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Susan
Mangatal - susan@ariousentertainment.us
Greetings
On-Line Family!
 Martin
Luther King Jr. Assassination
"A Sad Day in the History of America" (Below
are portions of my writing from a previous e-blast,
as I reflect on Dr. King's Assassination).
This
Friday, April 4th, 40 years ago was the saddest
day in American history. This was the day the life
of a great man and a great leader was selfishly taken.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down by James
Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis,
Tennessee, while he was preparing to lead a march for
sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor
working conditions. He was shot as he stood on the
Lorraine Motel balcony and died soon thereafter.
This was
the day all of America, actually all black Americans and
many around the world cried and mourned for this
exceptional man who contributed to the civil rights
movement, who was successful in turning protests into
crusades and to translating local conflicts to moral
issues nationwide, and ultimately worldwide. This
man with his non-violent leadership and tactics
succeeded with opening America's eyes and successfully
breaking the segregation laws of the south, and most
importantly attained racial and economic justice for
blacks.
On this
sad day many cried, while others expressed their emotion
by angrily exploding. Hundreds of United States
cities, and dozens of major U.S. cities such as
Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit,
Pittsburgh, Tennessee, New York, etc. was rocked by an
escalation in race riots.
On this
sad day President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation by
saying "I ask every citizen to reject the blind
violence that has taken Dr. King who lived by
non-violence".
On this
sad day, and the sad hours and days to follow, due to
these riots several people lost their lives, several
thousands were injured, large amounts of our
businesses were set ablaze, and their were lots of
lootings and shootings. Black America was clearly
very angry about the assassination of their black civil
rights leader and it was too much for many to bear.
Many from Dr. King's team addressed the nation and
repeatedly appealed for calm and even urged folks to
respect our murdered leader's commitment to non-violent
protest. However others were hurt and was deeply
angry such as Lincoln Lynch the United Black Front
Chairman, he felt black America should adopt a new
stance and stated "it is imperative to abandon the
unconditional non-violent concept expounded by Dr. King
and adopt the position that for every Martin Luther King
who falls, 10 white racists will go down with him"
he further stated "there is no other way America
understand no other language"
As a
result curfews were implemented in many areas around the
country and the National Guard soldiers were mobilized
to help with the violence which was threatening to
engulf the US in this race war.
On this
day - April 4th, 40 years ago in 1968 was indeed the
saddest day for all Black Americans and many around the
world, it was the beginning of a dark period in our
lives and in American History, and a day we all will
never forget. Folks felt their only hope for
racial economic and justice, as well as equality for all
in America was taken away.
Dr.
King's life was not taken in vain though, because many
of his dreams indeed have become a reality. As he
stated "little black boys and black girls will be
able to join hands with little white boys and white
girls as sisters and brothers", but this is taking
place all across American, and not only in Alabama as he
stated. Look, there is even a black candidate who is
the frontrunner for President of the U.S. For this
I'm sure Dr. King would be proud as many of us are!!!!
40 years after Dr. King's death I must point out one of the
important issues he fought for still has not been attained
. The Justice system to this day has not been corrected,
the system is still very unjust and unfair. Another
important issue that is very distressing is the horrific
"black on black" crime that is plaguing our
neighborhoods across America.
Tonight,
Thursday, April 3rd, a special documentary will be broadcast on
CNN entitled "Eyewitness to Murder:
The King Assassination". Soledad O'Brien,
CNN's special correspondent gains exclusive access to
eyewitness, FBI documents and the killer's room in this first
installment of CNN's groundbreaking documentary series
"Black in America". This documentary will begin
at 9:00 p.m. ET tonight and will air for 2 hours. CNN
turned to the people who were there that day and others
personally involved in the movement to tell their first-hand
stories of a tragedy that still resonates today.
Click the following picture to view the trailer, and plan on
viewing the entire 2 hour important documentary tonight at 9:00
pm. 
 This
week we must share with you a special accomplishment by a friend and
his wife. For some time
now our friend Mr. L. Lamont, Jr. informed us
about his intentions along with his wife about opening their own
business in Maryland. So when we ran into him a few months ago
at his old place of employment (Crossroads – He is an ex-bartender
of Crossroads Club), he talked excitedly about his plans, the progress
and even the opening date of his restaurant.
As much as we wanted to make it to his opening, I simply could
not find his business card to connect with him, nor did we know the
name of the restaurant to find it on the net.
However, this past weekend we decided that we would find his
restaurant by driving through every shopping center in Waldorf (where
the restaurant is located) until we come across a restaurant with a
“Grand Opening” sign, so we could surprise and visit Mr. Lamont
and his wife.
Luckily, after cruising several
shopping centers we came across a new restaurant (without
a “Grand Opening” sign), which we hoped was what we were looking
for; so as we pulled into the location we noticed Mr. Lamont’s car. You can just imagine how happy we were to find this place,
and let me tell you it was quite beautiful.
It was evident that Mr. Lamont and his wife put a lot of work
into their restaurant “WOW
Café & Wingery” and invested a lot as well (time in
building, time in decorating and money); it was truly a labor of love.
After the hugs and “chit chat” we got the grand tour, and a
history on the concept and how certain aspects were built.
All of this was joyous for us, because we love the fact of
“one owning their own business”, especially when it’s someone
you know very well and have experienced a lot with.
We felt a major sense of pride because Mr. Lamont has made a
huge and important step in his life along with his wife.
As Mr. Lamont mentioned during our visit “you have seen my many
ups and downs throughout the many years we have known each other”.
Yup, he was right we had; and we are extremely proud and happy
for him and certainly wish him much success!
As for the food and drinks they
were great – they not only have wings they have a full menu (lots to
choose from.) The atmosphere
in this trendy restaurant was excellent as well. So, we encourage you
our On-line family (who reside in Waldorf Maryland) to stop in Mr.
& Mrs. Lamont’s restaurant and check it out.
The food is really good! If
you don’t live in Waldorf, but live in Maryland, DC or VA; plan on
visiting the Lamont’s restaurant, go ahead and take a drive, have
some food and some drinks.
For us we have to drive some
distance to get to Waldorf, so we can only make it on the
weekends. However, whenever we visit we intend to spend the
weekend in Waldorf, since we plan on chilling out with good friends,
good food and great cocktails.
The
details of the restaurant are as follows:
WOW Café and Wingery,
3101 Waldorf Marketplace, Waldorf Maryland, and you can call for
directions at 301-632-6755.
Make sure when you get there let Mr. Lamont and his wife know
that Todd and Susan from Arious told you to stop by.
If you do, please let us know all about your experience ariousentertainment@earthlink.net.
 
Nothing much took place regarding
Senator Barack Obama this week (The next President of the United States),
except for him gaining a few additional Super Delegates.
However, I discovered that Writer Alice Walker endorsed him some
time ago. So, below click on the picture of Alice Walker to view and
listen to her words on Senator Obama.
I have also enclosed some very "moving" words which were
recently written by Ms. Walker to "Sisters" as she reflects on
her life and on the Presidential campaign, and on Senator Obama and
Senator Clinton's race for the Democratic nomination.
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Writer
Alice Walker speaks of her admiration for Barack Obama,
and her support for his candidacy.
Click picture to view!
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Recent
writings by Alice
Walker to Sisters on the Presidential Campaign
I HAVE COME home from a
long stay in Mexico to find – because of the
presidential campaign, and especially because of the
Obama/Clinton race for the Democratic nomination - a new
country existing alongside the old. On any given
day we, collectively, become the Goddess of the Three
Directions and can look back into the past, look at
ourselves just where we are, and take a glance, as well,
into the future. It is a space with which I am
familiar.
When I was born in 1944 my
parents lived on a middle Georgia plantation that was
owned by a white distant relative, Miss May
Montgomery. (During my childhood it was
necessary to address all white girls as "Miss"
when they reached the age of twelve.) She
would never admit to this relationship, of course,
except to mock it. Told by my parents that several
of their children would not eat chicken skin she
responded that of course they would not. No
Montgomerys would.
My parents and older siblings
did everything imaginable for Miss May. They
planted and raised her cotton and corn, fed and killed
and processed her cattle and hogs, painted her house,
patched her roof, ran her dairy, and, among countless
other duties and responsibilities my father was her
chauffeur, taking her anywhere she wanted to go at any
hour of the day or night. She lived in a large
white house with green shutters and a green, luxuriant
lawn: not quite as large as Tara of Gone With the
Wind fame, but in the same style.
We lived in a shack without
electricity or running water, under a rusty tin roof
that let in wind and rain. Miss May went to school
as a girl. The school my parents and their
neighbors built for us was burned to the ground by local
racists who wanted to keep ignorant their competitors in
tenant farming. During the Depression, desperate
to feed his hardworking family, my father asked for a
raise from ten dollars a month to twelve. Miss May
responded that she would not pay that amount to a white
man and she certainly wouldn't pay it to a nigger.
That before she'd pay a nigger that much money she'd
milk the dairy cows herself.
When I look back, this is part
of what I see. I see the school bus carrying white
children, boys and girls, right past me, and my
brothers, as we trudge on foot five miles to school.
Later, I see my parents struggling to build a school out
of discarded army barracks while white students, girls
and boys, enjoy a building made of brick. We had
no books; we inherited the cast off books that
"Jane" and "Dick" had previously
used in the all-white school that we were not, as black
children, permitted to enter.
The year I turned fifty, one of
my relatives told me she had started reading my books
for children in the library in my home town. I had
had no idea – so kept from black people it had been
– that such a place existed. To this day knowing
my presence was not wanted in the public library when I
was a child I am highly uncomfortable in libraries and
will rarely, unless I am there to help build, repair,
refurbish or raise money to keep them open, enter their
doors.
When I joined the freedom
movement in Mississippi in my early twenties it was to
come to the aid of sharecroppers, like my parents, who
had been thrown off the land they'd always known, the
plantations, because they attempted to exercise their
"democratic" right to vote. I wish I
could say white women treated me and other black people
a lot better than the men did, but I cannot. It
seemed to me then and it seems to me now that white
women have copied, all too often, the behavior of their
fathers and their brothers, and in the South, especially
in Mississippi, and before that, when I worked to
register voters in Georgia, the broken bottles thrown at
my head were gender free.
I made my first white women
friends in college; they were women who loved me and
were loyal to our friendship, but I understood, as they
did, that they were white women and that whiteness
mattered. That, for instance, at Sarah Lawrence,
where I was speedily inducted into the Board of Trustees
practically as soon as I graduated, I made my way to the
campus for meetings by train, subway and foot, while the
other trustees, women and men, all white, made their way
by limo. Because, in our country, with its painful
history of unspeakable inequality, this is part of what
whiteness means. I loved my school for trying to
make me feel I mattered to it, but because of my
relative poverty I knew I could not.
I am a supporter of Obama
because I believe he is the right person to lead the
country at this time. He offers a rare opportunity for
the country and the world to start over, and to do
better. It is a deep sadness to me that many
of my feminist white women friends cannot see him.
Cannot see what he carries in his being. Cannot
hear the fresh choices toward Movement he offers. That
they can believe that millions of Americans –black,
white, yellow, red and brown - choose Obama over Clinton
only because he is a man, and black, feels tragic to me.
When I have supported white
people, men and women, it was because I thought them the
best possible people to do whatever the job required.
Nothing else would have occurred to me. If Obama were in
any sense mediocre, he would be forgotten by now. He is,
in fact, a remarkable human being, not perfect but
humanly stunning, like King was and like Mandela is. We
look at him, as we looked at them, and are glad to be of
our species. He is the change America has been trying
desperately and for centuries to hide, ignore, kill. The
change America must have if we are to convince the rest
of the world that we care about people other than our
(white) selves.
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True to my inner Goddess of the
Three Directions however, this does not mean I agree
with everything Obama stands for. We differ on important
points probably because I am older than he is, I am a
woman and person of three colors, (African, Native
American, European), I was born and raised in the
American South, and when I look at the earth's people,
after sixty-four years of life, there is not one person
I wish to see suffer, no matter what they have done to
me or to anyone else; though I understand quite well the
place of suffering, often, in human growth.
I want a grown-up attitude
toward Cuba, for instance, a country and a people I
love; I want an end to the embargo that has harmed my
friends and their children, children who, when I visit
Cuba, trustingly turn their faces up for me to kiss. I
agree with a teacher of mine, Howard Zinn, that war is
as objectionable as cannibalism and slavery; it is
beyond obsolete as a means of improving life.
I want an end to the on-going war immediately and I want
the soldiers to be encouraged to destroy their weapons
and to drive themselves out of Iraq.
I want the Israeli government
to be made accountable for its behavior towards the
Palestinians, and I want the people of the United States
to cease acting like they don't understand what is going
on. All colonization, all occupation, all
repression basically looks the same, whoever is doing
it. Here our heads cannot remain stuck in the
sand; our future depends of our ability to study, to
learn, to understand what is in the records and what is
before our eyes. But most of all I want someone
with the self-confidence to talk to anyone,
"enemy" or "friend," and this
Obama has shown he can do. It is difficult to
understand how one could vote for a person who is afraid
to sit and talk to another human being. When you
vote you are making someone a proxy for yourself; they
are to speak when, and in places, you cannot. But
if they find talking to someone else, who looks just
like them, human, impossible, then what good is your
vote?
It is hard to relate what it
feels like to see Mrs. Clinton (I wish she felt
self-assured enough to use her own name) referred to as
"a woman" while Barack Obama is always
referred to as "a black man." One would
think she is just any woman, colorless, race-less,
past-less, but she is not. She carries all the history
of white womanhood in America in her person; it would be
a miracle if we, and the world, did not react to this
fact. How dishonest it is, to attempt to make her
innocent of her racial inheritance.
I can easily imagine Obama
sitting down and talking, person to person, with any
leader, woman, man, child or common person, in the
world, with no baggage of past servitude or race
supremacy to mar their talks. I cannot see the
same scenario with Mrs. Clinton who would drag into
Twenty-First Century American leadership the same image
of white privilege and distance from the reality of
others' lives that has so marred our country's contacts
with the rest of the world.
And yes, I would adore having a
woman president of the United States. My choice
would be Representative Barbara Lee, who alone voted in
Congress five years ago not to make war on Iraq. That to
me is leadership, morality, and courage; if she had been
white I would have cheered just as hard. But she
is not running for the highest office in the land, Mrs.
Clinton is. And because Mrs. Clinton is a woman and
because she may be very good at what she does, many
people, including some younger women in my own family,
originally favored her over Obama. I understand this,
almost. It is because, in my own nieces' case, there is
little memory, apparently, of the foundational
inequities that still plague people of color and poor
whites in this country. Why, even though our family
has been here longer than most North American families
– and only partly due to the fact that we have Native
American genes – we very recently, in my lifetime,
secured the right to vote, and only after numbers of
people suffered and died for it.
When I offered the word
"Womanism" many years ago, it was to give us a
tool to use, as feminist women of color, in times like
these. These are the moments we can see clearly,
and must honor devotedly, our singular path as women of
color in the United States. We are not white women
and this truth has been ground into us for centuries,
often in brutal ways. But neither are we inclined
to follow a black person, man or woman, unless they
demonstrate considerable courage, intelligence,
compassion and substance. I am delighted that so
many women of color support Barack Obama -and genuinely
proud of the many young and old white women and men who
do.
Imagine, if he wins the
presidency we will have not one but three black women in
the White House; one tall, two somewhat shorter;
none of them carrying the washing in and out of the back
door. The bottom line for most of us is:
With whom do we have a better chance of surviving the
madness and fear we are presently enduring, and with
whom do we wish to set off on a journey of new
possibility? In other words, as the Hopi elders
would say: Who do we want in the boat with us as we head
for the rapids? Who is likely to know how best to
share the meager garden produce and water? We are
advised by the Hopi elders to celebrate this time,
whatever its adversities.
We have come a long way,
Sisters, and we are up to the challenges of our time.
One of which is to build alliances based not on race,
ethnicity, color, nationality, sexual preference or
gender, but on Truth. Celebrate our journey.
Enjoy the miracle we are witnessing. Do not stress
over its outcome. Even if Obama becomes
president, our country is in such ruin it may well be
beyond his power to lead us toward rehabilitation.
If he is elected however, we must, individually and
collectively, as citizens of the planet, insist on
helping him do the best job that can be done; more, we
must insist that he demand this of us. It is a blessing
that our mothers taught us not to fear hard work. Know,
as the Hopi elders declare: The river has its
destination. And remember, as poet June Jordan and
Sweet Honey in the Rock never tired of telling us: We
are the ones we have been waiting for.
Namaste;
And
with all my love,
Alice
Walker
Cazul
Northern California
First
Day of Spring |
Due to Senator Obama’s speech on
“Race” it’s wonderful that many dialogs have opened up about this
issue, and many are now comfortable talking, sharing and coming up with
solutions regarding this issue, which is truly very healthy for America.
On the topic of race, recently one of
our on-line family member shared with us information about an interesting
documentary involving “Race” that will be aired on MSNBC on April 11,
2008. It’s regarding a young 28th year old gentleman
of African-American decent from Newark, New Jersey, who despite his tough
life through poverty, worked very hard and became a journalist in New
York. This young man Mr.
David A. Wilson while looking for answers to reconcile with his
ancestors’ history as slaves, discovers through his journey into his
family’s past another gentleman with his name David Wilson.
This gentleman Mr. Wilson found is a white man from North Carolina,
who is substantially older than himself, and who is the descendant of his
family’s slave master.
This interesting feature length documentary entitled “Meeting David
Wilson” is about the enduring legacy of slavery in today’s young black
society. It will be broadcast
on MSNBC on Friday, April 11, 2008 @ 9:00 pm, and it will be hosted by
“Today” Correspondent Tiki Barber.
Tune in and check it out. To
learn more about this documentary log on to www.meetingdavidwilson.com
and click the picture below to log into MSNBC and view the trailer.
Click
the following link for The You Tube video on this documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTWTn6d-Qeo
and click the following link to see ABC's Charlie Gibson talk about
this fascinating story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB3UJsdnukc
As
I close out for this week please
remember to
judge Senator Obama on his words, his actions and the content of
his character.
Kindly continue standing up and do not
accept the same old tactics, rhetoric
and old politics. I encourage you to continue talking about race and
the hurtful issues you might have experienced throughout
life. Most importantly let's continue building this movement
and voting for Senator Obama. You must know by now that with your support and votes Senator
Obama will continue succeeding. We know he is "the
one"..."the one" who absolutely has the
ability and wisdom to move us forward; "the one"
who has the answers to all of the many issues plaguing America
currently, and we know he is "the one" who can take us
forward towards that change we are seeking in a positive
manner. I hope you are looking forward to
the overall change as I am, so lets continue making history
together!!!!
 We send condolences to the Levert
family on the loss of their beloved Sean who passed away last
weekend. Click
here to view article! My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the
family, friends and fans of Sean Levert because I know it must be devastating
loosing Sean so young and so unexpectedly, especially after loosing his
brother Gerald a little over a year ago! This is much to sad for
anyone to handle! May God give you strength through this difficult
time.
   
To all of you
our on-line family, thanks for reading, sharing your thoughts
and comments with us, and for always supporting
us. As you know without you there would be no us.
So thanks very much for your support and One Love!
For All Events
Go To
Our "Events"
Page
Check out our
"Featured Events" and PSA listed below. Many are taking place
this weekend, so log on to our "Events Page" above to
view all the events, and please go out and Support!
Also, there are
several taking next weekend and beyond, so to view all the Events please log on
to our "Events" Page above!
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Thursday,
April 3rd, 2008
Special
2 hour Documentary on CNN entitled
"Eyewitness To Murder - The
King Assassination"
9:00
pm ET
Click
the below picture to view trailer!
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Memphis,
Tennessee
April
2-4, 2008
ANNUAL
NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK CONVENTION
TO MARK THE 40TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,
Hosted
by: REV.
AL SHARPTON. MLK, III
AND OTHERS WILL JOIN SHARPTON
Appearances
by: Martin Luther King, III,
Myrlie Evers-Williams, Earl
Graves, Sr., Michael Baisden, Tom
Joyner, Sean Hannity, Harry
Belafonte, Marc Morial, comedian
Mo’Nique, and many others to
appear
Details:
Reverend Al Sharpton and the
National Action Network (NAN) will
host its 10th annual convention at
the Peabody Memphis from April 2nd
to April 5th to coincide with the
40th anniversary of the death of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The
historic gathering will be an
impressive who’s who in civil
rights, business, politics, labor,
entertainment and the religious
community and thousands from
across the country will assemble
for the “Recommitment March”
on Friday, April 4th to the
Lorraine Hotel to pause in silence
while remembering Dr. King at the
moment he was shot 40-years-ago.
The
“Recommitment
March” to be led by Rev.
Sharpton and Martin Luther King,
III, will serve as an opportunity
for people to recommit themselves
to fighting for the ideals that
Dr. King envisioned 40-years ago.
The march will show a new
generation led by them that are
prepared to lead the fight for
social justice going forward the
next forty years. According to
Rev. Sharpton: “Just as the
children of Israel wandered in the
wilderness for forty-years after
Moses brought them across the Red
Sea, Dr. King was our Moses, and
forty years later, Martin Luther
King, III, myself, and many others
will commit ourselves to going
forward to make a pledge to better
ourselves and our community. Click
here for highlights and to
register for the convention. |
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Temple
Hills, Maryland
You
Are Cordially Invited to an
International Reunion
with
Gerri
"Ms Peasie" Adams,
as she and many of
her friends Celebrate the Late
Legend Marvin
Gaye, Jr.'s Birthday
Friday,
April 4, 2008
from
9:00 pm - 1:30 am
@
Camp
Springs Elks Lodge 2332
7550
Temple Hills Road, Temple Hills,
Maryland
Donation:
$22.00
Contact
#'s: 301-322-6827 and 202-583-3021
Music
by Bobby's Music Machine
Dress
Attire is "All White Tonight"
- Cash Bar - Buffet
- "Open Mic"
LET'S
HAVE A GOOD TIME...FOR OLD TIME
SAKE!
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PSA
Want
to travel to Jamaica for FREE?
Journey
to Jamaica May 2-9, 2008
to
encourage, inspire and spark children’s
interest in reading!
·
Do
you have a passion for
helping children?
·
Do
you want to help make a
difference in the lives of
children all over the world?
·
Become
a Literacy Ambassador and
participate in various
Education Week events as we
travel throughout the island
to celebrate Read Across
Jamaica Day (May 8).
Thanks
to a CLASS grant from NEA
Student Programs, two lucky
college students will have
their travel expenses
paid to journey to
Jamaica as "Literacy
Ambassadors".
Applications are now being
accepted. Deadline
to apply is April 11, 2007.
For
an application or more
information, visit www.readacrossja.com or
Contact: Ja'nice Wisdom,
Project Coordinator at
301-806-2984.
“Share
a book with a child and you
have given illiteracy a dose
of cure!”
Volunteer
today!
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or Click
Here
