Celebrating Black History Month

Throughout Black History Month, I’ve included tweets in ‘A Tweet Or Two’ about African-American heroes who with brains, love, strength, blood, sweat, tears, and death; built this nation to what it is today. As Black History Month draws to a close, we celebrate the known and unsung heroes who gave everything and continue to give everything to make this country live up to its promise of “all men are created equal.”

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Because Of Them We Can

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Carter G. Woodson was founder of Negro History Week precursor to #BlackHistoryMonth… When did #BHM begin? #AfAmEdChat pic.twitter.com/kaiX9FAmzv

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 2, 2015

Mary McLeod Bethune was a founder of a prominent women’s rights organization. What is it’s name? #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/bYkSJKQ0Ul

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 6, 2015

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Stuart Scott fought. He won. And he salute him. Booyah! Day 2 of #28days28photos #becauseofthemwecan #BHM @espn pic.twitter.com/TlddVLgO4I

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 2, 2015

Day 4 of 28 - Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa.#becauseofthemwecan pic.twitter.com/AkroI9VCC1

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 5, 2015

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Day 5 of 28: Lorraine Hansberry - 1st Black woman playwright on Broadway with A Raisin in the Sun #becauseofthemwecan pic.twitter.com/ImyDpA987S

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 5, 2015

Day 6 of 28: We salute @JohnLegend as an artist & 4 using his voice 2 shed light on justice & equality @chrissyteigen pic.twitter.com/M2EJ4OXEVN

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 6, 2015

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Phillis Wheatley, 1st AA woman published in the US... At what age did she publish her first poem? #BHM #AfAmEdChat pic.twitter.com/CIyGAaziGT

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 4, 2015

Day 8 of 28: The 1st Lady of song & the Queen of Jazz. Ella Fitzgerald was the 1st Black woman to win a Grammy! #bhm pic.twitter.com/K6W3HcW7IP

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 8, 2015

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Day 9 of 28days: There are ppl who have marched & sacrificed whose names we may never know. To the unsung heroes #BHM pic.twitter.com/6vWoG4axKH

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 9, 2015

Day 10 of 28days - Mo'ne Davis. The 1st girl to pitch a shutout in the history of the Little League World Series #bhm pic.twitter.com/QOu42L1FiD

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 10, 2015

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Day 11 of 28: @iJesseWilliams for advocating for truth/justice/equality whether the cameras are rolling or not. #BHM pic.twitter.com/xqCFuSIcYk

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 11, 2015

Day 12 of 28: These trailblazing women epitomized strength & bold actions! Betty. Dorothy. Shirley. Marian. #BHM pic.twitter.com/ZDMYgCy5Df

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 12, 2015

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Day 13 of 28 - Dr. King described him as "the greatest preacher to ever live." #becauseofthemwecan #bhm pic.twitter.com/pGRyi0Qlbu

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 13, 2015

Day 14 of 28: Michelle Alexander is a civil rights advocate & author of the book,The New Jim Crow #becauseofthemwecan pic.twitter.com/8NEsR1IM54

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 14, 2015

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AFTUnion: 13 Labor Events And Organizers Who We Should Teach About During Black History Month

Lucy Parsons was a radical labor organizer born in Texas. In the early 1870s, she and her husband had to flee Texas because of intolerant reactions to their interracial marriage. Throughout her subsequent career in Chicago, she wrote for various leftist and labor publications. In 1905, she participated in the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World. In 2004, the city of Chicago named a park after her.

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Day 15 of 28 - Chuck Stone! A founder of #NABJ who combined his passion for justice with the power of his pen! pic.twitter.com/PAvipY9Eby

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 16, 2015

Day 16 of 28: Grace Jones. She redefined Black & Beautiful when pop culture's definition of it didn't look like her pic.twitter.com/SGRXg7wxbb

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 16, 2015

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Day 17 of 28: Sadie T. M Alexander. 1st Nat'l Pres of DST, 1st AA woman in US w/Ph.D in Econ & 1st AA woman to PA bar pic.twitter.com/IzgbWGGzhT

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 17, 2015

Day 18 of 28: @neiltyson author & award-winning astrophysicist. One of the most visible & well known scientist living pic.twitter.com/XsYaLyFtTB

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 18, 2015

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Day 19 of 28: @Lupita_Nyongo = Black is Beautiful. 1st Blk African to win an Oscar & 1st Blk ambassador of Lancôme pic.twitter.com/PLC5A7AJpo

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 19, 2015

Happy birthday to a LEGEND! Day 20 of 28 - Sidney Poitier. 1st Black person to win an Oscar for Best Actor #bhm pic.twitter.com/afintOKzMm

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 20, 2015

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Day 21 of 28: The first African American to produce a full length feature film - Oscar Micheaux! #bhm #blackhollywood pic.twitter.com/fxS86KphBw

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 21, 2015

Day 22 of 28: Jackie Joyner-Kersee 1st American to win Olympic gold for long jump & 1st woman w/7000 in heptathlon pic.twitter.com/MbXpHf4j3h

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 23, 2015

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Day 23 of 28: @AVAETC for reawakening our history, humanity & appreciation for Freedom Fighters. We salute YOU #Selma pic.twitter.com/9wtqfpKwke

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 23, 2015

Day 24 of 28 - The Dean of the Civil Rights Movement - Rev. Joseph Lowery. #BecauseOfThemWeCan #BHM pic.twitter.com/QYOzjDnZ3B

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 26, 2015

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Day 25 of 28: The Miss Black America pageant. Born in 1968 to give Blk Women a platform to show their talent & beauty pic.twitter.com/Z9Ccif4Mdk

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 26, 2015

Day 26 of 28: Paul Robeson - one of the most talented souls of the 20th century. More here https://t.co/7v6KkbMNX5 pic.twitter.com/BwEwhSAZZp

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 26, 2015

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Randolph is one of the most important figures in both black history and labor history. In addition to his work with the Pullman porters (see No. 2, above) and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, he prominently pushed for civil rights during World War II. He planned a 100,000 person march on Washington during the war, which led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign an executive order ending discrimination in defense industries. After the order was signed, the march was canceled.

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Day 27 of 28: Selma. The people & the march that shifted the landscape of the civil rights movement cc @AVAETC @Oprah pic.twitter.com/alKcIRehLv

— #becauseofthemwecan (@Becauseofthem) February 27, 2015

Joseph Searles was the first African American member of what economic powerhouse? #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/UlL44rq03K

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 28, 2015

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Jean-Michel Basquiat 1st achieved notoriety for work as a graffiti artist named what? #BlackHistoryMonth #HipHopEd pic.twitter.com/9y9pESOnnf

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 27, 2015

John Johnson, the 1st Black person to appear on the Fortune 400 founded what media empire? #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/HUDVhHj6M6

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 26, 2015

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In the late 1860s, George Pullman hired former slaves to work on his railroad sleeping cars. He exploited their labor, with each porter making the equivalent of about $22,000 a year (in today’s dollars) while working under unfair conditions, including 100-hour workweeks. These workers formed a union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; in 1925, it became the first African-American labor union to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor.

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Richard Allen helped start the Free African Society, precursor to what pillar in the AA community? #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/pA16LlBGiW

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 24, 2015

How did lifelong educator Septima Poinsette Clark help people access the voting booth? #BlackHistoryMonth #AfAmEdChat pic.twitter.com/kvAmaPLdz4

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 23, 2015

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Ralph Bunche was the first African American to be awarded what international honor? #BlackHistoryMonth #AfAmEdChat pic.twitter.com/FD14pp4ifX

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 22, 2015

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Black person to be awarded what honor for her writing? #BlackHistoryMonth #AfAmEdChat pic.twitter.com/zLnvw6FfEm

— White House Initiative for Black Americans (@WHBlkInitiative) February 21, 2015

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Annie Easley helped make modern spaceflight possible http://t.co/J5251H5pS6 pic.twitter.com/1E9RLxE17A

— Engadget (@engadget) February 15, 2015

Lonnie Johnson, the rocket scientist and Super Soaker inventor http://t.co/S1lTAsKNXd pic.twitter.com/yLJE2Sz2Vz

— Engadget (@engadget) February 27, 2015

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Jerry Lawson, a self-taught engineer, gave us video game cartridges http://t.co/tWJ89lUPfN pic.twitter.com/cF714FQhX7

— Engadget (@engadget) February 21, 2015

🍃Anna Julia Cooper, author, educator. Fourth AA woman to earn a doctorate. Univ of Paris-Sorbonne#BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/DSggkWPP4y

— Cynthia (@cynthia4877) February 28, 2015

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#Bronx woman 1st #AfricanAmerican female to pilot #U2 aircraft #BlackHistoryMonth http://t.co/hsGA9dyc5f pic.twitter.com/wWI2xOFrsk

— Welcome2TheBronx™ (@Welcome2theBX) February 13, 2015

145 years ago today, Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African-American to serve in Congress. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/k7c8fxNzWd

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) February 25, 2015

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Rosina Tucker was an important figure in the foundation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Tucker was married to a railroad porter and became involved in the union. She visited the homes of over 300 workers to secretly collect their union dues, and in 1938 she was elected secretary-treasurer of the union’s auxiliary. She continued her union involvement, helping organize teachers, laundry workers and railway clerks in Washington, D.C.

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On this 25th day of #BlackHistoryMonth, we salute Mary McLeod Bethune--known as "The First Lady of the Struggle" http://t.co/j24fktjIGV

— NAACP (@NAACP) February 25, 2015

In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, an interactive history of the fight for racial justice: http://t.co/B7xsAGSfaM pic.twitter.com/YeJ4kxznYr

— The Nation (@thenation) February 21, 2015

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In the 1920s, the Chicago Flat Janitors were an integrated local union, which was considered radical at the time. The union worked to include black members in leadership roles, including its vice president, Seymour Miller. The union eventually grew and today is known as the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU.

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Frederick Dumas was the 1st director of the LA County Head Start Program when it launched in 1966. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/Ba6y2iBGnl

— Crystal Stairs, Inc. (@CrystalStairsLA) February 21, 2015

https://twitter.com/AntoniosTweet/status/568917802943434753

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A feature, not a bug

I have been growing increasingly bemused as Anno Domini MMXV continues to unfold apace. And by “bemused”, I really mean, “Goddammit, we’re heading to hell in a handbasket!”

But nothing matches the complete clusterfuck around funding the Department of Homeland Security, a department born in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and which, if you will recall, Republicans held up as a sacred institution to protect God-fearing Americans from those hordes of brown people seeking to kill them. (Union protections for DHS workers? Why do you love Al-Qaeda??)

Let’s recap. In last year’s Cromnibus (soon to appear in the next Transformers movie), Congress left out funding for DHS. Why? Well, fast forward to this year. John Boehner and his merry pranksters passed a DHS funding bill. But they wanted to show that Kenyan in the White House that treating “illegals” like children of God was not going to wash with Republicans in firm control of both chambers. So they attached several riders to a must-pass bill stripping all of President Obama’s actions for DREAMers and his executive action on the undocumented. There, that’ll show him! Done and dusted, and the first round of drinks are on Rusty Boehner!

Chat Away

On This Day: President Obama plays basketball with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2009 (Photo Pete Souza)

Early Bird Rise and Shine

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Morning everyone.

A Day Like This Needs A Smile Or Two

https://twitter.com/EJGomez/status/567123156498804736

https://twitter.com/SatansTongue/status/562293316201746433

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https://twitter.com/nickwiger/status/563801809072840704

“Ever wonder why Rice Krispies costs the same as quieter cereals?”
why would-
“It’s because they're sold by weight-“
Dan, NO
“not by volume"

— dan mentos (@DanMentos) February 13, 2015

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*runs in out of breath*
Friend: what's going on?
Me: [heavy breathing] bear with me
Friend: Ok *waits*
*bear runs in, also out of breath*

— several onions (@Amusitr0n) February 17, 2015

How far the mighty have fallen. pic.twitter.com/RvuNMA7VjP

— Glenn Loury 2.0 Darker, Gayer, Different (@justabloodygame) February 14, 2015

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"DADDY THERE'S A SPIDER IN MY ROOM"
[sound of me nailing door shut]
Wife "WTF are you doing?"
Its too late for her now she's as good as dead

— GoaT FacE (@EndhooS) February 16, 2015

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*the "i like to move it move it" song plays as my casket is lowered*

— capitalism liker (@HumanPog) February 11, 2015

@HumanPog @SaulKewl I'm going with "Drop it Like It's Hot", but this is good too.

— Ꮍᴀᴇʟ (@elle91) February 11, 2015

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"I'm gonna Google that. BING that, Bing that, sorry" - The CEO of Bing many times per day still

— Dan Hopper (@DanHopp) October 2, 2013

REPORTER: Mr. Chicken why did u cross the road?
CHICKEN: I told u it's none of ur business *grabs camera* Get that damn camera outta my face

— pat tobin (@tastefactory) February 17, 2015

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[in bar fight]
"Oh yeah tough guy? Well say hello to my little friend"
[a puppy runs into the bar & kills everyone with a katana]

— Fred Delicious 🍆 (@Fred_Delicious) February 19, 2015

https://twitter.com/Fred_Delicious/status/568094144402489344

A Tweet or Two

"I loved Spock." —President Obama #RIPLeonardNimoy #LLAP pic.twitter.com/vmwjnQ3Zm3

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) February 27, 2015

Rest in peace with the stars, my dear friend. pic.twitter.com/D2dVG6I9Xi

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 27, 2015

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His last tweet. Just perfect. He gave joy to millions of people. May he rest in peace

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP

— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015

"Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy." —President Obama #LLAP

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 27, 2015

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The spirit of Spock will live long and prosper. #RIPLeonardNimoy #LLAP pic.twitter.com/WyqQgTNDod

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) February 27, 2015

RIP Leonard Nimoy. So many of us at NASA were inspired by Star Trek. Boldly go... http://t.co/qpeH5BTzQc pic.twitter.com/nMmFMKYv1L

— NASA (@NASA) February 27, 2015

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A legend lost. May he rest in peace

First black NBA player Earl Lloyd dies at 86 http://t.co/vYWJ1bCqNX pic.twitter.com/UwdgxSAHne

— The Root (@TheRoot) February 27, 2015

55 years ago today, I was arrested for the first time for protesting segregated lunch counters in downtown Nashville. pic.twitter.com/qxkB6B81Gb

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) February 27, 2015

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On this day in 1967, KKK bomb killed NAACP leader Wharlest Jackson in Natchez, Mississippi. http://t.co/2KlSPssU8X pic.twitter.com/5viYaXs3M2

— Jerry Mitchell (@JMitchellNews) February 27, 2015

#BlackLove RT @DavidNelsonNews: Husband, 108, wife, 105, celebrate 82 years married http://t.co/QLIyf8NZhs http://t.co/HugNLjpr4C

— EBONY MAGAZINE (@EBONY) February 27, 2015

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#BHM Marian Anderson, celebrated opera singer and goodwill ambassador was born today in 1897 http://t.co/Y3ZDEdBs9F pic.twitter.com/5H7pDXpKBI

— The Crisis Magazine (@thecrisismag) February 27, 2015

#BHM2015 Dexter Gordon, Academy Award-nominee and bebop pioneer was born #OnThisDay in 1923 http://t.co/zxWDb44mnO pic.twitter.com/jzEqMJNEXJ

— The Crisis Magazine (@thecrisismag) February 27, 2015

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Pres. Obama to take daughters to Selma, remind them of "obligations" to fight for justice http://t.co/wUKzypNHpX pic.twitter.com/bANJOyLQ6Y

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 27, 2015

Holder: Standard in federal civil rights cases is 'too high' http://t.co/tRkJ3QcWo4

— deray (@deray) February 27, 2015

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A Fond Farewell

@dougmillsnyt: The light hits a tear on President Obama’s face as he makes remarks about AG Eric Holder at the Justice Dept

President Delivers Remarks At Portrait Unveiling Ceremony For AG Holder

5:35 ET: The President delivers remarks at the portrait unveiling ceremony for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Justice

Chat Away

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In Memoriam: Leonard Nimoy

Crossposted on A Writing Corner.

It is with the most heartbreak that millions of us have learned that Leonard Nimoy has died at the age of 83.

The advantage of having older brothers who were a full decade older than you is that instead of the traditional sibling rivalry which obtains, they acted more like surrogate parents. My oldest brother, Tony, was and is a Trekkie. And as I became old enough (around 7 or 8), he introduced me to the wonders of Star Trek. This was in the days before reality shows, non-stop talk shows, non-stop courtroom shows. Independent stations had slim pickings for what to broadcast, so they broadcast old TV series. And I can honestly say that I think I never missed an episode of Star Trek when it was broadcast in syndication.