The MisEducation of Black People.

(newsone.com)

At the University of Mississippi (UM), a year-long initiative to increase graduates in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has paid off in epic fashion. Ole Miss News reports that three African-American chemistry students graduated on May 11 with doctorates, setting a school record.

Top 25 Transformative High Schools

The trio who received their degrees was Kari Copeland (pictured left), Margo Montgomery (pictured center) and Jeffrey Veals (centered). A fourth African-American student, Shanna Stoddard, will earn her doctorate in chemistry this coming December. Professors at UM beamed with pride with this latest achievement for the university.

“On average, about 50 African-American students receive Ph.D.s in chemistry nationwide each year, so UM produced 6 percent of the national total,” said Maurice Eftink, associate provost and professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

This isn’t the first time UM has done well in the STEM arena. In 2006, the school had four African-American Ph.D.s in Mathematics.

“That was an even more outstanding achievement given that there are only 15 to 30 African-American Ph.D.s in Math granted each year, but the current achievement is still pretty noteworthy,” Eftink said. [D.L. Chandler - Newsone.com]

Trayvon Martin (Left) Photo of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. (Right)

Until I read this article below...I didn't realize how many opportunities the police officers had to create a better outcome in this scenario. And I am posting this article in hopes that you will read the complete story, because I believe that Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. is one reason why Trayvon Martin's death has caused an uprising of protest. And there are so many more reasons like, Jemmy, John Brown, Nat Turner, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, Amadou Diallo, Yusuf K. Hawkins, Abner Louima, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, and nearly Four Hundred Years of killing black people in America.

As human beings, how do we begin to process that, and cultivate a healthy psyche?  Society vilifies, debases, and overall ignores the black race, except where it is lucrative to pay attention. And African Americans are left to live with the knowledge that society hates him/her and wants to kill him/her and can do so, in too many cases without recompense, unless its caught on tape, and in some cases, that's not enough to command justice. It is the spirit of Racism, yoked with bitterness, hatred, murder, resentment, supremacy, and inferiority.

If we could see the bodies of black men, beginning with slavery, that have lost their lives as a result of Racism, we would faint at the magnitude. Yet, in my opinion, the African-American has failed to confront the issue of slavery and its fall out. We have so many personal things to discuss at the community level when we are not in protest mode. We need to connect again like we did in the sixties, and look to God again like we did in the sixties, and find solutions that will strengthen and heal black communities? We seem to assemble in reaction to tragedy. Instead we must become proactive and examine our hearts that are filled with fear, anger, hatred, hurt and stress and get free to live our fullest lives, and we have every right to live a life unbroken! I personally believe that it is time to stop struggling, stop reacting, and anchor our souls to the life transforming power of God through his Word. God is the only one who can bring JUSTICE against the spirit of RACISM.

Kenneth Chamberlain Case: Killing of veteran senior citizen by police to be probed by grand jury,  by Alexis Garrett Stodghill, TheGrio.

Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a veteran of the Marines, was fatally shot on November 19, 2011 by White Plains, New York police officers who claimed the retired corrections officer was a lethal threat. Chamberlain was 68 years old.

The police had been dispatched to his apartment in the Winbrook Houses public housing project because Chamberlain had accidentally tripped off his medical alert pendant. Despite warning officers about his critical heart condition when they arrived, they knocked down Chamberlain's door, tasered him, and shot him with a beanbag gun in what they stated later was an attempt to subdue him.

Eventually, the conflict escalated until an officer shot Chamberlain in the chest at the climax of an early morning standoff that lasted nearly an hour.

Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. died of his wounds two hours later at White Plains Hospital. Now his son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., is pressing for the arrest of the officers involved in his death.

When his father was killed, the family was promised that a full investigation would be conducted. The White Plains police commissioner soon concluded that Chamberlain was emotionally disturbed and dangerous at the time of the shooting, justifying the force used. Yet, eye witness reports of the final hour of the veteran's life were far more complicated than the portrait painted by police.

The case of Trayvon Martin spurred Chamberlain's family to push for more answers, and is cited as a major reason for renewed interest in the former Marine's death. Unrest regarding the Feb. 26 killing of the unarmed black teen in Sanford, Fla. by a neighborhood watch volunteer has spurred media interest in similar cases leading to numerous articles detailing the unanswered questions regarding Chamberlain's demise.

Pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily News, and on the Huffington Post among other outlets.

An online petition called "Justice for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.," which was started by his son, has garnered almost 199,900 signatures. It states, "We, the undersigned, implore Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore to no longer allow police misconduct, brutality, or criminality to happen in this community and ask that these officers be indicted and charged with murder and civil rights violations."

Combined with the persistent protests of Chamberlain's family and growing attention, due to the charged context of the Martin tragedy, the Westchester County DA has scheduled a grand jury investigation into the cause of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr.'s death that will convene within days.

After five months with little attention, the troubling events surrounding the day Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. died will soon receive intense legal scrutiny.

A medical emergency response becomes a lethal standoff

When police were sent to Chamberlain's apartment -- a typical protocol if a patient does not respond to operators after a medical monitoring system is triggered -- they claim Chamberlain was violent, emotional, and wielding a knife. They had been dispatched to check on Chamberlain's well-being, but stated in their official report that noises from within the apartment raised concerns that someone inside was being harmed.

The White Plains officers then began to forcibly enter the unit.

Chamberlain's medical alert system included a two-way communication device that remained connected with the operator who had dispatched the police. The entire incident was recorded on this device, in addition to a camera housed on a police taser device, and a residential security camera.

Chamberlain can be heard on the audio recording saying that he does not need their help, and requesting that the police leave.

The police claim that it was necessary to have the door opened completely to ascertain whether Chamberlain was safe. When the resident refused, officers stated that removing the door from its hinges was necessary for thorough confirmation.

At this point, it has been reported that one of the videos shows a metal object slipping into the hallway from within the apartment, which police suspected was a weapon. Soon after, the fire department arrived, and fireman began to take the door off its hinges.

When the door is off, the video shows Chamberlain standing calmly with his arms at his sides and his hands empty.

In the course of these events, Chamberlain's niece, Tonyia Greenhill, who lives on a floor above him, came down to intervene. The LifeAid medical alert worker who sent the emergency support also offered to call Chamberlain's family to quell the crisis in response to the commotion, and tried to recall the request for police help. Both attempts to mitigate the situation were dismissed by officers, according to recordings and witnesses.

One officer was also heard saying, "'I don't give a f**k ni**er, open the door," in response to Chamberlain's repeated pleas for the police to disband. Another is heard stating, "I need to use your bathroom to pee!"

Chamberlain reportedly said, "Why do you have your guns out? ...You're going to come in here and kill me."

Another person said, "Turn it off," presumably about the video camera on the taser, before the video ends.

These details have been related to various sources by Chamberlain's son and lawyers who screened the tapes in February. [Read The Full Story]  Source: TheGrio

UPDATE:  George Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, on Friday morning asked for his client to be released on $15,000 bond. He also asked that Zimmerman, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, be allowed to leave the state of Florida and that his location be kept under “extreme secrecy,” though he agreed to let his client be tracked by GPS.  SOURCE

I came across this article on one website that referenced an article on another website about the global war between light skinned and dark skinned black people. The article is entitled, On Being A Dark Skinned Black Woman, by Sara Bivigou, of Clutch Magazine. In it the author writes:

"I’m crushed by caring. Because they perpetuate an understanding that to be a dark skinned woman is to be less. These ideas build themselves into assumptions and ways of treating women with as much melanin as me. I care because I already know dark skinned women are likely to receive longer prison sentences and less likely to get jobs when qualifications are equal. I care because too often our bodies are used as backdrops or props (i.e. Bella Padilla on the cover of FHM, ‘emerging from the shadows’;). Think of how often you see women the same colour as me as surly, head rolling, loud-talking, finger-snapping comic relief (think Pam from Martin). I care because grotesque representations like Makode Aj Linde’s cake/performance art seem to be the only consistent representations of dark skinned black women. I also care about light skinned black women, who are women of colour too, and I do not want to continually feel set against them."

Do the youngins realize that this debate, debacle, and source of discord between light and dark skin, course and good hair, house and field negro, goes back to the days of slavery? It began when white raped black and produced what was termed mulatto children, or in a more modern vernacular, bi-racial. White slave owners introduced preference, think about it they were producing people who looked more like themselves, and the mulatto slave stayed in the Big house, and received preferential treatment, much to the chagrin of the mistress of the house.

"It lead to a group of people [Creole culture] caught in the middle - the offspring resulting from slave owners interfering with their female slaves. Some of these children just became more slaves, and others were free...but free and coloured, which back then meant anything but, relative to the lot of their sires. A class formed around these offspring - the gens de couleur libre or free people of colour - and that class was able, to a certain extent, to own property, raise themselves from downtrodden to educated, and to attain a comparative dignity. That is to say, they weren't slaves, but they were still exploited to a certain extent. Often, the women lived as mistresses to the white plantation masters and men of wealth, set up in their own houses, with allowances, schooling paid for their children, and a kind of gentility, dependent on the respectability they chose to impose on their families. In essence, they were prostituting themselves to ensure their own prosperity, and relative independence from labour - an arrangement called plaçage." Source

This preference deepened, and many of the mulatto community became slave owners and separated themselves from the masses of black people and tried to established a caste system based on color, wealth, and free status. The assumption of the superiority of white blood and a brown skin complexion is still alive in 2012. First white society imposed that preference, then African-Americans have done it on their own, for generations, with the help of white media. Slavery is an evil spirit and the slaves internalized much of its fall out and passed it on. All of the fallout from physical, psychological, emotional, economical, and societal abuse, is still being felt by slavery's descendants.  Source

If African-Americans want to hate themselves, the rest of the world will accommodate that frame of mind. But why let someone else define your value? Life is a powerful force, and so is Love. Allow the Love of God to elevate your thoughts and your perceptions and lift you high above, into your place of value and self-love and acceptance.

The Woman in the Photo:

I would give almost anything for her hair. I really like her even-toned complexion, and the symmetrical flow of her eyes, nose, and mouth. In fact, the only part of the picture I don't like is the hat. Black is truly beautiful...

There are many issues within the African-American community that really disturbs my peace, and raises concern about our future as a nation of people. I am an expert in my history, my heart, and my experiences in life, so I will bring that to the table of discussion, without censorship and explore the issues that have grossly affected who I am in the world. And I hope you will do the same.

I was born just prior to the Rosa Parks spark that ignited the Civil Rights Movement, and I have to tell you that for me it was a beautiful time in my life's history. I don't remember any racial discrimination at all, and much of that is do to the fact that I didn't know what it was to begin with, but in hindsight, there really wasn't much overt discrimination that I can identify now that I am older. Allow me to take you back to the year 1962, my family lived in a home that my father purchased for approx. $9,000 it was in a predominately black neighborhood but, it did have Mr. and Mrs Hill who were white, in hindsight I think perhaps they were left behind when the other white people took the suburban flight. I say left behind because they didn't socialize with the rest of the community. The families of the neighborhood went over to each others homes freely, but we never set foot on the Hill property, hmm. Whatever reasoning kept them from socializing with the rest of the families, which were predominately headed by husbands and wives, it was not enough to make them leave, so I figure they were somehow stuck.

Believe it or not in my small neighborhood, within a 250 foot radius, we had two churches both of which are still there at this writing; an elementary school, still there; a hospital, now gone; a corner store, and downtown shops in walking distance. It was a close-knit community of block parties, house parties, and a few "Glee" moments on some of the front porches. The point that I want to leave you with is that we had a childhood life of rules and boundaries, bike riding, running, skating, jump rope, brownies (pre Girl Scouts), and camp, and we didn't have to fear our community at all, but all of that changed when crack cocaine entered the picture.

Two significant changes that I noticed during the decade of the eighties were Crack and Reaganomics.

Crack is made from cocaine -- a powdered drug that is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, which grows primarily in South America. Although cocaine didn't gain notoriety in the United States until the 1980s, it has been in use for centuries. Many generations of South American Indians have chewed its leaves to give them strength and energy.

Cocaine was first isolated from coca leaves in the mid-1800s. Back then, it was used for medicinal purposes in drinks -- and yes, the legend is true: Coca-Cola did once contain cocaine. By the late 1800s, cocaine was also being used as an anesthetic and to prevent excess bleeding during surgery. By the following century, people began to realize that cocaine was an addictive narcotic, and non-medical use of the drug was made illegal with the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act in 1914. Crack cocaine is an easier-to-manufacture form of freebase cocaine. How Crack Cocaine Works by Stephanie Watson

Source: How Stuff Works

Reaganomics refers to the economic policies of President Ronald Reagan during his presidency. By critics, the policy has been called trickle-down economics, the idea that investing in the top echelon of society, or cutting taxes to corporations, will be of economic benefit to all, allowing corporations to make more money, spark new growth, and thus hire more employees...

The plan of Reaganomics was not fully realized. Certainly corporate taxes were cut significantly, and personal income taxes in certain tax brackets were cut as well. The wealthiest individuals in the country went from paying about 70% in taxes to approximately 28% in taxes.

However tax rates for people in lower income taxes rose, suggesting that the little guy and poorer people were not benefiting from Reaganomics. (And President Reagan said that all would benefit because of the "trickle down" effect) With fewer government programs, fewer resources were available to the poor. While some government spending was reduced, deficit spending was significantly increased, in part to help rescue the country from the high oil prices of the late 1970s and recession that existed in the country for at least the first two years of Reagan’s presidency. US debt during Reagan’s presidency increased from about 700 billion to over 3 trillion US Dollars (USD), as various economic crises hit the country, and also as a means of compensation for much lower tax on high income bracket taxpayers.

Source: WiseGeek

During the eighties, for the first time ever, I saw homeless people on the street, food lines for meat and cheese, the deterioration of abandoned propertys, glass littered sidewalks and playgrounds, gun violence, an explosion of single-parent households, unemployment, and black people hanging out on corners selling drugs. Remember the black community just ten years earlier, made terrific strides toward civil rights through desegregation, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Act, and other inroads. We stood together, blacks, whites, Jews and others, men and women came together under the banner of righteousness and we all won.  Prior to this time I remember my community as one having a strong work ethic, full families with traditions, and more good times than bad. Even our music reflected the times with funky dance music and soulful love songs. After crack, that community went up in smoke and for the first time I had to watch my back.  So the question becomes what happened to the family? A diabolical plan, another form of slavery, death, and destruction.

Blacks Were Targeted for CIA Cocaine: It Can Be Proven, by Michael C. Ruppert, January 28, 1999

...Leaving the unsupportable arguments aside, is there a supportable case that CIA directly intended for African-Americans to receive the cocaine which it knew would be turned into crack cocaine and which it knew would prove so addictive as to destroy entire communities? The answer is absolutely, yes.

And the key to proving that CIA intended for blacks to receive the drugs which virtually destroyed their communities lies in the twofold approach, of proving that they brought the drugs in and interfered with law enforcement - AND that, by virtue of CIA's relationships with the academic and medical communities, they knew exactly what the end result would be. Knowing that, we then have a mountain of proof, especially since the release of volume II of the CIA's Inspector General's Report (10/98) that the CIA specifically intended and achieved a desired result.

Source: "Reprinted with permission, Michael C. Ruppert and From The Wilderness Publications, www.copvcia.com, P.O. Box 6061-350, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91413. 818-788-8791. FTW is published monthly, annual subscriptions are $50 per year."

This information is not surprising to me at this point in my life, because the black race has always been targeted. The moment slaves became free and white America lost their earning potential, and realized that the slaves would now compete for life and livelihood, which the former slaves were doing and doing well, a deeper resentment and hatred resulted. It is a record of history called the Reconstruction Period. Blacks were sincere in bringing changes to the laws that kept them in bondage. But white America, especially southern whites, rose up to stop the progress and instituted black codes.  These laws imposed severe restrictions on freed slaves such as prohibiting their right to vote, forbidding them to sit on juries, limiting their right to testify against white men, carrying weapons in public places and working in certain occupations.

This is the way it has been for hundreds of years, but as human beings we must learn to live in spite of it. So the question must become, how do we respond to this issue. How does the African-American community free ourselves from the bondage of RACISM? If I can suggest a starting point, this is it...

1. Start the process by realizing that most of the tragedies of life emanate from the heart of mankind. In other words, the slave trade began with an idea, building abortion clinics in the black community began as an idea, the decision to spread HIV infected semen to unsuspecting women, also started with an idea in the heart, and the Atom bomb-an idea. The Bible says that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? - Jer 17:9 So all human beings are capable of great wickedness, and if I do some serious inner searching, I will find some either in my past, or in my present. But in my opinion, that is the ideal place to start, because I think it will help us to see the world clearer, and determine whether we are a part of the problem or the solution. What say you?

For the first time in the storied history of the enterprise, fast food giant McDonald’s has appointed its first African-American CEO Don Thompson, becoming one of a handful of Black CEOs of a leading Fortune 500 Company.SEE ALSO: Can Aspirin Save Your Life?

Thompson will be replacing current CEO Jim Skinner, who is stepping down after eight years in the top post.

Thompson currently serves as McDonald’s president and CEO and has been with the company since 1990, after initially starting as an electrical engineer. Holding several leadership positions with McDonald’s, Thompson has acquired several awards over the course of his career. He was recognized by Black Enterprises as the Corporate Executive of the Year in 2007. In 2010, he received the Executive Leadership Council’s Achievement Award.

Thompson, a married Father of two, resides in the Greater Chicago area. McDonald’s corporate headquarters are located in the city of Oak Brook in the state of Illinois. Thompson’s promotion marks only the 12th time an African American has held a CEO’s post for businesses recognized in the Fortune 500 listing. Franklin Raines was the first Black person to gain such status after helming Fannie Mae in 1999.

By The Associated Press

Washington, DC (March 6, 2012) - Interracial marriages in the U.S. have climbed to 4.8 million - a record 1 in 12 - as a steady flow of new Asian and Hispanic immigrants expands the pool of prospective spouses. Blacks are now substantially more likely than before to marry whites.

A Pew Research Center study, released Thursday, details a diversifying America where interracial unions and the mixed-race children they produce are challenging typical notions of race.

"The rise in interracial marriage indicates that race relations have improved over the past quarter century," said Daniel Lichter, a sociology professor at Cornell University. "Mixed-race children have blurred America's color line. They often interact with others on either side of the racial divide and frequently serve as brokers between friends and family members of different racial backgrounds," he said. "But America still has a long way to go."

The figures come from previous censuses as well as the 2008-2010 American Community Survey, which surveys 3 million households annually. The figures for "white" refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity. For purposes of defining interracial marriages, Hispanic is counted as a race by many in the demographic field.

The study finds that 8.4 percent of all current U.S. marriages are interracial, up from 3.2 percent in 1980. While Hispanics and Asians remained the most likely, as in previous decades, to marry someone of a different race, the biggest jump in share since 2008 occurred among blacks, who historically have been the most segregated.

States in the West where Asian and Hispanic immigrants are more numerous, including Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and California, were among the most likely to have couples who "marry out" - more than one in five. The West was followed by the South, Northeast and Midwest. By state, mostly white Vermont had the lowest rate of intermarriage, at 4 percent.

In all, more than 15 percent of new marriages in 2010 were interracial.

The numbers also coincide with Pew survey data showing greater public acceptance of mixed marriage, coming nearly half a century after the Supreme Court in 1967 barred race-based restrictions on marriage. (In 2000, Alabama became the last state to lift its unenforceable ban on interracial marriages.) About 83 percent of Americans say it is "all right for blacks and whites to date each other," up from 48 percent in 1987. As a whole, about 63 percent of those surveyed say it "would be fine" if a family member were to marry outside their own race.

Other findings:

*Broken down by gender, black men were more than twice as likely as black women to marry someone outside their race - 24 percent to 9 percent. The reverse held true for Asian men - 17 percent intermarried, compared to 36 percent among Asian women.

*White-Asian couples who married had the highest median income, nearly $71,000. Behind them were the following race combinations: Asian-Asian ($62,000), white-white ($60,000), white-Hispanic ($57,900), white-black ($53,187), black-black ($47,700) and Hispanic-Hispanic (nearly $36,000).

*The top three states for white-black married couples are Virginia, North Carolina and Kansas, all with rates of about 3 percent.

Minorities, young adults, the higher educated and those living in Western or Northeast states were more likely to say mixed marriages are a change for the better for society. The figure was 61 percent for 18- to 29-year-olds, for instance, compared to 28 percent for those 65 and older.

Due to increasing interracial marriages, multiracial Americans are a small but fast-growing demographic group, making up about 9 million, or 8 percent of the minority population. Together with blacks, Hispanics and Asians, the Census Bureau estimates they collectively will represent a majority of the U.S. population by mid-century.

"Race is a social construct; race isn't real," said Jonathan Brent, 28. The son of a white father and Japanese-American mother, Brent helped organize multiracial groups in southern California and believes his background helps him understand situations from different perspectives.

Brent, now a lawyer in Charlottesville, Va., says at varying points in his life he has identified with being white, Japanese and more recently as someone of mixed ethnic background. He doesn't feel constrained with whom he socially interacts or dates.

"Race is becoming a personal thing. It is what I feel like I am," he said.

According to the Pew report, more than 25 percent of Hispanics and Asians who married in 2010 had a spouse of a different race. That's compared to 17.1 percent of blacks and 9.4 percent of whites. Of the 275,500 new interracial marriages in 2010, 43 percent were white-Hispanic couples, 14.4 percent were white-Asian, 11.9 percent were white-black, and the remainder were other combinations.

Still, the share of Asians who intermarried has actually declined recently - from 30.5 percent in 2008 to 27.7 percent in 2010. In contrast, blacks who married outside their race increased in share from 15.5 percent to 17.1 percent, due in part to a rising black middle class that has more interaction with other races.

Intermarriage among whites rose in share slightly, while among Hispanics the rate was flat, at roughly 25.7 percent.

"In the past century, intermarriage has evolved from being illegal, to be a taboo and then to be merely unusual. And with each passing year, it becomes less unusual," said Paul Taylor, director of Pew's Social & Demographic Trends project. "That says a lot about the state of race relations. Behaviors have changed and attitudes have changed."

He noted that interracial marriages among Hispanics and Asians may be slowing somewhat as recent immigration and their rapid population growth provide minorities more ethnically similar partners to choose from. But Taylor believes the longer-term trend of intermarriage is likely to continue.

"For younger Americans, racial and ethnic diversity are a part of their lives," he said.

The Pew study also tracks some divorce trends, citing studies using government data that found overall divorce rates higher for interracial couples. One study conducted a decade ago determined that mixed-race couples had a 41 percent chance of separation or divorce, compared to a 31 percent chance for those who married within their race.

Another analysis found divorce rates among mixed-race couples to be more dependent on the specific race combination, with white women who married outside their race more likely to divorce. Mixed marriages involving blacks and whites also were considered least stable, followed by Hispanic-white couples.   Click Here For The Source Of This Article

Richard Theodore Greener (1844-1922), Harvard Class of 1870

(Chicago-Sun Times) It wasn’t much more than a ghost house by the time Rufus McDonald got the call. The front door of the abandoned home near 75th and Sangamon was unlocked and swinging in the wind.

Drug addicts, squatters and stray animals carried away whatever they wanted. Everything that wasn’t termite-infested seemed to have been stolen. Even the copper pipes were gone.

But the scavengers missed something incredible.

Hidden in the attic that McDonald was contracted to clear before the home’s 2009 demolition was a trunk. Inside were the papers of Richard T. Greener, the first African American to graduate from Harvard.

“I didn’t know who he was,” said McDonald, 51. “But as soon as I found out, I knew this was a story that had to be told.”

Historians thought the documents were lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake because Greener had passed through at the time. They were astonished to learn in the past week that Greener’s 1870 Harvard diploma — water-damaged but intact — his law license, photos and papers connected to his diplomatic role in Russia and his friendship with President Ulysses S. Grant have survived.

“It gives me gooseflesh,” said Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., who leads Harvard’s W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African-American Research. “Greener was a leading intellectual of his time. It’s a remarkable discovery.”

His graduation blazed a trail for black Harvard intellectuals including Gates’ friend, President Barack Obama, the professor added. “He was the voice before DuBois and the president’s predecessor.”

If Greener’s importance as a “black first” and his public roles as a brilliant attorney, scholar, diplomat and orator devoted to racial equality secure his place in history, his private life was tainted by sadness, historians say.

Though Greener was helped by a handful of whites, he was resented by some blacks and was trapped under a glass ceiling that prevented him from becoming a more significant figure, they add. The discovery could encourage a fresh look at his legacy.

Born to the son of a slave in Philadelphia in 1844, he left school at 14 and became a porter at a Boston hotel.

A pair of white businessmen took him under their wing and helped him enroll at Harvard in 1865.

Harvard admitted him as “an experiment,” according to historian Michael Mounter, who wrote a Ph.D. thesis on Greener. Greener initially struggled but eventually thrived. He made allies including U.S. Sen. Charles Sumner and won prizes for public speaking and essays.

In 1873, he was appointed professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina. He dodged an assassination attempt by a “red shirt” at an 1876 rally, but lost his job a year later when racist Democrats were elected.

Became law school dean

Married to Genevieve Ida Fleet, with whom he had six children, he became dean of Howard University’s law school; worked at the U.S. Treasury and in Republican politics and law in Washington, and befriended President Ulysses S. Grant, whose memorial he helped build.

A friend and sometimes rival of other leading African Americans of his era, including Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, he wrote in 1879: “The negro has received so many hard knocks, and experienced so little consideration, charity, or justice from those who criticize him, that he has no quarter to give.” [The Chicago-Sun Times] - Source

In an 1894 essay he pointedly renamed the “Negro Problem” as “The White Problem.”

(SC.edu) While celebrating our history is important, it is essential to explore the real and sometimes painful process through which individuals lived that history. The White Problem is a new play commissioned for the University Bicentennial that explores the fascinating, painful, tragic, ironic life of Richard Theodore Greener. Born in 1844, Greener grew up in Boston and became the first African American to graduate from Harvard and the first African American faculty member of South Carolina College during the short reconstruction period in the 1870's when the institution was one of the first to be fully integrated. During the reconstruction period, Greener was deeply involved in politics in South Carolina. When the reconstruction College was closed and then reopened as a segregated college, Greener left the state, becoming by turns a lawyer, politician, civil servant and the first African American to represent the US abroad as a Consul in Vladivostok.

While the outline of his life seems to suggest an early African American success story, the full story is painful, ironic and ultimately tragic. Educated as an "experiment" by a gorup of wealthy Bostonians, Greener spent most of his life caught between factions in America's seemingly endless racial conflict. Exploited and manipulated by many of his white supporters, he found himself the object of suspicion within the African American community which had reached a great divide as the philosophies of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois competed to provide a vision of the future of black America.  Read the Full Story:  [The University of South Carolina]

This is another brilliant black man who faced the same African-American struggles inside and out the black community; nevertheless, he made great inroads. This story adds to my belief that if America had chosen to make amends after the civll war and live in harmony with African - Americans, and pursue freedom, we would be in a far better place today than what we see in our American culture.

(Newsone)

Story by Aaron Task

Tony Lee always dreamed of owning his own business and sending his kids to college. Today, he's co-owner of Ring Masters, a company that makes engine rings for industrial use, and his daughter is heading to college next fall. Tony is hoping she'll be the first college graduate in the family.

Tony has achieved some of the biggest goals he set out for himself and his family, which are impressive, given he grew up in a low-income neighborhood with limited opportunities and never went to college. But what's even more inspiring is Tony Lee's journey to get there.

After leaving the Army in 1997, and a short stint at American Steel, Tony took the only decent job he could find. Tony accepted a janitorial job at an Eaton Corp. factory in Massillon, Ohio in the heart of the rust belt. Like a lot of U.S. manufacturing centers, Massillon has suffered from closed factories and thousands of lost jobs. Tony was grateful for the opportunity and made the most of it, rising from janitor to foreman in four years.

But Tony was just getting started.

In 2002, Eaton started shutting down divisions of the factory, one by one. Soon over 1000 workers were down to just 35 in Tony's division, which was slated to be closed at the end of 2002.

But Tony refused to let the factory die. He spent hours at night in the local public library studying. Despite never going to college, much less business school, Tony wrote a business plan detailing how his factory could survive and prosper.

Against all odds, he convinced a group of investors to buy the factory and keep it running. Members of the investor group and Tony's co-workers all say they were inspired by Tony's leadership, passion for the business and drive to keep it alive. Everyone, it seemed, was rooting for Tony to succeed.

But there was one big catch: The investors wanted Tony to have some "skin in the game," so he had to raise $25,000 to purchase a stake in the factory.

For Tony, this was just one more obstacle to overcome. After taking a second mortgage on his house, selling his motorcycle and literally scrounging for loose change, Tony had the money and was in on the deal. Actually he was "all in;" failure was not an option for Tony.

Now, 9 years later, Ring Masters is a thriving business with over $4 million in annual sales. From 15 workers at the start, the company now has over 20 employees, a growing list of clients and plans for further expansion.

Tony says he's recouped his $25,000 investment "several times over" and is now a co-owner of a growing business. For anyone who's ever thought 'I can run the company better than my boss', Tony Lee is an inspiration. And he's still inspiring his co-workers and employees by working side-by-side with them on the factory floor. Tony says he "leads by example" and would never ask an employee to do a job he wasn't willing to do.

Tony has already beaten the odds and accomplished more than most people would even dare to attempt. Yet Tony is still driven to reach his ultimate goal of owning several businesses.

RingMasters is a "stepping stone", Tony says. Given his track record so far, there's no reason to doubt he'll reach his ultimate goal.

The Driven Team is on a nationwide search for the next entrepreneur to be featured in an upcoming episode!  Share your story with us at Driven@yahoo-inc.com or follow us on twitter @aarontask #drivenstories. [DRIVEN]

[BlackEnterprise]  Gloria Browne-Marshall has made the boss move of boss moves, recently becoming the first black woman to get credentials to cover the U.S. Supreme Court. What’s The 411 Networks, the company for which Browne-Marshall is a correspondent, is also the first black-owned company to receive such credentials.

Browne-Marshall is reporting on to the oral arguments for cases Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum and Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority. Both cases focus on corporate immunity issues, with the question of whether corporations should be held liable for acts of torture committed under their watch.

“My mission is to report on the U.S. Supreme Court in a manner that is accessible to the general public and of assistance to scholars at large,” says Gloria Browne-Marshall, author and associate professor of constitutional law at John Jay College. “I applaud What’s The 411 Networks for its willingness to cover the actions of the U.S. Supreme Court, as not enough attention is paid to the third branch of government. The general population knows the least about the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court; yet its rulings become the law of the land.”

Ruth J. Morrison, founder of What’s the 411 Networks, says she’s “delighted to have created a media company that facilitated this momentous occasion.”

“Decisions from the United States Supreme Court affect the lives of all citizens, immigrants, and in these particular cases, people and corporations beyond our borders. And, truth be told, the U.S. Supreme Court is the most powerful branch of government because all too often, its rulings stand without Congressional intervention,” she added. Story by Janell Hazelwood

Written by Ruth Manuel-Logan on February 14, 2012 11:53 am 

[NEWSONE] Black love is passionate and inspiring. Iconic writer Zora Neale Hurston once said, “Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” Here are the couples NewsOne has chosen that demonstrate the true essence of what Black love is all about. Happy Valentine’s Day!

1)Barack and Michelle Obama: Their love is authentic, and they are not afraid to show it. Despite the harsh realities of political life, their love works like a well-oiled machine. They are both card-carrying members of the mutual admiration society and each other’s rooting team. Although the Obamas have far too many public moments, they share even more private smiles. They have learned to successfully combine politics and marriage, typically a difficult feat, but they make it look so easy.

2) TD and Serita Jakes: Serita Jakes was once quoted as saying, “Our marriage vows say, ‘For better or for worse.’ We are supposed to honor those vows; they are our marching orders.” The couple that prays together, stays together and the Jakes are still going strong after 30 years and five children. They stand alongside each other as they serve their mega-congregation with zeal. It is apparent that the Jakes have dedicated themselves to each other and have made their home front their ministry, first and foremost.

3) Jay-Z and Beyonce: Jigga and Bey are two moguls who have managed to successfully juggle high-profile careers and the love that they have for each other. Despite being in a crazy business that is marinated in stress, the pair appears to have a picture-perfect union. Mums the words as far as their relationship, but we can see that their passion is off the charts. And now their new baby is a beautiful addition to a formula that works.

4) Cedric and Lorna Kyles: Funnyman Cedric the Entertainer has found the key to keeping his wife of 12 years happy: making her laugh every step of the way. They met on the set of his first feature film, “Ride,” back in 1998. Full of himself, Ced began putting on airs and blew himself up to try and impress Lorna. The pomp didn’t work because Lorna had no idea who Cedric was nor did she care. Two weeks later, they ran into each other at a club and Cedric says he put the “woo” on her then. A year later, the couple got hitched and it’s been woo, love, and happiness ever since.

5) Jackie and Doug Christie: The commitment the Christies have for each other is rare. They have chosen to plan full-on weddings for the past 16 years, complete with guests and festivities. Displayed on Jackie’s reality show “Basketball Wives,” the Christies’ love was is full of passion and a fierce respect for the institution. When her former NBA star hubby would travel for games, Jackie combated extramarital temptations by traveling with him. Jackie and Doug know how precious they are to each other, and in their marriage, there is only room for two.

6) Sheryl Lee Ralph and Vincent Hughes: Sheryl and Vincent are balancing entertainment and Washington perfectly. The screen and stage diva and her Pennsylvania senator hubby have been at it for six years, and the formula that they’ve found makes their marriage sizzle not only for each other but for others. Sheryl and Vincent work tirelessly for charities, which encompass food banks to HIV/AIDS awareness, and their joint causes have fueled their love.

7) Holly and Rodney Peete: The Peetes just recently renewed their 17-year marriage. After four children, one of which has autism, they have still managed to weather whatever life throws at them. The couple admits that their lives in dealing with their child’s diagnosis have been full of twisty turns that almost tore them apart, but they managed to ride the peaks and valleys and are standing even stronger than before.

8 Tiny and T.I: These two became a couple in 2001 and married eight years later. While the hip-hop duo have not had the best of times, their challenges have only strengthened their commitment. Even with multiple incarcerations, blending families, and demanding career obligations, T.I. and Tiny still maintain their love groove and it seems nothing can tear them apart. The pair are “ride and die,” and that’s a “swagga” that can’t be beat!

9) David and Tamela Mann: The Manns are a rare breed of married folk. Married for 23 years and counting, the pair, who have four children, are also colleagues. The Manns co-star together on the comedy sitcom “Meet the Browns,” where David plays “Mr. Brown” and Tamela plays “Cora.” Before their hit sitcom, the Manns toured unceasingly, spreading God’s word through stage and gospel shows throughout the country. Although life “ain’t been no crystal stair,” as they faced periods of personal struggles and brief homelessness, the Manns persevered and attribute their lasting love and success to the Almighty.

10) Terry and Rebecca Crews: The Crews have created a home that is filled with love, which is evident from their hit reality show “The Family Crews.” After 22 years and five children, the Crews make balancing marriage, work, a family, and most importantly, faith look easy, but don’t get it twisted, it took years of searching for that right mix. The couple’s lives are busy with Terry’s acting and Rebecca’s ministry, but spirituality and their solid commitment to God is what keeps them going. Despite all of the drama, positivity is what the Crews are all about, take it or leave it.

by Scott Carmichael

First all female African American flight crew makes history.

I love good news from the aviation world - it really does bring a smile to my face amongst all the doom and gloom stories out there.

A good example of something great comes from regional carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines. For the first time in history, a domestic US flight was staffed by an all female African American flight crew.

The 4 - Captain Rachelle Jones, First Officer Stephanie Grant, and flight attendants Diana Galloway and Robin Rogers probably did not know that they were about to make history when they boarded their flight from Atlanta to Nashville.

When the crew realized the importance of their flight, they were naturally quite excited, and captain Jones said " this could be a first, so let's be on our P's and Q's."

ASA President Brad Holt issued the following statement: "Not only are these women gifted in their professions, but they set examples for young people across the country that with hard work, passion and determination, the sky is the limit."

Atlantic Southeast Airlines has a special contact page, where you can leave your own message of congratulations to the crew of flight 5202. [READ FULL STORY]

Photo/TheGrio

From NBC Chicago: Publisher John H. Johnson, who created Ebony and Jet magazines, will be honored on this year's Black Heritage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

A Tuesday ceremony is planned in Johnson's hometown of Arkansas City, where he lived until moving to Chicago with his family at age 15.

Johnson founded Johnson Publishing Co. on a $500 loan using his mother's furniture as collateral. At the time, he was working as a clerk at a black-owned life insurance company.

He created Ebony in 1945 with a press run of 25,000 copies. Its circulation topped 1.6 million at the time of Johnson's death in 2005 at the age of 87. Johnson also founded the newsweekly Jet in 1951.

"His magazines portrayed black people positively at a time when such representation was rare, and he played an important role in the civil rights movement," Stephen Kearney, manager of USPS' Stamp Services, said when announcing the stamp last year.

The magazines became two of the longest-running black-oriented magazines in the country.

The Black Heritage stamp, featuring a color photo of Johnson taken by photographer David McCann, goes on sale Tuesday and is being issued as a Forever stamp.

Source:NBC CHICAGO

Written by Kirsten West Savali

Ava DuVernay became the first African-American woman to win US Directing Award: Dramatic at last night’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Premiering last week, Duvernay’s feature film, Middle of Nowhere, received glowing reviews from both critics and audiences and is a testament to a seismic shift in African-American film-making.

Nowhere is a compelling drama that chronicles a woman’s (Emayatzy Corinealdi, Young & The Restless) separation from her incarcerated husband (Omari Hardwick, I Will Follow) and her intense journey to reconcile her marriage with her identity.

This is Duvernay’s second feature film. Her first, I Will Follow, debuted on March 11, 2011, to stellar reviews. The groundbreaking film-maker believes that her work is resounding with Black audiences who are thirsty for a more comprehensive view of Black life than is currently embraced in film:

Black people loving and losing is something we don’t see enough of. We’re always in these heightened situations like something big is happening, something funny or something violent. And you know what? Sometimes we die of breast cancer or a broken heart. Things happen that are just not being explored cinematically. It’s time we reinvigorated that type of film.

DuVernay, creator of film marketing and publicity firm, the Duvernay Agency, has been in the film business for over ten years. She created her first short film in 2006; eventually, she progressed to working on feature films, including This is The Life, which had it’s theatrical release in 2009 and later aired on Showtime. She created and produced two music documentaries, My Mic Sounds Nice on Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Faith The Storm in 2010. NEWSONE} Click to Read Full Story.

(Newsone)

Written by Ruth Manuel-Logan

Australia is ready to make some historic changes to its 200-year-old constitution by requesting its citizens to approve a clause that recognizes Aborigines as the country’s first occupants.

In a report handed to the country’s prime minister, Julia Gillard, an expert panel made up of 19 indigenous leaders, politicos, entrepreneurs, and legal eagles will review and revamp the document that still contains racist Aboriginal references, even though it had been previously amended back in 1967 when Aborigines were finally recognized as “real citizens.”

Like the Native Americans and other indigenous people, Aborigines were displaced by British settlers. The dispossession and dislocation from their land had devastating consequences to the Aborigines, because land was central to their identity. From that time, the Aborigines have endured a marginalized existence including being victims of racism and discrimination.Consequently, they are one of the poorest, unhealthiest, and most-disadvantaged people, with an average lifespan 17 years shorter than other  Australians.

As for the constitution, possible revisions would include a section that would prohibit racial discrimination and acknowledge the indigenous people’s continuous relationship to their traditional lands and waters.[Newsone]

As much as one may want to celebrate, all that I can think of is 200 years of oppression and devastation. How does a people restore the God-given right to enjoy the freedom to be fruitful and pursue life with all of its wonders, joys, and disappointments? How do you begin to make this kind of injustice right? I have no idea.

General Marcia Anderson has become the first Black woman to hold the esteemed position of major general in the history of the U.S. Army.

Marcia now holds the third-highest ranking position in the army and will be stationed at the Office of the Chief of the U.S. Army Reserve in Washington, D.C. She formerly served as a Deputy-Commanding General of the human resources command in Fort Knox, Kentucky, reports the U.S. Army.

Read more: http/www.essence.com/2011/10/02/marcia-anderson-us-army-selects-first-black-female-major-general/#ixzz1kLv5IJD1