Yeah...I Don't Get It

As smart as I think I am, there are a few things in this world that I just don't get (and don't want to). Here they are, in no particular order:

1. "For the Love of Ray J."

2. March Madness.

3. "Family Guy" (I remember, in the beginning, when it wasn't so over the top).

4. People who try to make their point by yelling, screaming, and hurling insults.

5. Boots in the summer time.

6. Fake sugar (Saccharin, Splenda, and God knows what else has been manufactured).

7. Weaves (There was a time when most women didn't want the world to know that they were wearing a weave. Long gone days).

8. Why I love "Blues Away" so much (by The Jacksons) even though it's such an incomplete song.

9. Why we can't seem to remember that the world has birthed all kinds of evil people. Greedy, selfish people pre-date any political, economic, or social system of oppression that we can think of.

10. Why more Black people don't go to the theater (and the price of the ticket is not an acceptable reply to me; not when I survey what we tend to spend money on)

If these things make sense to you, help a sister out.

Quotes by Harriet Tubman (In Honor of Her Birth Month and Women's History Month)

“Oh Lord, convert master! Oh Lord, change dat man's heart!' …Oh Lord, if you ant nebber gwine to change dat man's heart, kill him, Lord, an' take him out ob de way.” - - Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman by Sarah H. Bradford (1869)

[same quote with less dialect]
“Oh Lord, convert master! Oh Lord, change dat man's heart!' …Oh Lord, if you aint never gon’ to change dat man's heart, kill him, Lord, an' take him out of the way.”

“I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more if they had known they were slaves.”

“The Lord who told me to take care of my people meant me to do it just as long as I live, and so I did what he told me.”

“I started with this idea in my head, "there's two things I've got a right to...death or liberty.”

“I grew up like a neglected weed, ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it. Now that I've been free, I know what dreadful condition slavery is.”

“I never ran my train off the track. And I never lost a passenger.”

"Help Haiti" Fundraiser (The Video)

Across the globe, the international community is standing up to support Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquakes and aftershocks that nearly devastated the island nation. Neighboring and related Caribbean and African countries, as well as other governments throughout the world, are taking extraordinary measures to dem...onstrate its genuine concern. For example, Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade is offering free land to the people of Haiti.

And on an individual level, both adults and children all over the world are donating money, supplies, and skills to help alleviate this phenomenal crisis.

About two weeks after the earthquake shook Haiti at its core (January 12, 2010), a handful of ordinary people motivated by pure compassion, pooled their resources for this support movement. Nearly 100 people organized, hosted, and promoted the “Help Haiti” fundraiser in New York City on January 21. With less than 48 hours advance notice, the event promotion went viral and over $10,000 was raised at the event.

The “Help Haiti” fundraiser was an extension of the “Help Haiti” resource document created by Kevin Powell and April R. Silver. This video (conceived, produced, and directed by Byron Hurt of God Bless the Child Productions) gives a glimpse of why this work is needed. It also reveals “under the radar” perspectives not regularly seen in mass media in the conversation about Haiti.

For more information, please visit www.HelpHaitiOnline.org

For the love of Aiyti,
April R. Silver
Co-Founder, HelpHaitiOnline.org
Founder and President, AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc.
www.akilaworksongs.com