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blackhistorystoryteller · 8 months

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Title: "The Significance and Diversity of African Names"

Introduction

African names are a reflection of the continent's incredible diversity, culture, history, and traditions. With over 2,000 distinct languages spoken and a multitude of ethnic groups, Africa is a treasure trove of names that carry deep meanings and unique stories. In this article, we'll explore the rich tapestry of African names, their significance, and the cultural diversity they represent.

The Importance of Names

Names hold a special place in African societies. They are more than mere labels; they encapsulate a person's identity, heritage, and often convey messages of hope, aspiration, and blessings. African names are deeply rooted in the belief that a name can shape a person's destiny and character.

Linguistic Diversity

Africa's linguistic diversity is astounding, with thousands of languages spoken across the continent. Each language group has its distinct naming traditions, resulting in a vast array of names. For example, in West Africa, Akan names such as "Kwame" (born on a Saturday) and "Kofi" (born on a Friday) are common, while in East Africa, Swahili names like "Amina" (trustworthy) and "Nia" (purpose) are prevalent.

Meanings and Symbolism

African names are rich in meaning and symbolism, often reflecting the circumstances of a child's birth, their family history, or the aspirations of their parents. Names can signify virtues like courage, strength, and wisdom or convey hopes for a prosperous and fulfilling life.

Family and Heritage

In many African cultures, names are chosen to honor ancestors, celebrate cultural heritage, or connect the child to their roots. This practice ensures that generations remain connected to their family's history and traditions. For example, the Igbo people of Nigeria often use "Ngozi" (blessing) to convey the hope for a blessed life..

Naming Ceremonies

Naming ceremonies are significant events in many African communities. These ceremonies are joyous occasions where family and friends gather to celebrate the birth of a child and bestow a name. The rituals and customs associated with these ceremonies vary widely, showcasing the diversity of African naming traditions.

Modern Influences

In today's globalized world, African names are not confined to the continent. Many people of African descent living outside Africa proudly bear African names, celebrating their cultural heritage and contributing to the global recognition of the beauty and significance of these names.

Conclusion

African names are a testament to the continent's diversity, culture, and history. They carry profound meanings, connect individuals to their heritage, and celebrate virtues and aspirations. As we embrace and appreciate the beauty of African names, we also acknowledge the importance of preserving and passing on these cultural treasures to future generations, ensuring that the rich tapestry of African identity remains vibrant and thriving.

1. **Kwame (Akan, Ghana):** A male name meaning "born on a Saturday."

2. **Ngozi (Igbo, Nigeria):** A unisex name meaning "blessing" or "good fortune."

3. **Lulendo (Lingala, Congo):** A male name meaning "patient" or "tolerant."

4. **Amina (Swahili, East Africa):** A female name meaning "trustworthy" or "faithful."

5. **Kwesi (Akan, Ghana):** A male name meaning "born on a Sunday."

6. **Nia (Swahili, East Africa):** A unisex name meaning "purpose" or "intention."

7. **Chinwe (Igbo, Nigeria):** A female name meaning "God owns" or "God's own."

8. **Mandla (Zulu, South Africa):** A male name meaning "strength" or "power."

9. **Fatoumata (Wolof, Senegal):** A female name meaning "the great woman."

10. **Kofi (Akan, Ghana):** A male name meaning "born on a Friday."

These are just a few examples, and there are countless other African names with unique meanings and significance. It's essential to remember that Africa is incredibly diverse, and each region and ethnic group has its own naming traditions and languages, contributing to the rich tapestry of African names.

The most popular African names among Black Americans can vary widely based on individual preferences, family traditions, and regional influences. Many Black Americans choose names that connect them to their African heritage and celebrate their cultural roots. Here are a few African names that have been embraced by some Black Americans:

1. **Malik:** This name has Arabic and African origins and means "king" or "ruler."

2. **Amina:** A name of Swahili origin, meaning "trustworthy" or "faithful."

3. **Kwame:** Derived from Akan culture, it means "born on a Saturday."

4. **Nia:** A Swahili name representing "purpose" or "intention."

5. **Imani:** Of Swahili origin, it means "faith" or "belief."

6. **Jamal:** This name has Arabic and African roots and means "handsome."

7. **Ade:** A Yoruba name meaning "crown" or "royalty."

8. **Zuri:** Of Swahili origin, it means "beautiful."

9. **Sekou:** Derived from West African languages, it means "fighter" or "warrior."

10. **Nala:** This name is of African origin and means "gift."

It's important to note that while these names have African origins, their popularity among Black Americans can vary by region and individual choice. Additionally, some Black Americans choose to create unique or hybrid names that blend African and American influences, reflecting their personal and cultural identities. The naming choices among Black Americans are diverse and reflect the rich tapestry of their heritage and experiences.

African Languages: A Tapestry of Diversity and Culture"

Introduction

Africa is a continent known for its stunning natural landscapes, diverse wildlife, and rich cultural heritage. Among its many treasures, the continent boasts an astonishing linguistic diversity that is often overlooked. In this article, we delve into the fascinating world of African languages, exploring their diversity, cultural significance, and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world.

The Linguistic Kaleidoscope

Africa is home to over 2,000 distinct languages, making it one of the most linguistically diverse regions on the planet. These languages belong to several different language families, including Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, and Khoisan, each with its unique characteristics.

Niger-Congo Family: The vast majority of African languages, including Swahili, Yoruba, Zulu, and Kikuyu, belong to the Niger-Congo language family. This family stretches across West, Central, and Southern Africa, reflecting the continent's linguistic richness.

Afroasiatic Languages: Arabic, a member of the Afroasiatic family, has a significant presence in North Africa, while other Afroasiatic languages like Amharic are spoken in the Horn of Africa.

Nilo-Saharan Languages: Found in parts of East and North Central Africa, Nilo-Saharan languages include Dinka, Kanuri, and Nubian.

Khoisan Languages: These languages, characterized by their unique click consonants, are primarily spoken by indigenous groups in Southern Africa, such as the San and Khoi people.

Cultural Significance

African languages are not just tools of communication; they are repositories of cultural heritage and identity. They carry the history, stories, and traditions of their speakers. Each language is a key to unlocking the rich tapestry of African cultures, from oral storytelling and folklore to religious rituals and traditional medicine

Preserving Cultural Diversity

Despite their cultural importance, many African languages are endangered. The rise of global languages like English, French, and Portuguese, often due to colonial legacies, has led to the decline of indigenous languages. To address this, efforts are being made to document, preserve, and revitalize endangered African languages through education, community initiatives, and technology.

A Language of Unity

In some regions, African languages are a means of fostering unity. For example, Swahili, a Bantu language with Arabic influences, serves as a lingua franca in East Africa, promoting communication and cooperation among diverse ethnic groups.

Challenges and Opportunities

While African languages face challenges in an increasingly interconnected world, they also offer unique opportunities. Embracing linguistic diversity can strengthen cultural identities, promote inclusive education, and drive economic growth through multilingualism.

Conclusion

African languages are an integral part of the continent's rich heritage and cultural tapestry. They represent the diversity of Africa's peoples and their traditions. While challenges exist, there is hope that efforts to preserve and celebrate these languages will ensure that they continue to thrive, enriching the world with their unique beauty and significance. In an increasingly globalized world, Africa's linguistic diversity is a testament to the resilience and vibrancy of its cultures.

#life #animals #culture #aesthetic #black history #history #blm blacklivesmatter #anime and manga #architecture #black community #language

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sweetdonutsart · 10 months

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Say it Louder: Black Lives Matter ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽📢

i create a blm piece every year in June (usually on Juneteenth) to celebrate and remind people of black lives still being affected by injustice. it’s something that’s very personal to me and what better way to do it than with Juniper 🧡🧡🧡 so make sure you educate yourself and stay safe today!

#blm blacklivesmatter #juneteenth #black women #black tumblr #my oc art #painting #digital painting #my artwork #been doing this for 4 years and it still lowkey fucks me up #juniper looks amazing each year though #progress

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jaywrites101 · 2 years

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So, we got your feedback

When I Blazed the advertisement post for my book The Wingman, I got a lot of positive feedback: from the black mc, to the fresh idea of following a homeless man who stays homeless in the end... It was pretty gratifying for me to get such good notes! But there was one criticism that kept reoccurring: the cover.

Now, I'm an adult. I've been online for a while now, and I thought I understood where this was coming from. Eighty percent of this hate is people just being put off by the idea of Blaze and hoping that, if they complained enough, Tumblr would remove it. Sure.

But then we found this unnamed expert who opened our eyes to the REAL problem!

Oh, right! It's the kernelling, duh! How did we not see it? Clearly, the font and the colorations were just ALL WRONG!

And you can't have a standard font with automated spacings! You need to hand-do that stuff, or people will think you published a book by yourself!

And they're right! So I talked with my illustrator, and we worked together to come up with a solution. For the kernelling AND the quality of the artwork!

See? Much better, right? The kernelling is now 100% hand-done, and you can see for yourself that having it fixes every problem people had with the cover! And that legibility is just so much better!

But I thought we could surpass our limits!

So we did.

The kernelling comment really impressed to me that the problem was just that a hand-drawn style—no matter how gorgeously done it was in five-year-old-kid authentic CRAYONS this time!—doesn't really look good. It doesn't sell that my book is a nitty-gritty serious book for adults! Why it looks like it might be made for children—Perish the notion!

It's the same reason you can't buy hot-pink cars. Other adults might laugh at you!

We can't have that!

So we went to work on a cover that reflects our mature and serious tastes as consummate professionals:

How about that! Now with 95% less color!! This is a cover you can take to the office with you. It just screams I do tax work for fun! With this book in hand, the guys at the office will feel outright inferior to your vast intellect! Girls will be indubitably impressed by your refined tastes. And ladies, if guys see you reading this book, they'll be so intimidated at your agglomeration of literature that they'll leave you alone! And yes, this is 100% hand-done kernelling too! What a savings!!! ...

but...

Gee... I don't know... something just feels... missing.

It felt like we needed some passion! So we went ahead and borrowed from the Romance Genre of book covers to make a third design.

You're welcome.

HAWT!! Now that's how you do a book cover! It's just so original and steamy!

But, oh nose! Now we can't decide which is the best cover to use!

Now it's up to you to vote on which cover is your favorite! Leave a comment or reblog with your thoughts. If you haven't seen it (or just want a reminder), the original post can be found here or you can buy The Wingman at any of these outlets:

Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, Bookshop.org, BookFinder, or Amazon

Below the cut is my serious review of using Blaze to advertise The Wingman. Read it to see if Blaze is a good fit for you! This parody of Clinch Cover's Art was made in part using free Unslpash stock photo's by Justin Essah, Meg Jerrard, and Mathew Schwartz.

Okay, now that that's over—serious business time! As you may know, I bought the largest Blaze package at $150.00 USD for approximately 50,000 impressions. This was in effect from Thursday, April 21, 08:38 to Friday, April 22, 08:38.

Overall, I got 58,193 Impressions. This broke down into: 239 likes, 50 reblogs, 7 comments (a few of them were my own.) 1 Follow (which was probably due to me adding them first) and 11 shares off of Tumblr.

I had two people purchase The Wingman. One print, one e-book. Meaning I had a net loss of about $130.00USD. And the post I Blazed has had precious few notes on it since Blazing.

What does this mean to the book industry? Well, it means advertising sucks. For one thing.

We meticulously combed the meta qualities of my serious post to be widely appealing and upbeat (qualities that get lots of reblogs). I know many people think that means I was cheating, but keep in mind—despite gaming the meta content to be marketable, I lost money. This, unfortunately, tracks with similar experiments done on Facebook and Amazon. If you're trying to advertise your stuff as an indie artist/author—DON'T! Tumblr is selling about the same impressions that other sites are using at about half the cost... actually, less than that, if you take in the fact that people find Tumblr advertisements amusing. It is important to note: This was NOT a high traffic day, so doing a similar experiment on a Friday/Saturday may yield slightly better results. Tags are a roulette. I did my best to tag appropriately, but there is most certainly a better method to utilize tagging. I did not follow up with a second Blaze on the same post to see if the extra advertising would reach different people. I suspect it will, but we deemed it too risky to Blaze the same serious advertisement twice. Ideally, an advertisement builds goodwill so people will like you; ours had mixed results on that front. A second Blaze would've stretched people's patience too much. Especially since there appears to be Blaze purists who want Blaze to only be used to meme on people.

Overall, being a novelist is harder than ever. At least with image art, the artist's work gets to speak for itself. The Art of Writing has to evolve, and the Art of Storytelling is trending toward shorter one-off posts or things in which other users can participate.

TL;DR: It's better to use Blaze to advertise yourself than it is to go anywhere else. But Blazing alone will not help you market your books. Expect to lose money.

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elekid · 1 year

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hey as many of you know i been battling some medical issues the past 2 weeks, that i finally got resolved yesterday at the hospital. However, my account is now $-142 in the negatives. My bank will forgive $315 of fees if i bring my balance above zero by the 5th. heres how to help!

spread this document!

and share these links!

you can send me money! These are all safe avenues to do so!

paypal.me/furbyfridays

venmo.com/u/retrovirus666

cash.app/$retrovirus666

ko-fi.com/schizocetacean

Wishlist vvv

#behind the scenes #deleting once we reach the goal!#black mutual aid #blm blacklivesmatter #crowdfunding #dont tag it as ebegging i will feel sad. its bad enough i have to already :(

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joaniejustwokeup · 1 year

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#Justin Pearson #in the well today #in the well speech #Tennessee #blm blacklivesmatter #end gun violence #us politics #tiktok

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silvergeek · 2 years

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I had no idea that Tolkien fans were so nasty and racist.

Any time I try to look up any information about Rings of Power, comment sections are overwhelmed by racist freaks. I swear to fucking god, these people don't have anything worse going on in their lives other than a film studio hiring a Puerto Rican to portray an elf or a black English woman to play a dwarf. (Even Isildur is too ethnic for some of these fans. Like jfc, so sorry he's not a WASP.)

What blows my mind is the sheer number of complaints, just about each one of them starting with, "I'm not racist but..." and ending with this rant insisting that Tolkien wanted all of his fictional little magic characters to be white. (Ok. Fair enough. He probably DID envision them all as white. He's a dead guy who was born in the fucking 1800's.)

Lol. "I'm not racist but I can't stop obsessing over the hobbits' skin color!" Jesus christ.

1. I'm currently re-reading the Silmarillion and nowhere does it explicitly state that everyone must be Caucasian.

2. There are numerous citations about some people actually having darker skin (e.g. harfoots).

3. The people who are screaming, "But this is OUR contemporary European mythology! Stop shoehorning black people into it!" Newsflash: there are black Europeans, assholes. Born and raised in your fucking countries. They know no other culture aside from --whichever country they gotta put up with your shit in. (Yes, my grammar sucks. Fuck off.) Why the hell do you act like these people do not exist?

I can't say the USA is any better with these attitudes, but I thank the fucking stars for having visibly outspoken, politically active African American women to keep our bullshit in line.

Imagine being a woman or a POC (or both) and anytime you apply for a job, audition for a role, or enter into any sort of competition and actually win based on your talents/skills, just around the corner there's a legion of assholes screaming that you were only picked because of tokenism. Imagine going through life being told over and over that your effort means nothing and that anytime you succeed at any given thing, you're just being pandered to. And imagine that the people saying this shit to you are pretending to be on YOUR side. And imagine, just for a moment, that these same people happily watch white guy after white guy walk into success and never ever question if whether or not their white guy peers are playing favorites -- because surely those people are impartial in all of their decision making. (Did they pick a white guy? It's an impartial choice! Did they pick a black lady? WOKE BULLSHIT PANDERING::blood erupts from esophagus::)

Imagine all of that, then go take a nice big shit in your garage.

Also, this uruk hai is totally gonna eat this little boy. Off topic, really. The pic is just there to get your attention.

Between the nasty backlash of Sandman and Rings of Power, complete with death threats and everything, I have to say this takes me back to the uprising of Gamergate.

They performed all of these same hate rituals, but aimed squarely at women in gaming. Zoey Quinn caught the brunt of it -- people even figured out her father's home phone number and made threatening calls to him.

I remember Anita Sarkeesian would have to cancel expos due to bomb threats.

These are typically the actions of some subhuman demographic, mostly male, aged 20's to 50's, typically white (not always) and either straight or profoundly closeted. Politically... they tend to think of themselves as freedom lovers, but at the root of their ideologies, you'll find stagnant traditionalism dancing in rhythm with contemporary neo-conservatism. Freedom for them, not for anyone else.

These are the people who don't want women to design video games, they don't want black/hispanic/Indian folks in their TV shows except as forgettable side characters, and they don't want the gays. Never ever with the gays. (And anything beyond "gay" doesn't exist in their minds. It's made up.)

I remember all this back in 2014. They review bombed games, in fact. They were a bunch of keyboard warriors for the most part. They eventually lost, because now we have a more diverse gaming industry. Most of them can only find their male gaze fixations with the big-tittied anime girls in obscure JRPG's pumped out by Japan, China, and Korea -- at best.

They're just scum. They really are. And they hate change. And they're cowards.

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demigoddessqueens · 2 years

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Fun fact. Columbus' behavior was so fucked up, it sparked a investigation by the Spanish government and even people in his own time thought he was a brutal greedy tyrant and a right monster of a human being.

Deserved!

#indigenous rights #indigenous representation #indigenous peoples day #fuck christopher columbus #those who celebrate are going to meet him and their inbreds #blm #blm blacklivesmatter

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hi-its-cookie · 9 months

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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SHARE THIS AROUND.

#blm blacklivesmatter #black lives matter #gofundme #share #share this please #important

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vanneessaayala · 2 years

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My friend Jayden Baez was brutally shot infront of a walmart after 2 passengers in his car were acused of stealing pokemon carde and pizza. Jayden never went into the store, he was simply the driver. Jayden was shot 6 times in the chest and twice in his hands. Joseph (passenger) was shot 3 times in each hand and was forced to have a finger amputated. Michael (passenger) was shot 3 times in the back. Police brutality is a real thing ! Jayden 20, Joseph 19, and Michael 18. I grew up with these kids ! Jayden was my bestfriend ! Police Brutality needs to stop. Theres an ongoing investigation, the cops that shot him havent released their names and they resigned from their work force. Why ? because they know they fucked up. Jaydens story needs to be heard. LLJ

i love you and i miss you. 🕊

#stop police brutality #justiceforjaydenbaez #orlando #florida #police brutality #blm blacklivesmatter #black history

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bitch-my-blood-is-chanel · 2 years

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✨✨hey hey hey✨✨

Join my discord!!

Here are some of the rules😤:

* 18+ SFW

* Support BLM/stop asian hate

* Identify as a girl, gay or they. NO cisgender heterosexual men are allowed thank u:)

* LGBTQ+ safe space!!🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

* No transphobia, ableism, racism etc.

🧚🪴this is a place for queerfolk who like plants, anime, gaming or food🪴🧚

🫧There are:🫧

* Self roles💜

* Cool emotes

* crime channel to discuss true crime and crime theories

* art channel to show of ur work and promote ur art

* vent channel to get things off ur chest or even ask for advice

We have

* a semi-toxic, mostly active welcoming community🫂

* suggestion channel to make the server better for everyone

* fun bots too like the mudae bot (only available to those who would like to participate)

* game nights where we play fortnite, minecraft or splatoon

🪅 Server made 🪅: 20/09/2021

Please be respectful😌

link ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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talisidekick · 1 year

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If you're aware of bigots actively campaigning to end healthcare access to minority groups, remove books about minorities from libraries, and stopping kids from learning about minorities in school; and you do nothing but watch, you're helping the bigots.

Any act of oppression observed and not acted upon aids the oppressors, not the victims. It's not "not your fight", it has been made your fight by the very act of oppression being attempted. You are involved.

And you have three choices: two are for oppression, the other against. You can:

watch,

assist,

or resist.

Please, for fucks sake, resist.

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blackhistorystoryteller · 8 months

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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HEAD OF OBA

THE BENIN KINGDOM

THE LOOTED TREASURES BY THE BRITISH EMPIRE

BLACK HISTORY IS DEEPER THAN SLAVE TRADE

The head sculptures of the Oba of Benin, also known as the Benin Bronzes, are a collection of intricate bronze and brass sculptures created by the Edo people of Nigeria. These sculptures typically depict the reigning Oba (king) of the Benin Empire and were produced over several centuries, with some dating back to the 13th century.

They are renowned for their artistic and historical significance, representing the cultural heritage and power of the Benin Kingdom. These sculptures often portray the Oba wearing coral beaded regalia, symbolizing his divine status and authority.

Many of these artifacts were taken from Benin during the late 19th century by British colonial forces, and they are now scattered in museums and private collections worldwide. There have been ongoing discussions and negotiations regarding their repatriation to Nigeria to restore their cultural heritage.

The head sculptures of the Oba of Benin remain a testament to the rich artistic and historical legacy of the Edo people and the Benin Kingdom.

HOW THE BRITISH STOLE FROM THE EDO TRIBE

1. British Punitive Expedition: In 1897, a British expedition, led by British officials and soldiers, was sent to the Benin Kingdom (in what is now Nigeria) with the stated objective of punishing the Oba of Benin, Oba Ovonramwen, for resisting British influence and trade in the region.

2. Sacking of the Royal Palace: During the expedition, the British forces entered the royal palace in Benin City, where many of these intricate bronze and brass sculptures were housed. The palace was looted, and numerous artifacts, including the Benin Bronzes, were taken.

3. Confiscation and Dispersal: The looted artifacts were then confiscated by the British authorities and later distributed to various individuals, museums, and institutions. Many of these artworks ended up in European museums and private collections.

The theft of the Benin Bronzes remains a contentious issue, as these artworks are considered cultural treasures of the Edo people and Nigeria as a whole. There have been ongoing discussions and demands for the repatriation of these artifacts to Nigeria, which has gained momentum in recent years as part of broader efforts to address historical injustices related to colonial-era looting.

The head sculptures of the Oba of Benin, like many traditional African artworks, hold deep symbolic significance within the context of the Benin Kingdom and its culture. Here are some of the key symbols and meanings associated with these sculptures:

1. Royal Authority: The Oba's head sculptures symbolize the authority and divine status of the reigning monarch, who was regarded as a sacred figure in Benin society. The elaborate regalia, such as coral beads and headdresses, worn by the Oba in these sculptures signifies his royal and spiritual power.

2. Ancestral Connections: The sculptures often depict the Oba with distinctive facial scarification patterns and detailed facial features. These features can represent specific ancestors or dynastic connections, emphasizing the Oba's lineage and connection to past rulers.

3. Historical Record: The sculptures also serve as historical records, documenting the appearance and regalia of the Oba during their reigns. This provides valuable insights into the history and evolution of the Benin Kingdom over the centuries.

4. Spiritual Protection: Some sculptures may incorporate elements like beads and cowrie shells, which were believed to have protective and spiritual qualities. These elements were worn by the Oba not only for their aesthetic value but also for their symbolic protection.

5. Cultural Identity: Beyond their specific symbolic meanings, the head sculptures are integral to the cultural identity of the Edo people and the Benin Kingdom. They represent the rich artistic traditions and heritage of the kingdom and its rulers.

It's important to note that the symbolism of these sculptures is deeply rooted in the cultural and historical context of the Benin Kingdom, and their interpretation can vary among different individuals and communities.

#life #animals #culture #aesthetic #black history #history #blm blacklivesmatter #anime and manga #architecture #black community #black heritage

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petervintonjr · 10 months

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"True emancipation lies in the acceptance of the whole past in deriving strength from all of my roots, in facing up to the degradation as well as the dignity of my ancestors."

As we come to the end of Pride Month 2023, I wanted to devote a little time to the remarkable life of Rev. Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray --civil rights attorney, Episcopal priest, scholar, and advocate. Born in 1910 Baltimore, their mother tragically died when Murray was only four, and their father succumbed to depression and was later murdered in a mental hospital, and so Murray was raised by an aunt and grandparents, in a time when the threat of violence from the Ku Klux Klan was never too far away. Murray later moved to New York City and graduated from Hunter College in 1933 (as Columbia College did not at the time admit women). Throughout the 1930's Murray grappled with sexual and gender identity --this is in fact when they took on the preferred male-identifying name of "Pauli." A gifted photographer but an even more prolific author, Murray worked as a teacher with the New York City Remedial Reading Project, which offered a great deal of opportunity to write and publish. Among other publications, Pauli's essays and articles about civil rights would regularly appear in The Crisis and in Common Sense (both publications of the NAACP).

Pauli took the unusual (and risky!) step of petitioning to apply to graduate school at the University of North Carolina (current events alert!) --at the time an all-white institution. Such a prospect was considered sufficiently unobtainable that even the NAACP declined to actively support this effort. Pauli had in the meantime cultivated the acquaintance of then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as A. Philip Randolph (see Lesson #68 in this series); associations which would later carry consequences. Pauli is listed as one of the founders of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), along with Bayard Rustin (see Lesson #5 in this series), and James Farmer (Lesson #17). In 1943 they published a hugely important essay: "Negroes Are Fed Up;" and also a poem, Dark Testament, both of which spoke to the Harlem Race Riot of 1935.

In 1944 Murray graduated from Howard University Law School --while largely identifying as a man but still presenting as a woman, Murray famously coined the expression "Jane Crow" to describe the experience. They then applied to Harvard Law for an advanced degree on a Rosenwald Fellowship but was turned down --reportedly not due to racism (exact same current events alert!) but definitely due to sexism. They instead opted for the University of California Boalt School of Law; their graduate thesis was titled "The Right to Equal Opportunity in Employment." In 1945 Murray was named deputy attorney general for the state of California; the first African American to hold that post. In 1951 Pauli published States' Laws On Race and Color, a book that would later be described by Thurgood Marshall as the "Bible" for civil rights litigation, and was conspicuously referenced during Brown v. Board of Education arguments.

In 1952 the scourge of McCarthyism caught up with Murray and cost them a number of prestigious posts due to affiliation with "radicals" like Marshall, Randolph, and particularly Ms. Roosevelt. Unbowed, Pauli went on to publish the gripping biographical account Proud Shoes, which led in turn to a job offer in the litigation dept. of Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton, and Garrison (as in, Lloyd), where she would meet lifelong partner Irene Barlow. In 1960 Pauli was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the Committee on Civil And Political Rights, but the issue of intersectionality was never far from their priorities; notably in 1963 Murray took Bayard Rustin, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King to task for not including a single woman speaker at the March On Washington. Perhaps the most fascinating coda to this remarkable life comes in 1977, when in the wake of Irene Barlow's passing, Murray became the very first African-American woman Episcopal priest. Pauli died in 1985, having never come out publicly.

For a comprehensive listing of Pauli's writings, visit the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice: https://www.paulimurraycenter.com/paulis-writing

#black lives matter #teachtruth #dothework #blm blacklivesmatter #pride month #pride #pauli murray

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ghostk1d666 · 2 years

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This is something I wrote when I was 15. Please I was young and the world is more woke but I thought it might be interesting.

Don't mix my mother told me.

I was shocked.

My mother had head black friends and at the time i thought she wasn't a racist.

She said to me that i can be friends with a skin of another color.

But if i dare to touch them, letting their black skin ruin my white skin pale as snow

That i would not be treated like the human i was treated before.

I feel as if my mother does not understand the word

Love.

She sees that love should only extend to a certain point.

I argue with her, telling her that my beliefs are different, that my opions and point of views were different so the conversation wouldn't continue on and so i could make a point of where i stood.

But i was soon told that my beliefs were just phases and that i had been raised different-to believe in the family beliefs.

Because beliefs and range of thinking ,to them are tape that they put up as you were in the womb. But what they do not understand is that this generation has taught me over my mother's words that you should love who you love, and not judge on the base of someone's skin, where their from, or who they love.

Because love is something that no one can control. So why fight against it?

Why not let love be free?

I was told not to mix.

I was told i could see but not touch.

But mother, i am not ok with this.

If it is someone i love i do not care what “colors” you said they will leave

Because once my heart chooses who it wants and this world was destined for something great

Than your racial beliefs.

#writing #slam poets on tumblr #poetry #slam poem #race #blm blacklivesmatter

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krislovessza · 2 years

Text

Sza without makeup 🤍

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fleurslilliam · 2 years

Text

beg me to leave.

rid my hands of this incessant plea.

tell me you love me then I’ll leave you be.

watch my hands wither into white as they claw to you, the thought of you,an idea of you.

so sweet in theory, so soft in memory

yet so tireless in action

void of substance and consistency

filled with denial and rage

yet I’ll hold on to this hand, clench my fists at the thought of it draining the life out of another

a life I so tirelessly and lovingly abide to in hopes one day

this hand will slip.

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