Author Archives: Oswald Copeland

But before that, it’s party like “it’s 1999”! There is one word to summarize the headline, and the first sentence of this article, is CARNIVAL!!! The European settlers brought this concept to the Columbus “New World” in the 1400’s, and the slaves took to it with gusto. Brazil, Guyana, the islands between Florida and GuianasContinue reading “I WILL EAT NO FLESH BEFORE IT’S TIME”

It is a sigh of relief, and a cringe of agony when it is witnessed being executed, a la Derek Chauvin on George Floyd Jr.’s neck. That foot pressure has killed many, re-arranged lives of survivors who live to tell of the relief and the horror. Remember “the middle passage”? The 13 colonies under BritishContinue reading “TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF MY NECK”

It is an infectious sound, that finds its way into your lymph nodes; your blood begins to curl, agitated, similar to the movement of an agitator in a wash machine; your feet begin to move, your waist finds a twist, elbows, hands, and you are now doing, believe it or not, the SALSA! Why? IsContinue reading “I CAN HEAR MONGO”

After 2 years of absence, the African American (AFRAM) festival returned to Baltimore. COVID-19 struck, and the world including us here in Baltimore, sought refuge in our homes, African Americans could not celebrate their heritage in public, with dance, music, clothing, and food. Then we heard the announcement, “YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!!!” It wasContinue reading “AFRAM IS BACK in BALTIMORE”

Psychologists, on advising women say, they should feel a tingling, butterfly sensations, racing of the heart, sweats, toes warming, eyes watering, chests heaving, tongues that won’t say “hello!” Some women have dated over 120 men, before Mr. 121 became, HIM! I have no data as to what happened after the tsunamic experiences, if the 10’sContinue reading “How to know you are in LOVE!“

This Southeast Asian city is known to be the “city of a thousand smiles”. Bangkok is a mix of East Indian and Chinese cultures, and quietly, some African mixtures. Over time the Chinese won out, making Buddhism the dominant religious belief, affecting and effecting the artform. Among the avenues for mental peace and satisfaction isContinue reading “FROM BANGKOK TO BALTIMORE”

It’s the landmark case of 1896, where Plessy was charged for boarding a “whites only” rail car in New Orleans, Louisiana. Judge Ferguson found Plessy guilty. The black man’s quest for freedom, to decide for himself, and not cow tow to white demands. In the United States, Emancipation via Abraham Lincoln was gaveled in 1863.Continue reading “BEFORE PLESSY V. FERGUSON”

Zero! Synonymous with NOTHING! FRUITLESS! ROCK BOTTOM! What percentage of the human population has fallen into this bottomless pit and see no way out? (26%. Johns Hopkins Medicine). This sector, filled with despair, find happiness, living worthwhile, only when in the company of those who delight in mind altering paraphernalia. DEPERSONALIZATION: an out of bodyContinue reading “FROM ZERO TO 10”

Young black college student, decided to hold weekend party while his parents were away. After a rollicking time, he and his buddies were cleaning up when they found a teenage white girl in one of the bedrooms face down in a pool of vomit. Who is she? She had no purse, no I.D., but sheContinue reading “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY”

The pandemic for some has promulgated a change of lifestyle. Many couples being forced see each other at home, has helped, but for others the closeness was overbearing. The affluent with more than one home, lived apart, using ZOOM, to communicate. There has been “emotional distress” for “almost every individual” (Dr. Navodita Kumar, Clinical Psychologist).Continue reading “THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING LOVE and HAPPINESS”

Coming out of the pandemic, amidst an economic and health slump combined, African Americans in Baltimore are trying to laugh again. Although the 68-year-old black owned and operated theatre, never closed, it is welcoming to see seats being filled, and the sound of cheers heard aloud. THE BUTLER DID IT AGAIN, is currently being stagedContinue reading “A WHO DUNNIT AT ARENA”

If you are born other than white, it has been drummed in your head from all angles, “get an education”, for this makes you, “competitive”. You probably studied history, absorbed the horror of the slave trade, and perhaps attended schools with those of the white race. If you have lived and travelled in various partsContinue reading “THE MISEDUCATION OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO”

What denominations are they placed in? Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal? Blacks, African Americans fall into all the aforementioned categories; and believe it or not, the slave trade is responsible. No need for me to rehash the Atlantic Slave Trade, Africans singing out to God to save their lives. The slave owner at times was also theContinue reading “IT’S GOSPEL SUNDAY AT THE MYERHOFF”