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 Althea Gibson was born on August 25 th , 1927, in Silver, South Carolina. Sharecroppers, her parents left South Carolina, and settled in Harlem, NY in 1930 when she was three years-old.  As a child, Althea had a knack for causing problems getting into trouble at school, but she loved sports.  Growing up in Harlem, Althea often played paddle ball on barricaded streets, and at the age of 10 participated in a paddle ball competition hosted by the Police Athletic League (PAL), which she won. Over the next few years Althea perfected her paddle game at the recreation center and on street walls, and at the age of twelve she won the New York City women’s paddle tennis championship. Althea’s talent did not go unnoticed. The musician, Buddy Walker, was a recreation employee, who often saw Althea practicing and  convinced her to try using a tennis racket, which he bought the first one for her.  Convinced of her talent, in 1940, Walker took Althea to the interracial Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in Harlem and after playing a few sets she was sponsored a junior membership and lessons with tennis pro Fred Johnson. Only one short year later in 1941, at the age of 14, Gibson entered and won first tournament, the American Tennis Association’s New York State Championship. Consistent with the times, tennis was a segregated sport, and just as baseball had the Negro League, tennis had the American Tennis Association (ATA), the African American version of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA). She went on to win the ATA National Junior Championships in 1944 and 1945. After losing the Junior Championship in 1946, two active ATA members sponsored Althea to relocate to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she would live and attend school during the year, and intensive tennis training in Lynchburg, Virginia during the summer.  Wanting to give up while attending school in Wilmington, she happened to run into Sugar Ray Robinson, a friend from Harlem, who encouraged her to better herself.  Inspired by his words, Althea went on to win every event on the ATA schedule, and the first of 10 consecutive ATA national championships in 1947.  In 1949, after graduating high school, she entered Florida A&M University on a full athletic scholarship, which her successes in the ATA had earned her.  While attending Florida A&M University (FAMU). Althea Gibson accomplished several of her many first, the first being the first African American tennis player to compete at the U.S. National Championships in 1950 ( now the U.S. Open). In 1951, Gibson won her first international title, the Caribbean Championships in Jamaica, and later that year she would make history a second time, when she became the first African American ever invited to play at Wimbledon. After graduating Florida A&M University in 1953, Gibson took a job teaching physical education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri; however,  she continued her tennis competitions and in 1955 she was chosen as one of four American women by  the U.S. State Department to go on a goodwill tour of Asia.  Remaining abroad after this tour, Gibson went on to win sixteen of eighteen tours in Europe and Asia, and in 1956 she would again make history.  In 1956, she made history at the French Championships (now known as the French Open by becoming the first African American to win the singles and doubles’ title there and later in 1956 won the doubles at Wimbledon.  Althea went on to make history yet again on July 6, 1957. Seeded first at Wimbledon in 1957, she became the first African American in the tournament's 80-year history to win the women’s singles tennis title and the first African American to win a championship at London’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.  She also won the doubles that year for the second year in a row, as well as, the U.S. singles and mixed doubles champion. In late 1958, after winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open again, with fifty-six national and international singles and doubles titles including eleven Grand Slam championships, Gibson retired from amateur tennis at the age of thirty-one. Tennis was not the only sport that Althea would  break down barriers in during her lifetime.  In 1964, Althea broke another barrier by becoming the first African-American women to join the LPGA ( Ladies Professional Golf Association) tour, which she played until 1971. On September 28, 2003 Althea Gibson died at the age of seventy-six in East Orange, New Jersey, and in 2013, the USPS honored Gibson with a commemorative stamp.

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On August 24, 1945, Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson was born.  A revolutionary, drag queen, sex worker, a performer, and activist, of all of the titles that Marsha P Johnson has held , the most iconic and legendary title will always be that of pioneer and trailblazer for transgender rights. From as early on as five years old, born Malcom Michaels , Marsha knew that she was different, and upon graduating from high school in 1963 she left NJ and headed to NY to live her life.  Although, the term transgender was not a term that was used in the 1960s, Marsha identified as a transvestite ,used the pronouns she/her, and for some time alternated between her given name, Malcolm, and a persona she had created, Black Marsha. Marsha legally changed her name after 1966, when she moved to Greenwich Village permanently, to Marsha P. Johnson.  As a 23 -year-old self-identifying as a  trans woman in the 1960s, the pivotal role she played in starting the Stonewall riots on June 28, 1969 solidified her place in history as a pioneer within the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.  She went on to become one of the leaders of the Gay Liberation movement, and she also helped found the Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (STAR). STAR, the first LGBTQ+ youth shelter in the U.S ran by trans women of color, was dedicated to providing housing to homeless and runaway transgender youth, In the 1980s, after being a caregiver, and later falling victim to HIV herself,  Marsha became an outspoken activist with  the AIDS advocacy organization, ACT UP up until her death. Tragically, Marsha “Pay it No Mind “ Johnson was murdered on July 6, 1992 at the age of 46, and her death was ruled a suicide after her body was found in the Hudson River.  To this day her death remains unsolved, however, it is believed that her death came at the hands of the same injustices that she fought do tirelessly throughout her lifetime to overcome. As of today in 2020, at least 28 people of trans-identity, both men and women, have lost their lives violently due to social injustice and intolerance, and their deaths have gone unnoticed. As transgender women of color continue to be the victims of violence across the country, it is painstakingly clear that there is so much more work to do to continue legacy of the iconic Marsha P Johnson . So on this day we Wish you a Happy 75 th Birthday and give thanks to you for the all of your selfless works in the  fight for equality and anti-discrimination, and as many march and protest across this nation declaring that Black Lives Matter,  let us remember your words: “ “You never completely have your rights, one person, until you all have your rights.”  And remember that ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!   Peace, Love, and Light.

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“Voter suppression” is any effort, either legal or illegal, by way of laws, administrative rules, and/or tactics to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing   specific groups of eligible voters from registering to vote or voting.  Over the last several weeks, the current administration has been blatantly forthcoming in his attempt to ensure that our voices will not be heard, that out votes won't get counted.  This election is too important to have our voices silenced any more.  We have too much to lose, too much at stake.  The information that I share  today is a simple and straight forward way to verify your voting status, where you can vote, and if you aren’t registered, the deadlines for your state.  The information is applicable to anyone and any state, so read it and share it with any and everyone.                      VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES BY STATE If you haven’t registered to vote yet, that is okay there is still time left.   Go visit https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/ , and it will -provide you with state specific information regarding voter registration deadlines.  NOT SURE IF YOU'RE REGISTERED TO VOTE OR WHERE TO VOTE ??? If you are not quite sure if you’ve registered to vote or where your polling place is,  you can check at  the Can I Vote website on the Voter Registration Status  or Find Your Polling Place pages  by selecting your state and inputting the required information. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing more state specific information about early voting and voting by mail, but if there any questions  that we may be able to assist you with please remember that we are only an email away. Until then, Peace, Love, and Light.  

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On this day, Nat Turner led the bloodiest, most effective, and only large-scale slave rebellion in American history. Nat Turner was born a slave on  October 2, 1800 on a plantation in  Southhampton, Virginia  owned by Benjamin Turner. Having learned to read and write, Turner became a preacher and claimed that he was chosen by God to lead slaves from bondage. Turner   is also  said to have received messages through visions and signs in nature, Aligning the revolt with the solar eclipse, in the early morning hours on August 21,1831, Nat Turner led the band of rebels through Southhampton County from plantation to plantation killing every white person that they encountered. As they made their way across Southhampton, they took the weapons and horses of the whites that they’d killed on their way toward Jerusalem, Virginia to secure more arms and ammunition.  Within twenty-four hours from the start of the rebellion, fifty-five white men, women, and children lay dead. In less than twenty-four hours after the revolt began,  news of the  rebellion had spread and the rebels were met with oppositions such as : slaves being loyal to their slaveowners, whites fleeing into the woods to hide from the rebels, and  white resistances forming to suppress the revolt.  Most notably was the encounter at James Parker’s farm, where they were defeated by the white resistance, which caused the rebels to spend the afternoon trying to regroup.  After meeting with similar defeats, the revolt came to an end by the end of day two with the rebels disbanded and scattered throughout the woods trying to evade capture.  Eluding the manhunt for six weeks, Turner surrendered after being discovered in the swamp by a hunter on October 30. While in jail awaiting his trial, he spoke with a local attorney,  Thomas R  Gray, who took down his story, which was  published shortly after the trial and execution in the pamphlet ,  The Confessions of Nat Turner.  After being convicted, Nat Turner, along with 16 co-rebels was hanged and skinned  on November 11, 1831 in Jerusalem, Virginia.  The culture of fear that gripped Virginia following this rebellion spread throughout the south leading to the  massacre of up to 200 black people, along with more oppressive legislation prohibiting the education, movement, and assembly of slaves that persisted until the Civil War.  

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For many years we were taught that the first slaves in America had arrived on a Dutch warship, the Man of War; as documented in the journal of John Rolfe, the Virginia planter and husband of Pocahontas. According the journals of Rolfe: "About the latter end of August, a Dutch man of Warr of the burden of a 160 tunes arrived at Point-Comfort, the Comandors name Capt Jope, his Pilott for the West Indies one Mr Marmaduke an Englishman. … He brought not an thing but 20. and odd Negroes, w[hich] the Governo[r] and Cape Merchant bought for victuall[s]” However, it is now known that Rolfe entered this event into his journal this way in an effort to transfer blame away from the English for piracy. Although, this day marks the arrival of these “20 and odd Negroes” to the mainland English colonies and the beginning of Anglo-centric slavery in North America.  It is equally as important to know the story of their tumultuous journey here and how they were twice stolen.  Captured by slave traders near the kingdom of Ndongo, located in part of present-day Angola, these Kimbundu-speaking peoples were forced to march several hundred miles to the coast to the Portuguese military outpost São Paulo de Luanda to board the Portuguese slave ship São João Bautista.   When the São João Bautista embarked on its transatlantic voyage to present day Veracruz, Mexico, there were 350 Africans on board; however, due to the inhumane conditions that the slaves were subjected to, 150 of those slaves died before they arrived in the summer of 1619. Before reaching its final destination, the São João Bautista, encountered two ships commanded by English privateers, the White Lion and the Treasurer, who’s crews took advantage of their weakened state and robbed them of 50 to 60 of the slaves off the coast of Campeche (along present-day Mexico's Gulf Coast). After dividing the slaves, the White Lion , commanded by John Jope, on August 20, 1619 sailed into Point-Comfort flying a Dutch flag and dropped anchor in the James River near present day Fort Monroe with “20 and odd Negroes”on board.  The Treasurer arrived at Point-Comfort three or four days later, with between twenty-eight and thirty additional Africans aboard. To commemorate the day,  The Hampton History Museum has opened the   1619: African Arrival Exhibit , as well as, the Traveling Pop-up Exhibit .

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The year is ,1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson is  running for reelection against George Wallace in the Democratic primary. Coincidentally, this Presidential Election is taking place during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.:Medgar Evans was gunned down outside is home in June 1963; the four black girls were killed in the Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church; and protests and riots coursed throughout the streets of cities across America.  Deemed controversial by his contemporaries and vilified by the government, this didn't deter Malcom  from delivering his now infamous  “The Ballot or The Bullet” speech o n April 3, 1964,  in Cleveland,OH, which he delivered one other time on April 12, 1964 in Detroit,MI.  Although, it has come to be known  as “The Ballot or the Bullet” for political correctness, Malcolm X originally entitled his speech."The Negro Revolt, and Where Do We Go From Here?" or What Next?"  It's got to be The Ballot or The Bullet....... “This is why I say it's the ballot or the bullet. It's liberty or it's death. It's freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody.” -Malcolm X Fast-forward to August 2020, and it is uncannily eerie how the words of “The Ballot or The Bullet” speech seem to  have been written to capture the  spirit of the Black Community today.  His words resonate perhaps even louder today than when Malcolm X first  delivered them over 56 years ago because has come  to respected and revered  by the Black Community.  During his speech, Malcolm X said:  “Why does it look like it might be the year of the ballot or the bullet? Because Negroes have listened to the trickery and the lies and the false promises of the white man now for too long, and they're fed up. They've become disenchanted. They've become disillusioned. They've become dissatisfied. And all of this has built up frustrations in the black community that makes the black community throughout America today more explosive than all of the atomic bombs the Russians can ever invent. Whenever you got a racial powder keg sitting in your lap, you're in more trouble than if you had an atomic powder keg sitting in your lap. When a racial powder keg goes off, it doesn't care who it knocks out the way. Understand this, it's dangerous.” On May 25, 2020, the release of the video of George Floyd  being murdered by  former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he held his knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds,  unwittingly became the catalyst for the ignition of the 2020  “racial powder keg.”  George Floyd’s death, coupled with the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Elijah McClain have ignited  and mobilized the Black Community in manner unparalleled to any  civil uprising in recent American history. Ironically, these events are culminating during a Presidential Election year similarly to that of the 1964 election and Civil Rights Movement, when this speech was first penned and  delivered.  This is once again , the year of The Ballot or The Bullet in America, which is self-explanatory.  We can not let  all or our protest be in vain no more than we can afford to let our vote be wasted on those that would dare to silence us. Over, the course of the 11 weeks leading up to Election Day, this page will serve as a platform to provide a history of the Black vote in America, as well as, pertinent information regarding the upcoming election.  It is my deepest desire to honor Malcolm's memory by doing my part to make manifest  his rallying call to to reeducate the Black Community politically in an effort to : “..open our people's eyes, make us become more politically conscious, politically mature. And then, we will – whenever we are ready to cast our ballot, that ballot will be cast for a man of the community, who has the good of the community at heart.”  -Malcolm X I look forward to the wealth of knowledge that we will explore, share , and grow from in our journey towards political maturity. <span style="color: #000000...