Planting Hope

A Man Named Pearl found his muse by reuse of refuse:

Wintley Phipps on Amazing Grace

CAUTION: This testimony is a powerful fusion of the spiritual and the factual; watch at the risk of being moved and informed!

"There is a universal fear, that of a lack of confidence in yourself."

Could YOU touch the sky without hands? Really? This Outlier and Flier did just that!

Mission Statement

I am a serial optimist waging an incessant march against negativity.

Powering the World Without Pollution?

From THINK.

Inventor Lonnie Johnson graduated from Mobile's Williamson High School and Tuskegee Institute. His Super Soaker brought summer fun to a whole new level. Now's he's figuring out how to power the world without polluting it!

A Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

What would you do if you knew the end was near? Pray? Shout? Cry? Mourn? Well, Professor Randy Pausch continued to get the most from life via a trademark display of courage, aplomb and humor. His Last Lecture is a TALL act to follow.

Love's Echo

As a very content Business Systems Analyst pursuing loftier career goals turned Personal Caregiver by tragedy turned Independent Contractor by necessity, I really felt Lillie Love's (RIP) testimony regarding management of the vicissitudes of life:

I have learned to just let the universe give me what it is I need.

Ms. Love's tour of duty on the physical plane ended recently at 53 years but she's already greatly contributed to NPR's StoryCorps oral history project, a most valuable body of work. She was very persistent in pursuing the opportunity to listen to the stories of our American lives and found whilst in pursuit of her passion that love itself was her greatest reward:

...Love really is all there is-as trite as that sounds. All the other stuff does not matter in the end. When you take your last breath, you remember the people you love, how much love you inspired and how much love you gave.

Ms. Lillie, I never met you but your posthumous words matter greatly to me since I'd become greatly discouraged over the last few years watching the validation I'd worked so hard for in all spheres crumble into the vapor trail of my mother's final transition. Your words now reside on my insides and in the minds of others smothered by the griping of the calloused and the wining of the bored.

May we be so blessed as to count our wealth by those we loved... at the gateway to eternity.

A thought from Martin

We stand in life at midnight, we are always on the threshold of a new dawn. - MLK

Frederick Douglas: Will It Pay?

Frederick Douglass once lamented that in America the great question always seems to be "will it pay?" Quoting from Revelation 14:6, Douglass admonishes:

"…if such a people as ours had heard the beloved disciple of the Lord, exclaiming in the rapture of the apocalyptic vision, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people;" they, instead of answering, Amen Glory to God in the Highest, would have responded,--but brother John, will it pay? Can money be made out of it? Will it make the rich richer, and the strong stronger? How will it effect property? In the eyes of such people, there is no God but wealth; no right and wrong but profit and loss….[Our] national morality and religion have reached a depth of baseness than which there is no lower deep."

Mr. Douglass, the same greed roams today exponentially magnified by technology that spans the globe at the speed of thought. We've got work to do...

Reflection from Job...

God knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. - Job 23:10 (NIV)

The Power of Going Green

Arthur George Gaston: I initially found it hard to grasp that this colored man from Demopolis, Alabama born in a one-room cabin during the Jim Crow era became a multi-millionaire by application of Green Power but this fan of Booker T. Washington did just that and left behind 10 Rules for Success in the process:

1. Save a part of all you earn. Pay yourself first. Take it off the top and bank it. You'll be surprised how fast the money builds up. If you have two or three thousand dollars in the bank, sooner or later somebody will come along and show you how to double it. Money doesn't spoil, it keeps.

2. Establish a reputation at a bank or savings and loan association. Save at an established institution and borrow there. Stay away from loan sharks.

3. Take no chances with your money. Play the safe number, the good one. A man who can't afford to lose has no business gambling.

4. Never borrow anything that, if forced to it, you can't pay back.

5. Don't get bigheaded with the little fellows. That's where the money is. If you stick with the little fellows, give them your devotion, they'll make you big.

6. Don't have so much pride. Wear the same suit for a year or two. It doesn't make any difference what kind of suit the pocket is in if there is money in the pocket.

7. Find a need and fill it. Successful businesses are founded on the needs of the people. Once in business, keep good books. Also, hire the best people you can find.

8. Stay in your own class. Never run around with people you can't compete with.

9. Once you get money or a reputation for having money, people will give you money.

10. Once you reach a certain bracket, it is very difficult not to make more money.

Sources -

• Gaston, A. G. (1968) Green Power: The Successful Way of A. G. Gaston. Birmingham: Southern University Press
• Carol, Jenkins; Elizabeth Gardner Hines (December 2003). Black Titan, A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire. New York: One World/Ballantine. ISBN 0345453476.

A Serial Optimist or Mystic Bluesman?

An associate reviewed this site and said, "You call yourself a serial optimist? There's no optimism here, only pain!" Do you think I've chosen to merge the 2 words lightly? Pain is not only an indicator that we're alive, it's also a bellweather of progress.

The struggling blues artist would exchange his guitar at the crossroads for one not made by hand according to folklore. In original interpretations, the seeker of powerful talent may also receive something totally unexpected.

Slaying static mindsets repeatedly (aka serial) with optimism first requires establishment of historical context. Next, we must uncloak the inspiration source of a seemingly option-less people. Then, we can apply their priceless lessons to all aspects of our lives.

Tricks R 4 kids, Silly Rabbit. Stay tuned only if you're rooted in sincerity. Meanwhile, stop singing the blues and just be satisfied with the journey.

Echoes at the Crossroads

Their muted voices are again heard.

We dwell upon their discourse for meditation and reflection.

We appreciate them for their survival against titanic odds and for their inestimable suffering inter-latticed with faith and hope in a better tomorrow.

They accompany a pantheon of souls worthy of reverence and rest in the bosom of the Creator. - Amen.

Echoes: Fountain Hughes

Fountain Hughes (1848 - 1952) understood the perilous institution of slavery because he'd survived it. It can safely be interviewed from his interview that he was averse to accepting debt service in the form of "buying on time" because this scheme was rooted in the doctrine of unequal exchange, a vivid reminder of his chattel slavery past.

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. - Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)

Mr. Hughes was a man determined to live freely in every sense of the word and to help future generations also know how to live. Although living before the credit card era, he knew what we're never officially taught but too often discover firsthand:

Debt = Slavery.

Many of us would rather forget the sorrowful details of the interview above but just as the novice fitness seeker knows that muscle pain only disappears through a continued exercise regimen, we may only exorcise the horrid past like Mr. Fountain did, by letting it flow like healing streams of water into the parched mental and spiritual gardens of posterity. We share his compelling testimony according to the oral tradition of our ancestors.

Fountain Hughes: Once is Enough

Fountain Hughes survived involuntary servitude and his heartfelt advice was recorded for our benefit in this 1949 interview.

Those things, are for people with big offices - educated people. I'm not educated so I never worry about those things. Anything you don't bother about, you don't need. All these people bothering about automobiles and television - and others bothering about getting paid for them. Now I don't bother about anything - so I'm 104 years old.

- Fountain Hughes

Mr. Hughes' testimony should make anyone today think twice before volunteering to pay exponentially for material possessions that in fact, may be possessing us.

19th & 20th Century Neo-Slavery

While scanning African-American folk songs on YouTube, I encountered Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black People From the Civil War to World War II by Douglas Blackmon. This 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning book revealed so much about the wealth sources of many modern banks and corporations that it caused me to shudder but the facts contained therein are not surprising considering that America's exponential growth into a world power is directly attributable to human cargo converted into chattel.

Slavery by another name is slavery just the same. - Bettis

Blackmon's work is painstakingly detailed and he identifies the complicity of some well-known institutions in this travesty of justice which flourished until the advent of World War II. It's maddening to review this painful chapter of history but shouldn't we illuminate our dark closets so that our children won't stumble into similar crevices?

The Piney Woods School: 100 Years & Running!

People of color have traversed a very unique path out of necessity and often had to grasp education by the limited means at their disposal. In Brewton, Alabama, James Dooley founded the Southern Normal School (aka SNS, now inactive) for this purpose in 1911. While many alumni have debated the forces driving her closure, it's always better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Fortunately, one flagship of preparatory distinction remains in Mississippi, the noteworthy Piney Woods Country Life School.

The Piney Woods School didn't submit to the standard plagues that beset her peers. Instead, Dr. Laurence Jones (Founder) wisely told her story on the "This Is Your Life Program" and established a 700K endowment that had grown to approximately 7M when he passed away!

Their Facebook fan page proudly states a sovereign mission:

The Piney Woods School recognizes that throughout the United States there are students, especially African-American students, who have the capability to make their lives extraordinary through excellence in education and development of moral and ethical attitudes, but do not have the opportunity to do so for financial or other reasons.

Piney Woods mission is to provide that excellence in education within a Christian community through creation of an exceptional academic model which supports the tenet that all students can learn, develop a strong work ethic, and lead extraordinary lives through academic achievement and responsible citizenship.

At The Piney Woods School we are changing the world, one student at a time. We are preparing tomorrow's leaders who are:

Educationally Astute
Morally Responsible
Civically Equipped
Technologically Proficient
Globally Perceptive
...and Full of Faith and Compassion

Long live this valiant educational endeavor and her champions.

Black Male Extinction: Coming 2A City Near U

Drugs + Guns + Heat + Hopelessness + Joblessness + No Outlets + Self-Hatred + Urban Containment = Laboratory of Black Male Extinction

WARNING: Altering this volatile formula may produce similar but unpredictable results. Evil intentions may backfire on social architects and their offspring. Please exercise great caution while removing safety apparatuses (Education, Hope and Opportunity) in metropolitan areas.

Humor: You Got The Hookup?

A Unique Plight

One of the rights of passage that blacks in small business must endure is the freebie expected by associates. Why do family and friends believe they're entitled to your services 24-7 when they've never lifted a reciprocal finger on your behalf?

A doctor receives an urgent call from relatives that Cousin Louella needs the cure for lung cancer now but will be held liable when she smoked cigarettes like a chimney for 40 years. The lawyer is admonished that June Bug must be free today although he clearly doesn't have an alibi, smells like a "pound of sess" and where'd he get that new 50-inch plasma from without working Mookie really needs a free haircut from his local barber and can pay ASAP after La Amistad returns from Freetown. Indeed, I fondly recall from my real estate days those pals who passed on home acquisition by traveling the straight and narrow path:

1. Get PRE-APPROVED
2. FIND a House
3. COMPLETE Paperwork
4. CLOSE!

Who knows? Perhaps they beat me like a piñata for market analyses and rode my tires bald because they liked seeing their favorite agent starve. Perhaps they really believed that the shady mortgage broker really could get them a 100% loan with poor credit. Wunderbar!

Personal Accountability is one of the best things left in the United States of America. For instance, you can still undertake purchasing a home or defending yourself in court if you understand the pros and cons. Save some money. Why not, right? Realizing I needed dental work and in stark contrast to the something-for-nothing scenarios described above, I approached a dental professional who's done excellent work for 25-30 years. For the clueless, here's how I got the help I needed:

1. I went to his office.
2. I inquired about the costs of the required procedures.
3. I arrived at my appointment on time.
4. I paid him for the procedure (and yes, my grill is tight).

Notably, I didn't insult him with the following stereotypical scenarios:

1. "You got the hook-up, holler if you hear me!"
2. Ask for free dental work since I had no insurance.
3. Ask for extended time to pay my bill.
4. "Poor mouth" him just because... you know how we can be with each other.

If you're LF3 (Leaning on Family and Friends for Freebies), wake up and smell the coffee, please! Otherwise, here's some snappy comebacks for your favorite small business parasite:

Come over and fix your computer after your Geek Squad visit failed? Dude, you should've bought a Dell.

You want to see some houses but aren't pre-approved? Here's a phone book for contacting lenders and real estate companies.

You need yet another emergency loan and promise to pay it back this time? What about all those other unpaid loans? Where's my money and where's my mama's money?

Somebody out there feels me and knows "the touch" all too well. Sing the blues freely but don't you dare ignore those pseudo-911 calls from Mookie because he'll tell Big Mama and you know she doesn't need to be agitated with her high blood pressure and all... Wait a minute, is that Jerome on TV? Can he get tickets to the big game? Word? Holler atcha' boy for me, then!

The Pantheon of the Option-less

As yet, the Negroes themselves do not fully appreciate these old slave songs.

- James Weldon Johnson

Through a stroke of good fortune, I once met the late, great playwright August Wilson years ago in Minnesota while volunteering as an usher in exchange for free tickets to a fund-raising event. Wilson's magic first entered my life via the 1995 screen adaption of The Piano Lesson and later by virtue of the Penumbra Theatre Company in Saint Paul. The scene residually active in my imagination is when Charles Dutton, Carl Gordon, Lou Myers and Courtney B. Vance delivered Berta Berta.

Mesmerized, I sought out this Parchman Farm so brilliantly and tragi-comically lamented by Wilson's characters. Results quickly yielded that Brandford Marsalis had also paid stunning tribute to this forgotten culture in 1992, several years prior to the film.

Everyone should view the aforementioned links to grasp these chains forged for convict-lease victims so long ago but which now shackle all Americans psychologically via the proliferated sociopathy of the race construct.

Meanwhile, the Idiot Box (TV) programs into our skulls more pressing concerns such as Oil Spill 2010 but don't chickens come home to roost in the strangest of ways? Is Black Gold still Texas Tea or just a Spoiled Sea? Aren't we all now cooped in the same holding pen, ever slaving for less while cravenly hoping for more?

The slave had many means of resisting the dehumanizing effects of slavery. Religion became one of them. And through religious songs they made up from Biblical stories, they expressed their real feelings.

- Julius Lester

Singing was liquefied religion. We sang because it temporarily freed our spirits from torturous states of involuntary servitude while synchronizing our bodies with the exercise of brutal labor mandated by the framers of this society. We sang to maintain our humanity. We sang to resist. Most importantly, we sang to keep it real and steel our psyches for hell on the horizon.

Don't forget to remember those who were railroaded into building the infrastructure of this nation. From Birmingham, I share a final video in tribute to these forgotten people, our Pantheon of the Option-less.