Young people turned out in force for a political rally at the Quicken Loans Arena on October 29th, 2008. LeBron James, Jay-Z, the Obama Campaign and the Democratic Party held a large rally in downtown Cleveland that was well staged and attended.

News media from around the world were represented, including a Kenyan paper called “The Nation,” “Al-Jazeera English,” and all the major U.S. news outlets.
(more…)

Today Senator Barack Obama wrapped up the presidential campaign that began “on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, “with his “closing argument,” delivered to a full house at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio. His closing argument summed up the current state of the campaign and, I’m sure, inspired many residents of Northeast Ohio to continue to work even harder to put him in the White House, on November 4th, 2008.

Even as the diverse crowd basked in the words of the presidential candidate, plans to implement the “final solution” for African Americans, Barack Obama in particular, were being foiled by federal agents in Jackson, Tennessee. This makes the 4th assassination attempt on Baracks life, that’s been publicized, since he began his campaign on the steps of the Old State Capitol.
(more…)

Mwatabu S. Okantah holds the BA degree in English and African Studies from Kent State University (1976) and the MA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York (1982).  Currently, he is an Assistant Professor and Poet in Residence in the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State University.  He also serves as Director of the Center of Pan-African Culture.  As a poet and motivational speaker, Mr. Okantah has appeared in various locations throughout the US and West Africa.As a performer, he has worked in a variety of musical situations, including time as Griot for the Iroko African Drum & Dance Society and in an ongoing collaboration with the Cavani String Quartet  entitled, “Collage: Poetry and Music.”  He has been the leader of his own performance group, the Muntu Kuntu Energy Ensemble, since 1989.  Honors include Selection to the 5th Edition of Who’s Who Among Teachers in America, a 1999 Kent State University Teaching Council Outstanding Teaching Award, inclusion in the International Who’s Who in Poetry and selection in Outstanding Writers of the 20th Century by the International Biographical Centre.  In 1994, Okantah served as a “Special Guest” guide for Sankofa Tours in Senegal and Ghana.  In 1988, he was named a Rotary International Group Study Exchange Fellow in Nigeria.  Mr. Okantah has also taught at Union College, The Livingston College of Rutgers University, Cleveland State University and Lakeland Community College.

You’re probably familiar with the West African symbology known as Adinkra. I won’t go into the details of where they come from and why they’re used. What I am going to do is make available these symbols to artists who may want to use them in their designs.  I’ll be putting up collections of 15 or 20 along with their names and meanings as I have time. This is the first installment in .jpg format. To get them onto your machine just drag the image to your hard drive if you’re on a Mac. If you are on a PC I believe a right click will allow you to save.

Part 2 of the Adinkra symbols can be found here

[Show as slideshow]

ABAN (A fortress): STRENGTH OF AUTHORITY

ADINKRAHENE (Chief adinkra):
GREATNESS & LEADERSHIP

AGYINADAWURU (The gong of Agyin): FAITHFULNESS & ALERTNESS

AKOBEN (war horn):VIGILANCE & WARINESS, A CALL TO ARMS

AKOFENA (Ceremonial swords): STATE AUTHORITY, LEGITIMACY

AKOKO NAN (Hens feet): PROTECTIVENESS and PARENTAL DISCIPLINE

AKOMA (The Heart): LOVE, PATIENCE & FAITHFULNESS

AKOMA NTOASO (The joined or united hearts): TOGETHERNESS & UNITY

ANANSE NTONTAN (The spider's web) WISDOM, CRAFTINESS, CREATIVITY and COMPLEXITIES of LIFE

ANI BRE A ENSO GYA: PATIENCE & SELF-DISCIPLINE

ASASE YE DURU (The earth is heavy): PROVIDENCE & DIVINITY

AYA (fern): ENDURANCE and RESOURCEFULLNESS

BESE SAKA (sack of cola nuts): AFFLUENCE, POWER, TOGETHERNESS and UNITY

BI NKA BI (No one should bite the other): PEACE and HARMONY

BOA ME NA ME MMOA WO (Help me and let me help you):
COOPERATION and INTERDEPENDANCE

DAMEDAME (the checkerboard game): CRAFTINESS, INTELLEGENCE and STRATEGY

The end of this election season is coming to an abrupt close. There are 12 days left to cast your vote. Will you wait until the last moment and then rush to cast your vote in a furious flurry, or will you cast a vote early and free up a space in line for someone who cannot get enough time off from work to go to the polls? Now’s the time to make your decision and take action. It’s such a simple thing that has been complicated by the need to automate every aspect of society.

Voting machine technology, which was supposed to simplify the whole process has come up short of the hype. What was supposed to streamline the process, improve accuracy and reliability is now causing interminably long lines at the polls and in the end is not necessarily accurate. We now know that our “state of the art” electronic voting equipment is unreliable at best (see EVEREST report), prone to tampering at worst. So, here are a few tips to help you successfully cast your ballot in a timely manner.

(more…)

I’ve lived in the Akron area for almost 40 years now. During that time I’ve had the privilege of working with some extremely talented singers, songwriters, and musicians. Many of these players would put the latest crop of corporate sponsored, cookie cutter “talent” that we hear on the radio to shame. In fact if someone were to pool this talent I think we could give Motown a run for their money. Right here in little ol’ A-town.

(more…)