Black History Month May Be Over, But Black History Never Is . . .

Black History Month May Be Over, But Black History Never Is…

Black History Month celebrates the contribution of black citizens to world culture

Black History Month May Be Over, But Black History Never Is…

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 

A Dark Past and Present

We celebrate Black History, annually each February. During the month we reflect, appreciate, and acknowledge people of color and their rich history. In 2023 the Black History theme was “Black Resistance,” focusing on the struggle African Americans have endured, both in the past and continuing today. Oppression, injustice, repression, racism, exploitation, suppression, maltreatment, and disadvantage are still shockingly present in today’s society. White privilege is regretfully, appallingly alive within the ultra-conservative community. We may have moved passed black performers using different hotels, restaurants, and restrooms during artistic tours but a startling number of atrocities still continue to occur.

Art for Artists Sake

The 2024 Black History Month theme was “African Americans and the Arts. This year’s theme was a different vibe than previous years but the message was equally important – we need to value the arts and encourage these great artists to thrive. The focus this year has been the celebration of the incredible black artists that have enriched our lives over the years through classic performances on the stage, screen, radio, television, music and concert. Dramatic and creative professionals in the spotlight and the many more working hard behind the scenes compose the vast number of Black artists we salute. We make every effort to not just celebrate those in the mainstream of culture but the large number of less well known but equally talented individuals that comprise this community. Black History month may be coming to a close for another year but African history in the arts lives on.

Black Makes Beauty

2024 was also the 18th year of the UNI African American Read-In. The Read-In was once again a significant part of  Black History Month activities. To broaden participation many activities occurred on line for students. Theaters, schools, and libraries across the country held special events to honor Black artists and artisans during the month by reading aloud of many of the great books, plays, and poems of black artists.

Life Ain’t Over Yet

Celebration of Black history should be 365 days a year, not just one month. Respect and equality, not just in the arts but in all areas of life. Housing discrimination still exists,  mortgage and rental applications being denied disproportionately, and higher interest rates in African American communities, as do food deserts, with grocery stores that offer fresh, healthy choices avoiding opening or continuing operations in communities of color.

Dreamers

Activists such Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. and John Lewis fought decades ago for civil rights that are still being denied today. Black pioneers in the arts, such as Nina Simone (whose birthday is appropriately February 21st ), Maurice White, Josephine Baker, and Mahalia Jackson (to name just a few) were very instrumental in paving the way for future artists to be treated with dignity. As Dr. King said in his “I Have a Dream” speech, “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”  And Mahalia Jackson sang, “If I can help somebody, as I travel along; if I can help somebody, with a word or song…” – she broke significant ground for the African-American musicians who followed.

Labor On

2025’s Black History Month theme, will be “African Americans and Labor,” celebrating, recognizing, and highlighting the very compelling impact of Black workers on American society.  We need to draw attention to their productivity with the broadest outlook, providing versatility and intuitiveness, a vision of Black culture throughout the ages.

Women’s Day Celebrates Women

30 Quotes Celebrating Women

March 8, International Women's Day is a day we celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world.

30 Quotes Celebrating Women:

International Women’s Day

D. S. Mitchell

March 8th marks a wartime strike in 1917, when Russian women demanded “bread and peace”. Within four days of the strike’s start, the tsar was forced to abdicate and the provisional government granted women the right to vote. That is how and why March 8 became the date we celebrate Women’s Day.

The date is recognized world wide as International Women’s Day; a day to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It is also a day to raise awareness of women’s equality and lobby for accelerated gender parity. I thought it might be fun to look at some famous quotes celebrating women, so here goes, be inspired:

3o Quotes Honoring Women

1.) “Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” –Unknown

2.) “To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” –Spanish Proverb

3.) “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

4.) “The best protection any woman can have is courage.” –Elizabeth Cady Stanton

5.) “Where there is a woman, there is magic.” –Ntozake Shange

6.) “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” –Unknown

7.) “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” –Hilary Clinton

8.) “Feminism is for everyone.”-Bell Hooks

9.) “There’s nothing a man can do that I can’t do better and in heels.” –Ginger Rogers

10.) “Above all, be the heroine of your life. Not the victim.” –Nora Ephron

11.) “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” –Emma Watson

12.) “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” –Stephanie Bennett-Henry

13.) “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” –Gina Carey

14.) “She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” –Atticus

15.) “A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everyone else.” –Unknown

16.) “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” –G.D. Anderson

17.) “You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up instead of tearing each other down.” –Unknown

18.) “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” –Ayn Rand

19.) “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” –Madonna

20.) “A woman is like a tea bag: You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

21.) “A woman should be like a single flower—not a whole bouquet.” –Anna Held

22.) “I know what I bring to the table… So trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone.” –Unknown

23.) “Women are the real architects of society.” –Cher

24.) “When women wake, mountains move.” Chinese Proverb

25.)  “She’s a strong cup of black coffee in a world that is drunk on the cheap wine of shallow love.” –Unknown

26.) “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” –Unknown

27.) “I expect woman will be the last thing civilized by man.” –George Meredith

28.) “Women are made to be loved, not understood.” –Oscar Wilde

29.) “The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

30.) “In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits” –Arnold Schwarzenegger

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2017/03/29/quotes-on-courage/

 

John “Jack” Addison Babcock

Jack Babcock   6/7/1948-2/21/2022

Honoring the life of writer, poetic, Jack Babcock

Jack Babcock   6/7/1948-2/21/2022

“. . .And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.” Rest in peace dear friend, you will be missed.

Editor: It is with deep sadness that Calamity News and Politics announces the death of our dear friend and contributor, Jack Babcock. Jack was a passionate and prolific writer and poet. He had a wonderful sense of humor that drew people to him and he had a very rich social life with many interests and hobbies. He loved birds and animals. He enjoyed playing the guitar, and reading T. S. Eliot. If you’ve visited CNP before you have probably seen some of his postings. Although Jack passed in late February his Memorial Service was held yesterday, 3/5/2022. So today is a good day to laugh a bit and look for the bright side of the situation; that was Jack’s way. You can find Jack Babcock’s books of poems on his Amazon site at this link:

You can find him at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jack+babcock&ref=nb_sb_noss

POETRY MORSELS

By Jack Babcock 

the bird

the birds
wings cut the sky
another bird proud
has his own
way to fly
cutting the sky
hovering over his nest
as if to say
I am the best
His wings cut the sky
Amazing you and I

********

Bed

I saw on the tube
An ad for a bed
King sized

I’m single bed Jack

It would be nice to do things in two

doing things in one tho is nice
no petty quarrels
no intrigue no spice

one is just fine for now
two is too many maybe

my uncle used to say
that he was a lone angel

so be it. I’m an angel.

********

living

what’s the point of living
if you can’t
smoke a cigarette
drink a beer
blow some dope
or
drop some acid
what’s the point
Author’s note:
14 years of sobriety

********

baseball

illness

I have 3 illnesses

Schizophrenia
Diabetes
Acute kidney disease

3 strikes 3 strikes and you’re out

But I feel pretty well

Jack lived in suburban NE Portland, Oregon. In 2020 his suburban neighborhood was threatened by wildfires. They were on a standing Fire Evacuation Alert (Red Alert Level 3) for a week. It was pretty scary times here on the west coast. I remember the sky was a sallow yellow and the smoke was blinding. Totally unprecedented devastation.  I thought readers might enjoy Jack’s quirky take on that very dangerous situation.

fire

the red sun

peers thru the smoke

the news is near doom

I haven’t had asparagus in years

or a banana split

the president waves a flag

I hope for one last good meal

Red Alert Level 3.

Jack graduated from U of O with a degree in English and he went on to Lewis and Clark law school. Although his grades had been good enough to get him into law school, he became too sick with Schizophrenia to continue after his first year. Please enjoy Jack’s quirky take on life, and the deep pain of his mental illness. Being smart and doing all the right things doesn’t protect you from mental illness.

Brown Door

the brown door is shut……

I’m mentally ill. I smash the door, howl and scream.

Let me out of this madhouse quoth I.

and behind the brown door are lunatics.

drooling, sneezing, coughing, playing

with themselves.

what do they need?

just not to be put behind the brown door.

they need sunshine and music, laughter.

but, the brown door is shut.

********

Sweet Julia

i compared you

to a movie star

you balked

said you weren’t that attractive

is it possible

you don’t know how pretty you are

Julia

i told someone

i write you letters, poems

they thought that was sweet and kind

nothing of the sort

i do what i have to do

i feel i must write to you

looking at things

my aunt left me

an utrillo print

a few rings

a spode china set

all so pretty

so real, i love them, i loved my aunt

and there is you

my dear

i think i love you too.

********

Well

yotta yotta yata

so it goes

pornography or poetry

yadda yadda ya

whats the diff

it seems important to smile

death has no

yadda yatta

freedom and obscurity

yotta yotta ya

what now my love?

yotta ya.

 

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2019/02/13/mental-illness-i-m-prism-by-jack-babcock/

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/09/14/fire-by-jack-babcock/

David Shadrick “First They Came-2022”

First They Came-2022

Martin Niemoller's poem "First They Came" is a comment on personal cowardice

“First They Came-2022” 

By David Shadrick

(A re-write of the Martin Niemöller poem)

First they came for the Muslims

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Muslim

Then they came for the Mexicans

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Mexican

Then they came for the Blacks

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Black

Then they came for the Native Americans

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Native American

Then they came for the queer guy

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a queer guy

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak for me.

 

 

Martin Niemoller “First They Came”

Martin Niemoller “FIRST THEY CAME”

Sometimes it doesn't take a lot of words to tell the story

“First They Came” was written by anti-Nazi pastor, Martin Niemoller. The message is clear.

 

First They Came

By Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

5 Key Ways To Help Save The Bees

5 Key Ways To Help Save The Bees

5 Key Ways To Help Save The Bees

By D. S. Mitchell

Environmental Movement

In September 1962 Rachel Carson published one of the most important books on the environment ever published. Certainly, it can be described as the foundation of the mid-20th century environmental movement. Fundamentally, Ms Carson documented the harmful effects of the “indiscriminate” use of pesticides.

Future Generations Will Not Forgive Our Failures

In her ground breaking nonfiction book, Silent Spring she  said: “It is not my contention that chemical insecticides must never be used. I do contend that we have put poisonous and biologically potent chemicals indiscriminately into the hands of persons largely or wholly ignorant of their potentials for harm . . . we have allowed these chemicals to be used with little or no advance investigation of their effect on soil, water, wildlife, and man himself. Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent concern for the integrity of the natural world that supports all life.”

Field Work

Ms Carson graduated from John Hopkins University in 1932 with a Master’s Degree in Zoology.  Ms Carson worked as a field scientist for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for fifteen years. After World War II, the government touted the value of many toxic chemicals that had been developed during the war. The prime reason behind the government support of these chemicals was the hope to maximize farm production.

Continue reading

Disturbed “The Sound of Silence”

Disturbed “The Sound of Silence”

Disturbed “The Sound of Silence”

David Draiman is the perfect voice for this incredible song of pain and frustration. I loved Simon & Garfunkel. I loved their version of their amazing song, however sometimes a new voice can bring new life to someone else’s work. It’s a rainy day where I’m at. This version of “Sound of Silence” is a perfect reflection of the day.  So, here we go folks, the Calamity Politics Jukebox Choice of the Day, Disturbed doing “Sound of Silence.”

Poetry Morsels By Jack Babcock

 

Jack Babcock is a long time friend of Calamity News and Politics. Jack is a poet and writer. If you’ve visited CNP before you have probably seen some of his postings. Today is a good day to laugh a bit and not take things too seriously.  You can find Jack Babcock his poems and how to navigate to his Amazon site at this link:

You can find him at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jack+babcock&ref=nb_sb_noss

POETRY MORSELS

by Jack Babcock

 

the bird

the birds
wings cut the sky
another bird proud
has his own
way to fly
cutting the sky
hovering over his nest
as if to say
I am the best
His wings cut the sky
Amazing you and I

 

Bed

I saw on the tube
An ad for a bed
King sized

I’m single bed Jack

It would be nice to do things in two

2.
doing things in one tho is nice
no petty quarrels
no intrigue no spice

one is just fine for now
two is too many maybe

my uncle used to say
that he was a lone angel

so be it. I’m an angel. Jak

 

living

what’s the point of living
if you can’t
smoke a cigarette
drink a beer
blow some dope
or
drop some acid
what’s the point
Author’s note:
14 years of sobriety

 

baseball

illness

I have 3 illnesses

Schizophrenia
Diabetes
Acute kidney disease

3 strikes 3 strikes and you’re out

But I feel pretty well

 

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2019/02/13/mental-illness-i-m-prism-by-jack-babcock/

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/09/14/fire-by-jack-babcock/