I LOVE BLACK WOMEN!!!

Natural Hair vs. Chemically treated hair!

The Honorable Dr. Amos Wilson

Happy Birthday Mrs. Davis!

I would love to pay tribute to a wonderful young lady as she begins the second third of her life. She is without a doubt a natural African beauty, my friend Mrs. Davis!!!

Whatever happened to the Black Power movement?

R&B singer Kim Weston sings "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" in front of 100,000 people at Wattstax--a festival at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20, 1972 organized by the Memphis Stax label to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Watts riots and black power, pride, culture, tradition and heritage struggle. The party and peaceful atmosphere of Wattstax was seen by some as "African Americans answer to Woodstock". Be it charity or benefit, in order to encourage as many members of the black Americans community in LA to attend the event at Memorial Coliseum, tickets were sold at $1.00 each. Customs included advertisements and commercials in play for the event. There have been several recordings from this festival and a documentary film. It was a celebration to upstage all celebrations. Reverend Jesse Jackson gave the invocation, which included his "I Am - Somebody" poem, which was recited in a call and response with the assembled stadium crowd. There was a film directed by Mel Stuart which was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Documentary in 1974.

And you think you serve a different master?

Happy Thanksgiving??!!

Thanksgiving? My divine intellect reveals too many contradictions for me to embrace the holiday with the same nationalistic vigor as most Americans. I however, feel that giving thanks is an appropriate response to the many blessings I receive from the Universe.  I try to give thanks every single day. I really hope that one day, my every action will be an offering of thanks to the universe in return for the wonderful experience that living my life has been.

This Thanksgiving, ( the U.S. holiday) I spent with friends. A wonderful time it was, my little brother Khali was there, with his sister and their friend Raphaella, they provide all the live entertainment that I could ask for. Khansa the host and cook for the evening really did her thing. With true vegetarian resolve I didn't eat any turkey today but I will admit that it was a good looking bird. 

For preparing such a wonderful meal and being a wonderful mother, I pay tribute to her natural beauty. 

Black Consciousness Day, Brazil

Today is the Black Consciousness Day in Brazil! Well at KM it's always black consciousness day but it does my heart good to know that the African identity is strong in the diaspora. FYI Brazil has the largest population of Africans outside of Africa. As a matter of fact the only country with a larger African population is Nigeria. 

For all your friends who don't know Brazilians are Black too! Don't laugh I've had that conversation several times with college educated African Americans.

An article I found at www.afropresencia.com

Brazil gears up to celebrate Black consciousness

By Karen Juanita Carrillo

More than half of the citizens of São Paulo, Brazil celebrate November 20th as “National Black Consciousness Day (Dia da Consciência Negra),” the editors of the Brazilian website Afropress.com have declared . 

In Salvador da Bahia, where the entire month is being celebrated as “Black November,” 80 thousand people are expected to take part in a “Freedom Walk” on Tuesday, November 20th. But in São Paulo - which is both Brazil's most populous city and the city with the largest population of people of African descent outside of Africa - preparations are underway for what’s expected to be a major march along the Avenida Paulista, it is being called the Marcha da Consciência Negra/Black Consciousness March or Parada Negra/Black Parade. Contingents from various other cities are on their way to São Paulo to take part in the parade. 

Parada Negra participants
(Afropress.com photo) 

Government-sponsored recognitions will also take place. Radiobrás, the national radio agency, is planning a week of special programs on the subject of racism in Brazil and it will look at efforts to promote racial equality. The Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) has noted that the holiday is already so well recognized that banks in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Campinas, Marabá and Vilhena will all be closed on Tuesday, November 20 as each of those cities recognize the day as a bank holiday. 

Established under law number 10.639 in 2003, the Dia da Consciência Negra recalls the life of Zumbi who, on November 20, 1695, was betrayed by a follower, captured by Brazil’s Portuguese soldiers and beheaded. Zumbi was a leader of the quilombo of Palmares – a community of self-liberated Afro Brazilians who had fled from the sugar plantations in Pernambuco.  Brazil’s Black movement has used the image of Zumbi as a symbol to promote the idea of resistance and independence for its community.

Afro Brazilian Senator Paulo Paim, who is also chair of the nation’s Commission on Human Rights, has proposed legislation to make the Dia da Consciência Negra a national holiday.  Sen. Paim is collecting signatures on an online petition for those who support a Statute of Racial Equality that would enforce a Brazil without racism.

Senator Paulo Paim

The marches, petitions, parades and celebrations this year will merely foreshadow events due to take place next year, when Afro Brazilians commemorate 2008 as the 120th anniversary of the abolition of African slavery in their country.

“In Brazil, the Dia da Consciência Negra is a holiday in some 5,561 cities.  This means the day will be respected by 40.3 million people – or nearly 22 percent of Brazil’s 183.4 million citizens,” Afropress.com notes.  Afro-Brazilians are 49.5 percent of Brazil’s population.

Paying tribute to another Natural Sistah!!!

Black Women Shine in This Year's Poetry Prizes

All Things Considered, November 18, 2007 · Four of the most prestigious poetry prizes went to African-American women this year. Some say the accolades are well overdue. Fueling this trend are a growing number of literary organizations that nurture the work specifically of black writers.

Listen to NPR piece at the address below:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16404387

African Americans Need to Share Their Technical Knowledge With The Motherland!

Below is an article I found today at www.allafrca.com. It's speaks to a point that many Pan Africanist have made since the Honorable Marcus Garvey. It's a point that has flown over the heads of many African Americans. Being African American we should see the problems the clearest. However, the powers that be have the majority of our youth watching BET and CW. And with many of the adults listening to Michael Baysden and Steve Harvey. There is no wonder why we as a people don't have a clue as to what's necessary for Africa's future. Understand this, African American's future is intertwined with Africa's future.

Africa: Diaspora Must Share Knowledge - Mbeki

18 November 2007
Posted to the web 18 November 2007

Lavinia Mahlangu
Johannesburg

President Thabo Mbeki has outlined the pressing need for Africa and Africans in the Diaspora to share knowledge and economic cooperation, in order to boost development.

Addressing the African Diaspora Ministerial Conference on Friday, President Mbeki explained: "There is an urgent need for knowledge sharing and economic cooperation between Africa and the Diaspora.

"For instance, the development programme of the African Union, NEPAD [New Partnership for Africa's Development], has developed various projects and programmes that are currently being implemented."

Delegates from Africa, Latin America, North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and the Caribbean have been meeting at the conference, opened by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to produce a framework, programme of action and draft declaration.

This declaration is to be presented to the African Union Heads of State Summit in 2008 and the African Diaspora scheduled to be held in South Africa in the first half of next year.

Sharing knowledge with the aim of boosting development, could be taken forward in areas such as telecommunication, explained President Mbeki.

"The report presented to this conference indicates, among other things, that the regional consultative conferences that have already taken place have strongly emphasised the need for the development of modern communication infrastructure in Africa in the form of satellite networks and fibre optic cables."

Mr Mbeki made mention of one of NEPAD's important projects, the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy).

The 9 900km-long submarine cable between Durban and Port Sudan, is set to transform the telecommunication sector in Africa, cut telecommunication costs and is expected to be in operation by the end of 2008.

"There are indeed other projects in different sectors and I am confident that through these projects some of which are in collaboration with partners from the developed north, the vision of the African Renaissance will, in time, become a living reality," said the President.

"At the same, if we were able to work better together with the Africans in the Diaspora, utilising the skills and expertise that many of them have, many of these programmes and projects will be implemented faster and I am certain more efficiently. "

Further to this, President Mbeki fully endorsed the identification by the regional consultative conferences of the need for collaboration between the private sectors in Africa and the Diaspora to increase access to capital, to business expertise and markets to accelerate development both on the Continent and the African Diaspora.

"For this reason, for instance, the African Union fully supported our proposal to FIFA that we should treat the 2010 Soccer World Cup which we will host, as an African Soccer World Cup, inclusive of the African Diaspora," said the President.

"Accordingly, therefore, our Continent is at one that the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup should also benefit the African Diaspora. We remain committed to this goal."

In his concluding remarks, the President made this plea to continent's citizens and its members in the Diaspora:

"Fellow Africans: Together, we will have to work hard to implement the recommendations that you will be making at this conference so that our meetings should always be important platforms for action that would ensure that Africans, wherever they are, enjoy prosperity and are able to walk tall among all the peoples of the world."

Natural African Beauty!!!

I am African spirit and intellect. My physical location here in the U.S.A. does nothing to dampen the glow of all things inherently African. Nothing is more inherent to Africa than the Black woman in her natural state. Part of what this blog will become is a photojournal which pays tribute to African womanhood in its natural state. "Natural" for the sake of this blog means, devoid of traditional european concepts of beauty. No relaxers! No blonde, red, blue, or pink coloring. However, I am at a bit of a quandary in regards to the heat straightening of naturally nappy hair. It seems to be a general consensus among my sisters, that hair straightened with hear, (hot combed or blow dried) is still natural. I'm not sure that I am in agreement with that consensus, but I'm sure as this blog evolves so will my thoughts and understanding of the matter.

Here is a beautiful young lady KM's first natural beauty.