Peace On That

I am going to discuss this topic on my upcoming show but I wanted to get a sense of what you guys had to say. Let me set it up. I've been listening to WVON and hearing complaints about how the stimulus package does not address the specific needs of the black community. There is rumbling that putting so much money towards infrastructure does not create jobs for black people because we are not in that industry in great numbers. A lot of black people are in the service industry and that is where Barak Obama should have targeted stimulus in order to help our community.

I also want to tie this discussion in with a previous discussion about spending money in the black community. The theory of having money circulate in our community to create economic development is nothing new and there is ample evidence that the "multiplier effect" is sound economic policy.

But the question I have is are we thinking too small when it comes to economic development? While it would be nice to do all of my shopping with African Americans, it is also true that globalization means that a lot of businesses have to compete in a highly competitive arena. So rather than holler about what money is not coming in, we should look at where the economic activity is taking place and look to get a part of the pie.

For instance, Youngstown Ohio created an incubator project for high tech companies after losing its manufacturing base. The incubator has created several profitable companies with more growing because of the collaborative nature of the system.

Then there is the pastor, Van Jones, in Oakland, CA who received grants to train low-income people on green-construction jobs and organic foods. (Read More)

Both are innovative approaches to creating jobs and economic development and they are in areas where this administration is making its biggest investment. So while I hear complaints about what we are not getting, I'm not seeing any innovating thinking as to what we ought to be doing.

The Urban League has a few good programs but what of the small black owned businesses in Chicago taking charge. Do we have incubator projects initiated by the private sector? Is the city of Chicago or black tech businesses in particular thinking of the next generation of products that will come from nanotechnology?

Again, I ask all of this because I believe our politicians think incrementally when the times call for bold initiatives. I will read you comments on the show and I look forward to a robust discussion.

It was presumed that one of the casualties of Obama’s victory would be the black-identity politics that catapulted many Civil Rights leaders into the political arena. For over four decades these leaders have sought and secured power by airing the grievances of the black community and attaining retribution for the centuries of inequality. On November 5, the eulogies of these leaders were written. Unbeknownst to the majority community, the younger generation has been working on these eulogies for some time. Young politically astute voters in the black community have for years called for the replacement of Civil Rights leaders in the political arena as they seemed more concerned with maintaining their own statuses than with the economic empowerment of the black community.

This past week, Rep. Bobby Rush confirmed the necessity of writing this eulogy when in defense of Roland Burris, Bobby Rush equated opposition with that of segregation. Here is man that is screaming for the inclusion of a black person in the US Senate but did not support Barak Obama when he first ran for Senate. At that time there were no blacks in the Senate, yet Rep. Bobby Rush chose to support a white candidate. Can you say hypocrisy?

There are legitimate legal arguments for seating Burris and I am sure that in the near future he will become the Junior Senator from the state of Illinois, but his skin color is not one of them and a lot of young black people are upset with how this has turned into a racial issue. Black people will just have to come to grips with the reality that not every political fight requires a racial component in order to make a compelling argument.

As for Roland Burris, he should have handled this appointment differently. Rather than make a spectacle of himself, he should have worked behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition. The law is on his side, but the political theater counts for a lot and on that front he has bombed.

This is the question that we so carefully avoid asking. Media pundits discuss the topic in coded language and many conservatives frame the subject in such a way as to stir fear in the American electorate. On any given day you will here terms like “radical”, “is he one of us”, “hard working Americans…” and so on. On the left we have Civil Rights leaders quietly providing tempered support to Obama and others suggesting that they would vote for McCain. Why? What would it mean if America elected Obama as president? Why are so many for fearful and others so hopeful? Lets start with the fears.

Why the Right is a afraid of a black President?
I would be wrong to say that most conservative are racist and this is the basis for their fears. However, I do believe that most racist are conservative so that is a part of it, but I don’t want to paint the entire conservative wing of America with a racist brush but all anecdotal evidence suggest that it is Obama’s race and not his policies that frighten them. The talking heads at Fox News and many rightwing talk show host focus primarily on Obama’s race. It is why they mention his middle name so often. Black American men have always been the pinnacle of the fears of white America. On an episode of the O’Reilly Factor where Bill was discussing immigration, he stated:

“break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you're a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have."

This is the driving fear of a President Obama. The fear of losing absolute power.

Why the Left is afraid of a black President
The Civil Rights movement succeeded because it always had an Ace in the Hole: Human Rights. As progress was made on the Civil Rights front, many of the leaders saw their power and influence wane. My generation and the generation that followed began to question the strategy of Civil Rights organizations that didn’t seem to take into account the progress they made possible. The relevance of its leaders came into doubt. The fear now is that a President Obama would further erode their relevance; not to white America, but to African Americans and other minorities. There is also the legitimate fear that in response to Obama winning, white America will seek to reverse many of the gains made by Civil Rights legislation, using Obama as a means to suggest that all is well in the Republic.

Why the Right would welcome President Obama

The Left’s fear is the Right’s joy. Obama, they believe, would mean that there is no longer a need for Affirmative Action programs. Any claims of racism by minorities would have no legitimacy. Any social program to assist poor African Americans would no longer be necessary because by electing a black man as president, America has remedied its past inequities and the playing field is now level. This is the very claim that is being made with the Arizona ballot initiative end Affirmative Action.

Why the Left would welcome President Obama

Beyond the obvious of ending eight years of Republican rule in the White House, there is a feeling that many of the structural inequities in America will finally have an advocate in Washington. It will also symbolize the crowning jewel of the Civil Rights fight. I grew up hearing that I could do anything I wanted to do, but the President of the United States was the one caveat that stood as a reminder to the reality of racism in this country. When Obama accepts the Democrat nomination, part of the barrier will come down.

Conclusion

I am not sure if Obama will win but this is a perfect test. McCain is the perfect placebo is this case study on America because he does not have an enthusiastic base. This election is truly a reflection on Obama and how comfortable America is with electing a black man. Any other Democrat would win this election going away. So the only think separating Obama from the White House is his skin color and the effectiveness of the right to paint him as the scary black man. Some may believe that a loss would be devastating. Because of McCain’s policies, I believe that to be true.

Obama is a pioneer as is Hillary Clinton. Often times, pioneers do not reap the reward of their effort. Martin Luther King never saw the fruits of his labor. They will be political forces for some time to come. What would a President Obama mean for America? If nothing else, it would that Bill O’Reilly was right in one part: the white male Christian, power structure is breaking down. But instead of immigration – it is hill fellow Americans wielding the hammer.

Technocrati Tags: Barak Obama | Race | Conservatives

At the end of every church service, the pastor of a southside church I attended would say, 'govern yourself accordingly'. This is what Rev. Wright failed to do. The Press Club is not a Sunday morning sermon and they are not apt to respond as a black congregation would. They brought him in looking for cannon fodder and it was his job to leave them with understanding. He was given the world stage to finally present himself in such a way that he would leave as a teacher and prophet and not as a demagogue or as an albatross around the neck of Barak Obama. He failed miserably.

For the past several months I have supported Rev. Wright and Barak Obama. I still support Rev. Wright but there comes a time when a friend must be set aside. Barak Obama is running for the most important and most powerful political office in the world. He will represent the will of the American people – all of her people. And her people have a problem with race relations. We know that. We have seen how they have used Barak’s middle name in disparaging ways. We have seen how they used a photo of him in native African apparel as a means to frighten people. And we have seen how they use Rev. Wright’s words as a means of communicating that Barak Obama is really a black separatist and cannot be trusted. This is the way of the world but we must be smart in combating the lies.

Rev. Wright spoke some truth at the Press Club. However, his rant about defending the black church was off. His statement about the government creating AIDS to kill black people is off. As an aside: the reason that black people can believe the government created AIDS is because the government has in the past purposely infected black people. Remember the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? Finally, giving the Q-Dog sign might not raise an eye in the black community but on the world stage, it will.

As intelligent and articulate as we know Rev. Wright to be, he failed himself and Barak Obama. The Press Club wanted tabloid snippets and they should have been given intellectual diatribes. Questions should have been answered in such a way as to raise the dialogue from mere politics to the mental condition of this country with regards to race. That didn’t happen and it was a lost opportunity on the reverend’s part.

Barak Obama had no choice but to distance himself from his pastor. There are black people that will disagree with his move but again, Barak Obama is running for President of the United States. There is more at stake and sacrifices must be made for the greater good. In the black community, we tend to want to criticize individuals that don’t stay “down”. That leads to some placing themselves in situations that are not healthy for them. See Michael Vick. See Pacman Jones. And if he is not smart, we’ll see Derrick McFadden fall.

I’m sure it hurt Obama to have to denounce his pastor in such a public manner. I have family that I don’t care to be around but I would hate to have to make an announcement to the world about them. This is the way of politics. But this issue had to put to rest before the General Election and to make the Superdelegates comfortable. There will be some that will say Obama waited too long but they weren’t voting for him anyway. There was a need to have Rev. Wright speak for Rev. Wright and not the Obama campaign. It is now time to focus on the task at hand and that is winning this nomination and beating McCain in November. The attempts to use Rev. Wright as a weapon against Obama will continue - that’s politics. For the sake of both men and this country, I hope they use wisdom and govern themselves accordingly.

You have got to be kidding me. I was listening to NPR’s Talk of the Nation and Bill Cunningham was explaining his use of Barak Obama’s middle name. On the show Bill suggest that the use of Barak’s middle name was his way of honoring Sen. Obama in the same vein that one would say John F. Kennedy, or Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Now, how does one refer to Sen. Obama as “Now we have a hack, Chicago-style Daley politician who is picturing himself as change. When he gets done with you, all you’re going to have in your pocket is change”. Then go out of his way to highlight Sen. Obama’s ethnicity with this rant: “he great prophet from Chicago takes the stand and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing Kumbaya together around the table with Barack Obama.”

This is the same man who said on his radio show:

"it would be a shock" if Barack Mohammed Hussein Obama can be elected the president of this country in these difficult terrorist times."

Yet, Bill Cunningham would have us believe that his use of Hussein, Sen. Obama’s middle name, was not a slight of hand insult to disparage Obama’s ethnicity and connect Obama to Islam. Of course the righties were up in arms using their usual straw man argument about being PC. “What’s wrong with mentioning his middle name,” they whine.

Imagine if you will that you are having a heated discussion with an unfriendly individual and in the middle of the verbal exchange the gentlemen pulls out a gun and he places it on the table in front of you. To any sane person, this would be considered an act of intimidation. You would not accept an explanation that he pulled the gun out because he wanted to show it to you because you seem like the type that enjoyed guns. And the fact that conservatives are insulting our intelligence with their defense of Bill Cunningham, further demonstrates why no sane black American should be a part of the Republican Party.

Once again TownHall.com has presented me with an asinine column written this time by a black man – but to their credit, moronic thoughts are treated equally at TH. This month’s offending moron is Walter E. Williams with a column entitle “Black Colleges”. Mr. Williams cites a study that recounts the experience of a black professor who taught at Stillman College. The professor in the study had a bad experience with the some students at the school, and as TH columnist are apt to do, he extrapolated this ONE professor’s experience to bring an indictment against all HBCU’s.

Mr. Williams notes that only 7 out of 53 HBCU’s have graduating rates above 50%. What Mr. Williams doesn’t tell you is that over the past 10 years, 27 of the top HBCU have seen their graduation rates improve. But according to Williams, “Given these numbers, the preparation and performance of students at most black colleges, one has ask whether these colleges have outlived their usefulness.”

This statement is the opening for bigots to spew their thoughts.

Jim Write:

When is Hollywood going to make a movie about Professor Maxwell's experience. I
guess The Great Debaters is doing well by bringing to the world's attention what a racist place the US was and to Hollywood and the liberal press still is! The bigotry of low expectations! I couldn't agree more!

Bhutto Chimes In with:

Predominantly black high schools are holding pens for juvenile delinquents. Why shouldn't "historically black" ghetto colleges be becoming the same?

Then there is Buzkat:

Dr. Williams describes to a tee the perfect situation that dem/libs want for the black population. Keep them dumb, lazy and on the Democrat plantation in exchange for a few government tidbits. This way only lip service needs to be paid to the concept of equality and liberty for all. Thank you, Lilly, and all the rest of you libs who are destroying this country.

Finally, Loca highlight the main point of many folks:

book "Losing the Race". a book about the unpleasant truth behind black underachievement, the root being the continuing victimization causing a seperation from anything not authentically Black. That includes education. He shows how these black colleges imbue victimization on black students who going in suffered no harm from whites, many coming from successful middle class families. But coming out they have taken on angry victimization. For their own good, perhaps these black colleges have served their usef in a time past but are now only doing harm.

Ok, now that I’ve served you a nice dose of ignorance, how about some real facts regarding HBCU’s.

First, historically black refers to just that; these institutions were created at a time when black people were excluded from state institutions. They are not institutions exclusive to only black people and many black people are attracted to them because of the environment that an HBCU provides for a black student. How does an institution of higher learning ever outlive its purpose? BYU, Notre Dame and Loyola Marymount cater to a specific demographic and no one would suggest that they’ve outlived their purpose.

It is well documented that some HBCU’s have some problems that stem from a lack of leadership within those institutions. A valid discussion regarding HBCU’s is with financing and if they are in a position to create an educational environment that will provide students with the skills to compete in a global economy. We could talk about the possibility of institutions merging or creating partnership with state universities.

But TH and most of its commentors do not concern themselves in-depth analysis of the issues. No, they would rather take advantage of another opportunity to state just how ignorant we black folk are and to that, they lay the blame on Jesse Jackson and other “black leaders”. Why don't we look at some facts regarding HBCU's.

THE FACTS!!!

* HBCUs are responsible for producing approximately 23 percent of all bachelor's degrees, 13 percent of all master's degrees, and 20 percent of all first professional degrees earned by African Americans annually.

*Nine of the top ten colleges that graduate most of the African American students who go on to earn Ph.D.s are HBCUs.

*More than 50 percent of the nation's African American public school teachers and 70 percent of African American dentists and physicians earned degrees at HBCUs.*Over half of all African American professionals are graduates of HBCUs

*In 2000, Xavier University in New Orleans individually produced more successful African American medical school applicants (94) than Johns Hopkins (20), Harvard (37), and the University of Maryland (24) combined. Two other HBCUs also placed in the top ten producers of medical school applicants, including Morehouse (33), and Spelman (38).

*Spellman and Bennett Colleges produce over half of the nation's African American women who go on to earn doctorates in all science fields; more than produced by the Ivy League's Seven Sisters combined (Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley, and Vassar Colleges).

*African American science degree holders: agriculture (51.6 percent), biology (42.2 percent), computer science (35 percent), physical science (43 percent), and social science (23.2 percent).

*HBCUs produce 44 percent of all African American bachelor's degrees awarded for communications technology, 33 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded for engineering technology, and 43 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded for mathematics, and

*African American baccalaureates in mathematics and statistics: Morehouse College

So, you tell me if HBCU’s have outlived their purpose. Based on this information, can we not say that Loco is indeed crazy when he states that HBCU's are doing more harm than good? I say yes.

Discuss It
1. Should we bring an end to HBCU's
2. Does the existence of Historically Black colleges constitute racism on the part of black people

There is something amazing going on with the Ebonics debate. It has gone from a movement to improve reading scores of African-American children to a being a façade in covering racist attitudes. Townhall’s columnist, Mike Adams, who has a habit of making racist comments under the guise of political satire, recently wrote an article called “Hooked on Ebonics”. The article made absolutely no sense except to highlight the fact that the writer is irked by the existence of ethnic and racially defined social groups.

One of the groups offered a scholarship for students that spoke Ebonics. In response to that, Mr. Adams writes an email littered with what he deems as Ebonics.

I be really getting tired o' deez automatic responses. Could ya please answer muh ma f****n serious inquiries about yo' program? Ever since da outbreak o' wildfires in Malibu, California, I gots felt uh calling ta give up everything - muh ma f***n job, muh ma f****n home, an' most o' muh ma f****n gat collection ta come he`p whitey California liberals who gots lost mo' in recent weeks than most peeps gain in uh lifetime.

Given dat I be bi-lingual, though not bi-sexual, I feel dat I gots mo' ta offer than da average applicant who speaks only one language. Given muh ma f****n linguistic diversity, I would be ready, willing, an' able ta extend he`p ta those in minority communities once whitey liberals in Southern California iz back on they feet ag'in.
Please take muh ma f****n inquiries mo' seriously than ya gots ta dis here point.

Mike Adams
Word!

After being challenged by a black professor for his antics, Mr. Adams was forced to reveal even more of his racist thoughts in a column entitled, “Ebonic Plague: The New Black Death”. In his column, Mr. Adams recalls a black secretary that could not spell or write very well but was not released from her job because her supervisor considered her communication deficiencies as a cultural problem, not to be used against her. To most people this makes no sense and I don’t know many black people that would support this logic.

But Mr. Adams can’t contain his racisms and suggest that “laziness is the main reason why blacks refuse to criticize the obvious absurdity of Ebonics.” To provide himself some cover, he pens this:

Of course, many people will say that it is not politically correct to suggest that some blacks are lazy. But the existence of a stereotype in no way proves the non-existence of cases conforming to the stereotype. There really are gay hairdressers, you know.

It's a nice try but it falls flat. A racist will always justify their racism by first making a sweeping generalization that truly defines how they feel then narrow their views so they are attributed to an individual rather than an entire race. So it is up to the rest of us to point out the facts. First, Ebonics has never had widespread support in the black community. This is supported by the fact that only the Oakland and Los Angeles school districts have ever formally recognized Ebonics. And many parents… yes black parents, disapproved.

Second, the proponents of Ebonics did not look to teach Ebonics and place it on par with English. They sought to recognize the way in which many black children speak and use that structure as means to help those students make the transition to Standard English. So to suggest that Ebonics is a method to not bother with learning to read or write Standard English is disingenuous, and further illustrates your ignorance and racist ways.

Finally, in Mr. Adams haste to use his newfound ammunition to spew his racist thoughts, he apparently didn’t research the scholarship (rather lazy of him) to understand that the use of Ebonics was in reference to the original name of the USC Black Alumni Association.

Mike Adams simply used this discussion as a means to express his racist views and provided a platform for other racist to interject their racist views as well. Townhall.com has become a bastion of white supremacy discourse disguised as an “exchange of ideas”. The article is crap as is the case with most of the columns written by Mike Adams.

I am currently writing an article on the ancient Egypt and the influence it had in Greek Philosophy. The reason that I am writing the paper is because I am in a running debate on the current status of the black community. In the past three weeks two incidents have occurred that I believe define the problem that is facing the black community.

The first situation involves the murder of Washington Redskins player, Sean Taylor. Apparently, Sean Taylor was killed by several young men that he was familiar with. News accounts suggest that one of the men worked on Mr. Taylor’s lawn and another young man charged is the cousin of a man that is dating Sean Taylor’s sister. So, this was not a random break-in. They were aware of the contents of his home and a simple burglary turned into murder.

The second incident occurred here on the University of Chicago campus. Three young men, all under the age of 20, went of a robbery spree. They robbed several students when they happened up on Amadou Cissie and after robbing him, shot him in the chest. Amadou had just defended his dissertation was to receive his doctorate in chemistry.

What is similar in both of these cases is the fact that both involved teenagers are young men. At some point we are going to have to address this issue in a substantial way. This past summer a group of angry African Americans protested after a police officer shot and killed a young man. At the same time, the neighborhood was reeling from a series of shootings that left over seven young people dead. The only emotion displayed by the community was a vigil.

How is it that we react so angrily when a police officer takes the life of a black child but have no reaction when young black people slaughter themselves? It’s time out for talking. Marching is an inadequate response. In the hours before and after school there should be two black men on every corner within a mile of every school. We should have volunteer security guards at the parks and walking the neighborhoods. Every block should have a block club. We should develop a “Rights of Passage” tradition that will transition boys to men.

It is not that we should ignore police brutality but we should not focus on that issue to the detriment of our ability to recognize the self-inflicted wounds.

Tomorrow is the first radio show and we’ll discuss four issues:


The Nature of Black Music
Barry Bonds as Scapegoat
Dating: Men defining how they are unique
Strange / Crazy names for drinks

Topic 1: Rap Music

I have discussed this topic on my blog many times before [past post]. There have been no significant developments in the music industry thus far that warrants a change of heart. Although there are few bright spots with Kanye West and Common, hip hop in general is a creative wasteland. BET had a series of town hall discussions concerning this matter and the artist, T.I. and Nelly regurgitated the same excuses: we’re just talking about what’s going on in the hood. T.I. made one good point in that if he were to rap about social matters and didn’t put half naked women in his video, BET wouldn’t play it.

Rap artist are making that music that kids are buying. By any measure, these kids are buying beats and hooks. An examination of the lyrics will show that there really is no artistry behind the music. Below are the lyrics to Gorilla Zoe’s Hood Nigga:

and i dont need a scale for the work
i can eyeball purp, i am not you jerk
hatin on me will make your situation worse
you dont wanna take a ride in that long black hearse
all eyes on me, shawty im a bomb first
im the truth and they say the truth hurts
Hustle mean hard work, hard work
if you scared go to church
man this rap shit is easy, every beat i get i murk

It would not be fair to compare Gorilla Zoe with BDP or Grand Master Flash so I’ll compare him to some of the gangsta music from the 80’s.

They say I'm violent,they should watch their T.V.
They say I'm brutal,they should check their P.D.
You made me,now your kids rave me
I rap about the life that the city streets gave me
Murder,intrigue,somebody must bleed
Miami Vice is small time,L.A's the big league
From the rollin' 60's to the nickerson "G"
Pueblos,grape street,this is what I see
The jungle,the 30's,the V.N.G.
Life in L.A. ain't no cup of tea

This is from Ice-T “Squeeze the Trigger”. Both songs come from a thug/gangsta mentality but there is a distinct difference in what they deliver.
We’ll also get into the role that women play in hip hop in comparison to what their roles were in the early stages of rap music.


Topic 2: Blame Game

This is a real simple topic: Barry Bonds is the scapegoat. Baseball had a serious crisis before the homerun race between Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa. We now know that Mark Maguire used steroids or some performance enhancement drug. Personally, for a sport like baseball I don’t see how it makes that much of a difference. Hitting a baseball is very difficult and maybe Barry’s added strength got a few over the fence that may not have gone, but c’mon… the man was headed to the Hall of Fame anyway. And I don’t even want to hear about Babe Ruth. He played in an era where he wasn’t competing against the best athletes.


I'll be reading comments on the air so leave your thoughts and check out the show.

MASS APPEAL RADIO

Robert has an interesting post on race. Actually, it’s a rant about a Montel Williams show that discussed racism. I did an entire series called Dialogue on Race and Politics. Race is such a dicey topic in the country that you venture into at your own risk. It is very easy to find yourself on the opposite end of a rant and being called a racist if you’re white or labeled with having a victim mentality if you’re black.

I did some research and found a poll about the attitudes of Af.Am on the pressing issues facing the Af.Am community. Here is what I found.




What I found is that as much as people talk about racism, only 9% of the respondents thought that racism was the most pressing issue facing the Af.Am community. Education and the Economy topped the list with those between the ages of 18-40. With this same group, racism rated higher only over illegal drugs.

But lets look at the opinions of white and black people when it comes to some of the issues facing the black community.

Sorry I am missign the headers.
.............................................All.............Whites......Blacks




You’ll notice that if you add the percentages of people that say an issue is a big problem and somewhat a problem, there is not much difference between white people and black people. Even on race relations, black and white people felt about the same.

What about race relations?



So what I can determine from these numbers is that when placing race into a larger context, black people don’t view it as a major issue. When ask specifically how race plays into certain areas of life, black people tend to think that race plays a bigger role in what is happening to them, specifically when it comes to access to opportunity.

Overall, racism is barely a top ten concern with black people once you add the war in Iraq, terrorism and outsourcing to the mix. The biggest problem is with politicians and media folk using racism to further their agenda…

I’m not shy about debating conservatives on any issue but I find it very difficult to debate with black (political) conservatives, especially those that insist on cooning for their white counterparts with regards to race. Yesterday I got into a discussion on the apology that Ghana issued to black Americans for their role in slavery. Personally, I think it is admirable, economically driven and unnecessary.

Rather than make this into a personal rant toward black (political) conservatives, whom I will refer to as BPC going forward, I’ll focus on the terminology of BPC’s.

Many BPC’s have adopted the “catch phrase” tactics of the right. Their dialogue also rests on creating stark philosophical divides, either/or analogies, and declarations of enlightenment.

Here is one of their tactics to creating a stark philosophical divide. They will first lament that black people suffer from a “victim mentality” and a “welfare mentality” propagated by so-called black leaders. They will then go on to suggest that those of us that do not agree with them are still living on the “plantation”.

Do black Democrats also march to the beat of the same drummer (i.e. white Southern Democrats) who had us going to the back of the bus and working on their plantations? Now they got blacks on another plantation...one that's more insidious and cunning... a socialistic, secular humanistic, depending on big white man government plantation. (source)

A black Democrat is a mere slave meandering through this political construct without the intellectual capacity to decipher our circumstances. Conversely, a black conservative is such because they have the intellectual capacity to decipher our circumstances. Simply put, non-thinking black people are liberals, thinking black people are conservatives.

This is the same philosophical construct that white conservatives make when they suggest that conservatives are patriotic and liberals are traitors.

The second issue is one of insignificant analogies. The most recent one came in the form of comparing the conditions of black people in America to black people in Africa. It was suggested that we should not complain about our condition here because at least it is not Africa.

I’ve heard too often white bigots state that if we don’t like it we can go back to Africa. BCP’s have claimed it as one of their mantra for the case against reparations, Affirmative Actions and any other social program they think will benefit black people.

In order to fully understand the BPC mindset you have to really read what they say about themselves and how they contrast their elitist intellectualism with blacks on the left.

We (black conservatives) seize opportunities whereas they (civil rights advocates and black nationalists) fear opportunities. We prepare for success but they resent it. We prefer for African Americans (Ed. note: Ugh!) to be winners; they encourage us to be losers….We reject victim status; those leaders encourage a victim status. We are independent thinkers who recognize the humanity of whites; they are slaves who believe whites and white racism to be omnipotent. Finally, we fight for intellectual, cultural, and political freedom; they fear this freedom and fight against it. Sherri Smith

I could easily pull this statement apart and invalidate every line but that is not my purpose of posting it. What this statement highlights is the indifference BPC’s have for black people. Truly, their cause is to support the undercurrent of angst that many white people have for black people.

This is how many white people view it:

STATEMENT A: Black Liberals: We have problems and it’s White people’s fault. Let’s demand they solve them.

Black Conservatives: We have problems and it’s nobody’s fault but our own, so let’s get busy and solve them.
---
STATEMENT B: You can actually tell a black conservative from a black liberal by listening to the tone of voice.
Black conservative-steady, calm, thoughtful use of words while expressing views.
Black liberal-sreaming, frenetic, ranting, hate filled use of words.(Julien Bond,Al Sharpton,Jesse “the baby maker” Jackson.)

----
STATEMENT C: In Short, Black conservatives believe that Blacks are NOT inherently inferior and that through Jesus Christ, hard work, family, church and community Black Americans can compete and be successful at whatever they desire. Whereas Black Liberals believe that Blacks are inherently inferior and need government intervention and dependence for survival.

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STATEMENT D: But the underlying reason for white bias and for the disproportionate under-achievement of African Americans in school and at the workplace is black culture. The principal impediment to continued progress for African Americans and improved racial relations is no longer discrimination; it is black culture or, at least, the culture that pervades a great deal of the black community. (This statement will be the focal point of part II)


As always, one does has to allow for some sweeping generalizations but you can see very clearly how the lines are drawn and how stark they are. I’m going to stop here. I’ll present part II of this discussion next week as Friday is dedicated to football.

Chime In

1. Where do you see the difference between black liberals and black conservatives?

2. What is your opinion of statement D?

3. How does this current debate between liberal and conservative blacks compare with the debate between Booker T Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois?

We’ve been getting in to some really good discussions lately and I see no point the stop now. For the sake a of providing a even tone to this discussion, the N-word will be the terminology that I use rather than using the word outright.

Diane asked me to reflect on the use of the N-word in rap – so I shall. There are many opinions as to the appropriateness of using the N-Word. Over the years I’ve swayed back and forth with regards to my use of the word. There was a time that I didn’t care then there a came a time when I was an advocated of abolishing the word. Now, I’ve come to a point where I see the validity on both sides.

On one side we have an issue that comes down to the reality of linguistics. Language is fluid and over time words and their usage evolve. Though the root of the word remains intact, the reality is that how, when and to who uses the word becomes as relevant as the initial meaning.

With regards to the N-word, we know this to be the case when black people use it. The N-word is nothing more than street vernacular – slang. The N-word is equivalent to referring to someone as dawg, by boy, my homeboy, cat, dude, partner and kid. Black men who are strangers generally won’t greet each other with the N-word. Under those circumstances they would use (brotha) brother.

Where this becomes an issue is that fact that white people aren’t allowed to use the word. The simple answer to this is – so what. Double standards exist in the world and should black people really care that they have to listen to black people call each other something that would enrage black people if whites were to use it? Why would a white person want to use the word in the first place? Black people survived under a myriad of double standards, the N-word is one of a few that pertain to white people.

Then there are black people who don’t like other black people to use the word. Their argument is that no other race uses a derogatory word as a term of endearment and black people should be no different. They make a good case. The word was meant as a way to dehumanize black slaves. Pronouncing it with an “a” or “ah” on the end doesn’t change the meaning because that is a result of dialect and not a deliberate change. And is it really a term of endearment? I would never refer to Martin Luther King Jr. as the N-word. The truest term of endearment that black people have is how refer to one another as brothers and sisters.

That is the simple take on the debate: Language is fluid, it changes, black people can use the word and white people cant – it’s all good, but there is a legitimate case as to be made for black people not using the N-word.

We could leave it here but there is a more complicated side to this debate. Race relations are changing with each generation. With each generation, an historical perspective of black culture erodes. The problem is exacerbated with the popularity of hip hop. Instead of being a part of black culture, hip hop is seen as “the official” black culture. So people around the world here hip hop artist using the N-word without any knowledge of the history behind the word. White and Latino youth are aware of their limitations regarding the use of N-word, but many young black people are not aware of their limitations.

I’ve been in restaurants, retail stores and on the streets and have overheard young brothers using the N-word. I’m uncomfortable with this because it does create uneasiness and under those circumstances I do understand why white people would reject to the double standard.

Then there are non-black individuals that truly relates to the hip hop culture and feel they do have a right to use the word. But they mistake the hip hop culture for black culture and unintentionally insult black people.

So, the argument that black using the N-word takes away its power is not exactly true. The word still has power but we’ve only figured out how to harness a part of it. For black people, the debate should move away from “to use or not to use” because black people are going to use the N-word. What we need to discuss is if there is an appropriate and inappropriate use even for black people.

The claim is that we’ve taken over ownership of the N-word. If that is the case, we are now responsible for it. Maybe we should treat it and respect it as if it were a loaded weapon. Rather than trying to claim and diminish the power of the word – we should respect it. How to do that – that’s even more complicated.

This topic is inspired by a post of fellow blogger BZ. The quote is from an article written by Jonah Goldberg.

The main cause for this shortcoming is a deep-seated dogma that has prevailed in social science and policy circles since the mid-1960's: the rejection of any explanation that invokes a group's cultural attributes — its distinctive attitudes, values and predispositions, and the resulting behavior of its members — and the relentless preference for relying on structural factors like low incomes, joblessness, poor schools and bad housing.

I think this statement is far too sweeping of black people. There is no predisposition in black people that perpetuate negativity and we certainly don’t have a relentless preference for those things you stated. In fact, if you take the materialism of the hip hop culture, you will find that young black men accept the overall goal of Americanism (fortune, status, fame) and reconfigured it to fit on a pallet that is within their grasp (money, clothes and cars). In the hood we call it ‘the hustle’.

But when dealing with black men the first thing you have to deal with is the hopelessness, racism and something I call the Ditch Disorder. We’ve all heard the cliché, “A man’s home is his castle”. We start off in life trying to acquire the knowledge, tools and materials to build that castle. But black men start life in a ditch. So before we can even work on building the castle we have to acquire the tools to get out of the ditch. There are a myriad of ways of getting out of that hole; education, good work ethics and good decision making are primary. However, the ditch is made up of poor schools, gangs, drugs, racism, fatherless home, fast money and more.

The Ditch Disorder: The Ditch Disorder is a psychotic disorder that occurs in an individual or group after continual exposure to a destructive environment where death, violence and despair is pervasive; coupled with lack of opportunity and means of escaping said environment. An individual or group will eventually adopt or normalize behavior that provided a means of survival but perpetuates the attitudes and actions that further the existence of a destructive environment. Individuals or groups eventually become estranged or detached from the rest of society leading to a state of hopelessness.

Before you can even begin that process, somewhere along the line you have start believing that it is possible to get out of the ditch. When you’re operating in an environment that literally sucks the life out of a person, it is no wonder that many simply learn how to function in the ditch rather than attempt at leaving it. And then the cycle continues and the modus operandi becomes survival rather than overcoming.

Hopelessness is a very destructive force. Persistent hopelessness causes one to devalue not only their life but also the lives around them. It numbs the senses to point where everything objectified and devalued. It then become easy to associate a pimp or a drug dealer with status because success is devalued to the point where it acquisition is possible.

Overcoming

Whenever the discussion about the state of black men comes up, inevitably someone will toss in the cliché about overcoming racism, poverty or the ‘victim mentality’. It is a valid discussion but it does not get to the meat of the issue and that is the despair, hopelessness and low self-esteem that plague man young black males. The only way to overcome this is to inspire young brothers to build self-worth. People are not responsible for things they do not value. So personal responsibility is a mute point to someone that does not value their person or the people around them.

The only way to accomplish this is to grind it out with them. I have personal experience with young men that were on the fence when it came to which path they would take with their lives. When I first met them, many of them wrote off what I was saying as nagging. But I was there for them, year after year. I listened to them. I talked with them. I shared my own experiences – and I let them know that I would never accept the idea that they were less than because of the environment.

Once you establish a relationship, then you can start setting boundaries and expectations. I expected my young men to do well in school because I tutored them and knew how well they could do in school if they applied themselves. I expected them to not hang out in the streets because we volunteered and the center to provide them a place to go. I expected them to act like men and not thugs because we told and showed them what manhood was about. This is what I call shining a light down in the ditch. Providing guidance and direction.

Providing Tools

A fact of life with most black men is that racism, poor education, job skills and access to jobs is a serious problem. Liberals and Conservatives, white and black people debate solutions to this and everyone has an opinion. Is Affirmative Action good or bad? What about school choice? Tougher jail sentences? We can go back and forth all day. The fact of the matter is that there is no ONE solution and no magic wand exist to deal with all of the different ways to deal with structural problems in the black community.

The problem is that this area is where many start the discussion with the plight of black men and completely skip over the fact that until a person believes he can climb out of the ditch, he is not going to utilize any tools to assist getting out of said ditch. But we’ve come to the point in the debate where catch phrases, clichés and rhetoric are the order of the day.

Finally

I honestly believe that this debate is academic for most people and I believe most Conservatives use this issue as a means to generate votes and polarize their constituents. After all, do you really want your tax dollars going to help a bunch of unappreciative, lazy, shiftless blacks when they should be happy their not in Africa? Liberals are no better. They go into the black community with their “Captain Save-Ah-Spook” mentality thinking, ‘if we can just get the primitives to think like white people, they’ll be better off.’ I’m not hopeful this conversation will ever get beyond ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps’ unless black men take the lead.

Topic of Discussion

1. What do you attribute to the plight of black men?
2. What are some things we can do to assist black youth?
3. What part does racism play in the plight of black men?
4. Do you believe Conservatives actually care about this issue or using it as an extension of the "Southern Strategy"?
5. What role has Liberal policies played in the state of black men?
6. What would you do to alleviate the hopelessness that plague man young black men?

In think about it, when a nigga didn’t have
When a nigga told a joke and the bitches didn’t laugh
And I do that math, I see if you go this,
And this and this and this
That nigga’s the shit.