Free Black History Library

"Tell the world, Johnny, tell them, 'Johnny Depp, I, a man, I'm a victim too of domestic violence' and see how many people believe or side with you."

DAY OF THE DEATH OFFERINGS (ALTARS) IN MEXICO

The offering (altar) for the dead should have several essential elements, and each of them has their mysticism:

Water. The source of life is offered to the souls to quench their thirst after their long journey and to strengthen their return. In some cultures symbolizes the purity of the soul.

Salt. The element of purification, serves so that the body is not corrupted in its round trip for the following year.

Candles. Ancient Mexicans used ocote slices. Today the candle is used; the flame it produces means faith and hope. It is a guide for the souls so they can reach their old places and return to their home. In several indigenous communities, each candle represents a deceased, that is, the number of candles that the altar will have will depend on the souls that the family wants to receive. If the tapers or candlesticks are purple, it is a sign of mourning; and if four of these are placed on a cross, they represent the four cardinal points, so that the soul can orient itself until it finds its way and its home.

Copal and incense. The copal was offered by the natives to their gods since the incense was not yet known, it arrived with the Spanish. It is the element that sublimates prayer or praise. Fragrance of reverence. It is used to cleanse the place of evil spirits so that the soul can enter your home without any danger.

Flowers. They adorn and aromatize the place during the soul's stay, which will leave happy when it leaves, the wallflower and the nube cannot be absent because they mean purity and tenderness, and they accompany the souls of the children.

In many parts of the country it is customary to put petal paths that serve to guide the deceased from the holy field to the offering and vice versa. The leafless yellow flower of the cempasuchil (Zempoalxóchitl) is the path of color and smell that trace the routes to the souls.

Petate. Among the many uses of the petate are that of a bed, table or shroud. On this particular day it works for the souls to rest as well as a tablecloth to place the food of the offering.

Izcuintle. This one should not be missing in the altars for children, it serves as a toy so the souls of the little ones feel happy when they arrive at the banquet. The izcuintle dog is the one that helps souls cross the mighty Chiconauhuapan river, which is the last step to reach Mictlán. 

Bread. Made in different ways, bread is one of the most precious items on the altar. The most common one is the “bread of the death”, a bread sprinkled with sugar that symbolizes the bones of the living.

Gollete y cañas. Related to the tzompantli. The golletes are loaves in the shape of a wheel and are placed in the offerings supported by pieces of cane. Depending on your upbringing, they may symbolize the skulls of the defeated enemies and the cañas the rods where they were threaded OR the roundness of the gollete may symbolize the circle of life and the cañas the life passing through towards dead.

Other objects to commemorate and offer to the faithful departed are:

The portrait of the person remembered, in more traditional offerings it must remain hidden, so that it can only be seen with a mirror, to imply that the loved one can be seen but no longer exists.

The image of the Souls of Purgatory, to obtain the freedom of the soul of the deceased, just in case it is found in that place, to help it get out.

Other images of saints can be placed, to serve as a means of interaction between the dead and the living, since on the altar they are synonymous with good social relations. In addition, they symbolize peace at home and the firm acceptance of sharing food, such as apples, which represents blood, and kindness through the pumpkin in tacha candy.

The mole with chicken, hen or turkey, is the favorite dish that many indigenous people from all over the country put on the altar, although they also add barbecue and consommé. These dishes are that trail of aromas, the kitchen banquet in honor of remembered beings. Good food is intended to delight the soul that visits us. It is most traditional to place foods that were the favorites of the deceased that are awaited for the night. If adult souls are expected, you may find wine on the altar.

Chocolate water. Pre-Hispanic tradition says that the guests drank chocolate prepared with the water that the deceased used to bathe, so that the visitors were impregnated with the essence of the deceased.

Another very common element are sugar skulls. Medium sugar skulls are allusion to the ever-present death. The small skulls are dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the big one to the Eternal Father.

A washbasin, soap and towel can also be placed in case the soul needs to wash its hands after the long journey.

This post follows what the INPI (National Institute of Indigenous People) says about the Mexican Day of the Dead on its official page.

TRUMP TO CAPITOL MOB: “So go home. We love you. You’re very special.”

I fear it really is time to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Trump apparently doesn’t know when to stop. If he was capable of putting the nation before his own needs, he would have forcefully condemned what his angry followers did in his name today at the Capitol.

Instead, Trump weakly told the Capitol mob to “go home” while at the same time repeating his continued lie that the election was stolen from him. 

But I think the thing that really got to me was Trump’s saying to these would-be insurgents,

“We love you.”

Yes, Trump “loves” his “very special” insurgents. 

This is particularly galling because the “Law & Order President” had a very different response to the Black Lives Matter protesters:

And how about Trump also telling the mob,

“I know your pain. I know you’re hurt.”

This from a man who has expressed minimal empathy in the past year for the nearly 360,000 Americans who have died of Covid-19.

Here’s the video and transcript of Trump’s appalling speech to the Capitol mob this afternoon:

“I know your pain. I know you’re hurt.

“We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side.

“But you have to go home now. We have to have peace.

“We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt.”

“It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened. Where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country.

"This was a fraudulent election. But we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace.

“So go home. We love you. You’re very special. 

“You’ve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. 

“I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace.”

Reblog to make a transphobe uncomfortable eating M&M’s

Tumblr,

As you’re probably aware, the coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, has now been found in countries all over the globe. This is an understandably disconcerting moment for many, but there are steps we can all take to help mitigate the effect on our communities.

COVID-19 is spreading, but misinformation and disinformation are spreading even faster. The most responsible thing you can do is protect yourself from both the disease and false information. Being prepared with facts and data instead of assumptions and fabrications will help inform how you can best prepare for COVID-19.

Here are some resources you can trust:

WHO provides daily updates surrounding COVID-19’s spread, infection rate, and general influence on our society. Their latest update given on March 3, 2020, details that there is a shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals. They also provide a very handy FAQ section, where you can learn more about how to protect yourself and your community. 

Every day Worldometer updates its website with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each country that has been affected. Worldometer has been rated one of the best free reference websites by the American Library Association, and for good reason: it lists every single one of its regular sources here, and lists the source of every COVID-19 update at the bottom of the COVID-19 page. 

Your local health department will often have the most up-to-date information specific to your immediate area, including how to proceed if you believe you may be showing symptoms of the virus. If you live in the United States, you can find the contact information for your health department by visiting the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

There’s another thing about this news that a lot of places are not talking about: the toll on one’s mental health, especially if you are someone who struggles with anxiety. If you find your concerns about being prepared are crossing a line that affects your mental health, please consider reaching out to a loved one who can guide you to help, a mental health professional, or an organization set up to help those in need.

Here are a couple of organizations you can trust:

Crisis Text Line is free, 24/7 support. Just text 741741 from anywhere in the United States. The Crisis Text Line will connect you with a trained Crisis Counselor. 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (@namiorg) offers free support and resources for those who are struggling. NAMI can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 am - 6 pm EST at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or by email at info@nami.org.

Take care of yourselves, Tumblr. Wash your hands well, practice keeping a safe distance from others, only wear a mask if you believe you are sick with COVID-19 symptoms and could infect others (or are immunocompromised yourself), and remember to fact check everything that you see. Head on over to @world-wide-what for a refresher on what fake news looks like and how it spreads. Pass those tips onto others when you see them accidentally spreading false information. 

<3 

Honestly I could care less about the fucking phone call - people are focusing too much on the he said she said when everyone should've been pissed at Kanye from the start for what HE DID.

On his famous mv Kanye portrays 11 celebrities (+ himself) naked on bed. And little has been said about Kanye deciding to exhibit naked people without their consent in a music video. And even less has been said about the fact that he decided to exhibit that same bed with the 12 silicone life-like, anatomically correct and BREATHING figures as part of a "pop-up art exhibition" in Los Angeles' Blum & Poe gallery, exhibition that was open to the public and Kim and Kendall advertised on social media.

TWELVE people: George Bush, Donald Trump, Rihanna, Amber Rose, Taylor Swift, Anna Wintour, Bill Cosby, Chris Brown, Ray Jay, Caitlin Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West himself. And we can assume that he probably had NO consent from TEN of those people. This figures were created by DONDA in collaboration with two Los Angeles studios that I wish I had the names of.

And guess who called Blum to get the exhibition done? SCOOTER BRAUN.

Scooter was part of Kanye's management team and he knew Blum beforehand. Blum said Scooter called him himself and that the reception of the "show" was extremely positive by all accounts.

KANYE PUBLICALLY EXHIBITED TEN PEOPLE NAKED WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT ON HIS MUSIC VIDEO AND A GALLERY FOR "ART" - THIS GOES BEYOND JUST TAYLOR (even though I agree she took the biggest blow) AND A GASLIGHTNING PHONECALL WITH A MANIPULATIVE ABUSER. HE ABUSED 10 PEOPLE. TEN. AND GOT PRAISED FOR IT WHILE TAYLOR HAD TO HIDE FOR A WHOLE YEAR BECAUSE SHE GOT HATE BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DID.

Melissa Benoist said when Blake Jenner was abusing her, she started becoming violent in return out of anger of being abused & everyone understood. This was the same response Johnny Depp had to Amber Heard’s abuse but he’s the villain for some reason. It is very real that people can bring the worst out in you - that doesn’t mean you’re not the victim.

YOOOO

Absolutely love how every self-respecting latino despises with all their souls the word “Latinx”, to the point even our progressives do so too since it completely undermined their efforts for a true gender-neutral language in the form of the -e suffix, as everyone feels it’s something Americans forced upon us without never asking, which is actually what happened.

Seriously, fuck Latinx, all my panas and parceros hate Latinx, do not support that denomination rooted in racism and imperialism!

.

.

.