tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38505586203000956772024-03-13T23:56:25.856-07:00A Time for PeaceBrenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.comBlogger244125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-82325565113047299222021-06-16T10:57:00.000-07:002021-06-16T10:57:29.234-07:00Juneteenth and The Road to Freedom<p> I have resisted responding to posts on my wall lately about Juneteenth because I am tired of trying to explain things I know to an audience that either does not even read or pay attention or that comes off with a knee jerk response attacking me about my ego. Before I begin I need to give my credentials. I am not a celebrity, I am not black (although I have an African American ancestor who was a freed slave), I am not a politician with all the answers, nor am I a recognized graduate of any Ivy League School. I am simply a retired teacher of American history and English. </p><p>The media, general public and government officials have criticized American history teachers and the system of teaching itself demanding reform. This is well deserved and reform is needed. I spent the first six years of my teaching career teaching white man's political history until I lived and taught in Albuquerque, NM and had the good fortune to work with a public school system that supported the need for change. Perhaps it is because New Mexico has the most diverse population of any state and in addition, Anglos (non Hispanic or Latino) are not appreciated because of the take over of the land from Mexico during the Mexican-American War. </p><p>When the administration came to the 8th grade teachers of English and American history at John Adams Middle School and suggested the teachers of these subjects create a new program and new way of teaching American history, I jumped on with enthusiasm. Unlike a lot of my colleagues who were elementary certified, I had duel certification in those subjects. In addition, I already had a great deal of knowledge of African-American history and welcomed the expansion of my knowledge. Because of this, I was put in charge of developing the curriculum. I was already teaching the integration of cultural history and the English and social studies content in my classes. I also had been exploring Indigenous history because of my ancestry that included an Indigenous great great grandmother of the Saponi Indians of the Southeast. I welcomed all the training and was the leader in creating teaching based on projects, cross cultural teaching and integration of content. One of the more important units I taught had to do with the Civil War and debunking all of the myths of that complex war and its effect on our country that still exists today. One of the biggest myths is that Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator. This myth has been perpetuated by partisans from both the Democratic and Republican parties and has even found its way into stories that are now being told about Juneteenth that are not true. </p><p>I have a great deal of respect for this celebration and even taught about it when I was still teaching. When I moved to Louisville, Kentucky I took the story of Juneteenth to the librarian at the Portland Library and the presentation I gave there became so popular that I was invited to do the presentation at major branches of the library from 2015 until I moved in 2018. I understand the importance of Juneteenth and in 2019 when I made a statement to challenge something being said on face book, I was immediately attacked by those people who perpetuate these myths without the actual facts and I believe that is damaging. In response to those attacks I wrote a blog on my blog page at <a class="x-el x-el-a c1-28 c1-29 c1-5o c1-2b c1-2c c1-2y c1-2d c1-5k c1-b c1-6o c1-2m c1-9i c1-9j x-d-ux" href="https://atimeforpeaceblogspotcom.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #bd3c4e; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: "Open Sans", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;" target="_blank">https://atimeforpeaceblogspotcom.blogspot.com</a> entitled Why Juneteenth is a Big Deal. I have even written a short story set in the neighborhood of Portland in Louisville, Kentucky entitled Juneteenth to emphasize the importance of the celebration of this day to the people who are descendants of slaves and explain the traditions around its celebration. I am concerned about the claims made about Juneteenth and its importance that are a far cry from why this day is important. Therefore, I think I need to give some history surrounding the writing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Because I will be describing the events that led to the issue of this Executive Order and referring to what it actually said I am posting a link to the document so you can read for yourself. https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=34&page=transcript</p><p>It is September, 1862 and the Union as well as the Confederacy has just fought the bloodiest battle of the Civil War at Antietam Creek with losses of over 10,000 soldiers of either side. Sentiment in support of the War in the North (especially among those young Irishmen dying for something they didn't really believe in) is decreasing. The most critical product needed in the North is men. The Irish of the Northeast are bearing the most loss from this war and have labeled it a "rich man's war, but a poor man's fight." The men are also growing upset that the runaway slaves are filling contraband camps and taking the jobs available because the Irishmen are at war. The sentiment in the South is still a willingness to never surrender and to continue to fight despite great hardship. Lincoln is faced with one decision, he is going to have to institute the draft. This is not something he wants to do because he knows of the wrath that already exists. Lincoln also needs a quick end to the war so he can focus his energy in the territories west of the Mississippi to take over those lands from the Indigenous people living there that are resisting. Plans are already in effect to institute a draft beginning in March of 1863. Lincoln knows there will be trouble when this happens and indeed there was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_draft_riots Something had to be done to get the South to give up. The document chosen to convince the South to give up was the Emancipation Proclamation - a bribe to the South. It was never intended to abolish slavery, in fact, if the South had continued fighting, Juneteenth would never have happened. </p><p>I have listed a link to the text above, but I will paraphrase here. Lincoln told the Confederacy if you keep fighting beyond January of 1863, your slaves will be free.. When Union soldiers marched into Texas on June 19, 1865 the slaves were freed - why - because the South continued to fight and lost. The information being posted about this date gives false representation about the emancipation of the slaves. I heard a speaker talk about this day as the 4th of July for African Americans in addition to the continued myth about Lincoln being the Great Emancipator. In fact, Lincoln made many statements regarding slavery and if one looks at those statements and those actions, slavery was unimportant to Lincoln. He wanted to preserve the Union and keep the South so that he could turn his attention to the territories and fulfill America's Manifest Destiny. When did the slaves actually become free then? The road to freedom was difficult and hard. That is why it has taken 150 years or more since the Civil War to bring freedom to African Americans as well as all the marginalized people (including women) who have never been fully free and why we remain a divided nation. </p><p>The first step toward freeing the slaves took place on April 16, 1862. https://emancipation.dc.gov/page/history-emancipation-day This is the day slavery was actually abolished in The District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) At the end of the Civil War those slaves living in what was the Confederate States of America were set free - Juneteenth. There were, however, five border states that were slave states that did not secede from the Union and where slavery still existed. These states were: Maryland. Delaware, W. Virginia (the area of Virginia that refused to secede), Missouri, and Kentucky (my home state). Thaddeus Stevens, an abolitionist in Congress) began to work with Abraham Lincoln on an Amendment to the Constitution that would once, and for all, abolish slavery in the United States. Getting the Amendment passed in Congress was a long and tedious battle, even though the South was still not fully represented in Congress. There is a movie entitled Lincoln that gives a fairly accurate portrayal of this story. In fact, I think it won some Academy Awards. A lot of those awards are based on things other than a recognition of the quality of the work as opposed to the popularity, but this movie was popular and is worth seeing. </p><p>The 13th Amendment, its text and ratification says something about the general attitude toward slaves and African Americans in general that existed not only in the South but also the country in general in 1865. This is not to defend the South for its abhorrent treatment of Black people, especially during the days of Jim Crow, but to underscore a general attitude of systemic racism that has existed throughout the country both North and South since the founding of this country and is why we are still dealing with the abhorrent treatment of people of color in this country. https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/13th-amendment </p><p>The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery but there is a little known part of the Amendment that has to do with keeping slavery operational in the prison system in this country. Slavery was abolished except for those who are in prisons. That has given the government permission to take men and women in prison to work on chain gangs instead of do what the system is supposed to do - rehabilitate. In addition, people of color make up the largest percentage of the prison population, this clause allows the government to keep them in involuntary servitude instead of addressing the things needed to keep them out of the "revolving door" that is their path. </p><p>The ratification of the Amendment is also important to consider. In December of 1865, the Amendment was ratified when 27 of the then 36 states ratified the Amendment. By this time the 11 states of the Confederacy had been readmitted to the Union. One of the requirements for admission was ratification of the 13th Amendment. Again, it was the South that made the difference. If they had not ratified the Amendment it would not have passed. Contrary to teachings, there was no widespread support for abolishing slavery. The majority of the interest in the freed slaves came from the Radical Republicans in Congress who pushed through legislation intended to help the freed slaves but most of which ended up in the hands of corrupt administrators and scalawags. My home state of Kentucky did not even ratify the 13th Amendment until 2005 when the country's awareness of Juneteenth and other aspects of the Civil Rights Movement were coming to light. </p><p>The road to freedom for African Americans in this country has been one that has benefited all the groups left out of participation in the freedoms set up in the Declaration of Independence. It saddens me to see these groups splinter and divide their resources when if they came together they would be much more powerful. </p><p>For all the reasons listed above, despite the 13th Amendment people of color remained in slavery under a system known as the Jim Crow Laws https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws and the control of the Ku Klux Klan until Black Americans organized under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others to raise awareness and people of conscious joined with them to break the system. The passage of the Civil Rights Law of 1964 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964 was a landmark in our history not only for African Americans but also all the marginalized groups (including women) that have suffered from not only racism but discrimination because they don't fit with "American" values. Movements that sprang from the Civil Rights Movement are bringing awareness to the systemic racism that still exists and holds people of color, Asians, Indigenous people, women and even those who practice a religion such as Judaism or Islam in chains. The road to freedom for African Americans in this country has been one that has awakened our conscious but now is the time for groups such as Black Lives Matter realize the importance of unity so that their power will move beyond the level of partisan politics or become targets to be used by people such as Donald Trump and what he supports. As Americans begin to free themselves from myths and half truths about democracy and our Founding Fathers, we will begin to come together in a force so strong that we will finally have not only a government "by the people and for the people" we will live on a planet that can continue to support us in living sustainable lives of joy and peace. </p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-19007314468196529592021-05-02T13:56:00.000-07:002021-05-02T13:56:10.647-07:00My Old Kentucky Home - An Abolitionist Song<p> I was born and raised in Kentucky and have always loved our state song - My Old Kentucky Home. Like most Kentuckians I was taught the myth of the writing of the story, that the song glorified the life of the ante bellum South and that Stephen Foster, a cousin of the Rowan family, wrote the song after a visit to what was called Federal Hill. Federal Hill was a brick mansion built by a federal judge name Judge Rowan. He owned slaves and used his slaves in the building trades because Federal Hill was not a plantation, When he died his finances were a mess and his son, John Rowan, had to sell slaves to pay off debts. Susannah fame. She is the one who visited and likely told these stories to her brother, Stephen in Pennsylvania. Stephen Foster was an abolitionist and read Uncle Tom's Cabin. The motivation behind the writing of the song was to tell the story of slavery in Kentucky, a border state, with few actual plantations. Federal Hill was not a plantation. Therefore, Foster wrote My Old Kentucky Home as a mournful tune to bring to light the way slaves were treated and sold with little regard for family and roots. The following passage in the Forward to my short story "Juneteenth" which is in a collection of short stories called "Finding New Pangaea" available on amazon.com. In a country where history has been so skewed even if it is taught, marginalized people can be swept up in movements to get rid of "racist" writings and documents and there is a move to do this to My Old Kentucky Home. Instead of getting rid of the song, teach its meaning and what it was all about in regard to slavery in Kentucky. It deserves to stay the state song and not only be played but have the lyrics with it, especially at the Kentucky Derby. </p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">Juneteeth<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Foreword <o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">There was a time
in our history when people dehumanized others in return for profit. These
immoral acts were shrouded in secrecy and rationalized to maintain a status quo
that allowed many to be more equal than others. In the 1850’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>’ poets, philosophers,
writers and composers began to use their freedom of expression to attack the
most hideous travesty of all - the institution of slavery. One such composer
was a young man named Stephen Foster who died penniless and alone in 1864 at
the age of 38. Perhaps his early death contributed to the legend surrounding
one of his minstrel songs written in 1851– “My Old Kentucky Home.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">The legend of “My
Old Kentucky Home” grew from stories told by Madge Rowan Frost, the
granddaughter of Judge Stephen Rowan who built Federal Hill in 1793. Madge
considered herself a southern belle and fostered the story that her cousin
Stephen Foster wrote “My Old Kentucky Home” after a visit to Federal Hill in
the 1850’s. Using this legend helped her sell the property she had inherited to
the state of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Kentucky</st1:state></st1:place>
in 1926. The Rowan version of the story is the one told every year in the
outdoor drama “The Stephen Foster Story” performed in the amphitheater on the
grounds of the state park. According to stephen-foster-songs.com, however,
“there is actually a lot to be said that Foster never stayed in Bardstown. It
is even very probable that the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” provided reasons for
the song.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">When one hears all
three verses of “My Old Kentucky Home” it becomes apparent that this song is
more than a lyrical comment of the hoop-skirted life style surrounding a
mansion in the antebellum South. Rather, the song is a lament for a young,
black man who is being sold “down the<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> river,” torn from his family still living
in the Old Kentucky Home. In fact, research into Foster’s minstrel tunes from
the antebellum South indicates that Foster was trying to humanize the dark
skinned people in captivity and mourned the fact they were bred like horses to
be beasts of burden and bought and sold like chattel.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">Stephen Foster’s
inspiration for “My Old Kentucky Home” was more likely an attempt to describe
the sadness and grief felt by slaves who helped build the home, started
families and then were forced from it. The slaves who actually lived in Federal
Hill were the house servants who most likely lived in the attic or basement of
the home. But whether living in a cabin, basement or attic, Rowan’s slaves
worked side by side with Judge Rowan in building Federal Hill and this is where
they and their children lived.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like any human beings, the slaves longed to
live surrounded by their loved ones in homes that they not only built but
maintained daily. It is probable that the subject of “My Old Kentucky Home” is
a slave who has been “sold down the river” who is voicing his sorrow over his
separation from his home and family. “My Old Kentucky Home” has a mournful tone
that echoes what any human being taken from home and family would feel. Tom’s
feeling of pain and despair is no different than what his white masters would
feel in similar circumstances. The blacks felt great joy and celebrated when
they were freed. Foster didn’t live to see this but I’m sure he would have felt
great joy for them as well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-35912155932950431012021-02-22T12:12:00.001-08:002021-02-22T12:12:20.467-08:00"She knows everything about history but nothing about her own."<p> I happened to see an episode of In the Heat of the Night today. I am sure that this episode was run to coincide with Black History Month. The story was about honoring a Black woman in Sparta, Mississippi (a woman named Odessa) who was the first African-American who had tried to register to vote there in 1964. The plot is not so important as the message intended - story of a person who was a leader in the movement for voting rights for African Americans in Mississippi in 1964. The older civil rights leader (a Rosa Parks type) had a granddaughter who was in high school. The city official (a Black woman) who was to give the award was talking to Odessa's daughter and granddaughter about the importance of the ceremony. The young girl dismissed it and left the room. When she left her mother said, "she knows everything about history but nothing about her own." That statement reminded me of myself. </p><p>I grew up in a family where communication with my grandparents was limited at best and secrets were well kept. All of my grandparents (except my mother's step mother who raised her) were dead by the time I was eleven and most of them were dead by the time I was born. There was never an opportunity to question and talk to any adult about behaviors that were "none of my business." Any effort to get answers was dismissed and I was told to stop being so nosey about adult matters. In my effort to learn about my past, I became a student of history. I won awards in history in high school and graduated from college <i>cum laude </i>with honors in history. I spent my professional career as a high school history, government and English teacher. I also won awards for my work in the classroom. I knew everything there was to know about the his story of this country that I taught - Anglo-Saxon, male history, but knew almost nothing about my own unless it connected to the Anglo-Saxon male. While teaching American history in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the 80's and 90's, I started learning a much different version of history. This was the time after Alex Haley's book "Roots" captured America's attention and the story of the African American and slavery started to reach national attention. I started changing the way I was teaching history at this time. As the African American movement grew, other ethnicities also benefited and in the 70's the largest minority group of all (females) started realizing how invisible they had been in American history and government. In 1991 I approached my principal about a new idea I had about teaching American history based on what I was already doing in the classroom for which I was earning awards. </p><p>My idea was based on a class I had in college titled Interrelationship of the Disciplines. I went to a college operated by the Southern Baptist Association in Louisville, Kentucky. The college did not require students to take courses in the Baptist doctrine nor even attend chapel (which was voluntary). What they required was this class that was a study of the disciplines (art, literature, philosophy, government, religion and science) of the major civilizations in recorded history - both eastern and western). Students learned about the history of the times through the study of the art, literature, philosophy, music, science, religion and government of each period. My proposal was on a smaller scale. I proposed that the administration create a class called humanities taught in a two hour block period of time to eighth grade language arts and American history students. American history and English would be taught through exploring the humanities as they developed in our history. The curriculum was approved and all eighth grade students were assigned to a humanities class. I was the lead teacher and worked with science and math teachers as well as special education teachers in developing a relevant, cross cultural curriculum that would serve students as they matured.</p><p>The course took on a life of its own as other teachers became part of the team. I included the bilingual department that focused on Spanish history, language and culture, special education teachers, a Navajo teacher to bring in Indigenous education and even taught one year with a special education teacher and the students from her resource room into the classroom. There were lots of research projects in which teachers as well as students researched the history and literature of all the cultures that have made the United States their home. As I taught this class some insights into my own history and how I fit into America's story began to take shape. During this time I began to realize how ignorant I was about my history. The thought occurred to me that with all my training and education if I had not learned these things, what about the majority of people in this country whose education about the myths of "white man's burden," manifest destiny and the building of a country based on freedom for all but in practice only a few had been imbued into the consciousness of Americans for centuries. It seemed time to tell everyone's story and not just the his story I had learned for most of my life. During these years the seeds of an idea for a book came to me. </p><p>As I taught I began to learn. I started opening doors to my past that had been so well guarded for years and began to find out how my ancestors (especially female) fit into the scheme of America's story. When I retired in 2003 I began work on a book - a generational saga that was intended to tell America's history as it was lived by all citizens of this country since 1720. Some of the characters are loosely based on characters from my own ancestry. Others are archetypes from the groups that make up a "melting pot" of citizens in this country. The name of the book is The Peacemaker - http://kentuckywoman.net. Since 2009, I have continued research into my own history and am finding a peace of my own about who I am as a tri-racial (Indigenous, African American and English) female whose ancestors were both victims and patriots. My ancestry includes men who have served in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, all of the Indian campaigns of the 17th and 18th centuries, Confederates and Union soldiers in the Civil War and World Wars I and II. The stories are not glamorous. These are the men who fought and returned home to live lives of "quiet desperation" unknown in the annals of time. </p><p> The women in my ancestry were invisible to me and the only woman I really knew that I could relate to was my mother. My mother was a strong woman who kept our family together and was responsible for our survival - both breadwinner and homemaker. She never became a great scientist or writer nor did she have any profession other than a nurse's aid. This is how she supported our family. I had no role model but her and during my formative years no national model of women of importance. My mother taught me what it was to love your family and community, keep a clean and safe home environment and always do what was in front of me to do. She did this by going to work outside the home when my father became disabled emotionally, keeping a spotless home, working in the garden, (her passion), canning or cleaning. She did this at all times with a song on her lips, a smile and gratitude for all we had. I learned a lot in my formal education and have been able to live a comfortable life style during my 74 years, but watching my mother and remembering her simple, homespun philosophy has been what has made the difference. Despite the fact that she had to work outside the home, my mother knew what it was to be a woman; compassionate, loving, loyal, joyful and nurturing. These are the qualities that we need in this country if we are to be "great again," not the qualities of attaining power and wealth by destroying the foundations upon which we live or die. I have a dream that when all the women of this country come to understand this we can reclaim our rightful position in society and become the promise of the free world.</p><p> </p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-3189451906710782432020-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:002020-10-21T12:35:34.821-07:00White Privilege and the Bill of Rights<p> There has been much debate during this chaotic year about systemic racism and white privilege. From my perspective, people of color use this term to discuss the lack of justice and opportunity for people of color in our society and the need to dismantle this. Members of the white community, in turn, look at their situation and do not see evidence of special treatment in terms of opportunity and justice. Indeed, most say this may have existed in the past, but these injustices have been addressed since the Civil Rights Laws were passed in the early 60's. This group believes that leaders such as Donald Trump are simply trying to "make America great again" by restoring law and order and certain amendment rights such as the right to bear arms or freedom of worship The other side responds that these issues have not been addressed due to the existence and actions of powerful, government condoned hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other White Power Groups that keep America great only for the white population. Indeed, they say that the present injustices by the police that have led to violent deaths for people of color is proof of this and the only hope for this country is to elect a President who will "restore the soul of America." I am not writing this to deny any of the above, but to give a definition of how I perceive white privilege, systemic racism and gender inequality in this country that exists in the very foundations of our government cannot be addressed by either of the parties led by white, land owning males. Until this is addressed, no forward movement can be possible. To do this, I have to go back to the founding of this country and the creation of the Constitution which contains the first ten amendments known as The Bill of Rights. </p><p>The Founding Fathers "revised" the Articles of Confederation in a Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787. The resistance of the state governments of the 13 United States against any entity that would take away their individual sovereignty was so great that the delegates that attended the Convention did so in secret. However, the economy of the country was in disarray and there were rebellions stirring in the states of Pennsylvania and Virginia as well as continued interference from Britain in regard to control of the Northwest Territory and its arming of the indigenous people living there. The Founding Fathers knew the country could not survive without some limited federal government that would have the power to tax, develop a singular currency and raise a standing army, so they created a federalist form of government with powers divided among a federal government, state governments and local governments. They also created within the federal government three branches of the government that would share the powers. A system of checks and balances was also set up to prevent one branch of the government from usurping the power, thereby creating nothing more than another absolute monarchy. Despite the genius of this Constitution, the states felt that more protections were needed to insure that this new government would not take away the individual rights these men had fought so hard to obtain for themselves. Therefore, before the Constitution could be ratified ten amendments that were part of the Constitution were added. These ten amendments, although part of the Constitution, are known as The Bill of Rights. Here is where my understanding of white privilege and systemic racism comes into play. </p><p>All of these freedoms are wonderful and the federal system of government set up by the Constitution should have lived up to the words of the preamble : "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure <b id="yui_3_10_0_1_1603305566839_552">domestic Tranquility</b>,
provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America." But it hasn't. Why? Because of the very things the people of this country see still active in society today, white privilege, racism and sexism. Unfortunately, those who want to change this are blaming the conservative white majority and their leader, Donald Trump when the problem stems from the very foundation of this government and how those rights in the Bill of Rights were enforced for generations and are still enforced with this attitude today. The idea that America was ever great for all the people living here is false. The idea that the Founding Fathers had a "soul" is false. </p><p>We the people in the minds of the white landowning men who wrote the Constitution meant only one group - white, Christian men who owned property. Amendment 4 of the Constitution protects citizens from unlawful seizures of their property. In 1787 who owned the property - white males over the age of 21. In fact, included in their property were slaves and females. This interpretation of the right to ownership of property was the basis for the Dred Scott Decision handed down by the Supreme Court just before the outbreak of the Civil War. Married men were free to discipline their wives and children without any reprimand because they were "property." Indigenous people who were not considered citizens had no rights to property, in fact their property was continually stolen in the name of the good of the country and Manifest Destiny. Women were citizens but only for the purpose of establishing voting representation for the men who controlled the government because they were the only ones who had the right to vote. Blacks were also considered citizens without voting rights because the southern states wanted them included in the count for determining the election of the white male leaders. The Constitution only counted them as 3/4ths of a citizen, however. When the white landowning males who still hold the economic and political power in this country, convince people that they will "make America great again" or "restore the soul of America," I wonder how this can be done without taking a good look at the basis for building a "great" country or a country with a "soul" that existed when? We cannot restore anything. </p><p>We must take a look at these interpretations of laws that have existed for only one group for generations and undo that thinking to make the words of the preamble to the Constitution mean anything. The foundation of justice in this country has been created by interpretation of laws meant for only one group of people. Because court interpretations become the basis for justice, our country is trapped in unending cycles of partisan struggles for power to change the make up of the courts so that justice can prevail. I believe we need to take a look at what has been left out of the Constitution in regard to justice and make the reforms there. The first place we need to start is with Roe vs. Wade.</p><p>Amendment 4 to the Constitution was used as a basis for females to make a decision over controlling the reproductive rights of a woman when the Roe vs. Wade Decision was passed down in 1976. It took 200 years for the courts to acknowledge this as a right for females because Amendment 4 was never intended to give women the right to their property (their bodies). When it was written women and children were considered property. Because this was not outlined in the Constitution in the first place and because the rights listed in the Bill of Rights were only for men, it has taken 200 years of struggle to get a white court imbued with the idea of white privilege and sexism, to pass down a decision based on Amendment 4. Unfortunately, this right is in danger still. The bitter battle in the Senate over the appointment of a conservative female who for all intents and purposes understands the law and says she will interpret the law based on what is in the precedents and foundation of the law demand will in no way resolve this battle. There is still within the thinking of the courts the implicit bias of sexism that somehow thinks giving a woman the right to decide what to do with her reproductive rights is a threat to the "family values" of this country or the rights of the unborn. It amazes me that people think the rights of the unborn supersede the rights of the living. Until the courts recognize the rights of a living citizen in this country to decide what to do in terms of having a child, the argument of the rights of the unborn holds no water. What is needed in this country is an amendment to the Constitution that guarantees every citizen the right to have agency over their bodies. From there, the system of justice needs to get involved if law enforcement decides there has been an abuse of this right that leads to an unjust death (and this does include the unborn). </p><p>This blog should in no way be interpreted as my support for abortion. I have had two marvelous births and would be hard pressed to ever consider aborting or harming a life I created. This is about making the Constitution that has worked for only one group of people for over 200 years start to work for "all the people" and other sentient beings on this planet. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-60475620694089839842020-08-26T14:21:00.003-07:002020-08-26T14:21:56.035-07:00A Whistleblower's Story is Finally Told<p> It's been thirteen years since my lawsuit against Oregon Youth Authority and the Education Service District I worked for for six years has been resolved. After my case was settled, I was physically, emotionally and financially bankrupt. I received a pittance of what my damages were but I decided not to appeal the decision, take what money they gave me and move forward with my life to rebuild and heal both physically and emotionally as well as financially. That has been a long journey. I have had flashbacks due to PTSD since the time of the lawsuit. My last serious one was when I took my case involving a traffic ticket that I believed was a set up to court in 2013. I had a few minor ones when I returned to Louisville, KY my home town after losing my home on the Oregon Coast to slowly re enter the world of volunteer work and leadership positions within the community and be a homeowner once again. During the five years I was there, I rebuilt my finances, continued to write and became able to finally qualifying for another home. In addition, I became a strong community leader and advocate recognized for my social consciousness and leadership abilities, especially as a member of the Portland Neighborhood Association's Board of Directors and establishing the Friends of the Library group for the Portland Library. I worked with the Education Committee to improve educational opportunities for youth in public schools. In addition, I worked with the League of Women Voters to try and bring back civics into the school curriculum and stop the Charter School Movement in Kentucky that was fueled by religious based organizations that wanted to receive public money for their religious based schools. As a retired history teacher, I continued my writing and advocating for teaching American history to reflect the true story of our history not just White Man's political history. The reason I wrote <i>The Peacemaker </i>during my retirement in Oregon was to bring this story to the attention of our country. I took things slowly and did not take on anything I didn't think I was ready for, but I soon reclaimed my reputation and confidence. After three years, it was time to look for the right home that fit with my writing and vision of a sustainable economy. All this time, I avoided partisan politics and continued my independent status. </p><p>I tried for two years to find the financing in Portland to purchase a home where I could do urban homesteading and work with the organizations that were bringing fresh food into the depressed neighborhood as well as planting trees and pollinating flowers to bring life back to the asphalt urban jungle. I volunteered in clean up projects and planting community gardens. I wanted to stay there, but the financing never became available. That is why I now live in Charlotte, NC working with my daughter on a property I have purchased to develop and restore and reclaim for organic gardening and a wildlife habitat and save the beautiful trees on the property from developers. I have stayed out of the politics of a partisan, divided country and used my writing to try and bring awareness to the problems inherent in this country since a republic that disenfranchised over half of its people was established in 1789, hoping that my writing and work I was doing on my property would be enough. I have been an independent voter since the election of 1988 separating myself from the partisan party politics of the country, but things have been happening since 2001, the ending date of my book <i>The Peacemaker</i> that I can no longer ignore.</p><p> I have started to take a strong stand on my social media outlets and, although I will not vote for either of the major political candidates, I am taking a strong stand on what I see as reforms that need to be made in this country that are not being addressed by either political party or their leaders who are actually controlled by the corporate lobbyists who fund their election campaigns. I also think it doesn't matter which white, land owning man is elected President because our whole system at every level is broken, corrupt and in the hands of special interest groups. President Trump says he represents the people, but in fact, he represents the military, fossil fueled industrial complex and Wall St. billionaires while convincing one small group of people, his base, that he supports "the people" in their desire to return control of the country back to the common man. What this group wants, however, is a return to the time when Washington represented their White, Anglo-Saxon Christian views that has made this country "the great defender of freedom" instead of what is has been since its inception, an imperialistic empire building country like that of the English Empire. In doing this, President Trump has equated patriotism with jingoism, my country right or wrong, and labels any protests that happen as being unpatriotic and defying all of those symbols that represent our country and its imperialistic empire building. Please know that I abhor violence and am sad that property and business are being destroyed in the name of protest. This is not the least bit helpful. This is why I have decided to vote for Mark Charles for President and why I now feel the need to talk about my whistle blowing and what I have learned about its importance that goes far beyond what I did as a teacher to expose corrupt educational practices in a juvenile detention facility where I worked as head teacher and program developer for six years. </p><p>One of the platforms of Mark Charles's candidacy is a rewrite of Amendment 13, that he says did not end slavery but only turned it over to the prisons. The following is the text for Amendment 13;</p><div class="compTitle fl-l fz-m c-black" id="yui_3_10_0_1_1598468110460_105"><p class="title fw-xl" id="yui_3_10_0_1_1598468110460_104">13 amendment of the Constitution</p></div><div class="compTextList fz-m c-black lh-22 cl-l" id="yui_3_10_0_1_1598468110460_129"><ul id="yui_3_10_0_1_1598468110460_128"><li id="yui_3_10_0_1_1598468110460_127"><b id="yui_3_10_0_1_1598468110460_126">Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment ( Amendment XIII)</b>
to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary
servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed
by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. </li></ul></div><p>When I taught American history, even working hard to give a true picture of American history, I taught the 13th, 14, and 15th Amendments as one block of votes, 13 abolished slavery, 14th Amendment gave them citizenship and the 15th Amendment gave African-American males the right to vote. I never really delved into the importance of the 13th and 14th Amendments beyond that. The only one I emphasized was the 15th because it gave African-American males the right to vote before females, by making them citizens. Knowing how the 14th Amendment has been used throughout its passage, most recently in the Roe vs. Wade case I now know that although the 13th Amendment abolished slavery the 14th Amendment did something for females that has been of extreme importance in bringing about civil rights for females in this country. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted
citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United
States—including former slaves—and guaranteed all citizens “equal
protection of the laws.” The added phrase at the end of that Amendment has been very useful to ethnic groups that may not have been slaves or women who were invisible, but no less recognized as citizens, in this country in 1868. Mark Charles has now brought something very important to the attention of the country. The extra verbiage in the 13th Amendment did not abolish slavery, it simply put slavery under control of the criminal justice system. </p><p>The prison system (many of them for profit as The Shawshank Redemption points our quite well) uses the criminals in their care for all kinds of slave labor for which they receive money. In looking at the population of these prisons, the population of people of color far exceeds the population of the white community or other ethnic groups. As I read the 13th Amendment I began to think that criminal justice reform needs to begin with getting rid of that part of the amendment. That's not nearly so bad as Hitler's death camps, but if our prisons are to be reformed we need to take the profit out of it and put the money into rehabilitation programs instead. This is now where my whistle blowing experience comes in. </p><p><br /></p><p>When I was hired at my last position where I worked in a juvenile detention facility, I was hired because my resume made me a perfect candidate for the place. I had certification in language arts (either math or language arts certification was a requirement) a master's in social work with a specialty in juvenile justice, and experience in working with students with disabilities through an inclusion program that made me familiar with all the laws surrounding teaching students with disabilities and modifications needed based on their Individual Educational Plans. Since finding someone who actually lived in the small town where the camp was located was difficult the Special Ed Teacher would come only on certain days and check in with me about how the plans were being implemented. In addition, I had created an impressive independent living program for students in my consumer economics class at Chemawa Indian School outside of Salem, Oregon where I was living at the time. All these things made me the right candidate to set up the academic part of the program and work with the other full time teacher who was also certified but in health. He could help me with math and science but his expertise was in the vocational part of the program. I went to work setting up teaching programs that would help students integrate their academics with experience in the vocational part as well as start setting up career programs for graduating students. </p><p>Things went smoothly for a while but there were red flags from the start. one of them involved the showing of movies in the classroom. I had been unaware when I started the job that the reason for the vacancy was the resignation of the special education teacher who worked with my partner after she had filed a sexual harassment suit against him for showing The Klan of the Cave Bear. I didn't know anything about this movie but as I became familiar with the camp and its population (many of the long term residents were there for sex offenses) I understood why this movie should never have been shown at all let alone being offensive to the female employee. As I struggled with trying to find out what the policy was regarding movies, I realized there was none and that movies of this type were not only shown in the classroom, they were used by the GLC's (general life coordinators) during free time. I asked the head of the camp about this and he told me that what I came up with would be the policy for the whole camp. That was my first problem. I became the scapegoat for taking away the movies from the inmates because I was rigid and not able to understand the needs of hormonal teenagers. These were not hormonal teenagers, they were sex offenders, rapists and murderers who not only didn't need to see movies like this in school, they should not have been subject to them at all, but I was put in the position of being one who changed it all for them. In addition, as I started implementing a lot of programs, I noticed my teaching partner's nervousness as though I had something against him or would charge him again. That thought was not on my mind at the time. </p><p> The second one which was the one that brought everything to a head was the releasing of students during the school day to work with a supervisor basically to do labor projects that involved clearing brush, cutting down trees, digging trenches, etc. for community landowners who needed cheap labor for these projects. The students' were paid five dollars an hour for this work and it went into an account that was primarily to be a savings account for when they were released but they were allowed to use a portion of that sometimes to get pizza or even go into the city to eat at a fast food restaurant. If they worked during the school day, they received elective credits to go toward their diploma. Of course most of the work took place during the school day and many of the students were also on the GED program so there was no problem with getting them excused since they were just studying for the GED tests anyway so credits were not that important so going to work during the school day was not a problem until. . . Another thing changed after I came to work there. </p><p>In 1996 Oregon passed Measure 11. This was a measure that changed the whole system of juvenile justice. Since young people were getting more and more involved in felonies and violent behaviors, Measure 11 required a 5 year 10 month prison sentence for anyone over the age of 15 accused of a crime that was associated with violence; i.e. murder, assault, armed robbery and rape. That changed the face of Oregon Youth Authority. No longer were juveniles sentenced for 2 years or less, they were spending their whole high school life and beyond in prison. GED programs and credit recovery were no longer viable so the different facilities where students were locked up started high schools where students actually graduated. Attaining a diploma even if the student could return to high school was now the focus. At the same time the GED tests were becoming harder and harder to pass and the thought was let's get these kids a diploma because they had been the trouble makers in school and most schools did not want them back. That is where I came in. My expertise and knowledge of credits, standards and performance tests was invaluable as well as my knowledge of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) program. When the program changed, releasing students for work changed as well and once again, I became the heavy. </p><p>I talked with the Camp Coordinator and tried to explain all this to him and for a while, things worked well. We established a work board that I coordinated and set the schedule for when a student could be released for work or not. About one-third of the students at the 26 bed facility were on IEP's which meant that if going to work violated a modification they needed they could not go. That led to a problem because I had worked with the Special Education teacher to set up a tutoring program in coordination with local volunteers who worked with them two days a week. This was a requirement. In addition, I worked with tutors who came in to tutor for the GED program also, so those were days when the students could not work. As demands for students to go out on work crews increased I once again became the heavy for adhering to the school demands over work demands. The money coming in for the work program was important to the people who ran Oregon Youth Authority and the demands for me to sacrifice the education for work release increased more and more and my teaching partner certainly was not on my side. Over and over, he was sent to me to try and persuade me to release the students. When I refused he was astounded. "Why do you want to keep these students here and make things hard," he asked? I simply told him I was doing my job as an educator. Having been only a teacher of electives, I don't think he really understood although I kept trying to explain, but the situation was getting more and more unpleasant and I was having difficulty controlling the students in class when they couldn't go to work. Again, no one took my side. They went along with the label of me being a rigid teacher who could only enforce rules and I have to say the men at the camp agreed with them. </p><p>Things became especially difficult when my husband died suddenly. My teaching partner kept going to the principal with complaints that I was working too hard and a lot of my problems stemmed from coming back to work too soon and working during the summer. It was too much for me. That could not have been further from the truth. My job has always been a source of comfort in times of stress, but things were becoming difficult. Things went from bad to worse when my teaching partner decided to retire and his job became available. The camp did need a vocational teacher to run the shop but the numbers of students did not really support two fully certified teachers. One of the ways that the numbers had been inflated was to count students released for work as being in school because when the credits were assigned at the end of the day, these students were listed on the count because they were receiving elective credits. Sometimes, we had only two students in class and I think my partner liked that. </p><p>Be that as it may, when he retired, a job posting went out for a teacher. I pushed for one with experience in shop because that was the bulk of the work the second teacher did in addition to supervising GED testing and help with classroom instruction. There was a teacher who lived in the city who was certified in elementary education and worked as a substitute. She was a good teacher but in my opinion was not qualified for the job. I made more trouble for myself when the principal told her that I didn't want her to have the job. Things were going from bad to worse. I was having more and more difficulty with the students and my partner who was retiring was absolutely no help. The job had been advertised in bigger communities. That's how I had learned about the job and had actually moved to the city to take the job. This was a man who came in and asked about the job one day. I told him he would have to speak with the principal at the ESD (Education Service District). He briefly mentioned that he had experience working with special education students but he had no vocational experience. I told him again he would need to work that out with the Education Service District and Human Resources. </p><p>Two days later my principal called and asked me what I thought about the man. I said he seemed nice, he did have special education experience but could he run the bike shop? Evidently, what my principal reported was that I liked this man and wanted her to hire him. Again, not the truth. He was hired and immediately went to work becoming a buddy with the students instead of a teacher. He was lax and had almost no knowledge of standards or how to work in programs that required meeting standards and testing in order to get a diploma let alone vocational experience, but he quickly established himself as the one who could work with the students. I had set up several independent study programs for students who were just one or two credits shy of graduation as a way of letting them be released for work. I had to do this because what the other teacher was doing was assigning credits in English by letting them write a report about what they did at work. That would have been okay with me, but the reports were read and thrown away and they were nothing that could be considered worthy of English credit. </p><p>When the new buddy came in he became the one everyone wanted to be the main teacher. No one wanted to work with me because I was too rigid. So, to keep the peace I let the new partner set up the program for a student who only needed a credit in English to graduate and be released. He showed it to me and it looked great. The problem was the student was not doing what he was supposed to do and when I pointed that out, my partner said he would take care of it. Things were getting more and more difficult for me.</p><p>Students were allowed to use the classroom computers for independent work because the computers at the camp were off limits. In order to use the computers, a teacher had to log in and then monitor what the students were doing as well as the web sites they were using. I was working in a different classroom one day when I heard my partner give the password to one of the students he was working with. I became suspicious and had the computer tech come out and check usage of the computer. What he found were dates of use on weekends and after school hours. In addition, one of the web sites was Hitler.com a site used by a proclaimed Nazi skin head. At the same time I asked my partner to show me the completed file of independent study work that was due at the end of the week. What he showed me was definitely not worthy of a credit. I told him what needed to be done and he said he would take care of it. Not only did the student not complete the work, my partner turned in the transcript to the office as complete and the student graduated. What happened then was unbelievable to me. </p><p>When I reported the incident, instead of asking my partner for the completed work, I became the one who was investigated and the end result was that I was to be transferred to a facility more suited to my rigid style. It was at that time that I obtained a lawyer who informed my employers of my intent to sue if they transferred me. A transfer would have meant selling my home that I had purchased with my husband and move back to Salem where the work was. When that happened I was put on administrative leave with pay while my allegations were investigated. Part of my allegations was that the environment had become so hostile, I did not feel safe there. And I was right. I received anonymous phone calls and was stalked when I went out in public. After a whole semester on leave in which no one came to me for lesson plans nor let me be involved in teaching in any way, I was called back to work under a Letter of Reprimand that was to serve as a warning with a plan of assistance that I was to follow in order to make it possible for me to work there. I could not go back to work and my attorney filed suit on my behalf. which resulted in what I described above. I know about the corruption in the prison systems. Although this was a juvenile camp with responsibilities to provide education and other programs to rehabilitate youth so they could return to society, this was nothing more than a revolving door. The camp operated to keep youth in line the best way they could and keep employment for as many people as possible. The work/study program was a farce and I now know that the verbiage in the 13th Amendment keeps marginalized people, even youth, at the mercy of servitude for the benefit of those in charge not for the person imprisoned. Let's start criminal justice reform by de funding the police and by this I mean giving them more training on deescalating violent situations where their help is needed but then employ the help of others who might be able to assist in keeping these corrupt institutions from being no more than a revolving door. I share this story not as a victim but from someone who has first hand knowledge of what is happening in the prisons so that justice may be served. </p><p><br /></p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-42152942355638372862020-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:002020-08-15T17:14:48.923-07:00Prophecy From The Peacemaker<p> September 11, 2001</p><p>Paul Littlebear looked out the window of the taxi winding its way through New York traffic toward Newark, New Jersey's international airport. He leaned his 6'2" frame forward; tapping on the window separating the driver from the two fares in the back. "Is traffic always this bad?"</p><p>"Just sit back and relax, Buddy. You're going to get to the airport on time."</p><p>Relax. Paul never did know how to relax. He looked at his twin sister, Pauline, calmly stroking the beads on the ancient belt she held in her long, slender fingers. Although the belt was worn and tattered, its value was immeasurable. Paul studied his sister holding the priceless covenant chain. How could two people who looked so much alike be so different? Paul looked at the sleek, raven hair so much like his own, hers in braids and his tied in a pony tail reaching to his shoulders. Pauline's blue eyes were fascinating and inviting, his were brooding, announcing stay away from me. Pauline's eyes met her brother's as she said, "Settle down, Paul, we'll make it."</p><p>"We'll make it." Those words reminded him of that time years ago when those words helped him get through the court ordered drug rehab program and his first year of sobriety. Paul's irritability reminded him of the truth of the saying, "One Day at a Time." Paul kept telling himself to think only about today's events; nothing else mattered. He took a few deep breaths, sat back and closed his eyes. He was tired, in fact exhausted.</p><p>"Here we are, right on time." Paul jerked, opening his eyes as the taxi pulled over to the loading zone under the United Air Lines sign. He opened the door and stepped out, helping his sister before grabbing the luggage from the trunk. After tipping the driver, the two walked into the airport terminal to check in for United Air Lines Flight 93 headed for San Francisco.</p><p><i>The Peacemaker </i>begins and ends on September 11, 2001. That date in American history was the defining moment for America as we faced the beginning of the 21st Century which would be full of challenges brought on at the very beginning of our history, cycles of never ending wars, recessions and depressions, and the unending struggles to unite the country so that it could live up to the words listed in the Preamble to the Constitution - </p><p><i> We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure <b>domestic Tranquility</b>,
provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America. </i></p><p>Those who were around on September 11, 2001 wondered about those words as the United States faced the dawn of a new millennium. Anyone who had lived through the 20th Century and who studied the history of this country could tell you that at that time we were far from living up to the promise of these words written by our Founding Fathers in 1787. What went wrong? What would the 21st Century hold with the threat of nuclear warfare, terrorism, the slow disappearance of the Middle Class, urban unrest and violence not only in the home but on urban streets everywhere? What was going to happen to the environment suffering under the intense heat of global warming?</p><p>These issues continued to be part of the debate in 2009 when I published the first edition of <i>The Peacemaker, </i>revising it in 2010. When I finished the book, Barack Obama had been elected to the Presidency - another watermark in changing the course of American history. This is what I wrote in the Epilogue to the book :</p><p>As of June 8th 2008, the Oneida Land Claim dispute is still stalled in the federal courts. There is still controversy in every part of the nation over Indian sovereignty and whether indigenous people (changed the term from Native Americas) should pay state and federal taxes. In the summer of 2008 Wall St. took another dramatic downturn and the economy is in another deep recession. The United States is deeply entangled in war in Iraq, and Israel and the Palestinians continue waging war. Osama Bin Laden will probably die from old age (wrong) despite the billions of dollars spent chasing him. History was made in the Election of 2008 pitting a female and African-American male in a dramatic race for the Democratic Party's nomination for President. Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president: however, Obama's mother was Caucasian.</p><p><i>The Peacemaker </i>is about realizing our unity. America is a country of blending. We are not an Aryan nation. We are one people from many different ethnicities and cultures. We are one nation and the key to our unity must be in coming together as one celebrating our different heritages and traditions that enrich us as we put aside past hurts and grievances. If we cannot make peace in our families or in our communities we cannot make peace in the world. We must become a nation of peacemakers - not peacekeepers. A peace that is kept with weapons of destruction is not peace at all. We must learn to resolve differences with words of love and forgiveness not by overpowering those who differ with us. In Alex Haley's book <i>Roots</i> Kunta Kinte's teacher during his manhood training teaches that you do not get rid of an enemy by killing him. Instead, you create generations of enemies among the descendants who continually seek to avenge that death. </p><p>As we make peace with the human race, we must also make peace with the earth that sustains us. We must learn to live in harmony with the earth once again and help it heal from centuries of abuse. We are children of the same creator and of one family no matter which creation story we believe. We are all peacemakers. <i>Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. </i></p><p> As I write these words in 2020 I look around me and what do I see. I see weather catastrophes, wildfires, flooding, intense storms and wildfires recurring every year wiping out the homes and fortunes of the people living in drought prone areas and on disappearing shore lines. I think about social media and the decline in American decency and literacy and inability to think critically about events - primarily because we, as a nation, have lost our connections to the earth that sustains us and have surrendered to partisan politics and "education" by celebrities or mass marketers instead of reading and dialogue. I think about the emotional tirades of people screaming about "erasing" history because they really don't know anything but the lies of white man's political history that have been propagated by those white land owning men who founded this country to serve them and not "we the people." </p><p><i>The Peacemaker </i>is a generational saga a story that incorporates the history of all the people in this country - a family living out the formation of a country that moved from 1720 to September 11, 2001. Although it is the story of one family it is truly not his story (those who founded the republic) but our story. It is the story of the struggles for those left out of participation in the "democratic republic" and explains how we got to where we were on September 11, 2001 and why we are where we are today. </p><p>When I finished the book in 2008, Obama had just been elected President. The book ends on September 11, 2001 but there is an Epilogue with some predictions about the nature of an Obama Presidency and what I think should be important. Unfortunately. President Obama was unable to bring the country together and in 2016 everyone knows who was elected President - a minority President which shows the need for reform in the Electoral College.</p><p>Mr. Trump has been President for four years. It has been a time of a division so great that I am wondering if we will ever unite. Trump's presidency began with national and international protests challenging the validity of his election. For four years members of the opposing party have been crying about this but have done almost nothing to reform the Electoral College. That is the problem. President Trump's advisers did a better job of playing the Electoral Map and building on the sketchy politics of the Democratic Party. Now, after four years, we have a repeat of the 2016 election with even more division and hate and a world wide pandemic that has somehow been made a issue by the Democratic Party. </p><p>Bernie Sanders further split the Democratic Party by bringing out the corruption and control of corporate America which also controls the funding and in return, controls the leaders they get elected to office. What has been done about this? Have there been any efforts to establish term limits for members of Congress? Congress has surrendered its legislative power to partisanship so strong that nothing can be accomplished. What about lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court? And during all this the average public sits around concerned about Mr. Trump's abuse of power when they don't realize we have given him that power. We have become a country ruled by executive orders, government regulations, and the fossil fueled lifestyle promoted by the military industrial complex. I don't know and don't really care which Presidential candidate wins the election, but I will predict in four years it is going to be the same ole same ole unless we go back into history and look at what went wrong and then try to re invent the American democracy. That is why I wrote <i>The Peacemaker </i>http://kentuckywoman.net. </p><p> </p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-63380428657355064602020-08-11T10:59:00.000-07:002020-08-11T10:59:11.709-07:00It's About Systemic Racism - Not Individuals<p> This blog was inspired by posts from two people on my social media page who were irate (as they should be) over the release of a man incarcerated for domestic violence because of the Covid 19 Virus. This man killed the woman who was responsible for his incarceration and then as far as I can recall, killed himself. That, in itself, could be another blog. The posts I read were angry (as they should be) over the fact that this man was released from prison and then killed his victim. The picture of the man indicated that he was Caucasian. On one of the posts, in response, I simply asked, "What would you have done?" The angry response showed that the person did not even read my comment or understand that it was a question but simply responded (paraphrase) I don't know how this can be more obvious, an accused, dangerous person released from prison? </p><p>I really had been interested in an answer, perhaps to stimulate a conversation on this topic. After that response, I started thinking about the situation through a lens of experience working in the criminal justice system and knowing the dilemma of making sure inmates' health is protected and that they do not die as a result of the incarceration. This problem has gone far beyond treatment in prisons and has been taken to the streets to demand social justice on the part of colored people who find themselves in contact with law enforcement. </p><p>The nation, in general, is divided; people are angry, mob behavior has come in to take the place of order. I cannot help but think about how Radical Republicans and scalawags took advantage of the chaos in the South to destroy a Reconstruction that was based on "malice toward none and justice for all." The challenges we face in this country because of this is one of the reasons we are still fighting the Civil War, but this is not what my blog is about. </p><p>It is about systemic racism that was the basis for disenfranchising the majority of the American population from participation in a supposed democracy and the struggle to incorporate others through using the Constitution, especially the Amendments known as the Bill of Rights throughout our history. One of the things I notice about the very vocal group that makes up much of President Trump's base is that the efforts of these disenfranchised groups to obtain their rights are somehow a threat to their "rights" and an attempt to erase our glorious history. So long as this is what is being promoted and people (on both sides) are unwilling to start thinking and reading beyond jingoistic phrases and rhetoric from political leaders who want to stay in power, we will continue to fight the Civil War with ignorance and unwillingness to face how our very Constitution and, many times, the way civil rights is interpreted by the court system to continue the back and forth ignorant, emotional tirades that each group uses to prove, "racism doesn't exist" and no progress can be made. Therefore, I write this blog knowing that unless I have some celebrity post something that validates what I am saying, no one will pay much attention. In spite of my resistance against doing this, I am writing the blog because at least I can put the subject to rest for me. </p><p>Overcrowding in the prison system has been an issue for generations. In fact, I was encouraged when both sides of the aisle came together to make progress on criminal justice reform. In fact, President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, encouraged him to make criminal justice reform the pivot point of his election. Instead, the President and his advisors chose to stick with the economy, and rely on his rallying cry to his "base" in huge events that did nothing but stir up jingoism and knee jerk responses. That backfired on him and he is now gathering as much support for his administration as being non racist by dividing the country even more in this "who is most at fault?" I do not blame the Trump Administration entirely for this division, I also do not like the Black Lives Matter" group's approach to that group being the group that is demanding reform rather than look at the idea of racism in general against all those disenfranchised from the "democratic" system set up in 1787 and go to the root of the matter. </p><p>So, I asked myself the same question and my response gave me insight into systemic racism that exists and still gets covered up because of all the noise. As stated earlier, the criminal incarceration system is responsible for the health of inmates in their care regardless of the nature of the crime, even those on death row. When I worked in the juvenile justice system in Oregon, I became aware of the protocols in place to protect the physical health and safety of the inmates that were always under investigation should an inmate die or be injured while in their custody. The dilemma faced by the people running the prison system has been greatly exacerbated due to a virus that requires social distancing, hygiene and face masks. Whether this prisoner was accused of murder or perhaps a less violent offense, the system is required to protect them all. How to best do that when the prisons are overcrowded in the first place? Take a look at releasing some prisoners. Here is the point I am making about racism.</p><p>Why choose this white man who was accused of murder over some other populations that were in for less violent offenses? In fact, that was what part of the criminal justice reform act was all about? I am sure that there were many inmates who fit this description who might have been released to homes with ankle bracelets and monitors and visits by parole officers instead of the one inmate (who happened to be white) accused of violent crimes. In this manner room could have been made to isolate those criminals who were more of a threat to society and protect them from Covid 19 while following all of the recommended protocols. I believe his release was about systemic racism in the way white prisoners are treated over people of color. Maybe my readers, if any, don't see it this way, but if you don't, instead of responding with angry, judgmental words, I would be interested in knowing what would you do? Or, if you are a Christian, what do you think Jesus would do? . </p>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-84748995627278145862020-07-20T18:44:00.001-07:002020-07-20T18:44:40.336-07:00History Erased Declaration of the Rights of Women July 4, 1876<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Declaration of Rights and Sentiments of Women</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Prepared by Elizabeth Cady Stanton</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Presented at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848</div>
<br />
Who has not heard of the Declaration of Independence? This milestone of freedom written on July 4, 1776 declared the reasons necessary for the colonists to declare their independence from Great Britain. Not only is this document preserved and housed among the great documents of freedom in Washington, DC, every American student of history has studied this document in classrooms all over the country. Until I started doing research on my own when I was teaching American history in Albuquerque, NM, I had never heard of the following document, let alone the place where the document was presented in 1848. In that year, seventy-two years after the founding of this "free country" a group of women found it necessary to hold a convention where they outlined the abuses they had suffered as females being denied the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.<br />
<br />
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a
position different from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one
to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the
causes that impel them to such a course.
<span id="more-39"></span>
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever
any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to
insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation
on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them
shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence
indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be
changed for light and transient causes and accordingly all experience
hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which
they were accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations,
pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them
under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government,
and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the
patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now
the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which
they are entitled.
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations
on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts
be submitted to a candid world.
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the
elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she
had no voice.
He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and
degraded men--both natives and foreigners.
Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective
franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of
legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.
He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.
He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she
earns.
He has made her, morally, an irresponsible being, as she can commit many
crimes with impunity, provided they be done in the presence of her
husband. In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise
obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purposes, her
master--the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty, and to
administer chastisement.
He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what shall be the proper
causes, and in case of separation, to whom the guardianship of the
children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the happiness of
women--the law, in all cases, going upon a false supposition of the
supremacy of man, and giving all power into his hands.
After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single, and the
owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government which
recognizes her only when her property can be profitable to it.
He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those
she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration. He
closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction which he
considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine,
or law, she is not known.
He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all
colleges being closed against her.
He allows her in Church, as well as State, but a subordinate position,
claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and,
with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of
the Church.
He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a
different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies
which exclude women from society, are not only tolerated, but deemed of
little account in man.
He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his
right to assign for a sphere of action, when that belongs to conscience
and to her God.
He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her confidence
in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make willing to
lead a dependent and abject life. Now, in view of this entire
disfranchisement one-half the people of this country, their social and
religious degradation--in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and
because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently
deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate
admission to all the rights and privileges which long to them as
citizens of the United States.
In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount
of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use
every instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We shall
employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the State and National
legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press in our
behalf. We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of
Conventions embracing every part of the country.
(Lucretia Mott, Thomas and Mary Ann McClintock, Amy Post, Catharine A.
F. Stebbins, and others, discussed these resolutions, which were later
adopted.)
WHEREAS, The great precept of nature is conceded to be, that “man shall
pursue his own true and substantial happiness.” Blackstone in his
Commentaries remarks, that this law of Nature being coeval with mankind,
and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any
other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries and at all
times; no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this, and such
of them as are valid, derive all their force, and all their validity,
and all their authority, mediately and immediately, from this original;
therefore,
Resolved, That such laws as conflict, in any way, with the true and
substantial happiness of woman, are contrary to the great precept of
nature and of no validity, for this is “superior in obligation to any
other.”
Resolved, That all laws which prevent woman from occupying such a
station in society as her conscience shall dictate, or which place her
in a position inferior to that of man, are contrary to the great precept
of nature, and therefore of no force or authority.
Resolved, That woman is man’s equal--was intended to be so by the
Creator, and the highest good of the race demands that she should be
recognized as such.
Resolved, That the women of this country ought to be enlightened in
regard to the laws under which they live, that they may no longer
publish their degradation by declaring themselves satisfied with their
present position, nor their ignorance, by asserting that they have all
the rights they want.
Resolved, That inasmuch as man, while claiming for himself intellectual
superiority, does accord to woman moral superiority, it is pre-eminently
his duty to encourage her to speak and teach, as she has an
opportunity, in all religious assemblies .
Resolved, That the same amount of virtue, delicacy, and refinement of
behavior that is required of woman in the social state, should also be
required of man, and the same transgressions should be visited with
equal severity on both man and woman.
Resolved, That the objection of indelicacy and impropriety, which is so
often brought against woman when she addresses a public audience, comes
with a very ill-grace from those who encourage, by their attendance, her
appearance on the stage, in the concert, or in feats of the circus.
Resolved, That woman has too long rested satisfied in the circumscribed
limits which corrupt customs and a perverted application of the
scriptures have marked out for her, and that it is time she should move
in the enlarged sphere which her great Creator has assigned her.
Resolved, That it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to
themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.
Resolved, That the equality of human rights results necessarily from the
fact of the identity of the race in capabilities and responsibilities.
Resolved, therefore, That, being invested by the Creator with the same
capabilities, and the same consciousness of responsibility for their
exercise, it is demonstrably the right and duty of woman, equally with
man, to promote every righteous cause by every righteous means, and
especially in regard to the great subjects of morals and religion, it is
self-evidently her right to participate with her brother in teaching
them, I both in private and in public, by writing and by speaking, by
any instrumentalities proper to be used, and many assemblies proper to
be held; and this being a self-evident truth growing out of the divinely
implanted principles of human nature, any custom or authority adverse
to it, whether modern or wearing the hoary sanction of antiquity, is to
be regarded as a self-evident falsehood, and at war with mankind
Resolved, That the speedy success of our cause depends upon the zealous
and untiring efforts of both men and women, for the overthrow of the
monopoly of the pulpit, and for the securing to woman an equal
participation with men in the various trades, professions, and commerce. <br />
<br />
This was the call to action given to the 300 women delegates at the convention and the final solution was that females could not achieve the aforementioned goals unless they attained the right to vote. Thus, the beginning of the women's suffrage movement. It is astounding to think that only 100 of the 300 female delegates signed the document. In addition most of the males who had not been invited to the convention but attended anyway who were given the right to vote abstained. This was the climate among not only those men in power but females themselves who did not agree with what was written. In understanding this history, and uncovering it for all to see instead of erasing it, the student can understand the great divisions among females that survives through this day.<br />
<br />
The women who attended the convention at Seneca Falls went from there to a meeting in Philadelphia where they organized the Underground Railroad System. Frederick Douglas had been one of the men who attended the meeting and who voted for the Declaration. These women were the extremists, the radicals of their day and conductors of the Railroad were in constant danger of being caught and prosecuted. Although the slaves were emancipated after the Civil War and black males were given the right to vote in 1865, women were still a long way from achieving this goal. <br />
<br />
In fact another Declaration of the Rights of Women was written by Susan B. Anthony on July 4, 1876, the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2017/03/21/declaration-of-rights-of-the-women-of-the-united-states-july-4-1876/">https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2017/03/21/declaration-of-rights-of-the-women-of-the-united-states-july-4-1876/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Women were still being denied the right to vote and were still unequal to men in all the categories listed in the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments of Women. Once again, this history was erased from the textbooks I studied both in high school as well as college when I was pursing a degree in history. Once again, I was fortunate that women began to organize and start demanding equal treatment and raised the consciousness of this woman at least. As I read all the wall posts about certain groups having their history erased, many of these posts come from women themselves and I cannot grasp this. Why is this happening?<br />
<br />
I was watching a program on TV with an interview of a woman who has written a book for women about another Declaration of Rights of Women to help women understand how they are still invisible in this country and how they themselves are still trying to demand rights from a "man's world." Again, I ask myself, why should this be happening? We do not need to push the male controlled, patriarchal system that is still in operation no matter what the politicians say. We need to demand reform and demand that our history not be erased, that it be taught and that measures to reform those documents of freedom that have historically ignored females be made all inclusive with all the rights granted to men being granted to females as well.<br />
<br />
<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-53553916122937519762020-06-28T12:43:00.000-07:002020-06-28T12:43:23.502-07:00Democratic Party Elects Joe Biden President in 2020 ElectionJanuary 6, 2021 <br />
Washington, DC<br />
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On this date in 2021, this could be the possible headline announcing Joe Biden's election as President by the Democratic controlled House of Representatives. Few people really know about the process to elect the President and because of two men who received a minority of the popular vote in the last twenty years but became President, this is the only possible scenario that concerns people. Because of that, however, there has been a movement that is getting stronger to have the state legislatures change the way their Electoral votes are cast to make the outcome of the election reflect the actual will of the people.<br />
<br />
There have been all kinds of arguments about the role of the Electoral College as a fight between large and small states being the reason this system was set up by the Founding Fathers in the first place. Earlier, I posted an article about why the Electoral College was actually founded. To a certain extent it had to do with large and small states, but the main reason this system was set up was to provide a system free of the partisan power struggles between the states trying to get their "favorite sons" elected to this powerful position. At that time political parties did not exist; in fact the Founding Fathers never dreamed that the struggle for power between large and small states would become a partisan struggle between the red and blue states. In fact, George Washington, in his Farewell Address, seeing the beginnings of separation into parties by Federalists and Anti-Federalists warned against the formation of political parties. Therefore, the Electoral College was set up to elect the President.<br />
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What few people know, however, is that there is another consideration provided in the Constitution. Should neither candidate receive a majority of Electoral Votes, the House of Representatives then decides who will be President. Why the House of Representatives? Because in 1787 the House of Representatives was the only House of Congress elected by the people. Senators were not elected by popular vote until 1913 when the 17th Amendment was passed. " The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in <b>1913</b>,
making the election of senators by popular vote. However,
presidential elections still operate under the Electoral System. The
Electoral College is made up of representatives who are generally
selected by the political parties at their state conventions." And it is the state legislators who make the rules about how the votes are cast. By tradition, although this was never part of the design, states follow the winner take all method of assigning Electoral Votes. This is what has allowed the election of two minority Presidents in the last 20 years of American history.<br />
<br />
The only President to be elected by the House of Representatives was John Quincy Adams in the election of 1824. https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1800-1850/The-House-of-Representatives-elected-John-Quincy-Adams-as-President/#:~:text=About%20this%20object%20John%20Quincy%20Adams%2C%20the%20only,Secretary%20of%20State%20John%20Quincy%20Adams%20as%20President. If you will read this article, you will see that his opponent was Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson was a war hero and touted as the hero of the "common man." John Quincy Adams was a Federalist who believed in a strong federal government. It is interesting that John Q. Adams only served one term and in 1824 Andrew Jackson, the founder of the Democratic Party, was elected to the White House, ushering in the age of the common man and "universal suffrage." At this time universal suffrage referred to giving white men over the age of 21 who were uneducated and didn't own property the right to vote.<br />
It is interesting that Andrew Jackson, the old Indian fighter, laid the foundation for ridding the Indian problem east of the Mississippi and by taking away all their lands, he was, indeed, able to help the common man own property. This part of history has been ignored and even the people who promote teaching about the Trail of Tears have little understanding of the importance of that event in the eventual decline of the Indian population under Manifest Destiny. Poor teaching of history combined with students' blatant disregard for history have led to a country that is ignorant, segmented and divided and vulnerable to any myths used by either partisan side in truly understanding the reforms that need to be made in this country to achieve social justice and liberty for all.<br />
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There is a movement in almost all the state legislatures to join what is called the National Popular Vote Interstate CompactAct. https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation. To date, 16 states have passed this agreement and the vote is being considered by many state legislatures. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the effect on the vote if only those 16 states implemented this system of electing the President - keep the Electoral College but apportion the Electoral votes according to popular vote - not winner take all. This is used for illustration only because the Compact will not go into effect until enough states approve it so that the total number of Electoral Votes reaches 270 - the number of votes needed to elect the President. The article is actually an attempt to debunk the myth that without the Electoral College "California would elect the President." Hopefully, you will read to the end.<br />
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The states that have already approved the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Act represent 196 Electoral votes and everyone of these states is considered a blue state. https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ Political experts have put all these states in the blue category meaning it is a Democratic win. The Electoral vote count in these states is 308, meaning that if the Democratic candidate wins in all those states under the current system, the Democrat would win the election. Let's assume for a moment that these states used the popular vote as a method of assigning Electoral votes. That means that Donald Trump would win a share of the Electoral votes in all these states, enough to drop the total to around 210 (this is only guesswork). Now, what happens.<br />
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Donald Trump's Electoral vote count in red states is only 167. If he picks up a share of the Democratic votes his total might even come close to the Democratic total. There is one set of Electoral votes that has been left out of the equation. Those are the swing states, those states that have voted for both Democrats and Republicans at one time or another and this is really where the candidates focus their attention. These states are Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and possibly Nevada. The Electoral vote total is 91. Capturing these states becomes critically important to both candidates even more so to the Democrats if they lose some of their Electoral votes to Trump. Again, this is hypothetical to make a point. Attention has always been focused on these states and that is why it is important to know that they are the key in electing any President. So, what if neither of the candidates win enough Electoral votes to hit the magic 270? Then, in January of 2021, the Democratic controlled House of Representatives would choose Joe Biden as President. Again, this is just hypothetical in order to make a point. Big states such as California, Illinois and New York have always had an impact on the election, but the point being made is that if the vote is determined by the Popular Vote this will not happen. It can only help everyone make sure their vote is counted when it comes to electing the President of the United States no matter where they live. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will be on the ballot this year. Please consider voting for it and get rid of a system that no longer serves its purpose. <br />
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* Just a side note. Why is it that Donald Trump has suddenly held a briefing on the status of the Corona virus and his Administration's success at flattening the curve for the first time in two months? Vice President Pence's claims about the curve being flattened are only partially true and many of the states experiencing a surge as serious as the one in New York are badly needed by Trump in the upcoming election - two swing states - Arizona and Florida- and the traditionally Republican state of Texas with 34 Electoral Votes. Both sides are playing politics and the American people are caught in the middle.<br />
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Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-61018296574058544042020-06-21T13:18:00.001-07:002020-06-22T06:02:30.132-07:00Why Juneteenth is a Big DealImagine it is mid May, 1945 and you are a reporter standing in front of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland recording release of prisoners from the Concentration Camp. You watch as emaciated forms walk under the sign <i>Arbeit Macht Frei</i>, some wobbling alone or on crutches, others walking being supported by one another. As they walk past you hear their conversations. <i>How long were you here? Where did you come from? What do you know about prisoners from other concentration camps? Do you know the names Anne and Margot Frank or Peter Van Daan?</i> It seems to you that the most important thing on these former prisoners' mind is finding out about loved ones lost to them during this terrible period known as <i>The Holocaust, </i>a time in history that will never be forgotten and now taught in all the history books - lest we forget.<br />
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Now imagine you are a reporter covering the day on June 19, 1865 when federal soldiers marched into Houston ordering that all people held as slaves in the state of Texas are now and forever free.<br />
You go to a nearby plantation and watch as slaves hear about Emancipation for the first time and begin to understand what that means to them. They are now free to pack up their belongings and leave the plantation to which they have been bound since they were born. They are now able to put any family units back together and go freely to look for other relatives that were sold to other plantations or who ran away. Imagine the joy! This is what freedom means - to travel and go about freely and live in family units just like their masters!<br />
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You notice that there is someone in the crowd telling the freed slaves about a gathering in a place in Houston called Freedom Park. The freed slaves look at him in astonishment - <i>you mean we can gather in a public place! </i> "Yes, so long as you do it peacefully," comes the reply. Freedom - this is what emancipation means.<br />
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You get to the park and you notice there are Black people who can read and write who are reading the <i>Emancipation Proclamation </i>and explaining it to the crowd without being hauled away or beaten. A revelation occurs to some - I can learn to read and write. Freedom! People are coming with food and mingling and talking to one another about relatives and friends. You even see some of your own! Freedom!<br />
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There are tables full of traditional foods prepared by female members of the community and set onto tables for the freed slaves to eat - not masters. Freedom! Everyone is singing and dancing for their own enjoyment not for the masters- Freedom!<br />
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When the day ends these slaves return to the plantation as free people, they begin to absorb what this freedom means and then start to build a new life, but they do not forget this day. They mark the date June 19, 1865 on a calendar so that no matter where they are in the following years, they will come together with family and friends to mark the day they received their freedom from tyranny the way their white masters did on the 4th of July, but this observance is a little different from that celebration.<br />
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In order to understand how the <i>Juneteeth </i>celebration is observed, I attended many celebrations in and around the state of Kentucky from 2015-2019 when I moved from my home state. I also did presentations at the Portland Library on the history of <i>Juneteenth </i>and the long struggle to get the day declared a federal holiday not just an observance day. As I started learning how the day was observed, I decided to write a short story about an adolescent growing up in the Portland Neighborhood of Louisville, Ky. The story is about his coming of age on this day, but it also creates a picture of the Black community in this neighborhood with its roots in slavery and how they celebrate the day. The story is entitled <i>Juneteenth </i>and it is found in my collections of short stories <i>Finding New Pangaea </i>available at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-new-pangaea-ms-brenda-c-duffey/1126177417. It is also available in kindle format.<br />
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The observance of <i>Juneteenth </i>follows closely the observance of the original <i>Juneteenth </i>celebration. It is a celebration of family and oftentimes there are large family reunions at state parks in the area. Traditional foods are served and it is just a big family picnic with tables spread with traditional foods and children laughing and playing and reuniting with distant family members or meeting new ones. Education is also a component. Some of the observances of the day are marked by original plays that tell the story of slavery and freedom. For the most part, it is just people having fun enjoying the same freedoms that the white Anglo-Saxon males attained on July 4, 1776. That day is marked by ringing of bells and fireworks displays along with national celebrations in Washington, D.C. with spectacular entertainment by national choruses and the singing of patriotic songs as well as a lot of flag waving and red, white and blue. Just like July 4th <i>Juneteenth</i> is, indeed, a big deal because this day marks the day on which they received all the freedoms listed in the <i>Constitution </i>just as July 4th marks the day Anglo-Saxon men and other Black freedmen attained the right to self-government and their freedom from absolute monarchies that denied them their rights as English citizens. July 4th was also a landmark day for oppressed people in other countries. It is unfortunate that these Founding Fathers did not include all American citizens at this time. So <i>Juneteeth </i>is a big deal to the African-American communities and just like July 4th the day needs to be at last declared a federal holiday. *<br />
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Just like the struggle to get <i>Juneteenth </i>declared a federal holiday, the journey of not only African-Americans, Native Americans, women and other people of color has been long and difficult. In 2020, all of these groups are still held in bondage and prisons and still struggling to get the freedoms listed in the Bill of Rights so the country can live up to the words of the preamble to the <i>Constitution</i>:<br />
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<i> We the People of the United States in order to form a more perfect union,</i></div>
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<i>establish justice. </i><br />
<i>provide for the common defense</i><br />
<i>promote the general welfare,</i></div>
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<i>and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity,</i></div>
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<i>do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.</i></div>
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<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-48416096686253708142020-06-15T19:28:00.002-07:002020-06-15T19:28:31.794-07:00Why All Lives Matter Landmark Supreme Court DecisionThe Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places
and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning
legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. Although the movement began to end segregation and discrimination against Blacks in the South, when the Act was passed it was all inclusive - the language was not specific to one group of people; it banned discrimination in public places or in the work place based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Today, that all inclusive language resulted in a victory for the LGBTQ community in a decision handed down by the Supreme Court and delivered by a conservative Trump appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch. Justice Gorsuch was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the four liberal justices making this a 6-3 decision. <div>
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Two members of the LGBTQ community who had been fired from their jobs for entering into same sex relationships took their case to court and it ended up in the Supreme Court which today upheld their right to keep their jobs regardless of sexual orientation. For the two conservatives on the court, the decision was made based on the wording of the text of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which mentioned the word sex. If the Civil Rights Act had been specific only to the rights of Blacks, this protection would have been denied the LGBTQ community which has suffered from discrimination as long as any other group in this country. That's why it is important to keep in mind that George Floyd, a Black man, is more than a Black man. He is the representative of all of us who have suffered from police brutality, injustice and discrimination. The leadership of Black Lives Matter has the opportunity to make important changes in our system for the betterment of all. I hope when dialogues begin and things start to change that the leadership will remember it's not just about Black people; please include all those groups that have suffered from injustice and discrimination for too many years. They are standing in solidarity with you because they know too well themselves the brutal consequences of hate and injustice. </div>
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Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-56734837939986658622020-06-11T10:47:00.001-07:002020-06-11T10:47:44.207-07:00For Those Touting Juneteenth Celebration In Tulsa a Little Historical Context<br />
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Juneteenth – The Road
to Freedom<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kentucky’s observance of Juneteenth was ordered by
proclamation in 2005. Here is the text of the proclamation <a href="http://www.nationaljuneteenth.com/Kentucky.html">http://www.nationaljuneteenth.com/Kentucky.html</a>.
The following is a history of the story of emancipation and freedom from
slavery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the biggest misconceptions in American history is
that the Union fought the Civil War to free the slaves and that Lincoln’s
Emancipation Proclamation was issued to free the slaves. This perception has
resulted from the failure of education to teach anything but White man’s
political history for over a Century in this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote my first novel (The Peacemaker) in
retirement from 25 years of teaching American history in public schools all
over the country in an effort to dispel these myths. This is why I continue
writing and teaching and making presentations such as this all over the country
in retirement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What were the real issues in regard to the fighting of the
American Civil War? The Civil War was an economic war between two powerful
entities that controlled the American economy from the time of the
establishment of the United States in 1787. These two entities were the
industrial magnets of the North and the plantation owners of the South.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither of these entities represented the
common man or even those bound by slavery or forced removal from their
ancestral lands in order to make room for one of these two economies and thus
control the great wealth available for only a few of the ruling members
controlling each region. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The rich plantation owners of the Confederacy (10% of the
population) were able to convince the poor whites living in the area that their
cause to protect their “way of life” was important enough to die to the last
man. The industrialists of the North did not succeed in doing so causing great
resistance to the War to preserve the Union after two years of nothing but a
blood bath with nothing in return. In fact, the Irish-immigrants in the Northern
centers soon began to call this War a “rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight.”
They had lost the will to fight and even began to resent the large numbers of
African-Americans filling the contraband camps in the North who were not taking
part in the fight. Lincoln was running out of both men and materials by
September of 1862 as the Union armies fought the invading forces of the South
at Antietam Creek outside of Maryland. This one day battle was the bloodiest
battle of the Civil War with the Union losses at 12,000 and the Confederate
losses at 13,000. The Southern forces were loyal to the last man, but Union
troops were not willing to suffer such terrible losses. The Union desperately
needed a victory to keep support for the War and Congress was talking about
passing a Conscription Act (draft) in order to supply more “cannon fodder.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the Battle of
Antietam ended in a draw with the Confederates simply moving back instead of
surrendering, Lincoln decided this was the time for an act that would turn the
tide of war with a Confederate surrender, or keep the British and French from
coming into the War on the side of the Confederacy and give him the power to
conscript Black soldiers into the conflict – thus preventing a Conscription
Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The failure of the Emancipation Act
to stop the War led to the passage of the Conscription Act in March of 1863
resulting in three days of Draft Riots in New York City (described in The
Peacemaker) during which the African-American population suffered great loss. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The document issued by Abraham Lincoln in
September of 1862 was the Act Lincoln chose to accomplish the afore mentioned.
That document became known as the Emancipation Proclamation and was the basis
of the now nationwide observance of Freedom Day more commonly called
Juneteenth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Emancipation Proclamation was not an act of Congress; it
was an Executive Order. In 1862 the Presidential use of Executive Orders was
far more limited than it is today. The power to issue an Executive Order was
supposed to be restricted to times of national emergencies when the President
had to act swiftly as Commander-in-Chief to protect national security because
there was no time for Congress to debate a law. Read the full text of the
Proclamation at this link: <a href="http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation-text">http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation-text</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The text lists the 10 states covered by the
Proclamation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The actions of these 10 states after the issuing of the
Proclamation is what led to freedom of the slaves in those states. The
governments of these states kept fighting, therefore the slaves were free but
emancipation did not happen until federal troops marched into the states and
took control. If the South had surrendered, the slaves would not have been
freed there. Lincoln realized after issuing the Proclamation that Congress
needed to act to end slavery all together in this country because the slaves in
the five Border States as well as the slaves in the District of Columbia were not
affected by the Proclamation. Congress had passed the Compensated Emancipation
Act in April of 1862. This Act freed all the slaves living in the District of
Columbia. Therefore, April 16<sup>th</sup> is a state holiday celebrated each
year in the District of Columbia. Other celebrations commemorating Freedom Day
take place in Florida on May 20<sup>th</sup>, and Puerto Rico on March 22<sup>nd</sup>.
The most common nationwide celebration of freedom is the celebration known as
Juneteenth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The celebration known as Juneteenth is a corruption of the
words June and nineteenth. June 19<sup>th</sup> is the day in 1865 when General
Granger marched his federal forces into Galveston, Texas and declared that the
slaves were free under the conditions of the Emancipation Proclamation. As the
news reached the slave communities, a free Black man who owned property in
Galveston donated the property and declared that it be named Emancipation Park
where June 19<sup>th</sup> would be celebrated each year with reading of the
documents of freedom (Emancipation Proclamation and eventually the 13<sup>th</sup>,
14<sup>th</sup> and 15<sup>th</sup> Amendments), picnics and family reunions.
There were street fairs, rodeos and singing of traditional songs of freedom
such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”- one of the spirituals sung by slaves to
pass along information about when a guide for the Underground Railroad such as
Harriet Tubman was in the area.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The celebration grew as former slaves moved from the South
into urban centers of the North during the 1920’s and 30’s taking the
celebration with them. One interesting celebration of Juneteenth takes place in
Coahuila, Mexico. The mascogos or Black Seminoles fled to Mexico after the
forced removal to the Indian Territory in 1832. Runaway slaves fled to Florida
and had married into the Seminole population so after the removal of the Indian
population to Oklahoma in 1832, this mixed population fled to Mexico to avoid
being put into slavery. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mascogas">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mascogas</a>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since the slaves of the Border States were not freed by the
Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln realized that the passage of an
Amendment to the Constitution would be needed to put an end to slavery the
United States once and for all. In January, 1865 the surrender of the South
appeared eminent, so Lincoln decided to push Congress into proposing the 13<sup>th</sup>
Amendment to the Constitution that would end slavery. The Amendment did not
become law until December of 1865 when the 30 of 36 states ratified the
Amendment ending slavery. Lincoln did not live to see that. In another paradox
of history, Kentucky did not ratify the 13<sup>th</sup> Amendment. The main
reason the amendment passed was because one of the requirements for reentry
into the Union for the Confederate States was ratification of the 13<sup>th</sup>
Amendment. Since the slaves in Kentucky had not been freed by the Emancipation
Proclamation, it would be 140 years before the celebration became recognized in
Kentucky.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The movement for a national celebration of Juneteenth began
after the Poor People’s March on Washington in August of 1963 when the story of
Juneteenth was shared with people from all over the country who converged upon
Washington, D.C. The marchers took the celebrations back to their home states
and in 1994 Christian leaders from all over the country met in New Orleans , LA
to lobby Congress to pass a law to declare Juneteenth as National Independence
Day for African-Americans similar to July 4<sup>th</sup> to allow for time off
from work. Congress never enacted such a law, but state lawmakers encouraged
their states to either establish Juneteenth as a state holiday or at least a
state observance. As of 2012, 41 states and the District of Columbia passed
legislation to officially recognize Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Kentucky passed a resolution on June 20, 2005 to set the 19<sup>th</sup> of
June of each year to be observed as Juneteenth National Freedom Day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Further reading on the historical context in which the
Emancipation Proclamation was written can be found in “The Peacemaker,” by
Brenda Duffey at <a href="http://kentuckywoman.net/">http://kentuckywoman.net</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short story entitled “Juneteenth” that is
part of a collection of short stories by Brenda Duffey can be found in “Finding
New Pangaea” available on amazon.com. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-30334965749504602672020-06-06T07:32:00.001-07:002020-06-06T07:32:08.792-07:00Don't Kill the Mockingbirds - Mockingbirds MatterA glass of water, that piece of bread, an item of clothing, that
visit… these little things, my friend, are what the Lord asks of you.
Love manifested for the hungry one, the thirsty, the naked, the sick,
the one in prison, the broken one, the one who suffers, who’s alone, as
the Bible tells us in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25&version=NKJV">Matthew 25:35-40</a>.
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<em>“‘</em><em>For</em> <em>I</em> <em>was</em> <em>hungry</em> <em>and</em> <em>you</em> <em>gave</em> <em>Me</em> <em>food</em><em>; </em><em>I</em> <em>was</em> <em>thirsty</em> <em>and</em> <em>you</em> <em>gave</em> <em>Me</em> <em>drink</em><em>’ […] ‘</em><em>Lord</em><em>, </em><em>when</em> <em>did</em> <em>we</em> <em>see</em> <em>You</em> <em>hungry</em> <em>and</em> <em>feed</em> <em>You</em><em>, </em><em>or</em> <em>thirsty</em> <em>and</em> <em>give</em> <em>You</em> <em>drink</em><em>?’ […] ‘</em><em>Assuredly</em><em>, </em><em>I</em> <em>say</em> <em>to</em> <em>you</em><em>, </em><em>inasmuch</em> <em>as</em> <em>you</em> <em>did</em> <em>it</em> <em>to</em> <em>one</em> <em>of</em> <em>the</em> <em>least</em> <em>of</em> <em>these</em> <em>My</em> <em>brethren</em><em>, </em><em>you</em> <em>did</em> <em>it</em> <em>to</em> <em>Me</em><em>.’</em><br />
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We are seeing this denial played out in the streets of every major city across the nation. People are hungry and thirsty, people are dying because of social injustice. Now is the time for all of us Christians to think about these words from Jesus Christ. He came into the world to teach about how to live to create a Kingdom of God. His words during the short time that he lived are written down for all to see. He sacrificed his life that we could have a better life, but I am afraid many people are so caught up in religious differences that we fail to really understand these words and how they play out in the larger society.<br />
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Huge populations of Christians all over the world carry the Bible and pound the religious teachings of Jesus to make the world a better place - for humans anyway. How many of us really take these words to our hearts and live our lives accordingly? I aspire to do this, but I am not perfect. I think when I live these words I am compassionate and can look beyond religion and politics and relate to all humans from this perspective. This works for me. I try to understand all groups and "walk a mile in their moccasins" to be able to really hear what they are saying and use my freedom of choice and vote to walk with them in support as Jesus did when he walked among the lepers of his time. I am certainly not perfect and fall down a lot - my ego gets in the way many times and I revert to my superior knowledge instead of thinking about my wisdom and "what would Jesus do?" That being said, I must take a stand for a group that has never been included in the dialogue of this nation since the beginning of our nation and I see this as a major problem in working to settle the suffering that fills our nation today - Mother Earth and all her sentient beings.<br />
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Without going into all the scientific discussions about climate change, I want to discuss how our lives are being ruined by industrialism and division based on what I need as opposed to what others need. What does our planet need? I watched as police released tear gas upon a crowd of protesters and the nation condemned and judged with no mention about the damage to the air and earth and all the wildlife living there. It is my thought that when we include Mother Earth and all sentient life that we share the earth with and that not only provides our sustenance but pure joy, we will move forward in a better way as a nation.<br />
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I have been thinking a lot about the great writers of classic literature that have made an impact on our society as we examine social injustice and change. I have written a lot about the black writers of the Harlem Renaissance but most recently I have been thinking about Harper Lee and "To Kill a Mockingbird." I think the theme of this novel closely aligns with not only the words of Jesus but my thoughts about our relationship to "the least of us - the mockingbird." The title of the book comes from a speech given by Atticus Finch near the end of Tom Robinson's trial. Atticus reminds the jury that "we should not kill mockingbirds because all they do is sing and make people feel good." Let's try to look at what we are doing to Mother Earth in this long struggle for civil rights and include her in the mix as well. Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-52536688033718285702020-05-31T08:36:00.001-07:002020-05-31T08:36:14.732-07:00A Time for Peace: "The Invisible Man" - When Hope Turns to Revenge<a href="https://atimeforpeaceblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-invisible-man-when-hope-turns-to.html?spref=bl">A Time for Peace: "The Invisible Man" - When Hope Turns to Revenge</a>: “When we take away from a man (woman, animal, earth itself) his traditional way of life, his customs, his religion, we had better make cert... I wrote this after I read three African American authors who were part of the Harlem Renaissance in New York and after I saw the movie "Something of Value" based on the novel by Richard Ruark. I felt compelled to re blog this after watching a compelling scene in Charlotte, North Carolina as frustrated mentors worked with angry young black men trying to help them understand that violence is not the answer. My heart filled with remorse and sorrow as I watched a 31 year old man trying to comfort an exhausted 16 year old who fell in the middle of the street during a protest that blocked the entrance onto I-277. The interview with the mentor afterwards was one that revealed exhaustion and frustration about the role of peaceful black men trying to fulfill the promise of Martin Luther King, Jr. I think if the black community would read the works of these authors who won Pulitzer Prizes as well as the nation as a whole, I think we might have a chance at building some dialogue and peace. God bless us all.Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-66797452286326541972020-04-20T09:07:00.000-07:002020-04-20T09:07:00.488-07:00The Bill of Rights and the Loss of FreedomsThe right of assembly is closely linked to its more famous companion in
the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: freedom of speech. Both
rights have been at the heart of controversies for much of our country’s
history, from picketing strikers in the 1930's to civil rights sit-ins
in the 1960's, from KKK rallies in the 1920's to white supremacist marches
in the 2010's. But the right to gather with others isn’t limited to
political protests. It can also include simply hanging out with friends
in public—or, as the U.S. Supreme Court put it, the “freedom to loiter
for innocent purposes” (<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/527/41/case.html" target="_blank"><i>Chicago v. Morales</i></a>, 527 U.S. 41 (1999)).<br />
<br />
<b id="yui_3_10_0_1_1587397121149_125">The First Amendment </b>(<b>Amendment </b>I) to <b>the </b>United States <b>Constitution </b>prevents <b>the </b>government from making laws which regulate an establishment <b>of </b>religion, prohibit <b>the </b>free exercise <b>of </b>religion, or abridge <b>the </b>freedom <b>of </b>speech, <b>the </b>freedom <b>of the </b>press, <b>the </b>right to peaceably assemble, or <b>the </b>right to petition <b>the </b>government for redress <b>of </b>grievances.<br />
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When the first stay at home orders were issued and public places were closed along with social gathering places, I was uneasy. Many thoughts ran through my mind. The most important was a sense of violation of my rights as an individual to come and go freely in this democracy in which I live and to put my own limits on the coming and going based on assessment of risk. As the virus spread and hospitals and care facilities were overwhelmed, I started to understand the need to put aside my rights in order to help keep the health care facilities from being overwhelmed. To keep the hospitals functioning, however, has meant great sacrifice by the engine that runs this nation's economy and is the source of most of the jobs - small businesses. Those who serve the tourist and travel industry have also been greatly affected. I am one of those people since I operate an air b&b in Charlotte. When business declined, I was grateful that I had enough in reserves to pay my mortgage and take care of the overhead until the crisis passed, and I complied with all the restrictions, even though I disagreed with them. When Congress acted to "oil the economy" until the crisis had passed, I was encouraged that maybe when the crisis passed, our country would be better and stronger and less divided. I am now extremely upset at the political divide that is happening that is causing many fear ridden people to lose their common sense and actually applaud those who are threatening the right of people to protest-the basis for maintaining a free society.<br />
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Small businesses are suffering and despite the influx of money through the Paycheck Protection Program owners are seeing the writing on the wall. They need the government to open now if they are going to survive. What good is saving lives if there is no life to go back to when Governors decide they will allow businesses to reopen? At least Henry McMaster (Governor of South Carolina) has a little sense. He knows where most of the state's economy is grounded - Myrtle Beach. The owners of retail stores along the Beach have said they have survived hurricanes but this threat may shut them down entirely. When people are suffering due to the activities of the government it is their Constitutional right to protest and petition the government for redress. I am concerned about the activities of some who disagree with them being lauded as reasonable. Yelling and screaming and attempts to shut down the protest are not laudable and can lead to violence in this heightened atmosphere. It seems those who form the basis of our economy are at the breaking point and they should be listened to as much as the health care professionals who were protesting the lack of Personal Protective Equipment and life saving items such as ventilators. I am compassionate and understand the anger of some people who have been working so hard to save lives but lashing out against others who are also strained and threatened with bankruptcy is not the way to go about it and those who praise this type of behavior are showing their ignorance and compassion for other's points of view. Justifying the behavior of those who violate someone else's civil rights only lead us down the path of loss of freedom for everyone. Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-52082105788861059292020-02-08T11:23:00.004-08:002020-02-08T11:24:49.921-08:00Davy Crockett Puckett and the Election of Andrew Jackson <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jackson-holds-open-house-at-the-white-house">https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jackson-holds-open-house-at-the-white-house</a> This history has been incorporated into a chapter of my book "A Place to Call Home."<br />
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Chapter
V – Davy Crocket Puckett – Kentucky Woodsman and Pioneer<o:p></o:p></div>
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This
chapter is narrated by a colorful character from my family tree – Davy Crockett
Puckett. There are few records about him other than a birth and death date as
well as a marriage date about 1830 that produced 12 children. One of these
children was James Harris Puckett, my great grandfather. The Puckett name is
prolific in the rural counties of Hart, Hardin and Grayson in Kentucky and this
man just might be the “grandfather of them all.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Davy
Crockett’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>name and date of birth put
him in that category of descendants of the Kentucky woodsmen who followed
Daniel Boone through the Cumberland Gap and fought their way into Kentucky by
joining with Old Hickory in the Indian Wars of the early 19<sup>th</sup>
Century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Davy Crockett Puckett tells
about his English ancestors who were indentured servants that came to the New World
to flee poverty, chaos and persecution resulting from the Reformation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Davy Crockett was an adult during the election
of Andrew Jackson – the hero known as Old Hickory. Many of my male ancestors have the name "Andrew Jackson." Davy Crockett tells stories of his ancestors
fighting with Old Hickory in the Indian Campaigns of the early 19<sup>th</sup> Century
and joining with Andrew Jackson, the hero of the War of 1812, at the Battle of New Orleans, which ironically was fought after the War was over. This War was the end of any Indian threat east of the Mississippi River. </div>
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As an adult in 1828,
Davy tells of his support for the “common man’s” President (Andrew Jackson)
elected in 1828 and the story of their takeover of the White House on Inauguration
Day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once elected, Jackson became the advocate for
the common man and founded the Democratic Party. After his election President Jackson kept his campaign promise of opportunity for the common man. One of the
things he did was to make land and opportunity available for them by sending
the remaining Indians out of the country along the Trail of Tears in 1832. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chapter V ends with the birth of my great
grandfather, James Harris Puckett, in 1829. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-89311678012369310792020-01-31T13:03:00.000-08:002020-01-31T13:03:07.212-08:00Wisdom to Know the Difference #3The last line of the Serenity Prayer asks for the "wisdom to know the difference" - between the things I can change and the things I can't. Here are some inspirational quotes that have helped guide me. May they guide you.<br />
<br />
"One of the hardest lessons we have to learn in this , life, and one that many<br />
persons never learn, is to see the divine, the celestial, the pure in the common,<br />
near at hand - to see that heaven lies about us in this world. " John Burroughs<br />
<br />
"For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth<br />
commeth knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound<br />
wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly." Proverbs 2:6-7<br />
<br />
When God lights the soul with wisdom, it floods the faculties, and that man (woman)<br />
knows more than ever could be taught him (her)." Meister Eckhart<br />
"Give me the widsom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before<br />
this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said<br />
to Solomon, <i>because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked for riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life: but has asked wisdom and knowledge</i><br />
<i>for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted thee." </i>2 Chronicles 1<u>:10-12.</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u><br /></u>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-73500004813390757842020-01-29T11:51:00.002-08:002020-01-29T11:53:10.924-08:00Where I Find Courage to Change the Things I Can #2Today's blog is on finding courage. Once again I turn to the Bible and other inspirational books and poets.<br />
<br />
"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am<br />
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, <b>both to abound and suffer need</b>. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:12-13;<br />
<br />
<br />
Low I kneel through the night again,<br />
Hear my prayer, if my prayer be right!<br />
Take for thy token my proud heart broken (<b>Humility).</b><br />
God, guide my arm! I go back into the fight! Anonymous<br />
<br />
(<b>Faith</b>) "For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1<i>:37</i><br />
<br />
"I do not ask to walk smooth paths<br />
Nor bear an easy load.<br />
I pray for <b>Strength and Fortitude </b><br />
To climb the rock-strewn road.<br />
Give me such courage I can scale<br />
The hardest peaks alone,<br />
And transform every stumbling block<br />
Into a stepping stone." Gail Brook Burket<br />
<br />
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall<br />
renew their <b>Strength; </b>they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run,<br />
and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31<br />
<br />
"For I am persuaded, that neither death,<br />
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,<br />
nor powers, nor things present, nor<br />
things to come, Nor height, nor depth,<br />
nor any other creature, shall be able to<br />
separate us from the <b>Love of God</b>,<br />
which is in Christ Jesus ." Romans 8:38-39<br />
<br />
"Lord, let me give and sing and sow<br />
And do my best, though I<br />
In years to come may never know<br />
What soul was helped thereby.<br />
<br />
Content to feel that thou canst bless<br />
All things however small<br />
To someone's lasting happiness<br />
So Lord accept my all." Prudence Tasker Olsen<br />
<br />
<br />
"I have glorified thee on earth: I<br />
have finished the work which thou<br />
gavest me to do. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest<br />
me out of the world: thine they were,<br />
and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word. I pray for them: I<br />
pray not for the world, but for them<br />
which thou hast given me; for they are thine." John 17:4,6,9<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-87619645616595197972020-01-28T12:00:00.002-08:002020-01-28T12:00:30.502-08:00Serenity in the Serenity Prayer #1<br />
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." Serenity is the first part of the prayer and as the prayer implies serenity comes from acceptance of what is happening. There is no judgement as to good or bad - it just is. In this first blog I will be sharing some poems and verses that contain thoughts that have helped me find my path to serenity. I hope you find this inspirational as well.<br />
<br />
"Therefore being justified by <b>Faith, </b>we have peace with our God thorough our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by <b>Faith</b> into this <b>Grace </b>wherein we stand, and rejoice in the <b>Hope</b> of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2.<br />
<br />
"I know not by what methods rare,<br />
But this I know: <b>God answers prayer.</b><br />
I know not if the blessing is sought<br />
Will come in just the guise I thought.<br />
I leave my prayer to Him alone<br />
Whose will is wiser than my own." Eliza M. Hickok<br />
"This is the day which the Lord hath<br />
made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24<br />
"<br />
"Take therefore no thought for the<br />
morrow: for the morrow shall take<br />
thought for the things of itself." Matthew 6:34<br />
<br />
"<b>Trust</b> in the Lord, and do <b>good</b>; so<br />
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily<br />
thou shalt be fed.<br />
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and<br />
He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.<br />
Commit thy way unto the Lord;<b> trust</b><br />
also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalms 37: 3-5<br />
<br />
"And the peace of God, which passeth<br />
all understanding, shall keep your<br />
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7<br />
<br />
"Let us learn to be content with what we have.<br />
Let us rid of our false estimates, set up all the higher ideals -<br />
a quiet home,<br />
vines of our own planting,<br />
a few books full of the inspiration of genius,<br />
a few friends worthy of being loved<br />
and able to love in return,<br />
a hundred innocent pleasures that bring no pain or remorse,<br />
a devotion to the right that will never swerve,<br />
a simple Christianity empty of all bigotry, full of trust and hope and love -<br />
and to such philosophy this world will give up all the joy it has." David Swing<br />
<br />
"Now the God of <b>Hope </b>fill you with all<br />
joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in <b>Hope</b>,<br />
through the power of the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:13<br />
<br />
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom<br />
which cannot be moved, let us have <b>Grace</b>, whereby we may serve God<br />
acceptably with reverence and Godly fear." Hebrews 12:28<br />
<br />
"Let the words of my mouth,<br />
and the <b>Meditation </b>of my <b>Heart, </b>be acceptable<br />
in thy sight, O, Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalms 19:14<br />
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<br /> Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-87471948554613305322020-01-11T10:05:00.002-08:002020-01-11T10:05:28.996-08:00An Iranian Woman Exiled After the Revolution in 1978 Tells Her Story<br />
I read this book when I was doing research for New Pangaea and this story is a must read for anyone truly desiring to know the true story of Iran instead of western propaganda and fake news.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169649.Daughter_of_Persia">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169649.Daughter_of_Persia</a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">“A lesson about the value of personal freedom and what happens to a nation when its people are denied the right to direct their own destiny. This is a book Americans should read.” —</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Washington Post</i>Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-88484137891942120362019-12-10T17:28:00.002-08:002019-12-10T17:28:38.632-08:00House Made of Dawn by M. Scott Momaday<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110996.House_Made_of_Dawn">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110996.House_Made_of_Dawn</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Momaday brings the story of a war veteran suffering from PTSD to life in this Pulitzer Prize winning novel. As the story unfolds the reader catches the truth about how the indigenous people in this country have been treated by the American military to fight their wars and then return to reservations to be forgotten and die.Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-9016931182225102212019-11-17T11:54:00.000-08:002019-11-17T11:54:17.104-08:00A Melungeon Story - ForwardThe following is the forward from my book <i>A Melungeon's Story - A Descendant of America's First Melting Pot. </i>This is copyrighted material so do not share without permission from the author, Brenda Duffey.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A Melungeon’s Story –
A Descendant of America’s Original Melting Pot <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">©</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forward<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
had never heard the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Melungeon</i> until
after I published my first novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Peacemaker </i>in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2009</i>.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>I was attending my college reunion in
Louisville, Kentucky just after publishing the book and was on a cross country
tour promoting the book while stopping in Louisville to visit family and attend
the reunion. I was discussing the characters in my book with a friend and had
explained that the characters, although fictional, were based upon characters
from family stories from my own ancestry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I told him of my belief that I was of mixed heritage and had spent most
of my adult life trying to uncover family secrets that prevented me from
understanding who I was and what my place in American society was. My friend
then asked me whether I knew about the Melungeons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I confessed I had never heard the word, but
when he told me about this group of people, I realized that I was, indeed, a
Melungeon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
origin of the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Melungeon </i>is as mixed
as the group of people it represents. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some scholars say the word comes from the
French word, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mélange, </i>meaning
mixture. Other possibilities include: Afro-Portuguese <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">melungo </i>(shipmate), Greek <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">melan
</i>(black), Turkish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">melon </i>(cursed
soul), Italian word for eggplant <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">melongena
</i>(referring to black skin), and the Old English term <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">malengina</i> (guile or deceit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No matter the origin, Melungeons have historically resented the word
which they considered a racial slur. In recent years, however, as closed doors
are opened, Melungeons such as me are beginning to view the word with a sense
of pride because we are, indeed, the original melting pot of this country and
the hope to finally eradicate separation based on race. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Lakota word for black is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sapa.</i> Using Saponi
as a name may have actually been the Lakota reference to the Eastern Seaboard
Blackfeet. In Lakota the word is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Si-Sapa.
</i>In the oral histories of the Dhegihan Sioux (Osage, Omaha, Ponce, Quapau,
and Kew) the Si-Sapa migrated from Ohio to Virginia chasing out the rival
nation they called the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doeg</i> – the
Algonquin tribes of Pow Hantan or Nanticoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Powhantan was the father of the Indian Princess Pocahontas. These
stories say the Blackfeet lost their land to the Tuscarora in the first of the
Indian Wars of the early 17<sup>th</sup> Century and then started moving north
and west in search of land. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
Saponi were probably the same as the tribe inhabiting the land around the
Potomac River in 1608 near the colony of Jamestown and present day
Charlottesville, Virginia mentioned by Captain John Smith in his reports to
King James. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Decimated by disease and
constant warfare, the Saponi and Tutelo moved to settlements outside Ft.
Christiana in Virginia in 1711 under the protection of Virginia Governor
Spotswood. After Ft. Christiana was abandoned and the Saponi lost this
protection, the Saponi and Tutelo migrated to the western edges of Virginia and
Carolina colonies in what is today Tennessee and Kentucky. There they lived
with the Catawba Indians that inhabited the land on the Catawba River in what
eventually became Rock Hill, South Carolina. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1753 a group of 14 men and women left the
Catawba Nation to migrate to western Pennsylvania to become part of the Cayuga tribe,
one of the six nations of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the 18<sup>th</sup> Century the Saponi
disappeared from history and was considered extinct. In the 20<sup>th</sup>
Century remnants of the tribe in North Carolina have tried to assert cultural
identity but none have recognition as a tribe with any rights to benefits. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uncovering this history of the Saponi or
Blackfeet corresponds to a family story told by my father that his great
grandmother was a “full blooded Indian squaw” of the Blackfeet Nation. I have
identified this great grandmother and am sure she is the Native American
connection in the family. There are a lot of unexplained gaps in her ancestry. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Louisa Jane
Wilkerson was born in 1844 in Hart County Kentucky and died in 1931. Louisa was
listed in the 1930 census as Jannie Puckett aged 88 living with Andrew Jackson
Criswell and Annie Puckett Criswell in their home in Leitchfield, Kentucky. These
are my paternal grandparents. My father was born in 1914 so he was old enough
to remember his grandmother and her stories about her ancestry. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father was proud of this heritage along
with his Scotch Irish ancestry and continually repeated those stories around
our family dinner table when I was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky in the
fifties and sixties. . <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Family
records indicate a lot of migration to northern Kentucky into the Appalachian
area of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky by the Criswell branch (as well as
Tomes) of my family tree. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The male
members of the Criswell and Puckett lines trace their ancestry back to England,
Scotland and Ireland. It is my belief that these men were of Scotch- Irish
descent and came to the New World in the second migration from Europe as
indentured servants who eventually gained their freedom. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
My research
indicates many of those in the Criswell line were probably Ulster Protestants
of Ireland who received land grants in the Northwest Territory from King James
I to fight with Britain in the Indian Wars of the 18<sup>th</sup> Century and
later to support Britain in the American Revolution. The area of Ulster in Ireland
is what today Northern Ireland. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>King
James the First of England had been King James VI of Scotland when Queen
Elizabeth died without an heir to the throne. When James became King of
England, Ireland and Scotland, he ceded a lot of land in Northern Ireland to
Anglican Scots to take a hold of land in Ireland for the Anglican Church.<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The first
Criswell ancestor that I have identified </span>in my lineage is a Robert
Creswell who was christened in July 1602 at St. Michael Pater Noster Church in
London. Marriage records and birth dates of his offspring are from Ireland and
Robert Creswell died in Ireland. The American birth, marriage and death rates
for the Criswell family locate the line in Maryland and Pennsylvania until David
Criswell receives an inheritance of property in Owen County, Kentucky. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marriage and birth and death dates for many of
their wives are nonexistent which me to believe these were common law marriages
and the females of unknown heritage were quite possible of Native American or
African American descent <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who disappeared into the western European
culture of their husbands but physical characteristics were obvious so moving a
lot in search of land and freedom was quite common. <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Records indicate
that these Melungeons eventually settled in the Cumberland Gap area of
Southwestern Virginia, East Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky. The Melungeons were
continually moving west seeking opportunities denied to people of color. “You
turned white when you moved west.” According to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Melungeon People – An Appalachian Mystery</i>, “it is very likely that
the native lines came through the female lines.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Family secrets, unexplained physical
characteristics and gaps in ancestral lines are prime examples of a mixed
heritage and all of these are part of my ancestry. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The most telling
physical attribute that led me to pursue a connection to an African American
heritage was my father’s jet black (what was left of it when I was born) wiry,
curly hair. My father had a dark, olive complexion that one of my sisters
inherited. Of all of my siblings, however, I believe I exemplify the physical
characteristics of a mixed race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My hair
was strawberry blonde when I was born but turned to red and then a deep
chestnut color by the time I was a teenager. I had ringlets of curls like
Shirley Temple and freckles. When I read James Michener’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Covenant</i> in the 1970’s I learned that one of the tests for
African blood was the appearance of freckles. Had I been living in South Africa
I would have been labeled “colored.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
skin that is not freckled turns a deep red when exposed to the sun; it never
really tans and I have a condition known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vitiligo</i>
– a loss of pigmentation that leaves white spots on the skin. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Other evidence
that I have found includes records of mulatto Criswells living in Pennsylvania
during the ante bellum period preceding the Civil War. I have found what I
believe to be a cousin. His name was David Criswell and he served in the 54<sup>th</sup>
US Colored Infantry Regiment founded in 1863 after the Emancipation
Proclamation was issued. He was killed at the Battle of Charlottesville, VA in
1864. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As further
evidence of my spotted ancestry, I have found English ancestors who fought in
the Revolutionary War and took part in the Indian Wars during the War of 1812.
One of my more colorful ancestors was a man named Davy Crockett Puckett.
Ironically, my paternal grandfather’s name was Andrew Jackson Criswell. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have ancestors in the Puckett line of my
ancestry who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War attesting to the
fact that Kentucky was indeed divided and the term “brother against brother” is
quite fitting for the Civil War in Kentucky. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps my
father’s hesitancy to talk about any African American connection was due to the
way he and his family was treated during his childhood. He was bullied and spit
upon during his early education (he left school in the 6<sup>th</sup> grade to
help support the family) as his peers constantly ridiculed his heritage with
the racial slur “nigger in the woodpile” somewhere. I did not learn one family
secret until after my father died and learning that helped explain a lot about
his deep seated anger toward his mother. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometime in the 1920’s
or 30’s either just before or after my grandfather died (he died in 1933 and
was much older than my grandmother), my grandmother had an affair with a black
man and bore a child. That child lived with the African American community in
Leitchfield and my grandmother eventually went to live there after her husband
died. In 1952, when I was six years old, my mother insisted that my father go
to Leitchfield to bring his mother to live with us in Jefferson County. It was
a difficult time for him and I am sure that is what led to his nervous
breakdown shortly thereafter. My grandmother lived with us until she died in
1957 and although she lived with us, I never really knew her nor did I have the
opportunity to hear any of her stories which I regret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As I have grown
older and started to uncover these stories, I have found a sense of pride in my
heritage even if it led to being on the outskirts of the American Dream and
living in the South with the labels of poor white trash, redneck, or hillbilly.
The Melungeons were the first descendants of the American melting pot but have
faced isolation and poverty denying them the American Dream they have pursued
for centuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing this story has
been the culmination of my own journey to discover who I am, why my family was
trapped in poverty and burdened with “dysfunction” for most of my life.
Discovering my history and roots has finally led to a sense of pride in who I
am as a descendant of the culture that not only defied the boundaries of race
and disenfranchisement but also played a huge role in the settlement of this
country and building the United States of America. In sharing my history I hope
to make a stand for those people of mixed heritage who are the true Founding
Fathers and Mothers of this country. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-65167092982771723342019-11-17T08:31:00.000-08:002019-11-17T08:31:47.577-08:00Indian Corn (Maize) Tortillas<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Indian
Corn Tortillas<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></b></div>
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<img alt="https://www.tarladalal.com/members/9306/big/big_corn_tortillas-8395.jpg" class="shrinkToFit" height="647" src="https://www.tarladalal.com/members/9306/big/big_corn_tortillas-8395.jpg" width="497" /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tortilla is nothing
more than a roti (a round, soft unleavened flat bread) made with maize (Indian
corn) flour. Indian corn was the corn grown by the Indians of the North
American continent and was part of the Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash)
that was the basis of the diet. Maize flour is naturally rich in fiber, antioxidants,
vitamin B, omega 6, unsaturated fat and vegetable protein. The tortilla is the
basis of all Mexican dishes and using maize flour makes them far healthier than
the processed American ones. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To prepare:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ingredients for 12
servings:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 cup maize flour<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">¾ cup plain flour<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3 tsp. oil<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">¾ teaspoon salt<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mix flours, oil and
salt with enough warm water to make dough. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Knead the dough well
and keep for ½ hour then knead again.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Roll out the dough into
6” (150 mm or 225 mm) diameter thin rounds with the help of a little flour. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cook lightly on a tava
(griddle) and set aside. Serve warm. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-56535965030043399792019-11-12T11:48:00.002-08:002019-11-12T11:48:46.939-08:00Geronimo and New PangaeaI was watching a program on Native American Women Warriors last night on the North Carolina Channel (after Dancing with the Stars) :). I was impressed with the entire documentary and have spent most of the morning looking for it so I could re post it but to no avail. Although I would prefer posting the actual film, I will summarize the points I found most pertinent.<br />
<br />
The narrator was a Native American female veteran who was sharing her experience in the Middle East and talking about the perspective of the warrior women in her culture. I believe she was Kiowa, Comanche and Sioux (from the Plains People). Traditionally, female warriors were the protectors of the culture and were not hesitant to fight as needed. Today, that tradition is being followed in another "war." That war is the fight to save the culture through pow-wow's and currently, the fight against the Keystone and DAPL pipelines crossing their land and threatening their water supply. As the Native veteran was talking to an Iraqi officer during the pow wow, she mentioned a figure well known in American history for trying to save his land in the late 19th Century - Geronimo. <br />
<br />
Upon hearing the name Geronimo, one of the Iraqi leaders indicated he knew of this person. Evidently, people in the Middle East are familiar with him and the military leader asked a lot of questions about him. As I watched this, I thought, could the struggle of the indigenous people in North America be something that brings cultures of the Middle East together to start working toward deescalation of war? Maybe the "whole world IS watching" and listening to the voices stilled so long ago in this country in the name of freedom and carrying the "white man's burden." The women warriors could be the ones who make this happen. It is the women of Plains' people who are carrying the message, first at Wounded Knee and then at Standing Rock.<br />
<br />
One of the most poignant events that I recall from Standing Rock was the gathering of over 4,000 American veterans, many of them Native Americans, who came to serve and help and apologize for the atrocities committed in the name of freedom that eliminated their culture and way of life. The new banner of freedom that these protesters carried at Standing Rock was "Water is Life." For this, they were maced and rounded up and put into jail. Chase Iron Eyes and others are still defending themselves in court in 2019. Leonard Pelitier is still in prison for so called violence against the United States in the confrontation at Wounded Knee in the 1970's. Wouldn't it be interesting if the military leaders from the Middle East became familiar with this story as well as the story of Geronimo? Maybe they are as the warrior women of the Plains' cultures keep the stories alive for the whole world to see.<br />
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<br />Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3850558620300095677.post-67362829904958787762019-10-10T17:58:00.001-07:002019-10-10T17:58:04.093-07:00Origin of the Horn of PlentyOne of the traditional Thanksgiving decorations is the Cornucopia or Horn of Plenty. The English word is derived from the Latin <i>cornu </i>meaning horn and <i>copia </i>meaning plenty. It has become a symbol of abundance and funnel shaped baskets appear on Thanksgiving tables across the country with fall gourds, squashes and Indian corn - none of which ends up on the Thanksgiving table, and it is highly doubtful most people could even identify these nutritious foods let alone eat them. Experts give credit to the origins of this symbol to interpretations of ancient Greek and Roman myths invoking the struggle of the gods and goddesses for power. Just as the Pilgrims are given credit for the first Thanksgiving, credit for the symbol is also given to the English settlers of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. However, I prefer another myth as the origin of this symbol.<br />
<br />
Around the 11th Century the nomadic tribes of the Eastern Woodlands Indians of North America were facing extinction due to famine and endless war for control of the abundant virgin forests and the riches found there. An Onondaga chief named Ayowenta ( Hiawatha) sat on the banks of Lake Oneida in what is now the Great Lakes Region of upstate New York grieving the loss of his family and the condition of the few members of the tribe that remained. He looked up to see a vision of one who would become known as The Peacemaker who convinced Ayowenta to travel with him to bring a message of peace and prosperity to the tribes by coming together in peace. Six tribes joined this Confederacy called the Iroquois Confederacy that set forth a government that would bring peace and prosperity to the region. The six tribes joined in a loose league of friendship that was based on these principles:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Land stewardship instead of ownership.</li>
<li>Empowerment of women.</li>
<li>Consensus to settle arguments instead of warfare.</li>
<li>Setting aside public lands to be used by all the tribes with the basic principle of take only what you need and leave the land better than you found it.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Living in this way, the Confederacy became the most powerful and prosperous group in North America at that time. Although not all tribes joined the Confederacy, principles of land use and sharing were followed by most of those groups who were farmers. As the culture developed many myths about creation and God developed and were passed onto the children of the tribe. One of these myths concerned the Great Mystery (Father Sky) who inhabited the heavens above the clouds and who worked in harmony with Mother Earth to keep a continual supply of food for the people. </div>
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The Great Mystery created an opening in the clouds in the shape of an upside down tornado. The vacuum created pulled great quantities of food that spilled out of the opening onto the ground below. The belief was that this funnel had to be continually emptied to keep the supply flowing. Therefore, at the Harvest Celebrations food was carried into the center of the village in baskets that were emptied and put into the great storehouses to be used by everyone. Prayers of gratitude, smoking ceremonies and burning of sage were also a part of the ceremony. Perhaps the Pilgrims took part in one of the Harvest Celebrations at the end of their first year in Plymouth Colony during which over half of the original settlers died from exposure and starvation. If the indigenous people had not welcomed them in peace and taught them how to farm, the Pilgrims could have easily been defeated. Despite what the experts say about the origins of Thanksgiving and its customs attributing these to the Pilgrims, I believe these customs came more from the Native Americans. You already know the "rest of the story."</div>
Brenda Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07239144323839439807noreply@blogger.com0