Some things in life are just too wrong. It’s not enough that Rev. Wright has made wrong and questionable comments, creating a furor that can be encapsulated in the thought that ‘Obama is too black.’

Because of 10 second clips from a mere handful (5 or 6) sermons out of perhaps 1000 or more in 35 years, made by someone other than Senator Obama, the Senator is now considered radical. His actual voting record is ignored, as are the comments and speeches he has made. I don’t agree with many of his policies and I still think he is being railroaded. Because one pastor said that crack in the 80’s was fought by the government with a campaign slogan of the First Lady. Because he said Senator Clinton was never called the most ugly, denigrating, evil word in the English language that has no equivalent and that is exclusive to one race. Because he said some truthful comments that are not beneficial or conciliatory to Whites. [Let me note that not all comments are ones that I agree with or think are correct, but 90% of what I have found are.]

Because of that, Senator Obama is finally being seen in the manner that all the emails, rumors, allegations and direct slaps in the face that the Clinton campaign could muster. How proud Hillary must be. Having failed with the use of Barack Obama’s middle name and pictures of him in the native garb of African Elders while in Africa (which is common for traveling politicians).And with that pride must be the pride of the majority of Americans at seeing what it takes to win a nomination to become President. Imagine what would happen to become President.

But there are some that have opinions far too the other side. That Senator Obama is not Black enough. As if such a comment is possible or credible.

One such proponent is Rev. James David Manning. And in watching him live on Fox News, at 9:15pm on Hannity & Colmes, I must say he is a racist and bigot in the worst manner.

Rev. Manning stated that his objection to Senator Obama is because he is the union of an African and White parents. He admitted that he has never met the Senator, nor his parents. Yet that gave him no pause in calling the parents whores and trash. He cited Obama’s lie (or misspoken statement) about his parents meeting as the source of Obama’s first wrong doing. In total his only complaint were these to points.

It’s a harsh thing to see a man, especially one of a religious faith, so obsessed with false values. He was so bad as to cause Sean Hannity, a Republican and admitted non-Obama supporter, to directly and clearly defend Obama. He correctly stated that this was a personal attack and had nothing to do with politics. He questioned how any man of faith could blanket anyone as evil solely because of their birthright. And he was visibly disturbed by this message Rev. Manning is trying to spread.

But in checking around I see that Rev. Manning does not feel Obama is alone in being not Black enough. [And Manning believes that if you are not the result of 2 African American parents you are not Black, but some other thing which he implied is evil. Thus I and most African Americans would falter – I suspect that if he is the offspring of slaves he would not qualify either, but I’m sure that he has an excuse for that as do most bigots when faces with a schism in their warped logic.] The NAACP is not Black enough. Any African American that was able, through the efforts of their parents lives, to not be born poor does not understand being Black and implies they are not Black.

Rev. Manning believes there is an identity crisis in the Black community. Because many Blacks supported Bill Clinton. Because many African Americans support Obama. He feels that Blacks are being paid off to rig the Democratic nomination so that Hillary gets the nomination and Senator Obama gets the Vice-Presidential nomination, all arranged by Whites in Hollywood – as stated to John Gibson of Fox News Talk on March 20, 2008. In that same interview he proclaims how the Civil Rights Movement of the last 50 years was “terribly destructive since the death of Dr. King”. This can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWExq7g2F0&feature=related

But to really understand the anger and bile of Rev. Manning you need to see the following video.



Now perhaps it is me, a man that Manning would call a “good Negro”, but I think Manning is a racist ass. He fears any man with an education, that believe in things that he does not, that is not as dark as him, nor fits his view of the world. In fact he sounds an awful lot like various White supremacists and a certain Nazi leader.

But I am not a “good Negro”. I am proud to be an educated successful Black Puerto Rican. I have never been in jail [which I would like to know why Manning was - and Malcolm X was incarcerated because he was a criminal at the time. A fact he admitted and never tried to glorify] nor do I feel a need to be. I don’t kiss anyone’s ass, least of all his. And I don’t think that living beyond his limited view is the only way to be African American.

If not being Black enough means not living up to the stereotypes of BET, the music industry, and dim-witted fools fearful of any change since 1865, I’m ok with that and glad Obama doesn’t qualify either. If not being Black enough means not fitting into the Rev. Manning’s of the world view on parentage, need for poverty, lack of education, need for incarceration, and lack of a strong will I will do without.

Manning may have the right to say whatever he wishes, but thankfully we have the right not to listen now that we know what he thinks. We have the right to vote (which Manning may no longer have depending on his conviction) and if it is based in the actions, records and apparent capabilities of a candidate then we should vote for them. We should not let racist, mindless babbling wrapped in a cloak of religion dictate our choices for us.

I reject the vile comments of any person, especially those of religious leaders interjecting themselves as politicians. I dispute and reject the comments of Rev. Manning. I find him vile and reprehensible. I find nothing in his own words, found in my own research, that I agree with. I can only hope that his particular brand of poison does not lend itself to the problems in the Democratic nomination process.

Religious leaders may be essential for spiritual direction, but few have ever shown themselves to be effective leaders of anyone. In America we elect our leaders because of what we believe they will do. Don’t give up that right to anyone else. Learn the facts for yourself. Make a choice. Be involved because the result will involve and affect you regardless or age, race, religion or gender.

Labels: African Americans, Black community, Fox News, Hannity and Colmes, racism, Rev. Manning, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton

There is no question that Senator Clinton desperately needs a win in Texas and Ohio. It’s a fact that has been admitted by all sides of the Democratic race. Nor is there a question that Senator Clinton has decided to do everything possible to get those wins. But even I would never have expected a move that is as racist and underhanded as what I have just learned about.

Senator Obama is Black. Unless you are blind, and America is everything but that, it’s not a big surprise. But is he Black enough?

I’m not speaking about the cultural question that was debated when he initially began to run, asked generally by less educated African Americans. The question in this case applied to how black he actually is. Pigmentation and skin tone. Not a tan but how dark is he.

It would seem that the Clinton campaign, as has been reported so far but not confirmed thinks that Senator Obama needs to be darker. So that’s exactly what they did to his image. Darken it.

Why does that matter? Well if it’s an attempt to emphasize in the minds of White voters that Obama is just an African American, and to play on stereotypes, it’s a big deal. If it’s an attempt to make him seem more dangerous and framed in a racist visage, it matters.

None ever question how pale white a Caucasian is, but throughout American history it has been a big deal. Going back to the original Constitution and the 5/8th’s line. It’s a wedge in the Black community and a way to be hands distance from other Americans. It’s a memory of America that everyone wants to deny and avoid speaking about. And it needs only a subtle push, like the photo re-imaging, to bring it to the forefront.

America has gone no where if such a racist and vile tactic can be used and even worse if it works. And any candidate that would stoop to this level to win is despicable in my mind.

If an ad … actually there is no similar scenario for this. There is no way to correlate the racial prejudice this action implies and relies upon to being pink or ‘moon tan’ white. There just is no comparison in the daily evidence of the magnitude of the action.

I know some Whites will say, ‘I don’t get it.’ Of course not. They have never lived or observed it. They have not noticed when they do it. It’s so common as to be sub-conscious. But I think every Black American knows.

This is repugnant. I can’t express that enough. After the multiple racial attacks from 2007, when Senator Obama announced he would run, to today there has been no end of the emails that alleged untruths. And the Clinton camp helped spread them. And the attempts to stereotype Senator Obama as a drug dealer, by the Clinton campaign. And the minimalization of Dr. Martin Luther King and every Black politician by former-President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and the Clinton campaign. After all that, still there is a need to be even more racist with this act.

Will this divide the Democratic Party? It should. What can you think of a party that condones the use of racism by its top leadership, while it talks out the other side of its face about preventing gender bias? How can any Hispanic believe that our bronze skin is seen any differently by those that would highlight that darker than white must be magnified and wrong. How much trust can you give a potential President that would throw huge portions of its own party membership under a bus, just to attain power? And what woman would feel safe with the thought that this woman would stab her partners in the back just to try to run for office.

All the warm and fuzzy tears, and appearances on television shows, like the Daily Show, will never excuse or cover this kind of racism. And if color can matter, what would make you think gender, religion, ethnicity, or economic status won’t?

As I said, this has not been confirmed. But you can see the videos as reported by Wired, and you can draw your own conclusion. Then ask this question…

Do you want a President that is willing to use race, gender, outright lies, political differences and who knows what else looking out for what your children will learn and be able to do? Would you trust that kind of person enough to invite them in your home? Or work? And would a smile, a tear, or a joke make all that change?

Vote what you think, but be sure to vote!

Labels: Black community, Daily Show, Democratic Party, election 2008, Presidential race, racism, Senator Clinton, Senator Obama

How do you beat an African American Presidential candidate? This is not just a question that the entire Clinton political machine is working on or should be concerned with. Be assured, Republican strategists are paying full attention to some of the most effective and base tactics being used currently. And the future Presidential candidates, or even more local level election hopefuls, should take notes.

The precedent is being defined in front of our face right now. And many of the tactics will appear again. I would even state as a near guarantee that in the future the attacks and tricks will even be worse than what we are seeing now, as future opponents will push the line further than where it is being actively drawn now. I expect that the truly low points of what this could mean are angering, demeaning, and divisive.

What are some of the tactics?

One of the first that will be used is to attack the heritage of the Black candidate. Their family tree will be examined and any past actions, made by any member of the family, will be fair game. The education of your parents, their nations of origin, how much money they make, and more will be brought up.

If you have a parent that believed in getting in touch with their roots and gave you a more traditional African name, expect ridicule. If that name has any connection to any religion other than Christianity, you will be labeled by that religion without regard to what you may devoutly believe. If that religion is out of favor, or in any way attached to a negative, you will be attached to that as well. And even if you are Christian, your faith will be questioned, as well as the type of Christian faith you observe.

If you have any parentage that is not African American, or recent predecessors that are not, then you will be in a vicious circle attack. Like sharks in a feeding frenzy you will be attacked on one side for not being Black enough, separated from other African Americans and the struggles of the Black community. At the same time you will be assaulted for being Black, and thus only interested in a specific pool of issues that many non-Black Americans fear and disagree with.

To counter any of these actions, in fact to even mention that they are being used will open you to media attacks stating you are playing the race card. That any defense you offer is merely lowering the issues to claims of prejudice and inequality. It doesn’t matter if your defense is true, you are still to blame.

If you are successful, as virtually every politician is independently of the office they hold (at least at the state and federal level), then you have no understanding of what inner city African Americans go thru. You are a sell-out, and a wanna-be. Opponents will line up Blacks that are no less successful, well spoken, and recognized to boast your ignorance to Black audiences. The media will highlight these attacks, placing your life into question.

If you have made any missteps, admitted or not, they will be taken to stereotypical extremes. Today in America 31% of high school students have used marijuana, 66% have used alcohol, and 6% have used cocaine. That says nothing of the millions of adults that used cocaine in the 1980’s (the most popular drug at the time) or the uncounted masses of adults that used marijuana (and inhaled) in the 1960’s and continue to use it today. But be an African American and you will not be a mere user like the millions of other Americans. You will be presumed as a drug pushing dealer, the equal of the stereotypes promoted in movies and television for decades.

And at every step your opponent will be above the fray. Subordinates, associates, and ‘unrelated’ parties will be making the attacks for your opponent. The major news media will populate these smears for weeks, and views of these attacks will be front page items. The apologies and firing of these outside ‘rogue’ operatives will be far less popular. Any attempt by you to connect the dots will be called race baiting.

And then the biggest part will come to play. In every vote, if you gain non-Black support you will be called a sell-out and will have abandoned your heritage. If you gain Black support you will be defined as singularly a candidate of only African Americans, and out of touch of the needs of the rest of America.

Every item I have mentioned has not only occurred since 2007, but continues to happen now. And I expect that if a woman were in contention similar attacks will be made. But the tactics really play out best when the candidate is Black, or a minority. The obvious and entrenched racial disparity in America really comes to the top when any aspect of race is even hinted at. It even goes so far as to attack acclaimed and recognized leaders that sought peace and equality.

So I want to know this. Are we as American citizens so blind as to not see the tactics being used? Have we traveled so little since the days of segregation and fire hoses being used on peaceful Civil Rights supporters? Or do we expect so little of our political leaders that when shameful and base tactics are used we ignore it?

Really, I want to know.

Labels: African American, Black community, Civil Rights, Clinton political machine, political elections, presidential candidate

Continued from Preparing for the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum Part 1...

What do I expect the debate to go over today? I think that most people are more concerned about education for their children, the economy continuing to be stable and prosperous – so they know they have job security, illegal immigrants – taking away jobs and receiving benefits funded by taxpayer money (including income taxes which illegals don’t pay). Not necessarily in that order.

Lower on the list are issues like race relations (the inequalities in the law enforcement and justice system that plague minorities as seen via Sean Bell, Megan Williams, Genarlow Wilson, and the Jena 6 as recent examples), anti-terrorism actions to keep us safe in this country (the Canadian border is still my biggest issue), and entitlement programs (like Welfare though not necessarily including Social Security). Again that is not a guarantee they are in that order of preference.

I base this on my conversations with people across this country. Friends, associates, clients, blog readers and authors, as well as polls found on my blogs and corporate website. That is what I think the real America wants to hear answers to. Yet pundits and candidates of both parties have given short shrift to these issues.

Think about it, other than one question in one debate, I don’t recall any candidate speaking about their plans to ensure our kids graduate high school, and are able to read. Yet in the African American community alone dropout rates exceed 50%. I recall one question, early in 2007, that dealt with AIDS and HIV, yet a recent announcement states that AIDS cases in kids 15-19 are up 20%, and those 20-24 are up 22% (according to 2005 numbers which are the most current known). The numbers for African American youth are appallingly higher.

That says nothing about youth pregnancy (in the Black community up an estimated 60+%). And what about other issues that are not as close to home as the abovementioned? Like the Child Soldier Act (which Congress seems determined to ignore) or HR 180 IH which deals with Darfur (now nearing its 5th year of genocide). No, but there has been plenty of talk about green energy (which most regular people don’t even think about as far as I’ve heard) which we could not resolve immediately even if there was an energy source that we could use effectively right now.

I hope that when these serious issues are asked by the regular people in the audience (hopefully not planted by the Clinton campaign which seems like a common practice for them based on recent revelations) there are full real answers.

But don’t be surprised if you only hear 30 second soundbites that sound motivating but answer nothing. I mean I’m not running for any office and this quick recap takes about 5 minutes to read in full. When was the last time any candidate actually took 5 minutes to explain 1 issue without going off on a tangent, blaming Congress or the President (or both), or sliding the discussion into a completely different direction altogether?

But we will see.

Labels: AIDS, Black community, Darfur, HIV, illegal immigration, Megan Williams, political debate, presidential cantidates, race in America, TV One

Continued from The Black middle-class is not better than 5 years ago Part 1...

The point of this is that while one part of our society is extolling the perceived improvements in our society, the other part is reeling from the reality. Is there any wonder why inner city schools are not getting additional funds they need. Or that police departments are still biased in their actions or that hate crimes are increasing yet hate crime statutes are unevenly applied?

Something needs to be done. The facts are out there, but without action the numbers will just continue to degrade. That action must come from both sides of this disparity. Just as no one side is singular in fault, no one side can fix the problem.

I say we need to remove the welfare system. Its inception, in the current form, has created benefits only to single parents with multiple children. It has enforced the single parent household, and is a malaise in the Black community. In its place I say we go back to the original concept from the depression era. Everyone works, no matter how trivial the job, and for that they get a wage.

I suggest that ½ of all police officers must come from the communities they patrol. Only those with a connection the citizens they protect do so with an even hand.

I suggest that inner city schools are the priority in getting funds. Every school must have enough books for all the students, and those books should be current to within the last 5 years.

I suggest that we hold the media accountable. No longer will music videos depicting violence, degradation of women, drug use and sale be allowed on the airwaves. I respect the right of artists to be free to express themselves, but at the same time the public has the obligation to not be shown promotions of these base acts.

I suggest that major news media becomes more responsible. An even hand and fair reporting is more essential now than ever. Rather than consistently showing only minorities every time a negative trait in the nation is discussed balanced images should be shown. Instead of 95% of all Amber Alerts, and missing persons reported on the news being only Whites, a fairer look should be done. Black children are missing too.

News stories involving African Americans deserve airtime too. The Jena case did not just happen; it’s been discussed for months by bloggers before the media bothered to pay attention. The Megan Williams case, which has been ignored, is more important than 2 days of discussion about Ellen DeGeneres losing a pet.

These may be small steps in appearance, but they are answers to the roots of a problem that has been ignored for too long. They are simple steps. They are responsible acts. And they will benefit the nation. But to continue in the manner we have will result in steps backwards to a time and acts some assume only existed in the shadowy past of America. But all shadows never disappear completely, and given time they can grow long in their reach.

America cannot benefit from 70% of a class of its people being unable to attain the same or better than their parents. America should not have such a situation to contemplate. We are better, and we can do better. All of us.

Labels: African American, Black community, education, Ellen DeGeneres, inner city schools, jena 6, music video, news media, welfare

Concluded from Facts are not as important as myths Part 3...

Does the Black community have problems? Of course we do. So does every community. But the press is all over every misstep and poor decision of Blacks. It’s so extreme that similar crimes, executed or reported at virtually the same time, are not discussed by the major media in equal amounts of time. The African American suspect is featured overwhelmingly, even if the White criminal is red handedly guilty.

Given the facts of the numbers what can we conclude by the actions that happen daily in this nation? That there is a prejudice that has never gone away; but has evolved to present itself in quiet and somewhat more subtle ways. Since the first slave boat arrived in the colonies, Blacks have been seen as dangerous and wild. Today we get the same almost subliminal message. And some wonder why there are tensions between races.

Let me be clear. I am not denouncing Whites. I am not absolving African Americans. I am not saying more than what I have observed and the numbers state. I am constantly questioned how I can claim the media, or the legal system is bias. I am confronted when I comment on the absurdity of White privilege. I am insulted when I point out observations that run counter to historically held ideals.

But I merely state what I notice. And I will continue to do so. I love America, even with these flaws. I stand by this nation, right or wrong. I will defend this nation, even when it wrongs me. I do this because it is the greatest nation on the planet, and it is capable of becoming even more. But you cannot become better without effort and pain. If what I have written makes some uncomfortable, if that discomfort leads to a better more equal America, then I am happy. That is my intention.

But what do you think?

Stats are from:

• 1.http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm



• 2.http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/welcome.html

Labels: American Slavery, Black community, legal system, news media, racial controversy

So recently I had a comment on a post where I was told about homicide rates of Black on White crime. Now considering the source of the information, I had serious doubts on the credibility of the information. So I decided to look around and find the facts.

The facts (as reported by the Department of Justice) are that 86% of White victims are killed by Whites, and 94% of Blacks by Blacks since 1976 to 2005. A White is most likely the attacker in murders of family, at work, with poison, or if more than one person is killed. If drugs are involved, or an argument, then the numbers make it more likely to have a Black offender.

But that still did not answer some questions I had. So I looked further. I found that a Black or White friend is highly unlikely to be a victim of a person of the opposite race (8%), and a stranger is only killed by a person of the opposite race 25% of the time.

Focusing on 2006 (estimated data from the FBI) there were 611,523 violent crime arrests and 17,034 people murdered. 70% of all arrests were for Whites, with 59% of those responsible for violent crimes being White. And White teens represented 67% of all teens younger than 18 arrested.

And in 2005, 61% of all hate crimes were committed by Whites (20% were by African Americans). There were 828 incidents and 975 victims of anti-White hate crimes. As for anti-Black hate crimes there were 2,630 incidents and 3,322 victims. Black-on-White murders were 934 (8.8%) vs. White-on-Black murders of 337 (3.2%).

There were 296,507,061 American citizens in 2005, and 299,398,484 in 2006.

Ok, so those are all the numbers, but what does it all mean? Why did I bother doing all this research?

Because the numbers are often twisted and misrepresented by the media and those that have a bias one way or another. Because these stats are the basis of ignorance and prejudice in the hands of some.

If you go by major media reporting you might not get the same kind of impression that these numbers give. That impression, spread across the world, is that Blacks kill Whites on a regular basis. You might believe that all African Americans are violent, or that Black teens commit most crimes. You could gather the opinion that most criminals arrested are Black and that the Black community is filled with murderers and violent felons.

Watch the nightly news; see how often an African American face is attached to violent crimes. Count the time that Black images are shown in regard to crime, or how many news stories feature alleged African American perpetrators. Notice how often reports claim a non-White is being sought in connection to a crime. When you actually notice these things, you see a trend.

Continued in part 2...

Labels: African American, Black community, Department of Justice, FBI, hate crimes, homicide rates, news media, race in America

Well another year is about to be added to the time I’ve lived on the planet and I want to share some thoughts on my experiences in my nearly 4 decades of life. One of the first things is that once you start turning grey (which started for me at 33) you can get grey hairs everywhere. You can imagine my surprise coming out the shower thinking I had a string on me and finding out it was actually a grey hair. I’m an intelligent guy, but I had no idea.

But on more serious observations, from the 70’s to today I’ve seen the world change dramatically. Black culture has had no less of a profound evolution for lack of a better term. In the 70’s there was no internet, or computers, cell phones or cd’s. These were good things not to have. I love my computer and the internet. I enjoy the anime I can see due to the creation and expansion of cable television. Yet, they are superfluous at best.

With the growth of interconnectivity on an almost instantaneous level, there has been a loss of real connection between people. Worse has been the hardening of hearts, if you will, that has taken place. Today we can send out a text to hundreds of people, but the time spent with close friends in person has dwindled. We have become more superficial in our contact with each other, or so it appears to me.

As a Black Puerto Rican I have seen this play out to see the wholesale commoditization of the culture. Being African American today is more about clothing styles, speech patterns and social interaction in the most visible sense. Millions across the world adopt the same mannerisms as what appears to make African Americans Black, because it’s a trend and fad that can be taken for a while without any of the negative repercussions it confers to those of color. It’s a waste in every sense of the word.

In the seventies I recall an ad on television by the NAACP about a Black man not being able to go to college. The key phrase I recall is, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” It seems too few saw this public announcement as today we have the highest levels of high school drop-outs than ever before. Think about that for a moment. We have the ability to access information about virtually any subject, from almost anywhere in the world, almost immediately, and our children and peers know less today than a decade ago to say nothing of 2 or 3 decades. We have fewer kids going to and graduating from college than ever. Knowledge, the greatest tool and treasure, surrounds us and yet few are reaching their hand out to take it. I do not have words for my anger and sadness on this fact.

Over past decades of my life I saw drugs move from a shady and reclusive item, hidden from children and the public at large, to a normal daily fact of life. It’s so pervasive and accepted that kids today grow up with dreams of becoming dealers, as opposed to wanting to be doctors and lawyers. If that isn’t a fundamental breakdown I’m not sure what is. How did this happen? The subtle and persistent acceptance by law enforcement, and the culture, of drugs in low income areas. The acceptance of drug dealing money in our neighborhoods. Lastly because we failed to educate ourselves and our children, instead blaming other sources for the failures around us.

Continued at my www.blackentertainmentblog.com

Labels: African American, Black community, Michael Vass, NAACP

As Black History month comes to an end I wanted to address something I read on Sunday, [I have just heard about the Kenneth Eng piece in AsianWeek and will be discussing that shortly!] As I was doing laundry I was reading the Press & Sun – Bulletin and noticed the article Success comes with a price. The article, written by George Basler, deals with an old issue – “acting white”. It seems that students in Binghamton, and I know for a fact in other parts of the country, are ridiculed for having intelligence. When I say this is an old issue I mean it evokes thoughts of slavery with slaves in the field taking task with those that lived in the slave-owner houses.

I cannot believe that this still goes on. I spoke on this a while ago in my post Do you qualify to be black? - 10.01.2006.1 and I need to say it again it seems. Why is there this expectation that to be African American there has to be a specific style and manner? Since when have any individuals been locked into any narrow view of how they should act or think? How did the pursuit of knowledge, the one treasure that once gained can never be taken away, become a less than noble pursuit? How as a culture have we allowed our children to view being able to think (language being the vocalization of thought) as being an indignity?

This is not a new thing as I mentioned above. I can clearly recall the occasional comment that I thought I was too smart, or white, or not black, back in high school at Evander Childs and during my career as a stockbroker. The one or two people that mentioned such a comment to me, or a few of my best friends (whom I still know to this day and have known for 30 years), were virtually always in remedial classes, drop-outs, on drugs and/or dealers. That doesn’t make them bad people per say but it did make their comments meaningless to me. I mean how stupid do you have to be to not be able to look at me and see I have African blood in me? But I really thought it was something that wasn’t common.

I am wrong, as this article proved. Black culture in America, and the Black community, have failed our kids by allowing this ignorance – no let me correct that – idiocy to continue. This is the slave mentality actively affecting our children. This is the result of children having children, drugs, inadequate schools, and parents failing to be parents first and the child’s friend second, as I see it.

I have never heard any other race question the race of someone in their race. I have never seen any group complain that their children are intelligent. I have never seen such an active pursuit to hold back peers as this article and my own experiences describe. And this is the root of back-handed comments such as the ‘articulate’ ‘clean’ and others often used to address any African American that has gained a higher education. This is the heart, in my opinion, of why so many fail to try to achieve better in their lives.

It is this mentality that creates lemmings, rushing out to blindly buy the latest $100+ sneaker (that costs $5-10 to make and advertise), or watch a film because a black actor/actress is featured in it (though the quality of the film is obviously sub-par like the Honeymooners remake or Soul Plane), or blindly vote for a politician because of their party affiliation without any knowledge of their platforms or politics in general. To be a Black American is more than what I wear, what I buy, or what career I endeavor in. Being an African American is not a commodity choice. I cannot shed it like a pair of over-priced jeans, nor would I.

To deprecate those that chose to improve their lives with knowledge, rather than pollute it with drugs or mindless apathy is a crime. Not a legal crime but a social and moral one. To be intelligent is not ‘white’; there are intelligent people of all races. Again I mention that for centuries African American have made inventions and breakthroughs that have helped create the world today as much as did the slave labor that made the foundations of this nation. Those that would say others are ‘acting white’ need to invest some time in reading about history and the achievements of those African Americans that came before them and see that perhaps they should say that those same individuals are in fact ‘acting Black’.

I hope the kids in Binghamton and in school across the nation hear this. I hope they remember that Black and Proud is not just a song or t-shirt slogan (and I freely admit I do sell a clothing line of a similar statement) but that it has a meaning. I wish that they keep a copy of this and recall it when they seek higher educations and better lives. There is no trade off in being African American, or Black American if you prefer, and intelligent. Anyone who would proffer such a choice has nothing to offer. Inevitably I suspect that anyone that would make such a comment will fail, the source of that downfall being within them. I learned long ago, I could chose to abandon my pursuit of knowledge and join those on the corner selling drugs and making a lot of cash. Of course I would also share in their short lives, extended jail terms, and drug addition. That choice was easy to make and hard to live. Yet my life and experiences today are often the only conversation piece I have with the survivors of the corner when I visit home, still selling, still going to jail, still dying violent deaths without glamour or fame or family and true friends. That is the true outcome of the thug life and the antithesis of knowledge in my opinion.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Labels: African American, Black community, Black culture, George Basler, Press and Sun Bulletin