The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a political demonstration conducted by African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City.
After having won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200 meter running event, they turned on the podium to face their flags, and to hear the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist.
FAST-FORWARD TO 2016
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,”
Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.
“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
~~GRAPHIC SOURCE~~
Courtesy of Mr. Militant Negro
I do not own this image.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
Many real life Puerto Rican heroes like the Young Lords Party fought for social justice and inspired Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez to create La Borinqueña.
The Young Lords began as a Puerto Rican turf gang in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago in the fall of 1960 and as a civil and human rights movement on Grito de Lares, September 23, 1868.
During Mayor Daley’s tenure, Puerto Ricans in Lincoln Park (the first hub of Puerto Ricans in Chicago) and several Mexican communities were completely evicted from areas near the Loop, lakefront, Old Town, Lakeview and Lincoln Park, in order to increase property tax revenues.
When they realized that urban renewal was evicting their families from their barrios and witnessed police abuses, some Puerto Ricans became involved in the June 1966 Division Street Riots in Wicker Park and Humboldt Park.
They were officially reorganized from the gang into a civil and human rights movement by Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, who was the last president of the former gang and became the founder of the new Young Lords Movement.
Puerto Rican self-determination and the displacement of Puerto Ricans and poor residents from prime real estate areas for profit became the primary focus of the original movement. Since there were few Latino students and no outspoken leadership at the time, the former street-gang transformed themselves, training leadership and organizing the broad community.
I find it very interesting how, when any event takes place, I like to go back and look for the history behind it.
Why did the event take place?
Colin Kaepernick’s statement is such a situation for me.
I’m not a football fan. I’d never heard of Kaepernick.
I sure know about him now!
I have been following the stories about excessive force in law enforcement events since Trayvon Martin’s death. It really came to my full attention with Michael Brown’s death.
Since then, I’ve been up on follow up events, situations and details.
I followed Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile … many more in between and many after.
I consider myself to be a fair, balanced individual.
There’s no doubt in my mind that these are instances of excessive police force.
Rather than de-escalation, it’s escalation.
It’s more prevalent within the African-American population.
This is the message that Keapernick is trying to bring to the forefront.
Seems to me he’s done a good job at calling attention to this matter.
The Forgotten Verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Do you know all the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner”?
Many people have difficulty memorizing the lyrics of the first verse of this song, which is commonly performed at sports events and other public gatherings. But did you know that there are three additional verses that we almost never hear?
In 1814, the poet and lyricist Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” originally known as “Defense of Fort M’Henry.” During the War of 1812, Key witnessed the attacks on Baltimore and wrote the words based on his experiences this night. These lyrics were printed in local newspapers and set to the tune of an existing song called “Anacreon in Heaven,” and then officially arranged by John Philip Sousa. Key’s famous lyrics entered the world as a broadside ballad, or a song written on a topical subject, and printed for wide distribution.
More than a century later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, and in 1931, the US Congress confirmed the decision. The tune has kicked off ceremonies of national importance and athletic events ever since.
While the first verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is widely known by the American public, the last three verses are generally omitted in performances.
Colin Kaepernick has awakened some serious issues for the caucasian European humans in The United Slave States Of AmeriKKKlan. See, in AmeriKKKa, we The People Of Color, are aware of racism on a daily basis.
We The People Of Color understand there is NO such thing as a “post racial America.” We The People Of Color live racism everyday, no matter what our so called “station” in life happens to be in our minds.
~Mr. Militant Negro~
FOR A FULL AND COMPLETE POST ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE
The Financial Control Board (FCB) is on its way to Puerto Rico.
Last night, June 29, the US Senate passed the PROMESA bill by a vote of 68-30.
When it starts operating, the FCB will find a “cooperative” legislature that is already eager to privatize the island’s beaches, in exchange for a piece of the action.
When it came time to pick a song for his freestyle, Nyle and Peta turned to the haunting cover. The only hitch was that pairs always need to obtain permission before using any song in their routines. So Nyle, who is deaf, took matters into his own hands and penned a touching letter to the band, which they shared on their website Monday, May 23.
“Nyle emailed us to ask for our permission to use our version of the song that has inspired him and hopes to convey an even bigger message to help people better understand the history of the deaf community,” the band wrote. “Tonight is the big night so help spread the word and cast your votes for Nyle!
This is not only a great honor for a Hard Rock/Metal band like us to be asked to be part of the biggest night of their show but for us to play a role in raising awareness for Nyle’s cause.”
This is his letter in full, as posted by the band:
My name is Nyle DiMarco. I am Deaf. I’m the fourth generation and I have over 25 Deaf members in my family. I am now in the semi finals towards the Mirror Ball on Dancing With The Stars.
I am writing this letter to let you know how much your song “Sound of Silence” means so much to me and my Deaf community and that I would love to dance to your song for the finals. I feel this is important for you to know that we, the Deaf people, underwent a terrible history and we are still stuck in the darkness. The darkness of oppression that your song truly reverberated to me.
Before the year 1880, we the Deaf people lived normal lives. We were perceived normal. We held political positions. We joined the army. We had jobs. We had an education through sign language that greatly benefited to our visual eyes and silent ears. It was until the Milan Conference in 1880 that led to language deprivation and … ultimately our culture, our job opportunities, and our intelligence. We were tortured. Our ancestors underwent electric shock chairs, surgeries (without anesthesia), and so many torturing methods just to help us regain our hearing. We were also punished if we used sign language. We were whipped. Slapped with our rulers. Abused. We were required to try and learn to speak (and that always, always miserably failed).
We also lost jobs. Many now perceive us as disabled, that we can’t serve the army, hold political positions, nor teach.
Because of the conference that almost led to the death of the Deaf culture (and was basically genocide and cultural-genocide), we are still trying to get out of the dark. I just founded Nyle DiMarco Foundation and our focus is on Deaf kids. We are working with state and U.S. senators to write and pass the bill that requires bilingualism (American Sign Language and English) because it was recently proven by science that it will benefit the Deaf child a lot more than just English only.
I am using my celebrity platform and especially on DWTS for good cause.
With your song … we are planning on showing my history’s terrible times through dancing … and to your powerful and moving song. We feel that with you, your song, and us, we will make/change history and help people better understand our history, and build allies all over the world to help better Deaf lives.
Help us resurface from our darkness, from the systematic oppression.
Anonymous is not a group, it is not a person.
It is an IDEA. Specifically it is the idea that all of us deserve freedom, freedom of thought, of speech, of expression of knowledge and of belief. The freedom to determine the course and destination of our own lives.
If you share this idea then you are one of us.
You have likely heard many things about Anonymous, some of them are true and some of them are not. We are not terrorists and we are not violent. We are citizens of the World who bear witness the tyranny, oppression and censorship.
We are activists who seek to change the system and end the cycle of corruption. We seek to create transparency in governments and all institutions of public service. We resist those who seek to violate our rights as Human beings as a collective of autonomous individuals however we have no leaders who dictate the methods of resistance.
Some of us are indeed hackers who use our skill to make critical information available to the public. Some of us organize protests and rallies. Some of us volunteer time to feed those who cannot feed themselves. We are your neighbors, your friends and your relatives. We prepare your food, repair your appliances, write your books, compose your music and create your technology. We are your postal workers, barbers, store clerks and lawyers. We are Atheists and we are Religious. We are everyone and we are no one. None of us are as powerful as all of us.
We are Anonymous We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us!
Anonymous is not a group, it is not a person.
It is an IDEA. Specifically it is the idea that all of us deserve freedom, freedom of thought, of speech, of expression of knowledge, of assembly and of belief. The freedom to determine the course and destination of our own lives.
If you share this idea then you are one of us.
You have likely heard many things about Anonymous, some of them are true and some of them are not. We are not terrorists and we are not violent.
We are citizens of the World who bear witness the tyranny, oppression and censorship.
We are activists who seek to change the system and end the cycle of corruption. We seek to create transparency in governments and all institutions of public service. We resist those who seek to violate our rights as Human beings as a collective of autonomous individuals however we have no leaders who dictate the methods of resistance. Some of us are indeed hackers who use our skill to make critical information available to the public. Some of us organize protests and rallies. Some of us volunteer time to feed those who cannot feed themselves. We are your neighbors, your friends and your relatives. We prepare your food, repair your appliances, write your books, compose your music and create your technology. We are your postal workers, barbers, store clerks and lawyers. We are Atheists and we are Religious. We are everyone and we are no one. None of us are as powerful as all of us.
We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us!
~~Anonymous ~~
Anonymous (used as a mass noun) is a loosely associated international network of activist and hacktivist entities. A website nominally associated with the group describes it as “an internet gathering” with “a very loose and decentralized command structure that operates on ideas rather than directives”. The group became known for a series of well-publicized publicity stunts and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on government, religious, and corporate websites.
Anonymous originated in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic, digitized global brain. Anonymous members (known as “Anons”) can be distinguished in public by the wearing of stylised Guy Fawkes masks.
In its early form, the concept was adopted by a decentralized online community acting anonymously in a coordinated manner, usually toward a loosely self-agreed goal, and primarily focused on entertainment, or “lulz”. Beginning with 2008’s Project Chanology — a series of protests, pranks, and hacks targeting the Church of Scientology — the Anonymous collective became increasingly associated with collaborative hacktivism on a number of issues internationally.
Individuals claiming to align themselves with Anonymous undertook protests and other actions (including direct action) in retaliation against anti–digital piracy campaigns by motion picture and recording industry trade associations. Later targets of Anonymous hacktivism included government agencies of the US, Israel, Tunisia, Uganda, and others; child pornography sites; copyright protection agencies; the Westboro Baptist Church; and corporations such as PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, and Sony.
On Aug. 12, 2014, Ferguson City Hall’s website went black, its phone lines died and officials had to communicate by text, according to the St. Louis Dispatch and the New York Times. Self-identified members of the amorphous, hard-to-define hacker community Anonymous had struck again, according to the papers, this time in response to the shooting of a black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer.
Social media has changed the rules of your game. That’s why we call the people, on you; students, activists, parents, the youth and the wise, people from different backgrounds to protest peacefully with Ferguson this weekend, in order to achieve this goal our collective will be ready to assist you in reaching this goal.
To the people of the United States, its time to wake up, not to sleep. Your constitutional rights as a citizen have been usurped. People have the right to protest, and that right has been consistently disrupted not by the protesters in Ferguson – but by the militarized police force.
Our campaign has been one of constant success, we have been able to weaponized social media so far to force mainstream media outlets to cover the case. We advise everyone to join us on twitter, other social networks and the internet because the revolution of our conscience will not be televised.
Unless anyone has been hiding under a rock, we should all be aware that our world is in turmoil. There is conflict everywhere. There is open war between several countries. There is greed, divisiveness, persecution, hate, inequality, oppression and killing amongst the human race.
To cite a few:
1948 Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1978 War in Afghanistan Asia Afghanistan
1991 Somali Civil War 1999 Islamist insurgency in Nigeria 2004 War in North-West Pakistan
2006 Mexican Drug War 2011 Egyptian Crisis Africa Egypt 2011 Syrian Civil War 2011 Iraqi insurgency 2012 Central African Republic conflict 2013 South Sudanese Civil War 2014 War in Donbass Europe Ukraine
It seems to be that we, as a whole, have not learned a thing. We keep repeating the same thing over and over again and the results continue to be the same.
We are insane!
I know that this has been discussed many a’times before. Many people have tried to change. There are too many vested interests to really want to stop the insanity. I wonder, are we condemned to forever, permanent warfare?
Reminds me of a game at town fairs: there’s a line of objects that pop up and you have a hammer to push each one back down. You hit one, another pops up. I can’t recall the name. However, it’s like putting fires out all the time and it’s never ending.
Or the magician’s trick to keep a bunch on plates up on thin sticks and keep them from breaking.
Will there ever be an end to war?
“Sometimes in music we can find both forgiveness and hope at the exact same time.”
Playing For Change, the multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race.
The newest edition to Playing For Change’s video episodes is ‘Music is my Ammunition.’ It was co-written by Greg Johnson and Mermans Kenkosenki, a South African-based reggae singer from the Congo who calls his musical style ‘Afro Fiesta’ – a combination of reggae, Latin rhythms and jazz.
This mostly acoustic track has a reggae feel, but brings in elements of Delta blues courtesy of Roberto Luti’s steel guitar and a hint of Cuba from Rigoberto Lopez’s bass. Stephen Marley sings back up and Roselyn Williams and Sherieta Lewis of Kingston Jamaica’s vocal improvisations are sung to the melody of ‘Jamaica Farewell,’ the classic Lord Burgess calypso made popular by Harry Belafonte.
~~Music Is My Ammunition~~
(Lyrics)
The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition; I fire down Babylon!
(One more time) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition; fire down Babylon!
Imprisonment, poverty and Babylon’s system; We’ve been suffering all this time (all this time) I and I keep on chanting down ‘Till our children will face The front of that line
(I gotta say) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind (through the wind), And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
(One more time) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
Peace and dignity are not very far out of our reach It just comes down (just comes down) to what I and I choose to teach
Truth and honesty will free our hearts And free our minds (free our minds) So then our children can live together as one ‘Till the end of time
(I gotta say) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind (through the wind), And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
Music is my ammunition; I fire down Babylon! Music is my ammunition; I fire down Babylon!
(One more time) Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
~~Music Is My Ammunition~~
~Playing For Change~
~~Uploaded on Aug 2, 2011~~
We are honored to announce the release of PFC3: Songs Around The World – available everywhere now! This CD/DVD set highlights the passion and talent of 185 musicians from 31 different countries.
Hello everyone, today we continue on our journey to connect the world through music with our Song Around The World, titled, “Music is my ammunition“. Check out this Playing For Change anthem, “Music is my ammunition” and spread the word about our new album, PFC 2.
Support Playing For Change by telling all your friends and family to join the movement at http://playingforchange.com.
It Is What It Is 