The Events Surrounding the Ocoee Massacre of 1920
By now, you may know about Black Wall Street, where thirty-five blocks were destroyed by a white mob in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921. You might have seen the movie “Rosewood,” starring Ving Rhames, where another Black town was destroyed in a massacre in 1923. Unfortunately, there…
Constant Giving With Little Return
The Democratic Party would be nothing without their strong base of Black voters, especially Black women. Election after election, Democrats take the turnout of Black voters for granted, the most dedicated group of the factions that make up the Party. Black voters made it possible for Joe Biden to be…
Race Discourse
Why We Can Never Rid Ourselves of Racism
“Would any one believe that I am master of slaves by my own purchase? I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living without them. I will not — I cannot justify it, however culpable my conduct.” — Patrick Henry
I Was Bombarded About the Books I Left Off My First List
Many people appreciated the first list of books by Black authors I provided. They were also quick to point out some excellent works I left out. Thanks to your input, I’m providing an additional ten works that belong on your bookshelf.
Unless I enslave you
Patrick Henry is famous for delivering a speech ending with the line, “Give me liberty or give me death!” He was speaking to the Virginia Convention as they debated whether to declare war against the British. Henry waxed eloquently about the indignities the British had forced upon the colonists. He…
What If You Started From Scratch?
9 Books You Should Know — If you could only have nine Black authors, I would select these. Having read them, you'd have to find a way to enrich your knowledge of Black authors, but you couldn't go wrong starting here
- Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God —…
What Black Scholars and Artists Had to Say About It
I’m going to paraphrase the introduction of a Prince cover of, Betcha By Golly Wow!” Originally performed by The Stylistics.
“Baby, sometimes
A man can’t find words to express everything he feels inside
But every just so often
The words of another … seem to work out fine”
Writing about…
What If Martin Luther King, Jr Was Assassinated Before Malcolm X?
Because we celebrate Black History all year round, there were a number of articles that got my attention in September.
I contributed a couple:
The Assassination of Malcolm X, which reveals just how little we know about the circumstances of his murder and the subsequent cover-up.
“None of the FBI…
If You Don’t Apply For The Medium Partner Program, You Still Won’t Get Paid.
I recently started a second Medium page for my real estate activities, so I started with zero followers. I followed my own advice from “How I Add 100+ Followers Every Ten Days” to get to 100 followers quickly. I confess that it took a little longer than I thought when…
Originally Published in “Fieldnotes On Allyship: Achieving Equality Together”
Defining whiteness is like defining air; it is all around, you are so accustomed to its existence that you mostly pay no attention to it except on a particularly windy day. It is typically benign, but during a tornado or hurricane, it can cause considerable damage or death. Whiteness is…
William Spivey
I write about politics, history, education, and race. Follow me at williamfspivey.com and support me at https://ko-fi.com/williamfspivey0680
