Tag Archives: history

In the Library “The Drunken Botanist”


 Online Exclusive …  Anthropologie

In this fascinating read, best-selling author Amy Stewart delves into the process of fermenting plants into some of the greatest time-honored drinks. With over fifty spirited recipes and growing hints for gardeners, this work is sure to take your bartending skills to the next level.

  • Hardcover
  • 400 pages
  • Algonquin Books
  • Style No. 30251664

Black History… is American History


The featured image is by -Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, 1876-1958  “Loading a Rice Schooner”,c.1935

“I am no friend of slavery, but i prefer the liberty of my own country to that of another people, and the liberty of my own race to that of another race. The liberty of the descendants of Africa in the United States is incompatible with the safety and liberty of the European descendants. Their slavery forms an exception (resulting from a stern and inexorable necessity) to the general liberty in the United States.”  

 – Henry Clay

***********************************

Richard Powell said, “Jacob Lawrence maintained that he was not a “protest” painter but a depictor of scenes. He had ambitious visions and experimented considerably with his styles over the decades. Some of his works in the series”Over the line” are a bit clumsy, but most likely intentionally so and always strong and there is little ambiguity about his sympathy for his subjects.”

I strongly suggest looking reading and researching the works …”scenes” of the great Jacob Lawerence … they speak loud and clear – say what so many of us are feeling yet too timid to express.

– Richard Powell 

Please checkout the link below …

https://whitney.org/www/jacoblawrence/overview.html

I am a big Jacob Lawrence fan … met him; he was very calm quiet and gracious and UW was very fortunate to have him as an  “Artist in Residence” and faculty member. Anyway, his “scenes” speak to the current social conditions of today and the quote I choose to use for my rant is from Henry Clay … a symbol of conservatism … in a bad way and could explain the need for both the “Harriet Tubman” and”Migration of the Negro” series – Nativegrl77

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org :::::: He broke his own neck?


In memory… Freddie Gray

It looks like Baltimore police are trying to blame Freddie Gray for his own death.

Police and prosecutors are refusing to officially release information about the investigation into Freddie Gray’s death. But at the same time, someone just leaked a police document that quotes a prisoner who rode in the same van as Gray, saying that Gray “was intentionally trying to injure himself.”1This anonymous leak almost certainly came from someone in the Baltimore police department.

It’s despicable. And it’s exactly the same type of victim-blaming we saw years ago when Baltimore police gave another Baltimore resident a “rough ride,” paralyzing him and eventually killing him in a hauntingly similar case.2

We’ve seen time and time again what happens when police are given the authority and political cover to police themselves. No transparency. No accountability. No prosecution. Unless Governor Hogan brings independent oversight to this case, we can expect the same familiar miscarriage of justice.3,4

Will you join nearly 40,000 ColorOfChange member in urging Governor Hogan to appoint Attorney General Frosh to assist the case against Freddie Gray’s killers?

Freddie Gray's family marches for justice

The prisoner quoted in this leak was separated from Gray by a metal barrier, so he couldn’t have seen Gray. According to the leaked document, he claims he heard Gray banging on the walls, and that he thinks Gray was trying to hurt himself. But if Gray was banging on the walls, it could be because he was desperately trying to get help.5We already know that he had been requesting medical attention, and those requests were ignored.

And Gray might not have been banging on the walls at all. According to other versions of the story, Gray was unresponsive by the time the second person was loaded into the van.6Whatever happened, what’s clear is that this leak is an attempt to shape the story in a way that absolves police of responsibility — at a time when law enforcement is refusing to release other information about the case.

Nearly 40,000 ColorOfChange members are urging Governor Hogan to send Attorney General Frosh to support the investigation and prosecution of Freddie Gray’s death. This leak makes it clear that the current investigation cannot be trusted. Baltimore police and State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby are heading down the same path of denied justice that has allowed Baltimore’s crisis of discriminatory police violence to flourish for years.

In 2014, 100% of people killed by Baltimore Police were Black. And almost none of those officers have ever been held accountable.7 Over the past 5 years, Baltimore police have paid millions to people injured and paralyzed by police “rough rides.”8 Freddie Gray was killed. And his family, Baltimore, and America have the right to an independent investigation that gets to the bottom of what happened and ensures the greatest measure of justice.

Take action to escalate pressure on Governor Hogan and build the widespread support we will need to win.

Thanks and peace,

— Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Lyla, Shani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team

April 30th, 2015

References

1. “Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document says,” Washington Post 4-29-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4783?t=5&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

2. “Freddie Gray not the first to come out of Baltimore police van with serious injuries,” The Baltimore Sun Post 04-23-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4784?t=7&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

3. “Police Kill Black Women All The Time, Too — We Just Don’t Hear About It,” Bustle 12-08-2014
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4785?t=9&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

4. “Why I Don’t Trust Baltimore Prosecutors with Freddie Gray Case,” Legal Speaks 4-22-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4769?t=11&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

5. “Prisoner Was Wrong: Freddie Gray Didn’t Kill Himself,” Daily Beast, 4-30-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4789?t=13&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

6. “Baltimore Cop’s Relative Claims Freddie Gray Was Injured Before He Got In Van,” Daily Beast, 4-30-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4790?t=15&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

7. BaltimoreUprising.org
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4788?t=17&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

8. “Baltimore’s “rough rides”: the city has paid out millions to people injured in police vans,” Vox, 04-28-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4786?t=19&akid=4326.1174326.ll2mw6

Giving Thanks …


Thanksgiving turkey video

There are so many things to be thankful for –

being alive …

having children who are very much alive, well, and feisty as ever.

 We should all be thankful for life, liberty, laughter, love, and that we are all still able to share, be mindful of those who have less.

Happy Thanksgiving … 

Imagine a World with NO Nukes & NO Chemical Weapons … that respects ethics while putting legacy land religion and greed aside for the prosperity for their next generation

and No Covid19 … world goals

 ~ Nativegrl77

Black History Month …a repost


by on Feb 9, 2012 still rings true

African American History Month honors the rich legacy of African Americans throughout our nation’s history. This year’s theme recognizes the unique contributions of African American women. February 9, 2012.