black…MYstory

Do we, a black people, really get to exercise our constitutional rights? Well, over the last several years, it seems that Americans, in general, are seeing their rights chipped away but, is it even more so for black folks?

What is our relationship to the Constitution and what does it really mean to us and for us? A few days back, columnist Alton Maddox pondered this question and came up with a profound response.

I won’t spoil it but, I will share a little of it with you

Blacks are allowed to enjoy legal and political presence but are punished for exercising rights under or similar to the Speech and Debate Clause. Only white people are allowed to engage in free speech and free debate. This is why Sen. Hillary Clinton recently trumped Sen. Barack Obama at Howard University.

You’ll just have to read the rest for yourself.

Popularity: 41% [?]

A few years back, somebody pointed out the site “Hot Ghetto Mess” to me. Despite their claim that this was to encourage change, I was not impressed. I found that the videos and images shown there are not representative of even a majority of black people so, putting a tag line out there like “We got to do better” left me wondering who is the “we” she’s talking about. Every group of people has some “triflin’ folks” among them. However, minorities, unlike white people in this country, are judged by the exception rather than the rule. If “we got to do better”, we need to do a better job about not allowing people to stereotype us and to quit profiting from the disrespect of black folks.

Which brings me to the following…

“Hot Ghetto Mess” is coming to T.V.! Aren’t you excited?!

Hosted by Charlie Murphy, this series “guides viewers through shaking booties, thug life, baby-mama drama and pimped-out high schoolers, “Hot Ghetto Mess” will explore what these images really mean to all of us.

Cutting edge, original, relevant and irreverent, “Hot Ghetto Mess” is like the traffic accident you can’t look away from. Viewers will laugh. They’ll cry. They’ll think. They’ll learn, and hopefully they’ll recognize they’ve GOT to do better.” (From BET’s web site)

Great!

Well, it looks like some advertisers are already jumping ship. Home Depot and State Farm Insurance have pulled ads.

At any rate, the show launches July 25. Given much of BET’s other programming, I’m sure this will fit in quite nicely.

Popularity: 45% [?]

On this July 4th, I wanted to share with you a famous Frederick Douglass speech in regards to this day and its significance for black people.

“Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory….

…Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?

Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. For who is there so cold, that a nation’s sympathy could not warm him? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation’s jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the “lame man leap as an hart.”

But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, towering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrevocable ruin! I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people! “

read the entire speech here.

Popularity: 44% [?]

This is not quite a surprise given that this news was reported months ago, but it is interesting to note that other news agencies are beginning to report how black recruitment is down in all branches of the military due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Like me, a lot of black families are discouraging young men and women from joining the military. Why? Because I don’t believe in sacrificing the lives of poor people to insure the comfort of rich people. If they believe in what they are doing, why aren’t they encourage (or sacrificing the lives of) their own children in these wars. Instead, we see their kids, because they can afford to, going to school, jobs, running companies, working on political campaigns, traveling the world (Bush twins) or whatever. Most are doing any- and everything but fighting in the military. So, if avoiding military service is good enough for these people, it’s good enough for my people.

So, black families, encourage your kids to seek a better life but, remember, they actually have to be alive to enjoy it. Therefore, until we get more responsible people in charge of our foreign policy, I will continue to encourage kids to say “no” to military service.

Popularity: 27% [?]

It’s always interesting to see just how far apart people who live in the same are when it comes to understanding the other’s lives and culture. A recent study Harvard’s Du Bois Review shows just how little is known about black folks. But, even more interesting is that the prism through which race is viewed can cloud the judgement of the perceiver.

The study gathered the perceptions of 958 whites of various ages from locations around the country.

One item that was asked was how much they would have to be paid to live this rest of their lives as a black person, the average response was $10,000. In other words, they felt that the income disparity they would experience would only amount to about that much.

However, the reality is that the disparity is much greater:

For example, white households average about $150,000 more wealth than the typical black family. Overall, total wealth for white families is about five times greater than that of black families, a gap that has persisted for years.

Now, when asked how much they would need to receive to give up T.V., the average response was $1,000,000. Yes, they would only need $10,000 to be black but 100 times that amount to give up television. So, again, this indicates how small the perceived challenge of being black in America was to these respondents.

But, the most interesting portion of the study has to be the following:

The researchers asked participants to imagine that their great, great grandfather, a wealthy shipping magnate, had been kidnapped about 150 years ago. The kidnappers demanded and received a large ransom that bankrupted the shipping magnate. That ransom was used to start a successful company that still survives today and is worth $100 million. Participants were asked whether they would be willing to be a part of a large suit against the present-day company that could net them each about $5,000.

In this scenario, 61 percent agreed to have their names listed on the lawsuit. The researchers noted that this is about the percentage of blacks today who support reparations for slave descendants.

“When white Americans find it within themselves to say ‘I must be compensated for a past injustice done to me’ but the same logic evaporates when the injustice concerns black Americans, they are staring straight at bias,” Banaji said.

Something to think about, huh?

Popularity: 25% [?]

I was checking out ThugLifeArmy.com and a sister by the name of Pearl Jr. has a commentary raising awareness on some current issues regarding disrespect of black women in the media. And, thankfully, she pulls no punches.

Making it plain, she airs out everyone from Angelina Jolie to D.L. Hughley to ESPN. But, this is no mere rant. What she is saying should cause us to pause and to really think about the images that are out there about our black women and whether or not we’re being too accepting of the disrespect.

Rather than just paraphrase, I’ll share some of it here:

This past week has been one filled with many arrogant insults to Black women:

Angelina Jolie playing a Black woman in the movie, “A Mighty Heart” and no one in the major media is discussing this complete disregard that Black women can be extraordinary and motivated by love just like any other woman can. A black woman can’t be the object of a White man’s desire, but according to the media, only a White woman can be the object of all men’s desires. RACIST!

The Obama Crush video is still being promoted nationwide. This young White woman is calling out the herd of White women to charge Barack-ster to get him to be with one of them. I guess the popular mindset is supposed to be that a Black woman just cannot be what a good, smart, talented, millionaire man wants; he’s got to want a sexy White thing just like any other Black man with resources. The woman in the video is a paid actress that probably isn’t even a real Obama supporter and didn’t even sing the horrible song.

DL Hugely displaying the arrogance of ignorance for refusing to apologize to the Rutger’s Basketball team for calling them the ugliest women he has ever seen while being a guest on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. Even after a group of ministers in Texas picketed his concert, he still boldly said he didn’t care and stood by his comment, which insults all hardworking innocent Black women, meaning all Black women are a target to being hurt for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

A talk radio show jock on ESPN by the name of Colin Cowherd said that it was NOT acceptable for Tiger Woods to miss the birth of his baby, but Lebron James could miss the birth of his baby. He said due to Tiger’s wife being a Swedish model (immigrant nanny), she had to be worth shutting down the entire golf tournament, but Lebron should miss his baby’s birth for a myriad of reasons. I supposed the difference is Lebron’s baby momma is Black?

Needless to say, this is a hot one!

Popularity: 66% [?]

I still chuckle when I think of how, early in his presidency, Bush visited Brazil and was surprised that the country had black people. In fact, it had to be explained to him that Brazil had more black people than the United States. Of course, this was not before he asked the Brazilian president, “Do you have Blacks,too?”

With some 90 million black folks, Brazil has the largest population of black people outside of Africa. Unfortunately, even with all those black people, racism against blacks is still all too prevalent and more blatant than what many of us are used to here. So, like here, the lot of black people is one of disproportionate poverty and life at the lower rungs of society’s ladder.

However, more and more blacks are fed up and pushing back against the racism that has dominated their existences there.

From university classrooms to television airwaves, black Brazilians are fighting for what they say is long-denied space in a society that has kept them on the margins.

They’re pushing for two affirmative-action bills in Brazil’s Congress that would open college enrollment and government payrolls to more Brazilians of African descent. Already, many state universities have implemented their own affirmative-action programs.

In 2005, black entertainer Jose de Paula Neto launched the country’s first television station aimed at black audiences, TV da Gente. Meanwhile, hundreds of communities known as quilombos that were founded more than a century ago by escaped slaves are winning recognition and federal protections.

And Brazilians are finally discussing race after decades of telling themselves and the rest of the world that the country was free from racism.

“The Brazilian elite says this is not a racist country, but if you look at whatever social indicator, you’ll see exclusion is endemic,” said Sen. Paulo Paim, author of one of the pending affirmative-action bills. “We want to open up to more Brazilians the legitimate spaces they deserve.”

So, Black Brazil, stand up! In the process, maybe you’ll wake up your brethren up north out of their slumber, as well.

Popularity: 55% [?]

In all of the hype leading up to the Democratic Primary, maybe some of us are not thinking hard enough about our expectations of the only black candidate in the race. Of course, some will ask if this is fair but, if Barack Obama will use his race to get black votes, we should be asking him what he’s going to do with that vote.

However, if you ask Glenn Ford, we might already know what to expect — just another candidacy. If I could be so bold, I would paraphrase that he sees supporting an Obama candidacy as an acquiescence to the belief that real change is not going to happen so, we would be just accepting superficiality over substance in terms of our political concerns.

Of course, Glenn Ford is much more eloquent than I, so I offer some of his words below:

Barack Obama’s candidacy for president reveals critical fissures in the historical African American worldview, forcing Black citizens and activists to make a choice: will we support a cosmetic change in regime that is no more than skin deep - endorsing the ruling structure because it has a Black face - or continue on the long journey to self-determination, true social democracy and peace. Obama, the political twin of Hillary Clinton and the corporate Democratic Leadership Council her husband helped found, is determined to liquidate Black politics as an independent force in the United States, having already proclaimed, “There is no Black America.”

“Obama personifies the definitive end of Black organized struggle in the United States.”

Barack Obama is the antithesis of Black Power, a man who promises with every word he speaks, with every nuance of phrase and body language, and through his voting record as a U.S. Senator, that he personifies the definitive end of Black organized struggle in the United States - a unilateral surrender to white racism. This is his appeal to the white masses: that they will no longer be challenged to confront history, or to relinquish privilege in the present.

This is definite food for thought. Agree with Ford or not (personally, he is raising concerns that have been in the back of my mind), Ford’s analysis deserves some serious discussion among black folks because our issues are too important to continue not to have addressed by those in power.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Barack Obama recently expressed something not often shared outside of black America. He spoke of a “quiet riot” that threatens to bubble over.

Specifically, he is speaking to the notion that black folks are beyond fed up with Bush administration’s continued lack of action in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina some 20 months after it happened.

I don’t believe that these emotions are specific to this issue as much as this issue is representative of a general disdain that this group and their allies have expressed toward black Americans. It’s almost as if they collectively said, “if they aren’t voting for us, why should their lives or well-being matter?”

I, for one, hope that we can take this rage and move it to a direction that pushes us more and more towards self-reliance but, I don’t want the rage to go away. A pearl is born of agitation so, I only hope that we can take all our agitation and move it in a way that serves to help us.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Early on, I was discouraged from attending a historically-black college because I was told things such as, “the workforce is not all-black so, you need to go somewhere that offers a more realistic environment.” As I got older, I realize that this was not true. However, I wonder what those folks would say today knowing that a lot of HBCU’s are actively recruiting white students.

Some are taking them up on the offer, drawn by the allure of scholarships and tuition that, on average, costs $10,000 less per year than their traditionally white counterparts.

By no means am I suggesting that the educational experience at these schools is somehow now enhanced by the presence of white students. What I am suggesting, however, is that the quality of an education at an HBCU is just as good as any other university (and in many cases better) and the fact that students of other cultures attending these schools may be indicative of that notion.

Popularity: 38% [?]