Yay Mary Ellen, now wheres the post about Jesse Jackson’s remarks about Obama??

I read about Mary in high school

I am with Greg what did Jesse say about Obama I heard him on CNN saying he was sorry .

Wooooooooooooooow! What a great woman! Thanks as always, Concreteloop!

Seriously, thank you for posting important stories like this.

I always enjoy these posts. Little nuggetts of history!

that was great. never knew anything about pre-war black people in CA-esp. in the Bay AND she helped john brown-amazing. it truly amazes me what our ancestors endured in this country. thanks cl.

What an amazing women. That makes me so proud. And I do not know why I keep thinking this in my mind but the way she got her first last name makes me wonder how my family got their last name you know since we have a lot of lost history. Stuff like this just bugs me and makes me frustrated that it’s like a mystery. But I will find out one day. Thanks concrete loop. Glad to know about her though because she did great things.

dame he said he wants to “cut off his nuts” b/c he thinks he’s “talking down to black ppl” when he gives moral be a father speeches to black crowds. as if to say white dads don’t need to do better and jesse feels he’s pandering to conservative whites. all this was off camera. obama issued a very classy statement about how he was raised w/out a dad so he has every right basically to say this and he accepted jesse’s apology. jesse act like obama got all bill cosby w/it. i have immens respect for rev. jackson’s accomplishments but i do think he’s jealous. his son who’s a senator issued a statement about how he doesn’t agree w/his dads harmful statements. (thank you the today show, lol)

Good read. Thanks

I am ashamed to have never heard of Mrs. Pleasants. But now I am very pleased to have learned this great piece of black history. BTW, Jesse Jackson though his mic was off during an interview when he. Told some guy (sorry I forgot his name) that he thinks Obama “talks down to blacks” and he’d like to “cut his nuts off” then he did a snipping hand gesture. As much as I love Obama the whole scenario was tasteless yet quite funny. *snipping hand gesture*

That was a deep story. Great job CL!

Jesse Jackson is a a$$hole. As my grandpa would always say if you cant say something nice then dont say nothing at all. Keep ur mouth shut Jesse!!!.

@vanity6 thank you

Jesse is jealous of Obama because he has made it to the actual nomination and he will be the next president. It is truly sad Jesse could have pulled Obama to the side or met with him in private to discuss how he felt. It’s like you know when you don’t like somebody and you wait until they leave to talk about them. Poor Jesse and he was being interviewed by FOX news of all channels he should have known to keep his mouth shut. SMDH

Thank you SO much for pointing out that she was also a great assist to the underground railroad.

Excuse my previous typos!
I must also say that I reject(to use my fave political verb) Jesse Jackson’s statements about Obama. Obama ‘08

Jesse Jackson needs to SIT HIS ASS DOWN

sure thing dame and agreed!

STOP WRITING ABOUT MULATTOS
How can you write about “BLACK history”, if you talk about mixed people all the time?

I love spotlight these posts CL, i always read them with my mouth hung open lol

What a remarkable woman! A true inspiration.

$30 mil in the 1800’s? DAYUM!

I love these stories. Very inspirational.

As far as Jesse: Shut up. Obama can speak on black fathers all he wants to because he knows firsthand. And so does Jesse with his illegitimate child that he denied!! Where were his morals and *snip snip* then. Maybe Jesse felt that Obama was calling him out. He’s just salty.

Great Post!! I always enjoy these Black History Post

i swear this is what makes your website the best. i love my black people.

Excellent post as usual! I am once again enlightened!!!

@ 17 just take the post for what it is please a BLACK HISTORY POST separating the post into “real black” and mulatto post doesn’t do any good whatsoever. there were a lot of mixed ppl and even she considered herself black. Let it go its really not that serious.

i’m happy that black people can accomplish ANYTHING!

Wow, what a great post CL. Getting these little nuggets of history is great because it shows evidence of our greatness as a people. If only we could internally embrace our legacy more deeply perhaps we could overcome some of the self inflicted obstacles we place in our own paths sometime. Our ancestors went out and “got theirs”, at a time when nobody was trying to give them a damn thing, and worked hard to achieve and accomplish great things. Where is that spirit in our community today?

@ #17

UNREAL. If you are a Black person, it is people like you with attitudes like yours that keep Black folks from moving forward!!!!

Ms. Pleasant did not have a choice about being “mulatto”; that just happened to be the way she was born. But she did have a choice about helping her people and she did just that, she didn’t turn her back on them LIKE YOU DO!!!!

Amen @#25!

Hey CL!
Is it just me or does Cree Summer resemble the right-side pic of Ms. Pleasant?
I think we should do a “separated at birth” or a “who rocked it better” with a pic of Cree and Ms. Pleasant! LOL!

I never heard of Mary Ellen Pleasant but I’m glad I know now.

Somebody needs to cut Jesse’s nutts, dumbass comments!!!!

I love this posting about mary ellen i never read about the black history part but im going to start to see what my people did back in the day. I be so hype up about the celebrity part never read black history part.

I love reading about our black ancestory/history. It is such a beautiful thing.
I just wished that the black youth of today held the same values that our ancestors did. SMH

*sigh*

Beautiful is all I can say in regarrds. “I’d rather be a corpse than a coward” Motivational.

Regarding Jesse, I have no clue when civil rights leader sold their souls for fame and he thinks he’s a Reverend.

http://www.thelifeandthoughts.blogspot.com

WAKE UP!!!!!!

Jackson Apologizes for Obama Remarks
By Brian Stelter

Updated The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for critical comments he made about Senator Barack Obama that were picked up by a Fox News Channel microphone.

(More from The Times’s Jeff Zeleny here.)

According to various reports, Mr. Jackson made disparaging remarks, apparently including a crude reference to male genitalia, about how Mr. Obama was talking to black people.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Jackson, a former Democratic candidate for president, said: “For any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have caused, I apologize. My support for Senator Obama’s campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal. I cherish this redemptive and historical moment.”

He later held a news conference, during which he traced the history of the civil rights movement. He said he was passionate about Mr. Obama’s campaign and hoped his remarks wouldn’t distract from it, saying the campaign represented too many dreams and sacrifices made in the past. Mr. Jackson apologized after Fox News said it would be broadcasting the remarks on “The O’Reilly Factor” Wednesday night.

According to a Fox spokeswoman, Mr. Jackson was recorded speaking to Reid Tuckson, an executive vice president at United Health Group, when both men were about to be interviewed on “Fox & Friends” Sunday morning.

Bill O’Reilly, the host of “The O’Reilly Factor,” plans to play the exchange. At least one of the words will be bleeped, the spokeswoman confirmed.

Mr. Jackson’s comments were apparently in reaction to a recent speech Mr. Obama gave, saying that he felt Mr. Obama was “talking down to black people.”

Update: Mr. Jackson’s remarks — or some of them — were broadcast tonight. And Mr. O’Reilly announced: “I want to tell everybody that we held back some of this conversation, and we did that because we didn’t feel that it had any relevance to the conversation this evening. I just want to make this very clear. We’re not out to get Jesse Jackson. We’re not out to embarrass him and we’re not out to make him look bad. If we were, we would have used what we have, which is more damaging than what you heard.”

In his statement earlier today, Mr. Jackson said:

“My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy which would be a corrective action for the lack of good choices that often led to their irresponsibility.”

Presumably trying to get ahead of the controversy, Mr. Jackson also appeared by telephone on CNN Wednesday afternoon. He said the remark was “very private, and very much a sound bite,” and added that he had called Mr. Obama’s campaign to “send my statement of apology.”

Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign issued this statement after Mr. Jackson’s news conference: “As someone who grew up without a father in the home, Senator Obama has spoken and written for many years about the issue of parental responsibility, including the importance of fathers participating in their children’s lives. He also discusses our responsibility as a society to provide jobs, justice, and opportunity for all. He will continue to speak out about our responsibilities to ourselves and each other, and he of course accepts Reverend Jackson’s apology.”

The reverend’s son, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., issued this rebuke of his father:

“I’m deeply outraged and disappointed in Reverend Jackson’s reckless statements about Senator Barack Obama. His divisive and demeaning comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee — and I believe the next president of the United States — contradict his inspiring and courageous career.

…
“The remarks like those uttered on Fox by Reverend Jackson do not advance the campaign’s cause of building a more perfect union.

“Reverend Jackson is my dad and I’ll always love him. He should know how hard that I’ve worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. So, I thoroughly
reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.”

it’s sad they don’t teach us that in school

That’s crazy because I was just on ursuline st. JJ needs to be quiet because he is jealous.

WOWWWWWWW. GOD BLESS HER

What a GREAT woman and very courageous. Her quote, “I`d rather be a corpse than a coward”, POWERFUL… It`s people like her, Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, etc. whom we should hold in high esteem. For they are the TRUE heroes; not our atheletes and entertainers. Nothing against them but we, as a people, should understand that our people who fought and gave their lives for liberty can never be underestimated.

We all should research more, because I wonder how many more Mary Ellen Pleasants have been lost in our history; just a thought…

whooooooooooooooooooooooo i love being black!

@ #38 Very Well Said!

This is fascinating, I just wish that black men and women around the world would recognize the level of hardships our fore parents went through just so we can see black people in all their glory on a website just like this. It is amazing how we go around killing each other, degrading each other and facilitating the disrespect of each other not remembering the struggles that we all as black people had to come through. People like Mrs. Pleasant are why we have the freedoms that we have today and can have stations like BET, Magazines like ESSENCE and above all why we can have a black PRESIDENT.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me J.Dakar, Cause to tell you the truth I needed this this morning. Am happy to know that people fought for me and I must therefore never give up but fight for what I want too.

Thank you!!!!!!!

Great story. I’ve heard about this women in school.

Obama ‘08. Ignorance is a bliss.

OMG! This woman was AWESOME. I am ashamed to say I never heard of her…heading over to amazon right now to see what books I can find and buy about her…thanks Concrete Loop for these beautiful nuggets of our history.

@#17,

How can you say something like that? In case you forgot, “Massa” was in the slave quarters evry night raping the black women slaves impregnating them and so forth. Why do you think our beautiful black race is so many lovely shades of brown? If you are a Black person making those comments you need to check your self, if you are of any other race, then may i suggest you do a little research before you make such an ignorant comment.

Mulattos were slaves as well, bought and sold just like the African’s who were brought over to America. And every Black person can not say they are 100% African until they trace their family roots all the way back to their family’s tribe in Africa. Watch the PBS special if you already haven’t that comes on every year during Black History Month called “African American Lives” it’s hosted by a gentleman named Henry

Continued…
Louis Gates Jr and he traces black families tree’s. He always finds European ancestry in every family he traces. So my point is mulatto’s are going to be in Black History, they are a part of Black History and are considered Black. So just get over it!

@ 42

Just curious, what made you pick that screen name? LOL

I am in total shock that someone who took time out of their day to read this informative post will say that black history ought not to be about mulattos. Utter ridiculousness. You and I both know that as far as you have a drop of blood in you you are black in this country and this was even more true then, the white community didnt give a flying fuck if you were biracial.One thing that remains clear is that there is so much hate that resides within the black community;it is overwhelming. We like to pick and choose moments when we claim people of mixed descent.You do not hear anyone saying oh Booker T washington was mixed so yeah we are not going to acknowlege him in the black community Oh and did you know Malcolm X is of white descent I know that one must take some of you by surprise. We would not even bring ourselves to go into the mxed ancestry of say Bob Marley but once its a woman and once the racial mix is with white, we loose sight of what is important. I hope and pray that one that we as a community can reclaim our minds and sensibility cause we have certainly lost it.
In fact I encourage everyone to read Tripping on the color line. Very fascinating and eye opening stuff as to how confused the African American community really is when it comes to our definition of race. We can call the white community every name in the book but confused is not one of them. They defined being black as having a drop of black blood and they have stuck with it. But the black community we keep making these adjustments as to what it means to be black. There are warring ideals; we want to place a stamp on some biracial people as though we make them honorary blacks based on what they have done.You want to say some biracial people are black some need to remain biracial, it doesn’t add up. The logic is so flawed and so skewed its ridiculous.

I have no words for the Jesse Jackson saga SMH

No disrespect intended…but to those wanting to know about Jesses comments
u can go to cnn.com just like u can come to concreteloop…..we gotta get on them real news sites, cause they are tryna slip alot of stuff by us.

Thank you for this post, I always enjoy the little known history facts that you post! “I rather be a corpse than a coward”. . .my kind of woman!!

And despite her mulatto status, her actions benefited a great number of black-black people, and as such she’s a testament to black history.

LOVES IT. Thank you so much. I”m from San Francisco, born and raised and was NEVER EVER taught this information in ANY school I went to. Unfortunately, many of my friends and family (also S.F. natives) new nothing of this woman. S.F. STAND UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She was such an amazing women….I DEFINITELY SHOULD HAVE LEARNED ABOUT HER IN AMERICAN HISTORY LAST YEAR!!!!! Thanks J. Dakar for keeping me informed. I LOVE these black history spotlights, they teach me so much!!!

Thanks for the post;)\
I am now curious to know what businesses she started and are they thriving today. Help us out ‘loop lol

I agree with poster #17 . She would be a white women because her father is “white” . You are the seed of your father .

FIFI’s ignorant, go away, lol “mulattos” not even the correct term you fool-it’s 2008 get with it

She was amazing

A great read! I need to start paying more attention to these segments.

WOWWW

i honestly never read ANY of j. dakar’s ‘black history spotlights’, but for some reason her picture jumped out at me.

very…INFORMATIVE

i’ll have to start taking more notice to these tidbits of knowledge.

God Bless Mary Ellen Pleasant

Great great story. Keep up the good work.

@ post #55

50% percent of a child’s genes come from the mother and the other 50% from the father. But that still doesnt matter because back then it didnt matter which parent was black or white.. you were still considered to be black if one of the parents was black.

Great post CL. I love these kinds of post. I especially love to read about the black women. Its important for us to know about more than Rosa Parks and Harriett Tubman. There are others that contributed a lot to our history and american culture.

That was beautiful! Thanks Loop!

AUGUSTA!!! WHOOP WHOOP, lol

I LOOK FORWARD THE BLACK HISTORY SPOTLIGHTS EACH WEEK ON MY LUNCH BREAK. THIS MAY BE THE BEST ONE YET. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, CL!!!

and another one!!!! I love thess highlights. I wonder how she is a relative of Marie Laveau because I know many of her decendents.

Great Post…she epitomize strength, courage & wisdom.

Also, even when it seemed she was down her hardwork and dedication paid off in the end. After being promise freedom, her master reneged sold her and for more years she work as a slaved. Then, she was able to see the calm after the storm….$30 million dollars later. Weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning!!!

This is what student’s should be learning….

365 black
its good to read something positive about black people.

Great Post

@ 62 I beg to differ . Your father determines your race , If you feel otherwise take it up with GOD , Im just the messenger. This woman lived as a white women for the majority of her life . She was treated as a “black” by the people who knew her mother’s race . She past as “white” because that’s what she was . Im not taking away anything she did as a person . Regardless of her race she made great accomplishments but she was a “white” women .

Amazing! Loved it! Keep’ em coming..

Very good post.

Great Read……..I heard the name before but never the story.

Thanks for posting this.

this post put a smile on my face ! i am happy with my new knowledge! thanks CL

–if your knowledge were your wealth then it would be well earned !

Thank you for this, CL.

We need this type of information about our history.

And this further proves that we definitely come from a long line of amazing people.

I just wish that many of us had the same convictions and strength as our forefathers and foremothers, today.

why we as a people can’t do that now, when we had to face so much then

What’s this take it up with God foolishness? And I’m not a Christian so whatever Bible verse you’re about to quote, save it. Not my holy book.

She’s not black because her father was white? Seriously? We’re trying to preserve the purity of blackness now? (Psst..that’s impossible and a really silly idea) SMFH

I’m sure I read she was the daughter of a slave and a slave herself, hence being sold at the age of nine to work in a linen factory.

She lived her public life as a white woman so she could help black people avoid being forced back into slavery, get jobs and start businesses. She could have pretended she didn’t know the horrors of slavery and lived a comfortable life, but she didn’t. You think then (or now) people cared why she was so light? Nope. Do I care? Nope. Clearly, she identified with blacks and their plight.

What have you done for your people lately?

I wanted you guys to post on her her story is so amazing to me. Now cam you guys post on Allen Allensworth lol a lot of people here in Cali don’t know who this man is or about the town he built here.

The picture on the far right looks so much like Cree Summer that I had to go research Cree’s roots on Wiki and IMDB to check if they were related. (no)

But anyway thank you very much for this profile, I had never heard of this woman. Keep the lessons coming!

This is a great story, thanks for sharing J. Dakar…Although it seems everyone is more interested in the Obama/Jesse Jackson fiasco…don’t let THEM tear us apart now!

@J2- no it is that serious. Why is that always mentioned?

I tell you- these stories definitley serve as inspiration. Imagine the struggles our people had to go through then.Then think about how we have become so comfortable with the successes/struggles our ancestors taken on and accomplished for us. Even in this day and age, some of our children don’t even want to go to school- or refuse to get a job! To top that off some of our fathers refuse to stand up and take care of their families- imagine seeing your mother slain in front of your eyes and then having your child, brother or sister , father or family sold and taken away and never to be seen from or heard fromagain! Boy
GREAT POST CP KEEP UP THE GOOD JOB!

Thanks 4 tha positive info. Angel. FIFI “mulatos” are a part of African American history and that’s a fact!!!!!

Holla!!!!!!!(LOL Frankie)

@85. Your right about mulattos being apart of African American history. I can respect that, and I dont care what race your a mixed with. If black is in the equation your are black. I dont believe the mumble jumble about race is determined by the father. The gender is determined by the paternal.
As African Americans we are so quick to pick out flaws. Most of us no matter the darkest skin has alittle white,or Native American in our blood.

My great granmother was a full blooded cherokee “Indian” . Very light tan skin and and long staight hair in two plats. I dont go around saying I’m native American. I am black as you can see clear as day by my avitar.LOL

America is a big melting pot.

In response to your father determining your race: this is america and in the pre civil war era there was something called the one drop of black blood rule, if you’ve never heard of it look it up, but quite simply it stated that regardless of who your father was, if you had one drop of african american blood in you, guess what you were black.

That’s one of the reason why if an AA goes for office we as AA need to keep our thoughs and comments to oneself ……. we need to become one

@ 87 You sound like a fool . If you’re going to try to make a valid point I was hoping you would come up with something a little more scientific than some slave master rules . Lol @ “the one drop rule “ being valid as of determining ones race . SMH

@ 78 What are you talking about ? Did you even read my comments or did you just go on a tangent because I’m not a “yes man” like the majority of the CL readers ? I never said she wasn’t a daughter of a slave I mentioned that in my post and that’s why she was sold because she was considered “black” because of her mother . If you would read and comprehend before trying to argue with me your brain would function a bit more . I also gave her credit for doing what she did ,so what was your point of responding to me with all of that non sense ? “She could have pretended she didn’t know the horrors of slavery and lived a comfortable life, but she didn’t” ? That’s exactly what she did , she lived as the white women she was and made a damn good life of it . Lol. You buffoons on here kill me , like you’re saying something and end up contradicting your damn self . Don’t get mad at me because I research my history and know who I am . If you disagree and think I’m wrong , prove it . I’m humble enough to apologize when I’m wrong .

Sister Pleasant was amazing! God Bless her soul! Thx CL

Sister Pleasant was in the same circle and mindset of Sister Tubman. Their hustle was on fiyah! Amazing

@ 89

Of course I read your comment and I’m still waiting for you to make a valid argument as to why she isn’t black. I made my case. You told us to take it up with God. Is that your final answer? LOL

Also, in a conversation if someone goes off on a tangent, they’ve veered off topic. I didn’t. What are you talking about?

I’m glad you “do research your history” and feel like you know yourself. Although, clearly you have trouble making arguments without resorting to school-yard tactics like name calling and belittling: “You buffoons on here kill me” “If you would read and comprehend before trying to argue with me your brain would function a bit more”

Here’s a definition that may interest you: An ad hominem attack is a personal attack in the form of an ad hominem argument.

Ad hominem attacks are often used in a debate or discussion where the speaker wishes to avoid the substance of the discussion and instead resorts to smearing the character of their opponent.

Man! That what I like to here about us doing things to help the community. Know I our ancestors did all this work and what do we have to show for it know. The terms and conditions that we are living. The lack of schooling children are getting to day because of drop out rates and stuff like that. What if our ancestors woke up from they grave to see what he have done and what we have not done. I think it would be interesting.

I first read about Mary Ellen Pleasant on Panache Report.com about two years ago. Remarkable woman.

Thank you soo much for these moments in Black History. We have such a rich history and it needs to share with the world.

I thought Madam C J Walker was the first black female millionaire.

Keep the positive news about Black Americans coming….thank you for soul food!!

This post was amazing. I had never heard of this woman prior to this. Thank you so much J Dakar and CL. Truly amazing!

@ 91 And what valid argument do or did you think you havd/had ? please enlighten me ?? “What’s this take it up with God foolishness? And I’m not a Christian so whatever Bible verse you’re about to quote, save it. Not my holy book.

She’s not black because her father was white? Seriously? We’re trying to preserve the purity of blackness now? (Psst..that’s impossible and a really silly idea) SMFH

I’m sure I read she was the daughter of a slave and a slave herself, hence being sold at the age of nine to work in a linen factory.

She lived her public life as a white woman so she could help black people avoid being forced back into slavery, get jobs and start businesses. She could have pretended she didn’t know the horrors of slavery and lived a comfortable life, but she didn’t. You think then (or now) people cared why she was so light? Nope. Do I care? Nope. Clearly, she identified with blacks and their plight.

What have you done for your people lately?” That’s you argument ? lol . That’s why I asked what are you talking about because you are off on a tangent about nothing I said . I gave her credit, never said one thing about her accomplishments , yet you went on and on about what she has done ? lmao . What case did you make please enlighten me ? lol . Go read the scripture , ask a interacial coulpe with a “white” father what does his childs Birth cetificate says under his/her race , research it for yourself . You have told me nothing about determinigs ones race . You also need to research “genes” you are way off your ricker with that information about race . lmao . Wow . google “anatomy (sp)” Please, with schools yard tactics . That was the truth . If you don’t comprehend what you read , you misunderstand the information , Then respond with non sense irrelevant to the commenter you are addressing .

@98 We seem to be talking about two different definitions of race.

I’m not interested in telling people who I think they are. At least in the US, race isn’t simply the sum of genes. It takes into consideration how you identify yourself. That doesn’t mean I could wake up tomorrow and decide I’m French Canadian. That doesn’t mean that people like you won’t decide for others who you think they are, but it does mean that biracial and multiracial people don’t have to choose and thus deny parts of what make them if they don’t want to. There’s even a box for biracial and multiracial people on the census form. Of course you know this.

Since I was genuinely interested to read your argument–seriously that’s why I came back to this post–it would have been nice if you had actually explained how genes figure into determining one’s race instead of sending me to Google. Lots of misinformation on the world wide web.

From your comments, you think of race in terms of genes, lineage and scripture. Ok. I don’t know much about genetics, but I do know people get half their genetic material from either parent. So I’m still stumped here because if it’s 50/50….(this is where that explanation would have come in handy) Also, I admit I haven’t looked at the birth certificates of any interracial people whose fathers are white, so I have no idea what they would reflect. Still not interested in the scripture’s take race.

Clearly, people like you want to tell people who they are. Not my thing, but by all means do you.

FYI: the one word you thought you spelled wrong “anatomy” you spelled correctly. But, I think you meant rocker when you typed ricker. Also, it’s determining not “determinigs.”

For someone who obviously thinks she is so clever, you’re not so good with the spell check.

Nice chatting with you though.