DigitalPenny

Why is it that everytime one hears the word "Diversity" it seems that the term is automatically linked to African Americans?

When you think about or hear that word, do you not conjure an image of the African American people? Now, why do you think that is? I put that word in a google image search. You look at the list of images and tell me if infact the first two images or any of the images that follow are what you think of when you imagine or hear or see that word.

Has this word become the new sub-word for the "N-word" that we aren't supposed to use? Everything diverse is always color pitted against whiteness. I don't like it; I tell you.

Just this morning I was reading an article about New Jersey's Amistad Commission whose goal is to make possible that African American history be taught in all public schools at all levels in the state of New Jersey. Huge task, right? Well according to Erin Texeira, an AP reporter, the Amistad Commission has "just two full-time staffers [and]...is struggling" to reinforce the state law that's been passed to support the effort. As I continued to read the article, Erin notes

Last month, [New Jersey's Board of Education] approved a new multicultural elective called "Diversity in America," but Carr [a concerned parent] reviewed the class outline and said it "continues to give short shrift to our history."

Tell me this. Why are there only two people staffed to enforce a law that encompasses a state? Why was the course, a course about African American history, titled as such? AND WHY is this an elective course, not a required one? Here are three more typified and recurring examples (my questions of course) of why we associate that word "Diversity" with abstractions of brown first and then other images and words.

It seems that there are never enough of us hired to make a difference. That when given an opportunity to make a wrong right, we are labeled. AND no one is being required or forced to learn about an all inclusive United States of American history.

Why then must we continue to use that word?

Posted by Digitalpenny at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We really are living in a matrix and we can't wake up!

Posted by Digitalpenny at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was looking for a book, but found myself searching links related to African American anything. I kept reading and selecting link after interesting link, until I stumbled upon the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior's website titled, "Our Shared History: African American Heritage".

I'm loving this site! It provides a wealth of information about the Afro-American history in America from slavery covering the slave trade, the underground railroad, right up through Brown v. Board, the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. They also offer free publications, there's a list of internships (across the country), ideas for teaching, lesson plans and much more.

Whenever I've thought about national parks, I've never thought that a website created to discuss national parks would even contemplate rewriting history this way. This website offers a conscientious and practical approach to learning, teaching, and community, rewriting American History as it should have been written years ago. It's just too bad we had to wait this long. But as some would say, "Better late than not at all." I think this is only the beginning of what's to come.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Changing street names are okay, but as a society, we must first break down silos.

In my home town, years ago, the major road, which ran through my Black neighborhood was called Cooper Road. It had been named after a Negro renegade, “Boogaloo” Cooper, who prided himself on making changes for the good in my neighborhood. That major road held community and the Cooper name for as long as I can remember.

Continue reading "Street Names" »

Posted by Digitalpenny at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I dedicate this poem to my sister, who continues to live an abusive life, and has lost her way home:

my sister, my deep dark black
sister. Why do you suffer in that
lonely hell? participate must you?
allow it must you? I struggle to
understand why you keep with
i struggle to understand why this
profound darkness hushes you
My sister My sister My sister
i cannot feel your pain
i cannot feel your agony
i am blind to your darkness
be great must you, hide must you
keep secrets must you? WHY: tell them!
i feel for you because you are
O p p r e s s e d e p r e s s e d
and he is o b s e s s e d p o s s e s s e d
regressed like a shellfish you won’t talk
and as I sit, I read about empowerment
Black pride, struggles of Black WOMEN
yet you won’t talk; they won’t talk;
i read of the nurturing Black Woman
yet you are powerless even in your own home
My sister My sister My sister
best friend torture is yours
think of your children you must
eye black body fragile health failing
Do you even remember what it’s like to be you?
Lean on me; I will support you; I will be strong for you.
I need you to be strong and walk away.
Life is too short. Listen to me. Listen to me.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here's a quote from Malcolm X. :

“There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity.” (New York City, March 8, 1964).

My sistas and brethren think about this. Think.

Shall I say more?

Posted by Digitalpenny at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following commentary is that of the Black Informant:

"It’s Black History month. You want to do something a little different this year besides looking at the usual black and white documentaries on the civil rights era. This just might be the better option that you are looking for:

Association of African American Museums has a website that provides information on African-American museums all across the United States. They even have a on-line video tour of one of the many museums that they feature on their site. A great option for the whole family!

Association of African American Museums (http://blackmuseums.org)"

And there's more.... Thank you Black Informant.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Black Enterprize Magazine was founded by Earl G. Graves, Sr. in 1968 (the year of my birth). This magazine strives to keep Black business men and women informed of ideas, issues, and economic changes/strategies that will or may result in transforming the way they conduct business.

This is yet another reason why I'm proud to be Black.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lately, I've been confronted with so many definitions associated with the term "diversity", it sickens me. Even when I worked at Lucent Technologies, the word "diversity" was abused and overused. Now, when I hear the term or see it written somewhere, I question how the author intends the meaning to really be conveyed, even though he/she provides a plausibe context.

With it being black history month, which I have come to know as a nonexclusionary month that not only showcases the intellect of Black folk, but provides an avenue for other "minority" groups to feel liberated, I want to know how someone else defines and feels about the term, "diversity."

One of the questions that's being asked on the PBS website is, "Have Americans learned to embrace diversity?" Embrace diversity. In what sense? This is my immediate reply.

Have you embraced "diversity?" In what way? and how do you define that term? How far do we have to go, do you think, before we arrive at a time and place where we can properly articulate what it really means to embrace "diversity"? Can we put our prejudices aside and step outside our comfort zones to truly explore the meaning of "diversity"?

Let me know what you think.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2217)

My Father, Darnell Thompson, has owned and operated Thompson's Cleaners for 47 years (and counting). And although he is at retirement age, he and my mother, Cecile Thompson still wake up before dawn, and sometimes work more than 12 hour days because they have a passion for the task.

There have been five generations of dry cleaning businesses owned and operated by patriarchal lineage:

Emmanuel Thompson, my oldest brother, owner of Benton Cleaners
Darnell Thompson,my father, owner of Thompson's Cleaners
John D. Thompson, Sr., my grandfather, owner of Thompson's Cleaners
Sim Thompson, my great grand father, owner of Thompson's Cleaners
Bob Thompson, my great great grand father, owner of Thompson's Cleaners

On a super note: My sister, Shelita Thompson, also owns a dry cleaning business, Three-Way Cleaners.

I salute them because they work under grueling conditions, especially in the summer months (in Louisiana).

Your heart has to be in it, and you’ve gotta love the job, especially when taking care of other people’s dirty laundry.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This month, I have taken the initiative to search the web to find interesting tidbits about Black people, whether they be of American, African, or some interracial coupling with Black emphasis. Here's a website that I've come across in my mining, and thought it would be nice to share. This web site lists African American women and men who have been awarded PhDs in multiple areas of science.

http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/first_phds.html

I'm especially proud of the women listed here because Black women seem to face so many challenges in life and in their chosen careers.

You go girls!

Posted by Digitalpenny at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On this day, in 1926, Carter G Woodson, the father of Black History Month, started “Negro History Week”.

Posted by Digitalpenny at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)