“The opening shot of the film will feature a tour of Cape Coast Castle, a fortification in Ghana that contains the infamous “Door of No Return” through which many Africans passed before being shipped into slavery. I want to suggest the idea that his ancestors passed through this door and that his music is trying to come home again spiritually, psychologically, politically…He’s universally revered and looked up to as an inspiration. But we’ve never seen anything that gets to the root of who he is as a man..The aim of making any film about the artist is to get people to go back to the music” READ MORE

Jamaica & Ghana have a special bond in history that still prevails in modern day Jamaica through the kept cultural heritage of Jamaican Maroons, so I am not at all surprised, but I am overjoyed & enthusiastically awaiting not only the opening scene of the life story of global musical legend Bob Marley that will start with the opening scene in my homeland of Ghana, but also waiting to learn more about the beautiful mystery that was & is Bob Marley. Bob Marley made his love for Africa & his determination to do more in & for Africa very clear after his Zimbabwe concert tour.

Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley has kept that promise of his legacy alive  as a humanitarian & resident of Ghana, West Africa for the past decade & has even gone as far as to build a modern day Ghanaian solar powered version of the legendary Studio One, the Kingston,Jamaica recording studio that was responsible for Jamaica’s musical legends like Bob Marley. Not only has Rita Marley kept Bob Marley’s link & fire burning in Africa, but she has clearly passed the torch onto the Marley children who keep Africa in their hearts & lyrics. Not only did the Marley family come together in Ethiopia to celebrate Bob Marley with the Africa Unite concert, but Damian “Junior Gong” Marley got together with Nas on the critically acclaimed “Distant Relatives” project to specifically take it back to Africa, to unite & pay homage to the roots of not only the Black Diaspora but humankind.  A film on Bob Marley’s life has been long awaited by his legions of global fans spanning multiple generations & what better way to look into the life, the man, the father, the husband,the artist & the prophet than by starting off from the roots! Yes Iyah- We Await Your Return!

STUDIO ONE IN THE AKAUPIM MOUNTAINS OF GHANA

“Making a movie about Bob Marley hasn’t been easy. A Martin Scorsese attempt failed. So did one from Jonathan Demme. Now producers of a new documentary about the Jamaican reggae pioneer confirm that Kevin Macdonald is directing the film, a point that had been rumored online since the fall. The director has secured permission of the Marley family and will be free to include material from the archives of the spiritual-minded singer-songwriter…”READ MORE

update
“Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Marley, the first documentary about iconic musician Bob Marley made with the support of the Marley family. The film will open in theaters and on VOD and digital platforms April 20, after its world premiere at the Berlin film festival. VH1 also has partnered to license the first TV window of the film as part of its Rock Doc franchise.” READ MORE

As Black history & women’s history month come consecutively in February & March , I started thinking of the many global African shero warriors-the ones who are well known & the ones forgotten in the course of our history. As more & more women become presidents of nations & take over high positions in all parts of the world & industries, we must not forget those who came before them to set the precedent for today’s endless possibilities. Winnie Mandela could have easily been Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the right time in history & Angela Davis could have easily been Dilma Rousseff at the right time in history within the right nation.  Shirley Chisolm set the precedent & opened the door for Hillary Clinton as the first woman to run for president of the United States of America. Before Angelina Jolie chased her rainbow coalition & took up roots in France there was Josephine Baker AKA the first Black Superstar.

“Long before Angelina Jolie, Mia Farrow and Madonna made headlines with their adoptive families, 1920s star Josephine Baker tried to combat racism by adopting 12 children of various ethnic backgrounds from around the world. Today the members of her “rainbow tribe” are still searching for their identity…”Read More

There has been a big push specifically set off  by filmmaker & publicist, Ava Duvernay’s African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement to get global Africans to come together in a more organized collective to tell & honor our own stories in ways that only we can. This year’s Sundance Film Festival had its own Black House meeting of these minds who will be telling our stories & controlling how they are told. This season Sundance presented a platform that opened itself up to showcase more Black films along with really taking a look at the future of the Black film industry. “The Black Power Mixtape”  featuring Angela Davis & “Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed were just a few of  the featured films telling the story of women in Black history, unfortunately there were non about many of our great Black women from continental Africa which is something that the multi-million to billion dollar rising African film industry needs to look into in expanding our horizon beyond Nollywood. As we look to unify as a collective in a more organized manner to write, produce, fund & distribute Black films & to tell our stories as Black people, let us not forget that our collective story is as Global Africans with a story that started in Africa & spread worldwide to her Diaspora.

“PARK CITY, Utah — Black filmmakers are gaining influence in big-money Hollywood. It only follows that they would make inroads in low-budget independent cinema, too. Past years at the Sundance Film Festival typically had a handful of movies by and about blacks, but the current indie-film showcase has a dozen or more. The schedule was so strong Sundance organizers held a panel discussion — “The New ‘New Black Film”’ — featuring black filmmakers Mario Van Peebles, Kasi Lemmons and Ernest Dickerson…” READ MORE

I  recently saw a blog on Ms. Afropolitan about 7 African Female icons that shaped history who should all have African filmmakers running to tell their dynamic, powerful & unique stories in documentaries that will preserve our history for generations to come because if you ask many young Africans of today about these women shero warriors many will give a dumbfounded look of ignorance in not knowing who they are. Thank you Ms. Afropolitan for keeping our legacy alive, now let’s hope we can activate the vision of our visionaries to write & produce these stories & begin to open up our own outlets of funding for these projects like the Ford Foundation has in setting aside millions to fund documentaries. We have more black millionaires & billionaires on the African continent than anywhere else in the world  & more Black wealth throughout the Diaspora than ever in our history, so why do we not invest in our own stories being told when we spend so much of our wealth buying the stories of others & complaining about the lack of opportunity & control in telling our own story? Today’s Africa boasts an unprecedented amount of great award winning homegrown female filmmakers who will hopefully give back to mama Africa in telling her history making stories. As we honor & remember Angela Davis today on her birthday, we should pay homage to her global African sisters in the struggle- those that came before her, those that continue in the struggle & those who will come after her because of her presence & precedent.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

Years before the second wave of feminism began to take form in the West, there was a woman making activist waves in Nigeria. She was a woman nationalist named Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti. Her feminism and democratic socialism lead to the creation of The Abeokuta women’s union (AWU) and later Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), organisations and movements that aided Kuti to promote women’s rights to education, employment and to political participation. When king Alake Ademola of Egbaland wanted to impose taxes on women, Kuti and the AWU clan went to protest using the slogan ‘no taxation without representation’. They were not equal members of society and were strongly opposed to paying taxes until the injustices were rectified. As the women protested outside the Alake’s house, they sang in Yoruba:“Alake, for a long time you have used your penis as a mark of authority that youare our husband.Today we shall reverse the order and use our vagina to play the role of husband.” Their unified actions resulted remarkably in the king’s abdication.

Yaa Asantewa

2. Yaa Asantewa – The Commander in Chief

No woman is known in the history of the African reactions and responses to European power better than Nana Yaa Asantewa of the Asante state Edweso in Ghana. She was the military leader of what is known as the ‘Yaa Asantewa War’, which was the last war between the Asante and the British, and during which she became referred to by the British as the ‘Joan D’Arc of Africa’. Although she did not enter combat herself, the troops fought in her name and she gave orders and provided the troops with gun powder.

Winnie Mandela

3. Winnie Mandela – The President’s Wife

Twenty years of separation proved too much even for the Mandelas. The young woman Nelson Mandela knew when he was incarcerated was not the middle-aged woman to whom he returned. And she, now accustomed to the company of young male rebels became uncomfortable in the presence of the old Nelson. When the couple embarked on an international journey after Nelson’s release, crowds flocked to see him, the person they considered the hero of South African anti-apartheid politics. What this crowd was likely not to know was Winnie’s activist work, her leadership and her outspoken opposition to white minority rule played an equal role in the anti-apartheid campaign . There’s a clip here that is historically significant.

Margaret Ekpo

4. Margaret Ekpo – The Fashionable Feminist

Margaret Ekpo was famous for being a fashionable woman who combined western and Nigerian fashion influences. Perhaps her background as a seamstress enabled her to even better express her ‘Afropolitan’ lifestyle via her clothing. She loved ballroom dancing and was a devout Christian, but  when it came to her political activism, which really is what she was about, she made sure to uphold an image of Africaness, wearing traditional clothes and plaiting hair during political campaigns.

A few women can lay claim to as many legacies for their countrymen as Maragaret Ekpo. At the time of her death she left behind a legacy of ‘One Nigeria’, ‘Women in Politics’, ‘Women in Business and Leadership’ and ‘Emancipation for Women’.

Miriam Makeba

5. Miriam Makeba – The Mother of Africa

Another prominently outspoken and visible opponent of South Africa’s apartheid regime was Miriam Makeba, also known as Mama Africa, and the Empress of African song. Makeba was not only involved in radical activity against apartheid but also in the civil rights movement and then black power. In fact, she was married (albeit briefly) to the Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael, who was her fourth husband out of five. She said:

Everybody now admits that apartheid was wrong, and all I did was tell the people who wanted to know where I come from how we lived in South Africa. I just told the world the truth. And if my truth then becomes political, I can’t do anything about that.

Queen Nzinga sculpture

6. Queen Nzinga –  The reformist
Also knows as Queen Jinga, she is known to have assigned women to important government offices in present day Angola. Two of her war leaders were reputedly her sisters, her council of advisors contained many women, among others her sisters, Princess Grace Kifunji and Mukumbu, the later Queen Barbara, and women were called to serve in her army. Nzinga organized a powerful guerrilla army, conquered some of her enemies and developed alliances to control the slave routes. She even allied with the Dutch to help her stop the Portuguese advancement. After a series of decisive setbacks, Nzinga had to negotiate a peace treaty with the Portuguese, but still refused to pay tribute to the Portuguese king.

Lady Ruth Khama

7. Ruth Williams, Lady Khama – The Motswanan

Lady Khama was the wife of Botswana’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama. She was born in Blackheath in south-east London and was the daughter of a retired Indian Army officer. Her marriage to the man who would become Botswana’s president was met with disapproval in Botswana, it enraged apartheid South Africa, and embarrassed the British government. Lady Khama was an influential, politically active first lady during her husband’s tenure as president. When Seretse Khama died in 1980, many expected that Ruth Khama would return to London. But instead she became president of the country’s Red Cross. She said:

“I am completely happy here and have no desire to go anywhere else, I have lived here for more than half my life, and my children are here. When I came to this country I became a Motswana.”

A film, A Marriage of Inconvenience, was made in 1990 about the Khamas.

SOURCE: MSAFROPOLITAN

Thanks to the Thoughts of a Ghetto Intellectual named Kwame Zulu Shabazz, I was introduced to a great documentary on the power of Global Black Female Unity. Watching the clip for the documentary “Na nga def: Diasporics Encounter Africans” brought tears of joy to my eyes in looking at Black beautiful faces representing Africa & her Diaspora & the touching way these women warriors, activists, artists & global Africans came together to share their stories in the desire to re-connect, re-educate, rebuild, rebrand & uplift global Africa from Brazil to Senegal & all points in between. In embracing our Global Fusions we learn to understand Black Globalization at its very best & worst. Sometimes the key to unlocking the chains of separation & finding our global African power is as simple as Na nga def -How are you?

As I joyfully read more  about the way too slept on Canadian hip-hop group, Nomadic Massive, allowing their music to be used in this documentary & further reading about Liliane Braga, Brazilian journalist, hip-hop producer, academic researcher & one of the five women who produced  ”Na nga def: Diasporics Encounter Africans”, tears of sadness came over me as I learned that the strikingly beautiful dark skinned Kenyan woman, hip-hop artist, actress and radio presenter, Angel Wainana , whose memory the documentary is dedicated to, had died tragically in a fire six months after participating in this ground breaking sharing & unification of global African women. Read More Here

Black Stars continue to rise globally staying true to Ghana’s national slogan of Forward Ever, BackWard Never! Ms. Rebekah Frimpong: Filmmaker/Poet/Mentor/Activist is a Global Fusionist that you will be sure to hear more about soon. From pageant crowns to being in the  front lines of a global revolution for sustenance, land and one’s human right to participate in one’s own self-preservation to prevent vanishing seeds in favor of growth & self sustainability, Rebekah shows that beauty is truly skin deep. Rebekah emanates beauty  from the exterior by shining the light into its deepness. Check out Rebekah’s upcoming project, Vanishing Seeds, where she manifests her words

” Revolution over loot! Africa must be free in our hearts, Africa is our home only we can change the landscape of tomorrow…”

Vanishing Seeds From Haiti to Ghana… One Seed Can Make A Difference.

About The Vanishing Seeds Film Project.

The Vanishing Seeds film project was developed as a program that would use the medium of film as an educational tool to teach audiences about the devastating effects of deforestation. Vanishing Seeds also will educate individuals and communities on how to combat deforestation with active volunteerism and public campaigns. The Vanishing Seeds project was developed by Rebekah A. Ofori-Frimpong in partnership with Trees for the Future Caribbean and African department. This project will include a year long campaign that will include film screenings, educational seminars, volunteering initiatives, and community programming. The Vanishing Seeds films will serve as public service announcements to educate various communities in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The Vanishing Seeds Films will follow the work of Trees for the Future in Haiti and Ghana as Miss Ghana USA 2010/11 finalist Rebekah A. Ofori-Frimpong documents the efforts on ground in both Haiti and Ghana. Trees for the Future as of 2009 started two new tree planting programs in both Haiti and Ghana to further support the ongoing reforesting projects in place and Vanishing Seeds from Haiti to Ghana will show this progression. READ MORE

Find out more about Rebekah other philanthropic initiative, Mama Africa . Sending personalized care packages to mothers in need in Africa and US. Read More Here

On April 15th, 2010 The BBC aired the six part documentary entitled “Welcome To Lagos”, a look at the second most populous city in Africa outside of Cairo, located in the West African nation of Nigeria. Nigeria boasts both extreme wealth & poverty.  This documentary focuses strictly on those who represent the systemic poverty of Lagos. Nigeria boasts the most billionaires in Africa & in many other parts of the world, while it was recorded last year to have a 76% poverty rate.

Nigeria is considered the center of Africa & is the most populous nation in Africa & the 8th most populous in the world. It has been said that 1 out of 4 Africans is Nigerian; however  with power in numbers, like many African nations, oil rich Nigeria is plagued with systemic corruption along with tribal & religious infighting that keeps it from living up to its title as Africa’s super eagle powerhouse in its ability to soar to great heights with the type of power  that can move all of Africa forward in a new continently strong global economy. Many have said that if Nigeria can be fixed & rid of its ills & hardships then all of Africa can be led to its glory.

On October 1, 2010 Nigeria will be celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence from British colonial rule. With recent religious turmoil, change in government with a new leader ironically named Goodluck Jonathan to tackle the massive problems of Nigeria  & hungry entrepreneurs looking to get a piece of their Nigerian fufu, the nation is at a fragile brink of change where it can soar with the might of an eagle or become combustible if the oil rich nation is lit by the wrong flame causing it to implode within itself. All eyes are on Nigeria as its president, Umaru Yar’Adua, is officially declared dead & the acting president officially gets sworn in as the new president,while the world waits to see what Change in Nigeria will look like.

“Welcome to Lagos”  has been seen as controversial by many who either are not ready to face the truths of their nation or feel it just looks at the nation in a one dimensional manner while overlooking its greatness & achievements.

“Controversial because it’s been derided by some Nigerians – notably Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, who called it “condescending” and “colonialist,” and that it’s a “tendentious and lopsided programme.”There are those who lament the documentary’s focus on the city’s poverty and degradation, while ignoring the more affluent, educated, although much smaller third, conjuring up author Chimamanda Adichie’s “danger of a single story” concern..other Nigerians disagree, saying that the documentary represents the reality for the majority of the city’s populace, and see value in the discomfort it inspires in some” SOURCE

Say what you want about Africa/Africans, but you can never say we are not a resourceful people who understand & embody the idea of SURVIVAL. The so called “green movement” & being/living/eating “organic” has never been a trend, but rather an innate part of everyday African culture! In viewing “Welcome to Lagos”, while most may see garbage & dirt, I see a beautiful love story between a man & woman who love one another & their family. I see a powerful, strong yet humble man who through his own childhood neglect & suffering understands & accepts his role as a man & provider for his family by any means necessary. I see the respect of Africans as they greet one another with a good morning/afternoon/evening/ or a simple hello, salute or head nod simply to let their fellow man/woman/child know that they acknowledge their existence/presence. I see a group of people who some may view as third world savages, possessing the type of respect & honor for their fellow man/woman/child that builds the type of civility, organized community & good governance that seems to elude “so called” civilized people & super powers in “so called” first world nations. I see people who are not afraid of hard work to attain their dreams and most of all I see beautiful African faces who always find a reason to smile & to be hopeful even in the worst of conditions & suffering. This is Africa, my Africa, where we can always find a way to make due as we aspire for the best, for even through garbage & dirt- creativity & innovation lives!

Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as president

By now everyone across the globe must have heard the name Fela Anikulapo Kuti, AKA Fela, AKA Black President. If you have not then maybe you are too young or just stuck under a rock. There is a new revival of Fela’s music, his words, his teachings & his revolutionary spirit springing up all around the world, cutting across boundaries of nations, race, class, gender & age. There are books being released, CD’s in celebration of his music by today’s artists whom he has influenced, parties around the world celebrating the blend of hi-life, funk & Jazz which created the beautiful powerful sound of Afro Beat, a broadway show on his life & music, art exhibits, countless documentaries and even classes in Universities based on the life & sound of the incomparable Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The spirit of Fela is alive & flourishing & it could not have come at a better time. The injustice, corrupt governments, reprehensible poverty in nations with abundant resources & the infiltration of new colonialism in the form of the demonstration of crazy,known as democracy, which he spoke & fought against, seems to be reaping its head everywhere- begging to be exposed & cut down by the many spawns & M.O.P soldiers of Fela spread throughout the world.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti is Africa’s champion, taking the baton from great Pan-Africanists & revolutionaries like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah toward finishing the race & battle for Africa’s true freedom in self empowerment, self sufficiency, self awareness, self preservation & finally releasing the chains of colonialism through continental equality & unity. Fela saw that Africa’s biggest problem in moving forward & achieving its contintental greatness was the silence, poverty, lack of education & ignorance of the people -so he created a movement of the people through the call & power of music.

Modern day Felas like Nneka, Wyclef Jean,  Dead Prez, Blitz the Ambassador, Sena, Antibales, Wunmi, Black Prophet, K’naan, Stephen Marley, Wanlov the Kubolor, Damian Junior Gong Marley, The Blk Jks, Mos Def, The Roots & of course the direct heirs, Seun & Femi Kuti amongst many others globally, are carrying the revolutinary mantle of Fela by showing the world that music is still a weapon to be used for the good of the people- waking up & raising up nations & the world- a never ending MOP- Movement of the people.

There is a new “Back to Africa” movement emerging globally, whether it’s big businesses seeking resources in Africa or Africans & Diasporans returning to their roots & finding a new sense of pride in being African. Fela’s movement of the people is back again with the fire burning hotter than ever, ushering in a new anti- zombie decade where information is power, knowledge is eternal & music is the weapon of choice!

PBS is true Global Fusion -Global Classroom- Support PBS & Public TV! Watch Black President Jan. 25th,2010 @10pm (http://www.pbs.org/opb/soundtracks/stories/black/) & Go to see Fela on Broadway in NY (http://www.felaonbroadway.com/)!

“There ’s so much hypocrisy & lies in education -we are not taught about what life is- education does not deal with the essence of life, tradition & culture & all those things that existed in Africa before that made the continent so pure & the envy of the rest of the world…now everyone wants to be European or American….America says jump, the whole world jumps- when America says shut up the whole world shuts up- when America doesn’t like you, you are finished….You say I don’t Take Risk?” Femi Kuti

“Music Is The Weapon of The Future..If You play With Music You will Die Young”

Wake up world- the spirit of Fela lives globally beyond genres, borders & styles- Music is the weapon of choice for the new decade of change agents & global leaders! Let’s get Globally Fused!

I went to a workshop preview of the documentary, The Prep School Negro on Monday. This was a documentary that directly spoke to me as a fellow prep school Negro & my own prep school experience, along with the experience of battling who you are as a Negro & the so called “non traditional student” status, as they called it at the time when I received my A Better Chance scholarship in 1987 & went off to the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut. At that time the only information of the prep school negro experience I had to reference was the tragedy of Edmund Perry. The Prep School Negro documentary is riveting in its honesty & realness. I shed tears knowing that the story was also my story in many ways, from the battle with self, family and finding one’s place between two very separate & different communities. I found it shocking to know that many people of color were uncomfortable with the use of the word Negro in the title because I had never thought of it as derogatory term. I had visions of W.E.B Dubois’s The Negro & Carter G. Woodson’s The Mis-Eduaction of the Negro in mind when I saw the title. These were books written by Black intellectuals who I had admired & wouldn’t think of them using a derogatory term to describe us as a people, as we so readily do today in the acceptance of the use of the word” Nigger/ Nigga” , which the hip-hop community has found some sort of false empowerment in its usage & acceptance. It made me think when someone in the audience explained that perhaps some older Black Americans would be uncomfortable with the use of the word Negro in the title of the documentary because during the era of the Harlem Renaissance there was an association of elitism & intellectual superiority amongst certain Black people who referred to themselves as Negroes , so the word combined with prep school would bring together those visions of elitist intellectual Black people to mind. I found that point very interesting because I had never really thought about it, but as I mentioned when I first saw the title, I had visions of Black intellectuals in my head, but never in an elitist type of manner. I had always thought of the word Negro as the the proper definition of those of us of African decent, much the same way as we refer to those of European decent as Caucasians. I had never heard of a White person being offended by being called Caucasian, so I could not fully understand why Black people would take offense to the word Negro as opposed to being called Black, which for me is more a color in my Crayola box than a definition of a people. I realized that our story as people of African decent, Negroes or Black people is a far more complex & personal story than I could ever truly break down or fully understand. As the subject of the documentary said “We have to respect our own process in life, as well as the process of others”.

I quickly realized that this process has been an ever waging battle between those considered as intellectuals & those who are considered of/from the hood, or as it was stated by the students in documentary “real Black people”. This is the same separation between the house negro & the field negro, the same separation between those who are considered bourgeoisie & those who are considered hood; yet The Prep School Negro is the story of many of us who balance our lives between the two divides, while trying to find a place between the two where we can fit comfortably. Andre Robert Lee, the subject of the documentary, like myself, is of/from the hood, yet he is very much a Black intellectual as many of us prep school Negroes are, it’s just that our perception of “hood” is a lot different from those who we grew up with. I came from a Ghanaian family who always put education first, so going to college was never an option, but rather a mandatory part of my life’s process because that was what my mother worked multiple jobs to get me to.

I grew up in Lefrak City and never knew that I was from a place which most people considered in its negative connotation, an urban ghetto or the projects because my neighbors and friends were mostly first generation American kids of Russian Jews, Latinos, Caribbean Islanders, other Ghanaians and Black Americans who were all working toward the “American dream” in trying to make sure that all of their kids had the best education possible that they could afford & college was also not an option but a mandatory part of their life’s process as well. I don’t know if I was in denial or just oblivious, but I never knew that I lived in the ghetto/projects until after college when I went to visit my mother & a guy that I was dating at the time came to pick me up and made the comment that he never knew that I was from the hood & grew up in “Iraq”- which I later found out was the nickname given to Lefrak City because many viewed it as a war zone- but somehow I managed to miss all of that. It just goes to show that being “hood” or “ghetto” is often more of a state of mind than where you are from. My mother & I lived in a well furnished, spotless, big 3 bedroom apartment with a dining room, a balcony, a garage, 24hr security, swimming pools , tennis courts, basketball courts and a library right downstairs from our building; as apposed to my moving on up story after leaving “the hood” into my so called elite Manhattan addresses on Central Park West & 5th Avenue, in much smaller apartments which do not have any of the amenities that my so called hood/war zone of Lefrak City had. I went out of my way after I was told that I was from the hood/projects/ghetto at the age of twenty something to find out if I had really been that oblivious to my surroundings. I found a great story of a man named Lefrak and perhaps one of the greatest developments & communities one could come from. Lefrak City for me represented a true melting pot of America with people from all over the world who had created a gumbo of a community which felt like Disneyland’s “It’s a small world” because of its diversity. We had African markets, bodegas, Caribbean restaurants, Russian restaurants & community rooms that held services for Jews, Muslims, & Christians alike. At Pomfret, with a handful of people of color, two of us were from Lefrak City and we did not know one another until we met at Pomfret, so go figure! I guess even out of a perceived war zone, intellectuals can be molded.

This takes me to another observation about us as Black people and prep school negroes. I was saddened by the fact that when I suggested that The Prep School Negro should be something that BET (Black Entertainment Television) should show on its network , I was told that this type of story does not fall in line with BET programming. It is a real shame that this is our first reaction to such a suggestion particularly because Stephen Hill, who was featured in the documentary because he is also a prep school Negro is head of BET programming. I was not surprised by this answer to my suggestion because I had been told the same thing in the past by BET executives when suggesting they show any stories of intellectual Black people or any diversity of us as Black people outside of our perceived ghetto/project war zones, which we show most of the world without ever showing that these places also produce intellectuals & prep school Negroes . It is really sad that we accept this amongst ourselves even when we are in positions of power where we can make a difference & be the change we want to see. Are we as prep school Negroes speaking to the bourgeoisie association of ourselves by thinking that those who did not have the opportunity of a prep school education could not possibly appreciate & relate to the fact that we are not one dimensional people or the fact that the same opportunities are available to them if they seek it? Why should we want to keep the information & know how that we have received to ourselves, as we watch those that we grew up with in the same neighborhoods settling on the lowest denominator of us and believing that they have no other choice , ability or opportunity because they are from the hood/ghetto/projects or war zones? It is said that “to who much is given much is expected”, so it is up to us who have been the beneficiaries of the best in education, wealth and positions of power to give back by sharing our knowledge and know how. Benjamin Disrelli said, “ The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them their own”. BET stands for Black Entertainment Television, so in serving & entertaining the full spectrum of Black people as one of our only designated outlets, those in power are responsible in telling our full story as Black people. We are just as much The Prep School Negro as we are Frankie & Neffy . How can we expect & demand that mainstream media respect & include our stories in its entirety when we do not hold ourselves to the same scrutiny & expectations. Mainstream media takes its lead & cues from us in targeting us as an audience, telling & investing in our stories. Until we do right by ourselves and diversify in the stories we tell & show about ourselves, we can not have any expectations of or blame to throw at a mainstream media that is on the outside looking in. We as real Black people or prep school Negroes need to start looking in!

http://www.theprepschoolnegro.org/2009/10/aretha-amma-sarfo-founder-global-fusion-productions/

Definition of Negro
Negro is a term referring to people of Black ancestry. Prior to the shift in the lexicon of American and worldwide classification of race and ethnicity in the late 1960s, the appellation was accepted as a normal, completely neutral, formal term both by those of Black African descent as well as those of non-African black descent. During the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, some African American leaders objected to the term, preferring the term Black. During the 1960s Negro came to be considered an ethnic slur. The term is now considered archaic and is not commonly used as a racist slur. The term is still used in some contexts for historical reasons such as in the name of the United Negro College Fund or the Negro league in sports. “Negro” means “black” in Spanish, Portuguese, and ancient Italian; all of these derive from the Latin niger (i.e., “black”).

Around 1442, the Portuguese first arrived in sub-Saharan Africa while trying to find a sea route to India. The term negro, literally meaning “black”, was used by the Spanish and Portuguese to refer to people. From the 18th century to the late 1960s, “negro” (later capitalized) was considered the proper English term for all people of sub-Saharan African origin.
It fell out of favor by the early 1970s in the United States after the Civil Rights movement. However, older African Americans from the period when “Negro” was considered acceptable, initially found the term “Black” more offensive than “Negro”. Evidence for this is in historical African-American organizations and institutions’ use of the term—such as the United Negro College Fund. In current English language usage, “Negro” is generally considered acceptable in a historical context, such as baseball’s Negro Leagues of the early and mid-20th century, or in the name of older organizations, as in Negro spirituals, the United Negro College Fund or the Journal of Negro Education. The U.S. Census now uses the grouping “Black or African American.”

LeFrak City, Queens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LeFrak is a large apartment development in the southernmost region of Corona, a neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, near Jackson Heights, built in the mid-1960s for working- and middle-class families and located on the north side of the Long Island Expressway. The complex of twenty eighteen-story (technically sixteen-story, since the lobbies are the 2nd floors and there are no 13th floors) apartment towers covers 40 acres (162,000 m²) and currently houses over 14,000 people. The development is part of Queens Community Board 4.
The complex is home to a diverse population, including African-Americans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Haitians. The development remains popular due to its reasonable rents, good quality apartments, and location in a safe neighborhood.
The development is served by playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts, spacious fields, a swimming pool, a branch of the Queens Borough Public Library, a post office, two large office buildings, retail space, and over 3,500 parking spaces, and is a short walk to Queens Center Mall The complex is named for its developer, Samuel J. LeFrak.
The LeFrak Organization broke ground in 1960, finishing by 1969, and offered air-conditioned apartments at $40 a room. The LeFrak strategy of “Total Facilities for Total Living” meant bringing recreational, shopping, transportation, and other services to the residents.
LeFrak City is also the home of the New York City Police Department’s Medical Services Division.

Samuel J. LeFrak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samuel J. LeFrak (1918 – April 16, 2003) was a noted landlord who chaired a private building firm, The LeFrak Organization. The LeFrak Organization was also ranked 45th on the Forbes list of top 500 private companies. The development firm is best known for major development projects in Battery Park City, LeFrak City in Queens, and Newport, Jersey City. The LeFrak Organization was founded in 1883 in France, by Samuel J. LeFrak’s grandfather, Maurice.
LeFrak grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Erasmus Hall High School. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1940,with the University’s LeFrak Hall named for him. In 1988, LeFrak was honored by the United Nations, along with former President Jimmy Carter, for global contributions through Habitat International.

Notable current and former residents of LeFrak City include:
Kenny Anderson, former basketball player for the New Jersey Nets and other teams during his ten-year NBA career.
Noriega (aka NORE), rapper.
Kenny Smith, former basketball player for the Houston Rockets and other teams during his ten-year NBA career.
Kool G Rap, rapper.
Prodigy, rapper, of Mobb Deep
Akinyele, rapper
Big Mato, reggaeton/spanish hip-hop musician.
Emerson Boozer, NY Jets football player
Erick Scarecrow, Esc-Toy founder
Mark White, bass player for the Spin Doctors
E-Moneybags, rapper
Harlem Knightz, rapper
Frankie Manning, One of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop