We Had Him

Dr Maya Angelou wrote a beautiful poem for Michael Jackson.

Here is the complete poem:

We Had Him

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing
Now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace
Sing our songs among the stars and and walk our dances across the face of the moon
In the instant we learn that Michael is gone we know nothing
No clocks can tell our time and no oceans can rush our tides
With the abrupt absence of our treasure
Though we our many, each of us is achingly alone
Piercingly alone
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him
He came to us from the Creator, trailing creativity in abundance
Despite the anguish of life he was sheathed in mother love and family love and survived and did not more than that
He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style
We had him
Whether we knew who he was or did not know, he was our’s and we were his
We had him
Beautiful, delighting our eyes
He raked his hat slant over his brow and took a pose on his toes for all of us and we laughed and stomped our feet for him
We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing
He gave us all he had been given
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Blackstar Square, in Johannesburg, in Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama and Birmingham England, we are missing Michael Jackson
But we do know that we had him
And we are the world.

Emory University debuts Voyages, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database

 

Emory Univeristy unvieled Voyages, the Trans-Atlantic Trade Database, which traces the steps of  over 12 million uprooted Africans  during 1501 to 1866 . The Voyages Database covers approximately 35,000 Slaving Expeditions  and it  provides information  on “vessels, enslaved peoples, slave traders, owners, and trading routes.”  You can search the Voyages Database, examine estimates of the Slave Trade, and explore the African Names Database. The Names Database identifies “over 67,000 Africans aboard slave ships, using name, age, gender, origin, and place of embarkation.” 

However, these numbers do not take into account the impact of the  Arab Slave Trade - they state:

 “Although the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database includes all slave voyages that have been documented up to now, it cannot claim to be complete. Records of many voyages have disappeared, in some cases irretrievably, while other documents remain to be discovered in public and private archives. The “Estimates,” on the other hand, provide an educated guess of how large the slave trade actually was.”  They also provide a guide  to help visitors understand and search the database.

The great thing is scholars and the global community can contribute to this project by revising or supplying new information. Click here to read the history of the project .

Other info:

Educational Materials - Lesson Plans & Web Resources

Ubuntu

What is Ubuntu? Ubuntu  is an African ethic, an African philosophical view which essentially means “I am because you are”.  The spirit of  Ubuntu reminds  individuals that they are a part of a collective… that they are an extension of  their personal and professional connections. In 1999, Archbishop Desmond TuTu said  “a person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”

Listen to how Nelson Mandela defines Ubuntu:

 

National Geographic features Black Pharaohs

 
 National Geographic  presents  the era of  Black Pharaohs as “an ignored chapter of history”. View the Black Pharaohs photo gallery here.  Share your thoughts.

Kwanzaa 101

During Kwanzaa we will guide you through each principle so that you can find ways to express the i in iKwanzaa. In the meantime in between time, check out the Afroam.org overview of  Kwanzaa ! They provide brief  answers to questions like: What is Kwanzaa? and How does Kwanzaa work (how Kwanzaa  is celebrated)

They also do a pretty good job  describing the seven principles and the symbols of Kwanzaa. Before you go check out their interactive games: build a snow thing. 

Dr. Karenga’s website , offers  deeper insight into twelve fundamental questions about Kwanzaa. These are the twelve questions answered:

 

1. Why was Kwanzaa created?
   
2. Where does the word “Kwanzaa” come from?
   
3. Why is Kwanzaa a seven-day holiday?
   
4. Why has Kwanzaa grown among African people?
   
5. Can people who are not of African descent participate in Kwanzaa activities? 
   
6. How is Kwanzaa related to our struggle to achieve social justice and build a better world? 
   
7. How does Kwanzaa improve self-esteem?
   
8. Is Kwanzaa becoming commercialized?
   
9. How do people resist the commercialization of Kwanzaa?
   
10. Can people celebrate Kwanzaa and Christmas?
    Is Kwanzaa an alternative to Christmas?
    
11. In some cases people have added things to their celebration of Kwanzaa which seem to differ from its original vision and value. How should those who want to maintain the original vision and values and at the same time allow for diversitywithin the holiday respond to this? 
    
12. Kwanzaa stresses value orientation. Why is this so important?