Happy Valentines Day

Happy Birthday Andy and Alex!

Oh Lord, I do not ask for much,
Eternal beauty, or youth, or such.
Just give me a little hand to hold,
And I'll forget that I'm growing old.

I do not ask for cloudless skies,
A life that's free from tears and sighs.
Just give me a little face to kiss,
And anxious moments will turn to bliss.

For what is there, really, that means so much
As little hands that reach and touch,
As little eyes that search and see
Only the best in fragile me?

So let me grow more loving and wise
By looking at life through their wide eyes.
For through these little ones, you have given
This grateful grandmother a glimpse of Heaven.

Author: Barbara Burrows

Black History Month...Celebrating Ida Bell Wells-Barnett

"Is there no redress, no peace, no justice in this land for us? Tell the world the facts."

Ida Bell Wells-Barnet was a well-known journalist and civil rights activist. Ida spent much of her time fighting against injustice and for equality for blacks and women. Ida was a freed slave. After emancipation, she attended college and taught until she was dismissed for writing in protest of segregation in education. Ida went on to become part-owner and editor of a Memphis newspaper where she became most famous for articles she wrote protesting the terrible practice of lynching in the South. Ida’s writings angered many whites in the Memphis where she received death threats and eventually had the offices of her newspaper, Free Speech, destroyed by an angry mob. This did not stop Ida. Her tireless efforts in protest of lynching continued, eventually resulting in the passage of anti-lynching laws in six states. In addition to becoming a renowned anti-lynching activist, Ida successfully campaigned for women’s suffrage and helped found the NAACP. Ida is remembered today as an inspiration to activists and a role model for black women journalists.