![theraceproblem:
afrodiaspores:
Black, Chicana, and First Nations radical socialist and anarchist labor organizer Lucy E. [González or Gonzales] Parsons (1853-1942) ca. 1920.
“Feared by the authorities because of her charismatic fiery speeches and intellect, the first Afro-Latina woman of color to engage prominently in the history of the Leftist American labor movement was labeled as ‘more dangerous than a thousand rioters’ by the Chicago Police Department.”
William Loren Katz writes in a passage adapted from Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage,
A dynamic, militant, self-educated public speaker and writer, she became the first American woman of color to carry her crusade for socialism across the country and overseas. Lucy Gonzales started life in Texas. She was of Mexican American, African American, and Native American descent and born into slavery. The path she chose after emancipation led to conflict with the Ku Klux Klan, hard work, painful personal losses, and many nights in jail. In Albert Parsons, a white man whose Waco Spectator fought the Klan and demanded social and political equality for African Americans, she found a handsome, committed soul mate. The white supremacy forces in Texas considered the couple dangerous and their marriage illegal, and soon drove them from the state…
She was one of only two women delegates (the other was Mother Jones) among the 200 men at the founding convention of the militant Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the only woman to speak…
Lucy Parsons’ determined effort to elevate and inspire the oppressed to take command remained alive among those who knew, heard, and loved her. But few today are aware of her insights, courage, and tenacity. Despite her fertile mind, writing and oratorical skills, and striking beauty, Lucy Parsons has not found a place in school texts, social studies curricula, or Hollywood movies.
On this May Day, I will honor the legacy of women of color like Lucy Parsons, labor organizer and radical activist for the poor, the disenfranchised, and communities of color.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/3f98704534cf7455e1100a6779e43f95/tumblr_mm56ib7kjh1qjeot1o1_500.jpg)
Black, Chicana, and First Nations radical socialist and anarchist labor organizer Lucy E. [González or Gonzales] Parsons (1853-1942) ca. 1920.
“Feared by the authorities because of her charismatic fiery speeches and intellect, the first Afro-Latina woman of color to engage prominently in the history of the Leftist American labor movement was labeled as ‘more dangerous than a thousand rioters’ by the Chicago Police Department.”
William Loren Katz writes in a passage adapted from Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage,
A dynamic, militant, self-educated public speaker and writer, she became the first American woman of color to carry her crusade for socialism across the country and overseas. Lucy Gonzales started life in Texas. She was of Mexican American, African American, and Native American descent and born into slavery. The path she chose after emancipation led to conflict with the Ku Klux Klan, hard work, painful personal losses, and many nights in jail. In Albert Parsons, a white man whose Waco Spectator fought the Klan and demanded social and political equality for African Americans, she found a handsome, committed soul mate. The white supremacy forces in Texas considered the couple dangerous and their marriage illegal, and soon drove them from the state…
She was one of only two women delegates (the other was Mother Jones) among the 200 men at the founding convention of the militant Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the only woman to speak…
Lucy Parsons’ determined effort to elevate and inspire the oppressed to take command remained alive among those who knew, heard, and loved her. But few today are aware of her insights, courage, and tenacity. Despite her fertile mind, writing and oratorical skills, and striking beauty, Lucy Parsons has not found a place in school texts, social studies curricula, or Hollywood movies.
On this May Day, I will honor the legacy of women of color like Lucy Parsons, labor organizer and radical activist for the poor, the disenfranchised, and communities of color.
(via beyondvictoriana)
(via msnyx)
![beyondvictoriana:
Radical Dirigibles- Black Socialists, Anarchists, Reformers and Airships–Guest blog by P. Djeli Clark
“Socialism is the preparation for that higher Anarchism; painfully, laboriously we mean to destroy false ideas of property and self, eliminate unjust laws and poisonous and hateful suggestions and prejudices.”–H.G. Wells
“Steampunk will never be afraid of politics,” declared writer and Steampunk Magazine editor Margaret Killjoy in a well-read 2011 article. In it, Killjoy pushed back against any notion that steampunk was merely about brass buttons and brassieres–though it’s that too. Tracing the long history of political thought, and political radicalism, in the genre, she pointed to the early works of Jules Vernes and H.G. Wells, and the more modern anarchist tendencies of Michael Moorcock and Alan Moore. Killjoy went on to declare steampunk as even inherently anticolonial; in its re-imaginings of our historical past steampunk was “antithetical” to colonialism, the latter being “a process that seeks to force homogeneity upon the world” while the former “is one of many, many movements and cultures that seeks to break that homogeneity.”
Indeed, steampunk (beyond even its literary creations) has sparked numerous discussions and debates on race, slavery, colonialism, gender, class and sexuality. More than any other genre of speculative fiction, it forces us to confront our more immediate past, and has an active cadre that launches criticism upon anything that appears to fantasize, apologizes or fails to acknowledge the disparities and inequities of these by-gone eras. It makes steampunk a fractured genre, where the donning of a simple article of clothing or a decision to write about some obscure bit of the past, can spark debates or whole blogs on racism, cultural appropriation, gender inequality and [insert-your-privilege-here]-splaining. And that’s a GOOD thing.
Read more on BeyondVictoriana.com](http://25.media.tumblr.com/9cc2dc130c23bc412515fed7f27b0b2e/tumblr_mm4irxau7R1raeh22o1_400.jpg)
Radical Dirigibles- Black Socialists, Anarchists, Reformers and Airships–Guest blog by P. Djeli Clark
“Socialism is the preparation for that higher Anarchism; painfully, laboriously we mean to destroy false ideas of property and self, eliminate unjust laws and poisonous and hateful suggestions and prejudices.”–H.G. Wells
“Steampunk will never be afraid of politics,” declared writer and Steampunk Magazine editor Margaret Killjoy in a well-read 2011 article. In it, Killjoy pushed back against any notion that steampunk was merely about brass buttons and brassieres–though it’s that too. Tracing the long history of political thought, and political radicalism, in the genre, she pointed to the early works of Jules Vernes and H.G. Wells, and the more modern anarchist tendencies of Michael Moorcock and Alan Moore. Killjoy went on to declare steampunk as even inherently anticolonial; in its re-imaginings of our historical past steampunk was “antithetical” to colonialism, the latter being “a process that seeks to force homogeneity upon the world” while the former “is one of many, many movements and cultures that seeks to break that homogeneity.”
Indeed, steampunk (beyond even its literary creations) has sparked numerous discussions and debates on race, slavery, colonialism, gender, class and sexuality. More than any other genre of speculative fiction, it forces us to confront our more immediate past, and has an active cadre that launches criticism upon anything that appears to fantasize, apologizes or fails to acknowledge the disparities and inequities of these by-gone eras. It makes steampunk a fractured genre, where the donning of a simple article of clothing or a decision to write about some obscure bit of the past, can spark debates or whole blogs on racism, cultural appropriation, gender inequality and [insert-your-privilege-here]-splaining. And that’s a GOOD thing.
The exhibition “Man Made: Jean-Michel Basquiat” offers a comprehensive view of his short career, from simple works on paper in marker and crayon from 1979 to large highly-finished canvases from 1987, the year before he died at age 27 of a drug overdose.
April 30, 1789: George Washington Becomes the First President
On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated in New York City as the first president of the United States of America. At Federal Hall, New York Chancellor Robert Livingston swore him into office.
Washington recited these words from the Constitution:
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Although it was not in the script, he went ahead and added, “So help me God.” In every presidential inauguration since then, every president has followed tradition and repeated those same last four words.
Celebrate this moment by reading George Washington’s inaugural speech.
Image: George Washington, full-length portrait, standing on bunker c.1839 (Library of Congress)
And who is holding his horse?
(via amusedthings)
Selfportrait by Burak Erkil
John Fugelsang (via pregnat420)
yes. it is in the USA, for sure, that many have forgotten what life can be, after all. and we are hardly to blame…we’ve grown up in an onslaught of mental murder and soul-death, hearing lies praised as truth, seeing crooks emit television glorylight, hearing torture defended. this simmering cess of untruth of course would lead to that kind of doublespeak. life…in empire.
(via nezua)
‘Reasoning with a gigantic seabird known to peck apart small vessels.’ Sketchbook Exhibit #134
