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Martin Luther King, Jr.tes

Martin Luther King, Jr. 

	The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Martin Luther King, Jr (1929 – 1968)

To hear "I have a dream" speech click arrow below

 

Jamaican History from Arawaks to Independence

  

The island of Jamaica was Origonally inhabited by the Tainos. Traditionally, Tainos were called Arawaks.  Analysis of prehistoric languages and cultures has revealed that the Tainos and the Arawaks were two different groups and that it was the former group that resided in Jamaica. 

The arrival of the Spaniards in 1494 marked the beginning of drastic changes in the lifestyle of the Tainos as they were forced into servitude.  On Columbus' fourth voyage to the New World in 1503, he sought refuge near a Taino village called Maima in Jamaica.  This was due to his ships being in a state of disrepair.  He remained on the island for a year before returning to Spain.

In 1508, Colombus' son Diego was appointed Governor of the Indies.  Diego later appointed Juan de Esquivel, Governor of Jamaica. 

Under the rule of the Spaniards the Taino population dramatically declined as a result of the combination of new diseases such as smallpox, and the ill treatment meted out to them by the colonists.  By 1598, less than half of the Taino population remained

Since the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World other European countries constantly vied for control of their holdings.  In addition, Spanish ships were constantly under attack by the French, Dutch and English.  Jamaica was not without its share.  As early as 1555 the French attacked the island, then the English, in 1597 under the leadership of Sir Anthony Shirley.  

It was not until 1655, however, that the Spanish were driven from the island by Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables.  The Spanish were forced to flee the island but not before freeing the slaves who took to the hills where they remained a constant thorn in the side of the English.

In an effort to settle the island Cromwell issued his famous proclamation, which granted land to British citizens who were willing to settle on the island.  In 1656 approximately 1,600 immigrants arrived and settled around Port Morant.  Although the Spaniards were driven out they never gave up hope of recapturing the island of Jamaica and in 1658 another Spanish force landed but was defeated at the decisive battle at Rio Nuevo. 

By the late Seventeenth Century, Port Royal had earned the reputation of being the richest and the wickedest city in the world.  In 1692 this town suffered destruction by an earthquake in which more than half of the town sank beneath the sea.  This signaled the end of piracy in the West Indies.

The second half of the Seventeenth Century saw the beginning of the "sugar revolution".  Large parcels of land were planted in sugar cane.  The whole process of making sugar required a huge labour force.  The English planters sought various groups to provide the much needed labour.  African slavery was not new to the West Indies and had been introduced by the Spanish and the Portuguese.  Later, the Dutch supplied slaves from Africa, and they taught the English the techniques necessary for the production of sugar.

The Africans brought to Jamaica were from many tribes, although the majority were Coromantees from the Gold Coast, Eboes from the Bight of Benin and Mandingoes.  The Coromantees are described as being a strong, brave, proud and fierce race.  Most of the slave revolts in Jamaica were led by Coromantee slaves.

There was resistance to slavery by slaves, both passive and active. Examples of passive resistance included poisoning of masters, destruction of property, and infanticide.  In the case of active resistance, there were open rebellions, and many slaves ran away and joined forces with the slaves who were set free by the Spanish or who had fled to the interior hills of the island.  They were later called Maroons.  In 1735 - 1739 they fought against the British in what was called the Maroon War 

The abolition of the slave trade in 1807, marked the beginning of the end of slavery and the economic power of the Jamaican planters.  By 1813, the wealth of the West Indian planters could no longer muffle the cries of the abolitionists and humanitarians to free the slaves.  Consequently, in 1833 slavery was abolished in the British West Indies and a system of apprenticeship was adopted.  The objective of the apprenticeship system was to help the slaves adjust to their free status and to supply the planters with a source of constant labour until they could adjust to full wage labour.  The abuses of the system brought about a premature end to slavery and in 1838 full freedom was given.

Although taken from their country of origin the slaves retained some aspects of their culture.  In the case of their language some African words, such as "nyam", "duckunnoo", "patoo", and language patterns which include the repetition of a word, as in the case of  "chaka chaka" meaning chaotic, and "little little" meaning very small, were retained.

The abolition of slavery saw a rise in the construction of Free Villages, and growth in peasant farming.  There was also an increase in the membership of Nonconformist Churches and a system of education for the free blacks was introduced.  In addition, the planters' fear of mass migration of ex-slaves from the plantation saw the introduction of other racial groups to replace slave labour.  Groups brought in included Europeans (Germans, Scots and Portuguese), Free Africans, Chinese and East Indians.

Although many things had changed, social conditions remained more or less the same for blacks.  By the 1860's the situation had worsened and gave rise to what was later called, the Morant Bay Rebellion.  The Morant Bay Rebellion brought about some changes in Jamaica, firstly, the system of Government changed from Representative to Crown Colony (or direct Crown rule), secondly, the Anglican Church was disestablished, thirdly, the Institute of Jamaica was founded to encourage literature, science and art.  By 1872 the capital was transferred from Spanish Town to Kingston.  There was an improvement in the water supply and a number of schools were established.  There was a shift from sugar to banana production. 

The Great War (1914 - 1918) gave many Jamaicans the opportunity to travel which in turn helped to shape their views of the system of Government.  In addition, during the early Twentieth Century, many Jamaicans left in search of employment in the Panama Canal Zone, and in Costa Rica, Cuba and Honduras to work on the plantations.  The movement of people brought about a change in ideas by the 1920's.  Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who promoted unity among blacks and pride in their race, became a prominent figure during this period.

 

Like the rest of the world, Jamaica in 1929 began experiencing a depression in its economic growth.  This resulted in a continuous decline in social conditions.  By 1938, the workers in an effort to improve their situation went on strike and related upheavals ended with the death of some workers.  The 1938 labour riots was another turning point in the history of the people of Jamaica.

Alexander Bustamante who emerged as leader of the new labour movement founded the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) later to be associated with the Jamaica Labour Party. In 1938 Norman Manley, the island's foremost barrister, and a cousin of Bustamante formed the People's National Party.  Manley led the country to Self Government and Bustamante later became the first Prime Minister of Independent Jamaica.

 

By 1944, adult suffrage was granted giving all males and females 21 years of age and over, the right to vote.  The journey towards Self Government had begun.The first election under Universal Adult Suffrage was held in 1944 and the Jamaica Labour Party won  25  out of a total of 32 seats.

The Federation of the West Indies was launched in 1959 and Jamaica was a part of this group. In 1961, a referendum was called to determine whether or not the people of Jamaica should remain a part of the Federation. The Jamaican people voted for Independence.

In January 1962, a draft of the Independence Constitution was brought before both Houses and after a full debate was unanimously approved. It was also agreed that the 300 year old Coat of Arms would be retained and the Latin motto "Indus Uterque Serviet  Uni" changed to one in English  "Out of Many One People".

At midnight 5th August 1962 the British Flag was lowered and the Jamaican Flag was hoisted for the first time.  On the 6th of August 1962 Jamaica was given its independence. Sir Kenneth Blackburne was the last Colonial Governor and the first Governor General.  Afterwards, Sir Clifford Campbell, formerly President of the Senate, became the first Jamaican Governor General.

Flag-Design
A bipartisan committee of the Jamaica House of Representatives designed the Jamaican Flag which consists of a diagonal cross with four triangles placed side by side. The diagonal cross is gold; the top and bottom triangles are green; and the hoist and fly (side) triangles are black.

Symbolism
“The sun shineth, the land is green and the people are strong and creative” is the symbolism of the colours of the flag. Black depicts the strength and creativity of the people; Gold, the natural wealth and beauty of sunlight; and green, hope and agricultural resources.

AKA Grace Nichols

Born: 28-Dec-1932
Birthplace: Robbins, IL

Nationality: United States
Status: Actress/Singer/Songwriter/TV Icon

Best know role: Lt. Uhura on Star Trek 

Grace Nichols began taking ballet lessons at the age of seven, and was considered something of a dance prodigy, earning the nickname "Nichelle" for her graceful pirouettes. As a teen, she worked as a dancer, and sang and toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. She later toured with Lionel Hampton, and made her film debut with a tiny part in the 1959 film of Porgy & Bess with Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge. Nichols had a role in a racially-charged episode of Gene Roddenberry's early-1960s series The Lieutenant. In her biography, Beyond Uhura, she revealed a romantic involvement with Roddenberry during that time. The affair was over long before Star Trek, but Roddenberry remembered her when he wanted a multi-racial cast for his science fiction series.

As Lt. Uhura, communications officer for the Enterprise, Nichols is often credited as the first African-American actress in an American TV series whose character wasn't stereotypically black -- a housekeeper or nanny. Actually, the first was Cicely Tyson's character (the secretary, Jane Foster) in the 1963-64 series East Side/West Side, but Nichols' show had a bigger audience and, obviously, a much bigger impact. The network, however, was very jittery about having a black woman in a relatively important role. They reportedly kept fan mail from reaching her, and nagged Roddenberry to keep her role in the background. Nichols was reportedly the only performer in the cast who wasn't originally offered a contract, but instead worked on a week-to-week basis.

She considered quitting Star Trek midway through its first season, when her character had been given little to do beyond perpetually opening hailing frequencies. In one interview, she famously described Uhura as "a glorified telephone operator in space". Then, at a civil rights protest, she met Martin Luther King Jr. -- who told her that he was a big fan of Star Trek. According to Nichols, when she told King she was thinking of quitting the show, he was shocked. "Don't you know you have the first non-stereotypical role in television?" she recalls King saying. "For the first time the world will see us as we should be seen -- people of quality in the future. You created a role with dignity and beauty and grace and intelligence. You're not just a role model for our children, but for people who don't look like us to see us for the first time as equals."

Nichols is also credited with TV's first interracial kiss, a smooch with William Shatner's Captain Kirk, in the 1968 episode "Plato's Stepchildren". Many stations in America's south refused to broadcast the episode, and it was banned in England for almost 25 years. But it wasn't even a romantic moment -- space aliens were using mind control to force the characters to kiss, against their will. The network was so nervous that two versions of the scene were filmed: one with the kiss, and one without it, where Kirk instead dramatically fought off the impulse. "When the camera zoomed in", says Nichols, "Bill crossed his eyes and the director didn't notice it until the next day in dailies. Of course the last scene was unusable and they had to go with the kiss scene, which became history as the first interracial kiss on TV."

Lt. Uhura's name was inspired by uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom. By the first Star Trek film, Uhura had been promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and in the second and subsequent films she was Commander Uhura -- but on the big or small screen, the character never had a first name. In a 1970s fan-fiction short story, her first name was cited as Upenda, and Nichols liked the story enough that she said at several Trek conventions that Upenda was indeed Uhura's first name. Then, in the late 1980s, as an official history of Star Trek was being compiled, a researcher suggested nyota -- Swahili for star. Nichols now says that Uhura's full name is Nyota Upenda Uhura.

Her non-Trek roles include the classic blaxploitation film Truck Turner with Isaac Hayes, wherein Nichols played the vicious, wicked, and incredibly sexy Dorinda. She also had a recurring albeit minor part in the Ron Ely Tarzan movies and TV series. Her other films include the super-silly Supernaturals with Maxwell Caulfield and LeVar Burton, Snow Dogs with Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Are We There Yet? with Ice Cube. She has written two science fiction novels, Saturn's Child and its sequel, Saturna's Quest, about a tough black woman in space. Nichols has hinted that in a third novel, her heroine may be revealed as a distant relative of Uhura.

In the shadow of her Star Trek fame, Nichols recorded an album in 1968, called Down to Earth, which included 10 smoothly-performed standards and drew good reviews . When Roddenberry's health was fading before his death, Nichols co-wrote and performed a song for him, titled "Gene". She sang it again at his funeral, and it is included on her 1991 album Out of This World.

In the late 1990s and early 00s, Nichols served as spokeswoman for The Kwanzaa Foundation. She has also written and performed a one-woman show called Reflections, a musical tribute to twelve women who inspired Nichols, including Pearl Bailey, Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Mahalia Jackson, and Sarah Vaughan.

My First Love - Lloyd Frontline xx

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Biography of Mary Seacole:

 

Mary Seacole

Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica in 1805 15years before Florence Nightingale
and was the daughter of a freed black slave and a Scottish soldier. She
married Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole, godson of Admiral Horatio Nelson,
when she was 31 but lost him eight years later.

After travelling to visit her brother in a gold-prospecting town in Panama,
she volunteered to single-handedly care for those affected by a cholera
epidemic, after an American medic fled the area.

Three years later she was back in Kingston caring for the victims of a
yellow fever epidemic and was later invited to supervise nursing services at
British Army headquarters at Up Park Camp in Kingston. While there, she
traded treatment information with military doctors and solidified her
nursing philosophy based on hygiene, sanitation, warmth and isolation.

Rejection:

She travelled to Britain in 1854, one year after the war broke out in Crimea
but her offers to join Florence Nightingale at the front were repeatedly
rejected by those in charge of recruitment.
Unperturbed by the blatant discrimination, Mary raised funds for her mercy
mission with the help of Thomas Day, a relative of her late husband and
scraped together enough to pay for her 3000-mile passage to the Crimea.
There, she once again approached Nightingale, who was heading up a team of
39 nurses in a hospital, miles away from the front but was told that the
hospital was fully staffed.

Instead Mary set up the British hotel which provided soldiers with
accommodation, food, other provisions and nursing care.
According to newspaper accounts, she often treated soldiers from both sides
on the battlefield while a war was raging around her!

 

Jane Robinson, author of Mary Seacole: The Charismatic Black Nurse who
became a Heroine of the Crimea, highlights Mary’s holistic method of
nursing. “While Florence Nightingale’s nurses were banned from touching
soldiers or talking to them unless they were treating them, Mary was very
hands on and would cradle soldiers as they died or hug them, even if they
were very sick.” She adds: “This brand of nursing was very much inspired by
her young years in the Caribbean.”

History:

She became known as Mother Seacole to these young soldiers who she nursed
back to health with only lint, bandages, poultices and a needle and thread.
She applied herbal remedies learnt from her mother, who ran a boarding house
for British army and naval officers, to successfully treat diarrhoea,
dysentery, and used cinnamon water to treat those with cholera, a very
modern method of hydration by any standards.

“Mary believed that the British army was her family,” says Robinson. “She
grew up with soldiers at the garrison in Kingston. She called all the men in
the Crimea her sons and would ask them to pretend she was their mother as
they died. She would later pass these death bed messages to the soldiers’
families.”

In September 1855, she became the first woman to enter Sevastopol after the
siege. Biographers believe that though Nightingale was the one who made it
into the history books, it was Mary who had the wealth of practical
experience, as she was able to diagnose conditions and event o carry out
post-mortems. Nevertheless, the relationship between Seacole and Nightingale
was cool at best, with Nightingale grudgingly admitting in an 1870 letter
that Seacole had done “some good” but accusing her of “drunkenness and
improper conduct”!
But it was Mary’s flamboyant and spirited personality that explains
Victorian England’s willingness to accept a black woman as never before.

Loud:

“She had a penchant for loud hats with plumes and flowers and fruits and
chose the loudest patterns for her dresses,” says Robinson.
“The mouths of Victorian women would drop to the floor as she entered the
room, but they liked her gregariousness.
“After the Crimean battles, while soldiers waited for the peace treaty to be
signed, she lent them her dresses so that they could play women in the
theatrical performances they put on to pass the time.”
When she first came to Britain she walked into the War Office and demanded
to be seen, making jokes with staff and hooting with loud laughter.”
By the end of the war in1856, Seacole fell upon hard times and was declared
bankrupt by a London court. But her friends in high places rallied around
her, including staff at the Times newspaper, and she cleared her debts in
twelve months before going on to be the personal masseuse to the Princess of
Wales!
She died on the May 14 1881 after a short illness and was buried in St
Mary’s Catholic cemetery, Kensal Green.

Robinson believed that Mary was omitted from the history books because she
exemplified everything that a Victorian woman should not be: adventurous,
independent, resourceful and loud. “She was a one woman show. Her
personality kept her in the public eye and when she died she took that loud
laugh and those garish hats with her to the grave.”

Legacy:

Seacole’s legacy continued to be overlooked even after her death. A Crimean
War Memorial erected near the junction of Lower Regent Street and Pall Mall
in London in 1915 included a statue of Florence Nightingale, but not one for
Mary Seacole. Over time though, her name has shone through. The Jamaican
Nurses Association decided to name their new headquarters after her.
In 1981, a memorial service was held on May 14 to mark the centenary of her
death. This is now an annual event organised by the Friends of Mary Seacole,
now known as the Mary Seacole Memorial Association.
In 1985, the GLC put up a blue plaque commemorating her home at 157 George
Street, London, W1 but this was removed in 1998 following the demolition of
the building. Then came the Mary Seacole Research Centre at DeMontfort
University, Leicester in 1996; Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice,
Thames Valley University, London in 1998 and the Mary Seacole School of
Health Building ,University of Wolverhampton in 2004. Mary Seacole Building University of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester M5 4WT, UK.

Mary Seacole Building University of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester M5 4WT, UK.

She finally received the plaudits which she deserved in February 2004 when
she was named the greatest black Briton. In January of last year, the Home
Office named one of their new HQ buildings in Marsham Street, Westminster
after Mary Seacole.

References: Your Essential Guide to Mary Seacole – The Voice Online – May 2 2005

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is a multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest rated talk show in television history. She is also an influential book critic, best-selling author, an Academy Award-nominated actress, an African American television personality, and a magazine publisher. According to Forbes magazine, she was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only Black billionaire for three straight years. Life magazine has ranked her as the most influential woman of her generation and Time magazine has ranked her as one of only four people in history to have shaped both the 20th century and the early 21st. In 2005, Business Week ranked her as the greatest Black philanthropist in American history.

Early life

Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to a Baptist family. Her parents were unmarried teenagers. She was originally named Orpah Gail Winfrey, after one of the people in the Bible's Book of Ruth. Winfrey has said that because of problems spelling or pronouncing Orpah, the "r" and the "p" were reversed. Her mother, Vernita Lee, was a housemaid, and her father, Vernon Winfrey, was a coal miner and later worked as a barber before becoming a city councilman. Winfrey's father was in the Armed Forces when she was born. After her birth, Winfrey's mother travelled north and Winfrey spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her Grandma Hattie Mae. Winfrey's grandmother taught her to read before the age of three and took her to the local church, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her ability to recite Bible verses. When Winfrey was a child, her grandmother would take a switch and would hit her with it when she didn't do chores or if she misbehaved in any way.

At age six, Winfrey moved to an inner city ghetto in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother, who was less supportive and encouraging than her grandmother. Winfrey has stated that she was raped by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend. Despite her dysfunctional home life, Winfrey skipped two of her earliest grades, became the teacher's pet, and by the time she was 13 received a scholarship to attend a prestigious all-white high school in the suburbs. Although Winfrey was very popular, she couldn't afford to go out on the town as frequently as her better-off classmates. Like many teenagers at the end of the 1960s, Winfrey rebelled, ran away from home and ran the streets. When she was 14, her frustrated mother sent her to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. Vernon was strict, but encouraging and made her education a priority. Winfrey became an honors student, was voted "Most Popular Girl", joined her high school speech team, and placed second in the nation in dramatic interpretation. She won an oratory contest, which secured her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, a historically black institution, where she studied communications. At age 18, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.  more...