2,000 YEARS

OUR 2,000 YEARS MENTAL DISCONNECT The disconnect, our disconnect, is on multiple tracks . The disconnect, our disconnect goes much farther back: Than the United States of America, than the Caribbean islands, than Central and South America--that had black-enslaved, later "colored"-underpaid: labor, genius, daring; inventiveness; bravery; sex-made. The disconnect goes much farther back than the Islamic and the European slave trade of Africans from Africa. The disconnect connect goes far back than Emperor Constantine and Constantinople ; farther back than Rome and Caesar Augustus. How far back does the disconnect go? How far back does our spiritual umbilical intellectual disconnect go back? It goes back back back! Way back! Way back to before there was any disconnect between righteousness and blackness ; before there was a disconnect between assiduity and African ingenuity; way back before the fall of Ancient Kemet, Kush, and Ta-Seti to Assyria, Persia, Greece. We're talking back. Way back. Back before waves of massive Nile Valley dispersions and migrations began, to live again freely, peacefully in the rest of Africa, far away from hordes of relentless foreign invaders! These who had slaughtered our priests and priestesses; our wise men and women; our merchants, sailors, nobles, fisherman, farmers, technical people, navy and military. They who had robbed our iconic temples and tombs. They stole treasures or plagiarized all mathematics, medical, architectural trophies that they did not tote home to London Paris Berlin Russia Washington, Rome, where they yet remain. But worse than all of these terrorist abuses and usurpations was our collective mental and spiritual disconnect from our ancestors roots, legacy and love! ; Our total loss of self-knowledge, self-love, esteem. This latter loss has lasted well over two thousand years, two thousand seasons, in Africa and in Diaspora! The loss can be regained by knowledge of self and love. 

PRETENSIONS

AMERICAN LEGAL PRETENSIONS Denying people the power to dispose of their property as they wished and to whom they wished is a denial property rights . Such was the case with whites. Despite pretense of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, American law once forbade a white person from gifting, or deeding property to a black person or from leaving it in a will to them, even if they were their own children. It is small wonder therefore that blacks' wealth lags behind that of the whites. Usual modes of conveyance: gift , deed, will were all barred by federal and state laws. So, American law is designed to proscribe property rights of the whites as well as blacks. It also proscribed a white or black person's ability to marry.

SOCRATES WAS FAKE? FABRICATED? FIGURE OF SPEECH?

https://www.quora.com/Is-there-evidence-that-Socrates-existed SOME EXPERTS HAVE WRITTEN THAT THE GREEK, SOCRATES, WAS INVENTED. CURIOUS, I SOUGHT OUT EVIDENCE OF HIS ACTUAL LIFE, RATHER THAN THE MERE PHILOSOPHICAL PERSONA HE IS NOW. WHO IS SOCRATES? THE FIRST AMONG THE FAMED, FOUNDING WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRIAD: SOCRATES, PLATO, AND ARISTOTLE? COULD IT BE THAT SOCRATES WAS NO MORE THAN A MERE LITERARY FIGURE, OR THAN AN IMAGINED FIGMENT? NO MORE THAN AN APOSTROPHE? SOCRATES, ACCORDING TO PLATO, CHOSE TO DRINK POISONED HEMLOCK, RATHER THAN TO ESCAPE ATHENS IN AN AWAITING SHIP. A 500-MAN, ATHENIAN JURY HAD EARLIER CONVICTED HIM OF "TEACHING DANGEROUS, FOREIGN IDEAS, STRANGE IDEAS TO ATHENIAN YOUTH." I WAS FLUMMOXED WHEN I FIRST LEARNED THAT THE MAN, SOCRATES WAS MADE-UP, FAKE, AN APOSTROPHIC FIGURE OF SPEECH! I AM BETTER NOW. THE IDEA AND THE IDEAL OF SOCRATES, SUFFICES AND SURVIVES, 2500 YEARS LATER. THAT HE HAD NO WRITING OF HIS OWN, MATTERS NOT. HE APPEARS IN HIS "STUDENT'S" WRITINGS, PLATO, IN PLATO'S DIALOGUES AND TALES..

LIFE'S STORY

All of life has a story . All existence has as well. The lowest form of life is as infinitely interesting as is life itself. Inanimate life like stones or mountains, even long extinct life, now fossilized or pieces of fossils can be fascinating. This last point I discerned on reading CENTENNIAL in 1976, James A. Michener's epic .  In it, the master storyteller brings mountains to life in their geological niches and most memorably treats of a baby bison's metamorphosis from calf to breeder and beyond. All life and non life is interesting when we but pause to consider it.

POLITICIANS DEFINE "CRIME"

Politicians define criminality. Killing A is laudable. Killing B is criminal. Having re-read today that Andrew Johnson, President Lincoln's Vice President from Tennessee coddled Confederate soldiers by restoring voting and lands to them in 1865, before black Union soldiers were able to acquire either years later, nearty ties the bow on my premise. "A"were Union troops in the above premise. "B" were Confederate the troops . Politics determines victory.

TRAITORS REWARDED SAVIORS DISCARDED!

RECONSTRUCTION DECONSTRUCTION It is astonishing to learn that in the summer of 1865, the voting rights and property rights of the former Confederate States of America's Rebel-traitors were restored to them by Vice President Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, following Abraham Lincoln's assassination, well before any such equivalent voting or property rights were first formally bestowed upon the former black United States of America's veterans, by the much later 13th through 15th Amendments by law! In short, Andrew Johnson 's pardon and "Reconstruction" of Southern Rebels signaled, destroyed, disestablished loyal Union blacks' hopes for "reconstruction!" Instead of deconstruction of white supremacy, it was "reconstructed" for traitors, spiteful of saviors! These two simple facts mirror the degrading depth of ingrained white prejudice and inveterate ingratitude harbored by a majority of citizens' utter contempt for its black national saviors, who got no share of spoils!All spoils went to 'victorious' losers! http://www.crf-usa.org/i…/impeachment-of-andrew-johnson.html Although Andrew Johnson missed being impeached by one vote in the Senate in 1868, for having fired Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War under Lincoln, who supported the "Radical Republicans'" leader, Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, Johnson 's 1865 veto of a bill granting land rights and civil rights to the blacks in 1865, was never overturned! Here greatest damage was done! Rebels had voting and property, while black had none! In letters 98-100, Edwin S. Redkey in his great book, A GRAND ARMY OF BLACK MEN (1993) publishes letters to the "Christian Recorder" and to the "Weekly Anglo-African" newspapers by USCT soldiers who express frustrations about the honors being denied to them, and the "black codes" still confronting them in summer 1865, p.223-227.

MISSOURI'S EARLY BLACK PREACHERS

MISSOURI'S EARLY BLACK PREACHERS WERE BOLD EDUCATED AND VISIONARY Missouri outlawed reading for black people in 1847. The very same law outlawed black preachers. To counter this gross statutory denial of black rights, a brave black preacher and business man (barrel maker) in the 1840s in St. Louis, named Rev. John Berry Meachum, astutely anchored a steamboat in the middle of the Mississippi River, outside of Missouri's jurisdiction. Each day a skiff that Rev. Meachum owned would ferry black students back and forth to school. One of these students was James Mitchell Turner, Esq. After the Civil War, he, Turner established public schools for black students across the state, enabling black students to become educated and worthy like himself. One of the noted black preachers who was arrested in the 1850's for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Independence, Missouri, was Hon. Hiram Rhodes Revel, of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1854. Revels states that he "was imprisoned for preaching the gospel to negroes, though he was not subjected to violence." Revels would later become the first black man elected to the U. S. Congress; he was a U. S. Senator from Mississippi elected in 1870. He resigned in 1871 to assume the Presidency of Alcorn College, the first U. S. black land grant college.

MANKIND'S MYSTICAL MAKEUP

MANKIND'S MYSTICAL MAKEUP Principles may parlay with properties to produce provable propositions. In like manner to this operation, functions may parlay with forms to produce provable theorems. Similarly to principles and properties and functions and forms, matter and spirit must have parlayed and cohered in the mystical creation of mankind's spiritual, biochemical and astrophysical makeup.

EXAGGERATING IS LYING

EXAGGERATING IS LYING ! Exaggerating is lying. It is inaccurate and inappropriate. Saying "nothing has changed;" Or "make America great again," are both lies often repeated ! Why? because change is constant: naturally and continuously. Why? Because slave labor, yet unrequited, made America so great, it fought to break away from its mother country. Things have changed! And America has been great ever since the Civil War ended, and has never been "UN-great" since! Lying in the lesser is also lying in the greater, in history, in mathematics, law, science, religion, philosophy. Only in politics is any lying permissibly done

MUSICAL NARRATIVES

MUSICAL NARRATIVES NEEDED Narratives are musical to the mind. Music narrates to our spiritual soul. Both forms communicate meaning, messages, by different modalities. Some people are more sensitive to one form than the other one , but musical narratives are the highest! Musical narratives meld stories and music together into spiritual epics . "Exodus" is a musical narrative. "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a musical narrative. "The Star Spangled Banner " is a musical narrative . "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a musical narrative . "America" is an especially beautiful narrative, being epic without being insulting. Would that "America" may become our national anthem! If not, or, along with "America," it would be wonderful if musicians would craft an African American musical narrative that speaks to, sings to, plays, to our historical movements in body and soul from Africa to America; our genetic amalgamations among disparate folks; of slavery to freedom; down and out, to on our way up ! Rising! Musical narratives are part of the solution to what ails us . We crave for marching to Zion praise music!

DR. GEORGE W. CARVER'S 8 RULES

CREATION THESIS

CREATION THESIS Ideas produce ideals as ideals produce ideas, each imagining, even as it is being imagined, mysteriously. Mixed with the right matter and energy in the right time and space, ideas and ideals, combine with matter, energy, time, space, and mysterious divine grace to produce life on earth conforming to ideas, ideals, matter, energy, time and space, delimited by ideas and ideals

UNDER THREE FEET

LIFE UNDER THREE FEET! Life under three feet is a whirlwind of activity. Such is a menagerie of discovery; it is literally resounding with sound: Loads of laughter screams peals pleads and cries. At least so it seems to me from a grandpa perspective. Grandma could probably fill in a few more blanks, perhaps some savory blankety -blanks! But we've all been under three feet at some time before. We are now blessed to be so, once more; briefly, vicariously through our grand babies, under three feet again!! And to God be the glory for it all!

WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY

WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY Basics are fundamental. Back to basics is a call for fundamentals. Unfortunately, false bottoms are laying about to bewilder befuddle and frustrate inquiries into basics. "I am that I am " is the most basic, the most fundamental, declaration that one can make about oneself. It comes from scripture Exod. 3:14. That assertion encompasses God. God is basic. God is fundamental. Therefore getting back to basics, is getting back to fundamentalism. It simply means getting back to God. Understanding history is not nearly enough. Before history God is. Nor is understanding religion, science , philosophy, geometry, arithmetic , languages, literature , agriculture. Nor is understanding anything else in existence nearly enough, without an understanding of God in relation to you, first, and to everyone and to everything else existent in time, or space, and prior to time and space. Whoever is not against us is for us. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.biblegateway.com/passage/%3fsearch=Mark+9:38-41&version=NIV&interface=amp Not against God is for God. God is. That fact. That element proposition of divine, defines all else in relation to all else. That orientation aligns directs synchronizes harmonizes actualizes oneself to oneself and to the universe: macro, nano, nether. Revolutions and revolutionaries must break through false bottoms, false positions, false beliefs, false leadership, falsehoods, to find God. Then will the "rapture" be revealed, revived, reconstructed upon earth . Not before . "It is when the student is ready that the master appears." Amen. 

FOLLOW THE MONEY FOR CIVIL WAR FACTS

https://www.facebook.com/larry.d.coleman1/posts/10156664643103689 Always follow the money to find the facts

FREEDMEN'S SAVING BANK AND TRUST FRAUD AND FAILURE

The massive 19th century $50,000,000 fraud upon our black, newly freed, people has never been repaid by Congress . Jay Cooke and Co. were the main bond-sellers for the North in the Civil War. They were highly successful . But they applied some risqué unregulated (indeed fraudulent) means to invest (high jack) freedmen's savings with Congressional consent. It removed restrictions on how the money could be spent and where . That legislative act makes Congress culpable to descendants of defrauded depositors and customers . They were repaid $.10 on a dollar following liquidation of Freedmen's Savings Bank assets in the country . It also caused distrust of financial institutions and of black leaders, since Frederick Douglass was titular head of the bank when it failed. He lost $10,000 of his own deposits in the bank failing. John Mercer Langston was on the final board of trustees and lost money. Both men were set up by sneaky capitalist bond sellers to cast suspicion away from their defalcation, peculations, speculation! https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4932 https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/African_American_Freedman%27s_Savings_and_Trust_Company_Records

FACTS COUNTERMAND LAW

SUPERVENING FACTS COUNTERMAND ALL LAW The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (FSA) was not repealed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. FSA was not repealed until June 1864. For 1 and 1/2 following January 1, 1863, most black Union soldiers "recruited" under the Proclamation were subject to being returned under law to masters. Some actually were! However, practicalities sometimes temper the stridency of law. Thus in May 1861, three slaves who had rowed over to Fort Monroe, Virginia, near Jamestown, presented themselves to its commanding officer, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, a lawyer. Butler refused to surrender them to their Confederate commander for whom they had been consigned to dig trenches and artillery fortifications against Ft. Monroe. Being a reasonable man, and no fool, Gen. Butler refused to return the three heroic, daring slaves whom he deemed "contraband of war." They were already deemed to be "property" like grain or livestock captured in battle, he reasoned. Abraham Lincoln, a lawyer, concurred. So, the FSA law became a dead letter by default, overcome by supervening facts! "The demand from the South for more effective legislation resulted in enactment of a second Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. Under this law fugitives could not testify on their own behalf, nor were they permitted a trial by jury. Heavy penalties were imposed upon federal marshals who refused to enforce the law or from whom a fugitive escaped; penalties were also imposed on individuals who helped slaves to escape. Finally, under the 1850 act, special commissioners were to have concurrent jurisdiction with the U.S. courts in enforcing the law. The severity of the 1850 measure led to abuses and defeated its purpose. The number of abolitionists increased, the operations of the Underground Railroad became more efficient, and new personal-liberty laws were enacted in many Northern states. These state laws were among the grievances officially referred to by South Carolina in December 1860 as justification for its secession from the Union. Attempts to carry into effect the law of 1850 aroused much bitterness and probably had as much to do with inciting sectional hostility as did the controversy over slavery in the territories. "For some time during the American Civil War, the Fugitive Slave Acts were considered to still hold in the case of blacks fleeing from masters in border states that were loyal to the Union government. It was not until June 28, 1864, that the acts were repealed." https://www.britannica.com/event/Fugitive-Slave-Acts

REMEMBERING HARRY T AND HARRIET MOORE AND LEGACY

REMEMBERING HAPPY T. AMD HARRIETTE MOORE AFRICAN AMERICAN MARTYRS: NOW FORGOTTEN OF MIMS, FLORIDA "Harry T. Moore, this methodical , soft-spoken man, --a school teacher by profession , fired after twenty years of political activities--had been fighting against racial injustice long before there was a civil rights movement. In December 1951, the inferno that will nearly consume America in the coming decade still lies dormant, and the movement's most famous leaders--and martyrs--have yet to embrace the cause. "At Boston University, a twenty -two year old graduate student in philosophy named Mike King is cultivating the refined style of an intellectual: he smokes a pipe, dresses in tailored suits, and has developed 'the far-off look of a philosopher.' Absorbed in the study of Spinoza, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Mahayana Buddhism, he maintains a steadfast aloofness from racial issues, even in his student papers. His only leadership role among other African American students has been to organize the Dialectical Society, which meets weekly to discuss rarefied issues of philosophy and religion. In a few years , Mike King will be better known by his legal name , Martin. "Just across the river from BU, in the Charlestown State Prison, a former pimp and drug addict known as Detroit Red is serving a ten-year sentence for robbery. While in prison, he has become a voracious reader and a follower of Black Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad. Following his parole in August 1952, he will move back to Detroit and change his name to Malcolm X. "And on this very night , a senior student at Alcorn A&M College is on his honeymoon in Jackson , Mississippi . Next summer, angry over the mistreatment of black sharecroppers, Medgar Evers will join the NAACP for the first time." P.6, BEFORE HIS TIME: THE UNTOLD STORY OF HARRY T. MOORE, AMERICA 'S FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS MARTYR by Ben Green (1999)

7000

Salute to the 7000 souls There are living 7000 persons, at least, according to the Bible, whose knees have not bowed to "Baal," and whose lips have not kissed him. I rejoice to be with you in that blessed number sisters and brothers! Beloved of God. Amen 🙏

THE TRUMPS SNUBBED BY BRITISH

THE TRUMPS SNUBBED BY BRITISH Since the Royal 👑 Wedding, May 19, 2018, President Trump's daily tweets seem to have lost their sting, as has he and his fake aura of imperturbability; since neither he, nor any of his made the guest list yo Prince Harry and Megan Markle's marriage

CONSTITUTIONAL DIVIDE

MOST WHITE FOLKS HAVE NO NEED TO KNOW, NOR TO RECALL CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, BEING "WHITE-PRIVILEGED." RATHER, IT IS WE BLACK FOLKS WHO HAD BETTER KNOW, HAD BETTER RECALL, APPLY, PERFECT CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, TO FREE OURSELVES FROM "WHITE" RACISM, WHICH IS FOUNDED ON THE DENIAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW TO OUR BLACK PEOPLE, IN DEFIANCE OF LAW BY OUTLAWS, SCOFFLAWS.

RATIONALLY ACQUIRING REPARATIONS

RATIONALLY ACQUIRING REPARATIONS If any problem is too large for you, break it down into smaller pieces, that you can handle, then begin to building your solution from there, bit by bit, until you have it solved. This thought occurred to me as I ruminated upon the question of reparations for black Americans. We often look to the government for restitution, ignoring individuals. But, the Bible allegorically tells us, describes the Hebrews borrowing from the Egyptians, as individuals, in the book of Exodus 12:35, until they had what they required: the resources needed to get away from their former oppressors, en masse: "The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing." Exodus 12:36 then adds, "The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, so they gave them what they asked for; they plundered the Egyptians." Reinforcing familiar Biblical allegory are far less-than-familiar historical facts from our African American history, respecting receipts of reparations. Shirley Graham in her biographical classic, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON EDUCATOR OF HAND HEAD AND HEART (1955), writes on it clearly : "'I'm Jabez Curry, live in Talladega County. Been hearing about what you were doing down here. Thought I'd drop in and see for myself. Must say it looks fine.' "'We're only making a beginning , sir.' Washington waved his hand toward the field. 'We hope to plow this all up and get it under cultivation soon, so as to secure some return from it and at the same time give the students training in agriculture.' "'Very good. Very good indeed! I understand you made the down payment on the land from your own pocket, Washington.' Curry spoke casually. "I was very fortunate in being able to borrow the amount ,' Washington told him modestly. He smiled. 'I didn't have that much in my own pocket.' "'But it's your personal loan. You'll have to pay it back yourself until the money is raised,' insisted the other. "'Oh, but we'll get it, sir!' Washington said enthusiastically, and told how the money was slowly coming in. "'And then what?' he asked. "Washington's voice was apologetic. 'Of course, Mr. Curry, we need everything--plows and mules and carts. But all I can think of at the moment is that we must start erecting a building as soon as possible.' ... "Ten days later, as he was hurrying through the center of town Washington heard someone calling him. He turned and saw Mr. Campbell, who had pulled his buggy to a stop and was waving his whip. "'Just a minute, young man! I've got good news for you.' The merchant banker sounded jubilant. "Washington hurried to the side of his of the buggy. "'How do you do, Mr. Campbell. I didn't see you.' "'That's alright, Washington. You're a busy man. Well, let me tell you that your two-thousand dollar annual appropriation has been increased to three thousand--beginning 'this month!'' "'Oh! Oh, sir!' Washington couldn't say anything else . "'Yes! You see, J. L. M. Curry is general agent of the Peabody Fund. That fund has recently been set up for the express purpose of aiding educational institutions. This additional one thousand dollars is the result of Mr. Curry's report to the Peabody Assembly. You and your school made quite an impression on the Peabody agent!' "Yes, it was a good year. Three months after Mr. Marshall made his generous loan, Washington paid it back. Seven months after the owner of the land agreed to let the school take over the plantation , he received his final payment of two hundred and fifty dollars." P. 145-147 Combined the sage approaches of the Israelites in Exodus 12 and of Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee, Alabama, show what can be done by private means with respect to achieving certain desired ends. No need to wait exclusively on the government, when one's own people, and when others favorably disposed mutually buy in with you!

TEACHING TEDDY TO READ

TEACHING TEDDY TO READ Wednesday, February 22, 2012 By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman “Larry, wait for me at my desk,” whispered Ms. Lydia Brooks, our no-nonsense 6th grade teacher at almost-all-black James Milton Turner Elementary School located in almost-all-black Meacham Park, Missouri, in the spring of1963. “What?” I asked, slightly befuddled by such a sudden, strange request. “Wait for me at my desk.” She repeated, as she turned and strode away. Obediently, I got up and did as requested, all the while, shunting off curious glances from my classmates. My mind raced. What had I done? Or said? The desk was the place where, among other things, disciplinary paddling had been publicly administered. I had been an occasional recipient of such discipline . That possibility heightened my apprehension, as my mind continued to race. A few weeks earlier some white lady had visited our classroom to talk about books and reading. She had marveled that I had read children’s author Walter Farley’s series on “The Black” Arabian stallion. She’d mentioned just having attended a conference with him in Florida. Our exchange had apparently pleased and impressed Ms. Brooks. She had been smiling. So, it couldn’t be related to that, I surmised. But, what was it? My mind drew a blank. Turning slighting upon reaching her desk, and peering out the corner of my eye, I saw her speaking to Teddy on the back row of the classroom. He glanced up at me; rose from his seat; then, followed her to the front. Now, I was really confused, and slightly concerned, too. Teddy was the notorious school-yard, and occasional class-room, “toughie,” though he was not exactly a bully. I was no saint, myself. But, I was nowhere near being either a toughie or a bully. An eerie foreboding swept over me. Ms. Brooks, her black heels clicking sharply to a stop, glanced back over her left shoulder at the classroom and said authoritatively, “You are supposed to be working. Heads down, not a sound.” Then, she pivoted and beckoned us to follow her into the hallway. There we entered an adjacent storage room, which she had unlocked. It contained boxes, a filing cabinet, one table and two chairs. Rather Spartan. “Larry,” she said “I want you to help Teddy with his reading.” She stated. “ He is making good progress, but school is almost out. So, we must quicken the pace. Do you hear me?” I hesitated. “Yes Ma’am,” I replied. But inwardly my soul screamed “Why me, especially if he’s making ‘good progress’?” Being alone with Teddy: oh boy, in that isolated, Spartan chamber did not exactly appeal to me!! Helping him with his reading? Yikes! She was the teacher, right? “What books do I use,” I stammered, pleadingly, noticing the symmetrical lining of Teddy’s Quo Vadis hair- cut and slightly flared nostrils. We all sported similar hair-cuts, close-cropped, and lined, furnished by licensed and unlicensed barbers that dotted the community. Teddy’s flared nostrils, though, suggested scent, akin to a wild Arabian stallion’s when the wind carried vital information. “Use any books you like,” Lydia Brooks replied. Then, smartly turning, she left us in the room, leaving the door ajar. “What about using my comic books?” Teddy asked. “Anything you like” she repeated, heels echoing faintly on the polished linoleum. “Teachers used to use the Bible, newspapers, anything available to teach reading.” She conceded. Teddy beamed with delight. Teachers had ears and eyes in the back of their heads, especially at Turner School. They seemed to be intuitive especially Ms. Brooks, who had also had us in 5th grade. Turner was still segregated in 1963, so teachers undoubtedly had greater freedoms, later lost with integration’s quirky dynamics. Turner had the occasional white student, but they were rare, and Meacham Park had white residents whose children were, at their option, bussed to white schools. These larger societal issues did not matter to us students. We were quite happy in our so-called cultural isolation. “Go get’m, man,” I said to Teddy, following up on his inspired suggestion about comic books. “Go get’m.” Teddy lit out with alacrity. Blessed with that cat-like quickness and deftness that easily distinguished him from lesser athletes like me, this is one athlete that Nipher Jr. High, and Kirkwood High School will be glad to see, I thought to myself, as he fairly romped to retrieve his books. Not so with me. My family was about to move to archrival, Webster Groves School District, 5 miles east, at the end of that semester, having bought a house there. Normally, Ms. Brooks had discouraged, indeed, banned comic books and other ephemera including chewing gum from class. Of course, that didn’t stop anybody from smuggling it in, especially Teddy. But, today, for whatever reason, her focus was purely on the bottom line: teaching Teddy to read better, by any means necessary—including me! I smiled and exhaled, slightly. This might be fun, after all! Teddy was back so quickly, with his comic books, I was slightly startled to see him. But, I repressed a nervous shudder. At least he was eager, rearing to go. That would help! It was time now for me to “man-up, to get her done.” If I showed fear or weakness, I would fail, exactly as those too-timid horse-tamers seeking to tame “The Black.” Fear would cause failure. I could not risk that. Failure to teach Teddy to read might lead to a fight. That might lead to an ass-whipping by Teddy to boot, a prospect I did not relish! Lion tamers: I now understood! They too engaged in a deadly game of power and peril , while in proximity to death or injury with stoic purposefulness and pretense. Game on! “OK, let’s see what you’ve got,” I said reaching for the comics in his hand. “Here, let’s sit down. ” I said, He handed me the comics. “Can you read any of these?” I asked shuffling through copies of “Superman”, “Batman” and “The Green Lantern.” “A little bit.” He said. “But, mainly I just look at the pictures.” Lowering his head, he said “The pictures tell the whole story anyway.” Pictures help, but rarely tell the whole story, I thought to myself “Alright”, I said, “look at the pictures. And then tell me what’s going on.” Teddy nodded. “Then, I’ll read that same page, after that. OK? Then, we can see what was missed from just looking pictures. We’ll work only on that, OK?” “Bet!” he responded, meaning “yes.” Teddy was terse. Laconic and direct: a man of action, Teddy was. Like when it came to tickling your ears: Teddy had an ear fetish. He would wiggle or tickle somebody’s ears on the playground, every day, practically. It didn’t hurt. It was just bothersome, annoying, and sometimes humiliating habit of his that we had learned to tolerate and accept. That ear-tickling prospect was ever present. But, his interest was on reading, not ears, fortunately. His spirit exuded his desire to learn. And, so we began. #30

EULOGY FOR TEDDY

EULOGY FOR TEDDY. I pause right here, right now, in order to acknowledge the passing of a very dear grade school classmate, Theodore Pearson of Meacham Park, Kirkwood, Missouri. From 1956-1963, we attended James Milton Turner Elementary School. He was a good man, a fierce athletic competitor, a joker and occasional cut-up, and a notably adept fighter. I was Teddy's friend. and reading teacher at one time. He liked me, respected me, and I liked and respected Teddy. Rest in peace, my beloved brother! See you again soon!.

SUNLIGHT AT STONEHENGE

GOOD DAY MATES! A slither of sunshine streamed into my study's window, bounced off a picture frame, stole through a crack in my bedroom's doorway ,then settled upon my sleeping eyes at about 6:30 a.m. By 7:00, a.m.the shaft of sunlight was gone, having rousted me from my somnolent reveries. G'day all!

BEHOLD THE BLESSINGS!

BEHOLD THE BLESSINGS! We all have been blessed to behold Bishop Michael Curry, an African American Duchess of Sussex, a black United States President and First Lady! What next might God have for us?

RIGHTEOUS ROYAL REMIX!

Who would have ever supposed that a black preacher could upstage a royal wedding? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Curry_(bishop) Black church fundamentals smoothly mix with Anglican traditionalism in the person and primacy of Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry.

BRITISH PRISONERS EXPORTED TO COLONIAL AMERICA

WHO ELSE BUT CONVICTS COULD BE SO "BESTIAL" TOWARD OTHER HUMANS, INDIANS AND AFRICANS, ESPECIALLY! A CRIMINAL ELEMENT! https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/britain-sent-thousands-of-its-convicts-to-america-not-1707458418?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=Paleofuture_facebook

"CORN PONE" OPINION

In his short story "Corn Pone Opinion," iconic author, Mark Twain, uses an enslaved preacher to make the point that the source of his opinion is the same source as his corn pone. In other words "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also." Mathew 6:21

SYMBOLIC STIMULI

SYMBOLIC STIMULI Any minute iota of energy: whether imagined or real: actual or virtual, or verbal or aural, visual, olfactory or gustatory or tactile, may induce movement, may start fires , erode mountains; or easily prompt us to act, impel us to steel ourselves to do something in response to the stimulus, in any form it may come. African Americans were energized greatly by the royal British wedding of Megan Markle and Prince Harry on May 19, 2018. Some media have focused on hats, flutters, and frills. But I look to latency not "patency," to what lies beneath, not atop the greatest global reconciliation of our era, ranking with King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who traveled to Israel from Sabea and Ethiopia to try him with hard questions, whose answer she not only knew but was! "I am black and beautiful," she said, as recorded in "Song of Solomon" 1:5 (NRSV) In thus declaring herself and baring her soul and self to a man who had already 700 wives and 300 concubines, 3000 proverbs, 1000 songs, the "wisest man who ever lived and the richest, " say words written in the Bible. Queen Sheba was saying that "I outrank them! outrank all, in wisdom, splendor, beauty. I am!" We, who once ruled all, anciently, observed and understood that in that ceremony lay a mighty move of God! We, in the United States of America; we in Toronto, Canada, we in Great Britain; we in the 53 Commonwealth nations; we around the world and all others, who bore witness to this nascent regal rejoinder of divine genes, that once were sullied by racism. Science now recognizes are the same thing, none inferior nor superior, the same. The political possibility of oppressed deliverance in their royal wedding, is civilizational regeneration, deliverance that is representative of a reconciliation, a restoration by love of, what was before. Their connubial symbolism lifted us intuitively, epigenetically! Perhaps I err. Perhaps, I have presumed too much by conflating the symbolism of the royal nuptials over-much, to make them more than what they were. If so, I beg for mercy, for pardon of almighty God, whose words I may misconstrue. I beg your pardons too, Dear Reader, whoever, wherever you are, when you take time to read these words.

ROYAL BRITISH WEDDING

WHAT A ROYAL BRITISH WEDDING! BY Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman Saturday, May 19, 2018 EPISCOPAL BISHOP MICHAEL CURRY SHONUFF PREACHED AT THE ROYAL WEDDING OF MEGAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY: “BALM IN GILEAD;” TEXT TAKEN FROM THE “SONG OF SOLOMON” 8:6; AND WITH QUOTATION ON LOVE FROM REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., WERE ALL IN KEEPING WITH THE 19-YEARS’ CELLIST’S SWEET STRAINS, AND CLASSIC “STAND BY ME” AFRICAN AMERICAN CHOIR’S REFRAIN! WE, AFRICAN AMERICANS, WERE VERY WELL-REPRESENTED AT THIS 2018 ROYAL BRITISH WEDDING AS NEVER BEFORE. IT WAS LOVELY! JOYOUS! MOVING! SOMBER! RICH! EPIC! BALANCED AND EPOCHAL! I REJOICED IN THEIR JOY AND LOVE! AMEN.

HEART BRAIN DICHOTOMY

Heart and brain are metaphorized to mean more than they ought socially. Heart means softness compassion female . Brain means hardness severity male. Neither conception is wholly true. But their mythical metaphorical allure has insinuated itself into our law, beings, institutions, practices, morality.

RELIGION STABILIZES

RELIGION PERSONALLY STABILIZES In a sense, perhaps in fact, any and all religious ministers, preachers , priests, rabbis, imams, etc., are mentally stabilizing elements within each community. They offer an easily accessible source of written or ritualistic comfort to people for their fears and unease, that is tied to what has gone before, while affording them a weekly message or narrative of hope, instruction, understanding, community, while contextualizing each individual on plane of continuum from earth to eternity, while explaining, "making plain" each person's particular purpose, duties to one another and to God, Allah, Jehovah, Jesus, any others regardless of its nomenclature, or lack.

PARSEC PARTICIPLE PARTICIPANT

PARSEC PARTICIPLE PARTICIPANT Eternity within each microsecond . Infinity within each atom. Time-space-matter-force are but four dimensions within which we grapple to grasp life's mysteries. How great is our God? some ask. Keep asking . Keep searching. Keep loving. Keep living. Keep on keeping on.. Life is but another dimension too. Every life is but another parsec, participle, participant within greater dimensions than we will ever know sense hypothecate

GERRYMANDERED FROM JUMP STREET

OUR NATION IS GERRYMANDERED FROM JUMP STREET BY 3/5'S The 3/5s clause of the United States Constitution was a product of national white consensus. It was forged in the convention of 1787. Thus, Article 1 sec. 2's 3/5s clause was promulgated and later ratified in order to unify the diverse economic interests in and among the colonies, North and South. The 3/5s clause followed in time the "Declaration of Independence," in 1776, the "American War of Independence;" 1776-1781. The critical clause also followed the "Articles of Confederation," 1781-1787, the first national governing document, that failed to enable effective governance due to decentralization. The 3/5s clause was ratified in 1789. It applied throughout the country, as the binding, bonding, fetter and feature of American law until after 1865. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/three-fifths-clause-united-states-constitution-1787 "The 3/5s clause" added the 3/5s of the total number of slaves (and 'free' Negroes), i.e., "others," within a state to the total number of white persons, in that state, whether any whites were bond or free, but not Indians, in order to determine the number of representatives from that state to Congress. Thus, no political distinction existed between the slave and free status of Africans as a matter of law. Both were counted as part of the whole number that was later reduced by 3/5s, not individually. That state's fractional whole number was added and subordinated to all whites, yet essential to the integrity of the nation by a 3/5s fraction. Gerrymandered from jump street was American government! This 3/5s quota system is an American algebraic original. It was forged by national political necessity ( the "military necessity" phrase came with President Abraham Lincoln's epochal 1863 "Emancipation Proclamation") for the United States of America's political and economic integrity. Its vital importance is shown by its appearance in Article 1, section 2 of the Constitution. We now-African Americans "citizens" were foremost factors in forging the nation's economic and political future by our mere placement at the beginning of the Constitution!

BOND OR FREE?

ARE WE BOND OR FREE IN 2018? Frames of reference inform public ideas and aptitudes temporarily as templates until being displaced by others more compatible with day to day realities, concepts or precepts. As I was reading today in A KEY TO UNCLE TOM'S CABIN (1853) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, I was struck by the similarities between the laws of slavery and those in the present day pertaining to blacks . "This heavy charge of Judge Stroud is sustained by twenty pages of proof, showing the very great disproportion between the number of offenses made capital for slaves and those that are so for whites. Concerning this , we find the following cool remark in Wheeler's Law of Slavery... "'Much has been said of the disparity of punishment between the white inhabitants and the slaves and the negroes of the same state; that slaves are punished much more severely, for the commission of similar crimes , by white persons, than the latter. The charge is undoubtedly true to to a considerable extent. It must be remembered that the primary purpose of the enactment of penal laws, is the protection and security of those who make them. The slave has no agency in making them. He is indeed one cause of the apprehended evils of the other class, which those laws are expected to remedy. That he should be held amenable for the violation of those rules established for the security of the other, is the natural result of the state in which he is placed . And the severity of those rules will always bear a relation to that danger , real or ideal, of the other class. "'It has been so among all nations, and will ever continue to be so, while the disparity between bond and free remains .'" P.77 Makes one wonder whether black people are, despite the Civil War and constitutional amendments, and the Civil Rights Movement, "bond or free," given the much documented disparity in American law that is severely disproportional to African Americans compared to whites in 2018! Makes one gasp!