A Requiem for the Black Intelligentsia

[Editor's Note: In light of the debates centered on the heated exchange between Rev. Al Sharpton and Dr. Cornel West (here). I've asked my man Joshua Lazard aka Uppity Negro to weigh in. Frankly, I'm tired of the activist vs. intelligentsia narrative that suggests they're mutually exclusive.]

by Uppity Negro

Mourners file into New Mount St. Nevermind Missionary Baptist Church to funeralize Black Intelligentsia.  The public had endured a long painful and debilitating disease close to twenty years.  Maybe more.  The mourners pack into the church on a hot, sultry day and even with the air conditioning on full blast, it does nothing for the swelling crowd.  Women have produced church fans donning images of Martin Luther King and Beck & Sons Funeral home barely moving the stagnant air that has fallen on the crowd.


This day has come nearly two years after the actual death date, however.  Through special court injunctions, the body was kept in the morgue for this extended period of time as the estate holders argued incessantly over what to do.  The mourners are in tip toe anticipation wait eagerly as the speaker mounts the pulpit.  The polished attire produces a silence only interrupted by the low drone of the forced air from an inadequate cooling system.


The speaker clears their throat before stepping into the rarefied space behind the microphone, looks up above the horizontal plane and begins to speak.

There was nothing more marvelous in the existence of the Negro culture than the men and women that took part of what came to be known as the Black Intelligentsia.  Although we were told to regard it from a distance, it still had the royal and noble sound of a certain trumpet beckoning one to listen.  This clarion call rang throughout the nation from its genesis until the moment that Death came and rescued it from a body beaten and battered by the winds of change and eroded by the winds of time; from a body located in the Ivory Towers of Academia, yet with a soul longing for the freedom it once had dwelling in the lands of the people.

Black Intelligentsia was preceded in Death by its mother Fannie Barrier Williams and its father W.E.B. DuBois.  You may ask how can such parents gave birth to such a noble institution?  They were able to create such a wondrous offspring because it was shaped in the crucible of the American postbellum apartheid.  Black Intelligentsia was birthed in 1895 when its father DuBois and his contemporary Booker T. Washington engaged in an exchange of words at the Atlanta Exposition displaying that the Negro can indeed produce a fundamental sound that goes far beyond the natural penetrating to the of the metaphysical.

Through its early years, Black Intelligentsia produced the “New Negro” and an Alain Locke being a voice of triumph in the wilderness that ushers in the Harlem Renaissance.  The Harlem Renaissance matches the artistic fervor with a spiritual essence giving forth to a certain sound that emerges from the annals of the soul.  Black Intelligentsia helps produce  Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Gwendolyn Brooks.   This sound, this noble sound, has the ability to infuse the lives of the Negro in America and provide the foundation of the modern Civil Rights movement.

The Real Housewives of Civil Rights [VIDEO]

Lil Wayne Tubman: Freeing the Mentally Enslaved

I'm pretty sure someone's gonna be mad after watching the following video. I mean, how dare they desecrate the memory and sanctity that was Black womanhood in the struggle, right? Of course some people were born without funny bones, and yes every civil rights icon from back in the day never smiled, laughed, or had fun. I mean what would the civil rights movement be sans the struggle face if Negroes were happy like the women on The Real Housewives of Atlanta? We'd be still picking cotton for free like they did in the 50s I'm sure.

No Justice for Recy Taylor & Other Black Women Savagely Raped by White Men

Last week the PR people for a new show on one of my favorite channels, Discovery ID (Investigative Discovery, sent me an email. They wanted to know if I'd be interested in an early screening of their new show Injustice Files. The show has since premiered, and it airs on Friday nights at 9PM EST. The show centers on unsolved civil rights-era crimes against people of color; a Cold Case Files for Negroes if you will. And, can you imagine how many such cases exist?

(Pasadena, CA) - In February 2007, the FBI officially launched a new investigative effort called the Civil Rights-Era Cold Case Initiative, which was tasked with taking a fresh look at racially-motivated homicide investigations that occurred prior to 1970.  Since then, over 100 cold cases have been identified for this initiative as the FBI partnered with local and state authorities, the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Urban League to help investigate these aging unsolved cases and bring justice to the victims' families.  In an effort to bring attention to these important investigations, Investigation Discovery teamed with critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, producer of The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, and CBS EYE Productions to showcase three cases included in the FBI's Civil Rights-Era Cold Case Initiative.  In commemoration of Black History Month, Investigation Discovery launches THE INJUSTICE FILES... (source)

Ironically, my man Field Negro reached out to me over the weekend with info on a civil rights-era case that is still unsolved involving 90-year-old Recy Taylor. Taylor was a victim of a crime that many Black women were victims to then, that is never talked about. Of course this being Black History Month, if we're gonna talk about the advances and laud accomplishments of many who came before us. In my opinion, it's only right that we never forget the women permanently scarred like Ms. Taylor; women who were victims of rape:

ATLANTA (AP) -- Years before Rosa Parks fought for justice from her seat on a Montgomery bus, she fought for Recy Taylor.

Parks was an NAACP activist crisscrossing Alabama in 1944 when she came across the case of Taylor, a 24-year-old wife and mother who was brutally gang raped and dumped on the side of a rural road. Taylor survived only to watch two all-white, all-male grand juries decline to indict the six white men who admitted to authorities that they assaulted her.

Taylor was one of many black women attacked by white men during an era in which sexual assault was used to informally enforce Jim Crow segregation. Their pain galvanized an anti-rape crusade that ultimately took a back seat to the push to dismantle officially sanctioned separation of the races, and slowly faded from the headlines.

When Did The Civil Rights Movement Stop Moving?

As we reflect on what would have been the 82nd birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we arrive at a moment where "Black" seems to be on everyone's mind...again.

Every January and February, the majority of Americans re-gain a consciousness of what we think we know about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's. After all, it only makes sense given America's national celebration of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (which often hits on a day other than his actual birthday) as well as February's designation of "Black History Month." January and February are when it is okay to celebrate Blackness in America, but for some, to say that is far-reaching and inconclusive for the still existent racism and ignorance surrounding the history of Blackness in this country and the world.

Who Stole Kwanzaa?

by Eco.Soul.Intellectual

Every year people tell me not to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it is time to celebrate the principles of Kwanzaa. I'm from Los Angeles, and Kwanzaa is huge! Well, at least it used to be. Since about the late 90s, event coordinators of Kwanzaa in Leimert Park have been beefing over control of the event due to money conflicts.

Oh yes, Kwanzaa is as capitalistic as Santa Claus and Christmas in some communities. In Los Angeles, since is West Coasters are far from regular cultural events (so says those in the East); black cultural events usually are well attended. But Kwanzaa has this funny, sad legacy that encompasses a trail of tears and blood.

I have said my piece behind closed doors, arguing with my friends who know the sordid history of Kwanzaa and its "creator" Maulana Karenga.

For the most part, people in Los Angeles are mum about the controversies around the history of Kwanzaa for two main reasons: they don't know or they stay diplomatic in efforts not rekindle a feud that still exists between former members of black power organizations of the 60s & 70s who often clashed; especially the US Organization and the Black Panther Party.

Of course this was all fueled by government intelligence that have documents showing its infiltration and divisive tactics within and between the two groups.

The US Organization, interestingly, the only black power organization that survived the neutralization by COINTELPRO in Los Angeles, operate with a very uhm, interesting defense mechanism. If you say one thing that challenges them, they will attempt to find you and silence you with insidious attacks. Believe me I've seen and heard them.

Moreover, the US Organization and the Black Panther Party in Los Angeles were black power version of Bloods & Crips. They weren't fighting over drugs or territory, but ideological agenda and political power that escalated into the killings of John J. Huggins, 23, and Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter, 26 on the campus of UCLA in 1969. (Read this 2008 Article regarding the shootings)

Contrary to popular belief, Glenn Beck actually loves and adores Black people

After calling the president racist on national television, and recently reducing his daughter's intelligence to that of the typical short bus rider. One can close that Glenn Beck doesn't like black people. That is, unless they self-identify as, well, American and not African-American; and, appear on his show beating the drum of conservatism as they let it be known that Kunta Kinte was himself, a Republican. But no, there's no way Beck doesn't like black people. If he did, would he have gone out of his way to challenge the very history of America?

A history which up until his show the other night never embraced the African-American narrative of black folks being heroes, and freedom loving patriots who helped shape this great nation? See, I usually give Glenn hell on this site from time to time; but, this time around, I must give him as we say in the streets, some "dap". Don't worry white reader, "dap" isn't a violent act nor anything even close to a Haitian voodoo curse brought over from Africa as taught to the captain on the slave ship by his cargo.

After watching the clip above, I'll go even further and suggest that we do away with Black History Month. Who needs the same tired historical accounts of African-American achievement? Achievement which only serves to stir up antipathy towards the Africans who sold us into slavery. Surely there's nothing prideful about some guy being forced to invent a traffic light here in America, when the only option other than, was to be hanging from somebody's Oak tree somewhere in the Compton section of West Africa.

But see, that's black folks for you; they forever play the victim card. The truth is, just as Beck points out above, that there are hundreds of thousands of untold stories of Black Republicans who made more significant contributions to the American tapestry. Black Republicans who have been egregiously depicted in paintings as "cowering" behind the white people whom they willingly served.

Yes, the Black Republican. These are the heroes that will never be acknowledged across this great land this weekend as we fire up BBQ grills in memory of the many fallen soldiers who gave their lives for nothing other than freedom, and democracy. It's good to know that great men like Glenn Beck are not afraid to challenge the efforts of the "liberal media" in their attempts to keep us blindfolded as we're all lead to slaughter, like the sheep that we are.

H/T We Are Respectable Negroes

Little Known Black History : Harriet Tubman was a Freak! And the sexiest Abolitionist ever!

Yeah, I know it's hard to believe; especially since all the pics of her reinforces that angry black woman stereotype. Judging from the picture above, either she took her work seriously, or had some pent up sexual frustrations. I mean who has time to think about sex when trying to help others escape the clutches of slavery, right? Surely even the female version of Moses, Harriett Tubman, had her urges, right? Yep, and how come nobody ever mentions her husband John Tubman, and where was he when she was out helping slaves?


No but seriously, could you imagine gettin' your freak on on the Underground Railroad back in the day? Obviously it's hard to conceive wrapping it up, or protecting yourself from HIV/AIDS when being chased by bloodhounds and slave catchers when you're fresh off of gettin' your ass beat for dozing off while picking cotton. Just the thought alone could serve well as a potential Viagra commercial. But then again, now that I think of it, maybe that's why we have so many babies and unprotected sex as we do today.

Yep, we's free now!

Nelson Mandela: Whose Hero Is He?

February 11th marked the twentieth anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from Robin Island.   Twitter was filled with his quotes and praise for what a wonderful forgiving soul that he is.  In his lifetime Mandela has been transformed from a simple man, to a near God like figure who we consider to be above question.  

His fight against apartheid and wrongful imprisonment has sparked hope in millions of people.  The mythos surrounding Mandela is such that to question any of his actions is not permissible. That he is a man, and therefore subject to the very same imperfections as every other mortal is denied in order to cement his heavenly martyr status. We are desperate to hold on to the lie that racism has been defeated and Mandela is a major key to this social myth.

Since his release from prison, South Africa has largely been governed by Blacks and a Black bourgeoisie has risen to take its place at the table.  The fact that a few have been allowed to rise is offered as proof that the evils of apartheid have been defeated and that the country has indeed begun to heal from generations of race based violence. 

Mandela preaches forgiveness and he has been praised globally for not holding onto hatred in his heart.   Turn the other cheek has always made Whiteness comfortable because it is well aware of the heinous nature of its crimes against the coloured peoples of this world.  Even those that would fight for equality fear the righteous retribution of Black rage and therefore; a figure like Mandela is comforting.

Black History Month: I ain't from Africa, I'm from Crenshaw Mafia!

Here we go again; another February, another Black History Month. Frankly, for the first time in my adult life I'm a bit conflicted on Black History Month. Yeah, I know that's hard to imagine hearing this coming from "Mr. Fight The Power Kill Whitey Die Die Die," right? I don't know, maybe it's an age thing where the older I get, like Christmas, I see Black History Month as something for the kids, and for their benefit. Yep, and I say that with the realization that the more they know damn sure wouldn't stop them from wearing their pants on the ground, or continuing to kill each other in the streets. Also, how much has Black History Month contributed to the on going fight for equality in a society where said inequality is rationed systematically?

I mean let's face it, it's a month chock full of info about the proud accomplishments of Black people; and that's a good thing; recognizing those accomplishments, that is. But pick any twenty random Negroes and throw them on a game-show where they had to answer Black history questions Jeopardy Style for a million dollars? Yep, you tell me if this game-show was aired every-night for the next twenty eight days of the month how many people would walk away winners intent on donating to the United Negro College Fund.

I'm not saying that Black History isn't important, nor are the many contributions of Black folks to society at large. Instead, like my man Larry Wilmore, I'd rather we got Casinos so we would never have to worry about twenty eight days of trivia that isn't as important or culturally significant as the silly outfits worn by Lady Gaga at the Grammy Awards last night. But then that's probably the fault of white folks. If they paid reparations then they wouldn't have to worry about being made to feel guilty by re-runs of Roots three times a day for twenty eight days. But then again, they gave us Barack Obama and a few Black Ms. Americas, so...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know if you don't know your past you won't know your future and all of that. But why should we when there are folks among us who don't agree on whether to be called African Americans, Black or Negro. I mean if all that matters is the here and now and we should move past the dark days in our history as some believe we should. Hell, a significant number of Black people don't feel a connection to Africa anyway; and I'll be honest, this is very sad when we overlook our glorious past prior to the slave trade. That said, why then even celebrate Black History Month? If you're gonna tell history, Black history, why stop or start with slavery? Aren't we greater than that as a people? Oh well, maybe you can answer that question for me while for the moment I let loose my inner Republican:

Black History Month: I Love Black People

Well, it is February first and that means it is officially Black History Month. I will probably spend quite a deal of time this month dealing with the issues that I find problematic about Black history month but I thought that in honour of the first day, we could all use a bit of positive energy .  In that vein feel free to yell:

I Love Black People

See, didn’t that feel good?  I KNOW it did.  Ha ha ha…seriously folks happy Black History Month and hopefully the lessons learned this month will extend to the other eleven months of the year.

 

Guest Blogger: Invisible Lives of Caribbean Nannies (by EcoSoul)

(Editor's Note: With it being Thanksgiving, and given that everyone is in a thankful and reflective mood. I wanted to share a post from one of the blogs I frequent: Organic.Intellectual. This post had me particularly thinking of all the Caribbean female relatives in my life who came before me; and, the women who are responsible for the very  the fabric of my soul today. Have a Happy Thanksgiving folks.)

On any given Sunday in Central Park, upscale Washington D.C. parks, or in the parking lots of frou-frou stores in Livingston, NJ you become aware that many upper class white women do not raise their children.

Often times, it is a Caribbean woman who must take care of other peoples' children six or seven days out of the week, while leaving her children behind or at home to be cared for by extended family.

Caribbean nannies are invisible women that have replaced African-American domestics. There are of course Latinas, especially from Mexico and Central America, but it seems to be something about a black nanny that soothes childhood memories of the rich, white soul.

These diligent women cannot be forgotten. It was one from Guyana who blessed me one day when I was on the train job-hunting in West Orange. She sat next to me and we began to talk about our lives. She told me that she worked 5-6 days a week in West Orange. Usually, she went home to Queens on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings. She told me she did this to put her children through school.

When I told her I was in school for my PhD, she beamed in pride and began to whisper, 'You know it is hard for us.' She rubbed the skin on the back of her hand signaling her blackness and mine as well. I smiled and said, 'Yes ma'am, you are right. It is very hard.'

She asked me where I was going. I told her I was reluctantly going back to Newark. I was trying to follow-up on a job and spent my last money taking the train to trek down a professor at a conference. You see I really wanted to go to this conference at CUNY on Blackness (this was a year or so ago), but did not have the money.

Without thinking, she pulled out a $20 bill and told me to go to New York and keep the change. She gave me blessings and said if we never saw each other again, she prayed to the Lord that I finished. Now that was some deep love I need and wasn't expecting on a cold Northeastern day.

To me, this is one of the reasons why I persevere on the hardest days, because this doctoral thing is not just for me, but for the people's whose shoulders I stand.

When we got off of the train, I saw her gait had a little limp. Maybe arthritis, maybe years of picking up other peoples' kids and tending to the them when her back and hip did not permit.

I can never forget the Guyanese woman who helped me that day. It was on a Friday and she was coming from work and had given me some of her work money she just got from her 'employer' who paid her in cash and under the table. That woman and all the women who clean stinky booties, scrub nasty floors, and go grocery shopping for people who pay them pennies, but have millions stashed, are the invisible we really need to see.

I thought of both of my grandmothers who were domestics in the South and the reality of the past hit me in the face. Where you had extended families of the South often rearing the children of family members, these Caribbean women may have limited support systems, or newly inducted kinship ties to make it through.

Rarely anyone addresses the high numbers of black Caribbean women tending to wealthy women's babies. A juxtaposed irony, one privileged white woman and one working-class black immigrant woman. One who exploits, but is ever so dependent on the emotional and physical labor of the very person that is exploited.

Especially in the celebrity world where women fashionably have technologically implanted embryos, show off baby bumps to paparazzi, only to dump them onto nannies who silently rear the children as if they are their own mammy.

Or you have the other scenario of the celebs who adopt babies from brown and black countries as if they are socially conscious accessories. They show these children off in public with hair sticking up all over the place. Then they have Little Azziz smile for the camera on the way to Kabbalah class without a clue that they are being pimped.

BREAKING NEWS: GOP claims Kunta Kinte as a Republican hero

Can one of you tell the GOP that the days of slavery are long gone? No seriously, somebody tell them that it's not cool for White folks to run around claiming ownership of Black people anymore. I'm not sure if America having its first Black president has anything to do with it entirely, but I'm willing to bet a smidgen of it does.

Today the Republican National Committee (RNC) unveiled its new website. Ironically and just in time for the major league baseball post season, added to their site as one of two dozen “GOP Hero” is Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson as you know, is credited for breaking the color barrier that was professional baseball. Just great, not only do us Negroes have to contend with the argument that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican, now we have to add Jackie Robinson to the mix.

According to the site Jackie Robinson was a “Great Republican” who campaigned for Richard Nixon's presidential campaign in 1960. Oh, and let’s not forget that in 1964, he also supported New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller's campaign. He did both, but according to his autobiography “Jackie Robinson: A Biography,” by Arnold Rampersad, Jackie Robinson identified himself politically as a “registered independent”.

The book acknowledges Robinson's support of Republicans, but quoted Robinson, speaking in 1959, this way:

“I guess you’d call me an independent since I’ve never identified myself with one party or another in politics.” He was, in fact, a registered independent. But already Robinson had shown a clear disposition to support Republicans, and in particular Nixon.

Jackie Robinson also had to say this about the Republican Party after Barry Goldwater won the nomination over Rockefeller, when speaking about the GOP 1964 National Convention:

That convention was one of the most unforgettable and frightening experiences of my life. The hatred I saw was unique to me because it was hatred directed against a white man. It embodied a revulsion for all he stood for, including his enlightened attitude towards black people.

A new breed of Republicans had taken over the GOP. As I watched this steamroller operation in San Francisco, I had a better understanding of how it must have felt to be a Jew in Hitler’s Germany.

If Jackie Robinson was a Republican he damn sure didn't sound like it, did he? But hey, that's revisionist history for you. If Jackie Robinson was a “Great Republican Hero”, can you imagine what they'll be saying about George W. Bush in about another 50yrs from now? The irony of Robinson’s description of the party is that there isn't that much difference strategically by the GOP of today. They are as divisive now as they were back then, and they play on the further polarization of the nation for political expediency.

But I guess if you visit the site like I did, and you think like I think, you couldn't help but to laugh at how they painstakingly took care to be sure that they had a few minorities splashed on their hero page other than Michael Steele [Click here to check it out]. My spider sense is tingling and telling me that had John McCain won the presidency instead of Obama, they would give two shits about Jackie Robinson – or any other minority for that matter. One has to wonder how come they have yet to lay claims to Kunta Kinte.

They Call Me "Little Man"

A very good friend of mine sent this to me in an email last week:

I meant to post this last week, but I could not have done this at a more perfect time. After reading one of the most powerful posts from one of my blog brothers Brown Man Thinking Hard, I had to bring this today. His post was centered around education and today's youth. His post stemmed from a conversation on another blog where it was suggested that maybe Black kids are failing in school because the curiculum was too 'Eurocentric' -- a pretty stupid asertion if you ask me. That said, I must say that I agree with Brown Man's post entitled: "Keeping It Real" - Being Stupid On Purpose. Do yourself the favor of clicking the title of his post and have a read; I believe it's well worth it.

Now, after looking at the previous video or teaser for CNN's Black in America 2, I was left to ponder these Socratic questions:

How is it that a man who grew up picking cotton as the grandson of slaves was able to raise a family with 13 kids, and was able to put 5 of them through college? Why is it that parents today are having a hard time getting their kids to graduate high school? How is it, that he was able to do that without any education, but yet the high school drop out rate is what it is today? Oh yeah, just in case you didn't know, it's pretty damn low [Read: Losing Our Future: How Minority Youth Are Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis.].

Are kids failing in schools and dropping out because, well, the curriculum is too eurocentric? What other excuses can you come up with that explains what's happening? I'm only asking because like Brown Man, I'm not going to accept that one. If all 13 of "Little Man's" kids can graduate high school in rural Mississippi and 5 of them advance to college, what's the problem? Is the problem the lack of uneducated Black men the likes of "Little Man" raising their kids today? Surely this Black man isn't an anomaly is he?

Listen, I know the subject of this post deals with education as the questions have laid out. But I would be remiss if I didn't shed light on the beauty of this story. It just goes to show that though us Black men get a bum rap in the media. There are many of us out here who do not or will not be held to a certain negative stereotype or perception. I'm willing to bet that there are many more Black men out there like "Little Man" but maybe not as old. I could only hope that CNN with their upcoming Black in America 2 documentary do a good job of highlighting this fact. We are all aware of the negative stereotypes and it is stories like this that should be used to inspire us.

If "Little Man" can triumph against all odds, why can't we all?

Check out one of my favorites from Nina Simone:

Mississipi Burning? The KKK wasn't that bad, were they??

My favorite blog superhero of all time, as well as fellow AfroSpear member, Field Negro, lives in Philadelphia. His blog is a blog I recommend you read daily, and add to you blogroll. He is a champion for truth, justice and the Negro-American way, among other things. Yes, he is quite the provocateur, and I love it.

On his page, on his sidebar, he features a "Field Negro of the Day" as well as a "House Negro of the Day" award. Sometimes I hit his blog just to see who he has featured in these categories. These awards are often well deserved, and sometimes I get a good laugh out of them. Seriously folks, Field Negro is hilarious and committed like that to the cause. Which is really funny because he's a damn attorney; yup, attorneys are often boring; the ones I know at least. Somehow, I'm surprised that being a resident of Philadelphia, he hasn't written about this situation just yet, especially since he has written many blogs about his beloved city.

Check it out:

Oh snap! I forgot Field Negro lives in the good Philadelphia; you know that whole "City of Brotherly Love" place? Rocky? Dr. J, Philly Steaks, a cracked bell, and all that? Yeah, that's the Philly he lives in. The Philly in the clip above is the south-side Philadelphia of A-merry-ca as he often references this beloved nation of ours. Ironically, south-side Philadelphia that's featured in the video above is the same place Ronald Reagan kicked off his 1980 Presidential campaign. It is also the backdrop for the well told story of the three civil rights voter registration workers who were killed by the KKK in the movie Mississippi Burning. Yeah, given a choice, I think RiPPa would prefer to live in the Philadelphia otherwise known as Killadelphia in the state of Pistolvania. Yeah, I think I would take my chances getting shot by another person of color rather than having the KKK show up at my doorstep if my wife and I were ever to have a dispute. Something tells me that me being Black that would not be a good thing; yeah, no happy ending if that were to happen. Yup, just like there were no happy endings for the brothers when Reagan took office. After all, he was against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

But then again, who knew the KKK had its good points! My man in the video made the KKK sound like the fuckin Lions Club or something. That old man made it seem like they gave out scholarships, loans, rides to work for people of all races and shit like that. Hell, Nino Brown passed out turkeys for Thanksgiving in New Jack City but he was still a damn drug dealer! Sorry "Mr. Former KKK Approved Mayor", I'm not buying it. The KKK was never a positive social activism club. But then again, I guess that would depend on how you look at it. Maybe we need to KKK to roll up on these dead beat dads we hear so much about with 70% of Black kids being raised in single parent homes. I mean if that was what they were about as that asshole said in the video above it couldn't hurt right? Shit, they should bring back lynchings as that one mayoral Black candidate in Jackson Mississippi suggested some months ago; it's a damn shame he lost his bid.

So what there were a few hangings and cross burnings; big deal. Just like my man Tom Joyner of the Tom Joyner Morning Show where he raises money for HBCUs, the KKK also had parties with a purpose. I don't know if Field Negro takes nomination for his sidebar awards, but I'd like to nominate everyone in that video. Yes, from the first Black mayor in Philadelphia Mississippi, Anderson Cooper for not losing his cool, and the former racist Mayor, to even the Klu Klux Klan. I'll leave it up to him if he's reading as to who gets what award. Hopefully the first Black Mayor of Philadelphia Mississippi, James A. Young, gets to be the Field Negro of the day or maybe a month. Being Black and becoming mayor in that town of all towns, in that state, speaks volumes. Though historic and symbolic an appointment as was the Obama presidential victory, we must never forget that there is still a lot of work to do ahead of us. Surely James Cheney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner would be proud that they did not die in vain.

God Bless A-merry-ca

My Apologies To White America: I Now Hereby Denounce My Blackness

I'm going to turn 39yrs old this summer. In reflecting upon my upbringing and my acquisition of knowledge or what I have come to know, and learn, I must say, I owe White people a lot. Seriously, if it wasn't for White people I wouldn't know as much as I do now about, well, everything I know.

What, you thanking the White man now RiPPa? That ain't no Black Power move! Hell you sounding like an Uncle Tom boot licking Negro dawg! You's a damn sellout now RiPPa?!!

Yeah I know, that's probably how I sound, but hey, it's with good reason so bear with me. You see, I realized that much gratitude is owed to White people when I was embattled in another heated debate with an older White woman last night.

You see, this woman taught me last night that the clenched fist that we Black people embrace as a symbol of empowerment, solidarity etc., was really and truly a symbol of hate. Uh huh, all this time here I thought the Black Power fist as we Black people have affectionately come to embrace, was a symbol of hate? Who knew?

I also learned from this woman that the Black Panther Party of the 60's were a group of communist radicals, who were trouble makers, and went around beating up White people and shooting cops. As a matter of fact, this woman was right when she suggested that us Black people adopt a newer image other than the Black Fist to represent us, because it was too offensive.

Yup, this is what I learned, and I am thankful that the Lord brought this woman in my path to impart such knowledge upon me. Because you see, if it wasn't for her, I would continue down the road of life, with the understanding that the Black fist, The Black Panthers, Black Power, the Civil Rights Movement, and all that other Black stuff was a source of pride for me, and the rest of the Black community.

If it wasn't for her, I would have to continue living the lie that was the Black Power Movement, and all other movements in Black history. You know, free lunch, protecting citizens within the urban landscape from racist policemen and drug dealers alike? Yeah, that was a lie, and the Black Panthers did no such thing. They were in fact trouble makers, and deserved to be deemed public enemy number one, and brought down through COINTELPRO.

Yeah, all of that was a lie, and thanks to this woman, I am now shameful to have been associated with such negative images under the guise of revolutionary change, economic and Black political empowerment. For that, I am so sorry White people. What can I say, I was misguided all these years. Uh huh, and it's because of trouble makers like Huey P. Newton, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale and others that I am the racist pig that I am.

You see, I was educated by this woman last night - a White woman - that I need to step into the 21st century because all of those so-called movements of the 60's geared towards justice, civil rights, self-defense, and all that Black Is Beautiful stuff was all hate filled. That's right, none of that meant anything, or was well intended for the advancement or installment of Black pride.

In fact, up until last night, I used to think that there was a system of racism that permeates our society historically with the intent on holding back people of color. Thanks to this 57yr old White woman wise beyond her years, I now know that it is us Black people who are responsible for our condition. Yup and just in case there was ever another Civil War in America, I'm going to fight alongside my White brothers and sisters in the south. Uh huh, everybody knows that if the southern confederates won the war back in the day, currently things would be better for us as a people.

So now today, as an act of contrition, I would like to apologize to all White people and say that I am so sorry for my mis-education. I sincerely apologize for living the lie, and carrying the torch of hate. Matter of fact, I'll even go as far as to denounce my Blackness. Yes, from here on out, until I die, I'm not going to be Black anymore. From here on out, I am going to be White. It is my hope that you can accept me into the fold that is America as such.

TAKING BLACK HISTORY A BIT TOO FAR?

Recently there has been much buzz about whether there should even be a celebration of Black History Month. Yeah, the old joke is that "they" gave us the shortest and one of the coldest month to celebrate it. Yes, I'm fully aware of this. But the truth is: they didn't give us anything.

Having said that, it is my belief that Black History Month be continued, and continued to celebrate the achievements of African Americans. I would however like to see it broadened to address African History. I mean, sure we're Americans, but since we have the African tag, its only right. What do you think about that one?

But since as it stands, I cannot tell people how they should celebrate Black History Month. I wish I could because if I did, none of this would be happening. I'm going to assume that you the reader didn't click the link provided in the last sentence. Yup, I know you people are lazy like that. If you clicked the link you would have read the story of an Elementary School in Mississippi who saw it appropriate to add to their calendar of Black History Month celebrations...

COTTON PICKING DAY

Yup, that's right. Last Thursday everybody in the school were supposed to dress up like slaves and, well, pick cotton. I guess the idea was to show kids just how wonderful that job was. I say that because one smart man saw this as unfit and as a result it was canceled. After which they decided to change the name or the event to Career Day.

I'm all about our kids learning our history, but I think making them do this would have been taking it too far. But believe me that I say that with some reluctance because a part of me really wants them to know what it was like. Maybe if people (adults included) had an ounce of an idea of what it was like, maybe they'll stop with the talk of killing Black History Month. The sad thing about it, is that I'm sure the Negroes who are in support of the end to Black History Month all had tears in their eyes when Obama won and was inaugurated.

QUESTIONS: 1) Do you think Cotton Picking Day would have been appropriate? 2) Would you have allowed your kids to participate? 3) Do you think Black History Month should end?