Now this may come as a newsflash to some, but the mosaic of Black folks cuts across a wide swath of differences. Monolithic we’re not.
And, like any other group, we’re capable of doing some “what the hell were you thinking?” idiocy. Look, no one – I repeat, no one – has a monopoly on stupid. Which takes me to the front page of a local newspaper and what I cannot believe I’m about to write about.
“Oh no, you gotta be kidding,” I thought. To verify what I hoped not to see, I leaned to get a closer look at photos of the 18 people in Georgia indicted for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential elections. Among them were faces of two Black somebodies: a Trevian Kutti and a Harrison Floyd.
Hey readers, with African American history top of mind, does the name “Barbara Johns” ring a familiar bell with you? If not don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. You see, when African American history comes up there are two realities; first, it gets compressed into February (or recently Juneteenth) and, second, it typically cites the well-deserved names as its founder Carter G. Woodson, Dr. Charles Drew, Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver, W. E. B. DuBois Dr. King and others. So, I figured that perhaps the Barbara Johns’ story of profound unprecedented courage, the focus of this narrative, may pique your interest.