"BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS...BLACK LIBERATION HISTORY MONTH"

Central to American and World History is the struggle for "LIBERATION and HUMAN RIGHTS of Black/African and people of color" against white supremacy, colonial, neo-colonial, and capitalist imperialism. This continued deeply rooted systematic racist and class oppression and exploitation of Blacks, workers, and the poor at home in the U.S. and abroad is the core contradiction at the center of BLACK HISTORY! Our peoples' history is about our struggle for human rights and liberation! It's about our people's tragedies and victories...as well as the history WE MUST ALL MAKE FOR THE FUTURE! 

Too often, many so-called political leaders, misguiding history writers/cultural artists and especially corporate media (Black and White) bring their own capitalist serving the interest and petite bourgeois class perspective to our celebration and exploration of Black history. They steer our people into a misunderstanding of our true objective history and its context. Many intentionally want to confuse us, so we don't grasp analysis and understanding as to who is our peoples' allies and who are our enemies. They bury or steer us away from valuable historic lessons and the road to true liberation.

They want us to see our Black/African history solely through the lens of just individuals' achievements and accomplishments (first Astronaut or this or that...) and not how the everyday masses of our people have collectively united to create "social justice and self- de terminating" organizations, "liberating and empowering" movements that won us collective "peoples power" as well as deliver us from oppression! Our history that shared how we built institutions that serve our peoples human. cultural, artistic needs and resisted or overthrew systematic exploitation and oppression of capitalism and imperialism. The history of how the U.S. system at home and abroad uses the U.S. Intelligence agencies like the FBI (Counter Intelligence Program/CO INTEL PRO, CIA, etc to destroy social justice/liberation movements and politically harass, assassinate and/or imprison its leaders (ie. Ella Baker, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Dr. ML King, Nelson Mandela, Mumia, Patrice Lumumba, etc.)
 
Please find time this month to PICK UP A BOOK (...and not just google) for yourself, encourage your children, family, friends, co-workers, and others to read the actual words of wisdom of our leaders in "Malcolm X Speaks", " Ella Baker", "Trumpets of Conscious"(ML King's final testament speeches) and others...

LET'S LEARN THESE VALUABLE LESSONS! 
WE ARE THE FUTURE MAKERS OF OUR OWN HISTORY!

Email us at fruitoflaborwcc@netscape.com or call and leave your phone number We have books for you to read and celebrate with during this Black Liberation Month!
Save the Dates!
February 6 & 13, 2021
Historic Thousands on Jones St. / HKonJ is coming soon!
Not that we’ll miss it, but 2020 is now behind us and HKonJ is just weeks away (Saturday, Feb. 13). We’re deep into supporting your engagement for this year’s event.
 
Of necessity, HKonJ will be digital this year, but that doesn’t mean that HKonJ’s supporters can’t make a stronger-than-ever showing of our resolve to put an end to war and militarism and to re-direct Pentagon spending to human needs here at home. This year’s themes will be “Hope in Action” and “We’re Done Dying.”
 
Instead of walking the usual route from Shaw University to the State Capitol, we’ve secured the necessary permits to hold a huge motorcade that will trace that route. The caravan will take the form of a funeral cortege, mourning the unnecessary deaths of so many through government neglect and mismanagement, unchecked climate catastrophe, police killings, war, and other forms of violence.

In order to have video footage ready for the HKonJ digital event on the 13th, the motorcade will be staged the week before. On Saturday morning, Feb. 6, vehicles will assemble at 7 a.m. at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (2 East South Street, Raleigh) and must be pre-registered. Details for registration can be found at https://naacpnc.org/hkonj-motorcade/ 
 
Here’s what you can do now:
~ Encourage everyone to register NOW to participate in the motorcade on the 6th. At the registration link above, you’ll also find placards that can be downloaded, printed, and attached to your cars.
 
~ Encourage all of your family, co-workers, neighbors, and members to mark their calendars and be present for the digital event on the 13th, where they can view the motorcade video, and hear speakers, performing artists, and much more.
 
~ Contribute to the cost of this bold undertaking, (more if you can and less if you must) to enable us to continue the historic tradition of HKonJ as a true People’s Assembly. Contributions can be made online HERE or sent to NAACP-NC. P.O. Box 7186, Greensboro, NC 27417. Please indicate that your contribution is for HKonJ. 

As always, we’ll look forward to “seeing you in the streets” on the 6th and/or being part of the action on the 13th when, once again, we demonstrate that Hope in Action means people united in action. Be there!
 
Forward together! Not one step back!
Vicki Ryder
Coordinator, HKonJ 
Ashish Ghadiali /The Guardian

A new book invites us to revisit the world and ideas of one of our great writers, who also served, during the 20th Century, as one of our society's outstanding voices of conscience and tribunes for justice.
Black Art Matters
 
At the NYC Whitney Museum, the enduring legacy of the Kamoinge photography collective — 14 distinctive talents finally in the spotlight.
 
By Holland Cotter
Time to topple Maryland's musical monument to the Confederacy?

Calling it “racist,” “dreadful” and “disgraceful,” Marylanders are calling on the state’s General Assembly to repeal the official state song -- written by a pro-Confederate propagandist – and replace it with one co-written by a labor musician. “For more than 80 years, our beloved Maryland has had a dreadful state song written by a pro-Confederate propagandist,” says a petition started by Labor Heritage Foundation Executive Director Elise Bryant. “It refers to Abraham Lincoln as a ‘Tyrant’ and ‘Despot’ and denounces the Union forces—which included thousands of loyal patriotic Marylanders—as ‘Northern Scum.’” Musician Steve Jones – who’s written the music for two labor jazz operas -- and Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin have collaborated to re-write the song, re-titled as “Maryland My Maryland: The Free State Song,” to “celebrate its natural history, its beauty, its geographic and cultural diversity, and its commitment to the struggle for freedom and justice for all, not secession and violence.” The Maryland General Assembly has refused for decades to repeal the song’s official designation, claiming they have nothing to replace it with. “Now we do,” says the petition.