Born in 1915, the oldest son of an Alabama sharecropper family, the young John Henrik Clarke left the South in 1933 by way of a freight train, for a life of scholarship and activism in New York. He developed his skills as a writer and lecturer through the radical movements of the Depression years

 
R.I.P. Lil’ Bobby Hutton (1951-April 6th 1968). Lil’ Bobby Hutton was the first and youngest member of the Black Panther Party. He was murdered by the Oakland Police on April 6th, 1968 – just two days after the assassination of MLK – ambushing a carload of Panthers on a side street. Hutton was shot over a dozen times after stripping down to his underwear to prove he was unarmed.

 
“I was good enough for the Leafs because, according to Conn Smythe, ‘I would take Carnegie tomorrow for the Maple Leafs if someone could turn him white,’” – Herb Carnegie

A moment of silence, please…for Canada’s veterans as well as those from all over the world.

And a very special moment of silence to honour the memory of Canada’s many Black veterans who fought to keep our country safe despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

“You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to your reflexes – that means your [preparation:]. That’s where your roadwork shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, well, you’re going to get found out now, under the bright lights.” – Joe Frazier

George Jackson was born in 1941. When he was eighteen Jackson was found guilty of stealing 70 dollars from a gas station and sentenced to “one year to life” in prison.

Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was separated from his mother while an infant. At the age of eight, he was sent to live in Baltimore with the family of Hugh Auld, whose wife defied state law and surreptitiously taught young Frederick to read. This knowledge would later help him to become a prevailing advocate for civil rights.

Baseball player. Born Henry Louis Aaron on February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. Formerly baseball’s all-time home-run king, Aaron played 23 years as an outfielder for the Milwaukee (later Atlanta) Braves and Milwaukee Brewers (1954–76). He holds many of baseball’s most distinguished records,

James Weldon Johnson was born on this date in 1871. He was an African American composer, lyricist, publisher, lawyer, and educator.

“The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.” — Red Auerbach
 

Political activists around the country are still absorbing the news of Geronimo ji Jaga’s death. For those of us who came of age in the 80s and 90s, the struggles of the late 1960s and early 1970s were in many ways a gateway for our examination of the history of Black political resistance in the US. Geronimo ji Jaga (formerly Geronimo Pratt) and his personal struggle, as well as his contributions to the fight for social justice were impossible to ignore.