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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)

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 :).

Use What You Got

To enhance productivity…

From the moment the sun drifts away into its secret chamber, until the moment it rises again, fresh from having used the night to rejuvenate the energy it now pours into our window sills, every day is new. And with newness comes an opportunity to start fresh. Opportunities to revise, reflect, and enhance. Opportunities to grow. What great possibilities await us for tomorrow? What possibilities are there today? Every day ain’t beautiful, but everyday can be productive. What I’ve come to learn is to take advantage of what I understand and use that toward improving on my day, my business, or even my personal endeavors. We spend so much time looking out, that we forget to look in. Often, when you hide something in plain sight, it becomes amazingly difficult to find, and I suppose the same is true for our individual lives. Many of you possess talents that you could use toward the enhancement of your writing or of your books. Take Book Trailers for instance. With the exception of some major movie production, I would never pay for a Book Trailer. Not because I do not think they are worth it. A book trailer can help push someone off the edge where the cover just did not work for them. But I will never pay for one because I make my own videos. I am familiar with computer software that could assist me in being creative in that aspect. In this way, I am using what I got to enhance productivity and that also saves me money. I can take this skill and apply it to so many different aspects of my life. From blogging to lessons, to book trailers to movies, whatever it is that requires this need. For a moment, think about what you can do that will help improve your day by looking into what you already know how to do. Increase productivity by learning to tap into skills you already possess. You’ll be surprised.

(OK so, I just realized that this post was just one long drawn out definition of what it means to be creative. Interesting.).

Upgrade Your Value

Sometimes we base our self-worth on what we see; what him and her and they perceive to be important. Played against the heartstrings of others, the media is direction to our chorus. Splattered images of what success looks like echoes off the tops of dreams we conjure under the blankets of perception. We reminisce on fantasy like the touched up portraits of celebrities. It is the pride of a man serving seven years in the military. His Purple Heart medallion waves and smiles at passerby’s before he does. We know not what beats inside his chest, just the striking forest green of his uniform. It shines like it does on the TV and in the magazines, and our jaws drop with awe. This is a man who could not have received more awards. Could not have been a better example of an outstanding citizen. But when the uniform comes off, and the glory of sacrifice cripples away into the concrete; when the intoxicating fragrance echoes off the numbing high of a man now staggering to the next corner. When the alcohol melts this Purple Heart against the insides of his soul like skin clung to flesh, what is left of the perception now upon him? What of this hero turned homeless Veteran? Does his value weaken like the washed up fade of an army uniform? Or is he now nothing more than another brother worthy of our disrespect?

Today, I encourage you to upgrade your value. Be not limited to the rotting fabric of tangible things. Be not awed by the signs of achievement and circumstance. Hurry not to praise people only when they have accomplished something society thinks is worthy of your respect. Judge instead the content of a person’s character. Judge their resolve, their kindness, and their warmth. For these, if truly possessed by them, will never rot away.

The Application of Knowing

Knowing is not enough. We must apply.

For those of you who are among my friends list on my personal Facebook, you’ve seen this before because I’m a big advocate of doing. This means I am really cautious of people whose actions do not match their words. I am also a big advocate of noticing the small progressions that take place in our lives so it’s not just about “doing it big”, but just doing in general and learning to appreciate the small steps as well as the large. How can we continue to move forward if we cannot value the small changes?

I believe like the quote says, “you are not what you say you’ll do, but what you do”. It is for this reason that I can appreciate transparent people and why flattery gets you nowhere with me. The problem with the world is that people claim to have great intentions. We walk around and we measure our knowledge up against others. We walk around and we water the insatiable appetite to know. And while I’m an advocate of education, I also recognize that knowing is just not enough. Learning is not about acquiring information; it is about applying information acquired. The world calls it Authentic Learning, I call it common sense. Authentic Learning is basically a term that describes learning through applying knowledge in real-life contexts and situations. It’s not enough to know about something if you can’t apply it to the real world. Everyone speaks of love, for instance, but only those who actually implement love into their lives can really claim to have possessed it.

Knowing something then, is very different from acting on what you know. And this basic understanding is what can often keep us from moving forward or even starting to begin with. I don’t consider myself a successful blogger, but I do take lots of risks. Sometimes they fail miserably and sometimes they don’t. I do this because of my desire to apply what I know to my life. And I suppose this is the purpose of this post. I thought about using my quote for a number of things, but settled instead on a simple thought, no prompts attached. Whether we are learning to blog or learning to write, as you move about your day, or rather your week, concentrate not on information you know, but the application of knowing because this is what will get us where we want to be in every aspect of our lives. Whether we are growing in relationships, building online communities or cooking a meal, understand that knowing is irrelevant and even stagnant without action, and that faith without works is dead.

Book Launch Day Trivia! New Winners!

Yall thought it was over didn’t ya? Nope, Launch Week is still on and popping.

Now, we have a new winner to the following question. I have let it stay up all week to give more people a chance to answer. The question was:

Stella’s life takes place during many historical events, one of which being the depression. Although the United States had experienced several depressions before the stock market crash of October 1929, none had been as severe. How long did this Great Depression last?

a. 5 years
b. 20 years
c. 10 years
d. None of the Above

We had some great answers! According to Google, the depression was from 1929-1939. BUT historically, The Great Depression actually lasted from 1929 to the early 1940s. The answer is D, none of the above.

Congratulations to: 1010buterflie at https://1010buterflie.wordpress.com/ for answering our question correctly! Please give me your name and mailing address by sending an email to: ahouseofpoetry@gmail.com for your FREE Copy of Beyond The Colored Line! Whoop!

Here’s a good website with a timeline of the depression. Knowledge is power.

Reminder: Get a Free Stella Bookmark when you order Beyond The Colored Line in Print! Visit my Author Website at: http://literarykornerpublishing.com/

Movie Night Friday – Soul Food

Welcome back to another segment of Movie Night Friday. Where I present some of my favorite movies and why I love them.

Today I would like to discuss Soul Food, one of my favorite movies.

Soul Food is a movie about one family and their ability to stay a family through their willingness to endure all of the trial and tribulations that befall them. Told from the perspective of 11-year-old Ahmad, the Chicago family creates a bond around the Sunday “Soul Food” dinners they have every Sunday. Documented to have been coined in 1964 when blacks exercised self-awareness concerning themselves and “Soul” and “Black Power” got popular, there are a lot of misconceptions concerning Soul Food. The assumption is that the essential ingredient is pork and that deep-fat frying is its ultimate technique. It is assumed that the food must be dangerously unhealthy (I have to agree with Huey on the Boondocks. How they gonna go back to eating the same food that gave Big Mama diabetes tho) and is even mentioned in the movie that because we didn’t have anything else to eat in slavery we made meals of whatever we were given and that this is soul food. While it is true that blacks during slavery had little to nothing to eat, Soul Food got its name, not necessarily because of slavery, but because of how it brought black families and communities together which predates the institution of chattel slavery. African Americans have always been a communal people and food has always been an art form. Even if it wasn’t called Soul Food specifically, “Soul Food” is a tradition that go back for centuries.

I still remember when I watched this for the first time back in ’97 or ’98 and it was the ideal family I imagined we have all wanted and if we had, something that we have all cherished. However, it is always easy to be there for one another during the good times, but what about when tragedy strikes? Multiple tragedies?

Can the Joseph family endure the ultimate challenge of betrayal, hurt, and Big Mama’s failing health? Does a family, who is knit together seemingly through the strength of one person, have what it takes to stay once that person is gone?

As is obvious, this became my favorite because of the family bond and the unity of love they had for one another. I wouldn’t say that I watch it over and over again or anything, but it is a good throwback classic.

Soul Food was eventually spent off into a TV series.

Trailer:

Is Soul Food among one of your favs? Why do you love it?

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