blackbright news - the power of image

Brighter news

FACILITATING YOUNG PEOPLE TO CONCEPTUALISE THEIR ETHNIC IDENTITYThru’ History, Culture & Music!

EVOKING PRIDE for BLACK PEOPLE IN BRITAIN

Women Writes.. Rites... Rights

Online Supplement Issue 1

June Supplement 2007.qxp 01/10/2007 14:50

Editor’s Note

You are probably wondering why I decided to come outwith an online supplement, not even one year since thebirth of Blackbright News. It is simple. Growth wasneeded. “Brighter News” is an online supplement,which means it is free and more people can benefitfrom the information contained within it, and it can beproduced more frequently than Blackbright News.Brighter News will be focussing on historical incidentsaligning them with current events.

I do hope you enjoy this issue of Brighter News whichinforms on an alternative perspective of Black, Hair andBeauty, and there are no words more apt or fitting thatepitomise the ethos of this supplement than the wordsof the Rt Honorouble Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Nuff blessings,

Myrna Loy,Editor & Founder

The Black Womanby Marcus Mosiah Garvey

[1887-1940]

Black queen of beauty, thou hast given color to the world!Among other women thou art royal and the fairest!

Like the brightest of jewels in the regal diadem,Shin’st thou, Goddess of Africa, Nature’s purest emblem!

Black men worship at thy virginal shrine of truest love,Because in thine eyes are virtue’s steady and holy mark,

As we see in no other, clothed in silk or fine linen,From ancient Venus, the Goddess, to mythical Helen.

When Africa stood at the head of the elder nations,The Gods used to travel from foreign lands to look at thee

On couch of costly Eastern materials, all perfumed,Reclined thee, as in thy path flow’rs were strewn-sweetest that

bloomed.

Thy transcendent marvelous beauty made the whole world mad,Bringing Solomon to tears as he viewed thy comeliness;

Anthony and the elder Ceasars wept at thy royal feet,Preferring death than to leave thy presence, their foes to meet.

You, in all ages, have attracted the adoring world,And caused many a bloody banner to be unfurled

You have sat upon exalted and lofty eminence,To see a world fight in your ancient African defense.

Today you have been dethroned, through the weakness of yourmen,

While, in frenzy, those who of yore craved your smiles and yourhand-

Those who were all monsters and could not with love approachyou-

Have insulted your pride and now attack your good virtue.

Because of disunion you became mother of the world,Giving tinge of robust color to five continents,

Making a greater world of millions of colored races,Whose claim to beauty is reflected through our black faces.

From the handsome Indian to European brunette,There is a claim for that credit of their sunny beauty

That no one can e’er to take from thee, 0 Queen of all womenWho have borne trials and troubles and racial burden.

Once more we shall, in Africa, fight and conquer for you,Restoring the pearly crown that proud Queen Sheba did wear

Yea, it may mean blood, it may mean death; but still we shall fight,Bearing our banners to Vict’ry, men of Africa’s might.

Superior Angels look like you in Heaven above,For thou art fairest, queen of the seasons, queen of our love

No condition shall make us ever in life desert thee,Sweet Goddess of the ever green land and placid blue sea.

Marcus Mosiah GarveyFebruary 28, 1927


The Power of Image

I attended a lecture the other day and sat waiting for itto start: “Please give a round of applause to Mr *****”I looked up immediately and saw a tall dark black male,with black thin rimmed glasses” dressed in a long blackmac, a white shirt, a black tie and black trousers. In mymind I thought: “wow this man looks so militant” but Iimmediately respected and admired him. I sat up andgave him my full attention, he was educated and knowl-edgeable. He spoke short, sharp words, I daren’t moveout of my seat until he had finished as I felt every wordhe uttered was important. I did not even know him butrespected him nonetheless - was it his words or hisimage???

Well that was my experience of the power of image. Ithink it is amazing how people’s perception of you can

change according to how you are dressed. I havenoticed when wandering through the town centre inmy casual wear jeans t-shirt, trainers. All of a suddensecurity guard’s eyes are piercing at me and a look ofsuspicion comes across their face. However when I amwalking in town with a suit. I don’t get a second glanceexcept of admiration. All of a sudden I am not scruti-nized as much, in fact I am treated with the utmostrespect. I am still the same person, my intentions arestill the same, just in different attire. The power animage can have, may say a thousand words before youhave even uttered a word. It is an opportunity to com-mand peoples respect or even disrespect according tohow you present yourself. Sometimes I feel this percep-tion is unfair as I have fallen victim of being discriminat-ed against before someone has taken the time to get toknow me or considered my character. I find this sofrustrating because it hinders potential relationships. Icannot help the way I am. I do not see why I shouldconform to a stereotype, besides people who do tendto take the time to know me, are usually happy thatthey did.

Whilst I think image is important in the workplace,interviews and special occasions etc., the theory beingthat when a person takes the time to dress presentablynot only can it open many doors, but also the percep-tion is that they take care in all aspects of their lives.Toa point I would say it is true, however, it should notextend to their style of dress. I think the style of dresscan send conflicting messages and is not always theintention. Let’s take the sari for example which can beworn in so many different ways, the sari is worn in atleast 10 or 15 styles like Gujarathi style, Bengali,Mangalorean, Kannadiga, Kodava, Tamilian, Malayali,which denotes the status, age, occupation, region andreligion of a woman in India although a person who hasnot been exposed to that culture would not necessar-ily know that. My opinion is that some of them look soelegant but I could not tell you about the character ofthe person wearing them. I think an image is very pow-erful, however. I do not think it should hold as muchcredence as it does, because many people have beendeceived by image and on reflection, discovered thebackground of the person left alot to be desired. I would sayimage says a lot but it doesn’tsay it all!

By Black Citizen

Barack Obama -Candidate for US President


Who is this Beauty Queen?

Tiye, Queen of Ancient Egypt was considered black,beautiful and gorgeous and one of the most influentialQueens ever to rule Kemet (Ancient Egypt). Her date ofbirth has been chronicled as being anywhere between1415 - 1340 BC.

Queen Tiye is not what we, in the Western world, are usedto seeing as ‘a vision of beauty’ so what defines our per-ception of beauty today? What qualities did Queen Tiyepossess that warranted the title of a beautiful Queen?From what I have read, I can only surmise that it was hertraits as a wife, a mother and ruler of her country. Herfeatures are somewhat severe, so physical attributes mayor may not have been consequential here.

Many women today, think beauty is a visual attribute. Isit - or is beauty skin deep? Let’s take a sneak preview intothe life of Queen Tiye and question why she was consid-ered the “standard of beauty” of her time.

The name Tiye is itself a pet-name for Nefertari (accord-ing to Aldred) - also spelled Tiy and Teje. Tiye was thedaughter of Asiatics called Yuya and Tjuyu. Scholarsclaim that Tiye’s features are distinctly Sub-SaharanAfrican, i.e. tropical or Equatorial African.

At the age of between 11 and 12 years old, Tiye is said tohave married the Kemetan King Amenhotep III whoruled during the New Kingdom Dynasties around1391BC. Queen Tiye held the title of “Great Royal Wife”(the king did have many royal wives, but the Great RoyalWife was the most important and the heir and futurepharaoh would be her son). Tiye was frequently men-tioned, or shown beside Amenhotep in sculptures, reliefsand inscriptions from the period.

*[Tiye had atleast six children.She definitelyhad two sons(Tuthmose V andAmenhotep IV,the second ofwhom went onto becomepharaoh) and thefamous childking Tut-ankh-amen is also saidto be her son,although there isc o n s i d e r a b l earchaeolog ica land textual evidence indicating that Tutankhamun’s washer grandson, so we are not quite sure whether he was herson or grandson. Queen Tiye also had four daughters(Sitamun, Isis, Henut-taneb, and Beketaten)

Tiye had a strong effect on the state affairs of Egypt andindeed acted upon it following the end of her husband’sreign.

For nearly half of a century, Tiye governed Kemet, regu-lated her trade, and protected her borders. During thistime, she was believed to be the standard of beauty inthe ancient world]. “During this time” holds credencefor me, and itis for this reason that I have concluded thatit was her ‘godly’ character that made her beautiful, i.e. agood mother, a good wife, and a good ruler.

I have featured Queen Tiye to highlight that beauty hasmore to do with our nature than our physical attributes.

*Parts Extracted by Loyhttp://www.heptune.com/Tiye.html andhttp://www.swagga.com/queen.htm


DID YOU KNOW...THERE ARE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD THINK TWICE

ABOUT PERMING YOUR HAIR! (Lye or No-Lye)

We need to research the products that have been developed forafricaribbeans before we use them. As a people we need to become moreeducated about the things we put in, and on our bodies!

1) Through periodically straightening our hair to make it more man-ageable, we are telling ourselves that our natural hair is not acceptable.When you perm a young child’s hair so that it looks Eurocentric, you aretelling that child that Eurocentric hair is ‘more beautiful’ and thus, with-out intentionally meaning to, sowing the seeds of self doubt and self hatred.Most of us do not acquaint ourselves with our natural hair looks and feelsand, as such, are not taught to respect and love it. I remember when Istarted twisting my hair – it was addictive. I loved feeling the way hedefied my grip and went its own way. My hair had power.

2) Lye Relaxers can also cause alopecia areata (loss of hair) and malepatterned baldness in 60% of men, women and children who use LyeRelaxers on a normal basis say once every four weeks and although 6weeks is recommended, many use the relaxer before then because theirhair grows out quickly and they are afraid that their hair will break off.

3) Children’s heads in particular are not strong enough to handle a lyerelaxers. These relaxers are made up with Sodium Hydroxide. They arealso referred to as ‘alkaline relaxers’ because they contain alkaline caustics,which can cause chemical burns similar to those a person would get ifthey came in contact with a strong acid; the pH levels are higher thanno-lye relaxers; the pH is of 12-14, which is extremely high and these relax-

ers are formulated with Sodium Hydroxid; the higher the pH the greaterrisk of damage and hair loss; the “no lye” relaxers are formulated with-out Sodium Hydroxide and instead are created with calcium hydroxide,guanidine carbonate, and ammonium thioglycolate to make guanidinehydroxide; the ingredients found in Relaxers such as the Sodium Hydroxideare found in drain cleaners, bleach, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners, and otherhousehold cleaning supplies; and though the combination in “no lye” relax-ers results in less scalp damage than lye relaxers the damage to the scalpcan potentially be the same if not used properly.

4) The FDA lists hair relaxers and hair dyes among its top consumercomplaint areas.

[Adapted & Extracted from Talibah Newman article for appropriateness]

For those of you where there is no turning back with the perm becauseyou have been using it so long and you cannot imagine your hair in anyother way, minimise the potential damage by using a product likePhytorelaxer which is made with egg and soya extracts and is alleged tobe chemical free! The straightening action is claimed to come from theGuarnidine Carbonate which is derived from mushroom salts and not theman-made chemical Guarnidine Carbonate. It is a bit more expensive butyour health is worth it.www.phyto.com, www.phytospecific.com or read more on

www.sephora.com or do a search of phytorelaxer or “lye” in yoursearch field.


Being Beautiful RequiresMAXIMUM CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Revolutionary MMentality

1. Study-Oriented: reads, evaluates and debates books, newspapers, magazines and scholarlyjournals. Accepts the challenge of education.

2. Worker: looks for ways in which to actively work for self; may hold a job outside in orderto sustain self and family. Self-Reliant.

3. Organized and Systematic - efficient and diligent.

4. Progressively Collective; conscious of others; Cooperative.

5. Family Oriented: regards mate as partner in struggle; loves children. Values trust in rela-tionships.

6. Land Conscious: realizes that the only thing that nobody is making any more of is land.

7. Disciplined: strong, unyielding and energetic.

8. Serious. Practices fair play, order and punctuality. Honest and dependable.

9. Analytical and critical.

10. Frugal: buys mainly on need basis; saves.

11. Social life is developmental and involves children.

12. Creatively Aggressive: will dare the impossible if it is possible.

13. Respects Elders.

14. Dislikes incompetence and mediocrity.

15. Fights against Black on Black crime and understands that its root is white on Blackcrime.

16. Loves Black art, music and literature.

17. Can give and follow instructions. Encourages experimentation and criticism.

18. Committed to Black Liberation - local, national and international.

19. Does not use drugs.

20. Politically Active. Not crisis-oriented; acts on information rather than reacts. Plans aheadfor the long term; alert; prepared for change.

21. Self-Confident. Respects others regardless of race or culture.

22. Understands the economic forces that control our lives on a local, national and interna-tional level.

23. Rational in decisions and actions.

24. Rewards merit and achievement.

Excerpted from Madhubuti, H. R. (1991) Black Men: obsolete, single and dangerous? theAfrikan American Family in transition. Pgs8-9 Chicago: Third World Press.


Black people or blacks is a political, racial, ethnic, social orcultural classification. No humans are literally black in thecolour sense of the word.

There is no universally agreed-upon criteria for who isconsidered black, and the definition has varied in differ-ent time periods and locations. Some use the term blackto describe ancestry in any dark skinned ethnic groupwhile others confine the term to only those having ori-gins in the dark skinned ethnicities of Africa. Amongthose who use the latter definition, some believe thatonly African ancestry South of the Sahara qualifies asblack ancestry, while others argue that blacks are indige-nous to North Africa as well. A debate within all of thesedebates concerns how much black ancestry makes oneblack, with some maintaining that any known blackancestry is enough, others requiring a preponderance ofblack ancestry, and still others excluding those with anyknown mixed blood from the black category. The eth-nic/racial classification black received something similarto its current meaning during The Enlightenment, whenanthropologists of that era defined five human races: Yellows(East Asians), Reds (Native Americans), Whites (Europeans),Browns (Australoids, Southeast Asians), and Blacks(Africans).

Science attempts to define race

Further information: Race (historical definitions)

Many argue that racism did not always exist, and that itsorigins can be traced to the Age of Enlightenment whichgave rise to biological classifications and the theory ofevolution. At the end of the 17th century a French doc-tor named Francois Bernier divided up humanity based onfacial appearance and body type. He proposed four cate-

gories: Europeans, Far Easterners, Lapps, and blackswho he described as having wooly hair, thick lips, andvery white teeth.

The first major scientific model was created in 18th cen-tury when Carolus Linnaeus recognized four main races:“Europeanus”, the white race; “Asiatic”, the yellow race;“Americanus”, the red race; and “Africanus”, the blackrace.[ According to Linnaeus, the black male could bedefined by his skin tone, face structure, and curly hair.Linnaeus believed blacks were cunning, passive, inatten-tive, and ruled by impulse. To Linnaeus, black femaleswere shameless, because “they lactate profusely”.

Linnaeus’ protege, anthropology founder JohannBlumenbach completed his mentor’s color coded racemodel by adding the brown race, “Malay” for Polynesisiansand Melanesians of Pacific Islands, and for aborigines ofAustralia. Gradually the yellow race and red race gotlumped together, and the brown race ignored because ofits’ small population, yielding the three main races ofanthropology: negroid, caucasoid, and mongoloid (com-monly described as Black, White, and (East) Asian)

Some anthropologists later added the brown race back inas an Australoid category (which includes aboriginal peo-ples of Australia along with various peoples of southeastand south Asia, especially Melanesia and the MalayArchipelago), and viewed it as separate from Negroids(often lumping Australoids in with Caucasoids).

Carleton Coon abandoned the very idea of a negroid raceand instead regarded it as two races (capoids and con-goids) creating a five race model. By the 1970s, due to theBlack Power and Civil Rights movement redefining blackas a symbol of pride and resistance from oppression, theterm black replaced Negro in the United States

The role of the Bible

According to some historians, the tale in Genesis 9 inwhich Noah cursed the descendants of his son Hamwith servitude was a seminal moment in defining blackpeople, as the story was passed on through generationsof Jewish, Christian and Islamic scholars. According tocolumnist Felicia R. Lee, “Ham came to be widely por-trayed as black; blackness, servitude and the idea of racialhierarchy became inextricably linked.” Some peoplebelieve that the tradition of dividing human kind intothree major races: Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid(now also commonly called black, white, and Asian), is part-ly rooted in tales of Noah’s three sons repopulating theEarth after the Deluge and giving rise to three separateraces.

For more information: www.dnaancestryproject.com (Wikipedia)

WHO IS BLACK?

Queen Tiye


“I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon,Look not upon me because I am black Because the sunhath scorched me.” (Song of Solomon)

Although most of Black history is suppressed, dis-torted or ignored by an ungrateful modern world,some African traditions are so persistent that all ofthe power and deception of the Western academicestablishment have failed to stamp them out. Onesuch story is that of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba,and King Solomon of Israel. Black women of antiq-uity were legendary for their beauty and power.Especially great were the Queens of Ethiopia. Thisnation was also known as Nubia, Kush, Axum andSheba. One thousand years before Christ, Ethiopiawas ruled by a line of virgin queens. The one whosestory has survived into our time was known asMakeda, “the Queen of Sheba.” Her remarkable tra-dition was recorded in the Kebar Nagast, or the Gloryof Kings, and the Bible. The Bible tells us that, dur-ing his reign, King Solomon of Israel decided to builda magnificent temple. To announce this endeavor, theking sent forth messengers to various foreign coun-tries to invite merchants from abroad to come toJerusalem with their caravans so that they mightengage in trade there. At this time, Ethiopia was sec-ond only to Egypt in power and fame. Hence, KingSolomon was enthralled by Ethiopia’s beautiful peo-ple, rich history, deep spiritual tradition and wealth.He was especially interested in engaging in commercewith one of Queen Makeda’s subjects, an importantmerchant by the name of Tamrin.1 Solomon sent forTamrin who “packed up stores of valuables includingebony, sapphires and red gold, which he took toJerusalem to sell to the king.”2 It turns out thatTamrin’s visit was momentous. Although accustomedto the grandeur and luxury of Egypt and Ethiopia,Tamrin was still impressed by King Solomon and hisyoung nation. During a prolonged stay in Israel,Tamrin observed the magnificent buildings and was

intrigued by the Jewish people and their culture. Butabove all else, he was deeply moved by Solomon’s wis-dom and compassion for his subjects. Upon returningto his country, Tamrin poured forth elaborate detailsabout his trip to Queen Makeda. She was soimpressed by the exciting story that the great queendecided to visit King Solomon herself.3 To under-stand the significance of state visits in antiquity incontrast to those of today, we must completelyremove ourselves from the present place and time. Inancient times, royal visits were very significant cere-monial affairs. The visiting regent was expected tofavor the host with elaborate gifts and the state visitmight well last for weeks or even months. Even byancient standards, however, Queen Makeda’s visit toKing Solomon was extraordinary. In I Kings 10:1-2,the Bible tells us: “1. And when the Queen of Shebaheard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name ofthe Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.“2. And she came to Jerusalem with a very greattrain, with camels that bear spices and very muchgold, and precious stones. And when she was come toSolomon she communed with him of all that was inher heart.” I Kings 10:10 adds: “She gave the king120 talents of gold, and of spices very great store andprecious stones; there came no more such abundanceof spices as these which the Queen of Sheba gave toKing Solomon.” We should pause to consider thestaggering sight of this beautiful Black woman andher vast array of resplendent attendants travellingover the Sahara desert into Israel with more than 797camels plus donkeys and mules too numerous tocount. The value of the gold alone, which she gave toKing Solomon, would be $3,690,000 today and was ofmuch greater worth in antiquity. King Solomon, andundoubtedly the Jewish people, were flabbergastedby this great woman and her people. He took greatpains to accommodate her every need. A specialapartment was built for her lodging while sheremained in his country. She was also provided withthe best of food and eleven changes of garmentsdaily. As so many African leaders before her, thisyoung maiden, though impressed with the beauty ofSolomon’s temple and his thriving domain, had cometo Israel seeking wisdom and the truth about the Godof the Jewish people. Responding to her quest forknowledge, Solomon had a throne set up for thequeen beside his. “It was covered with silken carpets,adorned with fringes of gold and silver, and studdedwith diamonds and pearls.

Extracted from http://www.swagga.com/queen.htm

MakedaQueen

ofSheba

“Symbol of Beauty”(960 B.C.)


Myrna Loy, Editor & Founder of Blackbright Newsand known as 'Lady Loy' on the DIY Reggae Show, co-presents with AK Tramplaz on Life FM 103.6every Saturday morning from 10 - 12, where under theLady Loy Selection, she chooses a track that replicatesher ethos to educate and stimulate her listeners. Shealso raises issues that affect the young community, andaligns them in an historical context. .

Life FM is a legal community station based in NWLondon and the DIY Reggae show edifies the youththrough conscious lyrics and social commentary. Webelieve we can subliminally teach the youth to raisetheir game through the power of music. At a recentEvery Child Matters Conference held in Euston on 26June, we were told that lyrics and music are key influ-encers in youth behaviour. Thus, the lyrics we select,whilst unconventional, could help educate and motivateour young listeners to behave more responsibly.

Lady Loy is therefore calling reggae artists to send atrack you would like aired, that you feel speaks toyoung people in a constructive way. The Lady LoySelection usually has nice melodies and harmonies togive balance to the show, so please email your track [email protected] with your stage name, title trackand age (if under 18) in the subject box. Please alsoanswer the following questions to help us to understandyour philosopphy

1. What is your message to youths in Brent and beyond?

2. What Is your overall ambition as an artist ?

3. What is your message as an artist

(www.myspace.com/ladyloy)

AK TRAMPLAZ & LADY LOYDIY REGGAE SHOW

10 am - 12 GMT on 103.6 FMTel: +44 0208 965 1717

Life FM can be accessed world-wide

WHY LISTEN TO THE DIY REGGAE SHOW?

www.lifefm.org.uk

Lady Loy & A K Tramplazon the DIY REGGAE SHOW

for Edutainment!Every Saturday Morning 10 - 12

on LIFE FM 103.6 FMwww.lifefm.org.uk


Letter to the Editor

I have an artical that was in one of the main newspapersand the subject was a dilemma that a wild life preserva-tion in Africa was facing. The preserve was a refuge forelephants and other endangered wild life such as rarewhite rhinos and other animals. The elephant populationeventually grew to the point where they had to relocatesome to another preserve in near by South Africa. Thepark rangers and conservationist came up with an ideato move the masssive creatures quickly and safely, theywere going to use Sikorsky helicopters with special underbelly harnesses to air lift the elephants to their new loca-tion. They ran into a problem with the much larger bullelephants- they could not be lifted, the harnesess brokedue to the whieght of the larger elephants. So theyended up moving only the smaller males and females.

Things were working out pretty good for a few months,until rangers in the new location started to find dead rhi-nos and other smaller animals dead and some wounded.At first they thought it was the work of poachers but therhinos still had their horns intack, and poachers useuallycut them off and leave the carcase of the animal. Oneranger came up with an idea- lets set up cameras at dif-ferent areas in the park. To their amazement the foundthat rogue male elephants were mauling and attackingother animals including the rhinos, which were gored ontheir sides. This is not elephant like behavior, they weremystified as to why this was happening and what wasprompting this bad behavior by these young adult males.When others were brought in to find out what wasgoing on, they found that because they did not air lift anyof the older bigger bull males which in other herds theynoticed that it was the bull males that kept the youngerones in check!! They eventually were able to move insome older bulll males and sure enough over time theincidents decreased and order was restored. Now whatcan we learn from the lowly elephants? also this incidentwas on video by I think National Geographic. I havekept this artical and made my argument as to the prob-lems with our own youth, what can we learn from theanimals, we who are much more sophisticated and fer-ther up the evolutionary ladder, we who are supposed tobe above them, yet the same dynamics are present in thejungles of Africa and the concrete jungles we live inmade of concrete and steel. I think you can take this andanswer that question now in your own elequant and edu-cated way to make the connections.

Amir (USA)

The original URL of this article is:www.africaspeaks.com/articles/2004/1212.html

What’s in a Name

Defining Black Identity in 21st CenturyAmericaBy Ewuare Osayande December 12, 2004

The following is an (extracted) transcript of anaddress given by Ewuare Osayande at a panel dis-cussion “What’s in a Name” at Temple University onNovember 10, 2004.

There is an adage from the Xhosa people of SouthAfrica that says “I am because we are …” One aspectof this multi-meaning truth is that one’s identity istied to a body larger than the self. The wisdom in thesaying also clearly indicates that in order to under-stand the self, to identify the self, the group fromwhich one emerges must have an identity as well.Herein lies the dilemma of those of us who havebeen called and have called ourselves by a variety ofcultural nomenclatures and derogatory epithets –Negro, nigger, Colored, Black, African, American,Afro-American, African American, African inAmerica.

When our ancestors were stolen from Africa andbrought to the colonies, they were faced with thissame dilemma. By what name would they choose todefine themselves? As they began to create institu-tions they named them and by so naming them,named themselves. In the South, our ancestorsenslaved named their first institution the AfricanBaptist Church. In the North, our ancestors freednamed their first institution the African MethodistChurch. From the outset of our experience here ourancestors were clear as to whom they were –whether enslaved or free, we were Africans!

In 1903, the dawn of the 20th Century W.E.B.DuBois penned his now-classic text, The Souls ofBlack Folk. This work serves as a marker for ourpeople in a number of ways. Namely, it serves as anindicator of the self-perception of our ancestors andforebears of that period. Once again, we witness theuse of the term African to define us. Also we witnessthe use of the word Black as a defining term for ourpeople as well as the term Negro. These words inDuBois’ deft mind were not derogatory nor pejora-tive. Although Negro was not a term that we creat-ed, when used by us, it was given a dignity thatsurely was not the intent of the whites that called usthat. We exchanged these words liberally as we sawfit ‘til a later time when we realized that certainwords did not fit us as we grew into new and liber-ating notions of ourselves. (Extracted)

Ewuare Osayande is a political activist, poet and author of morethan eleven books including his latest works Black Anti-BallisticMissives: Resisting War/Resisting Racism and Misogyny and theEmcee: Exposing the Exploitation of Black Women in Hip Hop. Heresides in Philadelphia, PA where he is the co-founder of POWER,a grassroots initiative that educates and empowers participantsto fight and resist oppression. He can be contacted at [email protected]. www.osayande.org


The DecisionFictional Short Story

by Lou-G

The car Sasha was travelling in pulled up outside alarge three storey double bay fronted Victorian build-ing, large concrete steps lead up the centre to a hugefront door. Running down the brick walls either side ofthe door were shiny gold plaques with the names ofthe doctors who worked at the clinic, each one denot-ing their name and medical credentials. Sasha leantover and grabbed her overnight bag off of the car seatand stepped out onto the pavement. Her mother camearound from the drivers side, closed the passengerdoor behind her and touched her shoulder gently.“Okay?” she asked Sasha. Her mother’s face showedso much concern it made Sasha ache with guilt. “Yes,I’m fine, the sooner we get on with this the better”Sasha replied. Her mother nodded wearily and rubbedher shoulder.“You know you can stop this at any pointdon’t you. Dad and I will support you no matter whatyou decide to do its your body”. Sasha stared at hermother, her eyes giving her mother the answer. “I

know, and I’m okay really I am. Just a bit nervous that’sall. Come on, lets get this show on the road”.Together then walked up the concrete steps arm inarm and Sasha’s mother held the door open for her asshe walked through in a large hallway populated by asea of all girls sitting in chairs that lined the walls alongeach side of the hallway, some had friends and relativeswith them, others sat alone, heads down. Sash walkedup to main reception desk and gave them her name tothe receptionist behind the desk.“Hi, I’m Sasha Collins, I’m booked in for surgerytoday”. Sasha waited for the woman behind the deskto make a judgement on her, she searched her face forany inkling of what the woman was thinking about her,but she saw nothing. The receptionist just smiled,crossed off her name on a larger typed sheet of othernames of people who had arrived for the same treat-ment. “That’s lovely, super. Now, if you’d like to take aseat, the doctor will be out shortly to allocate roomsfor everyone”Sasha and her mother turned and took a seat on theavailable empty chairs. Her mother reached over andtook her hand, rubbing it gently between her own.“It think you’re being incredibly brave love, I really do.I don’t think I would have handled this as well as you”Sasha could feel the lump in her throat start to rise,her eyes beginning to fill with tears “I know, its notbeen an easy decision but I know it’s the right one forme, it’s the only decision to make” She tried to keepher voice calm and even, but detected a slight wobblein her voice. She really didn’t want to start crying infront of all these people, she was feeling crappy enoughas it was without everyone staring at her. Her motherreached into her bag and pulled out a tissue and hand-ed it to her.As she took it from her mother’s hand, sheglanced at her mother’s face, her eyes too were filledwith uncried tears.“Oh mum stop, you’ll get me goingagain…cant have the two of us sitting here blubbering”Sasha said bravely. She smiled weakly at her mother,squeezing her hand.“Come on, this a positive thing I’mdoing, and lets be honest, I’m far too young to be hav-ing a baby now aren’t I.This is absolutely the right thingto do.What kind of life would I have, only just turned16 and having a baby. How would I support it andmyself, I haven’t even got a job and I‘m still living athome. It wouldn’t be fair to bring a child into theworld like this, especially not like this.A baby should beborn from love, not a stupid mistake” “I know” her mother replied “I’m just worried aboutyou, you’re still my baby don’t forget. I just cant bearseeing you hurt or upset and this is one time I cant fixthe situation for you. I know you’ll be fine you’re a sen-sible girl, always have been”. They both dabbed theireyes and sat and waited for the doctor to come round.Eventually a doctor appeared at the reception desk


along with five nurses, clipboard in hand and proceed-ed to read people’s names, directing them to variousnurses so that by the time he’d finished, there werefive nurses with six girls each.As each girl’s name wascalled, they all slowly picked up their belongings, smallsuitcases and overnight bags and went and stood nexttheir allocated nurse. When Sasha’s name was called,her and her mother rose from the chairs and huggedeach other tightly.“I’ll come and see you tonight, about 7.30pm I think itsaid visiting time was on the leaflet. I’ll bring you some-thing nice too” said her mother, reluctant to let herdaughter go.“Thanks mum, that would be great.Whatwill you tell dad though? Sasha enquired. “Don’t youworry about that” said her mother “I’ll just tell him I’mgoing out with Sandra for a drink. Don’t worry love, hedoesn’t know and he certainly doesn’t need to knoweither. We can handle this between us, he’d be nobloody good anyway! You know what men are like in acrisis…useless. They both chuckled, knowing her dadwould actually have been extremely angry and disap-pointed with her, hence the reason for not involvinghim at the start.

They said their goodbyes and Sash wandered over tostand next to her designated nurse.

“Right ladies, if you’d like to follow me, I’ll show you toyour room”. They duly followed behind the nurse insilence, the only sound made was their shoes on thepolished parquet flooring.They made their way down

the corridor which had doors leading off at intervals.Sasha couldn’t help but peek in as they passed. Insidewere the other girls from the reception unpackingtheir bags and getting themselves ready for the day’sevent. They reached the end of the corridor andturned right into a large room consisting of six hospi-tal beds running either side of the room, some comfychairs at the fair end and a communal bathroom offthe room. Each girl was shown to her bed and lockerand quietly every unpacked. The tension in the roomwas almost crushing, the anxiety of each individual wasclearly visible on everyone’s face. Nobody looked ateach other or made eye contact. It was as if they alljust wanted the wind the clock forward a few hoursfor this day to be over.Once they had changed into their various colouredpyjamas and nightshirts, they all climbed into theirbeds, waiting for the nurse to come around with theirpre-med injections. One by one, each occupant wasvisited by the nurse with a large stainless steel tray, onit lay six syringes all filled with the same liquid.As soonas the injection was administer, they were wheeled offto surgery.When it came to Sasha’s turn, she felt thebutterflies in her stomach lurching around inside her,her heart banging against her rib cage. This is it, shethought, no going back now and she felt prick of theneedle pierce her skin, the cold liquid of the injectionenter under the skin of her hand and into her veins.Her eyelids dropped and she was out for the count.When she woke, it was dark. Her mouth was so dryso couldn’t muster up any saliva to quench her mouth.When she tried to swallow, her throat was sore whichshe guessed was probably from the air tube pipe theyinsert into your mouth during surgery. Slowly sheturned her head to the left and right, seeing that all theoccupants of the beds were back too, some wereasleep still and some were up sitting on their bedswatching the television screwed to the wall. Sash afelt incredibly queasy and decided not keep turning herhead as new she’d probably throw up if she carried on.

To be continued...


Rap Music is a big part of

the world around us and without knowing it caninfluence our dress sense, speech, attitude andbehaviour.Plenty of music (particularly rap) is often con-demned for its negative lyrics and portray a poorlifestyle of the hustle n grind but not all musicadapts to these stereotypes

American rapper Common has the poetic forceand lyrical talent that is much needed in today’smusic industry. He may look rough and tough onthe outside but deep within it’s another story,he’s mature enough to avoid negative actionsaround him; “Outgrowing the streets…ignoringMc’s like beeps.” (Lyrics from Invocation byCommon).

A lot of rappers forget about reality when theyreach the height of fame and their lyrics switchfrom praising their parents to rhymes aboutwomen and money. Kanye west for examplebrought out his “college dropout” album in2003.

The album was highly acclaimed for giving hip-hop a new outreach, tracks were positive yetpolitical. Although he expresses that school was-n’t for him, he has a very strong messages forblack men growing up in this world.Kanye’s debut album made contemporary hip-hop reach new heights, but then came the curseof fame came along. His second album “late reg-istration was a little drug orientated.

Common on the other hand has always focusedon issues to do with social awareness, which is atrademark of conscious hip-hop. It’s men likehim that give black males a sense of personalpride. Other artists like Nas and Mos Def aregood influences in the sense that their musicdoesn’t glorify drugs, violence or crime.

Drugs can be talked about in both a positive wayand a negative way; “don’t make drug dealingyour only skill…everyday I tell these youngers,they don’t like what I teach”. (“Talk to Me” bySwiss).

Battersea born rapper Swiss (former member ofso solid crew) portrays the downside of Londonlife to let others learn. “Cry” brought his musicfrom the basement out to the streets andtouched the hearts of those who needed to hearit. “I don’t wanna be another bum, there’s anoth-er million n*****s like me in another slum” (Cry,Swiss). A harsh reality that shouldn’t be over-looked. Although this isn’t political music it aims


for a positive outcome.

Recently there has been a huge outcry of the ori-gins of hip-hop (not the roots). This is expressedin the film “The Truth Behind Hip Hop”. TheDVD has been watched by 1000’s of people andhad a drastic impact on the industry.

“The Truth Behind Hip Hop” is from aChristian point of few but is unfortunately fullof half-truths. The reverend slates hip-hopmusic implying that it’s satanic and stems fromthe devil. I believe the views on the DVD are alittle extreme.

The negative publicity given by the media onlyrelates to a minority of rap artists. This needs tobe realised and let the slander stop. Hip-hop isn’tall bad, far from it. I’ve heard passages from theBible being rapped and it sounded good to me.

Just be aware of what your listening to and don’tlet it shape you. Some say hip-hop is a way of lifebut you have to think of the way your life is first.Unfortunately on our side of the pond wehaven’t caught on to political rap, but artist likeSway and Kano are representing the scene.

Sway in particular hardly has a bad word to say inany of his songs. His lyrics are real to the coreand all listeners can relate, “Some places inBritain ain’t the place to raise your child”. (Lyricsfrom “Hype Boys” Sway). A lot of Sway’s lyricsare comical but have morals behind them. Hissongs express the way his life could of gone andhow he’s made it to where he is today “ LittleDerek wrote lyrics whilst the others got high”.

For the struggling rap and garage emcees keepdoing your thing, the only way is up.

Influential artist Nas said it best “I know I can,be what I want to be, if I work hard at it, I’ll bewhere I want to be” (lyrics from “I Can” byNasir Jones aka Nas).

By Victoria Wood

Words of encouragement

“I’ve never been poor, only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind.Being broke is only a temporary situation.” — Mike Todd, FilmProducer

Many of us want to be prosperous but lack clear directions. On ourjourney to happiness there will always be main roads of truth withditches of errors next to them. From time to time unfortunately wehave all found it difficult in keeping our focus on the main road andhave ended up in trenches. Where are you now? Just in case youare down in the trenches of life keep looking up. Because as LesBrown said: “if can look up you will get up”. So make sure youuse every negative experience to help your journey not to dig yourgrave.

Be warned, prosperity without a purpose could only lead to disap-pointment and dissatisfaction. Many have found that the things forwhich they have traded their freedom or which have meant bringfulfilment are the things that have imprisoned them. Prosperity isnot something that you have to chase for it would come when youescape from the things that have made you poor. Opportunities arethere for those who are willing to be diligent and faithful ready.Benjamin Disraeli said: “the secret of success in life is for a man tobe ready for his opportunity when it comes.” You cannot afford tobe short - sighted’ for this is the number one reason why most peo-ple serve life rather than live it. Don’t borrow money just to havefun. For example there are lots of people who borrow money justto go on a holiday. This is like living life in reverse. You are hav-ing fun now and paying for it later. Always stop to consider theconsequence of this fun. Would it lead to more fun or would it bean expensive penalty that would cause you grief later? NapoleonHill in the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ states ‘If you want pros-perity you must refuse to accept any thing that leadstoward poverty.’ We were all designed for fun and freedom buttoo often we allowed our life-styles to seduce us into confinement.When you escape from the things that made you poor, prosperitywill flow naturally.


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