Chemistry Professor, Chancellor, savior of Southern University in New Orleans, an education and civil rights advocate, our Living Legend (an extraordinary man) chronicles his journey from South Carolina to becoming an icon and pillar of Louisiana.
Launch of our private Patrons Community for comment, discussion and members only content is set for March 9th 2023.
Count Time Podcast Living Legend Press Robinson
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra Interview with Dr. Press Robinson, Sr. – Black History Month
Dr. Press Robinson, a member of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church for over fifty-five years, currently serves as its Lay Leader. He was the first African American to be elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, and served three separate terms as its president. Dr. Robinson is a passionate community activist who advocates for equitable treatment of all individuals across all aspects of society. Throughout his extensive career, he has been actively involved in various civic and political activities, as well as the Southern University System for over 42 years, where he held several positions such as professor, administrator, campus chancellor, and system vice president, all dedicated to improving the lives of individuals within the community.
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra. Thank you for joining us today.
Now is what we call the month that we all like to remember because of a young man by the name of Carter G. Woodson who years ago introduced us what we now call Black History Month. So this is a time that we reverence, support, bring forth knowledge, information, history about those who came before us and those who are still here, who are and still doing great and wonderful things in our community. And we are fortunate here today to have just a man here who have stood for what he believed and believed what he has stood for and have fought the good fight and steady fighting. Yes. We have here a dear friend, a brother, a community leader, Dr. Press Robinson. Welcome to Count Time.
Launch of our private Patrons Community for comment, discussion and members only content is set for March 9th 2023.
Count Time Podcast Special Episode – The Power of Words
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra – Black History Month
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra. Thank you for joining us today.
The metric system is a system of measurement that uses meters, liters, and grams as its base units for length, volume, and mass, respectively. It was developed in France during the late 18th century and has since been adopted as the international standard for measurement.
Today, the metric system is used as the primary system of measurement in most countries around the world, with the exception of the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar, which use the imperial system of measurement. However, even in these countries, the metric system is used in many scientific and industrial applications, as well as in international trade. The imperial system of measurement was developed in England in the Middle Ages and later adopted by the British Empire and, subsequently, the United States.
Ancient Egyptians used a variety of measures for different purposes, some of which were standardized and others that varied according to the specific application. Here are some examples:
Cubit: The cubit was a standardized unit of length that was approximately the length of a person’s forearm. The Egyptian cubit was divided into seven palms, each of which was further divided into four fingers.
Royal cubit: The royal cubit was a longer cubit that was used for more precise measurements, such as in the construction of monumental architecture. It was approximately 52.3 cm (20.6 in) in length.
Khet: The khet was a unit of measurement used for land area. It was equivalent to 100 cubits in length and 100 cubits in width, or approximately 4200 square meters (about one acre).
Heqat: The heqat was a unit of measurement used for dry volume, such as grain. It was equivalent to about 4.8 liters.
Hin: The hin was a unit of measurement used for liquid volume, such as beer and wine. It was equivalent to about 1.1 liters.
Oipe: The oipe was a unit of measurement used for measuring the capacity of boats. It was equivalent to about 2000 liters.
A continuation of the very popular 100th episode, Decoding the System. LD sheds more light on the American System Decoded. Thanks for all the congratulations for publishing our 100th episode! We appreciate your support. For a bit of stress release download a symbol of commerce.
Launch of our private Patrons Community for comment, discussion and members only content is set for March 9th 2023.
Click for a little stress release
Count Time Podcast Special Follow-up Episode
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra – Black History Month
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra. Thank you for joining us today.
What is this podcast all about? To restore accountability, peace and reconciliation back to the community by resurrecting those who are civilly dead. By awakening the mind for all too long, this system has taught us what to think. We are here to teach you how to think. My job is to bring clarity and illumination to a confused world. It’s the pastors, preachers, priests teach a job to bring hope and encouragement.
And I’d like to thank all of you who joined in last week. Many, many of you who called and text and helped to celebrate, help us celebrated our 100th podcasts. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful time and I’d like to thank so many, so, so many of you all for listening in.
I’m going to call a few names, people like Dr. Stephen Stewart. Thank you for tuning in and commenting. My friend, former Police Chief Eddie Compass. Thank you for tuning in. Sister barrel. Hunter thank you for commenting. Thank you for going on Aszir Johnson. Thank you for commenting. My brother, James Pugh. Thank you all. So many, I can’t catch all of you all because so many of you all joined in last week and was a part of Count Time and you all was excited about it. And because of that we have to revisit a little and keep this thing going because last week we talked about the American system decoded.
It takes a lot to decode this system, and it’s going to take quite a while to help decode it, but we need to keep this thing rolling. And what I’m going to do is kind of regress, bring you back, and then move you back forward, move you again forward where we can kind of see what happened last week and where we’re going this week.
The American Beginning. LD uses his interesting allegorical style to challenge us to question what we know about African beginnings in America and what is left to be done.
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Count Time Podcast Special 100th Episode
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra – Black History Month
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra. Thank you for joining us today.
The Virginia Company of London was a joint-stock company chartered by James I in 1606, with the purpose of establishing settlements in the Virginia Colony in North America. The Company of London, on the other hand, refers to the livery companies, which are historic trade associations that once had a significant role in the governance of the City of London and still exist today as charitable and cultural organizations. While both companies were established in London, they were separate entities with different purposes and functions.
New England Colonies’ Use of Slavery – Click for full article
Conversations about slavery in the United States frequently center on the South and the Civil War. Yet the roots of slavery in the New World go much deeper than that—back to the original British colonies, including the northernmost in New England. Although New England would later become known for its abolitionist leaders and its role in helping formerly enslaved Southern blacks and those escaping slavery, the colonies had a history of using enslaved and indentured labor to create and build their economies.
Although slavery ended earlier in the North than in the South (which would keep its slave culture alive and thriving through the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War), colonial New England played an undeniable role in the long and grim history of American slavery.
An exceptional emergency physician/migrant worker our Living Legend gives the history of his internationally recognized family. Founder of PaceMD Global Health he is an international award winner as a Social Entrepreneur.
His mother is historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall. His father is author and political activist Harry Haywood. His complicated family history mimics the complicated relationship between the US and African-Americans but provides encouragement for the future.
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Count Time Podcast Living Legend Haywood Hall
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra Interview Dr. Haywood Hall – Black History Month
Haywood Hall and parents
“Although I was born in Brooklyn New York, I was raised in Mexico as a child until the age of 8. After a ” real world education” as a musician / piano tuner, a Con Ed meter reader and a NYC cab driver, I received my GED and I went back to college, dedicating my life to improving emergency care, and decreasing pain and suffering, especially among Spanish speaking and other marginalized populations. As an emergency physician, I have seen over 90,000 patients in emergency departments, worked in various private, public, and academic settings. I have won the highest international honors in my field. I have seen humanity at its very best and its very worst. An example of this was my service as a Medical Officer during the WTC 911 Disaster.
My grandparents were born slaves in 1860 and my father was born in 1898. True to my family’s values (my parents were both civil rights activists), and wanting to make a change in the world, I began to focus on what it would take to become my version of a change agent. I slowly made the transition to becoming a “Social Entrepreneur”. I realized that the roots of social change have to go beyond non -profit models and I started what ultimately became an impact enterprise in 2002. Although Social Business may not be able to solve all of the world’s problems, I am convinced we have to develop a new norm: enterprise with a social contract.”
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra. Thank you for joining us today.
We have something very, very special for you. We gonna jumpstart Black History month. We going to be doing something that’s a little different than what most of us are used to. We have here today Dr. Haywood Hall, the son of the great, the legendary, the one and only Gwendolyn Midlo Hall. Welcome to Count Time.
HH
Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall (June 27, 1929 – August 29, 2022)[1] was an American historian who focused on the history of slavery in the Caribbean, Latin America, Louisiana (United States), Africa, and the African Diaspora in the Americas. Discovering extensive French and Spanish colonial documents related to the slave trade in Louisiana, she wrote Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century (1992), studied the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana, as well as the process of creolization, which created new cultures. She changed the way in which several related disciplines are researched and taught, adding to scholarly understanding of the diverse origins of cultures throughout the Americas.
In addition, Hall created a database of records identifying and describing more than 100,000 enslaved Africans. It has become a primary resource for historical and genealogical research. She earned recognition in academia, and has been featured in The New York Times, People Magazine, ABC News, BBC, and other popular outlets for her contributions to scholarship, genealogy, and the critical reevaluation of the history of slavery. Hall was also Professor Emerita of Latin American and Caribbean History at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she taught for 25 years.
Professor Hall’s work inspired Winston Marselis’ “Blood on the Fields”which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1997, the first time the prize was ever given for a Jazz composition.
Harry Haywood (February 4, 1898 – January 4, 1985) was an American political activist who was a leading figure in both the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). His goal was to connect the political philosophy of the Communist Party with the issues of race
Haywood died in January 1985, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. (Columbarium Court 1, Section LL, Column 7, 2nd Row from bottom. Interred under birth name “Haywood Hall.”) He had a service-related disability and spent the last few years of his life at a Veterans Administration medical facility. The Harry Haywood papers are housed at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and at the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, New York City. In Richard Wright’s autobiographical novel Black Boy (American Hunger), the character of Buddy Nealson is said to represent Haywood.
In collaboration with her Husband , Harry Haywood, Professor Hall cowrote a series of articles in SOUL BOOK. They had a major impact in the development of groups such as the Black Panther party, Dr Ernest Allen ,Historian , chronicles these articles
Rebecca Hall, JD, PhD, is a scholar, activist, and educator. She writes and publishes on the history of race, gender, law, and resistance as well as articles on climate justice and intersectional feminist theory.
Count Time Podcast Living LegendDr. Joyce Marie Jackson was honored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities with a 2022 Lifetime Contributions to the Humanities award.
Count Time Podcast Living Legend Dr. Joyce Marie Jackson
Dr. Jackson is the Chair and James J. Parsons Endowed Professor of the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University. From 2010 to 2016 she served as the university’s director of African and African American studies. Over the course of her career as a folklorist and ethnomusicologist, she has contributed numerous articles, essays, chapters, and other forms of media that further the understanding of African American culture and music, sacred and secular rituals in Africa and the diaspora. and more.
Now in their 37th year, the LEH Humanities Awards offer a collective opportunity to celebrate all the humanities have to offer and honor those who have made significant contributions to the understanding of Louisiana’s history and culture.
The Lifetime Contributions to the Humanities awards recognize those who have supported and been involved in public appreciation of issues central to the humanities.
This Black History Month episode of Count Time Podcast is an excerpt from interview with Dr. Ibrahima Seck Pt2 as he describes the African rites of passage from teenager to the world of the adults. This African initiation society led by The Mask has links to the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans.
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Count Time Podcast Living Legend Dr. Ibrahima Seck
Kòmò Helmet Mask, 19th–mid-20th century, West Africa, Komo or Koma Power Association, Wood, bird skull, porcupine quills, horns, cotton, sacrificial materials, 35.2 x 22.1 x 85.6 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Black History Month with LD Azobra “African Secret Society of the Komo”
The headdress above was made and used by a member of the Komo society. Komo association members enforce community laws, make judicial decisions, and offer protection from illness, misfortune, and malevolent forces. The headdress embodies the secret knowledge and awesome power of the society; its rough and unattractive form is therefore intended to be visually intimidating.
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra formerly named Lyman white. Thank you for joining us today.
I like for you to share with us before we get started, some other dialogue about coming up in Africa through the secret society.
Komo maskers at funeral
DIS The secret society of the Komo, the mask society, which I linked to the Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. Bookies called Congo Tiggi. Congo Tiggi Congo is the Savannah, the Bush, the wilderness and the lion is not the King of the Savannah.
LD Hold on the hyena?
DIS It is the hyena. The hyena we have in folktales is different from the hyena we have in the secret societies.
LD Hold on. What you mean when I hear secret societies…
DIS That means when you grow up in Africa, traditional Africa, you go through different rites of passage. You have society of the uncircumcised children. But then they become teenagers and they go through initiation to get into the home or the adult of the adults in the world of the adults. So the adults pull them into that section of their life, the midlife. You become an adult, you become responsible. You get married.
But it has to go through a lot of drilling, it starts with circumcision. It goes with a lot of drilling or a lot of education, they take you into the sacred forest under the surveillance of the mask.
LD Hold on, hold on. So there’s a concept that every child in Africa already go through secret societies.
Kankurang, Manding initiatory rite
DIS I’m talking about secret societies. I’m not talking about gangs or something. It is something that is well organized and only the people who are initiated know what is inside. All of them have access to the sacred forest. All of them. Only they have access to the meetings of the Komo society. You are under the protection of the mask. And the mask is in some society they call it the mystery. Like in Senegal, we have a mask society called Kumpo. It means mystery. And you know that’s really the strength of the society is based on mystery.
Not everybody is allowed to know what is going on in there. And if you get in there, you are not supposed to be in there. You’re dead. Or if you are part of the society and you go outside and you reveal, you tell people, outsiders what is going on here. They make the night eat you. That means the mask came to get him in the middle of the night and you just disappear. It is a man with a mask accompanied by warriors who are the responsible of the mask. They come and get you just like the police. Better than that. Like Special forces.
The rite of wisdom in Mali
For the Bambara, Malinké, Senufo and Samogo peoples of Mali, the secret society of the Kôrêdugaw is a rite of wisdom performed at festivals and many other occasions. Initiates provoke laughter with behaviour characterized by gluttony, caustic humour and wit, but also possess great intelligence and wisdom. The society educates, trains and prepares children to cope with life and to deal with social problems. The Kôrêdugaw symbolize generosity, tolerance, inoffensiveness and mastery of knowledge, embodying the rules of conduct that they advocate for others.
This Black History Month episode of Count Time Podcast is an excerpt from interview with Johnnie A Jones, Sr. as he describes his experiences as the lawyer for the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott. The first successful civil rights bus boycott in the south.
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Count Time Podcast Living Legend Johnnie A Jones, Sr
64 Parishes article on the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott
Black History Month with LD Azobra “The Baton Rouge Bus Boycott”
In February of 1953, the same day the bus company had asked the city council for a fare increase, Rev. T.J. Jemison appealed to the city council for the right of black passengers, who paid the same fare as whites, to sit down when seats were available. One month later, with the bus company’s support, the city council unanimously approved Ordinance 222, which changed the segregated seating policy to a segregated model already in place in some southern cities. The bus drivers refused to comply with Ordinance 222.
Three months later Martha White helped ignite the Baton Rouge bus boycott. The 23-year-old White was employed as a housekeeper and took the bus home after a long day of work. After boarding the bus, she sat down in the section designated for white passengers in the only vacant seat, and was told to move by the driver, but refused. Other Black riders joined White in solidarity and they refused to move, even at the threat of arrest. Jemison intervened and the bus company manager, then arrived and ordered the driver to obey the city council’s ordinance, but the driver refused and was suspended.
On June 15, 1953, the bus drivers went on strike to protest against Ordinance 222. On June 19th 1953, the state’s attorney general declared the law unconstitutional based on it violated existing segregation legislation. The drivers ended the strike.
Black businessman Horatio Thompson sold gas at cost to the boycott participants.
That night a meeting was called and participants decided to boycott and inform their neighbors. Jemison and Raymond Scott, announced the boycott on the radio. By the end of the following day, no black passengers rode the buses. Approximately 14,000 Black residents of Baton Rouge boycotted the city’s segregated public bus system for eight days. This was the first of many bus boycotts throughout the south and the first successful one.
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Count Time Podcast Living Legend Delores Stewart Shealy
Bloody Sunday
Black History Month selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra Interview with Delores Stewart Shealy
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra formerly named Lyman white. Thank you for joining us today
Good evening. Today is a very special day for Count Time, for Smart Brotha Media, and we have arrived at a place that didn’t even see it coming. When we started this journey last year, I was just hoping to make it to five podcasts. But today is our 50th podcast and that is a wonderful accomplishment for me, for Smart Brother Media, for Countertop. And we trust and hope that we can make it to 50 more.
But most of all I would like to thank our wonderful audience out there who have been very supportive, very encouraging, many calls, many texts, many emails from others saying, LD, I thought last week was the best podcast you ever did. But this week was even better. They say, ask me, how do you continue to bring on these wonderful stories, these wonderful shows? And it’s easy because as we know, our story has not been told.
So we are seeking those who are interested in sharing their story, their life, their history with Count Time. And Count Time is looking forward to another 50 more podcast and hopefully beyond that. And it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be either. Because when it’s something you enjoy doing, something you enjoy being a part of, you’re going to give it your all. And that’s the way it was when I played sports. That’s the way it is in my life. Every day you want to give it to all.
This is a special month we all know is what we call Black History Month. So it is history for Count Time for us to be at the milestone of 50 podcast. And some of you are saying, well, that ain’t that many to me It’s a whole lot. Now. I never thought I would get to 50.
And after you listen to the podcast and you give us some of your feedback, let us know what you think about Count Time podcast, how it impacts you. You give us some comments on what you think, what you like to hear in the future, what can make come time even better. So please go and share and encourage us by making some comments.
And trust me, today’s podcast gives you a story about what happened over 50 years ago in the great state of Mississippi. But you got to hear this story from Ms. Delores Shealy, who’s going to be starting the show out today. And we got Ms. Shealy’s sister, Ms. Ruthie Millsapp.
And once again, I’d like to thank my wonderful listening audience. So thank you for joining us and thank you for being part of the Count Time community.
Living Legend Delores Yvonne Stewart Shealy and her sister Ruthie Lee Millsap give a riveting description of life for Blacks in the fifties and sixties in Mississippi.
The Biloxi Wade-Ins were three protests that were conducted by African-Americans on the beaches of Biloxi, Mississippi between 1959 and 1963. The police stood by on April 24, 1960, as white mobs attacked Black beachgoers/protesters including elderly men, women and children. Whites attacked Blacks throughout the city into the evening. Ten times as many Blacks were arrested as whites during the day.
