THE IMPACT OF THE JIM CROW LAWS OF 1877 ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Jim Crow was a period in American history that enforced the marginalization of Black-Americans for one hundred years after the slavery era. 

Jim Crow was a play of words made famous by a white man Thomas Dartmouth Rice. Rice became famous during a minstrel show when he made fun of the enslaved population and their form of dress. 

“Firstly, you cannot comment on the Jim Crow Laws without first understanding why Southern Democrats created them. The Crow Laws were created to upend the reconstruction era by taking back from the enslaved what they accomplished,” expressed Robert Davis, Publisher of United Magazine. 

Jim Crow laws were brutal and referred to as ”Slavery by Another Name.” Implemented were laws bent on segregating black Americans from the white community. 

The laws were also designed to strip black people of their voting rights, exclusively protect white people from what was considered harm by black Americans, enforce redlining, and force black children into harsh labor. In addition, interracial marriages were forbidden in sixteen states. A few states were Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wyoming, and West Virginia.

The Plessy Vs. Ferguson’s 1892 case emphasized that the ”Separate but Equal” law was constitutional and did not violate black Americans’ rights or force them into slavery or indentured servitude. 

The case’s main subject regarded Louisiana’s ”Separate Car Act of 1890.” The act designated which cars white and black people can sit in during their railway rides. As a challenge to test the act’s unfairness, creole native Homer Plessy refused to move to a black-only car and was arrested. The State Supreme Court affirmed the U.S. District’s ruling to dismiss the act as unconstitutional. However, the court also concluded ”the Separate Car Act was intended to preserve “public peace and good order” and was, therefore, a “reasonable” exercise of the legislature’s police power.

A catalyst for desegregation came about in July 1948 when former president Harry S. Truman signed an executive order for the commingling of soldiers, renouncing an estimated 170 years of segregation of black and white soldiers in the U.S. armed forces who were ordered to remain separated in barracks, etc. It was a major victory for the civil rights of black soldiers. 

The ruling of Brown vs. Board of 1954 was the catalyst in helping to end the Louisiana Car Act and segregation overall. Brown vs. Board was a combination of five cases where segregation of black students from white students was challenged in public schools. The cases involved Kansas, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. Oliver Brown, the father of lead plaintiff Linda Brown, sued after Linda was refused admission to an all-white secondary public school in Topeka, Kansas.

Redlining refers to the discriminatory practices by banks which either denied or issued predatory loans to black American homeowner hopefuls. The practice also incorporated selecting neighborhoods to acquire advantageous lending status based on their racial composition and not income earnings. As a result, black homeowners were relegated to areas deemed unfit for financial investing by banks; when one thought of the predominantly black neighborhoods, visions of run-down buildings, inadequate homes, and poverty-crime stricken entered minds. 

“Federal agencies financed nearly half of all suburban homes in the 1950s and 1960s, boom years in the creation of middle-class America, boosting homeownership rates from nearly 30 percent of the population to more than 60 percent by 1960. But, of course, black applicants were left out. By one analysis, 98 percent of the loans approved by the federal government between 1934 and 1968 went to white applicants. Intentionally discriminatory housing and lending practices are unquestionably at the core of hyper segregation of black Americans in urban communities,” as reported by Sam Fullwood III. 

Despite the unfairness of redlining and predatory bank loan practices, there were thriving black communities with impeccable reputations for entrepreneurship. Those communities were Durham, North Carolina’s Black Wall Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Black Wall Street, East Saint Louis, Recently Known as Shaw Neighborhood; Washington, D.C., and Rosewood, Florida. 

These communities were destroyed by angry white mobs that massacred black women, men, and children. The white mobs were either upset over the flourishing businesses and economically sound status of the black communities or were lied to by other white people that a black person harmed them. 

Despite the harrowing events of the massacres of black Americans, a push for integration came about with the Civil Rights Movement 1954-1968. In 1964, after numerous peaceful protests, boycotts of bus system services, marches, and sit-ins at lunch counters led by various activists, most notably Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was introduced into legislation by President John F. Kennedy but signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson after Kennedy’s assassination. 

Even though there was a success with the Civil Rights Movement, varied members of the black community perceive that desegregation has not been adequate for the community. 

“Integration has not helped the black race But, again, we come to a time in History when blacks realize the vote does count, and so what does racist America do? They orchestrated a buffoon in the likes of Donald Trump as president,” communicates Davis. “He defied, lied, and said what white America wants to hear. Suddenly, everyone is reprogrammed via the Covid-19 debacle-which pits the vaccinated against the unvaccinated causing the vote to be a lie.”

Photo submitted by Robert Davis, Publisher

Being found guilty of violating Jim Crow laws meant harsh sentences for black Americans. 

One prime example is The Scottsboro Case. The Scottsboro case began in 1931 and centered around nine black youths falsely accused of attacking two white women on a freight train. Also on the train were a group of white boys who had relations with the white women. Not wanting to be accused of improper behavior with the white men, the two white women accused the black youths of rape. 

An all-white jury, known as the Jim Crow Jury, which is a jury that is not unanimous to convict a defendant of a crime, sentenced the nine black youths to death except for the youngest 12 years old. A few defendants were granted appeals and had their sentences overturned to life in prison or 75 years after an uproar from supporters in the north. 

The civil rights movement of 1964 accomplished the abolishment of segregation, discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Civil Rights Movement also strengthened the voting rights of many black Americans. However, it fell short in establishing programs to keep the black community from incarceration and provide fair prison sentencing compared to the white community. 

“We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it,” as claimed by Michelle Alexander, Civil rights lawyer, advocate, legal scholar, and author of 

The New Jim Crow was published in January 2020. Alexander has noted that although America had elected Barack Obama in November of 2008, the first black president, the black community has still faced racism and discrimination. 

Alexander divulges the existing racism and discrimination within the criminal justice system by detailing the disparity of the laws which land black men in jail for selling marijuana. With recreational marijuana becoming legal in various states and being sold in dispensaries, Alexander exclaimed white men would dominate the legal cannabis industry; meanwhile, homes of black families were separated due to unfair sentencing. 

 Crystal Peoples-Stokes, New York State Majority Leader, announced in March of 2021, “Cannabis legalization in New York will be centered on equity, investment into communities, economic opportunities for historically disenfranchised people, research, education, and public safety. I am honored to sponsor this legislation and excited to see the positive impact it will have for so many New Yorkers.”

Some states that have also legalized adult recreational use of marijuana are Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.

Despite the Civil Rights Movement act of 1964 and anti-discrimination laws throughout the United States, America has the world’s highest incarceration rate where “1 in 9 black men under the age of 25 live under some form of restrained liberty: in prison, jail, on parole, or probation.”

To address Criminal Justice reform, various activists and state representatives have pushed for immense changes. An example of a few changes addressed and proposed in Connecticut is expanding the definition of domestic violence, banning solitary confinement of incarcerated persons, and the over-policing of Black and brown communities and counting the incarcerated in the legislative districts where they are from, rather than where they are locked up.

According to NY.gov, “New York was previously one of only two states that automatically prosecuted 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. This injustice unfairly punished youth and prevented them from receiving their services to rehabilitate themselves and reintegrate into their communities. As a result, new York’s youth who commit non-violent crimes will now receive age-appropriate housing and programming to lower their risk of re-offense.” In addition, Cuomo introduced legislation to raise the age of accountability for a teenager charged as an adult to 18 years. 

New York also passed the Halt program. The Halt program “limits the use of segregated confinement for all incarcerated persons to 15 days, implements alternative rehabilitative measures, including the creation of Residential Rehabilitation Units (RRU), expands the definition of segregated confinement, and eliminates the use of  segregated confinement for vulnerable incarcerated populations.”  

One major reason the program came into existence is a result of the suicide of Kalief Browder. Browder was held on the infamous Riker’s Island for three years without trial. He was sixteen when arrested allegedly for a robbery. Browder maintained his innocence. Browder spent seven hundred days in solitary confinement, and six months after his release, he committed suicide. 

Browder’s case became the focus of attention of Brooklyn Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z.  Jay-Z, along with two other media entities, joined forces to produce a documentary about Browder’s ordeal to shed light on the justice system’s travesties, stating, 

“A young man, and I emphasize young man, who lost his life because of a broken system. His tragedy has brought atrocities to light, and now we must confront the issues and events that occurred so other young men can have a chance at justice.”

Another state which made notable criminal justice reform strides is Georgia. However, “Historical inequities and current punitive policies have led to the disproportionate incarceration of Black Georgians.”

As of March 2018, 10,165 youths are supervised (on average) daily by the Division of Community Services. Six thousand one hundred seventy-six are in the community, at home. Under supervision, 489 are in DJJ Regional Youth Detention Centers, 314 are in the community, in non-secure residential placements, and 216 are in DJJ Youth Development Campuses. Two hundred thirty-two are serving time in adult jails. As of January 22, 2018, there are 827 youths housed in secure detention centers across the state.

Although the black community has maintained the blueprint of peaceful protests, their white counterparts were not treated peacefully. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was physically attacked while protesting. He was hit with a rock, pushed to the ground, among other methods of intimidation by the white collective. 

One notorious event of abuse regarding Civil Rights Activists known as Bloody Sunday occurred in March 1965 in Selma, Alabama, during a march consisting of six hundred people. This event led to the bloody beating of the figurehead of the peaceful march for voting rights, John Lewis, an American activist and politician, and his followers.

The violence encountered by the activists was televised, sparking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to become involved and President Lyndon B. Johnson speaking on the need for voting and human rights reform. 

Even though the black community allegedly doesn’t live under Jim Crow laws and violent climate, activists are still violently targeted in today’s climate. Noteworthy mentions are the murders of Darren Seals, a Ferguson activist who protested the unarmed murder of teenager Mike Brown, Oluwatoyin Salau, Tallahassee activist who protested the unarmed murder of George Floyd. Also, the murder of Muhiyidin Moye, North Charleston, S.C. activist who protested the unarmed murder of Walter Scott. Moye was a Poughkeepsie, New York native. 

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

With the help of social media platforms, activists can get their messages to various mediums calling for reform of the same issues today that black Americans faced during Jim Crow. 

However, while social media activists and influencers may not be violently targeted as those who have boots on the ground, there is still an issue of free speech and censorship. 

Another challenge for black social media activists is the lack of black ownership of social media platforms. White-owned social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and the Asian-owned entity Tik-Tok permanently terminate an activist or influencers’ page or have been noticed to shadow-ban their content. 

Shadow-banning is the act of hiding or restricting a user or content creators’ posts without informing them. Some also note the act to be a form of modern-day censorship. 

“Because the same entity owns Facebook and Instagram, they have taken it upon themselves to shut down a lot of black content creators’ pages because they are speaking the truth about white supremacy,” conveys Lynne Taylor is also known as narrator BlackLuv17. 

Taylor further declares, “This nonsense really bothers many people, hence why Melanated People formed five years ago. I recently found out about the platform, so I have an account there now. I find when I am on Instagram and post Covid-19 related topics, my posts are removed, and I’m accused of making up things. Facebook does the same. Due to these reasons, I am no longer active on Facebook. That is a turnoff.”

Taylor explains even black celebrities, activists, and influencers had their pages shadow banned, suspended, or terminated. For example, Rizza Islam and Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam have been terminated from Facebook and Instagram and rapper Lil Boosie. 

“I keep trying to get black people to make accounts on Melanated People. The white-owned and Asian-owned platforms feel black people should be seen less unless we are shucking, jiving, twerking, or making content for them to steal. On Melanated People, if we call for a boycott of the Asians or make posts explaining the racism we have faced by white supremacists and other nonblack racial groups, then that is what it is. We are on code. We do not need their permission to say what you want to say and feel how you want to feel,” Taylor finishes. 

Photo submitted by Lynne Taylor, Narrator

In closing, if you are a black content creator, activist, entrepreneur, or black person interested in learning more about black history, Our Black Truth is a good black-owned social media platform to use. Our Black Truth encourages positivity, and the members are great to interact with. 

The Great Debate: Racial Disparities of Special Education Services Programs in Public Schools

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

Not all students learn at the same pace in the same manner. Some students need special education services due to various disabilities. Special education services are provided in public schools and include extra instruction in the classroom, institutions, and hospitals. Students are provided with an Individualized Educational Program that is tailored to address their disabilities. According to Christina A. Samuels of edweek.org, in 2019, “nationally, 14 percent of white students ages 3-21 are in special education; for black students, it is 16 percent, and for Hispanic students, 13 percent.”

The statistic can be jolting to some. However, Rachel Campbell, an educator of 13 years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and founder of 7 Elements Cultural Research and Learning Institute, doesn’t find the percentages alarming but does admit black students are disproportionately enrolled in special education services. 

Campbell feels many factors lead to black students being more likely to be enrolled in special education services. A few of those instances are social-economic differences, a lack of cultural responses, and a lack of parental understanding. Campbell advocates for holistic therapy used to medicate black youths believed to have emotional and behavioral disabilities. Campbell states that using holistic treatment can help black children “improve attention, focus, calm their behavior, and improve memory.”

Logo submitted by Rachel Campbell

Nikki Walker, the elementary educator (primary grades) of 24 years in Los Angeles, California, has worked with black students who may have displayed a need for special education services. For those children who have exhibited signs of learning disabilities Walker’s process was to work with them one on one for the purpose of identifying their struggle area. Her approach involved conferencing with parents to inform of a student’s problem areas academically and behaviorally. 

Relating to parental involvement, Walker explains, “When situations called for it, I would make recommendations for a Student Success Team meeting to discuss behavior issues.  I’ve always worked in schools that are predominately Black.  Since I work with young children, they are usually offered counseling for their behavior, and many are on medication for their behavior.   Our district has a no suspension policy, so in-school suspensions were issued to students who may have had a fight.”

When asked if black students were treated differently compared to their non-black peers, Walker admits this has been her experience. “Because I work with primary-aged students (5-8 years of age), I see this often.  Most do not have the language to express what they are feeling at this age, and they may resort to attention-seeking behaviors.  I’ve also noticed that when the teacher is not Black, Black boys tend to be deemed unable to learn and a behavior problem.  I have had some uncomfortable (for them) conversations with a few co-workers because of comments they have made about Black students, boys in particular.”

Experts announce when parents are actively engaged in students learning process, students are more likely to excel. Walker finds the same and expresses, “when the children feel supported by the teachers, parents, and adults they trust, they are likely to be successful.  Children know their strengths and weaknesses.  Many times, they are embarrassed.  I’ve found that when you make it safe and comfortable for them to be themselves, they are open to different ways of learning.  Parents should speak up for their children and offer suggestions to teachers and school staff (for example, in I.E.P. meetings).” An I.E.P. is the acronym for Individualized Education Program. 

With the Pandemic, however, Walker notes evaluations for an I.E.P. are challenging to perform. Walker also mentions although meetings are being held virtually, it is being reported that due to Covid-19, some are not able to be assessed. She remarks, “I’ve noticed that parents are more stressed because of the lack of services that they know their children need.  As a teacher, I read the I.E.P.’s, observe performance, and use skills I’ve learned throughout my career to support and guide students to be successful online.  I also conference with parents and ask how they feel I can assist and offer suggestions to help them while at home or daycare.  Covid-19 is also affecting the social, emotional needs of the children.  My district did not provide adequate training for teachers, and there is no one (counselors, etc.) pushing in to support the students with their emotions and lack of socializing with peers.”

Walker understands the frustration changes due to the Pandemic has caused everyone. Despite the transition from traditional to virtual and blended learning, Walker reiterates the importance of parental engagement with their student’s education. She reminds all “parents MUST be an advocate for their children.  Get help, seek answers online and be prepared to fight for the services you feel like your children need.  Also, seek a second opinion when schools try to force your child into special education programs that you do not feel are appropriate for your child and family values (medications, special classes, etc.).”

Photo submitted by Nicky Walker

Cherese Gaddy, program manager at a psychiatric hospital in Georgia for adolescents, has been working in the mental health field for over 18 years.

As a program manager, Gaddy facilitates the hospital’s daily operations, such as daily schedules, direct care staff training, scheduling of staff, client activities, and ensuring safety for everyone. The age group she works with is 13 through 15-year-olds.

While Gaddy’s clients are predominantly Caucasian, she has interaction with black clients. Gaddy agrees with Walker’s statement, “schools try to pin black boys with behavioral issues when sometimes it’s just a matter of them having problems that could be worked out if there was a counselor or trusted adult for them to talk to and share what is going on.” 

Gaddy has found inconsistencies in diagnosing and behavioral plans that are put in place for particular clients. “The trend seems to be having more apathy for those who are Caucasian and a lack thereof for clients of color. This is true as well for the customer service given to the guardians as well. At times the professionals fail at setting boundaries with the guardians, which becomes problematic in my role as the Program Manager.”

As program manager, advocating for clients would be asking for behavioral plans based upon the increase/decrease of targeted behaviors. While the psychiatrist makes decisions about medication with the approval of guardians for psychotropics, one can deduce why lack of information to guardians by staff could be harmful, causing possible re-admittance. 

Gaddy emphasizes the need for parental involvement in deciding an adolescent’s treatment plan to avoid re-admittance. “Parental involvement is very important because the child will be returned to that environment. It is imperative that the guardians seek their own individual therapy for reunification to be successful.”

Sadly, it has been Gaddy’s experience that re-admittance is high. In addressing the issue, she believes, “several things play a catalyst in a client’s return. For one, being discharged prematurely due to insurance denial, guardians not changing parental style, which is conducive to their child’s success, and clients being savvy in doing and saying all the right things in front of their therapist but have not truly changed anything within themselves.”

Regarding Insurance, Gaddy voices, “Insurance has changed over the years tremendously with programs being cut. The length of stay is typically 4-6 weeks. Most guardians are willing to pay for additional time in the program if they can afford it. With a lack of resources and socioeconomic class, some are not able to extend the length of care.”

Gaddy wishes the factor would change. Gaddy declares, “If children are truly the future as many have exclaimed, then it’s time to reallocate funding which reflects this statement. No child should be denied therapeutic services due to a lack of financial resources.” 

In 2017-2018 National Center for Education Statistics reported that the public education system has 79 percent of white teachers whereas seven percent of black teachers. Given that black students tend to learn better in environments they feel connected to the teacher, this could present a problem and enforce Campbell’s reasoning of social, economic differences, and lack of cultural responses causes black children to be disproportionately enrolled in special education services. “Understanding African American culture can provide teachers with information, support, and guidance to help them become more culturally responsive and meet the needs of these students. (Ford, 2012).”

It is also said that black male children are more receptive to learning with black male teachers. “Although special education teachers typically have no role in referrals to special education, they serve on Individualized Education Program teams and are involved in testing and decision-making for students assigned to special education. Concerning the supportive role that Black men can provide as special education teachers, research suggests that Black teachers aid in improving academic outcomes of Black students (Redding, 2019).”

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The article “I Do This for All of the Reasons America Doesn’t Want Me To”: The Organic Pedagogies of Black Male Instructors argues that “there are two key aspects of the instructors’ teaching philosophies as organic instructors: 1) Humanization/Love, and 2) Reciprocity. These philosophies of teaching constitute a shared and expanded notion of what it means to educate Black boys. Key to this newly imagined notion of Black education is a resistance to the way Black boys are viewed and treated as “sub persons,” and instructors’ explicit intention to attend to their students‘ full humanity.”

Besides a cultural difference between black students and their non-black teachers, schools may lack staff or admin support. In a special education classroom setting, there are lead teachers and paraprofessionals. A paraprofessional’s role is to assist in daily instruction, both educational and physical, as required. Paraprofessionals also help students with behavior management. Being overwhelmed or overpopulated with students in a class can affect a paraprofessional’s capabilities to carry out their daily duties.  The interruption in performing tasks can hinder students who are ready to transition to regular education, as spoken about in a special education paraprofessional’s vent.

The paraprofessional states in helping students transition to traditional education, they were informed the students would remain in same class while the paraprofessional was to teach regular education classes along with the special education curriculum. That would take away from the students in need of special services. It is unfair to all the students involved and the paraprofessional.

Shandy Blake, the former teacher of 13 years in the educational system consisting of 10 years in public schools and three years of private in-home instruction, has worked with many students ranging from pre-k to high school in various special education settings. Blake weighs in on the debate whether black students are more or less likely to be placed in special education services and conduct grades being given by stating, “in my experiences, most of the students in special education were black students.” 

Blake believes a small portion of the black students that received special education services were in need of them. However, she also believes that “special education is overpopulated with black students unequivocally to other races and though special education may seem like a solution for these “troubled” children, many black children are misunderstood in their social, education, and behavioral needs.”   

Blake emphasizes connecting with black students receiving special education services by having compassion, empathy, and patience. “In my experiences, I had students that should be placed in the least restrictive learning environment according to their needs. Oftentimes many black children are thrown into special education programs due to correctable behavior problems, and these problems can be corrected with interventions and collective efforts from teachers and family.” 

Regarding Covid-19 Pandemic, children and parents had to transition to virtual or blended learning. Blake finds families were impacted negatively and positively, stating some parents found they were having difficulty finding a balance. “Parents are overwhelmed, while others find it easier to monitor their children’s education and behaviors while at home.” For Blake’s full thoughts and experiences on the matter, you may listen to her SoundCloud Interview here.

Photo submitted by Shandy Blake

Sir Deon, author and college student, was once enrolled in The New York Public School Education System for speech services. He stated he had two teachers in his classroom but was also pulled from class to attend speech education. Sir Deon says that now he doesn’t suffer from speech impairment. After a certain age, students should be allowed to decide if they are disabled or capable of entering traditional education. You may find his video here.

Photo submitted by Sir Deon

The History of the Slur ‘Monkey’

The black community has spoken about an event on the reality television show Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta for the past two weeks. In the scene, Erica Mena and Spice get into a heated war of words where Spice questions Mena’s parenting, reminding Mena that there have been talks amongst the cast of Mena’s son not liking or wanting to be around her. Mena can then be heard calling her co-star Spice a blue monkey and wishing Spice would have died from complications of a plastic surgery procedure that turned into a death-facing event. In the scene, Mena makes monkey sounds and again hurls the insult that Spice looks like a monkey. Viewers immediately chimed in, with some siding with Erica Mena, who is Latina and has a history of calling black women monkeys and nappy.

In contrast, others sided with Spice, stating the horrible racial connotation of the term monkey when referring to black women, especially those of darker skin complexions. Mona Scott Young, the creator of the Love and Hip Hop reality series franchise, sided with Spice and terminated Mena from the reality television show. AllBlk Network, a black-owned streaming app, also stated that  Mena had been released from their series Hush, effective next season since all episodes for this season have been previously filmed. It was not until a few weeks later of the initial verbal altercation and that the AllBlk producer announced Mena’s firing, Mena issued a public statement apologizing to the people she may have affected with her words. However, her apology was not directed towards the most affected person, Spice, a renowned Jamaican Dancehall artist dubbed ‘The Queen of Dancehall.’ 

Screenshots are taken from the Shaderoom comment section, a blog site on Instagram.

To understand why calling a black person a monkey is racist, the history of racism surrounding the slur needs to be revisited. First, we can look at the history of Africans and their descendants as human zoos’ main attractions. “One of the first modern public human exhibitions was P.T. Barnum’s exhibition of Joice Heth on February 25, 1836, and, subsequently, the Siamese twins,” who owned eighteen enslaved Africans to maintain their properties and care for their families. The public human exhibitions were world fairs held in Paris, Barcelona, Hamburg, Milan, London, and New York at the Bronx Zoo and coined ‘Negro Villages.’ The zoos were popular attractions that garnered 200,000 to 300,000 visitors to each exhibition. According to Dr. Neal A. Lester of the Learning for Justice org, “To justify slavery, black Americans had to be dehumanized. A moral and legal framework to support slavery was constructed at the same time. The distortion of the black image begins here. If it is believed that a man is inferior, subhuman, it becomes easy to treat him as a pet, a toy, an object of comic relief, a crazed lower animal who must be controlled and ruled.” 

“African-girl-in-human-zoo-e1392748580716” by dionisosolympian is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0

Sadly enough, Mena calling Spice a monkey is not the only time in modern history that the slur has been thrown at a black person. In 2018, Roseanne Barr tweeted an image of a monkey in a tweet regarding “Valerie Jarrett, a Black woman and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, with an ape.” Barr subsequently lost her role on a television show and apologized for the now-deleted tweet. Also, in 2018, Prada, a high fashion designer of luxury handbags, clothes, and accessories, was forced to remove a keychain that contained a monkey charm with full red lips, which members of the public equated to a form of ‘blackface.’ Blackface originated in the 1800s at Minstrel shows. It is the practice of “White actors performing in those shows rubbing their faces with shoe polish or grease paint to impersonate and act out overblown racist stereotypes of Black people.” 

In 2019, Danny Baker, host of a British Radio show, tweeted an image of a chimpanzee with the caption ‘Royal Baby Leaves Hospital.’ Baker was also fired as the public outcried that it was offensive since Meghan Markle is biracial due to her mother being of African descent and her father being caucasian.  

No matter where your support lies in the Mena and Spice verbal altercation, it is highly offensive to call a black person a Monkey or any derivative thereof, including porch monkey, which originated in the 1950s and refers to the stereotype that blacks are lazy and unintelligent. 

The History of the 1921 Tulsa Oklahoma Race Massacre and 2023 Supreme Court’s Decision on Reparations for its Surviving Victims

“Photograph of the Greenwood District burning during the Tulsa Race Massacre” by Unidentified is marked with CC0 1.0.

The Tulsa Oklahoma Race Massacre was an event where the prominent black-American district of Greenwood was looted and burned by white rioters on June 1, 1921, due to an inflammatory report in the Tulsa Tribune. The self-sufficient black-American Greenwood Neighborhood of approximately ten-thousand residents was also called Black Wall Street. Black Wall Street had 108 black-owned businesses, including “41 grocery and meat markets, 30 restaurants, 11 boarding and rooming houses, nine billiard halls, and five hotels. Greenwood also had 33 Black professionals, including 15 physicians and surgeons; six real estate, loan, and insurance agents; four pharmacists; three lawyers; and two dentists. Twenty-four skilled craftspersons in the community included ten tailors, five building contractors and painters, and four shoemakers. The community’s 26 service workers included 12 barbers, six shoe shiners, and five clothes cleaning shops.” In other words, Black Wall Street was a proven remedy for black Americans who faced oppression and racism in the United States of America.

The Tulsa Oklahoma Race Massacre occurred in May of 1921. The incident was between a black nineteen-year-old male named Dick Rowland and a white girl, later identified as Sarah Elizabeth Beaver, who became known as Sarah Page in later years. The exact events on an elevator in downtown’s Drexel Building were not substantiated but had been extremely exaggerated when it reached the white community. Page denied the claims of assault and declined to press charges. Although Page refused to pursue the matter, The Tulsa Tribune titled the article ‘Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator.’ The Tulsa Tribune reported Page’s age to be seventeen years old. However, according to Randy Hopkins of CenterforPublicsecrets.org, Page was born in 1899, which would have made Page twenty-one years old during the Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Massacre Event.

During the Tulsa Oklahoma Race Massacre, white mobs destroyed homes and businesses. They murdered approximately three hundred residents in a matter of twenty-four hours. However, an exact count can not be named as more unmarked graves are found in the Oaklawn Cemetery in Oklahoma as of 2022. Tulsa Oklahoma Massacre is also referred to as the first aerial attack on American Soil that did not involve a war with a foreign entity. “The financial toll of the massacre is evident in the $1.8 million in property loss claims — $27 million in today’s dollars — detailed in a 2001 state commission report.“

In 2021, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga) introduced The Tulsa Greenwood Massacre Claims Accountability Act. “The only living survivors of the massacre — Viola Fletcher, 107, her brother, Hughes Van Ellis, 100, and Lessie Benningfield Randle, 106 — told lawmakers what they endured a century ago. They spoke as Tulsa prepared to mark the 100th anniversary of the rampage.”

The basis for the survivors’ lawsuit stated that the lack of compensation by the city of Tulsa and its insurance companies prompted racial and economic imbalances that still impact them to date. The lawsuit requested “a detailed accounting of the property and wealth lost or stolen in the massacre, the construction of a hospital in north Tulsa, and the creation of a victims compensation fund, among other things.”

Despite their account, in July 2023 “Judge Caroline Wall dismissed with prejudice the lawsuit trying to force the city and others to make recompense for the destruction of the once-thriving Black district known as Greenwood.” A case dismissed with prejudice means that the case is terminated and cannot be tried again in a court of law.

Damario Solomon-Simmons, lead attorney for the survivors and founder of the Justice for Greenwood Foundation, stated that dismissing the lawsuit is a “hurtful blow to our quest for justice” and asked the federal government to investigate the massacre.”

The Foster Care System and its Impact on Children

Contributory article by Cherese Gaddy, MSW

The foster care system was created to assist children in need of refuge. Providing shelter and care are at the forefront of most agencies. Unfortunately, often times these agencies miss the mark in providing optimal care. Due to the ongoing crisis and need; agencies have been overworked and mostly understaffed. Case workers may have a case load of 20 or more clients. It is almost impossible to provide a quality of service due to the quantity of clients. This becomes an issue within itself because case managers do not get enough 1 on 1 time with their client to observe their client’s behavior, the foster home or foster parent. In my experience, the monthly home checks typically don’t last more than 30 minutes. The case worker usually asks surface level questions which does not always give a clear indication of what the child may really be experiencing. In knowing all the details I would advocate for the youth to receive more resources, a more tailored behavioral support plan with realistic goals and objectives and bring awareness to issues which would have otherwise been missed by the case worker. 

            Children who become displaced from their home whether permanently or temporary seek shelter in the system. However, the adjustments in these new environments are extremely stressful on the child. Especially if the back story of how and why they were removed from their original home was a traumatic experience. Children are resilient but the separation from loves ones typically leads to behavioral issues. I have witnessed children intentionally disrupt placement in hopes to be moved back home. Some of my clients were incapable of forming healthy relations and lack appropriate boundaries due to certain needs not being met while in care. I’ve worked with children who moved around so much in the system that they developed reactive attachment disorder. This disorder can affect their adulthood relationships as well if not addressed. 

            According to Elizabeth Ellis et al. (2022), “The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5^th Edition (DSM-5) classifies reactive attachment disorder as a trauma- and stressor-related condition of early childhood caused by social neglect and maltreatment. Affected children have difficulty forming emotional attachments to others, show a decreased ability to experience positive emotion, cannot seek or accept physical or emotional closeness, and may react violently when held, cuddled, or comforted. Behaviorally, affected children are unpredictable, difficult to console, and difficult to discipline. Moods fluctuate erratically, and children may seem to live fight, flight, or freeze mode. Most have a strong desire to control their environment and make their own decisions”.

            I’ve had the pleasure of working in the social service field for well over 18 years. I have managed a foster care group home. I have also worked at a psychiatric long term residential hospital. I have witnessed first-hand the impact these environments have on the youth. It is heartbreaking to say the least. Even with all the therapeutic services, treatment planning and coping skills in place; the pain was often times too unbearable for them. The yearning to be loved by bio parents and relatives. The yearning to be a part of a “real family” and not in temporary placement was something always expressed by the youth I worked with. There aren’t enough words that can express how deeply somber it is to witness children experiencing all these difficulties, while navigating through life and be expected to remain hopeful about their future. 

Photo submitted by Cherese Gaddy, MSW

Reference

Ellis EE, Yilani M, Saadabadi A. Reactive Attachment Disorder. [Updated 2022 May 8]. In:StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing 2022 Jan-

Telehealth Matters

Image can be found on Creativecommons.org

Today’s climate can be very hectic. With the pandemic and its mandates still ongoing millions are affected. Life has changed as we know it and what we once knew as the ‘norm’ has changed. 

It seems some have had to adapt in numerous ways, not only were adults affected but children and teens were as well since their social activities became severely impacted due to mandatory school closures. Some children and some parents were forced to either attend school or work via hybrid conditions. 

Before the pandemic black people were reported as being depressed or suffering anxiety at a rate of 9.57 percent. As of 2022, over 16 percent of black people were reported as having a mental health issue. That is over seven million people.

With the uptick of the pandemic new ways for people to attend therapeutic services were implemented. One way was Telehealth also known as Telemedicine. Telehealth “lets your health care provider provide care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.”

The earliest mention of Telehealth can be traced back to the year of 1879. As one who has used Telehealth, I recommend it to friends, families, and co-workers. Some agree it is beneficial and some do not understand how a doctor can evaluate a person over the telephone or via internet Zoom calls. 

Cherese Gaddy, MSW, finds that if a person weren’t going to engage in person-to-person therapy then they would likely not engage in Telehealth therapy. However, Gaddy feels that there are many pros to Telehealth services being used by both patients and providers. One pro is that Telehealth has allowed working parents with hectic routines to now have free time for family. “Parents can now be home to read a bedtime story to their child or even assist more with homework. Thereby, reducing the need for afterschool tutors,” Gaddy states. 

Whether you have used Telehealth services or not the benefits of utilizing Telehealth are phenomenal and I urge one to give it a try if they are contemplating returning to work or school full or part time.

The Rough Side of Publishing

Interior photos of the book stacks at Toronto Reference Library, shot in 2011.

When one hears the term ‘published author,’ they may think of high royalties, glitz, and glamour. When one hears the term ‘veteran author’ in the Urban Fiction industry, thoughts immediately turn to Wahida Clark, Teri Woods, Kwan, and Nikki Turner. In this article, veteran authors are interviewed who get candid on the dues they have paid. It is important to note that their paying dues have paved the way for others in the Urban Fiction Industry. 

These authors explain in their own words the rough side of publishing and why many face the fact that the Urban Fiction literary field isn’t all the glitz and glamour and may not even be what a reader, an aspiring or newly published author, may believe. The authors interviewed are Willie LeBlanc, author of six years, Anjela Day, author of 13 years. Tanya Cole, author of six years, Lyrics Brown, author of six years. And Dean Hamid of nine years and nine books. 

LeBlanc has had seven books published in various genres, mainly Urban Street lit,  of which four are still available. LeBlanc credits the late Dr. Maya Angelou as his main inspiration to write and also Stephen King. “Both authors never let anyone tell them “No” when it came to their craft, and both became well respected in the writing community. I feel that is where I got my drive from. Watching them excel made me take my writing seriously.

When first published, LeBlanc states he was unsure of what to expect. “I wanted to make the NYT Bestseller List or even have my books reviewed in U.S.A. Today or New York Times.”

Photo submitted by Willie LeBlanc

Day has had 44 books published. Day pens Urban Tragedy, Dark Romance, and Urban Crime and declares her inspiration to write are John Grisham and her mentor, the late Sabrina Eubanks. Eubanks informed Day of happenings in the industry most authors would be ashamed to speak on. “I have done more things in the 13 years I’ve been published than most will do in their entire careers.”

When Day’s work was first published, she said it was for selfish aspirations. “I was 27 and had four children. I was in a dead-in relationship. I just wanted to feel alive; that I was more than a  mother or baby momma.”

Photo submitted by Anjela Day

Cole has had seven books published. She writes Christian Fiction, Mystery, African American Fiction, and Urban Fiction. Cole states her inspiration to write came from mostly Langston Hughes, Zora Neale-Hurston, Maya Angelou, and Shakespeare, but her love for Urban Fiction derived from Teri Woods’ True to the Game’ title. 

Immediately upon being published, Cole says she didn’t know what to expect when she signed her first contract. “I learned a lot behind the scenes. I never expected to write a book and did it as a promise to my son, who watched me write for years. However, I did want to earn money from my favorite hobby.” 

Cole also asserts that one surprising aspect of the industry was how quickly others tore another author down. “I attended school at the University of Memphis. I wasn’t the typical English/Creative Writer major. I was one of the best writers in the class. My work was always checked for plagiarism and validity. I would surpass students that had a better education, class, and background. I made them hear my voice and allow me to sit at the table with a full plate. So, I thought that people who look like me, with the same struggles, and had hunger like me would welcome me into this industry.” 

Cole divulges that her experience made her feel empty. “Writing is my first love. Reading is my second. I felt like I lost my soul when I put down my pen.”

Photo submitted by Tanya Cole

Lyrics Brown has had eight books published. Brown doesn’t claim a genre but states, “I write what I feel.” Brown states that when first published, he expected to put out original content with creative storylines that tell different kinds of Urban stories.

Brown expresses that a surprising fact about the industry is that there isn’t any real support from other authors. Brown further communicates, “It hasn’t tarnished my opinion on the industry. It just made me more mindful of whom I move with.”

Photo submitted by Lyrics Brown

Dean Hamid has had nine books published in the Drama and fiction genres. Hamid has coined the term ‘Classic lit’ and made it his staple. The writers that inspire Hamid are Donald Goines and Richard Wright. However, Hamid admits that his aspirations were money and fame upon being published. 

One of the surprising things Hamid learned after entering the industry was that “money and fame was a lie. To be successful, you have to put in much work.” Hamid discloses that the revelation got real for him and has helped to keep him focused. 

Photo submitted by Dean Hamid

From social media observation, without naming publishing houses, it has been revealed that those who seem to be drama-filled are the most popular. LeBlanc, Day, Cole, Brown, and Hamid agree.

“To keep it real, I used to be with the drama, until I realized I had a strike against me: Being a black man that enjoys writing. So now, as I look in and see that more “publishing houses” thrive off it, it discourages me from even being part of this industry that I know I belong in but will always be an outcast in. But still, I push forward,” LeBlanc states. 

“As authors, we write drama, and it sells. Why? Because people love messy. Messy publishing houses sell. So messy publishing houses sell because people love to be in the KNOW. It was great for me until it wasn’t. I signed with three of the biggest publishing companies and was courted by two others. When I left those companies, the publishers tried to destroy me. I have walked away from writing many times. I am now so careful on whom I speak with or deal with in this industry.”

“The industry seems to thrive because of real-life drama. I’ve witnessed people picked on and bullied by many different companies. I hate that so many talented authors never get recognition because they don’t indulge in the drama that seems to fuel the sales of most publishing companies,” Cole discloses. 

“I also believe in integrity; therefore, I just keep doing my thing. Nothing can alter my passion for writing. Not even the b.s. that comes with the industry,” Brown states when asked about drama-filled publishing houses. 

Hamid also declares his observation of popular publishing houses and drama, “It’s true. I stay away from them and that.” 

Authors rely on reviews to help build standing in the lit field. The more reviews a book has, the more visibility an author’s work gains, especially Amazon.com. As a result, the more five-star reviews a book obtains, the more formidable marketing strategy reviews become if implemented into advertising properly. Reviews also assist by pushing an author’s book into a more visible category. The category helps to increase an author’s sales. In other words, reviews can make or break an author. 

However, there are times when readers can be downright destructive by leaving scathing reviews. Even if they do not read an author’s work simply because they may like another publishing house over an independent author or an author’s publishing house, which may lead to fluctuating sales. 

“Once upon a time, I would have written the longest F*** you post to the reviewer. But what does that do for me? That makes me look like the drama-filled author I struggled hard to separate myself from. Nowadays, I tell the reviewer, ‘Thank you for giving my work a shot.’ Even though the reviewer who could not be constructive may not deserve my gratitude, I still offer it to them. Kill them with kindness,” says LeBlanc. 

“It’s overwhelming. Just like your kids are your hearts outside your body, writing (for me) is my heart on paper. So, when I hear someone say things like, this book sucked. Or don’t waste your money; it hurts. It also makes me take a second look at who I am as an author. For every one bad review, I have gotten ten that were amazing. Your book changed my life, or you did that, girl! I chose to take the positive if I allow people that have never had to sit at a computer and give the world pieces of their heart to control who I am as an author. I don’t deserve the gift God gave me. As for fluctuating sells that also sucks. As a single mom, this is my life, and when you come to depend on writing as an income, you can become terrified. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to be prepared and have more than one income,” Day declares. 

“I try not to take the reviews and followers personally. I have encountered one-star reviews because the person didn’t like the ending. I also witness one-star reviews on books from an anonymous reader on any book that makes the top 100 list just to knock the book further down the charts. I have seen followers insert hateful comments because of industry beef. It can make or break a career,” states Cole. 

“It’s like everything in life; some people are going to love it, while some are going to hate it. As long as you believe in your work, nothing else should matter,” states Brown. 

When asked about reviews and fluctuating sales, Hamid declares, “ I used to get caught up in that, but now I’m not on Amazon’s platform anymore, so the rating issue doesn’t bother me.”

There have also been horror stories of authors signing contracts that give publishing houses exclusive rights to their work even after an author isn’t part of the company after being terminated or completing the terms of their contract. Here’s what the authors have to say regarding this issue:

“Before any author submits a body of work, they should already have their work registered with the copyright office. That is THEIR work. They put the time in to write the story. They should take the proper steps to protect their work. It is a lengthy process, but wouldn’t you rather protect your work from being basically stolen from someone you may never see face to face? Copyright is the ONLY thing you SHOULD plan to do before you send something out,” LeBlanc advises. 

“Great question … I have been in this situation. Some publishers are greedy or just bullies that must prove a point. First, let me say this. Read everything twice, highlight what worries you, and ask for help if you don’t understand something. Secondly, know your rights to copyright your work, and make sure they have no real hold on your books. But honestly, we live in a day and age where self-publishing is huge. Publish yourself. The publisher you are signing to is doing nothing you can’t do if you are consistent and driven. Nothing, and I mean nothing comes to you overnight but a dream,” reveals Day. 

“I’ve seen many companies come and go in the industry. I’ve also seen authors crying because they can’t feed their families due to signing a contract that favors the publisher. It made me afraid to sign any contract again. I would research a company, and before I sign a contract thinking that this would fit my style, a major scandal would happen. I am still learning so much about the industry, and the best decision for me is to self-publish. I think my work is valuable and a gift to the world. I think an author can protect themselves by hiring an attorney to read the fine print before signing any contract,” warns Cole. 

“Always copyright your work first and foremost, second look into a publishing houses movements, see how their authors are doing before deciding to join them. Lastly, if you’re capable of doing it independently, go for it. Nothing is better than doing for self,” declares Brown. 

“It’s wrong. They are getting over on people. They need their asses whooped,” surmises Hamid. 

In closing, if you would like to support LeBlanc, Day, Cole, and Brown, you may find their work on Amazon.com. If you would like to support Hamid, you may find his work in audiobook format on Hearthatink.com. Kindly leave a review. Remember, feedback goes a long way for an author. 

Black Femicide

“Black Women Matter” by alecperkins is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Femicide is a hate crime term that defines the act of killing a woman or girl, in particular by a man, and on account of her gender. While the act of femicide has risen globally, in the United States of America, black women and girls are disproportionately victims of the heinous act. As of 2020 “studies show that black women have a 31% higher chance of experiencing physical and sexual violence and the imminent threat of femicide.”

The Violence Policy Center reported on September 29, 2021, that nine out of ten black women are killed by gun violence. The women are also killed by someone known to them.

Sherri Gordon of Very Well Mind describes the issues of black women encountering intimate/domestic violence issues by asserting that “even though Black women experience domestic violence at significantly higher rates than white women, they tend to remain silent out of fear of the police force and a sense of duty to their race and culture.”

Infographic created using Canva.com

 A soldier stationed at Fort Campbell at the border of Kentucky and Tennessee, Tabitha Collard, age twenty-six, body was found after police conducted a welfare check on December 20, 2021. The reason for the welfare check is unclear. However, the killing was ruled an apparent homicide, attempted suicide. The male who shot Collard has not been named but police are confident that there aren’t any other suspects involved.

Jeazell Woodruff, age fifty-four, of Milwaukee, was murdered on December 06, 2021. Woodruff’s body was found along with three other victims after a welfare check. Woodruff was a victim of a murder-suicide. The murderer was Woodruff’s fiancé Fredrick Holmes, age forty-nine.

New York City’s Health and Hospital worker, Rasheeda Barzey, age forty-five, of Brooklyn, New York, was found deceased in April 2021 after 911 received a phone call from Barzey’s nine-year-old daughter. Barzey was murdered alongside two daughters. Barzey’s killer, Joseph McCrimon, age forty-six, shared in common the nine-year-old daughter who placed the emergency call. McCrimon was found deceased from an apparent suicide. There isn’t a history of domestic violence between Barzey and McCrimon. However, McCrimon did have a history of police contact and a manslaughter charge over twenty-eight years old.  

Student Arieuna Reed, age twenty-three, of Brown Deer,  Milwaukee, was found murdered alongside two other adults of which one survived, in February 2022, after taking her two-year-old child to spend time with his father Larvell Huddleston, age twenty-six. Reed was then killed by Huddleston. 

A tactical team found the bodies and part of the interaction was live-streamed via social media. In the video, Huddleston can be heard screaming, “Come get my son.” Huddleston further states, “Ain’t nothing going to justify my actions.” The video has been removed from social media.

Health Rehabilitation Center worker and assistant coach of an all-girls varsity basketball team, Michelle Rawlings, age twenty-five, of Henrico, Virginia was found dead of a murder-suicide after a welfare check on December 31, 2018. Also found was Tyshawn Buckner, age twenty-four. Buckner was also from Henrico, Virginia, and Rawlings ex-boyfriend. Rawlings father stated that the relationship had ended and that “just because those relationships end and are terminated… doesn’t mean life has to be terminated.”

Mother of two, Michelle Rowling, age twenty-five of East St. Louis, was found stabbed to death in her apartment. Her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, Montrell Cooper, age twenty-five, was arrested for the crime. There was a history of domestic violence between Cooper and Rowling. Reports show that Cooper had stabbed Rowling in 2012. After Cooper served a year in jail Rowling was assaulted by Cooper again yet testified in his favor. As a result, Cooper only received probation for that incident. November 25, 2013, Rowling posted on Facebook “So, if anything happens to me tonight just let my kids know I loved them dearly and tell my momma I love her.” Rowling was killed on December 01, 2013. 

In March of 2017, Cooper was sentenced to fifty years after pleading guilty to the murder of Rowling. However, Cooper filed a motion to retract his guilty plea. On April 30, 2021, an appellate court denied the motion filing a decision stating, “this court finds that the instant appeal lacks merit, obligating this court to grant OSAD’s Anders motion and to affirm the judgment of conviction.” 

If you or a loved one are in fear of being harmed or a victim of domestic violence you may contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799- 7233 or text the word ‘Start’ to 88788.

Strictly for My People: An Urban Literary Magazine

Photo submitted by Milagros Lotus-Beyouty Romero

Strictly for My People: An Urban Literary Magazine (The Knowledge Edition) features Milagros “Lotus-Beyouty” Romero and her journey of overcoming the odds.

In this edition, we also feature an article titled ‘The Rough Side of Publishing’ interviewing five veteran authors and what they consider the downside of the Urban Fiction Industry.

There is also an author spotlight of IElaine Jenkins and her literary work.

Link: https://lnkd.in/dihmWzhW

SFMP #Magazine #UrbanLit #Motivation #Authors #AuthorCommunity #Authorspotlight #bookstagram #Books #Literature #Literaturelover #Urbancommunities #RecommendedReads #E4L #EmpressSimone #EmpoweringAuthors #empoweringothers #overcomingtheodds

Black and Missing

“amber alert text” by Robert Couse-Baker is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

It has been reported that a child in the United States of America goes missing every forty seconds. To assist with curbing the issue the Amber Alert system was signed into legislature. Amber is the acronym for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. It was created as a remembrance to nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped on January 13, 1996, while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. Hagerman was then brutally murdered.

The requirements to having an Amber Alert issued are 

• There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.
• The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
• There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child.
• The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger.
• The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.

However, there are said to be disparities between races regarding the issuance of Amber Alerts. As reported by CNNblack children go missing at higher rates. However, their disappearance lack media coverage compared to their white counterparts. 

“One major problem is that minority children are habitually precluded from the alert because they are often labeled runaways by law enforcement,” details Gaétane Borders, Ed.S in a 2021 Biometrica.com article. 

To assist in combatting the disparities black communities face involving missing family members The Black and Missing Foundation was founded by Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson in 2008. Part of their mission statement reads “The Black and Missing Foundation, Inc (BAMFI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to bring awareness to missing persons of color; provide vital resources and tools to missing person’s families and friends and to educate the minority community on personal safety.”

Another resource is the Our Black Girls Website founded by journalist and activist Erika Marie Rivers in 2018. “Each post on Rivers’ site chronicles the story of how a Black girl or woman went missing — and provides a fuller picture of who she is and how much she is loved, based on information from friends and family,” reveals Sharon Pruitt-Young.

Also the black community has implemented the use of social media to spread awareness to missing black children by providing information regarding the missing person then asking their followers to share. The posts usually provide a form of contact information for the family, a picture of missing person, and circumstances surrounding the person’s disappearance. 

If someone you love is black and missing do not only post on social media. You may anonymously report it to the Black and Missing Foundation for assistance with resources. 

Call to Desegregate NYC Specialized Schools Met with Opposition from the Asian American Community: An Update

“NYC – Battery Park City: Stuyvesant High School” by wallyg is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

In 2018 the Asian community protested against Mayor de Blasio’s plan to Desegregate NYC Specialized Schools to start in 2019. The Asian community felt removing the testing policy was racist against Asians when statistics have shown it is racist toward black and Latino students.  The mayor was focused on 5,000 students admitted into these elite schools, only 172 students were black, and 298 were Latino. In addition, some students just missed the cut offline regarding the scoring of such tests. de Blasio felt that those students who narrowly missed the acceptance score should still have a chance to attend the elite schools. Due to this, the mayor reasoned and emphatically stated that “The test has to go.”

New York City Schools’ Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter says, “I know from my 21 years as an educator that far more students could thrive in our Specialized High Schools if only given the chance. Instead, the continued use of the Specialized High School Admissions Test will produce the same unacceptable results over and over again, and it’s far past the time for our students to be fairly represented in these schools.”

Asian Activists feel it’s about ending the merit of the hard work system. “I am not against admission reforms, but it has to be for improving students’ academic performance rather than reaching a racial balance,” says Ling Fei, a parent activist and WeChat blogger who came to the U.S. in 2000 to attend graduate school. “Even when I was in China, I was enchanted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a nation where people are not ‘judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ But now what they are doing is the opposite.”

Standardized Testing still exists in Specialized schools despite de Blasio’s call for the procedure to end and Porter’s feelings the tests are objectionable. Porter expresses the City’s hands are tied because although standardized testing was paused during the Pandemic, the Biden Administration resumed mandatory testing for the academic year 2021 and beyond. Porter claims to cease standardized testing the State Law must be repealed. 

 de Blasio’s mayoral term is ending, and Porter is resigning her position. Eric Adams, New York City’s Mayor-Elect, has named David Banks the appointee for New York Schools’ Chancellor. “Banks is the son of a police officer, raised in Southeast Queens, who has taught in Crown Heights and led several city schools,” reports ABC 7 news channel. However, Banks has made it clear he will not end standardized testing or the Specialized High School Admissions Test.

There are alternatives for black families in New York City who are tired of the educational politics and biased testing procedures. The alternatives are Black-owned schools such as Xyayx Institute. Xyayx Institute focus’ on an African-centered education for black students.

December is National AIDS Awareness Month

“World AIDS Day – Red Ribbon on the White House Portico 33932” by tedeytan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

 December is HIV/AIDS awareness month. HIV is a virus that attacks a person’s immune system, their CD4 cells. HIV is the virus that also causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Those infected with AIDS immune systems are severely weakened. As a result, people with AIDS get serious infections and health problems. The body cannot fight off these infections and may die due to AIDS-related complications.

At the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in June of 1981, it was named GRID, an acronym for Gay-Related Immunodeficiency. HIV was believed only to affect the homosexual population. The acronym AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, came into use when thirteen women and numerous bisexual, and heterosexual men, became infected. 

AIDS affected marginalized groups such as sex workers, gay men, and intravenous drug users. The disease was also spread from pregnant mother to child during delivery. Moreover, at the time of the disease’s founding, there wasn’t any known cure or medication to curb the growing rates amongst those afflicted. Most of the first patients died within months of their illness being diagnosed. The Regan administration was slow to respond to the growing epidemic.

“By 1985, there was a test for HIV that could determine those who had the virus before they had symptoms,” reports GileadHIV.com. After two years of studying the disease, a medication called AZT was implemented, but today it’s known as zidovudine which was fairly effective. As studies of the disease continued treatment required HIV/AIDS patients to consume twenty pills to maintain their health. 

In the 2020s, it is reported that more than one million people are living with HIV. Although the rate of HIV infections decreased from 2015-2019, as of 2019, “the highest rate was for Blacks/African American persons (42.1), followed by Hispanic/Latino persons (21.7) and persons of multiple races (18.4)” with the south being the highest region for infection.

Currently, there isn’t a cure for HIV/AIDS, but medical advancements have improved tremendously. As a result, experts recommend starting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) as soon as diagnosed. “HAART with at least three drugs is standard care for HIV infection,” reports Healthgrades.com. 

Although new infections continue to occur, people live longer with HIV, fewer deaths are being reported. Symptoms of HIV and AIDS may vary. HIV causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, and fatigue, whereas AIDS induces rapid weight loss, profuse night sweats, memory loss, and extreme fatigue. 

Even though there isn’t a cure for HIV/AIDS, preventative measures exist. A few prevention tips are abstinence, do not share needles, and if sexually active, use condoms.

Suppose you think you have been infected or have been infected. In that case, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s website lists state HIV/AIDS hotline numbers aimed at connecting persons with agencies “that can help determine what services you are eligible for and help you get them.”