July 12, 1887 The city of Mound Bayou, Mississippi was founded as an independent black community by formerly enslaved people led by Isaiah Montgomery. Montgomery led the town through the 1920s. The population according to the 2000 census is 2,100 and 98.4% African American, one of the largest African American majority populations in the country. (Source: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History)

I share this in hopes of reaching the #OWS stream… 

Change in the face of what seems impossible, is possible. Revolution isn’t always about destruction… sometimes you have to bravely go out there and create something NEW, as you imagine. This is a decade before Plessy Vs. Ferguson (legalizing segregation, making way for Jim Crow laws).

I’m sure it wasn’t perfect, most likely dealt with some unsavory’s… but the place still exists today.

“A is for Artist”— To your left is photographer Shaun Behrent.  Although the space was tight with people, we found some time to drop.  I really like Shaun’s perspective… it gives new meaning to his familiar subjects, like a fixture of Coney Island.  

And what is creativity but freedom?  And what is freedom, but the choosing of More… real creativity focuses on what is possible, and not merely what is wrong.  

www.thewestbrooklyn.com to view Shaun’s work.