The Overcomers - We Still Here: Recent Episodes
Allen Thomas
Black People have existed on this planet since the beginning of time, yet their truths are not accurately taught in schools if at all. Genesis 2:10-13 speaks of Ethiopia around the time Adam & Eve lived in Eden. This podcast seeks to underscore the truths regarding Black History and celebrate Black excellence. Each episode explores what is not widely known about the ancestry of the Black race and pushes Black people to rethink how they see themselves and invite them to travel deep within their inner sanctum for the strength to overcome the barriers that are placed before and around them.
History has a way of revealing some unpleasant truths about society and how it treated its citizens, but the present has an uncanny ability to shield truth from light. Each of us with a voice are obligated to call out those who revel in the plight of minorities and in their movement for social justice and equal rights so that history never repeats itself again. Unlike a bad movie you watch again, real life is something you can’t pause or fast forward pass the parts you don’t like. We all have to do our part to ensure that the next chapter of our nation’s history is read with a smile rather than with eyes wide shut.
The word of God almighty is impactful and can be life changing for those who live by it. But His word can also have a negative effect on those who are targeted by it, especially when God’s word is used as a sword to justify evil acts supposedly done in His name. All that is pure can also be viewed as evil if misappropriated by those of authority who know better.
There’s science and then there are the people behind the science. This episode explores the truths about where people with blond hair and blue eyes get their distinctive features and how their true ancestry has been hidden from them in plain site.
It’s easy to blame others for things, which happen in life that you miscalculated. But before animas is directed towards that person or a particular group you believe contributed to your miscalculation, you should look at who had the power to effectuate what you blamed on others. In doing so you will cease being the ass of those who really deserve the anger of your discontent.
Black jocks have made huge strives in their chosen sport, but before the current or previous black jocks began to do the darn thing, there were real black jocks who rode the backs of beasts to win 15 of the first 28 Kentucky Derbies. This episode celebrates them and their talents, which made the Kentucky Derby the most prized horse race in that sport. Those brothers not only rode horses to victory, but they also made a great deal of money which allowed them to live like kings. Enjoy listening to their stories.
Slavery is wrong no matter how one tries to depict it. Those involved or were involved in the slave trade should not be immune from exposure nor their role in it from being disclosed, including the Great Kings and Queens of Africa. Two wrongs didn’t make a right then nor does it now, but failing to teach the evils of slavery and the ills of it is wrong on all levels because history does and will repeat itself if it’s forgotten or erased from the history books.
History has proven one’s bias or conscious indifference towards another based upon ethnicity social status or income can and does materially affect how they see those before them as they sit in judgment in a juror’s box. In this episode I define Hood Justice and how it was first applied towards Native Americans and how it’s sending blacks to prison at an alarming rate today. How do we slow that pace, by advocating for jury pools that resemble the hood that an accused is from be it ethically socially or economically.
Black folks have been objectified by those who were slave owners and by those who have benefited from the vestiges of slavery as a means to divide and conquer the black race, but now the powers to be are weaponizing the Black Church to do their bidding by objectifying those in the Black community who are gay. This episode explores the latest reason for it.
This episode seeks to explore and celebrate the outright audacity of black women who sought and who continues to seek equal rights for all women and equal rights for people of color.
Crazy as it may seem black folks are once again under assault, but this time by the very institution that’s supposed to interpret the fairness and equality of laws that were granted to them in the U.S. Constitution granted by Congress. What those who seek to eliminate affirmative action policies fail to realize or appreciate is that it’s not a black policy but a woman, disable and elder policy. Black folks are not the majority recipient of affirmative action programs. Hear why in this episode.
The rap game has evolved and has created a massive amount of wealth not only for the record labels, but increasingly so for the rap artists. That wealth and celebrity has also brought increased scrutiny on the rap game and on those who feed it’s growth, the rappers. That scrutiny has come about because of the influence that those rappers are having on upper and middle class kids who don’t look like them. Just ask NWA what happened when those kids began to repeat the lyrics to their song F Da Police. This episode explores the thin line between artistic rights and pissing off the man.
There are good arguments being put forth regarding the call to defund the police, but are they practical or rational. That call stems from the lack of trust that communities of color have against the police who are supposed to protect and most importantly serve them. This episode explores both sides of the argument to defund the police and explores potential alternatives if communities of color chooses to pursue them.
The Black man is many things, but Black women have unique and defining qualities that make them the caboose of the black family. Their drive and determination ensures that their man and their family make it up the hills of life. And as a result of their force, power and influence on black men, those outside of the black community deem black men public enemy number one.
Who really developed an effective treatment for HIV and what else came from the serum that spun a cure for that virus. The Answer, a Black doctor named Gary R Davis, whose death still remains a mystery and whose life was nothing short of a blessing to those who were treated by him or administer his serum. This episode discusses why his patent applications were never approved and why his clinical trial never got off the ground, and who may have really been behind that decision. Dr. Davis was a fascinating man and his story is equally fascinating. Tune in to learn more about the man and his mission to save humanity.
The color purple is representative of wealth and royalty, and Blacks the world over have shown that they are worthy of it in the face of those who enslaved them, which includes Native American Tribes. Why did they too participate in the slave trade, that's what this episode seeks to explore. The story is not for the faint at heart.
Black power is more than a mantra, it's the embodiment of entrepreneurship in black communities. That power has been floundered by the lack of support from those who have been conditioned to view all things black as bad or inferior. Segregation was horrible and should never be practiced again, but what segregation proved was that black peoples' cooperative effort did lift a great number of people in communities of color out of poverty. That sense of community pride is not lost and can be reestablished by and with the support of those who strive to work for more than self.
This episode celebrates Black peoples' effort and success in telling their truths through art and song. This episode also explores the messages that lie within the art that is created by Black people, such as the sculpture by Kara Walker entitled "A Subtlety." Black people are more than a race they are the living embodiment of history, its past present and future.
The choices we make are ours and ours alone. If folks don't like em, fk em! Just something that some in the fam wanted to say but couldn't or don't have the strength to say so I'm saying it for them. Rise up and be you and do for only you. Fk those you don't like your choices because the choices you make ain't for their benefit, but for yours and your life.
Media affects every aspect of all of our lives, but social media has had the most profound impact on the lives of Black people, which also affects how others see and treat them. That negative impression of Black people also adversely impacts their ability to obtain social justice in a world that only sees color and not faces. Manufactured fear of African Americans is the weapon that is used to marginalize and disenfranchise them in the U.S. and social media in all forms is the bullet, which is shot at them every day of their lives. The world can and should take action to combat social assaults on Africans in their countries who they trafficked for economic exploitation in horrific ways.
There are two schools of thought as to how we (black folk) came to be, the first is the Theory of Evolution (from apes) and the second is Creationism (from God). This episode explores the basis of both positions. The Bible is rich with history and full of truths, which those who are true believers of God's word may find difficult to accept after listening to this episode. If God's word is not persuading enough to prove that Africans were the first people to inhabit the earth, then maybe science will. This episode like all others in this podcast is created to facilitate dialogue where otherwise there would be none. Enjoy.
Religion is a complicated topic, but Christianity is not; why, because God's word speaks for itself. What's interesting is that black people have been minimized by those who wish to marginalize them when the truth of where black people came from and their rich African heritage is and has always been right before the detractors. Unfortunately, often times its those with the loudest voices and those who control the media outlets who overshadows or conceal the truth. This episode explores the origin of black people and whether Jesus is a man of color. I also explore the folklore that black people are a cursed people and that they are doomed to a lifetime of servitude, which was used to justify their enslavement for over 400 plus years.
Drugs are believed to be one of the major problems facing the Black community, but in actuality it’s the individuals who flood those communities with these addictive and destructive poisons. The impact of drugs flowing into the Black community is devastating individual lives and entire families. What’s the solution? I discuss that in this episode.
When the police is called on a child of color by school officials for being unruly or disruptive in class, it MAY be based upon implicit bias, which I defined as attitudes toward people or the associating of stereotypes without conscious knowledge. This episode explores that very concept. Unfortunately, those implicit biases have all to real life consequences and impact on children who should be reprimanded like other children who don't look like them who also act up in school, rather than being jailed.
Our ancestors ruled and flourished in their native land of Africa until it was colonized by the Europeans. The negative impact colonialism had on the tribes that now make up the country of Nigeria was impactful and destructive. Much of that impact is evident today as discussed in this two part series.
Our ancestors ruled and flourished in their native land of Africa until it was colonized by the Europeans. The negative impact colonialism had on the tribes that now make up the country of Nigeria was impactful and destructive. Much of that impact is evident today as discussed in this two part series.
What is it like growing up in a country where all or the majority of the people in it look like you? Think no more because this episode explores that very question from someone who was born and raised in the country of Ghana. She discusses the impact of living in Ghana and seeing people of color doing the darn thing had on her mentally and socially, and how that prepared her to deal with the world outside the continent of Africa.
Black people in this world have it tough as it is, but meeting a Ride or Die seems to be even tougher. This episode explores potential roadblocks that may be hindering black couples from starting or maintaining healthy relationships through this new Jim Crow Era.
Black people have been the subject of mistreatment for centuries and mostly at the hands of financial institutions. This episode explores the pros and cons of payday and title loan companies. Are they the reincarnation of sharecropping in the 21st Century?
One’s power to effectuate change can be constructive or destructive. What determines how one pursues change often depends on how that individual views the strength of his or her position. As long as any person has one dollar that can be pooled with another person’s dollar he or she is in a position of strength to effectuate meaningful change in his or her local community.
To whitewash the history of those who gave and sacrificed so much of their being Just Ain’t Right. Time and archeologists are rediscovering Black peoples’ truths and it is beautiful and grand. Black peoples’ truths are being discovered in Central and South America and it dates back well before the birth of Christ and the development of Europe.
The worst thing that we as a people can do to stop our economic and political progress is to stand in each other’s way. When we let dumb S*** keep us from seeing the damage that we are inflicting upon ourselves, we give others outside of the family opportunities to keep us in mental and physical bondage.
Reparations are not handouts, but compensation for the wrongs committed and inflicted upon others by State Actors or institutions. Those that see the value of acknowledging it’s wrongs are generally the ones that offer reparations to their victims.
Black is beautiful and so are the words that expresses that beauty. Woke is one of those words. It celebrates our quest for social justice and efforts at community bonding. Because without each other we are no different than they who seek to marginalize us. And that’s why Woke is considered a bad word.
In 1804, Haiti freed itself from tyranny, i.e. slavery, but the systems that enslaved it kept it from becoming the Black Mecca. Haiti should not be the world’s foster State, but a beacon of success that controls its own destiny and resources. Moreover, Haiti is not a failed State, but a State that was set up to fail.
This episode explores the dynamics of how our value or worth is viewed in the workplace. Do we control our bodies or does economics hide the fact that we are no more respected or valued on our J.O.B. than our enslaved ancestors were back in the day on em plantations.
No matter who refers to you as a nigger, it doesn’t mean that you are one. Nigger is not a person nor an actual description of one, but of society’s failed attempt to demean or minimize you as a black man or a black woman. Be wise and stay woke!
Your mind is beautiful and strong, but there are folks out there trying to ensure that it’s traumatized, undervalued and in a constant state of flux. Tupac spoke about smiling in spite of the BS and we can accomplish that feat by remembering that we are stronger than they think we are.
Given that we were set up to fail we don’t have to because we are mentally stronger and smarter than those who enslaved us all over this planet thought we were. Let’s uplift those who don’t realize that fact or still believe the fake news!
What could have been is not what can be. Think short term and you will get short term, but work towards longevity then you get Phat returns. It all starts with your voice and how you use it.
Truth be told, facts of our history will not be obtained from those who seek to conceal it, but from those who seek to celebrate it; this episode seeks to unlock the minds of those who are imprisoned by their own self imposed limitation by forgoing truth over fiction. Our truths lives on because our ancestors cared enough to keep it alive through song and will.
The Great African Kingdom whom the Romans referred to as Moors ruled what is now present day Portugal and Spain for centuries. The Moors not only left behind great architecture but they also left behind a wealth of knowledge and guidance on how to and what for. The Moors where more than Africans, they were revolutionaries in that they ushered Europe into the modern age.
When we let other people get in our business it effects all of our business. We can make life better for us when we work together for us. Alkebulan was first to reap the benefits of our unity but others are tearing her apart, don’t let em else she be on them streets cause none of us want that. Alkebulan is worth more than you think so keep her together. Wanna know who Alkebulan is press play!
We as a black race created many things that currently save lives and drastically improves everyone’s quality of life. Unfortunately, those contributions are not taught in schools leaving us and our young to question their value as a whole. Well, wonder no more because our truths is being told.
Education is the foundation of our future. During and after slavery, education was crucial to our very survival and our very existence. There are those who desire to keep us illiterate and uninformed, but there were others in the family that made it their mission to see that those individuals failed. This episode is about three of those individuals who developed programs that they hoped would help our ancestors meet and exceed their potential after slavery.
Our ancestors devised a way forward so that future generations can walk firmly with their heads held high and their backs straight. They were only able to accomplish that feat by coming together as one and by working together as one community.
The true measure of a person is not what they possess, but what they choose to do with the blessings that have been bestowed upon them, and most importantly whether they lead by example.