Open Letter written to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia

The Promise land or Liberia was founded in 1822 by American charities to give African Americans a safe haven from the brutal institution of slavery and human degradation.In 1947 the African American people formed a republic.No where in Africa except Ethiopia was a country not under occupation of European powers.The settlers remade Black America on African soil.It became a virtual heaven for African Americans.The problem was most treated the natives badly.The fact that oppressed people oppressed fellow Blacks is almost unforgivable.But the settlers made Liberia into the hope of Africa.Remember it was only the two world wars that weakened the colonial powers into giving their Asian and African colonies independence.If not Liberia would still be the only one of two Black countries free.Liberia owes alot to the African American settlers who gave them 130 years of peace while even the US only lasted 75 until it descended into chaos and civil war.While there was discrimination why are the native Liberia bitter against the Americos?I think it has to do with the elite among the natives who are using the settler history as a scapegoat for their failures and deceit.The following is a open letter written to Madman Sirleaf President of Liberia five years ago.




2005 - Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu open letter to Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Source: The Liberiandialogue


An open letter to Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Thursday, September 15, 2005

By Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu

Dear Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf:

The Rest of Your Apologies

I write this letter to first compliment you for finally mustering the courage to apologize to the Liberian people for the callous and deadly statement you made on the BBC in 1990 while prosecuting the second and Taylor led version of NPFL wars. You said "Level Monrovia, we will rebuild it," and not "Level the Executive Mansion" as contained in your statement of apology. As you said, you regret making what you now term as a "stupid comment." If you truly regret making a statement that resulted in the death of thousands of your fellow countrymen and women, why replace it now with a false one?

I am also writing this letter to refresh your memory about other reckless and deadly statements you made in the past that must be included in your apology if you are honest in seeking forgiveness from the Liberian People whom you are also seeking to rule.

Your Level of Involvement

First, let us clarify the matter of what level of involvement and part you played in the founding of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) and the prosecution of its wars: The Quinwonkpa failed coupe in 1985 and the version led by Charles Taylor which started in December of 1989. As you know, the NPFL organization was the same but operated with different foot soldiers in each version under your stewardship as we will see later on in this letter.

Your position in that organization, especially the Taylor version, was not as petit and as limited as you continue to describe it to have been. "Level Monrovia we will rebuild it" could have only come from the real Head of State and Commander-in-Chief whose Army was the NPFL as you saw yourself. You issued the order, and it was executed. It included the notorious Octopus, which finally wrecked Monrovia. Fifteen years have gone by and Monrovia is still without water and electricity. During the course of this period, you were the second most powerful person in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); but zero came to Liberia by way of your influence. You even undermined the promotion and employment of qualified Liberians in that UN organization during your tenure. For now, I will leave your UN record to speak for itself.

Preparation for Invasion

My first trip to the Ivory Coast to meet with Charles Taylor, Harry Yuan, Moses Duopu and others to assess the level of military plan of action for the purpose of removing Doe was sponsored by you and others in the wake of the failed Quinwonkpa coupe in which you played a major role. At the time, you were personally supporting Harry Yuan in the rapid re-recruitment of his fellow Nimbaians and Clarence Simpson was supporting Moses Duopu, the late Counselor Gbaydiah and others in the Ivory Cost to launch another arm attack on the Doe Regime following the botched Quinwonkpa coupe.

If you can recall, after my visit, to the Ivory Coast, the three men split up in search of a possible training base and support. Duopu went to Nigeria, Harry Nyan went to Senegal and Taylor went to Burkina Faso. It was Taylor who first found the possible avenue to accomplish the mission.

With your knowledge and support I again went to Burkina Faso to ascertain the truth to Taylor's claim that he had found the ultimate opportunity to train men for another attempt to remove the Doe Regime by force of arm. The sponsors, especially Thomas Sankara, wanted to know that there was a political support for an arm rebellion by civilians to remove the Samuel Doe's military junta. With your knowledge and consent, I gave the sponsors the assurance they needed to kick off the process of recruitment and training.

Upon my arrival back in the United States, I went straight to your sister's house on Long Island where you were living. While we were discussing the issue of Taylor leading this round of arm rebellion, Byron Tarr arrived. When you told him what you were putting Taylor up to, he was totally opposed on the ground that Taylor was corrupt. He gave in only when you asked him if he had any other viable alternative, given that you people had tried more than 10 times to get rid of Doe but failed.

The Libyan Connection

You accepted and agreed to create a political alliance to replace the junta. Since you could not go to Tripoli, Libya, during the training of the men and the planning stage, you appointed a Special Envoy, Mr. Harry A. Greaves Jr. For reasons not necessary to be stated here neither you nor Mr. Greaves ever went to Tripoli but you stayed abreast of the progress of the training until it was completed.

Following the training of the men and while they were waiting in the Diaspora you and I met with Taylor in Paris where you promised to arranged for a ship to drop the men in Liberian waters from the Sierra Leone side. There was also talk about you arranging with President Momo of Sierra Leone for the offensive to be launched from Sherbro Island. I believe, relying on that, Taylor went to Sierra Leone to follow up and he wound up in jail. What a way to treat your General.

Major's Involvement

At the beginning of the war, a meeting of all the political stakeholders was held in the home of Mr. Taylor Major, Virginia, USA, in February or March of 1990. We demanded the meeting because we suspected that you were holding back from the other politicians as to the political alliance that was expected to be formed by you as was agreed upon in the beginning. At that meeting, Dr. Sawyer and others were surprised and angry because you had kept them in the dark for more than two year. Dr. Sawyer was particularly angry and vocal. Following a long hectic discourse from the beginning of the meeting, it was grudgingly agreed by the participants that the Alliance would take form and provide the political plan of action to be put in place when the regime was deposed.

But we discovered later on that the political alliance never took form because of your personal ambition to directly assume power when the regime was removed. Following that meeting at the home of Taylor Major in Virginia, USA, you invited me to another meeting with Clarence Simpson and Taylor Major in the home of the late Mr. Chris Maxwell. We spent the whole night with the four of you trying to convince me to agree that we should forget about the alliance idea and let the government be given to the Liberian Action Party because the party won the 1985 elections. I said it was a very bad idea. I maintained that these were the very types of maneuvers that always destroyed all of our efforts in the past.

A Secret Meeting with Charles Taylor, and Jackson F. Doe's Disappearance

A few months after the meeting in Virginia, in my absence, you went to the war front at Gborplay, Nimba County, where the NPFL still had its headquarters and told Charles Taylor and other leaders of the organization that you and I had agreed that the government would be given to Liberian Action Party once the Doe regime was deposed. Upon my arrival at that forest headquarters, I was confronted with a Court Marshall of a life threatening nature for supposedly selling out the revolution in advance while others were still fighting and dying. Only God and my friendship with Taylor saved me. I was able to walk away with my life.

I have always wondered as to what this careless and selfish statement of yours had to do with how Jackson Doe ended up when he crossed over to NPFL land. Did those people see Jackson Doe as the LAP you wanted the government turned over to? How come Jackson Doe's disappearance was never really a big concern of yours until lately? When Jackson Doe crossed over from Fendell to Kakata in mid 1990, I was in Sierra Leone at a peace conference. Taylor told me it was a big day of jubilation in Greater Liberia. To let you know he was well; that he had been given a nice and fitting home in Buchanan. A month or so later, Jackson could not be found. I did not hear of your outrage as you were in the "Level Monrovia, we will rebuild it" mode. Say something to the Jackson F. Doe family.

Your break from the NPFL was not so much on account of what happened to your colleagues as you claim. You know, I know, and some of your people know that it was about your determination to take power directly from the war front. By late 1990, the NPFL controlled 90% of Liberia. At one of the peace talks in Sierra Leone, it was agreed by all the politicians and an agreement was signed that the NPFL should form an Interim Government and call for elections as soon as possible. The only exception was that Taylor should not lead that Interim Government; that he should run for President if he wanted to. Taylor asked me to go to Washington and convince you for us to convene an All Liberian Conference in Greater Liberia to determine the issue of who should head the next government. I spent a week in Washington. You invited several persons to that meeting. They included Dr. Gaywhea Macintosh, Dr. Edward Clinton, and Dr. Byron Tarr who was then working in Lesotho. Doctors Clinton and Macintosh and I made it to the Ivory Coast in anticipation of your arrival for us to proceed to Liberia.

A Double Crossing and Back Scratching

While waiting for your arrival in the Ivory Coast, you called to say that the venue of the meeting had been changed to Banjul, The Gambia. I found out later that after I left, you had another meeting with some people including Randall Cooper who then represented the NPFL in the U.S. at the home of Ethelbert Cooper. At that gathering you masterminded a petition to President Jarwara of The Gambia to host the meeting. Randall, not realizing that this was a double cross, signed the document on behalf of the NPFL.

Dr. Gaywhea, Clinton and I advised that you come with us to meet with Taylor and the men so that we could convince them to move the meeting to Banjul since you said this was what the African Leaders wanted. You refused. In anger, Dr. Gaywhea continued his journey to Greater Liberia and helped to form the National Patriotic Reconstruction Government, and Clinton returned to Ethiopia. You thought that the Banjul meeting would have given the government to you as the sole heir of Liberian Action Party. When it did not appear likely, you decided to skip the meeting.

From a distance in Washington, D.C., you did the next best thing which was to maneuver to give the interim leadership to "Moose," Amos Sawyer. Liberians say, "You scratch my back I will scratch your back." It should not be a surprise that Moose is scratching your back today with his support for your presidency despite your history.

Your Financial Contributions to the War Efforts

Let me refresh your memory on the financial contributions to the Taylor war efforts from you and your sources. Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) was the initial amount by your consortium (Clarence Simpson and Taylor Major), when the war started. I am the founding Chairman of the Association for Constitutional Democracy of Liberia (ACDL).

I do not recall any of the two persons named above being members. I do not also remember any money coming to the NPFL from ACDL. What I recall is that you asked me to let Dr. Sawyer take over ACDL so that he could revive it since he was doing nothing. I did. Yet, you keep saying that you and some ACDL friends made a $10,000.00 contribution to the NPFL. Come to think about it, maybe the $10,000.00 you gave one time came from ACDL. That says even what became the Doctor's Club also supported your NPFL war efforts.

Let me not forget the $50,000.00 contribution that you passed through Mr. Allen Brown Sr. who was then running an insurance business in the Ivory Coast. You had earmarked the money to specifically buy rice for the fighting men and it was done. Another $150.000.00 was contributed by some of your friends and delivered to Dew Mayson, Ethelbert Cooper and Emmanuel Shaw to be forwarded to the NPFL. If you recall, those bad boys ate the money and we were only able to recover $75,000.00 of it six months later. Needless to mention your other undocumented financial and personal contributions made before and during the wars. The trip to Paris by you and me to meet with Charles Taylor must have cost you a pretty penny. Several trips you made to the Liberian boarder to meet with Taylor and the fighting men should add up to a substantial sum.

Monies you gave Taylor in Paris and on each of the trips you made to the frontline should also be far substantial. A conservative estimate of your contribution to the NPFL should be about half of million United States dollars. How you managed to reduced that to $10,000.00 is perhaps one of you "stupid comments," but I hope that this letter clears it up for the public.

Other Overdue Apologies

The account of events above should clarify your involvement and contribution to the two NPFL wars. The following are other events that involved a series of your "callous and stupid comments" and behavior that you must include in your apology to your fellow Liberians if you wish to be taken seriously:

" Between 1983 and 1987, I was President of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA); 1988-1990 I was Chairman of the Board of ULAA. It was I who invited you to Philadelphia to deliver the keynote address during our annual conference in 1984 when you called the President and officials of Government in the Doe regime a bunch of "fools and idiots"; another one of your series of "stupid comments." With a Harvard degree, I am sure you could have said the same thing without using those street words to make the point. Liberians should be able to recall the financial, emotional and human lives it cost to free you from that lion's den. Say sorry.

" In an effort to get you out of the country following the court proceeding against you for the "fools and idiots" comment, friends and supporters of yours arranged your secret exit out of Buchanan. In the process, the immigration officer named Jackson who assisted you to leave through Buchanan killed himself so as to avoid the cruel death that awaited him at the hands of the Doe death squad. Have you ever met to console the family of that poor man who gave his life for you? To this day, more than 20 years later, you have not shown any appreciation for his ultimate sacrifice. Something as simple as looking for his wife and children and consoling them would have gone a long way. Very costly, stupid and inhumane behavior. Say sorry.

" In 1985 or so, the Massachusetts Chapter of ULAA under the leadership of Mr. John Grupee arranged a rally and meeting at Northeastern University. I, along with other officials of ULAA and the Liberian Community around the United States, attended that conference to hear our most famous lady speak. During the question and answer period of the program, a young man made a brief statement and asked a question which went like this: "Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf, no station is permanent in life. I used to be a wheelbarrow boy in Liberia and today, I am graduating from Northeastern University this summer.

"When you were Minister of Finance, we wrote you a letter and you stamped it 'BULLSHIT!' and sent it back to us. When you become President," the fellow continued, "would you tolerate the views of others without calling them bullshit?" The fellow asked. To my and the dismay of the entire audience, your answer was, "Yes, when I was Minister of Finance, I had a stamp which had BULLSHIT on it. During that time, if someone sent me some communication I did not like, I would stamp it 'BULLSHIT' and send it back to them."

In fact, someone told me recently that you also sent such a stamped letter to Baccus Mathews back then. Is there any amount of apology that you can give to your fellow citizens for such an insulting and demoralizing treatment? You need to honestly apologize to the wheelbarrow boys and to all of your fellow citizens whom you insulted with your "BULLSHIT" stamp.

" Immediately following the 1997 elections you declared your intentions not to recognize President Charles Taylor and in a childish-tantrum manner you ran out of the country, in President Taylor words, "like a cut tail dog" leaving the thousands who had risked their lives to campaign and vote for you to fend for their lives. You cut speech from those of your partisans who made it to the National Legislature because they refused to boycott the government to which they were elected by their people in defiance of your childish demand. Apologize to them and your fellow Liberians for such uncivilized behavior. Promise your current supporters that you will not run away again when you lose this election, which is sure.

" Samuel Dokie was one of your ardent supporters during the 1997 elections. In the face of the adversity between him and his former rebel comrade, Charles Taylor, he called you "a God sent leader." Dokie and his entire family didn't make it after you ran and left him holding the bag. A few weeks before Dokie and his family were wiped out, Taylor was making a joke in his innermost circle that you had abandoned Dokie; that you accused Dokie of embezzling your campaign funds in Nimba; that you were complaining about Dokie personally eating the cow that you gave him for your arrival feast in Sanniquelle instead of cooking it for the feast. All of this pointed to Dokie's enemies that they didn't expect any problem from you for whatever they did to him. Sure enough, when Dokie and his entire family were brutally murdered, the silence from you was as expected. It took more than 30 days before your party put out a one-paragraph statement on the Dokie murder. Say sorry to the Dokie family for selling him out with your cow meat talk.

" Do you remember another Nimba man you sent to his untimely death? In 1985 or so, you had been safely evacuated to the United States following your trial for calling General Samuel Doe and his government officials a bunch of "fools and idiots." During one of our many meetings, you mentioned to me that General Quinwonkpa wanted to see and confer with me concerning an up coming mission he was being asked to make. You said that apparently the General needed my blessing. At that time the General lived somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area of the United State after also been rescued from the ravage of the Doe regime. I asked you as to what the mission was about. You said "The boys have been working on a fool-proof program to remove Doe through a 'surgical military operation.' Men have been trained in Sierra Leone and are in waiting." You said further that "The only problem is that the boys do not have a popular figure to lead the incursion for the acceptability of the military guys in Monrovia.

"They have asked me to convince General Quinwonkpa to lead the incursion," you said. I also asked you for the names of some of the players behind the plan. You said 'Moose' (Amos Sawyer) Boima [Fahnbulleh Jr.] and others." For reasons that have no bearing on this letter, my first reaction was that I had nothing to say to the General. I told you that I thought the General should enjoy the hospitality of his host whose kindness landed him in the United States. That was the end of that discussion.

I challenge you therefore, Mrs. Sirleaf, to pick up the Holy Bible and swear that you and I never had the conversation as outlined above. You sent Quinwonkpa anyway. Needless to deal with the reasons while the mission failed because it boils down to the same double crossing syndrome. It suffices to say that 20 years later his wife is looking for answers for what happened to her children's father from the mission on which you sent him. They had made it to the great United States where you got your Harvard degree, but you sent him back in the fire to fetch you power. Don't you think you owe his poor widow and children an apology? I know you do. Say I'm sorry, Mrs. Quinwonkpa!

I truly hope that the factual and historical events I have outlined in this letter will help to jar your memory so that you can do the right thing - tell the truth.

Sincerely,


Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu

August 30, 2005
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Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause
"They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people" - Bernard Gbayee Goah.









If Liberia must move forward ...

"If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2011 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come" -Bernard Gbayee Goah







Liberia's greatest problem!
"While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability" - Bernard Gbayee Goah
What do I think should be done?
"The situation in Liberia cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.

Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption

Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole" - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources

"Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.

Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government.

The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point" - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system

"If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else.

To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law.

To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption " - Bernard Gbayee Goah



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Amazing Grace History/"Amazing Grace" By Wintley Phipps
George W. Bush, the No nonsense Man!
If George W. Bush was president of the United States of America during World War 11, six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany would not have happened in the first place. - Bernard Gbayee Goah

The Black Wall Street massacre.

I have often wrote 'if you want real answers you have to ask real questions'.Now while I watch race traitors,racist people who hate my community,say how we are just lazy and we don't try in this country,lets look back in our history.The biggest lie perpetuated by people who mislead us is we are always depending on White folks for our means.On the contrary our whole history is one of trying to avoid them and build for our selves.Such was the story featured in this blog about the Black Wall Street,of Tulsa Oklahoma.The racist who say we are lazy do not want to own up to the problems that the racist terror brought to our community.It stopped all real progress among our people.Now we have to reverse this by force if need be.The racist don't want us to have a piece of this land for our selves even though it was just stolen from the Indians.The following is an account of what happened in the early part of the last century.-Kalagenesis


Black (Negro) Wall Street

From the Book

Black People
And Their Place In World History

By: Dr. Leroy Vaughn

CLICK HERE TO READ FREE REVIEW E-BOOK

he "Black (Negro) Wall Street" was the name given to Greenwood Avenue of North Tulsa, Oklahoma during the early 1900’s. Because of strict segregation, Blacks were only allowed to shop, spend, and live in a 35 square block area called the Greenwood district. The "circulation of Black dollars" only in the Black community produced a tremendously prosperous Black business district that was admired and envied by the whole country.

Oklahoma’s first African-American settlers were Indian slaves of the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes": Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles. These tribes were forced to leave the Southeastern United States and resettle in Oklahoma in mid-winter over the infamous "Trail of Tears." After the Civil War, U.S.-Indian treaties provided for slave liberation and land allotments ranging from 40-100 acres, which helps explain why over 6000 African-Americans lived in the Oklahoma territory by 1870. Oklahoma boasted of more All-Black towns and communities than any other state in the land, and these communities opened their arms to freed slaves from all across the country. Remarkably, at one time, there were over 30 African-American newspapers in Oklahoma.

Tulsa began as an outpost of the Creek Indians and as late as 1910, Walter White of the NAACP, described Tulsa as "the dead and hopeless home of 18,182 souls." Suddenly, oil was discovered and Tulsa rapidly grew into a thriving, bustling, enormously wealthy town of 73,000 by 1920 with bank deposits totaling over $65 million. However, Tulsa was a "tale of two cities isolated and insular", one Black and one White. Tulsa was so racist and segregated that it was the only city in America that boasted of segregated telephone booths.

Since African Americans could neither live among Whites as equals nor patronize White businesses in Tulsa, Blacks had to develop a completely separate business district and community, which soon became prosperous and legendary. Black dollars invested in the Black community also produced self-pride, self-sufficiency, and self-determination. The business district, beginning at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, became so successful and vibrant that Booker T. Washington during his visit bestowed the moniker: "Negro Wall Street." By 1921, Tulsa’s African-American population of 11,000 had its own bus line, two high schools, one hospital, two newspapers, two theaters, three drug stores, four hotels, a public library, and thirteen churches. In addition, there were over 150 two and three story brick commercial buildings that housed clothing and grocery stores, cafes, rooming houses, nightclubs, and a large number of professional offices including doctors, lawyers, and dentists. Tulsa’s progressive African American community boasted some of the city’s most elegant brick homes, well furnished with china, fine linens, beautiful furniture, and grand pianos. Mary Elizabeth Parrish from Rochester, New York wrote: "In the residential section there were homes of beauty and splendor which would please the most critical eye." Well known African American personalities often visited the Greenwood district including: educators Mary McCloud Bethune and W.E.B. DuBois, scientist George Washington Carver, opera singer Marian Anderson, blues singer Dinah Washington, and noted Chicago chemist Percy Julian.

T.P. Scott wrote in "Negro City Directory": "Early African American business leaders in Tulsa patterned the development of Tulsa’s thriving Greenwood district after the successful African American entrepreneurial activity in Durham, North Carolina."

After the Civil War, former slaves moved to Durham from the neighboring farmlands and found employment in tobacco processing plants. By 1900, a large Black middle class had developed which began businesses that soon grew into phenomenally successful corporations, especially North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Charles Clinton Spaulding was so successful with the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company that he was able to create a real estate company, a textile and hosiery mill, and the "Durham Negro Observer" newspaper. Durham Blacks also created a hospital, Mechanics and Farmers Bank (1908), North Carolina Training College (1910), Banker’s Fire Insurance Company (1920), and the National Negro Finance Company (1922). However, living conditions in Durham were so substandard and working conditions so poor that the 1920 mortality rate among Blacks in Durham was three times higher than the White rate. As of 1926, 64% of all African Americans in Durham died before the age of 40. These perilous working and living conditions were not present in Tulsa.

Burning Black
Wall Street
bws2.JPG (45124 bytes)

Art by
Sherwood Akuna


On May 31, 1921,
the successful
Black Greenwood district
was completely destroyed
by one of the worse race riots
in U.S. history.

A 19 year old Black male accidentally stumbled on a jerky elevator and bumped the 17-year-old White elevator operator who screamed. The frightened young fellow was seen running from the elevator by a group of Whites and by late afternoon the "Tulsa Tribune" reported that the girl had been raped. Despite the girl’s denial of any wrongdoing, the boy was arrested and a large mob of 2000 White men came to the jail to lynch the prisoner.

About 75 armed African Americans came to the jail to offer assistance to the sheriff to protect the prisoner. The sheriff not only refused the assistance but also deputized the White mob to disarm the Blacks. With a defenseless Black community before them, the White mob advanced to the Greenwood district where they first looted and then burned all Black businesses, homes, and churches. Any Black resisters were shot and thrown into the fires. When the National Guard arrived, they assisted the others by arresting all Black men, women, and children, and herding them into detention centers at the Baseball Park and Convention Hall. As many as 4,000 Blacks were held under armed guard in detention.

Dr. Arthur C. Jackson, a nationally renowned surgeon and called by the Mayo brothers (of Mayo Clinic fame) "the most able Negro surgeon in America", was shot at the Convention Hall and allowed to bleed to death.

(click graphic above for Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 Slide Show)
(Bombing Black Wall Street by Sherwood Akuna)

CLICK HERE TO READ FREE REVIEW E-BOOK
The "Chicago Tribute" Newspaper reported that Whites also used private airplanes to drop kerosene and dynamite on Black homes. By the next morning the entire Greenwood district was reduced to ashes and not one White was even accused of any wrongdoing, much less arrested.

The race riot of Tulsa, Oklahoma was not an isolated event in American history. On May 28, 1917 a White mob in East St. Louis, Illinois of over l3,000, ravaged African American stores, homes, and churches. Eyewitnesses reported that over 100 Blacks were gunned down as they left their burning homes including a small Black child who was shot and thrown back into the burning building to die. Seven white police officers charged with murder by the Illinois Attorney General were collectively fined $150. During the "Red Summer" of 1919, over 25 race riots were recorded (white mobs attacking black neighborhoods). In the 1919 race riot at Elaine, Arkansas, White mobs killed over 200 African Americans and burned their homes and businesses. Federal troops arrested hundreds of Blacks trying to protect their possessions and forcibly held them in basements of the city’s public schools. Twelve Blacks were indicted (no Whites) and convicted of inciting violence and sentenced to die. The NAACP persuaded the U.S. Supreme Count for the first time in history to reverse a racially biased southern court. Director John Singleton exposed the horror of the Rosewood, Florida massacre of 1922 in his film entitled "Rosewood". A White mob burned down the entire town and tried to kill all of its Black inhabitants. In April 1994, the Florida legislature passed the "Rosewood Bill", which awarded $150,000 to each of the riot’s nine eligible Black survivors.

After the Tulsa riot, the White inhabitants tried to buy the Black property and force Black people out of town. No Tulsa bank or lending institution would make loans in the riot-marred Greenwood district, and the city refused all outside assistance. However, racial pride and self-determination would not permit the Greenwood owners to sell, and they doggedly spend the entire winter in tents donated by the American Red Cross. Rebuilding was a testament to the courage and stamina of Tulsa’s pioneers in their struggle for freedom.

Photo By
Sherwood Akuna
Most of the buildings along the first block of Greenwood Avenue were rebuilt within one year. Henry Whitlow wrote: "A little over a decade after the riot, everything was more prosperous than before." In 1926, W. E. B. DuBois visited Tulsa and wrote: "Black Tulsa is a happy city. It has new clothes. It is young and gay and strong. Five little years ago, fire and blood and robbery leveled it to the ground. Scars are there, but the city is impudent and noisy. It believes in itself. Thank God for the grit of Black Tulsa."

Like Black Tulsa, African Americans can continue to survive by self-pride, self-help, and self-determination.

I’m Dr. Leroy Vaughn and that’s my view.

Black America's civil war The Reverend Al Sharpton vs Rapper David Banner

There is an on going civil war raging in Black America and it would be easy for me to take sides on this against David banner.The controversy started around the beginning of August when the southern rapper lashed out at the Reverend publicly.He started talking in disrespectful tones in expressing his resentment towards the Reverend for his work in stopping the offensive lyrics put out by record companies.He called the Reverend a pimp with a dried up perm.Such disrespect drew criticism towards Banner and he came under fire.He miscalculated the level of anger towards rappers who most Blacks feel are helping to denigrate our culture.Fearing the bad publicity he decides take a more civil approach towards the Reverend but it might be Little to late.Rappers are a dime a dozen a leader like Sharpton comes once a lifetime.So he wrote a letter at the advice of his attorneys no doubt and here is how it went: To all the black 'so called leaders'. Al, Oprah, Jesse, etc, etc, etc… I'm saddened by your current direction and current 'pet projects' you guys have taken under your wing at the expense of Young Black America. As an urban professional living in this crazy world, I dare ask, who are you leading? I listen to what you say, I hear you complain about the youth, and about the direction of our lives, the kids, and where Black America is going and yet I still ask – who are you guys leading? And most importantly, where are we going? Do we know the goal we are trying to reach before we get there? Have we identified our end before articulating our means to an end! Who are you REALLY reaching? Why do you feel the need to attack the young generation for the things we are doing? "WHO DID WE LEARN THESE THINGS FROM? We are trying to have fun in the midst of our traumatic circumstances. People are trying to make a living by any means necessary, people are voicing their experiences, people are speaking the truth about situations and honestly the truth hurts and sometimes it's ugly. If music/hip hop/ rappers are wrong with the language they use, the images they portray in their videos – then come talk to us – I use the term 'us' as a collective because I'm defending what I have a passion for so this also involves me. Pull us to the side and say "hey kids, that's not the way to go" and then we can say "change what we see daily so we can sing and rap about the roses and not about the bullets". We will say, help give us better situations to create better verbal material". Don't just go running off to the media to air the dirty laundry of the family and not expect us to fight back in some kind of way. What you are doing is wrong and it's pissing off a lot of people with less money and camera time! Young Black America's problem is not Hip Hop or the music, Young Black America's problem is Old White America. In the young black community, there is a growing level of resentment toward the 'so called leaders' because you guys DON'T WANT TO REALLY FIX OUR PROBLEMS. You guys don't really want to be on our side fighting for better school systems, more after school programs, more money for college funding! Where are you leaders at when there's a need to break down to freshman in college on how not to get caught up with credit cards by singing up for an MB NA card, with high interest rates that eventually screw up your credit and makes it that much harder for you to become a homeowner after you graduate college pending you can find a job in your field after you've spent all this money in student loans! Where are those seminars? Dubious had it right when he spoke of the Talented Tenth! Rally around us to help teach us about THIS life! It's not our fault that the world is messed up and filled with debauchery. It's not our fault that our communities are screwed! The problems in our community should not fall on our lap. And if you begin to hold us accountable for simply our words – then I will begin to hold you accountable for your actions; or lack there of. Right is right and wrong is wrong. You as our leaders should have taken a better approach to gaining the attention of those that you are dissatisfied with and had a conversation with them. You don't scold your child in public without fair warning! Al Sharpton: You run around towns and cities speaking words of wanting to better our community by cleaning up the airwaves. You hold rallies in front of radio stations saying turn off the music and clean the airwaves. You want to shut down local stations that are playing urban music when most of these local stations house and employ the same people in your community – the black community. When you visit any station in any city (big or small) playing urban/rap music, the staff is generally black. Now if those stations were to ever shut down – where do those employees go? Al, if you are for the people, where was your rally when the 3 college students were executed in New Jersey by black men. Where is the rally at for those families and that neighborhood??? I don't see you out there asking for justice yet that incident happened in a black community. If someone was to rap about "how f**** up black on black crime is and how even if you go to college you aren't safe on the streets and nigga's ain't' s—" – that kind of tone is offensive to you and you want to stop that! If that's the truth, then why are you censoring it? No, you need to stop the crime before it happens so that there is no gangster song about a gangster situation. Oprah: You recently you held a town hall meeting dedicating 2 days of talk to have an open forum about the "Nappy Headed Ho" comment from Imus. Everyone had their 2cents to say and yet the people that needed to REALLY be there were not at all on your panel of 'experts'. The questions all were about "why use the word ho or b**** or nigga etc" yet the rappers in question Ala Nelly, Snoop, Ludacris weren't anywhere present on your panel. In my eyes you had all the wrong people on there representing and speaking on behalf of other people. Common is great but he's not gangsta. If you had a problem with the true content of rap songs then where were those that do that kind of rap 100%? You want to talk about change, and about having us not call women in rap songs "bitches" and "hoes" but one thing I noted, you had all men on your panel of executives. Russell is wonderful but he's not the Zenith when it comes to new school rappers or their new school mentality. Kevin Liles is great but what happened to Sylvia Rhone the head of the label that Nelly is signed to, or Kathy Hughes the head of Radio One or Deborah Lee the head of BET. If the problem really was about women and the "bitch, ho" term being used, where were those ladies to speak on their stance on this issue! They are the ones with the ultimate say pulling all the strings and yet they weren't dully noted as absent from your panel! Oprah you are suppose to protect us, I can find more harm being done to the black community by the movies and sponsors you promote than any rap song. Just like your son or daughter, niece or nephew… rappers are just kids growing into their own. They aren't always right, but they aren't always wrong either. If our path is misguided, then help us get back on the right road. I'm young, I'm black, and I'm a hard worker. I'm from the hood where mother's leave their kids in the hands of strangers and never look back, I've been with killers, dope dealers, b******, church folk, grandparents, bad parenting from good parents, pushers, junkies, robbers, middle class workers, but that's the life I've been around. Gunshots and church hymns usually go hand in hand in most neighborhoods. The grim reality for a lot of kids out there living alone is that life is harsh and cold; kids grow up faster than they want to because they are forced too! Kids are growing up in situations that are f***** up. So the songs we listen to mirror the things we see, the things we dream about and the fantasies we have! Don't change the songs I listen to, change the circumstance from which it comes from—then the situation will be better! Growing up in this world of hip hop it's disheartening to see our 'so called leaders' leave us out to dry. Fine you don't like what we say. Fine disagree with our choice of topics; however, the things we talk about aren't new. We didn't invent the term pimps, pushers, hoes, tricks, boobies, nigga's and gangsta's. Hip Hop didn't create that. Those words were left here for us to use by you guys, your generation. This life we are continuing to live was handed to us by the people before us who didn't do much to clean it up. There may never be a time that we agree on anything, but there is always room for change. As a family – we will agree to disagree but it's the synergy in which we do it. If you are on one extreme tangent, and I'm on another, we will never meet eye to eye. At the same time, I will not allow you to bash, yell, condemn, and have a condescending tone on my source of refugee and happiness. As you leaders call out the hip hop community saying that we are wrong for what we do and how we do it, I am CALLING EACH OF YOU OUT saying you are wrong for what you are doing to us. How dare you guys not call Nelly, Snoop, Lil Wayne, David Banner, Jim Jones, Akon, Rick Ross, Fabulous, 50 cent, Young Buck, Bun B, Too Short and say lets talk this through. Do you even know who ANY of these people are??????? You are so disconnected from us that we don't even look at you for guidance. If you really want to change something, start by changing your dialogue. Don't talk at us, talk to us! -DAVID BANNER
I often thought of Rapper David Banner as an ignoramus,and after viewing his open letter by beliefs were confirmed.Now I am going to try and be as fair to both men as possible in this essay.There are things about both men that I dislike.The institution of the Black Leader has been a controversial one since the end of slavery.Before that in terms of our presence in America one leader could speak for the masses because most were under similar circumstances.So it didn't take much for anyone to say lets oppose slavery.The way and means differed but make no mistake all leaders were after the same end.Now in modern times we all come from different backgrounds and now have different beliefs systems so it makes it difficult for one man to honestly say he speaks for the masses of our people.This is the opposition that most Black leaders face.You see the so called Black leader in Modern time is largely the creation of the dominate White Media.It is easy to simplify the hope and aspirations of 40 million Black Americans by only talking to the same six men every night on CNN,FOX,ABC,CBS etc then to engage the community at large.The Black leaders who are chosen live high off the hog.Jesse Jackson is worth 50 million.Sharpton is wealthy so are the rest of them while they always talk about the struggle to us suckers in the grass roots.I mean payoff from corporations they bully and shakedown has them rich and White America angry with us.We could not get rid of Al or Jesse if we tried.The New York Times editorial board has decided that these leaders of Blacks or men who lead Blacks should be there because the Black community cant be trusted to vote On their own.Why since most of us cant stand the gay agenda we might just vote against it.Cant HAVE THAT!So its best to keep us politically enslaved to our democratic party masters.
Some issues Black leaders are on the money and they can galvanise the masses of our people.Just like any White leader they have good qualities and bad qualities.I believe in the big picture they do good for us.I seem to think they care more about the community they come from that the rappers.50 cent sold that energy drink,why didn't he open factories or distribution centers in South east Queens NY?I'll tell you why he like nearly all rappers will give crumbs,donations here and there but not their blood.They will never invest long term.Unless to sell crack or heroine.Jay Z sold Rocawear to a major corporation.Why didn't go to Black Business leaders for help?Think of the psychological uplift that would have had to the youth.He doesn't care.Or maybe it is not that urgent to him.So to the people who even put Earl Graves,Oprah Winprhey,Bill Cosby on the same level as these rappers I am going to break it down for you.The majority of our people are behind our traditional leaders not these rappers.David Banner made a huge miscalculation when he decided to call the Rev out.Sharpton is no Dr King he is from Harlem and it can go down anyway Banner wants it.Sharpton is fearless unafraid of NY PD,The mob or KKK.How many of these rappers even said one word about George W Bush on record?None.They are all sellouts to their MTV VH1 White audiences.David Banner wants to sell more records to the mainstream so he attacks one of his own?Where was he when KKK leader Pickens who lived a long comfortable life in Mississippi where Banners is from just finally went to jail from the 1965 civil rights murders.Not one breath from any of the so called tough dirty south rappers.So now with the slave mentality that they have to please our enemies he attacks the Reverend personally and told him "suck my dick".Such disrespect can only come from the sickest and the lowest Black people among us.Just look at his songs the guy looks and sounds like a predatory rapist.The disrespect for women on his records is appalling.I don't give a damn about your little bit of contributions.You do more damage at the expense of the people you are talking about.Now he has a big house money and fame.That is all he will ever get.Respect I am sorry sir that is asking for to much.None of the rappers you mentioned deserve respect.They forfeited that but selling their souls for pleasure.

Kala Nation