Alternatives to McDonalds!!!!!

There are a number of Black Restaurants in Philadelphia that serve as an alternative to the stuff that is passing as food at McDonald's.  As you know, I am working with the MOVE organization to BOYCOTT McDonald's because of the poor quality food they have and the FACT that much of their food can be traced back to the health problems and physical ailments we have as Black and otherwise {formerly}oppressed people.  Such ailments as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and joint ailments are linked to the food we eat that is not good for us. [See Reference to the nutrition article under What Up McDonald's]... 

One restaurant I like and that has very good food is Baltimore Crab and Seafood at 4800 Spruce Street [48th and Spruce on the South West Corner in West Philadelphia].  They have VERY GOOD flounder; very good string beans and very good steamed vegetables and fresh salads.  They take a few moments longer than some of the other restaurants, but what are we always in such a rush for anyway? Believe me, I hope you will try Baltimore Crab and Seafood.  They once gave a donation for a Black party I was having when I was the Block Captain of the 4600 Block of Sansom Street and I have never forgotten them for that.  THEY DIDN'T CHARGE US A THING.  They are real community supporters and always meet us with a smile.  During these hard economic times, we have to really support our Black businesses and this is a good one. Prices for platters range from $24.00 on the high side to $4.50 on the low side. Stop on by and give them a try.  You can order ahead of time at: 1.215.472.7040.  Open Mon through Thu. from Noon to 11 P.M.; Friday and Saturday from Noon to 12 Midnight; and 2 to 10 P.M. on Sunday.

As I have said in other articles: Family Variety and Deli at 310 South 52nd Street, is a delicious alternative to McDonald's.  Their food is fresh, well prepared and they do NOT sell any pork, which The Nation has been telling us for decades is eroding the health and strength of our community.  Family Variety and Deli sells great dinners on Fridays and Saturdays; as well as great sandwiches [You can get rye or wheat bread if you don't want the traditional hoggie rolls which are NOT good for health].  I often go to Family Variety and Deli and I find the ladies and gentlemen who work there to be kind, courteous, friendly and helpful.  I STRONGLY recommend you support them.

Another Restaurant I visited in Upper Darby is Tim's Roti Shop/Restaurant [Phone] 484-461-3080
They have Jamaican / African cuisine and I had some and it is quite tasty.  This place makes a nice divergence from the McDonald's right down the street, which has the same old dried out hamburgers; fattening fish o fillets; and sugary sodas, shakes and greasy fries... What Tim's has is jerk chicken [Nice and spicy and quite good; delicious beans and rice; good fish and veggies without meat in them such as collard greens and cabbage. Enjoy!!! They are available for catering as well.....

If You want to write Black McDonald's Owners with your views and opinions: The National Black McDonald's Operators Association [NBMOA]; Post Office Box 820668; South Florida Florida 33082-0668

Cards, Wedding Invitations, Programs, Banquet Tickets......

I met a new friend at my neighborhood Block Party last Saturday, June of 2012.  Her name is S. J. Braxton.  She has a business where she provides Flyers; Wedding Invitations; Letterhead; Business Cards; Church Programs; Conference Booklets and so forth, just about everything you need to publish, for a resonable price.  She can be reached at 1.302.743.0644 or at her e-mail address at: sjbraxton@yahoo.com
I found her to be very easy to talk with, polite, curtious and professional.  GIVE HER A CALL FOR YOUR PRINTING NEEDS--I KNOW I AM!!!

Church Service at Unity Fellowship Christ Church of Philadelphia.....

I attend The Unity Fellowship Christ Church of Philadelphi at 55 North Broad Street.  It is a church that caters ALL of Philadelphia.  The core membership is mostly Black and Same Gender Loving {Or Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered}..  We have church every Sunday at 2 P.M. and our service usually lasts until about 4:30 P.M. I hope you will give us a chance, no matter if you are Black, Latin, Asian of White, Straight or Gay or whatever you are.  I have found the church to be a very friendly, positive and constructive environment for positive-thinking people who want to get ahead and move forward with changing their lives in a positive way.  We don't let anything hold us back and we rely on each other for support.   We also have Bible Study on Wednesday at 7 P.M. at the Christian Association at 37th and Chestnut Street.  We have a lively and open discussion, not only about the Bible, but about many aspects of religion and Spirituality.  I have learned a great deal from our Minister Bryan, who is young but quite knowledgable, positive-thinking and Spirited.  I love the men and women and transgendered people of our church and Bible Study.  We are ALL learning and we refuse to be put down for what we are.  We continue to do what we feel is GOD's work. I hope to see you at our service and our Bible Study.  We are creating a positive atmosphere for ourselves and others who have been put down by our society.  We feel we are the rejected stones who will one day be the first people and accepted. GOD Bless you... Our Head Pastor is Victoria Skeet and our Founding Pastor is Pastor Jeffrey Haskins....I have come to grow with, love and respect so many people at our church that I cannot even mention ALL of them. Come and worship with us and learn that we are proud and that we don't have two heads and that we don't bite.  GOD Bless you again.....

Black Soap Available.....

There are a variety of Black soaps available at 52nd and Sansom Street, the South West Corner.  They are very nice soaps and include many scents and types.  One of the Companies is BlackSoap.Com.  They make Egyptian Musk; another is Nubian Heritage, they make Lemon Grass And Tea Tree Soap and many other varieties.  I have used these products myself and I have found them to be very refreshing and to not leave a dry feeling like many traditional soaps have.  They are available for about $2.50 a bar. I hope you will try them out and check out the store at 52nd and Sansom Street....
There are a variety of Black soaps available at 52nd and Sansom Street, the South West Corner. They are very nice soaps and include many scents and types. One of the Companies is BlackSoap.Com. They make Egyptian Musk; another is Nubian Heritage, they make Lemon Grass And Tea Tree Soap and many other varieties. I have used these products myself and I have found them to be very refreshing and to not leave a dry feeling like many traditional soaps have. They are available for about $2.50 a bar. I hope you will try them out and check out the store at 52nd and Sansom Street....

One variety I especially like is called coconut and papaya soap with vanilla beans.. it is advertised as an anti-aging, brightening and firming soap and has an awesome smell.  it also lathers well and really leaves the skin nice. it is also by Nubian Heritage... and would make a great Kwanzaa gift.


Another company is Blacksoap.com.  They have a Black soap, which I believe I have tried before and is quite nice. I'll try it again and let you know. There multi vitamin Soap ha a fantastic smell.  After I try it I will let you know how nice it is....

and: a company called Madina Industrial Corporation also offers a naturally blended Olive Soap That has Aloe Vera and is quite nice and fragrant..

Dear Friends and Countrymen.... A Matter of Race.....

Dear Friends and Countrymen:

many people think I deeply hate and resent White People. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You see, it is Racism, White Supremacy, Racial Hatred, Discrimination and Racial Bullying I hate and have dedicated Most of my life's work to reconciling and alleviating, NOT White people as a group of human beings. And yes, I do think they are Human Beings.  There are a few Devils in every race...

There are concrete differences between the races.  White people, as a group, have been exploiters and the ones who control the reigns of power.  They have set the standards as to how social orders, social constructs and large societies in Modern Times, are to be formulated and run and they have NOT fully shared this power--even Obama really answers to them.... Don't kid yourself... They have often left people of color--NON-Whites--and especially Black people--out of this Matrix of control, power and domination. {Google or look up books by Professor Malefi Asanti}they have NOT allowed us, as Black people to determine for ourselves what will be taught in our own schools, what curriculums will be or what will be included in the make-up and study of entire schools of thought such as: chemistry, anthropology, mathematics, journalism, history, philosophy, engineering, and medicine.  So, because of this, our being excluded from the make up of study itself has been corrupted and currupting the entire system of higher education and our whole political system. And our Blacks who study have found themselves outside of the loop at many of our Nation's leading universities.  Black students have often had to struggle to find roots and shoots of sanity, cohesiveness and coherence  when they study subjects that seem ``foreign'' to them because of the White exclusivity of those subjects.  This has led to the alienation of Black would-be students from the established classroom setting.  

But there have also been White People who have sounded the drum and alarm with thousands of Black People who have demanded Racial inclusion, affirmative action and the inclusion of many more Black scholars, thinkers, visionaries and Black scholarly research into the establishment and the make up of schools of thought that generate school curriculum at every level from kindergarten to Post Doctoral work.

There have also been White Abolitionists who have championed the causes of anti-slavery action over the years.  For example, The Quaker Movement was largely White Led, but almost always against slavery; there have also been individuals who were against slavery and for the rights of Blacks attaining full citizenship rights and other rights including: Daniel Walker; William Lloyd Garrison; and Lysander Spooner, to name a few.  There have also been fighters and writers like writer Noarm Chomsky and some of the White leaders who took up many of our causes such as those who write for the Nation Magazine; the Mother Jones Magazine and members of the Worker's World Party.  These people have been helpful in our quest as Black Diaspora to find true and lasting peace, true justice and true equality.  THey broke the color barrior and fought for true justice across the color line.  Not an easy thing to do in a racist society like the one we live in. I cannot turn my back and fail to recognize their hard work, dedication and the honor they have earned

Just today in church there was a White friend of mine who stood up for Black people.  His first name is Sean.  I hope I have  embarrassed him by mentioning his name, but I have often found his words and dialogue to be authentic and real.

He attended our church, which in itself is a Blessing and a miracle because our church is mostly Black and mostly made up of members of the Black Same Gender Loving Community. He is White and straight and still finds his Way to worship with us often.  This is the sign, to me, of what the true spirit of North America is all about--not racial hatred wrapped in religion or homophobic hatred wrapped in religion.

Not only does Sean worship with people UN-like himself, he is becoming a leader in the church and has studied Eastern Religious Philosophy {Budism}which he is willing to share with us in His Special Way.  He is a gem and a stellar human being who I have come to cherish as a friend and Allie.  His cultural heritage and skin color and his sexual orientation are second nature to me because he authentically wants to see ALL people, including Black people, do well, prosper and flourish.

So, the old adage that Brother Tracy is just another racist or Black Radical or Black Nationalist needs to be put to rest forever.  I have an open mind and I love all kinds of people.  My church, the Unity Fellowship Christ Church of Philadelphia, at 55 North Broad Street, in Philadelphia is a real oasis for me.  AN Oasis of LOVe, devotion, hope, caring, fellowship, believing truly in GOD and having the faith {of a Mustard Seed and more}  to think everyday that things may well get better. We are seeking a new Church home, but right now we may have to stay where we are for a while.  Maybe a true blessing will come along soon. GOD BLESS YOU for reading this..........

BTG...

Black Owned and Opperated: Family Variety And Deli.....

There is a small Deli on 52nd Street near Larch Wood, right across the street from the Old Black Oak Park {Now refurbished and called Malcolm X Park}. The Deli is called Family Variety and Deli. It is totally Black Owned and Operated.  They have a variety of sandwiches and platters. The platters are sold mostly on Friday's after about 3 P.M.  The food is quite tasty and healthy.  I always enjoy the food when I get there.  It is a total take-out place, but their Chicken Stakes are really good, but I especially like the Navy Bean Soup that they sell beginning in September.  Sometimes there is a line for that alone.  It rivals the Navy Bean Soup that they used to sell at the Patterson's Restaurant on 5th and Spring Garden that I used to take my now deceased mother to.  I'm talking about really, really good soup.  The old Patterson's Restaurant is now closed, but I have heard it might open again near Broad and Girard.  The one on 5th and Spring Garden burned down years ago.  It is a good thing to find a few Black restaurants to go to consistently that you really like.

Letter to Billionaire Warren Buffett

September 30th, 2012 {Sunday}

Mr. Warren E. Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
3555 Farnam Street,
Suite 1440
Omaha Nebraska  68131

From: Brother Tracy Gibson
Visionary -- Businessman
213 South 49th Street
Philadelphia, Penn 19139-4205

1-215-471-6494

BLockBoi75@Yahoo.Com

Dear Mr. Buffett:

I hope you and your family are doing fine and well. I want to make some suggestions for your corporation and you to invest in.  My Corporation is called ``Brother Tracy Gibson and Associates, INc.'' There are four components I am interested in getting funding for.  1} I have two books I Really, Really want to publish. The first book is entitled:  ``A Grassroots Criteria for Liberation.'' This volume is dedicated to Black youth and there issues.  It is designed to build better values in our young men and women including more responsibility for the decisions they make; more respect for the people in the community including peers, the elderly, their parents, teachers, guardians, police and firemen; more dignity about themselves; more interests in Black history and Blacks in antiquity; more interests in business and finance; more interests in education and learning and starting businesses, etc. This first volume is designed and told by telling my own personal story and interjecting political analysis and old family stories with life-lessons, celebrity profiles and reviews of artistic events included. I need $20,000.00 to get this book published. The second volume is entitled: ``Let the Children Gather--A Fantasy World of Real Life Poems.'' It is a book of poetry that reflects the high level of anger and resentment that is ramped among Black male youth at being blocked out of the economic and financial progress they see going on in their community and at seeing what little progress they are allowed to make often be suppressed, stolen or ignored.  I need $15,000.00 to publish this book. 2} I want to start a mostly Black, but partially multi-cultural security firm to help protect the growing and valued Black infrastructure across North America, but especially right here in West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia.  I am in contact with a Miss Stephanie White who has a successful security company in Dallas, Texas {1.469.230.1849} Address: Post Office Box 181947, Dallas Texas  75218. I have also been in touch with a Mr. August Scott of Brooklyn, New York who worked several years for the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a security guard. I plan to hire both of them as consultants as I begin the process to start my own local security firm.  You may know the story from the 1920's in Tulsa, Oklahoma where what was called the ``BLACK WALL STREET'' was destroyed after a racial incident sparked a White Supremest Riot. We cannot afford to have our valuable Black infrastructure destroyed in a matter of days when it took us 50 years to built it up Not only were some 350 people killed, but hotels, restaurants, large stores, funeral homes and other types of businesses owned and operated by Black people were also destroyed and burned to the ground. We need $50,000.00 in seed money for our security firm to be centered and headquartered in Philadelphia.  We plan to hire former police officers, firemen and fire women, veterans coming back from the two wars our Nation has been involved in and young people who desperately need full-time and part-time employment in the Philadelphia region. We will have training in Philadelphia and a full building for our headquarters. 3} Another aspect of our corporation is called ``The Knowledge Hut Business Plan and The Knowledge Hut On-Line Store.'' This store will provide CD's, DVD's Movies, Tee-Shirts, Greeting Cards, Posters, Books and a few light and healthy snack foods for young people to purchase and for their parents and guardians to buy for them and sometimes, to enjoy for themselves. Grandchildren, nieces, youth, children and nephews will find delight in the products and will also be gaining an education in the strong values and ethics that are so lacking in our communities.  The ONLY Products to be sold in our stores will be those products that uphold high community standards; represent positive social values and positive knowledge and understanding on complex political issues. The products will not just be thrown at our young customers, our parents and grand parents and guardians, but will be specifically selected to build, again, positive values in our people's youths such as responsibility, reliability, punctuality, obeying the law, business ethics, not to bully or smoke, how to start businesses in a hostile and tough economy, and how to negotiate out of problems instead of using violence, intimidation and coercion to solve problems--a lesson our own national government could use to learn.  Many of the products we are planning to sell, we want to produce at our own factory and hire some of the youth to get paid good living wages for their efforts.  {We are starting as a on-line store to avoid the tremendous cost of building a modern, state of the art, Green factory right in North or West Philadelphia at first.} We did test marketing of greeting cards and Tee-Shirts from April 2006 to September of 2007 at 3819 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, Penn 19104, when we had an office here in Philadelphia's Powelton Village Section. We will be Progressive and stress education and knowledge building in every aspect of what we do.  Our Books will not be selected to titillate and sexually excite {such books will not be sold by us}, but our Books will be selected to educate, inform, build self-help and self survival skills as well as build self-esteem, self-respect, family values and other positive traits for the Black Family to build from.  They will also help stimulate intellectual growth while helping develop good study habits, good hygiene and neighbor-building skills as our young people learn how to get along with other races, other religions and other types of people who are different from them.  We are seeking $300,000.00 for ``The Knowledge Hut Business Plan'' and ``The Knowledge Hut Stores.'' 4} Another component we are planning is our Talent Agency--NOT YET NAMED...  I remember once taking a tenant {I have been a Landlord and property owner and property manager for 28 years}. I took a tenant to try-out for an International Star-Search Program and fund a line wrapped around the Hotel on City Line Avenue for 4 blocks!! I have people in my church and in the Black community who want to partner with me for this aspects of the business.  My church's name is The Unity Fellowship Christ Church of Philadelphia, which is part of a network of some 30 churches across the country. I have family members who work in the entertainment business who I am sure will also help with consulting on this matter.

That is it in a nutshell.  I hope you can help. I have some 35 years of dedicated work behind me as a community organizer and a community activist. {Please see my Resume enclosed or on the Blog--``The Politics of Real''

My Corporate EIN number is 27-0145705

I have contacted several Black Celebrities about my ideas including: Vogue Magazine Editor Andre Leon Talley; Muhammad Ali; Mr. Quintin E. Primo III; Mr. Magic Johnson; Pattie La Bell; Common; Queen Latifa; Bill Cosby; Oprah Winfrey {who I have written about 30 times!!}; Quincy Jones; Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; Vanessa Williams {The former Ms. America};Will Smith and Jada Pickett Smith; Sidney Portier and Harry Belifonte. I hope you will give me a chance, because what I want to do will work towards the betterment of our entire country in the long run, as our Black youth stop being seen as a ``problem'' and start to live active, productive, viable and productive lives.

Post Script: If I had $20,000. I couold change the world for the good in a matter of six months.....!!!