Old School Thoughts

During this episode of Old School Thoughts, Martha and I demonstrated the complexities that go into discussing African American history and how we should approach accountability. No two observers are the same, but there is a need for each member to approach the conditions from different angles. Different angles provide different perspectives. Someone is always in the picture.

How many of you enjoyed the leftovers the morning after Thanksgiving? How many of you grew up eating leftovers? During this episode, Martha and I expanded leftovers to represent all areas of our lives, culture, race, family, and other factors as we transform as individuals. What are your thoughts?

Happy Thanksgiving!! This conversation, with Fred Harmon, has been a long time coming, but today we are here. While visiting Fred for Thanksgiving dinner, he finally granted me this valuable opportunity to record part of his legacy. I enjoyed the conversation.

With all of the negative things surrounding us, Martha and I felt strongly about discussing the nostalgia of celebrating Thanksgiving. We wanted to ignite a public discussion about celebrating family, unity, and Thanksgiving. My prayers go out to the young generation because they are dying too soon by gun violence and other destructive actions. My prayers go out to the lonely residents in convales...

Martha and I used our “25 minutes of anger” to discuss our disappointment about how people, family, and friends voted or not voted. There is so much to assess. Your thoughts are welcome for additional episodes. What are your thoughts?

What will it take for Africans in America and throughout the Diaspora to pay attention to patterns and assess what our ancestors were able to achieve that we seem to have a hard time maintaining? The history is too serious to ignore.

Martha and I returned to summarize what we have learned through this series of discussions about the Diaspora. We want to thank all of our listeners for the support and comments.

Martha and I are truly on a journey together. Without any rehearsals, we come together with a ridiculous level of like-mindedness. In this series, about the Diaspora, we are challenging our listeners to just consider what we are presenting. For one to speak with the acknowledgment/understanding of the Diaspora requires a willingness to scrape the barrel of what we have been misled to learn. I hope...

We have reached our fourth season!! During this episode, Martha and I continue to talk about the significance of referring to the Diaspora when addressing the slave trade. Too often the subject is discussed as a separate event based on geography instead of one event that affected the lives of millions through captivity and dispersion. What are your thoughts?

Martha and I are in agreement that descendants of Black Africa should consider the Diaspora when discussing the African Slave Trade. Are we missing the significance of the atrocity? Correction: Change “Priest” to “Pope” reference 1441 gift of Africans.

Martha shares history about her great-grandmother Patsy - who lived to be 108 years old. This episode is intended to give recognition to the impact Roots (the movie) had on many of us to research our lineage. This is a remarkable story about endurance and legacy.

Today, 9 September 2022, Martha and I were blessed to have Dewayne and LaShon as our guests to talk about an incredible fitness program that is taking place at Lakebottom Park in Columbus, Georgia. It goes beyond physical fitness. They are truly building a village that encompasses children to adults.

Martha and I entered this conversation, like always, making an assessment about our thoughts and what events shaped our weekly world. During the conversation, we began to talk about how lives are impacted by being seen Black, invisible, too modest, and sometimes alone in a struggle. The conversation led me to share my own experience in Columbus, Georgia (Not Ohio). What are your thoughts?

In this episode, Martha and I went back down memory lane to further assess generational movements. We also touched on the abandonment of parents by the children they raised. Do you know Claudette Colvin? If you don’t, search for her story and interview to learn about an amazingly brave young girl that survived a movement to become an amazingly brave woman. Martha and I hope you enjoy this episode...

In this episode, Martha and I challenged each other to recall old school activities and events that we have lost and are never getting back from those that we have lost or on the brink of losing that we need to restore and or keep because they are relevant? We are asking each listener to do the same. If you would like to join us on an episode - just say the word. Thank you for your support.

When I lived in South Korea, I got the opportunity to tour several Cultural Historical sites and witnessed villagers passing on the traditions and cultures of South Korea to future generations. I chose the title (Too Damaged?) following the recording of this episode with Martha because I was left or challenged to accept something that I had never considered: Are we too damaged as a family, village...

In this episode, Martha and I continued to explore the magnificence of Black/African American women through their power to manage and make changes. Black Women have led us in so many ways: domestically, academically, and politically. How would you describe the unspoken power of Black/African American women and how they displayed that power?

This is the second episode that Martha and I have recorded to pay honor to the sacrifices, leadership, tenacity, and endurance of Black/African American women. This is a serious topic for us and we doing our best convey our appreciation clearly. Though women are represented in several ways, there has always been similarities based on personal and ancestral ties. I hope we are presenting this serie...

This episode is basically an introduction to paying honor to the history of Black/African American women throughout the diaspora. Black women have truly “held it down” to endure hardships beyond their control to political leadership. Martha and I want listeners to think about the sacrifices, movements, love, and more that we seem to overlook. Thank you for your support We will follow-up with more.

I am really enjoying this journey with Martha, as our co-host, and with you (our listeners). Regardless of what we do in life, we want to become better at it. This is true for Martha and me when it comes to our mission (Missionary - definition #3) to pay attention and remember the history that got us where we are as a people and nation. Pay Attention and Remember.

During this episode, Martha and I wanted to open a discussion about a documentary, we both watched, titled Who We Are by Jeffery Robinson. We are attempting to ascertain who we are as people, as a village, and as a country. Our conversations are led by, what we believe to be, God’s intervention because we start with our own intentions, but we are led to include other thoughts. We are serious about...

There are so many things happening in our orbit: Good and Bad. As Martha and I continue to grow together, we are challenged by day-to-day events that impact all of our lives in some way. The word ‘mining’ was used intentionally because we are digging as deep as possible to assess what affects us and or the village. Let us know what your thoughts are.

We often hear people reciting “It takes a village to raise a child” and I saw that demonstrated, as a child, when my mother and other mothers had the permission to challenge bad behaviors for the sake of the child’s safety and future. It worked for me and many others. Martha and I are examining the effectiveness of the village as it pertained to the horrific case of Shaye Moss, Lady Ruby, and thei...

This episode picks up where Martha and I left off during the alarm interruption that closed out episode 48. Martha starts this episode by analyzing our legal system as a two-tier operation that systematically targets people of color differently than those who are not. We did agree that this conversation is necessary and that it should continue.

On the morning of 18 June 2022, I called Martha and asked her to join me in discussing the importance of knowing about Juneteenth and being cognizant of what we never forget as we grow accustomed to it becoming a federal holiday. This is a two part discussion due to an unexpected alarm. We picked up the conversation during Part 2.