Black History Month 2010 Day 9

Today we will visit with Mae Jemison, the first American Black woman to enter low Earth orbit. Dr. Mae Carol Jemison became the first Black woman to be accepted into NASA’s Astronaut Training Program in 1987. Dr. Jemison spent 8 days aboard the Endeavor spacecraft in 1992. Dr. Jemison will always be remembered for this outstanding achievement, but she has done much, much more in her carrer.

Here is a TED Talk Dr. Jemison gave in 2002:

Here is a biography of Dr. Jemison (available here):

Astronaut, physician. Born October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter, and Dorothy (Green) Jemison, an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Ada Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison, is a real estate broker. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, when Jemison was three to take advantage of better educational opportunities there, and it is that city that she calls her hometown. Throughout her early school years, her parents were supportive and encouraging of her talents and abilities, and Jemison spent considerable time in her school library reading about all aspects of science, especially astronomy. During her time at Morgan Park High School, she became convinced she wanted to pursue a career in biomedical engineering, and when she graduated in 1973 as a consistent honor student, she entered Stanford University on a National Achievement Scholarship.

At Stanford, Jemison pursued a dual major and in 1977 received a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.A. in African and African-American Studies. As she had been in high school, Jemison was very involved in extracurricular activities including dance and theater productions, and served as head of the Black Student Union. Upon graduation, she entered Cornell University Medical College to work toward a medical degree. During her years there, she found time to xpand her horizons by visiting and studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a Cambodian rfugee camp in Thailand. When she obtained her M.D. in 1981, she interned at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center and later worked as a general pactitioner. For the next two and a half years, she was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia where she also taught and did medical research. Following her return to the United States in 1985, she made a career change and decided to follow a dream she had nurtured for a long time. In October of that year she applied for admission to NASA’s astronaut training program. The Challengerdisaster of January 1986 delayed the selection process, but when she reapplied a year later, Jemison was one of the 15 candidates chosen from a field of about 2,000.

Joins Eight-Day Endeavor Mission

When Jemison was chosen on June 4, 1987, she became the first African American woman ever admitted into the astronaut training program. After more than a year of training, she became an astronaut with the title of sciencemission specialist, a job which would make her responsible for conducting crewrelated scientific experiments on the space shuttle. On September 12, 1992, Jemison finally flew into space with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47. During her eight days in space, she conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness on the crew and herself. Altogether, she spent slightly over 190 hours in space before returning to Earth on September 20. Following her historic flight, Jemison noted that society should recognize how much both women and members of other minority groups can contribute if given the opportunity.

In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison received several honorary doctorates, the 1988 Essence Science and Technology Award, the EbonyBlack Achievement Award in 1992, and a Montgomery Fellowship from Dartmouth College in 1993, and was named Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990. Also in 1992, an alternative public school in Detroit, Michigan – the Mae C. Jemison Academy – was named after her. Jemison is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served on the Board of Directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation from 1990 to 1992. She is also an advisory committee member of the American Express Geography Competition and an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition.

After leaving the astronaut corps in March 1993, Jemison accepted a teaching fellowship at Dartmouth. She also established the Jemison Group, a company that seeks to research, develop, and market advanced technologies

Black History Month 2010 Day 8

Today we will visit with Guion Bluford, the first Black American to fly into low Earth orbit. Dr. Bluford earned B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering. Along with Ron McNair and Fred Gregory, Dr. Bluford was one of three Black Americans accepted into NASA’ Astronaut Training Program in 1978. Tomorrow, we will give equal time to Dr. Mae Jemison.

Here is an interview (available here) with Dr. Bluford:

Here is a brief biography (available here):

Guion Bluford is a former NASA astronaut and a retired colonel of the United States Air Force. He became the first African-American to go up in space, when he participated as a crew member of Space Shuttle Challenger on NASA’s STS-8 mission in 1983.

Guion was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 22, 1942. He was one of the four kids born to Guion Sr., a mechanical engineer and Lolita, a special education teacher. He graduated from Overbrook Senior High School in Philadelphia, in 1960, and obtained a Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964. Later, the same year, he married Linda Tull. The couple has two sons; Guion III and James.

After passing out from Pennsylvania State University, Bluford got himself enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps and attended flight school at Williams Air Force Base. In 1966, he earned his pilot wings, and went through the F-4C combat crew training in Arizona and Florida. After completion of his training, he was assigned to the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron at the Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. He participated in 144 combat missions in his career, 65 of which were in North Vietnam.

He worked as a T-38 A instructor pilot at the Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas for 5 years before returning back to pursue his education. He joined the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Here he completed his Masters in Aerospace Engineering in 1974 and Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering with minor in laser physics in 1978.

In 1978, Guion Bluford was shortlisted as one of the 35 astronauts in NASA Group 8. He entered the Astronaut Training Program and became an astronaut in August 1979. He participated as a mission specialist in four missions, commissioned by NASA between 1983 and 1993. By the end of his fourth mission, Guion had completed 688 hours in space.

Bluford’s first mission was STS-8 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. It was Challenger’s first mission with night launching and night landing. The shuttle was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on August 30, 1983. Challenger landed at the Edwards Air Base in California on September 5, 1983, after completing 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours.

His second mission was STS-61-A, which was again launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on October 30, 1985. This was Bluford’s second mission aboard Challenger. It was a German D-1 Space Lab mission with 8 crew members; the largest crew to go in space. It completed 111 orbits of the Earth in 169 hours and landed at the Edwards Air Base on November 6, 1985. In 1987, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

STS-39 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery was Bluford’s third NASA mission. It was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on April 28, 1991. It completed 134 orbits of the Earth in 199 hours before returning back to Kennedy Space Center on May 6, 1991.

Bluford embarked on his fourth mission, STS-53, on December 2, 1992 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. He was a part of the 5 member crew which was deployed to perform various Military-Man-in-Space and NASA experiments. After completing 115 orbits of the Earth and spending 175 hours in space, Discovery landed at the Edwards Air Base on December 9, 1992.

In 1993, Bluford opted for retirement from NASA to join the Engineering Services Division of NYMA, Inc., Maryland, as the general manager. After that he joined the Aerospace Sector of Federal Data Corporation in 1997 and then Northrop Grumman Corporation in the year 2000, working at the level of vice-president in both organizations. Finally in 2002, he became president of an engineering consulting organization Aerospace Technology Group in Cleveland.

Other than being the first black astronaut, Guion Bluford achieved many other laurels in his life; the most prominent being in the year 1997, when he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame. Molefi Kete Asante, a contemporary American scholar, listed Bluford in his list of 100 Greatest African Americans in 2002.

Thanks for your attention.

Black History Month 2010 Day 7

Today we will visit with the “Greatest Of All Time” Muhammad Ali. Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, KY., Ali won Olympic gold in Rome in 1960 and Boxing’s World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 1963 defeating Sonny Liston. Always outspoken, both inside and outside the ring, Ali was stripped of his Title in 1967 and convicted of refusing induction for the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court eventually overturned the conviction and Ali regained his title in 1974 against George Foreman in the famous “Rope – A – Dope match.

Here is a video of Ali (then known as Clay) winning Olympic Gold:

This biography (available here) gives a fair account of the life of Muhammad Ali:

Muhammad Ali Biography

“I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round. ”

- Muhammad Ali

Short Biography Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942) is aretired American boxer. In 1999, Ali was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times, and won the North American Boxing Federation championship as well as an Olympic gold medal.

Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., (who was named for the 19th century abolitionist and politician Cassius Clay). Ali later changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam and subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975.

Early boxing career

Standing at 6′3″ (1.91 m), Ali had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer. Rather than the normal boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face, he instead relied on his ability to avoid a punch. In Louisville, October 29, 1960, Cassius Clay won his first professional fight. He won a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, who was the police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. From 1960 to 1963, the young fighter amassed a record of 19-0, with 15 knockouts. He defeated such boxers as Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson, Donnie Fleeman, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, Lamar Clark (who had won his previous 40 bouts by knockout), Doug Jones, and Henry Cooper. Among Clay’s victories were versus Sonny Banks (who knocked him down during the bout), Alejandro Lavorante, and the aged Archie Moore (a boxing legend who had fought over 200 previous fights, and who had been Clay’s trainer prior to Angelo Dundee).

Clay won a disputed 10 round decision over Doug Jones, who, despite being lighter than Clay, staggered Clay as soon as the fight started with a right hand, and beat Clay to the punch continually during the fight. The fight was named “Fight of the Year” for 1963. Clay’s next fight was against Henry Cooper, who knocked Clay down with a left hook near the end of the fourth round. The fight was stopped in the 5th round due to a deep cut on Cooper’s face.

Despite these close calls against Doug Jones and Henry Cooper, he became the top contender for Sonny Liston’s title. In spite of Clay’s impressive record, he was not expected to beat the champ. The fight was to be held on February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida. During the weigh-in on the previous day, the ever-bashful Ali—who frequently taunted Liston during the buildup by dubbing him “the big ugly bear”, among other things—declared that he would “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” and, in summarizing his strategy for avoiding Liston’s assaults, said, “Your hands can’t hit what your eyes can’t see.”

Vietnam puts a pause in Ali’s career

In 1964, Ali failed the Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were subpar. However, in early 1966, the tests were revised and Ali was reclassified 1A. He refused to serve in the United States Army during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector, because “War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. I’m not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don’t take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers.” Ali also famously said,

“I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong” and “no Vietcong ever called me nigger.”

Ali refused to respond to his name being read out as Cassius Clay, stating, as instructed by his mentors from the Nation of Islam, that Clay was the name given to his slave ancestors by the white man.

“Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it and I don’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name – it means beloved of God – and I insist people use it when people speak to me and of me.  ”

By refusing to respond to this name, Ali’s personal life was filled with controversy. Ali was essentially banned from fighting in the United States and forced to accept bouts abroad for most of 1966.

From his rematch with Liston in May 1965, to his final defense against Zora Folley in March 1967, he defended his title nine times. Few other heavyweight champions in history have fought so much in such a short period.

Ali was scheduled to fight WBA champion Ernie Terrell in a unification bout in Toronto on March 29, 1966, but Terrell backed out and Ali won a 15-round decision against substitute opponent George Chuvalo. He then went to England and defeated Henry Cooper and Brian London by stoppage on cuts. Ali’s next defense was against German southpaw Karl Mildenberger, the first German to fight for the title since Max Schmeling. In one of the tougher fights of his life, Ali stopped his opponent in round 12.

Ali returned to the United States in November 1966 to fight Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams in the Houston Astrodome. A year and a half before the fight, Williams had been shot in the stomach at point-blank range by a Texas policeman. As a result, Williams went into the fight missing one kidney, 10 feet of his small intestine, and with a shriveled left leg from nerve damage from the bullet. Ali beat Williams in three rounds.

On February 6, 1967, Ali returned to a Houston boxing ring to fight Terrell in what became one of the uglier fights in boxing. Terrell had angered Ali by calling him Clay, and the champion vowed to punish him for this insult. During the fight, Ali kept shouting at his opponent, “What’s my name, Uncle Tom … What’s my name.” Terrell suffered 15 rounds of brutal punishment, losing 13 of 15 rounds on two judges’ scorecards, but Ali did not knock him out. Analysts, including several who spoke to ESPN on the sports channel’s “Ali Rap” special, speculated that the fight only continued because Ali chose not to end it, choosing instead to further punish Terrell. After the fight, Tex Maule wrote, “It was a wonderful demonstration of boxing skill and a barbarous display of cruelty.”

Ali’s actions in refusing military service and aligning himself with the Nation of Islam made him a lightning rod for controversy, turning the outspoken but popular former champion into one of that era’s most recognizable and controversial figures. Appearing at rallies with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and declaring his allegiance to him at a time when mainstream America viewed them with suspicion — if not outright hostility — made Ali a target of outrage, and suspicion as well. Ali seemed at times to even provoke such reactions, with viewpoints that wavered from support for civil rights to outright support of separatism.

Near the end of 1967, Ali was stripped of his title by the professional boxing commission and would not be allowed to fight professionally for more than three years. He was also convicted for refusing induction into the army and sentenced to five years in prison. Over the course of those years in exile, Ali fought to appeal his conviction. He stayed in the public spotlight and supported himself by giving speeches primarily at rallies on college campuses that opposed the Vietnam War.

“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs? “

- Muhammad Ali – explaining why he refused to fight in Vietnam

In 1970, Ali was allowed to fight again, and in late 1971 the Supreme Court reversed his conviction.

Muhammad Ali’s comeback

In 1970, Ali was finally able to get a boxing license. With the help of a State Senator, he was granted a license to box in Georgia because it was the only state in America without a boxing commission. In October 1970, he returned to stop Jerry Quarry on a cut after three rounds. Shortly after the Quarry fight, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that Ali was unjustly denied a boxing license. Once again able to fight in New York, he fought Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in December 1970. After a tough 14 rounds, Ali stopped Bonavena in the 15th, paving the way for a title fight against Joe Frazier.

The Fight of the Century

Ali and Frazier fought each other on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden. The fight, known as ‘”The Fight of the Century”, was one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts of all time and remains one of the most famous. It featured two skilled, undefeated fighters, both of whom had reasonable claims to the heavyweight crown. The fight lived up to the hype, and Frazier punctuated his victory by flooring Ali with a hard left hook in the 15th and final round and won on points. Frank Sinatra — unable to acquire a ringside seat — took photos of the match for Life Magazine. Legendary boxing announcer Don Dunphy and actor and boxing aficionado Burt Lancaster called the action for the broadcast, which reached millions of people.

Frazier eventually won the fight and retained the title with a unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss. Despite an impressive performance, Ali may have still been suffering from the effects of “ring rust” due to his long layoff.

In 1973, after a string of victories over top Heavyweight opposition in a campaign to force a rematch with Frazier, Ali split two bouts with Ken Norton (in the bout that Ali lost to Norton, Ali suffered a broken jaw).

Rumble in the Jungle

In 1974, Ali gained a match with champion George Foreman. The fight took place in Zaire (the Congo) – Ali wanted the fight to be there to help give an economic boost to this part of Africa. The pre-match hype was as great as ever.

“Floats like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”

- Muhammad Ali – before the 1974 fight against George Foreman

Against the odds, Ali won the rematch in the eighth round. Ali had adopted a strategy of wearing Foreman down though absorbing punches on the ropes – a strategy later termed – rope a dope.

This gave Ali another chance at the world title against Frazer

It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.”

- Ali before Frazer fight.

The fight lasted 14 rounds, with Ali finally proving victorious in the testing African heat.

Muhammad Ali in retirement

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the early 1980s, following which his motor functions began a slow decline. Although Ali’s doctors disagreed during the 1980s and 1990s about whether his symptoms were caused by boxing and whether or not his condition was degenerative, he was ultimately diagnosed with Pugilistic Parkinson’s syndrome. By late 2005 it was reported that Ali’s condition was notably worsening. According to the documentary When We Were Kings, when Ali was asked about whether he has any regrets about boxing due to his disability, he responded that if he didn’t box he would still be a painter in Louisville, Kentucky.

Despite the disability, he remains a beloved and active public figure. Recently he was voted into Forbes Celebrity 100 coming in at number 13 behind Donald Trump. In 1985, he served as a guest referee at the inaugural WrestleMania event. In 1987 he was selected by the California Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Constitution to personify the vitality of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights in various high profile activities. Ali rode on a float at the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade, launching the U.S. Constitution’s 200th birthday commemoration. He also published an oral history, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times with Thomas Hauser, in 1991. Ali received a Spirit of America Award calling him the most recognized American in the world. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

He has appeared at the 1998 AFL Grand Final, where Anthony Pratt recruited him to watch the game. He also greets runners at the start line of the Los Angeles Marathon every year.

In 1999, Ali received a special one-off award from the BBC at its annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ceremony, which was the BBC Sports Personality of the Century Award. His daughter Laila Ali also became a boxer in 1999, despite her father’s earlier comments against female boxing in 1978: “Women are not made to be hit in the breast, and face like that… the body’s not made to be punched right here [patting his chest]. Get hit in the breast… hard… and all that.”

On September 13, 1999, Ali was named “Kentucky Athlete of the Century” by the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies at the Galt House East.

In 2001, a biographical film, entitled Ali, was made, with Will Smith starring as Ali. The film received mixed reviews, with the positives generally attributed to the acting, as Smith and supporting actor Jon Voight earned Academy Award nominations. Prior to making the Ali movie, Will Smith had continually rejected the role of Ali until Muhammad Ali personally requested that he accept the role. According to Smith, the first thing Ali said about the subject to Smith was: “You ain’t pretty enough to play me”.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on November 9, 2005, and the prestigious “Otto Hahn peace medal in Gold” of the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin for his work with the US civil rights movement and the United Nations (December 17 2005).

On November 19, 2005 (Ali’s 19th wedding anniversary), the $60 million non-profit Muhammad Ali Center opened in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to displaying his boxing memorabilia, the center focuses on core themes of peace, social responsibility, respect, and personal growth.

According to the Muhammad Ali Center website, “Since he retired from boxing, Ali has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around the globe. He is a devout Sunni Muslim, and travels the world over, lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of all kinds, promoting adoption and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. It is estimated that he has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. Ali travels, on average, more than 200 days per year.”

At the FedEx Orange Bowl on January 2, 2007, Ali was an honorary captain for the Louisville Cardinals wearing their white jersey, number 19. Ali was accompanied by golf legend Arnold Palmer, who was the honorary captain for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade.

A youth club in Ali’s hometown and a species of rose (Rosa ali) have also been named after him.

Muhammad Ali currently lives on a small farm near Berrien Springs, Michigan with his fourth wife, Yolanda ‘Lonnie’ Ali.

Thanks for your attention.

Black History Month 2010 Day 6

Today we will visit with Noble Drew Ali (1866 – 1929), known in his proper person as Sheik Sharif Abdul Ali. Noble Drew Ali is, in my opinion, the first historical figure to openly proclaim that the dark skinned people (the Moors) of this earth need to stand up and proclaim their birthright as the FIRST and GREATEST people on this planet. He opened the original Moorish Science Temple of America in Newark, NJ and later moved to Chicago IL. His teachings of racial pride (we are Asiatic because at one time the ENTIRE planetary land mass was called ASIA) directly inspired Elijah Muhammed, Father Devine and many other religious figures to move us towards consciousness and a recovery of our TRUE history.

This brief video gives a little background (time 1:14 to 4:58 Noble Drew Ali info):

This video shows info on additional teachings of Nobel Drew Ali:

This excellent biography (available here) lays it all out:

Noble Drew Ali, in his proper person, Sheik Sharif Abdul Ali was born in the state of North Carolina on January 8th, 1886. He was born of the (Moorish Indigenous) Cherokee Tribe and named at birth, Timothy Drew with Moorish and Cherokee descent. Noble Drew Ali received his free national name from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Ibu Saud. He traveled extensively and studied the Universal sciences of the “Most High” and the mystic disciplines required to reach self mastery (Moorish Science). Through diligence and determination, Noble Drew Ali (more commonly known), revealed to the Asiatics of the Americas that the European colonists systematically discombobulated, usurped and destroyed the records and history of the Indigenous Moors of the Americas (Amexem, Al Mauritania, Al Moroc). He set out to reconstruct the buried history and restore the divine creed and national parentage identity to the unconscious Asiatics of the Americas. He reconnected the broken circle of Nationality, Birthright, Divine Creed and their link to a Natal Land Mass; to the people incorrectly labeled Negro, black, colored, Indian and Ethiopian. He consistently urged the study of “Self” and the study of all religion from a scientific and psycho-spiritual perspective.

Noble Drew Ali was the first national and international Moorish American Representative to proclaim and declare the Moors as a “nation” in America while re-planting the Moorish Flag back onto American soil. He was the first to “not” provide opposition to the Moorish Inquisition (slavery system) in America on behalf of the caste system terminologies of Negro, black, colored, etc. He taught that political fictions could not be identified with the family of nations and have civil liberties and human rights as a natural being “In Law.” He was the first to receive the authority to teach Islam in America as he established the first Islamic temple in America in 1925, the Moorish Science Temple of America. From that time until his death, his mission statement was to “uplift fallen humanity” through the five “divine” principles of Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom and Justice; to teach the Moors in America to be “themselves” as their divine creed was the first religious creed (science to link one back to their creator) for the redemption and salvation of mankind on earth; and to promote economic security because a ” beggar people cannot develop the highest in them, nor can they attain to a genuine enjoyment of the spiritualities of life.” He encouraged Moors to be diligent and industrious and to be able to provide for themselves as a sovereign and unified body. Although he advised Moors to be economically secure, he reiterated that “money doesn’t make the man; it is free national standards and (spiritual) power that makes a man and a nation.” Self-Knowledge, Self-Realization and Self-Revelation through the public declaration of your “divine creed,” and Moorish quotes of wisdom like: “Time never was when man was not;” “Man is a thought of Allah, all thoughts of Allah are infinite;” and “Life is spent to build the temple of perfected man” were the divine teachings of Noble Drew Ali. However, the public declaration of your “free national name,” “the constitutional standards of law by name and principle” and a “free national government” were his national teachings. Hence you have the Moorish Divine and National Movement in which he founded in 1916.

Sheik Sharif Abdul Ali left several important works for his Moorish family that would come some time later with their “(third) eyes wide open.” Of those several important works, two hold heavy significance in the royal science of “mastery of self.” The Moorish Holy Koran (MHK) and the 101 Questionnaire entitle, “Koran Questions for Moorish Children.” He strategically structured infinite wisdom and messages in his literature as well as on the cover of the Moorish Holy Koran as a symbol of a broken circle with a number seven in the center. Noble Drew Ali lifted the veil of deception by attending the Pan American Conference in Havana, Cuba in 1928. He received extensive recognition from numerous “Heads of State” of the Americas. They recognized his sovereign status as a Moorish National who represented the Moorish Nation in the Americas. He received a copy of a mandate that extended a land grant to the “entire” Western Hemisphere” to select European nations. In attendance, was the Secretary of state Hughes, from the United States Government and many other “Heads of State” whom realized the potential power of the Moorish Nation in the Americas. In 1929, Noble Drew Ali died a mysterious death and left an intricate code for Moors to decipher. Since that time, Moors in America, have been identified as “Black Muslims” and “Black Nationalist.” As stated in Noble Drew Ali’s original teachings, Moors were not, are not and never will be “black.” Therefore, Moors are not “Black Muslims” or “Black Nationalist.” There is no national land mass called “black” and no national flag for “black” because nations are identified by a national flag, a national parentage identity and a national land mass. Noble Drew Ali established a grand mission and the mission will be accomplished in due time.

Grand Sheik: Zothyrius Ali El

Black History Month 2010 Day 5

Today we will visit Dr. George Washington Carver, the great agricultural chemist and inventor. He is best known for creating over 300 different ways to utilize the peanut. Known as ‘The Plant Doctor’, Carver also developed hundreds of new uses for sweet potatoes, soybeans and pecans. He also created a new branch of science called chemurgy. Go ahead, look at the definition here, then come back. I’ll wait. BETAA students, please, please watch the 5 part series below, as future engineers and scientists, you need to know what we as a people can do in any technological field.

This brief biography is available here:

It is rare to find a man of the caliber of George Washington Carver. A man who would decline an invitation (from Thomas Alva Edison) to work for a salary of more than $100,000 a year (almost a million today) to continue his research on behalf of his countrymen.

Agricultural Chemistry

As an agricultural chemist, Carver discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. Among the listed items that he suggested to southern farmers to help them economically were his recipes and improvements to/for: adhesives, axle grease, bleach, buttermilk, chili sauce, fuel briquettes, ink, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonnaise, meat tenderizer, metal polish, paper, plastic, pavement, shaving cream, shoe polish, synthetic rubber, talcum powder and wood stain.However, Carver only applied for three patents.

• #1,522,176, 1/6/1925, Cosmetics & Plant Products
• #1,541,478, 6/9/1925, Paints & Stains
• #1,632,365, 6/14/1927, Paints & Stains

Early Life

George Washington Carver was born in 1864 near Diamond Grove, Missouri on the farm of Moses Carver. He was born into difficult and changing times near the end of the Civil War. The infant George and his mother (were) kidnapped by Confederate night-raiders and possibly sent away to Arkansas. Moses Carver found and reclaimed George after the war but his mother had disappeared forever. The identity of Carver’s father remains unknown, although he believed his father was a slave from a neighboring farm. Moses and Susan Carver reared George and his brother as their own children. It was on the Moses’ farm where George first fell in love with nature, where he earned the nickname ‘The Plant Doctor’ and collected in earnest all manner of rocks and plants.

Education

He began his formal education at the age of twelve, which required him to leave the home of his adopted parents. Schools segregated by race at that time with no school available for black students near Carver’s home. He moved to Newton County in southwest Missouri, where he worked as a farm hand and studied in a one-room schoolhouse. He went on to attend Minneapolis High School in Kansas. College entrance was a struggle, again because of racial barriers. At the age of thirty, Carver gained acceptance to Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, where he was the first black student. Carver had to study piano and art and the college did not offer science classes. Intent on a science career, he later transferred to Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) in 1891, where he gained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1894 and a Master of Science degree in bacterial botany and agriculture in 1897. Carver became a member of the faculty of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanics (the first black faculty member for Iowa College), teaching classes about soil conservation and chemurgy.

Tuskegee

In 1897, Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes, convinced Carver to come south and serve as the school’s Director of Agriculture. Carver remained on the faculty until his death in 1943. The pamphlet - Help For Hard Times – written by Carver and forwarded by Booker T. Washington was an example of the educational material provided to farmers by Carver.

At Tuskegee Carver developed his crop rotation method, which revolutionized southern agriculture. He educated the farmers to alternate the soil-depleting cotton crops with soil-enriching crops such as; peanuts, peas, soybeans, sweet potato, and pecans.

Helping the South

America’s economy was heavily dependent upon agriculture during this era making Carver’s achievements very significant. Decades of growing only cotton and tobacco had depleted the soils of the southern area of the United States of America. The economy of the farming south had been devastated by years of civil war and the fact that the cotton and tobacco plantations could no longer (ab)use slave labor. Carver convinced the southern farmers to follow his suggestions and helped the region to recover. Carver also worked at developing industrial applications from agricultural crops. During World War I, he found a way to replace the textile dyes formerly imported from Europe. He produced dyes of 500 different shades of dye and he was responsible for the invention in 1927 of a process for producing paints and stains from soybeans. For that he received three separate patents.

God Gave Them To Me

Carver did not patent or profit from most of his products. He freely gave his discoveries to mankind. Most important was the fact that he changed the South from being a one-crop land of cotton, to being multi-crop farmlands, with farmers having hundreds of profitable uses for their new crops. “God gave them to me” he would say about his ideas, “How can I sell them to someone else?” In 1940, Carver donated his life savings to the establishment of the Carver Research Foundation at Tuskegee, for continuing research in agriculture.

Honors and Awards

George Washington Carver was bestowed an honorary doctorate from Simpson College in 1928. He was an honorary member of the Royal Society of Arts in London, England. In 1923, he received the Spingarn Medal given every year by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1939, he received the Roosevelt medal for restoring southern agriculture. On July 14, 1943, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt honored Carver with a national monument dedicated to his accomplishments. The area of Carver’s childhood near Diamond Grove, Missouri preserved as a park, this park was the first designated national monument to an African American in the United States.”He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.” – Epitaph on the grave of George Washington Carver.

Here is a video describing some of Carver’s achievements:

Here is a History Channel program ‘Modern Marvels’ with even more about this amazing Black scientist:

Thanks for your attention.

Black History Month 2010 Day 4

Today we will visit with one of America’s first Black intellectuals, Benjamin Banneker. Mr. Banneker was an inventor, astronomer, surveyor and mathematical wizard.

This brief biography is available here.

Born: 9 November 1731 Died: 9 October 1806

Benjamin Banneker was a free-born descendant of slaves who became a famous 18th-century astronomer, mathematician and surveyor. He is considered by many to be the first African-American scientist. Banneker was raised on a tobacco farm in rural Maryland, where he attended school but was largely self-taught in the sciences. Although Banneker worked most of his life as a farmer, his analytical and problem-solving skills became legendary. His achievements were indeed impressive: at age 24 he studied clockworks and constructed his own clock from wood; he taught himself astronomy and published a popular almanac, Benjamin Banneker’s Almanac, from 1792 to 1797; he was appointed to assist in surveying the Federal Territory, the plot of land that was to become Washington, D.C.; he worked on calculating the precise measurement of the meter; and he corresponded with Thomas Jefferson on the issue of slavery and the intellectual equality of blacks. Banneker never married and much of his personal life is now a mystery, as his papers and belongings were destroyed in a fire that occurred on the day of his funeral.

Here are two videos that explain the circumstances surrounding the creation of the American Republic and how Benjamin Banneker was involved:

Thanks for your attention.

Black History Month 2010 Day 3

Today we will visit with Marcus Garvey (1887 -1940), The Negro Moses, originator of the Pan-African movement and a true Black leader if there ever was one.

Here is a portion of a very powerful speech made by Garvey (2 parts):

Here is a brief biography obtained here:

Born Marcus Mosiah Garvey on August 17, 1887 in St Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Largely self-educated, he worked as a printer in Jamaica, edited several short-lived newspapers in Costa Rica and Panama, then founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica (1914).

In 1916 Garvey moved to New York City where he established UNIA headquarters and began theNegro World, a popular weekly newspaper that conveyed his message of black pride. Launching several other African-American capitalist ventures, he presided over an international convention of black people in New York (1920), where he called for freedom from white domination in Africa.

Garvey’s later life, however, was anticlimatic. In 1923 he was convicted of mail fraud when selling stock in his failed Black Star steamship line, which was launched for maritime trade between black nations, and he was sentenced (1923) to a five-year prison term. Other ventures also failed, including an attempt to foster black colonization to Liberia.

After his release from prison (1927) he was deported to Jamaica, and in 1934 moved to London, but he never regained prominence. However, in stirring African-Americans with his message of pride in ancestry and prospects of self-sufficiency, he prefigured a later generation of African-American leaders such as Malcolm X.

Black History Month 2010 Day 2

Today we will visit with Carter G. Woodson, founder of what we now call Black History Month. Here is a brief biography found here.
Carter G. Woodson

During the dawning decades of the twentieth century, it was commonly presumed that black people had little history besides the subjugation of slavery. Today, it is clear that blacks have significantly impacted the development of the social, political, and economic structures of the United States and the world. Credit for the evolving awareness of the true place of blacks in history can, in large part, be bestowed on one man, Carter G. Woodson. And, his brainchild the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. is continuing Woodson tradition of disseminating information about black life, history and culture to the global community.
Known as the Father of Black History, Woodson (1875-1950) was the son of former slaves, and understood how important gaining a proper education is when striving to secure and make the most out of ones divine right of freedom. Although he did not begin his formal education until he was 20 years old, his dedication to study enabled him to earn a high school diploma in West Virginia and bachelor and masters degrees from the University of Chicago in just a few years. In 1912, Woodson became the second African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University (the first was W. E. B. DuBois). Applying the insights he gained during his academic matriculation, Dr. Woodson began teaching black students in the District of Columbia’s public schools and at Howard University.
Recognizing the dearth of information on the accomplishments of blacks in 1915, Dr. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Under Woodson’s pioneering leadership, the Association created research and publication outlets for black scholars with the establishment of the Journal of Negro History (1916) and the Negro History Bulletin (1937), which garners a popular public appeal. In 1926, Dr. Woodson initiated the celebration of Negro History Week, which corresponded with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
In 1976, this celebration was expanded to include the entire month of February, and today Black History Month garners support throughout the country as people of all ethnic and social backgrounds discuss the black experience. ASALH views the promotion of Black History Month as one of the most important components of advancing Dr. Woodson’s legacy.In honor of all the work that Dr. Carter G. Woodson has done to promote the study of African American History, an ornament of Woodson hangs on the White House’s Christmas tree each year.
Here is an excellent video:

Here are a few Carter G. Woodson quotes:
If Liberia has failed, then, it is no evidence of the failure of the Negro in government. It is merely evidence of the failure of slavery.
If the Negro in the ghetto must eternally be fed by the hand that pushes him into the ghetto, he will never become strong enough to get out of the ghetto.
If the white man wants to hold on to it, let him do so; but the Negro, so far as he is able, should develop and carry out a program of his own.
And I will close with this quote that all BETAA students need to fully understand.
The large majority of the Negroes who have put on the finishing touches of our best colleges are all but worthless in the development of their people.
Thanks for your attention.

Black History Month 2010 Day 1

Hi all, I haven’t been able to post in a while due to pressing family issues/business. Everything has resolved itself for the better, so I will be attempting to make one post per day for the rest of the month related to Black History.

Let’s start off with a quick visit to Church. The United Church of Canada has provided this excellent overview of the role of little known role Black Canadians in the United Church of Canada:

BETAA Freshmen, I hope you aced all your courses last semester and I wish you well this spring!

Thanks for your attention.

Your Paycheck Will Be Smaller In 2010

The United States Congress, in its infinite wisdom, has again stuck it to the middle class by instituting a ’stealth’ increase in the payroll withholding tax for 2010. As reported here, the new withholding will afford the Treasury additional cash confiscated from mainly the middle class, but increasingly from the working poor. I know this is NOT the ‘change’ I voted for.

Here is an excerpt from the referenced article:

Instead of seven (7) wage categories, there are now nine (9) wage categories. The new structure allows for direct taxation on the middle class with these wages broken out into smaller categories. The direct hit on the middle class withholding taxes can be seen on all of the new tables. Additionally, the IRS could not explain these changes.

Let’s look at the actual numbers for one category and compare them from 2009 to 2010:

2009 Biweekly, Single, Payroll Period, after subtracting withholding allowances

Not over $276: $0 in taxes

Over $276 – $400: 10% payroll tax

Over $400 – $1,392: $12.40 plus 15% of excess over $400

Over $1,392 – $2,559: $161.20 plus 25% of excess over $1,392

Over $2,559 – $6,677: $452.95 plus 28% of excess over $2,559 (Notice the large salary range)

Over $6,677 – $14,423: $1,605.99 plus 33% of excess over $6,677

$14,423: pays $4,162.17 plus 35% of excess over $14,423

Let’s look at the new numbers for 2010 Biweekly, Single, Payroll Period, after subtracting withholding allowances

Not over $233: $0 in taxes

Over $233 – $401: 10% payroll tax

Over $401 – $1,387: $16.80 plus 15% of excess over $401

Over $1,387 – $2,604: $164.70 plus 25% of excess over $1,387

Over $2,604 – $3,248: $468.95 plus 27% of excess over $2,604 (Notice the large salary range is gone)

Over $3,248 – $3,373: $642.83 plus 30% of excess over $3,248 (Notice the substantial increase and 30% tax rate on these wages)

Over $3,373 – $6,688: $680.33 plus 28% of excess over $3,373

$14,450: pays $4,169.99 plus 35% of excess over $14,450

The middle class could be hit with an additional ( up t0) $200 per paycheck being withheld.

This money will obviously be used to plug the huge holes in the Federal budget. What I want to know is will people be able to get this increased withholding back when they file for a refund or will the laws be change again to block the refunding in 2011? What do you think?

Thanks for your attention.