#knowyourhistory

Nat Turner’s words still echo through history because power has always feared one thing above all else: awakening.

The moment a people remember their history, their dignity, their ancestors, and their collective strength, they stop accepting the chains placed on their minds. That is why systems built on domination work so hard to erase memory, culture, and identity.

A person disconnected from who they are is easier to control. A person who remembers becomes dangerous to every structure built on lies.

Africa on the Balconies of the Caribbean

The Adinkra symbols, born of the Akan people, crossed the ocean in silence, hidden in the minds and spirits of those who were torn from their homeland. They could not bring objects, but they brought meaning. And that meaning found ways to endure.

Although many people in Latin America and the Caribbean pass by them every day without noticing, these symbols remain alive, engraved in wrought iron on gates, balconies, and railings of old houses.

Millions of people were forcibly taken to the Americas, and with them traveled their knowledge, beliefs, and ways of seeing the world. Although many of these cultural expressions were suppressed or rendered invisible, they did not disappear. They transformed. They hid in plain sight. And one of the ways they survived was through art.

The Sankofa whispers to us that it is never too late to go back and reclaim what is ours. Gye Nyame speaks of the supreme presence of the divine, a reminder that there is something greater holding everything together. Duafe, shaped like a comb, evokes care, femininity, and dignity. And Eban—which represents a fence or a home—speaks to us of protection, of refuge, of that sacred space where the soul can rest.

Perhaps it was a blacksmith. Perhaps it was a pair of hands that knew more than they could say. Hands that transformed pain into art, and art into something lasting. And so, the ancient slipped into the everyday: into a railing, a balcony, the entrance to any ordinary house.

Because that is what true roots do: they find a way.

The next time you see an old gate, take another look. Perhaps you’re not just seeing design. Perhaps you’re standing before an ancient language that has survived centuries to speak softly… but powerfully.

África en los balcones del Caribe

Los símbolos Adinkra, nacidos del pueblo Akan, cruzaron el océano en silencio, escondidos en la mente y el espíritu de quienes fueron arrancados de su tierra. No pudieron traer objetos, pero trajeron significado. Y ese significado encontró formas de quedarse.

Aunque muchas personas en Latinoamérica y el Caribe pasan frente a ellos todos los días sin notarlo, estos símbolos siguen vivos, grabados en hierro forjado en portones, balcones y rejas de casas antiguas.

Millones de personas fueron llevadas a la fuerza hacia América, y con ellas viajaron sus conocimientos, creencias y formas de ver el mundo. Aunque muchas de estas expresiones culturales fueron reprimidas o invisibilizadas, no desaparecieron. Se transformaron. Se escondieron a simple vista. Y una de las formas en que sobrevivieron fue a través del arte.

El Sankofa nos susurra que nunca es tarde para volver atrás y recuperar lo que es nuestro. El Gye Nyame habla de la presencia suprema de lo divino, un recordatorio de que hay algo más grande sosteniéndolo todo. El Duafe, con forma de peine, evoca el cuidado, la feminidad y la dignidad. Y el Eban —que representa una cerca o un hogar— nos habla de protección, de refugio, de ese espacio sagrado donde el alma puede descansar.

Quizás fue un herrero. Quizás unas manos que sabían más de lo que podían decir. Manos que transformaron el dolor en arte, y el arte en permanencia. Así, lo ancestral se coló en lo cotidiano: en una reja, en un balcón, en la entrada de una casa cualquiera.

Porque eso es lo que hacen las raíces verdaderas: encuentran la manera.

People use the term “Uncle Tom” all the time, but most have never looked at where it came from.

The name traces back to a character from 1852 who refused to betray other enslaved people, even under brutal pressure. Over time, stage shows and minstrel performances changed that character into something completely different, and that version is what stuck.

The Mangrove Nine Trial was Britain’s most influential Black Power trial. In Britain, descendants from the Caribbean, Africa, or South Asia, who were mainly immigrants from former British colonies, were considered to be “black.” The London police and the British Home Office, responsible for immigration, security, and law and order, orchestrated the arrest and trial of nine black leaders in 1970 to discredit London’s growing Black Power movement.

The Mangrove trial focused on the police harassment of the Mangrove restaurant in west London’s Notting Hill area, which was owned by Frank Crichlow, a Trinidad-born community activist. The restaurant was the heart of the Caribbean community and was also popular with white and black celebrities. Because Crichlow was a Black Power activist, police raided his restaurant twelve times between January 1969 and July 1970, calling the Mangrove a den of drugs, despite not finding any evidence.

In response to this intense police harassment, Crichlow filed a complaint to the Race Relations Board, accusing the police of racial discrimination. His employee, Darcus Howe, a Trinidad-born Black Power activist, encouraged Critchlow to work with the British Black Panthers (BBP) in London to organize a demonstration against police harassment of the Mangrove.

On August 9, 1970, 150 protesters marched to local police stations and were met by 200 police who initiated the violence that ensued. Nine protest leaders were arrested and charged with incitement to riot: Crichlow; Howe, who later became a BBP member; Althea Jones-Lecointe, head of the BBP; Barbara Beese, BBP member; Rupert Boyce; Rhodan Gordon; Anthony Innis; Rothwell Kentish; and Godfrey Millett.

Initially the court dismissed the charges because the statements of twelve officers were ruled to be inadmissible because they equated black radicalism with criminal intent. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions reinstated the charges and the defendants were rearrested.

The nine defendants used a radical legal strategy in the subsequent trial. Howe and Jones-Lecointe defended themselves arguing that this was a political trial. The radical lawyer Ian McDonald represented Beese and coordinated the defense of Howe and Jones-Lecointe with the other defendants’ lawyers.

Howe and McDonald argued for the right to an all-black jury under the Magna Carta’s “jury of peers” clause. McDonald cited case law allowing Welsh miners to have an all-Welsh jury that led to the practice of selecting juries from the defendant’s neighborhood. The conservative judge rejected these arguments. During jury selection, the defense dismissed sixty-three potential jurors, ensuring that there were only two blacks on the twelve-person jury.

During the fifty-five-day trial Jones-Lecointe described police persecution of Notting Hill’s black community. Howe exposed inconsistencies in police testimony, and a police officer had to leave the courtroom when he was seen signaling to prosecution witnesses as they testified. Meanwhile, outside the courtroom, the BBP organized pickets and distributed flyers to win popular support. Ultimately the jury acquitted all nine on the charge of rioting.

When Judge Edward Clarke stated that there was evidence of racial hatred on both sides, this was the first time a British court judge acknowledged racial discrimination and wrongdoing by the London police. The Mangrove Nine gathered broad public support for the fight against police racism in Britain and showed that the fight for racial justice could be won.

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El juicio de los Mangrove Nine fue el juicio de Poder Negro más influyente de Gran Bretaña. En Gran Bretaña se consideraban «negros» a los descendientes del Caribe, África o el sur de Asia, la mayor parte eran inmigrantes de las antiguas colonias británicas. La policía de Londres y el Ministerio del Interior Británico, responsables de inmigración, seguridad y orden público, orquestaron la detención y el juicio de nueve líderes negros en 1970 para desacreditar el creciente movimiento de Poder Negro en Londres.

El juicio Mangrove se centró en el acoso policial al restaurante Mangrove, situado en la zona de Notting Hill, al oeste de Londres, cuyo propietario era Frank Crichlow, un activista comunitario nacido en Trinidad. El restaurante era el corazón de la comunidad caribeña y también era popular entre celebridades blancas y negras. Como Crichlow era un activista del Poder Negro, la policía hizo doce redadas en su restaurante entre enero de 1969 y julio de 1970, calificando al Mangrove como un refugio para drogas, a pesar de no encontrar ninguna prueba.

En respuesta a este intenso acoso policial, Crichlow presentó una denuncia ante la Comisión de Relaciones Raciales, acusando a la policía de discriminación racial. Su empleado, Darcus Howe, activista del Poder Negro nacido en Trinidad, animó a Crichlow a colaborar con los Panteras Negras Británicas (BBP) de Londres para organizar una manifestación contra el acoso policial al Mangrove.

El 9 de agosto de 1970, 150 manifestantes marcharon hacia las estaciones policiales locales y fueron recibidos por 200 policías, los cuales iniciaron la violencia. Nueve líderes de la protesta fueron detenidos y acusados de incitación a los disturbios: Crichlow; Howe, quien más tarde se convirtió en miembro del BBP; Althea Jones-Lecointe, jefa del BBP; Barbara Beese, miembro del BBP; Rupert Boyce; Rhodan Gordon; Anthony Innis; Rothwell Kentish; y Godfrey Millett.

Inicialmente, el tribunal desestimó los cargos porque se consideró que las declaraciones de doce agentes eran inadmisibles porque equipaban el radicalismo negro con la intención delictiva. Sin embargo, el Director de la Fiscalía readmitió los cargos y los acusados volvieron a ser detenidos.

Los nueve acusados utilizaron una estrategia jurídica radical en el juicio. Howe y Jones-Lecointe se defendieron argumentando que todo se trataba de un juicio político. El abogado radical Ian McDonald representó a Beese y coordinó la defensa de Howe y Jones-Lecointe junto con los abogados de los demás acusados.

Howe y McDonald defendieron el derecho a un jurado compuesto exclusivamente por negros en virtud de la cláusula «jurado de iguales» de la Carta Magna. McDonald citó la jurisprudencia que permitía a los mineros galeses tener un jurado compuesto exclusivamente por galeses y que dio lugar a la práctica de seleccionar jurados del mismo vecindario del acusado. El juez conservador rechazó estos argumentos. Durante la selección del jurado, la defensa descartó a sesenta y tres posibles jurados, asegurándose de que sólo hubieran dos personas negras en un jurado de doce personas.

Durante los cincuenta y cinco días que duró el juicio, Jones-Lecointe describió la persecución policial de la comunidad negra de Notting Hill. Howe expuso incoherencias en los testimonios policiales, y un agente de policía tuvo que abandonar la sala al ser visto haciendo señas a los testigos de los acusados mientras declaraban. Mientras tanto, fuera del tribunal, el BBP organizó postes y distribuyó volantes para ganarse el apoyo popular. Finalmente, el jurado absolvió a los nueve acusados de disturbios.

Influenced by the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Simone became known as the “Singer of the Black Revolution.” She composed and recorded a number of songs with political protest themes including “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” “Old Jim Crow,” “Why? (The King of Love Is Dead),” “Backlash Blues” and “Mississippi Goddam.”

Simone also collaborated with friends Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry to financially support the movement and took part in marches and spoke and performed at civil rights rallies.

•••

Influenciada por el movimiento por los derechos civiles de la década de 1960, Simone se dio a conocer como la "Cantante de la Revolución Negra". Compuso y grabó varias canciones con temas de protesta política, como "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", "Old Jim Crow", "¿Por qué? (El Rey del Amor Ha Muerto)", "Backlash Blues" y "Mississippi Goddam".

Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was a blues singer and songwriter whose recordings of “Hound Dog” and “Ball ‘n’ Chain” later were transformed into huge hits by Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin.

She was born on December 11, 1926 outside of Montgomery in rural Ariton, Alabama. Her father was a Baptist minister and her mother was a church singer in his congregation. Thornton’s mother died when the singer was 14, and she left home to pursue a career as an entertainer. She joined the Georgia-based Hot Harlem Revue as an accomplished singer, drummer, and harmonica player and spent seven years as a regular performer throughout the South. Following her years as a traveling blues singer, Thornton moved to Houston in 1948 to begin her recording career.

In Houston, Thornton joined Don Robey’s Peacock Records in 1951, often working closely with fellow label artist Johnny Otis.

One of Thornton’s earliest and most popular recorded tracks was “Hound Dog,” initially released by Peacock in 1953. Thornton’s version of “Hound Dog” topped the R&B charts for seven weeks and sold over two million copies nationwide. Though the song brought acclaim to Thornton, it only yielded her about $500. The song became even more popular as Elvis Presley’s first hit record in 1956.

•••

Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton fue una cantante y compositora de blues cuyas grabaciones “Hound Dog” y “Ball ‘n’ Chain” luego fueron transformadas en grandes éxitos por Elvis Presley y Janis Joplin.

Nació el 11 de diciembre de 1926 en las afueras de Montgomery, en la zona rural de Ariton, Alabama. Su padre era pastor bautista y su madre, cantante en su congregación. La madre de Thornton falleció cuando la cantante tenía 14 años, y ella abandonó el hogar para dedicarse al arte. Se unió a la Hot Harlem Revue, con sede en Georgia, como una cantante, baterista y armonicista, y pasó siete años presentándose con regularidad por todo el sur. Tras sus años como cantante de blues, Thornton se mudó a Houston en 1948 para comenzar su carrera discográfica.

En Houston, Thornton se unió a Peacock Records de Don Robey en 1951, trabajando a menudo en estrecha colaboración con su colega y artista de sello, Johnny Otis.

Prompt: Please answer as an expert in African American History, New York History, and Brooklyn History. Please write a lesson plan for a middle school audience discussing the role of American and NYC of African Americans in Brooklyn. Please highlight prominent Black men and women from brooklyn that have played a role in Justice and Equality. Please also highlight Brooklyn-based organizations throughout American History. At the end of the lesson put together a list of 5 non-fiction books, 5 fiction books, and 5 youtube videos for students to do further study on their own. Please include 3 prompts for students to use to do further research, 3 prompts to make midjourney images to go along with school lesson, and social media links for the lesson.

Here's a draft of your middle school lesson plan on African American history in Brooklyn:

Lesson Plan: African American History in Brooklyn – Justice, Equality, and Community

Grade Level: Middle School (6th-8th)

Subject: Social Studies / African American History / New York History

Duration: 2-3 Class Periods (45 minutes each)

Theme: Contributions of African Americans in Brooklyn to Justice and Equality

🎯 Learning Objectives:

Understand the contributions of African Americans in Brooklyn to social justice and equality.

Recognize key figures and organizations that have shaped Brooklyn’s African American history.

Explore historical and modern movements for civil rights and social justice in Brooklyn.

📚 Introduction (10 minutes)

Begin with a brief discussion: “What do you know about the history of African Americans in Brooklyn?”

Show a short video clip (e.g., The Black Brooklyn Renaissance – see YouTube recommendations below).

🗺️ Historical Overview (15 minutes)

Early Brooklyn (19th Century): Discuss Weeksville, one of America’s first free Black communities.

Civil Rights Era (1960s-70s): Highlight protests, movements, and local leaders.

Present Day: Touch on gentrification and ongoing justice movements.

🌟 Prominent Black Figures from Brooklyn:

Shirley Chisholm: The first African American woman elected to Congress, from Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Jackie Robinson: Broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Hubert Harrison: Harlem Renaissance writer and activist who lived in Brooklyn.

Al Vann: Civil rights leader and politician who fought for Black empowerment in Brooklyn.

June Jordan: Poet and activist who used her voice to fight for racial justice and equality.

🏢 Brooklyn-Based Organizations Throughout History:

Weeksville Heritage Center: Preserves the history of one of America’s earliest free Black communities.

The Brooklyn NAACP: Advocates for civil rights and social justice.

The Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council (CBCC): Key player in the civil rights movement.

The Billie Holiday Theatre: Platform for Black artistic expression and storytelling.

Brooklyn Movement Center: Grassroots organization fighting for social justice in Central Brooklyn.

🧠 Classroom Activity (20 minutes):

Divide students into groups. Each group researches one prominent figure or organization and presents their findings.

Discuss how these individuals and organizations contributed to justice and equality.

✍️ Homework:

Write a short essay (1-2 pages): “How has African American history in Brooklyn influenced the fight for justice today?”

Select one book or video from the resource list for a book or video review.

📖 Further Study Resources:

Non-Fiction Books (5):

Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed by Shirley Chisholm

Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism by Jeffrey B. Perry

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (includes stories of migration to NYC)

Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City by Carla L. Peterson

The Brooklyn Nobody Knows: An Urban Walking Guide by William B. Helmreich

Fiction Books (5):

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

What Lane? by Torrey Maldonado

YouTube Videos (5):

The Black Brooklyn Renaissance – BRIC TV

Weeksville Heritage Center Virtual Tour

Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed Documentary

The History of Bedford-Stuyvesant – ABC News Archives

Brooklyn Movement Center: Fighting for Justice in Central Brooklyn

🔎 Research Prompts for Students:

What role did Weeksville play in the history of African Americans in Brooklyn?

How did Shirley Chisholm’s career impact politics for future generations?

What are some current issues of justice and equality being addressed by Brooklyn-based organizations?

🎨 MidJourney Image Prompts:

“A bustling Weeksville neighborhood in 1860, with free African American families building homes, schools, and businesses.”

“Shirley Chisholm giving a powerful speech at a rally, with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.”

“A vibrant community event at the Weeksville Heritage Center, celebrating African American culture and history.”

📱 Social Media Links for the Lesson:

Weeksville Heritage Center: @weeksville

Brooklyn Movement Center: @bklynmovement

NAACP Brooklyn Branch: @naacpbrooklyn

The Billie Holiday Theatre: @thebillie

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