The musings of a madman...

Yes, I know I posted something that included him JUST YESTERDAY, but my only other option was the date that the NAACP was established. And you know what? I motherfucking REFUSE! Therefore, 02/12/1809 is the date of birth of assassinated 16th president Abraham Lincoln. An opponent of the expansion of slavery and apparent possessor of an annoyingly nasal voice native to northern Kentucky/Illinois residents of his time, it is quite surprising to me that he even MADE it to the presidency. No, I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth, now, I am WELL aware that his bucking the odds are a large part of why I can actually speak English and sit at a computer right now, I am just sayin’. That said, dear reader… If you cannot understand the importance of Abraham (no middle name) Lincoln to Black History Month, I would casually and respectfully invite you to become a former reader of my blog.

"what in the purple hell are you talking about, Phlip?" Thanks for asking! Following the election of Lincoln, and the resulting ramp-up to the beginning of the Civil War, it was (OBVIOUSLY) up to question what was the Federal Government’s stance on the whole thing. Well… The stance became, with a House of Representatives UNANIMOUSLY signed a resolution that amounted to, basically “my name is Wes and I ain’t in this mess,” guaranteeing NON interference with slavery in any state. This is a big deal, considering how just 10 years prior, there was the Fugitive Slave Law, which REQUIRED that officials in “free” states aid in the capture of fugitive slaves. Because of this, at the time, slaves were made to run a LEEEEEEETLE further north to Canuckistan Canada, as there was little good in staying in the states. With the official stance of non-involvement, the door was opened for the escape to a better situation for (now former) slaves. I gue

Before Barack Obama, there was ANOTHER "safe" lightskinned black guy with political pull... His name? Ron Brown . Ron was elected as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee on 02/10/1989, and would go on to assist in the election of a then little-known Arkansas politician named William Clinton as he himself would become the President of the United States. The reward for his work would be appointment as the Secretary of Commerce in 1993 by new President Clinton. While it might seem on the surface that the plays were in order for Ron to become a (perhaps) major player in a run for the office himself sometime down the road, the unfortunate reality would be that he would leave us early. On 04/03/1996, on an “official trade mission,” the plane carrying Brown and 34 others would crash in/near Croatia, killing everyone onboard. Awards, honors, scholarships and even a NOAA ship have since been named in his honor, so Ron Brown has not

02/09/1985 , Indianapolis Indiana - The Hoosier Dome. Know what? Forget it... No need to even talk about it, we'll let YouTube tell you...

One might call this one relevant to the task at hand once time has been taken to consider that I have a cousin and a good friend both in school in Orangeburg. Anyway, the story has it that on this night in 1968, nine Highway Patrol Officers shot up an unarmed – but pissed off – mob protesting the segregation of a bowling alley. This atrocity would leave 3 people dead and something like 28 more injured. Adding to the cowardice of the whole situation, most people shot were shot in their backs. The protest itself was set in motion by local high school and college students, and was carried out as they arrived throwing bricks and bottles and starting a bonfire. As the police worked to diffuse the situation, one was apparently hit with thrown debris and now – egos bruised – the age-old police technique of “empty your pistol and lie about it later” would take over. Now, officers fired on them and told in their reports that they heard gunfire, though nothing to substantiate this would surface.

Biggie and Tupac are not martyrs in hip hop to me... They're dead and people started referring to them as the "greatest ever" after they died, quite possibly as a result of how the irony that how they lived had such a hand in how they died. Another blog for another time, Phillip. Anyway. James Dewitt Yancey popularly known as J. Dilla is one of those people in hip hop who died, be it from causes not (necessarily) of the black condition - a hailstorm of bullets - but from legitimate illnesses. Today would have been his 37th birthday... It would not be until THEN that people would come forward with the "Dilla was my favorite" talk, as people generally tend to do when someone is no long around to enjoy the love that they're name is now getting. I will not be one of those holier-than-thou fans who can LITERALLY sit back and say "I told you so" as it relates to his life before he was gone. Seriously, I HAD the earlier work and one Slum Village album be

I didn't say I was doing all positive or readily-known black history... Today we talk about the opening of the Virginia Minstrels , and if you know what a Minstrel Show is, then you know why this is not the greatest of things to be talking about during Black History Month. But there again, speaking of Minstrel Shows and such, I discussed Gucci Mane a few days ago, didn't I? That was then, this is now... The reasons you SHOULD know the Virginia Minstrels, in addition to the one that you might not have known til now - that they introduced the minstrel show in the US - is that they're credited with introducing little diddies that you're already aware of. Jimmy Cracked Corn ring a bell? told you It is readily understandable how hurtful minstrel shows were to the black experience and how they're likely seen as a shitstain on black American history, but the fact remains that they're a conduit from where we were to where we are. Therefore, this entry is valid to my s

Hammerin' Hank Aaron was born today... My feelings about baseball aside, there is no denying what the man would go on to do for black folks in the sporting world. Yes, Jackie Robinson would be the one to break the barrier to the game, but he wouldn't be the one to DARE be the one to break Babe Ruth's record while committing the cardinal sin (and apparent felony, even to this day) of being of negroid descent en route to it. I once watched a documentary on the television (yeah, pretty much my favorite TV, actually) where they showed some of the letters he received as he drew closer to Babe Ruth's record, and INVARIABLY, they included the words "boy," "nigger," and/or "monkey." And all this toward a dude who - unlike the person who would go on to break HIS record - was an as-described-by-everyone, a LIKABLE guy! Sure, Barry Bonds was/is a surly douchebag, but there was no room for black athletes to be that at a time. Because of the shadow cas

Using the comments sections on various sports news sites (MSN, CNN, ESPN, etc…), I have been conducting an experiment over the last several months… Step 1 – find a white dude, generally a sports fan. Step 2 – engage him in conversation about sports Step 3 – turn the conversation to NBA basketball Step 4 – watch his reaction… If he goes with “I really don’t watch NBA ball…” then you ask him why. If he presents you with an OBJECTIVE reason as to why, be it that he just doesn’t quite follow the game or care for how things are handled then all is well. However If his answer tails off into ANY use of the words “thug,” “gangster/gangsta” or “ghetto,” and all leading back to “I prefer college basketball” then you are dealing with a bigot. If dealing in the regular real world, then the bigotry is naturally closeted so as to not incite a riot, but on the internets, where anonymity rules the day, all walls are down and the gloves are off. Try it when you get bored sometime.

Yes, pardoning the Outkast lyrics above, today marks the date that Rosa Parks was born. Look, we all know the story from our regular Black History Month lessons in school… On December 1, a then-42 year-old Rosa was tired after work and refused to give up her seat on the bus. And so on and so forth. I promised not to kill the two of you in the face with the standard-fare “peanut butter, MLK, stoplight, open heart surgery” shit that we normally got during February as kids. We’re here to bid the “mother of the civil rights movement” a happy birthday, though she passed away in October of 2005. I really do hate that, in her later years while she was suffering from dementia that her greedy-ass family – unable to have capitalized on her status in Civil Rights – tried to SUE Outkast over the above named song. Again, none of these posts will be as long as has been my norm for the years, I am here to provide the what/who and why it matters to a given date in February, then keep it moving. [P

Little-known Phlip fact... I'm a nerd for documentaries, and there was a period back in 2005 where I happily hauled my ass home from work to watch Ken Burns' Unforgivable Blackness: the Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson on PBS. This will give us February third and its historical occurrence relative to Black History Month, as it matters to me. On February 3, 1903; Jack Johnson won his first title, the World Colored Heavyweight Championship . This is significant at the time, because while black and white fighters were allowed to fight one another, they were NOT allowed to do so with a title on the line. With a young brute possessing better than 50 wins at the time, taking a title that he COULD have would be a natural conduit to the one he could not yet. While surely a feared and formidable fighter at the time, February 3, 1903 would be the day that began the steps that would put Jack Johnson in the ring against Tommy Burns to win the not-until-then integrated title in December of 19

February 2nd marks the birth anniversary of a certain Radric Davis -- professionally known as Gucci Mane. Since I will not offer ANY seriousness to any discussion of this man's life, I will skip right to the parody and call this one done.

That's right... February 1, 1948 marks the born date of James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. -- professionally known as Rick James. Much has been said of the professional life of Rick James. A great lot of it is lost when we allow ourselves to talk about drugs, promiscuity and the resulting legal issues instead of what might be more important. What is often left out is that he dropped out of high school and joined the National Guard to avoid being drafted, and even then wound up needing to run to Canada to lead his band. Whenever someone mentions the great musicians of our time, I am quick to throw Rick James’ name in the conversation, right up there with Prince – who I rate higher than MJ, for the record – and the like. Why, you ask? Well… As an assembler of talent, multi-instrument-playing ability, singer, dancer, producer and WRITER – which allowed us to forget such things like the fact that Teena Marie’s voice was not so great – Rick James was an