STEPPING STONES 07/30/17 By OPIO TECHNOLOGIES "Like the wind"

 

Volume 3, Issue 31, July 30, 2017

In this issue...

Public Service Announcements

Quote Of The Week: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (Ida B. Wells)

Book Of The Month: “The Gospel Of Mary Magdalene” Translation from the Coptic and Commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup (English translation and notes by Joseph Rowe)

It’s YOUR Health: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Historical Fact Of The Week: History Of African Americans Part VII

Editorial Commentary: Coming!        

 

Public Service Announcements

• 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.
• Visit WWW.Ready.gov at your earliest convenience so that you may be informed of basic protective measures before, during, and after disasters/emergencies, learn disaster prepared activities, training, plans, and what shelters are in or near your community, develop an emergency plan for yourself and your family in the event of an actual disaster/emergency, build an disaster/emergency supply kit including a basic emergency medical/trauma bag in case of an event, and GET INVOLVED!
• Get your CPR (Cardio-Pulomonary Resuscitation) and Basic First Aid/First Responder/Basic Life Support including child birth and Emergency Pediatric Care training today. Check with the American Heart Association at WWW.Heart.org for locations. It may just save a life.
•  It’s a lot of fun and excitement, it’s healthy, it’s a great family activity, and it’s very practical. Find a course in self-defense for you and your loved ones and learn to protect yourselves. You just never know.
•  We have the constitutional right to BEAR ARMS and many states have the CCW (Conceal Carry Weapon) License for when you and your loved ones are outside of your home environment. Search the web for free information concerning the Conceal Carry Laws as well as other valuable information. Get the CCW License today (where applicable) for you and your family members of age and LEARN HOW TO SHOOT. You’ll feel better that you did.
•  WATER; it’s very essential for normal body functions and not only carries nutrients to your cells, but flushes out the toxins in are bodies that lead to diseases such as cancers, diabetes, and heart diseases. According to the Mayo Clinic and the Institute of Health, water consumption varies for each person depending on many factors associated with life styles, such as current health, activities, and where you live. Be informed about what your daily intake should be and “drink up”. It will make YOUR world a better place.

Public Service Announcements

are brought to you by

Within our African American communities, there is a DISEASE; drug gangs as well as other organized criminal organizations. Before and after any conversation and until we remove the disease…

“…we will continue to SUFFER from exceptionally HIGH crime rates (burglaries, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, prostitution/teen prostitution, illegal weapons, auto thefts, etc.), INCREASED violent crimes (murders, assaults, rapes, kidnappings, robberies, gang rapes, child molestations, child endangerment/abuse, etc.), DECREASED land values, decreased BUSINESS INVESTMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT, DECREASED employment opportunities in affected areas, and a “WAR ZONE” environment in which our CHILDREN and elders are FORCED to survive in. A RECLASSIFICATION of these crimes and ALL involved in their OFFENSES to include all persons assisting in any CAPACITY as terrorists will, also, REMOVE many, but NOT all, of the OBSTRUCTIONS for our children as they LEARN, play, and grow during their crucial DEVELOPMENTAL YEARS by significantly REDUCING the VIOLENT CRIMES, eliminating FORCED gang membership, SIGNIFICANTLY reducing teen pregnancy, TEEN drug use, teen dropout rates, SCHOOL ABSENTEISM, illiteracy rates, TEEN SUICIDE RATES, as well as the eradicating of the PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA as well as mental anguish that is PRODUCED by the “war zone” environment. The BY-PRODUCTS of this campaign include, but are not limited to significant REDUCTION in Medical budget expenditures CAUSED by drug related medical and traumatic CONDITIONS (DRUG OVERDOSES, HOMICIDES, SUICIDES, DRUG INFLUENCED/RELATED AUTO ACCIDENTS, DRUG INDUCED PSYCHOLOGICAL PATIENTS, BABIES BORN WITH DRUG ADDICTIONS, THE SPREAD OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES, BABIES BORN WITH SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES, TRAUMA RELATED TO DRUGS/GANGS AND VIOLENT CRIME, ETC.).”

(Excerpt from Quote Of The Week 01/01/12)

And our babies will continue to be oppressed until death and all day before they can live. This is not LOVE. This is HATE. Please, STOP!

Brought to you

By

The “From the dirt…” Community Redevelopment Project

A program of

COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL

 

Tending The Garden; Plucking Poverty By The Roots

By Akil A. Bomani

The most severe form of poverty is ignorance; lack of knowledge or factual, true, and always objective information (as opposed to misinformation or ill knowledge). Only when we breathe, speak, and teach true knowledge to ourselves, each other, and especially to our youth will we begin the work of eradicating the overwhelming abundance of poverty from our minds, our bodies, and most importantly, our spirits; and thus, the world. This alone will heal all plagues, address every societal need, and end suffering the world over and forever. And what is knowledge without wisdom? Just look around you at our world today. Lack of wisdom is the second most severe form of poverty afflicting “Man”. Without wisdom, knowledge is just a loaded gun or an explosive device in the wrong hands. It is the obvious cure for the disease. And then, what will we do with ourselves?

Pedophiliac: The Grip Of Reality Reveals The One And Only Solution 

By Akil A. Bomani

Pedophiliac, Child molester, Child predator, Child sex slaver/trafficker, … In summarizing this…“issue”, what a complete contradiction of nature and even evolution; an abomination. And what an example to the youth of the world we have set in not only not putting an end to such atrocity everywhere it exists, but have allowed it to now be an accepted part of popular culture in some of our societies, continue in others as “tradition”, or incidents and perpetrators have become so common place that one can see them “coming out of the closet”. The damage they inflict on their victims, their victims’ family, friends, school mates, care providers, emergency response personnel, etc. go far beyond bad dreams. Our current problem is this; the DISEASE is spiritual and mental which leads to the actual physical act and crime and THERE IS NO CURE. And so, there is but ONE solution. No matter where you are, no matter your socio-politico, cultural, and/or economic back ground, only those with no reasoning will disagree. And so, no matter where you are…no matter what country, city, township, or village, ethnic group, cultural orientation, or other group, support the enacting and, most importantly, enforcement of internationally standardized laws that reflect and directly address this most serious matter. Until there is a cure, our children are not safe. Seek to initiate the passing of laws that PERMANENTLY remove offenders from society by penalties of either LIFE OF IMPRISONMENT/MENTAL INSTITUTION with NO CHANCE OF PAROLE or RELEASE until a cure is discovered or DEATH BY SOME LETHAL MECHANISM for all perpetrators of this most heinous assault on our youth. We must, also, in a formal setting, teach our youth from the early developmental stages “sex education”, the very best parenting practices among other essential “life skills”, and the need, how, and why to report offenders to assist with their protection and bringing perpetrators to justice. And we must, in a formal setting, teach current parents, educators, as well as all other care providers how to recognize a problem when they encounter it. Please, join this War on Pedophiliacs as we seek all progressive methods to “end this right now”. Why? Pedophiliacs CAN’T help themselves and the next child could be yours. Or how else will our children ever respect us again?

 

Brought to you by

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I am before the American people to day through no inclination of my own, but because of a deep seated conviction that the country at large does not know the extent to which lynch law prevails in parts of the Republic nor the conditions which force into exile those who speak the truth. I cannot believe that the apathy and indifference which so largely obtains regarding mob rule is other than the result of ignorance of the true situation. And yet, the observing and thoughtful must know that in one section, at least, of our common country, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, means a government by the mob; where the land of the free and home of the brave means a land of lawlessness, murder and outrage; and where liberty of speech means the license of might to destroy the business and drive from home those who exercise this privilege contrary to the will of the mob. Repeated attacks on the life, liberty and happiness of any citizen or class of citizens are attacks on distinctive American institutions; such attacks imperiling as they do the foundation of government, law and order, merit the thoughtful consideration of far sighted Americans; not from a standpoint of sentiment, not even so much from a standpoint of justice to a weak race, as from a desire to preserve our institutions. The race problem or negro question, as it has been called, has been omnipresent and all pervading since long before the Afro American was raised from the degradation of the slave to the dignity of the citizen. It has never been settled because the right methods have not been employed in the solution. It is the Banquo's ghost of politics, religion, and sociology which will not down at the bidding of those who are tormented with its ubiquitous appearance on every occasion. Times without number, since invested with citizenship, the race has been indicted for ignorance, immorality and general worthlessness declared guilty and executed by its self constituted judges. The operations of law do not dispose of negroes fast enough, and lynching bees have become the favorite pastime of the South. As excuse for the same, a new cry, as false as it is foul, is raised in an effort to blast race character, a cry which has proclaimed to the world that virtue and innocence are violated by Afro-Americans who must be killed like wild beasts to protect womanhood and childhood. Born and reared in the South, I had never expected to live elsewhere. Until this past year I was one among those who believed the condition of masses gave large excuse for the humiliations and proscriptions under which we labored; that when wealth, education and character became more feral among us, the cause being removed the effect would cease, and justice being accorded to all alike. I shared the general belief that good newspapers entering regularly the homes of our people in every state could do more to bring about this result than any agency. Preaching the doctrine of self help, thrift and economy every week, they would be the teachers to those who had been deprived of school advantages, yet were making history every day and train to think for themselves our mental children of a larger growth. And so, three years ago last June, I became editor and part owner of the Memphis Free Speech. As editor, I had occasion to criticize the city School Board's employment of inefficient teachers and poor school buildings for Afro- American children. I was in the employ of that board at the time, and at the close of that school term one year ago, was not re elected to a position I had held in the city schools for seven years. Accepting the decision of the Board of Education, I set out to make a race newspaper pay a thing which older and wiser heads said could not be done. But there were enough of our people in Memphis and surrounding territory to support a paper, and I believed they would do so. With nine months hard work the circulation increased from 1,500 to 3,500; in twelve months it was on a good paying basis. Throughout the Mississippi Valley in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi on plantations and in towns, the demand for and interest in the paper increased among the masses. The newsboys who would not sell it on the trains, voluntarily testified that they had never known colored people to demand a paper so eagerly. To make the paper a paying business I became advertising agent, solicitor, as well as editor, and was continually on the go. Wherever I went among the people, I gave them in church, school, public gatherings, and home, the benefit of my honest conviction that maintenance of character, money getting and education would finally solve our problem and that it depended us to say how soon this would be brought about. This sentiment bore good fruit in Memphis. We had nice homes, representatives in almost every branch of business and profession, and refined society. We had learned helping each other helped all, and every well conducted business by Afro- Americans prospered. With all our proscription in theatres, hotels and railroads, we had never had a lynching and did not believe we could have one. There had been lynchings and brutal outrages of all sorts in our state and those adjoining us, but we had confidence and pride in our city and the majesty of its laws. So far in advance of other Southern cities was ours, we were content to endure the evils we had, to labor and to wait. But there was a rude awakening. On the morning of March 9, the bodies of three of our best young men were found in an old field horribly shot to pieces. These young men had owned and operated the "People's Grocery," situated at what was known as the Curve a suburb made up almost entirely of colored people about a mile from city limits. Thomas Moss, one of the oldest letter carriers in the city, was president of the company, Cal McDowell was manager and Will Stewart was a clerk. There were about ten other stockholders, all colored men. The young men were well known and popular and their business flourished, and that of Barrett, a white grocer who kept store there before the "People's Grocery" was established, went down. One day an officer came to the "People's Grocery" and inquired for a colored man who lived in the neighborhood, and for whom the officer had a warrant. Barrett was with him and when McDowell said he knew nothing as to the whereabouts of the man for whom they were searching, Barrett, not the officer, then accused McDowell of harboring the man, and McDowell gave the lie. Barrett drew his pistol and struck McDowell with it; thereupon McDowell who was a tall, fine looking six footer, took Barrett's pistol from him, knocked him down and gave him a good thrashing, while Will Stewart, the clerk, kept the special officer at bay. Barrett went to town, swore out a warrant for their arrest on a charge of assault and battery. McDowell went before the Criminal Court, immediately gave bond and returned to his store. Barrett then threatened (to use his own words) that he was going to clean out the whole store. Knowing how anxious he was to destroy their business, these young men consulted a lawyer who told them they were justified in defending themselves if attacked, as they were a mile beyond city limits and police protection. They accordingly armed several of their friends not to assail, but to resist the threatened Saturday night attack. When they saw Barrett enter the front door and a half dozen men at the rear door at 11 o'clock that night, they supposed the attack was on and immediately fired into the crowd, wounding three men. These men, dressed in citizen's clothes, turned out to be deputies who claimed to be hunting for another man for whom they had a warrant, and whom any one of them could have arrested without trouble. When these men found they had fired upon officer of the law, they threw away their firearms and submitted to arrest, confident they should establish their innocence of intent to fire upon officers of the law. The daily papers in flaming headlines roused the evil passions of whites, denounced these poor boys in unmeasured terms, nor permitted a word in their own defense. The neighborhood of the Curve was searched next day, and about thirty persons were thrown into jail, charged with conspiracy. No communication was to be had with friends any of the three days these men were in jail; bail was refused and Thomas Moss was not allowed to eat the food his wife prepared for him. The judge is reported to have said, "Any one can see them after three days." They were seen after three days, but they were no longer able to respond to the greetings of friends. On Tuesday following the shootings at the grocery, the papers which had made much of the sufferings of the wounded deputies, and promised it would go hard with those who did the shooting, if they died, announced that the officers were all out of danger, and would recover. The friends of the prisoners breathed more easily and relaxed their vigilance. They felt that as the officers would not die, there was no danger that in the heat of passion the prisoners would meet violent death at hands of the mob. Besides, we had such confidence in the law. But the law did not provide capital punishment for shooting which did not kill. So the mob did what the law could not be made to do, as a lesson to the Afro-American that he must not shoot a white man, no matter what the provocation. The same night after the announcement was made in the papers that thee officers would get well, the mob, in obedience to a plan known to every eminent white man in the city, went to the jail between two and three in the morning, dragged out these young men, hatless and shoeless, put them on the yard engine of the railroad which was in waiting just behind the jail, carried them a mile north of the city limits and horribly shot them to death while the locomotive at a given signal let off steam and blew the whistle to deaden the sound of the firing. "It was done by unknown men," said the jury, yet the Appeal Avalanche which goes to press at 3 a.m., had a two column account of the lynching. The papers also told how McDowell got hold of the guns of the mob and as his grasp could not be loosened, his hand was shattered with a pistol ball and all the lower part of his face was torn away. There were four pools of blood found and only three bodies. It was whispered that he, McDowell killed one of the lynchers with his gun, and it is well known that a police man who was seen on the street a few days previous to the lynching, died very suddenly the next day after. "It was done by unknown parties," said the jury, yet the papers told how Tom Moss begged for his life, for the sake of his wife, his little daughter and his unborn infant. They also told us that his last words were, "If you will kill us, turn our faces to the West." All this we learn too late to save these men, even if the law had not be in the hands of their murderers. When the colored people realized that the flower of our young manhood had been stolen away at night and murdered there was a rush for firearms to avenge the wrong, but no house would sell a colored man a gun; the armory of the Tennessee Rifles, our only colored military company, and of which McDowell was a member, was broken into by order of the Criminal Court judge, and its guns taken. One hundred men and irresponsible boys from fifteen years and up were armed by order of authorities and rushed out to the Curve, where it was reported that the colored people were massing, and at point of the bayonet dispersed these men who could do nothing but talk. The cigars, wines, etc., of the grocery stock were freely used by the mob, who possessed the place on pretence of dispersing the conspiracy. The money drawer was broken into and contents taken. The trunk of Calvin McDowell, who had a room in the store, was broken open, and his clothing, which was not good enough to take away, was throw out and trampled on the floor. These men were murdered, their stock was attached by creditors and sold for less than one eighth of its cost to that same man Barrett, who is to day running his grocery in the same place. He had indeed kept his word, and by aid of the authorities destroyed the People's Grocery Company root and branch. The relatives of Will Stewart and Calvin McDowell are bereft of their protectors. The baby daughter of Tom Moss, too young to express how she misses her father, toddles to the wardrobe, seizes the legs of the trousers of his letter carrier uniform, hugs and kisses them with evident delight and stretches up her little hands to be taken up into the arms which will nevermore clasp his daughter's form. His wife holds Thomas Moss, Jr., in her arms, upon whose unconscious baby face the tears fall thick and fast when she is thinking of the sad fate of the father he will never see, and of the two helpless children who cling to her for the support she cannot give. Although these men were peaceable, law abiding citizens of this country, we are told there can be no punishment for their murderers nor indemnity for relatives. I have no power to describe the feeling of horror that possessed every member of the race in Memphis when the truth dawned upon us that the protection of the law which we had so long enjoyed was no longer ours; all had been destroyed in a night, and the barriers of the law had been down, and the guardians of the public peace and confidence scoffed into the shadows, and all authority given into the hands of the mob, and innocent men cut down as if they were brutes the first feeling was one dismay, then intense indignation. Vengeance was whispered from ear to ear, but sober reflection brought the conviction that it would be extreme folly to seek vengeance when such action meant certain death for the men, and horrible slaughter for the women and children, as one of the evening papers took care to remind us. The power of the State, country and city, and civil authorities and the strong arm of the military power were all on the side of the mob and of lawlessness. Few of our men possessed firearms, our only company's guns were confiscated, and the only white man who sell a colored man a gun, was himself jailed, and his store closed. We were helpless in our great strength. It was our first object lesson in the doctrine of white supremacy; an illustration of the South's cardinal principle no matter what the attainments, character or standing of an Afro-American, the laws of the South will not protect him against a white man. There was only one thing we could do, and a great determination seized the people to follow the advice of the martyred Moss, and "turn our faces to the West," whose laws protect all alike. The Free Speech supported ministers and leading business men advised the people to leave a community whose laws did not protect them. Hundreds left on foot to walk four hundred miles between Memphis and Oklahoma. A Baptist minister went to the territory, built a church, and took his entire congregation out in less than a month. Another minister sold his church and took his flock to California, and still another has settled in Kansas. In two months, six thousand persons had left the city and every branch of business began to feel this silent resentment of the outrage, and failure of the authorities to punish lynchers. There were a number of business failures and blocks of houses for rent. The superintendent and treasurer of the street railway company called at the office of the Free Speech, to have us urge the colored people again on the street cars. A real estate dealer said to a colored man who returned some property he had been buying on the installment plan: "I see what you 'niggers' are cutting up about. You got off light. We first intend to kill every one of those thirty one niggers' in jail, but concluded to let all go but the 'leaders.' " They did let all go to the penitentiary. These so-called rioters have since been tried in the Criminal Court for the conspiracy of defending their property, and are now serving terms of three, eight, and fifteen years each in the Tennessee State prison. To restore the equilibrium and put a stop to the great financial loss, the next move was to get rid of the Free Speech, the disturbing element which kept the waters troubled; which would not let the people forget, and in obedience to whose advice nearly six thousand persons had left the city. In casting about for an excuse, the mob found it in the following editorial which appeared in the Memphis Free Speech, May 21, 1892: "Eight negroes lynched at Little Rock, Ark., where the citizens broke into the penitentiary and got their man; three near Anniston, Ala., and one in New Orleans, all on the same charge, the new alarm of assaulting white women and near Clarksville, Ga., for killing a white man. The same program of hanging then shooting bullets into the lifeless bodies was carried out to the letter. Nobody in this section of the country believes the old threadbare lie that negro men rape white women. If Southern white men are not careful they will overreach themselves, and public sentiment will have a reaction. A conclusion will then be reached which will be very damaging to the moral reputation of their women." Commenting on this, The Daily Commercial of Wednesday following said: "Those negroes who are attempting to make lynching of individuals of their race a means for arousing the worst passions of their kind, are playing with a dangerous sentiment. The negroes well understand that there is no mercy for the negro rapist, and little patience with his defenders. A negro organ printed in this city in a recent issue published the following atrocious paragraph: 'Nobody in this section believes the old threadbare lie that negro men rape white women. If Southern men are not careful they will overreach themselves and public will have a reaction. A conclusion will be reached which will be very damaging to the moral reputation of their women.' The fact that a black scoundrel is allowed to live and utter such loathsome and repulsive calumnies is a volume of evidence as to the wonderful patience of Southern whites. There are some things the Southern white man will not tolerate, and the intimidation of the foregoing has brought the writer to the very uttermost limit of public patience. We hope we have said enough." The Evening Scimitar of the same day copied this leading editorial and added this comment: "Patience under such circumstances is not a virtue. If the negroes themselves do not apply the remedy without delay, it will be the duty of those he has attacked, to tie the wretch who utters these calumnies to a stake at the intersection of Main and Madison streets, brand him in the forehead with a hot iron and " Such open suggestions by the leading daily papers of the progressive city of Memphis were acted upon by the leading citizens and a meeting was held at the Cotton Exchange that evening. The Commercial two days later had the following account of it: ATROCIOUS BLACKGUARDISM. There will be no Lynching and no Repetition of the Offense. In its issue of Wednesday The Commercial reproduced and commented upon an editorial which appeared a day or two before a negro organ known as the Free Speech. The article was so insufferably and indecently slanderous that the whole city awoke to a feeling of intense resentment which came within an ace of culminating in one of those occurrences whose details are so eagerly seized and so prominently published by Northern newspapers. Conservative counsels, however, prevailed, and no extreme measures were resorted to. On Wednesday afternoon a meeting of citizens was held. It was not an assemblage of hoodlums or irresponsible fire eaters, but solid, substantial business men who knew exactly what they were doing and who were far more indignant at the villainous insult to the women of the south than they would have been at any injury done themselves. This meeting appointed a committee to seek the author of the infamous editorial and warn him quietly that upon repetition of the offense, he would find some other part of the country a good deal safer and pleasanter place of residence than this. The committee called a negro named Nightingale, but he disclaimed responsibility and convinced the gentlemen that he had really sold out his paper to a woman named Wells. This woman is not in Memphis at present. It was finally learned that one Fleming, a negro who was driven out of Crittenden Co. during the trouble there a few years ago, wrote the paragraph. He had, however, heard of the meeting, and fled from a fate he feared was in store for him, and which he knew he deserved. His whereabouts could not be ascertained, and the committee so reported. Later on, a communication from Fleming a prominent Republican politician, and that politician's reply were shown to one or two gentlemen. The former was an inquiry as to whether the writer might safely return to Memphis, the latter was an emphatic answer in negative, and Fleming is still in hiding. Nothing further will be done in the matter. There will be no lynching, and it is very certain that there will be will be no repetition of the outrage. If there should be Friday, May 25. The only reason there was no lynching of Mr. Fleming who was business manager and half owner of the Free Speech, and who did not write the editorials himself because this same white Republican told him the committee was coming and warned him not to trust them, but get out of the way. The committee scoured the city hunting him, and had to be content with Mr. Nightingale who was dragged to the meeting, shamefully abused (although it was known he had sold out his interest in the paper six months before.) He was in the face and forced at the pistol's point to sign a letter which was written by them, in which he denied all knowledge of the editorial, denounced it and condemned it as slander on white women. I do not censure Mr. Nightingale for his action because, having never been at the pistol's point myself, I do not feel that I am competent to sit in judgment on him, or say What I would do under such circumstances. I had written that editorial with other matter for the week's paper before leaving home the Friday previous for the General Conference of the A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia. The conference adjourned Tuesday, and Thursday, May 25, at 3 p.m., I landed in New York City for a few days' stay before returning home, and there learned from the papers that my business manager had been driven away and the paper suspended. Telegraphing for news, I received telegrams and letters in return informing me that the trains were being watched, that I was to be dumped into the river and beaten, if not killed; it had been learned that I wrote the editorial and I was to be hanged in front of the court house and my face bled if I returned, and I was implored by my friends to remain away. The creditors attached the office in the meantime and the outfit was sold without more ado, thus destroying effectually that which it had taken years to build. One prominent insurance agent publicly declares he will make it his business to shoot me down on sight if I return to Memphis in twenty years, while a leading white lady had remarked she was opposed to the lynching of those three men in March, but she wished there was some way by which I could be gotten back and lynched. I have been censured for writing that editorial, but when I think of five men who were lynched that week for assault on white women and that not a week passes but some poor soul is violently ushered into eternity on this trumped up charge, knowing the many things I do, and part of which tried to tell in the New York Age of June 25, (and in the pamphlets I have with me) seeing that the whole race in the South was injured in the estimation of the world because of these false reports, I could no longer hold my peace, and I feel, yes, I am sure, that if it had to be done over again (provided no one else was the loser save myself) I would do and say the very same again. The lawlessness here described is not confined to one locality. In the past ten years over a thousand colored men, women and children have been butchered, murdered and burnt in all parts of the South. The details of these terrible outrages seldom reach beyond the narrow world where they occur. Those who commit the murders write the reports, and hence these blots upon the honor of a nation cause but a faint ripple on the outside world. They arouse no great indignation and call forth no adequate demand for justice. The victims were black, and the reports are so written as to make it appear that the helpless creatures deserved the fate which overtook them. Not so with the Italian lynching of 1891. They were not black men, and three of them were not citizens of the Republic, but subjects of the King of Italy. The chief of police of New Orleans was shot and eleven Italians arrested and charged with the murder; they were tried and the jury disagreed; the good, law abiding citizens of New Orleans thereupon took them from the jail and lynched them at high noon. A feeling of horror ran through the nation at this outrage. All Europe was amazed. The Italian government demanded thorough investigation and redress, and the Federal Government promised to give the matter the consideration which was its due. The diplomatic relations between the two countries became very much strained and for a while war talk was freely indulged. Here was a case where the power of the Federal Government to protect its own citizens and redeem its pledges to a friendly power was put to the test. When our State Department called upon the authorities of Louisiana for investigation of the crime and punishment of the criminals, the United States government was told that the crime was strictly within the authority of the State of Louisiana, and Louisiana would attend to it. After a farcical investigation, the usual verdict in such cases was rendered: "Death at the hand of parties unknown to the jury," the same verdict which had been pronounced over the bodies of over 1,000 colored persons! Our federal government has thus admitted that it has no jurisdiction over the crimes committed at New Orleans upon citizens of the country, nor upon those citizens of a friendly power to whom the general government and not the State government has pledged protection. Not only has our general government made the confession that one of the states is greater than the Union, but the general government has paid $25,000 of the people's money to the King of Italy for the lynching of those three subjects, the evil doing of one State, over which it has no control, but for whose lawlessness the whole country must pay. The principle involved in the treaty power of the government has not yet been settled to the satisfaction of foreign powers; but the principle involved in the right of State jurisdiction in such matters, was settled long ago by the decision of the United States Supreme Court. I beg your patience while we look at another phase of the lynching mania. We have turned heretofore to the pages of ancient and medieval history, roman tyranny, the Jesuitical Inquisition of Spain for the spectacle of a human being burnt to death. In the past ten years three instances, at least, have been furnished where men have literally been roasted to death to appease the fury of Southern mobs. The Texarkana instance of last year and Paris, Texas, case of this month are the most recent as they are the most shocking and repulsive. Both were charged with crimes from which the laws provide adequate punishment. The Texarkana man, Ed Coy, was charged with assaulting a white woman. A mob pronounced him guilty, strapped him to a tree, chipped the flesh from his body, poured coal oil over him and the woman in the case set fire to him. The country looked on and in many cases applauded, because it was published that this man had violated the honor of the white woman, although he protested his innocence to the last. Judge Tourjee in the Chicago Inter Ocean of recent date says investigation has shown that Ed Coy had supported this woman, (who was known to be a bad character,) and her drunken husband for over a year previous to the burning. The Paris, Texas, burning of Henry Smith, February 1st, has exceeded the others in its horrible details. The man was drawn through the streets on a float, as the Roman generals used to parade their trophies of war, while scaffold ten feet high, was being built, and irons were heated in the fire. He was bound on it, and red-hot irons began at his feet and slowly branded his body while the mob howled with delight at his shrieks. Red hot irons were run down his throat and cooked his tongue; his eyes were burned out, when he was at last unconscious, cotton seed hulls were placed under him, coal oil poured all over him, and a torch applied to the mass. When the flames burned away the ropes which bound Smith and scorched his flesh he was brought back to sensibility and burned and maimed and as he was, he rolled off the platform and away from the fire. His half-cooked body was seized and trampled and thrown back into the flames while a mob of twenty thousand persons who came from all over the country howled with delight, and gathered up some buttons and ashes after all was over to preserve for relics. The man was charged with outraging and murdering a four year old white child, covering her body with brush, sleeping beside the body through the night, then making his escape. If true, it was the deed of a mad-man, and should have been clearly proven so. The fact that no time for verification of the newspaper reports was given, is suspicious, especially when I remember that a negro was lynched in Indianola, Sharkey Co., Miss. last summer. The dispatches said it was because he had assaulted the sheriff's eight year old daughter. The girl was more than eighteen years old and was found by her father in this man's room, who was a servant on the place. These incidents have been made the basis of this terrible story they overshadow all others of a like nature in cruelty and represent the legal phases of the whole question. They could be multiplied without number and each outrival the other in the fiendish cruelty exercised, and the frequent awful lawlessness exhibited. The following table shows the number of men lynched from January 1, 1882, to January 1, 1892: In 1882, 52; 1883, 39; 1884, 53; 1885, 77; 1886, 73; 1887, 70; 1888, 72; 1889, 95; 1890, 100; 1891, 169. Of these 728 black men who were murdered, 269 were charged with rape, 253 with murder, 44 with robbery, 37 with incendiarism, 32 with reasons unstated (it was not necessary to have a reason), 27 with race prejudice, 13 with quarreling with white men, 10 with making threats, 7 with rioting, 5 with miscegenation, 4 with burglary. One of the men lynched in 1891 was Will Lewis, who was lynched because "he was drunk and saucy to white folks." A woman who was one of the 73 victims in 1886, was hung in Jackson, Tenn., because the white woman for whom she cooked, died suddenly of poisoning. An examination showed arsenical poisoning. A search in the cook's room found rat poison. She was thrown into jail, and when the mob had worked itself up to the lynching pitch, she was dragged out, every stitch of clothing torn from her body, and was hung in the public court house square in sight of everybody. That white woman's husband has since died in the insane asylum, a raving maniac, and his ravings have led to the conclusion that he and not the cook, was the poisonier of his wife. A fifteen year old colored girl was lynched last spring, at Rayville, La., on the same charge of poisoning. A woman was also lynched at Hollendale, Miss. last spring, charged with being an accomplice in the murder of her paramour who had abused her. These were only two of the 159 persons lynched in the South from January 1, 1892, to January 1, 1893. Over a dozen black men have been lynched already since this new year set in, not yet two months old. It will thus be seen that neither age, sex nor decency are spared. Although the impression has gone abroad that most of the lynchings take place because of assaults on white women only one third of the number lynched in the past ten years have been charged with that offense, to say nothing of those who were not guilty of the charge. And according to law none of them until proven so. But the unsupported word of any white person for any cause is sufficient to cause a lynching. So bold have the lynchers become masks are laid aside, the temples of justice and strongholds of law are invaded in broad daylight and prisoners taken out and lynched, while governors of states and officers of law stand by and see the work well done. And yet this Christian nation, the flower of the nineteenth century civilization says it can do nothing to stop this inhuman slaughter. The general government is willingly powerless to send troops to protect the lives of its black citizens, but the state governments are free to use state troops to shoot them down like cattle, when in desperation the black men attempt to defend themselves, and then tell the world that it was necessary to put down a "race war." Persons unfamiliar with the condition of affairs in the Southern States do not credit the truth when it is told them. They cannot conceive how such a condition of affairs prevails so near them with steam power, telegraph wires, and printing presses in daily and hourly touch with the localities where such disorder reigns. In a former generation the ancestors of these same people refused to believe that slavery was the "league with death and the covenant with hell." Wm. Lloyd Garrison declared it to be, until he was thrown into a dungeon in Baltimore, until the signal lights of Nat Turners lit the dull skies of Northampton County, and until sturdy old John Brown made his attack on Harper's Ferry. When freedom of speech was martyred in the person of Elijah Lovejoy at Alton, when the liberty of free discussion in Senate in the Nation's Congress was struck down in the person of the fearless Charles Sumner, the Nation was at last convinced that slavery was not only a monster by a tyrant. That same tyrant is at work under a new name and guise. The lawlessness which has been here described is like unto that which prevailed under slavery. The very same forces are at work now as then. The attempt is being made to subject to a condition of civil and industrial independence, those whom the Constitution declares to be free men. The events which have led up to the present wide spread lawlessness in the South can be traced to the very first year Lee's conquered veterans marched from Appomattox to their homes in the Southland. They were conquered in war, but not in spirit. They believed as firmly as ever that it was their right to rule black men and dictate to the National Government. The Knights of White Liners, and the Ku Klux Klans were composed of veterans of the army who were determined to destroy the effect of all the slave had gained by the war. They finally accomplished their purpose in 1876. The right of the Afro American to vote and hold office remains in the Federal Constitution, but is destroyed in the constitution of the Southern states. Having destroyed the citizenship of the man, they are now trying to destroy the manhood of the citizen. All their laws are shaped to this end,-school laws railroad car regulations, those governing labor liens on crops, every device is adopted to make slaves of free men and rob them of their wages. Whenever a malicious law is violated in any of its parts, any farmer, any railroad conductor, or merchant can call together a posse of his neighbors and punish even with death the black man who resists and the legal authorities sanction what is done by failing to prosecute and punish the murders. The Repeal of the Civil Rights Law removed their last barrier and the black man's last bulwark and refuge. The rule of the mob is absolute. Those who know this recital to be true, say there is nothing they can do they cannot interfere and vainly hope by further concession to placate the imperious and dominating part of our country in which this lawlessness prevails. Because this country has been almost rent in twain by internal dissension, the other sections seem virtually to have agreed that the best way to heal the breach is to permit the taking away of civil, political, and even human rights, to stand by in silence and utter indifference while the South continues to wreak fiendish vengeance on the irresponsible cause. They pretend to believe that with all the machinery of law and government in its hands; with the jails and penitentiaries and convict farms filled with pretty race criminals; with the well-known fact that no negro has ever been known to escape conviction and punishment for any crime in the South-still there are those who try to justify and condone the lynching of over a thousand black men in less than ten years an average of one hundred a year. The public sentiment of the country, by its silence in press, pulpit and in public meetings has encouraged this state of affairs, and public sentiment is stronger than law. With all this country's disposition to condone and temporize with the South and its methods; with its many instances of sacrificing principles to prejudice for the sake of making friends and healing the breach made by the late war; of going into the lawless country with capital to build up its waste places and remaining silent in the presence of outrage and wrong, the South is as vindictive and bitter as ever. She is willing to make friends as long as she is permitted to pursue unmolested and uncensored, her course of proscription, injustice, outrage and vituperation. The malignant misrepresentation of General Butler, the uniformly indecent and abusive assault of this dead man whose only crime was a defence of his country, is a recent proof that the South has lost none of its bitterness. The Nashville American, one of the leading papers of one of the leading southern cities, gleefully announced editorially that " 'The Beast is dead.' Early yesterday morning, acting under the devil's orders, the angel of Death took Ben Butler and landed him in the lowest depths of hell, and we pity even the devil the possession has secured." The men who wrote these editorials are without exception young men who know nothing of slavery and scarcely anything of the war. The bitterness and hatred have been instilled in and taught them by their parents, and they are men who make and reflect the sentiment of their section. The South spares nobody else's feelings, and it seems a queer logic that when it comes to a question of right, involving lives of citizens and the honor of the government, the South's feelings must be respected and spared. Do you ask the remedy? A public sentiment strong against lawlessness must be aroused. Every individual can contribute to this awakening. When a sentiment against lynch law as strong, deep and mighty as that roused by slavery prevails, I have no fear of the result. It should be already established as a fact and not as a theory, that every human being must have a fair trial for his life and liberty, no matter what the charge against him. When a demand goes up from fearless and persistent reformers from press and pulpit, from industrial and moral associations that this shall be so from Maine to Texas and from ocean to ocean, a way will be found to make it so. In deference to the few words of condemnation uttered at the M.E. General conference last year, and by other organizations, Governors Hogg of Texas, Northern of Georgia, and Tillman of South Carolina, have issued proclamations offering rewards for the apprehension of lynchers. These rewards have never been claimed, and these governors knew they would not be when offered. In many cases they knew the ringleaders of the mobs. The prosecuting attorney of Shelby County, Tenn., wrote Governor Buchanan to offer a reward for the arrest of the lynchers of three young men murdered in Memphis. Everybody in that city and state knew well that the letter was written for the sake of effect and the governor did not even offer the reward. But the country at large deluded itself with the belief that the officials of the South and the leading citizens condemned lynching. The lynchings go on in spite of offered rewards, and in face of Governor Hogg's vigorous talk, the second man was burnt alive in his state with the utmost deliberation and publicity. Since he sent a message to the legislature the mob found and hung Henry Smith's stepson, because he refused to tell where Smith was when they were hunting for him. Public sentiment which shall denounce these    crimes in season and out; public sentiment which turns capital and immigration from a section given over to lawlessness; public sentiment which insists on    the punishment of criminals and lynchers by law must be aroused. It is no wonder in my mind that the party which stood for their years as the champion of human liberty and human rights, the part of great moral ideas should suffer overwhelming defeat when it has proven recreant to its professions and abandoned a position it created; when although its followers were being outraged in every sense, it was afraid to stand for the right, and appeal to the American people to sustain them in it. It put aside the question of a free ballot and fair count of every citizen and give its voice and influence for the protection of the coat instead of the man who wore it, for the product of labor instead of the laborer; for the seal of citizenship rather than the citizen, and insisted upon the evils of free trade instead of the sacredness of speech. I am no politician but I believe if the Republican party had met issues squarely for human rights instead of the tariff it would have occupied a different position to day. The voice of the people is the voice of God, I long with all the intensity of my soul for the Garrison, Douglass, Sumner, Whittier, and Phillips who shall rouse this nation to a demand that from Greenland's icy mountains to the coral reefs of the Southern seas, mob rule shall be put down and equal and exact justice be accorded to every citizen of whatever race, who finds a home within the borders of the land of the free and the home of the brave. Then no longer will our national hymn be sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, but every member of this great composite nation will be a living, harmonious illustration of the words, and all can honestly and gladly join in singing:

 

My country! 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty

Of thee I sing.

Land where our fathers died,

Land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountain side

Freedom does ring.”

 

“Lynch Law In All Its Phases”, 1893

Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (Ida B. Wells)

July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931

An African American journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist and, with her husband, newspaper owner Ferdinand L. Barnett, an early leader in the civil rights movement. She documented lynching in the United States, showing how it was often a way to control or punish African Americans who competed with Caucasian Americans. She was active in the women's rights and the women's suffrage movement, establishing several notable women's organizations. Wells was a skilled and persuasive rhetorician, and traveled internationally on lecture tours.

 

Born and raised on the Southside of the music city of Memphis, Tenn., the artist simply called, “George", is Stone Records' smooth jazz male vocalist, songwriter, and producer. This new comer with the rich voice texture and soulful crooning will soon earn his place among male balladeers within the music industry with his soothing and melodic vocal interpretations. A multitalented and very versatile vocalist, songwriter, and producer, but very humble spirit, "George", is destined to become a contributor to the long musical legacy of Memphis with his brand of music.

Though influenced by a wide variety of world class vocalists, songwriters, and producers, George is all original in his presentations of what music is; smooth, soulful, sultry, sexy crooning, and melodically interpretive balladry…

"Volume I George", will be an invitation for the listener into a relaxing mood, regardless of your day, with a jazz so smooth, it’s therapeutic. Just listen…There is not a song without a message as "George" enters the industry with "…music for the soul" as his purpose. This is poetry. The look, the voice, his music, the vibe…feel it.

 Have a taste at

Reverbnation.com/Georgethesmoothandsexycrooner

and pick up the debut single,

“I Want To Know”

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AUGUST 10th!

“Taste my funk (smile).”

George

Follow George on Twitter:

George

@George_StoneRec

"Strictly business for serious business minds…".

 

BOOK Of THE MONTH

“The Gospel Of Mary Magdalene” Translation from the Coptic and Commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup (English translation and notes by Joseph Rowe)

ISBN-10: 0892819111

ISBN-13: 978-0892819119   

Whether it’s Soul Contemporary Gospel, Smooth Jazz, Love Ballads, Commercial Jingles, Sound Tracks…

“…we’ve got that song you were looking for”

 

IT’S YOUR HEALTH

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long-term poor airflow. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and cough with sputum production. COPD is a progressive disease, meaning it typically worsens over time. Eventually everyday activities, such as walking upstairs, become difficult. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are older terms used for different types of COPD. The term "chronic bronchitis" is still used to define a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years.

Tobacco smoking is the most common cause of COPD, with factors such as air pollution and genetics playing a smaller role. In the developing world, one of the common sources of air pollution is poorly vented heating and cooking fires. Long-term exposure to these irritants causes an inflammatory response in the lungs, resulting in narrowing of the small airways and breakdown of lung tissue. The diagnosis is based on poor airflow as measured by lung function tests. In contrast to asthma, the airflow reduction does not improve much with the use of a bronchodilator.

Most cases of COPD can be prevented by reducing exposure to risk factors. This includes decreasing rates of smoking and improving indoor and outdoor air quality. While treatment can slow worsening, there is no cure. COPD treatments include stopping smoking, vaccinations, respiratory rehabilitation, and often inhaled bronchodilators and steroids. Some people may benefit from long-term oxygen therapy or lung transplantation. In those who have periods of acute worsening, increased use of medications and hospitalization may be needed.

 

As of 2015 COPD affects about 174.5 million (2.4%) of the global population. It typically occurs in people over the age of 40. Males and females are affected equally commonly. In 2015 it resulted in 3.2 million deaths, up from 2.4 million deaths in 1990. More than 90% of these deaths occur in the developing world. The number of deaths is projected to increase further because of higher smoking rates in the developing world, and an aging population in many countries. It resulted in an estimated economic cost of $2.1 trillion in 2010.

Signs and symptoms

The most common symptoms of COPD are sputum production, shortness of breath, and a productive cough. These symptoms are present for a prolonged period of time and typically worsen over time. It is unclear if different types of COPD exist. While previously divided into emphysema and chronic bronchitis, emphysema is only a description of lung changes rather than a disease itself, and chronic bronchitis is simply a descriptor of symptoms that may or may not occur with COPD.

Cough

A chronic cough is often the first symptom to develop. When it persists for more than three months each year for at least two years, in combination with sputum production and without another explanation, there is by definition chronic bronchitis. This condition can occur before COPD fully develops. The amount of sputum produced can change over hours to days. In some cases, the cough may not be present or may only occur occasionally and may not be productive. Some people with COPD attribute the symptoms to a "smoker's cough". Sputum may be swallowed or spat out, depending often on social and cultural factors. Vigorous coughing may lead to rib fractures or a brief loss of consciousness. Those with COPD often have a history of "common colds" that last a long time.

Shortness of breath

Shortness of breath is often the symptom that most bothers people. It is commonly described as: "my breathing requires effort," "I feel out of breath," or "I can't get enough air in". Different terms, however, may be used in different cultures. Typically the shortness of breath is worse on exertion of a prolonged duration and worsens over time. In the advanced stages, it occurs during rest and may be always present. It is a source of both anxiety and a poor quality of life in those with COPD. Many people with more advanced COPD breathe through pursed lips and this action can improve shortness of breath in some.

Other features

In COPD, it may take longer to breathe out than to breathe in. Chest tightness may occur but is not common and may be caused by another problem. Those with obstructed airflow may have wheezing or decreased sounds with air entry on examination of the chest with a stethoscope. A barrel chest is a characteristic sign of COPD, but is relatively uncommon. Tripod positioning may occur as the disease worsens.

Advanced COPD leads to high pressure on the lung arteries, which strains the right ventricle of the heart. This situation is referred to as cor pulmonale, and leads to symptoms of leg swelling and bulging neck veins. COPD is more common than any other lung disease as a cause of cor pulmonale. Cor pulmonale has become less common since the use of supplemental oxygen.

COPD often occurs along with a number of other conditions, due in part to shared risk factors. These conditions include ischemic heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, muscle wasting, osteoporosis, lung cancer, anxiety disorder, sexual dysfunction, and depression. In those with severe disease, a feeling of always being tired is common. Fingernail clubbing is not specific to COPD and should prompt investigations for an underlying lung cancer.

Exacerbation

An acute exacerbation of COPD is defined as increased shortness of breath, increased sputum production, a change in the color of the sputum from clear to green or yellow, or an increase in cough in someone with COPD. This may present with signs of increased work of breathing such as fast breathing, a fast heart rate, sweating, active use of muscles in the neck, a bluish tinge to the skin, and confusion or combative behavior in very severe exacerbations. Crackles may also be heard over the lungs on examination with a stethoscope.

Cause

The primary cause of COPD is tobacco smoke, with occupational exposure and pollution from indoor fires being significant causes in some countries. Typically these exposures must occur over several decades before symptoms develop. A person's genetic makeup also affects the risk.

Smoking

The primary risk factor for COPD globally is tobacco smoking. Of those who smoke about 20% will get COPD, and of those who are lifelong smokers about half will get COPD. In the United States and United Kingdom, of those with COPD, 80–95% are either current smokers or previously smoked. The likelihood of developing COPD increases with the total smoke exposure. Additionally, women are more susceptible to the harmful effects of smoke than men. In non-smokers, secondhand smoke is the cause of about 20% of cases. Other types of smoke, such as, marijuana, cigar, and water pipe smoke, also confer a risk. Water pipe smoke appears to be as harmful as smoking cigarettes. Problems from marijuana smoke may only be with heavy use. Women who smoke during pregnancy may increase the risk of COPD in their child. For the same amount of cigarette smoking, women have a higher risk of COPD than men.

Air pollution

Poorly ventilated cooking fires, often fueled by coal or biomass fuels such as wood and dung, lead to indoor air pollution and are one of the most common causes of COPD in developing countries. These fires are a method of cooking and heating for nearly 3 billion people with their health effects being greater among women due to more exposure. They are used as the main source of energy in 80% of homes in India, China and sub-Saharan Africa.

People who live in large cities have a higher rate of COPD compared to people who live in rural areas. While urban air pollution is a contributing factor in exacerbations, its overall role as a cause of COPD is unclear. Areas with poor outdoor air quality, including that from exhaust gas, generally have higher rates of COPD. The overall effect in relation to smoking, however, is believed to be small.

Occupational exposures

Intense and prolonged exposure to workplace dusts, chemicals and fumes increase the risk of COPD in both smokers and nonsmokers. Workplace exposures are believed to be the cause in 10–20% of cases. In the United States they are believed to be related to more than 30% of cases among those who have never smoked and probably represent a greater risk in countries without sufficient regulations.

A number of industries and sources have been implicated, including high levels of dust in coal mining, gold mining, and the cotton textile industry, occupations involving cadmium and isocyanates, and fumes from welding. Working in agriculture is also a risk. In some professions the risks have been estimated as equivalent to that of one half to two packs of cigarettes a day. Silica dust and fiberglass dust exposure can also lead to COPD, with the risk unrelated to that for silicosis. The negative effects of dust exposure and cigarette smoke exposure appear to be additive or possibly more than additive.

Genetics

Genetics play a role in the development of COPD. It is more common among relatives of those with COPD who smoke than unrelated smokers. Currently, the only clearly inherited risk factor is alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency (AAT). This risk is particularly high if someone deficient in alpha 1-antitrypsin also smokes. It is responsible for about 1–5% of cases and the condition is present in about 3–4 in 10,000 people. Other genetic factors are being investigated, of which there are likely to be many.

Other

A number of other factors are less closely linked to COPD. The risk is greater in those who are poor, although it is not clear if this is due to poverty itself or other risk factors associated with poverty, such as air pollution and malnutrition. There is tentative evidence that those with asthma and airway hyper reactivity are at increased risk of COPD. Birth factors such as low birth weight may also play a role as do a number of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Respiratory infections such as pneumonia do not appear to increase the risk of COPD, at least in adults.

Exacerbations

An acute exacerbation (a sudden worsening of symptoms) is commonly triggered by infection or environmental pollutants, or sometimes by other factors such as improper use of medications. Infections appear to be the cause of 50 to 75% of cases, with bacteria in 25%, viruses in 25%, and both in 25%. Environmental pollutants include both poor indoor and outdoor air quality. Exposure to personal smoke and secondhand smoke increases the risk. Cold temperature may also play a role, with exacerbations occurring more commonly in winter. Those with more severe underlying disease have more frequent exacerbations: in mild disease 1.8 per year, moderate 2 to 3 per year, and severe 3.4 per year. Those with many exacerbations have a faster rate of deterioration of their lung function. Pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) can worsen symptoms in those with pre-existing COPD. Signs of PE in COPD include pleuritic chest pain and heart failure without signs of infection.

Pathophysiology

COPD is a type of obstructive lung disease in which chronic incompletely reversible poor airflow (airflow limitation) and inability to breathe out fully (air trapping) exist. The poor airflow is the result of breakdown of lung tissue (known as emphysema) and small airways disease (known as obstructive bronchiolitis). The relative contributions of these two factors vary between people. Severe destruction of small airways can lead to the formation of large air pockets—known as bullae—that replace lung tissue. This form of disease is called bullous emphysema.

COPD develops as a significant and chronic inflammatory response to inhaled irritants. Chronic bacterial infections may also add to this inflammatory state. The inflammatory cells involved include neutrophil granulocytes and macrophages, two types of white blood cell. Those who smoke additionally have Tc1 lymphocyte involvement and some people with COPD have eosinophil involvement similar to that in asthma. Part of this cell response is brought on by inflammatory mediators such as chemotactic factors. Other processes involved with lung damage include oxidative stress produced by high concentrations of free radicals in tobacco smoke and released by inflammatory cells, and breakdown of the connective tissue of the lungs by proteases that are insufficiently inhibited by protease inhibitors. The destruction of the connective tissue of the lungs is what leads to emphysema, which then contributes to the poor airflow and, finally, poor absorption and release of respiratory gases. General muscle wasting that often occurs in COPD may be partly due to inflammatory mediators released by the lungs into the blood.

Narrowing of the airways occurs due to inflammation and scarring within them. This contributes to the inability to breathe out fully. The greatest reduction in air flow occurs when breathing out, as the pressure in the chest is compressing the airways at this time. This can result in more air from the previous breath remaining within the lungs when the next breath is started, resulting in an increase in the total volume of air in the lungs at any given time, a process called hyperinflation or air trapping. Hyperinflation from exercise is linked to shortness of breath in COPD, as it is less comfortable to breathe in when the lungs are already partly full. Hyperinflation may also worsen during an exacerbation.

Some also have a degree of airway hyper responsiveness to irritants similar to those found in asthma.

Low oxygen levels and, eventually, high carbon dioxide levels in the blood can occur from poor gas exchange due to decreased ventilation from airway obstruction, hyperinflation and a reduced desire to breathe. During exacerbations, airway inflammation is also increased, resulting in increased hyperinflation, reduced expiratory airflow and worsening of gas transfer. This can also lead to insufficient ventilation and, eventually, low blood oxygen levels. Low oxygen levels, if present for a prolonged period, can result in narrowing of the arteries in the lungs, while emphysema leads to breakdown of capillaries in the lungs. Both these changes result in increased blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, which may cause cor pulmonale.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of COPD should be considered in anyone over the age of 35 to 40 who has shortness of breath, a chronic cough, sputum production, or frequent winter colds and a history of exposure to risk factors for the disease. Spirometry is then used to confirm the diagnosis. Screening those without symptoms is not recommended.

Spirometry

Spirometry measures the amount of airflow obstruction present and is generally carried out after the use of a bronchodilator, a medication to open up the airways. Two main components are measured to make the diagnosis: the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which is the greatest volume of air that can be breathed out in the first second of a breath, and the forced vital capacity (FVC), which is the greatest volume of air that can be breathed out in a single large breath. Normally, 75–80% of the FVC comes out in the first second and a FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 70% in someone with symptoms of COPD defines a person as having the disease. Based on these measurements, spirometry would lead to over-diagnosis of COPD in the elderly. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria additionally require a FEV1 of less than 80% of predicted.

Evidence for using spirometry among those without symptoms in an effort to diagnose the condition earlier is of uncertain effect and is therefore currently not recommended. A peak expiratory flow (the maximum speed of expiration), commonly used in asthma, is not sufficient for the diagnosis of COPD.

Severity

MRC shortness of breath scale

Grade

Activity affected

1 Only strenuous activity

2 Vigorous walking

3 With normal walking

4 After a few minutes of walking

5 With changing clothing

GOLD grade

Severity

FEV1 % predicted

Mild (GOLD 1) ≥80

Moderate (GOLD 2) 50–79

Severe (GOLD 3) 30–49

Very severe (GOLD 4) <30

There are a number of methods to determine how much COPD is affecting a given individual. The modified British Medical Research Council questionnaire (mMRC) or the COPD assessment test (CAT) are simple questionnaires that may be used to determine the severity of symptoms. Scores on CAT range from 0–40 with the higher the score, the more severe the disease. Spirometry may help to determine the severity of airflow limitation. This is typically based on the FEV1 expressed as a percentage of the predicted "normal" for the person's age, gender, height and weight. Both the American and European guidelines recommended partly basing treatment recommendations on the FEV1. The GOLD guidelines suggest dividing people into four categories based on symptoms assessment and airflow limitation. Weight loss and muscle weakness, as well as the presence of other diseases, should also be taken into account.

Other tests

A chest X-ray and complete blood count may be useful to exclude other conditions at the time of diagnosis. Characteristic signs on X-ray are over expanded lungs, a flattened diaphragm, increased retrosternal airspace, and bullae while it can help exclude other lung diseases, such as pneumonia, pulmonary edema or a pneumothorax. A high-resolution computed tomography scan of the chest may show the distribution of emphysema throughout the lungs and can also be useful to exclude other lung diseases. Unless surgery is planned, however, this rarely affects management. An analysis of arterial blood is used to determine the need for oxygen; this is recommended in those with an FEV1 less than 35% predicted, those with a peripheral oxygen saturation of less than 92% and those with symptoms of congestive heart failure. In areas of the world where alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is common, people with COPD (particularly those below the age of 45 and with emphysema affecting the lower parts of the lungs) should be considered for testing.

Differential diagnosis

COPD may need to be differentiated from other causes of shortness of breath such as congestive heart failure, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, or pneumothorax. Many people with COPD mistakenly think they have asthma. The distinction between asthma and COPD is made on the basis of the symptoms, smoking history, and whether airflow limitation is reversible with bronchodilators at spirometry. Tuberculosis may also present with a chronic cough and should be considered in locations where it is common. Less common conditions that may present similarly include bronchopulmonary dysplasia and obliterative bronchiolitis. Chronic bronchitis may occur with normal airflow and in this situation it is not classified as COPD.

Prevention

Most cases of COPD are potentially preventable through decreasing exposure to smoke and improving air quality. Annual influenza vaccinations in those with COPD reduce exacerbations, hospitalizations and death. Pneumococcal vaccination may also be beneficial. The non-typable Haemophilus influenzae vaccine (NTHi) when taken by mouth does not appear to reduce exacerbations in people with COPD. Eating a diet high in beta-carotene may help but taking supplements does not seem to.

Smoking cessation

Keeping people from starting smoking is a key aspect of preventing COPD. The policies of governments, public health agencies, and anti-smoking organizations can reduce smoking rates by discouraging people from starting and encouraging people to stop smoking. Smoking bans in public areas and places of work are important measures to decrease exposure to secondhand smoke and while many places have instituted bans more are recommended.

In those who smoke, stopping smoking is the only measure shown to slow down the worsening of COPD. Even at a late stage of the disease, it can reduce the rate of worsening lung function and delay the onset of disability and death. Smoking cessation starts with the decision to stop smoking, leading to an attempt at quitting. Often several attempts are required before long-term abstinence is achieved. Attempts over 5 years lead to success in nearly 40% of people.

Some smokers can achieve long-term smoking cessation through willpower alone. Smoking, however, is highly addictive, and many smokers need further support. The chance of quitting is improved with social support, engagement in a smoking cessation program and the use of medications such as nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion or varenicline. Combining smoking cessation medication with behavioral therapy is more than two times as likely to be effective in helping people with COPD stop smoking, compared with behavioral therapy alone.

Occupational health

A number of measures have been taken to reduce the likelihood that workers in at-risk industries—such as coal mining, construction and stonemasonry—will develop COPD. Examples of these measures include: the creation of public policy, education of workers and management about the risks, promoting smoking cessation, checking workers for early signs of COPD, use of respirators, and dust control. Effective dust control can be achieved by improving ventilation, using water sprays and by using mining techniques that minimize dust generation. If a worker develops COPD, further lung damage can be reduced by avoiding ongoing dust exposure, for example by changing the work role.

Air pollution

Both indoor and outdoor air quality can be improved, which may prevent COPD or slow the worsening of existing disease. This may be achieved by public policy efforts, cultural changes, and personal involvement.

A number of developed countries have successfully improved outdoor air quality through regulations. This has resulted in improvements in the lung function of their populations. Those with COPD may experience fewer symptoms if they stay indoors on days when outdoor air quality is poor.

One key effort is to reduce exposure to smoke from cooking and heating fuels through improved ventilation of homes and better stoves and chimneys. Proper stoves may improve indoor air quality by 85%. Using alternative energy sources such as solar cooking and electrical heating is also effective. Using fuels such as kerosene or coal might be less bad than traditional biomass such as wood or dung.

Management

There is no known cure for COPD, but the symptoms are treatable and its progression can be delayed. The major goals of management are to reduce risk factors, manage stable COPD, prevent and treat acute exacerbations, and manage associated illnesses. The only measures that have been shown to reduce mortality are smoking cessation and supplemental oxygen. Stopping smoking decreases the risk of death by 18%. Other recommendations include influenza vaccination once a year, pneumococcal vaccination once every five years, and reduction in exposure to environmental air pollution. In those with advanced disease, palliative care may reduce symptoms, with morphine improving the feelings of shortness of breath. Noninvasive ventilation may be used to support breathing. Providing people with a personalized action plan, an educational session, and support for use of their action plan in the event of an exacerbation, reduces the number of hospital visits and encourages early treatment of exacerbations.

Exercise

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a program of exercise, disease management and counseling, coordinated to benefit the individual. In those who have had a recent exacerbation, pulmonary rehabilitation appears to improve the overall quality of life and the ability to exercise. It is not clear if pulmonary rehabilitation improves mortality rates or hospital re-admission rates. Pulmonary rehabilitation has been shown to improve the sense of control a person has over their disease, as well as their emotions.

The optimal exercise routine, use of non-invasive ventilation during exercise, and intensity of exercise suggested for people with COPD, is unknown. Performing endurance arm exercises improves arm movement for people with COPD, and may result in a small improvement in breathlessness. Performing arm exercises alone does not appear to improve quality of life. Breathing exercises in and of themselves appear to have a limited role. Pursed lip breathing exercises may be useful. Tai Chi exercises appear to be safe to practice for people with COPD, and may be beneficial for pulmonary function and pulmonary capacity when compared to a regular treatment program. Tai Chi was not found to be more effective than other exercise intervention programs.

Being either underweight or overweight can affect the symptoms, degree of disability and prognosis of COPD. People with COPD who are underweight can improve their breathing muscle strength by increasing their calorie intake. When combined with regular exercise or a pulmonary rehabilitation program, this can lead to improvements in COPD symptoms. Supplemental nutrition may be useful in those who are malnourished.

Bronchodilators

Inhaled bronchodilators are the primary medications used and result in a small overall benefit. There are two major types, β2 agonists and anticholinergics; both exist in long-acting and short-acting forms. They reduce shortness of breath, wheeze and exercise limitation, resulting in an improved quality of life. It is unclear if they change the progression of the underlying disease.

In those with mild disease, short-acting agents are recommended on an as needed basis. In those with more severe disease, long-acting agents are recommended. Long acting agents partly work by improving hyperinflation. If long-acting bronchodilators are insufficient, then inhaled corticosteroids are typically added. With respect to long-acting agents, it is unclear if tiotropium (a long-acting anticholinergic) or long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) are better, and it may be worth trying each and continuing the one that worked best. Both types of agent appear to reduce the risk of acute exacerbations by 15–25%. While both may be used at the same time, any benefit is of questionable significance.

There are several short-acting β2 agonists available including salbutamol (Ventolin) and terbutaline. They provide some relief of symptoms for four to six hours. Long-acting β2 agonists such as salmeterol, formoterol and indacaterol are often used as maintenance therapy. Some feel the evidence of benefits is limited while others view the evidence of benefit as established. Long-term use appears safe in COPD with adverse effects include shakiness and heart palpitations. When used with inhaled steroids they increase the risk of pneumonia. While steroids and LABAs may work better together, it is unclear if this slight benefit outweighs the increased risks. Indacaterol requires an inhaled dose once a day, and is as effective as the other long-acting β2 agonist drugs that require twice-daily dosing for people with stable COPD.

There are two main anticholinergics used in COPD, ipratropium and tiotropium. Ipratropium is a short-acting agent while tiotropium is long-acting. Tiotropium is associated with a decrease in exacerbations and improved quality of life, and tiotropium provides those benefits better than ipratropium. It does not appear to affect mortality or the overall hospitalization rate. Anticholinergics can cause dry mouth and urinary tract symptoms. They are also associated with increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Aclidinium, another long acting agent, reduces hospitalizations associated with COPD and improves quality of life. Aclinidinium has been used as an alternative to tiotropium, but it is not known which drug is more effective.

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are usually used in inhaled form but may also be used as tablets to treat and prevent acute exacerbations. While inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) have not shown benefit for people with mild COPD, they decrease acute exacerbations in those with either moderate or severe disease. By themselves they have no effect on overall one-year mortality. It is unclear if they affect the progression of the disease. When used in combination with a LABA they may decrease mortality compared to either ICS or LABA alone. Inhaled steroids are associated with increased rates of pneumonia. Long-term treatment with steroid tablets is associated with significant side effects.

Other medication

Long-term antibiotics, specifically those from the macrolide class such as erythromycin, reduce the frequency of exacerbations in those who have two or more a year. This practice may be cost effective in some areas of the world. Concerns include that of antibiotic resistance and hearing problems with azithromycin. Methylxanthines such as theophylline generally cause more harm than benefit and thus are usually not recommended, but may be used as a second-line agent in those not controlled by other measures. Mucolytics may help to reduce exacerbations in some people with chronic bronchitis. Cough medicines are not recommended.

Oxygen

Supplemental oxygen is recommended in those with low oxygen levels at rest (a partial pressure of oxygen of less than 50–55 mmHg or oxygen saturations of less than 88%). In this group of people it decreases the risk of heart failure and death if used 15 hours per day and may improve people's ability to exercise. In those with normal or mildly low oxygen levels, oxygen supplementation may improve shortness of breath when given during exercise, but may not improve breathlessness during normal daily activities or impact the quality of life. There is a risk of fires and little benefit when those on oxygen continue to smoke. In this situation some recommend against its use. During acute exacerbations, many require oxygen therapy; the use of high concentrations of oxygen without taking into account a person's oxygen saturations may lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide and worsened outcomes. In those at high risk of high carbon dioxide levels, oxygen saturations of 88–92% are recommended, while for those without this risk recommended levels are 94–98%.

Surgery

For those with very severe disease, surgery is sometimes helpful and may include lung transplantation or lung volume reduction surgery. Lung volume reduction surgery involves removing the parts of the lung most damaged by emphysema allowing the remaining, relatively good lung to expand and work better. Volume reduction surgery seems to be particularly effective if emphysema predominantly involves the upper lobe, but the procedure increases the risks of early death and adverse events. Lung transplantation is sometimes performed for very severe COPD, particularly in younger individuals.

Exacerbations

Acute exacerbations are typically treated by increasing the use of short-acting bronchodilators. This commonly includes a combination of a short-acting inhaled beta agonist and anticholinergic. These medications can be given either via a metered-dose inhaler with a spacer or via a nebulizer with both appearing to be equally effective. Nebulization may be easier for those who are more unwell. Oxygen supplementation can be useful. Excessive oxygen; however, can result in increased CO2 levels and a decreased level of consciousness.

Corticosteroids by mouth improve the chance of recovery and decrease the overall duration of symptoms. They work equally well as intravenous steroids but appear to have fewer side effects. Five days of steroids work as well as ten or fourteen. In those with a severe exacerbation, antibiotics improve outcomes. A number of different antibiotics may be used including amoxicillin, doxycycline and azithromycin; it is unclear if one is better than the others. The FDA recommends against the use of fluoroquinolones when other options are available due to higher risks of serious side effects. There is no clear evidence for those with less severe cases.

For those with type 2 respiratory failure (acutely raised CO2 levels) non-invasive positive pressure ventilation decreases the probability of death or the need of intensive care admission. Additionally, theophylline may have a role in those who do not respond to other measures. Fewer than 20% of exacerbations require hospital admission. In those without acidosis from respiratory failure, home care ("hospital at home") may be able to help avoid some admissions.

Prognosis

COPD usually gets gradually worse over time and can ultimately result in death. It is estimated that 3% of all disability is related to COPD. The proportion of disability from COPD globally has decreased from 1990 to 2010 due to improved indoor air quality primarily in Asia. The overall number of years lived with disability from COPD, however, has increased.

The rate at which COPD worsens varies with the presence of factors that predict a poor outcome, including severe airflow obstruction, little ability to exercise, shortness of breath, significantly underweight or overweight, congestive heart failure, continued smoking, and frequent exacerbations. Long-term outcomes in COPD can be estimated using the BODE index which gives a score of zero to ten depending on FEV1, body-mass index, the distance walked in six minutes, and the modified MRC dyspnea scale. Significant weight loss is a bad sign. Results of spirometry are also a good predictor of the future progress of the disease but not as good as the BODE index.

Epidemiology

Globally, as of 2010, COPD affected approximately 329 million people (4.8% of the population). The disease affects men and women almost equally, as there has been increased tobacco use among women in the developed world. The increase in the developing world between 1970 and the 2000s is believed to be related to increasing rates of smoking in this region, an increasing population and an aging population due to fewer deaths from other causes such as infectious diseases. Some developed countries have seen increased rates, some have remained stable and some have seen a decrease in COPD prevalence. The global numbers are expected to continue increasing as risk factors remain common and the population continues to get older.

Between 1990 and 2010 the number of deaths from COPD decreased slightly from 3.1 million to 2.9 million and became the fourth leading cause of death. In 2012 it became the third leading cause as the number of deaths rose again to 3.1 million. In some countries, mortality has decreased in men but increased in women. This is most likely due to rates of smoking in women and men becoming more similar. COPD is more common in older people; it affects 34–200 out of 1000 people older than 65 years, depending on the population under review.

In England, an estimated 0.84 million people (of 50 million) have a diagnosis of COPD; this translates into approximately one person in 59 receiving a diagnosis of COPD at some point in their lives. In the most socioeconomically deprived parts of the country, one in 32 people were diagnosed with COPD, compared with one in 98 in the most affluent areas. In the United States approximately 6.3% of the adult population, totaling approximately 15 million people, have been diagnosed with COPD. 25 million people may have COPD if currently undiagnosed cases are included. In 2011, there were approximately 730,000 hospitalizations in the United States for COPD. In the United State, COPD is estimated to be the third leading cause of death in 2011.

(For full copy of this week’s STEPPING STONES, email [email protected])

 

HISTORICAL FACT OF THE WEEK

AFRICAN AMERICANS

“A People Of The Many Descendants Of Afrika”

Part VII

Reconstruction III

Although African American leaders such as W. E. B. Du Bois looked for and celebrated a cross-racial coalition of poor Caucasian and African Americans, such coalitions rarely formed in these years. Writing in 1915, former Congressman Lynch, recalling his experience as an African American leader in Mississippi, explained that,

“While the colored men did not look with favor upon a political alliance with the poor whites, it must be admitted that, with very few exceptions, that class of whites did not seek, and did not seem to desire such an alliance.”

Lynch reported that poor Caucasian Americans resented the job competition from freedmen. Furthermore, the poor Caucasian Americans with a few exceptions, were less efficient, less capable, and knew less about matters of state and governmental administration than many of the former slaves.… As a rule, therefore, the Caucasian Americans that came into the leadership of the Republican party between 1872 and 1875 were representatives of the most substantial families of the land.

W.E.B. Du Bois

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an intellectual leader, sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. Biographer David Levering Lewis wrote,

"In the course of his long, turbulent career, W. E. B. Du Bois attempted virtually every possible solution to the problem of twentieth-century racism—scholarship, propaganda, integration, national self-determination, human rights, cultural and economic separatism, politics, international  communism, expatriation, third world solidarity."

Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois graduated from Harvard, where he earned his Ph.D in History, the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard. Later he became a professor of history and economics at Atlanta University. As head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1910, he was founder and editor of the NAACP's journal The Crisis. Du Bois rose to national attention in his opposition of Booker T. Washington's alleged ideas of accommodation with Jim Crow separation between Caucasian and African Americans and disenfranchisement of African Americans in the South, campaigning instead for increased political representation for African Americans in order to guarantee civil rights, and the formation of an African American intellectual elite who would work for the progress of the African American race.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to Alfred Du Bois and Mary Silvina Burghardt Du Bois. He grew up in Great Barrington, a predominately Anglo-American town. Mary Silvina Burghardt's family was part of the very small free African American population of Great Barrington, having long owned land in the state. Their family descended from Dutch and African ancestors. Tom Burghardt, a slave (born in West Africa around 1730) earned his freedom by service (1780) during the American Revolution as a private soldier in Captain John Spoor's company. According to Du Bois, several of his maternal ancestors were notably involved in regional history. Alfred Du Bois, from Haiti, was of French Huguenot and African descent. His grandfather was Dr. James Du Bois of Poughkeepsie, New York. Dr. Du Bois's family was rewarded extensive lands in the Bahamas for its support of King George III during the American Revolution. On Long Cay, Bahamas, James Du Bois fathered several children with slave mistresses. When he returned to New York in 1812, Du Bois brought with him John and Alexander, two of his mixed-race sons, to be educated in Connecticut. After James Du Bois died, his mixed-race sons were disowned by his family and forced to give up schooling for work. Alexander became a merchant in New Haven and married Sarah Marsh Lewis, with whom he had several children. In the 1830s Alexander went to Haiti to try to salvage his inheritance. His son Alfred was born there in about 1833. Alexander returned to New Haven without the boy and his mother.

Alfred Du Bois and Mary Silvina Burghardt married on February 5, 1867, in Housatonic, Massachusetts. Alfred deserted Mary by the time their son William was two. The boy was very close to his mother. When he was young, Mary suffered a stroke which left her unable to work. The two of them moved frequently, surviving on money from family members and Du Bois's after-school jobs. Du Bois believed he could improve their lives through education. Some of the neighborhood Caucasian Americans noticed him, and one rented Du Bois and his mother a house in Great Barrington. During these years, Du Bois attended the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington.

Du Bois performed chores and worked odd jobs. He did not feel separate because of his skin color while he was in school. He has suggested that the only times he felt out of place were when out-of-towners visited Great Barrington. One such incident occurred when a Caucasian American girl who was new in school refused to take one of his "calling cards" during a game; the girl told him she would not accept it because he was African American. Du Bois then realized that there would always be a barrier between some Caucasian Americans and non-Caucasian Americans.

Du Bois faced some challenges as the precocious, intellectual, mixed-race son of an impoverished single mother. His intellectual gifts were recognized by many of his teachers, who encouraged him to further his education with classical courses while in high school. His scholastic success led him to believe that he could use his knowledge to empower African Americans.

In 1888 Du Bois earned a degree from Fisk University, a historically African American college in Nashville, Tennessee. During the following summer, he managed the Fisk Glee Club, which was employed at a luxury summer resort on Lake Minnetonka in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota. The resort was a favorite of vacationing wealthy American Southerners and European royalty. In addition to providing entertainment, Du Bois and the other club members worked as waiters and kitchen help at the hotel. The young Du Bois was put off by the drinking, crude behavior, and sexual promiscuity of the rich Caucasian American guests at the hotel.

Du Bois entered Harvard College in the fall of 1888, having received a $300 scholarship. He earned a bachelor's degree cum laude from Harvard in 1890. In 1892, he received a fellowship from the John F. Slater Fund for the Education of Freedmen to attend the University of Berlin for graduate work. While a student in Berlin, he traveled extensively throughout Europe. He came of age intellectually in the German capital, while studying with some of that nation's most prominent social scientists, including Gustav von Schmoller, Adolph Wagner, and Heinrich von Treitschke.

In 1895, Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. After teaching at Wilberforce University in Ohio, he worked at the University of Pennsylvania. He taught while undertaking field research for his study The Philadelphia Negro. Next he moved to Georgia, where he established the Department of Social Work at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University Whitney M. Young school of Social Work). He also taught at The New School in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Du Bois wrote many books, including three major autobiographies. Among his most significant works are The Philadelphia Negro (1899), The Souls of Black Folk (1903), John Brown (1909), Black Reconstruction (1935), and Black Folk, Then and Now (1939). His book The Negro (1915) influenced the work of several pioneer Africanist scholars, such as Drusilla Dunjee Houston and William Leo Hansberry.

During his time in Atlanta, he also saw the overwhelmingly rural agricultural areas of Georgia, where most African Americans worked on others' land as laborers and sharecroppers. Reflecting on their lives was part of what he expressed in The Souls of Black Folk, a meditation on the problems of race in American culture, which he defined as the problem of the twentieth century.

In the New York Times review of The Souls of Black Folk, the anonymous book reviewer wrote, "For it is the Jim Crow car, and the fact that he may not smoke a cigar and drink a cup of tea with the white man in the South, that most galls William E. Burghardt Du Bois of the Atlanta College for Negroes."

“[I]t is the thought of a negro of Northern education who has lived long among his brethren of the South yet who can not fully feel the meaning of some things which these brethren know by instinct — and which the Southern-bred white knows by a similar instinct: certain things which are by both accepted as facts — not theories — fundamental attitudes of race to race which are the product of conditions extending over centuries, as are the somewhat parallel attitudes of the gentry to the peasantry in other countries.”

While some prominent Caucasian American scholars denied African American cultural, political and social relevance to American history and civic life, in his epic work Black Reconstruction, Du Bois documented how African American people were central figures in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, and also showed how they made alliances with Caucasian American politicians. He provided evidence to disprove the Dunning School theories of Reconstruction, showing the coalition governments established public education in the South, as well as many needed social service programs. He demonstrated the ways in which African American emancipation — the crux of Reconstruction — promoted a radical restructuring of United States society, as well as how and why the country failed to continue support for civil rights for African Americans in the aftermath of Reconstruction. This theme was taken up later and expanded by Eric Foner, Leon F. Litwack, the two leading late twentieth-century scholars of the Reconstruction era, as well as David W. Blight, whose Race and Reunion demonstrated how issues of race were pushed aside in the drive for reconciliation between the North and South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1940, at Atlanta University, Du Bois founded Phylon magazine. In 1946, he wrote The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part That Africa Has Played in World History. In 1945, he helped organize the historic Fifth Pan-African Conference in Manchester, Great Britain. In total, Du Bois wrote 22 books, including five novels. He helped establish four academic journals.

Du Bois began writing about the sociology of crime in 1897, shortly after receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard (Zuckerman, 2004, p. 2). His first work involving crime, A Program of Social Reform, was shortly followed by a second, The Study of the Negro Problems (Du Bois, 1897; Du Bois, 1898). The first work that involved in-depth criminological study and theorizing was The Philadelphia Negro, in which a large section of the sociological study was devoted to analysis of the black criminal population in Philadelphia (Du Bois, 1899).

Du Bois (1899) set forth three significant parts to his criminology theory. The first was that African American crime was caused by the strain of the "social revolution" experienced by African Americans as they began to adapt to their new-found freedom and position in the nation. This theory was similar to Durkheim's (1893) Anomie theory, but it applied specifically to the newly freed African American. Du Bois (1900a, p. 3) credited Emancipation with causing the boom in crime in the African American population. He explained, "[T]he appearance of crime among the southern Negroes is a symptom of wrong social conditions--of a stress of life greater than a large part of the community can bear." (Du Bois, 1901b, p. 745). He distinguished between the strains on southern African Americans and those on northern African Americans because the problems of city life in the North were different from those of the Southern rural sharecroppers.

Secondly, Du Bois (1904a) believed that African American crime declined as the African American population moved toward a more equal status with Caucasian Americans. This idea, referred to later as "stratification," was developed in a similar manner later in the twentieth century by Merton in his 1968 structure-strain theory of deviance. In The Philadelphia Negro and later statistical studies, Du Bois found direct correlations between low levels of employment and education and high levels of criminal activity.

Thirdly, Du Bois held that the Talented Tenth or the "exceptional men" of the African American race would be the ones to lead the race and save it from its criminal problems (Du Bois, 1903, p. 33). Du Bois saw the evolution of a class system within African American society as necessary to carry out the improvements necessary to reduce crime (Du Bois, 1903). He set forth a number of solutions to crime that the Talented Tenth had to enact (Du Bois, 1903, p. 2).

He was perhaps the first criminologist to combine historical fact with social change and used the combination to postulate his theories. He attributed the crime increase after the Civil War to the "increased complexity of life," competition for jobs in industry (especially with the recent Irish immigrants), and the mass exodus of African Americans from the farmland and immigration to cities (Du Bois, 1899). Du Bois (1899, p. 64) states in The Philadelphia Negro:

“Naturally then, if men are suddenly transported from one environment to another, the result is lack of harmony with the new conditions; lack of harmony with the new physical surroundings leading to disease and death or modification of physique; lack of harmony with social surroundings leading to crime.”

Du Bois was the most prominent intellectual leader and political activist on behalf of African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century. A contemporary of Booker T. Washington, he carried on a dialogue with the educator about segregation, political disenfranchisement, and ways to improve African American life. He was labeled "The Father of Pan-Africanism." Along with Washington, Du Bois helped organize the "Negro exhibition" at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. It included Frances Benjamin Johnston's photos of Hampton Institute's African American students. The Negro exhibition focused on African Americans' positive contributions to American society.

Du Bois is viewed by many as a modern day prophet. This is highlighted by his "Credo", a prose-poem first published in The Independent in 1904. It was reprinted in Darkwater in 1920. It was written in style similar to a Christian creed and was his statement of faith and vision for change. Credo was widely read and recited.

In 1905, Du Bois, along with Minnesota attorney Fredrick L. McGhee and others, helped found the Niagara Movement with William Monroe Trotter. The Movement championed freedom of speech and criticism, the recognition of the highest and best human training as the monopoly of no caste or race, full male suffrage, a belief in the dignity of labor, and a united effort to realize such ideals under sound leadership. The alliance between Du Bois and Trotter was, however, short-lived, as they had a dispute over whether or not Caucasian American people should be included in the organization and in the struggle for civil rights. Believing that they should, in 1909 Du Bois with a group of like-minded supporters founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In 1910, Du Bois left Atlanta University to work full-time as Publications Director at the NAACP. He also wrote columns published weekly in many newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle as well as the African American Chicago Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier and the New York Amsterdam News. For 25 years, Du Bois worked as editor-in-chief of the NAACP publication, The Crisis, then subtitled A Record of the Darker Races. He commented freely and widely on current events and set the agenda for the fledgling NAACP. The journal's circulation soared from 1,000 in 1910 to more than 100,000 by 1920.

Du Bois published Harlem Renaissance writers Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer. He encouraged African American fiction, poetry and dramas. As a journal of African American thought, the Crisis was initially a monopoly, David Levering Lewis observed. In 1913, Du Bois wrote The Star of Ethiopia, a historical pageant, to promote African American history and civil rights.

Du Bois thought African Americans should seek higher education, preferably liberal arts. He also believed African Americans should challenge and question Caucasian Americans on all grounds. Booker T. Washington believed assimilating and fitting into the "American" culture was the best way for African Americans to move up in society. While Washington stated that he did not receive any racist insults until his later years, Du Bois said African Americans have a "Double-Conscious" mind in which they have to know when to act "white" and when to act "black". Booker T. Washington believed that teaching was a duty, but Du Bois believed it was a calling.

Du Bois became increasingly estranged from Walter Francis White, the executive secretary of the NAACP. He began to question the organization's opposition to all racial segregation. Du Bois thought that this policy undermined those African American institutions that did exist. He believed that such institutions should be defended and improved rather than attacked as inferior.

By the 1930s, the NAACP had become more institutional and Du Bois increasingly radical, sometimes at odds with leaders such as Walter White and Roy Wilkins. In 1934, Du Bois left the magazine to return to teaching at Atlanta University, after writing two essays published in the Crisis suggesting that African American separatism could be a useful economic strategy.

As a member of the Princeton chapter of the NAACP, Albert Einstein corresponded with Du Bois, and in 1946 Einstein called racism "America's worst disease".

(For full copy of this week’s STEPPING STONES, email [email protected])

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