Editor's Philosphy Corner

Why is it important to understand the history of people of African slave decent living in the United States?  Why is it of equal, if not greater importance to understand the mindset of the enemies of justice?  


If you are not aware of the intricate details of why the ancestors of African Americans were brought here, then you can never understand the mindset of the enemies of justice, and therefore cannot protect yourself from the indignity, hatred, and murderous thoughts and unfortunate actions of the few whose minds cannot remove  themselves from the world of the 1860's.

Know this:
African slaves were brought to the United States to be SLAVES.  I do not believe that the original settlers/land thieves of this country ever intended African slaves to be more than footstools.  This is why there was a civil war in this country.  Why should slaves be free?  Be free to do what?  They are not even human!-mindset of the enemies of justice.

Once the slaves were legally freed, the enemies of justice stockpiled guns and white sheets to keep Africans in their place.  Fast forward to present day,  ever wonder why the enemies of justice look at you from the corner of their eye in public, or clutch their purses tight when you walk by?  It is because African American's will never be more than a slave to them.

The enemies of justice are not white or brown or black or orange people.  The enemies of justice are persons who cannot see that racism is a lie, and that we are all in this world together as one.  The enemies of justice are our ignorant bretheran who cannot pull themselves out of the muck in which they squat.  The enemies of justice are our sick brothers and sisters who believe that they have the power and right to take the lives of others because of their own insecurities.  The enemies of justice, my friend, are any and everyone in this world who quite frankly do not use their minds to think, but instead are controlled by a more primitive essence.

Your job as an enlightened person, is to be aware of how the enemies of justice view the world, because the world will always have them, and they are dangerous and irrational creatures.

I have not spoken on the Trayvon Martin story because there is enough out there in the media.  However, I had to post this song.  The artist is Jasiri X.

Please listen intently.

Chit Chat with the Editor

Several readers have posed the question as to why the information about slavery or racial discrimination, and etc are being put on this website.  Some feel that it is just being used to incite racial tensions, or to promote hate and division.

As the editor of 2sisters, it is my duty to set the record straight.  Our mission statement indicates that we do not promote racism, bigotry or hatred of any person or groups of people.  That said, I personally have different racial groups in my family, and I do not have hatred or any mal-feelings towards them.  So, let me be clear, the purpose of this blog and all of the information in it is to educate the black community.  Whether or not I have different races in my family does not take away from the fact that I am an Afro-American every day that I live.

Because there is an air of equality, the black community seems to be complacent.  The danger in complacency is that from that standpoint, people are easily manipulated and abused.  2sisters is standing in the gap alongside groups like the NAACP and NAN, to keep the issues of injustice that face the black community in the forefront, so that people do not just simply accept them as a norm.


Light and Life for all.


Editor
2sisterseoc.blogspot.com
Emily Edwards

"Booker's Place"

From DemocracyNow.org - In 1965, Booker Wright, an African-American waiter in Greenwood, Mississippi, dared to be interviewed by NBC about racism in America, a decision that forever changed his and his family's lives. He would later be beaten by police, and ultimately be murdered. Wright's story is told in the new documentary film, "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story," a collaboration between our two guests: co-producer, Yvette Johnson, Wright's grand-daughter; and director Raymond DeFelitta, whose father, Frank DeFelitta, originally filmed the interview with Wright and later said he regretted it. 

Cling to Your Own Peace in all the Noise

The NAACP National Conference is being held in Houston, Texas this year, and is still going on as I write.  During the Keynote Address by Chairman-Roslyn M. Brock, she stated, ever so eloquently that,

"Today, the enemies of justice are not lynching African-Americans and 

practicing Jim Crow laws of segregation.  They are more sophisticated.  But 

they are equally sinister.  They are erecting barriers to economic viability, 

educational quality, health care accessibility, judicial equity, and political 

opportunity.  The opponents of justice are more refined, but they are equally 

threatening".

Chairman Brock's Keynote address mirrors the sentiment of the 2sisters blog, overall.  I would not be surprised if I wrote the above statement myself, however, I am going to shift gears today in an effort to inject more optimism and positivity into the community.

All too often we hear words and phrases that are meant to characterize and define the black community.  Some of these words are positive, but the majority are negative, and when repeated mercilessly throughout the media and popular culture, it becomes hard to differentiate between fiction and reality.  The two points that I mean to tackle in this article are (1) the black community is made up of individuals, just like any other community, and (2) we are the ultimate masters of our own reality.

Like I stated above, the black community is made up of many individuals, and it is improper to not only use blanket statements to define a people, but it is also equally improper to personally accept and internalize such things.  With that said, it leads us to how we are in control of our reality.  It is so easy, these days, to begin to accept the things that have been said about African Americans.  With all the "noise" and confusion constantly churning around- and unfortunately within us, we have to have a zero.  A zero is a term I defined a few years ago that quite simply describes an inner peaceful sanctum within oneself, that if everything around us were to fall away or accumulate, for that matter, your zero would be that place where you pick yourself up from and start over again.  More specifically, a zero is a state of mind, which everyone should work to acquire, where you keep your own self definition.  Once you achieve this zero, life can still get you down, but you will always have a secret weapon that cannot ever be stripped from you.  In the face of adversity and discrimination, among other things, you will always have your dignity and personal peace once you define your own zero.  With it, you will be able to filter through the negative impact that society means to place on the African American individual, and you will know how to rise above the filth and grime of other people's negative views of you. You will be able to access this place of peace at any time, because ultimately you will have defined who you are, and no other outside definition or characaturization will be able to sway or penetrate the fortress of your psyche any longer.

Good Luck.

Spotlight: Black owned Business

It's summertime again, and it's hot!  What better way to cool down than to enjoy some yummy ice cream made by a local black owned business?   Hank's Ice Cream Parlor, located at 9291 South Main, Houston TX 77025 , has been around since 1985.  Though the owner, Hank Wiggins, sadly passed away on New Year's eve 2011, the ice cream parlor is still serving up delicious treats!  So, get out to Hank's Ice Cream Parlor, enjoy some yummy ice cream, and give yourself a pat on the back for helping to support our black owned businesses!!

Did you hear about Kenneth Chamberlain?

Most likely, you have not heard about Kenneth Chamberlain.  So, just who was Kenneth Chamberlain, and why is he important?  Kenneth Chamberlain was a 68-year old African American Marine Veteran who was harassed and later shot dead in his home by a White Plains, New York police officer in November 2011.

The incident began to unfold after Chamberlain's LifeAid medical alert pendant accidentally went off in the early morning of November 19th.  LifeAid had a two way speaker box installed in Chamberlain's apartment, and attempted to speak with him regarding the alert that morning.  When the LifeAid company received no response, they contacted the local police department and had a squad car sent over to check on the heart patient.

When the police arrived, Chamberlain came to the door (but refused to open it because he was not dressed) and let the officer know that everything was okay, and that the pendant went off by mistake.  The officer demanded that Chamberlain open his door because he heard suspicious noises coming from inside, and thought someone else was there and in distress.  Chamberlain repeatedly refused to open the door, so the officer called for backup.

The whole scenario unfolded while Mr. Chamberlain spoke with the LifeAid operator, who could also hear everything that was going on in the apartment.  Chamberlain told the LifeAid operator that police were banging on his door, that he had not called the police, and that he was not opening his door because he was alright and had no reason to speak to them.  The operator eventually contacted the police department to let them know that Chamberlain was in fact alright, and that it was a mistake that they were called.  The police responded by letting LifeAid know that they did not need them to interfere, and that they were handling the situation on their end.  The full transcript of the event can be found here.

Eventually a number of officers broke down Chamberlain's door, and found him in his boxers holding a knife,  afraid for his life, and wondering why the police would not leave him alone.  One police officer is recorded on the LifeAid tape telling Mr. Chamberlain "I don't give a Fuck, Nigger!" in response to Chamberlain repeatedly letting them know that he was okay and they should leave.  After shooting him with bean bags, tasing him, and finally shooting him, Kenneth Chamberlain lay shot dead in his own apartment.

This unnecessary death occurred in 2011, though not many people knew about it since it was not reported through mainstream media outlets.  The reason that this story has made the spotlight issues on 2sisters is to make people aware of the blatant disrespect this man endured, the racial slurs that were hurled at him, and the treatment he received based on the color of his skin.

If we do not stand up for each other, these types of incidences will continue to occur because there is little respect for the lives of African Americans, and especially African American males.

Chamberlain's family has filed a $21 million civil rights suit against the city of White Plains, New York and it's police department.

The Veil of Acceptance and Equality

The United States has come a long way from Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes (Please click the links to learn more), and openly praised and practiced racism.  For example, all public schools are integrated, even though the best schools are zoned for only wealthy families to attend.  Let's see, what else?  It is no longer legal to discriminate against serving persons at restaurants.  Employers cannot discriminate against hiring potential employees based on race, although according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, blacks have always had the highest unemployment rates among the races.  The biggest example of America's progress is the one and only President Barack Obama, though, he is only half black...

Take a look at the chart below (Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics)

The data is pretty self explanatory.  The reddish color indicates black males.  It is alarming to know that the amount of imprisoned black males is almost triple the amount of the second highest ethnicity.  Why is this occurring?  Are black males violent, aggressive, uncivilized, barbaric, and therefore need to be locked up in order to protect the larger society?  Black males are regular people underneath the stereotypes.  Unfortunately, they get the shortest sticks handed to them from birth.  In my opinion, the treatment of blacks(especially black males) in this country is based on fear passed down through generations.  In fact, I believe that the rampant ownership of firearms in the U.S. stems from the time when blacks were emancipated, and their previous owners began to fear justice being served them.  So they manufactured and bought tons of weapons to keep angry and impoverished blacks away from them.  As the free black population began to grow, they couldn't hang enough of them to get rid of them, so they began building prisons to house them, and it continues today...

Let's be honest...many black males are in fact committing crimes, despite the fact that they are profiled whether or not they did anything wrong.  So why is this happening?  Well, what group of people were barred from owning land and earning wages for their labor in this country?  That's right!  Blacks.  We all know that the home economic environment in which one grows up sets the basis for where one starts their own livelihood, in general.  If your ancestors were not able to pass anything of real value down through generations, either because they had nothing because they were not considered persons, or because of legal discrimination, how can you expect to all of a sudden to be living decently? The answer is that you cannot, so you in turn begin to commit petty crimes to feed that rumble in your stomach, and the stomach's of your hungry family.  In your efforts to survive in a world that has been trained to see you through the eyes of Birth of A Nation (Click here to learn more), you get handcuffed and placed in prison.  And the wheels on the bus go round and round...

Many want to believe that blacks are accepted and equal in America, but is it really just a mirage?

Dealing with the long lasting effects of slavery

People get mixed emotions when the word "slavery" is heard.  Some people feel overwhelmed with sadness, others guilt, anger, despair, and a larger group of people simply wish to forget about the whole thing and refuse to think or talk about it.

Whatever feelings a person has about slavery, only one thing actually matters regardless of emotions...It happened, SLAVERY HAPPENED.  People need to deal with it, and all the other things that went along with it like segregation, Jim Crowe laws, perpetual poverty, racism, the civil rights movement (and the back lash that went along with it), the harmful stereotypes placed on blacks, and even the slander of our black president by factions such as the birther movement.

How can we heal as a people?  When I think of slavery, I get images of limp black bodies hanging by their necks from ropes tied to trees.  When I think of slavery, I think of my ancestors standing on an auction block being sold to the highest bidder, as though they were beasts of burden.  How can we heal when we know that our traditions and culture and knowledge of our tribal blood lines were stolen from us?  How can we move on to better days when we know that the true history of our people has been marred with lies and omissions, or  our achievements wrongfully claimed by other groups of hateful and jealous persons?

Today, it is politically incorrect to talk about slavery or racism, or the need for groups like the NAACP, because many want so badly to believe that these things are long gone and that to continuously bring it up is just an attempt to start racial wars or to bring back something because some people refuse to let it die.

I believe that in order for us to recognize the way we are treated in this country, the place we have been put in this society, and the way for us to pull ourselves up, we must go back and look at what it meant to be a slave.  Some may think that slavery does not matter anymore, but the effects of slavery and everything that followed emancipation and civil rights still linger in our beings.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a country that actually believes that all men are created equal. Only a small percentage are treated with perpetual respect, and the rest are treated "any kind of way" unless they band together to DEMAND their justice.  Our people have suffered enough to not have to endure situations like Emit Till,  Trayvon Martin, or Kenneth Chamberlain.  Some may say that Trayvon Martin and Kenneth Chamberlain were not deaths as a result of racism, and whether that is true or not, the lack of diligent investigation and serving of timely justice shows just how far we've come from slavery and not mattering.

Please visit the link above (Slavery Happened), if you are interested in how slavery still affects African Americans.  If you need more information, please use the Contact Us link above.

Six year old Salecia Johnson Arrested for temper tantrum at school!

SIX YEAR OLD, Salecia Johnson was handcuffed and arrested at Creekside Elementary in Baldwin, GA for having a temper tantrum.  According to the petition on Change.org, Salecia was charged with battery and suspended for the remainder of the year all without having notified the parents.  The petition goes on to state that the child was in police custody for more than an hour before the parents found out.


I understand that sometimes children can get unruly, and without having the full details regarding the incident or the child's past behavior, there was no reason or need to ever give this baby a police record. With incidents like this, it is not that the child is a "problem" child, but it is more than likely that there are pressures and environmental issues going on at home.  The correct response to a situation like this is to help the child and/or parents work through their issues, not arrest the child who is clearly acting out in reaction to familial matters.


The prison system is a way to keep blacks and other unsightly peoples out of the general population.  Giving African American Youths a police record is important to keep African Americans living in poverty.  


The cycle is vicious:  a person gets arrested/gets a record, cannot get a job or qualify for financial aid in college or get decent housing- so the person turns to crime or drugs (to escape their life), and then eventually ends up in prison.


Let's Fight to end this cycle!



Please go to Change.org and sign the petition to help the Johnson family.