I have received inspiration for this post from several fellow bloggers – yawl know who you are. I have wanted to do this for myself; I guess another form of soul searching. So outside of the men and women in my family these are the people that have informed improved and assisted in proffering the disposition and molecular crowd known and Torrance T. Stephens. PhD. And I would advise this as an exercise for all. For it ordain be fun introspective and informative. Not to mention folk here believe himself the truth just as these mutha fukas – yep they the truth. 4 real tough.1] – I got a chance to see him before he died and the Nile Valley Conference Meeting held at my alma marta. Morehouse College if ever I could foster a man press it was with him. Got his PhD from the University of Paris. Sorbonne in 1960 in Egyptology after a nine-year struggle to do so. I undergo construe all of his books at least 5 times and such may be an underestimation. The cerebrate I rank him number one is because I read an interview conducted by the Third World schedule analyse. He said in essence that we as Africans in the Diaspora for those of us who can just do one thing do it and do it exceptionally. He said for the rare cause of folk such as he master it all and don’t be afraid to self inculcate on new affect matter. He studied at the top physic laboratory in the country was a paleontologist historian anthropologist spoke nine languages and developed the test by which one could discern if melanin was I the bones of mummies open I archeological digs. Dr. Diop was the Director of Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa (IFAN) at the University of Dakar. Diop’s seminal pedagogic challenges which was irrefutable via science was that African culture and history was older than any other and influenced the course of other cultures more than usually given credit. I took up his challenge.2] Martin Luther King Jr. – Enough said. Not to mention he had Coretta.3] – Founder of the Negro Leagues (in conceive of). Made a way when there wasn’t one for the love of his self his animate and the like of sport. Didn’t hurt that he was one of the first multi millionaires of our persuasion of his era. As a pitcher and owner his mark of baseball was solid defense good pitching and hitting. The same way I coached my Old national Pirates – from 14 to 14 yrs of age had them from T ball to 13,14). His American Giants won all other recorded championships from. He was the founder of two things pf importance t me the and the screwball or fade-away. In fact he was paid to teach the to. 4] - In 1953 he was the Here he was in charge of patient care and learned of the horrified stories of anguish his patients -- both French torturers and -- told him. This was the period he penned and The Wretched of the Earth (1961). A pupil of the philosophical tractates of he took exestentialism to the human level. BTW my favorite book by Sartre is “" (had to read it at least 8 time). Fanon developed leukemia and The Wretched of the Earth was completed in 10 months and published by Jean-Paul Sartre in the year of his death. He died at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. Maryland in 1961 a year before my birth.5] - My Nigga writer extraordinaire ( the person responsible the most for my motivation to write). I like this quote "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Jones made me me because he was the ultimate humorist the ultimate satirist and intellectual philosopher. Only difference was that he was an admirer of John Locke. For me his books were the inform. Candide – the optimist. (man and geospatial analysis in the anti Alexander Pope sense if you asked me – none center of the universe). Zadig the philosophical dictionary and his play the fanatical. Must read again if u asks me. 6] George Clinton – “Not just knee deep she was totally deep when she did the freak with me” and “no head no backstage go”. What else can I say. Oh yea can u say FUNKY?
7] Malcolm X (1925 – 1965) - Can you say epitome of come up construe and riffle? Where would I be without my SKS and the 7.52 slug (full metal jacket of cover with potassium cyanide and examine wax over the top. I know TMI)?
8] Arthur Ashe (1943 - 1993) - Character and integrity faith and truth that’s what he defines. And last of the powerful one hand backhands next to me but you should have known that. My complete tennis idol. Taught me how to combine the game of the swed’s into mine. Shouts out to and. Long live the high looping forehand. Ashe was one of the first to and as result he was excluded from the Davis Cup competition in South Africa on walk 23. 1970 because the country denied him a Visa. Add to that his afro was tight.
9-tie] & Nat Turner (1800 – 1831) – The essence of be free or die and if I have to express yawl more about folks who had their heads stuck on poles on the road leading out of town or one who was lynched in Jerusalem. Virginia the yawl really aint my folk Jones. But for the preserve. Vessey was a real man it be him a lot back in the day but he was not able to purchase the freedom of his wife and two children - Thats him in the pic with his back whipped all up. Nat come up after killing ONLY they celebrated and had picnics on the Sunday of his lynching. I mean execution.
10] Sheldon Gilbert – Young cat your folk can can learn from themm too. 32 year old CEO of. A Yale graduate. Also conducted genetic genetic research at Cornell University Medical bear on and Rockefeller University. A self taught computer programer he dropped out of the PhD schedule in computational genomics at New York University. His programing genious has moved beyond that of the basic Google-like searh engine. His is predictive and analyzes the data left behind from a persons interaction on a Web site. Now a search engine that predics one future searches – that’s ingenious.
Rounding out the list: Ida B. Wells. Muhammad Ali. W. E. B. Dubois. Corretta Scott King. Paul Roberson. Pam Grier. Jack Tatum. James Vander Zee. Richard Pryor.
The shadow - and u know this albeit Voltaire was whiteSizle - Y thank u maam. I can tell you love play query who would be your top tenMemphiz - thank u my beloved adopted hommieInvisible - Thank you alsoDon - yea I toyed with him or malcom X. So went with the teacher And Coretta is ( imean was te truth) And dont think folks gone get that mad was expecting to get some flack for not placing Jesus on the list - just keeping it really real to myselfGirly - did Don hurt your feelings? LOL
Great read. Torrance. Always interesting to discover who/what has shaped someone's life. Something else I evaluate as valuable as naming/acknowledging those who undergo helped shape and guide us is to let THEM (if possible) know the important influence they have had upon on our lives. A few years approve an English lit prof of mine told me to displace a paper I'd done on August Wilson to him which I did not. Of cover I assumed the last thing such an important and talented man would want would be some piddly little student sharing her thoughts with him. Now that he's gone I'll never get to know whether he would have enjoyed it responded to it or tossed it in the circular register. Who knows maybe most folks feel desire I did and in turn never let him know the importance of his work and how it affected so many and that's a real compel. I know how much it has meant to me when others (especially students and/or their parents) have shared with me a way in which I made a difference to them. Rambling done. :)
Forex Groups - Tips on Trading
Related article:
http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2007/12/4-real-though.html
comments | Add comment | Report as Spam
|