Month: July 2020

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3sTPRP8XXg

Source: How The U.S Government Blocked $1 Billion Gift From Gaddafi To Farrakhan In 1996 |

“The son of an escaped slave, Robeson rose to international fame as a singer and actor, but committed himself to the liberation of oppressed people across the globe and was a tenacious fighter for the freedom of Black people in the U.S. Robeson was heavily surveilled by the FBI and CIA, dragged before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and was stripped of his passport by the U.S. government.”

 

Source: Intercepted: The Revolutionary Life of Paul Robeson

During the period, when black enslavement in America was at its peak, and places like New Orleans was unique in its high population of gens de couleur libres (free people of color), black women’s beauty and features often attracted white men who approached them as suitors. This enraged white women who perceived them as competitors.

Source: Tignon Law: Black Women Were Banned From Displaying Their Hair, Out Of Envy In The U.S |

Reparations are a restitution for slavery – an apology and repayment to black citizens whose ancestors were forced into the slave trade. It’s a policy notion that many black academics and advocates have long called for, but one that politicians have largely sidestepped or ignored.

Source: Should black Americans get slavery reparations? – BBC News

We were working on this song tonight in our Zoom class. It’s called “ENGENHO DE FLORES”. I found this video with Mestre Negativo leading this amazing bateria (Band), singing this song beautifully.

It was Mestre Negativo who taught my teacher this song.

I hope you all enjoy the video.

Oftentimes, the outcome of a war is determined not out on the open battlefields, but in the shadows. Espionage has played an important role in virtually every great military conflict in history and the American Civil War was no exception. As the Union forces desperately fought to give their forces an edge, they found help in some of the unlikeliest of places.

Source: Mary Bowser: The Slave Who Helped Bring Down The Confederacy