27 August 2015
Kru People: An African Tribe That Refused to Be Captured into Enslavement
The Kru people are an African tribe of coastal southeastern Liberia and neighboring Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The tribe is known for sailing. Many of the Kru people also migrated to neighboring areas such Sierra Leone to look for work as fishermen and dockworkers. The Kru along with the Grebo resisted Maryland settlers’ efforts to control their trade. They were also infamous amongst early European enslavers as being especially opposed to capture.
There were about 24 subgroups with dialectal and cultural differences. Their political organization was traditionally un-centralized, each subgroup inhabiting a number of autonomous towns. It was believed that the Kru people were viewed as less valuable during the Transatlantic slave trafficking because they would not allow themselves to be captured by Europeans they would often take their own lives first, or fight viciously to avoid being taken away.
The Kru people engaged in migrant labor, seafaring and migrant working. They settled as far as fareast as Cameroon and west as Freetown and Cape Verde. They had exceptional canoeing skills in treacherous surf waters and were well-known for it by the 1700’s when they served on British merchant and warships. Although the natives were in many respects similar in type and tribe, every village was an independent state; there was also very little intercommunication.
The tribe is one of the many ethnic groups in Liberia, they comprise about 7 percent of the population. It is also one of the main languages spoken. By the late 20th century there were probably more Kru outside tribal territory than within. The largest single Kru community in the late 20th century was in Monrovia. Notable ethnic Krus include former soccer star George Weah and Christian Evangelist Samuel Morris who was originally known as Kaboo. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is of mixed Kru, Gola, and German ancestry.
Source: Kru People
Wonder Wombman (A Tribe That Refused To Be Captured Into Enslavement)
There were about 24 subgroups with dialectal and cultural differences. Their political organization was traditionally un-centralized, each subgroup inhabiting a number of autonomous towns. It was believed that the Kru people were viewed as less valuable during the Transatlantic slave trafficking because they would not allow themselves to be captured by Europeans they would often take their own lives first, or fight viciously to avoid being taken away.
The Kru people engaged in migrant labor, seafaring and migrant working. They settled as far as fareast as Cameroon and west as Freetown and Cape Verde. They had exceptional canoeing skills in treacherous surf waters and were well-known for it by the 1700’s when they served on British merchant and warships. Although the natives were in many respects similar in type and tribe, every village was an independent state; there was also very little intercommunication.
The tribe is one of the many ethnic groups in Liberia, they comprise about 7 percent of the population. It is also one of the main languages spoken. By the late 20th century there were probably more Kru outside tribal territory than within. The largest single Kru community in the late 20th century was in Monrovia. Notable ethnic Krus include former soccer star George Weah and Christian Evangelist Samuel Morris who was originally known as Kaboo. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is of mixed Kru, Gola, and German ancestry.
Source: Kru People
Wonder Wombman (A Tribe That Refused To Be Captured Into Enslavement)
The Virginia Calculator: Thomas Fuller, African ”Slave” And Mathematical Genius
Thomas Fuller, familiarly known as the Virginia Calculator, was a native of Africa. At the age of fourteen he was stolen, and sold into slavery in Virginia, where he found himself the property of a planter residing about four miles from Alexandria. He did not understand the art of reading or writing, but by a marvellous faculty was able to perform the most difficult calculations.
Game Changers: How Stepin Fetchit Became The First African-American Actor Millionaire
by Renata Johnson
The first African-American person to make it to millionaire status as an actor was Lincoln Theordore Perry, who was known as Stepin Fetchit. Although he was one of the first black faces on television, his appearance did not come without controversy within the African-American community. Perry began acting as a comedian in his early teen years. He often portrayed himself as a lazy, slow-witted, jive-talking person in mainstream “white” cinemas. A character which often offended many people in the Black community. Black Americans did not want White America to perceive all African-American people as being lazy. However, he is still proclaimed as the first black superstar by many that paved the way for other African-American actors and actresses. He appeared in more than 50 movies, some which he appeared with his good friend Will Rogers.
Perry was born in Key West, Florida, to West Indian immigrant parents. Despite his role on as the “Laziest Man in the World” Perry was highly intelligent. He wrote for the premier African-American newspaper, “The Chicago Defender.” Most African-American felt the name used by Perry was a blow in the face, Stepin Fetchit. They felt it was a contraction to “step and fetch it,” implying that he was an “Uncle Tom.” Regardless, of what people thought about him, or his name, he was the first African-American comedian on television and one to become a millionaire. He also held jobs as a vaudeville artist and a manager of a traveling carnival. He was far from being a lazy person. He just found a way to make money and he like many other people took advantage of the opportunity.
Although Perry was the first African-American millionaire his status did not last for long. He mishandled his money buy overspending and was considered bankrupt by 1947. He later went on to become friends with Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Perry showed Muhammad Ali a knockout punch that he later used in one of his fights. However, during this time Perry found himself being criticized for the roles he played with civil rights leaders. Even though there were mixed feelings about Perry, the NAACP awarded him with the NAACP Image Award. Years later Perry was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Perry also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located under the category motion pictures. Perry’s career ended after suffering a stroke in 1976. He died in 1985 at the age of 83.
Source: Perry Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Stepin Fetchit 1902 1985
The first African-American person to make it to millionaire status as an actor was Lincoln Theordore Perry, who was known as Stepin Fetchit. Although he was one of the first black faces on television, his appearance did not come without controversy within the African-American community. Perry began acting as a comedian in his early teen years. He often portrayed himself as a lazy, slow-witted, jive-talking person in mainstream “white” cinemas. A character which often offended many people in the Black community. Black Americans did not want White America to perceive all African-American people as being lazy. However, he is still proclaimed as the first black superstar by many that paved the way for other African-American actors and actresses. He appeared in more than 50 movies, some which he appeared with his good friend Will Rogers.
Perry was born in Key West, Florida, to West Indian immigrant parents. Despite his role on as the “Laziest Man in the World” Perry was highly intelligent. He wrote for the premier African-American newspaper, “The Chicago Defender.” Most African-American felt the name used by Perry was a blow in the face, Stepin Fetchit. They felt it was a contraction to “step and fetch it,” implying that he was an “Uncle Tom.” Regardless, of what people thought about him, or his name, he was the first African-American comedian on television and one to become a millionaire. He also held jobs as a vaudeville artist and a manager of a traveling carnival. He was far from being a lazy person. He just found a way to make money and he like many other people took advantage of the opportunity.
Although Perry was the first African-American millionaire his status did not last for long. He mishandled his money buy overspending and was considered bankrupt by 1947. He later went on to become friends with Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Perry showed Muhammad Ali a knockout punch that he later used in one of his fights. However, during this time Perry found himself being criticized for the roles he played with civil rights leaders. Even though there were mixed feelings about Perry, the NAACP awarded him with the NAACP Image Award. Years later Perry was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Perry also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located under the category motion pictures. Perry’s career ended after suffering a stroke in 1976. He died in 1985 at the age of 83.
Source: Perry Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Stepin Fetchit 1902 1985
26 August 2015
Words That Changed The World: 7 Greatest Nat Turner Quotes
Nat Turner was an African American slave from Southhampton County, Virginia. He is most famous for leading a slave rebellion on August 21, 1831 which caused nearly 60 white men to be killed. He died on November 11, 1831.
1. “And my father and mother strengthened me in this my first impression, saying in my presence, I was intended for some great purpose, which they had always thought from certain marks on my head and breast.”
2. “Having soon discovered to be great, I must appear so, and therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped myself in mystery, devoting my time to fasting and prayer.”
3. “I heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.”
4. “I was not addicted to stealing in my youth, nor have ever been; yet such was the confidence of the Negroes in the neighborhood, even at this early period of my life, in my superior judgment, that they would often carry me with them when they were going on any roguery, to plan for them.”
5. “I was struck with that particular passage which says: “Seek ye the kingdom of Heaven and all things shall be added unto you.”
6. “The manner in which I learned to read and write, not only had great influence on my own mind, as I acquired it with the most perfect ease, so much so, that I have no recollection whatever
of learning the alphabet.”
7. “To a mind like mine, restless, inquisitive, and observant of everything that was passing, it is easy to suppose that religion was the subject to which it would be directed; and, although this subject principally occupied my thoughts, there was nothing that I saw or heard of to which my attention was not directed.”
1. “And my father and mother strengthened me in this my first impression, saying in my presence, I was intended for some great purpose, which they had always thought from certain marks on my head and breast.”
2. “Having soon discovered to be great, I must appear so, and therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped myself in mystery, devoting my time to fasting and prayer.”
3. “I heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.”
4. “I was not addicted to stealing in my youth, nor have ever been; yet such was the confidence of the Negroes in the neighborhood, even at this early period of my life, in my superior judgment, that they would often carry me with them when they were going on any roguery, to plan for them.”
5. “I was struck with that particular passage which says: “Seek ye the kingdom of Heaven and all things shall be added unto you.”
6. “The manner in which I learned to read and write, not only had great influence on my own mind, as I acquired it with the most perfect ease, so much so, that I have no recollection whatever
of learning the alphabet.”
7. “To a mind like mine, restless, inquisitive, and observant of everything that was passing, it is easy to suppose that religion was the subject to which it would be directed; and, although this subject principally occupied my thoughts, there was nothing that I saw or heard of to which my attention was not directed.”
Lucy Craft Laney, Founded the First School for Black Children in Augusta, Georgia
Lucy Craft Laney, Founded the First School for Black Children in Augusta, Georgia
#Lucy Craft Laney, or “Miss Lucy,” was Georgia’s most famous female African American educator in 1883 through the early 1900s. #Laney was an early African-American educator who founded the school for black children in Augusta, Georgia. She served as the principal for the Haines Institute for Industrial and Normal Education for 50 years.
The Universe Is Dying, But You Can't Even Fathom How Much Time Is Left
All good things must come to an end. The universe, home to us, Earth, our solar system, our galaxy, and really everything that has existed or ever will exist, is no exception. The good news is it won't happen for at least another 100 billion years.
Considering the universe is just a spritely 13.8 billion years young currently, this declaration of a slow death may seem a bit premature. With the same logic, wouldn't a 13-year-old who lives a long, productive life before passing away at 100 also be considered to be "slowly dying"?
However, researchers have determined that the universe is giving off about half as much energy as it was two billion years ago. Using this figure, the scientists calculated that the universe has about 100 billion years of energy left to burn off, so for now we can focus on more pressing issues like how we're even going to keep Earth habitable long enough to get to that mark
Considering the universe is just a spritely 13.8 billion years young currently, this declaration of a slow death may seem a bit premature. With the same logic, wouldn't a 13-year-old who lives a long, productive life before passing away at 100 also be considered to be "slowly dying"?
However, researchers have determined that the universe is giving off about half as much energy as it was two billion years ago. Using this figure, the scientists calculated that the universe has about 100 billion years of energy left to burn off, so for now we can focus on more pressing issues like how we're even going to keep Earth habitable long enough to get to that mark
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Rihanna Educates Us In More Ways Than One About The Barbados Crop Over Festival
Rihanna has officially taken over her home country of Barbados and the slayage is on extreme levels at the moment.
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