How Black Folks Feel About Independence Day

On the 2nd of July, 1776, the old Continental Congress gave words to the idea of liberty as follows:

"Resolved, That these united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved."

Our Declaration of Independence was signed on the 4th of July ... and our nation celebrates it with great pride and patriotism. The principles in the Declaration of Independence should be sacrosanct to all of us.

However, we know that the principles were not applied to Americans of African descent. Frederick Douglass said it best on July 5, 1852 when he was a keynote speaker.

I encourage all villagers to read the full speech.

However, here is the section of his speech that I read to myself every year on the 4th of July. This part of his speech resonates with all African Americans:

"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour."

Villagers, our nation is much better today than we were 163 years ago on the date of this speech from Frederick Douglass.

All Americans can share in the pride of our nationality. However, we must never forget our past, lest it be repeated!

Related articles

• What, to Black Americans, is the 4th of July?- A New Visions CLASSIC From Project 21
• Frederick Douglass on Independence Day - and for many others this is a Hollow Event - The Statue of Liberty Has still Yet to Live Up to Its Promises
• What Independence Day means to me?

Village Tip: Improve Your Ad in 30 Seconds

Feel like your ad just isn't quite right? Here are a few quick fixes to heighten the effectiveness of your ad:

1. Set them in your targets - The most important way to improve an ad is to tightly target your audience. You will often have more luck placing your ad in a trade publication than in a general newspaper, even if the readership is not as high.

2. Make you ad stand apart from the rest - Most people are constantly bombarded by advertisements, but what makes yours stand out from the rest? The ads we pay attention to are the ones that pertain directly to our most pressing concerns. The ads we notice are the ones that promote a product, service, or idea that can solve our problem, make us feel better, make us richer, or make us feel sexy and loved.

3. Improve your headline - Get attention by targeting your best audience. Then use a headline to shout out a problem or solution your target audience will immediately identify with.

4. Make your ad skim-friendly - 

• Only a small percentage of us start at the beginning of an ad and read every word to the end. 
• If the ad is more than a couple of sentences, we will skip it. 
• Put your most important phrases in bold. 
• Keep sentences short. 
• Use simple everyday words. 
• Make your paragraphs no longer than three lines. 
• Try to limit yourself to one idea per sentence.

I will continue to share these Village Tips on a semi-regular basis!

Top 21 African American Professional Groups

By Dan Woog, Monster Contributing Writer

Whether you're an African American accountant, attorney or astrophysicist, there's probably a related professional organization. Joining an association can provide education in your field, networking opportunities and advocacy -- all with a focus on issues important to African Americans. Find the right one for you by checking out this list of 21 of the largest and oldest national groups:
Business

• BDPA: Organized in 1975. More than 40 chapters. Open to African Americans in STEM-related fields.
   
• National Association of Black Accountants: Founded in 1969. Goal is to represent the than 200,000 African American professionals in accounting and finance.
   
• National Association of African Americans in Human Resources: A national organization of human resource professionals with 36 local chapters; includes consultants and students.
   
• National Black Business Trade Association: A self-help resource and networking group founded in 1993 that provides businesspeople with information, products, services and technologies.
   
• National Black MBA Association: A 8,000-member professional organization made up of African American graduates with MBAs and advanced degrees. Established in 1970, its mission is to increase the number and diversity of African Americans in business.
   
• National Sales Network: An association of African American sales and sales management professionals. Organized in 1992, with more than 2,000 members in 16 chapters.

Design

• Organization of Black Designers: Comprised of 10,000 design professionals in visual communications, as well as graphic, interior, fashion and industrial design.

Engineering and Science

• American Association of Blacks in Energy: Founded in 1977; 36 chapters. Specialties include energy policy, technology and the environment.
   
• National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers: Organized in 1972 to build a community of minority scientists and engineers; 39 professional and university chapters.
   
• National Society of Black Engineers: Started in 1975, it now has more than 35,700 members, more than 390 college, precollege and technical professional chapters nationwide and overseas. The group's mission is to increase the number of African American engineers, as well as help them succeed professionally and to give back to their communities.
   
• National Society of Black Physicists: The largest organization of African American physicists; 16 sections ranging from astronomy, astrophysics and nuclear physics to technology transfer, business development and entrepreneurship. Its mission is to promote the professional well-being of African American physicists within the international scientific community.

Food Services

• BCA: Incorporated as the Black Culinarian Alliance in 1998 and now known by its acronym. A national educational and networking organization that serves African American and other minority professionals working in hospitality and food services.

General

• 100 Black Men of America: Founded in 1963; now 110-plus chapters with more than 10,000 members. Its mission includes leadership, mentoring, education, health and economic development.

Government

• Blacks in Government: Members are civil servants at the federal, state, county and municipal levels. Founded in 1975; more than 50 chapters include the Departments of State and Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and the National Institutes of Health.

Healthcare

• National Black Nurses Association: Organized in 1971; 80 chapters represent more than 150,000 African American nurses in the US, Caribbean and Africa.
   
• National Medical Association: The oldest (founded 1895) and largest national professional organization for African American physicians. A leading force for parity in medicine, it provides educational programs and conducts outreach efforts.
   
• Student National Medical Association: The largest organization focused on the needs and concerns of African American medical students and residents.

Law and Criminal Justice

• National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice: Organized in 1974; state and local chapters across the US. Members include law enforcement personnel, corrections officers, court employees, social services workers, academics and clergy.
   
• National Bar Association: An advocate for social justice since 1925; promotes professional development for African Americans in the legal profession. More than 20,000 member lawyers, judges, educators and law students.
   
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives: Founded in 1976. Public service organization serves as the "conscience of law enforcement."

Media

• National Association of Black Journalists: A professional organization for African Americans working in print, radio, television, new media and related areas; founded in 1975. 

Old School Friday: The Whispers

My two daughters recently saw this photo of me in my younger days on stage with The Whispers. My youngest daughter didn't know anything about them. The eldest daughter simply explained that they are "Old School". It seemed like a good time to play the Old School Friday music again on my blog!





Just sit back, close your eyes and allow The Whispers to take you on a musical high with this powerful song that any man would want to sing to his lady. I imagine that any lady would love to know that a brother had this song and thought in his heart as he thinks of her. This is ol' school brothers and sisters!

Rest In Peace: Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Whatever argument you have about his lifestyle ... there can be no argument about his life's work ... Michael Jackson is the greatest Black artist of all time. Consider his body of work as a child ... teenager ... and adult. He survived the test of time from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.  He left us too soon...

I shared my favorite MJ tune a few months ago during Old School Friday. Here is another of my favorite Michael Jackson tunes: 'Human Nature'






M.Jackson Human Nature
by nicobus

Truth to tell, I didn't follow young Michael much when I was a child. However, he did enter into my world during college. My night as a DJ, whether at a club, skating rink or on the radio, was never complete in 1979 unless we played 'Rock With You'. Did you know that the original title to this track was “I Want To Eat You Up.” It was changed to “Rock With You” to better fit Jackson’s image. Little did we know...







Anyhow, Michael Jackson is my selection as the GOAT ('greatest of all time'). Who would you choose for that title?

Village Tip: Make Your ABOUT Page Sell

It's interesting how many web site visitors quickly click to the "about" page. This is the page that tells who runs the business, where it is located, and why they do what they do.

With all the uncertainty some folks still feel about buying online, it is only natural they want to find out more about the business before they seriously consider buying the product or service.

Include your photo, a photo of your staff, or a picture of your building on the "about" page. Be sure to give your address, one or more email addresses visitors can use, and a phone number. Anything less makes some people feel like you've got something to hide.

The "about" page is also a good place to tell your story. People love to hear about how you got started. They want to know what it is you like about your business and how you work to help customers. Give people a good story and they will remember it long after they have forgotten the particulars of the product they came to see.

I will continue to share these Village Tips on a semi-regular basis!

Only A Dad

This poem was originally written by Edgar Guest. Edgar Guest began his illustrious career in 1895 at the age of fourteen when his work first appeared the the Detroit Free Press. His column was syndicated in over 300 newspapers, and he became known as "The Poet of the People." I share the poem today in honor of Wayne Sr., George Jr., Walter and Charles (may he rest in peace) ... with a special sentiment for Kyra, Iyisa, Javoyne and Shenita.

Only A Dad
by Edgar Guest
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

From the book "A Heap o' Livin'" ©1916

What is Juneteenth?

The discussion about the African American flag created by UNIA and Marcus Garvey reminded me of other dates on the calendar that impact African Americans differently than others in this country. For example, I wonder every year on the birthday of our nation ...why do Blacks celebrate July 4th?

It is historically accurate to recall that nothing about Independence Day back in 1776 brought a smile to the people of African descent living in America. White folks were ecstatic to overturn the yoke of the monarchy ... but, they weren't so ecstatic that they let go of the whips and chains used to enslave African Americans. Just a random thought floating thru the village today.

On the other hand, African Americans in most of the country do take time on Juneteenth to celebrate independence.

What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that all slaves were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger's regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the slave masters to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or neither could be true. For whatever the reason, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

Click here to learn more about Juneteenth if you have time/inclination. We encourage you to share information on this aspect of Ourstory as part of your Juneteenth 2011 celebration.

For now, I encourage you to share your comments on the significance of either June 19th or July 4th in your part of the diaspora? What say u?

Village Tip: How to Develop and Test Your Marketing Plan

Developing a solid marketing plan goes hand-in-hand with testing; you can't do one without the other. If you don't test your plan, you won't know for sure whether it works.

You don't have to be a multimillion-dollar corporation with a team of marketing experts to test your marketing plan. All you have to do is come up with a system for finding out what you want to know.

Break your testing schedule down into weekly intervals focused on determining one or two things. Remember, your goal is not only to find out what works, but what doesn't work.

Say during four weeks of testing, you send out a mailing each week to 1000 different people. On each separate mailing, you have a different price for the advertised product or service. The response to these mailings should tell you which price is most acceptable for your product / service.

The response rate should also tell you which type of customer is buying what you offer and why. By the end of the four week testing period, you will have determined your pricing and target audience.

Once you know whom to target, you should test how to get the best response rate from these potential customers. Initiate a second testing period in which you send out a different mailing each week with fixed pricing, but varied messages. Contact the same recipients with different messages over a period of months after the second test period has ended. You should never stop refining your marketing plan.

The point of developing a marketing plan is to have a set system that works. Without proper testing, you will never know what strategies are effective, so before you settle into a plan, put it to the test.

I will continue to share these Village Tips on a semi-regular basis!

Rest In Peace: Ruby Dee (1924-2014)

Hollywood lost an icon when stage and screen legend Ruby Dee died on this day in 2014. Dee was at her home in New Rochelle, New York and surrounded by loved ones when she passed. She was 91 years old.

The Cleveland-born, New York-raised actress and activist — winner of an Emmy, a Grammy and a Screen Actors Guild award, among others — was an icon on Broadway, cinema and television. With her husband and collaborator Ossie Davis, she was also a major figure in the Civil Rights movement.

Dee’s first film role came in 1949, in the musical drama That Man of Mine. She worked frequently with Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever) and earned an Academy Award nomination in 2007 for Best Supporting Actress for American Gangster.

She appeared in the 1979 TV movie Roots: The Next Generation, and costarred with husband Ossie Davis in their own short-lived show, Ossie and Ruby! in 1980.

Her final film was the still-in-production crime drama King Dog, opposite Ice-T.

Rest in Peace Rudy!  I'm sure that Ossie was waiting for her at the pearly gates!

Rest In Peace: Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)

Villagers recognize that we can not depend on others to tell US History completely. Too often, it becomes HIStory instead of OURstory. As such, we try to share OURstory whenever possible.

Today, with kudos to Ori-Piankhi, we tell the story of the Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey. Born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica, on August 17, 1887, Marcus Garvey was the youngest of 11 children. Garvey moved to Kingston at the age of 14, found work in a print shop, and became acquainted with the living conditions of the laboring class.

He quickly involved himself in social reform, participating in the first Printers' Union strike in Jamaica in 1907 and in setting up the newspaper The Watchman. Leaving the island to earn money to finance his projects, he visited Central and South America, amassing evidence that Black people everywhere were victims of discrimination. He visited the Panama Canal Zone and saw the conditions under which the West Indians lived and worked. He went to Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia and Venezuela. Everywhere, Blacks were experiencing great hardships and discrimination.

Garvey returned to Jamaica distressed at the situation in Central America, and appealed to Jamaica's colonial government to help improve the plight of West Indian workers in Central America. His appeal fell on deaf ears. Garvey also began to lay the groundwork of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), to which he was to devote his life.

Undaunted by lack of enthusiasm for his plans, Garvey left for England in 1912 in search of additional financial backing. While there, he met a Sudanese-Egyptian journalist, Duse Mohammed Ali. While working for Ali's publication African Times and Oriental Review, Garvey began to study the history of Africa, particularly, the exploitation of Black peoples by colonial powers. He read Booker T. Washington's 'Up From Slavery', which advocated Black self-help.

In 1914 Garvey organized the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and its coordinating body, the African Communities League (ACL). In 1920 the organization held its first convention in New York. The convention opened with a parade down Harlem's Lenox Avenue. That evening, before a crowd of 25,000, Garvey outlined his plan to build an African nation-state. In New York City his ideas attracted popular support, and thousands enrolled in the UNIA. He began publishing the newspaper The Negro World and toured the United States preaching Black Nationalism to popular audiences. His efforts were successful, and soon, the association boasted over 1,100 branches in more than 40 countries. Most of these branches were located in the United States, which had become the UNIA's base of operations. There were, however, offices in several Caribbean countries, Cuba having the most. Branches also existed in places such as Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Namibia and South Africa. He also launched some ambitious business ventures, notably the Black Star Shipping Line.

Garvey promoted two new business organizations — the African Communities League and the Negro Factories Corporation. Financial betrayal by trusted aides and a host of legal entanglements (based on charges that he had used the U.S. mail to defraud prospective investors) eventually led to Garvey's imprisonment in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for a five-year term. In 1927 his half-served sentence was commuted, and he was deported to Jamaica by order of President Calvin Coolidge.

Garvey then turned his energies to Jamaican politics, campaigning on a platform of self-government, minimum wage laws, and land and judicial reform. He was soundly defeated at the polls, however, because most of his followers did not have the necessary voting qualifications. In 1935 Garvey left for England where, in near obscurity, he died on June 10, 1940, in a cottage in West Kensington.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey advocated that Africans control the wealth of Africa. He taught that control, control of resources, control of self, control of nation, requires preparation, Garveyism was about total preparation.

'UP YOU MIGHTY RACE, YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU WILL!'

Village Tip: Get People to Pass You Around

No doubt you have heard of viral marketing. Just like a common cold, it involves having people pass an idea or product from one person to the next.

Unlike a cold, a marketing virus is a wonderful thing to catch!

These Village Tips are a simple kind of viral marketing. I share them here on the Electronic Village, but they almost always get picked up by other bloggers who send them to their readers who send them to their list. You may be reading this tip years after I wrote it. Amazing, isn't it?

I share the article once, then enjoy the benefits as one person passes it to another. Who knows how many people see these tips ... even people who have never heard of the Electronic Village!

Look for ways you can give your product, service, or idea a marketing virus.

• Give people a free service they can use. Your web address and phone number are included in every product they send to others.


• Start a joke that pertains to the news or common experiences in life. If it's in an email, it can include your name. Jokes get passed around at an unbelievable rate. Some humor experts believe there may be as few as 7 people who come up with most of the jokes we hear. They start them on their viral tour, eventually reaching millions.


• Create a series of e-books, pamphlets, or YouTube commercials. A series makes people want to tell others so they can get in on the progression.


• Perhaps the most effective method of viral marketing is simply being kind and helping people. Help folks for free when you can and give paying customers more than they asked for. You may be surprised at how fast customers tell their friends ... and in these days of email, that can be a LOT of people.

I will continue to share these Village Tips on a semi-regular basis!

Village Tip: How to Handle Rejection

Part of selling anything is handling rejection. It's always great when a prospect says "I'm so glad to see you. This is just what I need!" But the law of averages says most of the people you come in contact with won't be that enthusiastic.

There are so many ads and people trying to get us to spend money that most of us put on a stern face any time a sales person approaches. This doesn't mean we dislike the sales person, just that we're getting psyched up to hold our ground.

Of course, a good sales person realizes this and works to set our reservations at ease, helping us to relax and understand how the sales person may be able to solve our problems.

Keep this in mind when you are selling something. It doesn't matter if you are selling cars, telling a neighbor about your MLM opportunity, or using email to sell yourself to a prospective employer.

Rejection is part of the game. Realize people aren't rejecting you personally, but the situation. In most cases they simply aren't ready to buy at this time. No doesn't usually mean no, but not right right now. A week, month, or year from the now the prospect who rejected your sales pitch may come looking for you wanting to buy.

I will continue to share these Village Tips on a semi-regular basis!

Believe in Ohio Prepares High School Students for the Future

Believe in Ohio is a free new program from the Ohio Academy of Science that helps high school students prepare for the future. The program was developed in collaboration with Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio with the support of the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio General Assembly.

Believe in Ohio is the only statewide Ohio student STEM education program to integrate entrepreneurship and innovation as pathways to create future jobs. The program helps prepare students to become “competitors” in Ohio's innovation economy of the future and to be part of Ohio's next generation of innovators who will create the new product services and jobs of the future through the application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Ohio was once one of the most innovative, entrepreneurial and prosperous states in the Nation, however, over the last 40 years it lost its way along with hundreds of thousands of good jobs. Unlike other states, Ohio confronted the problem and created the Ohio Third Frontier, which has been the catalyst for the creation of Ohio's Innovation Economy of the Future.

Regrettably, however, few Ohio students know that Ohio’s Innovation Economy includes dozens of venture development organizations and incubators, and many of the nation’s leading research universities and other research and development programs. Thus, one of the principal goals of the Believe in Ohio program is to tell students that “It’s Time to Believe in Ohio Again” and that Ohio is a good place for them to create their future.

Believe in Ohio helps students understand the challenge and opportunity the future presents and how to prepare for it through STEM forums, virtual field trips and online courses into Ohio's Innovation Economy of the future. It also helps students develop the critical thinking skills they will need later in life.

Believe in Ohio helps students understand the importance of a STEM education and entrepreneurial mindset if they are to become competitors in Ohio's Innovation Economy of the future. It does this through engagement with STEM and entrepreneurial experts and mentors, and participation in STEM Commercialization Plan and STEM Business Plan competitions in which students compete for nearly one million dollars in cash awards and scholarships. The program inspires students to pursue their education and careers in Ohio by introducing them to Ohio's R&D and entrepreneurial ecosystem that offers great opportunities for them to create their future.

To find out more about the Believe in Ohio program, visit our website at www.BelieveInOhio.org or call The Ohio Academy of Science at 614-914-5095.

Believe in Ohio Program to Establish Urban STEM Network

As part of its “All Hands on Deck” Inclusive Competitiveness strategy to reach all Ohio high school students, the Believe in Ohio (BiO) program of The Ohio Academy of Science today launched a statewide campaign to create the Urban STEM Mentor Network. Inclusive Competitiveness is an interdisciplinary framework of policies, strategies, practices and metrics to improve the performance of underrepresented Americans in the Innovation Economy.

The Urban STEM Mentor Network will support Ohio’s next generation of innovators to create new products, services and jobs through the application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). BiO is the only statewide Ohio student education program to integrate entrepreneurship and innovation as pathways to job-creation.

Based on the principle of “Each One Teach One,” over the next six months, beginning in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, the BiO Urban STEM Mentor Network campaign will recruit mentors from African American, Hispanic and other STEM business professionals and entrepreneurs, educators and college and university students. The goal is to increase dramatically the number of mentors in Ohio’s urban areas for the 2015-2016 school year.

Dr. Julian Earls

“If our state and country are going to continue to be prosperous, then all parts of our society need opportunities to become innovators and competitors in today’s Innovation Economy, including youth in Ohio’s urban areas,” said Dr. Julian M. Earls, Retired Director of NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and lifelong mentor and advocate for minority STEM education.

“For that to happen, however, we need accomplished African Americans, Hispanics and others in STEM from all over Ohio to serve as inspirational role models and mentors for our urban youth,” continued Dr. Earls, who is also President of Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio, the collaborative partner with The Ohio Academy of Science of Ohio in the development of the Believe in Ohio program. “Students can be successful when they see people ‘who look like them’ who have made successes of themselves and are willing to help them.”

“For the sake of our children, their children, and our state, it is critical that this initiative be successful. To that end, we have assembled an extraordinary leadership team of community leaders to galvanize support across the state,” added Dr. Earls.

Mr. Johnathan Holifield (JohnathanHolifield@yahoo.com) is overall statewide director and coordinator for Believe in Ohio’s Urban STEM Mentor Network and served as subject matter expert for the Ohio Board of Regents Subcommittee on Inclusive Competitiveness. Mr. Holifield helped develop the BiO program and is a nationally recognized leader of Inclusive Competitiveness. He was founding Executive Director of CincyTech in Cincinnati, former Vice President for Inclusive Competitiveness at NorTech in Cleveland, and a founding partner of Scale Up Partners, a national Inclusive Competitiveness consultancy.

Ms. Mary McWilliams (pebchairelect@nsbe.org) is the Columbus Metro Inclusive Competitiveness Coordinator for Believe in Ohio’s Urban STEM Mentor Network. Ms. McWilliams is Electronics Engineer Team Leader for the Defense Logistics Agency of the Department of Defense, and Chair-Elect of the Professional Executive Board of the National Society of Black Engineers.

Mr. Wayne Hicks (wayne.hicks@bdpa.org) is the Cincinnati Metro Inclusive Competitiveness Coordinator for Believe in Ohio’s Urban STEM Mentor Network. Mr. Hicks is Executive Director of the Black Data Processing Associate Education & Technology Foundation, and the owner of Hicks Enterprises consulting firm in Cincinnati.

Dr. Bilal Bomani (bilal@bomani.com) is Cleveland Metro Inclusive Competiveness Coordinator for Believe in Ohio’s Urban STEM Mentor Network. Dr. Bomani is a Senior Research Scientist whose work has been featured in a TED talk.  He is Vice President of the National Technical Association – Cleveland Chapter that focuses on STEM opportunities in the Cleveland, Ohio area.

Click here to see the full bios and photos of these coordinators.

“Throughout my professional life, in the spirit of “Each One Teach One”, I have reached out at every opportunity to young people to encourage and mentor them to pursue careers in Science and Technology”, stated Dr. Earls. “Now, I am calling on my younger peers to do the same.”

The Ohio Academy of Science and Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio developed the program entitled Believe In Ohio, A STEM Bridge to Ohio’s Innovation Economy of the Future, with support from The Ohio General Assembly and The Ohio Board of Regents. More information is available at www.BelieveinOhio.org

Taser Death: David Werblow (Branford, CT)

Unidentified Branford Police Department officers used their tasers to kill an unarmed 41-year old man, David Werblow, in front of his home on March 15. [SOURCE]  Werblow's neighbors indicate that he was tased by police at least three times.

Police arrived at the scene as a result of a 911 call earlier in the evening reporting a disturbance at this residence. When they arrived Werblow was walking down the street of his neighborhood. There is no indication that anyone was in harm's way. The victim was unarmed. After the tasers were used the police placed him in handcuffs ... he was pronounced at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in 2014 that since 2005 at least 14 people have died in the state after police deployed a Taser stun gun on them.

The ACLU released a statement on Monday regarding the Branford incident, saying while they don’t have any details on the incident, it “reinforces the need for oversight mechanisms associated with Tasers.” The release said the organization will seek any available video and documentary evidence as well as accounts of what happened.

Less Than 48 Hours to Enroll

You have less than 48 hours left to enroll before deadline day.

Take the next step and submit your application today. It’s easier than ever to apply this year – you can even do it on your mobile device.

Over 9.9 million people have already signed up, and 8 out of 10 people who enroll save money on their monthly premiums.

There’s no better time: Go to HealthCare.gov and find the plan that’s right for you before the final deadline on Sunday, February 15.

The clock is ticking. Join the millions getting covered!

OURstory: Martin Luther King Day

Today's date is significant because it is Martin Luther King Day. The official holiday, on the third Monday of January, began in 1986. It was the first new American holiday since 1948, when Memorial Day was created as a "prayer for peace" day. Also it was only the second national holiday in the twentieth century (the other was Veterans Day, created as Armistice Day in 1926 to honor those who died in World War I). King is the only American besides George Washington to have a national holiday designated for his birthday (those of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee and others are celebrated in some states but not nationwide).

Internationally, King is one of the few social leaders of any country to be honored with a holiday (Mahatma Gandhi's birthday is observed in India).

In honor of this date ... Martin Luther King Day ... we have the text of his speech I have a Dream. This speech by King was delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

---

"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold, which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.

We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our White brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little White boys and White girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

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Sometimes I worry that Martin Luther King's legacy has been reduced by many of us to this speech. Please share your village voice about MLK ... without referring to this speech. What other aspect of his life and legacy do you think is important for us to consider on this date?

OURstory: Lynching in America

Some of the most graphic photographs that I've ever seen in my life contained the images of Black men people being lynched. Collector James Allen uncovered an extraordinary visual legacy: photographs and postcards taken as souvenirs at lynchings throughout America. He published these photographs in his book Without Sanctuary. You can experience the images as a flash movie with narrative comments by James Allen, or as a gallery of photos. Please be aware before entering the site that much of the material is very graphic and very disturbing.

African Americans suffered grievously under lynch law. With the close of Reconstruction in the late 1870s, southern whites were determined to end northern and Black participation in the region's affairs, and northerners exhibited a growing indifference toward the civil rights of Black Americans. Taking its cue from this inter-sectional white harmony, the federal government abandoned its oversight of constitutional protections. Southern and border states responded with the Jim Crow laws of the 1890s, and white mobs flourished.

With Blacks barred from voting, public office, and jury service, officials felt no obligation to respect minority interests or safeguard minority lives. In addition to lynchings of individuals, dozens of race riots--with Blacks as victims--scarred the national landscape from Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898 to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921.

Between 1882 (when reliable statistics were first collected) and 1968 (when the classic forms of lynching had disappeared), 4,743 persons died of lynching, 3,446 of them Black men and women. Mississippi (539 Black victims, 42 white) led this grim parade of death, followed by Georgia (492, 39), Texas (352, 141), Louisiana (335, 56), and Alabama (299, 48). From 1882 to 1901, the annual number nationally usually exceeded 100; 1892 had a record 230 deaths (161 Black, 69 white).

Although lynchings declined somewhat in the twentieth century, there were still 97 in 1908 (89 Black, 8 white), 83 in the racially troubled postwar year of 1919 (76, 7, plus some 25 race riots), 30 in 1926 (23, 7), and 28 in 1933 (24, 4). Sadly, we still see signs that racial demons can reared their head in 2007.

Statistics do not tell the entire story. These were recorded lynchings; others were never reported beyond the community involved. Furthermore, mobs used especially sadistic tactics when Blacks were the prime targets. By the 1890s lynchers increasingly employed burning, torture, and dismemberment to prolong suffering and excite a "festive atmosphere" among the killers and onlookers. White families brought small children to watch, newspapers sometimes carried advance notices, railroad agents sold excursion tickets to announced lynching sites, and mobs cut off Black victims' fingers, toes, ears, or genitalia as souvenirs.

Nor was it necessarily the handiwork of a local rabble; not infrequently, the mob was encouraged or led by people prominent in the area's political and business circles. Lynching had become a ritual of interracial social control and recreation rather than simply a punishment for crime.

Recently lynching has come to have a contemporary informal use as a label for social vilification, particularly in the media, and particularly of African Americans. However, I recall that even the Don Imus situation resulted in headlines using the word 'lynching'.

I hope that we never use the terminology as loosely here in the Afrosphere.

NOTE:  This was originally posted on this blog in May 2007.

Related articles

• OURstory: Underground Railroad (1780-1862)
• Florida State House Candidate Wants Obama Lynched

Happy Birthday: Kappa Alpha Psi (1911)

My father and grandfather were both Nupes. Neither of them are with us today. However, I think that they would be pleased to know that their fraternity ... Kappa Alpha Psi ... is celebrating its 104th birthday today.





Do you have any Nupes in your family? If so, call 'em up and say Happy Birthday!

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• This Day in Black History: Jan. 5, 1911