March 22, 2012
BH 418
With the general elections approaching in November, the race for the presidency will be most volatile, in part because of the number of so called Black Conservatives in the mix in an attempt to defeat President Obama. The infiltration has already begun with right wing voices coming from some of the most unforeseen and unanticipated places, including some traditional and long established black organizations, unions and societies.
The reason some of the most vocal African American Republicans give is “we are the party of Lincoln”. But they make me wonder if they mean Abraham Lincoln or George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi party. George Lincoln Rockwell was one of the most significant extremist strategists and ideologists of the postwar period and his strategy is unmistakable a guidebook for some members of the Tea Party, The Republican party, a number of black newspaper columnists and some Black radio talk show hosts.
Black Republicans lately have reminded us that Frederick Douglas and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were Republicans, as well as Booker T. Washington, and Zora Neale Hurston, but they fail to mention that Dr. King campaigned and demonstrated with others to get the 1964 and 1965 Civil Rights legislation signed by a Democratic administration.
I realize and understand everyone has a right to belong to and support any political party they choose, but I was astonished at the almost hate dialogue and in some occasions downright blatant deceptions, falsehoods and dishonesty they publish on the National Black Republican Association website. And let us not overlook the explosive and fiery rhetoric espoused by Lloyd Marcus of the Tea Party, and elected officials like Florida Rep. Allen West, former Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, Herman Cain and Florida's Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll.
A few of the stories from the National Black Republican Association home page are: “The True Unemployment Rate:36 %” by John Hayward; “$5 Trillion and Change-Obama’s four years have seen the highest deficits since 1946”; ‘The Fairness Fraud’ by Thomas Sowell, and “Obama’s Racial Politics” by Walter E. Williams. There are really too many to print here, but please check them out yourself. Some you will find disgusting.
Also on the site you will find: ‘The GOP-The Key to American Prosperity’ and an article by Chidike Okeem titled “Barack Obama and the Betrayal of Black America.’ The website stress “To defeat Barack Obama and the Democrat Party, we Republicans must accomplish this one very important goal – win just 25% of the black vote. That's it. Win 25% of the black vote and we'll beat the Democrats and put an end to Obama's job killing agenda FOREVER.”
Deborah Toler in 1993 wrote in The Public Eye: “the majority of African Americans, Black conservatives generally oppose affirmative action and government minority business set-aside programs, oppose minimum wage laws and rent control laws, oppose any increase in social welfare spending, and oppose vigorous enforcement of voting rights and desegregation regulations. Black conservatives favor the death penalty, privatization of government services, deregulation of business, and voucher systems for public housing and for education.”
Little has changed in eighteen years, and it is important that you keep your eyes on the prize. Don’t let your enemies infiltrate The A. Phillip Randolph Institute, National Black United Front, Blacks In Government, National alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, The Black Women’s Forum, The Black Women’s Network, Africare, Inc., National Black United Fund, One Hundred Black Men, Associated Black Charities, Association of Black Psychologists, Association of Black Sociologists and others who are working for our survival.
We must support organizations like The Organization for Black Struggle, United African People’s Organization, Better Family Life, Inc., PATOY (Paying Attention To Our Youth) , Nation of Islam, Congressional Black Caucus, !00 Black Men, 100 Black Women, Ladies of Distinction, the Urban League, the NAACP, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, African American Historical and Genealogical Society and others that have shown their love and concern for our community. It is not a joke anymore. The suppression of voting rights is already on the battlefield. It is later than you think.
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Third American Revolution
February 23, 2012
BH 417
In my column of July 2010 I asked “are the black radio and television stations today forward-thinking and positive? Black media outlets can provide valuable input and should be realistic, operational, inspirational, motivational, informative, and even emotional, and should be reassessed on a regular basis by the public that it serves.”
After an assessment I am regretful to say that nothing has changed. And the emergence and resurgence of hate radio and right-wing show hosts such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, who has tirelessly worked to undermine the accomplishments of the Obama administrations, will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans.
As a result of the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans, right wing and mass media have fostered a distorted and malicious public perception of African-Americans and Black radio is doing nothing to correct these images.
The Bush administration plunged us into the worst economic crisis in the history of the United States yet the right wing’s flawed understandings of the Constitution and how its foundational values should be applied is relentless in their attacks on President Obama and the Black radio stations are sitting idly by and continue to amuse.
In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr wrote from the Birmingham Jail: I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” so how can Black radio stations continue to entertain and not be a voice for transformation?
The Right has perfected the habit of giving unto themselves the title of being the “only true patriots”. And having done so they embark on carrying out attacks on Black People and the president with an air of impunity from law and accepted norms of human rights, while we boogie and tell jokes.
Black people must agree to increase the pressure on hate radio mongers as well as our leaders, elected representatives, government officials and broadcasters to take clear stands on the issue of fairness and truth. Black radio station owners and personalities too needs to be told in no uncertain terms that it has to give up its growing weakness for good times and become a vehicle for positive change.
We need independent, full-service radio outlets, offering news and formats that incorporate thought-provoking talk and music programming, and recognize and address the needs of the communities and families they serve.
We need a nationwide outreach campaign, with leaders who are concerned about the truths that still influence life in Black America and understand that race has become an institutional part of American society.
We need announcers and talk show hosts that understand that we must find opportunities and provide for African-Americans in the areas of education, science, engineering, and the arts. The accomplishments of African-Americans should be at the forefront of popular culture in America’s battle for racial equality and our media outlets should reflect the history of African-Americans struggle against oppression and discrimination. The media have played a key role in perpetuating the effects of this historical oppression and in contributing to our continuing status as second-class citizens, and it is time for a change.
We must make our media outlets accountable. We must strengthen diversity among the leadership of our community with meaningful programming, digital formats, news and information services, to reach millions of listeners around the country. It is not about having fun anymore. It is a matter of survival.
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
BH 417
In my column of July 2010 I asked “are the black radio and television stations today forward-thinking and positive? Black media outlets can provide valuable input and should be realistic, operational, inspirational, motivational, informative, and even emotional, and should be reassessed on a regular basis by the public that it serves.”
After an assessment I am regretful to say that nothing has changed. And the emergence and resurgence of hate radio and right-wing show hosts such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, who has tirelessly worked to undermine the accomplishments of the Obama administrations, will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans.
As a result of the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans, right wing and mass media have fostered a distorted and malicious public perception of African-Americans and Black radio is doing nothing to correct these images.
The Bush administration plunged us into the worst economic crisis in the history of the United States yet the right wing’s flawed understandings of the Constitution and how its foundational values should be applied is relentless in their attacks on President Obama and the Black radio stations are sitting idly by and continue to amuse.
In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr wrote from the Birmingham Jail: I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” so how can Black radio stations continue to entertain and not be a voice for transformation?
The Right has perfected the habit of giving unto themselves the title of being the “only true patriots”. And having done so they embark on carrying out attacks on Black People and the president with an air of impunity from law and accepted norms of human rights, while we boogie and tell jokes.
Black people must agree to increase the pressure on hate radio mongers as well as our leaders, elected representatives, government officials and broadcasters to take clear stands on the issue of fairness and truth. Black radio station owners and personalities too needs to be told in no uncertain terms that it has to give up its growing weakness for good times and become a vehicle for positive change.
We need independent, full-service radio outlets, offering news and formats that incorporate thought-provoking talk and music programming, and recognize and address the needs of the communities and families they serve.
We need a nationwide outreach campaign, with leaders who are concerned about the truths that still influence life in Black America and understand that race has become an institutional part of American society.
We need announcers and talk show hosts that understand that we must find opportunities and provide for African-Americans in the areas of education, science, engineering, and the arts. The accomplishments of African-Americans should be at the forefront of popular culture in America’s battle for racial equality and our media outlets should reflect the history of African-Americans struggle against oppression and discrimination. The media have played a key role in perpetuating the effects of this historical oppression and in contributing to our continuing status as second-class citizens, and it is time for a change.
We must make our media outlets accountable. We must strengthen diversity among the leadership of our community with meaningful programming, digital formats, news and information services, to reach millions of listeners around the country. It is not about having fun anymore. It is a matter of survival.
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
Monday, January 16, 2012
My People, My People!
BH 416
January 19, 2012
How do you define African American culture? According to Wikipedia, African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of African Americans to culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in the historical experience of the African-American people, including the Middle Passage. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential to American culture as a whole.
Are you proud of your culture? Many sociologists allege humans are born without culture. For virtually anyone, culture begins with the family and continues through other social agents such as school, peer groups and mass media. This lesson follows the general process by which people develop their personalities and learn about the world around them, a process referred to as "socialization."
Socialization is the lifelong process by which people develop their personalities and learn about their culture. For virtually everyone, that process begins within the family, during the earliest days of life.
In my previous column I investigated the idea of Buying Black. Am I foolish, silly, and idiotic? The wealth gap between white and African-American families more than quadrupled from 1984 to 2007. Financial assets, excluding home equity, among white families grew from a median value of $22,000 to $100,000, while African-Americans had a median wealth of $5,000. The data indicate black consumers pay more than whites for accessing credit. My question is why are some of our African American youth spending $180 on gym shoes?
Most of us have long recognized the importance of peer relations in the lives of young people and Dr. Carter G. Woodson wrote in his book The Mis-education of the Negro, ‘when you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions’.
I am sure you are aware that not too many days ago, across the country, the release of the Nike Retro Air Jordan basketball shoes resulted in fights, arrests, and the use of pepper spray No one anticipated the hysteria around the original Air Jordan, which spawned a subculture of collectors willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair. But the shopping frenzy over the shoe had died down in recent years.
In Seattle, Tukwila police officer Mike Murphy said more than 1,000 people lined up to buy shoes at 4 a.m. at four stores in the Westfield South center mall.
He said police used pepper spray on about 20 people who were fighting, while one man was arrested for assault after police say he pushed an officer.
These latest incidents instead seem to be part of trend of increasing acts of violence at retailers this past holiday shopping season, as police tried to calm frenzied shoppers all wanting and willing to pay more than one hundred dollars for a pair of shoes.
And don’t forget the controversy surrounding one of the most profitable and wealthiest companies on the planet. Nike was investigated for how it has exploited workers in Asia for financial gain after moving the majority of its production so far away from its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
We live in the world's wealthiest nation. Yet 13 percent of people living in the United States live in poverty. Nearly one in four children lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. That's 16.7 million children. I wonder how many are wearing Nike.
Cornell and Washington University researchers report the great majority of African Americans experience poverty during adulthood. Their findings show that nine out of every 10 black Americans, or 91 percent, who reach the age of 75 spend at least one of their adult years in poverty.
Of the several thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of the Black people who bought the Air Jordon shoes or were involved in the incidents, I wonder how much did they donate to the homeless or to hungry people, or to charitable organizations such as The New Life Evangelistic Center, The Salvation Army, or The United Way, and how many are receiving benefits from the government or state, or local charitable organizations and agencies? How many is suffering from a debilitating illness?
Dr. Carter G. Woodson said, “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”. He wrote “it may be well to repeat here the saying that old men talk of what they have done, young men of what they are doing, and fools of what they expect to do. The Negro race has a rather large share of the last mentioned class.” I bet most of them are wearing Nike Retro’s. Is it cultural?
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
January 19, 2012
How do you define African American culture? According to Wikipedia, African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of African Americans to culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in the historical experience of the African-American people, including the Middle Passage. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential to American culture as a whole.
Are you proud of your culture? Many sociologists allege humans are born without culture. For virtually anyone, culture begins with the family and continues through other social agents such as school, peer groups and mass media. This lesson follows the general process by which people develop their personalities and learn about the world around them, a process referred to as "socialization."
Socialization is the lifelong process by which people develop their personalities and learn about their culture. For virtually everyone, that process begins within the family, during the earliest days of life.
In my previous column I investigated the idea of Buying Black. Am I foolish, silly, and idiotic? The wealth gap between white and African-American families more than quadrupled from 1984 to 2007. Financial assets, excluding home equity, among white families grew from a median value of $22,000 to $100,000, while African-Americans had a median wealth of $5,000. The data indicate black consumers pay more than whites for accessing credit. My question is why are some of our African American youth spending $180 on gym shoes?
Most of us have long recognized the importance of peer relations in the lives of young people and Dr. Carter G. Woodson wrote in his book The Mis-education of the Negro, ‘when you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions’.
I am sure you are aware that not too many days ago, across the country, the release of the Nike Retro Air Jordan basketball shoes resulted in fights, arrests, and the use of pepper spray No one anticipated the hysteria around the original Air Jordan, which spawned a subculture of collectors willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair. But the shopping frenzy over the shoe had died down in recent years.
In Seattle, Tukwila police officer Mike Murphy said more than 1,000 people lined up to buy shoes at 4 a.m. at four stores in the Westfield South center mall.
He said police used pepper spray on about 20 people who were fighting, while one man was arrested for assault after police say he pushed an officer.
These latest incidents instead seem to be part of trend of increasing acts of violence at retailers this past holiday shopping season, as police tried to calm frenzied shoppers all wanting and willing to pay more than one hundred dollars for a pair of shoes.
And don’t forget the controversy surrounding one of the most profitable and wealthiest companies on the planet. Nike was investigated for how it has exploited workers in Asia for financial gain after moving the majority of its production so far away from its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
We live in the world's wealthiest nation. Yet 13 percent of people living in the United States live in poverty. Nearly one in four children lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. That's 16.7 million children. I wonder how many are wearing Nike.
Cornell and Washington University researchers report the great majority of African Americans experience poverty during adulthood. Their findings show that nine out of every 10 black Americans, or 91 percent, who reach the age of 75 spend at least one of their adult years in poverty.
Of the several thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of the Black people who bought the Air Jordon shoes or were involved in the incidents, I wonder how much did they donate to the homeless or to hungry people, or to charitable organizations such as The New Life Evangelistic Center, The Salvation Army, or The United Way, and how many are receiving benefits from the government or state, or local charitable organizations and agencies? How many is suffering from a debilitating illness?
Dr. Carter G. Woodson said, “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”. He wrote “it may be well to repeat here the saying that old men talk of what they have done, young men of what they are doing, and fools of what they expect to do. The Negro race has a rather large share of the last mentioned class.” I bet most of them are wearing Nike Retro’s. Is it cultural?
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
Every Friday Should Be Black Friday in the African American Community!
BH 415
In recent weeks on my radio program several guests have recommend that people of African Ancestry buy from businesses owned by people who look like them, or should I say look like us?
Bob Law proposes people of color should not but from companies or stores that do not employ Black people. He said if radio stations, TV stations and social media targeting the Black community supported this idea it would help not only Black businesses but the Black consumer as well.
Total spending over the four-day weekend following Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, up 16% from $45 billion last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. It is a busy shopping day and is a holiday in some states. How many of those dollars were yours?
The State of the African-American Consumer Report found that black buying power is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015. The study, which focuses on black spending, media habits and consumer trends, reported an increase in the amount of blacks attending college or earning a degree to 44 percent for men and 53 percent for women. It also found an increase in the number of African American households earning $75,000 or higher by almost 64 percent. My question is who benefits?
According to Target Market, a company that tracks Black consumer spending, African Americans spend a significant amount of their income on depreciable products, and among the favorite purchases are cars and liquor.
We must realize also that there are many different communities of Black folks in America. We have separate and distinct religions and dissimilar ways of life. While many are Christians, numerous are practicing Muslims, Bahia and other organized beliefs and worships.
We are also separated by social customs and health practices. There is a great number of Blacks from African countries, the West Indies, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. However the largest parts are the descendants of slaves. Should we expect them to feel the same about buying Black? Should they celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa? Will you?
According to a Chicago Book Essay report, “Too often, companies don’t realize the inherent differences of our community, are not aware of the market size impact and have not optimized efforts to develop messages beyond those that coincide with Black History Month,” said Cloves Campbell.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa was also a guest recently on my radio program. He reminds us that Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal African American Heritage and culture, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. It was first celebrated in 1966–1967.
Karenga said his goal was to "give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.
Well, you now have an alternative, either to buy Christmas gifts, Kwanzaa gifts or both. But where will those profits be in January? Whose businesses will prosper and whose neighborhoods will benefit from your dollars? Will your children have a meaningful celebration? It is just a question.
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
In recent weeks on my radio program several guests have recommend that people of African Ancestry buy from businesses owned by people who look like them, or should I say look like us?
Bob Law proposes people of color should not but from companies or stores that do not employ Black people. He said if radio stations, TV stations and social media targeting the Black community supported this idea it would help not only Black businesses but the Black consumer as well.
Total spending over the four-day weekend following Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, up 16% from $45 billion last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. It is a busy shopping day and is a holiday in some states. How many of those dollars were yours?
The State of the African-American Consumer Report found that black buying power is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015. The study, which focuses on black spending, media habits and consumer trends, reported an increase in the amount of blacks attending college or earning a degree to 44 percent for men and 53 percent for women. It also found an increase in the number of African American households earning $75,000 or higher by almost 64 percent. My question is who benefits?
According to Target Market, a company that tracks Black consumer spending, African Americans spend a significant amount of their income on depreciable products, and among the favorite purchases are cars and liquor.
We must realize also that there are many different communities of Black folks in America. We have separate and distinct religions and dissimilar ways of life. While many are Christians, numerous are practicing Muslims, Bahia and other organized beliefs and worships.
We are also separated by social customs and health practices. There is a great number of Blacks from African countries, the West Indies, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. However the largest parts are the descendants of slaves. Should we expect them to feel the same about buying Black? Should they celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa? Will you?
According to a Chicago Book Essay report, “Too often, companies don’t realize the inherent differences of our community, are not aware of the market size impact and have not optimized efforts to develop messages beyond those that coincide with Black History Month,” said Cloves Campbell.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa was also a guest recently on my radio program. He reminds us that Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal African American Heritage and culture, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. It was first celebrated in 1966–1967.
Karenga said his goal was to "give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.
Well, you now have an alternative, either to buy Christmas gifts, Kwanzaa gifts or both. But where will those profits be in January? Whose businesses will prosper and whose neighborhoods will benefit from your dollars? Will your children have a meaningful celebration? It is just a question.
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Prostate and Colon Cancer are killing African American Men
BH 413
October 27, 2011
The deadliest killer in the black community is not gangs, or drugs, or black on black crime, as deadly as they are. It’s the “self on self” crime of ignoring our health. The biggest killers of black males are now colon and prostate cancer. While health organizations have spent the last two decades convincing black men it is okay to get their prostates checked, most have still never had a colon exam.
Are these the results of the closing of the city hospitals, Homer G. Phillips Hospital, St. Louis County Hospital, Central Medical Center and the relocation of DePaul and privatizing health care?
Because African American men are over-affected by prostate and colon cancer, this call for action is first and foremost addressed to them. African-American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world and the lowest rate of survival and the least access to health facilities. The head of the American Cancer Society (ACS), Charles J. McDonald, MD, says: "Black men in America are 1.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer and are 2 to 3 times more likely to die of the disease than white men."
Ironically, colon cancer, along with prostate cancer, is two of the most curable of the cancer contractions when detected early. Prostate cancer deaths have been on the decline over the past years, however, colon cancer deaths are still on the incline as the message still hasn’t made it to black men in the same way. Black men are 10% more likely than white men to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently reported that though fewer African Americans are dying from colon cancer than in previous years, our death rates rank higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Prostate cancer, particularly among African Americans, is "a disgraceful tragedy that needs immediate and drastic action," says John R. Kelly, a board director of the American Cancer Society.
If this important, potentially lifesaving information is so readily available, why are African American males so reluctant to see a doctor or a clinician who has the possibility to save our lives?
In an article in “The Black Commentator’’, it criticized the reasons Black men do not get proper prostate and colon cancer examinations. It alleged manhood, in the black community, is defined in many ways. The more mature appropriate definitions are fatherhood, bread winner, protector and role model. The more immature definitions are “Gangsta,” “Playa,” “Pimp,” “Dog”, anything but a “Man”.
One of the rarest definitions of black manhood is “healthy.” Black men often confuse physique with health. They tend to work on their physiques, thinking they’re working on their health. How wrong many of them are? As society hypes outer beauty and forsakes inner beauty, black men are so busy trying to get attention in the presentation of their outer body, they forsake their inner bodies.
In his article ‘Colon Cancer: A Killer of Black Men’, author: Matthew Lynch wrote: It is through food that we as African Americans have been able to retain our sense of culture. Nonetheless, African-American cuisine, though diverse and flavorful, is often high in fat, carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol. Even our dishes commonly referred to as soul food, includes vegetable fixings such as greens, black eye peas and sweet potatoes, are prepared with high quantities of salt and sugars.
Aside from health issues, the percentage of black men attending and graduating colleges and universities is extremely low, and decreasing. Because of this, African American males continue to remain prime candidates for poor health and victims of poverty-stricken lifestyles, prison and murder.
Diet and nutrition, the lack of proper health insurance, and stressful lifestyles also remain large contributing factors in why African Americans are at greater risk of acquiring cancer and dying from it. Black men often do not identify trouble urinating, pain urinating, or blood in the urine as possible signs of prostate cancer.
There are still major barriers and challenges to cancer prevention among African Americans, including continued mistrust of the medical community and negative attitudes toward specific screening tests.
In addition, the numbers of minorities residing in urban communities where high levels of pollution and cancer causing agents are prevalent, such as areas located near expressways and industrial districts, often referred to as ‘the inner city’ or ‘urban areas’ also weigh heavily in the reasons why blacks are more susceptible to getting cancer than whites.
But there is hope through such support organizations as he Empowerment Network and The American Cancer Society. Also the importance of the black family, the positive influence of spouses and partners on promoting cancer screening and healthy behaviors, the roles of faith and church leadership.
All agree detection is the first step. All men aged 40 and up need their physicians to check for prostate cancer with a digital rectal examination (DRE) every year, and African American men as young as 35 should have a colonoscopy. African American men and all men with a family history of prostate cancer should also get an annual PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test. Other men can wait till age 50 for the annual PSA test.
Matthew Lynch understood it best; ‘whether or not African Americans can ever combat a system that challenges our ability to decrease the number of cancer related deaths is a question that remains unanswered. Basically, until we educate ourselves, until we obtain employment in medical agencies, public health care centers and even in senate, we will continue to hinder the health of our Black men. We must fight hard in raising and educating our boys to men so that they can become doctors and administrators in the field of medicine.
We must encourage our influential black men who are not incarcerated, dead or infected with AIDS or HIV, to get regular checkups, to eat a proper diet and more importantly, work hard at getting their families out of toxic neighborhoods crippled by social and economic factors. We must lead them to be examples, to pass on the knowledge imparted in articles such as this, so that our young ones grow up to be strong and effective’.
So Black men, the choices are yours. What would you prefer, a biopsy or an autopsy?
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
October 27, 2011
The deadliest killer in the black community is not gangs, or drugs, or black on black crime, as deadly as they are. It’s the “self on self” crime of ignoring our health. The biggest killers of black males are now colon and prostate cancer. While health organizations have spent the last two decades convincing black men it is okay to get their prostates checked, most have still never had a colon exam.
Are these the results of the closing of the city hospitals, Homer G. Phillips Hospital, St. Louis County Hospital, Central Medical Center and the relocation of DePaul and privatizing health care?
Because African American men are over-affected by prostate and colon cancer, this call for action is first and foremost addressed to them. African-American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world and the lowest rate of survival and the least access to health facilities. The head of the American Cancer Society (ACS), Charles J. McDonald, MD, says: "Black men in America are 1.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer and are 2 to 3 times more likely to die of the disease than white men."
Ironically, colon cancer, along with prostate cancer, is two of the most curable of the cancer contractions when detected early. Prostate cancer deaths have been on the decline over the past years, however, colon cancer deaths are still on the incline as the message still hasn’t made it to black men in the same way. Black men are 10% more likely than white men to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently reported that though fewer African Americans are dying from colon cancer than in previous years, our death rates rank higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Prostate cancer, particularly among African Americans, is "a disgraceful tragedy that needs immediate and drastic action," says John R. Kelly, a board director of the American Cancer Society.
If this important, potentially lifesaving information is so readily available, why are African American males so reluctant to see a doctor or a clinician who has the possibility to save our lives?
In an article in “The Black Commentator’’, it criticized the reasons Black men do not get proper prostate and colon cancer examinations. It alleged manhood, in the black community, is defined in many ways. The more mature appropriate definitions are fatherhood, bread winner, protector and role model. The more immature definitions are “Gangsta,” “Playa,” “Pimp,” “Dog”, anything but a “Man”.
One of the rarest definitions of black manhood is “healthy.” Black men often confuse physique with health. They tend to work on their physiques, thinking they’re working on their health. How wrong many of them are? As society hypes outer beauty and forsakes inner beauty, black men are so busy trying to get attention in the presentation of their outer body, they forsake their inner bodies.
In his article ‘Colon Cancer: A Killer of Black Men’, author: Matthew Lynch wrote: It is through food that we as African Americans have been able to retain our sense of culture. Nonetheless, African-American cuisine, though diverse and flavorful, is often high in fat, carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol. Even our dishes commonly referred to as soul food, includes vegetable fixings such as greens, black eye peas and sweet potatoes, are prepared with high quantities of salt and sugars.
Aside from health issues, the percentage of black men attending and graduating colleges and universities is extremely low, and decreasing. Because of this, African American males continue to remain prime candidates for poor health and victims of poverty-stricken lifestyles, prison and murder.
Diet and nutrition, the lack of proper health insurance, and stressful lifestyles also remain large contributing factors in why African Americans are at greater risk of acquiring cancer and dying from it. Black men often do not identify trouble urinating, pain urinating, or blood in the urine as possible signs of prostate cancer.
There are still major barriers and challenges to cancer prevention among African Americans, including continued mistrust of the medical community and negative attitudes toward specific screening tests.
In addition, the numbers of minorities residing in urban communities where high levels of pollution and cancer causing agents are prevalent, such as areas located near expressways and industrial districts, often referred to as ‘the inner city’ or ‘urban areas’ also weigh heavily in the reasons why blacks are more susceptible to getting cancer than whites.
But there is hope through such support organizations as he Empowerment Network and The American Cancer Society. Also the importance of the black family, the positive influence of spouses and partners on promoting cancer screening and healthy behaviors, the roles of faith and church leadership.
All agree detection is the first step. All men aged 40 and up need their physicians to check for prostate cancer with a digital rectal examination (DRE) every year, and African American men as young as 35 should have a colonoscopy. African American men and all men with a family history of prostate cancer should also get an annual PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test. Other men can wait till age 50 for the annual PSA test.
Matthew Lynch understood it best; ‘whether or not African Americans can ever combat a system that challenges our ability to decrease the number of cancer related deaths is a question that remains unanswered. Basically, until we educate ourselves, until we obtain employment in medical agencies, public health care centers and even in senate, we will continue to hinder the health of our Black men. We must fight hard in raising and educating our boys to men so that they can become doctors and administrators in the field of medicine.
We must encourage our influential black men who are not incarcerated, dead or infected with AIDS or HIV, to get regular checkups, to eat a proper diet and more importantly, work hard at getting their families out of toxic neighborhoods crippled by social and economic factors. We must lead them to be examples, to pass on the knowledge imparted in articles such as this, so that our young ones grow up to be strong and effective’.
So Black men, the choices are yours. What would you prefer, a biopsy or an autopsy?
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Who are the Real Tyrants?
March 24, 2011
BH 405
This column was supposed to be dedicated to the late civil rights and women’s right advocate Fannie Lou Hamer, and highlighting Women’s History Month. But the developments in Libya and in response to President Obama suggesting that military action would aim to change conditions in Libya, while authorizing U.S. and British warships and submarines to launch 110 Tomahawk missiles against air defenses around the capital Tripoli and the western city of Misrata changed my mind. It leads me to ask ‘who are the tyrants’?
The reasons given were to force Muammar Gaddafi's troops to cease fire and end attacks on civilians, but are we getting the real story? There was no mention of protecting the oil fields, or a mention that Gaddafi was defending himself and his country from rebels who were trying to overthrow him and seize power by force. I am not surprised at the actions taken against Mr. Gaddafi because recently radio talk show and late night Television show hosts have been laughing at and making negative references to ‘Khadafy’s bad hair’. I also notice the many ways his name is spelled and pronounced.
In common usage, the word "tyrant" carries connotations of a harsh and cruel ruler who places his or her own interests or the interests of a small group of people over the best interests of the general population, which the tyrant governs or controls. That sounds familiar. Is this the argument that is used to justify the attack on Libya? We must remember that we are getting only one side of the story.
In his book Media Control, Noam Chomsky noted The United States pioneered the public relations industry. Its commitment was "to control the public mind," as its leaders put it. Since there's no way to get together with other people who share or reinforce that view and help you articulate it, you feel like an oddity, an oddball. So you just stay on the side and you don't pay any attention to what's going on.
Was Thomas Jefferson a tyrant? Did he inflict dictatorship or oppression on Americans? Jefferson wrote “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” He asserted “the policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits. No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him. When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty”. Was he a liar and a hypocrite?
On January 10, 1806, President Thomas Jefferson addressed a gathering in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. The occasion was a concluding ceremony following a series of meetings with the chiefs of the Cherokee Indian Nation, and others, who had been invited to Washington as a gesture of friendship. Jefferson opened with: "My friends and children, chiefly of the Cherokee Nation.
Seven treaties with the Cherokee later, the United States, "because he happens to be stronger," took all Cherokee land East of the Mississippi River. In exchange the Cherokee were given $5 million and an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma Territory. Of course, the Cherokee were never handed $5 million. That's the amount that was to be spent on their behalf, for public facilities and "mills to grind your corn."
But he also wrote about Africans and African Americans in his Notes on Virginia. Let me warn you that you might find what Jefferson said disturbing.
He wrote: Are not the fine mixtures of red and white, the expressions of every passion by greater or less suffusions of color in the one, preferable to that eternal monotony, which reigns in the countenances, that immoveable veil of black which covers all the emotions of the other race?
Add to these, flowing hair, a more elegant symmetry of form, their own judgment in favor of the whites, declared by their preference of them, as uniformly as is the preference of the orangutan for the black women over those of his own species. The circumstance of superior beauty, is thought worthy attention in the propagation of our horses, dogs, and other domestic animals; why not in that of man?
. . .
They seem to require less sleep. A black, after hard labor through the day, will be induced by the slightest amusements to sit up till midnight, or later, though knowing he must be out with the first dawn of the morning. They are at least as brave, and more adventuresome. But this may perhaps proceed from a want of forethought, which prevents their seeing a danger till it is present. When present, they do not go through it with more coolness or steadiness than the whites.
They are more ardent after their female: but love seems with them to be more an eager desire, than a tender delicate mixture of sentiment and sensation. Their griefs are transient. Those numberless afflictions, which render it doubtful whether heaven has given life to us in mercy or in wrath, are less felt, and sooner forgotten with them. In general, their existence appears to participate more of sensation than reflection.
. .
Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior, as I think one black could scarcely be found capable of tracing and comprehending the investigations of Euclid; and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” These are the thoughts and words of slave owner Thomas Jefferson, who compared black women to orangutans
We must remember that America was the model for Apartheid in South Africa, and America created the eugenics movement. Eugenics, a term invented by Francis Gaiton that refers to ensuring "the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable", had from its beginning in America, a political orientation. Wealthy individuals from within the highest levels of the American exploiting class funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the eugenics movement. Laws were implemented in state legislatures to prevent the procreation of "inferior families:"
Fannie Lou Hamer felt the stings of apartheid, racism and tyranny. On August 22, 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in testimony before the Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Convention, Mrs. Hamer said “I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives are threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America? Mrs. Hamer said “What was the point of being scared? The only thing they could do to me was kill me and it seemed like they'd been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember.”
So who are the tyrants? Who is being oppressed and by whom? Are they the people of New Orleans who are still suffering from Katrina and Rita, or the people of Haiti? What about the people in North St. Louis who are without hospital facilities or those in E. St. Louis who must travel miles for any type of health care?
Who are the tyrants? What is the definition of tyranny?
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
BH 405
This column was supposed to be dedicated to the late civil rights and women’s right advocate Fannie Lou Hamer, and highlighting Women’s History Month. But the developments in Libya and in response to President Obama suggesting that military action would aim to change conditions in Libya, while authorizing U.S. and British warships and submarines to launch 110 Tomahawk missiles against air defenses around the capital Tripoli and the western city of Misrata changed my mind. It leads me to ask ‘who are the tyrants’?
The reasons given were to force Muammar Gaddafi's troops to cease fire and end attacks on civilians, but are we getting the real story? There was no mention of protecting the oil fields, or a mention that Gaddafi was defending himself and his country from rebels who were trying to overthrow him and seize power by force. I am not surprised at the actions taken against Mr. Gaddafi because recently radio talk show and late night Television show hosts have been laughing at and making negative references to ‘Khadafy’s bad hair’. I also notice the many ways his name is spelled and pronounced.
In common usage, the word "tyrant" carries connotations of a harsh and cruel ruler who places his or her own interests or the interests of a small group of people over the best interests of the general population, which the tyrant governs or controls. That sounds familiar. Is this the argument that is used to justify the attack on Libya? We must remember that we are getting only one side of the story.
In his book Media Control, Noam Chomsky noted The United States pioneered the public relations industry. Its commitment was "to control the public mind," as its leaders put it. Since there's no way to get together with other people who share or reinforce that view and help you articulate it, you feel like an oddity, an oddball. So you just stay on the side and you don't pay any attention to what's going on.
Was Thomas Jefferson a tyrant? Did he inflict dictatorship or oppression on Americans? Jefferson wrote “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” He asserted “the policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits. No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him. When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty”. Was he a liar and a hypocrite?
On January 10, 1806, President Thomas Jefferson addressed a gathering in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. The occasion was a concluding ceremony following a series of meetings with the chiefs of the Cherokee Indian Nation, and others, who had been invited to Washington as a gesture of friendship. Jefferson opened with: "My friends and children, chiefly of the Cherokee Nation.
Seven treaties with the Cherokee later, the United States, "because he happens to be stronger," took all Cherokee land East of the Mississippi River. In exchange the Cherokee were given $5 million and an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma Territory. Of course, the Cherokee were never handed $5 million. That's the amount that was to be spent on their behalf, for public facilities and "mills to grind your corn."
But he also wrote about Africans and African Americans in his Notes on Virginia. Let me warn you that you might find what Jefferson said disturbing.
He wrote: Are not the fine mixtures of red and white, the expressions of every passion by greater or less suffusions of color in the one, preferable to that eternal monotony, which reigns in the countenances, that immoveable veil of black which covers all the emotions of the other race?
Add to these, flowing hair, a more elegant symmetry of form, their own judgment in favor of the whites, declared by their preference of them, as uniformly as is the preference of the orangutan for the black women over those of his own species. The circumstance of superior beauty, is thought worthy attention in the propagation of our horses, dogs, and other domestic animals; why not in that of man?
. . .
They seem to require less sleep. A black, after hard labor through the day, will be induced by the slightest amusements to sit up till midnight, or later, though knowing he must be out with the first dawn of the morning. They are at least as brave, and more adventuresome. But this may perhaps proceed from a want of forethought, which prevents their seeing a danger till it is present. When present, they do not go through it with more coolness or steadiness than the whites.
They are more ardent after their female: but love seems with them to be more an eager desire, than a tender delicate mixture of sentiment and sensation. Their griefs are transient. Those numberless afflictions, which render it doubtful whether heaven has given life to us in mercy or in wrath, are less felt, and sooner forgotten with them. In general, their existence appears to participate more of sensation than reflection.
. .
Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior, as I think one black could scarcely be found capable of tracing and comprehending the investigations of Euclid; and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” These are the thoughts and words of slave owner Thomas Jefferson, who compared black women to orangutans
We must remember that America was the model for Apartheid in South Africa, and America created the eugenics movement. Eugenics, a term invented by Francis Gaiton that refers to ensuring "the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable", had from its beginning in America, a political orientation. Wealthy individuals from within the highest levels of the American exploiting class funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the eugenics movement. Laws were implemented in state legislatures to prevent the procreation of "inferior families:"
Fannie Lou Hamer felt the stings of apartheid, racism and tyranny. On August 22, 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in testimony before the Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Convention, Mrs. Hamer said “I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives are threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America? Mrs. Hamer said “What was the point of being scared? The only thing they could do to me was kill me and it seemed like they'd been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember.”
So who are the tyrants? Who is being oppressed and by whom? Are they the people of New Orleans who are still suffering from Katrina and Rita, or the people of Haiti? What about the people in North St. Louis who are without hospital facilities or those in E. St. Louis who must travel miles for any type of health care?
Who are the tyrants? What is the definition of tyranny?
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, or live on the Web @ www.wgnu920am.com.
And please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Should Easter Be An African American Holiday?
Bernie Hayes Understands
February 24, 2011
BH 404
Holidays often bring families closer together and millions are already planning to celebrate Easter although it will not be observed this year until April 24. I ask this question because often what we celebrate is not the truth and often rooted in lies, erroneous beliefs, legend, falsehood and fallacy.
The National Network for Child Care says some aspects of holiday celebrations may seem innocent or harmless at first, but it is vital that early child care professionals think about the curriculum and how it affects children. Halloween colors, for example, include orange and black. Black is generally not presented in a positive way, but a scary and dark way. What does teaching the color black in this way do to children whose skin is dark, and who are sometimes called black? What does it do to children whose skin is not dark? The effect on the self-concept of all children, whether the teacher's intent is "only Halloween fun" can be intense for children of all ethnicities and colors.
So how does this relate to Easter? Because the day that we celebrate Easter this year, April 24th is because an African Pope set the standard. Yes, a Black Pope designated the period for which the Holy Day would be observed. He was Pope St. Victor I.
Saint Victor was born in Africa and bore a Latin name as most Africans did at that time. Saint Victor was the fifteenth pope and a native of black Africa. He served from 186 A.D. until 197 A.D.
A troublesome controversy over when Easter should be celebrated occurred during the reign of Victor, with the result that Christians observed different days for the most important feast of the year. Victor decreed that Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday
Easter is the oldest and most important Christian festival, marking the end of the fasting season of Lent and the death, on Good Friday and resurrection of Jesus Christ, on Easter Sunday. It has deeper and more complex associations than Christmas.
There are many customs and traditions associated with Easter which, like most other holiday and feast days, are derived from a combination of both Jewish lore and pre-Christian and pagan practices. It is named after Eostre, the goddess of fertility and birth, worshipped by first-century pagans at the vernal equinox, who believed she would bless both their families and their crops. Christian missionaries saw this celebration took place around the time of the resurrection of Christ, so they adopted Easter as a Christian holiday to increase conversion.
However, for many years it has been agreed that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the Full Moon that occurs on or after the Vernal (spring) Equinox (21 March). If the Full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday. This means that Easter can fall as early as 22 March or as late as 25 April. Next year it falls on 23 March, the second earliest date possible. Easter last fell on the latest possible date, 25 April in 1943, and will next fall on that date in 2038. However, this year it will fall on 24 April, just one day before this latest possible date. It is the origin of the phrase "moveable feast".
What if our African American family knew that there have been three African Popes of the Catholic Church? Why is it hidden?
Gandhi wrote “and where there is Truth, there is also is knowledge which is true. Where there is no Truth, there also is knowledge which is true. Where there is no Truth, there can be no true knowledge."
And Buddha said “The energy of the Truth is a powerful protection and an energy that sends waves of influence throughout the world and down the ages, unlimited by space or time. Truthfulness is much more than not telling lies.
Without truthfulness there can be no society. Without truthfulness human communication breaks down and distrust, hostility and force take over. Truthfulness is, therefore, of fundamental importance to a harmonious and peaceful society and of fundamental importance to the harmonious and peaceful individuals who constitute that society. There is also a false speech of omission. This is when what we say is strictly true but because of what we leave out it is not the whole truth. In fact, it may even convey a completely wrong impression. And that can be the intention.
So by being honest we create a world of honesty and also by being untruthful we create a world of dishonesty, which is an unpleasant and tiring place to live.”
So when you celebrate Easter this year, with your new suits and dresses, expensive fancy hats and shiny new shoes, remember why that Sunday is special and say thank you to one of our ancestors. Happy Easter!
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, and watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
February 24, 2011
BH 404
Holidays often bring families closer together and millions are already planning to celebrate Easter although it will not be observed this year until April 24. I ask this question because often what we celebrate is not the truth and often rooted in lies, erroneous beliefs, legend, falsehood and fallacy.
The National Network for Child Care says some aspects of holiday celebrations may seem innocent or harmless at first, but it is vital that early child care professionals think about the curriculum and how it affects children. Halloween colors, for example, include orange and black. Black is generally not presented in a positive way, but a scary and dark way. What does teaching the color black in this way do to children whose skin is dark, and who are sometimes called black? What does it do to children whose skin is not dark? The effect on the self-concept of all children, whether the teacher's intent is "only Halloween fun" can be intense for children of all ethnicities and colors.
So how does this relate to Easter? Because the day that we celebrate Easter this year, April 24th is because an African Pope set the standard. Yes, a Black Pope designated the period for which the Holy Day would be observed. He was Pope St. Victor I.
Saint Victor was born in Africa and bore a Latin name as most Africans did at that time. Saint Victor was the fifteenth pope and a native of black Africa. He served from 186 A.D. until 197 A.D.
A troublesome controversy over when Easter should be celebrated occurred during the reign of Victor, with the result that Christians observed different days for the most important feast of the year. Victor decreed that Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday
Easter is the oldest and most important Christian festival, marking the end of the fasting season of Lent and the death, on Good Friday and resurrection of Jesus Christ, on Easter Sunday. It has deeper and more complex associations than Christmas.
There are many customs and traditions associated with Easter which, like most other holiday and feast days, are derived from a combination of both Jewish lore and pre-Christian and pagan practices. It is named after Eostre, the goddess of fertility and birth, worshipped by first-century pagans at the vernal equinox, who believed she would bless both their families and their crops. Christian missionaries saw this celebration took place around the time of the resurrection of Christ, so they adopted Easter as a Christian holiday to increase conversion.
However, for many years it has been agreed that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the Full Moon that occurs on or after the Vernal (spring) Equinox (21 March). If the Full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday. This means that Easter can fall as early as 22 March or as late as 25 April. Next year it falls on 23 March, the second earliest date possible. Easter last fell on the latest possible date, 25 April in 1943, and will next fall on that date in 2038. However, this year it will fall on 24 April, just one day before this latest possible date. It is the origin of the phrase "moveable feast".
What if our African American family knew that there have been three African Popes of the Catholic Church? Why is it hidden?
Gandhi wrote “and where there is Truth, there is also is knowledge which is true. Where there is no Truth, there also is knowledge which is true. Where there is no Truth, there can be no true knowledge."
And Buddha said “The energy of the Truth is a powerful protection and an energy that sends waves of influence throughout the world and down the ages, unlimited by space or time. Truthfulness is much more than not telling lies.
Without truthfulness there can be no society. Without truthfulness human communication breaks down and distrust, hostility and force take over. Truthfulness is, therefore, of fundamental importance to a harmonious and peaceful society and of fundamental importance to the harmonious and peaceful individuals who constitute that society. There is also a false speech of omission. This is when what we say is strictly true but because of what we leave out it is not the whole truth. In fact, it may even convey a completely wrong impression. And that can be the intention.
So by being honest we create a world of honesty and also by being untruthful we create a world of dishonesty, which is an unpleasant and tiring place to live.”
So when you celebrate Easter this year, with your new suits and dresses, expensive fancy hats and shiny new shoes, remember why that Sunday is special and say thank you to one of our ancestors. Happy Easter!
Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7am and 4 pm on WGNU-920 AM, and watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am on KNLC-TV Ch. 24.
I can be reached by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
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