Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
longest marriage for a living couple

The husband is 104 years old; the wife is 102 years old. My favorite line was when she said, “He was not mean; he was not a fighter. He was quiet and kind. He was not much to look at but he was sweet.” Having a man who treasures you and respects you will trump looks all day, every day! I hate to see the day when one of them passes away….since all they have known is one another. That will be a painful day. Their endurance is truly beautiful, and a fine example for us young folks. Zelmyra and Herbert Fisher have set a world record as the oldest living couple married the longest.
September 13, 2008 - 10:48PM
Francine Sawyer
Sun Journal Staff
A Craven County couple are in the Guinness World Records book.
The two did nothing outlandish such as sky-diving upside down, dancing for days, taking the longest lawn mower ride or having the most tattoos.
No, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of the Brownsville community have been married for more than 84 years. That is a feat in itself.
They have the world record of the longest marriage for a living couple.
They can thank their granddaughter Iris Godette for getting the recognition. She submitted the information to the Guinness Book of Records..
The information was apparently checked by Guinness and a certificate was given to the couple.
However, when you ask Herbert about the Guinness recognition, he just says, "Oh, Yeah?" The recognition has not changed their life. He still looks at her with love and concern, as she looks toward him as if he will give her strength and guidance. They have lived for more than 50 years in a house near the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport They lived in James City before that but the land was purchased for apartments and the two moved.
Herbert was born June 10, 1905. His hearing is going but his mind is sharp. Zelmyra was born Dec. 10, 1907. She uses a walker to get around the house and yard. The two of them can still give their reasons for marrying on May 13, 1924.
"He was not mean; he was not a fighter," Zelmrya said. "He was quiet and kind. He was not much to look at but he was sweet." Herbert said Zelmyra never gave him any trouble. "No, no trouble at all. We never argued, but we might have disagreed," he said.
Norma Godette, one of the couple's five children. said her parents have gotten along well through the years. "One time, mama wanted to work. Daddy told her she could not work, that he could take care of the family. She slipped down to Cherry Point and got a job as a caretaker there," Godette said. "Well, it was done; she got the job. I had to let it be," Herbert said. Different religions did not tear the two apart. He is a member of Pilgrim Chapel Missionary Baptist Church . She is a member of Jones Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church . The churches are in James City , where they both grew up. For all of their married life they have attended their own churches. They go their own ways on Sunday morning.She reads the Bible daily.
The two watch television together. "We separate when thebaseball comes on," Zelmyra said. Herbert loves baseball, especially the Atlanta Braves. He also enjoys golf, because one of his son-in-laws plays the game. They have no secret or sage advice as to why their marriage has lasted so long. "I didn't know I would be married this long," Herbert said. "But I lived a nice holy life and go to church every Sunday. "Yes sir, anything for her."
Zelmyra said Herbert was the only boyfriend she ever had. "We got along good," she said. "There was no trouble."Zelmyra and Herbert Fisher have set a world record as the oldest living couple married the longest. She said she is not tired of seeing him. "I didn't think I'd be married this long. He is quiet," she said..
Zelmyra said her husband had no annoying habits. They both said they shared the title of "boss." The two sit on the porch and as a train goes by they count the cars. They also watch the neighbors who walk by.
"They were excellent parents," said Norma Godette. "We were poor, but we didn't do without a thing. If he had two cents he saved one cent."Herbert worked as a mechanic at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in New Bern for 35 years. He took a bicycle, caught a cab or had a neighbor drive him to work. That hard work and savings put all five of the children through college. Inside the house are plaques, letters of recognition, and awards that both the Fishers and their children received for accomplishments in civic duties and church. The house where they raised their children has two sitting rooms and three bedrooms. Now that the children are grown, the Fishers enjoy having a bedroom for each. Herbert Fisher can stay up until the last ball is thrown in the ballgame he is watching. And he does. Herbert makes his bed each day and sweeps his floor. He also checks on his wife as she rests. Between the rests, they enjoy their children, ten grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Both say that if they had it to do over, they would not change their life.
Thank you Kitty for this post
Letter to the NY Post
Sent: Fri 2/20/09 12:24 PM
To:
Dear Friend,
The day after President Obama signed his stimulus bill into law, the NY Post ran a cartoon depicting the bill's "author" as a dead monkey, covered in blood after being shot by police. You can see the image by clicking on the link below.
In the face of intense criticism, the Post's editor is standing by the cartoon, claiming that it's not about Obama, has no racial undertones, and that it was simply referencing a recent incident when police shot a pet chimpanzee. But it's impossible to believe that any newspaper editor could be ignorant enough to not understand how this cartoon evokes a history of racist symbolism, or how frightening this image feels at a time when death threats against President Obama have been on the rise.
Please join me and other ColorOfChange.org members in demanding that the Post apologize publicly and fire the editor who allowed this cartoon to go to print:
http://www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=1899-50829
The Post would have us believe that the cartoon is not about Obama. But on the page just before the cartoon appears, there's a big picture of Obama signing the stimulus bill. A reader paging through the Post would see Obama putting pen to paper, then turn the page to see this violent cartoon. The imagery is chilling.
There is a clear history in our country of racist symbolism that depicts Black people as apes or monkeys, and it came up multiple times during the presidential campaign.
We're also in a time of increased race-based violence. In the months following President Obama's election there has been a nationwide surge in hate crimes ranging from vandalism to assaults to arson on Black churches. There has been an unprecedented number of threats against President Obama since he was elected, with hate-based groups fantasizing about the killing of the president. Just a week ago, a man drove from Louisiana to the Capitol with a rifle, telling the police who stopped him that he had a "delivery" for the president.
There is no excuse for the Post to have allowed this cartoon to be printed, and even less for Editor Col Allan's outright dismissal of legitimate concerns.
But let's be clear who's behind the Post: Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch, the Post's owner, is the man behind FOX News Channel. FOX has continually attacked and denigrated Black people, politicians, institutions at every opportunity, and ColorOfChange has run several campaigns to make clear how FOX poisons public debate.
I don't expect much from Murdoch. However, with enough public pressure, we can set the stage for advertisers and subscribers to think long and hard before patronizing outlets like the Post that refuse to be held accountable.
You can help, by making clear that the Post's behavior is unacceptable, and by asking your friends and family to do the same. Please join me:
http://www.colorofchange.org/nypost/?id=1899-50829
Thanks.
Thank you Kitty for the post
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Why white America perhaps fears Michelle
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Prayers For Obama
Prayers For Obama
www.prayersforobama.org
Come give your prayer for President Obama
Pray for President and Mrs. Obama and their daughters, nurture them spiritually, protect and watch over them.
Pray for great wisdom for President Obama and his team.
Pray for President Obama as he begins to tackle the concerns of our nation and the world.
Pray for fairness and equitableness in our economic development.
Pray for the continued process of inquiry and ask that God’s will is done and that truth and justice be our foundation.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Invocation by Dr.Rick Warren
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Aretha Franklin sings
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Montero, McGill
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
ObamaPrayerTeam - Prayer Circle in D.C.
W Middleton to Obama
Prayer Circle in D.C.
Metropolitan AME Church
1518 M. Street, NW
Washingont, D.C.
(202) 331-1518
Prayers will be lifted up for the President Elect & His family, our nation and our world.
All are welcome to join us either in person or in solidarity from your respective places. At 2:30 EST, join us for one hour of vigilant prayer, focusing on the safety, well being, wisdom, discernment, leadership, faith, and over all direction of our new president, his family, the nation and the world as stated above.
There are no special instructions other than to be vigilant and in solidarity with the group during that time period, albeit via prayer, meditation, silent reflection, group prayer, etc. at the designated time.
In Peace,
Niambi
"We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly...I can never be what I ought to be unless you are what you ought to be."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr

Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Although Dr. King's name was mistakenly recorded as "Michael King" on his birth certificate, this was not discovered until 1934, when his father applied for a passport. He had an older sister, Willie Christine (September 11, 1927) and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel (July 30, 1930 – July 1, 1969). King sang with his church choir at the 1939 Atlanta premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. He entered Morehouse College at age fifteen, skipping his ninth and twelfth high school grades without formally graduating. In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in sociology, and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) degree in 1951. In September 1951, King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University and received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) on June 5, 1955 .
In 1953, at age 24, King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to comply with the Jim Crow laws that required her to give up her seat to a white man. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, urged and planned by E. D. Nixon (head of the Montgomery NAACP chapter and a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) and led by King, soon followed. In March 1955, a 15 year old school girl, Claudette Colvin, suffered the same fate, but King did not become involved. The boycott lasted for 381 days, the situation becoming so tense that King's house was bombed. King was arrested during this campaign, which ended with a United States Supreme Court decision outlawing racial segregation on all public transport.
King was instrumental in the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, a group created to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct non-violent protests in the service of civil rights reform. King continued to dominate the organization. King was an adherent of the philosophies of nonviolent civil disobedience used successfully in India by Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, and he applied this philosophy to the protests organized by the SCLC. In 1959, he wrote The Measure of A Man, from which the piece What is Man?, an attempt to sketch the optimal political, social, and economic structure of society, is derived.
Attributing his inspiration for non-violent activism to the example of Mahatma Gandhi, he visited the Gandhi family in India in 1959, with assistance from the Quaker group, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The trip to India affected King in a profound way, deepening his understanding of nonviolent resistance and his commitment to America’s struggle for civil rights. In a radio address made during his final evening in India, King reflected, “Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.”
The FBI began wiretapping King in 1961, fearing that Communists were trying to infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement, but when no such evidence emerged, the bureau used the incidental details caught on tape over six years in attempts to force King out of the preeminent leadership position.
King correctly recognized that organized, nonviolent protest against the system of southern segregation known as Jim Crow laws would lead to extensive media coverage of the struggle for black equality and voting rights. Journalistic accounts and televised footage of the daily deprivation and indignities suffered by southern blacks, and of segregationist violence and harassment of civil rights workers and marchers, produced a wave of sympathetic public opinion that made the Civil Rights Movement the single most important issue in American politics in the early 1960s.
King organized and led marches for blacks' right to vote, desegregation, labor rights and other basic civil rights. Most of these rights were successfully enacted into United States law with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
King and the SCLC applied the principles of nonviolent protest with great success by strategically choosing the method of protest and the places in which protests were carried out in often dramatic stand-offs with segregationist authorities. Sometimes these confrontations turned violent. King and the SCLC were instrumental in the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia, in 1961 and 1962, where divisions within the black community and the canny, low-key response by local government defeated efforts; in the Birmingham protests in the summer of 1963; and in the protest in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1964. King and the SCLC joined forces with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Selma, Alabama, in December 1964, where SNCC had been working on voter registration for several months.
On several occasions Martin Luther King Jr. expressed a view that black Americans, as well as other disadvantaged Americans, should be compensated for historical wrongs. Speaking to Alex Haley in 1965, he said that granting black Americans only equality could not realistically close the economic gap between them and whites. King said that he did not seek a full restitution of wages lost to slavery, which he believed impossible, but proposed a government compensatory program of US$50 billion over ten years to all disadvantaged groups. He posited that "the money spent would be more than amply justified by the benefits that would accrue to the nation through a spectacular decline in school dropouts, family breakups, crime rates, illegitimacy, swollen relief rolls, rioting and other social evils." His 1964 book Why We Can't Wait elaborated this idea further, presenting it as an application of the common law regarding settlement of unpaid labor.
Starting in 1965, King began to express doubts about the United States' role in the Vietnam War. In an April 4, 1967, appearance at the New York City Riverside Church — exactly one year before his death — King delivered Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. In the speech he spoke strongly against the U.S.'s role in the war, insisting that the U.S. was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony" and calling the U.S. government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." But he also argued that the country needed larger and broader moral changes:“ A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just.
King was long hated by many white southern segregationists, but this speech turned the more mainstream media against him. Time called the speech "demagogic slander that sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi", and The Washington Post declared that King had "diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people."
With regard to Vietnam, King often claimed that North Vietnam "did not begin to send in any large number of supplies or men until American forces had arrived in the tens of thousands." King also praised North Vietnam's land reform. He accused the United States of having killed a million Vietnamese, "mostly children."
The speech was a reflection of King's evolving political advocacy in his later years, sparked in part by his affiliation with and training at the progressive Highlander Research and Education Center. King began to speak of the need for fundamental changes in the political and economic life of the nation. Toward the end of his life, King more frequently expressed his opposition to the war and his desire to see a redistribution of resources to correct racial and economic injustice. Though his public language was guarded, so as to avoid being linked to communism by his political enemies, in private he sometimes spoke of his support for democratic socialism:“ You can't talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You can't talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums. You're really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry… Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong… with capitalism… There must be a better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism.
King had read Marx while at Morehouse, but while he rejected "traditional capitalism," he also rejected Communism because of its "materialistic interpretation of history" that denied religion, its "ethical relativism," and its "political totalitarianism."
King also stated in his "Beyond Vietnam" speech: "True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." From Vietnam to South Africa to Latin America, King said, the U.S. was "on the wrong side of a world revolution." King questioned "our alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America," and asked why the U.S. was suppressing revolutions "of the shirtless and barefoot people" in the Third World, instead of supporting them.
In 1968, King and the SCLC organized the "Poor People's Campaign" to address issues of economic justice. However, according to the article "Coalition Building and Mobilization Against Poverty", King and SCLC's Poor People's Campaign was not supported by the other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Bayard Rustin. Their opposition incorporated arguments that the goals of Poor People Campaign was too broad, the demands unrealizable, and thought these campaigns would accelerate the backlash and repression on the poor and the black.
The campaign culminated in a march on Washington, D.C. demanding economic aid to the poorest communities of the United States. He crisscrossed the country to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that would descend on Washington—engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol, if need be—until Congress enacted a poor people's bill of rights. Reader's Digest warned of an "insurrection."
King's economic bill of rights called for massive government jobs programs to rebuild America's cities. He saw a crying need to confront a Congress that had demonstrated its "hostility to the poor"—appropriating "military funds with alacrity and generosity," but providing "poverty funds with miserliness." His vision was for change that was more revolutionary than mere reform: he cited systematic flaws of racism, poverty, militarism and materialism, and that "reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced."
The Dream Lives On
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
ObamaPrayerTeam
Lord, we pray for optimum health, mental clarity and political prosperity for President Barrack Obama. We pray that what he lacks in political 'experience' You make up for with supernatural wisdom and power. We also pray that when his enemies come upon him they will stumble and fall; and that Your love will fill his heart to the end that 'Your will' will be done through him.
We pray mightily for his protection. As we plead the blood of Jesus over him and his family. We ask You to dispatch legions of angels to protect them from all hurt, harm, danger, and from all accidents and incidents as he is our next President of these United States of America. We thank and praise You for answering our sincere prayers.
In Jesus' name, AMEN.
MARVIN WINANS- SINNER'S PRAYER !
WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
When we change our self,
Then We can change our community,
Then We can change our city or town,
Then We can change our state,
Then We can change our country,
This will bring change to our world!!!
We Are The Ones to make this change happen..........
______________________
Love is the answer, A active love that makes us stand for justice, push for truth and shows Gods Power through the Love he gave us to share in this World.
***************************
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Kwanzaa






Kwanzaa is a unique African American celebration with focus on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce, and self-improvement. Kwanzaa is neither political nor religious and despite some misconceptions, is not a substitute for Christmas. It is simply a time of reaffirming African-American people, their ancestors and culture. Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits of the harvest" in the African language Kiswahili, has gained tremendous acceptance. Since its founding in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa has come to be observed by more than 18 million people worldwide, as reported by the New York Times.
Kwanzaa is based on the Nguzo Saba (seven guiding principles), one for each day of the observance, and is celebrated from December 26th to January 1st.
The seven principles of Kwanzaa are:
- Umoja (Unity)
- Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
- Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
- Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
- Nia (Purpose)
- Kuumba (Creativity)
- Imani (Faith)
Monday, December 29, 2008
President Elect Barack Obama November 28, 2008
Washington D.C.
Dear President Elect Barack Obama,
My name is Kathryn Blake, and I am one of the KWANZAA Committee Co-Chairs of Flint, Michigan. The celebration of KWANZAA is over 20 years old here in Flint, MI, thanks to the Mother of Afrocentric Knowledge for Flint, Mrs. E. Hill Deloney.
I am writing this letter to you to invite you to our KWANZAA Celebration, and we celebrate all seven days, with a different organizations hosting a principle each night.
I know you are busy with the economy crisis, and I respect the way you are handling everything , especially your appointments of the “Executive Dream Team”. You are showing the entire country your intent to rebuild the economy if we all work together. This is what encouraged me to invite you to the KWANZAA Celebration observing the principle of UJAMAA- Cooperative Economics, on December 29, 2008- (Monday). UJAMAA, - To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other business, and to profit together from them. Sharing our gifts and working together in our communities, our schools, and our places of worship to benefit from them together. All will be blessed in every way, and all will continue to be blessed and give generously. I hear in your message that we all need to share, and I appreciate that because it is a message from Christ. We are praying for you, and want to see you again, because the Lord is using you to bless the people of this country. As we pause and reflect- we think of ways to support the efforts of our neighbors, patronizing new grocery stores, bookstores, local businesses and establishments to contribute to the “JUMP START” of the ECONOMY.
KWANZAA to be held at: Christ Enrichment Center, 322 Hamilton Ave. Flint, Michigan, 48504, December 26th – Jan 1st 6:30 pm.
We thank God for you
Kathryn Blake, blakeka81@aol.com
Committee Chair




