Everett Jenkins Birthday Blog

  I received my copy of the  Amherst  magazine yesterday and, after reading the following article, felt compelled to briefly emerge from my Ramadan meditations to suggest the importance of reading the following article:  https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/magazine/issues/2022-spring/a-glorious-woman I did not know Tamara Johnson well.  I only had a few brief encounters with her during my student activist days as the Minister of Information of the Amherst Afro-Am.  However, my observations of the times, and of the social environment at the college during the 1970s, leads me to the impression that the college experience of Tamara Johnson was difficult. I encourage everyone to read the article and to reflect, on this Spring day, that, thankfully, in the last fifty years, some progress has been made. Peace, Everett Jenkins Fairfield, California April 28, 2022

  As is my tradition during this time of year, over the weekend I watched The Ten Commandments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ten_Commandments_(1956_film) The Ten Commandments is one of the greatest movies ever made and it made a great impression upon me when I watched it in my youth...and, indeed, throughout my life. However, when watching a movie over time one's perspective begins to change and with regards to The Ten Commandments, my perspective most certainly has changed.  Candidly, I am older now and I find that my viewing of the movie is revised by a certain acquisition of different perspectives.  I cannot go into depth here about all the different perspectives.  However, one different perspective that intrigues me today is the fate of the mothers of Moses.  In the film we are told that the Hebrew mother died before Moses begins his exile in the desert.  As for his Egyptian adoptive mother, she survives and lives long enough to be able to join Moses at Passover and on the

It is my tradition to view each new televised historical offering of Hampshire College, Class of 1975, graduate Ken Burns.  His latest offering is entitled "Ben Franklin".  https://www.pbs.org/show/benjamin-franklin/ I have watched the first two hours and highly recommend this offering as well.   Peace, Everett Jenkins Fairfield, California April 5, 2022 -----Original Message----- Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 5:34 am Subject: March 2022 Must See TV: Slavery By Another Name February has come and gone, but Black History continues.  This morning I viewed a PBS documentary entitled Slavery By Another Name.  This documentary profiles a practice of peonage that existed throughout the South after the Civil War which essentially continued the practice of slavery well into the 20th century.  https://www.pbs.org/video/slavery-another-name-slavery-video/ For those who believe that slavery ended in 1865 and that we should get over what happened so long ago, I commend Slavery By Another Name

It has taken almost seventy years since Emmitt Till died and over a hundred years since the first suggestion of a federal anti-lynching was made, but yesterday such a federal anti-lynching bill was signed into law by President Biden.  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-anti-lynching-emmett-till_n_6226df02e4b07e948ae9826c Progress can be slow, but it can be made.  And thanks to the sacrifice of Mamie Till Mobley, progress was achieved yesterday and this nation is better for it. Peace, Everett Jenkins Fairfield, California March 30, 2022 -----Original Message----- Thursday, March 3, 2022, 11:23 am Subject: In Celebration of Women's History Month: Watch "Women of the Movement" As with my reading and my writing, my television viewing sometimes gets delayed.  Such was the case with my viewing of the six hour limited series entitled "Women of the Movement".  Originally scheduled for February, I spent last night binge watching the series.  Focusing on the murder

  As most of you know, one of the highlights of my life has been my discovery of my Canadian heritage.  Indeed, one of the most startling revelations came in 2009 when I attended the Centennial Celebration for the founding of Amber Valley.  One the startling revelations was that the celebration was not just attended by the black descendants of the founding fathers of the town, but also by many white folks from the surrounding farmland areas.  It was a rather startling surprise for me to be attending a purely country and western gathering on Saturday night only to be followed by down home gospel gathering the next Sunday morning.  It was apparent to me that the black and white farmers in the area surrounding Amber Valley had grown comfortable with each other and with each other's cultures. I was curious as to why this should be and I was informed that many of the neighboring farmers were Ukrainian immigrants who arrived in the area around the same time as the Amber Valley folks and

  Over the weekend, I treated myself to two rather profound and strangely related films.  The first was a documentary titled Busy Inside  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/well/mind/dissociative-identity-disorder-busy-inside.html This film was aired on my local PBS station, so those who have PBS Passport may be able to find it and watch it. The second film was the three hour Japanese drama titled Drive My Car  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_My_Car_(film) It may be a daunting cinematic feat for most, but those who take the journey of watching first the documentary and then the movie may find that they will be well rewarded in the end. Peace, Everett Jenkins Fairfield, California March 21, 2022