Quote of the Moment
This one comes to us from Dr. Amos N. Wilson’s lecture Afrikan-Centered Consciousness Versus The New World Order: Garveyism in the Age of Globalism
The Illusion of Progress We have a leadership that has sought to get us to accept the status quo: the control of the world by the European. You errantly hear some of us conceding that it’s the white man’s world so we may as well learn how to live in it or just get along. The assimilationist often accepts, consciously or unconsciously, the idea that the white man will continue to rule the world. He bases his ideology and political action on the concept that somehow our destiny is not to overthrow the white man, that our destiny is not to remove this pathological person; that our destiny is not to suppress and bring these sick people under control but to heal them in some sort of way, to convert them, to even become part of them. Our destiny becomes not one that sees the very system and very ideology upon which these oppressors move as one of sickness and insanity and therefore in need of replacement by an Afrikan-centered and healthy ideology that comes our of our own self-knowing. This leadership wants us to accept this sickness as normality and to follow these pathological beings into self-destruction.
Happy Founders’ Day A Phi A
by Tre B. aka Ice-Solation
Just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the legacy of what started as a book club/literary society to insulate and support its members in an oppressive environment and has now become the largest Black college fraternity in the world. The two fundamental attractions of youth of all ages: comradeship and the spirit of high idealism. These ingredients have fueld the growth and survival of all BGLOs, even to the point of their current impotent state.
I have mixed feelings about my beloved organization and all Black “Greek” organizations, partly because
Islam – Dr. John H. Clarke
An enlightening discussion on religion and how it has been used for and against Afrikan (Black) interests around the world. No matter what faith you claim, a critical examination of it and the leaders that claim to serve it is necessary every now and then. Blind/unquestioning obedience creates mental slaves. “Just have faith” is rarely the correct response to questions regarding religious doctrine as there are plenty of actual answers out there if you look. (Be sure to watch all 9 parts)
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The Post Stop Snitching Era Has Begun
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by Demetrius Walker
I’ll never forget my first speaking engagement as the Chief Marketing Officer of dN Group LLC. The Charles A. Tindley Charter School in Indianapolis asked me and a couple of my partners to speak in front of an entire gymnasium full of middle schoolers. It was the perfect platform because after starting my own business, I found myself wishing I had been encouraged to become a business owner at an earlier age. Speaking at Tindley was my first opportunity to promote entrepreneurship to a group of impressionable young black students.
Walking through the doors of the school, I was aware of the rampant Stop Snitching movement, which had spread across urban America courtesy of Dipset and others in Hip Hop. In fact, the first shirt idea I developed for dangerousNEGRO was Start Reading, a counter to the incessant idea that captured the full attention of the Black community. Anyway, as I prepared to take the stage that morning I spoke with a few young men about their take on Black America’s biggest issues. Not surprisingly, “snitching” was at the top of their lists with poverty, AIDS, and drugs. It was quite baffling to me that they gave “snitching” the same weight as the other problems. However, in light of the celebrity grassroots movement against the detested practice, it is understandable that young minds would assume it was a number one priority. Cam’Ron went on Bill O’Reilly to defend the practice and there were thousands of shirts with red stop signs flooding the streets.
Despite the prioritization of “Stop Snitching” in the hip hop community for 2 years, it is wonderful to see that we have finally moved beyond elevating such an extraneous issue to the forefront of urban politics. How do we know that the “Stop Snitching” movement has lost steam you ask? Simple. 1. One of Hip Hop’s most influential stars has publicly denounced the practice. 2. Another of Hip Hop’s most revered artists has inadvertently smoothed the tension between law enforcement and Hip Hop culture. And 3. The most respected Black man in the world is a political figure/law maker.
T.I. shooting a 30 second PSA encouraging people to call the police CrimeStopper’s line is monumental. Some people have argued that T.I. isn’t receiving flack for the ad because it’s obviously a technicality of the 1000 hour community service sentence he is serving. I agree that most likely this was written somewhere into his plea deal. However it is quite remarkable that Hip Hop has given T.I. a pass for cooperating with police. Could you imagine the backlash 50 Cent would have received for doing the same thing? He would have been completely laughed out of Hip Hop. So why is it different with T.I.? Well, it is clear that the Hip Hop generation respects T.I. more as a man than a rapper. By accepting T.I.’s contradiction, the Hip Hop community has effectively stated that the whole Stop Snitching thing isn’t really that big of a deal anymore. It’s played out.
Furthermore, Hip Hop’s brightest star, Lil Wayne, has enjoyed major success with his hit single “Mrs. Officer.” While Weezy was attempting to convey an extended metaphor (F**k the police) with his female friendly anthem, he completely missed the mark and subsequently made police officers friends of Hip Hop. I went out for Halloween 2 weeks ago and about half of the female costumes worn were police officer getups. Surprisingly, there were many dudes that dressed as cops and FBI agents as well. In fact, about halfway through the house party 4 legitimate Black officers showed up to the party in full uniform. While KRS-One’s “Black Cop” played in my mind, I was amazed to see that the policemen were greeted with great contentment. I can only attribute the jump in acceptance of the police force to Weezy and the fall of the Stop Snitching movement.
Last and certainly not least, Hip Hop’s overwhelming support of Barack Obama forced us to confront our mistrust of politics and authority figures. Obama will be the Commander-In-Chief of the United States soon. That means he will be the absolute Top Cop. Supporting the president means supporting the laws and policies of this country. It also means we are comfortable with Obama controlling the military domestically and abroad. Other government agencies such as the CIA, FBI, DEA, and NSA will all ultimately answer to our Black president. And Hip Hop is cool with that. Therefore, it is very difficult to be a huge Stop Snitching advocate in the midst of America’s first African-American head honcho.
So do I advocate everyone calling up CrimeStoppers to rat on their friends, family, and neighbors right now? Of course not. I am happy to see that stopping the theoretical invasion of the snitches is no longer number one on the political agenda of Hip Hop though. We have AIDS, poverty, famine, unsatisfactory education, and inadequate financial literacy to tackle first. Thank you Hip Hop for growing up a lil’ bit!
****UPDATE*****
You Can Have The Presidency, If I Could Have These Things
Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com
by Dr. Boyce Watkins
Barack Obama’s voice booms high into the clouds as our nation’s president. But it is also a voice that is sometimes muted by policy, distorted by conflicting agendas and distracted by the complexities of the world in which we live. I find myself mildly disturbed by the excessive celebration within our community, as if winning this political popularity contest has somehow finally validated us as a people. It is scary when the measure of a Black person’s success is captured by the degree of favor he has obtained with his historical oppressors. I will never believe that winning the White House is the greatest achievement in Black History, nor was it the greatest sacrifice. The greatest achievements were made by those who worked for us to be truly empowered and the sacrifice was made by those who died to clear President Obama’s path. Achieving prominence on the plantation is not nearly as meaningful as achieving independence.
What if the Confederacy Won?
by Tre B.
The United States, the Confederate States, and Black people in America might all be better off if the South was allowed to secede from the Union.
Now I’m gonna go way out there for a minute, so just bear with me. I have no proof for my hypothesis nor do I necessarily believe it’s true…I’m just thinking out loud. History is written by winners, so we’ve always been taught that the Yankees were the good guys and the Rebels were the bad guys and that slavery was the main reason for the American Civil War. As usual we were taught wrong, and many of us now know that even Lincoln didn’t really care about freeing the slaves (he actually was in favor of shipping us all back to Afrika) and the war was more about state’s rights and economic power than anything else. But let’s challenge the other assumption that
Malcolm X: Make It Plain pt 1 of 14
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Who Are The Real Hebrews
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New Product: Black is the New President
Commemorate this historic moment in time with this new shirt by dN|Be
Why “The Dream” Remains UN-fulfilled
By Tre B.
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Let me start off by saying that I voted for Obama because I thought he was the best choice given the other options and I think he will be an exceptional President for the United States. However, as Black Americans we must remain grounded in reality and think about this so-called triumpth of integration and if it will really do much to improve the state of Black America beyond giving Black kids someone to look up to. I believe we should support our new President and work as hard to help improve this country as we did to get him elected. We do, however, need to get our heads out of the clouds and think strategically how we can use this time to improve Black America because we can’t rely on Obama to do it for us since we know that he is not just our President and has other interests to cater to. And don’t let these white people make you think they did us a favor by electing a Black man, as if in their infinite benevolence they elected him despite his color. They did themselves a favor because he was obviously the best man for the job, so Black Americans can thank white people for doing the right thing, but we don’t owe it to them.
I think an excerpt from Dr. Amos N. Wilson’s African-Centered Consciousness Versus The New World Order has some relevant commentary on this matter. (Note: when Dr. Wilson refers to Afrikans, he’s talking about Black people.)
Much of the pathology of Afrikan people today is this vain hope that somehow we will be
This Week in Blackness: Episode #12
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Racism after Obama’s victory
article from The Week, November 5, 2008
Citizens of Chicago celebrate Obama's triumph. (AP Photo/Stacie Freudnberg)
One election won’t “solve the problem of race in America,” said Matthew Syed in the London Times online, because “bigotry and hatred” are no longer the main issue. The real problem is that, even after the gains of the civil rights movement, black Americans have yet to achieve “social and economic equality.” And that “slope remains as steep as ever.”
Barack Obama’s election won’t magically eliminate teen pregnancy or drug abuse, or raise high-school completion rates in the black community, said Henry Louis Gates Jr. in The Root, but don’t underestimate the significance of what has just happened. For generations, with all the racism heaped on black people in this country’s history, “no one could actually envision a Negro becoming president—’not in our lifetime,’ as our ancestors used to say.” But the ultimate color line has finally been crossed.
Obama’s victory “does not, nor should it, herald a post-racial future,” said Michael Eric Dyson in the Los Angeles Times. “But it may help usher in a post-racist future,” in which we can finally start deleting “oppression that rests on hate and fear, that exploits cultural and political vulnerability.”
The Most Important Presidential Election Ever. Again. No, Really!
The Most Important Presidential Election Ever. Really.
by BAR Managing Editor Bruce Dixon
Every four years we hear that the current presidential election is undoubtedly the most important one in our lifetimes, perhaps the most significant in all the long history of the republic. We heard it (and some of us said it) four years ago and will say it four years from now. And two years hence we will entertain each other with that famous blast from the past about how the current midterm elections are the most key and crucial midterm contests ever. Bet on it. Everybody says it, every two and four years, so it must be at least a little but true, right? (Read More)
THE INFLUENCE OF MARCUS GARVEY PT. 1
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