Sunday, December 26, 2021
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Monday, October 11, 2021
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Friday, October 01, 2021
Saturday, September 25, 2021
The Year of 2020 Part 3: The Finale of 2020
The Year of 2020 Part 3: The Finale of 2020
The end of the crucial year of 2020 was just as dynamic as the beginning of it. We saw deaths of famous people, the spread of the coronavirus, and so much political turmoil in one year alone found in 2020. Also, we saw dedicated activists who protested for racial justice. By the end of 2020, Trump finally lost the 2020 election. In 2021, he wasn't President anymore, and that is a good thing. The end of 2020 was filled with massive political agitation. The debates among Donald Trump and Joe Biden were personal, filled with yelling, and a reflection of the political divisions found in the United States of America. Our generation witnessed so much. It is right to analyze these events not only for historical reasons. We have to learn lessons from the past year of 2020, so future years won't be a duplicate of the chaos found in 2020. 2020 end up on the list of years that changed world history forever like 1865, 1945, and 1968. From a contested election, a wildfire explosion, and a pandemic costing so many human lives (as that virus doesn't discriminate. It has harmed and killed young and old, black people, white people, Asian people, Latino people, Native Americans, poor, rich, middle class, men, women, and human beings of every background), we have to cherish the value of human life. We only live on this Earth for many decades, and we have to be clear to help our neighbors out consistently. That is one of our many purposes on this Earth. Every day when we live on this Earth, we always remember that year of 2020. 2020 saw the refugee crisis in Syria where thousands of Syrian refugees seek to go into Turkey, Greece, and other places into Europe. 2020 saw schools closed, sports arenas become empty, and homeschooling increased. It saw many human beings being reflective and resourceful in what they desire out of life. Now, it is time to evaluate the rest of the events that transpired in late 2020 indeed.
By August 11, 2020, America was changed forever. Kamala Harris, by that time, was the first African American and Asian American Vice Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Immediately, Kamala Harris campaigned for the Biden/Harris ticket nationwide. Starting on August 13, 2020, there was the 2020 Postal Service crisis. This started after plans were revealed about how the Trump administration and his allies wanted to remove hundreds of high volume mail sorting machines from postal facilities across the country. This was not only done to promote callousness and an anti-government ethos. It was done to try to stop early mail in voting as mail in voting, during the 2020 election, was heavily from Democratic voters. We know that most mail in voters were Democrats. On that same day, the Pentagon reportedly started to form a a new task force to investigate UFO sightings, particularly over military bases, similar to the U.S. Navy's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. During the record breaking heat wave on August 16, a remnant thunderstorm from Tropical Storm Fausto started hundreds of wildfires in California. From August 17-20, 2020, there was the Democratic National Convention is held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with events happening virtually. Numerous political leaders, citizens, and activists were virtually expressing their ultimate goal of making Donald Trump a one term President.
The speakers at the convention were numerous. Many of their names were Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, Colin Powell, Kevin Johnson, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Catherine Cortez Maso, Cedric Richmond, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other human beings. Even Republican John Kaisch spoke at the convention. Rev. William Barber and Stacey Abrams gave powerful speeches too. Delegates of the Democratic Party formally choose former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris of California as the party's nominees for President and Vice President respectively in the 2020 election. By August 19, Apple, Inc. became the first company to be valued over $2 trillion.
Developments with the pandemic
On August 20, 2020, Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was the 2nd senator to test positive for the pandemic. Former White House advisor Steve Bannon was arrested and charged with fraud over a fundraising campaign to build a wall on the U.S./Mexico border on the same day. He is released on a $5 million bail bond after pleading not guilty. There were protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 23 after the shooting of the black American Jacob Blake, who was 29 years old, by a police officer. Violence happened too. On that day, the FDA granted emergency use authorization to antibody rich body plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. From August 24-27, the Republican National Convention was held in Charlotte, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Delegates of the Republican Party formally nominated incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as the party's nominees for the 2020 election. The convention was filled with hate, paranoia, and outright divisive rhetoric. By August 25, 2020, 4 soldiers are diagnosed with mild concussion like symptoms following a skirmish with Russian forces in northeast Syria. There are rebellions from August 26-31, 2020. This started in downtown Minneapolis after false rumors about the suicide of an African American man being pursued by the police. 113 people were arrested. On August 26, 2 people were fatally shot overnight during unrest at Kenosha, Wisconsin. The suspect was arrested. Professional athletes also start to boycott their respective sports contests in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake. Hurricane Laura headed to the Louisiana-Texas border. It grew into a Category 4 storm. According to Forbes, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was the first person in history ot have a net worth exceeding $200 billion.
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Activism Comes Alive
On August 28, 2020, thousands of people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. for the Commitment March in support of black civil rights. Many people came from across the United States of America and the world. Chadwick Boseman, who was one of the greatest actors of all time, died at the age of 43 years old. He privately fought colon cancer for 4 years. He starred in the epic classic film of Black Panther. Boseman shown courage and a sense of dedication to the art of acting. On September 2, 2020, protests breakout in Rochester, New York after the police body cameras footage of the March 2020 arrest of Daniel Prude. On September 4, a Trump administration memo called for all executive branch agencies to stop funding for diversity and sensitivity training plus the teaching of critical race theory. Donald Trump supported this memo, because he is a racist. On September 5, 2020, Authentic won the 2020 Kentucky Derby. California set a new record for land area destroyed by wildfires being 2.1 million acres burned in the year so far on September 6. On September 9, President Donald Trump was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian lawmaker for his role in facilitating the Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement. Over 10 percent of Oregon's state population were reportedly fleeing from wildfires on September 10. Two Los Angeles County Sheriff Department deputies were shot and critically injured while sitting in their patrol car at Compton, California (on September 12). Hurricane Sandy on September 16, 2020 brought massive flooding to the South after making landfall. It killed 8 people and cost billions in damage. Trump promoted the historically revisionist 1776 Commission on September 17. Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18, 2020. Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the most prominent liberal justices on the Supreme Court with a wide ranging impact on numerous court cases. The Supreme Court seat was vacated, and Trump wanted a woman to fill the seat. On September 19, at least 16 people were shot and 2 confirmed dead in a mass shooting at a backyard party in Rochester, New York. Law enforcement officials reported the interception of a package addressed to President Trump having the lethal toxin of ricin. Microsoft on September 21, agree to buy ZeniMax Media holding company and its subsidiaries for $7.5 billion. That was the largest and most expensive takeover in the history of the video game industry.
Closing Arguments among the Candidates
American deaths of the pandemic reach over 200,000 people by September 22, 2020. On September 25, President Trump unveils his "Platinum Plan" at a campaign rally in Atlanta, in which he proposes making Juneteenth a federal holiday, labeling the Ku Klux Klan and Antifa as terrorist organizations, and making lynching a national hate crime, among other socioeconomic initiatives aimed at African Americans. President Trump nominates Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat following the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 26. A New York Times report on President Trump's personal and business tax returns alleges years of tax avoidance and millions in debt and IRS penalties, among other allegations (on September 27). Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale was hospitalized under the Florida Mental Health Act after arming himself and threatening to commit suicide at his home (on the same day). By September 28, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Dallas Stars 4–2 to win their second Stanley Cup championship. The first 2020 Presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden took place in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29. Biden won by default. Chris Wallace tried to moderate the debate, but Trump interrupted constantly. Biden stuck with showing facts. Both showed their tempers, more so Trump.
On October 1, 2020, the pandemic reached the White House. On that day, both President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and enter quarantine. Several White House staffers and multiple congress members also tested positive. The Trump administration announced plans to slash U.S. refugee admissions for 2021 to a record low–15,000 refugees, down from a cap of 18,000 for 2020. This happened, because Trump is xenophobic. The national debt goes higher than $27 trillion for the first time in American history by October 2. By October 3, multiple U.S. Senators who have attended Presidential events tested positive for COVID-19. President Trump returned to the White House on October 5 after three days of hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. By October 7, Ruby Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing 185 restaurants. Pizza Hut filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after closing 163 restaurants. The 2020 Vice Presidential debate took place in Salt Late City on October 7, 2020. Kamala Harris won the debate easily. One example of that was that then Vice President Mike Pence outright denied that systematic racism existed in American society when sociological studies document this reality. A fly was on Pence's head, and Harris told Pence that it was her turn multiple times. By October 8, 34 editors of The New England Journal of Medicine denounce the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic. On that same date, the FBI charged 13 militiamen with plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home. A fourteenth suspect is arrested on October 15. The terrorists wanted to harm Whitmer, because they opposed her progressive policies in Michigan and her pandemic actions. House Democrats on October 9 announced their plans to create a congressional commission invoking the 25th Amendment to evaluate the physical and mental health of the President Trump. Hurricane Delta went at landfall near Creole, Louisiana. This was the 10th land-falling storm in the 2020 season which is a record breaking amount. The Broadway League extended its shutdown of Broadway theaters for a third time until May 30, 2021.
Trump held his first public event at the White House since becoming ill on October 10. He informed his attendees that a vaccine is forthcoming. Facebook on October 12 banned content relating to Holocaust denial. On that day, activists in Portland, Oregon, topple statues of former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in protest of the 1862 execution of 38 Dakota and Roosevelt's views on Native Americans. North Carolina has the first influenza death of the 2020-2021 flu season on October 15. U.S. cases of the pandemic are higher than 8 million people by October 16. On October 22, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously votes for the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 12–0, as committee Democrats boycott the roll call. Amy Coney Barrett is a conservative. The 2nd 2020 Presidential debate took place in Nashville, Tennessee. Biden wins the debate, and Trump is disruptive, but he is less disruptive than the first debate. Records of single day cases occur in Arkansas and Oregon by October 23. The same single day records for new cases happened on October 24 at Michigan, Illinois, New Mexico, and Ohio. By October 25, daily nonstop American Airlines flights return to India for the first time since 2015. On October 26, 2020, the Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court associate justice, 52–48. The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that Wisconsin cannot count mail-in ballots received after election day. Walter Wallace Jr., 27, is shot and killed by two Philadelphia police officers, resulting in subsequent protests and rebellions. Record one day cases occur at Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Kentucky by October 27. On that same day, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays to win the 2020 World Series, their first in 32 years. On October 28, President Trump declared a a state of emergency for Louisiana ahead of Hurricane Zeta's landfall. Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois report new single day records for new cases of the pandemic on October 29. Also, there were 87,164 cases reported nationwide. That was a new single day record. America on October 30 was the first nation to have cases more than 100,000 daily cases of the pandemic virus. America has more than 9 million cases. The FBI launches an investigation into an incident in Texas where a Joe Biden campaign bus tour was cancelled after a caravan of supporters of President Trump attempted to run it off the road and hit a staffer's car. On October 31, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces all out-of-state visitors must test negative for COVID-19 three days before arrival. A Stanford University study links over 30,000 COVID-19 cases and 700 deaths directly to President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign rallies.
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The End of the 2020 Presidential Election
The 2020 United States Presidential election took place on November 3, 2020. It was a day that many people waited for along a long time. Shortly after midnight, Trump lied to say that he won the election when he didn't. The election hasn't even been finished, and Trump wanted all vote counting to stop alleging electoral fraud (which is a lie). On November 3, Oregon is the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of narcotics, including heroin, cocaine and LSD. Voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota vote to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters in Mississippi and South Dakota vote to legalize medical marijuana. Mississippi approves a new state flag to replace the previous design that featured a Confederate battle flag, while voters in Rhode Island approve the removal of "...and Providence Plantations" from the state's official name. On November 4, Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement. By November 5, 2020, former White House advisor Steve Bannon is permanently banned from Twitter after suggesting FBI Director Christopher Wray and NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci be beheaded during a live broadcast. Amid election-related protests, Facebook bans a 300,000-member Stop the Steal group page being used by supporters of President Trump to organize protests against the election results, citing calls for violence by some participants. Texas had over 1 million confirmed cases of the pandemic virus being the first state to have it on November 6. Michigan has more than 200,0000 confirmed pandemic cases on the same day.
A Historic Victory for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
November 7, 2020 was when Joe Biden was projected to have won the Presidential election. It was after days of counting votes in many states. Joe Biden is the first President since 1992 when an incumbent president's challenger has won the election over the incumbent president, when Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush. Kamala Harris is the first woman and first person of color to be elected Vice President of the United States. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, is to become the first Second Gentleman and the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president. Some sad news is that longtime Jeopardy host Alex Trebek passed away at age of 80 after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer. On November 9, 2020, The Trump's re-election campaign filed multiple lawsuits in many states by believing in the lie of widespread electoral fraud. Dr. Ben Carson tested positive for the virus too. He was once the Housing and Urban Development Secretary. By November 10, President Trump promotes a number of reported loyalists to various roles in the Defense Department following the November 9 ouster of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. By November 12, a coalition of federal and state officials declare the 2020 presidential election "the most secure in American history" and states there is no evidence of compromised voting systems. California was the 2nd state to have over 1 million cases. More than 150,000 new cases are reported nationwide being a world record for a third consecutive day. The FBI arrested convicted murderer Leonard Rayne Moses, who escaped from custody in 1971 and had been on their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. By November 13, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden is projected to win Arizona, the first Democrat to do so since Bill Clinton in 1996. Biden also becomes the first Democrat to win Georgia since Clinton did so in 1992.
More than 130 Secret Service agents are ordered to self isolate or quarantine. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak tested positive for COVID-19. Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Illinois report new single-day records for new cases. Illinois breaks the national record for new cases reported by a state in a single day. Oregon and North Dakota issue new mask mandates and restrictions on businesses. A 5.5 Mw earthquake strikes Tonopah, Nevada, the largest earthquake in Nevada in over 66 years. On November 14, thousands of protesters march in Washington D.C. to support Trump and promote the lie of massive voter fraud. By November 15, 2020, President Trump concedes that Joe Biden won the presidential election, but alleges vote rigging. Kentucky and New Jersey report new single-day records for new cases. By November 16, the SpaceX Crew-1 or the first operational SpaceX crew dragon mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Texas has more than 20,000 deaths from the virus. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois) and Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) announce they have tested positive for COVID-19. Representative Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) says he is self-isolating. On November 17, the FDA grants emergency use authorization to a home testing kit by Lucira Health, Inc. that provides COVID-19 results in 30 minutes. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tested positive for COVID-19. Wisconsin had 92 new deaths in 24 hours. Record cases happened in a single day at Maine, Idaho, and New Mexico. Pennsylvania announces that out-of-state travelers will be required to either quarantine or present a negative COVID-19 test result to enter the state. New York City schools are shown online by Mayor Bill de Blasio on November 18. The Federal Aviation Administration allows the Boeing 737 MAX to fly in the United States citing modifications following a 20-month ban. One third of of the Cincinnati City Council has been arrested this year on bribery charges on November 19. Joe Biden winning Georgia on November 19 was very historic after the recount. Record cases occur in Utah and Maryland. A curfew occurred in California. On November 20, at least eight people are injured in a mass shooting at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Donald Trump Jr. and Senator Rick Scott test positive for the virus. Over 12 million cases of the virus happen on November 21. By November 22, Trump withdrew from the Open Skies Treaty.
By November 23, the Presidential transition team of President elect Biden starts. Joe Biden nominates several people to his cabinet, including Avril Haines as the first female Director of National Intelligence, Alejandro Mayorkas as the first Latino Secretary of Homeland Security, and Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary. On the next day, Elon Musk overtakes Bill Gates to become the second richest person in the world, with a net worth of $127.9 billion, behind only Jeff Bezos. The Dow Jones increases by 500 points to surpass 30,000 for the first time. President Trump pardons ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on November 25. The November 27, 2020 recount in Wisconsin's largest county caused Joe Biden to have a net gain of 132 votes. Cases are more than 13 million in America on this time. Wilton Daniel Gregory becomes the first African American cardinal on November 28. By November 29, President-elect Biden nominates an all-female communications team, including Kate Bedingfield as Communications Director and Jen Psaki as Press Secretary. November 30 was when Arizona Proposition 207 comes into effect, making Arizona the 12th state to legalize recreational cannabis. Congress released a $908 billion COVID-19 relief plan. Former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn in a U.S. Senator after a special election in Arizona. Over 14 million American cases of the virus happened by December 3. President-elect Joe Biden announces that Dr. Vivek Murthy and Jeffrey Zients will lead his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and asks Dr. Anthony Fauci to become the White House Coronavirus Task Force's chief medical advisor. The Department of Justice files a lawsuit against Facebook, accusing them of discriminating against American workers. The circuit court of Kenosha, Wisconsin orders the 17-year old suspect in the fatal Kenosha protest shooting to stand trial on two first-degree homicide charges, as well as possession of a firearm by a minor and two counts of reckless endangerment.The House of Representatives passes the MORE Act to decriminalize recreational cannabis at the federal level by December 4. Rudy Giuliani tested positive for the virus by December 6. President-elect Biden nominates California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be the first Latino Health and Human Services Secretary. The Cleveland Browns defeat the Tennessee Titans 41–35 to secure their first winning season since 2007.
On December 7, 2020, Georgia re-certifies Joe Biden as the winner of the state after a 2nd recount. Joe Biden nominates retired Army General Lloyd Austin to be the first African American Secretary of Defense. The National Football League announced an investigation into the Washington Football Team for allegations of workplace sexual harassment. The pandemic continues to harm Michigan and other places. The cases grow over 15 million by early December. Michigan surpasses 10,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. Governor Gretchen Whitmer orders flags to fly at half staff for the next 10 days, one day for every 1,000 victims (on December 8). Vice President Mike Pence announces the 18 Artemis astronauts at the eighth meeting of the National Space Council by December 9. On December 11, 2020, the Supreme Court denied a lawsuit to overturn Joe Biden's victory in four battleground states. The FDA grants emergency authorization of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine begins shipment to all 50 states on December 13, with the first doses administered on December 14. On December 12, more than 20,000 deaths from the virus happen at Florida. Also, 4 people are stabbed, one is shot, and 33 are arrested during the pro-Donald Trump protests in Washington, D.C. Early voting at the Georgia runoff elections start in December 14. U.S. Representative Paul Mitchell (R-Michigan) announced he is leaving the Republican Party and becoming an independent. President-elect Joe Biden nominates Pete Buttigieg to be Secretary of Transportation by December 15. Joe Biden nominates Deb Haaland for Secretary of the Interior, becoming the first Native American appointed to a cabinet-level position on December 17. On December 18, 2020, the FDA authorizes emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Vice President Mike Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell receive the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Minnesota State Senator Jerry Relph dies of COVID-19 complications.
The Struggle Continues, but Victory is Ours
On December 21, 2020, Congress passes the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a packaged $2.3 trillion pandemic relief and omnibus spending bill. At 5,593 pages, it is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. After initial objections, President Trump signs the bill into law on December 27, averting a partial government shutdown. President-elect Joe Biden and incoming First Lady Jill Biden receive the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. President Trump begins issuing a new round of pardons for dozens of associates, including Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Charles Kushner on December 22. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is appointed to fill the remaining Senate term of Kamala Harris, becoming the state's first Latino senator. More than 2 million cases existed in California on December 24. On December 25, a suicide car bomb explosion happened at downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Many people are injured. Over 19 million people have the virus on December 27, 2020. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff receive the Moderna vaccine on December 29. The Department of Justice announces there will be no charges against the two Cleveland, Ohio police officers accused of killing Tamir Rice. On December 31, a Wisconsin pharmacist is arrested after destroying 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
The end of 2020 saw the victory of Biden and Harris during the 2020 election, large cases of the virus, and a new change on the horizon. 2021 would come soon, and one of the worst events in American history could occur later which would be the January 6, 2021 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol building. Yet, one positive end of 2020 is that Trump will only be a one term President. 2020 WAS TRULY THE YEAR THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT YEAR OF THE 21ST CENTURY INDEED.
By Timothy
Saturday, September 18, 2021
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Sunday, August 22, 2021
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
The History of R&B Series
Note by Me: This is the first major music series that I have done in my life in Scribd.com. It has been a journey. I have learned so much about R&B Music and music in general after creating this series. This series about R&B shows the names of dozens of musicians (like Whitney Houston, Sade, Amerie, Michael Jackson, Prince, Minnie Riperton, Monica, Brandy, etc.), many movements of music, and histories that has captivated my interest. The top link is from Scribd.com, and the bottom link is from Google Drive (for those who don't have access to everything in Scribd).
Enjoy
By Timothy
R&B Part 1: Predecessors and Early R&B:
https://www.scribd.com/document/470041072/R-B-Part-1-Predecessors-and-Early-R-B
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MXKJzABIqdnQFI3nKEztBK4nWkw-vG4-/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 2: The Motown Era (1959-1969):
https://www.scribd.com/document/475610474/The-History-of-R-B-Part-2-The-Motown-Era-1959-1969
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cdPfs-pX6M1oAjkX3uGiq_fN_nD8cSkn/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 3: The 1970's (Funk, Disco, and Contemporary R&B):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-oM_o23-fPPQGm4eyY-AYAZebXBEV6_4/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 4: The 1980's:
https://www.scribd.com/document/493229764/The-History-of-R-B-Part-4-The-1980-s
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zLUzcvB4PL-YyT2-nAc3K7Q7Xbbbovpx/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 5: The 1990's (Another Golden Age of R&B Music):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i_Ab37TROb1gdb1kpMz2r80UVEWI-pTL/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Music Part 6: The 2000's:
https://www.scribd.com/document/510297759/The-History-of-R-B-Music-Part-6-The-2000-s
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1il5mmUuPB8Cbd88lDbK0snEF7GJKZhBe/view?usp=sharing
Friday, July 16, 2021
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Friday, July 02, 2021
Althea Gibson: The Legend of Tennis
"Now matter what accomplishment you make, somebody helped you."
-Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson: The Legend of Tennis
The journey of the African American athlete has been a journey filled with adversity and triumph. Tons of us know about Allyson Felix, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. Other human beings don't know about the sacrifice of early African American athletes who risked their lives so we could live now like: William Edward White, Major Taylor, Isaac Murphy, Lucy Diggs Slowe, Alice Coachman Davis, and Bill Powell. For decades, Althea Gibson has been the icon of athletics. Involving tennis, Althea Gibson existed as a trailblazer who loved the art of sports. Not to mention that future black tennis legends like Arthur Ashe, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, James Blake, and Zina Garrison have outlined their own greatness in numerous, diverse ways. That is why I desired to create this work of prose. For over 2 decades now, I have been on this august journey to research the mysteries of life. This quest hasn't stop in the decade of the 2020's. Many know about Gibson, but some don't know about her great character and heroism. Althea Gibson (1927-2003) was a daughter of courageous parents, and she was born in the South. Additionally, Gibson was raised in the North at Harlem, New York City.
As a natural born athlete, she never gave up on her dreams and aspirations. Her family, her coaches, and her tennis peers supported her along her life's journey. A powerful serve existed in her game. Althea Gibson made extraordinary accomplishments during the duration of her life from winning tournaments to playing golf. Althea Gibson's life was not easy. Discrimination, financial struggles, and a lack of respect for her existed in her life. That is why we must treat people rightly with dignity and with respect while we live in the world. Althea Gibson definitely deserved so much more honor back then and today. Breaking down barriers and being humble at the same time are always part of her personal ethos. Yet, real people will always praise her tenderness, her strength, and her love for the beauty plus the glory of athletics. Althea Gibson was always appreciated by her peers. Muhammad Ali communicated with her in a celebration. She praised the legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson by kissing him in his cheek. She also created her own music in a further extension of her own soul. In the stories of black history, I made sure that human beings cherish the story of Althea Gibson. That's why I created this work. The public has the right to witness the truth about this heroic black woman.
Her Early Life
To know about Althea Gibson is to know about her story. In the beginning, Althea Gibson was born in the South at Silver, South Carolina on August 25, 1927. Her parents were Daniel and Annie Bell Gibson. Both of them worked as sharecroppers on a cotton farm. By 1930, Gibson and her family moved north to Philadelphia and then in Harlem, New York City via the Great Migration. The First and Second Great Migrations among African Americans were some of the most important events of American history. Black people wanted to escape the murderous Jim Crow apartheid capitalist system of the South. The irony is that many of the same oppression (i.e. police brutality, economic oppression, racism, discrimination, etc.) existed in the North, the Midwest, and the West Coast too. Harlem was massively different than South Carolina. Althea Gibson had 3 sisters and a brother. Harlem had black people who came from the South, black people from the Caribbean, and black people who lived in New York City for centuries. It is a very urbanized environment. She lived in an apartment on a stretch of 143rd Street, between Lenox Avenue and Seventh Avenue. The area had a play area where kids could play during the day time.
Althea Gibson never backed down from adversity. She competed in sports with the boys, and she won many sporting events. At the age of 12 in 1939, she became the New York City's women's paddle tennis champion. Althea Gibson was taught boxing skills by her father. So, she watched movies, did street fighting, and played girls basketball. By 1940, she changed direction by joining the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. She didn't like tennis at first, but she loved it later on. By 1941, Althea entered and won her first tournament, the American Tennis Association (ATA) New York State Championship. By 1944, Althea moved into Wilmington, North Carolina. She lived with Dr. Hubert Eaton and her family. She attended Williston Industrial High School during the winter and spent summers in Lynchburg, Virginia with Dr. Robert W. Johnson (who was a Lynchburg, Virginia physician, and he was active in the African American tennis community. Dr. Johnson would later mentor Arthur Ashe too) and his family. Dr. Johnson had a huge influence in her life to inspire her to be more competitive and achieve her own dreams involving athletics. She worked on her tennis game by traveling to ATA tournaments. She graduated from high school in 1946 from the racially segregated Williston Industrial High School. She continued to make history. She won the ATA national championship in the girls' division in 1944 and 1945, and after losing in the women's final in 1946, won her first of ten straight national ATA women's titles in 1947. In 1949, Althea becomes the first black woman, and the second black athlete (after Reginald Weir), to play in the USTA’s National Indoor Championships. She lost narrowly in the second round in a rain-delayed, three-set match to Louise Brough, the reigning Wimbledon champion and former U.S. National winner. During the same year, she entered Florida A&M University on a full athletic scholarship. She was a member of the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. "I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl, through the grace of God," she wrote. "I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents." Dr. Johnson gave Althea Gibson extensive training.
Great Accomplishments and Inspiration
Because of racism, Gibson was once barred from entering the premier American tournament of the United States National Championships (now the U.S. Open) at Forest Hills. While USTA rules officially prohibited racial or ethnic discrimination, players qualified for the Nationals by accumulating points at sanctioned tournaments, most of which were held at white-only clubs. In 1950, in response to intense lobbying by ATA officials and retired champion Alice Marble—who published a scathing open letter in the magazine American Lawn Tennis—Gibson became the first Black player to receive an invitation to the Nationals, where she made her Forest Hills debut a few days after her 23rd birthday. By 1950, she was the first African American to play the U.S. Nationals, at Forest Hills in Queens, NYC. She lost to Louise Brough in the 2nd round. In 1951, Gibson won her first international title, the Caribbean Championships in Jamaica, and later that year became one of the first Black competitors at Wimbledon, where she was defeated in the third round by Beverly Baker. In 1952 she was ranked seventh nationally by the USTA.
By 1953, Althea Gibson graduated from Florida A&M University. She soon took a job teaching physical education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. During her two years at Lincoln, she became romantically involved with an Army officer whom she never named publicly. Gibson considered enlisting in the Women's Army Corps, but she decided against it when the State Department sent her on a goodwill tour of Asia in 1955 to play exhibition matches with Ham Richardson, Bob Perry, and Karol Fageros. Many Asians in the countries they visited—Burma, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, and Thailand—"felt an affinity to Althea as a woman of color and were delighted to see her as part of an official US delegation. With the United States grappling over the question of race, they turned to Althea for answers, or at least to get a firsthand perspective." Althea Gibson strengthened her confidence during the six week tour. When it was over, she remained abroad, winning 16 of 18 tournaments in Europe and Asia against many of the world's best players.
Her life changed forever in 1956. In that year, Althea Gibson won the French Open singles and doubles at the French Open and Wimbledon (both with Angela Buxton). She was the first African American to win a Grand Slam tournament and the French Championships single even. In 1957, Althea Gibson won Wimbledon and U.S. Nationals. She is the first African American to win either tournament. Upon her return home, Gibson became only the second black American, after Jesse Owens, to be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City. Later in the season she won the Wimbledon doubles championship (again with Buxton), the Italian Championships in Rome, the Indian Championships in New Delhi, and the Asian championship in Ceylon. She also reached the quarter-finals in singles at Wimbledon and the finals at the US Nationals, losing both to Shirley Fry. The 1957 season was Althea Gibson's great year. In July 1957, she was seeded first at Wimbledon. She defeated Darlene Hard in the finals of the singles titles. She was the first Black champion in the tournament's 80-year history, and the first champion to receive the trophy personally from Queen Elizabeth II.
"Shaking hands with the Queen of England [sic]", she said, "was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus." She won the doubles championship as well, for the second year. Upon her return home Gibson became only the second Black American, after Jesse Owens, to be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City, and Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. presented her with the Bronze Medallion, the city's highest civilian award. A month later she defeated Brough in straight sets to win her first US National Championship. "Winning Wimbledon was wonderful", she wrote, "and it meant a lot to me. But there is nothing quite like winning the championship of your own country." In all she reached the finals of eight Grand Slam events in 1957, winning the Wimbledon and US National singles titles, the Wimbledon and Australian doubles championships, and the US mixed doubles crown, and finishing second in Australian singles, US doubles, and Wimbledon mixed doubles. At season's end she broke yet another barrier as the first Black player on the US Wightman Cup team, which defeated Great Britain 6–1. When she played, Gibson was subjected to racist slurs from people in the audience including some were trying to spit on her.
In 1958, Althea repeated her single title wins at both Wimbledon and U.S. Nationals, and retired from tennis. She was the number-one-ranked woman in the world and in the United States in both 1957 and 1958, and was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years, garnering over 80% of the votes in 1958. She also became the first black woman to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazines. Later, she was signed to play a series of exhibition matches against Koral Fageros before Harlem Globetrotter basketball games in 1959. Her music record album Althea Gibson Sings was released in the same year. She performed 2 of its songs on The Ed Sullivan Show. She also appears as a celebrity guest on the TV panel show What’s My Line? and was cast as a slave woman in the John Ford film The Horse Soldiers (1959).
In late 1958, having won 56 national and international singles and doubles titles, Gibson retired from amateur tennis. Prior to the Open Era there was no prize money at major tournaments, and direct endorsement deals were prohibited. Players were limited to meager expense allowances, strictly regulated by the USTA. "The truth, to put it bluntly, is that my finances were in heartbreaking shape", she wrote. "Being the Queen of Tennis is all well and good, but you can't eat a crown. Nor can you send the Internal Revenue Service a throne clipped to their tax forms. The landlord and grocer and tax collector are funny that way: they like cold cash ... I reign over an empty bank account, and I'm not going to fill it by playing amateur tennis." Professional tours for women were still 15 years away, so her opportunities were largely limited to promotional events. In 1959 she signed to play a series of exhibition matches against Fageros before Harlem Globetrotter basketball games. When the tour ended she won the singles and doubles titles at the Pepsi Cola World Pro Tennis Championships in Cleveland, but received only $500 in prize money. Althea Gibson was a musician. She can sing and play the saxophone. She fought racial discrimination constantly: "When I looked around me, I saw that white tennis players, some of whom I had thrashed on the court, were picking up offers and invitations", she wrote. "Suddenly it dawned on me that my triumphs had not destroyed the racial barriers once and for all, as I had—perhaps naively—hoped. Or if I did destroy them, they had been erected behind me again."
Her Later Life
By 1960, she wrote her own memoir with Ed Fitzgerald, and it was published. The book is entitled, "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody." By 1964, at the age of 37 years old, Althea Gibson became the first African American woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) out. Racial discrimination continued to be a problem: Many hotels still excluded people of color, and country club officials throughout the south—and some in the north—routinely refused to allow her to compete. When she did compete, she was often forced to dress for tournaments in her car because she was banned from the clubhouse. Although she was one of the LPGA's top 50 money winners for five years, and won a car at a Dinah Shore tournament, her lifetime golf earnings never exceeded $25,000. She made financial ends meet with various sponsorship deals and the support of her husband, William Darben, brother of best friend and fellow tennis player Rosemary Darben, whom she married in 1965.
She married William Darben until 1976 when they divorced. By 1976, she was appointed New Jersey’s athletic commissioner, the first woman in the country to hold such a role.
While she broke course records during individual rounds in several tournaments, Gibson's highest ranking was 27th in 1966, and her best tournament finish was a tie for second after a three-way playoff at the 1970 Len Immke Buick Open. She retired from professional golf at the end of the 1978 season. "Althea might have been a real player of consequence had she started when she was young", said Judy Rankin. "She came along during a difficult time in golf, gained the support of a lot of people, and quietly made a difference." In 1972, she began running Pepsi Cola's national mobile tennis project, which brought portable nets and other equipment to underprivileged areas in major cities. She ran multiple other clinics and tennis outreach programs over the next three decades, and coached numerous rising competitors, including Leslie Allen and Zina Garrison. "She pushed me as if I were a pro, not a junior", wrote Garrison in her 2001 memoir. "I owe the opportunity I received to her."
In 1976, Althea Gibson made it to the finals of the ABC TV program called Superstars. She finished first in the basketball shooting and bowling. She was runner up in softball throwing. In 1977, Gibson challenged incumbent Essex County State Senator Frank J. Dodds in the Democratic primary for his seat. She came in second behind Dodds but ahead of Assemblyman Eldridge Hawkins. She also managed the Department of Recreation in East Orange, New Jersey. She also served on the State Athletic Control Board and became supervisor of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The Open Era began, and in her 40's, she struggled to compete against the younger players. She also attempted a golf comeback, in 1987 at age 60, with the goal of becoming the oldest active tour player, but was unable to regain her tour card. In a second memoir, So Much to Live For, she articulated her disappointments, including unfulfilled aspirations, the paucity of endorsements and other professional opportunities, and the many obstacles of all sorts that were thrown in her path over the years.
Althea Gibson married Sydney Llewellyn in 1983. They divorced after 5 years of marriage. By the late 1980's, Althea Gibson suffered 2 cerebral hemorrhages and in 1992, a stroke. Medical expenses depleted her financial resources. She struggled to afford her rent or medication. Though she reached out to multiple tennis organizations requesting help, none responded. Former doubles partner Angela Buxton made Gibson's plight known to the tennis community, and raised nearly $1 million in donations from around the world. Gibson had a heart attack in early 2003. She passed away on September 28, 2003 from respiratory and bladder infections. She was buried in the Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey near her first husband, Will Darben. By 2013, the U.S. Postal Service honored Althea Gibson with a commemorative stamp on August 23, unveiled on the U.S. Open grounds in Flushing, NY. She is the first female athlete in the Black Heritage Stamp Series.
"I am honored to have followed in such great footsteps. Her accomplishments set the stage for my success, and through players like myself and Serena and many others to come, her legacy will live on."
-Venus Williams in 2003
Althea Gibson's Glorious Legacy
We're grown here. Althea Gibson's contributions to humanity are very much extensive like setting up youth programs and defending civil rights. When you see the high amount of black tennis players today competing strong, Althea Gibson and other legendary players of the past helped to make that reality possible. The musician Buddy Walker invited her to play tennis on the local courts. In fact, Walker gave Althea Gibson her first tennis racket. To see black culture and real black excellence to flourish in the future, you have to honor the great list of the Brothers and the Sisters who came before us. Arthur Ashe, Venus Williams, Serena Williams (who won 23 singles championships, was 319 weeks at WTA's Number 1 player, won many Olympics Gold Medals, and with other records making Serena Williams the greatest woman tennis player of all time), Cori Gauff, Mal Vai Washington, Lori McNeil, Chanda Rubin, Leslie Allen, Andrea Whitmore, Sloane Stephens, and other tennis player came into the door via the sacrifice of Sister Althea Gibson, Sister Ora Washington, Sister Louise Stokes, Sister Tidye Pickett, Brother Jimmie McDaniels, Brother Jesse Owens, Brother Paul Robeson (he played football), and other outstanding players. In a 1977 historical analysis of women in sports, The New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden wrote the following words:
"Althea Gibson and Wilma Rudolph are, without question, the most significant athletic forces among Black women in sports history. While Rudolph's accomplishments brought more visibility to women as athletes...Althea's accomplishments were more revolutionary because of the psychosocial impact on Black America. Even to those Blacks who hadn't the slightest idea of where or what Wimbledon was, her victory, like Jackie Robinson's in baseball and Jack Johnson's in boxing, proved again that Blacks, when given an opportunity, could compete at any level in American society." (Rhoden, WT: "A Fruitful Past But a Shaky Future." Ebony, Vol. 32, No. 10, August 1977, pp. 60-64).
By the year of 1980, Althea Gibson was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. She received the Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1988. She was inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame, and other Halls of Fame too. In 1991, Althea Gibson became the first woman to receive the Theodore Roosevelt Award, which is the highest honor from the National Collegiate Athletic Associated. She was cited for "symbolizing the best qualities of competitive excellence and good sportsmanship, and for her significant contributions to expanding opportunities for women and minorities though sports." To this day, the Althea Gibson Foundation has helped gifted golf and tennis players who live in urban communities. Statues honor her (like the bronze statue of Althea Gibson. It was created by sculptor Thomas Jay Warren, and the statue is found in Branch Brook Park at Newark, New Jersey since 2012), and Gibson was featured in the 2015 PBS documentary called Althea. I have watched the entire documentary before. Althea Gibson was an once in a lifetime athlete had a grace, a spirit of determination, and a love to present music. She touched so many souls with her bright presence. Today, we have Title IX and other legitimate laws help women, black people, and other people of color. Yet, we still have a long way to go in making sure that justice for all is made a reality. Even in 2021, we are still fighting for our voting rights to be protected which is a shame. Likewise, we won't give up on our quest for liberty. We still want our rights now. The icon Althea Gibson didn't live long enough to see how many folks truly loved her, but we love her whole being as a total representation of Black Excellence personified.
Rest in Power Sister Althea Gibson
'Ase.
By Timothy
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
The History of R&B Series
The History of R&B Part 1: Predecessors and Early R&B
https://www.scribd.com/document/470041072/R-B-Part-1-Predecessors-and-Early-R-B
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16PMFiHwlGe9iEhJvWEOMBwu_nYwChp-U/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 2: The Motown Era (1959-1969)
https://www.scribd.com/document/475610474/The-History-of-R-B-Part-2-The-Motown-Era-1959-1969
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cdPfs-pX6M1oAjkX3uGiq_fN_nD8cSkn/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 3: The 1970's (Funk, Disco, and Contemporary R&B)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-oM_o23-fPPQGm4eyY-AYAZebXBEV6_4/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 4: The 1980's:
https://www.scribd.com/document/493229764/The-History-of-R-B-Part-4-The-1980-s
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zLUzcvB4PL-YyT2-nAc3K7Q7Xbbbovpx/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 5: The 1990's: Another Golden Age of R&B Music:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fORUZDyuVLOpaWTZV5gfxxl9IfoYZIgs/view?usp=sharing
The History of R&B Part 6: The 2000's
https://www.scribd.com/document/510297759/The-History-of-R-B-Music-Part-6-The-2000-s
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11hvPjRJFV_hkk0pQByRVkzN4vWIcKB-Q/view?usp=sharing
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Monday, May 10, 2021
Wednesday, May 05, 2021
Women in the Civil Rights Movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Hernandez
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Burroughs
http://www.forharriet.com/2014/02/27-black-women-activists-everyone.html
https://thenewpress.com/blog/9-women-civil-rights-leaders-celebrate-this-black-history-month
https://www.playbuzz.com/goodnet10/15-black-women-civil-rights-leaders-you-may-not-have-heard-of
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Caribbean Heroes.
https://truthseeker2473.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-cold-war-part-2-1956-1963-near-brink.html
https://truthseeker2473.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-fall-of-2020-part-2.html
http://caribbeangirlswhoblog.com/caribbean-women-who-paved-the-way/
https://medium.com/caribbeantechies/just-16-inspiring-caribbeantechies-6c7f7f3038b1
https://caricomreparations.org/little-known-stories-two-revolutionary-caribbean-women/
http://caribbeanshowoff.com/2017/10/ten-superheroes-of-caribbean-origin/
https://www.pinterest.com/caribbeanstory/caribbean-national-heroes/
https://www.caribbeanandco.com/top-10-caribbean-athletes-time/
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Monday, April 12, 2021
Friday, April 09, 2021
Republicans and Far Right Extremism.
https://www.aaihs.org/white-supremacy-nazism-and-the-republican-party/
https://fpif.org/seven-decades-nazi-collaboration-americas-dirty-little-ukraine-secret/
https://www.salon.com/2017/08/17/why-the-gop-sides-with-the-klan-and-the-nazis_partner/
https://spitfirelist.com/news/reagans-nazis/
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/20/the-nazification-of-the-republican-party/
Wednesday, April 07, 2021
Nixak 77's Words.
Nixak*77* Nixak*77* a month ago
The big obvious contradiction in atheists' assertions that 'science' supports atheism...
The fact is by far the most Nobel-Prize winners in STEMs fields have been folks of the Abrahamic Faiths Traditions [accounting for nearly 3/4s of STEMs based Nobel Prizes] vs just 4.5% to 9% have gone to atheists & agnostics. When it comes to Peace prizes Folks of Faith [mainly of the Abrahamic Faiths] do even better while atheists do even worse [92% vs just 3.5%]. In fact the Nobel Prize atheists most excel at is for literature [they've won 35% of lit-prizes] which literature often involves a lot of [sci-fi type] 'fiction'....
Nixak*77* 13 hours ago
Last week Tyler loud{mouthed}ly exclaimed this recent Gallup-Poll survey re church membership in the US in 2020: } Americans’ membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup’s eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999... {
- One thing that must be noted re any such poll taken in 2020, is that the 2020-21 COVID lock-down regime actively / has actively DISCOURAGED &/or even PENALIZED many / most church / temple / synagogue / mosque gatherings even for funerals & weddings!!
But here's another take on this Gallup-Poll, which says just because more young-adults in the US are not directly affiliated / don't regularly attend a church / temple / synagogue / mosque than in recent yrs, don't mean they're all atheists nor even agnostics.
- } The considerable decline occurring in church attendance these days, especially among young people, is garnering much attention. As a professor at a college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I [the author, Dr Robert Shedinger] am acutely aware of these trends. When I began teaching at Luther College twenty years ago, about 62% of students self-identified as Lutheran. Today that stat is around 30% and falling. The prevailing explanation for this rather dramatic decline in church affiliation places the blame on the rampant spread of materialist philosophy which, many believe, is driving young people toward atheism. The reality, I believe, is far more complex.
- We should not be too quick to equate church affiliation with authentic religious faith... - And it is simply not true that young people who harbor little interest in traditional religion and religious institutions are all atheists, a truth I see demonstrated time and time again when I teach my Science and Religion course.
- Many students come to my [the author, Dr Robert Shedinger's] class with a real curiosity about how scientific and religious thought might intertwine. And this curiosity betrays a spiritual hunger just looking to be filled. These students may not be involved in church, synagogue, or mosque, but they are suspicious of materialism and become very open to the suggestion of an intelligence at work in the cosmos. Cosmological fine-tuning arguments tend to fascinate them. Trying to account for the origin of life from non-life by materialist processes flummoxes them. The evidence of intelligent design in living organisms fills them with awe. The idea of reducing mind and consciousness to chemistry and physics seems utterly ridiculous to them. The fact that they have never encountered these ideas in their science and psychology classes frustrates them to no end...
- Thus we should not make the mistake of assuming that declining church attendance equates directly with rising levels of atheism. Young people have many reasons for growing disenchanted with traditional religious organizations. But many nevertheless retain an abiding interest in spirituality. Ironically, in my experience, it seems to be engagement with the theory of intelligent design that is speaking to their spiritual interests in ways that traditional religiosity isn’t. The more we can make ID accessible to young people, the better chance we have of preventing the complete takeover of our society by materialism.
- The obstacles to this are formidable of course. Students won’t be encountering ID in science classes anytime soon. But outside of science — in philosophy classes, religion classes like mine, or even in history classes that engage Darwin and Darwinism critically — the opportunity to introduce ID to a willing audience is certainly there... This may not send young people flocking back to the church, but it can still help to create an important bulwark against the rising tide of materialism. { - See @ https://evolutionnews.org/2...
Nixak*77* Jonathan Hili 21 days ago
A few points of note: Alexandria was a Greek city named by Alexander after himself & set up as his capital of Egypt circa 331 BCE, after his conquest of Egypt where he then installed himself as 'King of Egypt'.
Apparently there were Jews in Alexandria dating from the time you cited, in fact such Jews apparently translated the Hebrew TaNaK [OT] in Koine Greek [aka the Septuagint]. But IMO just because many / most Alexandrian Jews spoke Greek don't mean that they 'looked' Greek.
The Bible says Yeshua's parents took him to Egypt for refuge for an unspecified period of time, but it did NOT say they took him to Alexandria. And it's not at-all clear if Yeshua even spoke Greek, tho we do know He definitely spoke Hebrew-Aramaic.
Philo was roughly a contemporary of Yeshua who was born circa 20 - 10 BCE [no one knows his exact birth yr]. Furthermore: } The position of Alexandria's Jewry began deteriorating during the Roman era, as deep antisemitic sentiment began developing amongst the city's Greek and Egyptian populations. This led to the subsequent Alexandrian pogrom in 38 CE [= within 5 - 10 yrs of Yeshua execution upon orders of the Roman imperial-colonial gov of Judea Pontius Pilate]... { - Thus Alexandria may NOT have even been such a good place of refuge for Yeshua's parents to go to.
The Ethiopian House-Beta Jews' have a legacy dating back some 2500 - 3000 YRS. - Similarly Yemenite Jews' history dates back some 2500 - 3000 Yrs [Note the Ethiopians & Yemenites have a legacy link dating back to the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba].
The Egypt's Coptic Church & Ethiopia's Orthodox Church are 2 of the earliest 'Xtian' churches known. } Then the angel of the Lord said to Philip [a Disciple], Start out and go south to the road that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he set out and was on his way when he caught sight of an Ethiopian. This man was a high official under the Kandake (Candace) Queen of Ethiopia in charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet…. (Acts, 8:26–27)
- The passage goes on to describe how Philip helped the Ethiopian treasurer understand a passage from the Book of Isaiah that the Ethiopian was reading. After Philip interpreted the passage as prophecy referring to Jesus Christ, the Ethiopian requested that Philip baptize him, and Philip did so. { - IMO this likely marked the beginning of Ethiopia's Xtian Church. This Ethiopian official was reading an OT scripture because he was already familiar w the TaNaK / OT due to the legacy of Ethiopia's House of Beta Jews.
- Re the Coptic Church of Egypt: } The early church historian, Eusebius, states in his Chronicle that Mark arrived in Egypt in the third year of Emperor Claudius (43 CE), marking the beginning of Christianity in Egypt. {
Nixak*77* Jonathan Hili 22 days ago
I grant that Dr Varmah 3 [per you 'whopper'] claims were rather 'bold' while lacking supporting evidence to back them up. But when it comes to the fact that the Bible says that Yeshua's [aka 'Jesus'] parents [Yosafe & Miriam] fled to Egypt for refuge from Herod's persecution / onslaught vs Judean male-children of Yeshua's age-range, your response is that ['more likely because there was a large Jewish community there']. IMO that's also something of an unsupported claim, tho not entirely illogical -But- What do you think a [pre] 1st century Judean community in Egypt [assuming there indeed was one] would have looked like? IMO they would not have looked like Ashkenazi Jews, almost by definition ['Ashkenazi' means Jews of European descent & European Jews represented barely 3% of all Jews in the 1st & 2nd centuries]. IMO they likely would have looked much more like Ethiopian House of Beta Jews &/or Yemenite Jews [= 2 ancient Jewish communities mainly from Ethiopia & Yemen, FYI: the Bible does link Ethiopia & Egypt, note Gen 10: 6 - also note Gen 10: 8 - 12].
Nixak*77* a month ago
First of all, the fact that CoD said 'IF there was a historical 'Jesus' [Yeshua]....' The very fact that Dude apparently questions whether Yeshua was even a historical person, IMO renders the rest of his screed a moot-point. IMO it's WTF pointless to assert what a mythical / A-historical character's ethnicity / racial identity would have been [based on what, exactly].
- And since Dude brought it up, anyone who's interested can look at Rev 1: 13 & 16, but in pre 1980s Eds of the KJV Bible. Also note that some / most post-1980s Eds of KJV Bible changed the original wording of that brief description of Yeshua found in Rev 1:13 - 16, to obscure its original [pre 1980s] wording describing Yeshua's feet as looking like bronze as if they had been burned in a furnace [it also says His hair was white & wooly]. If Dude's screed that that's just a mere 'misinterpretation' [per Dude 'nonsense about burnish bronze' - except that's the basically the wording that pre 1980s Eds of the KJV Bible used], then WTF did they even feel the need to substantially change the wording of Rev 1: 14 - 16 in post 1980s Eds of the KJV Bibles??!
That being said IMO tho the 2 guests may NOT have best 'articulated' the case, that don't mean they were just totally off-base / out the pocket either. The first thing to note is that the historical Yeshua was neither a European nor a Xtian, & He never intended to form a new 'religion' called Xtianity. IMO Jim kinda-sorta gets to the 'meat of the matter' in a comment below w further commentary by BTS [yeah, at-times I do agree w Jim]. 'Xtianity' took on a distinctly 'Greco-Roman' flavor w the advent of Roman Emperor Constantine & his Council of Nicea. There the indigenous Judean 'flavors' of Yehsua's & His Brother Yaakov [aka 'St James'] original movement got suppressed [ala the Ebionites & their Ebionite Gospel written in Hebrew / Aramaic], & the Nicene version of Xtianity got 'officially normalized' / standardized & pushed, w an imperial stamp of approval [& a major assist from Constantine's mother Helena]. At that point unless one's talking about the ancient Coptic &/or Ethiopian Churches [or maybe to some extent the ancient Syrian Church], almost all the main Xtian churches had a distinctly non-African [& even non-Judean] Euro-Xtian flavor, that got even more Euro-centric in the wake of the Crusades & the advent of Columbus, the Conquistadors & Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel job [all w the Vatican's 'blessings'].
Now I'm going to critique something that 2 scholars in their fields [geneticist Dr John Sanford & astronomer Dr Hugh Ross] have said re Genesis, Eden & the Edenic Rivers. Note that Dr John Sanford is author of ‘Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome’, & Dr Hugh Ross is founder of Reasons To Believe, one of the foremost Old Earth Creationist [OEC] sites.
- Tho I respect & follow much of what these 2 experts in their respective fields have to say & how they link their findings to the Bible, but they’ve both said things re Human Origins & the Genesis Edenic story that IMO are problematic. Dr Sanford has said that the Bible does not say Man originated in Africa but rather in the [so-called] ’Middle-East’ [CoD used the term Near-East - actually Dr Sanford the Bible says Man originated in Eden- even more specifically Eastward in Eden, so the question is where exactly was Eden]. FYI I’ve been reading the Bible since I was at-least 10-12 yrs old [maybe even younger] & I’ve read it cover to cover several Xs. I’ve also read the Apocrypha several Xs, of-course primarily in English [I’ve also read parts of the a Hebrew–English TaNak in Hebrew]. Of-course the most popular English version of the Bible in the KJV first published circa 1611 [Note the KJV was not the 1st English translation of the Bible]. Take any KJV of the Bible from circa 1611 to 1967 [IMO this is likely so even for more modern versions dating into the 1980s], I defy Dr Sanford or anyone else to find the term ‘Middle-East’ in there!! ‘Mid-East’ / ‘Middle-East’ is NOT a legit historical / Biblical term, it was a term first coined circa 1859-60 by the Royal British East-Africa Co around the same time they began working on the Suez Canal. Of course the Royal British East Africa & India Companies were projects to 'project' the colonial-imperial power & 'interests' of the British Empire upon British ‘subject’ colonies. Even then the term ‘mid-east / middle-east’ did not become part of the regular lexicon till it was popularized some 40 yrs later by an Anglo-American naval officer & geo-political strategist circa 1900. So NO Dr Sanford the Bible does NOT say Man originated in the so-called ‘middle-east’, maybe you meant to say in the Mesopotamia -But- Even that’s not quite right / is actually incomplete. Furthermore the term ‘Mid-East / Middle-East’ has shown to be quite ‘elastic’ over the yrs & decades. Initially it referred to Turkey, the Mesopotamia, Levant & maybe Arabia…, But- Then they began to 'stretch' it to include Egypt, & now the so-called ‘middle-east' has been 'stretched' to include virtually all of the North African Sahara / Sahel region all the way west to Africa's western Atlantic coast line, & then even hooking back to Chad, the Sudan, Ethiopia, Eretria, & Somalia [= East Africa / Horn of Africa] region. So again Dr Sanford what does it mean to say that the Bible says Man originated in the so-called ‘middle-east’ not Africa, if the currently the so-called 'middle-east' includes nearly all of N.Africa & much / most of East Africa, too??!
Dr Ross tried to tackle the ‘mystery’ of the Edenic Rivers, which generally only 2 [the 2nd pair = Rivers 3 & 4 = the Tigris & Euphrates] are mentioned. But what about the first pair of Edenic Rivers / Rivers 1 & 2? Dr Ross has tried to place them in Arabia [I think he may actually said ‘Saudi-Arabia’, which IMO is as A-historical as ‘mid-east / middle-east’] by claiming the Biblical land of ancient ‘Cush / Kush’ was in {Saudi?’} Arabia. With all due respect to Dr Ross, IMO there are multiple problems w this dubious claim. First: the Scofield Reference-Study Bible says that ‘Cush / Kush’ is the ancient Biblical name for ancient Ethiopia, & IMO no serious scholar has ever claimed that ancient Ethiopia was ever in {‘Saudi”?} Arabia, it has always been associated w East Africa / the Horn of Africa. 2nd: The 2 rivers that Dr Ross cites have [according to several sources] been dried up since at-least circa 2500 to 3000 BCE, yet when Moses wrote of the 1st pair of Edenic Rivers he wrote that they like the 2nd pair of Edenic Rivers [= the Tigris & Euphrates], were at that time currently existing & flowing rivers [FYI OT scholars traditionally say Moses wrote the Torah including Genesis circa 1450 – 1250 BCE = at-least 1000 - 15000 YRS or more after the 2 rivers Dr Ross tries to cite had already dried-up]. Furthermore Moses was apparently quite familiar w parts of Arabia so if he meant to say Arabia IMO that’s what he would have said [or perhaps he would have referred to it as the Land of Kedar].
So what’s the deal here? Both Dr Sanford & Dr Ross are 2 white Euro-Xtian men, who are making dubious claims that effectively try to de-link Eden & Africa. Uhm Dr Sanford the Bible does NOT say Man originated in the so-called ‘Middle-East’, which is NOT even a Biblical term. And NO Dr Ross ancient ‘Cush / Kush’ [= ancient Ethiopia] ain’t in {‘Saudi’?} Arabia it was / is in East Africa. That means that at-least 1 of the first pair of Edenic Rivers was 'eastward in Africa' & IMO both of them were / are eastward in Africa. IMO their more ancient Hebraic names were used in Genesis [ala the Pishon & Gehon] but their more ‘modern’ names are the White & Blue Nile!!
- Now IMO there may be more in play re Drs Sanford & Ross’ claims than just myopic Euro-Xtian based Euro-centrism. The fact is that the current neo-Darwinian ‘consensus’ is that Man [AMH] originated in [east] Africa, which really got hyped w the discovery of ‘Lucy’ in Ethiopia in 1974 as an alleged human ancestor. Of-course Drs Sanford & Ross disagree that ‘Lucy’ is a human ancestor [as do I], so IMO their ‘knee-jerk’ 'reactionary' response is to try to de-link Africa from Eden. But just because one premise is false [‘Lucy’ allegedly being a human ancestor] don’t mean the 2nd premise is also false [that Man originated in Africa]. The fact is, Darwinists only came to ‘their’ ‘Out of Africa’ consensus circa 1960. Prior to that almost all the ‘experts’ in the field were looking for the birth-place of Man everywhere else but Africa [ala Java & Peking Man {E.Asia}, Neanderthal & Cro-Magnon Man {Eur-Asia}, & let’s not forget Piltdown Man {UK} & Nebraska Man {USA]. It was the work of one Louis Leaky that led to a paradigm shift in the field of human origins, resulting in the shift of focus toward Africa. But Leaky did not initially come to Africa [mainly Kenya] as a paleontologist &/or archaeologist, but rather as a Xtian missionary. In fact I think Leaky even helped his father translate the KJV Bible into Kikuyu [a major indigenous language of Kenya, which may be part of the Afro-Asiatic language family along w Hebrew, Arabic, ancient Egyptian & Coptic language, Oromo {spoken in both Kenya & Ethiopia}, Amharic & Ge'ez {Ethiopia} & Somali- among other languages], which implies Leaky must have been something of a Bible scholar. My hypothesis is what likely inspired Leaky to look to [east] Africa as the birth-place of Man [even as all the ‘experts’ at the time were looking everywhere else but Africa], is he ‘deciphered the code’ [IMO likely w a key assist from indigenous folks’ ‘folk-lore / oral-history] re the location(s) & names of the first pair of Edenic Rivers [aka the White & Blue Nile].
IMO it just fits that the 2 pairs of Edenic Rivers were / are the White & Blue Nile, -&- Tigris & Euphrates. The first 2 civilizations of recorded history were Sumeria [the Mesopotamia] & ancient Egypt [aka KHemit: of the Nile River Valley], the arc linking these 2 ancient civilizations has been coined as the ‘fertile crescent’ & ‘cradle of civilization’ [IMO aka the 'Garden of Eden']. Now some might claim there's NO geographical link between the White & Blue Nile, & the Tigris & Euphrates, but that ain't quite correct. There's a geological formation, a 3700 mile [some say 4300 mi] trench that runs from northern Syria deep into Tanzania & Mozambique called the 'Great Rift Valley System aka the Great Syrian-African Rift Valley. At the northern end of the Great Syrian-African Rift Valley is the source of the Tigris & Euphrates in the mountain regions of northern Syria / southern Turkey; & at towards the southern end of the Great Rift Valley system is the Great African fresh-water lakes [IE: Lake 'Victoria'] which is the source of the White Nile, & also the Ethiopian hi-lands where lies the source of the Blue Nile. Thus both river systems are indeed geologically linked.
So this CoD dude says the historical Yeshua ['IF' He even existed] had to be 'caucasian' [= white]. Yet the Bible says that Jacob / Israel's son Joseph [aka Yosafe] looked like an ancient Egyptian, & ditto for Moses, too. Then the NT says when Yeshua's parents [Yosafe & Miriam] escaped Herod's persecution of Judean male-children of Yeshua's age, they took Him & fled where- to Egypt [NOT Europe, NOT even the Mesopotamia]!! Where they sojourned for an unspecified amount of time [some say several months, others say it may well have been for several YRS]. IDK maybe dude thinks the ancient Egyptians weren't really African - Africans. Heck maybe he even denies ancient Egypt was even in Africa!! Also note that 2 of the oldest Xtian Churches are the Coptic Church [Egypt] & the Ethiopian Orthodox Church [also note the history & legacy of Ethiopian House of Beta Jews & King Menelik]. So IMO it's no coincidence that one the oldest forms of Xtianity is Egypt's Coptic Church, which is where the Bible says Yeshua's parents took Him for some time to seek refuge from Herod's persecution.
So when did the 'white Jesus' image become the standard? IMO circa 1500 w Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel [job] & other such paintings & sculptures by him &/or his associates [note the turn toward 'white' Biblical imagery began in the wake of the Crusades]. If one has a hard time envisioning this, just note that the holiest shrine in Poland is the Black Madonna & Child [popularized by Pope John Paul II, whose homeland was Poland]. But FYI Poland ain't the only place that has a Black Madonna & Child icon, there are at-least 1 [or more] in: Spain, France, Switzerland & Italy- And they all pre-date 1500 ACE!! In fact there are ancient artifacts & paintings that pre-date the Crusades, clearly depicting Yeshua His Apostles [& other Biblical persons] as non-caucasian / non-white. In-fact there's a 3rd - 4th century mural in the Xtian catacombs of Rome depicting Yeshua & His Apostles at the 'Last-Supper', & neither He nor They looked like [typical] Romans of that era- He / They are all clearly depicted w dark-brown skin & 'curly hair'. And there's another painting of Yeshua meeting His Apostles from Egypt's Coptic Church, again showing Him / Them w dark-brown skin & 'curly-hair'. Again I emphasize these iconic images are not some recent 'post-modern' depictions of Yeshua by 20th - 21st century 'Black Nationalists' [actually Dude, the more apt term is Afro-centric], they all pre-date 1500 ACE & some even pre-date the Crusades!! But w the advent of Michelangelo & his Sistine Chapel job [under the auspices of Pope Julius II in 1505], all that imagery got changed.