Cultural Identity Project Pt.2 by SEAN VEZELE https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv 5 events that reflect my West African/ African American background. en-us 2022-05-05 12:26:17 UTC 2022-05-18 16:50:00 UTC hello@padlet.com Wallace Fard Muhammad (1877-1934) s8328244 https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175141820 One of the primary founders of the nation of islam in the 1930s who helped build the organization in Detroit by visiting different people around neighborhoods (focusing on the many newcomers migrating from the south) and educating them about teachings of the Quran aided by rhetoric of uplifting black voices that lead the organization to growing roughly 9000 members during his 4 years of service from 1930-1934, laying the groundwork for people like Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad (his successor) and Louis Farrakhan

"For the most part, our source on Master Fard Muhammad is his student, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, for whom Fard was literally, physically God—not a “manifestation” or “incarnation” of God, but God."

"or Louis Farrakhan, Fard was God himself, who loved his people so much that he chose to walk among them, even in the most miserable conditions of post–Depression Detroit ghettos. Minister Farrakhan has interpreted Fard’s work as that of God's described in the Qur’an. In the Qur’an’s account"

]]> 2022-05-09 06:06:45 UTC https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175141820 Aarron Mcgruder (1974 - ) s8328244 https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175155902
Self proclaimed politician and rightful activist that created the Boondocks comic strip and cartoon. Both serve as satirical commentary on local black issues and phenomenon, pointing out hypocrisy in not only the blacm community, but also the world toward the black community. Though the Boondocks TV show has evolved into its own cultural phenomenon, lets not forget the heavily political messaging of the show that still works while upholding messages that anyone can understand from their core values. There are episodes like “The Trial of R Kelly” that make a joke out of current (at the time) celebrities and phenomena around them for comedic purposes, however while doing this the episode also tells the truth about the situation and points out not only its absurdity but also the absurdity of his defenders. The episode would ultimately become ironic because though even a cartoon would warn us about something that was literally in our faces, it would take another decade for R Kelly to adhere to his MANY crimes.

"Though the many contradictory opinions of the show’s characters were constantly butting heads on different issues, no viewpoint was necessarily presented as being “correct.” Instead, McGruder allowed the audience to come to their own conclusions, regardless of their race or political persuasion."

"And while the show didn’t offer an instantaneous response in the way that #BlackTwitter is now capable of producing, the cultural approach of its fictionalized universe is still as relevant and real as ever, even in an altered comedy landscape. "

"McGruder commented on black culture from a critical black perspective that pinpointed the complexity of the black experience. "]]> 2022-05-09 06:19:07 UTC https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175155902 John Africa (1931-1985) s8328244 https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175156481 Founder of an organization called Christian Movement for Life, which later became known as MOVE in Philadelphia PA. John Africa born Vincent Leaphart was a Philly born Krean war veteran and activist who not only built a room for activism in his neighborhood in west philly after coming home from the war, but also worked with professionals like Donald Glassey from UPenn to form a list of guidelines that would serve as the fundamental beliefs of MOVE. These guidelines focused on acceptance of many different backgrounds, animal activism, going against police brutality, and education reform. He started move in 1972 and would gain traction in the pearl st area of west philly, but the organization would meet immediate problems as they became a target for the police which led to the infamous MOVE bombing of 1985 and many arrests of MOVE members. The aforementioned bombing would end up killing Africa.

"Testing with an IQ of 79, he didn’t show much promise in school and was functionally illiterate. At age nine, he transferred to a school that taught simple trades to children who were determined to be “slow learners.”"

“A year later, John Africa expounded on his vision and co-founded MOVE with University of Pennsylvania graduate Donald Glassey. At just 24-years-old, Glassey thought he had struck gold for his thesis, which focused on the participation of poor people in the decision-making process of public housing policy.
At first, Glassey had very fond memories of MOVE’s co-founder. 
“He was very gentle and seemed to be a warm, loving-type person,” recalled Glassey. “I said, ‘You have some fascinating ideas here, you should write them down.’ And he said, ‘That’s a great idea, but I can’t write very well.’ I said, ‘I can take care of that for you.’ And we started.””





]]> 2022-05-09 06:19:39 UTC https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175156481 Abdulrazak Gurnah Wins Nobel Prize (2021) s8328244 https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175156636 Abdulrazak Gurnah is an East African novelist from Zanzibar that fled to England in the 1960s where he faced a great amount of discrimination and faced the effects of colonialism head on while in that new environment. Gurnah would not let his environment discourage him as he would analyze his surroundings and put it into his writing, building his craft as he would use writing give himself the voice he lacked in his own environment. This very writing would lead him to winning a Nobel peace prize for literature in the year 2021.

"“uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”"

"he arrived in England, following a “prolonged period of poverty and alienation”, that “it became clearer to me that there was something I needed to say”."

"so a desire grew to write in refusal of the self-assured summaries of people who despised and belittled us,” said Gurnah, the first black African to win the prize since Wole Soyinka in 1986."]]> 2022-05-09 06:19:46 UTC https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2175156636 Move Bombing (1985) s8328244 https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2189787267 An event where the Philadelphia Police Department bombed a block in West Philly (Pearl St) that was home to an activist group known as MOVE that fought against police brutality and for animal rights. This bombing would kill 11 people including 5 children, and left 250 people homeless while destroying 50+ homes. This conflict can be traced back to MOVE having problems with mayor Frank Rizzo who ordered the group to be moved out of the homes. This put them in the direct lines of attack for the police. Rizzo was know for having a bad relationship with activist groups in Philly and activist groups in general. MOVE is still active despite this terrible and overlooked event, though the move members got little compensation they are still fighting and working towards their intended goals and commemorate those who were lost during this trifling event.

"Four years later, MOVE relocated to the quiet, largely middle-class African American residence on Osage Avenue. Their neighbors continually complained to the city about trash around their rowhouse"

"Neighbors returned to shoddy construction in 1986, and by the early 2000s, two-thirds of the neighborhood was bought out by the city. Today, the houses are largely vacant."

"On November 12, 2020, the City Council of Philadelphia passed a resolution apologizing “for the decisions and events preceding and leading to the devastation that occurred on May 13, 1985.”[48] The Council established “an annual day of observation, reflection and recommitment” to remember the MOVE Bombing"]]> 2022-05-18 16:16:00 UTC https://padlet.com/s8328244/wjkr1m9b5vcb7rpv/wish/2189787267