It is very difficult for a person who believes in white supremacy to have an honest, open and intellectual conversation about race. Because the contradictions and hypocrisy of white supremacy can be easily pointed out. And once those discrepancies are acknowledged, any refusal to rectify the injustices will make a person appear to be actively complicit in the non-justice of racism.

So most white supremacists (and suspected white supremacists) will utilize the tactic of deflecting away from a serious dialog about race by engaging in jokes and trolling behavior. This tactic will excuse them from acknowledging the injustices of systematic white supremacy, and assist them in the maintenance of that system without admitting any wrongdoing.

Also the white supremacists use  racialized jokes as a way to lower the defenses of their victims. When the white supremacists pass off their behavior as just “jokes” and “clowning around”, this causes people to dismiss their behavior and not take it as seriously as they should. This has proven to be a major mistake on behalf of the victims of white supremacy. Because most white supremacist policies and institutions started off a “jokes” at first.

The Ku Klux Klan started off as a joke and a prank. A few former Confederate officers in Pulaski, TN. thought it would be a funny prank to dress up as ghosts and scare the Black people in town.  In 1907, author Albert Stevens wrote this about the Ku Klux Klan: “ludicrous initiations, the baffling of public curiosity, and the amusement for members were the only objects of the Klan”.  And now the KKK is one of the mosts dangerous terroristic organizations in the United States.

In the 1800’s a white actor named Thomas D. Rice used to perform a derogatory African American caricature in blackface. He would perform around the country doing the Jim Crow dance in this comedy routine. His Jim Crow character was a “joke” at first. And then states all over the country started to create Jim Crow laws that terrorized the lives of Black Americans openly until the 1960’s.

Recently the website Vox did an interview with author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, who explained how people searching for  racists jokes on google, helped some experts predict the election of Trump. The article states:

As a barometer of our national consciousness, Google is as accurate (and predictive) as it gets. In 2016, when the Republican primaries were just beginning, most pundits and pollsters did not believe Trump could win. After all, he had insulted veterans, women, minorities, and countless other constituencies.

But Stephens-Davidowitz saw clues in his Google research that suggested Trump was far more serious than many supposed. Searches containing racist epithets and jokes were spiking across the country during Trump’s primary run, and not merely in the South but in upstate New York, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, rural Illinois, West Virginia, and industrial Michigan.

Stephens-Davidowitz is the author the best-selling book “Everybody Lies”, an inside look at how mining data from the internet can give a better understanding on the public psyche. According to Stephens-Davidowitz:

“People tell Google things that they don’t tell to possibly anybody else, things they might not tell to family members, friends, anonymous surveys, doctors. People feel very comfortable confessing things to Google. In general, Google tells us that people are different than they present themselves. One way they’re different, I have to say, is that they’re nastier and meaner than they often present themselves.

I’ve done a lot of research on racism, for example, and I was shocked by how frequently people make racist searches, particularly for jokes mocking African Americans. This concealed ugliness can predict a lot of behaviors, particularly in the political realm.”

 

So Melanoid people must understand, no matter how much the white supremacists try to get you to lower your defenses and dismiss them when they pass off their dangerous rhetoric as “jokes”, you must always take them seriously. Because white supremacists will joke and troll one day, and then commit cold blooded murder the next.

One of the most vicious civil wars in human history are being fought with little to no bloodshed, and has reached a crescendo over the past 40+ years. This is the best way to describe the continual struggle between the Black man and woman.

In light of the well-publicized women’s march on Washington that occurred almost immediately after the presidential inauguration, it’s no secret that some of the most ardent supporters of this movement were Black women. It was quite an easy feat to gather legions of disgruntled Black women across the United States after the highly-heralded Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election, because she represented what many Black women have deemed to be a symbol of a renegade woman who goes toe-to-toe with the “old boys’ club” — the boogeyman of an establishment better known as patriarchy here in the States.

The fanfare that Clinton received during this most recent presidential race from Sisters is merely a byproduct of the axe that they’ve had to grind with Black men for decades now. In many (not all) schools of thought throughout Black female society, the long-running narrative is that Black men have only served to be the bane of their existence, acting as this proverbial monster who breathes fire under the guise of harsh words for Black women, and whose immense stature represents a mechanism of immovable oppression that bans them from any upwardly mobile progress.

However, much evidence exists that proves otherwise. In a story that was featured on Black Enterprise last year, Black female business ownership has grown exponentially more than many other groups of people who own businesses. Sisters also sit among the most educated demographic in this country. To further elaborate on the topic at hand, the very term “patriarchy” was originally intended to define the man’s traditional role in the familial construct. It was not meant to be used as a term to be categorized with other words, such as white supremacy, racism, ageism, etc.

Although the aforementioned term served a neutral purpose to merely describe a gender role, it has been taken out of context, and has been misconstrued to portray men–in this case Black men–to be the oppressors of their women. In Black society, nothing could be further from the truth. For the sake of this topic, “patriarchy” as it is referenced by some women in today’s time could very well be used to describe the longstanding devices of neglect and oppression that white supremacist males have not only used against their women (look up the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, or King James’s disdain for women), but to all people on a global scale. This very reference of ‘oppressive patriarchy’ by Black women should be left with women in other racial groups, because it is clearly not a Black female plight.

With the large number of households led by Black women with no man in sight, key supervisory roles in corporate America occupied by Black women, and the super influential mainstream media’s hand in ensuring that the Black man is virtually useless in this society, we’d be hard pressed to conclude that the Black man has the wherewithal to keep his woman down in this country.

Black women are our mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, and our best friends…our slaves and stepping stools they are not.

The 1857 Supreme Court decision in this case legally solidified white supremacy in the United States that dominates every area of activity today. Chief Supreme Court Justice of the Dred Scott case, Roger Taney made the following statement about Black Americans in his final decision:

“They (Black people) had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”

Many legal and social analysts will claim that the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution that was made a few years after this Supreme Court ruling, effectively overturned the Dred Scott decision. But the Supreme Court has never specifically overturned the Dred Scott decision. And even to this day, the 14th amendment in the Constitution is rarely enforced to protect Black Americans.

Part of the 14th amendment reads:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Yet, during the so-called Jim Crow era, the 14th amendment, and other amendments were legally and  repeatedly violated when it came to Black Americans. Black people could be lynched by whites at any time for any reason with impunity. And even now in modern times, we repeatedly see numerous innocent, unarmed Black men, women, and children have their so-called Constitutional rights violated by white supremacists with complete impunity.

Trayvon Martin was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

Eric Garner was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

Freddie Gray was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

Philander Castille was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

And this list goes on and on. All of these Black citizens were murdered by whites and the killers were not punished. So these cases prove that the Constitution is not being fully enforced. But it proves that the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision is being fully enforced: Meaning Blacks do not have rights that whites are bound to respect.

A recent court ruling in Kansas approvingly cited the Dred Scott decision in an anti-abortion case. In October 2016, Kansas Solicitor General cited the Dred Scott decision in a legal brief explaining why SB 95, which is a ruling that outlawed certain types of abortion, should be upheld.

While pro-lifers sometimes use the example of the human rights abuses of slavery to argue that all human beings deserve an equal right to life and liberty, that does not appear to have been the Kansas Attorney General’s argument in this case. Rather, the state’s point in citing Dred Scott (a ruling that said Blacks were not U.S. citizens and that Blacks were inferior) is to indicate how the state Constitution language should be interpreted.

In its argument, the state attorneys cited former Chief Justice Roger Taney’s description of the Declaration of Independence in the Dred Scott case. Taney wrote that the Declaration’s unalienable rights are merely “general words used in that memorable instrument” that have no legal effect, according to the ABA Journal.

Many people in the legal profession were shocked that the Dred Scott decision would be approvingly cited in a modern case. Feeling the backlash, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt apologized for citing the controversial Dred Scott case. Also in response to the backlash, Kansas “withdrew” the offending legal brief on October 18th 2016.

But “withdrawing” a legal brief after you effectively cite it in court is too little too late. The cat is out of the bag.  The reality is, the court approvingly allowed the Dred Scott case to be cited because the Scott decision is still the law on the land in the United States. Black people still do not have rights that whites are bound to respect. And Black people do not get equal protection under the law.

At this point, Black people should collectively go to the Supreme Court to establish exactly what our status and what our compensation should be under this court sanctioned system of white supremacy.

Had she remained in the Deep South, Mary Ellen Pleasant could have possibly received as much–if not more–recognition for her contributions as Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and Rosa Parks…to name a few. Ms. Pleasant’s story was unique in comparison with many Blacks who were enslaved in the Antebellum South: Born in Augusta, GA in the early 1800s, she was born as the illegitimate daughter of the son of then-Virginia governor and a Haitian voodoo priestess, who was enslaved  as well.

As a child, Pleasant was taken out of slavery by an unknown family. As a young woman, Pleasant married a wealthy Mulatto abolitionist by James Smith sometime in the 1840’s. After her husband’s untimely death, Pleasant inherited his substantial fortune.

Moving to New Orleans shortly after this turn of events, she connected with a woman named Queen Marie Laveau–also known as one of the greatest voodoo priestesses to reside in the “Crescent City”. It was said that Pleasant studied under Laveau to learn the science of voodoo as a means of empowering her people. In spite of her selfless acts of service to her fellow Melanoid people in New Orleans, it was a short matter of time before she would be on the move again — this time to San Francisco.

In April of 1852, Mary Ellen Pleasant arrived in the Bay Area’s largest city. Once she got there, she had to take on two identities, due to California’s Fugitive Slave Act of 1852 –in order to avoid being captured by slave hunters. Under her two identities, she lived a double life — One as “Mrs. Ellen Smith” (her married name), and the other as “Mrs. Pleasants”, who operated as a businesswoman and abolitionist. Under the “Ellen Smith” moniker, she worked as a white boardinghouse steward and cook. With a job in the service sector, she was often in the midst of a sizable number of wealthy white businessmen in ‘Frisco, who she served as she worked. She was well-liked by many of the men, but she used their admiration for her as leverage to have them hire Black people, and give them benefits they were previously denied access to. It was because of her personal brand of power brokering that many people in her circle nicknamed her “The Black City Hall”.

With a secret business partner, Pleasant eventually amassed a fortune worth over $30 million. She used much of that fortune to challenge the white supremacist status quo that’s always plagued this country, with her most notable deed being that she financially backed the storied abolitionist, John Brown.

For more on the story of Mary Ellen Pleasant, follow this link.

B. Clark

]]> https://www.melanoidnation.org/mary-ellen-pleasant-the-30-million-dollar-mother-of-civil-rights-in-california/feed/ 121 https://www.melanoidnation.org/mccomb-mississippi-was-the-bomb-capital-of-the-world-in-1964/ https://www.melanoidnation.org/mccomb-mississippi-was-the-bomb-capital-of-the-world-in-1964/#comments Mon, 07 Mar 2016 19:02:56 +0000 http://melanoidnation.org/?p=3311

Society Hill Baptist Church, bombed on 9/20/64.

 

The first bomb comes at 10:50. Most of the Negros of McComb are in bed, but only some are sleeping.These days, most Adult Negroes in McComb don’t fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning. Then the blast–that sickening, anguishing sound that has been heard twelve previous times over the last three months–that sound that Negros in McComb have come to know so well. Everyone in McComb hears the sound of the blast. McComb is a small town and very very quiet. At night, the sound of the blast can be heard for miles. And so tonight, the blast is heard for the 13^th and shortly later for the 14^th time . Tonight, the sound is even more anguishing. The pain grows worse with each bombing. Every negro in McComb instantly knows what that sound means…And then the moments of torment—who’s house, who is dead ? Its not mine. Then who? My neighbor? My friend –my mother ,my brother, my son, or maybe COFO again. Who? And one’s stomach aches with pain, and the pain seeps up into the chest and the head, and comes out of every paw. Who? Is someone dead? The fear and the suspense grows . The anguish becomes unbearable. People grab whatever clothing they can find and run out into the streets.

by  Reginald Mazique

For the past five years, the Hidden Colors film series has revolutionized the way the masses view the nuances of African/Black/Melanoid history, culture, and general experience throughout the Diaspora. It has also played a pivotal role in the renaissance of progressive Black ideologies and initiatives. Because of the film series’ highly influential and successful nature, one would be naive to assume that this hasn’t caught the attention of members of the dominant society, namely white supremacists (and suspected white supremacists alike).

FOX  Films has released a movie titled Hidden Figures, which re-visits the real life account of the three brilliant Melanoid female mathematicians who were instrumental in ensuring that NASA astronaut John Glenn’s 1962 voyage into space was successful.

While the premise of the film seems harmless on the surface level, it must be noted that the film’s title–and plot–are eerily reminiscent of the abundantly informative (and inspirational) Hidden Colors film series.

With the 4th installment of the critically acclaimed series on the way, it’s a sure bet that the world will be watching–whether it be because they truly enjoy what the movie will offer, or because they seek to outdo the film for their own nefarious reasons.

B. Clark

While many individuals have contributed their perspectives on whether her halftime performance (based on her newly-released video/song titled Formation) was a necessary gesture to highlight pressing matters in Black Society, perhaps the dominant society’s reaction to Formation should pose the REAL issue. For much of the past two decades, Beyonce’s star power has grown exponentially, and her extensive body of work has elevated her to a rarefied air that very few recording artists–especially Black artists–get an opportunity to experience.

Here are a few Tweets that highlight the white supremacists’ reaction to Beyonce’s Super Bowl 50 halftime performance.

@dw_global Brent @brentgofftv you celebrate Beyonce's nigger crap? I'd like to break your Liberal jaw you prick!!!

— William Kelly (@kellyw1964) February 8, 2016

@Beyonce you tried to look like ur African Am. With a half ass fro that u straightend already but supporting blk panthers is a Nigger move

— Ronnie (@ShoPny13) February 9, 2016

Beyonce is nothing more than a LOW-LIFE RICH BIGOTED GHETTO NIGGER WHO KISSES THE SANDNIGGER OBAMA'S ASS

— franklin wolfe jr (@9killhim) February 9, 2016

The Tweets shown above are a drop in the bucket when it comes to illustrating the vitriol white supremacists spew toward Black recording artists when the artists don’t play by a certain script. Although these men have been deified posthumously, many seem to forget the amount of resentment that Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, and Michael Jackson received. Much like Beyonce’s smash hit song Single Ladies, Tupac’s California Love can be heard blasting on any given day in any given place in the world in the homes, cars, and social gatherings where large numbers of non-Melanoid people are located. On the flip side, Tupac’s revolutionary background has been highly scrutinized by people in the dominant society.

Creatively speaking, perhaps nothing was more revolutionary than Michael Jackson’s decision to put together the music video for the hit single from his 1991 Dangerous album titled Remember The Time.

To the surprise of many during that time, the video featured an all-Black cast, and not just a typical all-Black cast for a music video. Besides the fact that the video was laced with a star-studded cast, the video’s actors all depicted people in an ancient Kemetian (Egyptian) setting, which gave credence to the historical accuracy of the African nation. As expected, Jackson was ridiculed because of the video, which was also around the time when the assassination attempt on his character began–besides the fact that he owned half of the Sony Music catalog, but that is an entirely separate ordeal all to itself.

 Bob Marley, whose music has warmed the hearts of multitudes of people, was no exception to the aforementioned collection of exceptional Black star power.

The work that Mr. Marley left behind includes highly-celebrated classics, such as Redemption Song and One Love, and these were just a couple of his musical masterpieces that the world-at-large embraces. While the music of Bob Marley (and/or Marley’s group, The Wailers) continues to wax poetic in the ear and hearts of non-Melanoid people everywhere, it is no secret that Buffalo Soldier  was a song that spoke directly to the trials, tribulations, and untapped greatness of  people in the African Diaspora.

In the eyes of white supremacists in the dominant society, Beyonce is nothing more than a “trouble making” superstar singer/dancer who has offended (and disappointed them) by her latest act. In the eyes of members of many non-Black people, Tupac Shakur was a young and angry rapper who, in their minds, made it cool for them to reduce the originally brilliant concept of ‘Thug Life’  to an ongoing series of viral videos based on nothing more than various scenarios involving slapstick humor.

Michael Jackson too, was viewed in the same light as the other musical luminaries. It was more than ok for Mike to give the world Thriller and Billie Jean, but as soon as Remember The Time’s video debuts on national television, white supremacists now have a problem…much like how “cool” it is for  non-Melanoid youths to idolize Marley for the simple fact that he smoked weed–largely unaware of Marley’s Pan-African ideologies and Rastafarianism.

Is it up to us as Melanoid people to go to great lengths to convince the dominant society that some of their favorite Black artists chose to use their platform to convey progressive Black propaganda in their music? No. Is it up to non-Melanoid people to care that their favorite Black recording artist just might occasionally make a song filled with progressive Black lyrics? Absolutely not.

In response to white supremacists’ full-fledged attack on Beyonce for her latest performance/song, we must quote the words of the Late, Great Michael Jackson when he sang: They Don’t Care About Us. 

They don’t care about us, nor should we value how they feel about how we choose to express ourselves artistically.

B. Clark

Last week, The Philadelphia Tribune reported that a group of American-born Melanoid people met with The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (a U.N.-sanctioned panel) to discuss recommendations on how to compensate Black Society with the long overdue reparations.

The current–and longstanding–climate in which Melanoid people have dwelt since the onset of slavery has become cause for alarm among U.N. officials, prompting Mireille Fanon Mendes-France of France (a U.N. chairperson) to express “extremely concern about the human rights situation of African-Americans”, as it was stated in a report that was discussed in the aforementioned meeting.

 The irony of the story yet again exposes the U.S.’s blatant denial of the gruesome history of slavery/racism that has crept into every nook and cranny of its 50 states. It also illustrates how this nation has gone to great lengths to deny Melanoid people the resources we deserve.

B. Clark

]]> https://www.melanoidnation.org/the-united-nations-is-in-favor-of-reparations-for-black-people-in-u-s/feed/ 233 https://www.melanoidnation.org/the-fight-for-clean-water/ https://www.melanoidnation.org/the-fight-for-clean-water/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2016 20:50:39 +0000 http://melanoidnation.org/?p=3135 We tend to neglect and at times even forget the bare essentials that are needed within our daily exercise of living.  We wait alongside to defend ourselves from foreign threats that appear to us in familiar forms. Yet we are as blinded to the threats directly in front of us as they play a larger part in our development and evolution. The contamination of our natural resources becomes dire to our very existence. Purification of our minerals isn’t often seen as a plight, due to the many levels of our oppressive circumstance, this crisis falls under “out of sight, out of mind”.  With so many external forces against impoverished communities, the crisis for clean drinking water becomes ever so eminent. The infliction that is contributed to intoxicated water circulates with in our communities, contributing to illnesses that have claimed numbers with no end. Without the proper education brought to the forefront surrounding much of our public drinking water, we are watching the roots being poisoned from below before life has the ability to spring forth.

A variety of chemicals exist in public water, a few that can be named are fluoridation, chlorine, aluminum, lead, mercury, zinc and many other detrimental chemicals without a resistant force to stop it. This isn’t a secret and many rumors have circulated causing a widespread of critical thinking. This thinking has allowed people to do there due diligence regarding chemicals in the water supply. Still a majority of people have yet to be made aware of the effects of the drinking water being contaminated through fluoridation and other deadly pollutants. With the lack of formal education on when, why and how the procedure was started and how it affects us, creates a blind-spot for us with immense vulnerability. Fluoride is a major chemical that has been put into many types of products that we use on a regular basis. What the chemical is most famously known for is being a key ingredient in toothpaste and its wide promotion in the dental industry.

What many people don’t know about Fluoride and some of its more historical uses, is its early beginnings and manifestation in Germany. Fluoridation had its first instances in the water during the second world war, in Nazi Germany’s ghetto’s and prison camps. Nazi soldiers had used fluoride on the inmates’ water for sterilization, other deliberate reasons aided in making the detainees become more docile and subservient subjects willing to comply with orders. We found this to be a fact that water is being contaminated with over a dozen different toxic chemicals. Where many of these chemicals are being deliberately implemented into the impoverished neighborhoods within America, which consist of the highest populations of the Black and Brown communities.  America has deliberately contaminated its drinking supply to target ethnicities of poorer, impoverished, poverty stricken communities in all corners of the United States. This has created the water to be formulated into a toxic concoction with no hard evidence on the adverse effects of these mixtures within a chemical reaction. We will find local government officials involved on conspiratorial levels. It will continue funneling all the way up while being federally mandated by high ranking congressional staff, they will be the root of allowing such monstrosities to take place.

In 1954 a research chemist by the name of Charles Perkins wrote a letter to the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research. What the letter entailed gave intriguing details supporting the effects of fluoride. Charles stated that in low doses over a long period of time fluoride will destroy the part of the brain that is resistant to tyranny and unlawful coercion and control. In 1944, a year before water fluoridation first took instances in the United States, the Journal of the American Dental Association reported that fluoride in water would cause 50% of Americans to need false teeth. They had done a global study with over 400,000 students showing that tooth decay increased by 25% with just 1ppm (parts per million) of fluoride in drinking water.

Fluoride is one of the basic ingredients in military grade nerve gas, Sodium Fluoride is the hazardous waste by-product from the manufacture of aluminum and fertilizer and it’s also a common ingredient in roach and rat poison. The misconception is that fluoride is a chemical that is globally used, but the facts remain that many countries have rejected it for its negative connotations. Internationally chemicals such as Fluoride, Chlorine, Mercury, Zinc, Arsenic and Aluminum are not globally receptive in public drinking water. Countries such as France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Finland, India and Great Britain just to name a few. While many communities in the United States have taken action to provide clean drinking water for their children and neighborhoods. This chemical is still being induced into impoverished and on a lighter scale middle class neighborhoods all across the country, if we know all this why? Fluoride has been found to be directly linked to Premature Births, Brain Degradation, Bone Loss, Cancer and Hormone Disruption. This chemical has never been approved by the FDA, yet is on the market, this is why toothpaste with Fluoride even contains a disclaimer to call poison control if ingested. A silent yet deadly eugenic mass experiment that is being practiced on countless minorities inside various communities.

Many alternatives exist to rebuke the need of ingesting fluoride, yet at a higher cost. Getting alkaline and ionized water with a strong PH balance or that which retains a high level of electrolytes. Fluoride can also be removed through the process of reverse osmosis or non-existent in spring water. Creating a platform where a higher grade of water can be brought into the communities vs. the acidic water that exists. Using substitutes for toothpaste that don’t contain the fluoride chemical, such as the natural cleaning compound Neem, which is another way to reduce your fluoride intake. Poorer neighborhoods are not educated nor provided the resources for access to the abundance of these non-chemical contaminated minerals. Being aware of the many levels where there are disadvantages in turn creates new advantages, removing the psychological shackles placed around one’s mind, where in-turn we become conditioned to entrapping ourselves. The conditioning program is deep, this is a single step in taking back power on the road to thinking, drinking and allowing our children a legacy of becoming free.

Cory Austin

]]> https://www.melanoidnation.org/the-fight-for-clean-water/feed/ 140 https://www.melanoidnation.org/new-childrens-book-portrays-george-washington-as-a-beloved-slavemaster/ https://www.melanoidnation.org/new-childrens-book-portrays-george-washington-as-a-beloved-slavemaster/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2016 20:55:44 +0000 http://melanoidnation.org/?p=3121 If there’s been any doubt about the power of media, than perhaps this children’s book will cause you to reconsider your skepticism.

With the celebration of former U.S. president George Washington’s birthday approximately a month away, a book has been released that depicts a highly disturbing narrative. The title of the book is A Birthday Cake For George Washington. In the book, readers will almost be immediately discover that the main characters in the book are Melanoid house slaves who are scrambling throughout the book to bake a cake for Washington, whose birthday is the occasion.

The featured characters are named “Hercules” (the first White House chef), his daughter Delia (who narrates the story), and a goofy little child simply named “Kitchen Boy” who follows Delia around for the duration of the story. The book was written by New York Times food writer Ramin Ganeshram, and it has already received rave reviews from organizations such as the Children’s Book Council.

The premise of the book emphasizes the featured characters’ sense of urgency to appease their slavemaster, which in this case involves them attempting to bake a cake.As it relates to the topic at hand, the question for those in Black Society should be: Are you ok with your Black children consuming literature such as A Birthday Cake For George Washington?

While much concern has been expressed over the need for more empowering Black narratives (especially for our youth), you can be sure that a solution is right around the corner.

B. Clark