August 31, 2016

"Myal Man" by Geoffrey Philp

Geoffrey Philp
Giving thanks this morning to sx salon for publishing my short story, "Myal Man," which explores one of the patakis surrounding Oshun, the orisha of love, joy, and creativity.

Here is an excerpt:

Sonia unscrewed the top of the jar and dipped her middle finger into the honey. She put her finger into her mouth and licked the sweetness off her fingertip.

“You want a taste?”

At first, Zeke wanted to resist, but he hadn’t tasted honey in a long time. Sonia dipped her index finger into the honey and beckoned.

Zeke walked over to Sonia and held her hand. He cautiously licked the honey on her fingertip. It was as sweet as he had remembered.

I hope you enjoy reading it.



***


Image of Oshun:  http://www.deviantart.com/tag/oshun

August 30, 2016

We the People: Petition the White House for a Presidential Pardon of Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Black Lives Matter

On August 17, 2016, Dr. Julius Garvey held a press conference at the National Press Club in order to kick start a campaign to exonerate his father, the Right Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey. 

To this end, the campaign has started a petition at the White House site (https://wh.gov/iLvaQ) and we need 100,000 goal signatures by September 28, 2016, to get a response from the White House.

Please sign the petition and pass this along to as many of your family, friends, and associates in your circle of contacts. We need every signature that we can get.


Here is the text of the petition.


 Grant Marcus Mosiah Garvey a Posthumous Presidential Pardon of His Wrongful 1923 Conviction

Marcus Garvey should be posthumously pardoned for his wrongful conviction for use of the mails in furtherance of a scheme to defraud. During a time when Blacks were seen as second class citizens, Garvey led a mass movement to elevate the Black community through economic empowerment and independence. He was convicted after being targeted by J. Edgar Hoover and deprived of a fair trial. His sentence was later commuted by President Calvin Coolidge on recommendation by the U.S. Attorney General and with the support of 9 of the 12 jurors who voted to convict. Garvey never abandoned his movement to empower people of the African diaspora and he was recognized as a forebearer of the Civil Rights Movement by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. Today, his legacy is celebrated the world over.


https://wh.gov/iLvaQ

August 18, 2016

C-Span Link: Presidential Pardon for Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Black Lives Matter

For those of you who missed the press conference at the National Press Club where Dr. Julius Garvey presented the case for the presidential pardon of his father, the Right Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey, here is the link: 

https://www.c-span.org/video/?414085-1/marcus-garvey-descendants-seek-presidential-pardon&src=ilaw

People in this video

Goulda Downer
President Caribbean-American Political Action Committee

Melvin Foote
President Constituency for Africa

Julius Garvey M.D.
  
Justin Hansford
Associate Professor St. Louis University-

Attallah Shabazz
Daughter of Malcolm X

Quito Swan
Associate Professor Howard University

Nkechi Taifa
Director Open Society Foundations

August 17, 2016

Happy Birthday, Marcus Garvey

Black Lives Matter


In this era of renewed awareness of Black Lives Matter, the work of the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey is especially important. It is time to apply Garvey's timeless principles of Redemption, Education, Self-Reliance, Purpose, Entrepreneurship, Community and Tradition (RESPECT) to the policy decisions that will impact the material and spiritual health of Africans at home and abroad.


August 15, 2016

Update on Rootz Foundation Marcus Garvey Birthday Celebrations: Live on Periscope


2016 #MarcusGarvey #birthday live on #Periscope @GeoffreyPhilp on 8/17/2016 @7 pm

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE TO BE OBSERVED AT KEY WEST AFRICAN CEMETERY

Maafa

One of Key West’s proudest and most significant historical developments will be commemorated on Sunday, August 21, at 6:00 p.m., at the Key West African Cemetery located at 1074-1094 Atlantic Blvd, Key West, FL 33040, near Higgs Memorial Beach, between the White Street Pier and the West Martello Fort, in observance of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, declared by the United Nations General Assembly.
The event continues a tradition established in recent years to honor the memory of the 295 African refugees who were buried at the site in the spring of 1860, and the heroism and generosity of the Key West community who came to their aid when they and their fellow captives, totaling 1,432 in number, were rescued by the United States Navy from three American slave ships bound illegally for Cuba, and were brought into the southernmost city, whose population at the time was only around 3,000.
Under the leadership of U.S. Marshal Fernando Moreno, housing was hastily constructed for the survivors of the horrific ocean crossings, and members of the community donated food, clothing, blankets, and other necessities to the unexpected visitors as they arrived at separate times from the three captures.
The Africans themselves also quickly formed a kind of impromptu community in their new surroundings, where observers noted the due deference was shown to individuals known to have ben of higher social rank, according to traditional practices and children were collectively cared for.
The presence of the Africans in Key West during their twelve weeks of detention there as they awaited being returned to Africa (not their original homelands but the American colony of Liberia), by order of President Buchanan, gained nationwide attention, drawing journalists and curiosity-seekers from around the country to Key West, where the Africans had become well enough known to the community to be given such nicknames as “the Princess,” resulting in their story being featured in such national publications as Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and Harper’s Weekly, and further fueling, as the word reached Congress, the increasingly acrimonious discourse as the nation hurtled inexorably toward the outbreak of full Civil War less than a year later.
Meanwhile, in the course of their twelve-week detention in Key West, in spite of all the care and attention that could be provided from both within and outside of the improvised African community, death would inevitably claim its portion of individuals, mostly children and youth, on an almost daily basis, who failed to recover from the illnesses and abominable conditions that they had endured while aboard the ships, and, in the final count fully 295 perished, for whom coffins were ordered by Marshal Moreno, and they would be carried in long processions from the so-called “slave depot,” to the burial place, from which the mourners returned in perfect silence.
It is the memory of those lives, and the millions more that mattered, as well as the inspiring heroism, fortitude, generosity, compassion, and sheer indomitability of the human spirit that are honored by the International Day, which is actually August 23, anniversary of the start of the ultimately successful Haitian Revolution in 1794, a date chosen by the UN to emphasize the fact that Africans themselves were the primary agents in bringing about the eventual global Abolition of the human trafficking known as the “slave trade,” although it remains a story with universal human appeal and importance.
The International Day of Remembrance serves to ensure that the full, accurate, and often inspiring story of the Middle Passage, and the tens of millions of lives it affected in such devastating ways is never lost or forgotten by future generations.
Key West has been a leader among American cities in holding annual observances of the day, which include traditional opening ceremonies and prayers, performances, historical information, and open “Village Talk.”
This event is made possible by the generous cooperation of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Monroe County, the City of Key West, and the Florida Black Historical Research Project, Inc.

Admission is free and open to the public; for further information, call 305-904-7620.

August 9, 2016

2016 MARCUS GARVEY ROOTZ EXTRAVAGANZA

Marcus Garvey




Rootz Foundation Inc. in association with the City of Lauderdale Lakes
Present the:

2016 MARCUS GARVEY ROOTZ EXTRAVAGANZA

Wednesday, August 17, 2016
7.00 p.m. – 10.00 p.m.

Lauderdale Lakes Educational & Cultural Center
3850 W. Oakland Park Blvd.,
Lauderdale Lakes, Fl 33311

Feature Presentation:
99 Years of Black Lives Matter

Marcus Garvey Community Service Awardees:
Winston Chung-Fah – Football Coach
Rodney Baltimore – Radio Broadcaster
Yvette Marshall – Radio Broadcaster

Live Performances By:
MARCIA BALL
2-OF-A-KIND
SHELDON GAVA

Recitations By:
SIERRA NORWOOD CALVERY CHORAL ENSEMBLE

 MC: Sister Liveth of WAVS 1170 AM Radio

Food * Refreshments* Books * Cultural Items On Sale

Entry Free

For More Info: (Tel) 954-560-0411 * Email: rootzfoundation@gmail.com
Facebook: Rootz Foundation Inc.