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Controlling your own destiny by acknowledging and understanding "Black History." Discover the hidden truths behind the worldwide population of the African peoples, and the various influences that continue to lead to the genocide of its descendants. Black history doesnt begin with American Domestic Slavery. "Sankofa"
Citation preview
Copyright copy THEBROWNSVILLECOLLECTIVE 2013
February 2016
25cent
FREE
WE Honor
Black History month
by continuing in the
struggle to let the truth be
known
ldquoHealing begins with
usrdquo
LIFE EXISTED before slavery
Africans Ancestry and the TRUE history
not taught in schools
Original CivilizationBlack Buddha Conquerorsrsquo of EUROPE
KNOWLEDGE OF SELF
Learn how the Slave Codes Black codes amp Jim Crow laws
still affect African Americans everyday
CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY
ldquoSankofardquo Sankofa teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward That is we should reach
back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us so that we can achieve our full potential as we
move forward Whatever we have lost forgotten forgone or been stripped of can be reclaimed revived
preserved and perpetuated
httpwwwduboislcnetSankofaMeaninghtml
CONTACT US
PHONE
(917) 681-0540
thebvillecollective
gmailcom
Join us on
THEBVILLECOLLECTIVE
P a g e | 2
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY
You are in
Community Board 16 Viola Greene District Manager 444 Thomas Boyland Bklyn NY 11212
Call (718) 385-0323 for meeting GENERAL COMMUNITY
BOARD MEETING
March 24TH 700 ndash 900pm
444 Thomas Boyland
City Agency Concerns DIAL 311
Local Community Board 16
(718) 385-0323
CITY Councilmember
Darlene Mealy (718) 953-3097 41st Council District
1757 Union Street 2nd Floor Brooklyn NY 11213
WHO TO CALL
Issues Questions Comments ldquolawsrdquo Funding Policies or
procedures Budgeting
CITY
LOCAL
STATE
STATE Assemblyman
Charles Barron (718) - 257-5824 60th Assembly District
467 Thomas S Boyland StBklyn 11212
Brooklyn Borough President
Eric Adams (718) 802-3700
209 Joralemon St Bklyn NY 11225
STATE Senator
V Mongomery (718) 643-6140
25TH Senate District
30 Third Avenue Bklyn NY 11217
FEDERAL
Congresswoman
Yvette Clarke (718) 287-1142
123 Linden Boulevard 4thFL
Brooklyn NY 11226
CITY Councilmember
Inez Barron (718) 649-9495 42st Council District
718 Pennsylvania Ave Brooklyn New York 11207
STATE Assemblywoman
Latrice Walker Local information not yet available
The executive members of the community Board will inform the community of the new procedures for 2016
73rd PCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING
Anthony Newerls President 3rd Thursday of every Month
73rd PCT COMMUNITY CLERGY MEETING Reverend Acey Pettaway President
Last MONDAY of every month
Call (718) 495-5411 700 pm
73rd Precinct station
Brooklyn District Attorney
Victim Services Unit 718-250-3820
Public Integrity Unit 718-250-2747
Immigrant Fraud Unit 718-250-3333
Labor Frauds Unit 718-250-3770
A Special ldquoThank Yourdquo
For All of our Community
Collaborative Submissions
Brownsville BMS The Brownsville Collective
Editor in Chief Publisher
Deidre Olivera
Executive Editor
M Morton Hall Treasurer
Earlene Franklin
1470 East New York Ave Bklyn
NY 11212 (718) 495-5411
Commanding Officer Iglsias
This yearrsquos felony assaults and the
number of shootings are higher than
the rest of the city
73rd Precinct
Community Ticker
Jan 15 2016 Possible jumper Last night at approx 1130pm an identified male was found unconscious DOA in the rear of 301 Sutter Av At this time the case is being investigated as a possible jumper from the roof of the location January 26 2016 Slasher arrested Mondays Manhattan subway slashing perpetrator has been arrested in Brownsville by 73 pct personnel February 4 2016 Rape ndash Perpetrator in Custody 1620 Pitkin avenue Female got into what she thought was a cab at eastern and Fulton Perpetrator drove to 1620 Pitkin avenue and put a knife to her throat and forcibly raped her Perp is in custody February 6 2016 Police involved shooting On Feb 06 2016 at approx 1050 pm members of the Gang squad were involved in a shooting incidents with an armed perpetrator at the corner of Riverdale and Osborn There were no injuries and one perpetrator was apprehended with a firearm
We appreciate the 73rd Pct for its
dedication involvement and
commitment to the Community
IHalleluJah
P a g e | 3
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Born in a tenement Ms Gaston had to leave school and go to work at age 14
Went to seminars at what is now known as the ldquoAssociation for Study of Afro-American Life and
Historyrdquo
taught young minds about their history out of her home in what was called the Childrens Cultural
Corner
organized small groups of children and young adults from Brownsville into classes to learn about
their ethnic histories the arts and the humanities
This event laid the foundation for Brownsville Heritage Househellip in acquiring the second floor
space above the Stone Avenue library on the corner of Mother Gaston and Dumont Ave
Hence the Brownsville Chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and
History
Mother Gaston at age 96 passed away month before Brownsville Heritage House opened its doors in
March 1981
That same year Stone Avenue was renamed Mother Gaston Boulevard which runs from Broadway to
Linden Boulevard covering the communities of Ocean-Hill and Brownsville
After her death a bronze statue was erected in her memory in Brownsville and Stone Avenue was
renamed Mother Gaston Boulevard
Rosetta Mother Gaston (1885- 1981 )
COMMUNITY ACTIVIST
Visionary amp Founder of the Brownsville Heritage
House located in the Stone Avenue Library
Stone Avenue Library opened in 1914 as the
Brownsville Childrens Library the worlds
first public library devoted to children She believed too many of us do not know or understand our rich
heritage and the many contributions we as a people
have made before and after the middle passage
hellip devoted her life to community work
and teaching Black children about their
heritage
BLACK HISTORY-Rosetta ldquomotherrdquo Gaston
P a g e | 4
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Opportunities
10-Week Network Technician Course for Direct Hiring Opportunities in
Telecommunications
Ever had an interest in technology Driver technicians are in high demand in the IT industry In addition to a driverrsquos license Net+ certification is required to get started Thatrsquos where we come in
Per Scholas is now offering a 10-week course for those interested in a career as Network Technicians In 2016 graduates of this course will be immediately recruited for nearly 100 open positions with our major telecomm employer partners Wersquoll train you for the job and get you certified And wersquoll do it for free If you have your driverrsquos license and are ready to pursue this career wersquoll cover the rest
Network Technician Specific Program Requirements You must have a valid Driverrsquos License with no more than 2
points Able to work with heights and tight working conditions (ie
closet sized spaces)
Able to lift heavy equipment upwards of 50 pounds
You are interested in a career in cabling and
telecommunications
Per Scholas Admission Requirements
You have an interest in technology You live in New York City
You have a high school diploma or the equivalent
You are legally authorized to work in the US
You can read write and speak in English
You can pass a basic academic assessment test
You can attend classes full-time for the entire duration of the course
To learn more and apply Attend an information session in person held every Monday through Friday at 9 AM at our Bronx location (804 E 138th St - 6 local train to Cypress Avenue) If you wish to speak with someone in advance you may emailadmissionsperscholasorg or call 718-772-0623
Free programs and job training
We would like to thank
Mrs Nersquoce Payne for her
submissions to the
Brownsville Collective
employment and
opportunities section
P a g e | 5
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
HOME - LIFE BEFORE SLAVERY - HOME
P a g e | 6
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVERY ndash Snatched from the homeland
The slave trade was facilitated on the European end by the Portuguese (mostly by Portuguese Empires Brazilians) the Dutch the French and the British
Researchers estimate that between 2 and 3 million slaves were exported out of this region and were traded for goods like alcohol and tobacco from the Americas and textiles from Europe Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic from West Africa although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher
ldquoThe space was so low that they sat between each others legs and [were] stowed so close together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all changing their position by night or day As they belonged to and were shipped on account of different individuals they were all branded like sheep with the owners marks of different forms These were impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot ironhellip he had taken in on the coast of Africa 336 males and 226 females making in all 562 and had been out seventeen days during which she had thrown overboard 55 The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways between deckshellip on looking into the places where they had been crammed there were found some children next the sides of the ship in the places most remote from light and air they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death and when they were carried on deck many of them could not standhellip Their horror may be well conceived when they found a number of them in different stages of suffocation many of them were foaming at the mouth and in the last agonies-many were dead A living man was sometimes dragged up and his companion was a dead body sometimes of the three attached to the same chain one was dying and another dead The tumult they had heard was the frenzy of those suffocating wretches in the last stage of fury and desperation struggling to extricate themselves When they were all dragged up nineteen were irrecoverably deadrdquo
Walsh Robert Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (1831)
rdquoCapt Harding weighing the stoutness and worth of the two slaves did as in other countries they do by rogues of dignity whip and scarify them only while 3 other abettors (but not actors nor of strength for it) he sentenced to cruel deaths making them first eat the heart and liver of one of them he killed The woman he hoisted by the thumbs whipped and slashed her with knives before the other slaves till she diedrdquo
httpwwwamaafricatodaycommiddle_passag
ehtm
(A)Handcuffs Used during Captue and oftentimes kept on for entire voyages Often remaining shackled to dead bodies for weeks and months
(B) Speculum oris Used to break their teeth and the force feed slopfood on the captive Africans
who refused to eat and would rather die
(C) Thumbscrews Used as punishment andor torture
(D) foot shackles Also known as leg irons Used so there
could be no running away
B
A
C
D
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 2
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY
You are in
Community Board 16 Viola Greene District Manager 444 Thomas Boyland Bklyn NY 11212
Call (718) 385-0323 for meeting GENERAL COMMUNITY
BOARD MEETING
March 24TH 700 ndash 900pm
444 Thomas Boyland
City Agency Concerns DIAL 311
Local Community Board 16
(718) 385-0323
CITY Councilmember
Darlene Mealy (718) 953-3097 41st Council District
1757 Union Street 2nd Floor Brooklyn NY 11213
WHO TO CALL
Issues Questions Comments ldquolawsrdquo Funding Policies or
procedures Budgeting
CITY
LOCAL
STATE
STATE Assemblyman
Charles Barron (718) - 257-5824 60th Assembly District
467 Thomas S Boyland StBklyn 11212
Brooklyn Borough President
Eric Adams (718) 802-3700
209 Joralemon St Bklyn NY 11225
STATE Senator
V Mongomery (718) 643-6140
25TH Senate District
30 Third Avenue Bklyn NY 11217
FEDERAL
Congresswoman
Yvette Clarke (718) 287-1142
123 Linden Boulevard 4thFL
Brooklyn NY 11226
CITY Councilmember
Inez Barron (718) 649-9495 42st Council District
718 Pennsylvania Ave Brooklyn New York 11207
STATE Assemblywoman
Latrice Walker Local information not yet available
The executive members of the community Board will inform the community of the new procedures for 2016
73rd PCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING
Anthony Newerls President 3rd Thursday of every Month
73rd PCT COMMUNITY CLERGY MEETING Reverend Acey Pettaway President
Last MONDAY of every month
Call (718) 495-5411 700 pm
73rd Precinct station
Brooklyn District Attorney
Victim Services Unit 718-250-3820
Public Integrity Unit 718-250-2747
Immigrant Fraud Unit 718-250-3333
Labor Frauds Unit 718-250-3770
A Special ldquoThank Yourdquo
For All of our Community
Collaborative Submissions
Brownsville BMS The Brownsville Collective
Editor in Chief Publisher
Deidre Olivera
Executive Editor
M Morton Hall Treasurer
Earlene Franklin
1470 East New York Ave Bklyn
NY 11212 (718) 495-5411
Commanding Officer Iglsias
This yearrsquos felony assaults and the
number of shootings are higher than
the rest of the city
73rd Precinct
Community Ticker
Jan 15 2016 Possible jumper Last night at approx 1130pm an identified male was found unconscious DOA in the rear of 301 Sutter Av At this time the case is being investigated as a possible jumper from the roof of the location January 26 2016 Slasher arrested Mondays Manhattan subway slashing perpetrator has been arrested in Brownsville by 73 pct personnel February 4 2016 Rape ndash Perpetrator in Custody 1620 Pitkin avenue Female got into what she thought was a cab at eastern and Fulton Perpetrator drove to 1620 Pitkin avenue and put a knife to her throat and forcibly raped her Perp is in custody February 6 2016 Police involved shooting On Feb 06 2016 at approx 1050 pm members of the Gang squad were involved in a shooting incidents with an armed perpetrator at the corner of Riverdale and Osborn There were no injuries and one perpetrator was apprehended with a firearm
We appreciate the 73rd Pct for its
dedication involvement and
commitment to the Community
IHalleluJah
P a g e | 3
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Born in a tenement Ms Gaston had to leave school and go to work at age 14
Went to seminars at what is now known as the ldquoAssociation for Study of Afro-American Life and
Historyrdquo
taught young minds about their history out of her home in what was called the Childrens Cultural
Corner
organized small groups of children and young adults from Brownsville into classes to learn about
their ethnic histories the arts and the humanities
This event laid the foundation for Brownsville Heritage Househellip in acquiring the second floor
space above the Stone Avenue library on the corner of Mother Gaston and Dumont Ave
Hence the Brownsville Chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and
History
Mother Gaston at age 96 passed away month before Brownsville Heritage House opened its doors in
March 1981
That same year Stone Avenue was renamed Mother Gaston Boulevard which runs from Broadway to
Linden Boulevard covering the communities of Ocean-Hill and Brownsville
After her death a bronze statue was erected in her memory in Brownsville and Stone Avenue was
renamed Mother Gaston Boulevard
Rosetta Mother Gaston (1885- 1981 )
COMMUNITY ACTIVIST
Visionary amp Founder of the Brownsville Heritage
House located in the Stone Avenue Library
Stone Avenue Library opened in 1914 as the
Brownsville Childrens Library the worlds
first public library devoted to children She believed too many of us do not know or understand our rich
heritage and the many contributions we as a people
have made before and after the middle passage
hellip devoted her life to community work
and teaching Black children about their
heritage
BLACK HISTORY-Rosetta ldquomotherrdquo Gaston
P a g e | 4
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Opportunities
10-Week Network Technician Course for Direct Hiring Opportunities in
Telecommunications
Ever had an interest in technology Driver technicians are in high demand in the IT industry In addition to a driverrsquos license Net+ certification is required to get started Thatrsquos where we come in
Per Scholas is now offering a 10-week course for those interested in a career as Network Technicians In 2016 graduates of this course will be immediately recruited for nearly 100 open positions with our major telecomm employer partners Wersquoll train you for the job and get you certified And wersquoll do it for free If you have your driverrsquos license and are ready to pursue this career wersquoll cover the rest
Network Technician Specific Program Requirements You must have a valid Driverrsquos License with no more than 2
points Able to work with heights and tight working conditions (ie
closet sized spaces)
Able to lift heavy equipment upwards of 50 pounds
You are interested in a career in cabling and
telecommunications
Per Scholas Admission Requirements
You have an interest in technology You live in New York City
You have a high school diploma or the equivalent
You are legally authorized to work in the US
You can read write and speak in English
You can pass a basic academic assessment test
You can attend classes full-time for the entire duration of the course
To learn more and apply Attend an information session in person held every Monday through Friday at 9 AM at our Bronx location (804 E 138th St - 6 local train to Cypress Avenue) If you wish to speak with someone in advance you may emailadmissionsperscholasorg or call 718-772-0623
Free programs and job training
We would like to thank
Mrs Nersquoce Payne for her
submissions to the
Brownsville Collective
employment and
opportunities section
P a g e | 5
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
HOME - LIFE BEFORE SLAVERY - HOME
P a g e | 6
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVERY ndash Snatched from the homeland
The slave trade was facilitated on the European end by the Portuguese (mostly by Portuguese Empires Brazilians) the Dutch the French and the British
Researchers estimate that between 2 and 3 million slaves were exported out of this region and were traded for goods like alcohol and tobacco from the Americas and textiles from Europe Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic from West Africa although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher
ldquoThe space was so low that they sat between each others legs and [were] stowed so close together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all changing their position by night or day As they belonged to and were shipped on account of different individuals they were all branded like sheep with the owners marks of different forms These were impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot ironhellip he had taken in on the coast of Africa 336 males and 226 females making in all 562 and had been out seventeen days during which she had thrown overboard 55 The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways between deckshellip on looking into the places where they had been crammed there were found some children next the sides of the ship in the places most remote from light and air they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death and when they were carried on deck many of them could not standhellip Their horror may be well conceived when they found a number of them in different stages of suffocation many of them were foaming at the mouth and in the last agonies-many were dead A living man was sometimes dragged up and his companion was a dead body sometimes of the three attached to the same chain one was dying and another dead The tumult they had heard was the frenzy of those suffocating wretches in the last stage of fury and desperation struggling to extricate themselves When they were all dragged up nineteen were irrecoverably deadrdquo
Walsh Robert Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (1831)
rdquoCapt Harding weighing the stoutness and worth of the two slaves did as in other countries they do by rogues of dignity whip and scarify them only while 3 other abettors (but not actors nor of strength for it) he sentenced to cruel deaths making them first eat the heart and liver of one of them he killed The woman he hoisted by the thumbs whipped and slashed her with knives before the other slaves till she diedrdquo
httpwwwamaafricatodaycommiddle_passag
ehtm
(A)Handcuffs Used during Captue and oftentimes kept on for entire voyages Often remaining shackled to dead bodies for weeks and months
(B) Speculum oris Used to break their teeth and the force feed slopfood on the captive Africans
who refused to eat and would rather die
(C) Thumbscrews Used as punishment andor torture
(D) foot shackles Also known as leg irons Used so there
could be no running away
B
A
C
D
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 3
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Born in a tenement Ms Gaston had to leave school and go to work at age 14
Went to seminars at what is now known as the ldquoAssociation for Study of Afro-American Life and
Historyrdquo
taught young minds about their history out of her home in what was called the Childrens Cultural
Corner
organized small groups of children and young adults from Brownsville into classes to learn about
their ethnic histories the arts and the humanities
This event laid the foundation for Brownsville Heritage Househellip in acquiring the second floor
space above the Stone Avenue library on the corner of Mother Gaston and Dumont Ave
Hence the Brownsville Chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and
History
Mother Gaston at age 96 passed away month before Brownsville Heritage House opened its doors in
March 1981
That same year Stone Avenue was renamed Mother Gaston Boulevard which runs from Broadway to
Linden Boulevard covering the communities of Ocean-Hill and Brownsville
After her death a bronze statue was erected in her memory in Brownsville and Stone Avenue was
renamed Mother Gaston Boulevard
Rosetta Mother Gaston (1885- 1981 )
COMMUNITY ACTIVIST
Visionary amp Founder of the Brownsville Heritage
House located in the Stone Avenue Library
Stone Avenue Library opened in 1914 as the
Brownsville Childrens Library the worlds
first public library devoted to children She believed too many of us do not know or understand our rich
heritage and the many contributions we as a people
have made before and after the middle passage
hellip devoted her life to community work
and teaching Black children about their
heritage
BLACK HISTORY-Rosetta ldquomotherrdquo Gaston
P a g e | 4
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Opportunities
10-Week Network Technician Course for Direct Hiring Opportunities in
Telecommunications
Ever had an interest in technology Driver technicians are in high demand in the IT industry In addition to a driverrsquos license Net+ certification is required to get started Thatrsquos where we come in
Per Scholas is now offering a 10-week course for those interested in a career as Network Technicians In 2016 graduates of this course will be immediately recruited for nearly 100 open positions with our major telecomm employer partners Wersquoll train you for the job and get you certified And wersquoll do it for free If you have your driverrsquos license and are ready to pursue this career wersquoll cover the rest
Network Technician Specific Program Requirements You must have a valid Driverrsquos License with no more than 2
points Able to work with heights and tight working conditions (ie
closet sized spaces)
Able to lift heavy equipment upwards of 50 pounds
You are interested in a career in cabling and
telecommunications
Per Scholas Admission Requirements
You have an interest in technology You live in New York City
You have a high school diploma or the equivalent
You are legally authorized to work in the US
You can read write and speak in English
You can pass a basic academic assessment test
You can attend classes full-time for the entire duration of the course
To learn more and apply Attend an information session in person held every Monday through Friday at 9 AM at our Bronx location (804 E 138th St - 6 local train to Cypress Avenue) If you wish to speak with someone in advance you may emailadmissionsperscholasorg or call 718-772-0623
Free programs and job training
We would like to thank
Mrs Nersquoce Payne for her
submissions to the
Brownsville Collective
employment and
opportunities section
P a g e | 5
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
HOME - LIFE BEFORE SLAVERY - HOME
P a g e | 6
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVERY ndash Snatched from the homeland
The slave trade was facilitated on the European end by the Portuguese (mostly by Portuguese Empires Brazilians) the Dutch the French and the British
Researchers estimate that between 2 and 3 million slaves were exported out of this region and were traded for goods like alcohol and tobacco from the Americas and textiles from Europe Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic from West Africa although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher
ldquoThe space was so low that they sat between each others legs and [were] stowed so close together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all changing their position by night or day As they belonged to and were shipped on account of different individuals they were all branded like sheep with the owners marks of different forms These were impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot ironhellip he had taken in on the coast of Africa 336 males and 226 females making in all 562 and had been out seventeen days during which she had thrown overboard 55 The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways between deckshellip on looking into the places where they had been crammed there were found some children next the sides of the ship in the places most remote from light and air they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death and when they were carried on deck many of them could not standhellip Their horror may be well conceived when they found a number of them in different stages of suffocation many of them were foaming at the mouth and in the last agonies-many were dead A living man was sometimes dragged up and his companion was a dead body sometimes of the three attached to the same chain one was dying and another dead The tumult they had heard was the frenzy of those suffocating wretches in the last stage of fury and desperation struggling to extricate themselves When they were all dragged up nineteen were irrecoverably deadrdquo
Walsh Robert Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (1831)
rdquoCapt Harding weighing the stoutness and worth of the two slaves did as in other countries they do by rogues of dignity whip and scarify them only while 3 other abettors (but not actors nor of strength for it) he sentenced to cruel deaths making them first eat the heart and liver of one of them he killed The woman he hoisted by the thumbs whipped and slashed her with knives before the other slaves till she diedrdquo
httpwwwamaafricatodaycommiddle_passag
ehtm
(A)Handcuffs Used during Captue and oftentimes kept on for entire voyages Often remaining shackled to dead bodies for weeks and months
(B) Speculum oris Used to break their teeth and the force feed slopfood on the captive Africans
who refused to eat and would rather die
(C) Thumbscrews Used as punishment andor torture
(D) foot shackles Also known as leg irons Used so there
could be no running away
B
A
C
D
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 4
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Opportunities
10-Week Network Technician Course for Direct Hiring Opportunities in
Telecommunications
Ever had an interest in technology Driver technicians are in high demand in the IT industry In addition to a driverrsquos license Net+ certification is required to get started Thatrsquos where we come in
Per Scholas is now offering a 10-week course for those interested in a career as Network Technicians In 2016 graduates of this course will be immediately recruited for nearly 100 open positions with our major telecomm employer partners Wersquoll train you for the job and get you certified And wersquoll do it for free If you have your driverrsquos license and are ready to pursue this career wersquoll cover the rest
Network Technician Specific Program Requirements You must have a valid Driverrsquos License with no more than 2
points Able to work with heights and tight working conditions (ie
closet sized spaces)
Able to lift heavy equipment upwards of 50 pounds
You are interested in a career in cabling and
telecommunications
Per Scholas Admission Requirements
You have an interest in technology You live in New York City
You have a high school diploma or the equivalent
You are legally authorized to work in the US
You can read write and speak in English
You can pass a basic academic assessment test
You can attend classes full-time for the entire duration of the course
To learn more and apply Attend an information session in person held every Monday through Friday at 9 AM at our Bronx location (804 E 138th St - 6 local train to Cypress Avenue) If you wish to speak with someone in advance you may emailadmissionsperscholasorg or call 718-772-0623
Free programs and job training
We would like to thank
Mrs Nersquoce Payne for her
submissions to the
Brownsville Collective
employment and
opportunities section
P a g e | 5
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
HOME - LIFE BEFORE SLAVERY - HOME
P a g e | 6
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVERY ndash Snatched from the homeland
The slave trade was facilitated on the European end by the Portuguese (mostly by Portuguese Empires Brazilians) the Dutch the French and the British
Researchers estimate that between 2 and 3 million slaves were exported out of this region and were traded for goods like alcohol and tobacco from the Americas and textiles from Europe Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic from West Africa although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher
ldquoThe space was so low that they sat between each others legs and [were] stowed so close together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all changing their position by night or day As they belonged to and were shipped on account of different individuals they were all branded like sheep with the owners marks of different forms These were impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot ironhellip he had taken in on the coast of Africa 336 males and 226 females making in all 562 and had been out seventeen days during which she had thrown overboard 55 The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways between deckshellip on looking into the places where they had been crammed there were found some children next the sides of the ship in the places most remote from light and air they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death and when they were carried on deck many of them could not standhellip Their horror may be well conceived when they found a number of them in different stages of suffocation many of them were foaming at the mouth and in the last agonies-many were dead A living man was sometimes dragged up and his companion was a dead body sometimes of the three attached to the same chain one was dying and another dead The tumult they had heard was the frenzy of those suffocating wretches in the last stage of fury and desperation struggling to extricate themselves When they were all dragged up nineteen were irrecoverably deadrdquo
Walsh Robert Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (1831)
rdquoCapt Harding weighing the stoutness and worth of the two slaves did as in other countries they do by rogues of dignity whip and scarify them only while 3 other abettors (but not actors nor of strength for it) he sentenced to cruel deaths making them first eat the heart and liver of one of them he killed The woman he hoisted by the thumbs whipped and slashed her with knives before the other slaves till she diedrdquo
httpwwwamaafricatodaycommiddle_passag
ehtm
(A)Handcuffs Used during Captue and oftentimes kept on for entire voyages Often remaining shackled to dead bodies for weeks and months
(B) Speculum oris Used to break their teeth and the force feed slopfood on the captive Africans
who refused to eat and would rather die
(C) Thumbscrews Used as punishment andor torture
(D) foot shackles Also known as leg irons Used so there
could be no running away
B
A
C
D
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 5
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
HOME - LIFE BEFORE SLAVERY - HOME
P a g e | 6
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVERY ndash Snatched from the homeland
The slave trade was facilitated on the European end by the Portuguese (mostly by Portuguese Empires Brazilians) the Dutch the French and the British
Researchers estimate that between 2 and 3 million slaves were exported out of this region and were traded for goods like alcohol and tobacco from the Americas and textiles from Europe Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic from West Africa although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher
ldquoThe space was so low that they sat between each others legs and [were] stowed so close together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all changing their position by night or day As they belonged to and were shipped on account of different individuals they were all branded like sheep with the owners marks of different forms These were impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot ironhellip he had taken in on the coast of Africa 336 males and 226 females making in all 562 and had been out seventeen days during which she had thrown overboard 55 The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways between deckshellip on looking into the places where they had been crammed there were found some children next the sides of the ship in the places most remote from light and air they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death and when they were carried on deck many of them could not standhellip Their horror may be well conceived when they found a number of them in different stages of suffocation many of them were foaming at the mouth and in the last agonies-many were dead A living man was sometimes dragged up and his companion was a dead body sometimes of the three attached to the same chain one was dying and another dead The tumult they had heard was the frenzy of those suffocating wretches in the last stage of fury and desperation struggling to extricate themselves When they were all dragged up nineteen were irrecoverably deadrdquo
Walsh Robert Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (1831)
rdquoCapt Harding weighing the stoutness and worth of the two slaves did as in other countries they do by rogues of dignity whip and scarify them only while 3 other abettors (but not actors nor of strength for it) he sentenced to cruel deaths making them first eat the heart and liver of one of them he killed The woman he hoisted by the thumbs whipped and slashed her with knives before the other slaves till she diedrdquo
httpwwwamaafricatodaycommiddle_passag
ehtm
(A)Handcuffs Used during Captue and oftentimes kept on for entire voyages Often remaining shackled to dead bodies for weeks and months
(B) Speculum oris Used to break their teeth and the force feed slopfood on the captive Africans
who refused to eat and would rather die
(C) Thumbscrews Used as punishment andor torture
(D) foot shackles Also known as leg irons Used so there
could be no running away
B
A
C
D
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 6
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVERY ndash Snatched from the homeland
The slave trade was facilitated on the European end by the Portuguese (mostly by Portuguese Empires Brazilians) the Dutch the French and the British
Researchers estimate that between 2 and 3 million slaves were exported out of this region and were traded for goods like alcohol and tobacco from the Americas and textiles from Europe Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic from West Africa although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher
ldquoThe space was so low that they sat between each others legs and [were] stowed so close together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all changing their position by night or day As they belonged to and were shipped on account of different individuals they were all branded like sheep with the owners marks of different forms These were impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot ironhellip he had taken in on the coast of Africa 336 males and 226 females making in all 562 and had been out seventeen days during which she had thrown overboard 55 The slaves were all enclosed under grated hatchways between deckshellip on looking into the places where they had been crammed there were found some children next the sides of the ship in the places most remote from light and air they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death and when they were carried on deck many of them could not standhellip Their horror may be well conceived when they found a number of them in different stages of suffocation many of them were foaming at the mouth and in the last agonies-many were dead A living man was sometimes dragged up and his companion was a dead body sometimes of the three attached to the same chain one was dying and another dead The tumult they had heard was the frenzy of those suffocating wretches in the last stage of fury and desperation struggling to extricate themselves When they were all dragged up nineteen were irrecoverably deadrdquo
Walsh Robert Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (1831)
rdquoCapt Harding weighing the stoutness and worth of the two slaves did as in other countries they do by rogues of dignity whip and scarify them only while 3 other abettors (but not actors nor of strength for it) he sentenced to cruel deaths making them first eat the heart and liver of one of them he killed The woman he hoisted by the thumbs whipped and slashed her with knives before the other slaves till she diedrdquo
httpwwwamaafricatodaycommiddle_passag
ehtm
(A)Handcuffs Used during Captue and oftentimes kept on for entire voyages Often remaining shackled to dead bodies for weeks and months
(B) Speculum oris Used to break their teeth and the force feed slopfood on the captive Africans
who refused to eat and would rather die
(C) Thumbscrews Used as punishment andor torture
(D) foot shackles Also known as leg irons Used so there
could be no running away
B
A
C
D
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 7
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A SLAVE
Fannie Moore
ldquoI never see how mammy
stand so much hard work She
stand up for her children
thoughhellipThe old overseer He
hate my mammy Every night
she would pray for the lord to
get her and her children out of
the place One day she plowing
in the cotton field All sudden
let out big yell Then she start
singing and a shouting and a
whoopin and a hollering Then
it seem she plow all the harder
When she come home Mister
Jim mammy say ldquoWhat all that
going on for in the field You
think we send you out there
just to whoop and yell No
siree we put you out there to
work and you sure better work
else we get the overseer to
cowhide your old black back
My mammy just grin all over
her black wrinkled face and say
Irsquos saved the lord done tell me
Irsquos saved Now I know the lord
will show me the way I aint
going to grieve no more No
matter how much you all done
beat me and my children the
Lord will show me the way
And one day we never be
slaves Old granny more grab
the cowhide and slash mammy
across the back but mammy
never yell She just go back to
the field a singinghellip it was a terrible sight to see the
speculators come to the
plantation They would go
through the fields and buy the
slaves they wantedhellip The
breed woman always bring
more money then the rest
even the men When they put
her on the block they put all
her children around her to
show folks how fast she can
have children When she sold
her family never see her again
She never know how many
children she had Sometimes
she have colored children and
sometimes white Aint no use
saying anything cause if she
did she just got
whippedhellipAunt Cheney helliphave
two children by the
overseerhelliphe was mean as the
devil When aunt Cheney not
do what he asked he tell
granny Moore Ole granny call
aunt Cheney to the kitchen
and make her take her clothes
off then she beat her until
she black and blue Many
boys and girls marry their
own brothers and sisters
and never know the
difference lest they get to talking about they parents
and where they used to
livehellip My pappy he was a
blacksmith He shoe all the
horses on the plantation His
name was Stephen
Moorehellipand his mammy too
She was brought over from
Africa She never could speak
plainhellipWhite folks never recognize
them any more than if they was a
doghellip
The year before the war started
Master Jim DiedhellipMaster tom and
Andrew take charge of the plantationhellipbut they just get
started when the war comehellipboth
had to go My pappy he go along
with them to do their cooking My
pappy he say that some day he
run four or five miles with the
Yankees behind him afore he can
stop to do any cookinghelliphe say he
walk on dead men just like he
walking on the ground hellipthe
Yankees come awful close Mister
Andrew have the confederate
flag in his hand He raise it high
in the air Pappy yell for him to
put the flag downhellipbut Master
Andrew just hold the flag up and
run behind a tree The Yankee
soldiers take one shot at him and
that was the last of him My
pappy bring him homehellipthen
pappy go back to stay with
Master Tom Master Tom was
just woundedhellippappy bring him
home and take care of him till he
well Master Tome give pappy a
horse an wagon cause he say he
save his lifeafter the war pappy
go back to work on the
plantation He make his own
crop on the plantationhellipbut the
money was no good thenhelliphe
work till just before he
diehellippappy die when he was 104
years old and mammy live to be
105
After the war the Klu Klux Klan
broke outhellipjust night Thy take
the poor niggers away in the
woods and beat them and hang
them The niggers was afraid to
move much let alone try to do
anything They never know what
to do they have no learning
Have no money All they can do
was stay on the same plantation
until they can do better We live
on the same plantation till the
children all grown and mammy
and pappy both die then we
leave I donrsquot know where any of
my people are now I knows I was
born in 1849 I was 88 years old
on the first of September ldquo Read The complete documentary here
httpsnorthcarolinaslavenarrativeswor
dpresscomnorth-carolina-slave-
narratives-2moore-fannie
ldquoCourse dey cry you think
dey not cry when they was
sold lak cattle I could tell
you lsquobout it all day but
even den you couldnrsquot guess
de awfulness of itrdquo mdashDelia Garlic age 100 Montgomery
Alabama
ldquoLots of old slaves closes
the door before they tell
the truth about their days
of slaveryrdquo mdashMartin Jackson around 91 years
old Victoria County Texas
httpauthortalkorgindexphpc
ategory=writing-
tipsamppage=quotes-from-former-
slaves
ldquoWe lib in uh one
room house in de
slave quarter dere
on de white folks
plantation My
Gawd sleep right
dere on de floor
Fed us outer big
bowl uv pot licker
wid plenty corn
bread en fried meat
en dat lsquobout aw we
ersquoer eatrdquo
mdashHector Godbold age
87 Marion County
South Carolina
ldquoSLAVERY was a bad thing and
FREEDOM of the kind we got with nothing to live on
was bad TWO SNAKES FULL
OF POISON One lying with his
head pointing north the other with his head
pointing south Their names was
SLAVERY and FREEDOM The snake called
slavery lay with his head pointed
south and the snake called
freedom lay with his head pointed
north Both bit the nigger and they was both badrdquo mdashPatsy Mitchner
Read more about her experience httpsnorthcarolinasla
venarrativeswordpress
comnorth-carolina-
slave-narratives-
2mitchner-patsy
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 8
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Brooklyn Public Library Central Library Dweck Center
Saturday February 20 2016 100 pm ndash 200 pm Age Group Kids -- FREE
This program celebrates the differences and similarities of dances within the African Diaspora
Using movement and music participants will go on an interactive dance
tour starting in West Africa going to the Caribbean and Latin America and
finally landing in the Unites States
a
BLACK HISTORY- EVENTS
America The Legacy of African American Public Service
The first colored Senators and representatives January 21 ndash February 26 2016 - FREE For further info call (212) 360-8163 64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park Third Floor of the Arsenal Building Gallery hours are 900 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday The Arsenal Gallery is located at (Closed municipal holidays)
The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies
but the first African American elected to office in the United States of America
has been documented as early as 1768 Despite slavery prejudice and Jim Crow
laws America has seen numerous influential African American leaders who
shaped the social legal and justice systems to provide equal rights to a
disenfranchised population
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 9
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
So me Of Our C h a m p i o n s BMS FAMILY HEALTH amp WELLNESS CENTERS
Salute The African American Community
Black History Month or National African American
History Month is an annual celebration of achievements
by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central
role of African Ameri- cans in US history The event
grew out of ldquoNegro History Weekrdquo the brainchild of
noted histo- rian Carter G Woodson and other prominent
African Americans Since 1976 every US president has
officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month Other countries around the world
including Canada and the United Kingdom also devote a
month to celebrating black history
Overview (Demographics) In July 2012 431 million
people in the United States were Black alone or in
combination African Americans are the second largest
minority population following the HispanicLatino
population In 2012 most Blacks lived in the South (55
percent of the Black
US population) while 36 percent of the white population
lived in the South The ten states with the largest Black
population in 2012 were Florida Texas New York
Georgia California North Carolina Illinois Maryland
Virginia Ohio Combined these 10 states represent 58
of the total Black population Of the 10 largest places in
the United States with 100000 or more population
Detroit Michigan had the largest proportion of Blacks
(84) followed by Jackson Mississippi (80)
On one team are dental plaquemdasha sticky color-
less film of bacteriamdashplus foods and drinks that
contain sugar or starch (such as milk bread
cookies candy soda juice and many others)
Reports show that American students miss 51
million hours of school every year because of oral
health problems And students who are ab- sent
miss critical instruction timemdashespecially in early
grades where reading skills are an impor- tant
focus and the building blocks of future learning
And students who have experienced recent oral
health pain are four times more likely to have
lower grade point averages than their counterparts
who have not
What goes on inside our mouths all day Throughout the day a tug of war takes place in- side
our mouths
Whenever we eat or drink something that con-
tains sugar or starch the bacteria use them to
produce acids These acids begin to eat away at the
tooths hard outer surface or enamel
On the other team are the minerals in our saliva
(such as calcium and phosphate) plus fluoride from
toothpaste water and other sources This team
helps enamel repair itself by replacing minerals
lost during an acid attack
Our teeth go through this natural process of losing
minerals and regaining minerals all day long
Tooth-friendly tips bullLimit between-meal snacks This reduces the
number of acid attacks on teeth and gives teeth
a chance to repair themselves
bullSave candy cookies soda and other sugary
drinks for special occasions
bullLimit fruit juice
bullMake sure your child doesnt eat or drink any-
thing with sugar in it after bedtime tooth brushing
Saliva flow decreases during sleep Without
enough saliva teeth are less able to repair them-
selves after an acid attack
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 10
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
SLAVE CODES were sets of laws during the colonial period andor in individual states after the American Revolution which defined
the status of slaves and the rights and responsibilities of slave owners
Virginia 1639 Act XI All persons except the African slaves are to be provided with arms and ammunitions or be fined at the pleasure of the governor and the council Virginia 1705 ndash If any slave resists his mastercorrecting such a slave and shall happen to be killed in such correctionthe master shall be free of all punishmentas if such accident never happened Louisiana 1724 ndash The slave who having struck his master his mistress or the husband of his mistress or their children shall have produced a bruise or the shedding of blood in the face shall suffer capital punishment Alabama 1833 section 33 ndash Any slave who shall write for any other slave any pass or free-paper upon conviction shall receive on his or her back fifty lashes for the first offence and one hundred lashes for every offence thereafter
South Carolina established its slave code in 1712 based on the 1688 English slave code employed in Barbados The South Carolina slave code served as the model for other colonies in North America In 1770 Georgia adopted the South Carolina slave code and then Florida adopted the Georgia code[4] The 1712 South Carolina slave code included provisions such as
No slave shall be allowed to work for pay or to plant corn peas or rice or to keep hogs cattle or horses
or to own or operate a boat to buy or sell or to wear clothes finer than Negro cloth The slave codes of the tobacco colonies (Delaware Maryland North Carolina and Virginia) were modeled on the Virginia code which was initially established in 1667
Slaves were prohibited from possessing weapons
Slaves were prohibited from leaving their owners plantations without permission
Slaves were prohibited from lifting a hand against a white person even in self-defense A runaway slave refusing to surrender could be killed without penalty Southern slave codes did make willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases
BLACK CODES 1865 Mississippi and South Carolina enacted the first black codes which were designed
to restrict freed blacksrsquo activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished
ldquovagrancy statutes made it a crime to be unemployed Many misdemeanors or trivial offenses were treated as felonies with harsh
sentences and finesrdquo Blacks who broke labor contracts were subject to arrest beating and forced labor and apprenticeship laws forced many minors
(either orphans or those whose parents were deemed unable to support them by a judge) into unpaid labor for white planters Passed by a political system
in which blacks effectively had no voice the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia
forces (often made up of Confederate veterans of the Civil War) across the South
The Jim Crow laws 1876 and 1965 were racial segregation laws enacted
between in the United States at the state and local level
The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans systematizing a number of economic educational and social disadvantages While Northern segregation was generally de facto there were patterns of segregation
in housing enforced by covenants bank lending practices job discrimination discriminatory union practices for decades
Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools public places and public transportation and the segregation of restrooms restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks The US military was also segregated
These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800ndash1866 Black Codes which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality
httpsenwikipediaorgwikiSlave_codesViolence_and_other_injustices_against_slaves httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyblack-codes
httpwwwpbsorgtptslavery-by-another-namethemesblack-codes
SLAVE CODES - BLACK CODES - JIM COW- stlll in effect
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 11
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela POLITICAL ACTIVIST against Apartheid
The penalties imposed on political hellip severe Thousands of individuals died in custody frequently after gruesome acts of torture Those who were tried were sentenced
to death banished or imprisoned for life like Nelson Mandela
A man who takes away another mans freedom is a prisoner of hatred he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness I am
not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me The oppressed
and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity They recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of
justice and a common human decency
I am Prepared to Die (1964) speech During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black
domination I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an
ideal which I hope to live for But my lord if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue I do
not however deny that I planned sabotage I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence I planned it as a result of
a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny exploitation and oppression of my people by the
Whites
It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice Why is it that in this
courtroom I face a white magistrate am confronted by a white prosecutor and escorted into the dock by a white orderly Can anyone
honestly and seriously suggest that in this type of atmosphere the scales of justice are evenly balanced
Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honor of being tried by his own kith and kin by his own flesh
and blood
I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations I have fought it all during my life I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days Even although I now happen to be tried by one whose opinion I hold in high esteem I detest most violently the set-up that surrounds me here It makes me feel that I am a black man in a white mans court This should not be
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges magistrates attorneys-general law advisers and similar positionsIn the absence of these safeguards the phrase equality before the law in so far as it is intended to apply to us is meaningless and misleading All the rights and privileges to which I have referred are monopolized by whites and we enjoy none of them The white man makes all the laws he drags us before his courts and accuses us and he sits in judgement over us
ldquoOvercoming poverty is not a task of charity it is an act of justice Like Slavery and Apartheid poverty is not natural It is man-made and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actions of human beings Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great YOU can be that great generation Let your greatness blossomrdquo ldquoFor to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of othersrdquo
ldquoI learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fearrdquo
ldquoWhen a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in he has no choice but to become an outlawrdquo
BLACK HISTORY-Nelson Mandela
Apartheid word meaning the state of being apart
From 1960-1983 35 million non-white South Africans were removed in one
of the largest mass removals in modern history
Nevertheless Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter
South Africa aliens in their own country
Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship
ldquoOnly free men can negotiate prisoners cannot enter into contracts Your
freedom and mine cannot be separatedrdquo
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prisonhellip
Upon his release he became the1st President of South
Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic
elections
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 12
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Ancient Black BuddhaThailand
Neferteri standing Woman from
Mangbetu tribe
ANCIENT OLMEC HEAD STATUE
HAIR LOCKS
KING MANGUS One of the most fascinating aspects of the African presence in Europe is the wide collection of images of the Black Magus King in European art
The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia He is sometimes called a Moor and he is interestingly enough the king who stands farthest away from the Christ child The Black magus is the youngest of the three kings and traditionally he is said to come from Ethiopia
Understanding the history of the Moors - The Moors werehellipAfrican
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghrebthe Iberian Peninsula Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages In August 711 Tarikwon paramount victory over the opposing European army On the eve of the battle Tarik is alleged to have roused his troops with the following words
ldquoMy brethren the enemy is before you the sea is behind whither would ye fly Follow your general I am resolved either to lose my life or to trample on the prostrate king of the Romansrdquo hellip
Within a monthrsquos time General Tarik ibn Ziyad had effectively terminated European dominance of the Iberian Peninsula The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa hellipmost of modern-day Spain Portugal and SeptimaniahellipMazara on Sicily in 827 developing it as a porthellip and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy
TARIK DJABAL
One of the most infamous MOORS
In 711 the bold Tarik crossed the straits and disembarked near a rock promontory which from that day since has borne his name mdash Djabal Tarik (ldquoTarikrsquos Mountainrdquo) or Gibraltar
THE BLACK HISTORY YOU HAVENrsquoT READ ABOUT IN SCHOOL
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 13
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson April 4 1928 ndash May 28 2014) was an
American author poet and civil rights activist
Angelou was raped as a young girl and when she told the name of her rapisthelliphe was
sentenced to one day in jail He was killed four days after his release from prison allegedly by
her uncles
She then became mute for almost five years believing as she stated I thought my voice killed
him I killed that man because I told his name And then I thought I would never speak again
because my voice would kill anyone
She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited and in a few years
she gained proficiency in several languages
She wrote articles short stories TV scripts documentaries autobiographies and poetry
produced plays composed songs and movie scores and was named visiting professor at
several colleges and universities
BLACK HISTORY ndash Maya Angelou
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 14
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
a
OPPORTUNITIES
2016 East New York Farms Youth Internship Application Now Available
Now accepting applications for the 2016 Youth Internship If you are 13-15 years old live or go to school in East
New York and interested in working outside and helping your community please apply
Contact jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
2016 Ladders for Leaders Program Application Apply here httpsapplicationnycsyepcomPagesApplicationPagesLFLEligibilityaspx Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized program that offers high school and college students the
opportunity to participate in paid professional summer internships with leading corporations non-profit
organizations and government agencies in New York City The program is an initiative of the NYC
Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and supported by the NYC Center for Youth
Employment and the Mayorrsquos Fund to Advance New York City
Pre-employment Training Paid Summer Internships Opportunity to join our growing Alumni Network
Who is Eligible
Youth between the ages of 16-22 who are enrolled in high school or college
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 300
Resident of one of the five boroughs of New York City
Anyone with prior work experience either paid or volunteer
Legally allowed to work in New York City If you have further questions about SYEP Ladder for Leaders contact NYC Youth
Connect at (800) 246-4646
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 137
will conduct a recruitment from March 7 2016 through March 6 2017 for 10 sheet metal
worker (sign hangerrigger) apprentices the New York State Department of Labor announced
today Applications can be obtained at 50-02 5th Street Suite A Long Island City NY from 800
am to 1200 pm every Monday excluding legal holidays during the recruitment
period Applicants must provide a valid drivers license and proof of a high school diploma or
high school equivalency diploma in order to receive an application
For further information applicants should contact their nearest New York State Department of Labor office or Local Union 137 at (718) 937-4514Apprentice programs registered with the
Department of Labor must meet standards established by the Commissioner Under state law sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race creed color national
origin age sex disability or marital status Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative
action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities
Sheet Metal Workers Recruit Apprentices
Were Hiring Open Positions in 2016 We are looking for committed individuals to fill three positions to begin in the late winterearly spring of 2016 Short
descriptions of the positions are below and full versions can be found by clicking the links
The Community Gardens Organizer
The UCC Youth Farm Manager
The Pink Houses Farm Manager
The Corbin Hill Community Organizer
To apply please send an email with the job title you are seeking in the subject line and your resume and cover letter in one PDF
to jobseastnewyorkfarmsorg
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 15
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
ldquoRhetorically Douglass was a master of irony as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852 ldquoThis Fourth of July is yours not mine You may rejoice Imust mournrdquo he declared Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Rochester New York of mockery for inviting him to speak and quoted Psalm 137 where the children of Israel are forced to sit down ldquoby the rivers of Babylonrdquo there to ldquosing the Lordrsquos song in a strange landrdquo For the ways that race have caused the deepest contradictions in American history few better sources of insight exist than Douglassrsquos speeches Moreover for understanding prejudice there are few better starting points than his timeless definition of racism as a ldquodiseased imaginationrdquo
Douglass initially lived with his maternal grandmother Betty Bailey At a young age Douglass was selected to live in the home of the plantation owners one of
whom may have been his father His mother an intermittent presence in his life died when he was around 10
He was later made to work for Edward Covey who had a reputation as a slave-breakerrdquo Coveyrsquos constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically Eventually however Douglass fought back in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass Covey never beat him again
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray a free black woman in Baltimore with
whom Douglass had fallen in love On September 3 1838 Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace Maryland Murray had provided him with some of her
savings and a sailors uniform He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David
Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours Once he had arrived Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York They married on September 15 1838
adopting the married name of Johnson to disguise Douglassrsquos identity Anna and Frederick settled in New Bedford Massachusetts which had a thriving free
black community There they adopted Douglass as their married name
Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave in 1845 The book was a best seller in the United States and was translated into several European languages Although the work garnered Douglass many fans some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal education could have produced such elegant prose Following the publication of his
autobiography Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture He set sail for Liverpool on August 16 1845 and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato
Famine was beginning He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery
During this time Douglassrsquos British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom
In 1847 the famed writer and orator returned to the United States a free man
For sixteen years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an orator and writer of great persuasive power
In thousands of speeches and editorials he levied an irresistible indictment against slavery and racism provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals In the 1850s he broke with the strictly moralist brand of abolitionism led by William Lloyd Garrison he supported the early womenrsquos rights movement and he gave direct assistance to John Brownrsquos conspiracy that led to the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859
President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which took effect on January 1 1863 declared the freedom of all slaves in
Confederate territoryDespite this victory Douglass supported John C Freacutemont over Lincoln in the 1864 election citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen Slavery everywhere in the United States
was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war He served as president of the Freedmans Savings Bank and as chargeacute daffaires for the Dominican Republic After two years he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of US government policy He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti
a post he held between 1889 and 1891 httpwwwhistorycomtopicsblack-historyfrederick-douglass
httpwwwbiographycompeoplefrederick-douglass-9278324
Frederick Douglass Born Feb 1818 social reformer abolitionist orator writer and statesman
ldquoIf there is no struggle there is no progressrdquo ldquoPower concedes nothing without a demand
It never did and it never willrdquo ldquoIt is easier to build strong children than to repair broken menrdquo
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NOMINATED FOR VICE PRESIDENT of the
United States
BLACK HISTORY-Frederick Douglas
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief
P a g e | 16
THE BROWNSVILLE COLLECTIVE FEB 2016
The Brownsville Collecive ndash Correcting His-tory
Each year the black History edition newspaper becomes the most complicated issue for me to produce It consumes days and weeks of my time with research and at times is a very emotional experience
As I continue to seek more knowledge of the African American experience I see my grandparents and other family members come to life I see by-products of being stolen and placed in a cold land easier to identify within the current communities I feel compassion for the reasons of distrust loathing of Doctors deep seated emotional pain and the unwavering reliance in the past generations belief in prayer Oh how I wish I could go back in time and tell them that I understand them more each year Their struggles have not fallen on deaf ears
Itrsquos all so apparent that economic and cultural factors have produced mass acts of genocide against people of varying cultures and nations and forever blighted humanity Yet the endurance of a people throughout decades of continually shifting power bases provides strength and hope to my spirit
I am blessed and grateful to share this edition with you and desire that anyone reading this newspaper will continue to seek out true history - not HIS-story We have to continue the vision of those who have gone before ushellipand I know that we have much work to do Therefore I pray that God continues to allow me to assist as we travel along this journey together
EDITORIAL
Deidre Olivera Editor In Chief