Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. flew 101 combat missions in Korea and 78 in Vietnam. He stared down Qaddafi at an air base in Libya. He became the first Black four-star general in the history of the United States military. Ronald Reagan called him "a truly great American." Florida named a bridge after him.
Pete Hegseth took down his portrait from the Air Force Art Gallery and left the wall empty.
Colonel Gerald Curry passed that painting every day for more than a decade on the way to his office. He is writing a leadership book based on James's service. When the portrait came down, he said it "really, really hurt." Shortly after, he retired.
Clint Smith interviewed two dozen currently serving, retired, and civilian Black military members for this piece. Person after person described the same thing: promotions blocked or delayed, senior Black and female officers dismissed, Confederate monuments restored, books about Black service members removed from military libraries, affinity groups disbanded. One training instructor described her team manually striking out passages about accomplished Black service members from educational materials - by hand, page by page.
Hegseth at Quantico told 800 generals and admirals it was acceptable to "put hands" on subordinates and promised their records would be kept clean if they faced discrimination complaints.
A retired Army officer told Smith his fear plainly: "If Pete Hegseth and the current administration had their way, you wouldn't see any of us in key leadership positions. I think the whole idea is to eliminate as many of us as they can, take us back as far as they can."
Chappie James's words are engraved on his tombstone at Arlington: "This is my country and I believe in her." The Pentagon took down his portrait. His words are still there.
When a white male elected official stands in front of a podium and calmly says he hopes the Supreme Court overturns the 14th Amendment,
(The 14th Amendment was passed after slavery to guarantee Black people citizenship and equal protection under the law in America.)
It’s full fucking stop. Period.
Fuck the Met Gala.
Fuck relationship podcasts.
Fuck the NBA playoffs.
Fuck the summer.
Fuck spending money.
Fuck all this shit.
It’s time to shut this shit the fuck down.
An image recreated from a photograph of my great grandfather Zachariah Gibson. The Y DNA marker he has passed down to me was from a genetic marker created circa 650 BCE in the southern Kingdom of Judah!
Current situation, Kansas City Premiere of Sarah’s Oil…the story of Sarah Rector, a young millionaire around the age of 10 when oil was discovered on her land.
I’ve read through lots of threads about tonight’s halftime performance and some enjoyed it and others hated it. That’s fine. What’s interesting, is only a small group of people are talking about the symbolism in the halftime performance…actually a series of messages.
Jacquey Valentine of the Labnificent Media Group and Pinehill Productions working again in Portland, Maine. Just finished an interview with Dr. K. S. Walker for our next feature length documentary for Part V of An American Story Documentary Series.
Great week for the history of MLB and the inclusion of Negro League stats: thank you Larry Lester for your research and hard work. https://t.co/y5beQCZmED?