Posted on
January 01, 2007 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Imani (Faith)
To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
In the end, this is what it boils down to for all of us. In the Bible (Hebrews 11:1), it says that “Faith is the evidence of things unseen, the substance of things hoped for.” We must learn to operate in faith that we can build a nation together, even if it doesn’t benefit us in our lifetimes. For the sakes of generations yet unborn, we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to the world to share the benefit of our collective efforts to better this country and, in turn, the planet. But, all of this starts with a faith in our ability to do so.
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Posted on
December 31, 2006 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Kuumba (Creativity)
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
Friday night, a local peace activist was shot and killed here, in Cincinnati. It appears his life ended living the principle we celebrate today. Richard Muhammad had run-ins with the law in his past but, he took his experiences and channeled them in a new direction to help end gun violence in his part of the city. It’s this type of commitment to change that we need more of in our communities. Not all of us will risk our lives the way Mr. Muhammad did but, if we are committed, this may not be something for which we must put our lives in danger.
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Posted on
December 30, 2006 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Nia (Purpose)
To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Each of us has the ability to do something great — we can, in a manner that is not ostentatious, rebuild ourselves. It can be something as simple as committing to teaching our children about their culture and history or committing to a standard of excellence in our everyday lives. When we can build ourselves up, it does not matter what the outside world’s perception of us is. There is an old African proverb that I carry with me — “It is not what you call us, it’s what we answer to that matters.”
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Posted on
December 29, 2006 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Ujaama (Cooperative Economics)
To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
When I look at issues like black unemployment or tragedies like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I realize that these things happen because we lack the infrastructure the fix them. If we were more active in spending money among ourselves, our businesses could compete in the American marketplace with the best of them and, more importantly, we could be hiring more of our people. Furthermore, with the logistical channels in place and people with a wider array of resources, we can step in and help our own when tragedy strikes. Perhaps, in 2007, we can make a stronger commitment to “buy black”.
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Posted on
December 28, 2006 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.
I often think about what it takes to build a nation. Too often, we think only about the charismatic leaders who are in the forefront and being the voices for particular movements. However, we ignore the day-to-day (and often mundane) tasks that go into this, as well. These are done by hard-working and dedicated people who realize that what they do may not be known, much less appreciated, in their lifetimes but, they understand that we must strive, together, if we are going to reach our goals.
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Posted on
December 27, 2006 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
I believe the highest form of freedom for any people is the right to self-determination. In my lifetime, I saw apartheid end in South Africa. While not perfect, it was a miraculous thing to see black people begin to get from under the crushing yoke of a system that sought to destroy them mentally and spiritually. I hope that we all learn the value of self-determination.
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Posted on
December 26, 2006 by
JP Smith
Today’s Principle: Umoja (Unity)
To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
Perhaps it is a far-fetched notion for some but, I continue to hold out hope that we will, one day, “get it together” because our survival, as a people, hinges on us unifying on some of our cultural beliefs and learning to work together under that umbrella. Each year, hearing the Kwanzaa principles helps me refocus on these beliefs.
So, Happy Kwanzaa and don’t forget the message behind it.
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Posted on
December 18, 2006 by
JP Smith
When was the last time you saw a movie about the love and sacrifice of a black father for his child? More importantly, when was it the #1 movie at the box office?
If you saw the latest Will Smith film, you could answer, “this past weekend.” That’s because, “The Pursuit of Happyness” took in $27 million over the weekend, making it the #1 movie in America.
The movie is the story of Chris Gardner, a down and out salesman who, along with his son, are abandoned by his wife and, soon thereafter, end up homeless on the streets of San Francisco. Through will, determination and love for his son, Gardner attained a position as an intern at the brokerage firm of Dean Witter and eventually struck out on his own and, finally, formed Christopher Gardner International Holdings, a multi-million dollar financial services group.
But, apart from the personal triumph of Gardner, black fathers are drawn to the movie for its portrayal of the other side of black fatherhood not shown in most media — the father who gives his all for his child and doesn’t have to break the law to do so.
I haven’t checked it out yet but, I plan to do so. In the meantime, big up to Will and the creators of this film for putting something of quality out this holiday season.
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Posted on
December 14, 2006 by
JP Smith
What if I told you that in the time it takes you to read this post, three African children died?
It had nothing to do with AIDS, starvation or war. The cause was something much more preventable — Malaria.
Malaria kills more children each year than HIV-AIDS. Every year, some 750,000 African children die from the disease. That’s one child every 30 seconds. The saddest part about all of this is that most of these deaths are preventable.
In addition to vaccines, something as simple as a net over a child’s bed may keep him/her from being bitten by a mosquito carrying this disease.
The NBA Cares, in conjunction with the United Methodist Church and Sports Illustrated, has launched the “Nothing But Nets” campaign. A $10 donation will buy a net for a child. If you are reading this, I urge you to check out their site and, if you feel so inclined, make a donation. I will be putting in a $50 donation right after I post this blog entry. I know, individually, we can’t save the world but, together, we can save a lot of folks, if we try.
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Posted on
December 12, 2006 by
JP Smith
I read something today that hit home for me. I am the father of a young black boy. I look at him and see in him my hopes, dreams and aspirations for a better tomorrow. I want him to have a long, happy and fulfilled life and, even though I expect adversity for him, I want him to have as little as possible.
But, I also realize that he is a black boy. Right now, everybody goes on about how handsome he is (that’s not him in the picture, though) and how intelligent and alert he is. However, I know that, one day, he’ll be much larger and some will begin to look at him differently. They may not see his intellect or potential. Instead, they may see in him their own irrational fear of black men.
So, I sympathize with the mother who ponders, “But if I warn him to watch out for the police and white women, am I racist?”
As a teenager in the 80’s, I personally dealt with harassment at the hands of police who felt emboldened to say/do anything to us because we didn’t have the money or familial connections that cause police to think twice before doing so.
I also remember friends dealing with issues with the racist white parents of the girls they were dating. I even remember one schoolmate who got in trouble because the white girl he was dating (we all knew they were seeing each other) yelled “rape” when the two were caught getting it on in a bathroom in school (the truth later came out but, he was kicked out of school for a while).
Before you say “but, it was the 80’s”, I have a brother 9 years my junior and he went through the same thing in the 90’s. He’s now a 6′ 7″ black man so, you can only imagine the fear some feel of him. Hell, I’m only 6 feet tall and some operate with the same fear of me.
I say all of this to say that I know that these are real challenges for black boys. Read the rest of this entry →
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