Black Royalty … The informal king and queen of the artistic wing during much of the inspiring era of self-reliance from a conspicuously talented sociographic and intellectual expatriate colony of diverse descendants of Africa was the brilliant and legendary duo of Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis on December 18, 1917, in Cogdell, Ga.) and Ruby…
I’m Tony Brown – and this is my essay on Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s a story of reality, truth, vision, courage and transformation on the one hand, and racism, betrayal and conspiracy on the other. On June 23, 1963, in Detroit’s Cobo Hall, I listened to Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his famous “I…
Henry Highland Garnett was born a slave in Newmarket, Maryland in 1815. He was a pure-blooded African of the Mandingo tribe of fierce warriors in Sudan, Africa. At the age of 10, along with his parents, he escaped from slavery and settled in New York City. He was educated at Canaan Academy in New Hampshire,…
IF YOU ARE POOR LIKE I USED TO BE, BLACK LIKE I WILL ALWAYS BE AND YOU ARE NOT AMONG THE RICH PEOPLE WHO BUY COLLEGE DEGREES FOR THEIR CHILDREN – THIS IS A FORMULA THAT CAN HELP YOUR CHILD HONESTLY EARN STRAIGHT “A” GRADES. (Stay tuned next week for Part II) This formula seems…
Black West Heroes The image of the men and women who shaped the West has usually been painted with White faces. They were the settlers who struggled against tremendous odds, the notorious outlaws, and the rugged, free-spirited cowboys. Over the years, the White cowboy has emerged as America’s macho hero. He is symbolic of the…
GIVE YOURSELF BLACK HISTORY – EVERY MONTH, 12 MONTHS A YEAR – 24/7 IT’S BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT TonyBrownsJournal.com WED., FEB. 27 – TBJ #2614 – “God Is Ahead By 13 Percent:” In 2003, sales for gospel music had grown by 13 percent while they dropped by 24 percent for the Hip Hop genre and…
Described by knowledgeable observers as “the leading Negro citizen of his time,” James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was indeed one of the most remarkable. His accomplishments could, and indeed did fill books, his autobiography, “Along This Way,” being one of them. He also was a well-known political figure, serving as U.S. Consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela…
Burnt Cork … Blackface caricatures, popularized in 19th century minstrel shows, recently have attracted renewed attention in the United States after old photographs recently emerged of White politicians in Virginia wearing blackface, thus condoning this European racist colonial tradition of insulting African people. THE PERSISTENCE OF BLACKFACE … As recent as 2019, the odious practice was…
Doug Williams was the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, but before Doug Williams there was Sandy Stephens. Stephens, a second-round pick in the 1962 draft had the opportunity to play in the NFL – just not as a quarterback. “Sandy Stephens was a pioneer,” Tony Dungy said. “Sandy quarterbacked at a time…
