The names of Elaine Brown, Ericka Huggins, Kathleen Cleaver, Barbara Easley, Fred Hampton, Eldridge Cleaver in addition to the founders belong in this pantheon of freedom fighters.
I am humbled that a real G, the Queen, freedom fighter Dee Oliver Velez, a member of the Panthers and the Young Lords, follows me. Knowing I was going to do this thread, I ran back and re-read as much about the history of the Panthers to make sure I got it right.
#OnThisDay October 12, 1932 Richard Claxton ("Dick") Gregory was born in St. Louis, MO. He was a prominent civil and human rights activist, political candidate and comedian.
I was fortunate to have been able to meet this King twice: once as a student at Fisk University, and the second when I was busy getting arrested in front of the South African embassy, 1984-1985. Mr. Gregory was the FIRST person to get arrested - IN 1977!
I have so much love for Mr. Gregory, his wife and family. This brother broke barriers, was making HUGE sums of money ($500K in 1960s, y'all) but said Imma go out her and sacrifice it all to fight for my people. Heck all people.
Most people, with good reason, know about the incredible exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, led by Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Until that point, the US military had ZERO combat pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen flew in the Army. The other branches had ZERO Black pilots.
His parents were sharecroppers. A smart, excellent athlete, he dreamed of being a pilot. Instead of going to Howard or Hampton, where his parents wanted him to go to college, he went to Ohio State. He had to work as a janitor and load freight cars at night.
#OnThisDay October 13, 1914 Inventor and engineer Garrett A. Morgan patented the gas mask. This breathing device was used during WWI and to rescue people in coal mines.
If you stopped at a traffic light, thank Garrett Morgan. If you used a sewing machine and the needle didn't break or burn out, thank Garrett Morgan. For those firefighters and others who use a gas mask, thank Garrett Morgan.
HE INVENTED THEM ALL.
Born in Paris, KY in 1877, he was the 7th of 11 children of parents who were formerly enslaved. Like most children in those days, he started working as a teenager to bring in money to the household and had to quit school in the 6th grade.
#OnThisDay October 12, 1919 Doris ("Dorie") Miller, a messman on the USS Arizona who shot down several planes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was born.
African Americans have always served our nation with gallantry and honor. Crispus Attucks was the 1st person to die for this nation and James Armistead risked his life as a spy. Benjamin Davis, Jr. led the Tuskegee Airmen and Harriet Tubman was the 1st woman to lead an infantry.
Only 3 years before Miller was born, Waco, TX was the scene of one of the most brutal lynchings in America, when 17 year old Jesse Washington was burned alive on the lawn of the city hall. I did a thread on this horror earlier; here's a link.⬇️
Today, the House will vote on the Senate bill to suspend the debt limit. Kind of. Technically, the debt limit will be deemed to have been suspended as part of a rule that deals with other bills. I mean, this happens all the time, and it will pass.
THREAD
All bills in the House must have a rule which sets limits on amendments, debate, time, others. The good news? The debt limit might not be reached until late December - early January. So what? So a heck of a lot!
#MoscowMitch has been LYING saying the debt limit needs to be expanded b/c of the out-of-control spending by the Democrats. After increasing the debt over $5T under #Komrade45? Hypocrisy is the price vice pays to virtue, man.
#OnThisDay October 8, 2014 Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the Ebola Virus, died. What happened, and how was the virus, that killed thousands in Africa contained?
Amidst a pandemic, it's easy to forget the US was able to contain several deadly epidemics before they became full-blown pandemics (an epidemic affects a particular region; a pandemic is world-wide). I thought the Ebola Virus = Bubonic plague. Real talk.
Shortly before his death, Duncan, who lived in Liberia, had traveled to the US from West Africa, which was in the throes of the largest outbreak of the often-fatal disease since its discovery in 1976.
Transparency alert here for my followers or would be followers.
In my 61 revolutions around the sun, I've seen a hell of a lot of life. As I remind some of these youngins, I've driven more miles in reverse than they have forward.
Here's an encapsulation of my TL.
THREAD
I worked as a Hill staffer for 20 years, 6 different members of Congress. I have been involved in politics since I was 12 years old, fighting for home rule for DC; managed over 40 local, county, state and federal campaigns.
Between the ages of 11-25, I have been arrested over 23 times by the police. With the exception of the two times I was arrested with my friend the late Dr. Kamu Jennings in front of the South African embassy protesting apartheid? FOR NOTHING.
Yesterday, #MoscowMitch and the GOP were writing checks with their mouths their asses couldn't cash. Don't believe the hype - MITCH BLINKED because the Democrats - who were supposed to be in disarray - stood strong.
So let's RECAP!
THREAD
First, this crisis, manufactured by the GOP, will be temporarily averted when the Senate, either today or tomorrow, agree to a deal. The details are still forthcoming. The negotiations are around whether to suspend the debt ceiling versus some specific number as a cap.
Schumer is also pushing for this suspension to last past December, something the GOP don't want, either. Listen. The GOP WANTS CHAOS. They ain't trying to legislate. But Wall Street doesn't like chaos, so the GOP is doing something, just not the most, right now.
#OnThisDay October 6, 1993 Dr. Mae Carol Jemison, the first Black woman astronaut, pioneer, medical doctor and scientist was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
I have been fortunate to know, and be around, some of the smartest people who've ever stepped foot on this planet. If you are ever around a smart Black woman, you KNOW she went through some extra hell.
Point blank, period.
Black women have been STEM innovators since . . . forever. Black women invented GPS (Gladys West)🔥; literally got us into outer space (Katherine Johnson)🤩; Nola Hylton (developed MRI for breast cancer)🤗 and don't forget Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett (COVID-19 vaccine)🤩. Among others
#OnThisDay October 7, 1800 Gabriel Prosser, one of the co-organizers of over 1,000 enslaved men with plans to march on and seize Richmond, VA, was hanged. He was betrayed by two enslaved men who were with him.
Enslaved Africans fought, escaped and were determined to get freedom - by any means necessary - since landing on these shores in 1526. You did know we've been here since that time, right? ⬇️
1619 is also a key date in the enslavement of African Americans in the United States. In addition to being brought here as enslaved people, VA started cranking up the laws that ensured enslaved Africans would never, ever have a whiff of freedom.
So #MoscowMitch offered a deal on the debt ceiling. I talked to my friends on the Hill and they all told me, "told you James." What this deal entails, right now, is anyone's guess. Let's recount, shall we?
THREAD
The Senate was scheduled to have a vote to stop debate and vote on suspending the debt limit. The GOP was expected to opposed this, 12 days before the Treasury Department runs out of the ability to obtain new loans.
The GOP HOPED the filibuster would force Democrats to realize they need to shift to lifting the debt limit via reconciliation. Apparently, that plan didn't work. The Democrats didn't blink. Schumer wants this done by the end of the week.
#OnThisDay October 6, 1917 Freedom fighter, activist and founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Fannie Lou Hamer, was born in Ruleville, MS.
If you want to read some great books about Fannie Lou Hamer, check out Paula Gidding's classic "When and Where I Enter," and "Freedom's Daughters," by Lynne Olson.
When I read about her at Fisk University? She was so amazing, I didn't think she was a real person.
She was the 20th and last child of sharecroppers Lou Ella and James Townsend. At 6, Hamer joined her family picking cotton - she could do 200 lbs per day. By age 12, she left school to work. When the plantation owner found out she could read, she was made the record + timekeeper.
#OnThisDay October 6, 1871, the FISK UNIVERSITY Jubilee Singers began their FIRST national tour. The Jubilee Singers saved my alma mater, Fisk University, they also introduced the world to gospel music.
Let me add the GRAMMY AWARD WINNING Jubilee Singers.
In order to be a Jubilee Singer, you've got to be the BEST of the BEST. It's not easy. Anyone who's a Jubilee Singer, for the rest of their lives, are held in high regard by any Fiskite.
Whenever you tune in your TV on Saturday, and watch the big, bad University of Alabama football players do their thing, take a moment and say thanks and a prayer to the moral courage of a Black woman who made it possible for every Black person who attend 'Bama to go there.
Autherine Lucy was the youngest of ten brothers and sisters. Born in Shiloh, AL, her parents were farmers. Lucy left Shiloh in 1947 to attend Selma University in Selma, Alabama. She earned a teaching certificate and graduated from HBCU Miles College, but wanted more.
Sweatt v. Painter is one of the most important Constitutional cases of all time. It was the first direct challenge to the infamous "separate but equal" decision SCOTUS delivered in the infamous "Plessy v. Ferguson" case, and led the way to the Brown decision.
Heman Marion Sweatt was an Black mail carrier from Houston. Theophilus Shickel Painter was the University of Texas' president at the time. In 1946, Sweatt and Painter, along with representatives from the NAACP and other university officials, met at the University of Texas.
By October 18, 2021, the government will hit our debt limit, meaning the Treasury won't be able to borrow money to finance government operations. So what is the "debt limt," why is it important, and how in the heck did we get here?
The Constitution gives Congress the power to borrow money on the credit of the United States—
one part of its power of the purse—and thus mandates that Congress handles federal debt. Where? Art. I, Sec. 9, Clause 7 = Appropriations + Art. I, Sec. 8, Clause1 = everything else.
DEBT and DEFICITS are two different things. For your household? Debt = mortgage/rent, car note, utilities. Deficit = do I have cash flow to pay for stuff this month? If you make $100 per week, but your payment are $200 per week, you are in a deficit.
#OnThisDay October 3, 1904 Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, business person, humanitarian, womanist and civil rights activist, opened Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, FL.
If there is ever a Mt. Rushmore of civil rights leaders, the visage of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune must be one of them. My grand mother took me to the statue in my home town of DC dedicated to her. "Who is that, Granny?" "That's what libraries are for. Look her up. You tell me."
Born number 15 of 17 siblings, in 1875 to parents who were formerly enslaved, her mom and dad bought a small farm in South Carolina. Deeply religious, they encouraged their curious daughter to attend a mission school where she thrived.
#OnThisDay November 10, 1910 lawyer, activist, educator, civil rights fighter and the first Black woman ordained as an Episcopal priest, Pauli Murray, was born.
There is an OUTSTANDING documentary about the greatness of Anna Pauline Murray, "My Name is Pauli Murray." Out of respect for her gender fluidity, I will use the last name, Murray, versus a traditional pronoun. nytimes.com/2021/09/15/mov…
Bornin Baltimore, MD, the 4th of 6 children, her mom died when s/he was 4. Her dad suffered from the long-term effects of typhoid fever, and was murdered by a white guard when he was sent to the notorious Crownsville State Hospital. S/he was raised by grandparents.
Tommy Kirk, the actor who played the boy in the classic "Old Yeller" and other popular Disney movies, has died. Disney ostracized him as a teen because he was gay. He was estranged from his family, never married, no children. npr.org/2021/09/30/104…
When the dog got rabies after saving the family from the attack of I think a wolf or a bear, his mom walked to the pen where the dog was foaming at the mouth, in the final throes of rabies.
Mom is walking with the rifle to the pen.
#OnThisDay October 1, 1851 10,000 abolitionists broke into a Syracuse, NY courtroom and freed Williams "Jerry" Henry, an enslaved man, who then escaped to Canada by way of the Underground Railroad.
This escape was done in the wake of Congress' passing of the Fugitive Slave Act. They were actually a pair of federal laws that allowed for the capture and return of runaway enslaved people within the territory of the United States.
Enacted by Congress in 1793, the first Fugitive Slave Act authorized local governments to seize and return escapees to their owners and imposed penalties on anyone who aided in their flight. Widespread opposition in the North led to the 2nd, more repressive, law.
