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Sunday, February 11, 2024

Dear Hannah: LEarning (The Tuskegee Airmen (2-21-2022))

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Dear Hannah,

I don't know a lot about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Don't know a lot of details, but now here's what I do know.

I know that they were a group of courageous men of color ... who sought to break barriers in a profession ... that constructed a lot of them ... to make sure that pilots were of a certain hue, if you understand what I'm saying.

And to overcome those barriers, they had to defeat barriers about intelligence and that means intelligence requirements ... not being able to combine physical, mental strength and courage along with the intelligence and the wherewithal to maintain your orientation when you are turned upside down.

I know they overcame all of that. (continued below ...).

Love,

Daddy

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DBKB9 064. LEarning (The Tuskegee Airmen) (2-21-2022) Video 236 TRANSCRIPT.txt
By Derrick Brown

Hey ... good morning, good people.

I don't know a lot about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Don't know a lot of details, but now here's what I do know.

I know that they were a group of courageous men of color ... who sought to break barriers in a profession ... that constructed a lot of them ... to make sure that pilots were of a certain hue, if you understand what I'm saying.

And to overcome those barriers, they had to defeat barriers about intelligence and that means intelligence requirements ... not being able to combine physical, mental strength and courage along with the intelligence and the wherewithal to maintain your orientation when you are turned upside down.

I know they overcame all of that.

I know that the Tuskegee Airmen went to the Tuskegee Institute, now known as Tuskegee University, and I know that they overcame and they excelled to a degree where they became "the crew" in America's wars fought on other soils.

But now I also know that they became a reliable crew in fighting the war that's been waged on American soil for far too long.

And that is the war for equality, for equity, for the access to opportunity.

And the more important war for access to better circumstances that produce equality and equity.

And when I see them in my mind's eye, I see them flying high in the friendly sky ... I see them looking down and acknowledging all the barriers that they have overcome ... but they've reached the stratosphere and they've cleared all those barriers.

The barriers are still there, though.

They're still there and they still impede the progress of lots of other people.

Now I'm reminded, too, of them flying their big bird high in the sky and then they passed by the bird that was ... caged ... that caged bird that Langston Hughes wrote of ... that caged bird that sings for freedom ... he knew why that caged bird sang ... that caged bird sang of freedom ...

So I see the Tuskegee Airmen flying their big bird and they pass by that caged bird that's been freed ... and you see the cage falling to the ground ... and then you see Lionel Richie and the Commodores (also from Tuskegee Institute) singing a little song called "Zoom".

That's probably my favorite song ever.

Definitely one of my favorite songs ever.

Goes like this.

"I may be just a foolish dreamer ...
But I don't care ...
Because I know my happiness is waiting out there ...
Somewhere ...
I'm searching for the silver lining ...
Horizons that I've never seen ...
Oh, I like to take just a moment and dream my dream ...
Oh, dream my dream ...
Whoa, zoom ...
I'd like to fly far away from here ...
Where my mind, oh, Lord, is fresh and clear ...
Now I find the love that I long to see ...
Where everybody can be what they want to be ..."

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you for listening to my story this morning.

Peace.

About Derrick Brown (Standup Storyteller)

I am Keisha's husband, and Hannah's father.

I am a “standup storyteller.”

I fuse rap, spoken word (poetry), oration (traditional public speaking), singing, and teaching into messages of hope, healing, and change that I write, direct, and produce to help people who help people.

Everything must change - and stay changED.

Tradition begins and ends with change.

Change begins with me and the renewing of my mind ... then continues through efforts to effect small-group discipleship (equipping others to equip others) with audiences that respect and embrace mentoring, mediation, and problem solving as tools of change.

I am the product of my mentoring relationships, peacemaking (and peacekeeping), and problem-solving ability.

My education began when I finished school.

After school, I enrolled in a lifelong curriculum that includes classes in ministry, entrepreneurship, stewardship, literacy, numeracy, language, self-identity, self-expression, and analysis / synthesis.

My projects execute a ministry that has evolved from wisdom earned through lessons learned.

I want to share this wisdom to build teams of "triple threat" fellows - mentors, mediators, and problem solvers.

We will collaborate in simple, powerful ways that allow us to help people who help people.

I now know that power is work done efficiently (with wise and skillful use of resources, interests, communication, and expertise).

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Dear Hannah: LEarning (Meeting The President (8-4-2018))

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Dear Hannah,

I have volumes I-VI of "The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr." in our home library.

I think there are 7 total volumes now.

Stanford University produced a Website with all of these documents online.

Google has scanned the pages of the books and put them online.

Both efforts facilitate sharing its content.

Each volume provides document artifacts (speeches, sermons, papers, letters), a document calendar, and a timeline of events.

Each time I read a volume, I remember that every moment matters, and that MLK produced a lot of power in a short time.

I am also reminded that we have to study his approach and impact ... then embrace and extend that approach (continued below ...).

Love,

Daddy

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"LEarning (Meeting The President)"
By Derrick Brown
8-4-2018

I have volumes I-VI of "The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr." in our home library.

I think there are 7 total volumes now.

Stanford University produced a Website with all of these documents online.

Google has scanned the pages of the books and put them online.

Both efforts facilitate sharing its content.

Each volume provides document artifacts (speeches, sermons, papers, letters), a document calendar, and a timeline of events.

Each time I read a volume, I remember that every moment matters, and that MLK produced a lot of power in a short time.

I am also reminded that we have to study his approach and impact ... then embrace and extend that approach.

Reading this for pleasure is overwhelming and confusing.

Using it for research and wisdom earned through lessons learned is priceless.

Using it to discern signs of the times is a Godsend.

Let me share a story prompted by recent headlines ...

Once upon a time, the President gave a group of African-American community leaders a seat at the table.

The leaders brought their own menu.

It took a long time to make the meeting a reality - lots of letters & telegrams, and several more civil rights crises (like the desegregation of Little Rock, AR schools) for 29-year-old Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader Martin Luther King, Jr. to convene a meeting with then President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 23, 1958.

King attended the meeting with 62-year-old National Urban League Executive Director Lester Granger, 69-year-old organizer A. Philip Randolph, and 57-year-old NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins.

Eisenhower was President from 1953 - 1961.

This meeting occurred in Eisenhower's 5th year as President.

King's group asked President Eisenhower for 3 things ...

1. To direct the Department of Justice to protect the Voting Rights Act.

2. To extend the life of the temporary Civil Rights Commission.

3. To convene a conference to discuss the peaceful integration of schools.

The meeting received mixed reactions.

Eisenhower aide Rocco Siciliano called the meeting an "unqualified success."

Siciliano also noted that MLK - despite his age - was the "intellectual soul of the group."

MLK's group had a sober view of the meeting, and remained dubious about Eisenhower's commitment to Civil Rights.

They knew that they would have to keep pressuring Eisenhower.

Civil Rights supporters and the African-American press criticized the meeting as a failure - because it failed to extract concrete commitments from President Eisenhower.

For what it is worth, though, in 2018 we have a Voting Rights Act, a Civil Rights Commission, and integrated schools.

Each of these marginal gains have their own hidden, long-term costs.

The revolution will not be televised.

'Cause it's not a show.

Nor is it an insulated, binary debate waged by wagging fingers, tongues, and twittering thumbs.

It is a slow, patient, strategic grind.

It is a story with no perfect characters, and no perfect outcomes or conclusions.

The story does have a documented blueprint, though.

We have to read, wrestle with, and apply its imperfect lessons.

Selah.

504 Words

Photo caption: Eisenhower and MLK Dwight D. Eisenhower receives a group of prominent civil rights leaders. Left to Right: Lester Granger, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., E. Frederic Morrow, DDE, A. Philip Randolph, William Rogers, Rocco Siciliano, and Roy Wilkins. June 23, 1958.

About Derrick Brown (Standup Storyteller)

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Dear Hannah: LEarning (A Tribute to Lemon Street's Lewis C. Scott (2-10-2022))

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

Dear Hannah,

(Marietta, GA) Lemon Street High School's Mr. Lewis Clyde Scott taught many students ... several of whom became teachers.

He has transferred his wealth (his knowledge) in ways that have personally inspired me ... without my ever having met him.

See - I *have* met many of his students.

Their lives and stories have told me the kind of teacher and influence he is.

On 2-10-2022, I presented some of them to the public ... and they will present Mr. Scott to you from their experiences (continued below ...).

Love,

Daddy

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"LSS: A Tribute To Lewis C. Scott"
By Derrick Brown
2-5-2022

Let me show you something.

Lewis C. Scott (top right) was born on May 13, 1927.

Blondell Brown (left) was born on May 14, 1927.

Sidney Poitier (bottom left & left) was born on February 20, 1927.

Harry Belafonte (bottom left & center) was born on March 1, 1927.

Charton Heston (bottom left & right) was born in 1923 ... I am told that he once played the voice of God in a movie.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (who is not pictured ... but I think you know what he looks like) was born on January 15, 1929.

These 5 lives offer other fascinating parallels.

Poitier and Belafonte got into "good trouble" together for more than 70 years.

Charlton Heston got into some of that "good trouble" with them - especially in 1963.

Mr. Scott entered Morehouse College in 1947.

MLK graduated from Morehouse College in 1949.

Sounds like they might have been classmates for a couple of years.

My grandmother has 43 grandchildren.

If you ever saw us gathered in the same room (I have) ... then you would know my grandmother's life story ... no words would be necessary.

She has transferred her wealth (her knowledge) in ways that will span generations.

She was born on Mother's Day ... this is not ironic ... it is apropos, right?

If you care, y'all - I, too, was born on Mother's Day ... and my birthday is May 10th.

Mr. Scott taught many students ... several of whom became teachers.

He has transferred his wealth (his knowledge) in ways that have personally inspired me ... without my ever having met him.

See - I *have* met many of his students.

Their lives and stories have told me the kind of teacher and influence he is.

Tonight, I will present some of them to you ... and they will present Mr. Scott to you from their experiences.

-------

I closed the evening with a poem I wrote many years ago called "UCSM" ... it is an ode to the invisible.

On one level, it sings of the unsung ... the people we might underappreciate and overlook for their significant contributions to our lives.

On a deeper level, though, it shares a wisdom that none of us can see ... but boy, oh, boy can we feel its power.

It begins ...

"U Can't C Me"
By Derrick Brown

Wisdom earned through lessons learned comes from teachers we cannot always remember or see.

We remember the lessons, though.

People just can't see me
But God they can't see you
You see all, you know all
Your every Word is true

So if they never see me
I’ll help them to see You
Through thoughts, words and actions
Patience, honor, faith and virtue

My life is but an instrument
Singing songs in many keys
Wisdom earned through lessons learned
From mistakes of several degrees

Do not mistake activity for achievement
Arriving on time means you're late
To be on time arrive early
Fall seven times - get up eight

One time is an accident
Two times is a trend
Three times might be a problem
But forgiveness is your friend

The race is not to the swift
But to the ones who maintain
So stay aligned on your grind
And stay in your own lane

Keep it slow and steady
That's it - nice and smoove
Always do your homework
Believe that God will approve

Every moment matters
You had better realize
Then you can quickly respond
To opportunities that you recognize

Don't despise the small tasks
Pursue them diligently
For passion and purpose are discovered
Through acts of ministry

Keep a pad and paper
And a nearby pen of ink
Write your visions plainly
Make time to pray and think

Don't believe the hype
Avoid the glittery and bejeweled
When we think with our eyes
We are often easily fooled

All money ain't good money
Sometimes less is more
Make a living through your giving
Learn to turn two into four

Your fear is your only courage
Be scared to disobey
Be scared to rock that boat
But sometimes rock it anyway

Know how to keep your quiet
Until it's time to say
If your heart ain't feelin' right
Then say it another day

Freedom of speech
Means come correct
Be quick to listen
Be quicker to respect

Be slow to speak
Even slower to get twisted
Meek ain't weak
Self-control beats double-fisted

The only thing to know
Is that you don't know squat
Nobody cares what you know
If they think you care not

So pick your spot
Practice - don't preach
When the student is ready
The teacher will teach

If faced with a fool
Proverbs 26 - verses 5 and 4
Sometimes you can let it go
Sometimes you gotta let em know

Train your child with loving instruction
Encourage growth, but discourage rambunction
Know you are equal in essence
But very different in function

No good deed goes unrewarded
But the payoff is seldom immediate
Dreams manifest at God's appointed time
Though it tarries, wait for it

Copyright © 2012 Derrick Brown. All Rights Reserved.

About Derrick Brown (Standup Storyteller)

reachthenteach

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Sunday, February 11, 2024

Dear Hannah: LEarning (The Tuskegee Airmen (2-21-2022))

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Dear Hannah: LEarning (Meeting The President (8-4-2018))

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Dear Hannah: LEarning (A Tribute to Lemon Street's Lewis C. Scott (2-10-2022))

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