tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-309125922026-06-19T22:00:21.791-04:00Karen E. Quinones Miller's Loves, Hates, Rants & Raves... Letting It All Hang Out!Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-11087198144580311432019-09-30T21:24:00.000-04:002019-10-01T00:11:03.675-04:00

  Bumpy Johnson and Flash Walker, the man whose role in Bumpy's life Frank Lucas later claimed as his own. Flash later turned on Bumpy. I can remember when the name Bumpy Johnson first really meant anything to me. I was ten years old, and still upset that my family moved from Harlem to the Bronx the year before. I found it hard to make friends and

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-49203325899895145572019-09-30T14:09:00.000-04:002019-09-30T14:18:06.336-04:00

I hope everyone, by now, knows that the new television miniseries "Godfather of Harlem," is based on the book "Harlem Godfather" written by Bumpy's 94-year old widow, Mayme Johnson (since deceased), and me back in 2008. Of course, the people producing this television series did not come to me, Ant Hatcher (Bumpy's  grandson) or anyone involved in the creation of the book.  Or

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-59283772124281673802019-09-25T14:29:00.001-04:002019-09-25T19:10:28.904-04:00

Dear White Folks who are my friends, my enemies, people I bump into in the street, strangers whom I hear talking at bus stops… If I hear one more of you say Black people believe in too many conspiracies, I am going to take my baseball bat and bust you over the head, then take out my knife and cut off your fingers and toes, then I'm going to take my Uzi --  that I have not yet

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-58370495820695622262019-02-09T14:45:00.002-05:002019-02-09T14:45:30.037-05:00

THE GUIDE TO BECOMING THE SENSUOUS BLACK WOMAN (AND DRIVE YOUR MAN WILD!) click HERE to buy your copy now! Ever wonder why some women seem to get all the men? Even the ones who are no where near as good looking as you? Wondering what it is they've got that you don't? They're tuned into their SENSUALITY, meaning they're in tune with their senses, their body, and they know how to receive

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-69794338381804059442019-02-08T11:28:00.001-05:002019-02-09T15:30:36.564-05:00

|| A LEARNING MOMENT ||  It was on this day, December 12th, in 1899, that "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," was written as a poem by the great author civil right activist, and Harlem Renaissance birth-coach James Weldon Johnson (I might be persuaded to do A LEARNING MOMENT on him if y'all feel -- and let me know -- one is needed). Now considered The Black National Anthem (once The Negro

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-10205509698956559192018-08-21T20:29:00.000-04:002018-08-21T20:40:24.680-04:00

|| A LEARNING MOMENT || Nat Turner . . .  'And about this time I had a vision — and I saw white spirits and black spirits engaged in battle, and the sun was darkened – the thunder rolled in the Heavens, and blood flowed in streams – and I heard a voice saying, "Such is your luck, such you are called to see, and let it come rough or smooth, you must surely bear it."'   

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-47980635671824702772018-05-05T21:58:00.000-04:002018-05-07T00:10:55.949-04:00

|| A LEARNING MOMENT || On this day, May 5, in 1905, Georgia born Robert Sengstacke Abbott printed the first edition of what would become the most widely read African-American newspaper in the country — The Chicago Defender. It wasn’t the first African-American newspaper, but it was definitely the most influential. In fact, it is credited with starting The Great Migration; the migration of

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-84312422742290202682017-10-01T23:12:00.000-04:002018-05-07T00:56:02.894-04:00

 Did you know that the desire to escape from slavery was once considered in mental illness? Yep! In 1851 American physician, Samuel A. Cartwright submitted his paper, “Drapetomania, or the disease causing Negroes to flee” to the Medical Association of Louisiana, and thus the disease, drapetomania was born. Let’s make sure we have the pronunciation right…dray-ptoh-may-nee-uh.

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-22961374654516646872017-07-28T14:30:00.000-04:002018-05-05T23:46:41.260-04:00

THE 1917 Silent Parade   “ . . . the streets of New York have witnessed many strange sights, but I judge, never one stranger than this; among the watchers were those with tears in their eyes.” James Weldon Johnson July 28, 1917 -- 100 years ago today -- The Silent March made history as the very first organized civil rights march. It was held in response to more than 200

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-72954925273616036182017-07-25T02:45:00.000-04:002018-05-06T02:50:16.377-04:00

Will you consider me a racist if I say I support segregation? Well, consider away. I understand that many of my ancestors fought against segregation and I appreciate it. But I wonder what they would think if they saw the end result of integration. No longer do we have our own banks. No longer do we have our own theaters. No longer do we have our own insurance companies. And we can’t blame it

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-17240290596549121912017-07-02T23:35:00.000-04:002018-05-05T23:38:54.601-04:00

Today, a friend of more than 40 years texted me "Wishing you a safe and happy 4th of July!" followed by six American flag emojis and six celebratory horn-blowing emojis. I texted back, "Same to you (although I don't know when you got so damn patriotic.)" His response? "I just learned about emojis. Yay, me!" His answer satisfied my curiosity. He used the 4th of July like many

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-52805598031128668712017-06-30T04:30:00.000-04:002018-05-05T23:48:35.405-04:00

"If poor old Nick Biddle calls on you with a document, as he calls it, don't say you are in a hurry and turn him off, but ornament the paper with your signature and plant a good round sum opposite your name. Nick has been a good soldier and now that he is getting old and feeble, he deserves the support of our citizens."                 Excerpt of

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-8335177220756274932017-06-16T14:46:00.000-04:002018-05-06T14:52:57.237-04:00

|| A LEARNING MOMENT || "I saw a child fall down. Under a shower of bullets I rushed forward and went for the picture. It had been a peaceful march, the children were told to disperse, they started singing Nkosi Sikelele. The police were ordered to shoot." – Sam Nzima, South African photographer of one of the most iconic photographs in the world. Hector Pieterson. How many of you know his

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-51122704948285703552016-09-07T13:00:00.000-04:002018-05-05T23:29:35.455-04:00

It’s nothing really new ― the federal government has decided that the economic interests of a few are worth more than the treaties made with Native Americans. To heck with the promises, pledges, and treaties when it comes to building an oil pipeline ― fracking, I might add ― that runs through Native American land, threatening their water supply, ancient Native monuments and ancestral burial

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-81183445072527417782016-08-28T02:00:00.000-04:002018-05-05T23:01:16.736-04:00

It was 61 years ago this past weekend ―  on August 28, 1955 ― that two white men, carrying guns, pulled 14-year-old Emmett Till out of his grandparents’ home in Money, Mississippi. The teenager’s body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River three days later. It was revealed that he had been severely beaten, his eye had been gouged out, and he had been shot in the head; then a

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-24261940956020271442016-08-04T05:58:00.001-04:002016-08-04T14:53:27.006-04:00

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”  Malcolm X Who was Korryn Gaines, the 23-year old woman who was shot and killed by Baltimore County Police on Monday, after a six-hour standoff? An incident that also resulted in her 5-year

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-64254857471749679062016-08-01T03:03:00.000-04:002018-05-06T03:10:19.391-04:00

VOTE, THEY told us. We did that. Stop rioting, they told us. We did that, too. Let the justice system do their job, they told us. We even did that. Be patient, they told us. Well, we've been doing that for more than a century. And still . . . And still . . . And still, all of the charges have been dropped against the officers involved in the Freddie Gray case. On April 12, 2015, Freddie

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-48353489111453534102016-07-27T18:09:00.002-04:002016-08-03T20:21:17.190-04:00

Vote, they told us. We did that. Stop rioting, they told us. We did that, too. Let the justice system do their job, they told us. We even did that. Be patient, they told us. Well, we've been doing that for more than a century. And still . . . And still . . . I don't know that I've ever cried while writing a blog post before, but I'm crying now. Tears of sadness and tears of frustration --

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-61270829248825191802016-07-15T17:10:00.000-04:002016-07-15T17:23:37.614-04:00

Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson and Flash Walker, the man who later turned on Johnson and framed in a drug conspiracy Perhaps it's because it was recently announced that Janet Jackson is producing a film on Madame Stephanie St Clair, but lately I've once been getting quite a few questions about Bumpy Johnson, and how I wound up writing the only definitive biography on this legendary Harlem

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-52867124411203467052016-07-04T14:35:00.003-04:002016-07-15T13:57:31.870-04:00

Today, a friend of more than 40 years texted me "Wishing you a safe and happy 4th of July! " followed by six American flag emojis and six celebratory horn-blowing emojis. I texted back, "Same to you (although I don't know when you got so damn patriotic.) His response? "I just learned about emojis. Yay, me!" His answer satisfied my curiosity. He used the 4th of July like many

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-32239568860311477952016-06-14T04:12:00.000-04:002016-06-14T12:25:59.302-04:00

(Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer  Op-Ed section on June 13, 2016) The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie is just another example of racist propoganda. Yes, I'm saying it! The movie  featuring those green sewer-dwelling amphibians that everyone loves is racist. Subliminally racist. Insidiously racist. I know . . . people are tired of folks accusing movies or television

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-74795824581919351322016-06-03T05:33:00.000-04:002016-06-14T05:35:05.759-04:00

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-14180771947464809072016-06-02T05:41:00.000-04:002018-05-06T03:45:43.104-04:00

On June 2, 1863 -- 153 years ago today, Harriet Tubman became the only woman in U. S. History to lead a successful military action. Over 750 slaves were freed because of Tubman’s leadership and heroism. Tubman is recognized as the only women to lead a military mission in the Civil War. Harriet Tubman led Colonel James Montgomery and African American Union Troops as they attacked plantations

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-27765624389513158362016-05-31T07:07:00.000-04:002016-06-14T07:09:04.235-04:00

I hate when I hear people (usually white people) say that Black people really aren't patriotic. Me? I'm proud to be known as An Angry-Ass Black Woman, and I'm just as proud to say that I served five years in the United States Navy. And Memorial Day means as much to Blacks in the United States as to any race here. In fact, the very first gathering to honor fallen soldiers was organized by

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30912592.post-36332145139766266522016-05-31T05:58:00.000-04:002016-06-14T05:59:39.738-04:00

Black Wall Street (aka Little Africa) - Tuls, Oklahoma May 31, 1921. Oklahoma. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Just a small area in the town some called Little Africa. Even more called it The Black Wall Street.  It was a section of town that housed Black lawyers, Black doctors, Black bankers . . . and Black banks.  It was a source of pride to live there, or to even boast they had relatives who

Karen E. Quinones Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889204502901606651noreply@blogger.com0