Don’t Fight The Growth
Author: Yecheilyah
Writing to restore Black historical truth through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Movie Night Friday – MAAFA 21: Black Genocide in 21st Century America
Welcome back to another segment of Movie Night Friday, where I discuss some of my favorite movies (now coming to you bi-weekly) and why I love them.
MAAFA is a Swahili term which means “tragedy or disaster” and is used to describe the centuries of global oppression of blacks during slavery, both before and after emancipation. While the number “21” refers to the continual oppression of blacks in the 21st century (though beginning in the 19th), which the film says is the disproportionately high rate of abortion among African Americans.
Released on June 15, 2009, this is a movie that I have grown out of a bit, but that remains a great research piece far as black history goes. My most favorite reason for watching it (on occasion, though still one of my favs) is for its history on Planned Parenthood, Abortion, and the medical experimentation of blacks in general. The film highlights figures that indicate that abortion is the primary source of black depopulation, ranking higher than AIDS and Cancer combined. It discusses some of Planned Parenthood’s origins (formerly known as “The Negro Project” and “The American Birth Control League”), attributing to it a “150-year-old goal of exterminating the black population.” It traces Planned Parenthood’s roots back to Margaret Sanger, and further to include many famous birth control advocates, as racist eugenicists.
It is also interesting that I often get this film and Harriet Washington’s “Medical Apartheid” mixed up. This movie reminds me so much of a film version of this book that I first titled this post “Medical Apartheid” before I noticed I was not recommending a book but a movie! I would highly suggest reading Washington’s book alongside this movie. Not only does it provide more information, but gives greater detail into the meaning and origin of Eugenics and how it became what we know today as the most common forms of Birth Control and also abortion. In short, the book compliments the movie very well.
Trailer:
You can watch MAAFA for free at its official website here.
You can also find it here on Documentary Addict. (that or just YouTube it)
Must Reads: Lonnice Brittenum Bonner
Today’s “Must Read” comes from Lonnice Brittenum Bonner.
“Good hair: For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Weaves When The Chemicals Became Too Ruff” is a book about the dynamic and care of natural hair for black women. Lonnice shares her experience transitioning from a lifetime of chronically short and damaged hair to an education about how to better maintain and style her own hair. This book is a guide for black women seeking the natural hair care journey. It is also funny and filled with many of Lonnice’s own personal experiences with pictures to go along, which is refreshing.
The only con is that I would not consider this book for any extended research into Natural Hair. I read it back in 2011, two years into my Natural Hair journey, and it’s really just a sneak peek for beginners, but still very insightful. My favorite thing about this book is that it is Self-Published, which I didn’t know until after I read and then researched the book.
“Outside of being filled with really useful information, Bonner’s book cracked me up. It’s as laugh-out-loud funny as anything in Terry McMillan’s Waiting to Exhale. A combination of ‘how-to’ beauty book and hilarious autobiography…this book is a quick read, a great reference book, and even (and I know this is a cliché) makes a great gift.” – San Francisco Bay Guardian
Also look for:
Interracial Blog Feature – Update
So just a quick update. I have not yet set a date for this feature because I’m still organizing the interviews. I will schedule them when I’m done and post that schedule here before months end. I have decided to host this feature this October time permitting. There is still room for possibly one more slot for anyone who is interested. The idea was sparked from the release of my new book, “Beyond The Colored Line”.
Click Here for the original post to understand what this feature’s all about.
Thanks so much for your time and yall be great.
(So… this isn’t about me but since were talking about loovvee, I just thought I’d mention it….guess who got roses yesterday? That’s right, your looking at her)
For Those Who Settle…
For those who settle…
We Trust
Born into the ticking clock of innocence
a hurrying forth of second hands
to match the inhale and exhale of lung
we sing truth against the fragile voice of newness
and taste of the refreshing sound of belief
Trust
it is the automatic gift life births us with
against the cold relentless winds of the skies
of experience
of living
we lose sight of this gift like we age
the only circumstance in which increasing numbers
is representative of loss
a slippery lyric of experience snatching away
our inherent decision to bend
a revelation sung to the instrumentals
of life
not as gentle
not as soft
not as giving as naiveté in childhood
we learn not the automatic taste
of confidence
but the wisdom of serpents
to discern the shady tongues
the coated lips of deceit
against the cold relentless winds of life
of experience
that teaches
that we cannot trust every breathing entity
for these winds are not so trustworthy any longer
for they have grown old
and have known lies
these lungs do not sing the song of genuine
for that we trust now like serpents
and wrap ourselves
inside the delicateness of the dove
Writer’s Quote Wednesday – William Wordsworth
For this weeks segment of Writer’s Quote Wednesday, I draw inspiration from William Wordsworth:
This quote is brief and to the point and I think it is most important. When you sit down to write, the focus should not initially be on proper grammar, sentence structure, whether the words rhyme, symbolism, or any other technique outside that thing that beats through your chest. Initially, the purpose should be to fill the paper with what’s truly in your heart. You can always go back to edit, but a page soaked in truth is more than likely to speak to people more so than proper grammar. At least for me, I try to make sure that my passion is first in my writing life, and that what I give you is coming from my innermost being. My goal is not to sound like I graduated from Harvard; my goal is to tell the truth.
About the Author:
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads. – Wikipedia
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That’s it for me today. Yall be great :).
The PBS Blog 