Black History Fact!! Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books,
they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the
Postmarking and Canceling Machine, William Purveys invented the Hand Stamp and
Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop.
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WATCH NIGHT SERVICES:
Many of you who live or grew up in Black communities in the United States have probably heard of
"Watch Night Services," the gathering of the faithful in church on New Year's Eve.
The service usually begins anywhere from 7 p.m. To 10 p.m. And ends at midnight with the entrance
of the New Year. Some folks come to church first, before going out to celebrate. For others, church
is the only New Year's Eve event. Like many others, I always assumed that Watch Night was a fairly
standard Christian religious service -- made a bit more Afro centric because that's what happens when
elements of Christianity become linked with the Black Church. Still, it seemed that predominately
White Christian churches did not include Watch Night services on their calendars, but focused instead
on Christmas Eve programs. In fact, there were instances where clergy in mainline denominations
wondered aloud about the propriety of linking religious services with a secular holiday like New Year's Eve.
However, there is a reason for the importance of New Year's Eve services in African American congregations.
The Watch Night Services in Black communities that we celebrate today can be traced back to gatherings
on December 31, 1862, also known as "Freedom's Eve." On that night, Blacks came together in churches
and private homes all across the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation
actually had become law.
Then, at the stroke of midnight, it was January 1, 1863, and all slaves in the Confederate States were
declared legally free .When the news was received, there were prayers, shouts and songs of joy as people
fell to their knees and thanked God. Black folks have gathered in churches annually on New Year's Eve
ever since, praising God for bringing us safely through another year.
It's been 145 years since that first Freedom's Eve and many of us were never taught the African American
history of Watch Night, but tradition still brings us together at this time every year to celebrate "how we got over."
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See Jet Magazines cover:
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A FEW RULES OF LIFE
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool y ou thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds.. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
If you can read this in English Thank a soldier!