Essay on Music History

Music is like a language, everybody knows it and everybody listens to it. It is very cool and great to be involved in, whether you're making or listening to music you will feel into it. Music is great, but it's origins are even greater. Music's origin is none other than the motherland of Africa. "It is true that the keys to a better understanding of this music were elusive: music and life being intimately connected, it was difficult to separate the various elements. This was a world that did not separate daily life from artistic activity....In Africa, tradition claims that instruments speak before they sing. The term balafon is said to come from a Mandingo word bala, which means to speak. As long as instruments are the vehicles of speech, the African tradition will endure forever."( http://www.eyeneer.com/World/Af/index.html) It is this mixing of music and daily ritual which spilled over into the history of the American born music. During slavery, slaves would send coded messages to each other through song. Although, others thought that slaves were just singing, these Negro spirituals would let other slaves know both when and where it was safe to try to escape. For example, songs like Wade in the Water and Steal Away weren't songs about religion, but songs about escaping from slavery. Gospel music and the Blues gave many Blacks refuge from their daily struggles into the solace of message music. Music would give Blacks a voice and a peace that they couldn't find in the world that treated them unfairly.

In Del Jones book, Culture Bandits, vol 1, he states, "When whites claim that Elvis Presley is not dead, they're not talking about the...man, but the process of Culture Banditry that is alive and well...in the legions lining up to steal the culture of Afrikan people..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5JALwwaASg In the Elvis Presley, Hound Dog video, he copied Big Mama Thorton's performance. Even though her song was out five years before his, she sold 2 million copies and was paid only $500.00 dollars. The process of the stealing of Afrikan culture and reclaiming it as their own is perfectly shown in this example. No one even knows who Big Mama Thornton is today, but everyone associates the song, Hound Dog with Elvis Presley. He successfully stole this song and it has been reclaimed by him as his own. And this practice is why a young White male can be called the King of Rap, while the originators of rap sit around and look for praise from those who they taught how to rap. These students of rap, set themselves up as experts and give out awards on music to the individuals who taught them. I say that the same is the case for Rock and Roll and R&B, too.

The history of Black music in America seems to be just like everything else. Just as slaves built this country and are treated like second class citizens and given no credit in the establishment of America. So, too is the history of Black music. This assignment really showed me how Whites have stolen Black music and claim it as their own as we sit at award shows and pray that we get an award to validate our place with music that our ancestors created.

In conclusion, we must remember Del Jones' warning, "...if we are...culturally starved or controlled we will waste away into universal nothingness. A people who founded culture and civilization is now controlled by those who came after them....To labor for free is slavery and to labor and be underpaid is neo-slavery." (Culture Bandits, Vol 1) Afrikan music has been stolen and reclaimed by those who want to get paid at all costs. We have been fooled into thinking that we haven't created anything in this country. Our place in history has been reduced to a happy slave that is grateful for the opportunity to live in this land. Our culture is our strength and our music is our blood line. We must stop the draining of our creativity by reclaiming what is ours. We must stop allowing those alien to our culture to not only steal it, but reinvent it. Just as a tree without roots, dies, so too does a people. If we don't stop this redirecting of our talents, our music won't be the only thing that we won't recognize.

Stress

Stress is defined as a mentally or emotionally disruptive influence. I believe anger is a form of stress that builds up over time, and is released in many forms. Stress can be caused by multiple people doing a number of things to anger you. It could be that you are going through a rough period in your life that may be causing you stress. Stress in it's extreme can kill you. That's why it is so important to learn how to handle stress and not let stress handle you. There are several inappropriate ways to handle stress, such as smoking, drug usage, overeating, arguing, fighting and drinking. One of the worse ways to handle stress in a negative way is to react in a violent way.

To handle stress in a positive way you should first, ignore people when they try to anger you, then you should try to go somewhere and cool down. Exercise is a great way to handle stress. Personally I handle stress by playing basketball in my driveway. You could also avoid the triggers of your stress, even if those things that stress you are people. You could meditate, learn a hobby, talk to a good friend and learn to laugh at things that you can't control.

Depending upon the way that you are taught to handle stress can determine the kind of person you will grow up to be. A child that lets the stresses of life beat down on him, becomes a teenage that can't handle anything. This kind of teen stays in trouble and doesn't do well in school or social situations. If this teen doesn't get help, he will grow up to be the kind of adult that doesn't accomplish anything good as an adult. He may drink to excess or beat up on people, but he will not be successful in life if he doesn't get any help. Conversely, the child that learns how to deal with stress constructively won't have any problems that he can't handle. He will make friends well and more than likely will be successful in everything that he sets out to do.

One of the biggest youth stress causes is peer-pressure. Another one is gender-bias. One of my biggest stresses is physical activities like doing a lot of chores or getting up at 6 a.m. in the morning to go to school. One kind of stress for males is who is the fastest runner or who gets the most girls. I think girls stress over who gets the most boys or who is the cutest looking girl.

In conclusion, stress can be defined as any obstacle in life that needs to be handled. Stress in some situations can't be avoided, so there are many ways both positively and negatively that people learn how to deal with it. Those who are taught positive methods to handle stress will be successful in life and those who don't handle stress well, will stay in all kinds of trouble.

Talking Equality Article

The article "Talking Equality" is about how Blacks and Latinos' scores are lacking on the PSSA, and how Whites and Asians are getting better grades on it. Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman stated how Blacks and Latinos have severe disadvantages on the test, because of differences school system wide. Such differences refer to lack of books and a lack of equal disciplinary action among the various ethnic groups. "Poor" students are "up for grabs" because of their poor test performances. Blacks and Latinos are 24 points behind Whites and Asians in the Reading and Math sections on the PSSA.

Many teachers are decreasing their class sizes because their kids are not doing good on the PSSA. 59% of the students in the emotional support classes are mostly Black and Latino boys. The article says that Black males and Black females are both perform worse than Whites and Asians on the PSSA. Whites make up 12% of high school students, but 28% of those are in magnet schools. About 11% of Blacks and 10% of Latinos in high school are in Advance placement classes compared to 32% of Asians and 24% Whites. I think that is very bad and it proves that the school is failing Black and Latino students.

I agree that most Whites and Asians do well on the PSSA, but I disagree that Blacks don't do well on the PSSA, because of their intelligence level. Tests only measure how well you can tack test, no how smart you are. I only agree that most Whites perform better on the test, because they are given more access to resources and are given many more opportunities to apply what they learn than other groups do. I think that poor grades on the PSSA can be used to say that Blacks people are dumb and don't accomplish anything. I think when Black people think about it we can do anything and get good grades as well as score proficient or even advance on the PSSA or class tests if we were taught the same test taking skills and provided with the same resources that Whites and Asians do. Blacks and Latinos are having difficulties in class, but all we have to do is ask for help or do better work. I think the article should address different ways that can be used to motivate Blacks and Latinos to do better and apply themselves.

Barack Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus

1. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is an organization of elected Black congressional lawmakers. Since its founding it has functioned as part of the left wing of the Democratic Party. The CBC was founded in January 1969. Its founders were Representatives John Conyers and Charles Diggs of Michigan, Ron Dellums and Gus Hawkins of California, Charles Rangel and Shirley Chisholm of New York, Louis Stokes of Ohio, Ralph Metcalf and Pennsylvania, William Clay of Missouri, and Delegate from the District of Columbia Walter Fauntroy. Until 1994, when voters returned a Republican House of Representatives, the CBC had been defined as an "official office of Congress" and as such was provided its own offices, staff and lavish budget.
2. There are 43 people who sit on the Black Caucus and they are The Honorable G.K. Butterfield (North Carolina), The Honorable Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.(Georgia), The Honorable Corrine Brown (Florida), The Honorable Roland W. Burris (Illinois), The Honorable Andre Carson (Indiana), The Honorable Donna M. Christensen Delegate, (Virgin Islands), The Honorable Yvette Clarke (New York), The Honorable William Lacy Clay, Jr. (Missouri), The Honorable Emanuel Cleaver II (Missouri), The Honorable James E. Clyburn (South Carolina), The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. (Michigan), The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings (Maryland), The Honorable Artur Davis (Alabama), The Honorable Danny K. Davis (Illinois), The Honorable Donna Edwards (Maryland), The Honorable Keith Ellison (Minnesota), The Honorable Chaka Fattah (Pennsylvania), The Honorable Marcia L. Fudge (Ohio), The Honorable Al Green (Texas), The Honorable Alcee L. Hastings (Florida), The Honorable Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (Illinois), The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), The Honorable Hank Johnson (Georgia), The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), The Honorable Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Michigan), The Honorable Barbara Lee (California), The Honorable John Lewis (Georgia), The Honorable Kendrick B. Meek (Florida), The Honorable Gregory W. Meeks (New York), The Honorable Gwendolynne Moore (Wisconsin), The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton Delegate, (District of Columbia), The Honorable Donald M. Payne (New Jersey), The Honorable Charles B. Rangel (New York), The Honorable Laura Richardson (California), The Honorable Bobby L. Rush (Illinois), The Honorable David Scott (Georgia), The Honorable Robert C. Scott (Virginia), The Honorable Bennie Thompson (Mississippi), The Honorable Edolphus Towns (New York), The Honorable Maxine Waters (California), The Honorable Diane E. Watson (California), and The Honorable Melvin L. Watt (North Carolina).
3. The nature of Barack Obama's meeting with the Black Caucus was to press him on their priorities. The session could rekindle lingering differences Obama has had with the group, which hasn't always embraced his approach to politics. Obama relies partly on the organization's largely Black constituents, who were a big factor in his presidential win. Yet Obama maintained a distant relationship with the caucus when he was its only Senate member form 2004-08. That dynamic was on display early in the Democratic presidential primary, when many senior caucus members initially backed Hillary Rodham Clinton even as Obama quickly became viable as a candidate.
4. The issues that the Black caucus would like to see him address was they wanted Obama to hire more minorities to federal jobs and help minority jobs get government contracts. They wanted him to create health care for minorities. They wanted him to improve the education in low income communities. Most of the issues effect minorities and their health.
5. I believe that the Congressional Black Caucus and Obama will have a good relationship because he has the power to get the problems they want fixed done. Also I believe that because he is the first Black President and they are the black caucus, because their both black politicians, that this will influence the relationship in a good way. The CBC's constituents are mostly Blacks, who supported President Obama and voted for him. President Obama probably feels obligated to the CBC's constituents, so this will make it easier for the CBC to get their issues addressed. I also believe that since Obama was once a member of the black caucus that he probably agrees with most of their issues so he will support them again.

Oratorial Contest Essay Extra Credit

The Oratorical contest was very fun and very nice. Everybody did a good job, but in my opinion, the 8th grade did best! Revolution!! It was very crowded at the oratorical contest, but it was still fun. In the performances, the 8th grade did the best, especially when we walked off the stage at the end singing,"Its time, its time, its time to make a change we are the people, we can do it!"

Essay on Anti-Colonial Afrikan Leader

The leader I am going to talk about is Kwame Nkrumah. The name Kwame means "born on Saturday." Kwame Nkrumah, the son of a goldsmith, was born Francis Nwia Nkrumah on September 21, 1909, into the small Nzima ethic group in Nkroful, Gold Coast. Nkroful refers to the village where Nkrumah was born, but can also refer to the people. The Nkroful speak both Akan and English. Kwame Nkrumah was taught in Ghana, and was a very good student. He worked as a teacher until 1935 when he left for the United States. He was accepted into University of Pennsylvania and Lincoln University. Nkrumah graduated from Lincoln in 1939 with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Sociology. He worked as an Assistant Lecturer in Philosophy to support himself. He also enrolled in graduate classes at the Lincoln Theological Seminary and at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1942 he graduated as the top student from the seminary in the Bachelor of Theology program. He also earned Master's degrees in Philosophy and Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

While working during summer vacations, he studied in Harlem; where he sold fish and worked at a soap factory. He studied for 10 years from 1935 to 1945 in the United States and then went to England. While there in 1945 he helped to organize and co-chair the fifth Pan-African Congress in Britain in Manchester, England.

In 1947, Nkrumah was invited to come home to Ghana to help lead the liberation movement, called the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). He served as General Secretary to the UGCC as they started a positive action program against their British colonizers. After a violent confrontation with the British colonial police, Nkrumah and other UGCC leaders were arrested. After being released, Nkrumah was not happy with the goals and slow pace of the UGCC. He left the party and formed his own new party. On June 12, 1949, Nkrumah founded the Convention People's Party (CPP), it's slogan was, Independence Now. Throughout his life, Nkrumah fought for his dream of Afrikan people's world wide liberation.

Nkrumah as Prime Minister, declared the independence of the Gold Coast on March 6, 1957. He renamed the country Ghana after an ancient empire. He tried to modernize the country and started with his plan to unite Afrika into one country. In 1960, Kwame Nkrumah became the first president of Ghana. Ghana was a former British colony of the Gold Coast and the first of the European colonies in Africa to gain independence with majority rule. Nkrumah held many conferences in Ghana to help unite the Afrikan continent. His goal was to have a union government of Afrika which would mean one government for all of the countries of Afrika. Nkrumah worked feverishly with the liberation movements and heads of state to obtain the goal of a united Afrika.

On December 31, 1957, Nkrumah married an Egyptian woman, named Fathia Rizk. She was the niece of the president of Egypt. Nkrumah married Fathia to unite the countries of Egypt and Ghana. They had two sons and a daughter.

In 1958, Ghana and Guinea formed the Union of Afrikan States. In 1960, Nkrumah signed a secret agreement with Patrice Lumumba joining Ghana, Guinea and the Congo. In 1961, Mali joined the Union of Afrikan states. In 1966, when Nkrumah was in China trying to stop the Vietnam War, soldiers from both the CIA and MI6 (British CIA) set to overthrew the country. On February 24, 1966, Nkrumah's Ghana was overthrown by Ghanian agents of the CIA. The soldiers arrested his wife and children. While they were in custody, a soldier's gun accidentally fired and Nkrumah's son was shot in the ear. The soldier's panicked because they shot a child. It was during this distraction that Nkrumah's wife escaped with her children. She ran down the street to the Egyptian embassy which gave her safe passage back to Egypt.

Nkrumah spent his final years as co-president of the Republic of Guinea with Sekou Toure. This was first time in history that a leader was overthrown and became co-president of another country. His goal from Guinea was to liberate his country of Ghana from the western powers. Nkrumah also continued to work for the United states of Afrika. He died in May of 1972 of throat cancer in Romania, but he was still living in Guinea.

Over his lifetime, Nkrumah was awarded honorary doctorates by Lincoln University, Moscow State University; Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt; Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland; Humboldt University in the former East Berlin; and other universities. Kwame Nkrumah wrote many papers, speeches and great books. Here are some of his writings:

Rhodesian File

Towards Colonial Freedom, Heinemann, 1962.
Challenge of the Congo, Panaf, 1967.
Dark Days in Ghana, Panaf, 1968.
"Negro History: European Government in Africa," The Lincolnian, April 12, 1938, p. 2 (Lincoln University, Pennsylvania) - see Special Collections and Archives, Lincoln University
Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957) ISBN 0-901787-60-4
Africa Must Unite (1963) ISBN 0-901787-13-2
African Personality (1963)
Neo-Colonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) ISBN 0-901787-23-X
Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah (1967) ISBN 0-901787-54-X
African Socialism Revisited (1967)
Voice From Conakry (1967) ISBN 90-17-87027-3
Handbook for Revolutionary Warfare (1968) - first introduction of Pan-African pellet compass
Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for De-Colonisation (1970) ISBN 0-901787-11-6
Class Struggle in Africa (1970) ISBN 0-901787-12-4
The Struggle Continues (1973) ISBN 0-901787-41-8
I Speak of Freedom (1973) ISBN 0-901787-14-0
Revolutionary Path (1973) ISBN 0-901787-22-1

This was just some of information on Kwame Nkrumah. I believe Kwame Nkrumah was a great man, who did great things and deserves recognition for his work. Some refer to him as the founder of the Pan-Afrikan revolutionary movement. I know I would not have tried to stop a war, but again a great man was Kwame Nkrumah. He could do great things, and sacrificed so much to gain freedom for his country; and to unite Afrika and it's people as one.

Barack Obama Civil Rights Policy

I agree with most things about the policy, but some things I disagree with. One of the things I agree with in the policy is the End Racial Profiling. President Obama will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice. Another thing I agree with is that President Obama states to "Fight Work Place Discrimination". I think that a man or women should have the right to go to work and not be judged by their appearance. Those people came to work to get paid, not to be judged by their co-workers. They get up every morning to get money for a living. I agree when President Obama states that we should fight work-place discrimination by our laws being expanded.

The thing that I disagree with is "Support Full Civil Unions and Federal funds for LGBT Couples". I think that supporting LGBT is not right, because gay couples having children does not seem right to me. I think if you want to be gay, you should not have children. The Creator made man and woman to be able to have a child and if you don't like the natural rules than you can't have a child. That is what I believe.