Black People | African Americans | Destee - Blogs

..better men

skuderjaymes — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:19:03 GMT

I tell my kids all the time.. "Love is the most
powerful force in the universe" I ask them,
"what won't a person do for love? of
family?, of country?, of God? Die? of
course.. I would die to protect you.. to save
you. and so too would you for your son.
What, in your control, is more powerful than
that?"

My boys are only 11 and 8, so I'm sure that
over the years they will come to me with
answers to those questions.. I'm sure of it..
they'll come.. but until then, they will live with
(and around) that beautiful question. And
they'll be better men just for attempting to
answer.. just for considering the power of love
and the nature of man and the vastness of the
universe..

nature and balance..

skuderjaymes — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:15:30 GMT

what is pleasure without displeasure? What is
celebration without cause for celebration?
What is rest without exertion? .. or free-time
without occupied-time? Their is a natural
balance in nature.. you reap what you sow..
you cultivate the land.. you sow the seeds..
you maintain your crops.. the crops grow..
then, finally months later.. you reap the
harvest.. you reap the benefits of all your
hard work. and theres a feeling of
accomplishment that comes over you.. A
feeling of connection to nature.. you gain
something when you walk in stride with the
natural order of things.. so you reap the
harvest and you respect the harvest because
it represents the gift of life and all your
hardwork.. so, you won't waste it.. you won't
take a single bite then leave the rest to rot..
because you worked to hard to get it..

I Love You

epiphany — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:24:49 GMT

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I Love You

~How do I love thee~

it was
unexpected
like a rare flower blooming
after a morning rain
his essence awaken
something dormant
a consequence of
fiery passion
I
come alive
in my soul
my heart desires
for more
of his ultra rhythm
it courses...
over me leaving me
incomplete
when I can't feel him
near me
I've become trance
in his tone
the sensual precision
in which
he calls my name
I must admit
he has moved me in ways
that stimulate my feminine
disposition
often
fantasizing the possibilities
of us engaged
"between the sheets"
in sweltry hot-buttered
relations
MMMmmmy bad....
this is suppose to be
a poem about~love

So

"I love you"
let me count the ways

I love you.....
in quiet thoughts of kisses
I envision
on a humid solstice eve
by the magnolia tree
on the swing
in the dark
tempered by the
zephyr breeze

when I feel that
sensation deep down inside
cause, I'm missing you
wishing I were with you
morning,
noon,
&
night
and all the times
in between

I love you....
when I smile
in the middle of the day
as I replay funny things you say
hoping that same smile
inspires a smile on your face
when you think of me
in that special way

I love you....
when I daydream
of you spending
moments by my side
basking in the glow of us
no need for words to define
the look of lovestruck in my eyes

I love you....
when I count the months,
the days,
the hours,
the minutes...
since you've come into my life

How do I love thee?

like
a sultry sing song
expressed before dawn
while the moonlight
recedes from my window

I cry a little

for the thrill you arouse in me

then, my mind wonders
to a silent proposition

.......does he love me this way, too?

I love you....

always

&

forever

~~
epiphany:heart:

(c)2008

NOT AFRAID

PurpleMoons — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:04:44 GMT

NOT AFRAID

I AM NOT AFRAID ANYMORE
NOT AFRAID TO BE ALONE
NOT AFRAID TO BE WRONG
NOT AFRAID TO BE RIGHT
NOT AFRAID TO FIGHT
NOT AFRAID TO BE AFRAID
I AM NOT AFRAID

I AM NOT SCARED ANYMORE
NOT SCARED TO DIE
NOT SCARED TO LIVE
NOT SCARED TO BE SILENT
NOT SCARED TO BE LOUD
NOT SCARED TO BE PROUD
NOT SCARED TO BE SCARED
I AM NOT SCARED

I AM NOT ASHAMED ANYMORE
NOT ASHAMED OF MY HAIR
NOT ASHAMED OF MY LIPS
NOT ASHAMED TO LIKE WHAT I LIKE
NOT ASHAMED OF MY HERITAGE
NOT ASHAMED TO BE ASHAME
I AM NOT ASHAME

I AM NOT AFRAID
FOR FEAR IS AN EXCUSE
FOR DENYING HAPPINESS

:heart:

WHERE ARE THE RALLIES?

PurpleMoons — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:06:21 GMT

Where are the rallies being held in honor of the educating of Black People?
Where are the hordes of knowledgeable Elders who stand up on ghetto platforms,
speaking on Black Love, Black Power, Black Dignity, and Black Awareness, in Black Communities?
Perhaps with the church�s daily administering to the poor sinners on the corner, this practice has ,too, died?!

Where are the rallies being held in honor of the reconstruction of young children�s mind?
Those who voices ring with truth and passion, understanding and guidance, visions and dreams,
justice and equality, creativity and determination, and anger and scorn?!
Perhaps they�ve traded in their ghetto pass for 45 minutes on a college campus and/or a forum of lights and camera�s?!

For I have circled the streets of broken glass, flying debris, blood stained pavements, neglected children, broken dreams, drugs and money. And I could not find one haven where Black People were liberating Black minds in the hoods of pitfalls and death. Nor did I receive one pamphlet directing a private meet up for the concerns of Black People.

Occasionally I would glance upon a glass rose. Sparkling and shimmering, growing all so delicately through the suffocation of the cities concrete streets. It�s stem is strong, but its leaves are warn and tattered from the constant chewing of the ignorant, and sleeping giants. All so hopeful, I try to keep the mentality of the village alive as I offer the homeless a bite to eat, reach out to hug the children, sharing stories while reminiscing on the days where community represented one whole family.

Where are the rallies being held on Black Enterprising, Community Support, Rebuilding Self-confidence, and Moving Forward?!

Where are the rallies being held on loving ourselves right in the heart of the hood?!

I'm In A Lil' Funk

epiphany — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:33:41 GMT

I'm In A Lil' Funk

I'm in a lil' funk
deep in the trenches
of life's sorrowful transition
I've been here before
a time or two
fought my way up
to a positive attitude
...but sometimes
it gets to be too much
when I reach the top
circumstances
knock me back down
to the ground

I'm in a lil' funk
trying to manuever
my way thru
crimson thoughts
&
melancholy blues
hoping the sun
washes away these clouds
of lost inspiration
I thought
I paid my dues
each day is a struggle
to wear a happy smile
to see the light
beyond the horizon
to dream of better dayz

I'm in a lil' funk
my heart is heavy laden
from hardcore personalities
unlike my own
their misery is infectious
like a disease
they make me sick!
narcissistic mentalities
with a " d$%n you" complex
selfish and cold
they drain your goodness
like a parasite
on a high
to corrupt you

I'm in a lil' funk
my spirit is bleak
trying to fight off tears
that fill the depths
of
me

if I didn't care
if I viewed life
through a haze
of indifference
&
hate
lived like others
with no empathy
to another's fate
give into the anger
when I'm hurt
again
and again

allow
the
funk
to

CoNsUmE

...me

TrAnSfOrM

...me

I
wouldn't be

...me!

I'm in a lil' funk
but
I
know
like before

this too, shall pass

epiphany :heart:

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Introducing...Chasity Nicole!

epiphany — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:01:20 GMT

On July 25th, Chasity Nicole Holland was born at 8:03pm Saturday evening. She weighs
8lbs. 6oz. and 21 inches. She is my first Grandchild, no words can explain the joy, happiness
and pride I felt when I held her in my arms. I relived the first time I held her Father, my son Branden...
it was deja vu, only this time she is God's creation by my son. The legacy of my parents, my Grandparents
and my Great-Grandparents as far back as my lineage extends is visible in her features and I beamed
with pride. To experience my son have his own child is a miracle in itself and I am bless to witness this miracle.
As a Grandparent I must take on the role of a Mother standing by and watching my son
teach, guide and love this little baby girl just as I did him. I will witness the joy, patience, understanding
and at times the frustration of raising a little one. I will see my son in the role of a parent and as the years pass
he will learn the sacrifices we all make as parents for the sake of our children. He will finally come to realize
the benefits that come when you have given your love and time to insure your child matures in a healthy,
stable and tranquil enviroment.

The truest satisfaction will come when after a time he comes to me and say....

"Mom & Dad, now I understand all that you both have taught me and I thank you for what you've done ."

Just as I did with my parents and I will smile with admiration, sigh and reply....

"Branden, now the circle of life begins and the torch is entrusted in your hands...you were our future
and now she is yours...teach her with love, wisdom and perseverence and you will do well."

And now...
I look into Chasity's eyes and I see hope & dreams, I see the possibilities of generations to come and
everytime a child is born in our family I take pleasure in knowing they are the continuation of our family tree.

It is through them that we truly live on.

Dedicated to the birth of life and love....

Epiphany:heart:

July 31, 2009

Attached Images

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Ole' School Memories: My High School Alma Mater

epiphany — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:43:28 GMT

Peabody High School

(Alma Mater)

Our Alma Mater, Peabody High
Our thoughts are with you;
And they will never die
We'll stand beside you;
We will never stray
From our Alma Mater
Maroon & Gray

Class of 1977

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The Flickering Candle

epiphany — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:03:12 GMT

The Flickering Candle

Shining so bright
the candle's light
illuminating the window
illuminating the night
from the darkest corners
there looms a sight
in hidden shadows
they beckon to see
the plantation garden
reveals a tree
broken and torn
with thorns that bleed
under the tree
lays mounds of flesh
scattered in darkness
the souls won't rest
tortured memories
of a jaded fruit
the candle flickers
as the cool wind coos
whispering spirits
of slaves that died
the tree a reminder
of men hung high

*****

epiphany:heart:

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The Horrendous Legacy Of Lynching

epiphany — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:53:03 GMT

There are times when we have to face the uncomfortable in order to grow, to achieve, to appreciate the most simplistic understanding that nothing should be taken for granted.

In order to understand where we are going as a people, we need to understand where we have been.

So many of us have forgotten the cost that was paid for our survival, for our civil rights, for the liberties we enjoy today. SO many of us have drop the ball in teaching our children about the PAST, about OUR HISTORY, the ACCOMPLISHMENTS of our people, as well as the TRAGEDIES. In our failure to do so we have groomed a generation of children with a total disrespect for themselves, their elders, our culture and most importantly our very survival. I was born in the late fifties, I grew up at a time when we were still unified, when we were taught to respect our elders, care about the next door neighbor whose child went to bed hungry or didn't have a pair of comfortable shoes or clothes to wear. We invited them to dine, we gave them clothes that we could spare and shoes to wear because they were our brother or sister in need(and many times we ourselves could not spare).
Tho, we have COME a long way, We still have a long journey ahead of us and the only way we can all get there is if we love, honor, care and respect our own.

As a people, we have suffered enough from the cruelty of others, we should not be so easily influenced to be cruel to each other.

Lynchings
1882-1968

Southern trees bear strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the roots. Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees....

From 1862 to 1968 there were 3,445 blacks lynched, and these are just the documented cases.

In May of 1918, Hampton Smith, a 31 year old White plantation owner in Brooks County, Georgia, was shot and killed by one of his Black workers named Sydney Johnson. Hampton Smith was known for abusing and beating his workers to the point few people in the area would work for him. To solve this labor shortage, Smith turned to the debt peonage system of the day and found a ready labor pool. He used that system by bailing people out of jail, people typically arrested for petty offenses, who would then work off their debt to him on his plantation. Nineteen year old Sydney Johnson, arrested for "rolling dice" and fined thirty dollars, was one such person.
After a few days of work on Smith's plantation, and shortly after being beaten by Smith for not working while he was sick, Sidney Johnson shot and killed Hampton Smith. What ensued after the shooting was a mob driven manhunt for Johnson and others thought to be involved in his decision to kill Hampton Smith. That manhunt lasted for more than a week and resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people, with some historical accounts suggesting a higher number of persons killed. One of the people killed was a woman named....

Mary Turner.

Twenty year-old Mary Turner, 8 months pregnant at the time and whose husband had been killed in this "lynching rampage" on Sunday, May 19th, made the mistake of publicly objecting to her husband's murder. She also had the audacity to threaten to swear out warrants for those responsible. Those "unwise remarks," as the area papers put it, enraged locals. Consequently, Mary Turner fled for her life only to be caught and taken to a place called Folsom's Bridge on the Brooks and Lowndes Counties' shared border. To punish her, at Folsom's Bridge the mob tied Mary Turner by her ankles, hung her upside down from a tree, poured gasoline on her and burned off her clothes. One member of the mob then cut her stomach open and her unborn child dropped to the ground where it was reportedly stomped on and crushed. Her body was then riddled with gunfire from the mob. Later that night she and her baby were buried ten feet away from where they were murdered. The makeshift grave was marked with only a "whiskey bottle" with a "cigar" stuffed in its neck.
Three days after the murder of Mary Turner and her baby, three more bodies were found in the area and Sydney Johnson was killed in a shoot out with police on South Troup Street in Valdosta, Georgia. Once killed, the crowd of more than 700 people cut off his genitals and threw them into the street. A rope was then tied to his neck and he was drug to Campground Church in Morven, Georgia, 16 miles away. There, what remained of his body was burned. During and shortly after this chain of events, it is reported that more than 500 people fled Lowndes and Brooks Counties in fear for their lives.

Sam Hose

Although most lynchings were simple executions in which the victim was hanged or shot to death, some were accompanied by spectacle and grotesque torture. Arguably one of the best-known of the latter was the torture murder of Sam Hose (a.k.a. Sam Holt) near Newnan in Coweta County on Sunday afternoon, April 23, 1899. Hose was in jail, charged with murdering a white man. An unmasked mob advanced on the jail and took Hose to a site about a mile away. They tied him to a small pine tree, cut off his ears, and mutilated his body with knife cuts. The mob then doused him with oil and set him on fire; his body convulsed, and his veins burst. The Atlanta Constitution estimated that 2,000 people witnessed this torture killing, many of whom traveled from Atlanta on two special trains after hearing of Holt's capture and eminent lynching. From the cooling ashes spectators took pieces of bone and bits of flesh, along with remnants of the pine sapling, as souvenirs. For those who could not attend, the Constitution devoted the first two pages of Monday's newspaper to describing the grisly details

In 1964, three civil rights workers were lynched by white racists in Neshoba County, Mississippi. Michael Schwerner (24), Andrew Goodman (20) of New York, and James Chaney (22) from Meridian, Mississippi, members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), were dedicated to non-violent direct action against racial discrimination. They disappeared in June of that year while investigating the arson of a black church being used as a "Freedom School". Their bodies were found six weeks later in a partially constructed dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi. In 2005, 80-year-old Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter for the killings, and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

The following statistics for the period from 1882 to 1951. 88% of victims were black, and 10% were white. 59% of the lynchings occurred in the Southern states of Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Lynching was not uncommon in the west and midwest, but was virtually nonexistent in the northeast. The most common reasons given for the lynchings are murder and rape, but as documented by Ida B. Wells, such charges were often pretexts for lynching blacks who violated Jim Crow etiquette, or engaged in economic competition with whites. Other common reasons given include arson, theft, assault, and robbery; sexual transgressions (miscegenation, adultery, cohabitation); "race prejudice," "race hatred," "racial disturbance;" informing on others; "threats against whites;" and violations of the color line ("attending white girl," "proposals to white woman").

For most of the history of the United States, lynching was rarely prosecuted, and when it was, it was under state murder statutes. In one extraordinary example in 1907-1909, the Supreme Court tried its only criminal case in history, 203 U.S. 563 (U.S. v. Sheriff Shipp). Shipp was found guilty of criminal contempt for lynching Ed Johnson in Chattanooga.
Starting in 1909, over 200 bills were introduced to make lynching a federal crime, but they failed to pass. During the Roosevelt administration, the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department tried, but failed, to prosecute lynchers under Reconstruction-era civil rights laws. The first successful federal prosecution of a lyncher for a civil rights violation was in 1946, and by that time, the era of lynchings as a common occurrence was over.

In closing...
Lynching was one of the ugly realites of our history, many of our people lost their lives to this cowardly act. As I researched this subject my heart was sadden by the horror of the many depictions of burned/black bodies hanging from a tree and the mob of whites celebrating as the bodies were put on public display for the sick joy of it. The sight brought tears to my eyes and I wondered how could a human being inflict this atrocity on another human being? As I viewed the pictures, I couldn't help but wonder if the misguided youth of today were exposed to this knowledge would they be so quick to ERADICATE their own image? Would they be so quick to exploit & disrespect black women? Would they continue to destroy their communities with drugs & violence? Would they not come to find the love within themselves, the pride of their ancestors and the importance of their legacy to move beyond their present conditions....

For the love of my people, that would be ~my dream.

epiphany :heart:

Attached Images

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FREEDOM OF TEMPLE

mohammed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:27:20 GMT

:toast::welldone::10900::dance3:[URL=http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/ww278/RESUAHJAW/?action=view¤t=DamianMarley-ItWasWritten.flv][IMG]http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww278/RESUAHJAW/th_DamianMarley-ItWasWritten.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Metamorphosis

epiphany — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:11:02 GMT

A

THOUGHT

becomes
A
WORD

WORDS
transform
to
VISION

*VISIONS INSPIRE POETRY*

epiphany:heart:

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Illusion Blue

epiphany — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:31:25 GMT

Illusion Blue

Can I...

induce your mental
with titillating thoughts
of a secret place?
just me, just you
view a hunter's moon
after the stroke of midnight
wade a day
in serene sapphire streams
make love in the mist
of Bassin bleu's waterfalls
then drift asleep
beneath the warmth
of a copper sun

I will...
explore the nature of you
your eyes will see
the beauty in me
thru surrealistic prisms
of love's light

I have ....
seen my future
in glimpses of your smile
patiently waiting
until
the reality of our fate
becomes coporeal to me
you see, I want you
all of you

I adore...
the wisdom of your
salt & pepper gray
I want to
dismiss the sadness
that threatens to take
your joy away

I'm here...
to reveal real love doesn't sway
it's the lighthouse
in the fog
the wind beneath your wings
an awakening
from the illusion
you won't find happiness
on a two way street
with me

alone...

doesn't have to be a choice
if you open your heart

to love

epiphany:heart:

Attached Images

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The Drunken Fly: The Sid & Herb Chronicles

epiphany — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:47:40 GMT

Epip's Anecdotes

THE DRUNKEN FLY

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Would You Befriend Yourself?

cocobutterskyn — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:13:38 GMT

If you met yourself, would you want to stick around and talk? Are you the kind of person others can be proud of? Hopefully you are, because that's who will be with you for your entire life. Your values and beliefs create a pretty good picture of what you want to see in the mirror. To be proud of yourself, do everything you can to make real life look like that vision. Find people that have the qualities you want and learn from them. Becoming a person you like gives you the confidence that you're someone worth being friends with. There's also a flip side to the friendship coin--you also need to cut yourself as much slack as you do your friends. You have friends because you see the good in them, not the flaws. You like them the way they are, warts and all. You enjoy their company and root for them to be happy and do their best. Look at yourself the same way. To be a good friend to yourself, accept your blemishes, while still pushing yourself to reach your full potential. Don't harp on your weaknesses. Take another look in the mirror and be kinder this time.

I read the above statement and thought it to be enlightening, because often times we can see not-so-likable behavior in others, but not in ourselves. I can admit with some pain, because we know how the truth can hurt,:) that I have one personality flaw that if a friend possessed I�d have some difficulty dealing with. I �sometimes� can have a strong disposition, especially when I feel someone is attempting to control me. I don�t always consider it a flaw, because sometimes it�s an asset that prevent others from taking advantage. However since I accepted the fact, I have made a conscious effort to dilute that disposition, so that it doesn�t wrongly rub those in my life who I love and want to remain in my life, as well as any future positive friendships or relationships.

Anyone who knows me, know I don�t have a problem acknowledging my strengths, but that statement also helped me realize that I�m too hard on myself when it comes to my affair with fear. For years I have embraced the fear of stepping out of my comfort zone, I have peeked and then inched out a few times in the past and been proud of it, but I eased right back in.

Anywhooo, all things considered, If I met myself, I�d stick around for a lifetime friendship, because though I�m not perfect, I�m not hard to live with. I know, you�re probably thinking I should ask some friends, huh? Well, I already have. In fact, I asked some family members too and after they made their smart-alecky comments they concurred with my self assessment.:) Well....

Be blessed!

Coco:dance: