You Can Say I Had A Severe

Let's Face It - Think Of Africa, And The First Images That Come To Mind Are Of War, Poverty, Famine And Flies. How Many Of Us Really Know Anything At All About The Truly Great Ancient African Civilizations, Which In Their Day, Were Just As Splendid And Glorious As Any On The Face Of The Earth?

Like The Amazing Story Of Anthony Johnson. This Man Was A Slave, Then Became Free, Accumulated 250 Acres, And Even Had His Own Slave, A Black Man Who Took Him To Court In Virginia In 1654.that Man Argued That He Should Be Freed Like An Indentured Servant. But Johnson, Who We Believe Was A Pure African From Angola, Said, "no Way, You're My Slave." And The Court Agreed.

The Biggest Surprise For Me, Without A Doubt, Was That The First Black People Who Came To The United States Weren't The 20 Who Arrived In Jamestown In 1619. All Of Us Had Been Taught That. The First African Came To Florida In 1513. And The Huge Shock Is We Know His Name, Juan Garrido, And That He Wasn't A Slave. He Was Free!

It Is The Black Poet Who Bridges The Gap In Tradition, Who Modifies Tradition When Experience Demands It, Who Translates Experience Into Meaning And Meaning Into Belief.

I'm A Tech Geek. Whenever I Read About Something New, I Think To Myself, How Can I Take This And Make It Black?