Bernard and Shirley Kinsey - A Journey in Four Parts - Feb 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2010

Last evening I had the pleasure of attending

The Ebony Repertory Theater's latest event -

featuring Dr. Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Presents

"A Journey in Four Parts" series.

The first part in the series is entitled:
What You Didn't Learn in High School History

It was very enlightening. Dr. & Mrs. Kinsey brought knowledge to the table . Hear me when I tell you that most everyone in attendance was hungry for knowledge.

The real history of African American triumphs and contributions should no longer remain a secret. It should explode into our classrooms and into our collective conscience.” - Bernard Kinsey

Dr. Kinsey essentially said that we need to re-language our thought process and words with regards to what actually happened to those who were captured during the slave trade. Black people/African Americans/Negros - which ever adjective that one prefers to use to describe Africans in America - were enslaved - kidnapped by brutal force (guns) and held against their will.
Only the strongest of the strongest survived the rocky 6 month journey in the bowels of a very crowded ship. A ship as cold and unfeeling as the captors and the many people that orchestrated the journey.

Yes, there were free Africans that navigated the globe and conducted business in America before this country was colonized, but by far and large, the vast majority of African Americans were picked up in the interior of West Africa - between Senegal and Angola - as Free people and brought to the shores of America enslaved. Yes America's African Ancestors were FREE People that were ENSLAVED by Europeans (British, French for starters). These slaves were pure human capital, distributed throughout what is called the triangle - Africa the Caribbean and North America an Europe.

This information was just one of the many morsels of information that was

disseminated last evening by Bernard, Shirley and Khalil Kinsey.

I could have listened to the Kinsey's talk all day and night. But I must say, if it were not for Kevin Ross and Facebook, along with his blogtalkradio.com, who featured Bernard Kinsey on one of last week's shows, I would not have known about this most momentous event.

I do hope to see you all next Saturday, Feb 13th @ 8:00PM at Nate Holden's Performing Art Theater multi - use complex which houses The Ebony Repertory Theater. The topic is Love. Don't miss the other 3 parts of the series happening Feb 13, 20 & 27, 2010.

In closing, last night's event reminded me of a poem that was written by Gordon Nelson called,

"Science"

"Science tells you that Black

is the absence of light.
But your soul tells you that Black
is the light of the world."

Love & light, C

Dr Martin Luther King Jr. - Happy Birthday!

This is a time for reflection.
What does Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday mean to you? That's the question.

During one of his sermons at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, a couple of months prior to his death, Dr. King Jr. touched so many hearts that day.

He said, in part:

" If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long...Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peach Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important...I'd like somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody...I tried to feed the hungry... I want you to say that I tried to serve humanity...tell them that I was a Drum Major for peace..."

I hope that everyone around the world understands that this American Holiday is not just a "Black" American Holiday, no - this is an American Holiday. African Americans came up from slavery working shoulder to shoulder with other ethnicities, building this country with blood, sweat and tears. Yes, this is a day to learn more about America's history. We will tell you the story and not romanticize it. Better yet, ask your Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunt, or Uncle about the Civil unrest that reached it's peak during the 60's in America. I'm sure the elders in each of our families can add a demension of light on the subject.

I suggest that on a rainy day like this day, one bundles up the young ones and go visit the California Science Center here in Los Angeles, CA. There is an exhibit that quantifies so much of what America the Beautiful has become because of the richness added by its fellow Americans. Please visit Tavis Smiley's exhibit America I AM.

Celebrate this day. As I walk out the door, I'm humming Happy Birthday to you, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Stevie Wonder style....Love C

Ella Fitzgerald

I absolutely love Ella Fitzgerald! If you get a chance, please stop by the official Ella Fitzgerald website - http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/

Love/Peace/Happiness to you and yours in 2010!

C

Mouths / Lips / Tongues / Voices

Right this very moment I just want to cry. There are so many things going on in this world, and we all must pick and choose our battles. So, that is what I am doing. I'd rather win the war then this single fight.

Can you imagine what would happen if everyone did and said exactly what they felt like doing/saying? The world would be an even more chaotic place.

We, as individuals, are in charge of our mouths/lips/tongues/voices; No one else. So, when you give wings to thoughts, via speech, you must know that who ever the benefactor is, he/she/they will hear your words ( if someone is listening).

With that in mind, I will take a deep breath and exhale and read another chapter in J. California Cooper's book, " Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime" - and sip on my java and chocolate chip cookies...Goodnight C
http://books.google.com/books?id=wKlHAAAACAAJ&dq=J+California+Coope&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS203US203&q=j.+california+cooper&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=2&cad=author-navigational

Food for Thought

It is kind of cool and chilly here in Southern California (55 Fahrenheit) this time of the year. So, what I like to do is pop in a few good movies and we sit around and watch a few of our favorites - old and new. This evening, we're watching the fairly recent Oscar winning "Slum Dog Millionaire" again. You know why? Well, this film, in particular, makes me think about a few people that I've met years ago that still cross my mind, and for whatever reason, I simply can't forget them. Really. Some of you might know what I mean.

You see, there are some people in this world that can put a smile on your face when you think of them. Just the mere idea of seeing them in the future, be it today, tomorrow or next month, makes you glad. In my lifetime, I've had the pleasure of knowing people who fall into that criteria - you know the type - the happiness slot.

Well, for me, it's like when you attend a reunion, be it a family reunion or a high school reunion in anticipation of seeing or being reunited with relatives or old acquaintances. As the date gets closer and closer for the event to occur, you just get happy!

I wish that I could bottle up that feeling and sell it in the form of an aromatherapy essential oil, or something that you could spritz on to your ear lobes, and daub on to your writs and as you go about your usual day, people around you inhale the feeling - the aromatic scent as it were - and they are then taken away to that happy place - a place that makes one more productive in all areas of life - wouldn't that be great?

John "Hope" Bryant | LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World

The Conversation
Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray, former pastor of First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles, now the Tanzi Chair of Religious Studies at USC and John "Hope" Bryant, sat down and discussed the business of economic empowerment through Love Leadership, which is appropriately the title of Mr. Bryant's current book.

Essentially, "Love leadership recognizes that you want to do well in life, but also suggests that the best way to do well and to achieve true wealth over the long term is to do good. I've learned that you'll never go bad doing good, and you'll never be wrong doing right." Says Mr. Bryant.

The Setting
Leo Stallworth of ABC7 was the moderator. The conversation flowed beautifully, as we all sat and enjoyed the scenery of the Santa Monica shores.
Kim Anthony, who spearheads The Urban Leadership Network, placed everyone in an environment that was conducive to harmony. Ms. Anthony selected the Annenberg Community Beach House, in Santa Monica, CA -http://beachhouse.smgov.net/ to use as a back drop, and it was lovely.

The Purpose
To free your conscious mind, which will in turn, help all those who come in contact with you in your daily network.

The Challenge

I dare you to stop by EsoWon Book store and pick up a copy, read the book, and let me know how it has helped you, as it has helped so many others gain control over their finances, thus, freeing them, even during this current global economic, as Mr. Bryant calls it - re-set! - YES!

Annenberg Community Beach House - http://beachhouse.smgov.net/
Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray - http://www.usc.edu/about/people/murray.html
John "Hope" Bryant - http://www.johnhopebryant.com/john_hope_bryant_/
Kim Anthony Urban Leadership Network - http://urbanexcellence.groupsite.com/main/summary

Leo Stallworth - ABC 7 (818) 863-7777
Eso Won Book Store - http://www.esowonbookstore.com/

The Twentieth Anniversary of the Demise of the Berlin Wall - 1989 - 2009

Reflection

Nov 6, 1989, I sat in amazement in my flat in London, UK, watching the BBC News, as they discussed the fact that the Berlin Wall was coming down. Being an American, studying abroad, it had occurred to me that I could either continue to watch the news in the UK, or take the Hovercraft, from Dover to Calais - http://www.ferries.co.uk/france.html, then hop on a train and head to Germany - and that is exactly what I did. Nov 7, 1989, I was on my way.

It was such an interesting time in the history of Germany and changing the dynamics of Western Europe, symbolizing the fall of communist governments in Eastern Europe forever. Many people paid the cost for wanting their freedom in Germany. Many died fighting for freedom in Germany...

While on the train travelling first class, through Bavaria, Germany, I was so deeply enthralled in the book that I was reading until when I finally looked up and saw at least 6 people looking at me through the glass - faces staring at me in amazement.

I was reading the book, 'Bearing the Cross', by David Garrow, who had mentioned the positive, brotherly relationship that Rev. Ralph Abernathy had with Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., and it seemed to catch quite a few people's attention on the train(I'm guessing..). At least 4 people asked if they could come into my compartment and talk, and I said yes. They wanted to know if I knew Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr.. They asked if I knew Michael Jackson . There were so many kind, polite Bavarian people asking me all kinds of questions regarding America and the status of Black people in America. They sincerely wanted to know how we as a people were faring.

I arrived at Barzel and Priscilla's home in Würzburg Germany, just in time to eat dinner, shower, and watch more news. The next morning, I repacked my bags and headed out to witness history, and also to get a "piece of the Berlin Wall". All the while thinking, 'The Berlin Wall must come down!'

Created in 1961, and often referred to as the "Wall of Shame", by western countries, the separate and much longer Inner German Border (the IGB) demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc. Before the wall, people wanting to escape the Eastern Bloc would simply cross the boarders into West Germany, which then would allow them to travel to other Western European Countries, and this had to end. Thus, the erection of the Berlin Wall.
Apparently, so many people felt what I was feeling. I mean, if you were in Europe, you just had to pick up your bags and get to The Berlin Wall as soon as you could. That was real.

That is something that I will never forget. The day the Berlin Wall started tumbling down. The significance is soooo deep. I also got my piece of the rock...