November. John H Johnson's lucky month in which he invariably starts a new endeavor. A typical week or two in the life of the world's wealthiest and busiest black journalist and businessman looks down from his mountaintop from humble beginnings to fame and fortune, with homes in Chicago and Palm Springs, from the levee to Washington DC to Hollywood and beyond. Emperors ask for him by name from out of the crowd, wanting their copies of Ebony and Jet before officials and staff steal them. Presidents invite him to the White House to discuss needed civil rights legislation and to hobnob with dignitaries from around the world. Always in history's front seat Johnson remembers struggling to repay a $500 loan on his mother's furniture to pay the printer for 500 copies of his new magazine, the Negro Digest, and not disgrace his mother in front of her friends by defaulting on the loan and having the sheriff collect her furniture. Once poor, ambitious and scared, he's now rich, ambitious and scared someone will pinch him and wake him up to find himself in the middle of the world's racism his mountaintop offers him some escape from. White gatekeepers at exclusive parties still assume he's the chauffeur when he steps out of one of his Rolls Royces. Once inside, dignitaries greet him by name.
Johnson's journey begins in Arkansas City, Arkansas, 101 miles north of Little Rock, along levees on the Mississippi River. Arkansas City was a tiny town a few blocks long. Many of its residents spent their whole lives within its borders. Little Johnny Johnson, of fine Johnson and Jenkins stock, emerges with his mother from church to run for their lives from America's worst flood at the time. Friendly hands pull him and his mother to safety. Even then he had a nose for news, writing about the flood while helping rebuild the levee.
After Johnson's father was killed in an accident his mother remarried and his sister Beulah was born. Segregation was taken for granted in those days. The town's Colored school went only as far as the eighth grade. Johnson's mother wanted more for herself and her son. Despite his stepfather's dim view of such a step, Johnson and his mother cooked, cleaned and washed on the levee all summer only to find they needed more money for train tickets North to Chicago. Johnson's mother made him repeat the eighth grade to keep him off the streets and out of trouble. The next year they finally had the price of their tickets. Off they went, leaving Stepdad behind.
They stayed at first with his mother's sister. Johnson enrolled in Du Sable High School on Chicago's south side, where all good coloreds lived, traveling to Chicago's white neighborhoods only as domestics or other low-paid service workers. Coming from a town where blacks could only go as far as the 8th grade, Johnson didn't take high school for granted. Studying hard because he had no money to take girls out, Johnson earned top grades, never before seeing so many well-dressed and educated blacks together in the same place. Johnson developed his positive outlook from reading self-help books that changed his life. When his stepfather and sister joined them they moved into a 1-bedroom apartment, renting out the bedroom to help pay the rent. His sister joined Father Divine's cult, changed her name to Beauty Ray, and renouncing her family dropped out of the Johnsons' lives completely. They never saw her again.
Graduating from high school, Johnson entered college only to drop out when frustrated journalist Harry Pace hired him at his company, Supreme Life Insurance, then the largest Black-owned insurance firm, with branch offices in New York and other cities. Light-skinned but still considering himself Black, Pace would lose his home in a White suburb if he were seen carrying home Black newspapers and magazines. He asked Johnson to put together a weekly digest of Negro news. Blacks flocked to buy his magazine, the Negro Digest, and his career took off. Ten years later the failing Negro Digest was put to bed in favor of his slick new magazine Ebony. Now America's Black population could read about black history, sociology and civil rights - almost never mentioned in schools - as well as full-color stories about people like themselves who'd made it and who give some if it back to the African-American community. Johnson also speaks well of peers such as Earl Graves, Jr, publisher of the monthly magazine Black Enterprise. Ebony's stories of the first black this and black female that, plus fashions, recipes, reviews and advice are geared to Black readers. Despite achievements and positive thinking of famous and ordinary Blacks gracing Ebony's pages there's still racism, a cultural construct promoting White supremacy as Attention-Deficit Disorder was invented to sell dangerous, expensive drugs such as Ritalin.
With expanding sales of monthly Ebony and weekly Jet Johnson moved his office from the old South Side building he bought to its present, shiny custom-built 10-story Michigan Avenue headquarters in downtown Chicago to become Michigan Avenue's first black-owned business. His office occupies the whole 10th floor, containing many large, well-furnished conference rooms. His top editors occupy the 9th floor, where their boss daily checks up on their work.
Johnson, taking the middle initial H because he wanted it, is also a husband and father. Their son Arthur died of sickle-cell anemia at 25 but his daughter Linda Johnson Rice works for and helps run the family business, now including Ebony Fashion Fair and a line of department store cosmetics. What a difference 50 years makes as Johnson recalls his journey from welfare to wealth in a still-racist society, with branch offices in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and overseas. Always observant Johnson is at home in ballrooms and on city streets, still scared he'll wake up from his fantastic dream. Johnson shares his life and dreams readably and well, assisted by top Ebony editor Lerone Bennett, himself authoring many fine books on Black history and classics such as Wade in the Water and Before the Mayflower. One can only wish the Johnsons and Bennett many many more years of success.
Virginia Hamilton
Remember with love Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, Paul Dunbar, John Brown, and many others. Little-known escaped slave Anthony Burns also took his place on American history's stage. Hamilton, after years of research, puts the story together from his official autobiography and other surviving documents and records such as those the government recently ordered preserved from loss. Hamilton tells the story from Burns' point of view, alternating present-day capture, detention and trial in Boston with flashbacks from his childhood. Burns avoids conversation with his jailers, who growing fond of him raise funds for him, and retreats into himself remembering fondly the old days. Children he tended, some of them older than he was, lost their jealousy of him not working the fields as they did when he brought them extra food. Master Charles Suttle came one day to Tony's cabin and took him on horseback to the Big House and Mamaw's kitchen.
Burns' jailors wanted things secret from all the abolitionists in town for a convention. As lawyer Richard Henry Dana, author of Two Years before the Mast (another good book along with Bullen's Cruise of the Cachalot) showed up to defend Burns from reenslavement under the 1850 Runaway Slave Law crowds filled the square after rallying loudly at Fanueil Hall, built with slave trade money. Word spread all over New England and as far away as Kansas, then bleeding from wars between slave owners and abolitionists. Burns is returned to Mars Suttle, who then sells him. Taken by his new owner to a friend's house, she recognizes him and writes her sister in Boston. His Boston friends learning of his whereabouts bought his freedom. Burns got his Divinity Degree and became pastor of a church in Canada. Burns' story reads like a novel, with invented characters illustrating it in word pictures. Anthony Burns's story gives us yet another glimpse of heated pre-Civil War days of slavery and its outspoken opponents.
Oney Judge, George Washington's slave
Ann Rinaldi
Written as a novel, Oney Judge and most of the other characters actually existed and the events happened. Two websites containing material on her are: mountvernon.org and seacoastnh.com/blackhistory
The Declaration of Independence is signed. Patrick Henry tells Virginia's House of Burgesses and the world "Give me liberty or give me death!" The Revolutionary War starts as Oney's mother takes her to the main house to join Lady Washington's sewing circle and become her personal servant. Being a mulatto, Oney qualifies for the house. Oney's father, being white, is an indentured servant. His indenture ends and he's out of her life forever.
Like the rest of the servants of field or house, Oney's loyal to General and Lady Washington and their family. Her urge to be free is dampened when Lady Washington regards her as a daughter. Oney learns to read and write and to help in the kitchen, assuring her of future employment. The war ends and the General is elected president. The family moves with the office to New York and then Philadelphia. After Washington leaves office the the new federal city of Washington DC is established. Oney decides to leave when she hears Lady Washington's plans for her. She misses Mt Vernon but with most of her childhood friends deceased she's got nothing to return to. The novel begins with her relating her story but it's still a page turning, fact-filled book.
War in Viet Nam
Wallace Terry
Christmas in Afghanistan. White marines' Christmas dinner and carols, guarding the fort, handing out treats to kids. Black marines in the field far from cameras take care of business like they did in Viet Nam. 20 black Viet Nam veterans recall their lives before, during, and after their tours, remembering combat and firefights and also relations with nonblacks in the field, in town, and on the base. These are all valiant war heroes with bronze and silver stars, returning to discrimination they faced before they left. Some readjust to civilian life. Others drift. Disillusioned over Martin Luther King's and Malcolm Little's assassinations, they still love their families and their country. They're all disappointed that Saigon fell. We could have won that war if we'd tried, these soldiers said. We were there. All these men are from east of the Mississippi River except one from Topeka Kansas. Several are from Washington DC and nearby Virginia and Maryland. Black women were there too but Terry didn't include their stories.
Terry Bisson
Welcome to the pj's - Philadelphia's housing projects. Watch Wesley Cook evolve into Mumia Abu-Jamal, father of Jamal. The pjs were brand new when Mumia Abu-Jamal's mother Edith first moved in from North Carolina, acquiring the name Cook from her second husband Big Bill (Mumia's father) and wanting a large family and a good man to raise them with. She had 7 sons and a daughter. Big Bill knew how to entertain boys but didn't know how to keep 1 girl from feeling left out. Edith's best friend, her neighbor Ruth, had just the opposxite: 7 daughters and a son.
Mumia and his twin brother Wayne (now deceased) were born April 24, 1954. Mumia was the active, curious one while Wayne was the quiet, stay-at-home one. Mumia was called Scout because he alweays had the latest news, and U N for his scoop on other ethinc groups in adjacent neighborhoods. It must have exasperated him when parents and other adults answered his many questions about the world with, "hush, child, and eat your dinner" or some such reply whether or not they knew the answer or where to find it. School was irrelevant with no ethnic history and culture classes.
Philadelphia, Rizzo's Town, like other places was still segregated in those days before the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Adding insult to injury, presidential candidate Alabama Governor George Wallace came to town to campaign. Mumia, 14, went with three friends to protest. Wallace supports immediately pounced on the boys, as did the boys in blue when they arrived and soured Mumia on Philadelphia's crooked justice system. For redress for himself and his people, the Black community, Mumia turned to the Black Panthers. After traveling to New York and then Oakland to participate in BPP activities Mumia returned home at his mother's request.
Contrary to popular myth, the BPP only armed itself in accdordance with the Constitutional amendment guaranteeing the rights to freedom of assembly and to bear arms and did not regualrly carry guns in the street. They wore civilian clothes and didn't rank themselves beyond job title.
Mumia as a journalist was the Phildelphia chapter's information officer, cutting his teeth writing for their newspaper. His clear, concise writing and the courage to tell the truth and expose government corruption made him popular in the Black community. This infuriated Emperor Rizzo, police and Democratic Party chairman Ed Rendell and led to the decision to frame him. Seldom writing or talking about his own case, Mumia writes extensively on other topics. He's been in custody all these years and never surfed the Internet or used email, but he still gives commencement addresses by recorded tape. He's walked off Death Row still alive so far, only to find himself still in prison for life. Money earned from books and other merchandise still go to attorneys' fees and court costs, glad of that option. Mumia was there when MOVE was stormed and their headquarters razed. As with his own case, the crime scene was unsecured and soon demolished, leaving no possibility of evidence in Mumia's favor.
Bisson, originally a science fiction writer, also wrote Nat Turner, Slave Revolt Leader for the Chelsea House children's series Black Americans of Achievement. Bisson writes in a clear, expressive style which shows his sharing of Mumia's sentiments, drawing readers into the scene to sympathize with Mumia and others like him.
500 years' faith
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Reading my mail, I heard the joyous news: Mumia's got another book out! I rushed to the library and reserved a copy. Sure enough, another good read.
This is the story of Black religion and spirituality African and diasporan. It starts with early Spanish and Portuguese missionaries converting parts of Africa not yet Muslim. Blacks already have their own native religions based on nature, including Black gods and saints. Ethiopia's Kebra Negast (Glory of Kings) written in the 1300s was passed down orally since the 900s, a Black parallel to European religious text. Slaves were converted to Christianity as a means of subjugation to slaveholders. Like many Black authors writing about Black religion Mumia includes many references to Moses and the Exodus with few references to Jews. Blacks weren't as interested in spirituality as they were in freedom from slavery and oppression. Spirituals were sung and poems written as coded messages for Blacks only. Mumia also explains MOVE and other lesser-known Black religious movements. He also refers to Sojourner Truth and other Black women as having positive qualities. Mumia covers most African-American religious movements from mainstream Christianity to Muslim and all between.
This book, useable as academic text, needed to be written and Mumia's the one to write it. He makes his subjects clear and understandable to the masses. I now wait eagerly for more history books from Mumia. This is not the writing of a criminal or otherwise hateful mind. Reading it shows all the more reason for Mumia and fellow political prisoners Stanley (Tookie) Williams and Leonard Peltier to live in freedom to research and write their books. See www.geocities.com/elfpolitics/ghostbusters for more information on political prisoners.
Reading in progress
Reading in progress
Reading in progress
Reading in progress
Reading in progress
Reading in progress