Mamie, insisted at his funeral that he be given an open-casket, so others could see what they had done to her boy.The truth of what happened that night became public knowledge several months after the trial. William Bradford Huie, an Alabama journalist in Mississippi to report on the aftermath of the case, offered Bryant and Milam money to tell their story. Since the two could no longer be prosecuted for a crime of which they had already been acquitted, they gladly told for a fee of how they had beaten and killed young Till. Huie reported what the killers told him in Look magazine. Now publicly exposed as murderers, Bryant and Milam were ostracized by the community, and both moved elsewhere within a year. Emmett Till in death became a martyr for the civil rights movement, a symbol of the racial hatred African Americans had yet to overcome.
America has moved quantum leaps in terms of both civil and human rights since 1955. African Americans are no longer murdered for giving wolf whistles to white women. However, our gains are not guaranteed. All Americans need to be vigilant in protecting our national commitment to equality for all. All it will take for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?
August 21, 2013
May 29, 2013
April 17, 2013
April 10, 2013
April 3, 2013
March 28, 2013
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