The arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the American colonies in the early 17th century marked the beginning of a long history of slavery in America. For over two centuries, millions of Africans were forcibly brought to the United States and enslaved, enduring unimaginable hardships and suffering. Slavery was deeply rooted in the economy and society of the Southern states, where enslaved Black people were considered property and denied basic human rights.

The abolitionist movement gained momentum in the 19th century, leading to the American Civil War (1861-1865). The war ultimately resulted in the emancipation of enslaved Black people through the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.

However, the end of slavery did not immediately lead to equality and freedom for Black Americans. The Reconstruction era (1865-1877) following the Civil War brought some advancements, including the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments, which granted equal protection under the law and the right to vote for African American men. Nevertheless, these gains were eroded by the rise of Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation and denied Black people access to equal opportunities in education, employment, housing, and public facilities.

The civil rights movement of the mid-20th century marked a pivotal moment in the struggle for racial equality. Activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and many others led nonviolent protests, marches, and acts of civil disobedience to challenge segregation and demand equal rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were significant legislative victories that aimed to dismantle institutionalized racism and discrimination.

Despite these advancements, systemic racism and inequality persist. Black people continue to face disparities in areas such as education, employment, criminal justice, and healthcare. Racial profiling, police brutality, and other forms of discrimination remain ongoing concerns and have sparked protests and movements like Black Lives Matter, which advocate for justice and an end to racial violence.

It is important to recognize the diversity within the Black community, as experiences and identities can vary based on factors such as ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. Black people have made immense contributions to American society in various fields, including art, music, literature, science, sports, politics, and more, despite facing numerous challenges.

Efforts to address racial disparities and promote equality and social justice are ongoing. Many organizations, activists, and individuals are working towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society for Black people and all marginalized communities in America.

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated in the United States on June 19th each year. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and serves as a symbol of freedom and the end of slavery.

The origin of Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, which proclaimed the freedom of all slaves in the state. This happened more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring that all slaves in Confederate territory were to be set free. The delayed announcement was due to various factors, including the minimal presence of Union troops in Texas and the reluctance of slave owners to emancipate their slaves.

When General Granger arrived in Texas and made the announcement, it effectively marked the end of slavery in the United States. The news spread rapidly, and African Americans in Texas, and eventually in other states, celebrated their newfound freedom. The date, June 19th, became known as Juneteenth, combining the words “June” and “nineteenth.”

Juneteenth celebrations often include community gatherings, parades, concerts, picnics, and educational events. It is a day to reflect on the struggles and achievements of African Americans, to honor the contributions they have made to society, and to promote African American culture and heritage. It is also a time to recognize that the fight for equality and justice continues.

Over the years, Juneteenth has gained increased recognition and importance across the United States. In recent times, there have been efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday to acknowledge its historical significance and promote national awareness and understanding of the African American experience. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law designating Juneteenth as a federal holiday, making it the newest national holiday in the United States.

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In 1963, Ms. Tyson was the first black person to star in a Television series. She played Jane Foster in Eastside Westside. She was the first black woman to win an Emmy as a lead actor the Autobiography of Miss. Jane Pitman. Ms. Tyson started in numerous roles. She will be greatly missed.

Not Goodbye, But See You Later Queen!

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The special will premieres on Thursday, November 19 on HBO Max. On an Instagram post, Will stated that he is who he is because of the people from the cast. It has been over 30 years since the show aired and we are ready for the reunion.

You may recall that the original Aunt Viv – Janet Hubert. Will set down with Janet and filmed a segment separate from the other cast members, who appear surprised by her return. Will stated “I couldn’t celebrate 30 years of ‘Fresh Prince’ without Janet.”

A few years back, Janet Hubert shared a video of her speaking out against Jada Pinket-Smith, who was calling for a boycott of the Oscars. Click here to watch the video.

In the video below see what Janet had to say about why she did the video blasting Jada on boycotting the Oscars.

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Who Is Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr was born on November 20, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan. In 1966 Joe married Neilia Hunter and they had three children: Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III, Robert Hunter Biden, and Naomi Christina “Amy” Biden. On December 18, 1972, his wife Neilia and one-year old daughter Naomi “Amy”, were killed in an automobile accident in Hockessin, Delaware. Biden’s sons Beau and Hunter suffered a broken leg and a minor skull fracture, but made a full recovery.

On January 5, 1973, Biden was sworn into the Senate. At the age of 30, he was the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history. So that he could see his sons every day, Biden commuted by train between his Delaware home and Washington, D.C., 90-minutes each way.

On June 17, 1977 he married his current wife, Dr. Jill Tracy Jacobs, they welcomed their daughter, Ashley in 1981.

Joe is not a stranger to the political arena. He began his political journey in 1972 in the campaign for the U.S. Senate. He defeated Republican incumbent J. Caleb Boggs to become the junior U.S. Senator from Delaware. He had no chance of winning, little money for his campaign and was the only Democrat willing to challenge Boggs. In 1988 Biden formally declared his candidacy for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination on June 9, 1987. In January 2008 Biden because the Vice President of the United States of America and Barack Obama was President, Barrack was the first Black President of the United States.

A Letter to the American People

President Barack Obama wrote a heart felt letter to his friend Joe.

Read our blog on Kamala here.

You can read more on Joe at Biden-Harris Transition and A Presidency for All Americans and more on Kamala here.

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Meet Madam Vice President Kamala Harris. Kamala won the VP position with running mate Joe Biden. Madam Vice President Kamala is the first in so many ways, first woman vice president, first black vice president, first black woman vice president.

Kamala Devi Harris (/ˈkÉ‘ËmÉlÉ/ KAH-mÉ-lÉ), was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California to Donald J. Harris and Shyamala Gopalan. When Harris began kindergarten, she was bused as part of Berkeley’s comprehensive desegregation program to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, a public school in a more prosperous neighborhood in northern Berkeley which previously had been 95 percent white, and after the desegregation plan went into effect became 40 percent Black. Her parents divorced when she was seven. When she was twelve, Harris and her sister moved with their mother to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Harris attended Westmount High School in Westmount, Quebec, graduating in 1981.

After high school Harris graduated from an HBCU, Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, and then worked at the the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and later she was the City Attorney of San Francisco’s office. In 2003, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco. She was elected Attorney General of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.

She is married to Second Gentleman Elect Douglas Emboff, and is the stepmom to his two children, Cole and Ella. They married on August 22, 2014.

Madam Vice President Kamala became the second African American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the United States Senate in 2016. Harris ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and attracted national attention before ending her campaign on December 3, 2019. She was announced as former vice president Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election on August 11, 2020. 

Read about Joe Biden here.

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Ice Cube has drawn up a Contract With Black America to create the “more perfect union” that all Americans deserve. Ice Cube and Trump’s campaign has spoken about giving $500 billion to the Black Community. But Black Twitter is wondering if Ice Cube’s Contract is with Black America or Trump? Ice Cube and Trump haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, so what’s changed?

Darrick Hamilton, in the Preface to the Contract, says “This Contract with Black America strikes at the heart of racism and presents a blueprint to achieve racial economic justice. It was written in the backdrop of the killing of George Floyd, which set off a wave of protests not seen since the Civil Rights Era of the 1950â€s and â€60â€s, and a global pandemic in which the Black mortality rate is more than double the White rate and in which 45% (nearly half) of Black-owned businesses closed. That the impact of something presumably random, such as a pandemic, however catastrophic, can be so linked to oneâ€s racial identity is highly problematic – and further evidence that, as a nation, we are failing miserably. This links to a larger political and economic vulnerability, whether weâ€re in a pandemic or not: the immoral devaluation of Black lives has been ingrained in Americaâ€s political economy and is long overdue for a reckoning.

This Contract with Black America is a patriotic pathway to promote our shared prosperity and achieve racial economic justice.†Read more here. Contract With Black America. 2021, A Contract With Black America: Addressing Racial Racial Inequality. 15 October 2020

Ice Cube and Trump’s campaign have spoken and Cube said that he reached out to Joe Biden’s campaign but was told that they would look at the issue after the election. On Wednesday, Trump’s administration announced that Cube wants the money to go into black people’s hands, to help build the community and they made a few changes before agreeing on the terms. My thoughts are Trump will say anything to get the black votes. We all heard him telling the Proud Boys to “Stand Back and Stand By”. Why does Cube think that Trump will stick to his word? My belief is that by Cube doing this now instead of waiting until after the election, some black people may believe Trump and vote for him. Cube has made it very clear that Biden’s camp has offered to consider the contract until after the election but Trump has agreed to it with a few changes.

See Ice Cube’s interview here with TMZ.

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Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court’s liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.

Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the U.S Supreme Court after Sandra Day O’Connor. Following O’Connor’s retirement in 2006 and until Sonia Sotomayor joined the Court in 2009, she was the only female justice on the Supreme Court. During that time, Ginsburg became more forceful with her dissents, which were noted by legal observers and in popular culture. Ginsburg authored notable majority opinions, including United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), and Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000).

Ginsburg spent a considerable part of her legal career as an advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights, winning multiple arguments before the Supreme Court. She advocated as a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and was a member of its board of directors and one of its general counsels in the 1970s. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where she served until her appointment to the Supreme Court. Ginsburg received attention in American popular culture for her fiery liberal dissents and refusal to step down, leading to her being dubbed “The Notorious R.B.G.”, a play on the name of rapper “The Notorious B.I.G.”.

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Taylor’s family sued the city after Louisville Metro Police officers broke down the door to Taylor’s apartment and fatally shot her while executing a late-night, “no-knock” warrant in a narcotics investigation on March 13.

Settlement For Breonna Taylor’s Death – Wrongful Death Lawsuit was reached, but it’s not enough,

This is great and all but ARREST THE COPS THAT KILLED BREONNA TAYLOR!!!

Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove entered without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers, the lawsuit says. Joshua Jaynes who received the no-knock warrant has resigned. The other officers were placed on administrative leave with pay.

Demand justice for Breonna by going to Until Freedom.

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On September 6, 2018, off-duty Dallas Police officer Amber Guyger entered the Dallas, Texas, apartment of 26-year-old accountant Botham Jean and fatally shot him. Guyger said that she had entered the apartment believing it was her own and that she shot Jean believing he was a burglar.

Botham Shem Jean, a 26-year-old black man, was a Harding University alumnus and an accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He was born September 29, 1991 in Saint Lucia.

Amber Guyger was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her attorney filled an appeal earlier this year.

Below is the raw footage of the night that Botham was killed by former officer Amber Guyger.

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