The Gist of Freedom Preserving American History through Black Literature . . .

Join Mr. John Medley, (center) of Bordentown's class 1954. Mr. Medley is also the historian of this Extraordinary Historically Black School known as the Tuskegee of the North. Mr. Medley made is film debut in the documentary A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School. He is also one of the film's researchers. Commodore Stewart's, estate donated the land for the school.

Photo: Still Family members, left–right: Vickie Still, Clarence "Clem" Still, Donna Young and Patsy Bundy. The Still's 140th Family Reunion, On Sunday August 9, 2009 THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD gathered at Patriarch, Mr. Clarence "Clem" Still's home in Lawnside, New Jersey. Also appearing in the photo with Mr. Still is Vickie Still, Donna Young and Patsy Bundy. To learn more abo

Join Stephanie James Wilson, director of The Amistad Commission as she informs the public,on behalf of the office of the New Jersey State Secretary, as to how she ensures the Department of Education and public schools of New Jersey, implement materials and texts which integrate the history and contributions of African-Americans and the descendants of the African Diaspora. http://www.nj.gov/state/divisions/amistad/ Modern day, Dubois V. Booker T Washington Debate. Mrs. James is a proponent of Infused African American Curriculum while Baba Amefika D. Geuka lobbies for Afrocentric public schools. Similar to Dubois and Washington, James and Amefika prove that dedicated educators are committed to teaching and serving all children by any means necessary. Geuka and colleagues have dubbed his 1000 mile venture a “Trek for African-Centered Florida’s only African-centered public school today announced that its co-founder and current Board Chairman, Amefika D. Geuka will walk from the school to Washington, DC to dramatize the urgent need for African-centered education for childrenEducation,” to be conducted from July 15th-August 12th, 2009. In addition to gaining credibility for African-centered education, the walk should raise money to close the funding gap for Geuka’s Joseph Littles-NGUZO SABA Charter School which celebrated ten years of continuous operation January 20th, 2009. Overall coordination and planning for the walkathon has been contracted to iZania, LLC based in Columbus, Ohio. http://blackeducator.blogspot.com/ Mr. Geuka is currently in the midst of his one man 1000 mile walkathon to raise awareness for his mission.

Photos courtesy of Swann Gallery. Please join curator, Wyatt Houston Day of Swann Galleries auction house as he describes sixteen African American gems from his latest catalogue and auction, including Marcus Garvey, Madam Cj Walker, Frederick Douglas and many more. Since 1995, he has appraised the papers and a

This Year Black Men Will Again Lead the Nation Back to School! We want 800,000 men in 550 cities to take their children to school this first fall school day of 2009. And we want all of you men to lead all other men and women of all races and ethnicities to be with their children also on this first important day of their lives. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~WWW.BlackSTARproject.com~~~~~~~~~~ Mr. R. Lee Gordon, founder of UniTee Design and The Better Detroit Youth Movement will discuss the upcoming Million Father March and the National Teen Empowerment EXPO.

SLAP THE DONKEY On Thursday, July 30th,(This is a rebroadcast) at the Magic Johnson Theatre during the First Annual Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee Film Festival (HARLEM). Narrated by actor Danny Glover, "Slap the Donkey" takes a critical look at Black politics at the start of the 21st century, while tracking Rev. Al Sharpton's 2004 bid for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America. The documentary features commentary from key players in the Democratic Party as well as prominent African American influentials including Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Ron Daniels and journalist Herb Boyd. The 7:30 pm screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by TV journalist and commentator Stephen A. Smith. Confirmed panelists include Dr. Cornel West and Actor/Producer Doug E. Doug .~~~~~~~~~~~~http://www.harlemonestop.com/event.php?id=7542 ~~~~~~~~~~~AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 Theater 2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd at corner of West 124th Street New York, NY 10027 212-665-6923 phone 800-326-3264 TTY

When mZuri sings, God smiles, and angels flap their wings." mZuri presented... Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer, On Saturday at The First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, New Brunswick, NJ~~~~~ MZURI performed for a full church! She sold out of DVDs and CDs. However it is not too late..MZURI will return to the NY TRI-Stare Area on Saturday September 14 @ MT. Olive Church in Hackensack, NJ www.mountolivebaptist.org ~~~~~~ MZURI a one-woman show, up close and personal. This presentation captures a little known moment in history and lays it at your feet. ~~~~~~~~~http://www.mzurisings.com~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 1965 Hamer, Victoria Gray, and Annie Devine ran for Congress and challenged the seating of the regular Mississippi representatives before the U.S. House of Representatives. Though they were unsuccessful in their challenge, the 1965 elections were later overturned. Hamer continued to be politically active and from 1968 to 1971 was a member of the Democratic National Committee from Mississippi. In 1963 Hamer became a registered voter and a SNCC field secretary. She worked with voter registration drives in various locales and helped develop programs to assist economically deprived African American families. She was regularly threatened and faced beatings, a bombing, and ridicule. Nevertheless, she was a founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), formed in April 1964 to challenge the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. The MFDP sent 68 representatives in August 1964 to the Democratic National Committee meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Hamer was one of the representatives who testified before the party's Credentials Committee. In a televised presentation, Hamer talked about the formidable barriers that southern African Americans faced in their struggle for civil rights. She talked about the murders of civil rights activists such as Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.

Yvette Jordan of West Side High School, Newark New Jersey will discuss her attendance at Yale University's P.I.E.R "Programs in International Education Resources" Summer institute.

Join Engineer & Entrepreneur Jonathan Walker discuss the extraordinary Granville T Woods Project with Presenter, David Head. We will also discuss the must have black inventor video, Making it happen!!!! Every home library should have a copy! It will make you so proud of the contributions of Black Inventors!!!! ------View an excerpt of the video on YOUTUBE---- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soi_Okx2sOQ ~~~~`The Multiplex Telegraph~~~~~~~~~~~ Granville T. Woods (1856-1910) known to many as "The Black Edison," because both were great inventors who came from disadvantaged childhoods. But unlike Edison, Woods was considered fortunate to receive an education to help him on the road to his inventions. Woods further educated himself by working in railroad machine shops and steel mills, and by reading about electricity. He often had friends check out library books for him, since African-Americans were excluded from many libraries at the time. Woods managed to scrape together enough knowledge of electrical engineering to invent "telegraphony," a process that was later purchased by Alexander Graham Bell's company. Allowing operators to send and receive messages more quickly than before, telegraphony combined features of both the telephone and telegraph. The Bell Company's purchase of this invention enabled Woods to become a full-time inventor. Among his later inventions was the multiplex telegraph. A success in the powerful railroad industry of the late nineteenth century, the device not only helped dispatchers locate trains, but also allowed moving trains to communicate by telegraph. This invention was so useful that Woods found himself fighting patent suits filed by none other than Thomas Edison. Woods eventually won, but Edison continued to pursue the telegraph by offering Woods a lucrative partnership in one of Edison's businesses. Woods refused, preferring to be independent. ~~~~~~~http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/woods.html

Soul Food ~ Summer Barbecue~ Professor Frederick Douglass Opie ~ author of Hog and Hominy: From Africa to America. http://frederickdouglassopie.blogspot.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~http://twitter.com/DrFredDOpie~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At many African-American family gatherings, one is likely to find the staples of soul food: cornbread, collard greens and fried chicken. In his new book, author and Marist College professor Frederick Douglass Opie delves into the history books to find true soul in the food of the South, including its place in the politics of black America. Opie speaks with Lesley Gist about the geography and history of black cooking, captured in Hog and Hom

Join guest, BISHOP ABE OF SHRINE OF THE BLACK MADONNA CULTURAL CENTER & BOOKSTORE. Founded during the Civil Rights Movement the center is located on Detroit’s West Side just fifteen minutes from Detroit’s Cultural District. Listen as award winning StoryTeller, Bishop Abe reflects on her personal interactions with legends such as Rosa Parks,Dr. Henrik Clarke, Nikki Giovanni, Walter Mosely and Gladys Knight. Other topics: Underground Railroad and Tourism. The Shrine of the Black Madonna™ is home to the largest selection of African/African-American titles in Michigan with over three decades of serving the metro-Detroit area. Bishop Abe also shares the financial hardships of the Black Bookstore business in general. Visitors can peruse over 15,000 titles of books by and about the African Diaspora. We stock everything from Black theology and African History to the latest in fiction and children’s titles. As a specialty service, couples looking to add cultural kisses to their nuptials can choose from ethnic invitations, cake toppers, stemware, and meet with a certified wedding consultant. In addition to books, there is a great selection of handcrafted jewelry, African-inspired apparel, and music. This is truly a cultural oasis in the heart of Detroit.

A Tribute to Vintage Michael Jackson

Wade Hudson, Publisher of Just Us Books, reminisces on childhood events which laid the Christian foundation for his company’s mission. As a child troubled by segregation, he wrote a letter expressing his sentiments to Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Amazingly, Mr. Ke

Dr. Bethel is a professor in the Africana Studies Department at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Professor discusses the Civil Rights Movement and the Sixties' riots and there affects on his career. Mainly, his transition as a professor from a historically Black School to a predominately White School. He gives an analysis of the adverse affects, the brain drain the HBCU's experienced in the 70's. Professor Bethel also defends African American's Spiritual right, the right to celebrate all American holidays, including Juneteenth. In it we celebrate the hope of our ancestors,not a dream deferred but a dream now realized. Dr. Leonard Bethel is enter­ing his 40th year of service at Rutgers and completed his doctorate of education from the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University in 1975. Dr. Bethel is the author of Africana: An Introduction and Study, Plainfield’s African-American: From Northern Slavery to Church Freedom, and a book titled: Advancement through Service: A History of the Frontiers. In 2003, Dr. Bethel was awarded R utgers University’s Warren I. Susman Award for teaching excellence and was selected as a Fellow of the Oxford Roundtable, Oxford University, England. He will join us tonight to offer his insights on this week's upcoming Black History holiday, Juneteenth.

Get your paper and pens ready!! Join our discussion with Dr. Meyers author of the book, "Juneteenth a Celebration of Freedom". Rev. Ronald Myers, Sr., M.D., Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation successfully lobbied 31 states to ratify Juneteenth as a national holiday. The official Juneteenth Holiday began in 1994. Dr. Meyers takes us on a journey to the ratification of Juneteenth Day. Guiding us methodically throuh the trails blazed by the advocates for Martin Luther King day, we gain a sense of the masterful networking invovled in ratifying a holiday. Equally important, his story gives a new found appreciation for African American holidays and their lobbyists. Tonight's show exemplifies the significance of using political science and civic lessons as a mean of empowering our historic legacy. This weeks panelists ~ Dr. Meaders, history professor, Judi Belle Raines, Phillip Howell, NYC television producer, Radio Host, Jerry Butleer.