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Alton Maddox - Frequently Asked Questions About Tawana Brawley
This link from attorney Alton Maddox's Web site has 30 frequently asked questions about the famous Tawana Brawley rape and kidnapping case. Some of the answers include responses to the following questions: who was Tawana Brawley? what happened to her? who was Steven Pagones? where was he on the night of her rape? what role did the NAACP, Al Sharpton, C. Vernon Mason, and the FBI play in this event? who was Harry Crist Jr. and did he commit suicide? how does Eliot Spitzer, Robert Abrams, Mario Cuomo, and Rudolph (Rudy) Giuliani fit into this picture? how is it possible for Maddox to continue to publicly accuse Pagones of being involved in the kidnapping and rape of Brawley and Pagones can do nothing to him legally? what's Bill Cosby and Ed Lewis' connection to this case? and more answers to other frequently asked questions surrounding this case.
Suggested Readings
An excellent list of suggested readings for ALL educators, parents, and anyone seeking accurate knowledge about world history. This list was compiled by educator Baruti Kafele.
Ezrah Aharone: The Un-Abolishable N-Word
Understanding the power of defining and controlling language, it becomes clear why we weren’t permitted to read or write during slavery, nor speak any language other than English.
We couldn’t even tap or hum to ourselves.
Enslavers would panic, not knowing “the
words” behind the tap and hum... Herein marks initial concerns to disarm and re-channel the influences of our words and music.
Now, under the pretext of “Free Speech,” the N-Word is commercially linked to a billion dollar music-genre that flaunts sex, violence, and prison culture to our children.... Since we were considered “less than human,” logic might suggest that Euro-Americans wouldn’t care what we called ourselves...No, No, No....
For submission purposes, captors cannot allow captives to communicate in unfamiliar languages or have unfamiliar names. As such, all “Kunta
Identities” had to be deconstructed entirely.
“Toby vs. Kunta” represented an epoch identity/ideological struggle where – “winner takes all” – there was/is no second prize....
African names traditionally convey aspects of heritage, history, and virtues.
Enslavers didn’t know the meanings, but they knew that African names encompassed more than European names.
So “Toby” denoted far more than a typical European name alone.
The “act of renaming” was part of a larger process to psychologically transfigure all “Kunta
Identities” into domesticated natures that could ultimately be trusted to be “Toby-minded” – even when no one was looking.
Barack Obama's First Presidential Interview - Al Arabiya TV
January 26, 2009
And so what I told him [Middle East Special Envoy George Mitchell] is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues --and we don't always know all the factors that are involved. So let's listen. He's going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response.... I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan. These things are interrelated.... Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.... W
e're going to follow through on our commitment for me to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital. We are going to follow through on many of my commitments to do a more effective job of reaching out, listening, as well as speaking to the Muslim world.
[Full video included]
Barack Obama on New White House Rules - January 21, 2009
However long we are keepers of the public trust we should never forget that we are here as public servants and public service is a privilege. It's not about advantaging yourself. It's not about advancing your friends or your corporate clients. It's not about advancing an ideological agenda or the special interests of any organization. Public service is, simply and absolutely, about advancing the interests of Americans....
But the American people deserve more than simply an assurance that those who are coming to Washington will serve their interests. They also deserve to know that there are rules on the books to keep it that way. They deserve a government that is truly of, by, and for the people. As I often said during the campaign, we need to make the White House the people's house. And we need to close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely, and lets them use their time in public service as a way to promote their own interests over the interests of the American people when they leave.
[Full video included]
President Barack Hussein Obama - January 20, 2009
Inaugural Address
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.... For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
[Full video included]
Alice Walker: An Open Letter to Barack Obama
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters.... We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead.... From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.... I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain.... It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." ....finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.
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