Old School Thoughts

This episode reexamines the history of family reunions. Everybody was invited to participate and enjoy. Traditions were handed down. Nicknames were aligned with actual names/people. We had the best characters represented from the matriarch to the championship liar. They were all there. As each generation passes - so goes your history.

This is a tribute to Cousin Dorothy Davis-Titus and all the incredible Mamas that sacrificed their lives for our benefit. I hope you see your mama in this episode.

When unknown relatives contact you, are you willing to listen, share, and include? Do you leave the person with the feeling that he or she is not good enough? This episode explores families leaving home to pursue a better way of life and how that distance would eventually erode family relationships as elders begin to die along with those connections.

This episode is a call for action. Actions to get serious about the upcoming election to remove hatred from the Oval Office. Old School can’t always be funny. We have to get serious from time-to-time for change. Well, this is our time to fight for change. Let our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren find our names on the right side of history.

Today, we celebrate the life of U.S. Congressman John Lewis. He was a good and faithful servant who fought a good fight for change. He endured a fractured skull on ‘Bloody Sunday’ for the Civil Liberties we enjoy as a nation of American citizens. Well done our good and faithful servant.

This episode is dedicated to the wisdom and leadership of mothers. My mother spoke in parables everyday. She had parables for whipping your behind and parables for showing love. What do you recall?

What superstitions do you recall and still practice today?

At a time when we are accessing history and moving forward to change the past sins of America, are we overlooking the negative impact of how we celebrate the 4th of July? Read Frederick Douglass’ speech that was presented on 5 July 1852.

After adding a new branch to my family tree, I realized how damaging it has been to recover from the effects of colonialism and the slave trade. African American families are still separated by names.

Please be patient enough to listen to this episode because it addresses the history of Sarah Collins, the lone survival who was with the four little girls bombed/murdered in the basement of the 16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

We are celebrating the first National Observance of Juneteenth in the United States of America.

This episode analyzes freedom and equal justice. If you don’t have an interest in your history, then you are bound to repeat it

This episode reflects my personal reaction to the death of George Floyd, centuries of brutal treatment of Africans-in-America, the future of my children and granddaughter, and all others. I am tired and it’s time to be angry.

I decided to examine the impact of nicknames on people at the receiving end of those names. Were they positive or negative? How did you use nicknames? What nicknames were given to you? What was the impact?

Has God befriended me? That is my question as I analyze the evolution of Old School Thoughts and how ‘Old School’ history could be a testament for us to study. I hope to hear from you.

Talking about how assimilation and acculturation changed the lives of the Nation of Atomic Dogs.

Assessing the impact of family separation. It takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes the child needs to know who is in the village.

This episode talks about rallying for support during the Coronavirus pandemic.

This episode gives a shout-out to all the father and mother figures who stepped-up to provide mentoring as an extension to what you received from your parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents.

This recording was prompted by a conversation I had with a 30-year-old young man about two strangers meeting for the first time.

This episode covers a variety of events that lead to Old School being assessed by class and status. Did we play with the same toys? Did we eat the same foods? Did we all have to make do with what we had? What are your thoughts?

I wanted to leave the listeners with a thought of how we kept our teeth during the time that we were exposed to so much sugar from sugar canes and candy. I drifted into making due with what we had - as well.

This episode is a personal analysis of the evolution of maturity and understanding I have received from listening to the episodes and placing those events into timelines of American history.

In this episode, I decided to take the messages that were shared with me and present them as vicarious conversations and visits. I have enjoyed all conversations.

For years, I have watched African American families throw away history by trashing ancestral furniture, pictures, paintings and other items of value. This episode analyzes the value of the “Old School House” and the timelines of history the pictures, photo albums, stereos, clothes and furnishings brought to the family and neighborhood. The “Old School Houses” preceded the museums and other institu...