STEPPING STONES 05/24/15 By OJI MANI A Charitable Organization

Public Service Announcement:

The rechartering for The Head Cornerstone Corporation in the State Of Delaware as well as all updated business licenses and associated issues are forth coming pending litigation.

 Thank you.

 

 

“Hello world (smile),

 Please, pick up my debut single, “I Want To Know”

from “Volume I George” at  Reverbnation.com/Georgethesmoothandsexycrooner

as well as many other internet sites when it drops and taste my funk (smile).”  

 George      

  

"Strictly business for serious business minds…".

 

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

 “I have a friend who says

That there are no laws

Which are repressive of life

And in truth Carlos I wish I could concur with you

But from here

From my life of conformity

From my unsullied bed

And my nights awatch

From my daughter with milk

From here Carlos

I am not sure you are right.

I bid you remember

First and foremost

That my skin is different from yours

I bid you not to forget

That my history

Has large stains

Sad

Beautiful

Eternal

Different from yours

I wish to implore you

And do not forget

That there

And here

And elsewhere

My people bleed

For their life

My people suffer

More hunger than yours

And that my people like yours

Feel and love

And are dying

For hope

There are no laws which are repressive of life?

At times I believe it

When on a sudden

Forgetful a bit

I am attacked by the desire of being

 Eve for someone

Of being a woman

Capable of bringing forth many children

At times I believe it

And at times I wish to believe it

When the house fills up with voices

Which spill forth from the television

And from the newspaper

Which shout at me

That Mandela is free

But his people are dying

And which tell me

That in Africa

And in Haiti

And in the Southern United States

And in the world

There is hunger

And racism

And death

At times in truth Carlos

I wish I could concur with you

But only

When you are part of my history

Of our hope

Are you going to understand

That there are laws

And reasons

And men

Which repress life

Which causes tears

When we are alone

Which engender vulgar words

Which impel us

To find cause for getting together

Loving and struggling

Only then Carlos

Will you understand

That time is unequal

That skin has shades of colour

And that the dawn

Is portrayed differently

From these eyes.

 

“To Carlos, because he is beginning to understand”

Shirley Campbell Barr

Afro-Costa Rican Poet

 

 HISTORICAL FACT OF THE WEEK

 HISTORY OF COSTA RICA

“Of The People Of The Many Descendants Of Afrika”

Costa Rica ( i/?ko?st? ?ri?k?/, meaning "rich coast" in Spanish), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, pronounced: [re?puβlika ee ?kosta ?rika]), is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

In Pre-Columbian times the first Native Americans in what is now Costa Rica were part of a cultural complex known as the "Intermediate Area," between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This is where the peripheries of the Mesoamerican and Andean native cultures overlapped. More recently, pre-Columbian Costa Rica has also been described as part of the Isthmo-Colombian Area. The northwest of the country, Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost reach of the Nahuatl culture when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century. The rest of the country was influenced by various Chibcha speaking indigenous groups. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of these died from diseases such as smallpox and mistreatment by the Spaniards.

The impact of indigenous peoples on modern Costa Rican culture has been relatively small compared to other nations, since the country lacked a strong native civilization to begin with. Most of the native population was absorbed into the Spanish-speaking colonial society through inter-marriage, except for some small remnants, the most significant of which are the Bribri and Boruca tribes who still inhabit the mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca, in the southern part of Costa Rica, near the frontier with Panama.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus made landfall in Costa Rica. Soon after, the indigenous people were conquered and Costa Rica was incorporated into the Captaincy General of Guatemala as a province of New Spain in 1524. For the next 300 years, Costa Rica was a colony of Spain. As a result, Costa Rica's culture has been greatly influenced by the Roman Catholic culture of Spain. During this period, Costa Rica remained sparsely developed and impoverished.

The first African people who arrived in Costa Rica came with the Spanish conquistadors. Slave trade was common in all the countries conquered by Spain, and in Costa Rica the first Africans seem to have come from specific sources in Africa- Equatorial and Western regions. The people from these areas were thought of as ideal slaves because they had a reputation for being more robust, affable and hard-working than other Africans. The slaves were from what is now the Gambia (Mandingas), Guinea (specifically Wolofe), Ghanaian (Ashanti), Benin (specifically Ije / Ararás) and Sudan (Puras). Many of the slaves were also Minas (i.e. slaves from parts of the region extending from Ivory Coast to the Slave Coast), Popo (be imported tribes as Ana and Baribas), Yorubas and Congas (perhaps from Kongasso, Ivory Coast). Slaves also came from other places, such as neighboring Panama.

However, the following century witnessed a gradual lessening of the differences between Africans and their European owners. As Europeans took African women as their concubines, they freed the children that were born from this union. The same thing started to happen with the "zambos", born of Amerindians and Africans. During the time of slavery, the slaves worked on cattle ranches of Guanacaste and the Central Valley plantations and cacao plantations in Matina, whose situation was more difficult. Over time, many Europeans freed their slaves and slavery was abolished in 1823, along with the other Central American countries.

The largest Costa Rican African community is from the Caribbean, which today constitutes the majority of the Costa Rican African population. Costa Rica has the largest Jamaican diaspora after Cuba and Panama and its development as a nation is witness to his contribution.

Following the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) Costa Rica became part of the independent Mexican Empire in 1821. Subsequently, Costa Rica was part of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823, before gaining full independence in 1838. Its economy struggled due to lack of connections with European suppliers. In 1856, Costa Rica resisted American settlers from mounting a take over of the government. After 1869, Costa Rica became a democracy.

Since 1850, fishermen of Afro-Caribbean origin began to settle in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, especially from Panama and the West Indies. They stayed in temporary camps during fishing seasons, from March to September, to plant coconuts, cassava, and yams, which were then harvested the following season. Since 1828, some of these fishermen began to settle in Costa Rica permanently with their families.

After the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, the government drafted a new constitution, guaranteeing universal suffrage and the dismantling of the military. Today, Costa Rica is a democracy that relies on technology and eco-tourism for its economy. Although poverty has reduced over the last ten years, economic problems still exist. Costa Rica is facing problems of underemployment, foreign and internal debt and a trade deficiency.

Costa Rica constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011.

Costa Rica was cited by the United Nations United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability and having a better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.

In 2007, the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021. The New Economics Foundation (NEF) ranked Costa Rica first in its 2009 Happy Planet Index, and once again in 2012. The NEF also ranked Costa Rica in 2009 as the "greenest" country in the world. In 2012 Costa Rica became the first country in the American continent to ban recreational hunting after the country’s legislature approved the popular measure by a wide margin.

(Continued)

 “...the truth shall set you free”

 

 (Email [email protected] to get “plugged in”!)

  

BY

 

Coming soon!!

 

URBAN COMMUNITY ECONOMIC RECOVERY,  REDEVELOPMENT, & MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM

Complete with lectures, workshops, Power Point Presentations, resource acquisition and allocation management, progressive community activism training, progressive youth developmental programs, progressive business plan development programs, crime suppression program development, administration management, and lots of other “goodies for you…

 …find your community leader and let them know to “get on board this train”.

 Brought to you By

 “Get Your Mind Right” Productions

 A Company of

 Orji

 “Marketing from the roots…”

 Please, email [email protected] for all inquiries

 "Strictly business for serious business minds…"

  

It Is On!!!

Email George at [email protected]om and get

“PLUGGED IN”

 To the “Quote of the Week”,

 Relevant and insightful commentaries of today’s “real world” issues,

 Upcoming performances and releases by Stone Records’ artist(s), the latest news and events…

 Join the fan list at Reverbnation.com/georgethesmoothandsexycrooner

Where you may also

 PICKUP THE COMING HOT NEW SINGLE,

 “I Want To Know”

 As well as “To Love And Be Loved”, “Let’s Take Our Time”, “A Friend In You”, “Believe in You” as well as several others on the release of the long anticipated debut album,

 “Volume I George”

 By the soulfully sultry and smooth balladeer,

 George

 2015!!

  “The Memphis Step”

  the debut single from the album,

 “Summertime”

 Also, “Summertime”, “Early Morning”, “Love In Thunder”, “Monday Hustle”, and others

 by Stone Records acid/contemporary jazz group,

  Ade

plus several contemporary soul gospel, hip hop, and urban projects beginning in 2015!! Stone Records is “…music for the soul” and we have come to get it on, baby!!

 Join the email lists:

 Facebook.com/George the balladeer

Reverbnation.com/Georgethesmoothandsexycrooner

 

“For we have come to get it on, baby…”