Mud cloth is also known as, bògòlanfini or bogolan; is a handmade + hand-dyed 100% cotton textile originating from Mali. Traditionally woven by the men; where they weave narrow strips of the cotton textile, which are then sewn together creating a larger textile, and finally painted/dyed by the women using organic materials.
Care Instructions: Only wash when absolutely necessary! Use chemical-free soap (such as Castile Soap) and cold water. Submerge your Mud cloth, gently stirring, let sit for about 5 mins. Remove Mud cloth and GENTLY ring out excess water. Hang dry or lay flat. Iron on back of the fabric, on (low) cotton setting, if needed.
Tip - to help "set" color ( more specifically for Indigo) and reduce fading/transferring, you can add a small amount of vinegar to the water while washing.
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What is a dashiki? A dashiki is a loose fitting colorful garment that resembles a shirt, although it might cover up as much as half of the body. It often is adorned with patterns and colors that are closely associated with African cultures.
The dashiki was closely associated with the Black cultural and political movements of the 1960s. With its brightly colored patterns and loose fit that hung down instead of being tucked into pants, the dashiki was just one way that people expressed their dissatisfaction with what was conceived as acceptable men’s fashions of that time and as a way to protest against social, economic and political conditions that plagued the African-American population here in the United States. Occasionally, it would be worn as a sign of protest, but most times, its appearance was a sign of African pride.
Over time, the dashiki became synonymous with black is beautiful. For the wearer, it was a way to show a deep seated interest and love for one’s African roots, as well as a way to weigh in and express one’s position for full rights in American society.
Although the militancy of the 1960s is long gone, what the dashiki represents has not been forgotten. It is still worn by thousands as a symbol of one’s love for his/her
African roots and everything African including that within the American culture. This is especially true during holidays such as Kwanzaa and Black History Month.
This traditional African garment is very popular in many countries, such as Nigeria. In America, it holds a unique place as a garment that carries its own message of pride, fortitude, and hope.
Here they are...
1) “People get used to anything. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. After a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. But to become free,“People are tried and convicted in the newspapers and on television before they ever see a courtroom.” you have to be acutely aware of being a slave.”
2) “No movement can survive unless it is constantly growing and changing with the times. If it isn't growing, if it's stagnant, and without the support of the people, no movement for liberation can exist, no matter how correct its analysis of the situation is. That's why political work and organizing are so important. Unless you are addressing the issues people are concerned about and contributing positive direction, they'll never support you. The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us.”
3) “The schools we go to are reflections of the society that created them. Nobody is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.”
4) “Only a fool lets somebody else tell him who his enemy is.”
5) “The whole thing boiled down to a simple equation: anything that has any kind of value is made, mined, grown, produced, and processed by working people. So why shouldn't working people collectively own that wealth? Why shouldn't working people own and control their own resources?”
6) ”I felt, and still feel, that it is necessary for Black revolutionaries to come together, analyze our history, our present condition, and to define ourselves and our struggle.”
7) “Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.”
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“In prisons, it is not at all uncommon to find a prisoner hanged or burned to death in his cell. No matter how suspicious the circumstances, these deaths are always ruled ‘suicides.’ They are usually Black inmates, considered to be a ‘threat to the orderly running of the prison.’ They are usually among the most politically aware and socially conscious inmates in the prison.” — Assata Shakur"
If this quote does not make you think of the beautiful Sandra Bland, then you have been living under a rock. Ms. Bland, a 28-year-old African-American from the Chicago area, was taken into custody in southeast Texas following the confrontational 2015 traffic stop and was found hanging in a jail cell three days later.
If you still are not sold on the relevance on this book just read this...
"Black brothers, Black sisters, i want you to know that i love you and i hope that somewhere in your hearts you have love for me. My name is Assata Shakur (slave name joanne chesimard), and i am a revolutionary. A Black revolutionary. By that i mean that i have declared war on all forces that have raped our women, castrated our men, and kept our babies empty-bellied.
I have declared war on the rich who prosper on our poverty, the politicians who lie to us with smiling faces, and all the mindless, heart-less robots who protect them and their property.
I am a Black revolutionary, and, as such, i am a victim of all the wrath, hatred, and slander that amerika is capable of. Like all other Black revolutionaries, amerika is trying to lynch me.
I am a Black revolutionary woman, and because of this i have been charged with and accused of every alleged crime in which a woman was believed to have participated. The alleged crimes in which only men were supposedly involved, i have been accused of planning. They have plastered pictures alleged to be me in post offices, airports, hotels, police cars, subways, banks, television, and newspapers. They have offered over fifty thousand dollars in rewards for my capture and they have issued orders to shoot on sight and shoot to kill.
I am a Black revolutionary, and, by definition, that makes me a part of the Black Liberation Army. The pigs have used their newspapers and TVs to paint the Black Liberation Army as vicious, brutal, mad-dog criminals. They have called us gangsters and gun molls and have compared us to such characters as john dillinger and ma barker. It should be clear, it must be clear to anyone who can think, see, or hear, that we are the victims. The victims and not the criminals.
It should also be clear to us by now who the real criminals are. Nixon and his crime partners have murdered hundreds of Third World brothers and sisters in Vietnam, Cambodia, Mozambique, Angola, and South Africa. As was proved by Watergate, the top law enforcement officials in this country are a lying bunch of criminals. The president, two attorney generals, the head of the fbi, the head of the cia, and half the white house staff have been implicated in the Watergate crimes.
They call us murderers, but we did not murder over two hundred fifty unarmed Black men, women, and children, or wound thousands of others in the riots they provoked during the sixties. The rulers of this country have always considered their property more important than our lives. They call us murderers, but we were not responsible for the twenty-eight brother inmates and nine hostages murdered at attica. They call us murderers, but we did not murder and wound over thirty unarmed Black students at Jackson State”or Southern State, either.
They call us murderers, but we did not murder Martin Luther King, Jr., Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, George Jackson, Nat Turner, James Chaney, and countless others. We did not murder, by shooting in the back, sixteen-year-old Rita Lloyd, eleven-year-old Rickie Bodden, or ten-year-old Clifford Glover. They call us murderers, but we do not control or enforce a system of racism and oppression that systematically murders Black and Third World people. Although Black people supposedly comprise about fifteen percent of the total amerikkkan population, at least sixty percent of murder victims are Black. For every pig that is killed in the so-called line of duty, there are at least fifty Black people murdered by the police.
Black life expectancy is much lower than white and they do their best to kill us before we are even born. We are burned alive in fire-trap tenements. Our brothers and sisters OD daily from heroin and methadone. Our babies die from lead poisoning. Millions of Black people have died as a result of indecent medical care. This is murder. But they have got the gall to call us murderers.
They call us kidnappers, yet Brother Clark Squires (who is accused, along with me, of murdering a new jersey state trooper) was kidnapped on April z, 1969, from our Black community and held on one million dollars' ransom in the New York Panther 21 conspiracy case. He was acquitted on May 13, 1971, along with all the others, of 156 counts of conspiracy by a jury that took less than two hours to deliberate. Brother Squires was innocent. Yet he was kidnapped from his community and family. Over two years of his life was stolen, but they call us kidnappers. We did not kidnap the thousands of Brothers and Sisters held captive in amerika's concentration camps. Ninety percent of the prison population in this country are Black and Third World people who can afford neither bail nor lawyers.
They call us thieves and bandits. They say we steal. But it was not we who stole millions of Black people from the continent of Africa. We were robbed of our language, of our Gods, of our culture, of our human dignity, of our labor, and of our lives. They call us thieves, yet it is not we who rip off billions of dollars every year through tax evasions, illegal price fixing, embezzlement, consumer fraud, bribes, kickbacks, and swindles. They call us bandits, yet every time most Black people pick up our paychecks we are being robbed. Every time we walk into a store in our neighborhood we are being held up. And every time we pay our rent the landlord sticks a gun into our ribs.
They call us thieves, but we did not rob and murder millions of Indians by ripping off their homeland, then call ourselves pioneers. They call us bandits, but it is not we who are robbing Africa, Asia, and Latin America of their natural resources and freedom while the people who live there are sick and starving. The rulers of this country and their flunkies have committed some of the most brutal, vicious crimes in history. They are the bandits. They are the murderers. And they should be treated as such. These maniacs are not fit to judge me, Clark, or any other Black person on trial in amerika. Black people should and, inevitably, must determine our destinies.
Every revolution in history has been accomplished by actions, al-though words are necessary. We must create shields that protect us and spears that penetrate our enemies. Black people must learn how to struggle by struggling. We must learn by our mistakes.
I want to apologize to you, my Black brothers and sisters, for being on the new jersey turnpike. I should have known better. The turnpike is a checkpoint where Black people are stopped, searched, harassed, and assaulted. Revolutionaries must never be in too much of a hurry or make careless decisions. He who runs when the sun is sleeping will stumble many times.
Every time a Black Freedom Fighter is murdered or captured, the pigs try to create the impression that they have quashed the movement, destroyed our forces, and put down the Black Revolution. The pigs also try to give the impression that five or ten guerrillas are responsible for every revolutionary action carried out in amerika. That is nonsense. That is absurd. Black revolutionaries do not drop from the moon. We are created by our conditions. Shaped by our oppression. We are being manufactured in droves in the ghetto streets, places like attica, san quentin, bedford hills, leavenworth, and sing sing. They are turning out thousands of us. Many jobless Black veterans and welfare mothers are joining our ranks. Brothers and sisters from all walks of life, who are tired of suffering passively, make up the BLA.
There is, and always will be, until every Black man, woman, and child is free, a Black Liberation Army. The main function of the Black Liberation Army at this time is to create good examples, to struggle for Black freedom, and to prepare for the future. We must defend ourselves and let no one disrespect us. We must gain our liberation by any means necessary. It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains."
"We are living in a time where our backs are constantly being pushed against the wall all because we are asking for equality. For so long things has been swept under the rug but thanks to modern technology, social media, and the enlightenment of our people, we are standing together to improve the future. I stand here with my fist held high and an aura that demands respect to tell my brothers and sisters/fellow kings and queens that it is time we UNITE against injustice."
-Patricia Striggles, Creator of The Motherland Plug
]]>Over the course of two days, I watched 5 documentaries related to minimalism that helped change my views on materialistic wealth. I got a few questions from followers about what to watch and decided I should create a post to help others who may be interested in learning about minimalism. Let me make this clear, in no way am I striving to be able to fit all my personal in one carry on sized bookbag. I am looking to find a balance in my life.
Here are 5 streamable documentaries that helped kick start my journey. If you have a minimalism related recommendation for me to check out please leave a comment.
How might your life be better with less? This film examines the many flavors of minimalism by taking the audience inside the lives of minimalists from all walks of life.
The links between consumer pressure for low-cost high fashion and the meager existences of the sweatshop workers who produce those goods are explored.
Six students documenting their search for what it looks like to live minimally in an excess-driven culture.
Happy takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy.
In rural Guatemala, four friends battle illness, parasites, and hunger as they experiment with living on just $1 a day for eight weeks.
Bonus- When I was ready to start a more detailed decluttering of my material items I watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
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(Owner, Patricia, wearing the Unisex Two Pocket Drawstring African Kente Pants)
No fabric is more associated with Africa than the vibrant colors of kente cloth. This fabric is instantly identifiable to African culture. Native to the country of Ghana, kente cloth has a strong spiritual value. It is a royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance in Africa. Kente is called ‘the cloth of kings’ and over time the use of kente cloth has become more widespread.
Kente cloth is easily identified by its dazzling, multicolored patterns of lush colors, geometric shapes, and bold designs. Each color also has a symbolic meaning.
African legend has it that kente was first made by two friends who went hunting in a forest and found a spider making its web. The friends watched the spider for two days then returned home and implemented what they had seen.
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