Butterfly Magazine - Issue 9

Black Lirvees No Mo Lip Service

Vol. 1 Issue 9 19th JUNE 2020

Prof.

Lez Henry

Fatherhood In collaboration with

A SAMARITAN

How it’s done - Patrick Hutchinson

Credit CNN

“If the other three police officers who were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening like what we did, George Floyd would be alive today.”

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Fatherhood

NOT ALL HEROES COME WITH A CAPE

Daddies and Ballerinas

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here was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead.

Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

“A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’

“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”

“The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

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Fatherhood

Urban leak posted an episode of FAM

A Day in the Life of A Single Father 4

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Do YOU want a voice?

The reason Butterfly Magazine was established was connect Black people in the UK, on the African continent, in the Caribbean, and the Black Diaspora through Do YOU want YOUR Television television and film. Our primary aim is to fund, through this magazine, ONYX TELEVISION NETWORK, a multi-channel, multi platform Internet network of 25+ Network channels that operate 24/7, 365 days per year showing 100% original material, for us and by us. We are not excluding other ethnic groups but this is our space, 24/7 365 owned and operated by us from conception, production and broadcast.

LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN

The events of the last fortnight have reinforced the need for such a network. The death of George Floyd, the subsequent protests, the riots, the church services, the global outpouring of support, the destruction of slave owners statues and the dialogue that has opened up cannot stop until there is significant and sustainable change.

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THE BUTTERFLY MAAG TEAM Editor-in-Chief Beverley Cooper-Chambers

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iChurch Do all Black Lives Matter?

Contents Cover - Prof. Lez Henry Fatherhood Credit: Paul Pablo Reid

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Freedom is Mine with Fayida

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What’s on the Screen?

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Doctor Emeka Okorocha

Bakita:KK

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The Library

Blackspectation

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Dads Being Dads

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Laughter, Good For The Soul

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The Disruptor

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Lead story: Professor Dr. William “Lez” Henry

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Sports Arrow: Andrew Newell

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Dealing With Endometriosis

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Reading Between The Lines

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Rhea’s Watch

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Me & Mi Kru

Why Women Outlive Men

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Last word

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I MATTER

EDITORIAL TEAM Karen Ferrari Simone Scott-Sawyer Editorial Researcher Tasina J. Lewis Sharrae Newell-Barn MARKETING DIRECTOR Marvin Osemwegie SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYST Michael Brown

ADVISORY BOARD Financial Strategic Advisor Nastassia Hedge-Whyte, MAAT, ACCA,ICAJ Marketing Strategic Advisor Jeremie Alamazani, Principal at Wealth Partners Ltd. Editorial Contributors David Clarke (London) Rhea Delaney (London) Joshua Grant aka Sports Arrow (London) Natalee Grant (Jamaica) Fayida Jailler (UK) Bakita Kasadha (UK & Uganda) Chi-Chi Osemwegie (London) Donna Williams (USA) Manasses Williams (USA) Design Editor Rusdi Saleh Graphics Butterfly logo by Wayne Powell (Jamaica) Submit a story: communications@butterflymaag.com Advertising enquiries: ads@butterflymaag.com Ad copy should be submitted Friday for the following week’s publication.

Butterfly Magazine published weekly on Fridays.

Butterfly magazine is published weekly by BUTTERFLY MAGAZINE LIMITED, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE, UK. Tel: (44) (0) 203 984 9419 Butterfly ™ 2015 is the registered trademark of THE LION AND THE LAMB MEDIA HOUSE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission from the publishers BUTTERFLY MAGAZINE LIMITED. Address all correspondence to: communications@butterflymaag.com No copyright infringement is intended

DADS BEING DADS

Dad Builds Rollercoaster

Dad Posts Honest Review of His Baby Daughter’s ‘Restaurant’

The Dad Break Daddy did such a good job: Daughters of Black Lives Matter hero Patrick Hutchinson share pride at lifesaver dad Transform your viewing...

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THE LIBRARY

Put Black History on the national curriculum

Black History you may not know

Glasgow’s Links To Slavery | Frankie Boyle’s Tour of Scotland Much of Glasgow’s grandest architecture was created off the back of slavery. Frankie Boyle finds out more.

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.

How is it different from PTDS?

by Dr Joy DeGruy 8

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A Virginia city finally removed its 800-pound slave auction block after years of deliberation

The Blessing

All About Ghana

KNOW THE 16 REGIONAL CAPITALS

The Blessings - GHANA

The Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop Transform your viewing...

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A PARENT'S GUIDE TO BLACK LIVES MATTER

What’s on the Screen?

The Screeners’

TV Choice

Illustration by Wayne Powell (Jamaica)

Welcome to our Virtual Library !

Feel free to browse around and choose any book to read, all you have to do is click on the book cover to get the link.

Enjoy!

Credit:The Hollywood Reporter

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Man

Sidney Poitier with Daughters Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Anika Poitier Credit: Movieman Trailers

The Pursuit of Happynes Credit: Evan Carmichael

Life Stories by Goalcast

Daddy Day Care

Credit: Grow Successful

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Dads

Remember the Titans Denzal Washington’s Life Advice will leave you speechless

Chris Gardner His Pursuit of Happyness

The Biggest Mistake Will Smith Made As a Father Transform your viewing...

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Credit: Lifetime

woman

Credit: lt4films

Disney Educational Productions

Betty and Coretta

Ruby Bridges 12

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Fatherless

small child

Credit: Lupita Nyong’o

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Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collins Story

The Princess and the Frog

Sulwe’s Song

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Credit: Laurence Fishburne Movie HD/Lionsgate

OLDER CHILD

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Akeelah and the Bee (2006) Official Trailer #1

Cinderella 14

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Some Assembly Needed

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young adult

The BigSmoke.com

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The Secret Life of Bees

Kobe Bryant on how to succeed Transform your viewing...

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gen z

How To Create Black Economic Power

Hartley Sawyer: The Flash actor fired from CW series over racist and sexist tweets

EMULATE BLACK CREATIVE ICONIC LOOKS Part One and Two 16

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Credit: Rationale/SaneThinker

grandPA

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Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner

Glory Road

Grand-Daddy Day Care Transform your viewing...

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Credit Excel Ent

grandma

Jane and Emma

Barnholtz Entertainment

The Mother Who Fathered Me

by Yasus Afari

HARD LESSONS The George McKenna Story 18

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A Healing Moment at the Movies with Dr Joy DeGruy

Reading Between The Lines Credit:Hasbro

by David Clarke

Angels & Demons

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hen Dan Brown wrote the novel of the same name in 2000, there were many questions raised to the ingenuity in the source of his information. Is it fact or fiction? Is it believable or just another farfetched story? Whichever way you looked at it, it’s a great read and a good film to watch. However, given the context of the storyline, the title is not to be taken literally, until there’s mention of the Catholic Church, the Vatican, and the Illuminati. All three institutions are heavyweights in world power and political influence, and I think with that fact alone, the title is worthy for this kind of movie genre. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, reads Ephesians 6:12.

One of my favourite films in recent times is Transformers – a movie that depicts the ‘War in Heaven’, between the Autobots and the Decepticons - two factions of alien robots who disguise themselves by transforming (2 Corinthians 11:14). Optimus Prime is a leader and a defender of earth and mankind, whilst Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, intends to raise an army against mankind.

All too familiar, especially when you merge the two narratives of ‘their war and our world’. The Bible mentions that when war broke out in heaven between two groups of angels, the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray, was cast down from heaven taking one-third of the angels with him (Revelation 12:7-10; Isaiah 14:12); Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Revelation 12:12). As for the title of my weekly column, the saying is the same, and as I’ve previously mentioned, there are many hidden Christian themes in movies that are encrypted for those unaware of the truth.

Another interesting factor in the movie is that the Transformers are a highly social species, shown through their very human-like society, interpersonal

interactions, familial relationships, and even the fairly common practice of merging bodies and minds. We don’t see a human-to-robot sexual relationship in the film, but there are references to suggest otherwise when an attractive roommate who happens to be a Decepticon in disguise seduces the main character, Sam Witwicky.

This scene can be compared to the Bible story of Genesis 6:2 when the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Abraham, Isaac, and many others in the Bible encountered angelic beings (Genesis 18; 32:22–32; also referenced in Hosea 12:4). Not to mention the most prominent angelic visit of all-time, when the archangel, Gabriel, visited Mary, who was to become the mother of the Lord Jesus.

The apostle Paul reminds us when he wrote, ‘Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels’ (Hebrews 13:2).

Contrary to the hidden messages in these movies are films such as Dogma (1999); Constantine (2005); The Devil’s Advocate (1997); and End of Days (1999), where the narrative is more obvious. I could go on about many other movies containing spiritual warfare of a biblical nature, but you probably get the script by now. Though rather obscure, I’m certain we have all experienced a time we felt invisibly protected and a time when we felt an injection of fear. So, could it be that these movies are all just another one of Hollywood’s epic storytelling bonanzas, or maybe a clever and indirect way to tell us that not all who walk among us are human?

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Freedom is Mine

Sri Lanka

T

BY FAYIDA JAILLER

he smallest African diaspora community in the Indian Ocean is in Sri Lanka, and they are descendants of the enslaved Africans brought to the island by the Portuguese in the 17th century.

They mainly live in the coastal regions of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Negombo. The population is steadily dwindling, and today Sri Lanka group of Kaffir women there are less than 500 Afro-Sri

by Leah Worthington Lankans left.

Afro-Sri Lankans refer to Sir Alexander Johnston, themselves as Kaffir, though this arranged for all children born term does not carry the same after 1806 to be freed. In pejorative connotations in Sri that way, the slavery era in Sri Lanka as it does in South Africa.

Sri Lanka afro barb Lanka gradually came to an er and client Originally Muslims, over time the end.

Kaffir have largely converted to Catholicism and According to Sri Lankan law, if Buddhism. They speak a creole language mixed with an Afro-Sri Lankan marries member of the Sinhalese Sinhalese and Tamil. ethnic group, they are no longer considered Afro-Sri The first African presence in Sri Lanka is Lankan. Seeing this as an opportunity to provide a attributed to Ethiopians who travelled to Sri Lanka better life for their children, many Afro-Sri Lankans (or Ceylon as it was then known) from as far back strategically inter-married, causing the steady as the Fifth century, and traded in Matota in the dilution of the Kaffir community. In September Northwest. The biggest influx of African migrants 2017 the Afro-Sri Lankan community celebrated came when the Portuguese trafficked enslaved their 500-year Africans to Sri Lanka as mercenary soldiers to fight presence in Sri Lanka the Ceylonese Kings. The Portuguese, the Dutch and 200 years since and the British all dominated the slave trade around the abolition of the Indian Ocean, and they all fought for control slavery. The of Sri Lanka because of its strategic location event was between East Africa and East Asia. organised by the Ceylon Africans in Sri Lanka were renowned African for their military prowess, and continued Society. to be deployed as soldiers up until the 19th century. They also participated in the construction of building military forts. By the mid-19th century, the African population Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka had reached a high of 6,000 Afro boxer inhabitants, though this number dramatically James Morka decreased.

Following the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act which the British parliament passed in 1807, the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka,

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The Disruptor

Credit: Blackenterprise.com

Welcome to the Disruptor

Ghanian Minister Invites African Americans To Resettle

To be a disruptor in business is to create a product, service, or way of doing things which displaces the existing market leaders and eventually replaces them at the helm of the sector. [`the disruptor]

Less Talk More Action

Barbara Oteng Gyasi

2020 - A change will come...

Jesse Williams Condemns Police Brutality In Moving Acceptance Speech at 2016 BET Awards

Now, what we’ve been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to deescalate, disarm and not kill white people everyday. So what’s going to happen is we are going to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will efore we get into it, I just want restructure their function and ours. to say I brought my parents out Now… I got more y’all – yesterday tonight. I just want to thank them would have been young Tamir Rice’s 14th for being here, for teaching me to birthday so I don’t want to hear anymore focus on comprehension over career, and about how far we’ve come when paid public that they make sure I learn what the schools servants can pull a drive-by on 12 year old were afraid to teach us. And also thank my playing alone in the park in broad daylight, amazing wife for changing my life. killing him on television and then going Now, this award – this is not for me. home to make a sandwich. Tell Rekia Boyd This is for the real organizers all over the how it’s so much better than it is to live in country – the activists, the civil rights 2012 than it is to live in 1612 or 1712. Tell attorneys, the struggling parents, the that toEric Garner. Tell that to Sandra Bland. families, the teachers, the students that are Tell that to Dorian Hunt. realizing that a system built to divide and Now the thing is, though, all of us in impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if here getting money – that alone isn’t gonna we do. stop this. Alright, now dedicating our It’s kind of basic mathematics – lives, dedicating our lives to getting the more we learn about who we money just to give it right back are and how we got here, the more for someone’s brand on our body we will mobilize. when we spent centuries praying with brands on our bodies, and Now, this is also in particular now we pray to get paid for the black women in for brands on our particular who have bodies. spent their lifetimes dedicated to nurturing There has everyone before been no war themselves. We can that we have and will do better not fought for you. and died

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on the front lines of. There has been no job we haven’t done. There is no tax they haven’t leveed against us – and we’ve paid all of them. But freedom is somehow always conditional here. “You’re free,” they keep telling us. But she would have been alive if she hadn’t acted so… free.

Now, freedom is always coming in the hereafter, but you know what, though, the hereafter is a hustle. We want it now.

And let’s get a couple things straight, just a little sidenote – the burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander.

That’s not our job, alright – stop with all that. If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression. If you have no interest, if you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.

We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, yo, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil – black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is though… the thing is that just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.

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Credit: CNN Credit: WorldTrust TV

Credit: Dhar Mann

The Aunt Jemima brand, acknowledging its racist past, will be retired

Daughter teaches Dad the art of negotiation in business

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Credit: Projectcasting.com

You Tube 100 Million For Black Creatives

Michael B. Jordan Demands Hollywood To Hire More Black People

Cracking the Code with Joy DeGruy A trip to the grocery shop

PBS.com

All roads lead to

Noire Street

Be part of the change Credit: Channel 4

One of Ghana’s Cultural Exports

Coming

Soon

Your chance to showcase your business in the Black community...

credit: Pastor Mike Todd

Black Bank manager to sue Metropolitan Police for racial discrimination

People can’t buy Black unless they know about you And can find you…

What Am I Asking You To Do?... Care

All roads lead to Noire Street…

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lead story

easons With R e in z a g a M y rfl e Butt

y r n e H ” z e L “ m a li il W r D Professor

, D OO H ER H FAT

ORE M D AN SINESS BU Credit: Paul Pablo Reid

BM: What do you think needs to happen in the community to start creating economic empowerment for ourselves?

There are others who are far more qualified than I to speak to this but what I do know is the UK is not the USA, which is visibly, racially demographically divided. In America, if you have a Black area, chances are it will be 99.99%, Black. We don’t have that in the UK. Also, when they used to speak about Brixton being a Black area it’s rubbish because Brixton has never been a fully Black area and Lambeth was never a black borough.

When you talk about these things you need context.

When we talk about community, what we really should be saying is communities, as Bro Paul Obinna reminded me, because yes we are African, AfricanCaribbean, but we still have distinct communities.

For example, our Somali brothers and sisters seem to be pretty enclosed in much of what they do, due to their religion and culture. A thing we can do, although it sounds clichéd now, is to support Black businesses and Black enterprise. We can start promoting them. However, Black businesses should offer the same service that

Who is Dr William ‘Lez’ Henry?

OBV Profile: Dr William ‘Lez’ Henry | OBV 24

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customers get elsewhere. For example, a friend of mine explained how the Black hair product market works. According to him, the Asians will buy from other Asians, and I am not talking about the Asians as a collective, because they are no more unified than we are, we just don’t see it. They have their factional caste and religious differences. The only difference is we do not see those nuances in their behaviour because we are not them; similar to the Jewish communities being all united, that’s rubbish.

That’s not what I am talking about. What I am saying is if the Asians or the Jewish, trade in a particular product, they will quite rightly sell it to each other cheaper. That is one angle that we as communities have to figure out and implement.

What do you Profess?

Lez Henry on his journey to becoming a Professor

There is always a sacrifice If an African-Caribbean store is selling food products and next door there is an Asian store selling the same thing cheaper, if we get the same service and the same product from the African-Caribbean store, then we should support them. It is a sacrifice and it has to be a sacrifice.

When people speak about the Black Wall Street, Greenwood District in Oklahoma, which white racists apparently called ‘little Africa’, I have been there and they made sacrifices and there are a lot of reasons why it has never been recreated. Due to Jim Crow laws, which, explains the demographic segregation in many American communities today, they were forced to work together. Also, because they were forced to work together, they had to find the best way to be economically, politically, socially and culturally viable.

Economics in the context of the UK If we are going to speak about how we support each other economically as communities, we have to be very clear on how we aim to achieve that in the context of the UK because we are not in America. That is the first issue, and I think that is the easiest one to resolve because if you know a brother or sister sells the same product or offers the same service, go for them.

The second issue is being prepared to give each other a chance; we often give other communities a chance, but we often do not give each other second chances. We should give the same licence of being good, bad, and indifferent to each other and not condemn everyone who looks like you for one incident because doing so, eventually, selfreliance will manifest.

In my own life this is my daily practice. If I know a Black business that does something, they will be my first point of call, always! If that one messes up then I will give another one a chance, but if it comes to a point where my choices are exhausted, then I will find someone else outside of the community.

Emerging from the pandemic has taught us that we can put the money we would have spent in White, European or Asian-controlled businesses to more practical use. I am not telling anyone how to spend their money. However, what I am saying is much of what we think we need we have come to realise that we don’t. Therefore, that extra cost that may be incurred to support our own shouldn’t be a problem.

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Seven Years on and Bristol is back in the news

Following on from that, what are your thoughts on the up and coming boycott?

A one-day boycott is not enough I am not interested. I will explain, just like the other day when they had Blackout Tuesday for the media. A good friend of mine sent me this thing about Blackout Tuesday, I explained to him, that at the time we are using social media to effect change globally, they want us to stop using it for a day. Why is that? People had good intentions for saying Blackout Tuesday, which was heavily promoted by all the major news outlets that would have been laughing their heads off because people would turn to them on that day. Secondly, I have never really understood when people say, don’t spend your money for a day. To me if you want to make an affect, you should say, let’s not spend our money in those businesses for a year; one day is not enough to effect any meaningful change. The Bristol Bus Boycott went on for four months; the one they don’t like to talk about that happened in 1963 in the UK and the Montgomery bus boycott in America lasted for over a year.

Working with like-minded people According to Malcolm X, if you support your own, there is no need to boycott anyone, just support your own, that’s what needs to be done because these Blackout days will have very little effect and I don’t think they will achieve much. The real 26

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difference is boycotting for at least a year. This reminds me of a few years ago, we would get a text message advising us not to use Sainsbury’s but asking us to use Asda instead. I always used to say to people, for all we know, that could be someone from Asda doing that. It also seems like a reaction with no real strategy behind it and as people of African ancestry, we need to start to strategize and ask ourselves, why we are doing things and consider the end goal. We need to think long term. Yes, we must come together as a people of African ancestry. However, more importantly, is to work with likeminded people, because no one has a licence over anyone else.

Therefore, I do not castigate brothers and sisters who say, ‘I am not interested in spending my money with Black businesses’, or ‘it doesn’t affect me’ I am fine with that. I am just aware that I am unable to work with you and I am fine not working with any of them. I will only work with like-minded individuals I believe I can work with.

BM. So, we need a message for the Black male because as a Black woman with adult male sons, there is a need to have a positive role model with a clear message. John Boyega, said it clearly, that Black men we must learn to appreciate our women. However, at the same time, Black women must also get their act together. What is your message for the Black male?

Not the conventional Father’s Day message Well, my Father’s day message is not going to be the typical Father’s day message and I am saying that as one of the people that set up the Lewisham Black Fathers’ support group, which is now in its 11th year. The group have done some great works, which includes building a couple of schools in The Gambia. We also worked with Patrick Augustus, who wrote the Baby Father books which was later aired by BBC2 in 2001 and 2002. However, it is the collective work of all the brothers involved who allow it to use its own dynamic which is why it’s still successfully running.

Usually, I avoid speaking on things such as Black relationships as people are people with their own idiosyncrasies and what works for you may not work for me. My benchmark/philosophy

is if the good outweighs the bad we can work with that. If the bd outweighs the good then it’s perhaps time to leave, because they always make these weird comparisons, like in Black families there are more single mothers, which is not true. Also, what is being compared? Is it like for like? Does the group we are being compared to have a similar historical experience of chattel enslavement? Do they have the same concerns that we have? However, as a father of five children by four different women by the age of twenty, I think I am pretty well placed to speak about fatherhood in particular. But if you want me to speak about fidelity and relationships, then I am not the best person to speak about that. My eldest child is forty-five and will be forty-six this year and was born when I was seventeen, and my youngest is twenty-six.

No more Lez the boy My advice to fathers is to understand what it is to be a father. Firstly, your children may not like you and the person you had the child with, may not like you. You may not like them; you may both despise each other. I remember going to my muv (as I called my dear mother) when I was sixteen

and saying to her, ‘my girlfriend is pregnant’ and I was traumatised because my dad always used to say, no one is going to live in this house who has a child and does not look after it. He always said, ‘if it is yours, then you have to mind it - end of the story’. So, going to muv at sixteen, she said to me, ‘No more Lez, the boy, its Lez, the man, because it’s Lez, plus one’. That has always stuck with me and I have said this to all of my children and will always said the same thing to them.

Another thing muv and mother-in-law, Miss Will, used to say to me was, ‘if you know you have done your best to look after your children, then when they get to the age of independence, you do not have to worry, just get on with it’ and that is part of my philosophy.

Furthermore, if I know someone with a child and they do not take their responsibility seriously, then I do not deal with them and I have always been like that from a very young age. Not surrounding myself with such energies. However, if we know that as people of African ancestry we are disaffected and disenfranchised just because of the colour of our skin and where we are structurally placed in a racist society like the UK then there are things we need to do. Such as thinking about and planning how to prepare our children for the challenges that they will face in this society as they come of age.

It’s not the presents I will never say to a man, you should be faithful to a Transform your viewing...

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woman, or say to a woman, you should be faithful to a man, perhaps, you are not cut out that way. However, your relationship with your children should not be dependent on your relationship with each other. If you have a child with a woman and you get on well then that is great. However, if you do not then your children should be your priority. We also have to remember as Ed O G and Da Bulldogs remind us in their tune ‘Be a Father to your Child’, “it’s not the presents, but it’s your presence in the essence” that matters. I would also say if you are a father and you know you cannot do the best for that child, for whatever reason, then get out of the way and allow someone who can to take up the mantle. If you say you are a man, then be man enough to walk away because what bothers me is when parents weaponize their children. I have witnessed it all my life, brothers and sisters using their children as pawns in an obscene game of spite and that for me is the most harmful thing you can do to a child or your children. We know this happens in all societies and families and I am still waiting for someone to tell me what a functional family is because we always hear the terminology, dysfunctional family with no qualification whatsoever; more so when it’s levelled at the black communities like some type of pathology or taboo.

The meaning of husbandry It’s not a father; it’s a husband because if we look at the older meaning of husbandry, it means you do the best to support your family. Being a husband is not about marriage because a lot of men are married, and they are not husbands because they want the woman to be a slave or subservient. For me that is the advice that I will give black men, look at your situation realistically, and if you have a child regardless of the situation your responsibility is the life you helped create.

However, as I said once they are adults and make their own decisions let them get on with it. I don’t have the greatest relationship some of my children, but I can put my hand on my heart and say until

they became of age, I did the best I could for them. When I was a youth, I had five of them in my one-bedroom flat on the weekend when I was not working and sometimes, one of my nephews used to come and stay, making it six children in a one-bedroom flat. That was how I grew up.

That was one of the things I said to my sons, look at my life and I do not want you to replicate that. I did not get my first grandchild until one of them was twentyseven, and I was happy with that because at least something sunk in.

The Contract I always used to say to my children when they were younger, remember what it was like when you used to come and spend weekends with me. For them it was fun, all of us packed together in a one bedroom flat. However, it was not fun for me and one of the things I did when the youngest one was about three and the oldest one was eight, was get them to sign a contract for behaviour because it is the only way I could manage them all. We all sat down one day and drafted a contract for behaviour and who couldn’t write their signature made a mark on the paper and what ended up happening was they monitored themselves. Therefore, if one of them was acting up, I would always say, get the contract out and designed certain strategies where say if they were crying they would leave the room, compose themselves and then explain why they were upset. There was always resolution and to this day I use this as a strategy with my grandchildren. Folk are always shocked when I tell them this but many parents insult the intelligence of their children, I don’t do that as I see them as smaller people that can reason because that is what they are. Stay blessed and focused.w

Black Wall Street Survivor Credit DIK Rowland

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by Eldoris McCondichi

Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs

ld i Ch r u o Y o T Be A Father Lyrics Be a father, if not, why bother, son

Put yourself in his position and see what you’re done

A boy can make ‘em, but a man can raise one

But just keep in mind that you’re somebody;s son

If you did it, admit it and stick with it

How would you like it if your father was a stranger

Don’t say it ain’t yours ‘cause all women are not whores

And then tried to come into your life and tried to change

Ninety percent represent a woman that is faithful

The way your mother raised ya — now, wouldn’t that amaze ya?

Ladies, can I hear it? Thank you.

To be or not to be, that is the question

When a girl gets pregnant, her man is gonna run around

When you’re wrong, you’re wrong, it’s time to make a correction

Dissin’ her for nine months, when it’s born he wants to come around

Harassin’ the mother for being with another man

Talking that I’m sorry for what I did

But if the brother man can do it better than you can,

And all of a sudden he wants to see his kid

let him. Don’t sweat him, duke

She had to bear it by herself and take care of it by herself

Let him do the job that you couldn’t do.

And givin’ her money for milk won’t really help

You’re claimin you was there, but not when she needed you

Half of the fathers with sons and daughters don’t even want to take ‘em

And now you want to come around for a day or two?

But it’s so easy for them to make ‘em

So get yourself together for your child’s sake

It’s true, if it weren’t for you then the child wouldn’t exist

And be a father to your child

It’s never too late to correct your mistake

After a skeeze, there’s responsibilities so don’t resist Be a father to your child You see, I hate when a brother makes a child and then denies it Thinking that money is the answer so he buys it A whole bunch of gifts and a lot of presents It’s not the presents, it;s your presence and essence

Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Edward Anderson / Kevin Bonners / Roy Ayers / Tedd Whiting Credit: Be a Father to Your Child lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG Rights Management

Of being there and showing the baby that you care Stop sittin’ like a chair and having your baby wonder where you are Or who you are — fool, you are his daddy Dib;t act like you ain’t cause that really makes me mad, G. To see a mother and a baby suffer I’ve had enough of brothers who don’t love the Fact that a baby brings joy into your life You could still be called daddy if the mother’s not your wife Don’t be scared, be prepared ‘cause love is gonna getcha It will always be your child even if she ain’t witcha So don’t front on your child when it’s your own ‘Cause if you front now, then you’ll regret it when it’s grown Be a father to your child Transform your viewing...

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RHEA’S WATCH

Highlights achievements of the youth today, showcases people who seek Highlights achievements of the youth today, showcases people who seek to​ create a brighter to create brighter future forgems thefrom youth andwho reveals future for theayouth ​and reveals hidden the past helped tohidden make thegems world afrom better place. the past who helped to make the world a better place.

Alex got a place in the UK's Premier Athletics Club Birchfield Harriers at age 15. Alex got into all the Youth Development teams in 2019 and she was called to compete in middle league competitions which are for seniors. In 2018 and 2019 Alex represented South Birmingham schools twice in athletics.

She went on to represent West Midlands schools at Mason Trophy Inter Counties Schools Championships in 2019 in the 300m Hurdles. She has competed in ​England Athletics' national championships twice. Alex now studies French, Russian and Latin at A Levels.

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R E T S U B SS STRE

9 1 D I COV

Hemsley Morris aka Benzly Hype is no stranger to the camera. He created and starred in the television drama Mi and Mi Kru, which first aired in Jamaica in 2009.

The sitcom is based around his mother, Beatrice Morris who has sadly passed.

In the show, Benzly moves out of his mother’s home and into his own house with his mother after a big win on the lottery. What transpires is hilarious.

Mi and Mi Kru Reunion 32

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Benzly recognised that social distancing, quarantine, economic hardships, and the loss of jobs because of COVID-19 is causing anxiety and stress. So he doing his part to ease the situation he has released all of the episodes of Mi and Mi Kru on YouTube free of cost.

Credit: Hemsley Morris

s ‘ E P Y H BENZLY FOR

faith on tv

iChurch is folks of the Movement 4 Black Lives, the larger queer movement, and the feminist movement have long failed Black trans people. It’s time for a reckoning on your collective silence and inaction.

What will it take for y’all to hear us? Do you really read these posts, read these articles, hear our pleas, hear our speeches, and feel nothing?

I believe the #BlackTransMovement has said in nearly every way that the communities we share with y’all need transformation and that we can’t do it alone.

I’ve been saying over and over again lately what does it mean to defund and abolish police when we’d still end up harmed.

A fight against state violence is only scratching the surface. You act as if you’ll get to what’s happening to us one day, but our lives can’t wait! And the thing is, the same transphobia that fuels your inaction, your silence, is the same transphobia that brutally attacks us. It’s a spectrum of violence.

And the murders of our sisters, brothers, and siblings is just one, albeit the most deadly, type of violence. There’s the violence for many of us of continually being told we aren’t enough.

We aren’t the right children for our parents.

We aren’t the right peers for the bullies on the playground. We aren’t the right students for

THE CHURCH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING Dr. Dharius Daniel.

I’m Exhausted Tyler Perry

our schools. We aren’t the right lovers for are partners. We aren’t the right employees for our workplaces. We aren’t the right activists for our communities. And damn it, we aren’t even the right victims for our movements to fight for.

Imagine the luxury of only caring about the lives of cis folks, cis men.

Imagine the luxury of only mourning the deaths that happen for cis folks, cis men. We mourn for you, do you mourn for us?

We cry for you, do you cry for us? We rally for you, do you rally for us? We imagine better for you, do you imagine better for us?

Here’s another morning, after another long night of wondering, “What will it take for y’all to hear us?” #BlackTransLivesMatter #BlackTransPower Transform your viewing...

itan

C

By Raquel Willis

ol Credit: Cosmop

DO ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER?

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Bla

The Girl From

Rose Hudson-Wilkin

THE WORLD HAS HAD ITS KNEES ON OUR NECKS Rose Hudson-Wilkin

Force For Change Rose Hudson-Wilkin On Becoming Britain’s First Black Female Bishop 34

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Kidspiration meets Reverend Rose-Hudson-Wilkin, the Queen’s Chaplain

n o i t a t c e p s tion k a c a l pect B s k c n a o i l t B a t c e p s k c a an Maye, Ed.D

by Marilyn Allm

Marilyn Allman Maye and Aundrea White Kelley in 1969, on guard duty during takeover of College administration office

I

n Seven Sisters and a Brother, a choral memoir released earlier this year, seven co-authors and I documented a rare first-person account of Black student activism at a predominantly white college in 1960s America. Our activism culminated in an 8-day sit-in that could have gotten us all expelled or our scholarships rescinded. Instead it resulted in an institution-changing and life-altering series of outcomes that can give hope to our young sisters and brothers of today’s Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Our mostly working-class parents had not tutored us in the history or art of protest. Rather, they had gifted us with memories of their own courage, generosity toward neighbors, resilience in the face of hatred, and resistance to systemic injustice. They passed on to us faith that God defends those who do right.

As independent learners, we explored the history of black people in Africa and its diaspora. We allied with marginalized frontline workers who were indispensable to campus life. We forged bonds of trust among ourselves, leveraging our diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds. When the inevitable spark of racism ignited our outrage, we were prepared to take action that stunned our opponents and forced the institution to change.

Our memoir’s subtitle is Friendship, Resistance, and Untold Truths Behind Black Student Activism in the 1960s. Our stories add to the evidence that Black lives have mattered in every era. Central to our demands was that the College teach Black history and culture, and ensure that Black scholars be represented at all levels, from students to administration, proportional to our presence in US society. It took over 50 years, but the institution is now headed by a black, female scholar of African-American literature, and scholarship of several nonwhite ethnic groups is included in the curriculum.

Each co-author graduated to a lifetime of bringing change in our diverse professions and communities.

We are now benefactors of the college, dedicating our share of book proceeds to an endowment that ensures the future of Black studies and of students committed to social justice.

I believe the presence of many white and brown activists supporting BLM today results from the influential work of black professors, scholars, and journalists, offspring of 1960s campus rebellions.

Imagine in 50 more years how the legacy of today’s activists will manifest globally. The systemic racism may never completely disappear, but neither will effective resistance to it.

2020 occasion where College officials honored and apologized to alumni activists for historic hurts Transform your viewing...

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profile

Teaching the Nurses how to dance

Doctor

a h c o r o k O a Emek I am a BLACK MAN! I build...

I don’t tear down BLACK MEN 36

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Photo: contributed. Bakita Kasadha

Bakita: KK

Because of Stephen I was commissioned to write this to commemorate the first National Stephen Lawrence day.

Coincidentally, I grew up a road away from where Stephen was murdered.

I was three years old at the time.

SPEAK YOUR

TRUTH Meet Bakita: KK

Overcoming self-stigma to achieve your potential

[

Bakita Kasadha is a writer, researcher, health activist and poet better known as BAKITA:KK.

[

“No one can tell our stories like we can� underpins her why.

Click for video

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Relax

LAUGHTER GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Social Distancing Bar Fight

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Dogs exercising at home

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39

Sports Arrow

’If you have got something you want to do, Go for it’

By Josh Grant

Andrew Newell is currently the best Jamaican bowler and a two times LAWN Bowls Champion, with an inspiring journey that put Jamaica on the map.

Man on a mission Earlier last week, I spoke to the champ about how he got into bowls and other life experiences. Andrew grew up in Milton Keynes, England, where he always had an interest in bowls, however he did not take up the sport until he was is 30s. He played at Bletchley Park with a good friend, just called Arthur and this was his first stepping-stone into the sport. He was hooked. He moved to Croydon and started playing at a higher level.

Despite his thirst to play for his native country Jamaica, he couldn’t do so, as Jamaica was not a part of the World Bowls Association. Therefore, it became his mission to make Jamaica an official member. In his career he has accomplished some inspirational achievements: • He created an unofficial Jamaican national team called the Reggae Rollers; • He founded the KNCC tournament (named after his father) to boost the sport in the Caribbean; • He played a major role in how Jamaica became an official Jamaica Lawn Bowls National team • He competed in the Commonwealth games.

These are all massive accomplishments that deserve to be applauded. Andrew shared with me that other big sporting names also play bowls Tiger Woods and Lewis Hamilton to name a few. Through his journey, Andrew has met many famous people: Les Ferdinand, 40

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Yannick Bolasie, Leon Mann, Darren Sammy and Chris Gale just to name a few.

This preaches an important message to the Black Lives Matter movement, #BLM movement, and others, that you can do anything you want in life. Andrew said, ’If there’s something you want to do, go for it.’

Injustice challenged Recently, Andrew became angered about Amazon’s sale of racist books. It found evidence that they allowed racist books degrading black people, to be sold on their online market. Newell felt strongly about this issue and formally complained as it went against Amazon’s published policy on offensive material. Thankfully, due to other news outlets also exposing the truth, I’m glad to say that Amazon has made them unavailable to purchase.

As you know, COVID 19 has been horrible time for most. It is no different in the bowls’ world, as the summer has been completely ruined. But there is always next year. This is not the time to give up on what you aspire to be in life!

Until next time watch this space!

Meet Andrew Newell, Jamaica’s Pioneering Lawn Bowler

Jamaican lawn bowls player Andrew Newell was lucky enough to be asked if to open the first lawn bowls green in Jamaica.

Jamaica’s bowlers ‘Reggae Rollers’ set to bowl over Gold Coast Transform your viewing...

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Dealing with Endometriosis

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WHY WOMEN OUTLIVE MEN

Last word

Gina Yashere

Talks about Blackface Transform your viewing...

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