What's Going On?: Memorial Time
By Dr. Gloria J. Latimore-Peace
Presented by Omni-University
It is incumbent upon us, the American- born descendants of African people throughout the Diaspora, to acknowledge with deep reverence, the Ancestors whose Lives were lost and whose property, both residential and commercial, was destroyed as a result of the atrocities that have come to be known, variously, as the"Greenwood Massacre"/ "Tulsa Race Massacre"/ "Bombing of Black Wall Street" (May 31, 1921) and the "Red Summer of Chicago (July 27, 1919). It has been said that" Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat It"[1]. "Never again!" is a vow that reverberates in other quarters. It is imperative that we study, learn from, and teach our history while remaining mindful of the past in order to assure that devastating historical events such as these Do not repeat themselves. The only thing that bears repeating is "Forward forever! Backward, Never!"[2]
You are invited to watch "What's Going On? Part ll, an Episode of The H3O Art of Life Show, Featuring: Dr. Leslie Stratford and Laurel Stratford, direct descendants of family members who were dispossessed and traumatized by the "Great Tragedy" that resumed on May 31, 1921. "What's Going On?" concerns not only what occurred 100 years ago, during those fateful days but also what is currently occurring, i,e.. the challenges that continue to confront us as a community and as individuals. We also invite you to view "Summer in Chicago: Winter in America" another H3O Art of Life Show, Featuring Barbara Allen. Were it not for filmmakers like Ms. Allen, these might be days that would have gone down- not in "infamy"[3] but, in obscurity.
A Luta Continua ( The Struggle Continues); "Lasime Tushinde Mbilishaka"(We will conquer without a doubt).[4]
Notes
[1] Santayana, George, in a 1948 speech to The House of Commons
[2] [Ancestor] The Hon. Marcus M.Garvey
[3] President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on December 11, 1941, in a speech following the bombing of Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941).
[4] H. Rap Brown